Always a thrill to see my features in print! My
@RollingStone
story on
@AOC
and the damage of deepfake AI abuse is currently on newsstands in the May issue with
@billieeilish
on the cover
There are some stories that you know will stay with you for a very long time, and this is one of them. Had the honor of profiling these five women who have been warning about AI risks before you'd ever heard of ChatGPT. My latest for
@RollingStone
I spoke w/
@AnnaKendrick47
about the pain & confusion of emotional abuse, how deeply it makes you question yourself. Kendrick's new film
#alicedarling
is a rare, nuanced portrait that will feel heartbreakingly familiar for survivors and their loved ones
I sat down with
@AOC
to talk about her experience surviving deepfake AI abuse and how strongly she feels that this issue goes far beyond sexually-explicit images.
@RollingStone
Are Tedbecca endgame? I spoke with these
#TedLasso
sleuths and superfans who rewatch episodes, study Easter eggs, and fully believe Ted and Rebecca are soulmates
@latimes
These domestic violence survivors fled their abusers in a pandemic, then were left without homes during the winter storm in Texas. My story for
@marieclaire
“One of these teenagers delivered a baby while clutching a teddy bear,” said one OB-GYN. Doctors and rape survivors begged Louisiana legislators to add a rape/incest exception for minors. They were shot down. (CW: distressing) My latest for
@Jezebel
:
"There are certain images that don’t leave a person; they can’t leave a person…It’s not as imaginary as people want to make it seem" —
@AOC
on seeing deepfake porn images of herself, especially as a survivor of physical sexual assault
“It’s so important to me that people understand that this is not just a form of interpersonal violence, it’s not just about the harm that’s done to the victim ... it's about class subjugation" —
@RepAOC
Full interview:
I spoke with below-the-line crew members about how
@ava
's and
@Oprah
's commitment to diversity on
@QueenSugarOWN
changed their lives. My first story for
@latimes
:
"Being a Baton Rouge native, I didn’t ever think that this world, this industry, was an option for me,”
@steveerayne
told me. When
#QueenSugar
started she DMed
@ava
. Now she recruits for award-winning productions on a national scale.
I will add that Hannah seemed genuinely surprised when I mentioned Tedbecca fans were upset by the big fake out at the beginning (plus the airport which got hopes up, too). But she does think that Ted and Rebecca could have "gone either way" romance-wise
For
@RollingStone
's climate issue, I wrote about the coastal indigenous communities in Louisiana who are fighting to defend their vanishing homes and want their voices and experience valued
A woman has accused an NOPD officer of rape and has waited more than a year as her investigation has stalled. This is among many issues New Orleans is facing with how law enforcement treats sexual assault. On
@Jezebel
:
Anyone else find it impossible to think about the Met Gala without remembering that 2 yrs ago it was the night the Dobbs SCOTUS decision leaked.... or is it just me?
Last week Louisiana was in the national spotlight after voters refused to ban slavery from the state constitution. But what really happened? I spoke with criminal justice advocates to find out:
Louisiana lawmakers are trying to quietly make possession of abortion pills illegal, adding mife and miso to the state’s list of controlled substances. My latest for
@RollingStone
:
La. State Rep. Mandie Landry (
@votelandry
) is asking that SB276 be recommitted to health and welfare committee since the mife/miso amendments were added by an outside group (Right to Life) instead of physicians
"The amount of power they have in here is so insulting to me. They've abused this process so many times; they've manipulated it. Everyone in here knows that; no one's denying it. And they hijacked a bill. I'm tired of being used." —
@votelandry
on RTL
One of my favorite lines from my
@latimes
interview with Meg Ryan was about the power that exes can have over each other. She said, “They take knives out that no one else knows are knives.”
I spoke with survivors who felt ignored and disrespected by GOP legislators at yesterday's hearings: “It just felt like a slap.” They spoke about crying while sharing their pain and having legislators walk out of the room.
@Jezebel
I have more than a few feelings about what is happening this week/month/lifetime. Thank you to
@LEBassett
@Jezebel
for giving me a platform to express them.
Chilling research by
@Katerinasyoga
: “How to hit a woman so no one knows,” was Google searched 163 million times in the U.S. during the beginning of the pandemic, an increase of 31 percent from 2019. “He will kill me,” increased by 84 percent.
Hey
@nypost
I appreciate you reading my
@RollingStone
story on
@AOC
but you seemed to have missed the entire point of the article which is sharing deepfakes is harmful fullstop. Notice we didn’t use any deepfake photos of AOC and still managed to get the news across.
Freeman gets passionate: "I understand that Right to Life runs some of your worlds & I'm sorry that you can't see what the doctors have come to us to tell us. If you believed in the right to life, you would believe in maternal outcomes being the best for the women of this state."
Distressing talking to Louisiana OB-GYN's after SB276 passed reclassifying mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. Today one told me: "We are all pissed and feeling helpless. Feels like so much work for all the same people to still vote in favor."
“Why would we want to make childbirth and pregnancy care more dangerous through bad science and inappropriate use of the law?” Director of the New Orleans Department of Health, Dr. Jennifer Avegno, asks.
Story:
This hearing, like last year's, was extremely gut-wrenching. The bill was solely focused on people under 17. At one point, an advocate talked about a mother having to share custody with her rapist and she was told to turn the volume down.
Their mother's ex-boyfriend shot and killed her in broad daylight. It was filmed and shared on social media. Nearly a year later, he's still not charged and her three daughters are demanding justice. My story for
@IlluminatorLA
We should not be asking women to sacrifice their lives for a country not willing to give them necessary healthcare or bodily autonomy. My latest for
@ELLEmagazine
, including the story of a Latina military servicemember who has struggled to access care:
My latest for
@marieclaire
on the rise in pregnancy criminalization, which will be far-reaching and disproportionately affect people of color. "It's not uncommon to see bedside interrogations happening."
ICYMI I published a story on
@Jezebel
detailing the concerns Louisiana OB-GYNs have about misoprostol being added to the state's controlled dangerous substances list. One worries it sets a horrible precedent "What's next: IUDs? Birth control pills?"
What really bothers me as a as a woman [...] is
that the Right to Life comes in here and tries to tell us how to practice medicine. And that is wrong!" — Rep. Freeman
Reminder that 280+ doctors signed a letter to the senator behind this legislation because they are worried this will delay care to patients prescribed these drugs for legal and legitimate reasons.
The “evidence” of the abortion lobby is outcome driven and funded by Planned Parenthood. This legislation does NOT prohibit these drugs from being prescribed and dispensed in Louisiana for legal and legitimate reasons.
ICYMI this morning, one of the doctors I spoke w/said that while misoprostol is used to induce abortions, it is more commonly used for other types of pregnancy care. "It'd be like calling a speculum an 'abortion tool.'"
@votelandry
brought this up on the House floor today
Something non-work-related a source told me about the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has stuck with me for weeks. He said "Palestinians don't ask each other, 'Have you lost anyone?' it's 'How many have you lost?'"
I have been head-in-the-sand about Louisiana's proposed constitutional rewrite (everything seems on fire, hard to keep up) so thank you to
@dcbigjohn
and
@clancygambit
for this important explainer on Landry's big swing
For
@ELLEmagazine
I spoke with a Latina Army captain in Texas who has struggled to obtain reproductive healthcare at every level, including birth control and abortion
"The majority of people with a uterus have had a reason to need misoprostol at some point,” an MFM tells me. Louisiana doctors are asking legislator to reconsider amendments adding mife/miso to the state's controlled dangerous substances list
@Jezebel
The ways we punish women physically and psychologically in this country seem endless. Here's
@LEBassett
talking about the stunning hypocrisy of saying a woman is only good for mothering, while also trying to block the ways in which she can become one.
And honestly, it's not just doctors. Yesterday, a mom friend of mine told me she's seriously reconsidering trying to get pregnant with a third child because of how scary things continue to get in Louisiana.
“We’ve been in a long, 20-year process of undoing the allure of Mr. Big,” says a feminist media scholar I spoke with for my
@latimesent
feature on
#SATC
and how Big v Aidan has aged — for millennials too! not just Gen Z
My interview with Meg Ryan about on-off relationships, heartbreak and her new romcom is on the front page of the
@latimes
entertainment section today. "As a writer, your life always somehow informs the product," she told me.
I spoke with
#Ghosted
filmmakers and leads about rom-coms that walk the thin line between sweet and creepy, and why the problematic trope refuses to die. My latest for
@latimes
:
This proposed change to mife and miso was made in last-minute amendments to a bill about coerced criminal abortion. A OB-GYN I spoke with said, “This was not on anyone’s radar at all — it feels very sneaky."
@GuruPundit
@RollingStone
Misoprostol is much more commonly used for many other reasons, including saving lives of people who might have postpartum hemorrhaging, IUD insertion, inducing labor, biopsies etc. Definitely consider those pregnancy care. And the pills are extremely safe.
Even more dire was when she said she wonders if people will pay attention once "someone dies waiting for their miscarriage medicine." The delay in care because of these extra barriers is a huge fear for doctors practicing here, who are already under so much stress
Thousands of Louisiana hs students thought they were going to a career fair. Instead, teen girls were told to forgive rapists, transgender students had water poured on their heads and boys did push-up competitions for money.
“We’ve been in a long, 20-year process of undoing the allure of Mr. Big,” says a feminist media scholar I spoke with for my
@latimesent
feature on
#SATC
and how Big v Aidan has aged — for millennials too! not just Gen Z
Debate continues on Louisiana house floor of SB276, which would reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol as dangerous controlled substances in the state
The maternal fetal medicine specialist said she's worried about the red tape this will add to a medication commonly used for miscarriage management. She says this adds to the climate of "sheer terror" Louisiana doctors feel.
I’ve always had a lot of feelings about Big vs. Aidan, and
@mairalg
gave me a chance to share them, plus speak with therapists and feminist media scholars about whether, as a society, we’ve outgrown Mr. Big
@latimes
@votelandry
"I think we're doing a disservice to the women in this state by not even discussing this further; this is a really big deal." —
@votelandry
The legislation was written in partnership with Louisiana Right to Life. Pregnant women are exempt and people with a valid prescription would still be able to possess the pills. Anyone else would face up to 5 years in prison, 10 if they have intent to distribute.
One of the most harrowing accounts in this
@rosiewestwood
story is how doctors are forcing unnecessary C-sections on patients to "preserve the appearance of not doing an abortion."
@votelandry
Of course, it is under attack because of its use in abortion. But this just shows how linked together reproductive health is and why doctors should be making medical decisions with their patients. Not lawmakers that don't know how to pronounce the drugs they are reclassifying
Doesn't this have a big effect on presidential election? If abortion is on ballot and draws more left-leaning people to vote, couldn't that swing Florida blue?
NEW: The Florida Supreme Court simultaneously UPHOLDS the state's 15-week abortion ban (which lets the six-week ban take effect, too)—but also APPROVES a ballot initiative that would amend the FL constitution to protect abortion.
Breaking from
@rosiewestwood
: Louisiana legislator Pressly is doubling down despite hundreds of doctors asking him not to make mife and miso controlled substances
Here’s
@TAPressly
’s response to over 200 docs who raised concerns over making abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol controlled substances in Louisiana
Just another typical day in Louisiana, where legislators are refusing to let bills through that would help provide medical care to pregnant people. My latest ray of sunshine for
@Jezebel
:
The Louisiana house is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would criminalize life-saving pregnancy care drugs. Here's a comprehensive update on how we got here:
@RollingStone
I appreciate
@AOC
being so open and honest about her experience with nonconsensual AI porn. I’d also like to uplift the other voices in my
@RollingStone
story. Taylor is a young woman who experienced this abuse just after college.
#MyImageMyChoice
Sen.
@KatrinaRJackson
has filed a bill (SB 443) that would require TOPS participants to stay in Louisiana for three years after graduation or pay back part of the scholarship
#lalege
#lagov
Following the news Louisiana's three abortion clinics are relocating, I spoke with one of the clinic's directors for
@Jezebel
. "I will not walk away with a whimper. I don't have it in me to quit at this point."
Looks like
@votelandry
(Rep. Mandie Landry) is ready to debate the controversial amendments to SB276 in Louisiana which would criminalize mife and miso. The House vote is currently scheduled for today.
I profiled
@ruchowdh
for
@marieclaire
's Power Issue (
@IssaRae
on the cover!). We spoke about her org's push for greater diversity in AI and why we need more people of color working on tech solutions
Impossible for me to choose a pull-quote for this because I loved every sentence. Do yourself a favor and read this moving profile of Jonathan Bailey by
@thefilmgoer
After Jonathan Bailey delivered one of the best performances on TV last year in "Fellow Travelers," I asked him to go on a queer history tour of downtown L.A. with me. He said yes.
My profile, for
@latimes
:
I spoke to Pauline Rogers, who runs housing for formerly incarcerated women in Jackson, where a massive water crisis has hit a critical point. "With this population, we have learned from the past decade we have to fend for ourselves," she told me.
@LatinaInstitute
, rightfully calls out how Florida Supreme Court has decimated abortion care with one of their rulings today. We can celebrate ballot measure but must also think of all of the pregnant people that will be affected with the six-week ban ruling
There are so many people who will be in need of assistance in the wake of Hurricane Ian, especially thinking of domestic violence survivors and their families who will now be in a much more vulnerable position
One year after the Dobbs decision I spoke with five women from Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and New York about how their lives have been irreversibly changed.
@marieclaire
The DoD has a new policy to cover both leave and travel and transportation funds for reproductive healthcare, including abortion and fertility care like IVF. But many members, like Andrea, still don't know it exists.
@GuruPundit
@RollingStone
Also FWIW, I consider abortions part of pregnancy care as well, which even if you disagree does not negate any of the above uses
We are honored to announce that our founder, Dr. Joy Buolamwini, has been awarded the 2024 Digital Civil Rights Award by the
@NAACP
and Archewell Foundation, the non-profit organization created by Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in recognition of her
We're interested in seeing how an increasing reliance on technology affects the reproductive health space, especially given all of the changes happening in Louisiana. More details here from my esteemed editor
@GregLaRose
at
@IlluminatorLA
: