Creator of the award winning Modern Masculinity series
@guardian
Host
@ajenglish
Gen Series
Reporter
@channel4
Shein doc
Journalist/Producer/Writer/Moderator
I commented on her video to say we had done the first undercover investigation into factories supplying clothes to Shein which provided video evidence of laws being broken - they aren't just rumours. She has since deleted all of the comments and moved the video to her reels...
Controversial opinion: France has a much richer, saucier, sexier football culture today than England. The street football, the crossover of music into the sport and just the vibes in the suburbs when a game is on is unmatched over here.
Yet again I'm thinking about how library closures and cuts in funding has people relying on McDonald's as a space to socialise, work and use Wi-Fi. Austerity in action.
@ridak96
@radbrowndads
I don't think that's what the picture was about. It was just a sweet photo which was nice to see on the TL amongst all the negativity.
This is why I never understand why people get pressed about the question "where are you from?" in terms of heritage. Especially if you are proud of your heritage. The outrage to that question is baffling to me.
Don’t be so generous with who you allow yourself to be offended by. You can’t just let every random idiot have more control over you than you have over yourself.
Killing a 17 year old from the Algerian community, in Paris, the week of l'Aïd el-Kébir, when the days are long and hot was always going to generate burning anger.
Nahel's mother and Assa Traoré both being on the march yesterday represents something important too...
Grand moment de journalisme mercredi dans
@cavousf5
.
"Il n'y a pas de strangulation. Ce monsieur avait-il une maladie sous-jaçente ?" demande Alain Ducardonnet. La suite de la séquence est surréaliste: "il y a surement quelque chose de pathologique".
Aucune contradiction. ⬇
Tomorrow is the third year anniversary of Grenfell but due to coronavirus the silent walk won't be happening. Instead they have online events taking place. I went down to speak to people about how things are, three years on.
Our
@Channel4
documentary had the first undercover investigation into the factories in China that make clothes for Shein which revealed how many laws were being broken regarding the working conditions of the people making the clothes. There's video evidence. They aren't "rumours"
She DMed me to ask for a link to the documentary which I sent her and I have asked to have a conversation with her but she has since just ignored the messages. But she has the information and I was/still am open to a good-faith conversation about what our investigation uncovered.
There are too many narcissists who claim to sit on the left who find comfort in militant but directionless identity politics because it allows them to pretend to care about "communities" when really they are just jerking off to themselves.
I will just say that the working conditions is the biggest concern but the influencers on this PR trip also talk about how the designs are made and conveniently don't mention the fact that so many designers have had their work ripped off and sold on the website too...
Oh wait, no, it is now not on her reels any more, but I am still being aired and there has been no acknowledgement of the risky work that our undercover journalist did to reveal how people's clothes are being made by Shein. And she isn't the only one.
My latest
@guardian
interview is with the Algerian rap superstar
@Soolking
- yes, he has millions upon millions of views, but he also has an incredible story that is inspiring in these times...
Starmer's name received resounding boos at the demo yesterday from a huge section of black, brown and white people who on paper "should" be voting for him. Even those from his own party there were trying to distance themselves from him.
A week ago we awoke to the unimaginable and heartbreaking news of terrorist attacks on Israel from Gaza by Hamas.
We repeat our call for Hamas to release all hostages immediately, and for the protection of innocent civilian lives in Israel and Gaza.
My statement:
My grandma passed away last night. If you're the praying type then please make a little one for her, she was a strong, smart and loving woman.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.
Also I landed in Milan, fashion capital of the world today, and there were Shein ads in all the metro stations I went past...hard not to feel like it is a losing battle when the marketing is this aggressive.
This is the club that distanced itself from Ozil for criticising China’s persecution of Uighur Muslims.
They said “The content published is Özil’s personal opinion. As a football club, Arsenal has always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics.”
We stand against racism.
We stand side by side with our black community.
We stand with our black players of the past, present and future.
We celebrate diversity.
We belong together.
The Times can reveal that the duchess wore earrings to a 2018 event that were a wedding gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said by the US to have approved the murder of the Jamal Khashoggi.
The dinner took place three weeks after the killing.
I spoke with Lupin's leading man,
@OmarSy
and director Louis Leterrier for this piece on what the show means, both for audiences across the world, and for a changing industry. A fun piece to write.
For the past few months I've been working on a series around masculinity for the Guardian. So often the conversation is drawn up along political lines and I wanted to do something a bit different, open up the conversation to new voices and hear people out.
We address this and how Shein uses influencers to sell clothes as well as other concerns around how the app aggressively markets to consumers and how tech and socials are making things move scarily fast in the documentary. This PR campaign is in the playbook.
A young black teacher from Tottenham told me that well-meaning teachers wanted to give their black students an inspiring role model so they invited David Lammy into school to speak. This teacher told me the kids were unimpressed with his story about being friends with Obama...
@radbrowndads
@ridak96
I'm more disturbed by the fact that Trump is still President but I'm used to the fact these days that outrage has no proportion on Twitter.
A husband and father is accused of rape by a woman that is not his wife. His wife files for divorce and finds all his money is in his mother's name. I would rather not make comment until a full investigation is done but the way a lot of men are responding online is disturbing.
Achraf Hakimi has proved by actions to many of us that the woman you are dating or you married will never be your relative. Only your mother or sister is your relative
'All of the footage should be disclosed'
Policing minister Chris Philp MP says he doesn't know all the details, but "he can't think of any good reason" why footage of Zayna Iman's arrest would be withheld.
Read more:
📺 Sky 501
Euphoria is a mindfuck. I haven't read any of the reviews but I know people freaked out about it and I have to say, it's a bloody good show. If people think it is a bad influence on young people, that's because they don't know any.
This was the case in 1998 with the black blanc beur team including Zidane who won the World Cup and the 2000 team that won the Euros. People tried to make it seem like it was going to fix racism but it didn't. Football is wonderful but racism is deeper than a sporting victory.
Honestly nothing pisses me off more that people who are constantly late. Its a disrespect. If you’re a grown ass person constantly arriving half an hour late to shit you’re not serious.
Black Mirror episode where influencers get invited on a PR tour of Shein factories but PLOT TWIST are forced to work 18hr days, shouted at by managers, not allowed enough time off to visit their children who they have taken the job to support and have first month's pay withheld.
Starmer and Lammy were both supportive of the way this particular bombing campaign started. Don't forget that. We do not have an opposition party that aligns with the principles that SA is standing for today.
Notting Hill Carnival always gets news coverage that misses the point so we made a culture piece to celebrate it and the people who make it so special. 💖
I went to Dublin to speak to
@johnconnors1990
after his acceptance speech at the IFTAs went viral. We talked about class, discrimination and suicide, he's a charming, intelligent and strong-willed guy and it's one of my favourite interviews to date.
From when I was little, watching Zidane 🇩🇿 in France '98, while England fans were scrapping with Algerians and Tunisians in the streets of Marseille with their 🏴 I've had to back France in football and music over my country of birth. Deep rooted identity issues at play.
An unexamined risk in all of this petrol shortage business is how Uber rates have gone through the roof over the weekend and today. When the underground is closed and surges are making some London trips over £100 that's a very dangerous place to be. Especially for women alone.
This journalist says "it was thought that he had married Halle Berry and he found himself with Rokhaya Diallo" - Diallo is a writer and journalist who has been outspoken about racism throughout her career
#racisme
Au sujet de Harry et Meghan: « On pensait qu’il avait épousé Halle Berry et il se retrouve avec Rokhaya Diallo »
Est-il impossible de parler d’une femme noire comme d’un être singulier? Pourquoi juger de sa respectabilité en la comparant à d’autres femmes noires?
WE'RE BACK! Series II of Modern Masculinity opens with a look at the world of UFC and why it is so popular with so many men. This video took me from Nottingham to New York, where I met fans, fighters and ended up at an event with Donald Trump...
Having a nice on Golborne Road. People were out here giving out free non-alcoholic drinks, free fruit, food was being shared, faces painted, Cheb Khaled playing, fireworks going off, kids on shoulders and just GOOD VIBES alhamdulillah 🇲🇦🇩🇿🇵🇸🤲🏽❤
Modern Masculinity got nominated for an
@RTS_media
award which felt like a miracle - it was the only non-broadcast nomination. Lovely to be recognised at a proper telly awards with our YouTube series ❤🍋
I do not see how a placard about brown politicians who hold so much money/power which they use against minority communities can be seen as a hate crime. Especially when it is being held by a brown civilian. Whatever happened to free speech?
When riots happened in '05 after the deaths of teenagers Zyed & Bouna - a Black boy and an Arab - they lasted for weeks. That story hurt a lot of people. Anyone who tries to divide these communities is scared of the power they have when they are united against the powers that be.
Everything is really scary and anxiety-inducing at the moment so in an attempt to get a handle on things we are starting a series called A New Normal, asking people what they want life after lockdown to look like. Join the discussion here...
I was one of these journalists. I pitched it three or four years ago and was met with no resource, backing or urgency.
@Nadine_Writes
did so much with the work she did on it two years ago and love to
@aamnamohdin
and all the others who worked on this story at some point as well.
when a story does come out (westwood for eg) the response is very, 'obviously' or 'people were talking about this years ago and now it's news??' etc but i guarantee you that behind it there MANY other journalists who tried and didn't have the backing to get it over the line
Was walking past the Algerian barbershop down my road telling my flatmate that Corbyn gets his hair cut there and clock that he's actually sitting there waiting for a trim. Cue a chat between myself, Corbs and the barbers about Algerian politics. Standard Saturday in north tbf.
Last month I was asked if I would go and spend time backstage with
@Tyson_Fury
at Wembley for
@squaremile_com
at short notice for the April cover.
It felt divine timing. We discussed his faith, fatherhood and family. Powerful words from his dad John too.
while some of the teachers were oblivious to the fact it wasn't cutting through, he asked the kids who they would have rather had in. After Ronaldo, they decided that they wanted Adele as she's "from Tottenham and didn't change the way she speaks when she made it".
Thinking about Dave Merritt this morning. Last week he lost a son, watch his death get politicised against his wishes and today will see that the country didn't care.
The politics around the films and whether they were state-funded isn't irrelevant but after everything that people let slide, cancelling some films seems trivial yet also a concerning precedent to set. People are not wanting to see this from other perspectives 👀
And we are LIVE! For this new series of Modern Masculinity I went back to Leeds to speak to Neil (from series one) about the challenges of lockdown, mental health and what really matters in life. We start talking about work but it gets pretty emotional...
After eight at the Guardian I've decided to leave to pursue other projects. Starting on
@josephharker
's positive action scheme all those years ago I never imagined that I would stick around for so long! Huge thanks to him and all the other incredible people I've met along the way
My humble opinion is that living at home while going to uni is a waste of your money. The education you receive is not worth what you pay for it and the biggest lesson is the one you learn from the whole chapter of being independent, making your own rules and being alone.
@chescaleigh
That's all we can hope for. It is quite disheartening to see how the work that was undertaken by a whole team to prove things that people suspected for a while can just be disregarded by people who describe themselves as "free-thinkers" but then refuse to engage in conversation.
In the UK a lot of people don't understand how these issues work and how Islamophobia and racism are so closely linked in France. Assa, who has been spearheading the fight against police brutality in France since the death of her brother at the hands of the police is also Muslim.
I remember
@ElMengem
telling me that he measured his life by World Cups. I think 4 year periods are a good way of looking at life chapters. Where were you in the summer of 2014 compared to where you are now?
Thinking about the children trapped in the hold and how we probably won't get accurate numbers and how many hands are stained by this story and the blood of these people who are treated like animals by both the media and authorities.
The video of the officer saying "go back to Africa" after Nahel got shot had my head spinning today. And there are people trying to say that France doesn't have a systemic racism problem still.
"Retourne en Afrique" de la part d'un policier à Nanterre, quartier bouclé suite à la mort de Naël, adolescent de 17 ans, tué par un policier pour refus d'obtempérer.
#LaPoliceTue
#Nanterre