“Mrs. America” Star Cate Blanchett for Variety’s “Power of Women” Issue!
“Mrs. America” star Cate Blanchett covers Variety’s “Power of Women” issue photographed Sophy Holland by and styled by Elizabeth Stewart.
On the “connective tissue” between the refugee experience and what millions have now endured in lockdown: “It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” says Blanchett. “Even if Britain gets [the coronavirus] under control, the movement of people — who are moving because they’re imperiled — means the problem is not going away, and you can have a second or third outbreak.”
On returning to an industry that will be “wobbly” but potentially changed for the better: This year’s jury president for the Venice Film Festival, set to run Sept. 2-12, Blanchett assures that plans “are going ahead in a positive, realistic way. We can’t be guided by fear,” she says plainly. “We have to be forward-looking, and in an intelligent way. The systems we were laboring under weren’t working for everyone before. The only opportunity in this is to fix things.”
Get more at Variety!
#RHOA: Cynthia Bailey's The Bailey Wine Cellar Is Reopening After Coronavirus Closure!
On June 11, Cynthia shared the announcement that The Bailey Wine Cellar will reopen to customers, albeit for limited hours. In the interest of protecting the safety of both customers and staff members, the store is enforcing specific guidelines over the coming weeks.
“ALL customers must wear a mask. NO EXCEPTIONS! We encourage our customers to “Buy & Go” for now to practice social distancing,” the caption of the announcement read. “However, small groups of no more than 8 people at a time are welcome at their own discretion. We will do our part to make our customers feel safe & comfortable to taste wines and socialize.”
The message went on to thank customers for their continued support, stating, “Please be patient with us as we work towards making the Bailey Wine Cellar a fun experience, while practicing safety measures in regards to Covid-19. Thank you in advance for supporting small black owned businesses.”
Cynthia isn’t the only ‘Wife to see her business reopen after weeks of closure. On June 11, The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Melissa Gorga confirmed that her boutique, Envy, will also open to the public again this month.
#MusicNews: COACHELLA Canceled For 2020!
Coachella won’t be happening this year. After reports surfaced last month, the two-weekend festival has been officially canceled following county and state restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic.
Goldenvoice, the promoter of Coachella and Stagecoach, made the announcement on Thursday. “Under the continuing health guidance of the County of Riverside, Coachella and Stagecoach 2020 will not take place this October as previously rescheduled,” read the statement. “This is not the future that any of us hoped to confront, but our main focus remains the well-being of our fans, staff, artists, desert partners and everyone involved in the festival.”
Stagecoach is hard for us to comprehend, but we have every intention of returning in 2021. As of now, Coachella weekend one will take place April 9 – 11, 2021 and weekend two will be April 16 – 18, 2021. Stagecoach is set for April 23 – 25, 2021. We look forward to sharing our new lineups and more information. We can’t wait to be together in the desert again when it is safe.”
All 2020 passes will be honored in 2021 and refunds are also available. More details will be sent via email by Monday, June 15.
Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, and Rage Against the Machine were set to headline this year’s festival in Indio, Calif., which was planned for April before being postponed to October in response to the coronavirus.
Public health officials expressed concern over hosting the festival in the fall. “I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall,” said Riverside County public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser. “In addition, events like Coachella and Stagecoach would fall under Governor Newsom’s Stage 4, which he has previously stated would require treatments or a vaccine to enter. Given the projected circumstances and potential, I would not be comfortable moving forward.”
This is the first time since 2000 that Coachella has not occurred. The festival previously took a year off after its 1999 debut and its 2001 return.
#HipHopNews: Dababy Drops ‘Rockstar’ BLM Remix!
After topping the charts with “Rockstar,” DaBaby has released a Black Lives Matter remix to his hit single featuring Roddy Ricch.
DaBaby opens the Seth In The Kitchen-produced track by recounting his own experiences with systemic racism and the police. “Cops wanna pull me over, embarrass me / Abusing power, you never knew me, thought I was arrogant,” raps the Charlotte MC. “As a juvenile, police pull they guns like they scared of me / And we used to how crackers treat us now that’s the scary thing.”
But enough is enough. “Now we all fed up and ni**as coming back for everything,” he adds before “throwing up [his] middle finger.”
LISTEN HERE
“Rockstar” climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, becoming DaBaby’s first leader on the chart. The song can be found on his sophomore album, Blame It on Baby, which was released in April.
'All Black Lives Matter' Painted on Hollywood & Highland Streets In Pride Flag Colors!
Hollywood has taken a page from Washington, D.C. and painted Hollywood Boulevard over with “All Black Lives Matter“.
The words were painted on the street to celebrate both Pride and recognize the Black Lives Matter movement, as racial injustice continues to be exposed in America since the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and more around the country.
The letters of “All Black Lives Matter” were painted in yellow, as well as a pride flag, and trans flag.
“The protest is in direct response to racial injustice, systemic racism, and all forms of oppression,” ABLM shared on the website about the solidarity march that took place this afternoon (June 14).
The statement continued, “The LGBTQ+ community must extend its support to unite against oppression, police brutality, racism, transphobia, and the many other disparities disproportionately impacting the Black community.”
Beyonce Demands Louisville Attorney General “Bring Justice To Breonna Taylor” In Open Letter!
Beyonce Knowles-Carter penned and open letter to Louisville Attorney General Daniel Cameron demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her own home after Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers entered her apartment.
“It has now been over three months since members of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) killed Breonna Taylor,” Beyonce wrote in the letter, which is posted on her personal website. She went on to describe how plainclothes officers “forced their way into her apartment, where she was asleep and unarmed” before officers fired over twenty shots into Taylor’s home striking her at least eight times.
She continued, “While ‘Breonna’s Law’ passed in Louisville and federal legislation has been introduced that [it] will also ban no-knock warrants, these small steps in the right direction are painful reminders that there has still been no justice for Breonna Taylor or her family.”
“Three months have passed and the LMPD’s investigations have created more questions than answers” she stated. She went on to say that within the same three months, zero arrests have been made and Taylor’s family still waits for justice.
She mentions, “The LMPD’s investigation was turned over to your office, and yet all of the officers involved in the shooting remain employed by the LMPD. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officers Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison must be held accountable for their actions.”
That said, Beyonce points out that Cameron’s office has the “power and responsibility to bring justice to Breonna Taylor and demonstrate the value of a Black woman’s life.” She urged his office to bring criminal charges to the aforementioned officers, commit to transparency in the investigation and prosecution of the officers’ criminal misconduct and “investigate LMPD’s response to Taylor’s murder as well as the pervasive practices that result in the repeated deaths of unarmed Black citizens.”
“Don’t let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy,” she writes. “With every death of a Black person at the hands of the police, there are two real tragedies: the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. This is your chance to end that pattern. Take swift and decisive action in charging the officers. The next month can’t look like the last three.”
Candace Owens Has A Response To Dave Chappelle's Criticism!
It didn't take long for Candace Owens to react to Dave Chappelle's jab at her in a surprise Netflix special "8:46" in which he called her "stanky." Taking to her Twitter account on Friday, June 12, the conservative pundit commented on the diss.
"We've arrived too suddenly into a culture where people can't laugh at themselves, or want to restrain comedians," Candace wrote on her tweet. "I will never be a part of that culture."
Later, instead of viciously responding to Dave, Candace sent love to the comedian. "@DaveChappelle --you are legend and I'd love to meet you and challenge you to say any of that to my face! All love!" she added.
"To every Democrat tweeting me the clip of #DaveChappelle insulting me: I'm not a leftist. I have a sense of humor & I think comedians SHOULD make fun of people," she added in a separate tweet. "Dave Chappelle is one of the greatest comedians of all time and I made it into one of his specials. That's POWER!"
During his stand-up, Dave slammed Candance, saying, "I've seen Candace Owens try to convince white America, 'Don't worry about it he's a criminal anyway.' I don't give a f**k what this n***a did... I don't care if he personally kicked Candace Owens in her stink p***y. I don't know if it stinks, but I imagine it does. If I ever find out I'll let you know for sure, I'll tell like Azealia Banks, I'll tell."
In addition to blasting Candace, Dave came after Don Lemon. "I'm watching Don Lemon... he says, 'Where are all these celebrities. Why aren't you talking?' Does it matter about celebrity? No. This is the streets talking for themselves. They don't need me right now," he ranted.
In response to the name-dropping, Don said in an interview with CNN, "I'm actually honored to be memorialized in a Dave Chappelle special. What I will say is that I actually agree with Dave Chapelle. I agree--I think the establishment has been a bit behind."
"I think the young people who are out there in the street don't really care what we have to say. They think that part of the world that we created and what we did, maybe we didn't move fast enough, we weren't strong enough. So they're out there fighting," he continued. "They said, 'Listen, we are tired of this happening. We tried to do it nicely, we tried to do it peacefully, we've tried to do all of these things and you've rejected it.' So they're not only speaking to the white people in this country but also to all of us, all of us in the establishment."
"But the irony is that special is called '8:46'. He's talking about this issue and I think it's great. He's using his platform to talk about this in the way that he can," he concluded.
Barbra Streisand gifts Disney stock to George Floyd's 6-year-old daughter Gianna!
Singer Barbra Streisand recently gave George Floyd's daughter Gianna shares of Disney stock, one of many gifts the 6-year-old has received to honor her father.
As marches have been held around the world to protest the death of George Floyd, many people are reaching out in gestures of support to his 6-year-old daughter Gianna.
Singer Barbra Streisand recently gifted Floyd's daughter with shares of Walt Disney Co. stock.
"Thank You @barbrastreisand for my package, I am now a Disney Stockholder thanks to you," Gianna posted on her Instagram page.
Streisand also included two of her original studio albums as part of a package sent to Gianna.
The number of shares and their value was not disclosed.
Others have also been moved to support Gianna and Floyd's family.
Kanye West has reportedly set up a savings plan to fully cover college tuition for Gianna.
Kanye West has made a $2 million donation to support the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, a representative for West told CNN.
Texas Southern University in Houston has offered to grant Gianna a full-ride scholarship if she chooses to attend the school.
Meek Mill Defends B. Simone Amid Plagiarism Controversy!
B. Simone, whose book Baby Girl: Manifest the Life You Want was recently found to include multiple instances of plagiarism, is now being publicly defended by Meek Mill.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Meek asked why she was being "canceled" for having "finessed a book" when—in his opinion—major corporations could be met with the same fate for "ripping our culture off."
As the examples of plagiarized portions from the book started going viral over the weekend, a B. Simone rep responded in an Instagram comment by placing blame on a design company. According to Mz Skittlez, Simone's manager, a lawsuit is in progress.
ABC Executive Reportedly Used The Phrase “Pick Cotton” Towards TV Veteran Robin Roberts During Contract Negotiations, Currently On Administrative Leave!
Walt Disney Co., the owner of ABC, is currently investigating Barbara Fedida, senior vice president of talent, after 34 anonymous sources revealed that she had made racist remarks against employees of color, including “Good Morning America” co-host, Robin Roberts.
Since her time with Network (1986-2006, 2011- Now), Fedida has played an important part in the development and recruiting aspect on on-air talent at ABC, which includes top-rated TV programs “Good Morning America” and “ABC World News Tonight.”
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Most of Fedida’s alleged comments reported by sources were allegedly made regarding Black on-air talent.
While negotiating a new contract for ABC news veteran Robin Roberts, Fedida reportedly told stated that the network was not asking Roberts to “pick cotton.” Roberts, a well-respected employee of ABC, is a Black woman from Tuskegee, AL. In response to disturbing allegations against Fedida, the network revealed in a statement that they will be conducting an investigation against Fedida’s behavior.
In a different encounter, while discussing former network anchor Kendis Gibson, Fedida reportedly stated that the network “spends more on toilet paper than we ever would on him.”
Gibson, now of MSNBC, tweeted that he was shocked and disappointed by Fedida’s alleged comments towards him.
In a statement on Saturday, an ABC News representative stated:
“There are deeply disturbing allegations in this story that we need to investigate, and we have placed Barbara Fedida on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough and complete investigation. These allegations do not represent the values and culture of ABC News, where we strive to make everyone feel respected in a thriving, diverse, and inclusive workplace.”
Byron Pitts, a Black ABC News anchor, gave The Huffman Post a different perspective of Fedida, but also says he respects his colleagues, who may have had a different experience with her. In his statement to the news outlet, Pitts commented:
“My personal experience with Barbara Fedida is that she is not racist. I know what racism looks, smells, and sounds like. Barbara Fedida is not any of those things. But I am respectful of other colleagues who have had a different experience.”
Through her lawyer, Fedida responded to The Huffman Report about her behavior at ABC.
“Throughout my career, I have been a champion for increased diversity in network news,” the statement said. “Building a news division where everyone can thrive has been my life’s mission. I am proud of my decades of work [in] hiring, supporting, and promoting talented journalists of color. And, unlike these heartbreaking and incredibly misleading claims about me, that track record is well-documented and undeniable.”
The National Association for Black Journalists (NABJ) has called for the network to conduct a clear, external investigation into the allegations against Fedida and has asked for ABC to waive Non-Disclosure Agreements “for black employees & other employees of color.”
In a statement, the organization said:
“The external investigation by ABC News should be transparent, and all findings must be published and broadcast. This is appropriate because Fedida was no second-tier executive.”
The network has placed Barbara Fedida on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Jussie Smollett Can’t Use ‘Double Jeopardy’ Defense Against New Charges, Judge Rules!
Jussie Smollett’s double-jeopardy defense can’t get him off on new charges related to his alleged Chicago attack-hoax, a judge ruled.
The disgraced former “Empire” actor‘s lawyers argued that the new six-count indictment brought forward by a special prosecutor in February — 13 months after he allegedly faked a racist and homophobic beating — should be tossed because it violated his rights against double jeopardy, which prevents people from being punished for the same crime twice.
But a Cook County judge said Friday that the argument wasn’t valid, because Smollett was never punished by the court, The Chicago Tribune reported.
“There was no trial in this case, there was no jury empaneled, no witnesses were sworn, no evidence was heard, no guilty pleas were ever entered … nothing like that ever happened,” Judge James Linn said of the 2019 case. “There was no adjudication of this case.”
Chicago prosecutors dropped the first set of charges in a deal with Smollett in which he agreed to forfeit his $10,000 bond and was not required to admit any wrongdoing.
Jussie Smollett cites George Floyd protests, demands police transparency
The case stems from Smollett’s claim in January last year that he was attacked by two masked men who uttered President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. Weeks later, police alleged he staged the attack with the help of two paid friends because he was unhappy with his “Empire” salary.
Smollett denounced the new charges — which include disorderly conduct and lying to police — when they were brought in February, and said he maintains his innocence.
Kanye West Is Launching a Cosmetics Line!
Kim Kardashian-West may not be the only one in her house that is venturing into the cosmetics world. Kanye West is allegedly looking to get into the makeup business himself. According to reports, Kanye West and his company recently filed for a trademark to cover potential YEEZY beauty and skincare products. The products will include, but not be limited to, hair care products, moisturizers, false eyelashes, facial masks, and more.
In April of 2020, the 43-year-old rapper and fashion designer was named Hip-Hop’s second billionaire by FORBES magazine. The publication lists Kanye West, and his company to be worth approximately an estimate of $1.3 billion. Clarifying that the bulk of his net worth stems from his highly-profitable YEEZY sneaker brand, distributed by Adidas, Kanye also includes $200 million in real estate properties and his music catalog.
If the YEEZY makeup line is successful, it could stand a fighting chance against his wife Kim’s immensely successful makeup line, KKW Beauty.
Started in 2017, Kim Kardashian-West reportedly generated a total of $100 million in sales in 2019.
Kanye’s youngest sister-in-law has been even more successful with her makeup venture, KYLIE Cosmetics.
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s Daughter Zaya’s Birthday Party Was Fit for a Queen!
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union continue their reign as coolest celebrity parents after throwing an epic birthday bash for their daughter, Zaya Wade.
The 13-year-old celebrated the occasion with a creative combination of themes: medieval and pride. In photos retweeted by Union, the proud stepmother wears a lovely dress and headband, while her husband sports sunglasses, a leather kilt and his newly-famous red hair.
But Zaya stole the show in an outfit that screams Middle Ages with a modern twist, wearing a flowing green velvet dress with a glimmering crown and vibrant purple braids.
"Best day!! So glad we were able to create a special day for her 13th birthday," Gabrielle wrote. "She was surrounded by love and had the best time!"
Zaya also shared photos to Instagram, offering a caption in true medieval font, "ᗯᕼᗴᑎ Tᕼᗴ Tᕼᗴᗰᗴ Iᔕ ᗰOᗪᖇᗴᑎ ᗰᗴᗪIᐯᗩᒪ KIᑎᘜᗪOᗰ #13."
The birthday girl also wrote, "Stronger together, #happypride."
In a birthday post on Zaya's actual birthday, May 29, Gabrielle gushed over her stepdaughter's strength.
"You are such an inspiration and motivation to get my butt up everyday and fight," she wrote. "When I'm weary, frustrated, full of rage, I see your face and your joy and you living your best life and I want that for all of us. I love you sooooo much kid!! Enjoy this day and everyday knowing you are loved, protected, respected, admired and celebrated."
And of course, her father also had something to say.
"Waking up and watching you smile, watching you walk in your truth and live your life your way is one of the greatest gifts I've been able to experience in my life," Dwyane wrote. "In a world where the color of your skin is deemed a threat you continue to be the bravest person I know and I'm gonna stand by your side until there isn't anymore standing left to do. I love you more than words can articulate."
Zaya first came out as transgender in February, when Gabrielle shared an announcement to social media that described her stepdaughter as compassionate, loving and smart.
"It's OK to listen to, love & respect your children exactly as they are," Gabrielle wrote. "Love and light good people."
In a video that accompanied the original post, Zaya opened up during a father-daughter bonding moment.
"[For those who] are afraid they will be judged, I would say don't even think about that," Zaya said. "Just be true to yourself because, what's the point of being on this Earth if you're going to try and be someone you're not? It's like you're not even living as yourself, which is the dumbest concept to me. Be true and don't really care what the stereotypical way of being you is."
"I know [things] can get tough but I think you push through and you be the best you and especially more recently, it's become more accepting," Zaya added in the video. "Even through hard times, you gotta just push through. It's worth it. I think it's very worth it when you reach that point of yourself. You can look in the mirror and say hi to yourself."
In the time since, Dwyane and Gabrielle have been strong allies to Zaya, her father even taking interviews with Good Morning America and appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss his daughter's decision to live as a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘MOON OVER MY BOOTIES’
I don’t know about you but cowboy boots under a half moon sounds like a perfect country song to me.
HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!
EFREM
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