Grammys 2018: Ed Sheeran’s Win Over Lady Gaga And Kesha Wasn’t Well-Received By Everyone
Ed Sheeran’s victory at this year’s Grammys has not gone down well on social media, after ‘Shape Of You’ triumphed in the Best Pop Solo Performance category over Kesha and Lady Gaga.

When this year’s Grammys nominations were first announced last year, many noticed that Ed had been snubbed in many categories, receiving nods in just two categories.

During Sunday night’s (28 January) ceremony, he won both of the awards he was up for, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Shape Of You’.

However, the fact that ‘Shape Of You’ bagged the award over Kesha and Lady Gaga’s emotional ballads ‘Praying’ and ‘Million Reasons’, was not well received on Twitter, particularly as he was the only male artist nominated in the category, and the man himself didn’t actually show up to the ceremony.

Twitter users were quick to vent their annoyance, with many suggesting that either Kesha or Gaga – both of whom were in attendance and performed on the night – would have been more deserving winners.

wait I’m supposed to just keep watching the #Grammys after Kesha didn’t win best pop song?? where’s the outrage
I can’t believe they really gave Ed Sheeran the Pop Vocalist award over Kesha. Over Gaga. He didn’t even bother to show.
Naturally, Ed Sheeran wins with a Sia/TLC rip-off over four deserving women who all sang their faces off. #Grammys
That trophy was @KeshaRose’s for so many reasons — it’s a vocal performance award and she sang her damn heart out and dog whistled for the Gods and you give it to that LOW-KEY ELEVATOR MUSIC NONSENSE?!

January 29, 2018
The white guy wins in a category of strong ass women and HE’S NOT EVEN THERE. #Grammys
cool cool glad the one white guy who isn’t even there won!!! #GRAMMYs#TimesUp
Ed Sheeran (a no show) triumphs over all the women nominated in his category. This feels… wrong. #GRAMMYs
As if Ed Sheeran winning over Kesha or Gaga wasn’t bad enough, he couldn’t even show up to take it? pic.twitter.com/gFBL6eo9SN
Ed Sheeran sings a song about getting a woman drunk and taking her home for sex and wins a #grammy for it. Kesha writes/sings a song as a direct response to the sexual abuse she endured and gets….??? Like you must be kidding?? #GRAMMYs

January 29, 2018
tfw u accept kesha’s grammy on ed sheeran’s behalf pic.twitter.com/THEkIVtxlj
Lady Gaga wrote Million Reasons in a healing process to recover from a severe heartbreak. Kesha wrote Praying after being through her literal worst nightmare. Ed Sheeran wrote Shape Of You about a club girl he was horny for. Congratulations Recording Academy. Thank you for this.

January 29, 2018
Despite winding up bagging the two awards he was up for on the night, Ed’s friend Sir Elton John claimed over the weekend that the ‘Perfect’ singer was “extremely upset” that he was snubbed in the three biggest categories of the night.

Sir Elton fumed: “[Shape Of You not being nominated for Song Of The Year] is, to me, a travesty.

“But it’s all about politics. I don’t understand it. I never have understood awards shows.”

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/grammys-2018-ed-sheeran-kesha-lady-gaga_uk_5a6e7dbde4b06e253268b7c6

Benj Pasek, LCD Soundsystem, among early LGBTQ-inclusive Grammy winners

www.glaad.org/blog/benj-pasek-lcd-soundsystem-among-early-lgbtq-inclusive-grammy-winners

Terror Victims Launch New Group To Fight Extremism
Survivors and family members of those killed in terror attacks have joined forces to form a new anti-terrorism campaign group in the hope

The Survivors Against Terror group – which is being founded by survivors and bereaved relatives of victims of Islamist bombings, IRA attacks and far-right extremist murders – will lobby the Government on counter-terror policies and improved support for victims.

Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, and Dan Hett, who lost his 22-year-old brother Martyn in the Manchester Arena attack, are among the founders.

Mike Haines, whose brother David was beheaded on camera after being held captive by Islamic State in Syria,  Paralympian and 7/7 survivor Martine Wiltshire and Tunisia resort shooting victim Gina Van Dort are also involved.

The group officially launches on Monday, and it is urging other survivors to join

Hett, who began campaigning against online hate speech soon after his brother’s death, told HuffPost UK he hoped the “power as a group” would help to get their message across.

“As a group, we are very varied,” he said. “Ethnically, ideologically, religiously.

“However, we are united by the fact we have either directly or indirectly been affected by these incidents. I think that gives us a voice, above and beyond a typical campaign group. And it’s that kind of voice that sets us apart.”

More details can be found at www.survivorsagainstterror.org
He continued central to their focus would be the “hatred and division that is giving rise to extremism”.

“Jo Cox was murdered by a right-wing neo-Nazi extremist; my brother was murdered by an Islamic fundamentalist extremist,” he said. “They are world’s apart on the spectrum – but in terms of the rhetoric that has given rise to these things, it feels like a single problem.”

Hett, a software engineer, explains he spoke out against the “instantaneous painting of all Muslims based on the actions of one extremist” after his brother was killed, and received “aggressive threats”.

“The internet became a horrible place for me,” he said. “I was almost unable to function on things like Twitter. There was unrelenting abuse. Brendan, in particular, has been subject to the most shocking abuse.”

He has already adopted a grassroots campaigning in an attempt to counter the hate being fanned online by the likes of Katie Hopkins.

After it was announced Hopkins planned to talk at a series of schools, Hett offered to speak wherever they said ‘no’.

He said: “I think I’ve had 80-odd schools. It has been absolutely over-whelming. That was just myself – now we are a group, that engagement is at the core of what we will do.”

Survivors Against Terror is a network of family members who have lost a loved one to terror and survivors of terror attacks. Our mission is to help our country tackle terrorism and ensure victims and their families get the support they deserve #survivorsagainstterror

January 28, 2018
The group said: “Our collective view is that terrorism can be defeated – but only if we pull together as a country to fight it more effectively.

“We will work to build a voice for survivors.”

The group aims to campaign for more effective policies to combat terror and identify gaps in support for victims and the bereaved, as well as help the public tackle hate speech and the terror threat.

The founders said: “As a group of survivors and family members we have had mixed experiences of support from the government and other service providers.

“In some cases this has been exemplary, in other cases families and survivors have been left with no support at all.

“We will be reaching out to other survivors and bereaved families to build a better picture of what is and isn’t working and will be talking to the government and other service providers about the gaps we identify.”

The new group also called on social media companies to take stronger action and urged traditional media to treat survivors more respectfully.

Survivors Against Terror plans to survey a wide group of victims and go into schools to talk about the impact of hatred.

They added: “Terrorism is not a new phenomenon but it continues to cause huge pain and anguish.

“Our country has taken on and defeated bigger threats in the past, and we believe if we work together as a country and look after those bereaved or injured, we can and will defeat this as well.”

Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, welcomed the creation of the new group.

She said: “I have incredible admiration for the courage and dedication of everyone involved. Their ambition to bring positive change as a response to their horrific experiences is truly inspiring.

“We are committed to providing the best support for victims of terrorism, and that is why last year we set up the Victims of Terrorism Unit which will make sure that support, both in the UK and overseas, is comprehensive and made swiftly available to those who need it.

Last year was one of the worst for terrorism in the UK. Attacks at Westminster Bridge, Manchester Arena, London Bridge and a mosque in Finsbury Park in London killed 36 people.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/survivors-against-terror-launch_uk_5a6e2ee9e4b0ddb658c76bd2

Carrie Fisher Wins First Grammy Award Posthumously For ‘The Princess Diarist’

It’s been more than a year since the entertainment world lost Carrie Fisher, but she’s clearly far from being forgotten, even bagging her first ever Grammy Award on Sunday night (28 January).

Although best known for her acting, particularly in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise and more recently for various TV roles, Carrie was also an established writer, both as a memoirist and the author of fiction.

At this year’s ceremony, Carrie bagged her first Grammy Award posthumously, in the category of Best Spoken Word Album.

she’d had an affair with her ‘Star Wars’ co-star Harrison Ford while making the films.

James Corden was once again the presenter at this year’s Grammy Awards, which were held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/carrie-fisher-princess-diarist-grammy-award_uk_5a6e5214e4b06e253268983e

Gus Kenworthy Agrees That Mike Pence Has No Business Leading the Olympic Delegation

Gay skier Gus Kenworthy agrees with out U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon that homophobic Vice President Mike Pence shouldn’t be leading the Olympic delegation to PyeongChang for the Winter Games next month.

Said Kenworthy to USA Today: “I actually found out about it from Adam Rippon’s quote about it. I feel the same way as him. I think it’s not the person I would have expected, and I think it sends mixed messages because this is the first time we’re seeing out U.S. Olympic athletes competing in the Winter Olympics, and then we have someone leading the delegation that doesn’t support that, and doesn’t support the LGBT community, and has spoken against it. I think it doesn’t send the right message. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”

Read his full interview here.

Rippon spoke earlier this month with USA Today about the choice: “You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy? I’m not buying it.”

Rippon said he’d avoid a meet-and-greet with Pence because of his views: “If it were before my event, I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren’t a friend of a gay person but that they think that they’re sick.”

Rippon also said that Pence does not have a “real concept of reality” if he declares himself to be a “devout Christian” and stands by Donald Trump’s policies: “If he’s okay with what’s being said about people and Americans and foreigners and about different countries that are being called ‘s—holes,’ I think he should really go to church.”

Rippon said he might speak to Pence if he felt there was a way to have “an open conversation.”

“The vice president is proud to lead the U.S. delegation to the Olympics and support America’s incredible athletes. This accusation is totally false and has no basis in fact. Despite these misinformed claims, the vice president will be enthusiastically supporting all the U.S. athletes competing next month in Pyeongchang.”

That, unfortunately, is not true.

Pence, as his record shows, is no friend to the LGBTQ community.

In 2000 during his first successful run for Congress, Pence said that he was in favor of sending money allocated to care for people with HIV/AIDS to organizations that provide conversion therapy.

From running a think-tank that published virulently anti-gay articles, to attempting to divert HIV/AIDS money to fund conversion therapy, to refusing to protect LGBT Hoosiers from discrimination, to legalizing anti-LGBT discrimination in Indiana, to cozying up to notorious homophobes, to supporting a ban on gay marriage, and decrying the ‘mainstreaming of homosexuality in the military’ after DADT was repealed, Pence’s record is among the worst records on LGBTQ issues of anyone who has ever occupied the office of the Vice President.

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Gus Kenworthy Agrees That Mike Pence Has No Business Leading the Olympic Delegation