"The way people talked about Britney Spears was terrifying to me then, and it still is now," wrote @MaraWilson, an actor from age 5, in February. "Our culture builds these girls up just to destroy them." nyti.ms/3xSjD1u
"Fortunately people are becoming aware of what we did to Ms. Spears and starting to apologize to her. But we’re still living with the scars." nyti.ms/3xSjD1u
"A big part of The Narrative is the assumption that famous kids deserve it. They asked for this by becoming famous and entitled, so it’s fine to attack them." nyti.ms/3xSjD1u
"Hollywood has resolved to tackle harassment in the industry, but I was never sexually harassed on a film set." nyti.ms/3xSjD1u
"The saddest thing about Ms. Spears’s 'breakdown' is that it never needed to happen."
Read more from @MaraWilson in her guest essay from February on fame and how we treat girls and women. nyti.ms/3xSjD1u
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
In 2007, Britney Spears went to a hair salon and buzzed her head bald. Later, she took an umbrella to a photographer’s car. "I didn’t really identify with Ms. Spears’s music growing up, but I did identify with this newfound rage," writes @ambertamblyn. nyti.ms/3dekBNG
This week, Britney Spears introduced damning testimony during a court hearing on her experience of a thirteen-year conservatorship under her father’s direction, notes @ambertamblyn. nyti.ms/3heg3rQ
"My own trajectory was not Britney Spears’s trajectory," but there are parallels, writes @ambertamblyn, who was acting from age 10. "As I made more and more money, the circle of those I supported opened up to include extended family members and friends." nyti.ms/3heg3rQ
"For the second time in 50 years, there are questions about whether we are dealing with a pandemic caused by scientific research," writes @zeynep Tufekci. nyti.ms/3qpn50Z
"With so much evidence withheld, it’s hard to say anything about Covid-19’s origins with certainty," writes @zeynep. nyti.ms/3qpn50Z
Even if we are denied answers, we can still learn lessons.
"Perhaps the biggest one is that we were due for a bat coronavirus outbreak, one way or another, and the research showing bat coronaviruses’ ability to jump to humans was a warning not heeded." nyti.ms/3qpn50Z
House lawmakers are considering an overhaul of antitrust law this week, with the goal of reining in Big Tech.
Online advertising is “an opaque space rife with conflicts of interest,” noted the antitrust scholar @DinaSrinivasan. nyti.ms/3vOtT9z
Amazon “has exploited this commanding position to strong-arm other companies, control their means of distribution and drive them out of business,” wrote @stacyfmitchell. nyti.ms/2UzjDoG
“Isn’t it time we were all given a break from the Apple tax?” asked @fmanjoo. nyti.ms/3d8TQKi
“New York isn’t dead,” wrote the editorial board. But to make it flourish again, the city needs someone who can take charge right away, with fervor and confidence.
Kathryn Garcia has been a go-to problem solver for the past decade — from running the Sanitation Department to leading an overhaul of the New York City Housing Authority. nyti.ms/3fo3jOr
“I’m running for mayor because I fundamentally love this city,” @KGforNYC told the editorial board. “And I know that I have the qualifications to get the job done for New Yorkers.” nyti.ms/3wNaCq2
"The consequences of another Taliban takeover in Kabul would not be limited to the people of Afghanistan," writes former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. nyti.ms/3wmoqrA
Presidents have to consider long-term consequences, and the geostrategic realities are such that even though our military forces are leaving, we cannot turn our backs on Afghanistan. Nor can NATO, which is also winding down its presence there. nyti.ms/3wmoqrA
"Despite ongoing negotiations, I do not believe the Taliban will settle for a partial victory or for participation in a coalition government," writes former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. nyti.ms/3wmoqrA
The I.R.S. "did not pursue 300 high-income taxpayers who together cost the agency $10 billion in unpaid taxes over a three-year period when they failed to even file returns," write five former U.S. Treasury secretaries. nyti.ms/2SdFn8R
Timothy Geithner, Jacob Lew, Henry M. Paulson Jr., Robert E. Rubin and @LHSummers are all former U.S. Treasury secretaries, representing 17 years of experience at the helm of the department. Unpaid taxes are costing $600 billion a year, they note. nyti.ms/2SdFn8R
"Today, the I.R.S. has fewer auditors than at any time since World War II." nyti.ms/2SdFn8R