Salma Hayek to Co-Chair Kering Foundation’s First-Ever ‘Caring for Women Dinner’

It’s a Caring moment for Salma Hayek Pinault.

The 55-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated actress will co-chair the Kering Foundation’s first-ever Caring for Women Dinner, which aims to raise funds for organizations that work to support those affected by gender-based violence.

Salma HayekThe dinner will take place on September 15 in New York City and will be hosted by Anderson Cooper.

In addition to Hayek, the event will also be co-chaired by her husband François-Henri Pinault, Gisele Bündchen, LaTanya Richardson JacksonSamuel L. Jackson, Julie Mehretu and Gloria Steinem.

All proceeds from the event will benefit three Kering Foundation partner organizations: the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), Ms. Foundation For Women and Global Fund For Women.

“Kering and its Houses stand in active opposition to all forms of violence against women and, now more than ever, the Kering Foundation is resolute in its mission to create a world where women can live freely in physical and psychological safety,” François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering as well as chairman of the Kering Foundation, said in a statement. “The Caring for Women Dinner represents a milestone in our 14-year history of partnering with front-line organizations that support women survivors to escape violence and rebuild their lives.”

The NNEDV is a leading voice for domestic violence victims and their advocates in the US, representing a network of 56 state and territorial coalitions that inform and support survivors of domestic violence. Funds raised at the dinner will support the WomensLaw Email Hotline and WomensLaw.org, two resources that help provide free legal information to survivors and inform millions of people on topics such as restraining orders, custody, divorce, immigration and gun laws.

The Ms. Foundation for Women invests in and strengthens the capacity of women-led grassroots organizations, advancing meaningful social, cultural and economic change for the lives of women. Funds raised will support the Girls of Color Initiative, which provides grantmaking, leadership development and capacity building to girls of color living under multiple systems of oppression and inequalities in the U.S.

Finally, the Global Fund for Women shifts resources and power toward women, girls, and all marginalized people worldwide.

The dinner from Kering will support the Global Fund for Women Crisis Fund, which works directly with local feminist groups to address immediate needs like food, shelter and security.

More information about the dinner — including co-hosts, expected attendees, performances and other details — will be announced in the coming weeks.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Comments on Rape Victims “Disgusting”

U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is slamming the controversial comments Texas Governor Greg Abbott made Tuesday about the state’s newly enacted restrictive abortion laws.

Senate Bill 8, which became law on September 1, bans abortion procedures after six weeks of pregnancy — including in cases of rape and incest.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

It’s considered the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. and both Abbott and the Texas legislature have faced fierce criticism for its passage.

On Tuesday, Abbott re-ignited the fire when asked whether the new law would force a rape or incest victim to carry their baby to term.

Abbott responded that the law doesn’t do that because victims can get abortions within the six-week period. While SB 8 allows for abortion up to six weeks, this time period is usually before most people even realize they’re pregnant.

‘I find Governor Abbott’s comments disgusting,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night. “I don’t know if he is familiar with a menstruating person’s body. In fact, I do know that he’s not familiar with a menstruating person’s body because if he did he would that you don’t have six weeks.”

“In case no one has informed him [Abbott] in his life, six weeks pregnant means two weeks late for your period. Two weeks late on your period, for any person with a menstrual cycle, can happen if you’re stressed, if your diet changes, or for really no reason at all. So you don’t have six weeks.”

Abbott also continued his explanation on Tuesday by saying victims of rape and incest wouldn’t have to give birth because the state of Texas would work to “eliminate rape.”

“Let’s be clear: rape is a crime,” Abbott said. “And Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets.”

The concept of “eliminating rape” was widely criticized as being nonsensical and also impossible. Ocasio-Cortez said the comments also don’t reflect reality of who the perpetrators of sexual assault typically are.

“When he [Abbott] talks about going after rapists and this language that he uses about ‘getting rapists off the streets’ — the majority of people who are raped and who are sexually assaulted are assaulted by someone they know,” continued the 31-year-old Puerto Rican politician, a New York Democrat. “These aren’t just predators that are walking around the streets at night. They are people’s uncles, they are teachers, they are family friends.”

The New York Democrat Ocasio-Cortez also explained that the legal process of prosecuting a rapist can be long, unsuccessful and retraumatizing to victims. She said that while some victims do choose to pursue charges, many don’t want to perpetuate the trauma through litigation.

AOC, as she’s known, concluded by saying: “It’s awful. And he [Abbott] speaks from such a place of deep ignorance and it’s not just ignorance. It’s ignorance that is hurting people across this country.”

In addition to the post-six-week procedure ban, SB 8 enables private citizens to sue for $10,000 or more against anyone who helps someone get an abortion after the specified time period. Opponents of the bill say this will lead to widespread harassment, deputizing of citizens against one another, and a backlog of frivolous lawsuits.

Wilson Cruz to Executive Produce Apple’s New LGBTQ-Themed Docuseries “Visible: Out On Television”

Wilson Cruzis bringing out the visible

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican actor and gay rights activist will executive produce Apple’s new docuseries Visible: Out On Television to its growing slate of original series on Apple TV+.

Wilson Cruz

The five-part television event shines a spotlight on how the LGBTQ movement shaped television and comes from Emmy-nominated filmmakers Ryan White and Jessica Hargrave

Visible: Out on Televisioninvestigates the importance of television as a medium that has shaped the American conscience, and how the LGBTQ movement influenced what we watch on TV.

Each hour-long episode will explore themes like invisibility, homophobia, the evolution of the LGBTQ character, and coming out in the television industry. 

The docuseries includes archival footage as well as interviews with key players from the movement and the screen. 

Visible will feature Janet MockMargaret ChoAsia Kate DillonNeil Patrick Harris and Lena Waithe as narrators. It will also include never-before-seen interviews with Ellen DeGeneresOprah WinfreyAnderson CooperBilly PorterRachel Maddow, Don LemonSara RamirezJesse Tyler Ferguson, among others in the community.

In addition to Cruz, the docuseries will be executive produced by Wanda Sykes.

Visible: Out On Television willdebut on February 14, 2020, exclusively on Apple TV+.

Cruz is known for playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life, and Angel in the Broadway tour production of Rent. His other credits include Star Trek: Discovery, Noah’s Arc, and Party of Five.

Louis C.K. to Compete During Power Players Week on “Jeopardy”

Louis C.K.’s career is in Jeopardy

The 48-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor and Louie creator is among the top media personalities who’ll appear on Jeopardy’s Power Players Week, beginning on Monday, May 16.

Louis C.K.

“Power Players Week” pits some of the top names in news, politics and media against one another for the opportunity to win big for a charity of their choice. Each day, three contestants will face off with the winner receiving $50,000 and the other two a guaranteed $10,000.

The multiple Emmy nominee and winner joins a list of players that includes Anderson Cooper, Melissa Harris-Perry, Michael Steele, Lara Logan, Sunny Hostin, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, Chuck Todd, Al Franken and Ana Navarro.

Taped in the nation’s capitol of Washington, D.C., “Power Players Week” brain battles take off every four years during the presidential election, and as with any election year contest, the competition will be fierce.

Louis C.K. is slated to compete on May 18, while May 19’s contest features Navarro.

Escobar Named One of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012

Catalina Escobar is being heralded for as a hero her extraordinary efforts to help the underprivileged in Colombia…

The Colombian woman, a wife and mother of two children, has been revealed as one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012, an honor that comes with a $50,000 prize and a chance to win more.

Catalina Escobar

Escobar, a professional and entrepreneur, is being recognized for her dedication to saving and improving the lives of the most impoverished children and their young mothers in Cartagena, Colombia.

In 2001, the successful businesswoman sold her international trading company to create what would become her passion and the greatest project of her life: The Juan Felipe Gómez Escobar Foundation, after living two tragic and painful experiences in the year 2000, including the death of her second son, 16-month-old Juan Felipe, who died in a tragic accident when he fell from the balcony of her home.

“It was agony,” said Escobar. “I didn’t want any mother to feel the same pain, so … I took action.”

In the last 10 years, her foundation — named for her late son — has brought health care to tens of thousands of children in Cartagena and provided more than 2,000 teenage mothers with counseling, education and job training.

“When a girl gets pregnant, she drops out of school … Next year, she’s going to be pregnant again,” explains Escobar to CNN. “She’s repeating the same patterns of the mother, the grandmother … I want my girls to be empowered. Earning money provides them with independence and allows them to gain back control of their lives.”

Escobar and her fellow Top 10 honorees were nominated by CNN‘s global audience and profiled earlier this year on CNN. They will be honored at CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, a globally broadcast event that airs live on December 2 at 9:00 pm ET.

At the tribute, hosted by Anderson Cooper, one of the top 10 will be named CNN Hero of the Year and receive an additional $250,000 to continue their work.

The Hero of the Year is decided by a public vote. Through November 28, you can vote for your favorite Hero at CNNHeroes.com or from your mobile device.