controversy – News Stories About controversy - Page 4

New Miss Japan
Is a Bit Different
Than Past Winners

New Miss Japan Is a Bit Different Than Past Winners

Carolina Shiino was born in Ukraine to Ukrainian parents, moved to Japan at age 5

(Newser) - Carolina Shiino was crowned Miss Japan on Monday, but the headlines on her win are focused on the debate surrounding it. The 26-year-old model from Nagoya, who was born in Ukraine to Ukrainian parents and moved to Japan when she was 5, is the country's first naturalized citizen to...

Restaurant Put on Blast for Health Insurance Fee on Bill

Patron Didn't Appreciate
Eatery's 4% Surcharge

Patron Didn't Appreciate Eatery's 4% Surcharge

Fee added by Atlanta restaurant is to help cover costs for employee health insurance

(Newser) - An Atlanta restaurant is taking heat over what its owners say is an optional fee on customers' tabs to help cover employees' health insurance costs. Fox Business reports on the blowback that JenChan's Pizza and Chinese, an eatery located in the Cabbagetown section of the city, has received since...

Builder's 'Harriet Tubman,' 'Anne Frank' Homes Aren't a Hit

Builder Finds Out Why Not to
Name Homes After Anne Frank

Jan 17, 2024 9:20 AM CST

Builder Finds Out Why Not to Name Homes After Anne Frank

Or Harriet Tubman, per resurfaced listings that are taking some heat

(Newser) - It's admittedly a challenging job to write compelling real estate copy, in the hopes of inspiring potential customers to buy. One New Mexico homebuilder, however, may have gone a little overboard in its descriptions of two home designs that have "baffled" those who've seen them, per the...

ESPN Hands Back Dozens of
Emmys in Fake-Name Hubbub

Jan 12, 2024 4:20 PM CST

ESPN Hands Back Dozens of Emmys in Fake-Name Hubbub

Scheme saw network submit aliases for awards so ineligible on-air 'College GameDay' stars could win

(Newser) - "Violating the rules of engagement in the cutthroat world of sports television awards" is how Sports Illustrated is covering the latest commotion at ESPN, after the cable sports network was forced to hand back dozens of Emmys won by its College GameDay program. The story was first reported by...

Putin, Others 'Unamused' at 'Almost Naked' Party in Moscow

Even Putin Is Steaming
Over Russia's 'Partygate'

Dec 28, 2023 7:50 AM CST

Even Putin Is Steaming Over Russia's 'Partygate'

Celebrities in Russia are facing backlash after private soiree with scantily clad attendees

(Newser) - Feel free to party in Russia, but do it discreetly, and be prepared to keep your clothes on. Big names there are learning this lesson the hard way after an "almost naked" party in Moscow held earlier this month generated backlash that stretches all the way to the Kremlin....

McConnell Goes After Trump
With Mention of His Own Wife

Dec 20, 2023 7:44 AM CST

McConnell Goes After Trump With Mention of His Own Wife

Senate minority leader brings up Elaine Chao in pushback at former president's immigrant remarks

(Newser) - Last weekend, former President Trump ramped up his attacks on immigrants at a New Hampshire rally, asserting they're "poisoning the blood of our country." Trump is now getting pushback on his rhetoric from both sides of the aisle, including from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow...

Critics Rip Nazi Presence on Substack Platform

Substack Critics: Nazi Presence
Here Is 'Unfathomable'

Dec 15, 2023 12:28 PM CST

Substack Critics: Nazi Presence Here Is 'Unfathomable'

Open letter from users accuses site of platforming Nazis and white supremacists, profiting from it

(Newser) - Substack, the online publishing portal that hosts subscription-based newsletters, is offering a space for some unseemly characters who are making money not only for themselves, but for Substack itself. That's the assertion of dozens of users who penned an open letter on the subject to the platform's founders,...

Zara Said Ads Had 'Artistic
Context.' Critics Disagreed

Dec 12, 2023 10:35 AM CST

Zara Said Ads Had 'Artistic Context.' Critics Disagreed

Detractors says ads with shrouded mannequins resemble dead Palestinians in Gaza

(Newser) - Retail clothing chain Zara says it has pulled images from an ad campaign featuring statues wrapped in white coverings after some said they resembled the shrouded bodies of murdered Palestinians. Users left tens of thousands of comments on the Spanish brand's Instagram page criticizing the images, while calls to...

A Picky Call Becomes
the Talk of the NFL

Dec 11, 2023 11:10 AM CST

A Picky Call Becomes the Talk of the NFL

Offside penalty negates an epic play, costs the Chiefs a win against the Bills

(Newser) - It was, writes Rob Maaddi for the AP , "the play of the season." Or it would have been, had it not been negated by what Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post describes as "the fussiest, pettiest, most paltry and joy-curdling penalty you ever saw." With the...

Ivy League Presidents
Face Backlash Over
Comments on Israel

Dec 7, 2023 11:32 AM CST

Ivy League Presidents Face Backlash Over Comments on Israel

Penn president apologizes for focusing too much on free speech policies at House hearing

(Newser) - Presidents of three colleges faced a backlash Wednesday over their answers to questions on campus antisemitism at a hearing in Congress the previous day. The New York Times reports that the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania said they strongly opposed antisemitism and supported Israel's right...

Dolly Parton's Sister Has a
NSFW Message for Critics

Dolly Parton's Sister Has a NSFW Message for Critics

Stella Parton has some words for folks who didn't like Dolly's outfit at NFL's Thanksgiving Day game

(Newser) - "Dolly Parton wows in Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader uniform" was one complimentary perspective on what the country star wore during her halftime performance at the Thanksgiving Day NFL matchup between the Cowboys and Washington Commanders. As she crooned "Jolene," "9 to 5," and a cover of...

Grand Ole Opry (Not That One)
to Uphold Confederate Flag Ban

Nov 28, 2023 11:00 AM CST

Grand Ole Opry (Not That One) to Uphold Confederate Flag Ban

Scotland's most popular country music club, in Glasgow, was using Confederate flag in ceremony

(Newser) - The Grand Ole Opry has been embroiled in a controversy over the Confederate flag—but it's not the Tennessee venue, and the controversy appears to be over, at least for now. The BBC reports that members of Scotland's most famous country music club, of the same name as...

Bills Player on Shoving
Fan: 'Emotions Boiled Over'

Nov 28, 2023 8:31 AM CST

Bills Player on Shoving Fan: 'Emotions Boiled Over'

Pass rusher Shaq Lawson offers apology after scuffle with fan he says taunted players' families

(Newser) - Buffalo Bills pass rusher Shaq Lawson apologized Monday for shoving a Philadelphia Eagles fan behind the team's bench after alleging the person was making threatening remarks about players and their families. Lawson posted his apology on his Instagram account a day after a video showed him and five defensive...

Ramaswamy
Says Who
He Thinks
Are 'Vermin'

Nov 17, 2023 12:33 PM CST

Ramaswamy Says Who He Thinks Are 'Vermin'

GOP presidential candidate echoes Trump, uses word to apply to San Francisco's homeless people

(Newser) - Former President Trump's use of the word "vermin" last weekend to describe his political enemies raised a red flag , with critics calling it "straight-up Nazi talk" and a Trump rep responding by calling those critics "snowflakes." Now, another GOP presidential candidate is getting in on...

National Book
Awards Disrupted
by Defecting
Sponsors

Nov 15, 2023 8:35 AM CST

National Book Awards Disrupted by Defecting Sponsors

At least 2 won't attend Wednesday's NYC ceremony, amid rumors authors will call for Gaza ceasefire

(Newser) - The National Book Awards already made headlines earlier this year, when it dropped Drew Barrymore from hosting its annual ceremony due to her resuming her talk show amid the Hollywood strikes. Now, with the event set to take place Wednesday in New York, there's more disruption, this time tied...

David Brooks Posts a
Burger Picture, Chaos Ensues

David Brooks Posts a Burger Picture, Chaos Ensues

Restaurant at Newark Airport pushes back at 'NYT' columnist's suspiciously high tab

(Newser) - David Brooks' op-eds for the New York Times have raised eyebrows before , but it was a tweet about his recent airport meal, and an insinuation about the US economy under President Biden , that put the newspaper columnist on the radar this week. That post has since gone viral, and the...

Boebert's Theater Snafu Just
Got a Bit More Salacious

Sep 16, 2023 9:30 AM CDT

Boebert's Theater Snafu Just Got a Bit More Salacious

New footage shows congresswoman, companion groping each other; Boebert issues apology

(Newser) - After Lauren Boebert was kicked out of a Denver theater last weekend for "causing a disturbance" during a performance of Beetlejuice, new details are now out over exactly what kind of disturbance it was. It had already been publicized that complaints were logged over Boebert reportedly singing, vaping (which...

Game Developers Irate Over
'Phenomenally Unpopular' Fee

Sep 15, 2023 11:12 AM CDT

Game Developers Irate Over 'Phenomenally Unpopular' Fee

Unity Technologies shuts 2 offices after death threat comes in over controversial new cost

(Newser) - Earlier this week, Unity Technologies, a video game software company based in San Francisco, made an announcement that roiled the gaming world: It would begin charging developers a 20-cent fee each time a user installed one of its games, a "phenomenally unpopular" move that set off "widespread anger,...

Photo of Cops With Recaptured
Killer Slammed as 'Inhumane'

Sep 14, 2023 6:31 AM CDT

Photo of Cops With Recaptured Killer Slammed as 'Inhumane'

Controversy arises over pic taken in Pennsylvania after Danelo Cavalcante was back in custody

(Newser) - A group photo of about two dozen officers in tactical gear posing with escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante minutes after his capture on Wednesday in southeastern Pennsylvania drew criticism from policing reform advocates and some members of the public. The moment of the photo was captured by a KYW-TV television news...

Not All of Lizzo's
Dancers Are
Upset With Her

Aug 18, 2023 10:07 AM CDT

Not All of Lizzo's Dancers Are Upset With Her

'Big Grrrl' group thanks singer for 'shattering limitations' after harassment suit by ex-dancers

(Newser) - Lizzo hasn't been having a great month as she defends herself against accusations of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment from three of her former backup dancers. Now, a group of her current dancers are singing her praises, though their comments are creating another mini-backlash. "We have...