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

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

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.

Community

How to end hunger, according to the people who face it daily

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Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

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A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. "Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination," Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review.

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It's like having a road map for your goals.

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Downey shared a video in May of 2022 in which he chats with a couple of squirrels on his porch while feeding them and offering them water. That video received over 26 million views and kicked off a whole series of videos showcasing the adorable antics of Richard, Maxine, Hector, Consuela, Norma (may she rest in peace), and Hood Rat Raymond. He's built Richard a house, rescued Maxine's babies, mourned Norma's transition (to wherever squirrels go when they die) and more.

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Library of Congress

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