News

The 5 Most Offensive Stories of the Week

by Adrienne Vogt

This week really brought the offensive — and I'm not talking about football. Coming out of our collective turkey coma, through the continuation of the Healthcare.gov rollout debacle and the death of Nelson Mandela, the crazies continued to shine through. Here's a roundup of the most offensive stories of the week.

The "Trophy Scarves" Guy

This week, we were introduced to Nate Hill, a photographer who hires white women to droop around his neck like a scarf so he can "wear" them. His so-called art project is widely documented on his Instagram account and website. His mission statement? "I wear white women for status and power."

Ugh.

FYI McDonald's: Your Employees Can't Afford Nannies

Further proof that McDonald's execs are far removed from reality? In a post on its employee website, the fast-food giant gave advice (via etiquette writer Emily Post) on how to tip. Suggestions include giving an au pair "a gift from your family (or one week's pay), plus a small gift from your child." The average McDonald's worker can also bestow their dog walker with "one week's pay" and their personal fitness trainers with "one session's fee." This comes as fast-food workers plan to strike in order to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. Right now they make $15,000 a year.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Suicide Selfie

Everyone's favorite beacon of upstanding journalism, the New York Post, ran a cover story about a woman taking a selfie while a man was rescued before he apparently planned to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. The headline screamed: "SELFIE-ISH! My photo with Brooklyn Bridge suicide dude." Two guilty parties here, folks. When the Post asked for her name, the woman said, “I’d rather not,” and "hustled out of Brooklyn Bridge Park." But does that really make for front-page news?

Egypt is Open for Business!

Again, the culprit is the New York Post. Writer Paula Froelich decided to go to Egypt solo — and she claims the country "is the best deal going right now." Since the country's violent revolution, which revealed an epidemic of sexual harassment, tourists are in no way clamoring to visit. Froelich says she had free range of the many historical and cultural attractions in the country. She says that as long as you dress conservatively and avoid demonstrations, Egypt is THE BARGAIN OF A LIFETIME. Some obviously reacted with surprise at the newspaper's tweet.

Katie Couric Says HPV Vaccine Is Deadly

Couric didn't really do her homework on this one. On her daytime talk show, Katie, Couric brought in two mothers — one of which thinks her daughter was killed by the vaccine — to talk about the "HPV Vaccine Controversy." The segment has now been widely maligned for shoddy facts and shaky evidence. Because science.

Honorable mentions

A town in Japan apparently plans to build a park where you can swim and frolic with dolphins — sweet, shiny, beautiful dolphins — and then EAT THEM. This brings playing with your food to a whole new level.

Also, some idiot in Mexico injected the drug Krokodil into her genitals. I can't even.

Image via nypost.com