Post

More from @cliftonaduncan

Clifton Duncan

Nov 11

Nicole Scherzinger--former Pussycat Dolls frontwoman and now star of the Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard--just got put through a Struggle Session.

Her sin?

Responding to a Russell Brand post on Instagram. 🧵

Russell Brand, a former atheist who recently found religion, posted a picture on IG wearing a "Make Jesus First Again."

Scherzinger wrote "Where do I get this hat!!!?"

The backlash was intense and immediate.

Brand has aligned himself with popular right wing figures, and was the subject of multiple sxual assault allegations.

Scherzinger is now being called an anti-LGBTQ, Trump-supporting r4pe apologist.

Read 8 tweets

Clifton Duncan

@cliftonaduncan

Sep 26

It's tragic how politics has destroyed certain people--even entire industries.

I call this process Rapid Onset Ideological Deterioration...ROID Rage.

I can't think of a better illustration of this phenomenon than what happened to an ex-friend I'll call "Claire." 🧵

Claire and I met 20 years ago. I was hired as a guest artist at my local university, where she was a junior. She was beautiful, bright, charismatic and smart, while ALSO being a gifted actor, singer, dancer, AND instrumentalist.

I was smitten right away.

We remained close over the years.

We commiserated about the industry. Watched Marvel films together. I went to her wedding.

I was SO happy for her as she continued to work her way up NYC's brutal show biz ladder. It seemed all was going her way.

Then Donald Trump appeared.

Read 7 tweets

Clifton Duncan

@cliftonaduncan

Jan 8

The key to genius isn't only intellect--it's imagination.

From da Vinci to Einstein, humanity's greatest minds have one thing in common: incredible inventiveness.

Here are 6 ideas to maximize your creativity in 2024 🧵

𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 "𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗪 𝗨𝗣."

Children are effortlessly open, endlessly inquisitive, and bursting with imagination.

They love to play.
They love to explore.
They live in the moment.

To cultivate creative genius as an adult, see the world through the eyes of a child.

𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗬 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘.

Beauty is soul food.

Best of all, you can find it anywhere:

Dawn or dusk.
A warm embrace.
An infant's laughter.

Beauty keeps the heart full.

Cultivate it in your life and your work will be full, too.

Read 8 tweets

Clifton Duncan

@cliftonaduncan

Aug 16, 2023

All of show business is struggling. It's not just Hollywood.

Major theatres across the US are also dying:

🔸Nearly a THIRD of their patrons are GONE

🔸Theatres are "pausing" seasons, laying off staff, or closing outright

🔸 Industry leaders reportedly have a running list of closures, which is updated routinely

🔸 Experts warn the industry may shrink by HALF over the next year

The Guardian, the LA Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Times have all reported on the collapse.

Based on what I've read, journalists and industry leaders are either being deliberately obtuse about this issue, or are pretending not to know what's wrong.

The few who DO know what's wrong say nothing because they want to keep their careers, clinging to the Titanic where at least it's still warm.

But I no longer have a career, so I'll point out the obvious for them:

THEY WENT SUPER "WOKE", AND THEN FUCKED THEMSELVES WITH RIDICULOUS PANDEMIC PROTOCOLS.

The collapse of the American Theatre is a cautionary tale, a culmination of the insanity of the past few years, and a prime example of what happens to an industry that values ideological conformity over robust debate.

What's eye-opening about the theatre's collapse is they are scapegoating the pandemic.

But OTHER forms of live entertainment are not struggling with "post-pandemic recovery":

🔸 Despite a dip in ratings, the NBA and NFL report unprecedented live attendance

🔸 The WWE is reporting record ticket sales

🔸The UFC continues to grow in popularity and profitability

🔸 Live music is booming despite equipment shortages

Even online Influencers are selling out arenas, crowdfunding multimillion-dollar campaigns, and raking in money on a daily basis from their loyal subscribers while theatres cry about a LACK of donations and outdated subscription models.

COVID can suck but people are risking it to see live entertainment. The economy sucks but people are still spending money.

They're just refusing to spend their money on Theatre.

These people were SO sure of themselves in 2020-2021.

They were on The Right Side of History. They were "saving lives". The rest of us were a fascist, science-denying, granny-killers.

But now—in the "New Normal" the Theatre so desperately demanded—they're shrieking about an unprecedented and "industry-wide crisis", as other forms of live entertainment thrive.

The implosion of the American Theatre is a cautionary tale.

They surrendered their art to ideology. They punished dissent and purged dissidents. They alienated huge swathes of the public with preachy "Progressivism", and their most loyal patrons are now too terrified of the plague to even leave the house...even though they forced EVERYONE to get vaccinated.

A final irony in all this is that Theatre people often see themselves as rebels who speak truth to power. In 2020, however, "Power" told them they are "non-essential".

In a testament to their extreme hubris, they couldn't foresee Americans agreeing with that assessment. As the economy continues to worsen, they are going to get a VERY harsh lesson in exactly how "non-essential" they've become.

Read 5 tweets

Clifton Duncan

@cliftonaduncan

Jan 13, 2023

Flatly dehumanizing people as "lunatics" for criticizing the WuFlu shots ignores that many of those critics have gotten the shots themselves (and in some cases, previously championed their use), then changed their minds over time.

For previously healthy people who had no health issues until they took the shots, it's perfectly rational to have questions; yet in seeking answers, they're dismissed and denigrated by people with an irrational inability to accept ANY criticism of these "miraculous" products.

Ordinary people who've been (or believe they've been) injured by the shots have no voice: their lived experience is suppressed on Tech platforms and ignored by major media outlets, forcing them to turn to less reputable (or less "authoritative") sources to share their stories.

Read 9 tweets

Clifton Duncan

@cliftonaduncan

Oct 30, 2022

If I were a White Supremacist, I wouldn't say so publicly.

Instead I'd use the education system, pop culture, & the press to demoralize generations of Black people into a sense of Learned Helplessness, so that their entire lives are spent seeking validation from Whites.

I'd utilize the education system to indoctrinate young Blacks into believing that Whites are so omnipotent that even those who are long dead still exercise influence over their destiny.

This would create an inferiority complex from a young age.

I'd have popular Black celebrities use their massive influence to constantly reinforce the message to their young fans that they're oppressed, slaves to the caprice and cruelty of Whites.

This would strengthen their inferiority complex.

Read 8 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

Clifton Duncan

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @cliftonaduncan

Clifton Duncan

Clifton Duncan

Clifton Duncan

Clifton Duncan

Clifton Duncan

Clifton Duncan

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!