Sex & Art

#ThrowbackThursday: Whoopi Goldberg Wins the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Ghost,” 1990

Whoopi Goldberg at the Oscars, 1991 (Leosigh)

Whoopi Goldberg at the Oscars, 1991 (Leosigh)

Actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for “Ghost,” the seminal Patrick Swayze movie where his character dies and comes back as, you guessed it, a ghost. (Shocker, right?) Goldberg played Oda Mae Brown, a psychic who helps Swayze’s character.

Goldberg won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the movie a the 63rd Annual Academy Awards in 1991. This was her second Oscar nomination: Goldberg had previously been nominated for Best Actress in 1986’s “The Color Purple.”

Until the 2017 Oscar nominations were announced, Goldberg was the only Black actress to be nominated for an Oscar twice. Now there’s a new record: Powerhouse actress Viola Davis received a nomination for her work in “Fences,” and she is now the only Black actress to be nominated three times for an Oscar.  Davis had previously been nominated in 2009 for “Doubt” and in 2012 for “The Help.”

Wonder Woman is No Longer a U.N. Ambassador

Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman (CNet2)

Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman (CNet2)

 

DC Comics superhero/feminist icon Wonder Woman has been ousted as the United Nations (U.N.)’s Honorary Ambassador for female empowerment. The character was officially unveiled as the ambassador on Oct. 21. The unveiling tied into the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal #5, which “seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.’

Her last day as ambassador was Dec. 16. Girlfriend didn’t even have the job a whole two months.

The reason for the end of Wonder Woman’s ambassadorship is slightly unclear. Around 45K+ people showed their displeasure with the iconic character’s new role by singing a petition. But the U.N. claims they made the end date soon after the character’s debut in the role, and not as a result of the protests.

 

Rock Icon David Bowie Has Died

David Bowie (BJournal)

David Bowie (BJournal)

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the biggest news this weekend, that music legend David Bowie has died. He passed away after a year-long battle with cancer, and had just released his 25th album two days before. Bowie was 69 (too young!).

Sure, his music made an impact, but so did Bowie’s sexuality. In the beginning of his career, he identified as gay. Then he said he was bisexual, and later backtracked on that. Bowie later married two women, one of them being supermodel Iman, and two children.

Bowie had a huge influence on anyone, especially kids coming of age, who felt out of place and was an icon with the way he played with gender and sexuality. He really enjoyed letting each part of himself out to play, and was very curious about everything. And those are lessons we can all take to heart.

Rest in peace, David Bowie. You were, and always will be, my favorite alien.