Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Chemical Attack in Syria Kills Dozens of Civilians

A chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib province has killed at least 58 people, including many children. Human rights groups say either the Syrian government or Russian jets perpetrated the attack. Chemical weapons cause a horrendous and painful death–victims essentially choke to death. According to witnesses, the attack started early in the morning when they saw airplanes flying overhead and a series of loud explosion. Shortly after, civilians on the ground started displaying symptoms of a gas attack.

Horrible pictures of chemical weapons attack in Idlib. The world could have protected these kids years ago, but is still refusing to. #Syria

— James Sadri (@halfiranian) April 4, 2017

The Syrian government and Russia both deny all involvement, but some international leaders have already condemned the move as a war crime. Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan told President Vladimir Putin that this could complicate their upcoming peace talks.

This attack comes just a few days after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said that ousting Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is no longer a priority.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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What was supposed to be a night of roasting Rob Lowe turned into a brutal attack on Ann Coulter, the infamous conservative pundit known for her inflammatory comments.

On Monday night, Comedy Central aired its long-awaited roast centered on Lowe, famous for his sex tape, DirecTV commercials, failed pilots, and occasional notable acting along the way. While many of the jokes jabbed at Lowe’s involvement with a 16-year-old and his acting career, the attention shifted and the rest of the roasters took their swings at Coulter.

Coulter showed up to do a promotional spiel on her new book, ‘In Trump We Trust.’ When it finally came time for her to talk about it, she was met with boos from the audience.

Coulter sat seemingly lifeless as each insult came, like a frog in a pot of boiling water unaware that it’s being slowly burned alive.

Here are 10 of the best insults sent her way:

1. Rob Lowe

“Why is Ann Coulter here tonight? Because the right-to-lifers wanted everyone to see what an abortion looks like up close.”

2. Pete Davidson

“Ann Coulter, if you’re here, who is scaring the crows away from our crops?”

It’s not going to be a good night for Ann Coulter #LoweRoast pic.twitter.com/LRuTG4w6Gi

— Nate (@BarstoolNate) September 6, 2016

3. Nikki Glaser

“Ann Coulter has written 11 books — 12 if you count ‘Mein Kampf'”

4. Peyton Manning

“I just realized I’m not the only athlete up here. As you all know, earlier this year Ann Coulter won the Kentucky Derby.”

5. Jewel

“As a feminist, I can’t support everything that’s being said up here tonight. But as someone who hates Ann Coulter, I’m delighted.”

6. Nikki Glaser

“The only person you will ever make happy is the Mexican who digs your grave.”

7. David Spade

“Ann seems stiff and conservative, but she gets wild in the sheets — just ask the Klan.”

8. Jewel

“Jeff Ross is going to party like its 1999, Ann Coulter is going to vote like its 1899.”

9. Jimmy Carr

“Ann Coulter is one of the most repugnant, hateful bitches alive — but it’s not too late to change, Ann. You could kill yourself.”

10. David Spade

“Is Pete white? Is he black? Ann Coulter needs to know so she can decide if she hates him”

Then it was Coulter’s time to speak, and she continued to plummet.

Audience reaction to Ann Coulter on the Rob Lowe roast are about perfect pic.twitter.com/SkI00cyLgZ

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) September 6, 2016

After that really rough night for Coulter, this post feels more like a eulogy.

Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street from Howard County, Maryland. She is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Economics. You can contact Julia at JBryant@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Top 10 Ann Coulter Insults from the Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now?

Peter Thiel Opens Up About Gawker

The Daily Beast isn’t the only outlet that has allegedly violated the personal privacy of its subjects. Peter Thiel published an op-ed on Monday discussing his feelings toward Gawker Media for outing him in 2007.

It wasn’t so many years ago, but it was a different time: Gay men had to navigate a world that wasn’t always welcoming, and often faced difficult choices about how to live safely and with dignity.

Thiel wanted to come out to the public on his own terms but, unfortunately, Gawker “violated his privacy and cashed in on it.”

Since then, Thiel has made it his aim to bring down Gawker by any means possible. Those means have come in the form of bankrupting the company through a series of lawsuits against Gawker. Thiel secretly funded Terry Bollea’s, or Hulk Hogan, high profile suit, and subsequently bankrupted Gawker and its founder Nick Denton.

via GIPHY

Rant Crush

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The post RantCrush Top 5: August 16, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

It appears that Stephen Colbert doesn’t own “Stephen Colbert.” Rather, Colbert, the host of CBS’s “The Late Show,” doesn’t own the rights to the character he developed and played for almost 20 years on Comedy Central.

On Wednesday, Colbert announced on his show that the “Stephen Colbert” character from “The Colbert Report” is the intellectual property of Viacom, Comedy Central’s parent company, and would “never be seen again.” In response to disappointed “boos” by the audience, he responded, “I understand, but what can I do? The lawyers have spoken. I cannot reasonably argue I own my face or name.”

Last week, he brought back his former alternate persona in order to make sense of the Trump nomination, using one of his signature bits called “The Word.”

After the show aired, however, “corporate lawyers” from Colbert’s former network allegedly reached out to claim their IP over the character. “Stephen Colbert,” the faux-conservative newsman, was a feature on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” before receiving his own show on the network in 2005. Last year, Colbert retired the character after taking over for David Letterman on CBS.

While this may be sad news for the “Colbert Nation,” don’t fret just yet: Colbert may have found a suitable alternative. After announcing the end of “Stephen Colbert,” he introduced “Stephen Colbert’s identical twin, “Stephen Colbert,” who may be a worthy replacement. He also introduced his new segment “WERD,” which bears only a slight resemblance to “The Word.”

So far, there is no news on whether Viacom’s legal team has fired back to challenge the eerie similarities between the new “Colbert” and his retired cousin.

The Hollywood Reporter notes the legal complexities surrounding this case, and explains why “Stephen Colbert’s identical twin cousin” may avoid copyright infringement claims and may actually be able to qualify for its own copyright. However, the article notes that if the new character earns a separate copyright, it would probably be owned by CBS rather than Colbert himself. So, let’s hope that Colbert stays where he is, otherwise, he may need to pull out another extended family member if he wants his satirical alter-ego to live on.

While Colbert himself may have abandoned his Comedy Central show last year, it appears he hasn’t let go of the character that millions have grown to love.

Mariam Jaffery

Mariam was an Executive Assistant at Law Street Media and a native of Northern Virginia. She has a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Business Administration from George Washington University. Contact Mariam at mjaffery@lawstreetmedia.com.

The post Stephen Colbert Doesn’t Own His “Colbert Report” Character appeared first on Law Street.

“The Daily Show’s” new host, Trevor Noah, has made an enemy: Jeff Kaufmann, the chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. Kaufmann denied “The Daily Show” press credentials to attend the Iowa Growth and Opportunity Party, and in the process, inspired Noah’s comedic wrath. In fact, Noah pretty much lambasted him on the show last night–check out the full clip below:

Then, “The Daily Show” correspondent who would have been the one covering the event joined Noah to poke fun at Kaufmann.

The reason that Kaufmann gave for the denial of “The Daily Show’s” press credentials was that he was concerned the comedy news show would make fun of the state of Iowa. But Noah’s attack accused him of a more duplicitous motive, stating that Kaufmann:

Shouldn’t hide behind Iowa when the things you really don’t want people to make fun of are pretty obvious here. You don’t want people making fun of your terrible candidates and your ridiculous event.

But, as Noah pointed out, not inviting “The Daily Show” won’t keep the satirical show from poking fun. In fact, Noah delivered some blistering jokes about the event, including a jab about a Hillary Clinton scarecrow that was on display.

Trevor Noah on Iowa Hillary scarecrow: “If you want a fake empty Hillary Clinton you should just use Carly Fiorina.” pic.twitter.com/tZFCES32tJ

— Ryan Adams (@filmystic) November 4, 2015

Noah also created a mocking event on Facebook–“The Daily Show’s Official Jeff Kauffman-less Blowout.” The event description includes the following:

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is having a party, and everyone but Jeff Kaufmann is invited!
That’s right, anybody can come! As long as you aren’t Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. If you are Jeff Kaufmann, you will be asked to leave.

Party schedule:
6pm – 7pm: Eating all Jeff Kaufmann’s favorite foods
7pm – 11pm: Talking smack about Jeff Kaufmann
11pm – 12am: All Jeff Kaufmann’s most embarrassing stories, told by Jeff Kaufmann’s friends and family

“The Daily Show” is certain to continue to make fun of the GOP field, and the GOP as a whole, through the 2016 campaign. But on Kaufmann’s part, denying the press credentials was probably a bad move, because it gave Noah especially easy and hilarious fodder.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post “The Daily Show” Barred From Iowa GOP Event: Trevor Noah Fights Back appeared first on Law Street.

I was heartbroken last month to hear that Jon Stewart would be leaving his seat on “The Daily Show” for presumably bigger and better things after an impressive 16 plus years as the show’s host. Even though I was so sure that my girl Jessica Williams was primed to take Stewart’s spot, I was both impressed and excited when Comedy Central announced yesterday that South African comedian Trevor Noah had been awarded the coveted position. The world appeared to be geared up to embrace Noah and his international spin on politics, until fans of the show began to comb through his Twitter account and found some old tweets that have been deemed offensive to both women and Jews.

.@Trevornoah, new ‘Daily Show’ host, faces criticism for tweets http://t.co/K7QeoYNGQz pic.twitter.com/CWa34wcgI2

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 31, 2015

Some of the tweets in question include:

South Africans know how to recycle like israel knows how to be peaceful. — Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) June 2, 2010

So she gets fat? RT @missdanibagel: When a woman is loved correctly, she becomes 10 times the woman she was before

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) July 18, 2014

Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn’t look b4 crossing but I still would hav felt so bad in my german car! — Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) September 18, 2009

This one is a gem.

A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you’ll probably never get to ride it.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) November 28, 2011

His comments have been called both anti-semitic and anti-feminist, but we need to take a second to remember one thing–Trevor Noah is a comedian. He’s not a politician, school principal, or “real” news correspondent. He makes a living telling jokes and making people laugh, and while humor is in fact subjective, these tweets appear to have been intended as jokes.

He’s not the first comedian to have his social media taken out of context, and he won’t be the last. As a top source for televised comedy, Comedy Central likely understands this and doesn’t seem to be putting too much stock in the controversy. I doubt Noah will lose his new position over this, but how he handles the situation will be telling.

Noah seemingly acknowledged the controversy Tuesday, sending out a tweet just before 9 a.m. Eastern time that read, “Twitter does not have enough characters to respond to all the characters on Twitter.” The tweet was deleted shortly after. Maybe he’s already learned his first social media lesson, at the very least: don’t fuel the Twitter trolls.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Trevor Noah: First and Foremost a Comedian appeared first on Law Street.

Jon Stewart chose to break my heart just a few days shy of Valentine’s Day when he announced Tuesday that he would be leaving his post on “The Daily Show” after over 16 years as its host. First Colbert leaves and now Stewart–come on Comedy Central, this is too much!

Stewart let it slip that he would be retiring during Tuesday’s show taping, and the network was quick to confirm, writing a touching farewell that can be read below. The message hinted that this isn’t the end for “The Daily Show.”

JUST IN: @ComedyCentral says Daily Show host #JonStewart to step down at end of year pic.twitter.com/caKNLrzCg7

— WTTE FOX 28 (@fox28columbus) February 10, 2015

Before I put a countdown in my iPhone to track Stewart’s remaining shows as they tick down down to zero, let’s take a minute to reflect on what made us fall in love with Stewart in the first place. Maybe it was his perfectly coiffed salt and pepper locks or his piercing blue eyes. But in all seriousness it was probably his sharp edged political commentary laced with hilarity that had us hooked. Stewart said what we were all thinking, and we thanked him for it.

He was also among the first to make that type of satirical commentary big before others like Stephen Colbert, Larry Wilmore, and John Oliver hopped on the funny news wagon. Many millennials even regard Stewart’s show as real news, with more Americans — 8 percent — saying they trust the fake news program than MSNBC. In January, fellow Law Streeter Noel Diem wrote a piece on where Americans are getting their news and found that:

His [Stewart] show averages 2.3 million viewers per episode, putting him far ahead of others news outlets in not only viewers, but also in that 25-54 range. In fact, The Daily Show is consistently ranked the top late-night news show among the key demographic.

So, who will replace Stewart?

Since the world has already begun speculating on potential Daily Show replacements, I might as well tell you who my top two front runners are–both of them having the last name Williams was not a requirement but just a weird coincidence.

Jessica Williams –She’s clearly mine and many others’ number one choice! Williams has been a correspondent on “The Daily Show” since 2012, and applies her youthful, sassy, and sharp-witted comedy to topics like feminism, racial equality, and youth culture. When I read in Wired’s January 2015 issue that she wants to create a smart gossip site with cultural celebrity critiques, I couldn’t help but think that this girl is exactly what comedy needs. The type of site she’s envisioning could be exactly the kind of fresh new vision “The Daily Show” will require after Stewart’s departure. Bonus point: she also already looks pretty good in his chair based on the pic below.

RT if you think Jessica Williams should be given Jon Stewart’s job after he leaves! #TheDailyShowWithJessicaWilliams pic.twitter.com/Gqdx2Z4h34

— Bhavik Lathia (@bhaviklathia) February 11, 2015

Brian Williams–Brian might be currently shopping for a “fake news” gig, especially after his reporting ethics were called into question after repeated misrepresentation of events surrounding his coverage of the Iraq war. The controversy resulted in him being suspended from the “Nightly News'” for six months without pay. I don’t know who I’m sadder to see leaving the air: Williams or Stewart. Who knows though, Stewart’s departure could all be one big Illuminati plot to get him back in the anchorman chair. At least Stewart’s still on Williams’ side:

Most important picture today: #JonStewart on Brian #Williams. pic.twitter.com/aURDuavPUY

— King سميرة (@SamiraaSR) February 11, 2015

Even though Jon Stewart adamantly swore during his 16 year career at the helm of “The Daily Show” that what he did wasn’t journalism, his absence will still leave a void in the realm of news. Whoever Comedy Central ends up picking has big shoes to fill.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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