20 Friday Lifestyle | MUSIC & MOVIES Friday, March 26, 2021 ‘Sesame Street’ introduces new muppets in videos on race

S children’s television show “Sesame hind the popular children’s program, said in Street” has released videos featuring a statement. In another video due out soon, Utwo new muppets to educate children muppets portraying characters of Hispanic about race. One of the videos, uploaded to origin will be confronted with “a racist inci- the show’s website Tuesday, features dent in a grocery store,” the statement African-American dad Elijah and his son added. “The work to dismantle racism begins Wes talking to Elmo about differences in by helping children understand what racism skin color due to melanin. They stress the im- is and how it hurts and impacts people,” said portance of not forgetting that despite dif- Kay Wilson Stallings, Sesame Workshop’s ferences in appearance we are all human. executive vice president of creation and pro- The approximately three-minute segment is duction. “Sesame Street,” launched in 1969 part of a new series of videos called the and present in more than 150 countries, is “ABCs of Racial Literacy.” the benchmark of educational programming. They aim to “provide families with the In June, the show partnered with CNN to tools they need to build racial literacy, to hold a town hall on racism following the have open conversations with young chil- death of George Floyd at the hands of Min- dren,” Sesame Workshop, the non-profit be- neapolis police. —AFP

Chrissy Teigen the level of gun violence in America. ‘Too many trolls’ Depp to hear if he can appeal Other notable users who have renounced per- quits Twitter, sonal use of Twitter include Grammy-winning singer Lizzo, who walked away saying the site UK ‘wife-beater’ ruling had “too many trolls”. Comedian Pete Davidson citing well-being quit all social media in 2018, after facing abuse ollywood superstar Johnny Depp was and insults related to his relationship with the set to find out if he can appeal against a merican model and cookbook author singer Ariana Grande. Before his digital depar- HBritish court ruling that upheld claims he Chrissy Teigen quit Twitter on Wednes- ture, he posted that the internet was “an evil beat his ex-wife Amber Heard. The 57-year- Aday, becoming the latest celebrity to ditch place and it doesn’t make me feel good.” old “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor brought a the platform after facing abuse. Like many tech In 2016, comedian and actor Leslie Jones left libel claim against The Sun tabloid for a 2018 behemoths, Twitter is under increasing scrutiny Twitter, citing “sickening” cyberbullies who were article that branded him a “wife-beater”. But a for facilitating torrents of invective against users, racially abusing her. judge ruled against him and he was ordered to commonly from anonymous accounts, in posts Jones, who is African American, had been in- pay the newspaper’s publishers News Group often carrying racist or misogynistic overtones. undated by disturbing tweets containing racial Newspapers (NGN) £628,000 ($873,000, Earlier this week, Teigen faced a backlash after slurs and insults about her appearance. Last 733,000 euros) in legal costs. announcing the launch of a line of plant-based The judge in the case initially blocked an im- cleaning products, in partnership with reality TV mediate appeal, saying he did not think it had a star Kris Jenner. “reasonable prospect of success” but allowed a This combination of file pictures shows US actress Some users accused her of “selling out” dur- direct application to the Court of Appeal. A Amber Heard and US actor Johnny Depp at the High ing a time of pandemic-induced economic anxi- hearing was held last week and a written ruling Court in London. — AFP ety, while others questioned her commitment to on whether to grant the application will be environmental protection, given her family’s reg- handed down at 1000 GMT. In the application, alleged instances of Depp abusing Heard. ular use of private jets. “It’s time for me to say Depp’s lawyers cast doubt on testimony given The judge dismissed Depp’s claim after goodbye,” she wrote in a tweet Wednesday, by his Amber Heard at the original libel trial. three weeks of revelations about the couple’s shortly before deactivating her account, which They argued in submissions she had given the stormy relationship, saying the article had been had more than 13 million followers. “This no whole of her divorce settlement to charity had proven to be “substantially true”. Depp longer serves me as positively as it serves me prejudiced the case against Depp, while only a brought the action because he said The Sun’s negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call fraction had been paid. But a lawyer for NGN allegations had done a “disservice” to the something.” “My desire to be liked and fear of dismissed the issue, saying Heard, 34, said she #MeToo movement it was trying to support, pissing people off has made me somebody you month Twitter said it would not end the practice had “donated the money, not that she had paid his lawyer David Sherborne said. The 16 days didn’t sign up for, and a different human than I of allowing anonymous accounts, after top soc- it” and that the two charities had understood the of proceedings in July, which both Depp and started out here as! Live well, tweeters.” cer clubs complained about abuse suffered by fee would be paid in installments. Depp himself Heard attended, exposed the couple’s troubled Her Instagram account, where he has more several of their star players. Arsenal players did not appear at the appeal application. and volatile relationship in excruciating detail. than 34 million followers, was still active. In recent Willian and Eddie Nketiah, Manchester United’s Depp faced days of cross-examination in years Teigen has built a reputation for a frank and Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial and Excruciating detail which the star admitted to only hazily remem- unfiltered online presence. In October she posted Chelsea’s Reece James are among those who The November ruling has already damaged bering some events because he was high on on Instagram an image of herself and her hus- have suffered racist slurs on social media. Depp’s career, with the actor saying after- drugs. But he vehemently rejected accusations band, the singer John Legend, grief-stricken in Defending its policy at the time, Twitter said: wards he was asked to step down from his role he hurt Heard while battling a drug addiction hospital after their son was stillborn. The post “At Twitter, we are guided by our values, and in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise based over a three-year span that ended with her was “liked” more than 11 million times and praised never more so than when it comes to fundamental on the book by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowl- 2016 decision to seek a restraining order and as helping to reduce the stigma around miscar- issues like identity. “We believe everyone has the ing. The case, which laid bare the actor’s battle file for divorce. He is also suing Heard in the riages during pregnancy, but was also criticized right to share their voice without requiring a gov- with drink and drugs, was dubbed “the biggest United States over a 2018 Washington Post ar- by some as overly shocking and intimate. Teigen ernment ID to do so.” The American company did English libel trial of the 21st century”. NGN re- ticle in which she claimed to be a victim of do- previously took a break from Twitter in 2014, promise to work alongside the British government lied on the defense of truth, arguing it had a mestic violence. — AFP after facing a torrent of vitriol-including from and football authorities to tackle the issue. —AFP valid basis for the 2018 story by detailing 14 users who wished her death-for a post decrying