From the White House to Hollywood, check-out the latest news, trends and upcoming events. No images? Click here My Isolation Diary By Emily Vogel Badass women take the stage TheGrill 2021 Dear Diary, From the Met Gala to the Emmys, our favorite names in entertainment are back in action. But things are just heating up because TheGrill (#FireEmoji), WrapPRO’s annual business conference is almost here. On September 29-30 hear from leading disruptors, dealmakers and decision makers. Click here to learn more. We have an incredible line-up of badass women joining the roster of speakers for this year's Grill event. For example, Interscope Records EVP and head of visual content Michelle An. Not only is Michelle a Grammy nominated producer, but she also just produced three films for Billie Eilish including Disney+’s “Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles.” Manjari Makijany who just directed “Spin,” Disney’s first film with an Indian-American lead, will be speaking on the “Amplifying Diverse Voices in Hollywood Roundtable" alongside WarnerMedia SVP of equity and inclusion Samata Narra, actress and transgender activist Carmen Carerra, “The L Word: Generation Q” showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan and Olivia Charmaine Morris, host of “The Tea.” Our speaker line-up also features “Mrs. America” and “Respect” executive producer Stacey Sher, “The Morning Show” actress and gaming consultant Janina Gavankar, BRON co-founder Brenda Gilbert, Warner Music Nashville's EVP of A&R Cris Lacy and many more. Oh and did I mention there will be an exclusive performance from country pop icon Jessie James Decker?! Click here to become a WrapPRO member for access to TheGrill as well as exclusive entertainment coverage, insights and invites to virtual events/screenings throughout the year. See you there! Michaela Coel Emmys Speech Dedicated Her Show to Survivors of Sexual Assault(Credit: Getty via Teen Vogue) In one of the shortest, but perhaps most powerful, speeches of the night, Michaela Coel took the stage to accept her history-making Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and gave the audience a dare. “Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn’t comfortable," Coel said. “I dare you.” The award was for "I May Destroy You," Coel's show about a young writer's life after sexual assault. The series is fiction, but it reflects Coel's own experience — she was assaulted while writing and starring in her first show, "Chewing Gum." The brief acceptance speech went on to dedicate "I May Destroy You" to all survivors of sexual assault. “In a world that entices us to browse the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves, and to, in turn, feel the need to be constantly visible — for visibility, these days, seems to somehow equate to success — do not be afraid to disappear,” Coel said. “From it, from us, for a while. And see what comes to you in the silence.” After a few thank yous, she added, "I dedicate this story to every single survivor of sexual assault." Uma Thurman Reveals Abortion as a Teen: ‘My Heart Was Broken’ (Credit: Netflix) On Tuesday, Uma Thurman wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post condemning the Texas abortion law, revealing her “darkest secret” that she had an abortion in her late teens. The actress shared the secret in hopes that “some light will shine through, reaching women and girls who might feel a shame that they can’t protect themselves from and have no agency over.” Now 51, Thurman said she had started acting at 15. By her late teens, she had been “accidentally impregnated by a much older man” while living out of a suitcase in Europe, with no family around and starting a new job. She recalled wanting to keep the baby but not knowing how she would go about it. After calling home to discuss with her family, they concluded that a relationship with that man was not an option — and raising the baby as a teenager herself would be difficult. “My childish fantasy of motherhood was soundly corrected as I weighed answers to their very precise questions. … We decided as a family that I couldn’t go through with the pregnancy, and agreed that termination was the right choice. My heart was broken nonetheless.” Reacting to the law in Texas, Thurman said this only pits people against one another and allows vigilantes to go after disadvantaged women. It denies them their ability to choose whether to have children, she added. Hear from a Female Judge Hiding in Afghanistan(Source: CNN) Nabila is one of 250 female judges ordered not to return to work by a regime that doesn't condone women in senior positions. Nabila said she feared reprisals, not only from fundamentalists, but also the men she once jailed. When they came to power, the Taliban opened the gates of prisons, releasing thousands of convicted criminals. "Now we do not feel safe; the same criminals are going after my own life, the lives of my family," Nabila said. "God forbid if they seek revenge." In January, two Supreme Court judges were shot dead in Kabul by unidentified gunmen, though the Taliban denied responsibility, according to Reuters. After the Taliban takeover in mid-August, a few dozen women judges fled Afghanistan, and those left behind are now in hiding, according to Judge Vanessa Ruiz from the US-based International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). All of the judges who worked under the former Afghan government -- male and female -- have now been replaced by Taliban appointees, two judges told CNN. But Ruiz said women judges feared their gender made them particular targets for a regime that assigns greater value to men. Many of the women judges presided over the worst cases of violence against women, including rape, murder and domestic abuse. "They would be angry at any judge who sentenced them, but that a woman had official authority, and sat in judgment of a man, is rage of a completely different order," said Ruiz. Angelina Jolie Visited the White House to Champion the Renewal of the Violence Against Women Act(Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images) Angelina Jolie visited the White House earlier this week to discuss the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The actress met with White House officials, including Press Secretary Jen Psaki and spoke with reporters in the White House Briefing Room about the issue. “It is a health crisis, what is happening, and it is going to be solved if we look at it as helping families,” she said. The Violence Against Women Act was signed into law in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and sponsored by Joe Biden, then the Senator of Delaware. The act—which was last renewed in 2013, but expired in 2019—authorized over a billion dollars in funding for the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women as well as support for the victims of those crimes. In March 2021, a bipartisan bill to renew and build upon VAWA was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives. Jolie spent the day before her appearance at the White House Briefing Room taking meetings with various lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. JoJo Siwa's Same-Sex Duet Makes History on 'Dancing with the Stars'On Tuesday, YouTube star JoJo Siwa debuted on "Dancing with the Stars" alongside her professional partner Jenna Johnson, making them the first same-sex couple ever on the U.S. version of the show. The pair performed a quickstep to Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” "This is a whole new ball game for me," Siwa said on Monday's episode. "I've never done anything ballroom before. It's a learning experience that I'm more than ready for." The slickly executed, energetic routine nabbed the pair 29 out of 40 possible points, the highest score of the night. The 18-year-old came out as a member of the LGBTQ community in January, and later introduced her girlfriend, Kylie Prew, on social media. In an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, Siwa said she describes herself as “queer, because it covers it, and it’s cute.” Did We Just Become Best Friends? WrapWomen is a power base of influential women of entertainment, media, technology and brands committed to changing the face of their industries. Stay up-to-date on all things WrapWomen at www.wrapwomen.com. Join the conversation on social media! Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for surprise guest takeovers and Insta live performances. Tune into our podcast "UnWrapped" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. |