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NPR headquarters. Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images A reporter who was fired last year when his employer found clips of his standup comedy online must be reinstated because his jokes are funny, a third-party arbitrator has ruled. The arbitrator also found that his comedy clips, which covered topics including 9/11, Israel, and oral sex, could violate Philadelphia-based NPR affiliate WHYY’s social media policy and must be removed. The reporter, Jad Sleiman, said this raises concerns about the boundaries of remote work. “I kind of couldn’t believe it,” said Sleiman, who wrote on Instagram that he’s been pursuing comedy full-time since his firing. “The one thing I’ve been told about arbitration is they usually split the baby, so nobody gets everything they want. But what’s been on my side this whole time is the case against me has just been such bullshit.” Sleiman had spent five years as a reporter at The Pulse , a health and science radio broadcast produced by WHYY. However, after senior management found clips of his standup comedy routines that he had posted on Instagram—clips the company alleged were “egregious” with “sexual connotations, racial connotations, and misogynistic information,” according to the arbitration case document Sleiman posted online—he was fired last January. “They cut off my health insurance same day, despite the fact that they know I have multiple sclerosis and rely on very expensive drugs to walk,” Sleiman told Motherboard on Wednesday. “They also went and deleted all my work from the site, every single possible clip I could try to use to get a job.”Sleiman’s comedy focused on his “experiences as an Arab American, raised in a Muslim family, his experience in the U.S. Marine Corps, and his reporting while he was in the Middle East,” including embedding with Syrian opposition fighters and covering ISIS in Iraq, the arbitration document states. It includes written samples of nine jokes that Sleiman had posted as clips on Instagram (which, as part of the arbitration agreement, he has since removed from his page). One joke is listed with the title, “Kind of Racist.” “I work at one of these places that’s so woke it’s kinda racist,” the joke reads in part. “Like this lady asked my boss, she’s like ‘Yo, does Jad consider himself a person of color?’ because she was making a list of us. Fucking hell? Sick, alright. I get to be in this lady’s brown dude Pokédex.” Another joke is titled “Trump vs Muslims vs Jews.” “People say Muslims hate Jews. It’s more accurate to say, we’re very afraid of them,” the joke reads in part. “They’ve been kicking our ass for, like, 70 years. We’ve got to rethink that term homophobia, dude. Homophobia means you hate gay people. It doesn’t mean homosexuals have defeated you in a dozen wars.”Sleiman, who was represented by SAG-AFTRA grievance lawyers, argued that he had been terminated without due process. Lawyers from Duane Morris LLP, including the firm’s vice chairman Thomas Servodidio, argued that Sleiman’s “inflammatory” comedy constituted a violation of WHYY’s code of conduct and social media policy, which states that “employees must take care that their postings cannot be interpreted as inflammatory, unethical or illegal, since such posts may have an adverse effect on WHYY.”The arbitrator said that he read this policy as not incorporating a “reasonable person” standard, meaning that workers “must be vigilant not to post anything on social media that could conceivably be interpreted as inflammatory even by highly sensitive and thin-skinned individuals without an appreciation for irony or satire.” Advertisement “That’s nuts, right?” Sleiman said. The arbitrator performed an in-depth analysis of the nine comedy samples to determine whether they were in violation of this reading of the policy. Though parts of some jokes were deemed potentially inflammatory, many were found to be either funny or an astute critique of some institution of power. Of “Kind of Racist,” the arbitrator wrote that it was “a powerful condemnation, in a funny way, of what [Sleiman] calls corporatized racial consciousness.” About “Trump vs Muslims vs Jews,” he wrote that “much of the clip is somewhat amusing.” Another joke was “simply funny.” The arbitrator was not a fan across the board. They found that one joke was “insightful, principled and serious, but not very funny.” Sleiman said he was disappointed by this review. The arbitrator ordered on December 29 that Sleiman be reinstated in full. When asked whether he believed he would have gotten his job back without SAG-AFTRA involvement, Sleiman said, “No. No, I would have been screwed completely, because Pennsylvania is an at-will state, so they could have just fired me and that would have been the end of it. The fact that it’s a union shop is actually the whole reason I was able to fight back at all.” SAG-AFTRA did not respond to a request for comment. “Something that the union is kind of concerned about is the way remote work has changed the way we work,” Sleiman said. “We’re always online, on Slack and shit, so when are we off the clock? Couple that with ever widening definitions of racist, sexist, whatever and you have an atmosphere where you’re always at work, which is a place you can say less and less,” according to the arbitrator’s interpretation of the policy. Advertisement Sleiman said he expects to start working again in the coming week, unless the company decides to appeal the arbitration decision.“I’m going to walk in there like fucking Vince McMahon,” he said, laughing. “I’m very curious to see how much they spent—Duane Morris is some of the biggest in the country. They tried their best. They called me every name in the book. They cut off my health insurance. They deleted all of my fucking stories, which like, what the fuck? And then they still lost. People keep asking, ‘Is it going to be weird going back?’ I’m like, yeah, for them.” A WHYY spokesperson told Motherboard in an email that the station was reviewing the arbitrator’s decision and would be deciding on next steps in the near future. In a statement to Philadelphia Magazine on Wednesday, a WHYY spokesperson wrote, “We are evaluating the decision, any appeal options and next steps. While we do not agree with all of the arbitrator’s conclusions, we certainly accept the arbitrator’s decision that Mr. Sleiman needs to permanently remove all inflammatory or offensive social media posts as a condition of any future employment at WHYY.”“WHYY, as a trusted news organization, has no tolerance for behavior that demeans any individual or group based on their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual preference or other protected status,” the statement continued.Sleiman told Motherboard on Thursday that he has contacted a defamation lawyer. Advertisement

SNL Ladies Had Hilarious Response To TikToker Who Said There Are No “Hot Women” On The Cast The cast members of “Saturday Night Live” once again proved why they’re the crown jewels of jest after responding to a TikTok video about how the show never hires “hot” women. The uproar began after a recent TikTok video, made by user Jahelis, went viral and caught the eyes and ears of millions online, including some of the SNL cast members, who were accused of being “not hot.” Jahelis claimed the show didn’t hire “hot” women because “people refuse to accept” how “super beautiful women” can be funny as well. The TikToker named Jahelis claimed none of the women on SNL “have ever been like hot” Image credits: jahelis “Not saying that every single woman on SNL is ugly, it’s just that none of them have ever been, like, hot. They all just kind of have looks that eventually grow on you,” Jahelis said in a since-deleted clip that was posted in March. “I think it goes back to my theory where, one, people don’t like it when conventionally [attractive women] ― especially super beautiful women ― are funny,” she added. “People refuse to accept that that’s true. And they assume that any kind of humor they put out into the world is actually them being stupid and they don’t understand sarcasm, or why what they’re saying is funny.” Jahelis singled out some of the SNL stars and said Maya Rudolph, who made the audience laugh from 2000-2020, was “really beautiful,” but “the rest of [the female cast] are all pretty average-looking women.” Jahelis picked out stars one by one, including Kristen Wiig, whom she declared was “conventionally pretty” but not “hot” Image credits: jahelis The TikToker wrote off Kristen Wiig as “conventionally pretty” but not “hot.” When she picked out Heidi Gardner, Jahelis said the actress often takes “super-hot and super-dumb” roles on the show but is “not that pretty.” “I guess, technically, [she’s] the most conventionally hot person — like, hot female — on this cast,” the TikToker added. To drive her point home, Jahelis picked out male comedian Jimmy Fallon and claimed he’s a “conventionally super hot guy.” She also clubbed Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, and Bowen Yang in the list of “hot” male comedians. The TikToker also claimed Heidi Gardner is “not that pretty” Image credits: jahelis In the viral video, Jahelis’ main point of contention was that people cannot accept a woman being funny and hot at the same time. “To be considered funny, you have to be more funny than you are hot. And if you’re more hot than you are funny, then it boils down to you just not being funny at all,” Jahelis said in her analysis. She also wondered in the video whether the show deliberately avoided hiring hot women because of misogyny — “once we see women as super funny, we have a hard time seeing them as also both sexy and attractive,” she argued. Jahelis’ video went viral and caught the attention of not just fans but also SNL stars Image credits: chloetroast The TikToker’s video went viral and reached the nooks and crannies of the Internet, catching the attention of SNL stars as well. After current SNL member Sarah Sherman scrolled through her feed and came across Jahelis’ video, she responded with a sarcastic retort on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Just found out I’m not hot. Please give me and my family space to grieve privately and uglily at this time,” Sarah wrote. Meanwhile, Chloe Troast, a new cast member, re-shared a snippet of Jahelis’ video before humorously singing her rendition of Christina Aguilera’s hit song, “Beautiful.” Chloe Troast from the show posted a video of herself singing Christina Aguilera’s hit song “Beautiful” in response to Jahelis’ video Image credits: chloe_troast Many fans joined the hot discussion and offered the names of a number of cast members that they found “hot” on the show. “Kate McKinnon??!!! Melissa Villasenor?! Amy Poehler?!?? Kristen Wig?!!! helloOoOo,” one said, while another added, “Ego Nwodim is literally drop dead gorgeous. “Have you SEEN CHLOE FINEMAN. She’s so gorgeous,” quipped another comment. “Julia Louis Dreyfus is one of the hottest women of all time?” a fourth comment said. Another wrote, “Kate McKinnon is unironically one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen.” Chloe Troast had also briefly flipped off the camera in her response @chloetroast #stitch with @Jahelis ♬ original sound – chloetroast Jahelis deleted her initial video, but not before it blew up and made her the subject of nationwide headlines, prompting her to post another video where she brazenly declared that she was not going to apologize for her statements. “I never expected that video to go viral. Had I known, I would’ve maybe articulated myself a little better. I was expecting to have a dialogue with my community who is use [sic] to my unfiltered opinions that rarely come from a place of malice,” Jahelis said, quoting a long-winded response she wrote to a journalist. “In return for being brave enough to share a peak [sic] into what is the magical colorful wonderland that I call my mind, I have received comments calling me ugly, fat, a trunk full of racially charged insults, etc. (I stopped reading the comments so I’m not sure what other creative ways they’ve thought to insult me),” she said. SNL member Sarah Sherman responded to the viral video with a sarcastic retort Image credits: sarahsquirm Jahelis said she was bullied for the video and had to see her comments section peppered with racial insults for her remarks. “You know what they say, no good deed goes unpunished! Unfortunately, for everyone involved, bullying and racial insults have not swayed me and instead I would love to double down. And I agree with them, calling a group of mostly white Women ‘not that hot’ makes me deserving of fatphobic, slut shaming, racial insults,” she said. “They’ve really shown me!” “Ironically enough, the other half of the comments were people replying ‘SNL doesn’t hire hot women because hot women aren’t funny.’ Proving the exact point that I was trying to make in my video. Women are not allowed to be considered sexy, funny, and smart the way that men are. They need to pick a thing and stick to it.” Sarah Sherman humorously quipped she needed time to “uglily” grieve after finding out she’s “not hot” just found out i’m not hot. please give me and my family space to grieve privately and uglily at this time. https://t.co/YXvXMGvbYN — SARAH SQUIRM (@SarahSquirm) April 1, 2024 Jahelis believes the racially charged comments on her video are the “perfect example of performative feminism that only cares about ‘everyone being nice to each other’ and not actually making changes that improve the lives of women.” “In conclusion, I would like to apologise to no one and will go on living in a world wehre [sic] apparently Tina Fey looks like Megan Fox,” she said. “Welp. Thanks for the press ! I guess,” the TikToker wrote in the caption. “They are all hot,” some fans expressed in response to Jahelis’ video Idea to make the world a better place: Ignore everything that any Influencer and tiktoker says. Idea to make the world a better place: Ignore everything that any Influencer and tiktoker says.

David and Victoria Beckham have been praised by Super Bowl viewers for their hilarious commercial for Uber Eats. The former footballer, 48, and his fashion designer wife, 49, were called the ‘best part’ of the night, with several fans saying they were ‘still laughing’ over the hysterical advert. The star-studded commercial plays on the premise that to remember what Uber Eats delivers you have to forget something else and ‘make a little room in your brain.’ It also features appearances from Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, rapper Jelly Roll and singer Usher. The ad sees people forgetting important details, like Jennifer not remembering who David is or Jelly Roll forgetting he has face tattoos. David and Victoria Beckham have been praised by Super Bowl viewers for their hilarious commercial for Uber Eats The former footballer, 48, and his fashion designer wife, 49, were called the ‘best part’ of the night, with several fans saying they were ‘still laughing’ over the hysterical advert One scene shows the Beckhams in their kitchen, with David saying to former Spice Girl Victoria: ‘Remember when you used to be a Pepper Lady?’ Victoria, who is hilariously wearing a T-shirt that reads ‘David’s wife’ responds: ‘Wasn’t it the Cinnamon Sisters?’ David then suggests: ‘Basil Babes?’ while Victoria guesses: ‘Paprika Girls’ leading David to scoff: ‘No that’s absurd.’ The funny clip was praised on social media, with one person gushing: ‘My favorite couple Victoria and David Beckham on the #SuperBowl ads. Truly keeps giving!’ Another excitedly tweeted: ‘VICTORIA BECKHAM SUPERBOWL COMMERCIAL IS ON’ while a third admitted: ‘Avoiding Victoria Beckham’s Instagram so her Uber eats superbowl ad isn’t spoiled for me.’ A fourth person wrote: ‘I hope everyone else is also still laughing about David Beckham asking if Victoria used to be pepper girl lol.’ Someone else added: ‘The David & Victoria Beckham bit was the best part for me’ while a sixth echoed: ‘A fun ad – for once. Love it’. One dedicated person admitted that they had stayed up to watch the ad, saying: ‘Staying up to watch the Super Bowl is the straightest thing I’ve ever done. Staying up to watch the Super Bowl in case they drop the Wicked trailer, to see Victoria Beckham in an ad and in case Usher takes his top off is the gayest thing I’ve ever done.’ The star-studded commercial also features appearances from Friends stars Jennifer Aniston (pictured) and David Schwimmer, rapper Jelly Roll and singer Usher The star-studded commercial plays on the premise that to remember what Uber Eats delivers you have to forget something else and ‘make a little room in your brain’ (David pictured) The ad sees people forgetting important details, like Jennifer not remembering who David is or Jelly Roll (pictured) forgetting he has face tattoos But another complained that the couple didn’t take the opportunity to reference the biggest power couple at the moment, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. They wrote: ‘so you’re telling me that david and victoria beckham are in a super bowl ad and they didn’t do the obvious joke of being a famous sports star and famous popstar together?’ It comes after David and Victoria made another funny video to tease the Super Bowl advert, which saw them recreate the viral moment from their Beckham documentary, where David tells his wife to be ‘honest’ about her middle class upbringing. The hilarious gaffe-filled ad shows the famous duo forgetting the name of the game and the huge star they have recruited to appear in the commercial. The clip begins with Victoria, who is sat in a My Dad Had a Rolls-Royce T-shirt, who says: ‘So David and I are gonna be in a little commercial..’ David then poked his head into frame – just like in Beckham – reminding her to ‘Be honest, be honest!’, about the size of the advert they are featuring in. Correcting herself, she says: ‘Okay. It’s a big commercial.’ He then says: ‘Tell them what it is during’ and Victoria replies: ‘It’s during the big baseball game.’ One scene shows the Beckhams in their kitchen, with David saying to former Spice Girl Victoria: ‘Remember when you used to be a Pepper Lady?’ and was praised on social media While David chimes in: ‘Super, big, baseball game’ and Victoria asks: ‘Oh was it the Hockey Bowl?’, before David agrees that it was. Finally, they reveal that the big guest star in their advert in none other than ‘Jessica’ Aniston, as David confirms that they both ‘love Jessica’. Victoria created one of the most memorable moments of her husband’s documentary when she claimed to have had a ‘working class’ upbringing, despite her dad owning a Rolls Royce. The documentary clip saw Victoria claiming her family were ‘very working, working class’. David interrupted, incredulous, and asked Victoria to be honest to which she replied: ‘I am!’ He then repeatedly asked Victoria to reveal what car her dad used to drive her to school in. The singer eventually gave in and said: ‘OK. In the Eighties, my dad had a Rolls-Royce.’ ‘Thank you,’ David replied, and immediately left and closed the door behind him, his job done. Super Bowl ads have become cultural phenomenon of their own alongside the championship final itself, with high-profile stars often recruited for the commercials. It comes after David and Victoria made another funny video to tease the Super Bowl advert, which saw them recreate the viral moment from their Beckham documentary, where David tells his wife to be ‘honest’ about her middle class upbringing The hilarious gaffe-filled ad shows the famous duo forgetting the name of the game and the huge star they have recruited to appear in the commercial The clip begins with Victoria, who is sat in a My Dad Had a Rolls-Royce T-shirt, who says: ‘So David and I are gonna be in a little commercial..’ David then poked his head into frame – just like in Beckham – reminding her to ‘Be honest, be honest!’, about the size of the advert they are featuring in Victoria created one of the most memorable moments of her husband’s documentary when she claimed to have had a ‘working class’ upbringing, despite her dad owning a Rolls Royce Companies have forked out close to $7 million a piece for a 30-second spot in the hope of capitalizing on the buzz. Other notable commercials included a Dunkin’s ad that starred another power couple, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. The clip followed Ben trying to make it on J.Lo’s album with his group, ‘The DunKings,’ that includes Matt Damon and Tom Brady. Another huge star making an appearance was Beyoncé, who blasted off to outer space in a Verizon ad. While Arnold Schwarzenegger struggles to pronounce State Farm’s tagline before Danny DeVito jumps in to save the day in another hilarious commercial. Sir Anthony Hopkins transformed into Wrexham A.F.C.’s mascot, Wrex the Dragon, to promote STōK Cold Brew Coffee. Elsewhere, Jenna Ortega cameoed in a Doritos ad, Kris Jenner poked fun at herself for Oreos, Scarlett Johannsson promoted M&Ms and Aubrey Plaza reunited with her Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman for Mountain Dew. Other notable commercials included a Dunkin’s ad that starred another power couple, Ben Affleck (pictured) and Jennifer Lopez Sir Anthony Hopkins (pictured) transformed into Wrexham A.F.C.’s mascot, Wrex the Dragon, to promote STōK Cold Brew Coffee Elsewhere, Jenna Ortega cameoed in a Doritos ad, Kris Jenner (pictured) poked fun at herself for Oreos, Scarlett Johannsson promoted M&Ms and Aubrey Plaza reunited with her Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman for Mountain Dew

Noah Cyrus Blasts Troll with NSFW Comment After Family Love Triangle Joke Noah Cyrus Blasts Troll For Love Triangle Joke … 1st Comment On Reports!!! Noah Cyrus has broken her silence on the love triangle rumors swirling around her family … telling a troll exactly what he should do with his mouth after he cracked a joke. The singer-songwriter fired back at a hater on Instagram who brought up a rumor her mom, Tish , “stole” her new husband, Dominic Purcell , from Noah. Noah — using some of her trademark deadpan wit — replied in the comments by asking the user to please “choke on the fattest c***” … bit a of nuclear response, we gotta say. Could be Noah’s totally done with the online drama … remember, reports surfaced several weeks ago claiming Noah was initially interested in Purcell before her mom swooped in and started bangin’ the guy. Word is, Noah’s still pissed about it … even skipping Tish and Dom’s wedding last August — and, she even wore a Billy Ray Cyrus t-shirt that day in what many saw as a not-so-subtle shot at her mom. Of course, we published photos earlier this week of Miley and her mom walking around L.A. together … seemingly proving the two are on good terms. Miley reportedly confronted her mom about the alleged love triangle … slamming the whole thing as downright strange, according to People . But it appears they’ve come to some type of understanding since then. As for how Noah feels about her mom these days … she’s not saying — though she’s clearly ready to go to war with anyone who wants to keep the rumors going.