The Week on Twitter | Skittles, Brangelina, & the Emmys
This week, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce, the Emmys were very diverse, and Donald Trump Jr was racist. The Ploughing Championships also took place, and some people won some prizes, probably.
#TrumpJr compares refugees to popular confectionery product in latest racist claim #Skittles
This week, a member of the Trump family was racist. This in itself is not news, but a regular occurrence; one we have come to expect these days, as we roll our eyes and sigh and casually copy and paste the latest bigoted Twitter installment into WordPress alongside an brief paragraph describing the tweet’s context that confirms, yes indeed, the Trumps are quite racist.
The Trumps are quite racist.
This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016 pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 19, 2016
This week, Donald Trump Jr posted the above meme on Twitter. It is offensive because it suggests that some refugees are out to kill you and therefore all of them should be avoided – or in this case – not allowed into your country. It is inaccurate because it claims that Syrian refugees are arriving at our borders with the intention of attacking us, instead of, y’know, saving their families lives. It annoyed a lot of people because memes are meant to be fun, and this is not fun, it’s racist.
Following the backlash Trump Jr received for his post, he took to a press conference during the week to confirm that the meme was just a “simple metaphor” for the issue, and that anyone who was offended was looking for a hidden subtext that did not exist.
Skittles have refused to provide a lengthy statement concerning the tweet, as they do not want the post to appear as a marketing ploy.
A rep for @Skittles gives me their response to @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/OmkJQkIqug
— Seth Abramovitch (@SethAbramovitch) September 20, 2016
Based on actual odds of getting killed by terrorist refugee, you'd need 10.8 billion skittles to find 3 killers https://t.co/Ba5HNFhvM1
— Mike Rosenberg (@ByRosenberg) September 20, 2016
just found those three poison skittles. pic.twitter.com/PqOKnVZeKU
— tom fowler (@tomfowlerbug) September 20, 2016
Skittle. pic.twitter.com/TXjqcVMhLH
— emily nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) September 20, 2016
if I had a nation full of assault weapons & told you just three would be used in mass shootings this week would you- pic.twitter.com/VJV5PWkwcQ
— Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) September 20, 2016
This year’s #Emmys gives us lots of winners and even more diversity
Sunday evening saw the 68th Emmys hit our screens. It was an exciting affair because lots of good actors were there, and they all looked great, and they won some awards for being good at their jobs, and Leslie Jones posted a selfie with Mr Robot star Rami Malek asking him to find her hackers, and it was great. The 68th Emmys was also exciting because it was not the Oscars, and 98% of the nominees were not white.
This year’s Emmys was praised highly for the diversity of its attendees and winners. Among those nominated for trophies were Idris Elba, Tracee Ellis Ross, Cuba Gooding Jr, Aziz Ansari, Kerry Washington, and Viola Davis. Many of this year’s winners also used their speeches as opportunities to emphasise the importance of diversity in popular culture, and the significance of adequate representation in the media.
Speaking alongside Aziz Ansari upon their win for best comedy writing, Master of None writer Alan Yang brought attention to the severe lack of (non-offensive) Asian-American representation in the US. During his speech he stated that there are “17 million Asian-Americans in this country and there are 17 million Italian-Americans. They have The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Sopranos (…) We got Long Duk Dong. We have a long way to go.”
A full list of Emmys winners and nominees can be found here.
The Oscars may be so white, but the Emmys celebrated diversity in Hollywood. pic.twitter.com/cnZP4Q6tV3
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 20, 2016
Do you think he could help me catch hacker lmao!! pic.twitter.com/Isk2DTlzC8
— Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) September 19, 2016
This #Emmys after party is off da CHAIN! pic.twitter.com/42lX2w0SYk
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/theCheerBook/status/777990808477790208
Emmys dropped the ball last night. Best Comedy Series should've been the GOP Debates.
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) September 20, 2016
Ploughing Championships 2016 gets underway #Ploughing16
Another year, another prize for the best plougher. Or so I assume that’s how the Ploughing Championships go. Twitter’s coverage of this year’s event would suggest that there isn’t actually a whole lot of ploughing involved. Instead, people simply get together in a big field, look at animals, and watch Nicky Byrne talk for a bit.
Regardless of what the Ploughing Championships actually entails (it’s an exhibition and agricultural trade show that does indeed involved some ploughing and winning, I checked), a lot of people made the trip down to Offaly this week to view some farming equipment, get some food, and just have a generally nice time.
(Trailer for Ploughing Championship)
– Montage of Tractors
*Inception-style horns*
– DIFFS
*horns*
– WILL
*horns*
– BE HIT
*HORNS*
— Gerry McBride (@GerryMcBride) September 22, 2016
#Ploughing16 is thirsty work pic.twitter.com/r747uq6cCr
— IrelandsFarmers (@IrelandsFarmers) September 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/nbshow2fm/status/778161757336530944
Have a great day to everyone travelling to @NPAIE and to all the exhibitors taking part. #Ploughing16 #PloughingChampionships pic.twitter.com/1LfHa9ivxH
— Eamonn Quinn (@EamonnEquinn) September 20, 2016
Standing room only at the @rte stand for @TodaySOR #Ploughing16 pic.twitter.com/DgmPaWrnWu
— RTÉ Radio 1 (@RTERadio1) September 20, 2016
Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt #Brangelina
On Monday, it was reported that Angelina Jolie was set to divorce her husband of two years Brad Pitt. This sent many people into a flurried state of mourning due to the fact that they had grown up watching their beloved #Brangelina blossom into a perfect Hollywood romance over the years, that they now had no reason to believe that true love actually exists, and that their copies of Mr & Mrs Smith would forever remain untouched from this day forward.
According to a statement released by Jolie’s lawyer, the couple were experiencing “irreconcilable differences,” and that the divorce was necessary for the “health of the family.” Pitt followed with a statement of his own where he told People magazine that he was saddened by the decision, but that the well-being of the couple’s children was paramount.
Since the news of the split broke this week, the internet has been awash with rumours concerning the possibility of Pitt’s infidelity. According to a number of supposedly credible sources that wish to remain anonymous, Jolie learned that her husband was having an affair with Marion Cotillard, his co-star in World War 2 movie Allied which is set to be released later this year. However, Cotillard published her own statement on Instagram on Wednesday night, saying that she had to speak up as the “whirlwind news” was affecting her loved ones. She denies any involvement in the split.
The lesson of #Brangelina is that married couples shouldn’t make movies together or live in the same house.
— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) September 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/lindseyweber/status/778348899442364417
When you're scouring the gossip rags for #Brangelina news and realise how trash you are pic.twitter.com/C9uui1Hqns
— Conor Behan (@platinumjones) September 21, 2016
Me coming online and seeing that #Brangelina are getting divorced. pic.twitter.com/4beFmm2oF1
— Nabeel Khan (@hyp3rfr3ak) September 21, 2016
Stop the mess and leave my girl Rachel off of this #Brangelina narrative, one that she never asked to be a part of!!!
— FELIPE (@MolestMeKardash) September 21, 2016