A fan ambushed Amy Schumer and demanded a photo. That's not OK.

    
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After a scary run-in with a fan who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, Amy Schumer set some boundaries.

A fan ambushed Amy Schumer and demanded a photo. That's not OK.

Over the weekend, Amy Schumer made a surprising, bold declaration: no more photos with fans.

Why? Well, here's how she explained it in an Instagram post, showing the overzealous fan's picture he snapped of himself with Schumer (she wound up being just a blur in the background):

"This guy in front of his family just ran up next to me scared the shit out of me. Put a camera in my face. I asked him to stop and he said " no it's America and we paid for you" this was in front of his daughter. I was saying stop and no. Great message to your kid. Yes legally you are allowed to take a picture of me. But I was asking you to stop and saying no. I will not take picture with people anymore and it's because of this dude in Greenville."

Amy Schumer. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Peabody Awards.

"No, it's America, we paid for you?" Um, what?

Later, she walked her position back a bit, explaining that yes, she'll still take photos with fans who are nice and respectful of her space.

It might be controversial to say this, but celebrities do not "owe" their fans anything. They're people, just like any of us.

I don't know what it's like being Amy Schumer. I can't really imagine what it's like having your every move photographed, being constantly bombarded for autographs, or just generally having your personal space taken away from you.

While, yes, as Schumer said in her original post, the man was legally allowed to take her photo, there's a difference between something being legal and something being right or being done respectfully. What happened in that situation was not right or respectful.

What happened in that situation was a violation of Schumer's personal boundaries with a lack of respect and consent.

Schumer and Jimmy Fallon. Photo by Theo Wargo/NBC/Getty Images for "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

Thanks to technology, the entitlement we feel toward access to celebrities has been getting worse lately.

Earlier this year, Demi Lovato dealt with an "Instagram stalker" famous for snapping pictures with celebrities and exaggerating how they encountered one another. In August 2014, someone released the private, personal photos of more than 100 celebrities — Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunst, Kaley Cuoco, and others — online.

Demi Lovato. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.

On Twitter and Facebook, people demand attention from their favorite celebs, and it seems like the bar for "public figure" keeps getting increasingly lower.

Even so, whether someone has starred in blockbuster films or whether they're just your average everyday person, we don't have a "right" to anybody's time or anybody's body.

Creating a culture of consent starts by respecting other people's boundaries in all situations, no matter how you're interacting with them or how you know them.

Again, Schumer has since said that she'll "still take pictures with nice people when I choose to if it's a good time for that. But I don't owe you anything. So don't take [a photo] if I say no."

What's that called, folks? Basic human decency. It's pretty easy.

Congratulations are in order for all of Schumer's success, but we must remember that success doesn't equal entitlement to someone's time, energy, or attention.

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Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly

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New Amazon badge helps you discover and shop for more sustainable products

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Increasingly customers are looking for more conscious shopping options. According to a Nielsen survey in 2018, nearly half (48%) of U.S. consumers say they would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment.

But while many consumers are interested in spending their money on products that are more sustainable, few actually follow through. An article in the 2019 issue of Harvard Business Review revealed that 65% of consumers said they want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability, but only about 26% actually do so. It's unclear where this intention gap comes from, but thankfully it's getting more convenient to shop sustainably from many of the retailers you already support.

Amazon recently introduced Climate Pledge Friendly, "a new program to help make it easy for customers to discover and shop for more sustainable products." When you're browsing Amazon, a Climate Pledge Friendly label will appear on more than 45,000 products to signify they have one or more different sustainability certifications which "help preserve the natural world, reducing the carbon footprint of shipments to customers," according to the online retailer.

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In order to distinguish more sustainable products, the program partnered with a wide range of external certifications, including governmental agencies, non-profits, and independent laboratories, all of which have a focus on preserving the natural world.

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17 freshmen GOP House members sent President Biden a letter offering to work with him

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In the hours before he was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, then-President-elect Biden was sent a letter signed by 17 freshmen GOP members of the House of Representatives.

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The letter reads:

Dear President-elect Biden,

Congratulations on the beginning of your administration and presidency. As members of this freshman class, we trust that the next four years will present your administration and the 117thCongress with numerous challenges and successes, and we are hopeful that – despite our ideological differences – we may work together on behalf of the American people we are each so fortunate to serve.

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P&G Good Everyday

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Meet the people infusing their communities with love and support when it’s needed most

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If the past year has taught us nothing else, it's that sending love out into the world through selfless acts of kindness can have a positive ripple effect on people and communities. People all over the United States seemed to have gotten the message — 71% of those surveyed by the World Giving Index helped a stranger in need in 2020. A nonprofit survey found 90% helped others by running errands, calling, texting and sending care packages. Many people needed a boost last year in one way or another and obliging good neighbors heeded the call over and over again — and continue to make a positive impact through their actions in this new year.

Upworthy and P&G Good Everyday wanted to help keep kindness going strong, so they partnered up to create the Lead with Love Fund. The fund awards do-gooders in communities around the country with grants to help them continue on with their unique missions. Hundreds of nominations came pouring in and five winners were selected based on three criteria: the impact of action, uniqueness, and "Upworthy-ness" of their story.

Here's a look at the five winners:

Edith Ornelas, co-creator of Mariposas Collective in Memphis, Tenn.

Edith Ornelas has a deep-rooted connection to the asylum-seeking immigrant families she brings food and supplies to families in Memphis, Tenn. She was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States when she was 7 years old with her parents and sister. Edith grew up in Chicago, then moved to Memphis in 2016, where she quickly realized how few community programs existed for immigrants. Two years later, she helped create Mariposas Collective, which initially aimed to help families who had just been released from detention centers and were seeking asylum. The collective started out small but has since grown to approximately 400 volunteers.