Category: EntertainHR

Posts focus on what not to do in the workplace, based on examples from television, film, and other popular media.

#MeToo Takeaways from the Case of Bikram Choudhury

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I listened to a five-part ESPN 30 for 30 podcast series entitled Bikram. The series discussed the rise and fall of yoga guru Bikram Choudhury. As an occasional practitioner of Choudhury’s method of yoga, I was somewhat familiar with the accusations of sexual misconduct made against him that ultimately resulted […]

deskless

Superstore: America Ferrera Tackles Big-Box Retail

In Superstore, NBC has gifted us The Office-caliber employment law issues in a big-box retail setting.  The show focuses on the fictional Cloud 9 Superstore in Missouri and its delightful staff of misfits, led by America Ferrera.

American Idol Back to Work 3 Days After Giving Birth? Can’t Demand or Deny It

American Idol alum Jordin Sparks walked the red carpet just three days after giving birth to her son and has done a slew of interviews discussing this new chapter of her life.  While Sparks is certainly a trooper for bouncing back so quickly after a major medical event and putting herself back into the celebrity […]

Now Hiring: Avenger Experience Preferred

Even if you’re not a devoted follower of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), you likely were aware that Avengers: Infinity War just opened this past weekend.  While it is no surprise that the movie shattered a litany of box office records over its opening weekend, no one could have predicted the unparalleled success the MCU […]

athlete

Doctor, Doctor

I played basketball in high school and dreamed of playing in college.  I knew it was a long shot, and it never came to pass.  “Maybe I’ll walk on some day,” I thought as I went off to college.  Yeah, right.  I gave up that dream when I enrolled at Wake Forest in the early- […]

Mariah Carey Won’t Let Bipolar Diagnosis “Define” or “Control” Her

Mariah Carey, known as an iconic singer-songwriter and a dramatic diva, disclosed to People magazine last week that she has bipolar disorder.  Although she was first diagnosed in 2001, Carey says she finally sought treatment recently after “the hardest couple of years [she’s] been through.” (Among her recent personal and professional issues, you may recall […]

Desperate Housewives Case Addresses Wrongful Termination Based on Failure to Renew Contract

It should not be surprising that in California, prominent court cases involve the entertainment industry at times. In my last EntertainHR blog post, I discussed the 2006 California Supreme Court’s decision in Lyle v. Warner Brothers Television Productions, where the court held that within the adult-oriented situation comedy Friends writers’ room, conduct that might otherwise […]

Violence

Good Girls: Three Moms Channel Walter White

NBC’s new show Good Girls is far more Weeds and Breaking Bad than the comedy I expected, but it provides an interesting glimpse into the workplace through a trio of moms resorting to desperate measures to make ends meet. Our three anti-heroines are:

The Blessing of March Madness

March Madness is back and we’ve had a bit more madness this year. We saw the first 16 seed topple a 1 seed when UMBC shocked Virginia. Virginia’s early exit seemed to turn the South Region upside down, with upsets coming fast and furious. Eventually, upstart 11-seed Loyola University of Chicago stepped from the carnage, […]