Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson ROCKS Ebony Magazine for Dec 2017
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is on the cover of Ebony‘s December 2017/January 2018 issue.
The 45-year-old actor, whose movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle hits theaters in December, posed on top of the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver while in town shooting his upcoming movie Rampage.
The shoot features photos by Gavin Bond, creative direction by Courtney Walter, an interview by Alicia Quarles, and production by Bianca Grey. Here is what Dwayne shared about black power:
“Black power means influence, identity and respect. The influence part is the ability to influence people in a powerful way. We are finding that out now. Sometimes the loudest voice isn’t necessarily the most influential, but the most positive action is. The other one would be identity. It is invaluable to have a real sense of identity and to know who you are and where you came from and to understand your roots. It lets you move forward in life in a positive way. It’s connected to the most powerful thing. The most powerful thing you can be is yourself,” he said.
“Black power is respect,” he continued. “It’s something we all crave. Respect is given when it’s earned. To me, respect is earned through positive actions. For example, the protests we are seeing with our football players, our athletes. Some view it as a sign of disrespect. I view it as a sign of craving respect. It’s a cry for respect, a call for action to our leaders who have that positive, powerful influence.
For more from The Rock, visit Ebony.com!
#RHoA: Shereé Whitfield: ‘I Didn't Know Her My Man Tyrone Gilliams Was Going to Jail” GIRL STOP!
Shereé Whitfield‘s mysterious “Love” necklace was finally explained on Sunday’s Real Housewives of Atlanta, when she revealed to castmates that she’s been dating Tyrone Gilliams — who is currently in federal prison for an alleged white collar crime.
“I feel like he gets me,” Whitfield, 47, gushed as the Atlanta Housewives touched down in San Francisco for a girls trip. “We’ve been talking on the phone.”
Longtime friends Whitfield and Gilliams had lost contact for about four years before reconnecting and beginning their romantic relationship. They then dated for approximately eight months before his prison sentence — which Whitfield said she had no knowledge of until he went in.
“I didn’t know he went away! We broke up,” she said. “We stopped talking before he went to prison because he didn’t want to get me involved in any of that.”
Soon thereafter, they reconnected and have been going strong since. “You know what, honestly, I’ve gotten to know this man on a much deeper level,” she told PEOPLE Now in November. “Probably deeper than I’ve ever known anyone. We have nothing but time to talk and get to know each other.”
“He’s a good guy and, you know, he supports me. I can talk to him about anything. He’s my best friend,” she continued. “He just got caught up in the wrong craziness, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”
News of the relationship took some of the ladies by surprise on Sunday’s RHOA, though no one was more shocked than NeNe Leakes. “You love Tyrone?” she screamed.
That’s because the last time Gilliams came up on the hit Bravo show, he was the catalyst for one of the most iconic arguments in Housewives history as Leakes and Whitfield clashed over booking rates for paid appearances Gilliams was setting up.
The drama went down in the first episode of season 4, as the two women met to clear the air about a deal that ultimately fell through.
“When we were going to Philly, I got a phone call from Tyrone about this opportunity to make money. I reached out to you, asked you if you were available on those dates and what your rate was. You said you were available so I called Tyrone and he said, ‘Okay cool,'” Whitfield has said. “Later on that day, I started getting calls that you’d been calling Tyrone saying, ‘You could have gotten Shereé for much cheaper and took the money off the top.’ And to me, that was very shady.”
That claim didn’t sit well with Leakes. “How long have you known Tyrone? You didn’t know Tyrone, but you’ve known me, and you decided to take what Tyrone said and believed it.”
Eventually, Whitfield called Tyrone, who backed up Whitfield’s claims. But by that point, Leakes wasn’t interested.
“What you don’t understand is while you were running your mouth with him, I was running to the bank and depositing a Trump check. Donald Trump,” Leakes shouted, referring to her stint on the now-president’s then-reality show Celebrity Apprentice. “I am rich … I am very rich, bitch.”
All that behind them, Leakes appeared supportive of Whitfield to her face. But behind her back, it looks like another story.
“You know, she was definitely very shocked, but she says she doesn’t have a problem with it,” Whitfield said Now. “She says she’s fine, but then, you know, you really watch to watch to see, because I don’t know, I get mixed signals. She tells me that she’s fine with it, and maybe she’s telling the other girls something else.”
Whitfield’s right. In a preview for next week’s episode, Kandi Burruss confronts Leakes about Gilliams. “Why were you so surprised about her dating him?” she asks.
“I met him before she did,” Leakes says of Gilliams and Whitfield. “He’s a con artist.”
“I hope he don’t con her out of Chateau Shereé,” Burruss says.
#EMPIRE: Adjusts up: Wednesday final ratings
Final broadcast primetime live + same-day ratings for Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017
With one exception, Wednesday’s preliminary ratings among adults 18-49 all held in the finals. The only change was a 0.1 upward adjustment for “Empire,” which finishes with a 1.7 rating.
Adults 18-49 rating/share 1.6/6 1.5/6 1.4/5 1.1/4 0.3/1
Total Viewers (millions) 7.33 7.68 4.36 4.76 1.04
#NEWMUSIC: Listen To Beyoncé’s “Perfect Duet” With Ed Sheeran
Staying in the limelight while raising twins Beyonce teams up with Ed Sheeran on their “Perfect Duet.”
The two are no strangers. Bey and Ed performed a Stevie Wonder tribute together during a 2015 Grammy special and even teamed up for a “Drunk in Love” duet at the Global Citizen Festival in 2015.
“Perfect” is the latest hit single off Sheeran’s recent album ÷. “I think the song ‘Perfect’ is actually better than ‘Thinking Out Loud,’” he told Music Choice. “I think there was always a scare that ‘Thinking Out Loud’ would define me and define my career. So I, I wrote a lot of songs trying to beat it and I think I have beaten it.”
Listen to Ed and Bey’s “Perfect” collaboration HERE
#HIPHOPNEWS: Big K.R.I.T. Announces ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ National Tour
If you’ve been bumping Big K.R.I.T.’s latest album, Heavy Is The Crown, you’ll be getting your chance to see him live shortly—well, next year. The Mississipi rapper has announced the ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ national tour.
Kicking off in St. Louis at the Ready Room on March 18, the King Remembered In Time will hit cities like Boston, New York, Charlotte, Knoxville and Sacramento before closing out Metro in Chicago.
Ty Dolla $ign will also be on the bill, co-headling four markets; Silver Spring, MD, Norfolk, VA, Raleigh, NC and Asheville, NC.
Tickets for the tour are on sale now at www.bigkrit.com.
Check out the full schedule below.
Heavy Is The Crown Tour Dates
** w/ Ty Dolla $ign
- Fri-Mar-16-18 – St. Louis, MO @ Ready Room
- Sat-Mar-17-18 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury
- Sun-Mar-18-18 – Cleveland @ House of Blues
- Tue-Mar-20-18 – Boston @ Middle East Downstairs
- Thu-Mar-22-18– Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore **
- Fri-Mar-23-18– New York, NY @ Gramercy
- Sat-Mar-24-18– Norfolk, VA @ The Norva **
- Sun-Mar-25-18– Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz **
- Tue-Mar-27-18– Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel **
- Thu-Mar-29-18– Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
- Fri-Mar-30-18– Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
- Tue-Apr-03-18– Knoxville, TN @ The International
- Wed-Apr-04-18– Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre
- Thu-Apr-05-18– Jackson, MS @ Hal & Mal’s
- Sat-Apr-07-18– Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
- Sun-Apr-08-18– Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco
- Wed-Apr-11-18– New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
- Thu-Apr-12-18– Houston @ Warehouse Live
- Fri-Apr-13-18– Dallas, TX @ Bomb Factory
- Sat-Apr-14-18– Austin, TX @ Emos East
- Sun-Apr-15-18– San Antonio, TX@ Alamo City Music Hall
- Thu-Apr-19-18– Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
- Fri-Apr-20-18– San Diego, CA @ Music Box
- Sat-Apr-21-18– San Francisco, CA @ Slims
- Sun-Apr-22-18– Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
- Wed-Apr-25-18– Denver, CO @ Cervantes
- Thu-Apr-26-18– Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
- Fri-Apr-27-18– Minneapolis, MN @ The Cabooze
- Sat-Apr-28-18– Chicago, IL @ Metro
Model Chanel Iman Engaged To New York Giants Star
Model Chanel Iman is engaged. New York Giants star Sterling Shepard popped the question, and she said yes. Iman broke the news on the ‘Gram.
She posted a pic of her now fiancee on bended knee along with the caption, “A night full of tears of happiness
I’m beyond excited to spend the rest of my life with you @sterl_shep3 you are my soulmate, my best friend, my everything! Can’t wait to be your Mrs. 💎💍”
Shepard, 27, posted the same pic with his 24-year-old bride to be with the message, “The catch of my dreams…can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you!”
Previously, Iman dated Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky ex-girlfriend and Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson. So don’t worry civilians, you never really had a shot.
#MEGAMERGER: CVS Agrees To Buy Aetna In A $69 Billion Deal
(Reuters) - Aetna Inc’s board of directors approved on Sunday the U.S. health insurer’s sale to drugstore chain operator CVS Health Corp for approximately $207 per share in cash and stock, according to people familiar with the matter.
The $69 billion deal will be this year’s largest corporate acquisition. It will combine one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and pharmacy operators with one of its oldest health insurers, whose far-reaching business ranges from employer healthcare to government plans nationwide.
According to the agreed terms, Aetna shareholders stand to receive $145 per share in cash and 0.8378 CVS Health shares for each Aetna share, the sources said. The companies will announce the deal later on Sunday, the four sources added.
Aetna shareholders will own about 22 percent of the combined company, while CVS shareholders will own the remainder, the sources said. Three Aetna directors, including Aetna’s Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini, will join CVS’s board of directors, the sources added.
The sources requested not to be identified because the deal has not yet been announced. CVS and Aetna did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal comes as healthcare payers and pharmacies are responding to factors including the Affordable Care Act, rising drug prices and the threat of competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc.
CVS plans to use its low-cost clinics to eventually save more than $1 billion per year on health care costs for Aetna’s roughly 23 million medical members, sources have said.
A combined insurer and PBM will also likely be better placed to negotiate lower drug prices, and the arrangement could boost sales for CVS’s front-of-store retail business.
The company expects to invest billions of dollars in the coming years to add clinics and services, largely financed by diverting funds away from other planned investments.
That could eventually cut costs substantially, with the clinics serving as an alternative to more expensive hospital emergency room visits.
Meanwhile, deeper collaboration between Aetna’s insurance business and CVS’s PBM division could drive down drug costs by adding clients and boosting the PBM’s leverage with drugmakers.
Independent PBMs have long been criticized for potential conflicts of interest with insurance company clients, because they could potentially keep cost savings from drug negotiations rather than passing them on to patients.
Aetna patient visits to CVS stores for health care and prescriptions could also boost front-of-store sales, which like those at many retailers have fallen in recent quarters amid competition from online sellers.
Health insurers meanwhile have sought to cut costs amid steep prescription drug price rises and requirements to care for even the sickest patients under the Affordable Care Act.
Aetna last year tried to buy rival Humana Inc to gain leverage to control costs, but U.S. antitrust regulators shot down that transaction and a proposed merger between Anthem Inc and Cigna Corp.
Analysts have said the CVS-Aetna deal could prompt other healthcare sector mega-mergers, as rivals scramble to emulate the strategy.
It could spur a merger between Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Humana Inc, or between Humana and Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Ana Gupte, analyst at Leerink Partners, said recently.
#FABorFLAT: Kerry Washington on the Red Carpet at Breakthrough Prize Ceremony 2018!
Kerry Washington is on the red carpet! She walked the red carpet at the 2018 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at NASA Ames Research Center on Sunday (December 3) in Mountain View, Calif.
She also served as a presenter at the event, as well as Mayim Bialik, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.
Morgan Freeman hosted the ceremony, which featured a performance by Wiz Khalifa.
The Breakthrough Prize honors top achievements in the fields of physics, life sciences and mathematics.
FYI: Kerry is wearing a Giambattista Valli dress. So is she FAB or FLAT
Xscape Minus Kandi Hires Vincent Herbert as their Manager!
Business seems to be booming for Xscape. The group, who stunned fans last month by revealing that they’d be releasing new music without Kandi Burruss, has hired a new manager.
According to HipHollywood, the trio (LaTocha Scott, Tameka “Tiny” Harris and Tamika Scott) has hired Tamar Braxton’s estranged husband, Vincent Herbert to manage them.
Herbert recently signed Remy Ma to his roster. Tamika tells the site,
We sat down with him, had some food and just talked, like how most business takes place, he just got our vision and he saw the potential in us.
Tiny, who is close friends with Tamar, adds,
We love what he did with Tamar and Lady Gaga and we also knew he understood the business. We’re really excited.
The trio says that they will continue to work with Mona Scott-Young as it pertains to their TV and film projects including a biopic for Bravo. LaTocha says,
Vincent manages the music
‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ Clip Teases Dinosaur Mayhem In Upcoming Sequel
(Deadline)In the grand tradition of trailers for trailers, the official Twitter account for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom released a tease ahead of the release of the full trailer on Thursday.
The clip features Chris Pratt running away from dinosaurs in a panic while Bryce Dallas Howard and Jurassic newbie Justice Smith look on in terror as prehistoric creatures run wild, destroying everything in their path. The new clip is the second tease released by Universal. The first was a kinder and sweeter clip with Pratt gently petting a dino baby. This tease is not as warm, obviously.
WATCH HERE:
The @JurassicWorld #FallenKingdom trailer debuts this Thursday. Retweet to get your reminder! pic.twitter.com/SF6JpvPMfY— Jurassic World (@JurassicWorld) December 4, 2017
The next installment is directed by J.A. Bayona and co-written by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly. of the dinosaur franchise arrives in theaters June 22. In addition to Pratt, Howard, and Smith, Jeff Goldblum will reprise his original role as Dr. Ian Malcolm. Alsostarring are Ted Levine, Rafe Spall, Toby Jones, Geraldine Chaplin, and Daniella Pineda.
HBO Removes Russell Simmons name From ‘All Def Comedy’ and severs the relationship!
It looks like HBO Doesn’t Know Russell Simmons. On the heels of the latest sexual assault accusation against Russell Simmons, HBO has baby wiped all traces and mentions of the Hip Hop mogul from “All Def Comedy.”
Russ announced he would be stepping away from his businesses after Lena Horne’s granddaughter and writer, Jenny Lumet accused him of raping her in 1991.
However, The good news is “All Def Comedy” will still move forward.
But, the network released the following statement: HBO will be airing All Def Comedy as planned. However, Russell Simmons will not appear in the new series and we will be removing his name from the show moving forward.
The series is a platform for promising and upcoming comedians and we do not want to deprive them of an opportunity to showcase their talents to a national audience. We have no other projects with Russell Simmons.
Your thoughts?
AND FINALLY FROM THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART FILES
‘GINGERBREAD MAN’
If you’re putting it on over your existing clothes you don’t need to use the changing room. That’s a totally accepted rule in society.
EGGPLANT NATION: Meet Mario B
It’s Mario B! You know what to do to see them goods. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PICS and remember they’re NSFW!
DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN NOR ALTER any images posted on this blog. All images are found online or submitted.
You’re Welcome!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD EVERYBODY!!!
EFREM
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