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Mark Wahlberg on "The Ellen Show."

When his daughter Grace was 10 years old, actor Mark Wahlberg attended a daddy-daughter dance with her. Sadly, Grace had no interest in seeing her father strutting his stuff on the dance floor. "I didn't get one dance," Wahlberg told Ellen DeGeneres. "And I told her we were going to do the whole big circle and I was going to go off. And she said, 'Dad, if you embarrass me, I will never talk to you again.' But what she did do is she hung out with me."

No matter who your dad is, especially if you're a 10-year-old-girl, you have zero desire to see him dance in front of your friends. But the parents at the dance probably would have had a blast seeing Wahlberg bust out some of his old-school '90s Marky Mark moves. However, Wahlberg couldn't help but leave his mark on the music being played at the dance.

marky mark, mark wahlberg, good vibrationsMark Wahlberg was known as "Marky Mark" in the 90s.Giphy

Let's not forget, he didn't get famous for his acting but for showing off his abs in the "Good Vibrations" video.

Being that Wahlberg's time as a pop star was three decades ago, he couldn't believe it when he heard the music being played at the dance.

"[Grace] sat there on the edge of the stage, by the DJ. And then I'm sitting there with one other dad and I'm like, 'This is not an edited version of this song. There are explicit lyrics being played at a school dance for girls and I'm like no good,'" he said.

"I told the DJ and he's like, 'Oh, I thought it was.' I said, 'What are you doing?' I'm hearing F-bombs and this and that's not okay," Wahlberg said.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

He's right. There's no place for music with explicit lyrics at a dance for 10-year-old children.

Wahlberg says the DJ didn't know he wasn't playing the edited version, but it's probably more likely that he didn't even realize the song was a problem. Pop music these days is filled with a numbing amount of violent and misogynistic lyrics.

A recent study from the University of Missouri found that nearly one-third of pop songs contain lyrics that degrade or demean women by portraying them as submissive or sexually objectified.

Currently, three of the top five songs on the Billboard Top 40 contain the word "bitch." One of them is sung in Korean.

profanity, foul language, swearing"Your language is offensive!" Giphy

It's odd that Americans have become more sensitive to misogyny in pop culture in films, television, and comedy, but still have a huge cultural blind-spot when it comes to music.

That's not a good thing, especially when pop music is marketed to teenagers.

"We know that music has a strong impact on young people and how they view their role in society," said Cynthia Frisby, a professor in the Missouri School of Journalism.

"Unlike rap or hip-hop, pop music tends to have a bubbly, uplifting sound that is meant to draw listeners in," Frisby continued. "But that can be problematic if the lyrics beneath the sound are promoting violence and misogynistic behavior."

profanity, swearing, f-bombs, music lyricsMusic lyrics can be highly inappropriate for youngsters.Photo credit: Canva

Let's face it, pop stars are role models. Their examples show young people what to wear and how to behave. That's not to say that kids will blindly follow someone just because they like their music. But it has an undeniable effect.

Wahlberg, and any parent who monitors what their kids are listening to, deserve credit for protecting the minds and hearts of their kids.

Frisby has some great advice for parents concerned about negative imagery in pop music.

"Ask your daughters and sons what songs they like to listen to and have conversations about how the songs might impact their identity," Frisby said.

"For example, many songs might make young girls feel like they have to look and act provocative in order to get a boy to like them, when that isn't necessarily the case. If children and teens understand that what they are hearing isn't healthy behavior, then they might be more likely to challenge what they hear on the radio."

He's right. There's no place for music with explicit lyrics at a dance for 10-year-old children.

parental advisory, explicit content, explicit lyricsParental Advisory Explicit Content warnings are there for a reason.Giphy

Wahlberg says the DJ didn't know he wasn't playing the edited version, but it's probably more likely that he didn't even realize the song was a problem. Pop music these days is filled with a numbing amount of violent and misogynistic lyrics.

A recent study from the University of Missouri found that nearly one-third of pop songs contain lyrics that degrade or demean women by portraying them as submissive or sexually objectified.

Currently, three of the top five songs on the Billboard Top 40 contain the word "bitch." One of them is sung in Korean.

It's odd that Americans have become more sensitive to misogyny in pop culture in films, television, and comedy, but still have a huge cultural blind-spot when it comes to music.

That's not a good thing, especially when pop music is marketed to teenagers.

music lyrics, misogyny, pop culture, explicit contentPeople often brush off misogynistic lyrics in modern music.Photo credit: Canva

"We know that music has a strong impact on young people and how they view their role in society," said Cynthia Frisby, a professor in the Missouri School of Journalism.

"Unlike rap or hip-hop, pop music tends to have a bubbly, uplifting sound that is meant to draw listeners in," Frisby continued. "But that can be problematic if the lyrics beneath the sound are promoting violence and misogynistic behavior."

Let's face it, pop stars are role models. Their examples show young people what to wear and how to behave. That's not to say that kids will blindly follow someone just because they like their music. But it has an undeniable effect. Wahlberg, and any parent who monitors what their kids are listening to, deserve credit for protecting the minds and hearts of their kids.

Frisby has some great advice for parents concerned about negative imagery in pop music.

"Ask your daughters and sons what songs they like to listen to and have conversations about how the songs might impact their identity," Frisby said.

"For example, many songs might make young girls feel like they have to look and act provocative in order to get a boy to like them, when that isn't necessarily the case. If children and teens understand that what they are hearing isn't healthy behavior, then they might be more likely to challenge what they hear on the radio."

This article originally appeared five years ago.

via Analysees Consulting / Twitter

Callum Manning and his favorite books.

There are few more fulfilling hobbies than having a love of books.

Reading isn't just a great way to have a good time. Reading increases brain connectivity, makes people more empathetic, reduces depression symptoms, improves vocabulary, and may even cause you to live longer.

It's a huge benefit for a child's development as well. According to Parent.com, reading "stimulates the side of the brain that helps with mental imagery, understanding, and language processing, and that brain activity."

Sure beats wasting time playing video games.



Thirteen-year-old Callum Manning wanted to share his love of reading with the world, so he created an Instagram account where he posted photos of the books he's read. It started with a post about Stephen King's "The Shining."

"So I guess I'm going to start this account off with one of my favourite books, Callum wrote. "This book was the first book I read in 1 day. And I was like 10. So yeah it scared me."

He would go on to fill his pages with books such as "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, "1984" by George Orwell, and current classics such as "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin and "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling

Kids Callum's age can be exceptionally cruel. A group of them created a group chat where they bullied him for his love of books and then invited him to join. After subjecting him to emotional abuse, they kicked him out of the chat.

"I don't tend to cry that often but I think that was the first time in a while I've actually cried," Callum told PA Media.

His older sister, Ellis Landreth, was understandably upset about the cruelty, so she tweeted about the group chat, hoping about "20 or 30 of my friends [would] like a few of his posts or follow him or give him some words of encouragement."

Her tweet would go viral, receiving over 180,000 likes.


She was bombarded by responses from people who wanted to support her brother.

Just a few hours after the tweet, Callum received thousands of followers on his page. In just three days, he's up to nearly 400,000 followers. He's also received countless messages of support through the page.

English novelist Matt Haig sent Callum a collection of books, adding: "Hey let's all follow Cals Book Account on Instagram and show him some support." A book store near Manning's home in northeast England promised him a book on the house.

Callum's story was shared on Instagram by authors Caroline Kepnes and Malorie Blackman.

The teenager received over 15,000 messages in his DMs. "He's absolutely overwhelmed," Landreth told CNN. "He can't even get through all his DMs."

Callum's mother is over the moon about the response. "She's so happy people are spreading positive messages about these issues," Landreth said. "No matter how small some things seem, they can stick with kids forever."


This article originally appeared on 03.04.20

Massimo Mandato transforms into Dolly Parton.

It’s always amazing to see a great impressionist, such as Frank Calliendo or Melissa Villaseñor, put on another persona for comedic effect. There is something magical about people who can uncover a person’s mannerisms and essence and replicate them for comedic effect.

It’s one of the oldest forms of comedy, but when done right, it’s still as entertaining as ever.

Massimo Mandato, a 24-year-old Canadian TikTokker, has devised a new way of impersonating people simply by making a face and striking a pose. The incredible thing is that, for some reason, he has the ability to look like different people, regardless of their gender or age. The magnificent thing is he can pull off their look in just a few seconds, and once you see it, you can't unsee the resemblance.


"It's the way that I literally look like everyone," he opens his first video in the series. "Don't believe me? Buckle up." What is it about this man’s face that makes it a blank slate that can transform into just about anyone?

Let’s take a look at some of his fabulous work.

In this video, he shows us that he looks like Kendall from “Dance Moms,” Elvis Presley, Sam Smith, Gru (from “Despicable Me”) as a kid, Shane Dawson and YouTuber Dream. How in the world can he look like all those people when they don’t even look like each other?

Commenter Camille Roe asked the same thing: "None of these people look similar, but somehow you look just like every one of them.”

@massmandato

tell me who else I look like☠️ #shanedawson #samsmith #dream #gru #elvis #fyp #greenscreen

After the video went viral, the commenters began asking him to do impressions of some more people they think he looks like. That led to a follow-up where he poses his face to look like Elizabeth Moss from “Mad Men,” Emma Chamberlain, Dina from "Superstore," Ellen DeGeneres, Napoleon Bonaparte and Tobey Maguire.

[Video 2]

@massmandato

Wait till the end I was shook☠️ #emmachamberlain #tobeymaguire #ellen

Again, Napoleon looks nothing like Ellen, and Tobey Maguire looks nothing like Peggy, the copywriter from “Mad Men,” so how does he look like all 4? The commenters were blown away by Mandato’s resemblance to the French emperor.

"Why are you literally Napoleon?" Vee asked in the comments. “Napoleon had me dead," Karolastrona added. "When you zoomed out and Napoleon appeared, my eyes popped out of my head," Michelle Lee wrote.

In this video, Mandato looks like Katy Perry, Paris Jackson, Lorde, Balloony from "Phineas and Ferb," JoJo Siwa, British racing driver George Russell, and Lenny from “Shark Tale.”

@massmandato

The list just keeps increasing😫#jojosiwa #georgerussell #lorde #greenscreen @JoJo Siwa @

Last, but not least, here's Mandato as Dolly Parton.

@massmandato

Literally how😭 #dollyparton

Even though impressionists have been working throughout human history, technology has opened up a new way for these artists to show off their craft.

Mandato isn’t just great because he poses like the people he’s impersonating. The videos flawlessly morph into a picture of the person, which is why the illusion works so well. Without TikTok, it’d be a little hard for Mandato to pull off his act. It would be interesting to see how he would present his unique talent in a live stage show.

Image pulled from YouTube video.

Magic shines on "The Ellen Show."

NBA legend and entrepreneur Magic Johnson has so much love for his son E.J., who came out in 2013.

In a 2017 appearance on "The Ellen Show", Johnson talked about the moment E.J. (a rising star in his own right) came out to to him and his wife, Cookie. They had what can only be described as the ideal reaction: They supported their son from the get-go.

"When my son came out, I was so happy for him and happy for us as parents," Johnson said. "And we love him. And E.J. is amazing."


Ellen asked what advice Johnson would give other parents who find themselves in the same situation. His advice was spot-on.

"I think it's all about you not trying to decide what your daughter or son should be, or what you want them to become," he answered. "It's all about loving them no matter who they are [or] what they decide to do."

Family acceptance and support is important to all kids, but it's vital for the health and well-being of LGBTQ youth.

"You gotta support your child," Johnson wants parents to know. "It's so many people who try to discriminate against them, so they need you to support them. 'Cause if you don't support 'em, who's gonna support 'em and love 'em?"

family, gender rights, community, social norms

Magic talks about his son E.J. on "The Ellen Show."

Image pulled from YouTube video.


There's enough bigotry and discrimination in the world. No child deserves to hear it at home.

The data doesn't lie: "LGBT young people whose parents and caregivers reject them or try to change them are at high risk for depression, substance abuse, suicide and HIV infection," said Caitlin Ryan, faculty member at San Francisco State University and director of the Family Acceptance Project. "LGBT young people whose parents support them and stand up for them show much higher levels of self-esteem and greater well-being, with lower rates of health and mental health problems."

If you're a parent or family member supporting someone who just came out, you don't have to go it alone.

Check out PFLAG for more information, including local meet-ups for parents and resources to build and foster safe communities. Groups like Parents for Transgender Equality, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and Believe Out Loud are also great places to start.

Need more inspiration? See more of Magic Johnson's appearance on "Ellen."

This article originally appeared on 04.19.17