Hasta La Gadget!

If the hosts of ITV’s “This Morning” wanted to make James Van Der Beek feel uncomfortable, they succeeded.

On Thursday, after playing a clip from “Dawson’s Creek,” British co-hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby introduced the actor by listing his former “Creek” co-stars’ impressive accomplishments, before asking, “But what happened to the main man himself,  Mr. James Van Der Beek? Well, he’s here now and that’s what he looks like.”

As the screen split between a photo of Van Der Beek back in the day when he played Dawson and a live stream of the actor in the studio, the 40-year-old said, “I have been on television the last 20 years, just wanted to let you know.”

Schofield then admitted that their introduction was the result of their own lazy work, telling the actor, “We know that, but it worked better as a link.”

The rest of the interview was somewhat awkward, as Van Der Beek, who was there to promote the new show “Carters Get Rich,” clearly didn’t anticipate having to answer so many questions about “Dawson’s Creek” ― or at least not right off the bat. 

Van Der Beek broke out laughing when asked if thought he’d still be discussing the show all these years later.

“No. I could not have imagined I’d be sitting across from a picture from 20 years ago,” he said, pointing to the cast photo on the screen behind him. 

The co-hosts continued to pepper him with questions about a series that ended in 2003, and it was evident that the actor was becoming slightly annoyed.

Still, Van Der Beek made it clear that he was grateful for being on the show. “It changed my life. It was a huge opportunity,” he said. “I learned how to be on camera. I learned how to deal with celebrity. I learned how to deal with all kinds of things. It was a huge, huge break.”

The hosts tried explain that they were pestering him about “Dawson’s Creek” only because it was his first visit to the show. Willoughby noted, “We’re all very excited about it. ‘Dawson’s Creek’ was a part of my childhood.”

Some fans on Twitter actually seemed annoyed that the actor wasn’t more into talking about the WB show:

But Van Der Beek, who handled the entire interview like a professional, is allowed to be annoyed.

Few actors, regardless of any current success in their careers, can ever truly escape the power of nostalgia. Even the actor’s former co-stars like Michelle Williams — who, as the hosts noted in their intro, has been nominated for four Oscars, and whose character was killed off the show — is still asked about “Dawson’s Creek.”  

When you’ve been asked about something for 20 years, it’s going to get a little old.  

Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Mahershala Ali, Amy Poehler and a whole host of other stars are teaming up for Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU. Join us at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 31 on Facebook Live.

You can support the ACLU right away. Text POWER to 20222 to give $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call you to explain other actions you can take to help. Visit www.hmgf.org/t for terms. #StandForRights2017

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

French artist Abraham Poincheval, who famously spent two weeks inside a bear sculpture and a week inside a rock, began his latest feat on Wednesday – hatching eggs.

The 44-year-old, who specializes in performance art, will mimic a mother hen by incubating 10 eggs with his own body heat inside a glass vivarium until they hatch.

He reckons the endeavor will take from 21-26 days.

“I will, broadly speaking, become a chicken,” Poincheval said last month.

Poincheval says he seeks to explore varying concepts of time for different species and natural objects in his performances. The best way to understand objects is not from a distance but by entering them, he says.

In his latest experiment, Poincheval sits on a chair with the eggs in a container fixed under the seat.

He calculates that the heat from his body – kept high by him being wrapped in a thick, insulating blanket designed by Korean artist Seglui Lee – will maintain the right temperature directly over the eggs. He will eat certain foods such as ginger to raise his body temperature.

He will be able to stand up and leave his place over the eggs for no more than 30 minutes a day to receive meals that will be brought to him.

For his own calls of nature he will use a box beneath him, though he will not be able to get up to relieve himself.

This is the first time in his explorations that Poincheval confronts the world of the living.

Last month, he spent a week in a body-shaped slot carved out from a limestone rock in the same contemporary art museum in Paris, eating stewed fruit, soups and purees.

Before that, he had spent a fortnight living inside a hollowed-out bear sculpture in Paris’s Museum of Hunting and Nature in April 2014, eating worms and beetles to mirror a bear’s diet.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump signed legislation Monday that makes it harder for the federal government to keep track of companies’ labor violations when awarding contracts.

Under rules written during President Barack Obama’s administration, firms that bid on federal contracts would have to disclose their labor violations from the previous three years, including on laws pertaining to collective bargaining, safety and wages. They wouldn’t necessarily be barred from winning a contract, but they would have to come into compliance with the law.

The GOP-controlled House and Senate voted to overturn those rules, and Trump promised to “remove every job-killing regulation we can find” when he signed the bill.

But a less-noticed effect of this law is that it also undercuts Obama’s executive order protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer contractors from discrimination ― an order that, so far, Trump has promised to keep intact. 

On July 21, 2014, Obama signed an order barring federal contractors from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Race, color, religion, sex and national origin were already protected categories.

That same day, he signed the Fair Pay and Workplaces executive order, which required the disclosure of violations and compliance with labor laws ― including the newly expanded anti-discrimination measure. 

But congressional Republicans and Trump effectively killed the regulations that came from the Fair Pay and Workplaces executive order, making it harder for the federal government to ensure that contractors are complying with the law.

“The [LGBTQ] executive order still exists,” said Camilla Taylor, senior counsel with Lambda Legal. “It’s still the law that federal contractors are not permitted to discriminate. The problem is contracting officers are not going to be given disclosures about when they do. So the ability of federal contracting officials to deny contracts to bad actors has been gutted.”

“It’s clear the president does not value workers across the board, including but not limited to, LGBTQ workers,” added Sarah Warbelow, legal director at the Human Rights Campaign.

There are other ways the federal government could still discover labor violations from companies bidding on contracts. But under the measure signed by Trump, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ― which is part of the Department of Labor ― has less authority to enforce the rules.

David Stacy, HRC’s government affairs director, said he doesn’t think the Trump administration deliberately used the repeal of the Fair Pay and Workplaces rules to undercut the LGBTQ executive order. But it still showed the president is “willing to override protections regardless of its impact on LGBTQ people.”

Taylor, however, said it was “absolutely” an attempt to undermine Obama’s protections.

“How meaningful are your protections if companies aren’t required to disclose when they violate the law? The ability of the federal government to deny federal contracts on such a basis have been taken away,” she said. “Our protections are only as valuable as the enforcement tools are effective.”

LGBTQ advocates anticipate that Trump may also release a so-called “religious liberty” executive order at some point, which could allow people and organizations to discriminate against LGBTQ people if their “conscience” told them it was fine. In early February, a draft of such an order leaked, although it has not yet been issued. The White House has insisted that Trump is “respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights.” 

Want more updates from Amanda Terkel? Sign up for her newsletter, Piping Hot Truth, here.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

George Clooney is ready to be a dad.

Appearing at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the actor and father-to-be told E! News that he’s excited for parenthood and feeling prepared.

“I played a pediatrician on ‘ER. So I know how to work on extra children … If there’s any accidents, I’m there. I’m the guy,” he joked.

In February, the news broke that the actor and his wife, human rights attorney Amal Clooney, are expecting twins, reportedly due this summer.

“I didn’t know that we’d have kids,” he said. “I was very happy that we were going to get married and then [having kids] seemed like the next step.”

Clooney added that he and Amal haven’t chosen baby names yet.  

“I’ve had friends who picked out names around their parents, and then it becomes, whatever name you picked, it’s like, ‘I hate that name,’ ‘That guy was a prime minister… Can’t call her Susan. You remember your Aunt Susan?’”

On Tuesday, the actor joked that his wife has already nixed a few names, including his suggestion of “Casa and Amigos”. 

Said Clooney, “It was just a thought. I mean, you know, it’s a family business.”

We have a feeling this guy is going to have a knack for dad jokes.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

To read our exclusive interview with Jacob Sartorius and hear more about his celebrity crush, click here and subscribe!

Rising star Jacob Sartorius first found fame on social media, lip-syncing to top hits on Musical.ly. Now he’s making songs of his own and breaking into the industry.

The 14-year-old singer released his debut EP, “The Last Text,” in January. In an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post, Sartorius promised 2017 will be a pivotal year in his career, filled with upcoming projects that his fans will seriously enjoy. “I don’t know if they’re ready, honestly,” he said.

Well, the music video for his hit song “Bingo” dropped on Thursday, and it appears Sartorius keeps his promises.

The video’s plot is all about Sartorius crushing on a girl on Instagram. Yes, this is a digital-age love story, you guys.

Who knew that romance could blossom all thanks to a couple of fire Instagram selfies?

As if that romantic plotline wasn’t already adorable enough, Jiff the Pomeranian makes a guest appearance. 

In an interview with J-14, the singer said he had a blast shooting the msuic video.

“It was really fun creating this video. I am pretty close will all of the people who were on set, so during our breaks we would all make funny videos for social media and just have a really good time.”

With 8 million Instagram followers, over 170 million total views on YouTube, and 1.21 million Twitter followers, it’s safe to say this social media celebrity has seriously dedicated fans. We can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for Sartorius.

type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related… + articlesList=58b88477e4b05cf0f3ff05fa,58c1add9e4b054a0ea68ff78,58dac825e4b0cb23e65c18f2

Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Mahershala Ali, Amy Poehler and a whole host of other stars are teaming up for Stand for Rights: A Benefit for the ACLU. Join us at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 31, on Facebook Live. 

You can support the ACLU right away. Text POWER to 20222 to give $10 to the ACLU. The ACLU will call you to explain other actions you can take to help. Visit www.hmgf.org/t for terms. #StandForRights2017

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.