It’s already great news when a lost pup finds its way back home. But it’s even better when the story involves a movie star.
When her beloved dachshund named Blue disappeared, Chelsea Blackwell did what any distraught dog mom would do—she immediately went searching for him. She desperately drove through the streets of New York for an hour before seeing a line of squad cars and people with cameras near the Greyhound bus station in Albany.
Blackwell had prepared for even more bad news. “I pulled over and thought, oh man, did someone get shot?” she told local publication Times Union Albany.
As she would soon find out, Blackwell had just made it one huge step closer to finding Blue, along with a celebrity surprise.
Blackwell had actually stumbled onto a filming location rather than a crime scene. Resuming her search, she began to ask the film crew if anyone had seen a small brown dog. To her shock, the answer was yes, someone had found a small brown dog. Not just anyone, in fact, but a household name.
Blackwell was in disbelief until about an hour later when a car pulled up and she saw Blue sitting in the lap of none other than Hilary Swank.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering Swank has a reputation for being a dog lover and hero. In her 2021 interview with People Magazine, Swank shared how “every dog I’ve ever rescued and also shared my life with have all had their unique way of being in the world.”
The two-time Oscar winner even created her own foundation called Hilaroo (named after own rescued pup named Karoo), which pairs abandoned animals with at-risk youth. Perhaps little Blue was just in the right place at the right time…or maybe Swank has transformed into a dog magnet. Who knows?
Either way, it was a truly happy ending. Relieved, and a little star struck, Blackwell asked Swank for an autograph. Instead, the actress offered a picture together because who wouldn’t want to capture this once-in-a-lifetime moment?
So happy that Blue is back home, and that he has his own celebrity sighting story.
In a small village in Pwani, a district on Tanzania’s coast, a massive dance party is coming to a close. For the past two hours, locals have paraded through the village streets, singing and beating ngombe drums; now, in a large clearing, a woman named Sheilla motions for everyone to sit facing a large projector screen. A film premiere is about to begin.
It’s an unusual way to kick off a film about gender bias, inequality, early marriage, and other barriers that prevent girls from accessing education in Tanzania. But in Pwani and beyond, local organizations supported by Malala Fund and funded by Pura are finding creative, culturally relevant ways like this one to capture people’s interest.
The film ends and Sheilla, the Communications and Partnership Lead for Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA), stands in front of the crowd once again, asking the audience to reflect: What did you think about the film? How did it relate to your own experience? What can we learn?
Sheilla explains that, once the community sees the film, “It brings out conversations within themselves, reflective conversations.” The resonance and immediate action create a ripple effect of change.
MEDEA Screening Audience in Tanzania. Captured by James Roh for Pura
Across Tanzania, gender-based violence often forces adolescent girls out of the classroom. This and other barriers — including child marriage, poverty, conflict, and discrimination — prevent girls from completing their education around the world.
Sheilla and her team are using film and radio programs to address the challenges girls face in their communities. MEDEA’s ultimate goal is to affirm education as a fundamental right for everyone, and to ensure that every member of a community understands how girls’ education contributes to a stronger whole and how to be an ally for their sisters, daughters, granddaughters, friends, nieces, and girlfriends.
Sheilla’s story is one of many that inspired Heart on Fire, a new fragrance from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection that blends the warm, earthy spices of Tanzania with a playful, joyful twist. Here’s how Pura is using scent as a tool to connect the world and inspire action.
A partnership focused on local impact, on a global mission
Pura, a fragrance company that recognizes education as both freedom and a human right, has partnered with Malala Fund since 2022. In order to defend every girl’s right to access and complete 12 years of education, Malala Fund partners with local organizations in countries where the educational barriers are the greatest. They invest in locally-led solutions because they know that those who are closest to the problems are best equipped to solve and build durable solutions, like MEDEA, which works with communities to challenge discrimination against girls and change beliefs about their education.
But local initiatives can thrive and scale more powerfully with global support, which is why Pura is using their own superpower, the power of scent, to connect people around the world with the women and girls in these local communities.
The Pura x Malala Fund Collection incorporates ingredients naturally found in Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil: countries where Malala Fund operates to address systemic education barriers. Eight percent of net revenue from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection will be donated to Malala Fund directly, but beyond financial support, the Collection is also a love letter to each unique community, blending notes like lemon, jasmine, cedarwood, and clove to transport people, ignite their senses, and help them draw inspiration and hope from the global movement for girls’ education. Through scent, people can connect to the courage, joy, and tenacity of girls and local leaders, all while uniting in a shared commitment to education: the belief that supporting girls’ rights in one community benefits all of us, everywhere.
You’ve already met Sheilla. Now see how Naiara and Mama Habiba are building unique solutions to ensure every girl can learn freely and dare to dream.
Naiara Leite is reimagining what’s possible in Brazil
Julia with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
In Brazil, where pear trees and coconut plantations cover the Northeastern Coast, girls like ten-year-old Julia experience a different kind of educational barrier than girls in Tanzania. Too often, racial discrimination contributes to high dropout rates among Black, quilombola and Indigenous girls in the country.
“In the logic of Brazilian society, Black people don’t need to study,” says Naiara Leite, Executive Coordinator of Odara, a women-led organization and Malala Fund partner. Bahia, the state where Odara is based, was once one of the largest slave-receiving territories in the Americas, and because of that history, deeply-ingrained, anti-Black prejudice is still widespread. “Our role and the image constructed around us is one of manual labor,” Naiara says.
But education can change that. In 2020, with assistance from a Malala Fund grant, Odara launched its first initiative for improving school completion rates among Black, quilombola, and Indigenous girls: “Ayomidê Odara”. The young girls mentored under the program, including Julia, are known as the Ayomidês. And like the Pura x Malala Fund Collection’s Brazil: Breath of Courage scent, the Ayomidês are fierce, determined, and bursting with energy.
Ayomidês with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
Ayomidês take part in weekly educational sessions where they explore subjects like education and ethnic-racial relations. The girls are encouraged to find their own voices by producing Instagram lives, social media videos, and by participating in public panels. Already, the Ayomidês are rewriting the narrative on what’s possible for Afro-Brazilian girls to achieve. One of the earliest Ayomidês, a young woman named Debora, is now a communications intern. Another former Ayomidê, Francine, works at UNICEF, helping train the next generation of adolescent leaders. And Julia has already set her sights on becoming a math teacher or a model.
“These are generations of Black women who did not have access to a school,” Naiara says. “These are generations of Black women robbed daily of their dreams. And we’re telling them that they could be the generation in their family to write a new story.”
Mama Habiba is reframing the conversation in Nigeria
Centre for Girls' Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
In Mama Habiba’s home country of Nigeria, the scents of starfruit, ylang ylang and pineapple, all incorporated into the Pura x Malala Collection’s “Nigeria: Hope for Tomorrow,” can be found throughout the vibrant markets. Like these native scents, Mama Habiba says that the Nigerian girls are also bright and passionate, but too often they are forced to leave school long before their potential fully blooms.
“Some of these schools are very far, and there is an issue of quality, too,” Mama Habiba says. “Most parents find out when their children are in school, the girls are not learning. So why allow them to continue?”
When girls drop out of secondary school, marriage is often the alternative. In Nigeria, one in three girls is married before the age of 18. When this happens, girls are unable to fulfill their potential, and their families and communities lose out on the social, health and economic benefits.
Completing secondary school delays marriage, and according to UNESCO, educated girls become women who raise healthier children, lift their families out of poverty and contribute to more peaceful, resilient communities.
Centre for Girls’ Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
To encourage young girls to stay in school, the Centre for Girls’ Education, a nonprofit in Nigeria founded by Mama Habiba and supported by Malala Fund and Pura, has pioneered an initiative that’s similar to the Ayomidê workshops in Brazil: safe spaces. Here, girls meet regularly to learn literacy, numeracy, and other issues like reproductive health. These safe spaces also provide an opportunity for the girls to role-play and learn to advocate for themselves, develop their self-image, and practice conversations with others about their values, education being one of them. In safe spaces, Mama Habiba says, girls start to understand “who she is, and that she is a girl who has value. She has the right to negotiate with her parents on what she really feels or wants.”
“When girls are educated, they can unlock so many opportunities,” Mama Habiba says. “It will help the economy of the country. It will boost so many opportunities for the country. If they are given the opportunity, I think the sky is not the limit. It is the starting point for every girl.”
From parades, film screenings to safe spaces and educational programs, girls and local leaders are working hard to strengthen the quality, safety and accessibility of education and overcome systemic challenges. They are encouraging courageous behavior and reminding us all that education is freedom.
Experience the Pura x Malala Fund Collection here, and connect with the stories of real girls leading change across the globe.
When Brody Ridder came home from school on May 24, 2022, his mom took one look at his yearbook and felt her heart crack open. He’d asked all kinds of kids to sign it. Two had. Two teachers had. And then, on one of the pages, in his own handwriting: “Hope you make some more friends. — Brody Ridder.”
He had signed his own yearbook. And then wished himself better luck next year.
Cassandra Ridder posted a photo of the page to the school’s private Facebook parent group that night. She didn’t ask Brody first, but as she told the Washington Post, she knew he’d be fine with it. “Brody has always told me he wants to be part of the solution.” Her message to other parents was simple: talk to your kids about kindness. She had no idea what was about to happen.
snip* It is the time of year when kids are signing each other’s yearbooks. But what happens when no one wants to sign yours?
That happened to Brody Ridder, a sixth grader at The Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster.https://t.co/tCDWYkLD1A
Other parents showed the post to their kids. Seventeen-year-old Joanna Cooper got a text from her mom with a screenshot and made a decision on the spot, as she told KDVR. “We’re going to sign his yearbook,” she said, “because no kid deserves to feel like that.” She started texting friends. Meanwhile, Simone Lightfoot, also an 11th grader, was doing the same thing. “When I was younger, I was bullied a lot like him,” she told the Washington Post. “We walked in and we were like, ‘Where’s Brody at? Is Brody Ridder in here?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, he’s in the back.’ And we’re like, ‘Brody! We’re here to sign your yearbook, bud.’”
The older kids didn’t just sign their names. As Goalcast reported in its coverage, they asked Brody about his hobbies, which turned out to include chess and fencing, and gave him a pep talk. Many of them had been in similar situations at his age. Once the upperclassmen started filling pages, the kids in Brody’s own class started getting up from their seats to sign it too. “It was like a domino effect,” Cassandra told Fox News. “It was beautiful.” By the end of the day, Brody had collected more than 100 signatures, paragraphs of encouragement, and a handful of phone numbers.
“It just made me feel better as a person,” Brody told KDVR. “I don’t know how to explain it. It just makes me feel better on the inside.”
The teenagers marched into Brody Ridder's class and filled the sixth grader's yearbook with messages of friendship and support. https://t.co/NAbQIBvTat
The story didn’t stay local for long. After Cassandra posted an update to her personal Facebook, it spread widely. Letters started arriving at the Ridders’ P.O. Box from people across the country and around the world, people of all ages who recognized something in Brody’s story. By July, at least 600 letters had arrived, with more still coming, including one dictated by a three-year-old to his mom.
Among those who reached out was Paul Rudd. According to the Denver Post, Rudd’s sister saw Cassandra’s post and contacted her to say the actor would love to connect with Brody. Rudd FaceTimed him and sent a care package that included a signed Ant-Man helmet and a handwritten note telling Brody that things get better and that many people, Rudd included, thought he was “the coolest kid there is.”
Cassandra and Brody have since partnered with The UGLI Foundation, an anti-bullying nonprofit, to keep the conversation going, according to the Denver Post. Cooper, the 11th grader who organized the original yearbook visit, said she planned to push for a schoolwide signing event the following year so no student would face an empty book again.
Brody said he’s not sure all the kids who refused to sign will become his friends. But something shifted. “It made me feel like there’s hope for the school,” Cassandra said, “there’s hope for humanity, and there are a lot of good kids in this world.”
Some Olympic sports are obviously difficult and, clearly, inherently dangerous. You can’t watch a snowboarder twirl upside down in mid-air, 17 feet above a 22-foot halfpipe wall, and not admire the heck out of the effort it takes to reach that level of courage, skill, and athleticism. Watching skiers barreling down a mountain at 60 to 80 mph with nothing but a thin suit between them and the ground, expertly avoiding obstacles as they do it, is objectively impressive to the average person.
But the challenge of other sports isn’t as immediately appreciated. Curling may be hard, but it doesn’t look that hard.
And bobsledding might take some level of athletic ability, but other than a 5-second run before you jump into the sled, it’s really just about momentum and steering, right? Sure, they go fast, but bobsledders sit inside a protective metal casing, so it looks more like a thrilling roller coaster ride than a physically challenging and dangerous sport, right?
That’s what Saturday Night Live‘s Colin Jost thought. Then he tried it, and thankfully, he took us all along with him.
In a clip from NBC Sports, Jost describes his bobsled ride in Lake Placid, New York, as “by far, the scariest experience I’ve ever had in my life.”
Jost rode along with an experienced driver and didn’t even have to do anything but feel it. And, boy, did he feel it. We can see how his body was violently jostled from the physics of flying down the track. As the driver said, astronauts take off in a space shuttle at about three Gs. In the bobsled, they did about 5 Gs, which means he was feeling five times his body weight pushing down on him.
We can see and hear the shift from “Wow!” to “Holy ____!” as Jost’s thrill turned to terror on the track.
“I was in no way prepared for that,” Jost said. “I truly thought my body was going to break apart. I’m not exaggerating. It was so much more intense than I expected.”
Jost told NBC’s Mike Tirico that he was “not prepared for the level of terror of this bobsled.”
“I swear to God, I thought I was going to die,” he said. “I thought my back was gonna snap in half. I thought my bones were gonna fly off my body and be littered all up and down the bobsled track.”
People loved seeing an average person partake in an Olympic event, especially someone as honest about the experience as Jost was, as evidenced in the comments:
“Now THIS is the kind of commentary I want!”
“Huge thank you to whoever put Colin Jost in a bobsled.”
“Can we have him do every event for a reference point?”
“This is what we’ve been asking for – an average person participating so we can get a real account! Thank you for your service, Colin Jost!”
“He was so horrified he couldn’t even be hilarious about it 💀”
“He completely lost his composure, 😂 you could tell he was scared, and it did look like the fastest thing anyone would ride.”
“You know what… his explanation really helped me understand how scary bobsledding is and now I’m more interested in watching. Keep this guy on the air. That second scream shows me he’s telling the truth 😂“
The video really does offer a whole different perspective on how difficult bobsledding actually is.
Jost was just trying to keep his body together. Imagine having to focus and steer on top of handling those G-forces.
Retired NFL player and popular podcaster Jason Kelce also tried out the bobsled in Park City, Utah, and had a similar “holy ____” experience. He seemed to enjoy it a little more than Jost did, perhaps more accustomed to his body taking a beating as a professional football player, but he said it was far more intense than it looked. It didn’t feel like a roller coaster, he said. The 1,400 pounds of pressure pushing him into the metal bars of the sled bruised his hips, and, at one point, it got so loud he couldn’t hear his own screams.
Seeing how careening down an ice track in an aerodynamic sled feels really does lend a whole new level of wow to a sport that some might mistakenly see as glorified sledding. It also lends more weight to 41-year-old Elana Meyers Taylor’s monobob (single-person bobsledding) run that earned her her first Olympic gold medal in her sixth Olympic Games in Milano Cortina. She had earned three silver medals and two bronze medals, making her the most decorated U.S. female bobsledder of all time.
Seriously, nothing but respect for the bobsledders from here on out.
Some Olympic sports are obviously difficult and, clearly, inherently dangerous. You can’t watch a snowboarder twirl upside down in mid-air, 17 feet above a 22-foot halfpipe wall, and not admire the heck out of the effort it takes to reach that level of courage, skill, and athleticism. Watching skiers barreling down a mountain at 60…
Some Olympic sports are obviously difficult and, clearly, inherently dangerous. You can’t watch a snowboarder twirl upside down in mid-air, 17 feet above a 22-foot halfpipe wall, and not admire the heck out of the effort it takes to reach that level of courage, skill, and athleticism. Watching skiers barreling down a mountain at 60 to 80 mph with nothing but a thin suit between them and the ground, expertly avoiding obstacles as they do it, is objectively impressive to the average person.
But the challenge of other sports isn’t as immediately appreciated. Curling may be hard, but it doesn’t look that hard. And bobsled might take some level of athletic ability, but other than a 5-second run before you jump into the sled, it’s really just about momentum and steering, right? Sure, they go fast, but bobsledders sit inside a protective metal casing, so it looks more like a thrilling roller coaster ride than a physically challenging and dangerous sport, right?
That’s what Saturday Night Live‘s Colin Jost thought. Then he tried it, and thankfully, he took all of us along with him. In a clip from NBC Sports, Jost describes his bobsled ride in Lake Placid, New York, as “by far, the scariest experience I’ve ever had in my life.”
Jost rode along with an experienced driver and didn’t even have to do anything but feel it. And, boy, did he feel it. We can see how his body was violently jostled from the physics of flying down the track. As the driver said, astronauts take off in a space shuttle at about three Gs. In the bobsled, they did about 5 Gs, which means he was feeling five times his body weight pushing down on him.
We can see and hear the shift from “Wow!” to “Holy ____!” as Jost’s thrill turned to terror on the track.
“I was in no way prepared for that,” Jost said. “I truly thought my body was going to break apart. I’m not exaggerating. It was so much more intense than I expected.”
Jost told Mike Tirico that he was “not prepared for the level of terror of this bobsled.”
“I swear to God, I thought I was going to die,” he said. “I thought my back was gonna snap in half. I thought my bones were gonna fly off my body and be littered all up and down the bobsled track.”
People loved seeing an average person partake in an Olympic event, especially someone as honest about the experience as Jost was, as evidenced in the comments:
“Now THIS is the kind of commentary I want!”
“Huge thank you to whoever put Colin Jost in a bobsled.”
“Can we have him do every event for a reference point?”
“This is what we’ve been asking for – an average person participating so we can get a real account! Thank you for your service, Colin Jost!”
“He was so horrified he couldn’t even be hilarious about it 💀”
“He completely lost his composure, 😂 you could tell he was scared, and it did look like the fastest thing anyone would ride.”
“You know what… his explanation really helped me understand how scary bobsledding is and now I’m more interested in watching. Keep this guy on the air. That second scream shows me he’s telling the truth 😂“
The video really does offer a whole different perspective on how difficult bobsledding actually is. Jost was just trying to keep his body together. Imagine having to focus and steer on top of handling those G-forces.
Retired NFL player and popular podcaster Jason Kelce also tried out the bobsled in Park City, Utah, and had a similar “holy ____” experience. He seemed to enjoy it a little more than Jost did, perhaps more accustomed to his body taking a beating as a professional football player, but he said it was far more intense than it looked. It didn’t feel like a roller coaster, he said. The 1,400 pounds of pressure pushing him into the metal bars of the sled bruised his hips, and, at one point, it got so loud he couldn’t hear his own screams.
Seeing how careening down an ice track in an aerodynamic sled feels really does lend a whole new level of wow to a sport that some might mistakenly see as glorified sledding. It also lends more weight to 41-year-old Elana Meyers Taylor’s run that earned her her first Olympic gold medal in her sixth Olympic Games in Milano Cortina. She had earned three silver medals and two bronze medals, making her the most decorated U.S. female bobsledder of all time.
Seriously, nothing but respect for the bobsledders from here on out.
Robbie, who is Australian, shared that she grew up with what she called “Bogan Nachos.” “Bogan” is an Australian slang term signifying the “unsophisticated working class.” It’s similar to “trailer trash” in the US, only it can be used as a bit of lighthearted self-deprecating humor, rather than just an insult.
To make these nachos (or “narchos,” as Robbie calls them, though she admits that’s more of a personal quirk than an Australian one), you lay out a packet of Doritos on “al foil,” aka aluminum foil or tin foil, then top with baked beans and, of course, melted cheese.
“That is bogan nachos, and it is bangin’,” Robbie attested.
@tablemannerspodcast It’s a huge one this week, we have superstar Margot Robbie coming home to Clapham! Fresh from the Eurostar after the Parisian premiere for her new film ‘Wuthering Heights’ (starring Jacob Elordi and directed by friend of the pod, the gorgeous Emerald Fennell) Margot was exactly what we always dreamed she would be; a gem of a guest and gorgeous human! We talked about the juggle with producing and acting in films, the food she ate growing up (including ‘Fivesies’ and ‘Bogan Narrrrchos’), how her own gin ‘Papa Salt’ came to be, teaching Bette Midler about ‘Gavin & Stacey’, the bachelorette party her friends threw for her character Cathy, her husband being a phenomenal cook, the accent training she needed when she started in ‘Neighbours’, and we hear how she nearly killed her grandma-in-law by feeding her raw ham! Margot, you’re welcome to join us every week, and we’re absolutely popping round for one of Tom’s famous ‘egg’ steaks! ‘Wuthering Heights’ is released globally in cinemas on 13th February. #TableManners#MargotRobbie#WutheringHeights#Clapham#Barbie♬ original sound – Table Manners Podcast
She’s not the only one who felt this way. Several other Aussies shared their love for bogan nachos in the comments as well as their own tweaks to the Aussie-fied Tex-Mex dish.
“As an Australian- tin foil, corn chips, salsa, grated cheese into the oven and then out with sour cream.
“Luxurious Bogan Nachos = layer corn chips, 1 layer grated cheese, repeat microwave until cheese melts, top with hot sauce and sour cream, guac if you feel fancy.”
“Oh I eat bogan nachos all the time (exactly how she described it but I also add corn kernels) so good.
“Aussie girl can confirm, especially putting sour cream once out of the oven.”
Nachos have always been an opportunity for creativity ever since Ignacio Anaya, affectionately known as “Nacho” by his friends and patrons, grabbed some tortilla chips, covered them with freshly grated cheese, and added sliced jalapeño peppers to whip up a last-minute dish for a group of military wives in 1943.
Since then, other cultures have made tweaks to the types of chips, cheese, toppings, and layering style to create entirely unique takes. Canada’s “nacho poutine,” replaces standard cheese with cheese curds and gravy, for example. In Ireland, sliced potatoes or French fries are used instead of tortilla chips, and often covered in melted cheese plus bacon. Cuba utilizes plantain chips as a base, topped with ropa vieja (shredded beef), cheese, tomatoes, and onions.
Nachos can even be made into a breakfast food with eggs and bacon, or into a dessert with cinnamon-sugar-dusted chips, chocolate sauce, and ice cream. The possibilities are deliciously endless.
This short clip might not seem like anything too extraordinary, but in a mere few seconds, we witnessed one of the best aspects of being human—the fact that we are all so different, yet have so much in common.
You can find the full Table Manners episode, where Robbie also explains the “Fivesie” tradition in Australia of enjoying a pre-dinner cheese board, below:
James Van Der Beek, best known for his roles in Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues, has died at the age of 48 after a journey with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Since November of 2024, the actor has been open about some of the struggles he’s faced with the diagnosis, including having to sell off much of his iconic memorabilia to pay off his cancer treatment.
And yet, Van Der Beek still left the world on perhaps a grounded, somewhat hopeful note, as indicated by the undeniably profound message he made in an Instagram video, posted a mere few weeks before his death.
Using his signature down-to-earth, friendly sense of humor, Van Der Beek spoke directly to the camera as he asked the essential question: “Why are we celebrating a new year in the dead of winter? Why are we celebrating new beginnings at a time when nature rests?”
“Animals are hibernating, birds fly south for the winter,” he continued. “The time to celebrate new beginnings, and a new year, and a new you and a new resolution is spring at the vernal equinox, when the flowers bloom and it gets warmer and the birds return.”
He then quipped that the Gregorian calendar, which marks a new year in the winter, goes against nature, and therefore makes “absolutely no sense.”
“In the winter, the days are shorter and the nights are longer,” he wrote in his caption. “But instead of being reminded how perfect this season is for cocooning, eating stew, snuggling and sleeping… why are we being told this is the time to buy a gym membership?”
So, to anyone having trouble keeping to those New Year’s resolutions, Van Der Beek assured, “I don’t think it’s your fault” and offered a different solution: viewing spring as the start of the new year.
“I’m gonna say screw it,” he said. “I’m gonna take the winter to recover, to rest and I’m gonna make New Year’s resolutions in the spring. Who’s with me?”
Obviously, the video hits differently now…the optimism a little bittersweet. But it’s nonetheless a huge testament to how he “met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” as his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek wrote.
“There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time,” she added.
It’s wisdom that still rings true. We can force ourselves to go against nature. Or we can follow in Van Der Beek’s footsteps and give ourselves the grace to let nature work through us, to trust in our inherent worthiness, and to take time to heal. This is just one of many wonderful contributions that he’s given to us all, and he will be deeply missed.
Since stepping onto the scene, the pronunciation of her name seems to vary depending on who says it. But recently, in an interview, the actress revealed that no one has pronounced her name the way her parents intended. Nischelle Turner caught up with the actress on Entertainment Tonight as she promotes her directorial debut for Mary J. Blige Presents: Be Happy, premiering on Lifetime.
After reminiscing on Sidibe’s first interview with the network, the pair shifted gears, eventually landing on the actress’s name pronunciation. Turner appeared shocked when the mom of twins revealed the proper pronunciation.
It starts with Turner asking if her last name is pronounced ” si-da-bay ” or “si-di-bay.” Neither pronunciation was correct. The actress smiles and says, “It’s actually si-DEE-beh. It’s Senegalese, so it’s got accents that I don’t use, but I usually say Sidi-bay because Americans need things to rhyme, so I say it’s Sidi-bay like city by the bay. For the record, my name also is not Gab-ou-ray,” She laughs. “If that matters.”
Turner’s face says what plenty of viewers were probably thinking. Has the world been pronouncing her entire name incorrectly since she became famous? Yes, yes, it has. “It is actually, Ga-BOU-rey,” Sidibe shares while Turner repeats her pronunciation. “You’re from America,” she giggles nearly uncontrollably. The Entertainment Tonight host demands that the actress make people say her name correctly, but she has no plans to correct people.
Turns out, Sidibe began embracing her Americanized pronunciation when she was still in school. Like many with unique names, she was used to people mispronouncing her name, and she used to correct them. Eventually, she decided that Gabby worked because people didn’t have difficulty saying that name. Some people who struggle with others pronouncing their name correctly can go in the opposite direction. They may start not being confident enough to correct others, but as they age, they begin to find themselves demanding that people put in the effort to learn their actual name.
As for Sidibe, she says, “I would rather be some name I decide is good enough rather than it being completely butchered.”
People who viewed the clip are happy to learn the pronunciation of her name, with one person sharing, “I’m actually very happy she is telling us how to properly pronounce her name!!”
This person says they have regrets about shortening their name, writing, “I shortened my name when I was younger because I got tired of people butchering it. As I got older, I realized that’s their problem, not mine. SAY MY NAME! SAY YOUR NAME!”
Another shares that they love how the actress’s name is pronounced, “I LOVE how she actually pronounces it! Beautiful name!”
“Make us learn your name. I love it and it’s who you are . But I get it, folks call me Mya and correcting my whole life is exhausting.. but if I want you to know who I am, ima correct you – it’s ME’YA Miya,” someone else chimes in.
Names are important, but everyone has their own approach to how they deal with incorrect pronunciations. Some prefer nicknames that they choose, like Sidibe, while others prefer people pronounce their full names correctly. While others may not correct anyone and answer to whatever name is called, asking someone how they pronounce their name may help stop mispronunciations and help the person feel seen.
As an actor, Brendan Fraser can strip down to his core and expose the most vulnerable aspects of humanity. (His heart-wrenching work in Darren Aronofsky’s film The Whale earned him a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar at the 2023 Academy Awards.)
So, it’s not surprising when he gets emotional discussing things near and dear to his heart—like autism awareness. In past interviews, Fraser has been very open about his son Griffin’s diagnosis and the unexpected beauty that came with it. In a 2022 piece for Interview Magazine, Fraser shared, “And because of the beauty of his spectrum—call it a disorder if you will, I disagree with you—he knows nothing of irony. He doesn’t know what cynicism is. You can’t insult him. He can’t insult you. He’s the happiest person and is, in my life and many others’, also the manifestation of love.”
In 2024, Fraser co-executive produced the award-winning short documentary film Saving Superman. It tells the heartwarming story of Jonathan Charbonneau, a man in his fifties on the spectrum who loves to dress up as the DC comic book character. As seen in the film, he delightfully appears around his hometown of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, to play music and greet the community. In the movie, Charbonneau shares why he was specifically struck by Superman, which he learned about on Sesame Street. “I believe in the ideals he represents. There’s only one reason why he does ‘no mischief,’ let alone anything criminal or evil. He chooses not to out of respect for morale.”
On an recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in November 2025, Fraser tearfully discusses the film and explains how the community in Glen Ellyn wholesomely came together to raise money for Charbonneau after finding out he was not going to be able to afford rent once his apartment building got sold. (In the film, it’s relayed that his dear friend started a GoFundMe which went viral around the world.)
Fraser tells Clarkson, “I’m the dad of a son with special needs. I want to be a part of it and for that reason—we need to do well by everyone who has a family on the spectrum. We need more services available to them. And I do know that he’s the hero that we need right now.” Getting choked up, Fraser then tearfully hugs Clarkson.
This has struck such a deep chord in the community, as exemplified by the comments on The Kelly Clarkson Show (@KellyClarksonshow) Instagram Reel. Many people praise Fraser for his kindness, but also relay tales of Jonathan firsthand. One fan writes, “I grew up and came back to live in Glen Ellyn. Everyone knows Jonathan aka Superman here. He’s a staple in our community and we are lucky to have him. Glad he’s getting the support he very much deserves.”
Another commenter echoes this warm acknowledgement. “As soon as his picture came up in this video, I audibly went ‘Superman!!’ My family is from Glen Ellyn, and I worked in downtown in my late teenage years. Jonathan is a staple!” They later add, “While GE isn’t my hometown, I have spent a lot of time there, and don’t remember him NOT being in town.”
This comment reflects pure love for Fraser: “And I was thinking I couldn’t love this man more. He just proved me wrong! He is simply wonderful!”
And this Instagrammer is especially impressed with Fraser using his platform to effect change, writing, “Thank you for using your voice & speaking for those that need it the most we have more that united us than divides us after all.”
Cher had accomplished a laundry list of amazing feats by the time the 1980s rolled around. She’d hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, had international number-one hits, starred on television and on Broadway, and established herself as an acclaimed actress. In 1988, she even won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck.
But as of 1986, there was still one major thing she hadn’t done: appear on Late Night with David Letterman.
It wasn’t for lack of trying on Letterman’s part. He’d been trying to get Cher on his show for years and, with the help of a hefty appearance fee, sealed the deal in 1986. The audience was excited. Letterman was excited. But when Cher finally walked out onstage, things didn’t get off to the smoothest start.
After Letterman complimented how she smelled, Cher crossed her arms and deadpanned, “Is this as good as it gets?”
Letterman and the audience laughed it off, but the vibe was clearly tense from the get-go.
“I know you didn’t want to come on here, so why, finally… did you decide to come on?” he asked
Cher laughed and joked that she only came on so she could pay an expensive hotel bill. “No, I don’t know, because I thought that I would never want to do this show with you,” she added.
“Why?” Letterman asked. “Because you thought I was a…”
“An a**hole,” Cher bluntly said.
After Letterman riffed briefly on the audience reaction, Cher elaborated: “It was frightening because I see how you deal with your guests and sometimes it’s really great and you seem to like them, but if you don’t like them, you might as well take a picnic lunch.”
From there, Letterman pivoted: “You look great… How many tattoos do you have?”
The interaction has since become an iconic moment, rewatched again and again over the past several decades. The official YouTube clip of the interview currently has more than three million views.
Though beloved by his male fans, Letterman hasn’t always had the greatest reputation for his treatment of guests, women in particular. This was a pattern that played out for years. Letterman was known to tease, and at times outright bully, certain guests more than others.
In a 1988 interview, he mocked Shirley MacLaine for her belief in past lives. During a 1986 sit-down with Farrah Fawcett, who appeared nervous and a bit loopy, Letterman had little trouble getting laughs at her expense. Even years later, interviews with Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Jennifer Aniston were widely criticized as mean-spirited or gross. And in 1994, an interview with Madonna turned openly contentious, with both sides trading barbs.
But it wasn’t just Letterman. The cruelty of late-night television reached something of a peak in the early 2000s, when hosts routinely mocked female stars like Britney Spears, who was struggling through a highly public mental health crisis. One notable exception was host Craig Ferguson, whose 2007 monologue stood out for its striking empathy in sharp contrast to many of his peers:
Even today, women who appear on late-night shows often find themselves either the butt of the joke or an object of desire.
Research published in The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies asserts, “Female guests often appear as spectacles for male hosts’ humor rather than as authoritative contributors to public discourse. … The quick-witted, often satirical male hosts discuss political and public affairs in ways that pose hegemonic challenges for female participants, limiting their discursive power.”
It’s no wonder that Cher didn’t exactly see the Letterman set as a safe space to let her guard down. And in typical Cher fashion, she made her feelings aboutLetterman clear right from the start. The exchange is an unforgettable moment that works as both a public call-out and an icebreaker. That night in 1986, Cher and Letterman ultimately went on to have a nice (if playfully combative) interview.
For his part, Letterman has since expressed regret about many aspects of his time hosting Late Night, including what he has described as a “toxic work environment” marked by “sexual favoritism” and scandals. It’s hard not to wonder whether Cher picked up on those bad vibes at the time and chose to call them out in the only way she knew how, which is exactly why people still love her.
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