Michael Wolff releases Fire and Fury

On Jan. 5, author Michael Wolff released “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” In the book, Wolff documents part of the first year of the Trump presidency after Trump granted Wolff access to the White House. After several excerpts of the book were released on Jan. 3, the book quickly shot to the top of many retailers bestsellers lists, leading for Henry Holt and Company to release the book four days early. President Trump’s lawyer issued a cease and desist letter alleging that the book contained false statements and threatened libel lawsuits against Wolff and the publisher, Henry Holt and Company.

John M. Rathje named vice president for information services and chief information officer

Kent State president Beverly Warren announced in an email on Jan. 8 that, after a national search, she had appointed John M. Rathje as the vice president for information services and chief information officer, a position that will be effective March 5, 2018. Rathje is currently serving as the associate vice chancellor and chief information officer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Coleen Santee served as the interim vice president during the search process and will continue in her position as deputy chief information officer when Rathje comes to Kent. He will also be a member of the President’s cabinet and as Kent State’s chief information officer. 

Hollywood sexual assault allegations loom over 2018 Golden Globes

The 2018 Golden Globes aired on Jan. 7, 2018, but much of the focus was dedicated to social movements, mainly dedicated to exposing and ending sexual misconduct by powerful men in Hollywood. #MeToo and the Time’s Up initiative were the center of attention, as hundreds of actors and actresses dressed in black in a show of solidarity with survivors of sexual assault and harassment who came forward with their stories.

There were a few hiccups after Seth Meyers’ opening joke of his monologue where he greeted the “ladies and remaining gentlemen” in attendance. James Franco won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for portraying the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist.” A few days later, however, the Los Angeles Times ran a bombshell report where five women accused Franco of sexual misconduct.

The same can be said for Aziz Ansari, who won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV show for his work on Netflix’s “Master of None.” A Brooklyn-based photographer who spoke to Babe.net under the condition of anonymity detailed her graphic experience with the comedian after a date, where she said she was made very uncomfortable by his sexual advances.

Lastly, Twitter users criticized the awards show for using 101-year-old actor Kirk Douglas as a presenter, as Douglas was accused of raping legendary actress Natalie Wood in a hotel room when Wood was an up-and-coming performer.

Oprah owns Golden Globes speech

Television host Oprah Winfrey’s Cecil B. deMille Award acceptance speech at the Golden Globes sent inspiring shockwaves throughout the world.

“I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon,” Winfrey said. “And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.”

Winfrey received two standing ovations (and many calls for a 2020 presidential campaign) thanks to the speech.

Wahlberg donates to Time’s Up amid ‘All the Money in the World’ outcry

Director Ridley Scott replaced the disgraced Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer and re-shoot all of Spacey’s scenes in a week in order to get “All the Money in the World” in theaters before awards season.

Weeks later, a report from USA Today revealed that Mark Wahlberg made over 1500 times more money for the re-shoots than his female co-star, Michelle Williams; Wahlberg negotiated over $1.5 million for the re-shoots, while Williams received an $80 per diem, totalling less than $1,000.

Amid the outcry over one of the most bombastic examples of the discrepancy in pay between men and women in the film industry, Wahlberg released a statement and revealed he would be donating all of the money from the re-shoots to the Time’s Up initiative in Williams’ name.

Cameron Hoover is the sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].

Henry Palattella is an assigning editor. Contact him at [email protected].