A tech company is under fire for a picture shared on social media and an online petition aimed at firing a “Grey’s Anatomy” star. Plus, Kevin Durant makes a big move in the NBA. Here’s a look at the hot topics on social media for Tuesday, July 5.
DURANT LEAVES OKC FOR WARRIORS
Russell Westbrook is no longer sharing the NBA marquee in Oklahoma City after the Thunder lost much of their identity when free agent Kevin Durant chose to join the Golden State Warriors on Monday. The Thunder still has one of the most electrifying players in the NBA on the roster – at least for now.
The Golden State Warriors’ agreement with Kevin Durant will also benefit the Dallas Mavericks. Durant has accepted a two-year, $54 million contract with the Warriors after averaging 27 points and seven rebounds during his nine-year NBA career. The Mavs are helping the Warriors create salary cap space for Durant by acquiring Andrew Bogut from Golden State, which will relinquish its rights to Harrison Barnes and allow him to sign a deal with Dallas.
My next chapter https://t.co/DG2TJ5cnev pic.twitter.com/zi94ss9NWI
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 4, 2016
You can read Durant’s announcement on The Players Tribune by clicking here.
I love the Internet. #KevinDurant pic.twitter.com/vGuQIZvTPq
— Obsev Sports (@ObsevSports) July 4, 2016
Can next season start already! 😳 #welcometothebay #kevindurant pic.twitter.com/J4sg3DjM7H
— jarryd hayne (@JarrydHayne) July 4, 2016
SMART PHONE PICTURE CONTROVERSY
Tech company Huawei is under fire for a picture shared on social media. The company appears to imply that the high-quality image was takent from a P9 smartphone when it was captured by a DSLR camera, as tech blog AndroidPolice.com states in a recent article.
The photograph shows a woman holding her hair back.
“ The detail in the hair, especially, with the sun hitting the individual strands, is quite striking,” AndroidPolice.com blogger David Ruddock writes. “And for a smartphone camera, that’s downright impressive – edge detail like that can be very difficult to get right. But this photo is almost suspiciously noiseless and crisp. The light balance you can at least chalk up to editing after the fact, all but a given for smartphone camera promo shots, but the level of detail is indeed excellent.”
A cell phone company under fire for THIS pic. I have the scoop in #WhatsTrending around 6:20AM on #KAKEnews pic.twitter.com/O86sbGZwpX
— Annette Lawless KAKE 🌻 (@AnnetteLawless) July 5, 2016
Ruddock says details about pictures are preserved on sites like Flickr. He found this picture was captured by a Canon EOS 5D Mark III. An EF70-200mm lens was also used. The camera setup costs about $4,500.
Though the company never directly said the picture was taken by the P9 photo, it did imply the image was taken with the device, Ruddock says.
Huawei responded to the article with the following statement:
“It has recently been highlighted that an image posted to our social channels was not shot on the Huawei P9. The photo, which was professionally taken while filming a Huawei P9 advert, was shared to inspire our community. We recognise though that we should have been clearer with the captions for this image. It was never our intention to mislead. We apologise for this and we have removed the image.”
PETITION TO FIRE ‘GREY’S ANATOMY’ STAR
Jesse Williams garnered a lot of praise for his speech at the BET Awards. Williams accepted the Humanitarian Award, speaking about issues with diversity, the Black Lives Matter and other issues near to his heart. However, not everyone loved what he had to say.
As of late Tuesday morning, more than 6,800 signatures are on an online petition, asking ABC to fire Williams from “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Jesse Williams spewed a racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people at the BET awards. If this was a white person making the same speech about an African American, they would have been fired and globally chastised, as they should be, but there has been no consequences to Williams’ actions. There’s been no companies making a stand against his racist remarks and no swift action condemning his negative attitude. Why was Burke’s character fired from Grey’s Anatomy after his inappropriate homophobic slur, but nothing for Jesse Williams? Why the one-way street? Why the support for a hater? Why the hypocrisy? #AllLivesMatter All humans bleed the same color. #EqualConsequences4RacistBehavior”
– Change.org petition writer Erin Smith, hoping to get Williams removed from the show
A counter-petition, written by Dawn Murphy, supports Williams. It has more than 20,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
“Jesse Williams is a bright man, passionate spokesman and a committed advocate of black people and #BlackLivesMatter who took a public stand on BET Awards show, risking his job and career for his beliefs. Now is the time for us to stand for Jesse and petition Shonda Rhimes and the other decision makers at “Grey’s Anatomy” and ABC to support this brave leader, not just by not firing him or in any way diminishing his role or pushing out, but by openly standing with him and speaking against hate in any form. Don’t just tell the racists, “No”. Show them!”
– Change.org petition writer Dawn Murphy, in support of Williams
Grey’s Anatomy creator and producer, Shonda Rhimes, responds to social media firestorm. Williams has been a fixture on Grey’s for seven seasons. Rhimes simply writes, “Um, people? Boo don’t need a petition. #shondalandrules”
Um, people? Boo don’t need a petition. #shondalandrules
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) July 5, 2016
You can watch William’s acceptance speech by clicking here.
BLUNT, KRASINSKI WELCOME BABY GIRL
Emily Blunt and John Krasinski have welcome their second child.
Krasinski, who’s best known for his role as Jim Halpert on NBC’s “The Office,” posted the news on Twitter Monday, writing “2 weeks ago we met our beautiful daughter Violet.”
Blunt and Krasinski’s first child, Hazel, was born in 2014.
‘Blunt is a British actress who starred alongside Tom Cruise in 2014’s “Edge of Tomorrow.” She’s set to play Mary Poppins in an upcoming sequel to the classic Disney film.
SWIFT’S STAR-STUDDED FOURTH OF JULY BASH
Taylor Swift is celebrating the July Fourth weekend with a group of famous friends at her seaside mansion in Rhode Island.
The New York Daily News reports the pop star and her entourage were spotted in the waves Sunday in Westerly.
The singer’s new beau, actor Tom Hiddleston, was in attendance, along with actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively and fashion models Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss.
Swift has hosted a number of Independence Day bashes at the mansion over the years.
Last year, Swift invited several model pals to join in the festivities. In 2014, her guest list included actors Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield and Lena Dunham.
Made in the USA™ @taylorswift13 pic.twitter.com/tgjHz63hWO
— Karlie Kloss (@karliekloss) July 5, 2016
The Associated Press contributed to this report.