Dannii Minogue has revealed the reason she was able to skip mandatory hotel quarantine after arriving back in Australia from Los Angeles last month.
The Masked Singer judge and her 10-year-old son Ethan were able to stay inside a private Gold Coast residence for the 14-day period after returning from the coronavirus-riddled US on July 13, sparking huge backlash over the “special treatment”.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Minogue, 48, explained that her crippling claustrophobia allowed her to receive a medical exemption from the Queensland government, and that she’d followed protocol to the letter.
“I wouldn‘t ask for a ‘celebrity’ treatment or to have anything special granted to,” she told the publication.
“I went by the book, I made sure my priority was keeping everyone safe – everyone.
“I took a lot of time to pull the whole thing together so that the Queensland Government were happy, the Queensland health officials were happy and that I’m happy. I added extra things into (the COVID-19 safe plan) so I know that I can sleep at night.”
During her isolation period, Minogue was still subjected to the same rules as those in quarantining in a hotel – meaning nobody was allowed to come and go from the home, and she was reportedly tested for COVID-19 multiple times.
What Minogue was exempt from, however, was the mandatory $2800 bill for hotel accommodation that all returning travellers have to pay under current Queensland quarantine laws.
There was widespread outrage over the exemption, which came after another Australian celebrity, Nicole Kidman, was granted permission to quarantine at her $6.5 million Southern Highlands property.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk brought an end to the Government footing the hotel quarantine bill mid-June, with a statement on the State Government’s website declaring it had spent a whopping $19 million accommodating international arrivals.
After finishing up her quarantine period, Minogue is now back in Melbourne ahead of tomorrow’s Masked Singer filming launch.
Kanye West has denied the public should be “concerned” about him following weeks of alarming reports about his mental health.
The rapper – who last month announced his intention to run in the US presidential election in November – sparked concerns after tweeting, then deleting, a series of shocking “white supremacy” accusations about his wife, Kim Kardashian, and her mother, Kris Jenner, and claiming they were trying to “lock him up”.
The latest tweets come after West broke down in tears at a presidential rally in South Carolina, where he revealed he and Kardashian had initially considered terminating their now-7-year-old daughter, North.
Kardashian addressed her husband’s mental health in an emotional statement recently, deeming his erratic behaviour a “bipolar episode”.
But in a new series of tweets posted on Friday, West defended his behaviour.
“I cried at the thought of aborting my first born and everyone was so concerned about me,” he wrote.
“I’m concerned for the world that feels you shouldn’t cry about this subject.”
He added: “Over 22,500,000 black babies have been aborted over the past 50 years.”
West also suggested there was a bigger strategy at play to prevent his presidential aspirations.
“There is a tactic of 4 D’s: Distract, Discredit, Dismiss, Destroy,” he tweeted. “I am quite alright. Take a second and think about what is being projected here.”
According to reports, West, 43, now lives full time at his US$14 million (A$19 million) Wyoming ranch, which is best for his “creativity”, while Kardashian is based in LA with their four kids and her family.
The couple briefly reunited in Wyoming last week, and Kardashian was photographed weeping as the pair had an intense conversation in a car. She was seen flying back to LA on a private jet after just one night with her husband.
According to the NY Post, sources have denied any divorce plans but it’s been revealed there’s been distance between West and Kardashian for some time.
“Kanye’s in Wyoming, that’s his main base. But they’re not like other couples, obviously, they have multiple houses and private planes, so it’s not like they’re not able to see each other.
“Kim is completely focused on her family and protecting her kids right now, they’re so young.
“She’s doing well, she doesn’t want this to impact on the kids, so it’s business as normal with them. Her sisters have been helping out and the kids have been with their cousins. They don’t want the kids to feel that anything is wrong, but of course, they want their father.”
Asked if anything was resolved during their meeting, the source told Page Six: “She told him how upset she was. But nothing was really resolved. Kim knows they can’t move on one way or the other, and Kanye can’t be a husband or a father until he gets help, it’s extremely difficult and frustrating for her.”
Last week, West publicly apologised to Kardashian on Twitter and asked for her forgiveness. It comes after he attacked both Kardashian and Jenner on social media, and claimed he had been trying to divorce his wife for a while.
“I would like to apologise to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter,” he wrote in a previous tweet.
“I did not cover her like she has covered me. To Kim I want to say I know I hurt you. Please forgive me. Thank you for always being there for me.”
Last month, Kardashian broke her silence about her husband’s mental health, posting a statement to Instagram in which she defended the rapper and made mention of his bipolar disorder.
“Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand,” she wrote.
“I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health.”
But Kardashian said she felt compelled to speak out because “of the stigma and misconceptions of mental health”.
“Those that understand mental illness or compulsive behaviour know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor,” she went on.
“People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard the family try.”
Beyonce's new visual album celebrating black culture has been greeted with rapturous reviews, arriving in the middle of a cultural reckoning about race and social justice.
Key points:
Black Is King is an almost 90-minute visual album from Beyonce, released on Disney+
#BlackIsKing was among the top trends on Twitter after it hit the streaming service
Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o and music producer Pharrell Williams are among a slew of celebrities featured
Work on the album, which features music videos celebrating the search for identity and black beauty in contemporary and historical times, began a year ago.
Black Is King was inspired by Beyonce's time filming the remake of The Lion King.
The album's release followed a surge of worldwide protests about racial injustice in the wake by the deaths of men and women of colour at the hands of US police.
Variety called the album a "colourful reminder of the power and glory of black, here in America but even more so in Africa".
#BlackIsKing was among the top three trending items on Twitter after it hit the Disney+ streaming service.
"We're grateful to Beyonce for this celebration of the black experience," tweeted black culture website essence.com.
The Guardian review called it "Beyonce's love song to the black diaspora" and praised the involvement of African artists like Yemi Alade, Lord Afrixana and Shatta Wale.
Actress Lupita Nyong'o, musician and producer Pharrell Williams and supermodel Naomi Campbell are among other celebrities making cameo appearances.
Beyonce wrote in an Instagram post that the recent calls for social change had made the album even more relevant than she had hoped when she began working on it.
"I believe that when black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our real history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books," she wrote.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is currently under internal investigation by its parent company WarnerMedia after a number of “toxic work environment” allegations have gone public.
In a report from Buzzfeed News, one current and 10 former staff members claimed to be victims of bullying and racism.
Citing sources, Variety revealed that a memo was sent to the show’s staffers last week announcing that WarnerMedia’s employee relations group has teamed with a third-party organisation to conduct the interviews.
Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, weighed in on how the results of the investigations could have “deadly consequences for Ellen” and her brand.
“She could be perpetrating one of the biggest frauds in American celebrity history,” he suggested. “There are now serious investigators looking into the allegations and if the findings are as damning as what has been reported then you could watch The Ellen Show go boom.”
Schiffer wasn’t surprised when news of an investigation broke because “there have been too many assertions that are credible,” he alleged, adding that “if the leadership team at WarnerMedia didn’t (act), they would feel the wrath of the public”.
The brand and PR expert also reacted to DeGeneres’ silence on the matter.
“I think Ellen has been arrogant in her entire approach in dealing with the allegations and it’s crazy for her not to accept responsibility for what is happening under her leadership,” he said.
“In Hollywood, the buck stops at the star’s name on the door, not at the producer level. It would be impossible for her to not know what (was) happening within her own staff.”
Meanwhile, the allegations of a “toxic work environment” were addressed by the show’s executive producers Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, and Mary Connelly in a statement to Buzzfeed at the time of the outlet’s report.
“We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience,” they said. “It’s not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us.”
The statement explained that the “day to day responsibility of the … show is completely on” the producers.
“We take all of this very seriously and we realise, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better,” they said.
Schiffer believes DeGeneres faces “a dangerous period in her career at a critical time in the American experience”.
Any findings that reveal a toxic workplace “would be an apocalyptic ending to her TV career,” he added.
This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission
Baz Luhrmann was shooting Romeo + Juliet when a crewmember told him about a book that he thought the filmmaker should read.
The 1930s satirical novel features a suave Satan arriving in a city to hold a magic show, time travels back to the Crucifixion, and merges into a magical love story.
"He said to me 'You know there's only one person in the world that can make this novel into a film — it's you'," Luhrmann tells ABC RN's The History Listen.
"I was beguiled by [the story], but I thought no, I could never really do it. But the gestalt of it really stuck with me."
In the years that followed, Luhrmann was approached by fans of the novel over and over again.
"I basically spent, from that moment on, all my time running away from it. It wasn't like I was pursuing it, it honestly felt like it was pursuing me," he says.
Twenty years later, Luhrmann has secured the coveted film rights to The Master and Margarita — considered by Russians to be the great Russian novel of the 20th century.
An obsession
A memorable first encounter with The Master and Margarita is a common experience across the passionate readership of its author, Mikhail Bulgakov.
Mike Tyskin was a teenager in 1960s Moscow when he heard a sensational work of fiction was about to be published in a magazine, almost 30 years after its author had died.
"The librarians were interested in getting schoolboys reading and I heard things. They were saying that something was about to come out. And then they mentioned the name Mikhail Bulgakov."
Mike Tyskin was one of many Russians who devoured the story when it came out.(Supplied: Mike Tyskin)
Mike's grandmother worked for a publishing house and was a member of the state-run writers' union. Her own father had been a minister for the arts when Bulgakov was alive.
"I went to grandma — we were great friends — and asked, "Who is Bulgakov?" he recalls.
"She was deeply communist. She said he was a minor playwright and really quite reactionary — 'So don't worry about him'.
"I thought, 'Well that's odd'."
While he wouldn't get to read the full version until leaving the Soviet Union for Australia, Mike's impression from his first encounter with the work was clear.
"He is among the best writers to ever exist in Russia."
Sympathy for the Devil
Humorously told with a knowing, satirical turn of phrase, The Master and Margarita is set in the 1930s. It was 1973 by the time it was published in novel form, but Russians still found it hilariously spot-on about the absurdities of life under communism.
Readers have been struck by the romance, dazzling imagery and moral questioning of the writing, which whisks them between storylines and two very different settings: Moscow and ancient Jerusalem.
After decades of invisibility, Bulgakov is now regarded as a literary hero and his masterpiece is recognised and claimed by the state.
Visitors to the Bulgakov museum leave graffiti and quotes from the novel in the staircase of the building.(Getty: Wojtek Laski)
The communal flat he lived in — and disliked — is now a museum that attracts international pilgrims. Locations in the novel, such as a park bench at Moscow's Patriarch's Ponds, are literary landmarks.
A legion of artists from the West claim inspiration from the book, including Patti Smith, the Rolling Stones (whose song Sympathy for the Devil was inspired by it), Salman Rushdie, Marlon James and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
A book saved from the flames
In 1930 Bulgakov was a banned playwright and author of short stories with no income and at his wit's end, when he received a fateful phone call from Joseph Stalin.
The author had been writing letters to the authorities seeking to emigrate from the Soviet Union. As the regime became more repressive, his desperation and paranoia increased.
"My fate has been chaotic and terrible," he wrote to his brother overseas. "Now I am being reduced to silence; for a writer, this is equivalent to death."
A 1928 portrait of Bulgakov.(Wikimedia Commons)
Bulgakov's writing was at odds with the official socialist realist style, and a torrent of bad press would follow nearly everything he wrote.
"Nasty, uncontrolled bile was sort of poured all over him, a bit like the worst of trolling on Twitter these days," says Julie Curtis, a professor of Russian literature at Oxford.
Strangely, Stalin himself was a fan of Bulgakov and his night-time phone call, though terrifying to the writer, resulted in a state-sanctioned job that safeguarded Bulgakov's livelihood but forbid him to publish.
At home in his flat, Bulgakov continued to write about themes that were unacceptable to the state: Christianity, for one.
The novel includes a clear-eyed account of what happened when Jesus of Nazareth met Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who sentenced him to death.
Around it, Bulgakov wove the story of a debonair and witty current-day Satan, who finds amusement in wreaking havoc on the top echelons of Moscow society, especially literary critics.
Among the demons who hang around Satan is a giant pistol-wielding black cat named Behemoth — a reader favourite who nearly always features on the book's cover.
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Bulgakov also put himself in the novel as a character known only as 'the master'. Like him, the master is writing a manuscript that he tries to burn in his stove, knowing he will never be allowed to publish it.
In the book the manuscript magically survives thanks to the helpful hand of the devil, who's named Woland.
"Unfortunately I can't show it to you," replied the master, "because I burned it in my stove."
"I'm sorry but I don't believe you," said Woland. "You can't have done. Manuscripts don't burn."
This line has taken on a fame of its own, seeming to symbolise the actual story of what happened to Bulgakov's manuscript.
Bulgakov's wife, Yelena Shilovskaya, whom the master's lover Margarita is based on, kept the novel safe throughout the decades after his death at age 48, when its very existence still posed a risk to her.
It was she who finally got it published in the late 1960s.
'Pick a line and use it as a prophesy'
For so many readers, particularly Russians, the novel has life-changing — and sometimes mystical — associations.
"My father read this book so many times that he could actually speak in quotes from the book. He could quote it almost from any page," says Muscovite Natalia Ryzhkova.
"Each time you read it you literally find something new. Something you didn't pay much attention to the previous times."
"I finished the book as a person with a different mindset," Alla Toff says as she recalls reading it for the first time in the Soviet Union.
Sydney-based scholar Ksenia Radchenko credits it with her meeting her future husband, and explains a game played with Bulgakov-lovers
"Russians use the book when they have some dream or wish. They just open the book with their eyes closed, pick a line and use it as a prophesy."
When she was a school student in Moscow in the 1990s, Ksenia's art class was told to design an ex libris book plate. Ksenia drew the cat Behemoth and signed her name on the picture.
"To my surprise this drawing had to play a very important role in my life. About 10 years later on Facebook, I met a handsome guy who lived in Los Angeles," she says.
"He said he recognised my name. His mum had been my art teacher in Moscow and she'd brought [my book plate] home because she was fascinated by the book too."
Australian writer Subhash Jaireth was a student in Moscow in the late '60s when a typed copy of the banned book, called 'samizdat', made it into his hands.
"Someone thought I was reliable enough and passed me on this samizdat copy," he says.
"I had access to a typewriter and I typed out about ten pages of it and then gave them and the original back to my friend. It might have become another copy of the book. That's how the copies spread around in the underground public sphere in Moscow."
Australian Zoe Bremer, who grew up speaking Russian, says the book helped her survive a bleak childhood and "deepened" her life.
"It was a real uniting link between my late husband and me. As soon as we discovered that this is each one's favourite book, we immediately understood a whole depth about each other. It was one of the contributing factors to my resilience when he died."
The master in Putin's Moscow
Bulgakov has long been published and celebrated in Russia, but according to Professor Curtis a comparable set of state doctrines is now being used to censor writers, particularly in the theatre.
"Since the abandoning of socialist realism as a doctrine, we are seeing a sort of reinstatement of Soviet-era values in some respect," she says.
"You simply remove communist ideology and you insert Russian Orthodox religion plus nationalism and you sort of carry on as before, basically."
One move has been the well-documented restriction of stories depicting gay and lesbian narratives.
"Banning the use of 'obscenity', banning what they call non-traditional relationships, being depicted in works of art, certainly for the under 18s … underpins a homophobic approach," Professor Curtis says.
For Luhrmann, working out how to tell a story so beloved by Russians will inevitably require some departures from the novel.
"This is not something one wants to fall in love with cinematically, because there is no cinematic language that really can contain the incredibly innovative form," he says.
But like all readers for whom "manuscripts don't burn", the magic of The Master and Margarita has gotten under his skin.
"I suddenly realised, it's the enigma of it. It's the unprecedented form of it, that suddenly got me really interested into how could I translate that."
They delivered the picture-perfect vision of sibling unity – but the reality of Prince Harry’s single days hanging out with Prince William and Kate Middleton at official royal engagements was reportedly quite different.
Harry felt like a third wheel – and even like “a gooseberry” – when he carried out official engagements alongside his brother and sister-in-law, according to one royal expert.
“Harry felt very much like a spare wheel,” Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight, citing excerpts she has read from the upcoming tell-all biography, Finding Freedom: Harry And Meghan And The Making Of A Modern Royal Family.
“I think that while Kate and William went out of their way to make sure Harry felt like a part of this team, this trio, Harry always wanted to be his own person,” she told the outlet.
“I think Meghan has very much been the catalyst in giving him that confidence to break free from William and Kate, and to break free from that trio dynamic, which was at times cosy and convenient, but actually wasn’t really what he wanted.”
While Meghan has been widely blamed as the catalyst for the couple stepping down from their role as royals and decamping to Los Angeles, “Harry was very much the driving force” behind “Megxit,” she said.
“She gave him new confidence, but I think the truth is that, for a long while, Prince Harry has wanted out.”
This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was reproduced with permission
Ellen DeGeneres has sent an emotional message to the staff of her television talk show following accusations of a hostile working environment.
In an email, DeGeneres said she was taking steps to improve the culture on set.
Here's what we know about the complaints from current and former staff who worked on her show.
Where did the allegations come from?
The allegations were made by several former staff members in a BuzzFeed article published in early July.
The article painted a radically different view of life behind the cameras from the upbeat and positive vibe presented by DeGeneres on the show.
DeGeneres' memo and the probe by the studio's parent company followed a BuzzFeed News report in which one current and 10 former show employees complained about issues including being fired after taking medical or bereavement leave.
One worker said she left because of comments about her race.
Most of the complaints were tied to executive producers and senior managers, BuzzFeed News said, but one ex-employee said DeGeneres needed to take more responsibility for the work environment.
The people making the allegations have not been identified.
There's been an internal investigation into the claims
Warner Bros Television, which produces The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has conducted an internal investigation of complaints ranging from bullying to racism among production staff.
Warner Bros Television said in a statement that although "not all of the allegations were corroborated, we are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show's day-to-day management."
It said several staffing changes and other measures were being implemented, but did not give details.
What did she say in her message?
DeGeneres wrote that she has "deep compassion" for people who are treated unfairly or disregarded.
She said that comes from someone who has been judged for "who I am", who has detailed the price she paid for being openly gay.
"As we've grown exponentially, I've not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I'd want them done. Clearly some didn't. That will now change and I'm committed to ensuring this does not happen again," she said in the email.
"It's been way too long, but we're finally having conversations about fairness and justice," DeGeneres said, adding that she would push herself and others to "learn and grow."
"On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect.
"Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case."
DeGeneres, whose show has won dozens of awards in its 17 years on the air, also referred to criticism levelled at her personally in recent media reports.
"I am also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop," she said.
The message ended with, "Stay safe and healthy" and "Love, Ellen."
DeGeneres said the COVID-19 pandemic kept her from delivering her comments in person to staffers, and the email was later made available to reporters.
Ellen DeGeneres today took the unprecedented step of issuing an apology to staff on her embattled talk show — but her words of regret rang hollow for many, who’ve labelled it a non-apology and accused the star of throwing her own staff under the bus.
In a letter to staff of The Ellen DeGeneres Show obtained and published in full byThe Hollywood Reporter, the star apologises for what’s gone on, insisting that steps will be taken to “correct the issues” going forward. THR also reports that an executive producer on the show, Ed Glavin, will “soon be out.”
Ellen’s language in the letter suggests she wasn’t fully aware of the alleged workplace culture at the talk show she’s hosted for more than 2700 episodes over the past 17 years. She opens by saying she wanted the show to be a “place of happiness” and is “disappointed to learn that this has not been the case”.
“As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again,” she says.
“I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop.”
These statements do square with the complaints raised in the Buzzfeed investigation: She barely figures in the employee complaints, aside from one employee alleging they were told never to talk to her if they saw her around the office.
In those employee accounts, DeGeneres figures as a remote boss who has little to do with many of those working on her show.
But today, many have accused Ellen of passing the buck and deflecting responsibility onto others:
“Uh. I have several friends that have worked on this show – SHE is the problem. Not a single person had a positive experience and 2 were verbally berated by her,” tweeted music producer Jordan Buckelew.
“Wasn’t even an apology! she shifted the blame entirely and threw her staff under the bus,” said another Twitter user.
Variety reported this week that The Ellen DeGeneres Show “has become the subject of an internal investigation by WarnerMedia” following the reports of workplace issues on the series.
Executives reportedly sent a memo to staff last week saying they have engaged an employee relations group and a third party firm, “who will interview current and former staffers about their experiences on set,” said Variety.
DeGeneres’ alleged bad reputation was further supported by Tom Majercak, a former bodyguard who protected DeGeneres at the 2014 Oscars. In an interview with Fox News, Majercak branded the host as “sly” and “demeaning”.
Ellen DeGeneres today took the unprecedented step of issuing an apology to staff on her embattled talk show — but her words of regret rang hollow for many, who’ve labelled it a non-apology and accused the star of throwing her own staff under the bus.
In a letter to staff of The Ellen DeGeneres Show obtained and published in full byThe Hollywood Reporter, the star apologises for what’s gone on, insisting that steps will be taken to “correct the issues” going forward. THR also reports that an executive producer on the show, Ed Glavin, will “soon be out.”
Ellen’s language in the letter suggests she wasn’t fully aware of the alleged workplace culture at the talk show she’s hosted for more than 2700 episodes over the past 17 years. She opens by saying she wanted the show to be a “place of happiness” and is “disappointed to learn that this has not been the case”.
“As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t. That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again,” she says.
“I’m also learning that people who work with me and for me are speaking on my behalf and misrepresenting who I am and that has to stop.”
These statements do square with the complaints raised in the Buzzfeed investigation: She barely figures in the employee complaints, aside from one employee alleging they were told never to talk to her if they saw her around the office.
In those employee accounts, DeGeneres figures as a remote boss who has little to do with many of those working on her show.
But today, many have accused Ellen of passing the buck and deflecting responsibility onto others:
“Uh. I have several friends that have worked on this show – SHE is the problem. Not a single person had a positive experience and 2 were verbally berated by her,” tweeted music producer Jordan Buckelew.
“Wasn’t even an apology! she shifted the blame entirely and threw her staff under the bus,” said another Twitter user.
Variety reported this week that The Ellen DeGeneres Show “has become the subject of an internal investigation by WarnerMedia” following the reports of workplace issues on the series.
Executives reportedly sent a memo to staff last week saying they have engaged an employee relations group and a third party firm, “who will interview current and former staffers about their experiences on set,” said Variety.
DeGeneres’ alleged bad reputation was further supported by Tom Majercak, a former bodyguard who protected DeGeneres at the 2014 Oscars. In an interview with Fox News, Majercak branded the host as “sly” and “demeaning”.
Taylor Swift and her team are taking swift action after they were accused of copying the logo of a Black-owned business on merchandise for the album Folklore.
Amira Rasool, founder of the online retailer The Folklore, accused the pop star last week of selling merchandise that ripped off the logo of her company, which sells apparel, accessories and other products by designers in Africa and the diaspora.
Rasool shared photos on Twitter and Instagram that showed cardigans and sweatshirts with the words "The Folklore Album" for sale on Swift's website.
"Based on the similarities of the design, I believe the designer of the merch ripped off my company's logo," she wrote on July 24. "I am sharing my story to bring light to the trend of large companies/celebrities copying the work of small minority-owned business owners. I am not going to let this blatant theft go unchecked."
As of Tuesday, Swift's website was no longer selling apparel with the words "The Folklore Album," swapping it out for new designs that read, "Folklore Album," InStyle reported.
Rasool called the design change "a great first step" and said her and Swift's teams were discussing the situation.
Taylor Swift releases music video for her new song 'cardigan'. (YouTube)
"I commend Taylor's team for recognising the damage the merchandise caused to my company @TheFolklore's brand," she wrote on Tuesday. "I recognise that she has been a strong advocate for women protecting their creative rights, so it was good to see her team is on the same page."
CNN has reached out to Rasool and Swift's publicist for comment, but has not heard back.
Still of Taylor Swift's Cardigan music video from surprise new album Folklore (Twitter/Taylor Swift)
On Thursday, Swift announced that she was donating to Rasool's company.
"Amira, I admire the work you're doing and I'm happy to make a contribution to your company and to support the Black in Fashion Council (launching on 8/3) with a donation," she wrote in response to Rasool's tweet. Later, Rasool publicly thanked Swift for her response.
Swift's decision to shake it off and correct course stands in contrast to the way that Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, handled a similar situation.
The country trio announced last month that it would be dropping "Antebellum" from its name because of the association with slavery and instead go by Lady A. But it turned out that blues singer Anita White has been performing under the name Lady A for decades.
Initially, it seemed that the parties would be able to sort things out. But things broke down and the group filed suit in Nashville's US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The suit asserts that the group was granted a trademark on the name Lady A in 2011, after several years of using it interchangeably with Lady Antebellum for their goods and services.
Celebrities who participated in the George Floyd protests
The tragic details of Glee star Naya Rivera’s death have been confirmed.
The 33-year-old actress’ death certificate was released on Thursday, more than three weeks after her body was found floating in Lake Piru in southern California.
According to the document, issued in Ventura County, Rivera drowned “in minutes”. She had no underlying ailments, and no drugs or alcohol were found in her system.
The death certificate also confirmed Rivera was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles last Friday.
Rivera’s body was located in the same area where she went missing, concealed by shrubbery.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office said the findings from an autopsy released today determined “the cause of death is drowning and the manner of death is accident”.
“The autopsy findings are consistent with a drowning and the condition of the body is consistent with the time that she was submerged,” a statement from the Medical Examiner’s Office said.
“No traumatic injuries or disease processes were identified at autopsy,” the statement added.
“There is no indication from the investigation or examination that drugs or alcohol played a role in the decedent’s death.”
Police believe Rivera, “mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat but not enough to save herself,” Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said after her body was found.
Richard Harris is done with talking about himself and is now unravelling the exploits of the world's most daring people — and he wants kids across the world to listen.
Key points:
Dr Richard Harris was one of 14 cave divers who helped rescue the Wild Boars soccer team in 2018
He has started a podcast interviewing risk takers from around the world and hopes to inspire kids to get outdoors
Hollywood company MGM has acquired the rights to the Ron Howard-directed movie about the rescue "Thirteen Lives"
It was a mission with very real dangers for both the children and the rescuers, with one local diver dying in the complicated cave system.
Life has been a whirlwind ever since the successful rescue, with Dr Harris being feted across the globe and named as the joint Australian of the Year in 2019, alongside great diving mate and fellow rescuer Craig Challen.
That fame and a certain virus have allowed him to start transitioning out of medicine.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunities that it's given me, how many people get to potentially change careers or do something which is more of a passion project for their lives at 55," Dr Harris said.
"I think that's amazingly lucky and an incredible opportunity and I don't want to waste it for a second."
Richard Harris (left) was named Australian of the Year along with friend and fellow rescuer Craig Challen.(ABC News: Clare Sibthorpe)
That passion project is his Real Risk podcast, which delves into thrill-seekers around the world and what makes them do it.
"I wanted to find out about motivation of risk-takers because for many years people have said to me, 'why be a cave diver, you must have a death wish to go swimming into a cave, why would you possibly do that?'," he said.
Among those he has spoken to are a free diver and a Mount Everest climber, but a personal favourite is American BASE jumper Sean Chuma.
"He's done over 6,700 BASE jumps, more than anyone else in the world pretty much and yet he can't remember the names of all the people who have died in the sport," he said.
"I asked him the obvious question, 'what's your secret?, Why are you still alive?' And he said 'because I have very good judgement and I'm very happy to walk away if things don't feel right'."
Dr Harris is passionate about encouraging children to get outdoors and take risks.(Supplied: Richard Harris)
Push to get more kids outdoors
Dr Harris said probing into the lives of risk takers made one thing very obvious.
"All these people are actually very thoughtful, methodical, careful people — they just do things that frighten the rest of us," he explained.
"The reason that they survive is because they put so much risk mitigation in place, they plan things very carefully,"
The whole concept of risk-taking is one he wants to get through to today's generations of kids, with so many lost to their computer screens.
"You have to suffer a few bruises and scrapes along the way to grow normally."
Getting kids outdoors is his real passion project, hence his involvement with the Kids Foundation.
"It's very important to be able to explore a little bit more independently, even just in their local neighbourhood and get away from both the screens, but also the supervision of their parents for a little while," he said.
"You need to find your own boundaries by getting out by yourself and making a few mistakes."
And he hopes the lessons of the pandemic encourage adults to get out there too.
Acclaimed Hollywood director Ron Howard is working on a movie about the Thai caves rescue, focusing predominantly on the work by the British divers involved.
Richard Harris (right) is working on a documentary about his experience in Thailand.(ABC News)
'The media can be great friends'
Dr Harris is working on a separate project to put together a documentary on the unforgettable Thailand experience, as well as writing a children's book.
It is ironic the doctor is now heavily ensconced in the media and entertainment sector, after initially shunning the limelight.
"I used to be horrified about public speaking, the idea of doing a media interview filled me with terror," he said.
But being named Australian of the Year with its requisite public responsibilities changed his perceptions on talking publicly.
"I had a strong obligation to do it and, if you haven't done anything wrong, the media can be great friends," he said.
And when the COVID-19 crisis eventually quietens down, Dr Harris will dust off his own adventurer boots, or should that be flippers, and head off on more personal adventures.
