Whoopi Goldberg wants to ease your period pains with pot

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Women everywhere can likely agree their periods are a pain, but I'm not so sure everyone is going to be ready to get on board with Whoopi Goldberg's remedy for cramps. Word broke Wednesday that the actress and television host is getting into the medical marijuana business specifically to ease period pain.

The 60-year-old has announced she's launching a medical marijuana company with “canna-businesswoman” Maya Elisabeth. They plan to offer edibles, tinctures, topical cream and a THC-infused bath soak to help with period cramps, according to Vanity Fair. The company will be called "Whoopi & Maya."

But make no mistake -- Whoopi's pot plans are nothing to titter at.

"I want to go nice and slow with this. I don’t want this to be a joke to people,"  she told USA Today. "It’s not a joke to women."

Whoopi Goldberg (pictured here with daughter Alex Martin) went on to tell Glamour, "I have a daughter and two granddaughters who inherited my horrific menstrual cramps. Being a pot smoker for years, I talked to a lot of men in the marijuana business about developing something for period relief, and they always came back with ‘That’s too niche a market.’”

Disagree? She does too!

“I know! It’s like, half of the planet is not a niche market!” she continued. “Most guys don’t have any idea what a period is or how it works. It’s like, 'There’s a vagina, and there’s an egg...’”

To The Daily Beast she asked, "How can you have a male expert tell any woman what works for HER period? Just because they haven’t done the studies does not mean women haven’t been finding relief wherever they can. I can’t say that EVERY woman will find relief from our product, BUT the ones that do will be better for it."

Unfortunately, it's being reported that due to federal laws products from Whoopi & Maya will only be available in California. As someone who lives in Washington (a state that approved recreational marijuana sales in 2012), I don't quite understand the California-only point, but on the whole I'm thrilled to hear Whoopi's taking this route. If there's something that can help those of us struggling every single month then sweet goodness -- let's get that ball rolling!

That being said, I realize my pro-pot-for-periods stance waffles just a bit when I turn from considering my peers to those much younger. As the mother of a fifth grader who just watched the puberty video in class, I'm suddenly remembering just how early menstruation can start. I was 13. Should I have been able to try THC for my pains even at that age?

Unlike Whoopi, I won't be passing a legacy of period problems on to my kids, but even as the mother of two boys I'm quite interested in this topic. Can't wait to hear what you think!

Would you be willing to try Whoopi Goldberg's remedy for cramps? How do you feel about your daughter (or younger girls in general) trying it?

Weigh in

Photos: PR Photos

 

Do you recall what Whoopi Goldberg's birth name was? Check it out here, in our gallery of celebrity name changers:

Adele's hilarious, hairy pregnancy side effect

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Weight gain, strange cravings, getting up a dozen times a night to go pee: These are the pregnancy side effects we always seem to hear about.

There are other symptoms, too, though. Ones that some moms may not be eager to admit.

Fortunately, Grammy-winner Adele seems to have no problem spilling all the details of her pregnancy symptoms... warts - make that hair - and all.

During a concert in Glasgow, Scotland this week, Adele took a break from belting out her string of hits to reveal this fun fact: “When I got pregnant I had so much testosterone in me that I grew a beard."

“I only cropped it last night. It’s actually true. I’m not telling a joke,” added Adele, whose son Angelo is now 3 years old. “I actually have a beard, but I’m proud of it. I call it Larry.”

Bravo, Adele! I love it when celebrity moms admit that even they suffer from the not-so-glamorous effects of pregnancy and parenting.

These celeb moms confessed their weirdest pregnancy symptoms, too - click through to find out who experienced "pregnancy rage!"

The shocking remark comedian Steve Hofstetter says about parents

by

Stacy-Ann Gooden

posted in Celebrities

Hearing people who’ve never had children claim that being a parent is easy is one of my biggest pet peeves. So when comedian Steve Hofstetter begins telling jokes about “parents who think they’re special” during a comedy routine, one mama heckler gets fired up and does exactly what I would do. She steps up to the plate defending all moms and dads.

“Parents walk around like having a kid makes you special and that’s not true. Raising a good kid, that makes you special,” he says during his stand up.

“It takes more effort to order a pizza than it does to have a child,” he adds.

It didn’t take long for a heckler to speak up, “How many children have you had?” shouts a woman in the audience.

“I haven’t had any,” he responds.

“Alright then. You don’t know anything about children, so what the hell do you know about pizza?” She yells.

Off course, Hofstetter does not back down. He goes on drawing comparisons between parenting and a helicopter being stuck in a tree as well as being a football fan.

I have to admit it’s a hilarious exchange. I think laughter is the best therapy, and I can certainly appreciate his humor. But let’s face it; parenting is probably the toughest job in the world. No matter how many times I babysat or read books on parenting, nothing really prepared me for parenthood.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been rushed to judgement in the past. My husband and I used to be the couple at the restaurant sitting next to the family of four wondering why they decided to bring their screaming kids to an eatery.

Now that we are that family with the two loud kids, I’m sure there are people thinking why we didn't leave the kids with a sitter. But truth be told, that’s not always feasible.

It’s hard to understand the many challenges that parents go through, unless you’ve experienced it yourself. Even though Hofstetter raises a good point that much credit should be given to “raising good kids,” it’s also important to note that there are parents who do their best to raise good kids. Despite their efforts, their children may ultimately go down the wrong path.

It’s also not fair to say ordering pizza is harder than raising kids. You can’t compare two. In fact, nothing compares to being a mother or father. I’m sure Hostetter will eat his words, if he ever becomes a dad.

What do you think about Steve Hofstetter's comments?

Leave a comment

Photo: Stacy-Ann Gooden

Stacy-Ann Gooden is a freelance weather anchor in New York City. But her most important roles are being a wife and mom. She writes about raising children to weather the storm in her blog, Weather Anchor Mama. You can also follow her on Facebook, twitter, and Youtube.

Emily Blunt: Your first pregnancy is "the most self-indulgent thing"

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Emily Blunt may be pregnant with baby two, but the world just plain refuses to slow down. The actress, who is on her way to welcoming a second child with husband John Krasinski, has opened up about mixing work and motherhood in the latest issue of C magazine.

Take a look at a few highlights from the 33-year-old star, who has both The Huntsman: Winter's War and The Girl on the Train coming out this year...

Emily Blunt on filming The Girl on the Train while pregnant: "It was actually more physical than I realized, which worried me a little, but I wasn’t telling anyone until a little later on. I told a couple of people like [co-star] Justin Theroux pretty early because he and I were doing some of the physical stuff together. He’s my friend, and I think he knew anyway – you know how friends just have a feeling."

On her role in The Huntsman: "You’d be surprised by how much I enjoyed [playing an evil queen] and how easy it was to be this person, which is worrying. She’s not just this rampaging villain. She’s actually someone who, as delusional as she is, is thinking she’s doing the right thing – and that was exciting to me. [It was] a huge dream of mine to have a massive queen-off with her [Charlize Theron]."

Experiencing working-mom guilt: "It’s quite a juggle with children, especially young children who are now able to vocalize, ‘please don’t go.’ I don’t want to feel torn."

On her second pregnancy: "The first pregnancy is the most self-indulgent thing in the world because you get massages and prenatal yoga and hypnotherapy CDs. During this one I forget that I’m even pregnant. I’m hoisting a 2-year-old around!"

Where can I sign up for Emily Blunt's first pregnancy experience? Suddenly I'm feeling like I missed out!

I'm kidding, kind of. I really didn't get massages or to go to yoga classes, but I can get on board with her sentiment about first and second pregnancies being different. Being pregnant was constantly on my mind as a first-time mom-to-be. Running errands? Pregnant. At the library? Pregnant! Pregnant, pregnant all of the time.

I can't go so far as to say I ever forgot I was expecting baby two, but it certainly wasn't on my mind like it had been the first go-round. By then I was already a mom, so the shock of going through that life transition wasn't nearly as commanding of my attention.

How would you say your first and subsequent pregnancy experiences have differed?

Tell us!

Photo: PR Photos

 

Forgetfulness and beyond -- a look at what else pregnant women are struggling with day-to-day:

 

Why Melissa Etheridge rejected Brad Pitt as a sperm donor

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Melissa Etheridge had the opportunity to have Brad Pitt (who has twice been named People's Sexiest Man Alive, let's not forget) as the father of her children, but ultimately decided gifting those genes to her kids wasn't the best idea for everyone.

“Well actually, he (Brad Pitt) was such a good friend of mine. And we did consider it,” the 54-year-old singer said during a recent interview. Melissa and her partner at the time, Julie Cypher, eventually welcomed Bailey and Beckett with the help of fellow musician David Crosby.

So why not Brad? Melissa explained, "I looked and I saw how badly he wanted children and I thought, ‘I don’t want to share this with someone who really, badly wants children because my children don’t need another parent — they have two.’ Of course, my teenagers now are like, ‘I could have had Brad Pitt (as my dad)!’ My son said, ‘I could’ve been amazingly handsome!’"

Melissa Etheridge went on to share she realized having someone who was already a father make the donation was the best choice.

"It’s one of the reasons why David Crosby and his wife are so perfect — because they (already) had children," she explained. "They were looking to do this as a gift. And my children are lovely and gorgeous anyway."

And of course we now know Brad Pitt has had the chance to be a father six times over. He and wife Angelina Jolie have three biological children and three they've added to their family through adoption -- and I have to wonder how he'd feel about having kids with Melissa and Julie, if they'd gone through with it, now that he's experienced fatherhood firsthand.

Personally, now that I'm a parent I'd have a harder time donating. There was a brief time in college when I considered it after coming across ads for egg and sperm donors almost daily. As a young person the money they were offering was tempting, and I didn't have overly developed feelings about children quite yet. I looked at is as helping infertile couples (which was the headline the companies always made most prominent), and not that I'd have a biological child out in the world.

Of course, if I were doing this for a friend or couple I knew I might feel entirely differently. It's hard to say if I'd go for it, but I will say I'm impressed Melissa had the forethought to consider Brad's feelings so carefully.

Do you think Melissa made a wise choice to refuse Brad as their sperm donor? How do you personally feel about donating?

Share with us

Photos: Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock, PR Photos

 

Melissa later went on to welcome twins via anonymous sperm donor with Tammy Lynn Michaels. After their split, their battle over child support made headlines. A look at the singer and more stars who pay big every month:

Sherri Shepherd's strange custody battle has concluded with her bid to avoid paying child support being shot down in court.

The talk show host claimed her estranged husband, Lamar Sally, duped her into hiring a surrogate to carry a baby for them despite already planning to divorce her. The court saw it as Sherri being fully on board with the plan for the surrogate, and therefore she's responsible for the baby.

Sherri will be required to continue with the terms of their settlement, which means paying $4,100 per month until the child turns 13, and which point the amount increases to $4,600.

(PR Photos)

Marc Anthony fought back against ex-wife Dayanara Torres' 2014 request to raise the support he pays from $13,000 to $113,000. The mother of two argued their kids live in relative poverty with her compared to the lifestyle they see when they’re with their father. The singer claimed such an increase would be bad for the kids, as it would "spoil them rotten."

At the ruling Marc was ordered to increase his payments to $28,680 a month, as well as increase Dayanara's yearly vacation allowance from $6,000 to $12,000.

(PR Photos)

Sean Combs pays child support to the tune of over $40,000 to two different women.

In 2001 it was reported he was ordered to pay ex-girlfriend Kim Porter $20,000 a month for their son, Christian. This amount is in addition to a lump sum of $150,000 and agreeing to pay the child’s college tuition.

In 2005 the music mogul was taken back to court by ex-girlfriend, Misa Hylton-Brim, where she was granted an increase in child support, from $5,000 to $21,782 per month.

(PR Photos)

Britney Spears doles out $20,000 each month to Kevin Federline, who is the father of her two sons.

(PR Photos)

Russell Simmons seems to be proud to support his two daughters with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons. In their divorce settlement, he agreed not only to pay $40,000 per month child support, but to provide a new car (valued at a minimum of $60,000) for his girls to be transported in. The car is to be replaced every three years until they reach 16, when he will them cars of their own.

(PR Photos)

Mel Gibson not only pays $20,000 per month to ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva for their daughter, Lucia, he foots the bill for their house as well. After a three year relationship the agreed share 50-50 custody of their daughter, and for the actor to pay his ex $750,000 in installments over five years.

He also allows Oksana to live in a homehe owns until Lucia turns 18, at which time the house will be sold and the proceeds given to their daughter.

(PR Photos)

Though Ben Mckenzie and Morena Baccarin welcomed their first child together in March 2016, she's still technically married to someone else! The actress is in the midst of a custody battle over her and soon-to-be-ex-husband Austin Chick's son Julian. She's currently paying $23,000 a month in support.

(PR Photos)

Eddie Murphy and Melanie Brown broke up in 2008 when she was five months pregnant. After a DNA test confirmed the actor is the father of Angel, he was ordered to pay $59,950 per month to support his daughter.

(PR Photos)

Charlie Sheen pays child support to ex wives Denise Richards (with whom he had two daughters), and Brooke Mueller (with whom he has twin boys). It was reported at one point he paid both women $55,000 a month!

Brooke's was briefly reduced to $20,000 per month when she temporarily lost custody of Bob and Max, but it has been reinstated at $55,000. Sheen has reportedly been refusing to pay Denise, arguing she spends excessively and he doesn't get to see Sam and Lola.

(PR Photos)

Billionaire dad Francois-Henri Pinault (known to many stateside as the husband of actress Salma Hayek) pays $46,000 per month to Linda Evangelista for their son Augustin's care. The $46,000 that was requested by the model covers items such as 24-hour nannies and armed drivers.

(PR Photos)

After Kelis filed for divorce from Nas when she was 7 months pregnant a child support battle ensued. Eventually the rapper was ordered by the courts to pay $40,000 per month in child and spousal support.

In 2011 it was reported that Nas’ payments were reduced to $25,000 a month.

(PR Photos)

In 2008, a judge awarded Heather Mills $48.7 million in her divorce settlement from Paul McCartney. In addition, the judge also ordered the singer to pay $70,000 yearly in child support for their daughter, Beatrice.

(PR Photos)

Anne Heche sought to have her child support payments reduced in 2008, claiming she was unable to afford paying $15,000 per month.

A Superior Court judge lowered her obligation for son Homer by 75% because she had fallen on financial hard times since the cancellation of Men in Trees.

(PR Photos)

After a nasty custody battle Halle Berry was ordered to pay ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry over $16,000 in child support for their daughter Nahla. She was also tasked with paying $115,000 retroactively, as well as to cover $300,000 of Gabriel's legal fees and pay for Nahla's schooling.

(PR Photos)

In 2012, Tammy Lynn Michaels tried to get her settlement with ex-partner Melissa Etheridge revised, claiming the $23,000 a month she was receiving wasn't enough to care for their twins.

Months later a judge ruled their settlement is valid and binding, meaning the singer must continue paying $13,000 a month in spousal support and $10,000 a month in child support. They share joint custody.

(PR Photos)

Ivanka Trump welcomes baby #3 (& picks a presidential name)

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Donald Trump has one very big reason to celebrate today: He's a grandpa again!

The politician's daughter Ivanka Trump took to Facebook this afternoon to share the happy news that she and her husband Jared Kushner have welcomed their third child. The new arrival joins older siblings Arabella, 4, and Joseph, 2.

Ivanka, 34, also revealed their baby boy's name in the post - and it has a decidedly presidential ring to it.

“Jared and I feel incredibly blessed to announce the arrival of Theodore James Kushner,” she wrote, later sharing a sweet first photo of the newborn. “Baby Theodore. My heart is full. xx, Ivanka"

See the adorable picture here (sidebar: I definitely did not look that amazing right after giving birth!).

Ivanka's baby name pick has a few famous folks associated with it, but the most recognizable by far is Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president. Though Theodore, which means "Divine Gift," had fallen out of favor among expectant parents for many decades, it's actually seen a resurgence in recent years, rising in popularity from #1,293 back in 1996 all the way up to #130 in 2015.

In the fall, Ivanka admitted that she was struggling to settle on the perfect name for baby #3, saying, “I am starting to think about it. It’s hard because I have a girl and a boy so I went through the drills. I’m dusting off my old lists.”

As for grandpa Donald, the Republican presidential hopeful has yet to comment - or Tweet - about the new addition to the family.

Congratulations to Ivanka, Jared and their family on the arrival of baby Theodore!

Here are 23 beautiful baby names with equally beautiful meanings. Which is your favorite?

Photos: PR Photos