this week in drama

This Week in Drama: Two Cat Fights and an Ann Coulter Side Hustle

Every week brings such an overwhelming onslaught of news, that sometimes the most entertaining bits can fall through the cracks. Here, we’ll recap the pettiest squabbles, juiciest feuds, and other niche drama you didn’t know you were living for.

Hillary Clinton’s Pastor Plagiarized Prayer
In case you were wondering if it was possible for news surrounding the 2016 election to get any sadder, we present to you the first part of the first sentence from this Associated Press article: “Hillary Clinton’s pastor has acknowledged he plagiarized part of the prayer commentary he sent her the day after she lost the presidential election.”

This was discovered after the Reverend Bill Shillady — who also officiated Chelsea Clinton’s wedding — published a new book this week, Strong for a Moment Like This: The Daily Devotions of Hillary Rodham Clinton. One of the devotionals just happens to include words directly lifted from a blog post by Reverend Matt Deuel.

Per the AP, “Shillady said he sought inspiration for the Nov. 9 email by searching for material along the familiar Christian theme of holding onto hope and emerging from adversity.” He claims he lifted it accidentally and will be crediting Deuel in future editions of the book. Amen.

Chateau Marmont vs. Cateau Marmont
The legendary luxury Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont has their claws out … for a cat grooming-and-boarding service. They’ve threatened to sue the Cateau Marmont for trademark infringement unless they change their name, though the owners of the Cateau are reacting exactly the way you’d expect animal people to: dramatically. Not only have they refused to do so, they’ve pointed to their practice of providing shelter for homeless cats.

The best response to the battle comes from owner Jennifer Shields, who claims, “People don’t even know what Chateau Marmont is.”

Widow vs. Dead Husband’s Mistress at Funeral
We’ve long known that pettiness can continue beyond the grave, but here’s another story to hammer that home. When a dead man’s girlfriend showed up at his viewing in a Dayton, Ohio, funeral home, his widow asked that she be removed. Per police reports relayed by local news station WHIO-TV 7, “An altercation ensued between the two women and one of the woman’s daughters” until “a family member attending the viewing pepper-sprayed the women and the fight subsided.” When you need to break out the pepper spray at a funeral, that’s when you know things have gotten out of hand.

American Airlines vs. a Bride
The annoyances of air travel are never-ending: long lines, tiny seats, the potential to be violently dragged off the aircraft at any moment, and — in the case of Yewande Oteh — mean-girl flight attendants purposefully destroying your wedding dress.

Yewande Oteh is filing a lawsuit against American Airlines after she says she asked a flight attendant to stowe her gown in the First Class cabin; the flight attendant complied, but Oteh says she saw her and some of the other flight attendants laughing and acting suspicious near the container where they put her dress. When she deplaned, Oteh discovered that her dress was completely covered in red wine. Now, Oteh wants $3.4 million in damages, which should be plenty to cover her wedding costs.

Ann Coulter’s cash-only side hustle
Listen, there’s nothing wrong with having a side hustle, especially in this economy. But if you’re supposed to be raising money for a charity? Maybe save the under-the-table business for another day.

Ann Coulter, who is not exactly known as a paragon of morality or integrity, was accused this week of running a cash-only side hustle at a fundraising event for a public library in East Hampton. Though sales for her books went to the library, she was reportedly charging customers $25 each for DVDs, cash that she directly pocketed (though she said she’d be giving it to the library). The main question here, of course, is: Why was Ann Coulter invited to this event in the first place?

The Battle for the Cardinals Cat
Though there are countless cats out there looking for their forever homes (FYI: Tomorrow is Homeless Animals Day), one very special cat has claimed the hearts of hundreds of people across Missouri. The cat, dubbed “Rally Cat,” ran onto the field during a recent Cardinals game, and fans have been pushing to make him an unofficial mascot ever since. Though there are thousands of animal-lovers interested in adopting him, the Cardinals tried to lay claim to him, saying the shelter “promised” them he’d be turned over once his quarantine is over. But the shelter, St. Louis Feral Cat Outreach, hit back in a Facebook post, accusing the baseball team of bullying them.

Perhaps the Cards could try Petfinder if they want a cat mascot?

Catch up on previous drama here.

This Week in Drama: Two Cat Fights and Ann Coulter