Latest news with #backlash
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Namewee uses group photo scandal to publicise his work
22 Jul - Controversial Malaysian entertainer Namewee didn't seem to be bothered by Kenny Bee and Eric Tsang distancing themselves from him following the recent backlash over their photo together. The singer, whose photo with the two Hong Kong legends sparked the wrath of Chinese netizens and prompted both Hong Kong icons to issue a statement denouncing any involvement with him, revealed on social media that he has already deleted the said photo. He expressed, "To avoid affecting the 'Motherland's' peace and stability, and for the safety of our comrades in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong, we have deleted the previous group photo post... Please, I sincerely ask all netizens not to question me about why I did this. If you want to ask someone, go ask your boss." He then said, "To the netizens in Hong Kong: You guys are seriously f****ing amazing," and added a slew of laughing-crying emoji. He later used the attention from the media and public alike to promote his song "Letter of Apology" on Instagram Story and wrote, "And now, I've decided to admit my fault. This was nothing more than a minor storm. I lower my head, bravely show vulnerability, and harshly criticise my own foolishness..." It was earlier this week that Kenny Bee and Eric Tsang decided to release their statement of apology to mainland netizens, after they were criticised for having a picture of them taken with the singer, who is known to be a big critic of China's policies. (Photo Source: Namewee FB, HK01, SCMP)
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pro-Trump Influencers Admit They're 'Not The Best Journalists' After Disastrous Netanyahu Interview
The popular social media influencers known as the Nelk Boys received a wave of criticism this week following their interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming they're not 'the best at grilling guests and pushing back.' 'Sure, we're probably not the best at asking questions. We're not the best journalists, we never claimed to be, so we might not be the best at pressing them, but in my opinion, it's up to the viewer to form their own educated opinion,' Full Send Podcast co-host Kyle Forgeard said Monday in defense of the interview, which aired Sunday. Forgeard and co-host Aaron 'Steiny' Steinberg rose to internet fame as the Nelk Boys, appealing to young men immersed in frat culture. Their social media content consists of prank videos, young women in bikinis and promoting controversial 'manosphere' figures such as Andrew Tate and Conor McGregor. The Nelk Boys' foray into politics manifested itself as heavy support for President Donald Trump. They interviewed Trump in 2020 and spoke at his 2024 campaign rallies, creating content with Trump and denouncing then-Vice President Kamala Harris. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NELK (@nelkboys) Their 70-minute interview with Netanyahu drew backlash from many for being too lenient. Others criticized the fact that the Israeli prime minister was even on in the first place. Last week, the International Criminal Court rejected Israel's request to withdraw its arrest warrant for Netanyahu, whom it has accused of crimes against humanity and using food as a weapon in its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The Nelk Boys lobbed several softball questions at Netanyahu throughout the interview, such as, 'What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?' and 'What's your go-to at McDonald's?' 'You like Burger King over McDonald's?' Forgeard asked at around 42:22. Steinberg then called Netanyahu's fast-food preference his 'worst take.' The Nelk Boys did ask Netanyahu some harder-hitting questions, including 'Why do they say Israel is, like, starving the people of Gaza?' However, the duo did not press the prime minister any further, instead allowing him to promote Israel's side amid the conflict with Palestine uninterrupted. In an almost four-hour-long Kick stream on Monday, the duo read comments from viewers bashing them for their interview. 'Asking him if he prefers Burger King or McDonald's… While people are starving… this is insane,' one comment read. 'Reputation takes years to build & just seconds to ruin,' read another comment with over 20,000 likes. 'This is the point of the podcast,' Forgeard responded. 'We leave it up to you guys as the viewer to form your own intelligent opinion. I think you guys are giving us way too much credit as Nelk and you're not giving yourself as viewers enough credit.' Leftist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker appeared on the stream, ripping the two apart for giving a microphone to Netanyahu. 'It's like, interviewing Adolf Hitler,' Piker said. 'Like, would you interview Adolf Hitler during the Holocaust if you had the opportunity?' White supremacist Nick Fuentes also came on the stream to tell the Nelk Boys their interview was a 'bad move' because he believes people will see the episode as 'a push by Netanyahu for public relations.' 'He's gonna come on your show to try to get all the young conservative, frat guys. You know, all the masculine men, the manosphere types, the streaming types to try and get back into the pocket of Israel,' Fuentes said. The Nelk Boys continued to defend the interview. 'On the Full Send Podcast what we do and what our style is, is we will have the most controversial people on this fucking planet on the podcast, hate it or love it,' Forgeard said. Related... Trump Responds To Question About Ukraine Crisis By Ranting About Windmills Trump's Latest Distraction Attempt Inspires New Levels Of Social Media Cringe Trump Gushes About His Fave 'Gay National Anthem' — 'Y.M.C.A.'
Phone Arena
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Phone Arena
Netflix shows will, and already do, feature AI-generated scenes
AI-generated images, videos, and music are a contentious topic on the internet, but that's not going to stop Netflix from utilizing it. The streaming service has already used AI in one show prior that it's told the press about, and is now experimenting with the services provided by startup company Runway recently confirmed that it had used generative AI for the show 'The Eternaut' this year. The show follows a global catastrophe that, at first, appears as something much different to what it actually is. I quite liked the show, though it may be a bit slow for those of you who prefer faster-paced confirmed that it used AI to speed up the production process for a particular scene. Debate about this online has accused the company of cost-cutting and robbing artists of a job. Some claimed that the only process that was sped up was interference from higher-ups, as you can't yet finetune an AI model's output to your personal liking. Netflix has decided to continue utilizing AI for production, despite the backlash. Disney is also reportedly in talks with Runway AI, though the company says that it has no plans for incorporating AI into its products at this has made some very controversial decisions in the past: from canceling excellent shows, to hiking up its pricing, to displaying ads even on paid plans. Continuing to use AI is just another one of these decisions, one that will very likely be adopted by rivals soon. 'The Eternaut' used AI in its production. | Image credit — Netflix As AI models continue to advance at an unprecedented rate, I think it's only a matter of time before it is prevalent in every aspect of society. The recent improvements in AI agents — models that can perform complex tasks on computers — only further risks putting many people out of work. As with many technological advancements before — the camera, the record player, and the automobile jump to mind — AI will face strict condemnation. However, AI is here to stay, and will power many devices of the future. Netflix, in my eyes, is just one of the first to adopt a practice that is about to become very commonplace.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Love Island's Harrison hits out over Women's Aid backlash – and reveals why he wishes he waited to have sex with Lauren
LOVE Island star Harrison has hit out over the Women's Aid 'misogyny' backlash, and revealed why he wishes he had waited to have sex with Lauren. Harrison quit the villa on Friday in shock scenes just 24 hours after Lauren was dumped from the show. 5 5 It followed his love triangle with her and Toni Laites, which drew criticism from charity Women's Aid. He even pleaded with Toni to pick him in a recoupling hours after having sex with Lauren. When Toni did choose him, Lauren was left in floods of tears and felt humiliated, and they ended up getting back together. But Harrison has defended himself again the Women's Aid backlash, saying: 'I have seen the backlash and it's hard to digest. I would disagree with a lot of it in terms of my respect for women, I do respect women. 'The worst has been from Women's Aid. I know myself and the girls on the show too, Toni said she knows I'm not a bad person, just went about situations in the wrong way, but the Women's Aid statement wasn't nice... it's not nice coming out of the villa to my mum upset by that so I would say that's been the hardest.' The soccer player continued to tell MailOnline that he is 'obviously sorry' to any women he hurt on the show. Adding: ''I got it wrong and the back and forth between the two connections caused more harm than I ever intended. 'It wasn't ever an ego thing. I am not proud of how I handled things and I'm not going to make excuses. 'I just want to own it. If people can give me the space to grow from it, I will do everything I can to be better and that's the only thing I can do. Fans slam Love Island's Lauren for 'embarrassing' move after she's axed from the villa 'There is no handbook for how to be on a show like Love Island. It's instincts and intentions. I got some of it right, but I know I got a lot of it wrong, and I know that now.' Harison, who was raised by a single mum, shared his dismay over the Women's Aid statement, given his close bond with his mum and younger sister. He said: 'Growing up, my mum was a single parent, so it was just us but then my stepdad came on the scene and now I have a younger sister. 'I would do anything for my sister and we're a really close family. That's why I am so disappointed by the way I handled myself in the villa because I pride myself on standing up for women and being a protector and honestly, my mum and my sister mean everything to me, I am hurt by how I acted based off those things. 'I only speak to my biological dad via text... I don't have a strong relationship with him in terms of seeing each other but we do speak. 'Naturally, I am a lot closer with my mum because she raised me, and we lived together but my dad is still on the scene it's just pretty rare for us to see each other.' And he opened up on why he wished he'd waited to have sex with Lauren, after they did so a couple of times on the show. ''I wasn't expecting it to make the show and it be a massive talking point. I have no problem with having sex on TV but at the same time I wish I would have waited,' he said. Adding: 'It's not been ideal for my parents and family to see. We have tried to skip past the subject but it's the elephant in the room. It's unfortunate they saw it on their screens. 'We know that cameras are on us 24/7 and we always knew there was a possibility of the sex being shown but there was no conversation from the producers prior. 'Me and Lauren were very PDA, on top of each other, in the best way possible, we wanted to be around each all the time, and it wasn't just a physical attraction. 'In bed, one thing led to the next, and in the moment, I didn't regret it, even now because it was very natural, but I regret the day after where I expressed feelings for Toni. 'I should have waited until I had clarity on the situation. We shouldn't have... but that's nothing against Lauren, I just still had feelings for Toni in the back of my mind, so I should have waited.' Toni begged him to stop messing with her feelings by continuing to flirt with Lauren during his time on the show. Speaking last night on Aftersun, Harrison said he felt the point that his romancing of both girls went too far was after he'd slept with Lauren. "I think maybe when we did bits," he said. "Probably took it a little bit too far talking to Toni after that. "I obviously regret that massively and I apologise to both the girls but, yeah, it wasn't good for me." He then said if he had his time again he would have had up front conversations with Toni and Lauren earlier to save them getting upset. It followed his return to social medi a at the weekend, in which he said: "Back on home turf and carrying every lesson with me. What a whirlwind, confusing, raw, beautiful in parts, and deeply humbling. I entered with the intention not to hurt anyone. "Truthfully, although I didn't manage that, I leave with a heart more open, and a soul willing to learn. Life isn't always easy, it's felt, it's flawed, it's full of growth. Thank you to those who saw the good in me even when I struggled to see it myself. This is just the beginning," But viewers weren't buying his latest apology, with one writing on X: "Harrison has CLEARLY wrote a speech and memorised it this is not genuine." Another said: "Harrison has gotten away with what he's done way too easily." A third posted: "Harrison's not sorry for sh*t." A fourth said: "Is anyone buying this with Harrison?" "Im glad no one clapped at Harrison's poor excuse of an apology." 5 5 5
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's Eric Tsang, Kenny Bee deny links with Malaysia's Namewee after group photo
Hong Kong actors Eric Tsang Chi-wai and Kenny Bee have distanced themselves from an outspoken Malaysian singer-songwriter after facing backlash for taking a photo with the rapper known for his critical stance on mainland Chinese authorities. Veteran actor and comedian Tsang, 72, apologised on Monday on Chinese social media platform Weibo, two days after Malaysian singer Wee Meng Chee, more popularly known as Namewee, posted his photo with the two Hong Kong celebrities. 'As a Chinese, I am always committed to upholding national dignity and patriotic sentiment,' his post read. 'The photo was simply a courteous interaction in a public setting. I was unaware of the individual's background or past actions. If I had known the situation beforehand, I would never have made any contact. 'This incident was purely an unintentional mistake and in no way represents my support or endorsement of that individual's views.' Tsang added that he felt remorseful about the public misunderstanding arising from the incident.
