<ul class="summary-list"><li>Musician <keyword id="882149" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Azealia-Banks">Azealia Banks</keyword> and artist <keyword id="10918344" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ryder-ripps">Ryder Ripps</keyword> have, for now, ended their romantic relationship.</li><li>The two have been making public swipes at each other after the sale of their audio NFT sex tape.</li><li>Banks said in a Sunday Instagram story that they are no longer together.</li></ul><p>Rapper Azealia Banks and artist Ryder Ripps have ended their engagement after three weeks, according to Banks' Instagram stories.</p><p>Following <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-ryder-ripps-nft-sex-tape-resold-275-million-2021-3">the widely publicized sale of their audio sex tape as an NFT</a>, or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">non-fungible token</a>, on March 6, the couple spent the weekend making public swipes at each other on Instagram. An <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">NFT is a non-exchangeable digital asset</a> - in this case, an audio file - authenticated with blockchain technology.</p><p>Vice <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9y4b/azealia-banks-sex-tape-album-nft">reported</a> that the audio sex tape originally sold for 10 ETH, the native cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain platform, which translated to roughly $17,000 at the time. The NFT was purchased by an anonymous buyer named Rulton Fyder, which many have speculated might be artist Richard Prince. After obtaining the rights to the tape, Fyder <a href="https://rarible.com/token/0x3b3ee1931dc30c1957379fac9aba94d1c48a5405:4138:0x273b2e27ff4089b4ae31bf503827e7cf22277e30">listed the NFT on Rarible</a> for $150,000 ETH, which equated to approximately $260 million as of Monday afternoon. </p><p>The Harlem-native rapper, 29, posted a series of Instagram stories on Saturday claiming that she didn't originally want to make the tape and that it became a source of dispute for the couple. </p><p>In a story posted Sunday, Banks said that she and Ripps were no longer together. </p><p>It's still unclear when the pair began dating, but Banks posted photos of them together in Miami in early February. The two then announced their engagement on the controversial rapper's Instagram and uploaded a photo of the ring and a caption that read, "I said yes!!! I'm Jewish now. MAZEL TOV B----ES!" on February 21.</p><p>A follower attempted to correct her understanding of becoming Jewish, telling her "it doesn't work like that," but Banks went on to defend her comment by going on a <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-engaged-jewish-transphobia-response-backlash-2021-2">transphobic rant</a>.</p><p>Banks did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.</p>

Azealia Banks and artist Ryder Ripps have ended their relationship

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="882149" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Azealia-Banks">Azealia Banks</keyword> and her fiancé <keyword id="10918344" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ryder-ripps">Ryder Ripps</keyword> uploaded an audio sex tape as an NFT. It was sold for $17,000</li><li>Less than 12 hours later it was listed to be resold for over $260 million.</li></ul><p>Rapper Azealia Banks sold her audio sex tape with her fiancé Ryder Ripps for $17,000 as an NFT, or a non-fungible, token, which essentially allows individuals to sell digital objects as one-of-a-kind via <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</a>. Now, the sex tape is being resold for over <a href="https://opensea.io/assets/0x3B3ee1931Dc30C1957379FAc9aba94D1C48a5405/4138">$260 million</a>.</p><p><keyword id="902592" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFTS">NFTs</keyword>, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">Insider's Grace Kay previously wrote</a>, are "a special class of digital assets that cannot be exchanged with one another for equal value or broken down into smaller values like most currencies." The digital products sold on the <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</keyword> market can range from anything like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beeple-response-to-nft-selling-for-69-million-reaction-video-2021-3">digital art</a> or virtual real estate to now, the first-ever NFT audio sex tape - <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9y4b/azealia-banks-sex-tape-album-nft">Vice reported</a> - which Banks posted.</p><p>The audiotape, published on the NFT marketplace Foundation on March 6 and titled "I F----D RYDER RIPPS," is said to be a 24-minute long recording of Banks and her fiancé having sex that was uploaded and listed for 10 Ethereum - a cryptocurrency - valued at over $17,000. Less than 12 hours later, an artist who goes by the name of <a href="https://uproxx.com/music/azealia-banks-nft-sex-tape/">Rulton Fyder</a>, purchased the tape. According to Fyder's website, he is an anonymous artist "best known for his recontextualisation of other artists' works to capture time and emotion in the NFT art realm," though Fyder's online history only goes back days. </p><p>It's unclear who Fyder is but there is speculation it could be artist Richard Prince, who <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/wet-paint-richard-prince-secret-gallery-1916027">occasionally goes by the alias</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fulton_ryder/">Fulton Ryder</a>.</p><p>Ripps told Insider in an emailed statement that he's emailed Fyder but he still doesn't know who this person is. "The fact they already have a show at an established gallery would tell me its someone established in the art world," Ripps wrote, "but I really have no idea, could all be some type of ruse who knows."</p><p>Once the sale was completed, Fyder was granted "full ownership of the album, as well as distribution and display rights, and sole access to the audio including a WAV file and the only signed LP vinyl record of the sex tape in existence," Vice <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9y4b/azealia-banks-sex-tape-album-nft">wrote about the sale</a>.</p><p>On Wednesday, Banks uploaded a screenshot of the resale of the NFT on her Instagram account, showing it priced at over $260 million.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNF_Z7gq1K" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by SEA QUEEN ‍♀️ (@azealiabanks)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>"Literally - the most expensive NFT ever," the artist wrote in the caption. "Don't you love how We came, saw, and conquered this s--t in a matter of 48hrs? The f---ing iconnery."</p><p>Ripps also told Insider he would make a profit off the sale of the NFT. "I am told by the foundation that there is a 10% royalty built into the smart contract," he wrote in an email. This means he could potentially see $26 million if it is sold.</p><p>The Harlem-born rapper then posted another image of a Wikipedia page showing the most expensive art purchases of all-time with her audio NFT sex-tape sitting in fourth place. </p><p>The image, however, appears to either be edited, or the Wikipedia edit was short-lived. The tape isn't currently on the Wikipedia page, and the actual list is for "highest prices paid." And nobody has actually paid the inflated price for the tape yet.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNQQXjgLC4" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by SEA QUEEN ‍♀️ (@azealiabanks)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>Banks is no stranger to controversy. She's been embroiled in many scandals including most recently when she announced her engagement on social media and wrote "I'm Jewish now." One commenter responded, "It doesn't work like that" and she shot back with a <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-engaged-jewish-transphobia-response-backlash-2021-2">transphobic rant</a>.</p><p>She also <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-dead-cat-remains-instagram-post-2021-1">made headlines</a> after seemingly posting a video of herself digging up her dead cat's remains and seemingly boiling it into a soup. The 29-year-old rapper poked fun at this moment when she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNd8gjAd2i/">posted a screenshot update</a> from the pop <keyword id="24504" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="culture">culture</keyword> account on Twitter called Pop Crave to Instagram. In the caption of the screenshot, she wrote "Cat. Soup."</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNd8gjAd2i" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by SEA QUEEN ‍♀️ (@azealiabanks)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>Banks did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.</p><p><em>UPDATE: Insider updated this story to include comments from Ryder Ripps.</em></p>

Azealia Banks and Ryder Ripps' NFT sex tape is being resold for over $260 million by the anonymous RultonFyder

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, recently made a slew of antisemitic remarks on social media.</li><li>A fallout ensued between Ye's biggest corporate partnerships, including Gap and Adidas.</li></ul><p>A former employee accused Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, of praising Hitler or Nazis on more than one occasion in business meetings, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kanye-west-ye-settlement-anti-semitic-jewish-hitler-nazis-allegations-rcna54485">according to a settlement reviewed by NBC News</a>.</p><p>The NBC News report follows <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/27/entertainment/kanye-west-hitler-album/index.html">similar reporting from CNN</a> and alleges Ye made antisemitic remarks long before the rapper's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-companies-cutting-ties-adidas-gap-balenciaga-vogue-tweet-2022-10">recent antisemitic comments,</a> which led Gap, Adidas, Balenciaga, and other companies to end partnerships with the music mogul. </p><p>NBC News did not disclose further details of the settlement to protect the identity of the former employee but reviewed the documents and proof of payment from Ye.</p><p>The settlement showed how the former employee alleged that Ye praised Hitler or Nazis on several occasions in business meetings, according to NBC News. Ye denied the claims in the settlement, per the report.</p><p>A representative for Ye did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p>NBC News spoke with six people who either worked for Ye, worked with him, or witnessed an incident at TMZ, alleging that the rapper made antisemitic comments dating back to at least 2018, and one person alleged as far back as 7 years ago.</p><p>Ryder Ripps, who identifies himself as a conceptual artist on his <a href="https://ryder-ripps.com/">website</a> and who told NBC News that he collaborated with West sporadically between 2014 and 2018, recalled to NBC News how the rapper shared conspiracy theories about Jewish people and complimented Nazis.</p><p>"He had told me a bunch of shit about like, how, 'Nazis are good at propaganda,'" Ripps, who is Jewish, told the outlet. In addition, Ripps said the rapper also made curious claims several times about Jewish people having "codes."</p><p>"He said stuff like 'Jews have the codes' a lot," Ripps told the publication.</p><p>Ripps said that he pushed back on Ye's comments at the time but believed they weren't "that dangerous" until the rapper recently doubled down on conspiracy theories about Jewish people and his antisemitic comments.</p><p>"With this pattern that's happening and with the doubling and tripling down of all this, it's pretty obvious that this is some kind of disgusting, hate-filled, strange Nazi obsession," Ripps said.</p><p>One former employee who worked with Ye for three years told NBC News that the rapper brought up Hitler multiple times, in some cases praising him. The employee spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity due to multiple nondisclosure agreements they signed while working for the artist.</p><p>During a 2018 meeting, the former employee alleged that Ye said Hitler "had some good qualities" and "wasn't all bad."</p><p>In another instance, the employee felt that Ye praised the dictator just to gauge the reaction in the room: "He would say 'I even love Hitler' and then he would like pause for reactions."</p><p>An unnamed business executive who used to work for Ye told CNN last week that Ye "would praise Hitler by saying how incredible it was that he was able to accumulate so much power and would talk about all the great things he and the Nazi Party achieved for the German people."</p><p>The rapper has been mired in recent controversy for wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt, <a href="https://www.insider.com/george-floyds-family-online-hate-kanye-west-comments-lawyers-2022-10">claiming George Floyd died of a drug overdose</a>, and making several antisemitic comments on social media and in interviews. Ye has since apologized for his comments on Floyd, and <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/kanye-west-offers-bullshit-half-assed-apology-to-piers-morgan-over-his-antisemitism">appeared to apologize for his antisemitic comments</a> in an interview with Piers Morgan — but then doubled down on those statements.</p>

Ye praised Hitler or Nazis in business meetings even before his recent fallout due to antisemitic remarks, a former employee alleged in a settlement per NBC News

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Kanye West settled with a former employee who accused him of antisemitic remarks, NBC said, citing documents.</li><li>NBC News interviewed six other people who said they witnessed West's antisemitism.</li></ul><p>Kanye West — the subject of immense backlash in the wake of his recent antisemitic comments — allegedly paid a settlement to a former employee who accused the rapper of using anti-Jewish remarks in the workplace, NBC News reported late Wednesday, citing documents it reviewed.</p><p>NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kanye-west-ye-settlement-anti-semitic-jewish-hitler-nazis-allegations-rcna54485?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma">also spoke to six other people</a> who said they worked with West — or have been around him in professional settings — who claimed he made antisemitic remarks, including voicing conspiracy theories about Jewish people and applauding Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.</p><p>It's not clear when the settlement was allegedly inked: NBC said it was withholding certain information to avoid identifying the person who reportedly came to the settlement with the recording artist and fashion mogul, who now goes by Ye. NBC said it had reviewed the settlement itself, proof of a payout, along with other correspondence. </p><p>In the settlement, West denied the employee's claims, NBC said. The employee signed a nondisclosure agreement, NBC said. Representatives for West could not immediately be reached by Insider for comment; his representatives didn't respond to NBC News.</p><p>Some of the accusations stretch back seven years, NBC News said, long before West's current wave of antisemitic remarks drew widespread attention and condemnation.</p><p>One former West employee who went on the record, conceptual artist Ryder Ripps, who is Jewish, claimed he heard West voice antisemitic conspiracies and pro-Hitler thoughts in the summer and fall of 2018, NBC News reported. </p><p>Another employee, who remained anonymous, claimed to NBC News that West said Hitler "had some good qualities" and "wasn't all bad," the report said.</p><p>West was temporarily <a href="https://www.insider.com/ye-locked-out-twitter-account-following-antisemitic-comments-report-2022-10">locked out of Instagram and Twitter</a> last month after posting antisemitic posts, including a tweet in which he said he would go "death con 3 on Jewish people."</p><p>Companies with partnerships with West, like Gap and Adidas, have since cut ties with the rapper, costing him billions of dollars and essentially <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-destroyed-empire-in-a-month-what-to-know-2022-10">destroying his business empire</a>.</p>

Kanye West paid a settlement to a former employee who claimed the rapper praised Hitler, report says

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="882149" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Azealia-Banks">Azealia Banks</keyword> faced criticism online after sharing a transphobic response to a fan.</li><li>The fan told Banks she didn't automatically become Jewish just because of her new fiancé.</li><li>Banks then called trans women "hot gay boys" with plastic surgery and said she was "Jewish now."</li></ul><p>After a fan told Azealia Banks that she needed to convert to Judaism - and not just get engaged to a Jewish man - in order to become Jewish, the rapper shared a series of deeply transphobic remarks on Instagram.</p><p>Banks took to the social-media platform on Sunday to announce her engagement to the artist Ryder Ripps and shared a picture of Ripps proposing as well as her new engagement ring, which featured a menorah.</p><p>"I said yes!!!" Banks wrote on the image. In the caption, she told her followers: "I'm Jewish now. MAZEL TOV B----ES!"</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLlbSqUglyp" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by SEA QUEEN ‍♀️ (@azealiabanks)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>But in the comments on Banks' post, a fan pointed out that Judaism "doesn't work like that."</p><div type="image" title="azealia banks comment 1" height="343" width="824" msid="81161042" hostid="261"></div><p>The "212" singer then shared a series of transphobic remarks in a series of replies, telling the fan that gender-confirmation surgery for transgender women was akin to "getting castrated" and that since society does "mental gymnastics" to accept trans women, Banks should be accepted as Jewish.</p><div type="image" title="azealia banks comment 2" height="411" width="828" msid="81161043" hostid="261"></div><p>"I'm Jewish now... you can't stop me," she wrote.</p><p>Banks continued sharing her thoughts on trans people and Judaism in subsequent comments, saying that because she had sex with a Jewish man, she was thereby Jewish.</p><div type="image" title="azealia banks comment 3" height="271" width="828" msid="81161044" hostid="261"></div><p>"Stop trying to exclude black people from everything," she wrote in one comment. (Black people can be Jewish, and many, in fact, practice Judaism.)</p><p>In another, Banks said trans women were "just hot gay boys with beat faces and plastic surgery."</p><p>"I live for the trans girls but the trans s--- is really a non issue. Just gay boys on hormones using male aggression to force their ways into women's spaces," Banks concluded.</p><p>Banks' statements reflected numerous stereotypes about transgender people, ignoring, for instance, the fact that not all trans women undergo gender-confirmation surgery or hormone-replacement therapy.</p><p>She also <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/health/gender-identity-explainer-wellness/index.html">equated people's gender to their assigned sex at birth</a>, which negates the existence of transgender people and their experiences.</p><p>Her usage of the word "gay" similarly conflated gender and sexuality - a trans person can be gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, or queer, just like cisgender people.</p><div type="image" title="azealia banks comment 4" height="355" width="828" msid="81161045" hostid="261"></div><p>Representatives for Banks didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.</p><p>Following her inflammatory statements, the rapper began trending on Twitter, with numerous users criticizing her transphobic remarks and understanding of Judaism.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—blonded.   (@siya_jpeg) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1363801920687767555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—borscht belt barbie  (@schxleo) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1363847660298461190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—charlie kelly  (@AlanaDiaries) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1363899372891693058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Q.U.A.N.  (@QuansFntsyWrld) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1363879662779310086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—girlboss magnifique  (@neolibmommy) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1363829238139293698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—girlboss juice  (@aliascricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1363846002646548485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote><p>This isn't the first time Banks has caused a stir with her social-media presence.</p><p>In January, Banks trended on Twitter after she <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-dead-cat-remains-instagram-post-2021-1">appeared to have dug up the remains of her dead cat and then boiled them</a>. The video was originally posted on Instagram but was later deleted.</p><p>And in 2018, Banks' bizarre account of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/16/17692700/azealia-banks-elon-musk-grimes-explained">waiting for Grimes in the home the "Oblivion" singer shared with Elon Musk went viral</a>.</p>

Azealia Banks had a deeply transphobic response to a fan who told her she needed to convert to Judaism in order to become Jewish

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1610034" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Chris-Crocker">Chris Crocker</keyword>, the creator of the iconic "Leave Britney Alone" viral video, sold it as an <keyword id="4668945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft">NFT</keyword>.</li><li>The auction ended Monday night, and the NFT sold for 18.69 ether, or over $41,000.</li><li>Crocker told Insider they would use the money to care for their grandma and fund their transition.</li></ul><p>Chris Crocker, the creator of the iconic "Leave Britney Alone" viral video, auctioned off the original 2007 footage as an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/non-fungible-tokens-nfts-have-taken-over-heres-why-theyre-important-2021-4">NFT, or nonfungible token</a>, a unique digital asset purchased with cryptocurrency. The bidding for the NFT ended Monday night - it <a href="https://foundation.app/ChrisCrocker/leave-britney-alone-21947">sold for 18.69 ether</a>, or over $41,000, to an anonymous buyer.</p><p>The video, in which Crocker cried and pleaded with tabloids to leave Britney Spears alone, became a cultural touchstone and early marker of how the internet would spill into the public consciousness. "Leave Britney Alone" has been credited as one of the first viral videos on YouTube.</p><p>Crocker's sale of the famous video as an NFT followed the sales of other viral digital content, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ethereum-nft-meme-art-nyan-cat-sells-for-300-eth-2021-2">a version of the Nyan Cat meme</a> that sold for over $600,000 in February.</p><p>In an interview with Insider, Crocker, a content creator and online personality who is now 33, said they'd wanted to sell the content as a way to reclaim it and its significance after years of taking "hits" from the frequently parodied and mocked video.</p><p>"I felt like a lot of people might misconstrue why I wanted to sell it," Crocker said. "But the real reason is because I felt like I took a lot of hits - you know, literal hits," they said, adding that they had been "physically assaulted at gay clubs," received death threats, and felt as if the gay community was "embarrassed that I was a representation for them."</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-startups-non-fungible-tokens-the-art-world-2021-3?">Here are 4 NFT startups transforming the way we buy art and sports memorabilia</a></em></p><p>Crocker said there was a misconception that they'd made money off the original video, as it was first posted on MySpace and gained millions of views on YouTube, where multiple versions now live. But Crocker said they never made any money off the video, which was not monetized on YouTube.</p><p>Now, as digital-media NFT sales sometimes bring in <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nft-market-outlook-huge-risk-beeple-buyer-bubble-vignesh-sundaresan-2021-4-1030282090">millions</a> of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-nft-art-warnymph-sells-for-millions-20-minutes-2021-3">dollars</a>, Crocker felt that this was the moment to get "retroactive" payment for the video that changed their life, they said.</p><p>"I didn't really get anything from [the video] other than to be put in a box for the next 14 years," Crocker said, adding that they were never able to do anything authentically without being seen as attention-seeking, particularly regarding adult-entertainment work.</p><p>Crocker said they had been curious about the NFT space and spoken about it with a couple of people in a room on Clubhouse, an invite-only audio-based social-media app. Crocker said they weren't sure how to start the process, and someone in the room suggested they reach out to Ryder Ripps, an artist who'd <a href="https://www.insider.com/azealia-banks-ryder-ripps-nft-sex-tape-resold-275-million-2021-3">recently sold an audio sex tape</a> with Azealia Banks, now his ex-girlfriend, as an NFT. Ripps helped Crocker upload their file as an NFT, Crocker said.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Chris Crocker  (@ChrisCrocker) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1381684874306813960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Crocker said that the money they made from the sale would first go toward helping their grandmother. But if they end up with additional funds, "I would absolutely put that towards, like, me being able to become myself" and live openly as a woman, Crocker said.</p><p>Crocker, who told Insider they identify as transgender, said that they wanted to fully present as a woman but that because they live in a rural Southern town - Bristol, Tennessee - they don't feel safe doing so in public until they can afford a full male-to-female transition. For now, they're "not picky" with pronouns but mostly use "they" and "them," Crocker said.</p><p>"And that's why I've always been scared to do the baby steps very slowly, because I was like, well, if I can't afford the full [transition], my safety is really gonna be a concern," they said. "People are very backward, and I already stick out for being feminine. So I've always thought if I am going to do it and still be here and live around my family, I have to go, like, all the way."</p>

The iconic 'Leave Britney Alone' YouTube video by Chris Crocker sold as an NFT for over $41,000

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55099df36bb3f7f20cb3c3fb-960/img_3261-2.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55099df36bb3f7f20cb3c3fb-1200-800/img_3261-2.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, videograf" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, three teenage girls sit on the floor of a theatre production studio, hammering away at a four-legged tabletop. Behind them, a black wooden stage takes shape under the glare of ceiling-mounted lighting fixtures, which the young women also built.</p><p>This is not your typical home-economics class.</p><p>At <a href="http://www.cityas.org/">City-As-School</a>, an alternative public high school in New York City's Greenwich Village, students spend just two or three days a week in the classroom. The other half of the week, they go out into the field and work internships for academic credit. There are 48 alternative high schools in the city, though none offer such a robust apprenticeship program.</p><p>In addition to its emphasis on real-world learning, City-As-School challenges the status quo in a number of ways. Students complete a portfolio of papers and projects instead of taking tests. There are no grades, no statewide Regents examinations, and no class years. You graduate when you've completed your portfolio.</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I recently spent the day at City-As-School to see what it's like to be one of "New York's most interesting kids," as the school's motto calls its students.</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="City-As-School students hold a rally in protest of Governor Cuomo's education agenda." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed2ecad04c54b6828de-960/img_3043-1.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed2ecad04c54b6828de-1200-800/img_3043-1.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, new york alternative public high school" style="color: #000000;" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">City-As-School students hold a rally in protest of Governor Cuomo's <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Education">education</keyword> agenda.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><a href="http://www.cityas.org/about/our-philosophy/">Founded in 1972 with 15 students and a staff of four</a>, City-As-School has grown from a church basement to a five-story brick schoolhouse.</p><p>Founding principal Frederick J. Koury opened the school because he believed education shouldn't just take place inside the four walls of a classroom. As a teacher at his previous school, he took students on field trips all the time. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">His aspiration with City-As-School was to turn New York City's five boroughs into a playground for experiential learning. He established contacts throughout the city, armed students with bus and subway tokens, and sent them on their way.</span></p><p>In an interview with Canarsie Digest in 1972, Koury described his school as something completely novel. "City-As-School is designed so that students will be forced to think and function independently," the article said. "There will be strange situations, people, and places, and there won't be someone constantly there to give direct instructions or tests."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Facebook/CityAsSchoolNYC" title_caption="Frederick Koury poses as Uncle Sam in the first edition of the City-As-School yearbook." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/550c5ce9ecad04a17a1e1a14-960/what-fred-wants.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/550c5ce9ecad04a17a1e1a14-800-1067/what-fred-wants.jpg" border="0" alt="what fred wants, city-as-school" /></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CityAsSchoolNYC/photos_stream?tab=photos_stream">Facebook/CityAsSchoolNYC</a></span></p><p class="caption">Frederick Koury poses as Uncle Sam in the first edition of the City-As-School yearbook.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Today, City-As-School students spend half of their time at one of 300 affiliated internship sites, where they earn academic credit in traditional subject areas like math, science, English, and history.</p><p>The rest of the week, they swarm these vibrant halls, which the administration repaints white annually, so incoming students have a fresh canvas.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed56bb3f7be640a2496-960/img_2841-3.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed56bb3f7be640a2496-1200-800/img_2841-3.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, new york alternative public high school" style="line-height: 1.5em;" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The school's unconventional and varied approach to learning accommodates an equally heterogeneous group of kids. Most students arrive between the ages of 17 and 18, after completing ninth and tenth grades at other schools.</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The come for a variety of reasons: Bullies taunted them for their piercings, tattoos, or sexual orientation. A tough home life or an unexpected pregnancy forced them to grow up too soon. They were bored. They were overwhelmed.</span></p><p>City-As-School students missed, on average, more than 40 days of school in their previous academic year. Half rely on food stamps to survive, and another 10% of students live in temporary housing, foster homes, or on the street.</p><p>When Anthony, 22, was a ninth grader, a known gang member robbed him across the street from his Bronx high school. The Department of Education granted Anthony a "safety transfer," giving him the choice to relocate to a New York City public school of his choosing.</p><p>At his next school, his grades started to slip. He fell in with the wrong crowd and got kicked off the basketball team. His mother coaxed him into trying night school for his second round of junior year, but the bearded, tattooed older men in the class scared him.</p><p>"I had a wall up," Anthony says. "No expression on my face. I didn't talk. I was exhausted and disappointed I was still in school at age 20."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="Anthony, 22, says his teachers call him " Dinosaur="" because="" of="" his="" age.="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed569beddb70f06ed63-960/img_2833-3.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed569beddb70f06ed63-1200-800/img_2833-3.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, new york alternative public high school" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Anthony, 22, says his teachers call him "Dinosaur" because of his age.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Anthony eventually landed at City-As-School, which his aunt once attended. Everything changed. He made friends with shared interests. Teachers asked him to call them by their first names, and treated him like an adult. His internship at a children's culinary institute taught him to prep food like a seasoned line cook and to speak to groups with confidence.</p><p>Anthony, who once disliked school and the person he was becoming, is on track to graduate this spring. He dreams of studying forensic science and playing basketball at Ithaca College.</p><p>City-As-School, commonly referred to as a "transfer school," has implemented several measures to help struggling students like Anthony succeed. That's why more than 60% of its students - many of whom were once on the brink of dropping out  - graduate in a six-year window.</p><p><strong>Some teachers bring New York City bagels and fresh fruit</strong> to first period. "It's the only way we can get them here so early," one instructor tells me.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="Teacher Vincent Davi lures students to class with snacks." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed56da811986a4b7c47-960/img_2825-1.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed56da811986a4b7c47-1200-800/img_2825-1.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, new york alternative public high school" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Teacher Vincent Davi lures students to class with snacks.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><strong>Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis</strong>, rather than receiving letter grades. Teachers say this model rewards students who engage and do the work, rather than punish students who maybe studied the wrong thing before a test or were out sick with a cold during an important lesson.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed26da811836a4b7c47-1200-800/img_3000-1.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, new york alternative public high school"><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">An English teacher explains today's assignment to a group of students.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Once a week, <strong>students go to "advisory,"</strong> an informal gathering with one teacher and about 10 of their peers. It's an opportunity for students to discuss their internship experiences and whatever else is on their minds. For many, advisory becomes a little family.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="Art teacher Tiffany Jones has students work on " vision="" boards="" during="" her="" advisory.="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed4ecad04c64f6828da-960/img_2892-1.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed4ecad04c64f6828da-1200-800/img_2892-1.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, new york alternative public high school" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Art teacher Tiffany Jones has students work on "vision boards" during her advisory.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The career development office not only <strong>shepherds students through the college application process</strong>, but it follows up with recent alumni after graduation. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/upshot/how-to-improve-graduation-rates-at-community-colleges.html?_r=0&amp;abt=0002&amp;abg=0">Only 20% of all full-time students in the US who matriculate into community college</a> get a degree within three years, so Ummi Modeste, a veteran City-As-School staffer, checks in with City-As-School grads to see that they're on track.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="Ummi Modeste calls recent graduates to see how college is treating them." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed3ecad04394c6828dd-960/img_2897-2.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5506eed3ecad04394c6828dd-1200-800/img_2897-2.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, new york alternative public high school" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Ummi Modeste calls recent graduates to see how college is treating them.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>City-As-School <strong>provides easy access to quality mental healthcare</strong>, as well. The school is unusual in that it employs two guidance counselors, two social workers, and one school psychologist,  who all hold sessions in the building.</p><p>Social worker Veronica Savage says low self-esteem affects many students who step into her office.</p><p>"There are students who come here, having received messages [their whole lives] that they don't know how to learn," she says. Students may think there's one right answer, or one right path to graduation. But there are many ways to finish, Savage says.</p><p>No one appreciates City-As-School's flexibility more than Savage, who graduated from City-As-School years ago. After she failed one class at her previous high school, teachers told her she wouldn't graduate on time. Savage enrolled here because she believed one slip-up shouldn't jeopardize her future.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Facebook/CityAsSchoolNYC and Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="City-As-School alumna Veronica Savage now works as a social worker in the building." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55101a2369beddc94ea1aaa5-960/veronica-savage.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55101a2369beddc94ea1aaa5-1200-800/veronica-savage.jpg" border="0" alt="veronica savage, city-as-school" /></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CityAsSchoolNYC/photos_stream?ref=page_internal">Facebook/CityAsSchoolNYC and Melia Robinson/Business Insider</a></span></p><p class="caption">City-As-School alumna Veronica Savage now works as a social worker in the building.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Of course, the most unusual way City-As-School ensures students' success is <strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">by awarding them academic credit for completing internships</strong>. It's the only school under the New York City Department of Education's jurisdiction with permission to do so.</p><p>Teachers double as "internship coordinators" by identifying opportunities throughout the city, pairing students with companies, and supervising students' progress via email and phone calls.</p><p>Each internship in City-As-School's catalogue satisfies one or more academic requirement. Need a science credit? Volunteer as a school-group guide at the American Museum of Natural History. A culinary credit? Learn to bake doughnuts at growing city bakery Dough. A tech credit? Disect the intersection of internet and culture at Red Bull Studios, <a href="http://magazine.good.is/articles/artist-ryder-ripps-makes-the-internet-his-classroom">where hip young artist and alum Ryder Ripps pays forward the opportunities City-As-School once gave him</a>. It's these special and forward-thinking opportunities that make City-As-School so unique.</p><p>Teachers and administrators tell me that this model enables learners of all types to grasp new skills, gain confidence, and practice professional behaviors.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Melia Robinson/Business Insider" title_caption="Nia catches up with her internship coordinator, Maria Krajewski." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55099df46bb3f70a09b3c405-960/img_3254-2.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55099df46bb3f70a09b3c405-1200-800/img_3254-2.jpg" border="0" alt="city-as-school, videograf" /></a><p class="source"><span>Melia Robinson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Nia catches up with her internship coordinator, Maria Krajewski.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>As Nia, 18, hammers at the legs of a tabletop at Videograf, the indie theatre production studio where she and three peers intern, she laughs and teases the other girls about their craftsmanship. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">She tends to fall into a leadership role, being the kind of person who calls her friends in the morning to make sure they get out of bed.</span></p><p>On her first day at Videograf, Nia helped senior producer Michael Frenchman build a desk for the control room. "I was using my hands. I felt like I was in the Village People," Nia jokes. Since then, she's outfitted the stage with all sorts of technical equipment and created tutorials so future interns can learn how to operate the camera, sound, and lighting fixtures.</p><p>An aspiring multimedia professional, Nia says her internship doubled as "corporate espionage." She learned the inner workings of a company in the same industry she hopes to pursue a career in after college graduation. (This winter, she applied to no fewer than 21 colleges, including Oberlin, Brown, and Skidmore.)</p><p>During a tea and biscuits break at Videograf, Nia sat down to tell me about how she arrived here. She says she wasn't a "bad student" at her previous high school, nor was she desperate for credits. That stereotype follows many of her peers.</p><p>She chose City-As-School because of what it offered: a refuge for individuals. "We're not the rejects," she says.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vaccinations-kids-school-anti-vaxxers-2015-2">Why we should ban non-vaccinated kids from schools</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="k4OGtvcjq8opexFd2b9tXycCZXevrQqn" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'k4OGtvcjq8opexFd2b9tXycCZXevrQqn',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "ryder ripps" and got 7 results

Azealia Banks and artist Ryder Ripps have ended their relationship

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Kanye West paid a settlement to a former employee who claimed the rapper praised Hitler, report says

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What life is like at NYC's 'most interesting high school,' where students join the workforce and don't get grades

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