Celebrity
‘Star Trek’ Actor George Takei Is Determined To Keep Telling His Japanese American Story
TOKYO — The internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans, including children, as adversaries during World War II is a historical event that has shocked and galvanized the Japanese American community over the years.
George Takei, who portrayed Hikaru Sulu aboard the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise, is committed to recounting the story at every opportunity.
“I consider it my life’s mission to educate Americans about this chapter of American history,” he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He thinks that the lesson about the failure of American democracy has not been fully learned, especially among Japanese Americans.
George Takei | AP News Image
‘Star Trek’ Actor George Takei Is Determined To Keep Telling His Japanese American Story
“The government bears the shame of detention. They are the ones who committed an act of injustice, cruelty, and inhumanity. But so often, the victims of government activities bear the shame themselves,” he remarked.
Takei, 87, has released a new picture book titled “My Lost Freedom” for youngsters aged 6 to 9 and their parents. Michelle Lee illustrated it with gentle watercolors.
Takei was four years old when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, two months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, proclaiming anyone of Japanese heritage an enemy of the United States and forcefully removing them from their West Coast homes.
Takei spent the next three years behind barbed wire, surrounded by troops with weapons, in three camps: the Santa Anita racetrack, which smelled of dung; Camp Rohwer in a marshland; and, beginning in 1943, Tule Lake, a high-security segregation center for the “disloyal.”
“We were perceived as distinct from other Americans. This was unfair. We were Americans and had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor. Yet we were imprisoned behind barbed wires,” Takei says in his book.
Throughout it all, his parents are presented as bearing the burdens with quiet dignity. His mother sews clothes for the children. They fashioned seats from scrap lumber. They played baseball. They danced to Benny Goodman. For Christmas, they received a Santa who appeared to be Japanese.
It’s a story that has been told and retold in books such as Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston’s 1973 “Farewell to Manzanar,” Lawson Fusao Inada’s “Only What We Could Carry,” and Frank Abe and Floyd Cheung’s “The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration,” which was recently published.
George Takei | AP News image
‘Star Trek’ Actor George Takei Is Determined To Keep Telling His Japanese American Story
David Inoue, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, headquartered in Washington, D.C., believes Takei’s book’s message is still relevant.
He said that discrimination continues to this day, as seen by the anti-Asian attacks that erupted during the COVID-19 outbreak. Inoue claimed that his son had been taunted at school like he was when he was younger.
“Having novels like this helps to humanize us. It shares anecdotes about us that demonstrate how similar we are to other families. We like to play baseball. “We have pets,” Inoue explained.
Takei and his family were exiled to Tule Lake in northern California after his parents responded “No” to key items on a so-called loyalty questionnaire.
Question 27 asked if they were willing to serve in the United States Armed Forces, and Question No. 28 asked if they swore allegiance to the United States and would forego allegiance to the Japanese monarch. Both were contentious issues for people who had been robbed of their fundamental civil rights and labeled enemies.
“Daddy and Mama both thought that the two questions were stupid,” Takei writes in “My Lost Freedom.”
“The only honest answers were No and No.”
Takei stated that the questions failed to describe what would happen to families with young children. He claimed that the second question was equally a no-win because his parents believed there was no need to oppose Japan.
Tule Lake, the largest of the ten camps, housed 18,000 people.
Young men who replied “Yes” joined the all-Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which fought in Europe while their families were imprisoned. The 442, with its famed “Go for Broke” motto, is the most decorated unit of its size and duration in US military history.
“They were determined to prove themselves and get their families out of barbed wires,” Takei stated. “They’re our heroes. I know I owe a lot to them.”
After Japan surrendered, Takei and his family, like all other Japanese Americans released from the camps, were granted $25 and a one-way ticket to anywhere in the United States. The Takei family decided to start fresh in Los Angeles.
George Takei | Pixa Bay Image
‘Star Trek’ Actor George Takei Is Determined To Keep Telling His Japanese American Story
After years of effort and testimony by Japanese Americans, including Takei, the Civil Liberties Act was passed in 1988, awarding $20,000 in restitution and a formal presidential apology to every surviving U.S. citizen or permanent resident immigrant of Japanese descent detained during WWII.
Takei’s voice cracked as he remembered how his father did not survive to witness it.
He was proud of the variety shown in “Star Trek,” a television series that premiered in the mid-1960s and quickly gained a devoted fan base. The crew that flew through the galaxies had a variety of backgrounds.
Gene Roddenberry, the writer, inventor, and producer of “Star Trek,” intended to reflect the difficult times and the civil rights movement on television but had to do so symbolically to make it acceptable, according to Takei.
“various people have various views, tastes, and foods. He intended to make that comment. “Each character was supposed to represent a portion of this planet,” Takei explained.
Takei recounted how his father taught him that the government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” as Abraham Lincoln phrased it in his Gettysburg Address, could also be a weakness.
“All humans are imperfect, including great presidents like Roosevelt. The hysteria and prejudice of the day stampeded him. “And he signed Executive Order 9066,” Takei stated.
SOURCE – (AP)
Entertainment
Vanessa Hudgens ‘Disappointed’ Her Privacy Was Invaded With Paparazzi Pictures Of Her New Baby
Vanessa Hudgens is thrilled to be a new mother but wishes she had more say over how the news was announced.
Vanessa Hudgens | People Image
Vanessa Hudgens ‘Disappointed’ Her Privacy Was Invaded With Paparazzi Pictures Of Her New Baby
The “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” star wrote in an Instagram post Thursday, “We’re disappointed that our family’s privacy was violated and exploited during this very special time due to the greed of a long-lens camera feeding the media.” Despite this, Mom, Dad, and Baby are happy and healthy.
Vanessa was alluding to reports published earlier this week that showed her leaving a hospital with her infant.
While the circumstances surrounding the announcement were not ideal, the singer and actor’s Instagram message served as her first confirmation that she had given birth to her kid, her first child with husband Cole Tucker.
CNN has contacted Hudgens’ agents to see if she has more comments.
On Oscar night in March, Vanessa disclosed that she and the Major League Baseball outfielder were expecting their first child.
Vanessa Hudgens | CNN Image
Vanessa Hudgens ‘Disappointed’ Her Privacy Was Invaded With Paparazzi Pictures Of Her New Baby
Vanessa and Tucker reportedly married in December in Tulum, Mexico, after announcing their engagement early last year.
Vanessa and Tucker were initially linked in 2020 when she tweeted a selfie of herself titled “date night” and was caught holding hands later that evening.
SOURCE – CNN
Entertainment
For ‘Love Island USA’ Superfan Ariana Madix, Hosting The Show ‘Does Not Feel Like Work’
Before the real-life infidelity scandal known as Sandoval, there was a scene in Season 10 of Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” in which Ariana Madix and her then-boyfriend Tom Sandoval admitted to not spending enough quality time together. Sandoval wanted to party like a rock star, but Madix preferred that he stay at home with her and watch her favorite TV show, “Love Island USA,” with pals.
“I do not have time to watch 50 (expletive) episodes of ‘Love Island.'” “No, I don’t.” he replied.
Ariana Madix | AP News Image
For ‘Love Island USA’ Superfan Ariana Madix, Hosting The Show ‘Does Not Feel Like Work’
After roughly a year and a half, Madix and Sandoval split. Sandoval had been cheating on Madix for almost six months with a “Vanderpump” co-star. Madix is presently the host of “Love Island USA” on Peacock, succeeding Sarah Hyland.
It’s a fitting development for Madix, whose nearly decade-long romance ended publicly. Since then, she has appeared on “Dancing with the Stars” and on Broadway as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.” Her original tenure was extended due to high ticket demand, and she will return to the position next month. Madix, a former bartender, published a best-selling cocktail recipe book and launched a sandwich business called “Something About Her” in Los Angeles with “Vanderpump” co-star Katie Maloney.
Madix has spent the past month in Fiji filming “Love Island USA.” She describes the work as a dream come true for a superfan like herself.
“I love watching how this show is made,” Madix stated in a recent Zoom interview. “There’s a crew of about 400 people who work on the show to make it happen and turn these episodes around virtually in real time. It is really stunning.”
Ariana Madix | AP news image
For ‘Love Island USA’ Superfan Ariana Madix, Hosting The Show ‘Does Not Feel Like Work’
On “Love Island USA,” a group of single men and women move to an isolated villa in the hopes of finding love. The candidates form couples based on their first impressions. These relationships are put to the test. Do they have lasting chemistry? They can also make connections with others, including a constant influx of fresh singles. At various points, viewers are allowed to vote for their favorite couples. Contestants are eliminated at various points, and the public ultimately votes for the winning couple, who receives a financial award.
SOURCE – (AP)
Entertainment
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused Of Sex Trafficking And Sexual Assault In Lawsuit By Former Adult Film Actress
Adria English, a former adult video actor who claims to have worked for Sean “Diddy” Combs from 2004 to 2009, accused the music mogul of sex trafficking and sexual assault in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The 114-page complaint claims that Combs and other defendants in the case exploited English as “a sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial benefit of others” during “White Parties” at Combs’ mansions in the Hamptons, New York, and Miami, Florida. The case, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, also claims Combs compelled English to “engage in prostitution and sex work” from 2006 to 2009.
P diddy Combs | CNN Image
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused Of Sex Trafficking And Sexual Assault In Lawsuit By Former Adult Film Actress
The lawsuit is the ninth against Combs since November and the eighth expressly accusing him of sexual assault. One of the eight lawsuits filed by former girlfriend Cassie Ventura has been resolved. Another lawsuit accuses his son Christian Combs of sexual assault, while Sean Combs is accused of aiding and abetting.
“No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone,” stated Jonathan Davis, an attorney for Combs, in response to English’s claim.
“We live in a society where anyone can bring a lawsuit for any reason and without providing proof. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to determine the truth, and Mr. Combs is confident in his ability to succeed in court against these and other unfounded charges,” the attorney continued.
English’s claim wants a jury trial and undisclosed punitive damages.
Combs has aggressively refuted charges in many of the civil complaints but has not responded to them. In December 2023, after four lawsuits were filed against him, Combs issued a vehement denial on social media, claiming that “sickening allegations” were made by accusers “looking for a quick payday.”
He said, “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused Of Sex Trafficking And Sexual Assault In Lawsuit By Former Adult Film Actress
Federal investigators are also prepared to put Combs’ accusers before a federal grand jury, two individuals familiar with the investigation previously told CNN, indicating that the US Justice Department is considering an indictment of Combs.
Bringing those who have filed civil complaints against Combs before a grand jury would represent a significant step forward in the government’s continuing investigation into the producer and Bad Boy Records founder.
SOURCE – (CNN)
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