Photography via KIM KULISH/AFP/Getty Images

Everything That Upset the Internet This Week

Date May 27, 2018

As always, people spent a lot of time tweeting in anger this week. That are they so upset about? Here are just a few of the things.

Brad Pitt once threatened Harvey Weinstein

THE STORY: During an interview with Howard Stern, Gwyneth Paltrow said Brad Pitt confronted the movie mogul after he “made a pass” at Paltrow during a 1995 hotel encounter. “He leveraged his fame and power to protect me at a time when I didn’t have fame or power yet,” she said of her former boyfriend’s actions.

THE REACTION:

While it was gallant of Brad Pitt to confront Harvey Weinstein after he harrassed Gwyneth Paltrow in 1995, is it ungallant of me to point out that by keeping this a secret Brad left Harvey to keep on harassing and molesting women for another 22 years?

— Mitch Benn (@MitchBenn) May 24, 2018

…and then he worked with him on 'Inglourious Basterds' and 'Killing Them Softly.' The former film essentially saved Weinstein Co. from bankruptcy. https://t.co/navUJUtTDf

— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) May 23, 2018

Sure. He protected only his own girlfriend and he and Gwyneth continued working in the industry for decades without protecting anyone else? https://t.co/3S9mL3zPFB

— Ahab (@ahab99) May 23, 2018

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE RAGE: Meh, this isn’t really a productive criticism. How many men in Hollywood were so incredibly terrified of Weinstein’s power they refused to say anything at all? Maybe if Pitt would have done more there would be fewer Weinstein victims—but it would have been Paltrow’s decision to take the harassment public, not her boyfriend’s. I really don’t think it’s fair to call Brad Pitt cowardly or complicit—though many men were in this case. We all have 20/20 vision in hindsight.

Kanye West paid $85k to use Whitney Houston’s bathroom photo for Pusha T’s album

THE STORY: The image—which was allegedly taken by a family member in 2006 and was published by the National Enquirer in 2012—shows the late Whitney Houston’s bathroom while she was in the throes of her drug addiction. Kanye West paid $85,000 for the rights to use the photo as the cover art for Pusha T’s new album, DAYTONA.

THE REACTION:

To disrespect a titan like Whitney Houston, to reduce her legacy to a single image of a place and time in her life, is EXACTLY what Kanye seems to complain that the media does to him all the time. Indeed, the irony.

— Toyin Ojih Odutola (@obia_thethird) May 24, 2018

This is awful. A photo of Whitney Houston's bathroom as your album cover?? What the actual fuck is wrong with Kanye? https://t.co/ncZz1EvWdu

— Awesomely Luvvie (@Luvvie) May 24, 2018

Instead, Kanye West, who produced the album, wanted to use a photo that cost $85,000 to license, which he himself offered to pay. “This is what people need to see to go along with this music,” Kanye told Pusha. <- OF COURSE THIS WAS KANYE’S IDEA. Garbage.

— Tiara (@BrooklynYel) May 24, 2018

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE RAGE: Kanye West has been crossing all kinds of lines as of late. The question here: is this a grotesque publicity stunt that abuses someone’s pain and addiction to sell records? Or, is it art? (Just as a reminder, Pusha T pretty much exclusively raps about his drug dealing past. This was not a randomly selected image.)

Houston’s Grammy Award-winning producer cousin, Damon Elliott, expressed his disgust with Kanye and Pusha T’s decision: “I’ve watched the train wreck happening, but I didn’t think he’d go this far in invading someone’s family privacy,” said Elliott to People, confirming Kanye, who produced the album, didn’t reach out the family estate for consent.

Another relative of Houston’s had a different—and in my opinion, more reasonable—reaction: “’Ye nor Push are the reasons this is a topic,” Whitney Houston’s nephew Gary Michael Houston told Good Morning America. “The conniving people who leaked it are. Anyone speaking out about this is a ‘dollar late and a day short.’ The photo is public, it already happened…nobody came to her defense when she was alive and when it came out initially, so why champion the cause now?”

8 women accuse Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment

THE STORY: In an investigative report from CNN, eight women have accused the 80-year-old Shawshank Redemption star of touching and leering at them on set. Eight others corroborated the story, speaking to how the star acted inappropriately with female staff at his Revelations Entertainment production company.

THE REACTION:

Don’t nobody believe that Morgan Freeman claim ??‍♂️ I saw one of the videos in question & ya’ll are forsure REACHING

— Khalil Underwood (@RealKhalilU) May 25, 2018

Don’t care what you say Morgan freeman innocent

— Jvm-San (@JamOrDie) May 25, 2018

If the accusers never told Morgan Freeman to “stop” or tell him they felt “uncomfortable”… how did he know he was “in the wrong?”

There are girls out there who like compliments and indirect flirting & play hard to get.

It’s 2018 for fucks sake.

— тнαт ѕσ¢¢єя мσм ⚽️ ❤️ (@chivelicious) May 25, 2018

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE RAGE: Sure, creepy isn’t a crime. And, as Freeman pointed out in his apology, perhaps he didn’t “intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy.” But let this be a lesson to all men: the feeling of being harassed or made uncomfortable is entirely subjective, and these women have every right to speak out about their experiences. The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements aren’t just about physical assault, they’re about gendered power dynamics—particularly in places of work. And while the alleged inappropriate actions of Freeman can’t compare to the illegal behaviour of someone like Weinstein, this “I was just flirting” attitude from men just won’t cut it going forward.