Last month, actor and comedian Aziz Ansari became the subject of public debate after it emerged that he had been sexually inappropriate with a 22-year-old woman. "Grace", a photographer, came forward with her story after seeing Ansari display his support for the Time's Up campaign at the Golden Globes. “It was actually painful to watch him win and accept an award,” she said. “And absolutely cringeworthy that he was wearing the Time’s Up pin." Ansari then denied any sexual misconduct, saying, "We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual." However, the issue isn't as cut-and-dry as "assault" or "not assault", and has consequentially opened up a discussion about how we understand consent. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd6J53Vntmd]] Now, in a podcast interview with Katie Couric, Amy Schumer - who considers herself to be a good friend of Ansari's - has given her opinion on the situation. "If you have a doctor that makes you uncomfortable, or you get a massage, or you have a date with someone and they coerce you in a situation like the Aziz one, I don’t think there’s any sort of criminal charge, but I think that it’s good for everybody to learn that that behaviour’s not acceptable," the 34-year-old actress said. "It’s not a crime, but it’s not cool. And it can still really mess with a woman." She then went on to say that she doesn't think the allegations have "ruined" Ansari's career - but she doesn't think it should, either. "[People ask] 'Does he deserve this?' And it’s really not about that. I think it’s about expressing and showing women that that behavior is not okay and not only can you leave, but you need to leave. Because then the women who come after you, you’re leaving a mark for them too.’" [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BSvHdhCB3x4/]] Schumer also insisted that her closeness to Ansari had no influence on how she judged the situation. "He’s been my friend and I really feel for the woman," she said. "I identify with all the women in these situations. Even if it’s my friend, I don’t go, 'Oh, but he’s a good guy.' I think, 'What would it feel like to have been her?'" She also discussed sexual assault in general, and made it clear that, in the wake of so much discussion on the importance of consent, there really is no reason why someone should think it is okay to pressure or coerce another person into going along with something purely for their own gratification. “If you don’t really lay your boundaries out, then you’re leaving it open for the women who come after you," Schumer said. "So I think a lot of women feel really bad that they’ve been complicit with things, but we didn’t know not to be. And I think now there’s kind of no excuse." Ansari hasn't had any criminal charges leveled against him for his actions, and Grace has no intention of filing any, either. While it's been pretty much established by now that this is not a case of criminal assault, it is important that we talk about these issues. Sure, Ansari's name has been dragged through the mud somewhat, and he's had to deal with the shame of being branded as someone who just isn't good in the bedroom - but if this is what had to happen in order to get people to realize that consent is a more complex issue than we previously thought, then so be it.

Katie Couric has announced that she has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Sharing the devastating news with her Instagram followers, the 65-year-old former anchor of NBC's Today show revealed on Wednesday (September 28) that she is battling the disease, as a means of raising awareness for the approaching Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Writing to her 1.5 million followers, Couric said: "Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. On June 21st, I became one of them.

"As we approach #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth, I wanted to share my personal story with you all and encourage you to get screened and understand that you may fall into a category of women who needs more than a mammogram."

Writing in an essay for her website, Couris revealed that she was alerted by her gynecologist that she was due for a mammogram. Despite thinking that she "just got one", she later learned that she hadn't had a mammogram since December 2020.

"I'm normally vigilant," she writes, describing herself as "bordering on neurotic about taking care of my health" -even moreso since losing her husband, Jay, to colon cancer back in 1998.

On June 20, Couric headed to her breast radiologist with the intention of recording the screening to share with my audience - something she had previously done with her colonoscopy back in 2000.

She writes that after that particular segment aired on the Today show, "the number of people getting colonoscopies increased by 20 percent".

"If I had forgotten to schedule a mammogram, this might be a helpful reminder for other people, too," she explains.

Couric revealed that she had requested for the technician to film the screening so that the footage could later be shared. However, after undergoing an additional screening, her doctor returned to the room and asked for the recording to be stopped.

"There’s something here that I’d like to check out," the doctor told the TV personality.

Despite suggesting that the results should be flagging scar tissue, Couric underwent a biopsy following the suggestion of her doctor.

After returning to work the next time, she received a text message that read: "Please call me in the office to discuss biopsy results. I tried calling you on your cell. Your mailbox is full."

Couric revealed that she called her doctor back immediately and was told: "Your biopsy came back. It’s cancer. You’re going to be fine but we need to make a plan."

The legendary presenter then revealed how she was facing multiple questions "swirling" in her head: "What does this mean? Will I need a mastectomy? Will I need chemo? What will the next weeks, months, even years look like?"

"During that 24-hour whirlwind, I found out that 85 percent of the 264,000 American women who are diagnosed every year in this country have no family history. I clearly had a lot to learn," she writes.

After working with her doctor to come up with a treatment plan, Couric underwent surgery on July 14. She later started radiation therapy on September 7.

Her last session was Tuesday (September 27).

This is a developing story, more to follow...

Featured image credit: REUTERS / Alamy

Chrissy Teigen has broken her silence after a month-long social media hiatus.

The 35-year-old model took to her Twitter and Instagram accounts on Monday, June 14, to share a lengthy apologetic message with her 13.5 million followers.

In it, she addressed recent accusations of bullying from 26-year-old Courtney Stodden and owned up to her past behavior in an emotional post on Medium.

Teigen says that she feels "ashamed" of sending a string of abusive messages to the non-binary singer when Stodden was a teenager, writing:

"I'm truly ashamed of [my tweets]. As I look at them and understand the hurt they caused, I have to stop and wonder: How could I have done that?"

But Teigen stated that she feels she is more empathetic nowadays and has been working on herself through therapy - although apologizing to those she hurt in the past has been hard.

"I understand that [Stodden] may not want to speak to me. I don’t think I'd like to speak to me [...] But if they do, I am here and I will listen to what they have to say while apologizing through sobs."

Credit: Alamy/Sipa US

She continued: "There is simply no excuse for my past horrible tweets. My targets didn’t deserve them. No one does.

"Many of them needed empathy, kindness, understanding, and support, not my meanness masquerading as a kind of casual, edgy humor. I was a troll, full stop. And I am so sorry."

Chrissy added: "I was insecure, immature, and in a world where I thought I needed to impress strangers to be accepted.

"If there was a pop culture pile-on, I took to Twitter to try to gain attention and show off what I at the time believed was a crude, clever, harmless quip. I thought it made me cool and relatable if I poked fun at celebrities."

Credit: Alamy/Kathy Hutchins

Stodden, who famously married then-51-year-old Green Mile actor Doug Hutchison at the age of 16, first alleged that Teigen had cyberbullied them in an Instagram post made last year.

They stated that that they still had not received an apology from Teigen for this, and added: "[Chrissy Teigen] stalked me. She harassed me. She bullied me, and keep in mind, I was a minor.

"She would call me a w****, a s***, she would tell me she hated me. Every name in the book she called me."

When it briefly appeared as though Teigen was going to leave Twitter back in March of 2021, Stodden shared an image of one of Teigen's offensive tweets, which they captioned: "What a shame #chrissyteigen is leaving Twitter."

Teigen's tweet read: "Saying Courtney Stodden's FB [page] got shut down for being too sexy is like saying the Nazis were just meanies. As in, not quite."

In a later interview with The Daily Beast, Stodden spoke further about the alleged abuse they received at the hands of Teigen, which led to them feeling suicidal, stating:

"[Teigen] wouldn’t just publicly tweet about wanting me to take ‘a dirt nap’ but would privately DM me and tell me to kill myself. things like: 'I can’t wait for you to die'.

"And not only her, but Joy Behar had a field day with calling me a 's***.' Courtney Love told me I was a 'w****'."

Credit: Twitter/@chrissyteigen Credit: Twitter/@chrissyteigen Credit: Twitter/@chrissyteigen Credit: Twitter/@chrissyteigen

Yet even after Teigen publically apologized to Stodden for her behavior, Stodden appeared to be skeptical of her sincerity.

Uploading a screenshot to Instagram showing that Teigen had still blocked them on Twitter, Stodden wrote: "I accept her apology and forgive her.

"But the truth remains the same, I have never heard from her or her camp in private. In fact, she blocked me on Twitter."

Stodden added: "All of me wants to believe this is a sincere apology, but it feels like a public attempt to save her partnerships with Target and other brands who are realizing her 'wokeness' is a broken record."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Reuters

If you are a user of the internet, or you are a watcher of television, you will know that Matt Lauer has lost his job on The Today Show after allegations surrounding his sexual harassment of several women came to light. According to an investigation conducted by Variety magazine, Lauer was accused of multiple acts of sexual harassment and sexually inappropriate behaviour. The accusations aimed at the veteran news anchor range from claims that he "once gave a colleague a sex toy as a present. It included an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her, which left her mortified," with another accusation saying that "he invited a female employee to his office, and dropped his pants." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/936487049930133505]] A day after the claims were made, Lauer spoke out about the issue. Releasing a statement which was read on Today, Lauer wrote: "There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC." "Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/missinginsight/status/936206827091628035]] "Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I'm committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full-time job. The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws. It's been humbling. I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I love. I thank them for their patience and grace." However, as is the case with the Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey scandals, it appears that those involved in the show business world were aware of Matt Lauer's behaviour before the stories hit the press. In 2014, it appears that Conan O'Brien had tried to warn us about Lauer's behaviour when Lauer was reporting the Sochi Winter Olympics. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BbNnnNklKz2/?taken-by=teamcoco]] O'Brien ran a segment on his show that was literally titled "Creepy Matt Lauer" in which he played a video of Lauer being a huge creep towards the U.S Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who was just 18 years-old at the time. [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lowao6fSEJI]] I can imagine when this aired it was a pretty uncomfortable watch, but given what we know now, it almost pain-inducingly cringe-worthy. Even worse, during his coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, it's alleged that Lauer assaulted a female NBC staffer, who reported the incident this past Monday, leading to Lauer's termination from NBC. No doubt more stories regarding Lauer's behaviour will emerge in light of the current allegations. We can expect him to disappear from our screen for the near future while he gets over his problems in a swanky clinic somewhere exotic.

The reckoning over sexual misconduct in the workplace continues: This morning NBC News fired longtime Today Show news anchor Matt Lauer over allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior." Lauer joined the program in 1994, and has served as co-host since 1997. In a memo sent to staff by NBC News chairman Andrew Lack, he said they "received a detailed complaint from a colleague" that represented a "clear violation of our company's standards." He said "it is the first complaint about [Lauer's] behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News." However, they were "presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/935842862591283201]] In an emotional moment, Today Show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie read the memo on air, adding that she was "heartbroken." Having worked with Lauer since 2012, she considered him a "dear, dear friend." Then she posed a question reminiscent of Sarah Silverman's monologue on Louis CK: "How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly?" The news about Matt Lauer struck many by surprise, but some people say the warning signs were always there. And there's no better example than a 2012 interview with Anne Hathaway, where he acts pretty creepy. Hathaway visited The Today Show to discuss her new movie, Les Miserables. But when she sat down with Lauer, he wanted to discuss something different: an upskirt photo. The other night, the paparazzi snapped a picture of Hathaway getting out of a limo while not wearing any underwear. Thankfully, the paparazzo was a decent human being who deleted the photo. Nah, just kidding. He sold it, and it was all over the Internet. When the interview begins, Lauer immediately brings up the upskirt photo. (strike one!). Then he makes a pervy joke, quipping, "Nice to see you. Seen a lot of you lately." (Strike two!) Then he asks Hathaway what "lesson" she learned, as if the incident was all her fault. Luckily, the actress takes it in stride, and answers with class. Here's the full interaction: [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yruIL5lVGE4&feature=youtu.be&t=1m9s]] Matt Lauer: “Anne Hathaway, good morning, nice to see you. Seen a lot of you lately." Anne Hathaway: “Sorry about that. I’d be happy to stay home, but the film.” Matt Lauer: “Let’s just get it out of the way. You had a little wardrobe malfunction the other night. What’s the lesson learned from something like that, other than that you keep smiling, which you’ll always do." Anne Hathaway: "Well, it was obviously an unfortunate incident ... It kind of made me sad on two accounts. One was that I was very sad that we live in an age when someone takes a picture of another person in a vulnerable moment, and rather than delete it and do the decent thing, sells it. And I’m sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexuality of unwilling participants, which brings us back to Les Mis...let’s get back to Les Mis." Perfect response! After handling her diabolical boss in The Devil Wears Prada, she can handle anything. Although the interview came out five years ago, it's recently gone viral, with people looking at Lauer's behavior in a new light. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/RosaleenOMahony/status/935856627097440258]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/carolinelandree/status/935850752601403392]] But maybe this suggests a good career change for Lauer. Instead of being a morning news anchor, he could become a paparazzo, and try to get some sweet upskirt photos.