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Here's why UFC fighter Ronda Rousey gained weight to be in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

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Mixed martial arts fighter Ronda Rousey, 28, is most well known as the first and current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion.

ronda rouseyIn 2012, she appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's annual Body Issue. 

Ronda RouseyAnd just last week Rousey made her debut in the pages of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

Ronda Rousey Sports IllustratedRonda Rousey Sports IllustratedRonda Rousey Sports IllustratedBut getting into shape for the ESPN magazine and Sports Illustrated were very different processes. Rousey explains to USA Today:

The ESPN Body Issue is about celebrating the peak of human potential and the kind of form the human body, when specialized, can really look lik. The Swimsuit Issue has a lot more [of a] sexual side to it, while I don’t think the Body Issue is overtly sexual whereas Sports Illustrated is.

The difference in how I approached it is when I posed for ESPN Body, I really tried to be a lot more cut and a lot more close to my prime fighting shape because I was being photographed as a fighter and trying to look more like a fighter.

I purposely tried to get a little bit heavier for the SI issue so I was a little bit curvier and not in top fight shape look but the look at which I feel I’m the most attractive. It’s very natural for a person’s body to go through seasons.

Ronda Rousey Sports IllustratedRousey is no stranger to gaining and losing weight quickly.

In order to maintain 135 pounds, the weight limit for the women’s bantamweight division, Rousey must make sure she's not a pound over when it's time to fight.

To ensure she'll make weight, Rousey explained to the New Yorker that she goes on an incredibly salty diet for a week so that her body bloats. Then when the fight is close, she removes all salt from her diet so her body lets go of all of that fluid with the help of a steam room.

Before a fight in February 2014, a typical breakfast for Rousey was eggs, turkey bacon, and spinach with a lot of pink Himalayan salt.

Ronda RouseyBefore Rousey became the first female UFC fighter, she went to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 for judo.

Ronda Rousey JudoShe won a bronze medal.

Ronda Rosey olympicsWhen Rousey returned home, she had no job to fall back on. "There’s nothing put in place for Olympians after they're done. They give you a couple grand, a handshake and they kick your ass out the door," she told MTV.

Rousey was forced to take a graveyard shift at a 24 Hour Fitness in California while trying to figure out what she wanted to do.

In 2010, she returned to fighting at an MMA gym in Los Angeles. In just seven months, she went from an out-of-work ex-Olympian to a professional MMA fighter, winning her first fight in 25 seconds.

ronda rousey arms raisedWhen the league she worked for, Strikeforce, announced it would shut down in 2013, the UFC scooped her up immediately, making her its first female fighter ever. CEO Dana White, who previously vowed to never employ a female fighter, said, "I think she's going to be a big superstar."

ronda rousey dana whiteSince then, Rousey has made the sport mainstream in a way it had never been before and opened the door for more female fighters to join UFC.

Ronda Rousey UFCShe has over a million Instagram followers.

Ronda Rousey InstagramAnd has dabbled in modeling, appearing in a current campaign for Buffalo jeans.

ronda rousey buffalo But now, she also has her sights set on acting.

In 2014, Rousey made her major motion picture debut in "Expendables 3."

Ronda Rousey Expendables 3This year, she will appear in "Furious 7" and play herself in the upcoming "Entourage" movie.

"I’ll keep fighting and filming together. Having them both allows me to do each one longer," she tells USA Today. "I'm able to step away from one and allow myself to miss the other. I’ve found an amazing balance. I’m always happy and engaged and motivated."

Ronda Rousey expendablesRousey adds that creating new goals for herself  keeps her motivated.

I love fighting and it’s my passion and it’s the reason Hollywood took an interest in me at all, but I’m no dummy. I know there’s a short shelf life in the sport and I don’t want to be left out like I was after the Olympics [she won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Games in Beijing] with no options. I need to have a new grand goal to go after because when I have no goal is when I get depressed and I’m not letting that happen again.

I set extremely high goals for myself. The first day I stepped onto a judo mat I was like ‘I’m winning the Olympics,'” she said. “The first day I did MMA, ‘I’m winning the UFC.’ The first time I had an acting gig, I said ‘I want to be the highest-grossing actor in the world.’ That’s what my goal is.

Ronda Rousey UFC winner

SEE ALSO: 15 Things You Need To Know About Ronda Rousey

MORE: Here's what Sports Illustrated swimsuit models look like in real life

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Allison Williams speaks out for first time on dad Brian Williams

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Brian Williams Allison Williams

While America's trust in Brian Williams may be waning after his embellishment of a war story, the news anchor's actress daughter, Allison Williams, still trusts her father and hopes he will return to airwaves soon.

"One thing this experience has not done is shake my trust and belief in him as a man," the "Girls" star said during a night of conversation at the 92nd Street Y in New York City with "Late Night" host Seth Meyers.

Allison Williams seth meyersWhile the 26-year-old actress acknowledged that the past month had "been tough," she also defended her father, saying: "He's an honest man, he's a truthful man, he has so much integrity, he cares so much about journalism. And yes, he's a really good dad."

brian williams allison williams familyRead Allison Williams' full remarks below:

Yeah, this has been a really hard time. We have also been feeling very lucky, counting our blessings. We have our health, we have each other. It's been an incredible experience to experience the outreach from people we love — family, friends — and then people we don't even know. Strangers just reaching out and saying, 'We want to see him back on TV.' It’s been tough, though. Obviously toughest on my dad, who's sort of been bearing the full responsibility for it. But my mom has been so strong and my brother's been amazing.

My dad has always been there for us, 100% of the time, even sometimes before we knew we needed him. And so this is — to be here for him is the least we can do right now. And one thing this experience has not done is shake my trust and belief in him as a man. He's a really good man. He's an honest man, he's a truthful man, he has so much integrity, he cares so much about journalism. And yes, he's a really good dad. But I know you can trust him, because as any good daughter does, I have tested him on that so many times.

One of which actually was in 2003, when he was in Iraq for the war, I was in ninth grade. There was a father-daughter dance at the end of that year. And before he left, he was assuming he'd be back in time for the dance. And then as the date was coming, it didn't seem like he was going to make it. But he had promised. And so then, right, a couple of days before, I was so upset — and I got a surprise call from Iraq from my dad. And he was asking if I had a date to the dance. So that's the kind of man he is.

And I can't wait until he's back on TV, and I know that many of you guys feel that way. Thank you for all of your outreach, I appreciate it.

Watch Williams defend her dad in her own words below:

SEE ALSO: Trust for Brian Williams has completely crashed

MORE: The incredible story of Brian Williams' rise to stardom — and how it all came crashing down

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New horror movie 'Unfriended' takes place entirely on a computer screen, proving social media can be everyone's worst nightmare

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"Online, your memories last forever. But so do your mistakes." 

That is the opening line of the trailer for "Unfriended," a new horror movie in the vein of "Paranormal" and "Blair Witch Project" (unsteady cameras, shrieking girls). The movie is your average thriller, except the enemy isn't a zombie or a ghost.

It's the internet.

Unfriended

"Six high school friends with a dark secret receive a Skype message from a classmate who committed suicide a year ago after someone uploaded a video of her online," the description of "Unfriended" reads on YouTube.

The classmate is Laura Barns, who commits suicide over a live stream after demoralizing photos of her are plastered all over the web for everyone in her high school (and everyone in the world) to see. After being tormented for the photos, she's pushed to her breaking point. A year later, she's back to haunt her peers in a modern twist — she haunts via Skype.

The entire movie takes place on the desktop of one of the main characters.

Unfriended

Even though the trailer is a little hokey, the film recieved pretty good reviews at the Fantasia International Film Festival.

"I watched Cybernatural on my laptop, alone in Fantasia Fest's screening library yesterday, and found myself instantly gripped, dragged into the world on my monitor. I'm confident the film, from director Levan Gabriadze and writer Nelson Greaves, would still work on the big screen or a television, because it's a tightly written narrative with great performances and a terrific sense of urgency, outside of the really clever execution," one reviewer writes. (Read more reviews here.)

The film comes out in April 2015, and you can watch the full trailer here:



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'Alto's Adventure' is the most beautiful iPhone game I've played this year

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Alto's Adventure

Last year, I was blown away with the hauntingly beautiful game Monument Valley. This year, my new frontrunner for the most beautiful app of the year is Alto's Adventure, a serene and stylistic endless runner game where you control a mountain man named Alto as he snowboards down a mountain.

Every inch of this game is visually impressive and delightfully charming. You're introduced to Alto as his beloved llamas escape down the mountain. It's your job to catch them, and snowboarding past a llama captures it and gives you some points.

It's a little bit absurd to make a point system based on the number of llamas you collect but that's part of what makes Alto's Adventure so much fun. You can also collect coins to purchase new riders and upgrades in the village shops. Alto's Adventure doesn't have any in-app purchases, so you won't be tempted to drop real money.

Alto's Adventure

As you make your way down each mountain, there's also obstacles to jump over, ramps to launch off to perform back flips, and ribboned rails to grind on. It's all physics-based gameplay, which helps you get into the game's rhythm while giving you cues like showing how fast you're going by how long Alto's scarf drags in the wind.

The game's controls keep things simple: Just tap the screen to jump, tap and hold to back flip, and if you can get your snowboarder onto a rail he'll grind it automatically. If you string together a series of jumps, flips, and grinds, you gain more points, which gives the game a bit of competitive feel like the classic Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or SSX Tricky games of old.

Alto's Adventure

Each level has a different set of objectives that ask you to capture a certain number of llamas, nab a particular number of coins, or successfully jump over a certain number of obstacles.

But the most striking aspect of Alto's Adventure is the game's art style, which combines dynamic lighting and weather effects to create beautiful environments that stand out. The more you play, the more tiny details you notice, and the game's piano-based score makes headphones a must.

Alto's Adventure

Alto's Adventure

Alto's Adventure feels a bit like a mixture of Tiny Wings, Monument Valley, and SSX Tricky, and the result is gorgeous game that's fun to play too.

Alto's Adventure is currently available as universal app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, you can download it for $1.99 over at the App Store.

SEE ALSO: This startup lets you create a button on your phone that does (almost) anything you want

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Footage of Oscar nominee Emma Stone singing her heart out in 2004 is wildly endearing

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emma stone

Hollywood A-lister Emma Stone was once known as "Emily Stone" and in 2004, she donned a crop top to audition for TV's "In Search Of The New Partridge Family."

The video footage of her singing Meredith Brooks' one-hit-wonder "Bitch," first posted by Gawker earlier today, is pretty cute.

11 years later, she's up for an Oscar for her work in "Birdman," but here, she's just a cool girl who we'd all want to be friends with in high school.

Also, she sings "I'm a sinner, I'm a plate," instead of "I'm a saint." 

Emma Stone

Take a look:

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Norm MacDonald reveals Eddie Murphy refused to play Bill Cosby in epic behind-the-scenes story of 'SNL40'

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Norm MacDonald

"Saturday Night Live" alum Norm MacDonald returned to his roots on Sunday to be part of the show's 40th-anniversary special.

In one of the most memorable sketches, MacDonald resumed his role as Burt Reynolds, aka "Turd Ferguson," during a "Jeopardy" bit filled with SNL cast members who were impersonating celebrities.

Norm MacDonald Burt Reynolds SNL jeopardy

Later in the sketch, current cast member Kenan Thompson played Bill Cosby, mixing a drink in a video daily double that was "taped" six months before the actor was plagued by allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Kenam Thompson Bill Cosby SNLAlex Trebek, played expertly by Will Ferrell, quickly stops the video and apologizes for the previously taped segment.

Alex Trebek will ferrell SNLThe Cosby moment in the Jeopardy sketch would have been perfect for Eddie Murphy to play the embattled comedian.

Eddie Murphy SNLMacDonald explained the setup to his 518,000 Twitter followers in a detailed play-by-play of how "SNL 40" came together:

The iconic doors would open and on to home base would step Eddie Murphy. The audience would know what to do. Why is Eddie wearing a multi-colored sweater? He steps behind the bar, begins mixing a drink. The audience covers the fact he has not spoken. When he speaks, he is Cosby. Eddie Murphy doing a perfect Cosby impression. The audience does not let him finish. The sketch ends. The show, for all intents, ends.

It's my job to talk him in to doing Jeopardy. We talk in his dressing room a good hour. When it's over, I'm convinced he'll do it. He doesn't. He knew the laughs would bring the house down. Eddie Murphy knows what will work on SNL better than any one. Eddie decides the laughs are not worth it. He will not kick a man when he is down. Eddie Murphy, I realize, is not like the rest of us. Eddie does not need the laughs. Eddie Murphy is the coolest, a rockstar even in a room with actual rockstars.

Bill Cosby responded on Thursday, telling NBC News: "I am very appreciative of Eddie and I applaud his actions."

Read the rest of MacDonald's insightful tweets on SNL's 40th anniversary special below:

Norm MacDonald tweets 1Norm macDonald Tweets 2Norm MacDonald tweets 3norm macdoanld tweets 4

Norm Macdonald tweets 5norm macdonald tweets 5norm macdonald tweets 6norm macdonald tweets 7Norm Macondald tweets 8norm macdonald tweets 9norm macdonald tweets 10norm macdonald tweets 11Norm MacDonald tweets 12norm macdonald tweets 13Watch the Jeopardy sketch below:

SEE ALSO: Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David stole the show on SNL's 40th-anniversary special

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6 million people have watched this mesmerizing video of a man splitting firewood

Robin Williams gave one of the best acceptance speeches of all time at the 1998 Oscars

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robin williams, oscars acceptance speech 1998

In 1998, Robin Williams accepted the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Good Will Hunting."

In the 87 year-history of the awards, Williams' speech remains one of the most memorable for its perfect storm of humor, humility, and heart.

The comedian, who died of an apparent suicide last August, was nominated three other times but this was his only Oscar win.

"Good Will Hunting" starred Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who also took home gold statues for Best Writing. The movie, about an under-achieving janitor at M.I.T who has a gift for mathematics, grossed $225 million worldwide.

Williams played Sean Maguire, a part-time therapist who aims to help the young man (played by Damon) open up and find direction in life. Their relationship culminates in a memorable breakthrough that will bring any viewer to tears.

good will hunting, robin williams

That year, the Best Supporting Actor category pinned Williams against some of the greats. Robert Forster ("Jackie Brown"), Anthony Hopkins ("Amistad"), Greg Kinnear ("As Good as It Gets"), and Burt Reynolds ("Boogie Nights") were also nominated.

When his name was called, Williams jumped out of his seat, kissed his now-ex wife Susan Schneider, and ran into the arms of his co-stars.

Since his passing, Damon and Affleck have said they "owe everything" to Williams

robin williams, oscar acceptance speech 1998

Williams took the stage visibly shaking. He clutched his heart with joy and blew kisses to the cheering crowd.

"This might be the one time I'm speechless," he said.

robin williams, oscar acceptance speech 1998

He began with the polite acceptance speech fodder — by giving thanks to the Academy and showering the other nominees with praise. But the tone quickly shifted, with Williams nailing joke after joke, transforming the expo center into a comedy club.

"Thank you, Ben and Matt, I still want to see some I.D.," he deadpanned.

And, "Thank you, Gus Van Sant, [the director] for being so subtle you're almost subliminal."

The mood turned sentimental once again when he thanked his then-wife, Susan Schneider, saying that she "lights [his] soul on fire every morning."

The most heart-wrenching moment was when Williams raised his gaze to the ceiling to thank his late father. He took a deep breath and broke into a smile.

robin williams, oscar acceptance speech 1998

"Most of all, I want to thank my father, up there, the man who when I said I wanted to be an actor, he said, 'Wonderful, just have a back-up profession like welding.'"

Watching Williams transfix an audience in just over 60 seconds is pure magic.

Watch the full speech below.

SEE ALSO: The Many Faces Of Robin Williams [INFOGRAPHIC]

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7 ways to fix the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' sequels before they even happen

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Fifty Shades Of Grey

"Fifty Shades of Grey" stormed the box office, raking in $85.2 million over its three-day opening weekend. Fans, hate-watchers, and those who were just curious flocked to see the virginal college student Anastasia Steele (played by the surprisingly charming and funny Dakota Johnson) surrender to the washboard abs and kinky tastes of billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

Thanks to the film's early press and wild ticket sales — as well as the enormous popularity of E.L. James' "Twilight"-based seriestwo sequels are already in store for the subsequent books "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed."

Despite the adaptation's success, the first film received pretty terrible reviews. It is sitting at 25% on Rotten Tomatoes for its lack of sexiness and its general tameness. It should have been way steamier considering its provocative source material.

The movie is still a vast improvement from the book, but given the film's widespread criticism, now may be a good time to get started on some improvements. Here are some ways to improve the future installments.

1. Give Ana an iPhone 

ana fifty shades of grey.JPGOr at least give her an Android. It's wildly out of step for Ana not to have a smartphone. You can argue that some folks can't afford fancy phones, but given the looks of Ana's two very nice apartments — particularly her post-grad digs in Seattle — it is likely that she can afford a smartphone. 

Yes, iPhones were less ubiquitous when the first book was published in 2011, when more people used Blackberries. (Some even preferred the Blackberry to the iPhone!) Christian uses one in the book, and he even gives Ana one, too. In the film, however, Christian gets an upgrade to an iPhone. Granted, Ana has an old flip phone in the books, but shouldn't she also receive an updated cell?

2. Make Christian and Ana's relationship less characterized by abuse

fifty shades of grey christian greyThe "Fifty Shades" books are problematic because they fetishize unhealthy relationships and suffer from less-than-mediocre prose, but the movie heightens the problems. It may be tough to see it at first because the book is told from Ana's perspective and readers get caught up in the book's vivid sex scenes, but Christian's behavior is actually abhorrent. The movie liberally stripped the plot of most of its sex scenes and toned down the remaining sex scenes, allowing Christian's awful behavior to be highlighted. 

There's a scene in which Christian randomly appears in Ana's apartment one evening with a bottle of wine in hand. That's not romantic — it's stalkerish, and even creepy. 

Worse, his behavior glamorizes abuse, giving men the idea that it is OK to treat women terribly. With cinematic shots that look like engagement-ring commercials — specifically one shot with Christian playing the piano shirtless while Ana traipses toward him wrapped in nothing but a sheet — the film makes it look as if an abusive relationship with a billionaire is a luxury

Unlike in the book, in which Christian is humanized a bit more in detail, it is slightly unclear to movie viewers why Ana decides to stick around. If the next movie makes Christian less glaringly abusive — and more genuinely interested in Ana — it will help explain why Ana decides to stick around for at least two sequels. That said ...

3. Don't forcefully insert luxury

christian grey helicopter fifty shades of greyTwo drawn-out scenes, both of them set to upbeat music, involve Ana and Christian flying above the skies.

An early scene has Christian sweep Ana away in his personal helicopter to his luxurious home in Seattle. Another scene late in the film serves to mitigate the fact that Christian spontaneously shows up while Ana is visiting her mother in Georgia. He takes her for a ride on a glider when they are supposed to meet for breakfast.

It's not that the extravagant plane rides are problematic — it's just that they come across as forceful attempts to reconcile coercive behavior. Instead of letting these moments come across as sincere romance, the movie makes them look like out-of-place makeups. The scenes look like music videos. The odd juxtaposition of creepy behavior with a helicopter rides sends a message that it is OK to coerce a woman into doing something she may not be comfortable doing, so long as you can take her for a ride above the skyline. Is that the message the next two movies really want to send?

4. Let the BDSM consultant overrule some technical choices

Fifty Shades Of GreyKinky behavior in the bedroom — ropes, ties, whips, whatever you choose to stock in your own personal Red Room of Pain — is your business, but it's not synonymous with abuse. The movie problematically links Christian's tastes in the bedroom with abusive behavior, which ultimately demonizes and shames people in the kink/BDSM communities. The movie also inaccurately represents how a submissive/dominant relationship works. Dominatrix Lady Velvet Steel wrote in The Hollywood Reporter:

Christian Grey, played by Jamie Dornan, is supposedly a dominant in Fifty Shades. He isn't a dominant. He's a stalker. He breaks into Anastasia's house, he bullies her friend, he buys her expensive gifts. He is constantly crossing boundaries. And S&M is all about respecting boundaries.

Another dominatrix, Mistress D. Sandoval, told The Daily Beast, "No kinkster would ever use cable ties, harsh rope, or duct tape in their play sessions." Those accoutrements come right out of the book, but on screen it is way easier to see. As Ana puts it, Christian seems like a "serial killer."

Yet oddly enough, the movie had Liam Helmer credited as a "BDSM consultant," so how could this misrepresentation happen so blatantly? He reportedly informed Jamie Dornan how to work with his BDSM props, but we can speculate that he couldn't change the source material because author E.L. James had a very tight grip.

5. Try to break free of E.L. James' handcuffs

el james san diego comic-con 2012E.L. James adamantly insisted on making sure specific details of the book made it to screen. This included Ana's incessant lip biting and an exchange of "laters, baby" between Christian and Ana.

If you're a diehard fan of the series, these additions make sense. If you're experiencing only the film, their importance may be slightly unclear as both items are introduced pretty briefly before becoming repeated over and over.

James' persistence didn't make it easy for director Sam Taylor-Johnson, who reportedly argued with James about what should — and shouldn't — make it into the film. James had the final say. 

For instance, Taylor-Johnson wanted to change the ending of the film slightly. The Hollywood Reporter disclosed that James wanted Ana to yell out "stop!" as Christian beat her, but Taylor-Johnson requested that the word be changed to "red," which is their "safe word" to indicate that Ana is still a willing participant even though she has reached her limits. James ultimately won the battle. 

When "Fifty Shades" first sold the rights to the film to Universal and Focus Features in 2012, James' agent Valerie Hoskins told Deadline the goal was to "protect the material and its manifestations into movies." However, if handled delicately enough, perhaps with the right words, the new director (Taylor-Johnson reportedly wants out now) will be able to at least tweak some of the original content.

6. Show a little male nudityfifty shades of grey tiesIt doesn't need to be pornographic, but it seems odd that in a movie targeted at females, with the intention of sexually empowering them, that there is little to no male nudity. Instead there are enough breasts to satisfy a middle-school boy in puberty. That seems counterintuitive, doesn't it?

A quick shot of a man isn't going to immediately catapult a movie into NC-17 territory: Ben Affleck did it ever so briefly in "Gone Girl." Jason Segel did it in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." The latter is a comedy.

Showing male nudity isn't about satiating the appetites of women in heat. It's about parity in nudity, which ultimately is parity in sexuality and, further, in gender equality.

7. More sex, please.fifty shades of grey lips

Sorry, "Fifty Shades" producers, but people aren't coming out to see the film to be wowed as they would when seeing a Shakespearean play. Give the people what the want — lowbrow as it may be.

Reviewers said it pretty loudly: For a movie about sex, there was barely enough of it. The 100-minute film features about 20 minutes of sex, but the first installment in the book series is loaded with sex. No one is asking for straight-up pornography, but isn't there at least a happy medium between tepid and steamy?

SEE ALSO: The foremost academic expert on 'Fifty Shades of Grey' tells us why the movie is truly horrible

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The 6 best Oscar speeches in recent history

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matthew mcconaughey

You could always read a list of Oscar winners the morning after the awards show, but you'd miss out on the live thrill of watching winners take the top honors. At their best, Oscar acceptance speeches are emotional, entertaining performances that express the true character of the people behind the year's best films.

Representatives of Toastmasters International, a public speaking organization with over 14,650 clubs spanning 126 countries, went through hundreds of Oscar acceptance speeches and narrowed the list down to the six they found most memorable. They considered many more, but decided to focus on the past two decades.

Their criteria included the expression of personality, graciousness, excitement, modesty, and a practiced delivery.

We spoke with Dilip Abayasekara, former international president of Toastmasters, to explain what makes each of these speeches so exceptional.

Cuba Gooding Jr., Best Supporting Actor for "Jerry Maguire," 1997

Gooding may be the only person to have turned the Academy's orchestra music from an uncomfortable signal to slink off stage into a triumphant, movie-like soundtrack. His speech has become beloved for the barely restrained joy behind it, but channeled through appreciation of everyone who made his role possible.

"I like to call what he was showing 'pure love energy,'" Abayasekara says, laughing. "He was himself, not an actor.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Best Original Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting," 1998

Affleck and Damon, in their mid-20s, were still relatively new to Hollywood, which made their excitement and energy all the more enjoyable to see, especially since they were so naturally playing off each other on stage.

Abayasekara says that their speech stands out for the way they mention the role that each person they thank played in their lives, rather than just listing off names.

Robin Williams, Best Supporting Actor for "Good Will Hunting," 1998

Williams, breathless with emotion, exhibits the sincerity, humor, and "winsome enthusiasm" that made him such a likeable actor, Abayasekara says.

This speech, for his first Oscar, is remembered as one of the most heartwarming.

Roberto Benigni, Best Foreign Language Film for "Life is Beautiful," 1999

Benigni got an ovation before he even arrived on stage.

"He spoke with his whole body," Abayasekara says. Benigni used sweeping gestures and poetic language of appreciation to let the audience know how grateful he was to them for having embraced him. "He exhibits that which he applauds," Abayasekara notes.

Meryl Streep, Best Actress for "The Iron Lady," 2012

Abayasekara enjoys contrasting Streep's speech with Benigni's. "It's much quieter. She shows you don't have to jump all over the stage" to express excitement, he says.

Streep takes her time with her speech, and pauses as necessary when she gets choked up with emotion. "You want emotion to drive the speech, not detract from the delivery," Abayasekara says, which is exactly what Streep pulls off.

Matthew McConaughey, Best Actor for "Dallas Buyer's Club," 2014

"This is definitely the best structured one," Abayasekara says. McConaughey's speech suggests practice and focus, and is a rare speech with a defined beginning, middle, and end.

With a combination of passion and humor, McConaughey fearlessly talks about the role his faith and personal relationships have had in his life, and he ends his speech with his signature "Alright, alright, alright," which Abayasekara says is like an in-joke with the crowd that concludes winning them over completely.

SEE ALSO: Oprah Winfrey asked this unorthodox interview question to find an executive for her television network

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Relive the glory days with the first five seasons of 'Saturday Night Live' — which you can't find on Netflix

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"Saturday Night Live" celebrated its 40th anniversary on Sunday with a live show featuring many of former cast members and hosts.

But let's face it: a three-hour live show isn't long enough to cover all the classic skits.

If you're still craving the old-school SNL shows, we recommend picking up the original five seasons of SNL featuring the greats such as Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Bill Murray.

(And, sorry, they're not on Netflix.)


Season 1

saturday night live snl

Here's to the original season starring Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase.

Famous guest appearances include Simon and Garfunkel, ABBA, and Raquel Welch.

Amazon Instant Video: from $1.99 to $9.99

DVD: $39.98$12.99


Season 2

saturday night live snl

Bill Murray joins SNL after the mid-season departure of Chevy Chase.

Episode-wise, there's the incredibly famous, Emmy-winning episode starring Sissy Spacek and Richard Baskin.

And, yup, season 2 was the birth of Coneheads.

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Season 3

saturday night live snl

SNL had an "Anyone Can Host" contest during season 3. The winner — 80-year old Miskel Spillman — remains the first and only non-celebrity to host SNL.

Fun fact: Hugh Hefner hosted in season 3.

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Season 4

saturday night live snl

The Rolling Stones hosted and performed in the fourth season premiere. 

And even former mayor Ed Koch stopped by for the show.

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Season 5

saturday night live snl

This was the first season without John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. And this was also the final season for everyone in the cast.

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Here's everything inside the $168,000 Oscar-nominee swag bag

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oscar gift bag 2015

The 87th Academy Awards show is Sunday.

After the Oscar statuettes are handed out, don't feel bad for the losers. They still get to go home with a gift bag worth $167,586.76.

For the past 13 years, Distinctive Assets has put together the "Everyone Wins at the Oscars Nominee Gift Bag."

Twenty-one gift bags will go out to the host and losing nominees in the categories of best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, and best director.

This year's swag bag is the most expensive ever, costing nearly more than double last year's then-record-breaking $85,000 Oscar bag.

In addition to lip gloss and lollipops, the list of luxury items in this year's gift bag includes a $12,500 camping trip and unlimited Audi car rentals for a year valued at $20,000.

A $5.49 bottle of Dove Dry Spray antiperspirant and another bottle of Dove Men+Care antiperspirant.



$24.99 for a 5-pack of assorted fabric cloth pieces from The Tie Thing which help hold ties in place.

Visit their website here.



$36 non-sticky, Vegan-friendly lip gloss from Flickable.

Visit their website here.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






The trailer for the final season of 'Mad Men' is here

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AMC just released the first trailer for the final season of "Mad Men." Like the teaser montages that play at the end of each episode, it doesn't tell us much. And don't get your hopes up; there's no indication as to whether or not Don Draper will make it out alive.

The new season premieres on Sunday April 5.

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Don't tweet mean things about celebrities on Oscars night — Dove will come after you

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Dove SpeakBeautiful campaign

Dove is attempting to wash away some of the meanness on Twitter during the Oscars with a social media campaign that aims to put a positive spin on some of the negative tweets about beauty and body image on awards night.

The Unilever-owned brand has created a Twitter tool that will identify hateful and cruel keywords at a time when it is likely lots of people will be making snarky remarks about actors and actresses on the red carpet. Dove's Twitter account will then tweet non-automated, positive responses and advice, according to a Mashable report.

Dove says its #SpeakBeautiful campaign is based on a study that found four out of every five negative tweets posted on Twitter about beauty and body image are from women putting themselves down.

Dove has long been an advocate of promoting self-esteem amongst women and positive messages around body image, with its long-running and well-received "Real Beauty" brand campaign. Its "Dove Real Beauty Sketches" campaign became the most-viewed video ad of all time in 2013.

The brand has also created a video to promote its #SpeakBeautiful push to show the domino effect when insults about people's images are posted online. Dove says it plans to continue its Twitter push long after the Oscars as it looks to make Twitter a more friendly place for women to inhabit.

However, Dove will need to be wary of the very online bullies it is looking to banish. Earlier this month a well-meaning Coca-Cola Twitter campaign — which saw the brand use an automated tool to transform negative tweets into cute images — was hijacked by Gawker. The tech blog fed the tool with passages of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," which the Coca-Cola account duly turned into images of a cat playing drums, smiley faces, and so on.

Coca-Cola responded to the prank with this statement: "The #MakeItHappy message is simple: The Internet is what we make it, and we hoped to inspire people to make it a more positive place. It's unfortunate that Gawker is trying to turn this campaign into something that it isn't. Building a bot that attempts to spread hate through #MakeItHappy is a perfect example of the pervasive online negativity Coca-Cola wanted to address with this campaign."

SEE ALSO: Coke pulls #MakeItHappy Twitter campaign after it was duped into quoting Hitler’s Mein Kampf

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Donald Trump tried to replace the 'cheap tent' outside the White House with a $100-million ballroom

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Donald Trump Portrait Illustration

Businessman Donald Trump once called the White House and offered to help with one of the biggest disasters during President Barack Obama's time in office: the 2010 BP oil spill. 

Trump told Business Insider on Thursday that the spill was not the main reason he reached out to top Obama adviser David Axelrod. Trump, who has said he's considering running for president in 2016, was mostly interested in building a grand ballroom for the US to host foreign leaders. 

"I saw that the United States, when they host a dignitary, such as the head of China, head of India, they put up a cheap tent by the White House and I thought that was inappropriate," said Trump. "The purpose of the call was to offer the United States, free of charge, a $100-million-plus ballroom for the White House so they could host dignitaries." 

According to Trump, the BP spill, in which millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico after a rig exploded, came up as a side issue. 

"I may have mentioned, 'If you need help with the oil spill, I will get my people involved,'" he said.

In Axelrod's account, however, Trump was much more direct in his offer to get involved. 

"That admiral you have down there running this leak operation seems like a nice guy, but he doesn't know what he's doing," Trump told Axelrod, according to the Obama adviser's new book, "Believer: My Forty Years in Politics." "I know how to run big projects. Put me in charge of this thing, and I'll get that leak shut down and the damage repaired.'"

In the book, Axelrod wrote that he told Trump the administration was close to plugging the hole, and by the time the two next talked, the problem was already fixed. Axelrod said the ballroom idea came up in that subsequent conversation. 

"Yeah, yeah, it looks like you have that one under control," Trump allegedly acknowledged a few weeks later, according to Axelrod. "But I've got another thing for you. I build ballrooms. Beautiful ballrooms. You can go to Tampa and check one of them out for yourself. ... I see you have these state dinners on the lawn there in these s---ty little tents. Let me build you a ballroom you can assemble and take apart. Trust me. It'll look great.'" 

Trump told Business Insider that it was "amazing" the White House didn't ultimately take him up on the ballroom idea.

"Frankly, they should have picked me up on the offer," he said, "because I would have built  a magnificent ballroom."

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27-year-old Seattle man says women fly across the country to be with him because he's a real-life Christian Grey

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A Seattle man named Brayden Olson claims many women have reached out to him because they think he is the real-life Christian Grey, the fictional male character in "Fifty Shades of Grey."

Olson is not a billionaire (like Grey), and we don't know if this really happens. We also have no idea if he is interested in S&M (like Grey). Still, we enjoyed his story, so here it is, along with a bunch of pictures Olson sent us.

Brayden OlsonOlson says he is a 27-year-old Seattle-based entrepreneur behind a holding company called Wilhelm Enterprises. The company, which is derived from Olson's middle name, is involved in education gaming technology and real estate.

During a Skype call from London, Olson told Business Insider that a few years ago a woman he dated pointed out over lunch that he was similar to Grey. He had not yet read the book series, but over time more and more people started making the same association, he said. 

"I started getting messages from people I didn't know." 

Leading up to the movie, he said, about 1,000 fans of the book reached out over e-mail and through Facebook messages and friend requests.

"I knew the movie would bring more attention, but I continue to be really surprised by the whole matter," he said.

He said some women have even flown out to Seattle to meet him. He acknowledged he had gone on dates with some of them, too. 

Brayden OlsonOlson, who has now read the book and seen the film, said some of the similarities were "pretty mind-numbing."

First, he feels as if he relates to Grey in professional aspects. 

"So, I like to point out the professional and bibliographical similarities. I do run a holding company. I live in Seattle. I was voted Seattle's 'best man.' I'm the youngest entrepreneur ever admitted to the entrepreneurs' organization in my region," he said..

In the series, Grey, who runs his namesake firm Grey Enterprises, is a billionaire, which, again, Olson is not. 

"Christian Grey has got me beat," Olson said. "He is a character from a book. I don't think a real person can compete. I claim to be the real Brayden Olson. I'm sure you can relate to how strange it would be to have a fictional character made up and so many things true about you in your real life."

Olson, who said he was proud of his professional accomplishments so far, pointed out that it seemed as if Grey never has to actually work.

BMW i8"I definitely have to actually work." 

"I have a successful career; I do not have a Charlie Tango, yet," he said, referring to Grey's helicopter. 

Olson would not really have a use for a helicopter in Seattle anyway, as he would have to get laws passed there to fly — only news and medical choppers are allowed within city limits. 

One toy Olson has that Grey doesn't is a BMW i8. Grey drives an Audi R8.

"I think it's definitely a Christian Grey type of car," Olson said.

There's a waitlist for the BMW supercar. Olson said this was one way he had been able to capitalize on this association to the character of Christian Grey. 

"The guy who owns one of the dealerships in Washington essentially gave up his car so that I could have it because he saw it as an opportunity to associate it with the real Christian Grey," Olson said. 

Brayden OlsonHe continued: "There's some things money can't buy — I know at Bellevue BMW they had someone offer $250,000 to skip the waitlist — where influence and power are more important than cash." 

He declined to name the price he paid for the BMW. The car starts at about $136,000.

Beyond the professional parallels, Olson pointed out a subtler similarity people close to him have noticed. 

In the series, Grey refers to lover Anastasia Steele as "Miss Steele." Olson picked up this habit of using "Miss"and "Mr." back in college. 

"It was always Miss and Mr.," he said. "I stopped doing that when the association was brought to my attention." 

Olson also said he always had an interest in flying like Grey before he was introduced to the series. He decided to take up scuba diving instead. 

Brayden OlsonAs for those other extracurricular activities Christian Grey is drawn to, Olson has used it as an opportunity to advocate a good cause. 

"The popularity of this work gives us an opportunity to discuss a different difficult topic — domestic violence," Olson said. "It exists in every community and affects a significant portion of our society. I donate to my local domestic violence program called LifeWire, and I encourage others to become active in the conversation however they can. The line between choosing to show affection more non-traditionally as seen in '50 Shades of Grey' and moving into the category of domestic violence is consent and desire. Remember, Ana and Christian negotiated their contract in the boardroom!" 

Right now, Olson is single. He hasn't found his Anastasia Steele, yet. 

"This is just a moment in my life," he said. "Christian's story is over a two- or three-year period. This is just the beginning of my career, and this is what I want to do in business and politics and nonprofit work — I want to leave a legacy with someone who is capable of building it with me."

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NOW WATCH: This 'Fifty Shades of Grey' trailer recreated with Legos is way better than the original








Cable networks are speeding up your favorite TV shows to squeeze in more ads

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Regifting, SeinfeldCable networks — like Time Warner Inc. properties TNT and TBS — have been found to be using compression technology on movies and TV shows to squeeze in more commercials, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Viewers say they have been able to notice the difference because voices sound noticeably higher.

Among the shows found to be sped up: the popular sitcom "Seinfeld," and "Law & Order." The latter's opening sequence was also shortened to 24 seconds from 1 minute, 45 seconds to accommodate more ads.

This is done, The Journal says, because cable networks still need to "meet audience guarantees made to advertisers," and throwing in more ads helps boost revenue as ad prices continue to fall. 

A Nielsen study of prime-time cable TV from December 2014 cited by The Journal seems to bolster these facts. The A&E Network, for example, showed almost three more minutes of commercials during each night of prime time than it did over the same period a year ago. The History Channel added over two additional minutes.

On many cable networks, including Viacom's MTV and Spike, "non-programming content" accounts for one-third of each hour. The Journal says broadcast networks have also added more commercial time per hour, but the increases aren't quite as large as what you would find on today's cable networks.

Some experts say speeding up content to fit in more ads will only hurt cable, motivating people to start watching TV through non-traditional "cord-cutting" services like Netflix and driving down ratings. The head of one major TV studio told The Journal "it has gotten completely out of control. I'm concerned when you look at the performance being diminished and hurt by their running the shows that way." 

Read the full story over at The Journal.

SEE ALSO: AT&T is finally challenging Google Fiber's blazing fast internet speeds in Kansas City — but it’s charging more for privacy

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Chelsea Handler slams E!, says her Netflix show will be a cooler version of '60 Minutes'

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Chelsea Handler Chelsea LatelyChelsea Handler's upcoming Netflix talk show will be nothing like "Chelsea Lately," the E! talk show she hosted for seven years.

"I’m so much smarter than that show was, and I wanted to be on a show that was smarter than I was," Handler told Re/code’s Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka during the Code/Media conference this week.

Handler compared her experience at E! to being in junior high, with "people running around, throwing food, making jokes about celebrities that are stupid."

"I don’t want to have to read the New York Post, or pick up a Star magazine to read about Bruce Jenner — I don’t care," Handler added. "I don’t care, and I can say that, and I’m allowed to be honest about it."

In August, Handler bid a star-studded farewell to the E! network after signing a reported $10 million deal with Netflix to star in four "docu-comedy" specials in 2015 and a talk show in 2016.

Chelsea Handler netflixAt Netflix, Handler says, "It’s such a different relationship than with E!; it’s nice to be involved in a show where I do respect their opinions. It’s like going out with a guy that you’re proud to be seen with."

But Handler is taking her time to develop her new talk show.

"We don’t have a clear idea of what my talk show will be like in 2016," Handler said, "but I know what I don’t want to do and what I do want to do. I don’t want it to be just my audience that was at E!. I want to grow up."

Handler said she would like the show to include a "healthy mix of everything going on in the world," mentioning Syria and ISIS as potential subjects, "mixed with interesting stuff in our country."

She says the tagline could be: "The well-roundedness of '60 Minutes' but faster, quicker, cooler." She also compared it to "The Daily Show" in its focus on current events.

"I want correspondents going out in the field, getting information," Handler added. "And I don’t necessarily need it to be the same thing. It could be three nights a week. We have a lot of conversations about it."

Hey Chelsea, we hear Jon Stewart is looking for a replacement.

SEE ALSO: Chelsea Handler Is Reportedly Making $10 Million For New Netflix Deal

MORE: Chelsea Handler's Final E! Show Draws Tons Of A-List Stars

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The 10 most important Youtube videos of all time

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psy gangnam style

Youtube turned 10 years old last week.

In the past decade, the website has become a huge part of our culture and an important platform for brands to engage with users.

It's where music videos live. It's where movie trailers premiere. It's where a whole new class of multimillionaire "Youtube stars" have cropped up.

To chart Youtube's growing influence, Business Insider talked with Youtube expert and virality consultant Brendan Gahan.

Gahan is the founder of social media marketer Epic Signal, and his current client list includes PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Microsoft, and Uniqlo. 

Here are the 10 most important videos in Youtube history, with Gahan's comments:

1. "Me at the zoo" (2005)

This 18-second video of Youtube cofounder Jawed Karim standing in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo started it all. "It's amazing how unassuming the first video on Youtube is," Gahan says. "In a lot of ways it's representative of Youtube — it doesn't need to be this fancy production; it can be approachable. The first Youtube video is something anyone could create on their own."

2. "Lazy Sunday" (2005) 

Saturday Night Live stopped being cool sometime in the 1990s. Then "Lazy Sunday" happened, in which Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell rapped about buying candy and seeing "Chronicles of Narnia." The video went bonkers on Youtube before it was taken down. "Lazy Sunday was one of the first times where Youtube went everywhere," Gahan says. "It was like a viral moment for Youtube as well. Instantly that player was everywhere you went."

3. "Pokemon theme" (2005)

The Youtube star universe started with Smosh, the name of comedy duo Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla. In total, their parody videos about video games and pop culture have amassed 6 billion views and 32 million subscribers. It all started with their singing the Pokemon theme song. "It was right when all the coverage around Youtube was coming in, right before the Google acquisition," Gahan says. "It really propelled Smosh to stardom."

4. "Sunglass catch" (2007)

This Ray-Ban produced video was one of the first viral ads. Blurring the line between real and fake, the video shows two guys throwing sunglasses at one another from atop a bridge or into a moving car, with the wayfarers magically landing on the other's face. "It was a lot of stupid tricks," Gahan says, "but they did really well, and the videos were an a-ha moment for brands." Marketers realized Youtube could reach big audiences. 

5. "Justin Singing So Sick by Ne-yo "(2007)

Before there were any Beliebers, Justin Bieber was a Canadian kid whose mom uploaded a video of him singing R&B. That video was spotted by music promoter Scooter Braun. The rest is record industry history. "It's probably the earliest example of someone coming from Youtube into the mainstream and just dominating," Gahan says. "For someone to be plucked from relative obscurity and essentially dominate the music industry, that's pretty incredible."

6. "Yes We Can — Barack Obama Music Video" (2008)

Youtube showed its political potential in 2008, when Will.I.am gathered a bunch of celebrities to sing Barack Obama toward the White House. "The Youtube community rallied around Obama," Gahan says, "and the power the platform resonated within the political community, where before that it was largely ignored." 

7. "Japan Earthquake: Helicopter aerial view video of giant tsunami waves" (2011) 

In the same way that Twitter became the place where news breaks, Youtube has become the place where news videos often first surface. That trend started with the 2011 Japanese tsunami. "It seemed like an event where people were getting more stuff online and watching the Youtube videos before it was surfacing up to TV," Gahan says. 

8. "PSY - GANGNAM STYLE" (2012)

At over 2 billion views, "Gangnam Style" is the most-watched Youtube video of all time.

"Gangnam Style was the Macarena of the post-YouTube era," Gahan says. "It was goofy and catchy, and something you could share to get a few laughs. Soon so many people were sharing it, it was weird if you hadn't and you almost felt pressure to join in by sharing. It was social proof at its finest — you had to share that video at that time because everyone was."

9. "Bill Gates ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" (2014)

The "ice bucket challenge" took over the late summer of 2014, where videos tagged #icebucketchallenge uploaded from over 150 countries received over 1 billion views. It raised $98.2 million for the ALS Association in just one month. 

"Being in advertising, you heard it brought up in every single meeting," Gahan says. "Something of that scale is near impossible to replicate for a brand. It was for a good cause, and the whole thing of calling people out and putting a time limit on it was very smart, since it creates urgency."

10. "GloZell's Interview with President Obama" (2015)

In 2015, Youtube stars got access previously reserved to elite journalists: a sitdown with the President of the US. Makeup artist Bethany Mota, comedian GloZell, and self-proclaimed geek vlogger Hank Green each did interviews with the president. It's an acknowledgment of the medium's maturity: "[Obama] recognizes how insanely powerful these people are and the audiences they've built," Gahan says. 

SEE ALSO: The 20 Most Popular YouTubers In The World

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Here's the real story behind Chelsea Handler's topless photo that was removed by Instagram

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In November, Chelsea Handler took it upon herself to recreate this viral photo of Russian president Vladimir Putin riding a horse without his shirt.

The 39-year-old comedian posted the below to her 1.5 million Instagram followers (we've cropped the photo here), but the photo-sharing app apparently didn't appreciate her humor.

Putin Chelsea HandlerJust 30 minutes after Handler posted the photo, Instagram removed it, saying she had violated the app's terms of service.

Screen Shot 2015 02 20 at 10.44.46 AM

Handler doesn't like being told what she can and cannot do.

She responded by posting the photo twice more, and both times Instagram responded by swiftly removing the photo.

In the captions, Handler wrote, "If a man posts a photo of his nipples, it’s ok, but not a woman? Are we in 1825?" And then later, "If Instagram takes this down again, you’re saying Vladimir Putin has more 1st amendment rights than I do."

During the Code Media conference on Wednesday, Handler explained her back-and-forth fight with Instagram.

"I wasn’t trying to look fantastic, that’s just a by-product," she joked. "I’m also not trying to sexualize myself. I was in Chile, and my cousin and I were riding a horse, and I said, 'Let’s make fun of that Putin photo where he’s topless!’ So my cousin put [the photos] side by side with an app, because I’m a Luddite when it comes to tech, and then she said, 'Oh my God, your picture was removed.'"

"Why?" Handler said. "He’s topless. Is it because I have nipples? Is it because they’re bigger? Because there’s meat around them? … So I thought, that’s such a silly thing to do. And not long after, Kim Kardashian showed her whole naked body and her whole ass and — she’s a mother! I’m not a mother."

Chelsea Handler Instagram

Instagram let the Kardashian comparison photo stay. It has nearly 240,000 likes.

But Handler takes pleasure in testing Instagram's limits.

"I’m sure there were discussions within the walls of Instagram, which also gives me a thrill, that they had to sit there and talk about my ass," she told Re/code’s Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka during the conference.

And while she may clash with Instagram, Handler is a huge fan of Twitter.

"Twitter’s my new best friend, because I went from Twitter to Instagram, and Twitter seemed a little bit older, and then I went back to Twitter because they don’t have a problem with nudity."

But Handler is actually a fan of tech startups in general.

"What I love about Silicon Valley is the energy. You walk into these offices and everybody’s working on something," she said.

"Well," she added, "they do seem to play ping-pong a lot."

SEE ALSO: Chelsea Handler slams E!, says her Netflix show will be a cooler version of '60 Minutes'

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NOW WATCH: Forget Kim Kardashian — the 'butt selfie' queen of Instagram is a 21-year-old from Long Island








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