It took three days, but CNN has succumbed to pressure and suspended commentator Roland Martin after his arguably homophobic Super Bowl tweets about David Beckham's H&M ad. Somehow we don't think this spat is over just yet? more ›

When Paula Deen told Al Roker yesterday that she has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, no one was really surprised, but plenty of people were pissed, over all sorts of things: that she hid her condition for so long (three years), that she says she doesn't plan to change what she eats (she'll just eat less of it), and that she's conveniently getting paid to shill for the diabetes medication Victoza. Are the complaints justified? more ›

Yesterday, the NYPD announced that a 20-year-old woman was charged with self-abortion, after a Washington Heights building super found the body of a fetus in a trash can. There have only been four other cases where women have been charged with self-abortion in the first or second degree since 1980: The NY Times reports, "Three of those cases, from Nassau County in 2006 and 2010 and from Monroe County in 2000, ended in dismissal. A first-degree case in Wayne County in 2006 resulted in a sentence of conditional discharge, meaning the charge would be dismissed if the woman did not get into trouble again." more ›

The new "HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum doesn't even open until tomorrow, but it's already raised the ire of the Daily News and Andrea Peyser over its inclusion of a "sacrilegious" video. Now, even fellow artists are getting pissed off over David Wojnarowicz's avant-garde film. Well, one fellow artist. more ›

Check out these photos for a pretty new New York-based lingerie line called The Lake & Stars. The lingerie itself is rather lovely, full of vintage-inspired flourishes that keep it sexy without being skanky. The models, too, are very pretty, and it's refreshing to see that at least one of them isn't jailbait material. That's because the models are a real-life mother-daughter team. Do you feel weird on the inside? more ›

TLC's hit documentary on ridiculously bad parenting, Toddlers and Tiaras, took the leap from the small screen to Fashion Week yesterday. Former Real Housewives of New York person Kelly Bensimon hosted the “Cowgirl Riders Debutante Fashion Show” for a bunch of too-innocent-to-understand-how-terrible-their-parents-are six-year-olds in the basement of the Bryant Park Hotel. The headliner of the show was Eden Wood, the breakout star of the TLC freakshow who left the program to pursue other equally-sad opportunities. Watch some totally age-appropriate video of her slapping her butt at the event below! more ›

Is Anthony Bourdain going soft? A week after he made his usual waves by ranting about Paula Deen's lowbrow, highly-processed comfort food schtick, the 'Dainiac is backpedaling on his earlier characterization of Deen as "the worst, most dangerous person to America is clearly Paula Deen. She revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she's proud of the fact that her food is f--king bad for you [...] plus, her food sucks." Now, after taking heat from a populist Deen and former Times dining critic Frank Bruni for alleged "culinary aristocracy," Bourdain is overwhelmed with regret. more ›

A French model is causing a stir thanks to a "bad person in the U.S.A."... and also because she's only 10-years-old. Thylane Loubry Blondeau has been posing and posturing amongst the industry's elite, but many think the young girl is being pushed too far, getting a little too grown up for photo spreads in magazines like French Vogue. Lest we forget, Brooke Shields was just 10-years-old when this controversial photo was taken, and that controversy has stuck around for decades. Blondeau's mother Veronika Loubry allegedly defended her daughter on Facebook, saying: more ›

Dolly Parton has issued a personal apology to Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton, the lesbian couple at the center of a huge controversy last month when a guard at Dollywood objected to Odom's t-shirt that read "Marraige is so Gay." more ›

Dollywood, the country-style theme park in Tennessee co-owned by buxom crooner Dolly Parton, is in hot water this week after a lesbian couple spoke out, claiming park officials denied them entry because one woman wore a "Marriage is so Gay" T-shirt. more ›

Yesterday, we told you about Milk Burger, the new burger joint in Harlem with a menu suspiciously similar to Shake Shack's, and a ganked photo of a Shackburger on their website to boot. Now, the owner of Milk Burger is claiming he's innocent, blaming the flub on, of course, an intern. more ›

Controversy continues to plague the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest held at Coney Island on July 4; but this time, it has nothing to do with Kobayashi vs. Chestnut, and everything to do with a female eater named Grace Lee. more ›

30 Rock star (and the only man alive who would have a fire in his fishtank) Tracy Morgan is at the center of a major firestorm over allegations that he went on an ugly homophobic rant at a Nashville show. According to audience member Kevin Rogers's epic Facebook note, titled "WHY I NO LONGER 'LIKE' Tracy Morgan—A MUST READ:" more ›

The Far Rockaways are most certainly not lovin' it after McDonald's ran an ad on the A train touting the energizing powers of their iced coffee, implying that those who drink it will not suffer the indignity of falling asleep on the train and waking up at the end of the line. more ›

Yesterday, we reported that David Chang is charging $5 for a bottle of Coke at his new restaurant, Duck Lunch, and he doesn't care if you and your food blog think that's straight-up ridiculous. Or does he? The plot thickens! more ›

Residents of a charmingly developed Greenpoint block are up in arms (and disembodied chicken parts) over the poultry slaughterhouse smack-dab in the middle of everything that they claim is dirty, smelly, and loud. The horror! more ›

Nothing gets the mercury boiling for parents like their innocent babies being exposed to hardcore pornography: a recent "porno paintings" exhibit in a Lower East Side gallery is causing quite a stir in the neighborhood. Because the last thing any responsible parent wants to be forced to do is explain bondage to their kids: "I definitely disapprove of this being on display near my daughter's school. I don't want to have to be answering questions in reference to those dirty paintings. It sickens me that little kids could see that right there through those windows," said Elvin Almonte, whose five-year-old daughter attends neighboring PS 42. Well, five does seem a bit young for talking about threesomes. more ›

Homeless woman Tanya McDowell is due in court in Norwalk this morning to facing charges that she illegally enrolled her son in a local elementary school. Educational lobbying groups are planning a news conference in support of McDowell, a single mother with past criminal convictions, for enrolling her five-year-old son in the Norwalk school system under her friend's public housing address, when authorities claim he should have gone to a school in Bridgeport. more ›

The gaffe-prone gubernatorial-wannabe Carl Paladino, who likes his bestiality videos best when they're forwarded, continued his hot streak of apologizing without apologizing yesterday. The "determined" millionaire told Talk 1300 AM in Albany that "he's absolutely in the race," and "will not pull out for any controversy." Paladino admitted he was "careless" with his emailing, but then backpedaled with the grace of a ballerina: "I would say the e-mail was racist...Was I being a racist in forwarding them? Most of them I never even read." No man is an e-mail (or responsible for what he happens to forward in the middle of the work day)! more ›

Artist Sofia Maldonado has been learning about the art of publicity following her Times Square mural controversy. The imagery she unveiled proved so controversial a protest was held demanding its takedown (even though it isn't really all that controversial!). more ›

Just when we were so happy to have Sad Panda back in our lives, reader Daniel Albanese sends us these photos of Spongebob Squarepants. Our first thought was, no big deal, it's not like this city isn't big enough for the two of these guys. However, prepare to have your minds blown here: Sad Panda and Spongebob Squarepants are one in the same. Right? more ›

The One Club, who awarded DDB Brazil a merit award for their September-11th-tastic ad for the WWF, has revoked that award and declared no more fake ads will be tolerated! Take that evildoers. Meanwhile, Jenny 8. Lee has penned a breathless piece over at CityRoom regarding these so-called fake/phantom/scam ads. She points out that the ads are created solely to win awards (an ad world prestige)—in the words of DDB Brazil's president Sergio Valente, upon winning one such award, "you show everybody, ‘Look how good, how clever I am; how at the top of the trend I am,’ and, of course, everybody wants that." Will the Mad Men of the world soon be scared to push the limits? more ›

The new bike lane on Grand Street that a local shop owner recently called the possible "demise of Little Italy" continues to draw attention with complaints that fire trucks are struggling to maneuver around the new setup of the block. Ernest Lepore, owner of Ferrara Cafe who originally talked to Villager, appears to have taken his case against the lane to the Post, telling the paper, "I saw one truck back up four or five times before being able to squeeze into the lane. The firefighter was visibly frustrated." more ›

The new bike lane that extends along Grand Street between Varick and Chrystie Streets has been warmly received by many cyclists who like the way it's separated from traffic by a row of parked cars. Not so pleased are business owners through Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown, some of whom fear the bike lane will "hurt business and create a dangerous situation," according to The Villager. more ›