Slate V Podcast Feed

If a movie about bullying plays in theatres with an R rating, does it make a sound for those who need to hear its message? The Weinstein Co. is fighting the Motion Picture Association of America's rating of their new film Bully, a documentary about the consequences of bullying that they want younger kids to see. The R rating covers a broad range of adult situations considered inappropriate for people under 17, including racy simulations of sex acts and full frontal nudity, as well as persistent and extreme violence. The ratings sin of Bully? Six bad F-words—if it had just one, it could get a PG-13 rating. A Twitter campaign to lower the rating, supported by some high-profile young stars like actress and singer Demi Lovato, is underway. Meanwhile Harvey Weinstein is no doubt screaming some R-rated language on phone calls to the MPAA. Bullying could be a problem in Hollywood, too.

Khalifa, the skinny, tattooed rapper from Pittsburgh, is best known for the wildly popular single from his 2011 album Rolling Papers called “Black and Yellow.” Amber Rose, also from Pennsylvania, is a model/artist/socialite who began dating Wiz after a tumultuous relationship with Kanye West which at least in part inspired his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Wiz took to Twitter (naturally) with the announcement, and posted a picture of Rose's hand bearing a rather enormous diamond engagement ring. Amber responded with the tweet "He has made me the Happiest Woman in the World!!!!" While the date of the ceremony is uncertain at this point, we can pretty much guarantee what the couple's wedding colors will be.

Arizona’s most infamous sheriff is focused on the country’s most famous supposed illegal: Barack Obama. Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has revealed the preliminary results of his investigation into President Obama's birth certificate, claiming the long-form document released by the White House was a computer-generated forgery. Unfortunately this particular law office seems short on evidence. "I'm not going after Obama," said Arpaio, "I'm just doing my job." There is however ample evidence that the office of Arpaio, whose crusade against undocumented immigrants in Arizona has made him a national figure, has ignored over 400 sex crimes against Arizona residents because of their race and has committed other acts of racial profiling. Critics think the Justice Department’s federal grand jury investigation into Arpaio’s alleged abuse of power might have something to do with his sudden birtherism. In law enforcement terms, that sort of thing might be called a diversion. We expect next Sheriff Joe will team up with James Cameron for a deep-sea investigation of whether or not Osama bin Laden is really dead.

It wasn’t in his daily secret security brief, but Obama was aware of Linsanity before you were. In what he claimed was the first podcast conducted with a sitting president, Grantland editor-in-chief Bill Simmons recently chatted with the president on sports and pop culture topics, including new NBA super star Jeremy Lin. POTUS revealed he’s been on the Lin train for a while now, having been alerted to the young star’s potential by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who was captain of the Harvard basketball team back in his day. Obama spent much of the interview stoking his hipster cred, revealing he had a podcast before they were cool, and discussing his affinity for Omar, a stick-up artist who robs drug dealers on the cult HBO show The Wire. Obama first revealed his appreciation of Omar on the campaign trail in 2008, then clarified, saying it wasn’t an “endorsement.” For that kind of official support, Omar would probably have to register to vote.

Snooki is pregnant after all! Rumors that the 24-year-old Jersey Shore reality star is expecting have been swirling for weeks. But TMZ reports the hair-poof innovator kept mum about the baby because of the tradition of not making pregnancy public until after the uncertain first trimester. Who is the daddy? Perhaps Nicole Polizzi’s [[should probs say that this is Snooki’s real name]] boyfriend of over a year, Jionni LaValle. LaValle, who is studying to be a teacher, reportedly has little interest in the celebrity world and does his best to stay out of the spotlight. So while rocket scientist seems like a stretch, depending on Snooki’s baby daddy, the kid might actually have a chance at a normal life that contributes to society. Either way, we can’t wait to see what the new baby’s hair looks like, and when Snooks gives it a tattoo.

The News Corp phone-hacking scandal has claimed another high-profile victim, and this one is in the family. James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, has stepped down as executive chairman of News International, the print media arm of News Corp’s empire. The younger man, who oversaw operations of the company in Europe, became a familiar face last summer, while being grilled alongside his father by members of British Parliament in the wake of a massive phone-hacking scandal that ended publication of Tabloid staple News of the World. Replaced by News International chief executive Tom Mockridge, James Murdoch will now work at the media company’s headquarters in New York. Just this week, police investigators suggested senior executives at the Sun and News of the World had systematically paid large sums of money to police, military and government officials for news tips and gossip. Don’t expect a New York Post headline out of this one, but just in case, we suggest: “King James, Decrowned!”

Fighting about a funeral seems like a terrible idea no matter who’s involved, but that’s what prompted a domestic abuse dispute between Lane Garrison and his playmate girlfriend. The Prison Break star got a visit at his apartment from police this week, following a 911 call. The reason for the call? He was quarreling with girlfriend Ashley Mattingly, who is in the running for Playmate of the Year, about why Garrison got invited to her ex-boyfriend’s funeral and she didn’t. TMZ reports that Mattingly was upset that Garrison went to Craig Rogers’ funeral, because she felt it was disrespectful to her. No one was arrested and no injuries were reported, but Garrison—who was released from real prison in 2009 after serving 40 months for vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving, and providing alcohol to a minor—reportedly suffered a panic attack and was taken to the hospital. Having done the reality thing, Garrison apparently prefers playing a prisoner on TV.

In what was described as a “totally unplanned” vamp for the cameras on the red carpet Sunday, beyond-famous Angelina Jolie managed to stir up the nation’s collective unconscious with an instantly iconic sexy leg pose. The strut, initiated during her red carpet walk and repeated during her presentation for best adapted screenplay, was perhaps first snarked upon by the winners of said Oscar, which included Community star (and Internet darling) Jim Rash. The Leg spread like wildfire across the web, and in just two days has spawned a fake Twitter account, numerous Photoshop jokes, and of course a Leg Bombing meme of its own.

The latest Dancing With the Stars cast is low on disgraced politicians or their kids, high on former TV stars and singers, and boasts a dash of fancy football footwork. DWTS has announced its latest set of actors, singers, and athletes to hoof it up on national television. The hopefuls include Little House on the Prairie's Melissa Gilbert, The View's Sherri Shepherd, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, singers Gladys Knight and Gavin DeGraw, and Family Matter's own uber-nerd, Urkel—aka Jaleel White. They'll all take the stage on March 19 to kick off the show's 14th season in a two-hour special. And chances are we will be watching. Why? Any chance to see famous dances like the tango and the Lindy Hop joined by “The Urkel” is a chance we will definitely take.

Wikileaks is at it again. Its latest cache: Five million emails hacked from the databases of the Texas-based intelligence gathering firm Stratfor. The Stratfor emails came not from a whistleblower but from a series of hacks in December by the online group Anonymous. Wikileaks says the emails expose "the revolving door that operates in private intelligence companies in the United States" and cites over 4,000 emails that mention Wikileaks or its founder Julian Assange that show a campaign to subvert the organization. Wikileaks and some 25 media partners will analyze the documents in the days and weeks ahead. For its part, Stratfor is refusing to talk about the stolen emails that they claim may be forged or tampered with. It's unclear what the fallout of this latest information will be, but in certain circles it's sure to cement Julian Assange's place as the most irritatingly self-righteous person on the Web.

There were plenty of daring fashion displays at the Academy Awards, but none were as unpredictable as Sacha Baron Cohen's. He showed up on the red carpet in character, despite warnings he'd be removed from the show for such a stunt. The Borat actor's latest creation, Admiral General Aladeen from his upcoming movie The Dictator, had bodyguards, promised death to the West (and the Academy), and was carrying an urn containing the ashes of his late fellow dictator and "doubles tennis partner" Kim Jong-il. Cohen proceeded to dump the ashes all over Ryan Seacrest, giving new meaning to the old red carpet chestnut "Who are you wearing?"

Bill Maher is giving $1 million to Priorities USA Action, a pro-Obama Super PAC. Maher announced the donation at the end of a streaming hourlong special of his CrazyStupidPolitics show on yahoo.com. Super PACs, as we've learned mainly from Colbert's "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow," can raise unlimited amounts of money to support political causes, however they can't "coordinate" with their favored candidates. In a statement released after the show, Maher said that if Obama beats any of the Republican contenders it would be "worth a million dollars" and that "this is the wisest investment I think I could make."

Rapper Lil Wayne announced that his label, Cash Money Records, has added 90s nu metal icons Limp Bizkit to the roster. Frontman Fred Durst confirmed the news on Twitter, and his band joins other artists including Nicki Minaj, Drake, and T-Pain under the Young Money Entertainment umbrella. The acquisition has raised a few eyebrows as Limp Bizkit, now the only rock band on Cash Money's primarily rap and R&B lineup, released their latest album Gold Cobra last year to tepid reviews after a six-year hiatus. Industry insiders can only assume Weezy did it all for the nookie.

Get ready to be appalled or intrigued in the checkout line: The tabloid National Enquirer has run a photo on its cover of what appears to be Whitney Houston lying in her casket. Reportedly taken at the Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey and showing the pop queen in a golden coffin, the photo has already sparked outrage among other press outlets. The Washington Post, for instance, said a line had been crossed in publishing the photo. But as the Guardian points out, photos of dead celebrities in the press aren’t exactly a new trend, especially when it comes to tabloids. The Enquirer famously printed a photo of Elvis in his casket in 1977, and more recently a long list of publications ran a photo of Michael Jackson’s corpse after it became part of the trial of his former doctor Conrad Murray. Nobody wants to be remembered next to Bat Boy, but don’t expect the Enquirer to get classy—they’re in the business of selling papers.

Edgy and arguably hilarious character comedian Sacha Baron Cohen may make an appearance at the Oscars in character as the dictator from his upcoming film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has denied reports that it revoked Sacha Baron Cohen’s tickets to the event after he and Paramount pictures refused to guarantee he would not show up in his Dictator costume and character. But representatives claim they do want know exactly what he plans, and that he is not welcome to use the red carpet as a staging area for any promotional stunts. The decision seems to put one more tally in the “old and stuffy” column for the ceremony, which now seems to be relying solely on 63-year-old comedian Billy Crystal to provide levity. And considering it’s almost a foregone conclusion the best picture award will go to The Artist, a film about a talented performer stifled by dogmatic Hollywood conventions, they seem to have a pretty good grasp on irony too… NOT!.