Ariana Grande says her character in “Wicked,” Glinda, might be secretly gay.  She’s not the only one pointing out gay undertones and overtones in the highly anticipated film adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical. The story is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which provides a backstory for the central villain in The Wizard of Oz. Especially since the new Universal Pictures release, which was directed by Jon M. Chu (“In the Heights”), there’s been a lot of conversation about whether Glinda and The Wicked Witch (Elphaba) are more than friends. Grande shared her thoughts during a conversation with Gay Times while the interviewer was discussing “queer allegories” in “Wicked.” “Everyone is just so beautifully queer,” Grande says of the people of Oz, mentioning how L. Frank Baum used the word “queer” frequently in his books about the mythical land when he penned them at the turn of the century.  “Every day in the Emerald City is a pride parade,” Grande added. Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, agreed.  CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “I think Elphie is… She goes wherever the wind goes. I think she loves Glinda, I think she loves love. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with celebrating the deep connection the both of them have,” the actress said. “They do have a real relationship. It is true love, which is probably why people are shipping it. What they build with each other is an unbreakable bond and love.” Grande added, “And trust and truth and such a safe space for one another, which is what all relationships should be, whether it’s romantic or platonic.” As for the relationship between the two female leads, the actress said, “Whether it’s romantic or platonic, or you know … maybe Glinda might be a little in the closet. But if there were a time? Y’know, you never know! Give it a little more time! I mean, it is just a true love. And I think that transcends sexuality, it’s just kind of a deep safety within each other. And that’s why they probably ship it.” During the same interview, the pair mentioned plenty of other gay themes in the film, including some of the animal characters. “Dr. Dilly, with his tea and his cardigan, I’m just throwing it out there,” Grande said of the goat professor Dr. Dillamond, voiced by actor Peter Dinklage. “Gay icon, Dr. Dil.” 

Unilever, one of the wokest corporations in the world, apparently isn’t woke enough for Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream giant is accusing Unilever of censoring pro-Palestinian public statements, a claim that Unilever denies.  Ben & Jerry’s has long been a company that has pushed far-Left and anti-Israel causes. According to the lawsuit, Unilever is pushing back after Ben & Jerry’s supported the anti-Israel protests on American college campuses, which have called for the U.S. to end its military aid to Israel.  The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the lawsuit accuses Unilever of “threatening to dismantle the company’s independent board, sue board members, intimidate personnel and censor the company ‘from publicly voicing support for peace and refugee rights.’”  Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have been at each other’s throats over the past few years. In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s targeted Israel in a boycott, which led to some investors divesting Unilever shares, and then, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever for selling its business to a licensee in Israel. That lawsuit was settled in 2022.  The new allegations suggest that Unilever is worried about Ben & Jerry’s jumping off the deep end and into some extreme leftist causes. That says a lot. In case you forgot: Unilever is the leftist company that brings you Dove — the wokest wash around — and Axe, which is now trying to encourage men to forgo macho stereotypes and take on a more progressive version of masculinity instead. The London-based corporation also supports “Pride events across the UK and Ireland [and] partner with LGBTQI+ charities.” While these corporations continue to play woke games, Americans just want to buy quality products from companies that don’t put leftism in their faces. And thankfully, they can.  If you are looking for something sweet this Holiday season, look no further than Jeremy’s Chocolate Truffle Tumbler. This seasonal classic is back in stock for a limited time after selling out last Christmas. With 5 delicious flavors of gourmet chocolate truffles, ranging from Caramel Milk Chocolate to Butter Pecan, and 20 truffles per tumbler, this makes the perfect gift for anyone with a sweet tooth this holiday season. Plus, it comes in the coveted Leftist Tears Tumbler, so you can share the joy of collecting sweet Leftist Tears and enjoying them hot or cold in this insulated, stainless steel tumbler. Jeremy’s Razors is now offering 30% off all of its woke-free alternatives from the newly redesigned Precision 5 razor to shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand soap, and everything else you need to save Christmas and your bathroom from woke corporations. And Jeremy’s isn’t just for the men who are sick of wokeness. We know the ladies want alternatives too. Check out the women’s shower bundle for smooth and clean skin free-from progressive talking points, or the Deluxe Bundle, which includes the BRAND NEW Women’s Razor, moisturizing body wash, lotion, shave cream, and aluminum-free natural deodorant. Jeremy’s Razors is the perfect spot for woke-free gifts this holiday season. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Unilever has proven to be one of the wokest corporations in the world, and it’s coming back to bite it. People don’t want their personal care products to align with the Left, and at Jeremy’s, we’ll never bow down to the woke mob.

An astonishing report details how the Biden administration spent $267 million since 2021 on research grants whose proposals mentioned “misinformation.” The report was issued by OpenTheBooks, a nonprofit organization founded in 2011 as a transparency group. Ironically, in 2006, then-Senator Barack Obama co-sponsored the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which permitted public access to federal spending. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) also co-sponsored the bill, later serving as the honorary chairman of OpenTheBooks before his passing in 2020. Of the $267 million, “The feds have spent at least $127 million in grants specifically targeted to study the spread of “misinformation” — or to help people ‘overcome’ it, so to speak — by persuading them to go along with Covid-related public health recommendations and mandates,” the report states. Further, a methodology note in the report states, “This likely does not cover all grants given to combat misinformation, because transaction descriptions may not include this keyword, but the trend in spending illustrates a sudden explosion of interest in misinformation starting in 2021.” The report adds that the Department of Health and Human Services issued grants totaling $185 million, the National Science Foundation total was $65 million, and the Stated Department $12 million. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Last month, a report from the House Committee on Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations noted that in August 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services initiated the “We Can Do This” campaign — a campaign that ultimately cost more than $900 million — which was meant to affect the public’s response to the COVID pandemic. “The Campaign came to serve as a critical vehicle for disseminating the Biden-Harris administration’s messaging on mask usage, social distancing, vaccine effectiveness, the risks COVID-19 posed to children, and how to reopen schools, businesses, and civil society,” the report stated. “It appears the administration most concerned with ‘misinformation’ itself trafficked in misinformation: on masks, on risks to children, on social distancing, and on the need to vaccinate even infants,” the OpenTheBooks report asserted. In December 2022, then-former President Donald Trump stated he would “prohibit federal policing of lawful domestic speech” upon becoming the 47th president: “Within hours of my inauguration, I will sign an executive order banning any federal department or agency from colluding with any organization, business, or person, to censor, limit, categorize, or impede the lawful speech of American citizens. I will then ban federal money from being used to label domestic speech as ‘mis’- or dis-information.’ And I will begin the process of identifying and firing every federal bureaucrat who has engaged in domestic censorship — directly or indirectly — whether they are the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, the DOJ, no matter who they are.”

As the mockery of Jaguar’s massive brand relaunch continues, one company exec is speaking out against the “intolerance” from the public.  Managing director Rawdon Glover said in a recent interview with the Financial Times that the campaign messaging was drowned out in “a blaze of intolerance” on social media. Glover also claimed that the colorful new ad was not meant to be “woke.” “If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we’ll just get drowned out. So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand,” Glover told the outlet. “We need to re-establish our brand and at a completely different price point so we need to act differently. We wanted to move away from traditional automotive stereotypes.” The Jaguar exec said there have been “very positive” reactions to the campaign but that he’s been dismayed by “the level of vile hatred and intolerance” to the viral ad. Glover added that the rebrand was done in part to attract new customers. “This is not a depiction of how we think our future customers are,” he said. “We don’t want to necessarily leave all of our customers behind. But we do need to attract a new customer base.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE A senior advertising executive who previously worked with the brand agreed with the criticism, telling the outlet, “You can destroy a brand in 30 seconds that took a lifetime to build. Strong brands reinvent themselves but always remain true to the core of their DNA. For luxury brands in particular, authenticity is key and this fails the test.” The new ad campaign includes a commercial of people dressed in vibrant, outlandish outfits. The characters can be seen grabbing sledgehammers, painting over the camera lens, and striking poses as the music plays. It also debuts the new logo, which strips away personality and removes the iconic jaguar graphic. The entire campaign has been derided and mocked on social media, especially since the commercial does not feature vehicles.  Tesla founder Elon Musk responded to the ad by writing, “Do you sell cars?” The official webpage says the brand will now be built upon “exuberant modernism.” A new concept car will debut at Miami Art Week the week of December 2.

As Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy assemble the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a key senator laid out some low-hanging fruit. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) has been howling into the wind about wasted taxpayer dollars for a decade, and on Monday she wrote to Musk and Ramaswamy with some ideas to get them started. “With $3 billion of interest being added to our national debt every day, the longer we delay tackling the problem, the further away the finish line gets,” she wrote. DOGE is an outside-of-government, temporary commission that hopes to cut trillions in federal outlays, which will have to work with Congress to enact lasting programmatic reforms. Ernst is chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, which she founded to make sure DOGE has “bite,” not just “bark,” she said. Her proposed targets include: Pennies that cost three cents. The federal government even manages to lose money while literally making money: Pennies cost three cents to produce, and nickels cost 11 cents. They could be made from cheaper materials. Bloated military spending. The Pentagon paid $1,220 per cup for special heated coffee cups, and 80 times the retail rate for a soap dispenser. Use-it-or-lose-it splurges. Federal managers have shown no desire to come in under budget, splurging on luxuries at the end of the fiscal year instead of being honest about their actual needs — which could lead to a budget right-sizing in future years. Agencies sign nearly 10 percent of contracts in the final week of the fiscal year, which ends in September, OpenTheBooks reported in 2019. September splurges include Pentagon purchases of $4.6 million on lobster tail and crab, and nearly $12,000 on a foosball table in 2018. COVID fraud. The Biden administration sent “hundreds of billions of COVID relief dollars to fraudsters. A U.S. attorney calls it ‘the biggest fraud in a generation.’ Some swindlers who uploaded pictures of Barbie dolls as photo identification on the applications were even approved to receive money. But the Biden administration is being lax recollecting the cash and time is running out,” the letter said. Unspent COVID money. Years after the pandemic passed, there are still billions of dollars of unspent money that was ostensibly for COVID mitigation. Other unspent money is also sitting around in slush funds instead of being clawed back, too. Empty buildings: The government owns nearly 8,000 vacant buildings. A 2016 law set up a board to sell them, but Joe Biden’s Office of Management and Budget stymied it, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The board found that the government barely even knows what it owns, because General Services Administration data is often incomplete or wrong. Mass-transit boondoggles. Democrats have pushed for mass-transit policies out of anti-car ideology rather than a realistic assessment of demand, and projects have gone vastly over budget and schedule, bogged down by corruption and union requirements. The California High-Speed Train is estimated to cost $128 billion, more than $100 billion more than expected. A 1.3-mile extension of San Francisco’s Caltrain will cost $6.7 billion, one of the most expensive transit projects in history. Failing infrastructure projects. Joe Biden said $7.5 billion would create a network of electric car charging stations and $42 billion would bring internet access to rural areas, but only 17 charging stations have been created and no one has gotten internet access. Bonuses for failure. The government pays bonuses to employees and contractors, even if they have a record of failure. That includes a $10.6 million bonus to a contractor for its performance on a fighter jet program, despite delivering the wrong parts, which jeopardized airmen’s safety and caused the Department of Defense to have to spend $300 million. NASA is paying more than half a billion dollars in bonuses to a contractor whose project is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. Paying employees to do nothing. Employees accused of misconduct are put on paid leave while they are investigated, sometimes for 18 months, despite a law capping such paid leave at 90 days. Unemployment for millionaires. Nearly a quarter-billion dollars a year is spent on unemployment checks for millionaires, who are eligible for checks after they lose a job even if they have huge amounts of money coming in from other sources. Swag. “Federal agencies collectively spend $1.5 billion every year on public relations and propaganda. This includes koozies, key chains, coloring books, Snuggies, and costumed mascots. Let’s bag the swag,” Ernst wrote. The United Nations. The United States gives $15 billion to the U.N. on top of its membership dues, which are themselves higher than any other country. “U.N. staff helped plan and execute Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel in which American citizens were murdered and taken hostage. A 2024 U.N. migrant plan promotes cash handouts for migrants to cover travel expenses and includes a map with a red line leading right to the U.S. border. Our tax dollars to the U.N. are subsidizing threats to our own national security!” Ernst wrote.

A post shared on Facebook claims the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has listed Christianity as an extremist group in its Glossary of Extremism and Hate. Verdict: Misleading The ADL lists Christian Identity, a religious sect of the white supremacist movement, in its Glossary of Extremism and Hate. A spokesperson for the ADL denied the organization lists […]

He began to convulse on the stage as people rushed to his aid

'He is in a room with a balcony and, well, we're a little afraid'

“Western [automakers] are increasingly focusing on capital efficiency, meaning likely lower spending, more collaboration, and restructured EV portfolios to prioritize profits,"