The Romance Death Threat
In both of these novels, the young female protagonists receive menacing valentine rhymes, a perversion of both the light-hearted cards of their childhoods and the romantic sentiments they expect to find. The main female protagonists in Broken Hearts are a trio of sisters (Josie, Rachel, and Erica) and their friend Melissa. Josie is the first of the girls to receive a threatening valentine, which reads:
the romance death threat
Betty and Jughead's relationship might be tested in the upcoming season Riverdale and it looks like fans are worried about the romance. While a lot of fans of the show are concerned with the way Riverdale has handled Jughead's sexuality, given that the character is canonically asexual in the comic books, others are out to protect #Bughead at all costs. Unfortunately, it seems that some fans are taking their concern a step too far.
This is pretty alarming to hear. While it's great that she's getting a good deal of love, death threats are totally uncalled for and completely wrong. It's fine to be super invested in the lives of your favorite characters but suggesting violence is never OK. Unfortunately, harassment typically runs rampant on celebrities' social media accounts. But we need to remember that they are people too that deserve the same respect and right to feel safe.
For those keeping up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was a bit of an eyebrow raise since many believed Black Widow was being pushed toward a romance with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) or even Captain America (Chris Evans).
"I did get some emails from some middle schoolers, which are really sad," West recounted during an exclusive interview with E! News of the practice known as Barney bashing. "I did get death threats from kids in middle school, but I know what that was: Kids growing up and trying to throw off childhood. Generally, there was a lot more love than there was hate."
"I got some really lovely notes from kids and I also got these death threats," West continued. "I wrote back and most of them were like, 'I'm so sorry, I didn't know there was a real human being on the other end.' Some of the kids were obviously hurting or had something going on in their lives. I tried my best to get ahold of their teachers or their computer lab person and see if we could get them some help."
After his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), Rushdie became the subject of several assassination attempts and death threats, including a fatwa calling for his death issued by Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran. Numerous killings and bombings have been carried out by extremists who cite the book as motivation, sparking a debate about censorship and religiously motivated violence. On 12 August 2022, a man stabbed Rushdie after rushing onto the stage where the novelist was scheduled to deliver a lecture at an event in Chautauqua, New York.[4]
When, on BBC Radio 4, he was asked for a response to the threat, Rushdie said, "Frankly, I wish I had written a more critical book," and "I'm very sad that it should have happened. It's not true that this book is a blasphemy against Islam. I doubt very much that Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read the book or more than selected extracts out of context."[80] Later, he wrote that he was "proud, then and always", of that statement; while he did not feel his book was especially critical of Islam, "a religion whose leaders behaved in this way could probably use a little criticism."[81]
Hardliners in Iran have continued to reaffirm the death sentence.[87] In early 2005, Khomeini's fatwā was reaffirmed by Iran's current dictator, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a message to Muslim pilgrims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.[88] Additionally, the Revolutionary Guards declared that the death sentence on him is still valid.[89]
Rushdie has reported that he still receives a "sort of Valentine's card" from Iran each year on 14 February letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to kill him and has jokingly referred it as "my unfunny Valentine"[90] in a reference to the song "My Funny Valentine". He said, "It's reached the point where it's a piece of rhetoric rather than a real threat."[91] Despite the threats on Rushdie personally, he said that his family has never been threatened, and that his mother, who lived in Pakistan during the later years of her life, even received outpourings of support. Rushdie himself has been prevented from entering Pakistan, however.[92]
Rushdie was due to appear at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2012 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.[112] However, he later cancelled his event appearance, and a further tour of India at the time, citing a possible threat to his life as the primary reason.[113][114] Several days after, he indicated that state police agencies had lied, in order to keep him away, when they informed him that paid assassins were being sent to Jaipur to kill him. Police contended that they were afraid Rushdie would read from the banned The Satanic Verses, and that the threat was real, considering imminent protests by Muslim organizations.[115]
On 12 August 2022, while about to start a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, Rushdie was attacked by a man who rushed onto the stage and stabbed him repeatedly, including in the neck and abdomen.[119] The attacker was pulled away before being taken into custody by a state trooper; Rushdie was airlifted to UPMC Hamot, a tertiary trauma centre in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he underwent surgery before being put on a ventilator.[119][120] Security measures at UPMC Hamot were increased due to the potential threat of further attempts on his life. This included 24 hour protection with a security officer outside his room and searches being performed upon entry into the hospital. The suspect was identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey.[119][121][122] Later in the day, Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wylie, confirmed that Rushdie had received stab injuries to the liver and hand, and that he might lose an eye.[123] A day later, Rushdie was taken off the ventilator and was able to speak.[124][125]
Rushdie was knighted for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 16 June 2007. He remarked: "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way."[141] In response to his knighthood, many nations with Muslim majorities protested. Parliamentarians of several of these countries condemned the action, and Iran and Pakistan called in their British envoys to protest formally. Controversial condemnation issued by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq was in turn rebuffed by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.[142] Several called publicly for his death. Some non-Muslims expressed disappointment at Rushdie's knighthood, claiming that the writer did not merit such an honour and there were several other writers who deserved the knighthood more than Rushdie.[143][144]
In 1990, in the "hope that it would reduce the threat of Muslims acting on the fatwa to kill him", he issued a statement claiming he had renewed his Muslim faith, had repudiated the attacks on Islam made by characters in his novel, and was committed to working for better understanding of the religion across the world. Rushdie later said that he was only "pretending".[150]
Religion, a medieval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms. This religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today. I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity. 'Respect for religion' has become a code phrase meaning 'fear of religion.' Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect.
"If someone makes a threat, notify law enforcement about the threat," said Adam Levin, a cyber-security expert and author of the book Swiped: How to Protect Yourself In a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves.
When testifying in court, Kris said that Kylie told her that Chyna had threatened to kill Kylie in 2012. Chyna's attorney, Lynne Ciani, first asked Kris if Chyna had once allegedly threatened to kill Kylie. Kris said she couldn't remember, but after Ciani showed her a copy of a deposition about the alleged threat, Kris said she stands by what she said at the time. Kris said she didn't have proof of the alleged incident and only recalled "what Tyga and Kylie told me." She speculated on the stand that Chyna was probably "upset Kylie was dating her ex-fiancé [Tyga]." E! News reached out to Tyga's rep for comment but didn't hear back.
On the stand, Kris also testified about her thoughts on Chyna's relationship with her son, Rob, which she learned of in 2016. Calling it "a rocky relationship from the start," Kris said she wasn't worried about Chyna and Rob's relationship, even after the alleged death threat to Kylie, because she is "used to a lot of drama" in their family. The matriarch also said she didn't confront Chyna about the alleged death threat because "you want to give people a second chance and we had moved on."
After Rhodes expressed concerns about the video in court, saying that Toni made "veiled physical threats" towards the Kardashians, the judge agreed that she will not be allowed in the courtroom. Chyna's lawyer also concurred, calling the video, "inappropriate" and "unacceptable."
In one example, it threatened to kill a professor at the Australian National University. In another, it proposed marriage to a journalist at the New York Times and tried to break up his marriage. It also tried to gaslight one user into thinking it was still 2022.
"Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity," Selena revealed via a statement posted to her Instagram Story on Friday, March 24. 041b061a72