As far as I’m aware anyone in Australia can get tested - haven’t yet heard of any test kit shortages. And it’s free, so nothing to do with being rich and connected.

Probably helps that they are in Australia.

While I’m sympathetic to this duo on that episode, this interview really annoyed me.

Am I the only one who finds most of Madonna’s requests fairly reasonable?

Most touring musicians do.

I agree with you. Most of that doesn’t look outrageous to me. Heck, five or six items are basic for getting a good night’s sleep—no light, no noise, good mattress.

Nope. Also there is probably a team. Most hotels and good venues have teams of “Artist Experience” people or whatever who run around getting the things artists ask for and setting it up. Setting up hotels, transportation, catering. It’s not like they’re doing it for free.

Without getting in to the details for fear of doxxing myself, let me say that I have been on tour (a small portion of it) with a famous singer that everybody loves. Touring is hard. You’re on the road all the time, away from anything that’s familiar to you, your favourite pillow, your own bed, your kitchen, your…

I dunno... I actually think the rider is reasonable. I have a shit ton of makeup. I am sure she has even more. Hotels don’t usually have enough space for this.

My understanding is that you pay for everything on your rider. That was the whole point of the no red M&M’s it was a cheap way to make sure the location was closely reading/following everything in the contract. If they took the time to pick out the M&M’s they probably also took the time to make the stage/safety stuff…

for madonna...yes...plus hotels etc. at that level have all this shit. this rider is NOTHING compared to JLO or Mariah. awwww

They don’t get any of this this for free. They pay for it every time and at every hotel. It comes out of her back end. Plus shipping in at bringing it from town to town is also crazy and you have the chance of shipping delays and it not arriving.  So sending this out in advance is really the only way to do it. But it…

This rider really isn’t that crazy. And they don’t bring it with them because every room they end up in is different. The curtains that work in one spot may not work in another. The available fridge might not be big enough.

Let’s all note that Trump himself was polling under 4% at this point in his campaign in the last election, while Jeb Bush was leading the pack of Republicans at around 11%.

I was at the screening. There were probably about 700 people and about 50 walked out.

The rape in this film is realistic in the historical context it is set in. The victim is an Irish convict in AUSTRALIA who is ‘owned’ by her rapist and other victims are Indigeous Australians so your story which is set in the context of modern day USA would not be correct for this story.

Yeah no. This a film about violence towards women, indigenous people and Irish people in a very particular historical context and is not about modern day rape and violence. She didn’t do it for shock value and actually toned down some of the violence that occurred during that time. This article is rubbish without…

I have seen this and I think it’s hard to understand why it’s so brutal if you don’t know about the history of Australia. This is a film about how cruel the British colonial forces were particularly to female convicts, racism (against Indigeous Australians and Irish convicts) and attempted genocide. Kent didn’t…

How about you send out your next queries using a feminine pseudonym and let us know how it goes? I’d be interested to hear just how banal you think structural sexism is after that little experiment. Plus, you would know exactly how you collected your data. It’s a win-win!

Also, as someone who used to be one of those women in publishing, where does he think the dudes are? They’re in the high up positions, often making the final call on what books their (often, yes, female) editors bid on. They’re the ones making the overall budget determinations that impact strategy for the year. And…