Archives for August 2022

SBS’ “A Business Proposal” ratings have slightly dipped!

Taylor Swift‘s loved ones are applauding her message about Ginny & Georgia‘s “deeply sexist” joke.

As fans of the Grammy winner may recall, the Netflix show caused a stir on social media after taking a dig at the “Love Story” singer’s personal life. “What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift,” the line in the show stated, leading “Respect Taylor Swift” to trend on Twitter.

After learning about the mention, T.Swift took to social media on March 1 to call out the show as well as the streaming platform. “Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back,” she tweeted. “How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse shit as FuNnY.”

“Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn’t look cute on you,” Swift, who released her 2020 documentary via the streaming service, added. “Happy Women’s History Month I guess.”

While neither the show nor Netflix has formally responded to Swift, she’s receiving a ton of support online from fans, fellow stars like Jameela Jamil and her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn.

Unhappy Olympic athletes are calling out organizers of the Beijing Games with a litany of complaints about everything from COVID-19 protocols to inadequate catering.

Some participants say the Games are not living up to the hype — especially considering how China promised the world a “streamlined, safe and most splendid Games.”

Quarantine complaints

Athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 and must isolate have reported major issues with the quarantine conditions.

Team officials from Russia, Germany, and Belgium have all raised concerns about the so-called quarantine hotels set up by Chinese officials. They say their athletes are facing inadequate facilities, lack of internet connection, bad food and no training equipment.

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China has gone to great lengths to keep the Games COVID-free, but some athletes say the country has gone too far.

Last week, Belgian skeleton racer Kim Meylemans shared a video to her Instagram, explaining how she’d been shuffled around between isolation facilities, but wasn’t sure what would happen in the future.

Polish speed skater Natalia Maliszewska also said she was facing horrible conditions in an isolation ward after testing positive and missing her 500-metre short track event last Saturday.

“Since a week I have been living in fear and these changes in mood,” she told The Guardian. “I cry until I have no more tears and make not only the people around me worry but myself too,” she said.

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“People got me out of my room at 3 a.m.,” she said. “This night was a horror, I slept in my clothes in my bed because I was afraid that at any moment someone would take me back to isolation. Then a message that unfortunately they were mistaken, that I am a threat, and should not have been released from isolation.

“I don’t believe in anything anymore. In no tests. No games. It’s a big joke for me,” she wrote on Twitter in Polish.

More than 350 Games participants, including dozens of athletes, have tested positive on arrival in the Chinese capital since Jan. 23. They are supposed to leave special quarantine hotels only once they are free of symptoms and test negative in two PCR tests 24 hours apart.

On Sunday, Finland’s men’s ice hockey team coach, Jukka Jalonen, accused China of not respecting one of his player’s human rights while he was in isolation following a positive COVID-19 test, claiming hockey player Marko Anttila was “not getting food” and was under immense stress, according to Reuters.

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The Finnish team doctor said China forced Anttila, who tested positive 18 days earlier, to remain in isolation despite no longer being considered infectious.

Weather and uniform complaints

Meanwhile, other athletes have complained about being forced to compete in dismal and unsafe conditions.

Swedish officials have asked that the cross-country skiing events be held earlier in the day, after the women’s skiathlon event last Saturday was held in extreme temperatures.

Read more:

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Under the International Ski Federation rules, competitions must be suspended when temperatures dip below -20 C. However, during the time of the skiathlon, the windchill dropped to -31, and Swedish athlete Frida Karlsson was on the brink of collapse from the cold when she finished her race.

Some athletes have resorted to applying sports tape to their faces in an effort to protect them from the bitter cold, reports HuffPost.

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And, on Tuesday, five Olympic ski jumpers shared their discontent with how organizers have handled uniform approvals after they were disqualified from competition for wearing uniforms that were too baggy.

All of the women, representing Austria, Japan, Norway and Germany, were deemed to be wearing loose-fitting clothing that organizers said were “too big and offered an aerodynamic advantage,” reports The Today Show.

Norway’s Silje Opseth said she wore the same suit that she wore in the mixed competition two days earlier in the women’s normal hill event, but was not disqualified in the individual event.

She broke down in tears after learning of the disqualification, according to Reuters.

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“I think they checked it in a new way today compared to what they had done previously. I think it’s very strange that they would suddenly change how they do it in the middle of a tournament,” she said. “I don’t know what to say. I’m really just shaken. I’m sorry that I was disqualified today.”

Food complaints

“My stomach hurts, I’m very pale and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I’m very tired,” Russian biathlon competitor Valeria Vasnetsova posted on Instagram from a quarantine hotel.

But she wasn’t complaining about her COVID-19 symptoms. Rather, she was complaining about the food.

Vasnetsova posted a picture last Thursday of what she said was “breakfast, lunch and dinner for five days already” — a tray with food including plain pasta, an orange sauce, charred meat on a bone, a few potatoes and no greens.

Russian athlete Valeria Vasnetsova posted this photo on Instagram.

She says that the same meal has been served at the Winter Olympics in Beijing for “breakfast, lunch, and dinner for five days already.” pic.twitter.com/AspgWEqutb

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) February 7, 2022

She said she mostly survived on a few pieces of pasta because it was “impossible” to eat the rest, “but today I ate all the fat they serve instead of meat because I was very hungry.” She added she lost a lot of weight and “my bones are already sticking out.”

Vasnetsova hasn’t been the only one to complain about the food.

German skiing coach Christian Schweiger didn’t have positive things to say about the catering at the men’s downhill events. He told Reuters: “The catering is extremely questionable. I would have expected that the Olympic Committee is capable of providing hot meals.

“There are crisps, some nuts and chocolate and nothing else. This shows a lack of focus on high-performance sport.”

What organizers are doing about it

The International Olympic Committee responded to the complaints in a statement earlier this week, reports The Washington Post.

“We are aware of the complaints raised by some athletes, particularly with regard to food temperature, variety and portion size,” the IOC said. “The issues are currently being addressed together with Beijing 2022 and the respective management of the facilities concerned.

— With files from Reuters

helsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly has revealed how John Terry initially hung up the phone when he asked to take his legendary No26 shirt.

The former captain was caught by surprise with a call from the Blues’s new £34million signing and had to contact manager Thomas Tuchel to verify that it was really him.

Speaking at his unveiling press conference at Chelsea’s Cobham Training Centre on Wednesday, Koulibaly revealed the details of the exchange and how fellow legend Gianfranco Zola even got involved.

“The team manager told me some numbers but he didn’t tell me 26,” Koulibaly told reporters. “I asked him for 26 and he told me that John left in 2017 and no one took it all this time.

“I asked whether it was retired or no one wanted to take it. I asked Gianfranco Zola because we know the same person who works for a business in Italy. I spoke to him because he was the one who told me the story of Chelsea.

“I always want to know the full story before I go somewhere and I asked him a lot of questions about the club, about the supporters and the number of John. I wanted to ask about the number for Chelsea.

“He gave me his number directly. I called him and at first, he didn’t believe it was me – he thought it was a joke. He then called the team manager to ask if it was really me.

“After, I asked him again and I told him fully that I wanted to take his number. I know that for him it is a really important number. It is also an important number for me as I took it in Napoli and I wanted it again here in Chelsea. When he told me yes, I was really happy.

Big responsibility: Kalidou Koulibaly is the first Chelsea player to wear No26 since John Terry

“I know what he did for the club, the supporters and the city here. I know that it is very important to ask him first before wearing it. I preferred to ask him and get his answer and he was happy. I wanted to tell everyone that I asked him before because I don’t want to be disrespectful to a legend in the club.

“I told him that I have to ask him before wearing it and he said yes and I am very happy. But he put the phone down at first because he didn’t believe it was me.”

If you love turtles candy, you are going to absolutely love this creamy no-bake turtle pie recipe. No oven required, just a spoon or fork! This delicious…