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Covid-19 shocked the world. For many of us, our day to day and usual routine was shattered. We were forced to turn our home, which in some cases can be a relief from work, into our office. And for others who used their home as an escape, their worst nightmare came true.

For women and girls who are subject to violence, Covid-19 has intensified underlying gender inequities. Building on its efforts to help fight the pandemic, Gucci, through its CHIME FOR CHANGE initiative and the Kering Foundation have partnered together to create the #StandWithWomen campaign.

According to the UN Women which is confirmed by Google Trends Data, there has been an increase in domestic violence cases across the world during the COVID-19 outbreak showing +143% increase in queries on the search engine related to domestic violence cases worldwide. “Now more than ever is the time to join together to protect the health, safety and human rights of girls and women around the world,” says Co-Founder and Kering Foundation Board Director Salma Hayek Pinault. “We stand in solidarity with women everywhere because we cannot risk the progress we have made in the long fight for gender equality,” she exclaimed.

The campaign follows donations from Kering, Gucci’s parent company, and its Foundation, in China, Italy, France and the US, and Gucci’s 2 million euros donation under the call to action “We Are All In This Together”. The two companies are also working with with grassroots organizations on the frontlines that will allow these partners to continue their critical work mobilizing for the safety, health and justice of all women.

For more information on how you can be apart of this initiative, go to www.globalgiving.org/standwithwomen.

The post Gucci Launches #StandWithWomen Innovative appeared first on Essence.

What will DC stans tweet at Warner Bros., now that Zack Snyder’s Justice League has officially been announced as part of the HBO Max lineup in 2021? In other news, HBO Max will be available to more cable subscribers — including Cox and Verizon — which means if you already have HBO, then you’ll also […]

As a fan of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, I am delighted because, even though her name was Arachne in the musical, the connection to Madame Web was undeniable, and now we’re supposedly getting a “secret Marvel movie” from Sony in which all signs point to Madame Web making her live-action debut.

A woman of psychic abilities, Madame Web (or Cassandra Webb, depending on which Madame Web they’re going with) is the kind of character who often helps Peter Parker and tells him of people he needs to catch or what’s happening around him. She also comes to Peter Parker’s apartment to prove that she knows he’s Spider-Man.

With the idea of Sony working on a Madame Web movie, it’s clear that they’re trying to bring Tom Holland’s Peter Parker more into the Sony-specific side of Spider-Man movies. Without Peter Parker, a Madame Web movie would be centered around the clairvoyant, and while exciting, it does seem as if it would be a great way of bringing Parker into the project.

However, there is an additional bit of information that does delight me to no end: Director S.J. Clarkson has signed on to develop the first female-centric movie. So, even if it isn’t a Madame Web film, the movie is going to focus on a female hero from the Spider-Verse.

Sure, the movie could focus on Julia Carpenter, too, and range from her time as Spider-Woman into her time as Madame Web, but who knows what Sony has planned? I’m just excited that it means that the women of the Spider-Verse are getting their time. With Venom, Morbius, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, we focused on male characters in Peter Parker’s world, but starting with this “secret” movie, we can maybe get more of the women who help to fill out the Spider-Verse.

The secret movie is … well, very secret. There is no writer yet, and we still don’t know for certain which hero it will focus on, but to be honest, I’m just excited about more Spider-Verse content.

(via Variety, image: Marvel Entertainment)

Here are some other stories we saw out there today:

• The first look at Alexander Skarsgård in The Stand is here. (via Entertainment Weekly)
• Navajo Nation surpasses New York state for the highest COVID-19 infection rate. (via CNN)
  

  ZODIAC

  (on Netflix in the US on 1 June) pic.twitter.com/cLVhec4HHx

  — NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) May 20, 2020

• The New York primary is back on. (via HuffPost)
• Alison Roman’s column is on “temporary” leave after her comments went viral. (via Vulture)

Anything we missed? Let us know what you saw!

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 —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty

Yesterday, legendary producer Babyface announced that his “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack special would take place this upcoming Sunday, May 24.

After he shared the good news, he gave a tutorial on how to sing like Toni Braxton. He did so by holding water in his mouth to get that not-so-clear sound she is known for making.

Afterward, Tamar Braxton, Toni’s younger sister, joined in on the fun. Being that she grew up around her sister, she was able to mimic her tone and bass perfectly. She told us that the trick was cutting off the words before the end of a sentence.

With those two as guides, the Toni Braxton challenge was born.

Check out some of the hilarious impersonations on the following pages.