The Schmooze lies at the intersection of high and low culture. Here, the latest developments and trends in Jewish art, books, dance, film, music, media, television and theater are all assimilated into one handy pop culture blog.
The Schmooze
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‘Law & Order’ Episode Asks: What If A Muslim Woman Politician Was Raped In A Synagogue?
There is no question that the Muslim elected official at the center of a recent episode of “Law & Order: SVU” is based on real life Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. There is this question, though: Why would anyone think it’s okay to make a TV episode about an Ilhan Omar-inspired character being raped inside a…
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Gene Simmons Gives Pentagon Briefing: ‘America Is The Promised Land For Everybody’
Gene Simmons for White House Communications Director? Simmons, lead singer of the legendary rock band KISS, visited the White House on Thursday, USA Today reported. In a video posted to Twitter by CBS reporter Katiana Krawchenko, the star can be seen walking down the driveway with his wife, Shannon Tweed-Simmons, escorted by security. Simmons’ visit…
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The ‘Candid’ Chuck Lorre Stays Silent On Years Of Misconduct At CBS
Chuck Lorre is one of the most powerful men in the history of television. Known as “the hitmaker,” he created “The Big Bang Theory,” which ends today after twelve years — half of which it was the most popular comedy on television. He’s the mind behind a few other little shows you may have heard…
The Latest
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Mayim Bialik On ‘Big Bang Theory’ Showed Me An Orthodox Woman Can Do Anything
I was a senior in high school when my mom surprised me with tickets to see a taping of “The Big Bang Theory.” We were spending my yeshiva winter break in Los Angeles for a mother-daughter trip. And then, in the middle of the Warner Bros. studio tour, my mom handed me a piece of…
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Next Up For The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Bros Benioff and Weiss: ‘Star Wars’
When you look up and see three stars in the sky, that means “Game Of Thrones” is over and it’s “Star Wars” time again. The boychiks who adapted “Game Of Thrones” for TV — David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — look to go from strength to strength as the epic series comes to a close…
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Give It Up For Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Who Made ‘Veep’ Perfect
She did the damn thing. On Sunday night, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the cast of the HBO comedy “Veep” concluded their seven-year run as television’s best and bitchiest comedy. During her near decade leading the political satire, Louis-Dreyfus won nine Emmy Awards for Leading Actress in a Comedy for her role as Selina Meyer — a…
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Madonna Not Backing Down From Israel Eurovision Performance Despite BDS Threats
She made it through the wilderness, you know? She made it through. And after wandering through the wilderness, there’s only one place to go. Madonna has spoken out for the first time in response to pressure from activists to cancel her performance in Tel Aviv, Israel at the Eurovision music competition this weekend. Refusing to…
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Mayim Bialik: Thanks So Much For Noticing My Breast Size
Yeah, we’ll say it — Mayim Bialik is hot! She’s also brilliant, funny, and entrepreneurial. She has good taste in eye-wear. She is many things. The line between appreciating a person’s physical appearance and loudly scrutinizing a person’s body parts is actually pretty clear. But as everyone who’s been cat-called or objectified in a way…
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Sarah Silverman’s Devastating Mother’s Day Tribute To Non-Biological Moms
Comedian Sarah Silverman is kind of our collective beloved Jewish child — we think everything she does is gorgeous, above-average, and maybe should qualify her to be president. But even if you don’t regard the 48-year-old comic as a kind of high-ponytailed messiah, you have to admit that the Mother’s Day tribute she posted to…
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Uh, Who Decided To Let Mel Gibson Star In A Movie Called ‘Rothchild’?
Reader, I have made some unfortunate decisions in my life. Last night I ate potato chips covered in cheese at 11 pm and called it “dinner.” In high school I wore knock-off Ugg boots with enormous bejeweled butterflies on the calves. Once — gulp — I even voluntarily listened to Spotify’s Hanukkah playlist, all the…
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Multi-Millionaire and Argentinean Hotelier Alan Faena Opens Up About His Rabbinic Heritage
He only wears white, makes gnomic pronouncements, and builds “universes”. Alan Faena, whose pioneering hotel projects in Buenos Aires and Miami Beach reinvented hospitality in those cities, makes a very unconventional developer. And in a lavishly illustrated new memoir, the Argentine iconoclast offers a rare look behind the curtain of a blazingly glamorous life —…
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