Entertainment Weekly Releases ‘Tenet’ Cover Featuring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki!
With the release of Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster Tenet only weeks away, Entertainment Weekly has released an exclusive cover story giving a behind the scenes look at the making of the film. While the article doesn’t feature any photos of the set as a result of the ultra-secretive nature of the project, it does feature stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki in a stylish photo shoot.
Tenet is currently set for release on July 31, with a re-release of Nolan’s Inception taking its previous release date of July 17. Not much is known about the plot (and Nolan certainly isn’t revealing many details), but if the trailers are any indication it will feature a lot of action, espionage, and the mind-bending time travel logic that has become Nolan’s specialty. Be sure to read the article for more exclusive photos and anecdotes from set.
#RHOA: Kandi's Stepdaughter Had an Incredible Pink Hennessy Cake for Her 24th Birthday!
Kandi Burruss Gets Real About Co-Parenting with Todd Tucker: "We Definitely Have Had Arguments"
In the video above, Kandi Burruss describes her philosophy when it comes to celebrating her stepdaughter's birthday. "It's her birthday," The Real Housewives of Atlanta mama says. "So, just let her do what she wants to do!" In other words: Let her eat cake, which is exactly what Kaela did when she turned 24 on June 17.
In her Instagram Stories, Kandi shared a peek at the aspiring fashion designer's birthday bash. As Kaela and her friends rolled up to a parking lot in a party bus, they opened the doors to find a sea of cheering friends.
One friend in particular was holding a very enticing gift: It was a beautiful cake shaped like a pink ice bucket, with a bottle of Hennessy tucked into it. And make no mistake about whose cake that was: Kaela's initials, K.P.T., were scrawled on the side in large gold font.
In Kaela's own Insta Stories, she can be heard giddily saying, "It's a Henny! It's a Henny! It's so cute." Indeed it is:
Todd Tucker posted a birthday letter to his daughter on Instagram. Sharing a sweet photo of himself and Kaela, the Atlanta dad wrote: "Happy Birthday to my baby! ... Wow 24yrs Old! Where does the time go. [You're] growing up so fast. I know [you're] going to turn up because you are your fathers daughter lol! Have fun and continue to be the beautiful person you are! Love you, Dad."
In addition to a glamorous cake, Kaela's open-air bash had picnic tables set with jaunty umbrellas and pink balloons. There was also a pink step-and-repeat where the birthday girl posed for pics with her friends.
#MusicNews: Ledisi Announces New Album “The Wild Card”!
Ledisi has just officially announced her long anticipated upcoming album. The title of the project is “The Wild Card” and it is set to release on August 28th, 2020.
The lead single from “The Wild Card” is “Anything for You” which released earlier this year along with an intimate quarantine video for the song. The song has been steadily moving up the Adult R&B radio Charts, and was recently the most added song at stations.
This will be Ledisi’s ninth album overall and the first she will release via her own label Listen Back Entertainment. During a recent interview we conducted with Ledisi, she filled us in on creating the album:
This album I got to work with musicians, back to the basics, and I got to play with background vocals and harmonies more. I’ve always produced my projects, but this time I really produced my project. I had a lot of control over how I wanted it to be produced. Then I worked with other female songwriters. I worked with Robert Glasper of course, he’s on there. We wrote songs together in the studio collaboratively. It felt really good to have control over what I wanted to do and take full credit as a producer. Before I wouldn’t do it, I’d just stay out of the way. I’ve never been so clear on a project I’ve done other than my very beginning. This project has all R&B/Soul in every stage. Whether it’s old school, modern, or 90’s, Neo-Soul stuff. It goes all the way around of what the eclectic energy of what Ledisi is. Not one particular Soul/R&B, it’s all of them that have influenced me.
Stay tuned for more news about the upcoming album from Ledisi!
#HipHopNews: Drake Is Recording New Music From His Bed Following Surgery!
Posting up from his bed with studio equipment surrounding him on Thursday (June 18), Drizzy excited fans as he clearly seems to be working on new music. Though he doesn’t preview lyrics in the clip, the Toronto native does give a snippet of a new instrumental – and he also revealed he’d recently been in the hospital.
“Surgery boyz,” he wrote on the Instagram Story.”We working by any means.”
Just days earlier on Wednesday (June 17), a 2013 Drake collab with Busta Rhymes surfaced online. The J. Dilla-produced “Stay Down” was set to live on Busta’s Cash Money Records debut, but the album never materialized.
Prior to “Stay Down” leaking, an old song of his with Future hit the web in May after OVO Mark accidentally played it on Instagram Live. It may not have been a major issue on its own, but the track put Drake in a bit of an awkward position with a dated reference to Kylie Jenner.
“Yeah, I’m a hater to society,” he raps on the track. “Real shit, Kylie Jenner that’s a side piece/Yeah, I got 20 muthafuckas in’ Kylies.”
Drake quickly issued an apology on his Instagram Story after the leak.
“A song that mark ran last night on night owl sound live set shouldn’t have been played,” he wrote, “It’s a song that leaked 3 years ago and got scrapped shortly after. He was just going too deep in the drake/future catalogue. Last thing I’d want to do is wake up having any friends of mine feeling disrespected so I just had to say that to start off the day.”
Drake’s most recent official release was May’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes, a collection of unreleased songs and a handful of new ones. The project debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, making for the first time in a decade not debuting at No. 1.
D.L. Hughley Reveals He Tested Positive for Coronavirus After Collapsing During Show!
D.L. Hughley is updating fans on his health after his on-stage collapse.
The 57-year-old actor and comedian shared a video on Twitter on Saturday night (June 20), revealing that he has tested positive for coronavirus.
“Thank you everybody for your prayers and well wishes,” D.L. said. “When I came I was being treated for extreme exhaustion and dehydration, I was very dehydrated. Turns out, they ran a battery of tests and I also tested positive for COVID-19 which blew me away. I was asymptomatic.”
The night before, D.L. was performing a set at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville when he collapsed on stage. He was then taken to the hospital, where he was tested for the virus.
“Apparently I just lost consciousness,” D.L. said of the incident. “If your ass passes out in the middle of the show, you probably need to get tested. I am going back to my hotel room to quarantine for 14 days.”
Snapchat Removes Juneteenth Filter That Asked Users to Smile to Break Chains!
The corporations are at it again. On June 19th, Snapchat introduced a very misguided Juneteenth filter, and removed it after receiving criticism from Black users over social media. The filter featured a pan-African flag background, was captioned with the words “JUNETEENTH” and “FREEDOM DAY,” and prompted users to “smile.” When the user smiled, chains materialized and broke. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or an app engineer) to realize that telling users to smile into the facial recognition lens to break chains symbolizing centuries of slavery and racist brutality is a tone deaf way to commemorate the holiday. Digital strategist Mark S. Luckie tweeted a video of himself using the filter and showing his dumbfounded reaction, and many others followed suit in the replies.
As former Snap employee and multimedia designer/developer Ashten Winger tweeted, “this is what happens when you don’t have any black people on the product design team.” In 2017, Snapchat faced backlash for its Bob Marley 4/20 filter, which was called “digital blackface.”
Snapchat took down the filter later that morning and issued an apology, stating to CNBC, “A diverse group of Snap team members were involved in developing the concept, but a version of the Lens that went live for Snapchatters this morning had not been approved through our review process.”
Rihanna and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Team Up for $15M Donation to Mental Health Services!
million donation back in April directed to domestic violence survivors, the two are teaming up one more time to give $15 million toward causes "addressing mental health issues, food insecurity, and income loss." Dorsey announced the news on Twitter, saying that his #StartSmall initiative was partnering with Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation, specifically mentioning that they would work to assist "individuals excluded from federal stimulus programs in Newark and Chicago."
"Racial injustices perpetrated by systems built to keep people safe are exacerbating the coronavirus’s mental health impact on individuals and families across the United States," according to a statement from the Clara Lionel Foundation. "Even as the majority of states have begun lifting restrictions in recent days, millions of Americans continue to face daunting challenges when it comes to their health, mental, and economic well-being."
The statement points out that "senior citizens, low-income families, and homeless individuals" are being particularly hard-hit by the pandemic and that "racial disparities are contributing to alarmingly disproportionate rates of infection and death among Black and Brown people." In the announcement, Dorsey and Rihanna named a dozen organizations that would be getting financial assistance.
Dorsey has been making donations since the beginning of the pandemic. Before partnering with Rihanna, he donated $1 billion of his equity in Square to his LLC, Start Small. That money went to providing relief for victims of coronavirus, but Dorsey said that he would shift the focus of Start Small to girls' health and education.
"They represent the best long-term solutions to the existential problems" facing the world, he said at the time.
Congrats! Raven Symone Ties the Knot!
Last year on New Year's Day Raven-Symone announced she was exclusively dating a mystery blonde
Now Raven is a married woman...
Raven announced the news on Instagram just hours ago and tagged her new wife Miranda Maday.
Congrats!
Missy Elliott & Salt-N-Pepa To Receive Stars On The Hollywood Walk of Fame!
Several of hip-hop’s biggest female pioneers will be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021.
On Thursday, radio host Ellen K, who serves as the Walk of Fame’s selection-panel chair, was joined by Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rana Ghadban on Facebook Live, where they announced that rapper/producer Missy Elliott and rap duo Salt-N-Pepa were amongst next years honorees.
“The panel has done an exemplary job in choosing very talented people,” Ellen K said during the announcement.
Missy and Salt-N-Pepa are the first female rappers to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since Queen Latifah received hers in 2006.
The “Work It” rapper took to Twitter to express her gratitude in being honored with the prestigious icon award.
“I’m Still In shock I remember my first trip to LA I wanted take pics by all the Hollywood stars & now I will have one it’s such a BLESSING I want EVERYONE TO KNOW I am HUMBLY GRATEFUL and so APPRECIATIVE,” the 48-year-old tweeted.
Other major names who will also be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame include actor Morris Chestnut, Don Cheadle, Marla Gibbs, Jenifer Lewis, Judge Greg Mathis, Big Boy, and Wild-N-Out host and actor, Nick Cannon.
The date of the ceremony has yet to be announced.
James Van Der Beek Shared His Wife Kimberly Suffered Another Miscarriage!
James Van Der Beek revealed that his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek recently suffered another miscarriage.
"After suffering a brutal, very public miscarriage last November, we were overjoyed to learn we were pregnant," the Dawson's Creek alum shared on Instagram this weekend. "This time, we kept the news to ourselves. But last weekend, once again, 17 weeks in... the soul we'd been excited to welcome into the world had lessons for our family that did not include joining us in a living physical body."
In Nov. 2019, the actor announced on Dancing With the Stars that his wife had suffered a miscarriage. At the time he said, "You never know why these things happen. It's what I've been telling my kids. All you know is that it brings you closer together."
In his recent post, the actor explained that he rushed his wife to the hospital by ambulance "for another harrowing night of blood transfusions."
He added, "And as I stood by, grateful for the good people who navigated the maze of regulations to save her life—but helpless to do much for the woman I loved other than massage her feet and try to keep her warm (with my #DWTS robe, ironically)—something kept running through my head, again and again, which I now feel compelled to share..."
Van Der Beek went on to add that "we've got to take better care of each other."
"The world is in pain right now," he went on. "There's denial, shock, numbness, anger - all the old patterns we cling to when deep trauma is unearthed. And there are no words to ease that pain... to make the process hurt less or to solve it quickly. But the way out of it? Starts with an open, broken-hearted contemplation of this question: How can we take better care of each other? And to all the families who have gone through this... you are not alone."
In Dec. 2019, Van Der Beek shared that he and his wife Kimberly were "still in repair" after their first miscarriage.
"Still in repair. Discovering that healing happens at its own pace," he captioned a picture of the two on the beach. "Not the pace you'd like, and definitely not the pace at which the world keeps on moving... But it happens. And there's beauty in allowing yourself to be exactly where you're at. (Plus, it's not like you really have a choice, anyway.)"
Simone Biles Blows Other Gymnast’s Minds With ‘Triple Double’ Beam Dismount!
The most dominant gymnast in the world is ready for competition despite the postponement of the Olympic Games!
Simone Biles thoroughly impressed her peers on Tuesday by sharing a sneak peek at what she’s been cooking up. The Olympic champion is back in the gym after a long hiatus due to the pandemic. While she hasn't officially signed on to the rescheduled 2020 games, it’s clear by her practice video that she hasn’t lost a step.
"triple double 🤪,” she captioned the impressive feat.
For those of us that are governed by the laws of gravity, a triple-double means that she did a double backflip with three twists. Don’t be fooled, she makes it look a hell of a lot easier than it looks!
Fellow Olympic champion Nastia Liukin was left flabbergasted and commented, “Whatttttttttttt,” before declaring Biles the G.O.AT. with lots of 👑👑👑👑👑 crown emojis.
Gabbi Butler, star of the Netflix Docuseries, "Cheer," said, "Literally the best 🔥❤️."
Her millions of followers were impressed and showered her with praise but only the followers that were gymnasts really understood how cool the move was.
”that’s the most impressive thing I’ve seen,” one stated.
Simone actually shocked the world when she pulled off a triple-double during the gymnastics World Championships back in 2019. The only difference was that it was part of her floor routine and not a dismount from the beam. Regardless, it changed the game and it doesn’t take an expert to know that she is not a normal human. In fact, the move is actually called the "Biles II." What's more impressive than having a move named after you? How about two? Yeah... she's pretty good.
Not being able to practice in a gym or with her teammates didn't stop her from getting after it. She may have gotten some well-deserved rest and relaxation, she never fully stopped training. In April, she put her unreal core strength on display as she inverted in the middle of her living room.
"Stay home and stay focused! 🤍" she wrote at the time.
Of course, she also participated in the handstand challenge where she rushed to take her pants off while balancing on her hands.
AMC Reverses Decision; Will Require Patrons to Wear Mask!
Well, this may be the quickest reversal decision of 2020.
In a Thursday report by Variety, the world’s largest movie chain of theaters, AMC said it would not require patrons to wear masks after next month’s reopening, but as of Friday, that has quickly changed.
Seeing that we are still living in times of COVID-19, the decision was not well received by the public, and many took to social media to harshly criticize the company’s decision to “not get drawn into a political controversy” by making movie-goers wear masks.
CEO Adam Aron also spoke to CNN Business on Thursday and said, “we want to keep the politics out of our theaters” and “we didn’t want to step into that controversy.” This suggested the issue of politics outweighed the matter of health, and the company and CEO has since admitted the mistake.
“This announcement prompted an intense and immediate outcry from our customers, and it is clear from this response that we did not go far enough on the usage of masks,” Aron said in a statement on Friday. “At AMC Theatres, we think it is absolutely crucial that we listen to our guests. Accordingly, and with the full support of our scientific advisors, we are reversing course and are changing our guest mask policy. The speed with which AMC moved to revise our mask policies” is a “reflection of our commitment to the safety and health of our guests,” Aron said.
Instead of encouraging mask, the company will now require patrons to wear them and will sell them for $1 when they start to reopen on July 15.
According to CNN Business, the new health and sanitation program titled “AMC Safe and Clean” will implement its new safety guidelines to help combat the spread of COVID-19 by operating at a 30% capacity during showings, disinfecting seating between films and nightly, upgrading its ventilation systems, and requiring all employees to wear masks and monitor their temperatures.
The reverse decision is a smart move for AMC. Let’s see if other theaters follow suit
The EMPTY Trump comeback rally features empty seats and staff infections!
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — President Donald Trump launched his comeback rally Saturday by defining the upcoming election as a stark choice between national heritage and left-wing radicalism. But his intended show of political force amid a pandemic featured thousands of empty seats and new coronavirus cases on his own campaign staff.
In this Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, in North Charleston, S.C. Trump is looking to reverse a decline in his political fortunes by returning to the format that has so often energized himself and his base: a raucous, no-holds-barred rally before thousands of ardent supporters. Trump understands the stakes and is pushing ahead despite pleas from some health officials in Oklahoma to delay a rally in Tulsa on Saturday, June 20 until the region has a better handle on the coronavirus. (Source: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Trump ignored health warnings to hold his first rally in 110 days — one of the largest indoor gatherings in the world during a coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 120,000 Americans and put 40 million out of work. The rally was meant to restart his reelection effort less than five months before the president faces voters again.
"The choice in 2020 is very simple," Trump said. "Do you want to bow before the left-wing mob, or do you want to stand up tall and proud as Americans?"
Trump unleashed months of pent-up grievances about the coronavirus, which he dubbed the "Kung flu," a racist term for COVID-19, which originated in China. He also tried to defend his handling of the pandemic, even as cases continue to surge in many states, including Oklahoma.
He complained that robust coronavirus testing was making his record look bad — and suggested the testing effort should slow down.
"Here's the bad part. When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more cases," he said. "So I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down.' They test and they test."
"Speed up the testing," Trump's Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, tweeted later.
In the hours before the rally, crowds were significantly lighter than expected, and campaign officials scrapped plans for Trump to address an overflow space outdoors. When Trump thundered that "the silent majority is stronger than ever before," about a third of the seats at his indoor rally were empty.
Trump tried to explain away the crowd size by blaming the media for scaring people and by insisting there were protesters outside who were "doing bad things." But the small crowds of pre-rally demonstrators were largely peaceful, and Tulsa police reported just one arrest Saturday afternoon.
Before the rally, Trump's campaign revealed that six staff members who were helping set up for the event had tested positive for the coronavirus. Campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said neither the affected staffers nor anyone who was in immediate contact with them would attend the event.
The president raged to aides that the staffers' positive cases had been made public, according to two White House and campaign officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.
Trump devoted more than 10 minutes of his 105-minute rally — with the crowd laughing along — trying to explain away a pair of odd images from his speech last weekend at West Point, blaming his slippery leather-soled shoes for video of him walking awkwardly down a ramp as he left the podium. And then he declared that he used two hands to drink a cup of water that day because he didn't want to spill water on his tie — and proceeded to this time drink with just one hand.
But Trump also leaned in hard on cultural issues, including the push to tear down statues and rename military bases honoring Confederate generals following nationwide protests about racial injustice.
"The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments, our beautiful monuments," Trump said. "They want to demolish our heritage so they can impose their new repressive regime in its place."
Trump also floated the idea of a one-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of burning an American flag, an act of protest protected by the First Amendment. And he revived his attacks on Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who emigrated from Somalia as a child, claiming she would want "to make the government of our country just like the country from where she came, Somalia: no government, no safety, no police, no nothing — just anarchy."
"And now she's telling us how to run our country," Trump continued. "No, thank you."
After a three-month break from rallies, Trump spent the evening reviving his greatest hits, including boasts about the pre-pandemic economy and complaints about the media. But his scattershot remarks made no mention of some of the flashpoints roiling the nation, including the abrupt firing of a U.S. attorney in Manhattan, the damaging new book from his former national security adviser or the killing of George Floyd.
Large gatherings in the United States were shut down in March because of the coronavirus. The rally was scheduled over the protests of local health officials as COVID-19 cases spike in many states, while the choice of host city and date — it was originally set for Friday, Juneteenth, in a city where a 1921 racist attack killed as many as 300 people — prompted anger amid a national wave of protests against racial injustice.
But Trump and his advisers forged forward, believing that a return to the rally stage would reenergize the president, who is furious that he has fallen behind Biden in polls, and reassure increasingly anxious Republicans.
But Trump has struggled to land effective attacks against Biden, and his broadsides against the former vice president did not draw nearly the applause as did his digs at his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton.
City officials had expected a crowd of 100,000 people or more in downtown Tulsa. Trump's campaign, for its part, declared that it had received over a million ticket requests. The crowd that gathered was far less than that, though the rally, being broadcast on cable, also targeted voters in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida.
The president’s campaign tried to point fingers elsewhere over the smaller-than-expected crowd, accusing protesters of blocking access to metal detectors and preventing people from entering the rally. Three Associated Press journalists reporting in Tulsa for several hours leading up to the president’s speaking did not see protesters block entry to the area where the rally was held.
The campaign handed out masks and hand sanitizer, but there was no requirement that participants use them and few did. Participants also underwent a temperature check.
"I don't think it's anything worse than the flu," said Brian Bernard, 54, a retired IT worker from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who sported a Trump 2020 hat. "I haven't caught a cold or a flu in probably 15 years, and if I haven't caught a cold or flu yet, I don't think I'm gonna catch COVID."
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘HANG ON TIGHT’
I mean, it’s gonna feel weird sitting that high up on you to press my balls against your back but I certainly want to make sure I’m following safety instructions.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD ALL!!!
EFREM
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