Shepard Smith Reveals He's Gay

Hey, everyone.
You know that one person at Fox News that you actually like? Yeah, No, Maybe so...Why? Well, here's one that I like: Shepard Smith. He's funny, witty, sensible, smart, cool and a really good (if not very good) journalist. Oh yeah, and--as revealed yesterday, he's gay.
Smith revealed his coming out in an interview with The Huffington Post in response to years of allegations that he was really truly not straight (after all, he has been featured on the Power 50 list by Out Magazine at that time then) as well--in turn--as years of rumors that former CEO of Fox News Roger Ailes showed antipathy towards his sexuality and tried to keep him from opening the door the public to advance the network's front as an clean All-American news network.

The quote:
“No, never. He treated me with respect, just respect,” He said. “I wasn’t new in the business when I came here ― I’d been doing reporting for 12 years ― but I wasn’t old in it either, and he gave me every opportunity in the world and he never asked anything of me but that we get it right, try to get it right every day. It was a very warm and loving and comfortable place.”

To be honest, this was a shock to me. In the years I've watched Fox News (on-and-off of course) I've never noticed him as anything other than a broadcast journalist that was seemingly straight as an arrow, married to a woman with kids, loves the long hair and boobies. And I've never even heard of the rumors of him being gay until now. But then again, I also once thought that Superman was real, McDonald's was the best food ever and Batman & Robin was one of the most kickass movies ever. (Clearly, I'm not the best at seeing into things under a microscope.) But enough about last year...

This news came out like a true bombshell and I thought this was just clickbait the afternoon I read about it. And considering that Fox News Channel is extremely well-known for Christian-bred, All-American, clean-and-civil, no-new-religion-or-sexuality, "Will someone please think of the children" attitudes and values in its programming and reporting (you know, bullshit), you honestly can't blame me.
But since this is Shep Smith, one of the few Fox News personalities that many people besides it's demographic (decrepit white OAPs) truly like and respect, coming out (and still probably having a job there)--especially at a time when the most crazy, out-of-left-field mind-fuck of an election season is still ongoing (as of posting this), this was super big to everyone. But...I don't mind it at all. For him to make such a huge bold leap to come out (especially on FUCKING FOX NEWS in 2016) doesn't make a big deal me concurrently. Sure it feels like all this makes him like a WWE face: awesome, entertaining, kickass, badass and with adoring fans watching every week. (Hell, even before this, he's just like that.) but, I didn't feel shocked for hours on end. I just read an article (at HollywoodLife of all places!), reacted a bit to it and moved on with my day. Other things were on my mind. So I applaud him for coming out.

As for the part about Alies treating Shep with respect as a journalist, I respect him for it. I still hate his guts after his sexual harassment scandal, but treating him as a person (let alone a journalist) instead of someone who he and most definitely the viewers as something he truly shouldn't be really gives him an ounce of respect from me. An OUNCE... That fucker is still scumbag for that scandal.

Even if he looks more hetero than Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, Bill Hemmer or that fucking annoying and asine blowhard Sean Hannity, it's still something that no one seen coming (like a true promo made to turn that face into a heel) and will change a lot at Fox forever. And speaking of heel, I have a big feeling that a lot of Faux Noise's audiencd will see the newly-homosexual Shepard "Pie" Smith, and think of him as a heel they never dreamed of: evil, cunning, manipulative, bad at jokes and wearing a lot of leather...and ruining the news of Trump whining about the Presidential race being against him and what Obama is up to under taxpayers' money with his "f@#&¤+" face. Oh, Fox News audience...you people make me sick.

Maybe he might get demoted or outright fired sometime later in the future or the execs will support him in PR mode and THEN demote him or or outright fire him quietly sometime later in the future. There are new execs there and changes are probable so Who knows? Until then, congrats to Shep for coming out. I'm not as celebratory as a lot of people are now, but this is worth clapping into thin air for.
And Shep, keep up the good work. And I mean real good work from that goofy SS Enterprise ripoff set called the Fox News Deck, not the crap almost all the other ones are doing.

(Alright, just because he's gay doesn't mean I like him. I've liked him a lot way before then.)

Bye Bye Bushy: Billy Bush Suspended from "Today" INDEFINITELY after Trump's "Grab Em by the Pμ$$y" debacle

Lemme tell you something. Back when this guy was a co-host on Access Hollywood, I kinda liked him. He was talented, likable, smooth and knew how to report the entertainment news stories (no matter how stupid) in his own way. Hell, I'll even admit, I never knew he was a member of the almighty stupid Bush family. But ever since (or maybe even before) Billy Bush made the move to New York and began working at Today,  I've liked him a lot less.

When he fell for the bullshit lie told by national idiot of the moment Ryan Lochte after Lochte's drunken vandalism at a local gas station during the Rio Summer Olympics--and tried to pass it off as an "embellishment", my likeness towards Bush plunged to outright dislike. And his argument with co-host Al Roker after the fact (especially after telling Al to calm down) dropped a bit more to contempt. It's since then that I wished he'd be fired or at least suspended for not dishing out the verbal ass-whupping Lochte deserved and standing by his fib that threw the Today show (and NBC by extension) into embarrassment and dislike (and just of the many in recent years).

And it seemed like it all would blow away for Bush so he can go back to what he loves to do (or got paid a boat-load of money to do)...
That is until last Friday when a video was leaked showing Bush and (surprise surprise) Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump caught on hot mic (a term for "mics left on") spouting crude remarks about women; this video took place in 2005 when Bush was co-host of Access Hollywood and Trump was host of then-NBC-hit The Apprentice.

Here is the video, as released by The Washington Post, in all it's gross-y glory:

Okay...
Here's the most notable of Trump's words:
"I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful ... I just start kissing them," he told Bush. "It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p---y."

The remarks from both "men" were just trash from start to finish.
I'll get to Bush in a moment.

When I thought Trump said everything during his campaign run that'll make eveyone blush, angry and vomit, I was wrong. Funnily enough, these words here way before even his first Presidential campaign attempt. But all the same, it's still disgusting. The "Nancy" comments (of course referring to Bush's former co-host Nancy O'Dell; she left AH in 2009 to host Entertainment Tonight) were just sickening, not only because O'Dell was married (as well as Trump himself, as he married current wife Melania months earlier) but also because of the "grab 'en by the pμ$$y" line, which until now was a line I never thought I would hear out of someone's mouth (even after the start of being less prudish in my life). (Hell, not even an HBO show could have had this line written before). And the line about chomping down Tic-Tacs before trying to kiss her was just gross (no wonder they immediately denounced the controversy). No wonder he failed; he has no regard for personal space, tactfulness (apologies is that's not a word), women who are married to other men, women in general or respect towards anyone under the social and economical ladders. And his apology has no weight, honesty, legitimacy or substance. No one can accept that.

Honestly, though, all of this doesn't totally surprise me. Everything at this point of his campaign has killed my attempts at shock bit by bit. But what surprised me was that the people who supported him up to this point have finally dropped or rescinded their support. YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THROUGH THE TIMES HE:
-PLANNED TO BUILD THAT WALL;
-BADMOUTHED A MUSLIM GOLD STAR FAMILY;
-CONTINUING HIS STUPIDLY SHIT-TALKING ROSIE O'DONNELL;
-BADMOUTHING FEMALE TV PERSONALITIES LIKE MEGYN KELLY (You remember "Blood coming out of her wherever");
-MOCK ANYONE (INCLUDING TED CRUZ'S FAMILY);
-EVERYTHING ABOUT NUCLEAR BOMBS AND WARS;
-TWEETED CORNY-ASS SMARTASS REMARKS LIKE AN 80S MIDDLE SCHOOL BULLY TO ANYONE HE CROSSES PATHS WITH ON TWITTER;
-AND MOST ESPECIALLY TO OPEN HIS MOUTH TO SPEW SEXIST, RACIST, HOMOPHOBIC, XENOPHOBIC AND ISLAMAPHOBIC STATEMENTS IN THE WORST WAYS POSSIBLE ON TV,
YOU STILL STOOD BY HIM THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN?!?! UNTIL AFTER THE 147TH TIME HE SAID DEPLORABLE REMARKS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT TOWARD WOMEN (THIS ONE ABOUT A FORGOTTEN SOAP OPERA STAR AND A POPULAR HOST OF AN ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM MOST PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT), YOU NOW DECIDE TO AT LEAST CUT DOWN YOUR SUPPORT OF HIM?!?! Just fuck off. You fucking people just disgust me.
But Trump's words still leave with a barrage of nothing, as his campaign continues to self-destruct even a several weeks before the General Election. So this is just Spring Cleaning for Hitler (or some shit) to me at this point.

As for Bush, being Trump's "wingman" throughout this ordeal was just pathetic. I don't care if he was a millionaire who would destroy him in some way later on, letting Trump get away with all that was not a good idea. And agreeing with it and adding his own words (like "Trump scored" after saying he'd take a run at "the girl in purple") was just distasteful. His line about getting Zucker to hug Trump was sad, but the line "How about a little hug for the Bushy?" was admittedly laughable.

Plus the fact that the girl in purple, soap opera star Arianne Zucker, was also married and in the same space as the two, who has now unfortunately also heard about this controversy. As well as O'Dell who now has to deal with a hot-mic video about being sexually harassed by her co-host and a creepy old lurch behind her back for the rest of her life.

And then there's people defending the two frat boys and their words by calling it "common locker-room talk". I may have been a kid back when I last went into a school locker room, but if you're openly willing to defend a man who said all he said ike the creepo pushing 60 that he is saying things like "run to her like a bitch", and "grab her by the pμ$$y", and another man for encouraging and agreeing to those words, fuck off. You're a fucking jackass who apparently accepts verbal mincemeat about sexual assault. I don't care if men have said things like this in locker rooms before! Saying sexually deplorable things about women is just plain bad (the same thing goes to women talking bad about men too). And forget free speech; free speech shouldn't excuse shit like this. Feee speech shouldn't be the response for "grab em by the pμ$$y" and things like that.

And don't even start about Bill Clinton. If/when evidence is released about him sexually aasaulting or downright raping women, I'll join the bandwagon and verbally shit on him. But until then, shut the fuck up about that.

It's good to see both women taking the high road by responding to the controversy with class and grace.
O'Dell said in a statement via ET's website:
"Politics aside, I’m saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all. When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women. The conversation needs to change because no female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments, whether or not cameras are rolling. Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender. As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom, I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society we will always strive to be better."
Wonderfully well-said.

Zucker also responded with this equally wonderful statement:
"I am a strong, independent, hard working mother, business woman and partner to a great man,” she wrote. “I have grown to learn that the words of others cannot effect the value of my self worth or define the content of my character. How we treat one another, whether behind closed doors, locker rooms or face to face, should be done with kindness, dignity and respect. Unfortunately, there are too many people in power who abuse their position and disregard these simple principles and are rewarded for it. In understanding the magnitude of this situation, I choose to stand tall with self respect and use my voice to enrich, inspire and elevate the best of who we are as people.”

And so, I'm happy Bush is suspended, because any company who employs him should not be acceptable towards language like this. It hurts their ethics and is not a good look for them. Some people have said that's stupid (paraphrasing), but that's how business (especially regarding on-camera television) and NBC and Today cannot deal with any more drama this year alone.

As for Trump? He will not be president. He can fuck off. Old ass creep...

Star vs. The Forces of Evil Review 2: "My New Wand / Ludo in the Wild" (SEASON 2 PREMIERE)

Star vs. The Forces of Evil is back!!
Our favorite Fish out of Water and her long-suffering, but-always-by-her-side Guide-- have retuned for more adventures, misadventures, laughs, loves and whatever else.

So, here's where we left off last season (it seems like I need the catch-up more since I'm so late with these reviews);

Star Butterfly is of royalty; she is princess of the the kingdom in the faraway land of Mewni. On her 14th birthday, she is given a powerful royal wand by her parents, King and Queen Butterfly. But because of her behavior (as shown earlier, she's hyper, rambunctious and headstrong. Plus she fights monsters...which as it stands now, is a horrible, disgusting custom to all Mewnians), mom and dad send her to Earth as a training ground to control her powers and aditude before retuning home. After enrolling at Echo Creek Academy, she meets Marco Diaz, who (by the school's Principal Skeeves) is giving the task of watching over Star and helping her learn Earth customs. But in their wake are a sinister ... and his group of minions ready to fight for her Wand and take over the kingdom, Mewni itself and possibly the entire dimension. But, as all of Season 1 proved, Star had a lot learn about Earth and everything about it, and -with Marco by her side- she took up to the challenge and largely succeded--a new family, new friends, a love interest, prom night with the ex, lotsa new memories and a newfound life away from home. But with two evil forces in the wings to take over her wand and power, it was a tense battle for power that lead up to the final episodes and the finale, where Toffee took Ludo's empire, throwing him and Buff Frog out of his Castle and taking his henchmen with him. And his diabolical plan to take her wand ended in a shocking twist: Toffee didn't want the wand, but wanted Star to destroy it. But that lead to an explosive end (to Toffee and the henchnen), a bittersweet Starco reunion and a much sweeter payoff in respect from King and Queen Butterfly. But another shocker came at the very end when the Wand is cleaved in half. Leaving Star with half her power...and someone else in Mewni with the other half.

Now that  Season 1 is done, let's start Season 2! And let's get the Review started with Episode 1!!

Let's re-kick it off with...

"My New Wand!"

In it:
"Star must learn how to free Marco from a magically locked closet without using her new wand"

This episode was a really good start to the season with Starco becoming more and more closer through discovery, slight betrayal and new acceptance.

Star's Wand is pretty new, while worse for wear, and everything in Echo Creek is back in normalsville. That is until the Wand starts acting strange (reasonable side effect of it losing half its power).

Seeing conflict between Star and Marco felt real and kinda heartbreaking. Especially when Marc tried to learn Star. If anyone read my diary and leaened of my secret personal thoughts, I'd be close to killing them...

Random Thoughts:
-While we don't know and won't know Star's secret, you have to admit for a moment it was juicy to think about.
-It's great to see StarFan13 again! Her appearance makes me smile because of hoe chummy the two have become, despite that back in late late season 1, she was stalking her. Which "she" stalking "her"? Both.

-Glossaryk is back too! Back when he first appeared, I immediately fell in love with him. Now, my lovr has blossomed. He's still hilarious, still entertaining and still worth watching in each episode he appears in. Also he got a new place to sleep in a new tower in Star's Expansion Pack Bedroom. A nice-as-Heck upgrade from the Spellbook.

Fave Lines:
"...I almost died." -Star
(I know, it's kinda dark. But the way she says that makes me chuckle every time. Like when I rewind and it comes up again, chuckley chuckle!)
""
"Stop eating my flesh!" -Marco
(See note under first quote)

Again, great start to the season, great conflict, great resolution and great expansion to the Expansion.

---

You know? We haven't seen Ludo since his home was destroyed, his henchmen gone, his second-in-command become a stay-at-home dad and his eternal replacement disintegrated. What's he been up to. We're gonna find out in...

"Ludo in the Wild"


To be honest, I've missed Ludo. It's truly entertaining to see him and his minions try to steal Star's wand...and fail every time. Lots of things about him are memorable to me--his evil-ish plans, his obsession with Star and her wand, his gruff old gravely voice, his attire, his ugly bird face, his Dark and Dreary Castle and his

So fortunately, this episode wastes no time catching us up on what he's been up to lately. And it was HI-larious!

Trapped in a void in time and space for a seemingly infinite amount of time, Ludo prepares for eternal damnation via the void (and an easy free look at the stars; maybe he might take a look at the stars! Maybe he might glace the Big Dipper!)

A reach for a bag of chips and a striking meteor lead Ludo into a large wooded area, where he is put into an unknown and compromising situation that he cannot fix without magic.

For those three months, Ludo fought hard to survive in the wilderness: and as you watch his progress, he becomes a different being. During that time (despite being the villain and wanting to root against him), you feel sorry for him and start to root for him to fight the elements and creatures to come out on top! (or at least less scathed and scared). And when he does, and cheer him on, wide-eyed and grinning ear-to-ear. Seeing him fight with his mind and his hands to redemption felt amazing, palpable and fulfilling. And again, this is the villain.

And speaking of Fight, Ludo's match with the spider was fucking awesome! The fight itself (which was for the bag of chips), the tense twists and turns were heavy and the result--with Ludo winning and turning thr spider from his adversary to his pet was satisfyingly great.

In those 3+ months for him (or 11 minutes for us), Ludo went from a crazed, ditsy diminutive villain wannabe with an obsession with a royal teenager's powerful instrument--to a brilliant, fearless, powerful diminutive warrior who conquered the elements and made the creatures his royal subjects.

At this point on, Ludo is now the king of his own kingdom...thst is until he sees Star, and almost all of this is undone. That is...until he finds...the missing half of the power of the Magic Wand.
HOLY SHIT.
And...he was, this whole time...in Mewni.
HOLY. SHIT.

This episode...was spectacular.

The animation (even in it's soft, smooth, candy-coated state) was darkly riveting, the voice acting (mostly, but especially from Ludo's actor Alan Tudyk) was top-notch, the execution was perfect, the use of transitional cards was genius (as you see the number of days pass, it feels like you're suffering with Ludo during his rise to the bottom), and right there as he slides his way back to the top as cock of the walk. All of this made for an entertaining 11 minutes.

The use of minimal music in this (and I'm talking original music; the use of "Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2" by Frédéric Chopin doesn't count; although it's in) was fantastic! The two songs fit the scenes perfectly and added tension, suspense, action and gravitas to  the scenes and episode itself. Shout-out to composer Brad Brees for the amazing music in the ep (along with the compositions in previous episodes). Such exceptional talent.

Fave Moments:
-Ludo's internal monologue
-Ludo's reaching for the chips
-Ludo's entrance into the Wild Dimension
-LUDO'S BIG FIGHT TO THE DEATH WITH THE SPIDER
-Ludo's progression from Wimp to Warrior
-Ludo finding the cleaved Wand half

I cannot wait until the next episode to see where this goes from here. I'm biting my lips in anticipation!

Random Thoughts:
-After Eagle Drop #3, when Ludo's egg shell shorts breaks, I thought for a second that he'd end up naked.

The revelation that he was wearing a diaper this whole time was hilarious.
-During the Day 37 scene, when Ludo got under the spider, I thought for a second that it'll turn into a kid-friendly version of THAT scene from The Revenent. You KNOW THAT scene.
-Honestly this episode was like, a kid-friendly version of Naked and Afraid. Except he's wearing a diaper, sooo...
-When the transitional cue cards came on, I just think of the iconic soundbyte from Law & Order or the beeping byte from 24. Makes them more exciting, don't you think?
-you know what? Maybe Dating Naked, because the spider... Or, All in the Family. And Ludo is...Archie.
-if put in Ludo's situation, I'd rather just let the spider just eat me, as I have nothing else to live for... (well, except... :) this blog, of course! Heh-heh...hehhh)

So Ludo has a long way before he gets his vengeance on Starco for...changing his life for the better...? Ehh, who knows.

Oh yeah, THIS EPISODE WAS BALLS-OUT AMAZING!! We got to see our three favorite characters start up again with new adventures but with the same attitudes and behaviors (with changes more or less).

Both were a great watch, but my favorite has to be "Ludo in the Wild". Everything about it was just stupendous.

-The episodes are written and directed fantastically by co-writers, co-directors and co-storyboard artists Dominic Bisignano and Aaron Hammersley (along with creator Daron Nefcy [story creator] and Evon Freeman [storyboard artist]). Shout-out to everyone for putting together such a fantastic (and fantastical) episode.

Also, Shout-out to the new animation companies taking over production this season: SUGARCUBE Animation and Rough Draft Korea. The animation I've seen in episodes so far look great. They're much smoother, more fluid, more easy on the eyes and sugary and peppery as the show itself. Also, the latter studio worked on Gravity Falls, so automatically that's a plus (another plus, look at for subtle nods toward GF later on in this season. They're good fun).

What's your thoughts on the episode and what's to come in this season from here on out? Lemme know in the comments section below.

And also good fun is this season so far. I can't wait to share my excitement with you guys, as much as you guys can't wait for me to actually post. AND, to be serious for a minute, I've said "I'm sorry" to you more times than Justin Bieber hasn't, but I really mean "I'm sorry" for not posting these reviews earlier. I hope to do all I can to make it up to you next month. So more reviews a week throughout October--Maybe three to four. Hope you'll enjoy them.

See you then. For now, I'm Andrew saying "Reach for the Star, and Keep Looking Up!...at your TV screen."