The recent Twitter rants against Amandla Stenberg are beyond ridiculous and are incredibly offensive. Some “fans” of The Hunger Games’ were upset that a black character was cast in the role of Rue and voiced their opinions on Twitter. Lenny Kravitz (who plays Cinna) and Dayo Okeniyi (Thresh) were also criticized. Below, are two of the examples, which are listed on the tumblr account “Hunger Games Tweets.”
Joe Longley: “@KatrinaOrsini EWW rue is black?? I’m not watching.”
Maggie McDonnell: “why does rue have to be black not gonna lie kinda ruined the movie”
Luckily, the actress who plays Rue has a lot more maturity than these bullies and said in a statement released today:
“As a fan of the books, I feel fortunate to be part of The Hunger Games family,” she said. “It was an amazing experience; I am proud of the film and my performance. I want to thank all of my fans and the entire Hunger Games community for their support and loyalty.”
In fact, Suzanne Collins describes Rue in the book as having dark skin: “…And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that’s she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor…”
Even if that wasn’t the description, there’s no reason for this ludicrous bigotry. Other characters in The Hunger Games have been picked on for their appearance. For example, Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence have been criticized for not having traditional body types. What is wrong with the world?!
Watch Amandla Stenberg talk about Rue:
Lenny Kravitz has joined the cast of ‘The Hunger Games,’ reports Billboard.
Suzanne Collins’ best-selling trilogy will also star Jennifer Lawrence in the main role as Katniss Everdeen.
The plot revolves around the ‘Hunger Games,’ which are an annual televised event where the post-apocalyptic Panem chooses one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death. The ‘Hunger Games’ are used to demonstrate that even children are not beyond the reach of the Capitol’s power.
The actor-musician will play Cinna, the fashion stylist assigned to Lawrence’s character as she prepares to take part in the Hunger Games. His fashion designs will reportedly play an integral role in her performance in the Games.
“When I saw Lenny’s work in ‘Precious,’ I was just knocked out,” director Gary Ross said. “It was quiet and strong and understated and open-hearted: all qualities which define this character.”
Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth also star in the movie, which Lionsgate is set to release March 23.
Kravitz was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and an ensemble SAG Award for his role in ‘Precious.’ He also has appeared in ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ and ‘Zoolander.’ He is set to release his ninth studio album, ‘Black and White America,’ on Aug. 30.
This movie sounds very cool, and with such an impressive cast, it just became twice as cool.
Michael Jackson almost released a new song today, before Sony Records got in the way.
Earlier today, a demo for a track called “Another Day” featuring Jackson and Lenny Kravitz leaked online today. It didn’t take long before Sony and Jackson’s estate took notice and are demanding the 90-second snippet be pulled from the Internet.
Although the song doesn’t audibly feature Kravitz, it does resemble a verse from his song “Storm” off his 2004 album Baptism. After Jackson’s death, Kravitz wrote a letter to Spinner describing his experience working with the King of Pop as they prepared a number of studio tracks for release.
“I got to work with Michael on a track that has not been released and it was the most amazing experience I’ve had in the studio. He was funny. Very funny and we laughed the whole time.”
Kravitz posted a video today claiming he has no idea how the leak occurred and that the song is not complete.
Universal has announced that Lil Wayne’s long overdue rock album, Rebirth, will be released on December 15th.
The announcement comes just a few weeks after the release of his new mixtape, No Ceilings, and a week after the release of Weezer’s Raditude album, on which he makes an appearance on the song Can’t Stop Partying. He told Billboard.com that he plans to maintain the consistent rock vibe that he intended.
“I play guitar on 80 percent of the songs, and there’s a lot of rock influences and rock beats. I also have Travis Barker on the album.”
While working with two rock giants like Travis Barker and Rivers Cuomo should give Wayne the right idea, there is still no certainty about the outcome of this album. Based on the mild response generated by Prom Queen and Can’t Stop Partying, the anticipation will be filled with more curiousity than excitement.
Band Hero let's you be Taylor Swift without being interrupted by Kanye West!
After last week’s amazing DLC 3 pack of Gwar, Marilyn Manson, and The Misfits is there any better way to follow it up than offering a new game featuring Taylor Swift and Adam Levine? Heck no!
Lenny Kravitz has announced a make-up date for his cancelled show in Kitchener, Ont.
The gig, which was set to take place Thursday but was postponed when the singer fell ill, has now been rescheduled for Nov. 12.
Fans with tickets for the original show will be able to get into the rescheduled gig at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Otherwise, ticketholders can get a refund at point of purchase.
Kravitz is touring behind his latest album, “It is Time for a Love Revolution,” which was released in February.
He will be in London, Ont., and Montreal this weekend, before heading west across the country.
Lenny Kravitz will be touring Canada in March, but he won’t be making any groupies happy: he’s given up sex!
In an interview with Maxim Magazine, Kravitz claims to have been celibate for the last three years, and plans to remain so until wed.
“[It's] just a promise I made until I get married. Where I’m at in life, the women have got to come with something else, not just the body, but the mind and spirit. It usually trips them out, but that’s the way it’s going to be. I’m looking at the big picture.”
Kravitz divorced actress Lisa Bonet in 1991. He is also rumoured to have at one time proposed to Nicole Kidman.
Kravitz’s new album will be released in February.
American rocker Lenny Kravitz brought fans to their feet at Canada’s biggest football event Sunday.
The 43-year-old singer rocked the game’s half-time show with a guitar-driven performance that left the Grey Cup crowd screaming for more.
Kravitz donned a black leather jacket and his trademark sunglasses while he belted out his popular cover of the Guess Who song, “American Woman” and the ’70s-inspired, “Are You Gonna Go My Way.
About 300 cheerleaders gathered around the stage, which was surrounded in white and rotating lights, TSN.ca reports.
The crowd was packed with contest winners and select ticket holders who watched the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 23-19.
“Canada, thank you,” TSN says Kravitz followed his three-song set with the shout-out to Canadian fans and a plug for his upcoming album, “It is Time for a Love Revolution.”
The rocker left the stage and the enthusiastic crowd with three words.
“Peace. Love. Revolution,” he said.
The audience would hear more from the musician after the performance.
“Tonight was amazing. I haven’t been to Canada in a while and what a welcome I got. An incredible crowd and event,” the stadium announcer read out loud in a statement from Kravitz.
Lenny Kravitz has announced that he will be heading up the halftime extravaganza at this year’s 95th annual Grey Cup game in Toronto on Nov. 25th.
His performance will likely include some songs off of his eighth album “Time For a Love Revolution” – which is set to be released in February. This will be Kravitz’s first album in three years.
Grey Cup fans will have four days of football themed celebrations to look forward to as there will be affairs hosted all around town in honour of the CFL event.
Let the games begin!
