Queen Serena Williams Covers Harper’s Bazaar UK July 2018 Issue
Serena Williams shows off her post baby body in the July issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK. The tennis legend looks flaws in a black one piece swim suit.
As one of the greatest athletes of all time, Serena Williams has overcome misogyny and racism with inspirational fortitude and grace. Now that she is combining her return to Wimbledon with life as a new mother, after a traumatic birth that nearly killed her, she talks to Lydia Slater about sisterhood, self-acceptance and staying strong.
Check out the full spread HERE
#RHoA: Was NeNe Leakes our Filming RHoA Season 11?
Ya Girl NeNe Leakes is back on Instagram after her short break that she took due to her husband Gregg Leakes’ health issues. She posted a gorgeous pic with Porsha Williams which left fans impressed by their friendship, and they asked the two RHOA stars to take care of each other.
Now, NeNe shared a few pics, and in some of them there’s a crew present who is filming her, Fans assume that the filming for the 11th season of RHOA has begun. Check out a few pics
So are these Season 11 Pics or Nah?
#Empire: Halcyon Awards to Honor Lee Daniels!
Filmmaker Lee Daniels, Hon. Mitch Landrieu and Shinola are recipients of the 2018 Halcyon Awards, which recognize and honor talented arts icons, successful social entrepreneurs and public policy visionaries.
"This year's honorees are changemakers and trailblazers who have dedicated their lives to pushing past traditional boundaries to create a movement, lead an organization, or impact the world," said Kate Goodall, co-founder and CEO of Halcyon.
The awards program and dinner will take place Friday, June 1, at 6 p.m. at the Washington National Cathedral. The evening will conclude with the Neon Nave After Party featuring London-based DJ TAYYLOR MADE. Proceeds from the event support Halcyon programs. Sheila C. Johnson, Founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, and Frederick S. Humphries, Jr., Corporate Vice President, U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft Corporation, are the event co-chairs. For a full list of sponsors visit Halcyon Awards Sponsors.
About the Honoree
Producer, director and writer, Lee Daniels is recipient of Halcyon's 2018 Arts Icon Award. He is best known for critically acclaimed films "Lee Daniels' The Butler," "Monster's Ball," and the Academy Award-winning film "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" as well as the hit television series "Empire." Daniels was the first African American to be nominated for a Director's Guild of America Award for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film" on behalf of "Precious." He is a passionate advocate and activist. Halcyon celebrates Daniels' artistic genius and fierce commitment to community, creativity, innovation and democratization of Hollywood, fostering pathways to opportunities for people of color.
Congrats to Lee!
#MusicNews: Janet Jackson is teasing us with a pic of her in the Studio.
Janet Jackson is really making a comeback with tours, appearance at Festivals and now is there nee music on the horizon?
Janet spoke to Billboard Magazine last week about creating new music. She was secretive about her new project, but she divulged that her creative process is inspired by life.
She says: “I’m not trying to avoid the question and be secretive, but the truth is that I don’t try to analyze the creative process while it’s still ongoing. I’m very intuitive about writing. Anything can inspire me. This morning, I saw this lovely elderly Japanese woman walking down the streets of Hollywood wearing an adorable bonnet with bright red flowers. She might be a song. I remembered an especially painful chapter in my early life last night before going to bed. That might be a song. I woke up this morning and heard a bird chirping in a rhythm that captivated my heart. Maybe that will turn into a new groove. Like everyone else, my feelings are fluid. My ideas are fleeting. I like to keep it that way. I can’t decide in advance what a song or an album concept will be. I have to let those songs and concepts come to me rather than chase them down.”
Well there you have it! Who’s excited for new music from Janet?
BUT LET’S STOP and look at her and her oldest Sister Rebbie!
Gorgeous!
#HipHopNews: Pusha T Dismisses Drake's Blackface Explanation: "You Are Silent On All Black Issues"
Pusha T Dismisses Drake's Blackface Explanation: "You Are Silent On All Black Issues"
After Drake issued a statement explaining the blackface photo Pusha T used for “The Story Of Adidon” single art, the G.O.O.D. Music president addressed the issue during Thursday’s (May 31) episode of Big Boy’s Neighborhood on Real 92.3.
According to Pitchfork, Pusha said, “You are silent on all black issues, Drake. You don’t stand for nothing, you don’t say nothing about nothing. You have all the platform in the world. You were so passionate back then? No you weren’t. That’s number one. That’s what I know.”
In Drake’s statement, which he posted to his Instagram Story on Wednesday night (May 30), he said the photoshoot was taken during a time in his life when he was pursuing acting.
“This picture is from 2007, a time in my life when I was an actor and I was working on a project that was about young black actors struggling to get roles, being stereotyped and type cast,” he wrote. “The photos represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment.”
Pusha says he’s ready for whatever else Drake has to throw at him but he isn’t expecting a response from him.
Elsewhere in the interview, Pusha talks Drake’s father Dennis Graham, the alleged “secret son” and why he trusted Kanye West’s vision for the controversial DAYTONA cover art.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE
Ben Simmons may have cheated on Tinashe with Kendall Jenner
We all know now that Ben Simmons is dating Kendall Jenner — the 6-foot-10 Rookie of the Year candidate is being accused of striking up the romance with the supermodel before he broke up with his ex, singer Tinashe.
The Tea is Simmons has been seeing Jenner “for a few weeks.” They were spotted together in New York last week and in LA on Tuesday. But after our report, Tinashe’s teen brother, Kudzai Kachingwe, went ballistic on Simmons on Twitter, alleging that the NBA star only broke up with Tinashe on Sunday, and that he was “cheating” on her.
“Never met you before in my life. Days after u break my sis heart u do this,” Kachingwe posted. He added: “no f - - king excuse for cheating, be a man and figure it out.”
Then again, some reports have had another timeline — MTO News said on May 25 that Simmons and Tinashe parted ways because Tinashe was “doing Kardashian s - - t.” A source told the site of Tinashe, “She is way too public with everything. They just started dating and this girl is calling up paparazzi.”
Either way, Kachingwe also addressed the Kardashian comparison on Twitter on Wednesday, posting: “people all lied on her talking fake news about my sis doing kardashian s - - t u cheat on her w a Jenner.”
On Monday, Simmons landed at LAX, and was seen on a lavish lunch date Tuesday with Jenner, we reported. TMZ spotted Simmons out Tuesday night at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills with a woman covering her face with a hoodie. Reps have not gotten back to us.
Simmons started dating Tinashe in March. Her brother says he’s trying to “expose” what happened, but posted, “Sorry for blowing up y’all twitter everyone. It was actually the only way to defend my sister.”
For her part, Tinashe simply posted a sexy photo captioned, “I set the bar, I’m the f - - kin bar.”
Jenner is allegedly rebounding from another NBA star, Blake Griffin.
Tom Cruise Unveils First Photo From ‘Top Gun’ Sequel
In case you haven’t heard a Top Gun sequel is in the works and Tom Cruise dropped the first photo from the film on Thursday.
The pic shows Cruise back in uniform as his iconic character Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. He’s clutching his helmet and looking back at his fighter jet.
The photo is captioned with the film’s infamous “Feel The Need” tagline.
Tom captioned the pic, “#Day1”
The sequel to the 1986 classic blockbuster is slated to hit theaters on July 12, 2019.
Are you excited for a Top Gun sequel?
Samantha Bee Apologizes For Her Ivanka Trump Comments After Widespread Backlash
Samantha Bee has apologized for calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless c**t” on her show “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” on Wednesday night.
In a statement to media Bee said: “I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”
The apology comes after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders singled Bee out for criticism and called the host’s language “vile and vicious.”
“The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling,” Sanders said in a statement to The Wrap.
“Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast, and executives at Time Warner and TBS must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned on its network,” the press secretary added.
In a statement to HuffPost, TBS also apologized: “Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night. Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it.”
TBS, which airs “Full Frontal,” is a part of media conglomerate Turner, owned by Time Warner. The channel initially had the clip of Bee’s segment available online and has since taken it down.
Bee’s apology has garnered huge and varied reactions on social media:
Time Warner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Roseanne Barr is Unimpressed With Samantha Bee Apology; “Forgives” Sara Gilbert
Add Roseanne Barr to those not impressed with Samantha Bee’s apology.
Days after Roseanne Barr’s ABC sitcom got cancelled after she tweeted calling former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape, though she apologized for her “bad joke,” Samantha Bee apologized to Ivanka Trump after calling the White House staffer/First Daughter a “feckless c**t.”
“I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable,” Bee said in her apology statement. “I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.”
In a river of afternoon tweets, Barr also said she forgives Sara Gilbert, who is credited with bringing together the Roseanne revival, and also forgives Michael Fishman, both of whose jobs on that hit comedy series revival Barr lost for them this week. “I forgive u both, love U both, just wish u could have called me personally 2 talk rather than do it in a public arena,” she said of their having tweeted their dismay over Barr’s tweet:
Working on the Roseanne revival, Barr said, was a “joyous experience” but “not the right time,” adding that “going out on top is good!”
Sarunas Jackson says to the HATERS Stop Being Homophobic The “Insecure” Men Aren’t Gay!
He also wants you to know that he can fight, “You Don’t Want To See These Hands”
Insecure co-star and alleged new father, Sarunas Jackson (who plays Dro in the hit HBO series) addressed the discussion surrounding he and his cohorts GQ spread that was released earlier this week.
The spread was included in GQ’s Comedy Issue (the same issue that Issa Rae was apart of for her reinvention of black television icons). The men of the highly-buzzed show can be seen
shirtless at the pool, and in the gym showing off their impressionable looks and comedic physique.
The reaction to the photo shoot has been accepted by some, and rejected by others.
Jackson took to social media to speak his thoughts on the problematic statements he seen regarding the spread. He starts off his rant and explains,
I’m just going to give this a little bit of attention. I’m not bothered, it does need to be addressed. It’s about the GQ spread me and the fellas from Insecure just did. Me and the fellas did a shoot with GQ – as you guys know – and we had a great time. It was fun and it was a blessing. I was very grateful to be apart of GQ, it’s been a lifelong goal.
He brings clarity to the his point,
Mind you, this was for the GQ Comedy issue. Say that again: GQ’s Comedy issue. Now, if you been following me – or if you know me personally – you know, I ride for my people [black people]. I ride for my culture. Now, I’m also going to hold you accountable, no matter who
you are. It doesn’t even matter about culture. Period.
He goes on to criticize the perception of people who question homosexuality, by noting they have a lack of self-security,
How homophobic can people be? You know, we’re a group of men, who had our shirts off and we’re doing GQ Comedy issue, and we’re being called gay, up and down, right? Mind you, none of us are gay in that group, and even if any of us were, who cares? That’s not the issue. I’ll tell [you] what the problem is, though.
He continues and outlines out the colorism in the backlash,
1. You guys are using homosexuality as a negative. 2. Accusing us of being ‘cause why? Why? It’s a big problem in the black community. Get secure with yourself, get secure. Ironically, our show title is perfect for a lot of you motherfuckers out there; dead ass! On top of
that, the shining the light on the colorism. All the light skin dudes were gay – automatically. Crazy, y’all. Crazy.
He finishes his rant by mentioning the love the series has for the supporters of the show,
At the end of the day, we’re group of brothers that’s on the show that’s for the culture – support. And we have a lot have great supporters out there. We love all you guys that support us.
Jackson also enforces he is not fearful of getting physical if need be either,
Just on some final notes: do better. And a lot of you motherf*ckers who were talking sh*t on guys who were living their dreams – doing a GQ comedy spread – you would never wanna see these hands! This smiling and acting stuff – don’t! But our supporters, love you. The love we get from our supporters. You guys are another level and make us excited to create.
Jackson allegedly shares a baby with his co-star, DomiNque Perry (Tasha on Insecure). Perry gave birth to daughter, Zen on May 21st.
Jesse Williams Reportedly Has A New Girlfriend
Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams has reportedly moved on from his breakup with Minka Kelly earlier this year.
Page Six is reporting that the actor is now boo’d up with SportsNet New York anchor Taylor Rooks. Spies spotted the pair taking in Kevin Hart’s comedy show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, over Memorial Day weekend.
An insider told the column: “They are eager to keep their romance under wraps. He’s been going through a difficult divorce [from Aryn Drake-Lee], but he’s found solace with Taylor.”
The source added of Williams and Rooks, “The two slipped into Atlantic City for 24 hours” on Saturday.
Rooks is considered a rising star for her YouTube show and podcast “TimeOut With Taylor Rooks,” which has recently included interviews with guests including Meek Mill and Dwyane Wade.
Via Page Six:Oddly, the pair were rumored to have stayed at an Atlantic City hotel — the Ocean Resort Casino — before it opens next month, as the only two guests in the 1,400-room resort.
But sources close to the TV star — as well as a rep for the hotel — shot down the cozy creepy concept.
Reps for Rooks and Williams did not comment.
Jamie Foxx (Kinda) Reveals Beyonce Will Guest Star On ‘Beat Shazam’!
Triple threat super-star Jamie Foxx is back, helping music fans beat Shazam on the second season of his uber popular game show, and this time he’s getting some help from his daughter, Corinne, who is the show’s newest DJ.
“He called me and said would you be interested and I was like of course,” explained Corinne. “We both love music, it’s been kind of a bonding experience for us, we both like the same kind of music even though [he’s] a lot older than I am, so it just made sense.”
But besides getting a double dose of Foxx on Fox, Jamie spilled the beans about who the surprise guest would be this season.
“Beyonce!,” he said with a sneaky smile before revealing he was just joking. “Yep, we got Beyonce from San Bernardino.”
He then added, “Listen, we know Ed Sheeran is going to [be on], The Chainsmokers, Smokey Robinson, Bell Biv Devoe … a lot of people.”
And as for if Foxx himself will perform, he told us of course, before expressing his excitement for being able to showcase all of his loves – acting, music and comedy – on one platform.
“Ten years ago you wouldn’t have been able to get a way with this, but now everyone does television, movies commercials. I wanted to be in a spot where I owned the show, but at the same time be able to bring joy, and great artist to everyone.”
“Beat Shazam” returns to Fox May 29th at 8/7c.
Southern Charm’s Kathryn Dennis to Fight For Full Custody of Kids Amid Thomas Ravenel’s Sexual Assault Allegations…REPORT!
Kathryn Dennis‘ custody battle with Thomas Ravenel may soon take a turn in her direction.
As reports continue to swirl in regard to Thomas’ alleged sexual assaults on a number of different women, an insider is speaking out, revealing that that Southern Charm star’s ex-girlfriend is planning to request full custody of their two kids — and more money for support.
As fans may know, Thomas was granted full custody of the children he shares with Kathryn after she failed a court-ordered drug test in 2016.
“Kathryn is going to court to ask a judge to give her full custody of the kids,” an insider told Radar Online on May 31. “Right now, Kathryn pays Thomas $100 a month in child support since he has full custody. She is planning to ask for money for child support from Thomas in court since she is spending fifty percent of the time with the kids.”
A hearing for their case is set for June 8.
“Kathryn is considering bringing up all of the sexual assault stories about Thomas that are in the news now,” the source revealed. “She might do that if she thinks it will help get her more time and money.”
Earlier this year, a woman named Ashley Perkins revealed that her mother, Debbie, had allegedly been sexually assaulted by Thomas after meeting the former politician on a dating app. A short while later, Thomas and Kathryn’s former nanny, Dawn, and his ex-girlfriend, Luzanne Otte, accused Thomas of doing the same to them.
In 2016, Thomas allegedly paid $200,00 to Debbie to settle her case against him and silence her from speaking out against him.
Following the women’s accusations against Thomas, police in South Carolina launched an investigation into what occurred, as did Bravo TV and its production company, Haymaker.
CONDOLENCES: Ruben Studdard Mourns His Brother Kevin Studdard’s Passing!
Ruben Studdard is mourning the death of his big brother, Kevin Studdard.
The “American Idol” season two winner announced his brother’s passing in a heartfelt message on Memorial Day.
I thank God for giving me the Best Big Brother ever!!!
He has always had my back and looked out for me . He always told me what i needed to hear even when i didn’t want to listen.
I love you my kind sweet brother and i will miss you everyday. #RIH I Love you so much @studslife
Kevin’s cause of death has not been disclosed.
My sincerest condolences to Ruben and his family during this difficult time.
Layoffs hit Vogue as Condé Nast cuts continue
Eight people — including the "director of communications and a Vogue.com senior market editor" — have been laid off from Vogue, according to sources close to the magazine. The layoffs follow industry-wide whisperings that Anna Wintour's exit from the fashion publication is near. But also, the departures come amidst Condé Nast's wider reorganization plan that involves cutting overhead costs and streamlining its staff by sharing resources across titles.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘PINKIE WINKIE’
Lookin like Pink Pather’s groupie side-piece.
#EGGPLANT NATION Meet Tony The Bear!
DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN any images posted on this blog. All images are found online or submitted.
ENJOY!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!
EFREM
