• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 22, 2023

Blue Lives Matter Called Out After White Supremacist Films Himself Calling Black Cop The N-Word

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Social media is questioning the unity within the Blue Lives Matter movement after a white supremacist filmed himself repeatedly calling a Black cop the N-word while his colleagues watched.

White supremacist Jon Minadeo Jr. recently recorded himself repeatedly calling Black officer Darien Thomas the N-word during a police encounter in West Palm Peach, Florida, Atlanta Black Star reports. In a now-viral video, Minadeo confronts officers with antisemitic, homophobic, and racist slurs.

While Minadeo appeared to have an issue with all the officers, he took particular aim at Thomas because of his race.

“White c*cks like you, I don’t give a f*** about any of you fagg*ts,” Minadeo says in the video. “The only thing that is stopping us is that you have your badges on.”

When Thomas made a statement to aid in Minadeo being given a citation for littering, that’s when the white supremacist group leader racially targeted the officer.

“…..This n****r is getting in my face. I will get my ID but away from this n****r,” he said.

Minadeo continued to try to get a rise out of Thomas by repeatedly telling him to “shut up, n****r” and claiming a Nazi science experiment created him.

“This is the hard part, huh? When I call you a n****r to your face and you gotta act like a white man and detain yourself,” he said.

“Huh, n****r? This is hard for you, huh? Your low IQ wants to attack me over a word, n****r. You are a f*****g science experiment from a Jew.”

While a white female officer was already writing Minadeo and his group’s citation, none of the cops intervened during his racist verbal attacks. One Twitter user called out this while sharing the video on Twitter.

“White supremacists don’t give a damn if you got on the uniform,” they tweeted. “They will call you the N-word any Time any Place.”

“And you noticed the white cops did not do a damn thing to defend him. Florida,” he added.

White supremacist don’t give a damn if you got on the uniform. They will call you the N-word any Time any Place. And you noticed the white cops did not do a damn thing to defend him. Florida. pic.twitter.com/tvuntsAkW2

— Don Salmon (@dijoni) March 19, 2023

Many others reacted to the disturbing police encounter and applauded Thomas for his “restraint” during the racist attack.

“The restraint is impressive,” one viewer wrote. “I guess their “Blue Brother” being racially attacked isn’t offensive to them. I wish they could’ve summoned similar control when that 14 year old black girl left a pool party.”

Another viewer highlighted one white female officer’s smirk while Minadeo repeatedly called Thomas the N-word.

“if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. not one of his coworkers defended those racist attacks,” they quipped.

https://twitter.com/crashcutta/status/1637396893037633536?s=20

“yes, there’s free speech but there’s also disturbing the peace.. that racist definitely broke that law and should’ve been arrested but he’s got the complexion,” they added.

Minadeo was cited for littering last month and given a $163 fine, the Press Democrat reports. He has been active in Florida after relocating from California, where he is considered “a well-known antisemitic agitator from Sonoma County.”

• Arts and Culture

by Iman Milner

March 22, 2023

Law Roach Shares Zendaya’s Response To His Retirement Announcement

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Style architect and fashion giant Law Roach is standing behind his decision to step away from the world of crafting the images of our favorite celebrities. Following this year’s Academy Awards, the stylist took to Instagram to air out his frustrations with the constant struggles faced by Black people in the fashion space.

“If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it’s not,” Law Roach wrote. “The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win … I’m out.”

Stylists, celebrities, and fans flooded his comments with pleas for him to reconsider; many deem him one of the most exciting, versatile, and thoughtful stylists in the business. Though his expertise stretches far and wide, his work with one client in particular has always made heads turn.

Law’s relationship with Euphoria actress Zendaya has been fruitful. The pair have managed to pull off some of the most memorable looks for events like the Golden Globes, The MET Gala, and the Oscars. On the heels of Roach’s announcement, many fans wondered what that means for their partnership.

In a recent interview with model Emily Ratajkowski on her podcast HighLow with EmRata, the 44-year-old Chicago native put the questions to rest.

“She, of course, she supported me,” he said. “She’s like, ‘Do you need me to send you on a vacation? Like, tell me what, tell me what you’re going through.’ And I you know, talk to her about, you know, just being unhappy and being unhappy for a really long time and still grieving the death of my nephew. So we had that talk. And she was like, ‘Whatever you need, whatever you need.’ But the internet is cruel. It’s really cruel.”

Roach also shared that the hadn’t reached out to Zendaya before breaking the news publicly which he said “was tough” for her but that his decision, though rooted in growing frustrations with the industry, was not at all linked to their relationship.

“People started to blame her for my retirement. And that wasn’t fair to her. And the things they were saying, of course, isn’t true. So that spilled over to my suffering, she started to suffer too. And I didn’t think I didn’t think that was fair. Because she has always protected me in this industry and vice versa.”

Cameron Diaz came out of retirement to join Jamie Foxx on a new Netflix film. But the Charlie’s Angel star is reportedly calling it quits again following Foxx’s alleged “meltdown” on the movie set.

Diaz first announced her retirement from acting in 2018, one year before she welcomed her son Raddix and three years after marrying her husband Benji Madden, Page Six reports. But she changed her mind and decided to return to the big screen to star alongside Jamie Foxx in Netflix’s upcoming action-comedy film Back In Action, slated for release in 2024.

However, being away from her family on such a hectic film set only reminded Diaz how much she would rather be home with her family.

“These back-to-back 10-hour workdays have been a lot on her and she hates being away from Raddix,” a source told the Daily Mail on Monday.

“Cameron loves being a mom more than anything in the world.”

While her husband supports her acting career, Diaz’s return to long work days has reportedly “been a lot on him,” the insider shared.

“Although she has gotten to see her family while shooting the film, it is just not the same,” the source claimed.

Regarding the movie set, things reportedly turned chaotic after Foxx allegedly threw a tantrum and fired an executive producer, two directors, and his driver. Sources close to Diaz claim that Foxx’s “meltdown” had nothing to do with her alleged decision to re-retire from acting.

“When you are in a position of authority, sometimes you have to make decisions to let people go who do not share the same vision as you,” the source said before claiming they would be “incredibly surprised if it caused any tension between Jamie and Cameron.”

Diaz and Foxx are longtime friends in the business who shared the screen in 1999’s Any Given Sunday and 2014’s remake of Annie. Foxx was the one who got Diaz to return to acting after her first retirement announcement.

“Cameron is a businessperson and understands that this is necessary at times and, honestly, Jamie is the only reason that she is doing this film and they are still very close,” the source explained.

Production for the new Netflix film took place in the UK from Dec. 2, 2022, to March 9 and will continue in Georgia between March 27 and April 14th.

• Lifestyle

by Stacy Jackson

March 22, 2023

Disciplined 27-year-old Snags Dream Loft in New York After Years of Saving

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This college graduate knew what she wanted and made room to get it.

Denise Francis was determined to move out of her Brooklyn home and into her dream space in New York, so the 27-year-old started stashing her coins when she graduated college. After years of saving, her dreams have become real.

“…At the age of 27, I was finally able to move into that dream apartment,” Francis said, which according to CNBC Make It, is a one-bedroom loft that she pays $1,850 in rent a month.

Francis signed the lease for the apartment in July, and although Yonkers in Westchester County wasn’t her ideal location, she was satisfied with what she got for her budget in the area that’s about 30 minutes from Manhattan.

“Once I got the keys and I opened up the doors, I started doing two things: screaming and crying,” Francis said. “I was just so excited because finally I feel like I reached that milestone in adulthood where I finally have my own space to curate for me, by me to live my best life.”

Initially, Francis wanted to move out of her home where she lived her whole life as an only child, by the age of 21. “For some reason, every year, something just kept happening. Either I didn’t make enough money, or I lost my job or I had to stop because of family emergencies. It just never seemed to work,” she said. “Instead, I used all those years to continue saving.”

Long-term saving was initially a challenge for Francis as she was working part-time jobs, helping her mom cover rent, and paying other bills. After landing a salaried job and a recent promotion, she saved $20,000 by 2020, which covers about a year’s worth of rent.

“Once I reached that goal number of $20,000, I knew that I was more than ready to be financially stable to move into my first-ever dream apartment,” she said.

According to rental market data for 2023, the average rent for apartments in Yonkers is between $2,280 and $3,115.

Francis is presently juggling many roles. She’s the arts and culture director for a Brooklyn nonprofit, content creator for her LiveNaturallyLove brand, CEO and founder of her online wellness community, Self Love Organization, and a graduate student at New York University.

Kevin Hart‘s production company, Hartbeat has signed a new, multi-year deal with SiriusXM that includes a never -before-seen full-length stand-up album from one of the Original Kings of Comedy, Bernie Mac.

With the extension, Hartbeat will still curate content that mixes culture with comedy for Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Radio (ch. 96), according to SiriusXM.

“I am so excited to be able to continue working with my SiriusXM family and grow our audience through our existing IP as well as the expansion of Gold Minds and the additions of Punkie, Diallo, and Blake,” said Hart in a written statement. “SiriusXM has been a valued relationship of mine and Hartbeat’s for some time and the fact that we were able to launch Gold Minds and now expand the program to include the brightest, boldest, and most impactful voices of our time blows my mind.”

Laugh Out Loud Radio will exclusively release the first-ever solo full-length stand-up album by Mac, the massively popular comic who died 15 years ago this coming August at the age of 50.

The remastered collection which will soon be made available, Bernie Mac: Tapes From A King, will reveal a view into the creative process of a comedy legend. Hartbeat produced the album in collaboration with NBW Films and Rhonda R. McCullough. Mac’s wife of 31 years.

The album will be showcased exclusively on Laugh Out Loud Radio for one month. After its initial run on the radio show, it will be released widely across all streaming platforms.

In addition to the premiere of Hart’s podcast, Gold Minds, which will air weekly Wednesday evenings, Hart and The Plastic Cup Boyz—Joey Wells, Will “Spank” Horton and Na’im Lynn—will continue to host Straight From The Hart on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. Eastern on Laugh Out Loud Radio.

Sheryl Lee Ralph still has some feelings about her Dreamgirls days.

While promoting her new book, Diva, the Emmy-winning actress stopped by Way Up with Angela Yee and wanted to clear the air on some past notions regarding the iconic Broadway show. Rumor had it that the 66-year-old signed a “bad” deal to star in the production because she didn’t think it would become a success. However, Ralph told Yee that was completely false. “I, Sheryl Lee, always felt that ‘Dreamgirls’ was gonna be a big hit,” Ralph said. “To this day I haven’t gotten a check from the magnificence that is ‘Dreamgirls’ and it hurts me to my heart.”

Beyoncé fans in the states are flying to Europe to enjoy her upcoming “Renaissance” world tour to avoid paying triple to see Queen Bey here.

The number of American concertgoers taking trips across the pond to enjoy their live shows has grown in recent years, thanks in large part to Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing, NBC News reported. With Beyoncé’s next world tour approaching, BeyHive members in the United States are facing hefty price points of $3,000 for floor seats.

Not to forget Ticketmaster’s $500-plus service fee, tickets for Bey’s Renaissance tour are costing U.S.-based fans upwards of $4,000, as noted by Digital Music.

TikTokers have been sharing their theories for why flying to the UK might make more sense financially when booking concert tickets. Content creator Mercedes Arielle shared her testimony of securing floor seats for Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s “On the Run II Tour” in Paris in 2018 for just $92 apiece compared to her hometown of Dallas where floor seat tickets were going for $900 and up.

Now for “Renaissance,” Arielle spent less on her international flight to Stockholm, her hotel, and tickets to Beyoncé’s show than her hometown friends paid to see the same show in Dallas. While VIP tickets in the United States start at $3,700 for a single ticket, Arielle’s VIP tickets to the Stockholm show were $366.

The BeyHiver also notes that her hotel is “essentially free” because of the points and miles she’s earned.

“Beyoncé is gonna sweat on me,” she boasted of her floor seats. “That’s how close I am.”

When Kylyn Schnelle, 28, was looking for Renaissance tickets in her city of Louisville, Kentucky, she found some seats that were being resold for over $800. After taking a look at floor tickets in London, Schnelle was shocked to see the drastic difference.

“When I looked in London, it was 167 pounds [approximately $200], and the flight was, like, $660,” she said. “I was like this is genuinely the same cost.”

With Schnelle having a best friend that lives in London, it took “very little to convince” her to go see Bey overseas.

“If you’re going to spend $800, why would you not milk it as much as possible?” she said.

@kylynschnelle Down with Ticketmaster #ticketmasterfail #ticketmastersucks #breakupmonopolies ♬ original sound – Kylyn Schnelle

She has since shared her ticket-buying experience on TikTok to inform other concertgoers of the cost-saving effectiveness of visiting another country to enjoy your favorite artists. With Ticketmaster facing backlash for their high prices and service fees, traveling abroad might be the next best option.

• Celebrity News

by Stacy Jackson

March 22, 2023

New Whoopi, Who Dis? ‘The View’ Co-host Flaunts New Surgery

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Whoopi Goldberg has ditched her old look.

During Monday’s episode of The View, Goldberg hosted at the table without her eyeglasses, which was a new sight for viewers. She explained why her eyes were free of the frames: she had eye surgery over the weekend.

“I had an operation, and they replaced the lens and the lens they replaced it with is kind of like my eyeglass lens,” Goldberg said during the “Hot Topics” segment.

Sunny Hostin was excited about her colleague’s vision enhancement.

“Two weeks ago, when we had a show with the folks from Picard, I was trying to read the prompter without my actual glasses, and I couldn’t do it, so I ended up having to wear them [my glasses],” Goldberg said.

According to The Color Purple actress, the operation treated her presbyopia, a condition she had that causes difficulty in the lens of the eye. The National Eye Institute reported that the condition is common in adults over age 45, and everyone will experience it as they age. The “refractive error” makes it hard for people with the condition to see objects up close because the lens stops focusing light correctly on the retina.

Goldberg clarified that her procedure was not a cataract surgery. “It isn’t cataract surgery because I only have a cataract here,” she said pointing to one of her eyes. “But they can remove the lens when you have teeny tiny cataracts and replace them.”

Later in the segment, Goldberg advised that people experiencing issues with with their vision, get their eyes examined. “The bionic times have arrived,” she said.

The 67-year-old has been known for her helpful conversations and advice. Earlier this year, actress Meagan Good thanked Goldberg for her wise words during the time of separation from her former husband DeVon Franklin.

#WhoopiGoldberg says goodbye to eyeglasses! https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/o3j0kTWvjX

— The View (@TheView) March 20, 2023

Soul icon and legendary singer Gladys Knight can now add a National Medal of Arts to her endless list of career achievements. On Tuesday afternoon, Knight along with Bruce Springsteen, José Feliciano, Mindy Kaling and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, was honored at the White House by President Biden to celebrate their contributions to the world of entertainment.

“The National Medal of Arts recipients have helped to define and enrich our nation’s cultural legacy through their lifelong passionate commitment,” said National Endowment for the Arts chair Maria Rosario Jackson. “We are a better nation because of their contributions. Their work helps us see the world in different ways. It inspires us to reach our full potential and recognize our common humanity. I join the President in congratulating and thanking them.”

This is the second time President Biden has put the spotlight on the “Midnight Train To Georgia” singer, as she was honored in 2021 at the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements. Her tribute was kicked off with a performance of her hit single “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” by Academy Award winner, Ariana Debose.

“You could never have told me as a young girl starting my career that I would be honored on a stage such as this, with artists and humanitarians such as these — it just wouldn’t have seemed possible,” she said while accepting her award. “It would have been the dream of all dreams. I have been blessed with so much in my life, and this certainly stands with those achievements at the top of that list.”

Considered by many to be one of the greatest singers of all time, Gladys Knight, at 78 years old, is a 7-time Grammy-winner, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has six number-one R&B albums.