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Week of
March 01, 2012 | | BORN THIS WAY Mother to mega-pop star Lady Gaga launched a new foundation with her daughter this week to combat bullying. Cynthia Germanotta, Gaga’s mom, talks to The Daily Beast’s Abigail Pesta about the Born This Way Foundation, raising an eccentric pop star, and the tragic school shooting in Ohio. As for whether Gaga herself was ever bullied, Germanotta recalls an incident where her daughter was “purposefully not invited” to a party one weekend by some of her classmates. “Exclusion is a form of [bullying],” she says. FED UP Maine moderate Olympia Snowe’s surprise resignation came just as the GOP was poised to push the Blunt amendment, a bill that would have allowed employers to withhold insurance coverage for any health-care service that violates their “religious beliefs and moral convictions.” With less than 24 hours to go before the vote, Snowe was the only senator confirmed to vote against the measure. Friends and colleagues tell The Daily Beast’s Eleanor Clift the lawmaker finally got “sick and tired” of her party’s radical agenda and its “atmosphere of polarization and ‘my way or the highway’ ideologies.” ABORTION Add Virginia to the list of states requiring women get an ultrasound before seeking an abortion, bringing the current number to eight. The proposed legislation, which originally called for transvaginal ultrasounds, was modified after large-scale protests. Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, an abortion opponent, indicated he would sign the bill. The bill does not require the woman to view the ultrasound. Women who have reported to authorities that they are the victims of sexual violence are exempt, but ultrasounds will still be required of women who have medical documentation that their fetus has a birth defect. EMPOWERMENT Jean Kissell is leading a unique charge in Afghanistan--training a network of tribal leaders to treat women right. Having lived in Kabul on and off for 10 years, Kissell is now the executive director of the Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan. Launched in 2002, the nonprofit now has a network of 30,000 trained community leaders and has launched a training program in women’s rights under Islam. And since the U.S. plans to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014, Kissell’s work has never been more vital. To learn more about engaging men, visit the Man Up Campaign. FUNNY LADIES Fans are sighing a breath of relief upon news that Community will be back to finish out its current season. The Daily Beast visited the set of the cult favorite and sat down for a roundtable with the show’s female stars and one of its writers. Allison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, and Megan Ganz sound off on being a woman in comedy, the show’s legacy, slut shaming, and more. When asked about the Bridesmaids effect, Ganz scoffed at the idea that audiences are just starting to embrace the idea of funny women: “There have always been funny women. But in some ways, it takes a while for there to be women who were watching women on television for years and then grow up and think, ‘I could do funny stuff. I grew up watching I love Lucy. She was doing funny stuff.’” | | 
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