Angelina Jolie is seriously concerned about what she sees as the pandemic’s toll on equality. In an essay for Time, the Oscar winner and humanitarian addressed the UN Secretary General’s latest report on COVID-19: “The numbers paint a stark picture of a possible 2 million additional cases of female genital mutilation globally by 2030, 13 million additional child marriages, an additional 15 million women and girls subjected to gender-based violence for every 3 months of lockdown, and a further 47 million women forced into extreme poverty.”
Jolie continued: “These problems cannot be blamed entirely on the coronavirus. While the virus has inflamed inequities in societies, it did not create them. Humans — not disease — are responsible for unjust laws and systems, and racial and social inequality.”
She warned: “Not to use our influence to defend and promote women’s rights at a time when they are threatened would betray the fundamental principles of our democracy. It would also send a message to young girls everywhere — already conscious of growing up in an unequal, unjust world — that even though we could see their horizons narrowing during this pandemic, we didn’t care enough to try to stop it.”
Meanwhile, her ex Brad Pitt‘s girlfriend Nicole Poturalksi has slapped back at trolls who won’t keep their thoughts to themselves. She and Pitt have been the subject of some criticism for opting to vacation at the Chateau that he and Jolie married at on their anniversary, and because she is still married. The German model hit up IG Stories Friday sharing a handful of videos discussing the negativity in German. She captioned them: “Hey guys, I have been wondering since forever why people leave hateful comments? Why? What is the benefit? Just in general, I want to understand the train of thoughts sic.”
“It’s just so rude and sad for those commenting,” she noted. “Just don’t follow people you don’t want to see or if you don’t like their content. Easy.”