[Copy] Fox News accused Ilhan Omar of a “profanity-laced attack on Trump”—the only profanity being his own words.
I'm losing track of how many times I've said, "You can't make this stuff up," but here's one more to add to the list.
Fox News published an article earlier this week with the headline "Watch: Ilhan Omar delivers heated, profanity-laced attack on President Trump."
The problem? The only profanity in the entire "attack" was the president's own freaking words, quoted from his own freaking mouth and tweets.
Someone must have pointed out the obvious, because Fox News has quietly updated the headline, which now reads "Watch: Ilhan Omar uses president's words to deliver heated, profanity-laced attack on Trump." But it's not like adding "uses president's words" in that spot clarifies that the only profanit were president's own words.
(BTW, you can still find the previous headline cached in a Google search—see screenshots below—or on Way Back Time Machine. See how everything lives on the Internet, kids?)
Want to know what an actual profanity-laced attack on the president would look like? This: "President Trump is an a**shole who knows precisely jack sh*t about government and wouldn't know human decency if it hit him in the f**king face." If someone said something like that, a news outlet could justifiably call it a "profanity-laced attack."
But nothing even close to that happened. In a response to Trump's attacks against her and her colleagues, Omar didn't use a single swear word that was not a direct quote from the president. Here's the "profanity-laden" part of what she said:
"This is a president who has said 'grab women by the p——. This is a president who has called black athletes 'sons of b----es.' This is a president who has called people who come from black and brown countries 'sh--holes.' This is a president who has equated neo-Nazis with those who protest against them in Charlottesville."
All the president's actual words. Receipts here, here, and here.
Now, we all know that most media outlets have some bias, and some have more than others. It's no big secret that Fox News is in the business of making progressive lawmakers look bad. But this is more than a bit of bias—it's a blatantly dishonest headline and designed to mislead an ignorant audience.
The unfortunate truth is that most people don't read past the headlines of articles. (I guarantee there will be people commenting on this very post on Facebook without reading it first. Happens every time.) So when a headline is that misleading, it's a problem. I wouldn't even call it "clickbait," as most Fox News followers won't click to read the whole story—they will simply read the headline, imagine Omar spewing her own profanities at the president, and feel righteously justified in calling her evil. Even though that didn't happen.
There's no excuse for this. Someone quoting a person's own expletives is not a "profanity-laced attack" on them. Not in any universe—even the one in which people believe Fox News is "fair and balanced."
Honestly, I'm not sure how The Onion even stays in business anymore. The truth has truly become stranger than fiction.
The second-annual Lovers and Friends festival was the ultimate trip down memory lane for music lovers of the “'99 & the 2000”- era. Reminiscent millennials and Gen-Z packed the Las Vegas Festival Grounds for the highly anticipated A-list lineup, and although it was hard to catch all the viral moments happening all at once—it was the talk of the weekend and for great reason.
From Usher proving once again why Las Vegas is slowly becoming his city to Mariah Carey reuniting with Boyz II Men to perform their 1995 no. 1 hit “One Sweet Day,” —the top-tier acts at Lovers and Friends are making it one of the hottest festivals on the rise. The chatter happening all weekend following the alleged birthday party altercation between Chris Brown and Usher only added to the hype of the one-day revival of one of the golden eras in hip hop and R&B.
Here are some of the unforgettable moments from the second-annual Lovers and Friends festival…
Usher Shut It Down
@xonecole@Usher Raymond performing at #loversandfriends! 🔥 #fyp #loversandfriendsfest
Las Vegas is becoming Usher’s second home, and it is further solidified each time he unveils yet another epic performance in Sin City. The 2023 Lovers and Friends festival was no different. The headliner brought out Muni Long to debut an unreleased version of “Hrs & Hrs” along with Ari Lennox, whose impressive vocals nearly stole the show. Summer Walker also hit the stage with the eight-time Grammy winner before her own set, and Jermaine Dupri, the man behind some of Usher’s most iconic hits, made an appearance too.
Da Brat later joined them and didn’t miss a beat, performing for the second time in one day during her third trimester of pregnancy. Lastly, if an altercation did happen at Chris Brown’s 34th birthday party, there was not one shred of evidence in this performance. It was immaculate.
Chris Brown Put On a Performance To Remember
The controversial superstar may be the subject of many puzzling headlines, but that didn’t stop Chris Brown from putting forth a showstopping performance. He took festival-goers back in time, belting many of his career-defining classics like “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” and “With You.” Additionally, his special guests included longtime friends Tyga and Bow Wow —performing “Ayo” and the Y2K classic “Shawty Like Mine.” Chris kept the performance strictly about the music, pairing the stellar vocals with a positive attitude amidst rumors of the birthday altercation.
Jhené Aiko’s Return to the Stage
@xonecoleThis moment with @Big Sean and @jheneaiko at #loversansfriends = EVERYTHING! 🔥#loversandfriendsfest #fyp
The 2023 Lovers & Friends Festival marked Jhené Aiko’s return to the stage after giving birth to her first child with Big Sean, their son Noah. With a late afternoon performance, the sultry songbird was the perfect calm before the storm. Her melodic tunes swept through the crowd like a trance and were the perfect midday reset within the action-packed day of A-List performances. Saweetie graced the stage to mark her fellow California native’s big occasion, and Big Sean joined Jhené for a rendition of their “Twenty88” classics. Her longtime lover ended his time on stage singing her praises and showering her with love for taking great care of their son. The impromptu gesture left the crowd in awe of their romance, and the viral moment was 10x more intimate in person.
Mariah Carey Reunites with Boyz II Men
Mariah Carey took the stage at the 2023 Lovers and Friends Festival in true diva fashion, making the crowd chant her name following a nearly 30-minute delay. Once she arrived, she looked amazing and didn’t miss a beat per usual. Not to mention, she wrapped up the night with one of the best reunions at the festival. Boyz II Men, who also had their own festival headlining set, joined her to perform their 1995 hit song “One Sweet Day.” The “Queen of Christmas” did not disappoint, further treating fans to renditions of her classics like “Obsessed” and “We Belong Together.”
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Featured image by Candice Ward/Getty Images
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