Latest news with #Fetherston
Fox News
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Extra: 'Chaos' … What's Really Happening Inside The Migrant Shelters
Sanctuary city mayors from New York, Denver, Chicago, and Boston went to Capitol Hill this week and testified before Congress about their policies regarding illegal migrants. The mayors were defiant, often clashing with Republican lawmakers over their 'sanctuary' status. Former Migrant Shelter Director Jon Fetherston ran a facility near Boston and saw firsthand the result of that city's 'sanctuary' laws. Fetherston joined the Rundown's Jessica Rosenthal to share what he experienced while working in migrant housing, what benefits illegal immigrants are entitled to if they come to the United States, and why he believes Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is unfit for her position. He also described some horrifying stories about children being neglected and even sexually abused. We often must cut interviews short during the week, but we thought you might like to hear the full interview. Today on Fox News Rundown Extra, we will share our entire interview with Jon Fetherston, allowing you to hear more about the conditions of the migrant shelters he operated and why he feels 'sanctuary city' policies put both migrants and American communities in danger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Luke Fetherston Brings Depth To The ‘Gay Best Friend' Role In Amazon's New Rom-Com
When Luke Fetherston joined the cast of the romantic comedy 'Picture This,' he immediately saw his role as an opportunity to help 'validate younger LGBTQ+ people's experiences.' But he found himself relishing one of the perks of the job, too: the ability to bike to the film's London set from his home. 'My character's a gay man in his 30s living in [the London borough of] Hackney, and I'm all of those things. I didn't have to dig that deep,' the actor quipped. 'It's completely bizarre when you book a job and then you suddenly realize that you're 10 minutes down the road.' 'Picture This,' directed by Prarthana Mohan and due out Thursday on Amazon Prime Video, is an adaptation of the 2024 Australian comedy, 'Five Blind Dates.' The movie stars 'Bridgerton' actor Simone Ashley as Pia, a lovesick Londoner who is struggling to get her photography business off the ground despite some creative efforts spearheaded by Jay (Fetherston), her best friend and colleague. At her younger sister's engagement party, Pia is told by a spiritual guru that the love of her life will be found among her next five dates. But Pia's plans to get back into the dating scene are thwarted by the unexpected reappearance of her ex-boyfriend, Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). Fetherston, whose credits include The CW's 'Pandora' and the Apple TV+ series 'Still Up,' has spoken in previous interviews about being told to hide his sexuality in the early years of his career. He also understood that the character of Jay would be classified as yet another example of the 'gay best friend' trope, much like Rupert Everett's George in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' and Willie Garson's Stanford on 'Sex and the City.' Ashley, who is of British-Indian heritage, has praised the ways in which 'Picture This' puts a multicultural twist on such rom-com traditions. As for Jay, Fetherston says the character felt more 'dimensional' than many of his cinematic or television predecessors. 'Jay is a constant for Pia and has this emotional arc that he goes on with her,' he explained. 'He really listens to Pia, whereas some of her family don't. He sees her and he appreciates what she's going through and is able to try and lift her out of the fog and send her on her way.' 'It's always nice for our community to see gay men playing gay roles,' he added. 'It's more visibility for us, which is only a good thing.' Born in Scotland and raised in East London, Fetherston got his start in musical theater, performing in productions of 'Funny Girl' and 'Fiddler on the Roof,' among other shows. In recent years, Fetherston has been mostly focused on TV, including a memorable role on Lifetime's 'Flowers in the Attic: The Origin.' Not only does 'Picture This' look poised to boost his Hollywood profile, but it also gave him a chance to reunite with Ashley, with whom he participated in an acting workshop more than a decade ago. 'When I read the script for my audition, I had an idea that it would be Simone,' he said. 'We hadn't seen each other for a long time, but we already had that familiarity. So the relationship between Jay and Pia just flourished on-screen, because we had that comfortability with each other.' Viewers hoping to see more of Fetherston after 'Picture This' are in luck, as the actor also has a principal role on the third season of the Amazon Prime Video series 'The Wheel of Time,' due out March 13. For now, Fetherston is enjoying being ensconced in the romantic comedy space, naming 'Clueless' and 'Notting Hill' as among his personal favorites. Still, he's hoping to expand the breadth of queer roles, whether in rom-coms or other genres, he tackles moving forward. 'I would like to play as many queer roles as possible because it's my lived experience ― it would be amazing to have that opportunity,' he said. 'It's amazing working with other actors who have different lenses on life, and I think absorbing all that in whatever way you can is beneficial.' Watch the trailer for 'Picture This' below. NBC's 'Brilliant Minds' Sets Itself Apart From Other Medical Dramas With A Tender Gay Love Story This New Dark Comedy Series Finds Humor In 'Being A Gay Mess In Your 30s' This Netflix And Broadway Star Shares More Than A Name With Her Breakout Role
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
‘Rampant' abuse in blue state migrant shelter system, says former director: ‘Colossal mess'
After being attacked by an immigrant rapist, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director, is blowing the whistle about the "rampant" abuse in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system, which he said is "just a big, colossal mess." Fetherston, who served as the director of the Marlborough migrant shelter from 2023 to 2024, said that the amount of crime, domestic abuse and child neglect that takes place in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system is "mind-boggling." In an interview with Fox News Digital, Fetherston revealed that he was grabbed and attacked by a Haitian immigrant after he was confronted about raping and impregnating his own teenage daughter. The Maine Wire first broke the story about the Haitian migrant, Ronald Joseph, 42, impregnating his then 13-year-old daughter. Joseph repeatedly raped and impregnated his daughter while staying at a government-funded migrant shelter at a Holiday Inn in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Shelter Program That Houses Migrants Has Had Over 300 'Serious Incident' Reports This Year A report by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities obtained by Fox News Digital says that after being informed he would lose access to his daughter, Joseph "got very agitated and started yelling" at Fetherston that "this was all his fault, and he was to blame." Fetherston told Fox News Digital that as soon as Joseph heard he was losing custody of his daughter, he "reached across the table and grabbed me and got angry with me and started cursing and yelling and screaming and swinging at me because he realized what was happening." Read On The Fox News App "I'm going to be honest; the entire experience has shaken me to my core," said Fetherston. Massachusetts Resident Condemns Right-to-shelter Law Turning Bay State Into 'Destination For Migrants' He clarified that "it's not so much the lunging at me and swinging" but rather the conversation that jarred him the most. "The conversation was probably the most jarring conversation I've ever had in my life," he said. "His justification for having sex with his daughter was — and he did say it through an interpreter; he didn't say it in English — that in his country — which his country of origin was Haiti — if a woman bled, meaning if she had her period, you could have sex with her and that was his justification for having sex with his daughter." Rather than arresting Joseph immediately, Fetherston was directed by authorities to order the immigrant a Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester County. Joseph was not arrested until eight months later when Marlborough police finally apprehended him earlier this month. "The Marlborough police came and calmed him down and actually had me transfer him to another shelter," he explained. "I asked the Marlborough police like: 'Why isn't he being arrested? He admitted to this. At least why aren't you just detaining him at the very least?' And they're like: 'We'll figure it all out.' It took them eight months to figure it all out." Blue State Faces Spike In Migrant Sex Crimes As Top City Pledges Resistance To Trump Deportations Though this case was particularly egregious, Fetherston said that "there is a lot of undocumented violence that goes on" and that rape, domestic violence, sex trafficking, drug dealing and other crimes are so commonplace in the Massachusetts shelter system that many incidents simply fall through the cracks. "I will tell you, unfortunately, that it happens a lot," he said. "There were times when I was running the shelter that there probably should have been times when I should have done more reporting, you just didn't have the time to do it." Click Here For More Immigration Coverage "It's just a big, colossal mess," Fetherston added. "I've been in public service most of my adult life, either through elective office or volunteering. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the migrant shelters would be the chaos that it is… It's a systematic problem, that there is chaos in these communities and the public has the right to know what is going on." The former shelter director said that before quitting his job he brought his concerns about the widespread abuse to Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll — both Democrats — but neither gave him the time of day. Although Healey recently vowed to reform the shelter system and begin mandatory background checks on residents, Fetherston said there have yet to be any real changes. Ice Arrests 'Predator' Migrant Convicted Of Secretly Recording Others In Bathroom Despite promises of reform, the legislature renewed shelter funding at $425 million through June with no new changes. "People are frustrated from top to bottom," he said. "The governor has spent over $3.5 billion just of the taxpayers' money just on the migrant hotels [and]… just last week the Senate and House passed [a bill] to fund this migrant program until July of this year, zero reform, zero mandatory checks." "The governor says that all this stuff is coming," he concluded, "and ultimately, at the end, there was no reform put in the package. It was just the approval to fund the shelters through the end of July. So, there is no reform."Original article source: 'Rampant' abuse in blue state migrant shelter system, says former director: 'Colossal mess'
Fox News
18-02-2025
- Fox News
‘Rampant' abuse in blue state migrant shelter system, says former director: ‘Colossal mess'
After being attacked by an immigrant rapist, Jon Fetherston, a former Massachusetts migrant shelter director, is blowing the whistle about the "rampant" abuse in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system, which he said is "just a big, colossal mess." Fetherston, who served as the director of the Marlborough migrant shelter from 2023 to 2024, said that the amount of crime, domestic abuse and child neglect that takes place in the Massachusetts migrant shelter system is "mind-boggling." In an interview with Fox News Digital, Fetherston revealed that he was grabbed and attacked by a Haitian immigrant after he was confronted about raping and impregnating his own teenage daughter. The Maine Wire first broke the story about the Haitian migrant, Ronald Joseph, 42, impregnating his then 13-year-old daughter. Joseph repeatedly raped and impregnated his daughter while staying at a government-funded migrant shelter at a Holiday Inn in Marlborough, Massachusetts. A report by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities obtained by Fox News Digital says that after being informed he would lose access to his daughter, Joseph "got very agitated and started yelling" at Fetherston that "this was all his fault, and he was to blame." Fetherston told Fox News Digital that as soon as Joseph heard he was losing custody of his daughter, he "reached across the table and grabbed me and got angry with me and started cursing and yelling and screaming and swinging at me because he realized what was happening." "I'm going to be honest; the entire experience has shaken me to my core," said Fetherston. He clarified that "it's not so much the lunging at me and swinging" but rather the conversation that jarred him the most. "The conversation was probably the most jarring conversation I've ever had in my life," he said. "His justification for having sex with his daughter was — and he did say it through an interpreter; he didn't say it in English — that in his country — which his country of origin was Haiti — if a woman bled, meaning if she had her period, you could have sex with her and that was his justification for having sex with his daughter." Rather than arresting Joseph immediately, Fetherston was directed by authorities to order the immigrant a Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester County. Joseph was not arrested until eight months later when Marlborough police finally apprehended him earlier this month. "The Marlborough police came and calmed him down and actually had me transfer him to another shelter," he explained. "I asked the Marlborough police like: 'Why isn't he being arrested? He admitted to this. At least why aren't you just detaining him at the very least?' And they're like: 'We'll figure it all out.' It took them eight months to figure it all out." Though this case was particularly egregious, Fetherston said that "there is a lot of undocumented violence that goes on" and that rape, domestic violence, sex trafficking, drug dealing and other crimes are so commonplace in the Massachusetts shelter system that many incidents simply fall through the cracks. "I will tell you, unfortunately, that it happens a lot," he said. "There were times when I was running the shelter that there probably should have been times when I should have done more reporting, you just didn't have the time to do it." "It's just a big, colossal mess," Fetherston added. "I've been in public service most of my adult life, either through elective office or volunteering. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the migrant shelters would be the chaos that it is… It's a systematic problem, that there is chaos in these communities and the public has the right to know what is going on." The former shelter director said that before quitting his job he brought his concerns about the widespread abuse to Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll — both Democrats — but neither gave him the time of day. Although Healey recently vowed to reform the shelter system and begin mandatory background checks on residents, Fetherston said there have yet to be any real changes. Despite promises of reform, the legislature renewed shelter funding at $425 million through June with no new changes. "People are frustrated from top to bottom," he said. "The governor has spent over $3.5 billion just of the taxpayers' money just on the migrant hotels [and]… just last week the Senate and House passed [a bill] to fund this migrant program until July of this year, zero reform, zero mandatory checks." "The governor says that all this stuff is coming," he concluded, "and ultimately, at the end, there was no reform put in the package. It was just the approval to fund the shelters through the end of July. So, there is no reform."
