Sarah Jessica Parker for Town & Country Magazine!
From Broadway star to CEO, Sarah Jessica Parker has played enough roles to know that anything truly is possible here.
Sarah Jessica Parker covers Town & Country’s December/January issue photographed by Jason Schmidt and styled by Anne Christensen.
On what it means to be a New Yorker: “I think it has to do with the cultural promise and complexity of New York City—the challenges and the opportunities, the vibrancy. I love the yellow taxis, I love the architecture…It’s a place that, even today, when I walk out the door, I don’t know what will happen. I’m not in a car; I’m not behind a gate. I’m forced to be on the streets and bump into people and connect with humanity. I think my children are enormously lucky to be raised in New York City.”
On the exodus of city residents and reinvesting in the city: “After Labor Day is when I started having hard conversations with my friends. People who are wealthy—New Yorkers who made great success for themselves in New York City—I feel that they owe it to the city to reinvest, to come home to make a city that is now unfamiliar familiar again. Your favorite deli and restaurant—those businesses can’t wait for you. They can’t hold on to employees until you come home. They need to feel our presence, to have our financial support to remain open, or reopen. In order for our city to look familiar and to function as you have come to expect, you have to come home.”
On what she missed most during the lockdown: “I love walking in the city. I plan my workday around how I’m going to get there on foot. I put my headphones on and I’m in Koreatown, I’m in Chelsea. I missed walking into the pizza place, waiting in line with the construction workers. I missed the Mister Softee trucks.”
#RHOA: Kandi Burruss Has A Towering, Gold-Decked Christmas Tree at Her Atlanta Mansion!
Kandi Burruss took down her fall decor and brought in the Christmas lights a little early this year.
Kandi's video showed her giggling as she lay back on her huge tufted couch. A lush Christmas tree stood in the corner of her living room, and it was strung up with white lights and tons of shiny decor. But even though the tree was beautifully decorated, Kandi was being gently chided by a friend.
"[Kandi's] changing her house from Thanksgiving on Monday," her pal said. "I told her Thanksgiving's not until Thursday. You've got to wait until Thanksgiving's over to take your Thanksgiving decorations down ... Am I right?" But Kandi wasn't backing down.
"Maybe I should take a picture of [my Thanksgiving decorations] tomorrow, because they will be down; I will be having my Christmas decor up in front of my gate," the Atlanta mom insisted. In short, the tree's just the start of what Kandi has planned for her Atlanta abode this holiday season.
#MusicNews Leslie Odom Jr.’s ‘The Christmas Album’ Is Out Now!
Leslie Odom Jr. just dropped his 2nd holiday album, The Christmas Album, yesterday. Featuring a variety of standard and new holiday songs done in the vocalist’s signature pop/jazz style, this ten-song album is just what you need to get yourself into the holiday spirit this year. The album features six solo tracks and four with guests, including the Mzansi Youth Choir and Odom Jr.’s wife Nicholette Robinson. Despite the title, the album is not completely Christmas centric. In fact, the duet with his wife featured on the album is a rendition of the traditional Chanukah song, “Ma’oz Tzur”.
STREAM IT HERE
Available now for streaming on all your favorite services, The Christmas Album beautiful and not one to miss.
#HipHopNews: Westside Gunn Questions ‘Pray For Paris’ Missing From Best Rap Album Grammy Nominations!
Griselda flooded Hip-Hop with nothing but quality this year. Did the Grammys acknowledge that? Of course not. Westside Gunn is riding for his work, letting the Recording Academy know they overlooked his Pray For Paris album.
“So u telling me I had Conway, Benny, GIBBS, Roc Marci, Wale, Tylerthe Creator, Joey Badass, Cartier A williams tapdancing in the booth,” Westside Gunn wrote. “Prodby legends DJPremier, Alchemist, DJMUggs, Daringer etc. & head of LV Virgil Abloh dESIGN the cover & I’m not nominated.”
And he has a point. The hard part is while Pray for Paris is stacked with quality content, Hip-Hop had a banner year. Lil Baby and Roddy Ricch also have a stake to claim at the Best Rap Album but also snubbed.
Michael Jordan Donates $2 Million To Help Feed Those Facing Hunger!
Michael Jordan is giving back to the commented this holiday season, revealing a $2 million donation to help feed those in need of a meal, TMZ reveals.
“In these challenging times and in a year of unimaginable difficulty due to COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to pause and give thanks,” Jordan said. “I am proud to be donating additional proceeds from ‘The Last Dance’ to Feeding America and its member food banks in the Carolinas and Chicago to help feed America’s hungry.”
The Last Dance was the storied documentary of the 1990s Chicago Bulls, led by Jordan that ran up six rings and became known as the greatest dynasty in basketball history.
“An incredible gift to be thankful for — NBA legend Michael Jordan is donating $2 million to help our neighbors facing hunger!” Feeding America shared on Twitter.
Salute to the GOAT.
Amber Riley To Star In 'Dream', The Musical Comedy!
Amber Riley is now set to return in the upcoming musical television series named Dream. Amber Riley's new show, Dream is produced by Neil Meron and Lisa Muse Bryant.
Dream follows the story of a mother who starts pursuing her dream of becoming a singer when her son graduates from college. Dream marks the reunion for Neil Meron and Amber Riley. The duo starred in the live musical The Wiz Live! earlier.
Riley started her career by auditioning for American Idol when she was 17 years old. For her performance in Glee, Amber won a Screen Actors Guild Award and had been nominated for various awards. Riley played a lead role of Effie White in a Broadway musical named Dreamgirls and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for the same.
#NewCoupleAlert: Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey?
Jordan, the rising-star actor, and model-socialite Harvey were spotted exiting a plane on the tarmac.
It looks likes People magazine’s 2020 Sexiest Man Alive and the model-socialite daughter of a Black Hollywood mainstay were spotted exiting a Delta flight in Atlanta yesterday.
Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey were allowed to get off the plane on the tarmac instead of walking through the airport. Clad in nearly matching grey sweatsuits and masks, photographers still captured the two walking down the stairs from the flight to a waiting car.
The TMZ report notes “this is the first time the celebs have been linked together one-on-one,” however, there was a previous report of them crossing paths at a popular Los Angeles restaurant earlier this year.
Harvey, the daughter of veteran comic-actor-TV show host Steve Harvey, had previously dated rapper, Future. Their relationship ended back in August.
Black Twitter immediately had commentary for the alleged new lovebirds. Harvey’s name was trending, as women saluted her latest conquest.
While Harvey has been known for a few celebrity pairings, Jordan is no slouch either. He was recently linked to current rap queen Megan Thee Stallion.
Faizon Love Accuses Universal of Race Discrimination in Lawsuit Over 'Couples Retreat' Poster!
Faizon Love has filed a lawsuit against Universal Studios. He's accusing the studio of race discrimination for removing him from the international poster for the 2009 comedy Couples Retreat, Variety reports. The suit also accuses Universal of fraud, breach of contract, and violation of California’s fair employment act and civil rights law.
“This film was a big money-maker for Universal, but instead of honoring my work and my contract, the studio chose to render me invisible to billions of moviegoers,” Love said in a statement.
Love filed the suit 11 years later because he only recently realized that the poster without him and his Black co-star Kali Hawk remains prevalent abroad and among bilingual audiences. Their names aren’t even mentioned in the poster. Check them out below.
After initially discovering that he was removed from the poster for the film’s international release, Love says he received an apologetic call from producer Scott Stuber. Love also claims he was approached by Adam Fogelson, Universal chairman at the time, about future TV and film roles. He now believes those broken promises were only made to keep him from causing an uproar over the issue.
“What Universal Studios had initially portrayed to Mr. Love as an unintentional act of oversight and carelessness was, we now know, an intentional act of disparate and discriminatory treatment by Universal Studios and the remaining Defendants,” the lawsuit alleges.
In the suit, Love alleges his Couples Retreat co-star Vince Vaughn helped Universal in their efforts to keep him quiet because he “went so far as to tell Mr. Love that making a big deal about his removal from the poster would not be good for his career at the time.”
Love says Universal Studios didn’t follow up on their alleged promises to include him in future film and TV opportunities, and in fact, his career never took off since the incident. Love explains that his suit is to “ensure that future generations [of Black performers] don’t have to endure the racism and whitewashing that I have experienced.”
Supreme Court Blocks New York COVID-19 Restrictions On Religious Gatherings!
The U.S. Supreme Court late on Wednesday backed Christian and Jewish houses of worship challenging New York state’s latest restrictions in novel coronavirus hot spots.
The court on a 5-4 vote granted requests made by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Orthodox Jewish congregations.
The order marked one of the first consequential actions on the court of President Donald Trump’s new appointee, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who cast a deciding vote in favor of the religious groups. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts dissented along with the court’s three liberals.
An Oct. 6 decision by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down non-essential businesses in targeted areas where infections have spiked, including some Brooklyn neighborhoods. It limited gatherings at religious institutions to 10 people in some areas and 25 in others.
The houses of worship say that the limits violated religious freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and that their facilities were singled out for more stringent restrictions than essential businesses, such as food stores. The Orthodox congregations Agudath Israel of Kew Garden Hills and Agudath Israel of Madison, as well as nationwide Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America.
A federal judge in Brooklyn rejected separate requests made by the religious groups on Oct. 9. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined emergency requests filed by both sets of challengers on Nov. 9.
In two previous cases this year, the court on 5-4 votes turned away similar requests by churches in Nevada and California.
Those votes occurred before the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and saw her and her three liberal colleagues joined by Roberts in the majority.
Yo MTV Raps Dr Dre Loses His Leg but is still Grateful!
Hip-hop pioneer and former 'Yo! MTV Raps' host Andre "Doctor Dré" Brown was leaving his sister’s house on Memorial Day when he misjudged the location of a railing and fell down a flight of stairs. A friend jumped over the railing to prevent the 56-year-old from hitting his head. While Brown damaged his right ankle, he laughed off the unfortunate slip as just another embarrassing moment.
Yet the accident would kickstart a dangerous new phase of his life. A doctor who was treating his ankle noticed an infection forming and told Brown to go to the hospital. “The infection that was in my feet had started eating away at my bones,” he says. “If I had waited another day, I’d have been septic, and I could’ve died.” Doctors soon amputated his leg below the calf and Brown was fitted with a prosthetic and underwent months of rigorous physical therapy.
“Andre Brown” may not be a household name, but his alter ego Doctor Dré has been a vital part of hip-hop culture and crucial catalyst for its global domination nearly since its inception. A former DJ for Beastie Boys and co-founder of 1980s rap group Original Concept, Brown went on to co-host (alongside Ed Lover and Fab 5 Freddy) Yo! MTV Raps, the landmark program that introduced a generation of hip-hop fans to both their favorite rappers and the culture at large.
The show’s mix of diverse videos, frenetic live performances, gloriously unruly interviews and irreverent comedy made the jovial Brown a beloved star and the show appointment viewing. He would later go on to popular DJ stints at New York City radio stations Hot 97 and Power 105 and Los Angeles’ The Beat and currently hosts the health and wellness show The Doctor’s Appointment on LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells Radio on SiriusXM.
Around 2007, however, Brown developed Type 2 diabetes, sparking a series of health events including an amputated toe, multiple leg injuries, and blindness. He’s been battling the disease ever since, with his family setting up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Brown’s recent medical bills and subsequent recovery.
Kanye West Gifts Chris Brown New YEEZY Truck To Honor His Career!
It looks like Kanye West is still giving out YEEZY Truck’s and Chris Brown has been one of the latest celebrities to be gifted one of the massive tank-like vehicles that could possibly survive an apocalypse.
According to sources, Ye had the vehicle special delivered to Chris Brown’s Tarzana home as the gift made its grand entrance as it rolled through his front gates.
Sources say that there was no reason for the gift, Kanye just wanted to honor Chris’ career and talents while he was still here. Even though Kanye wasn’t there for the handoff, he penned a hand-written letter which said, “Congratulations to Chris brown, 20 years in the game you have overcome many hurdles and obstacles, you deserve the recognition for all the hard work you have put in.”
Chris seemed pretty excited about the gesture, and he thanked Kanye on Camera and even posted a photo to his Instagram of him in his driveway with the YEEZY Truck with a caption that read, “THANK
Now, for the record, the machine you’re seeing is actually a SHERP ATV. Kanye’s been using a lot of them at his properties lately and seems to have piggybacked on Teslas’ Cybertruck hype with a nickname of his own.
SHERP ATV’s are used for extreme travel, it can maneuver through mud, ice, snow, and mountainous terrains. A new one can retail anywhere in the ballpark of $120k, so they don’t come cheap at all.
We know Chris has enjoyed himself some ATV time out around those parts before, so hopefully, he can put this thing to good use.
Halle Berry Claps Back After LisaRaye McCoy Suggests She's Bad in Bed!
Halle Berry has been described as a bombshell and sex symbol, but never has she been called a bore in the bedroom—until now.
According to LisaRaye McCoy, word on the street is the Catwoman actress is bad in bed. The former model said this during an episode of Fox Soul's Cocktails with Queens, in which the women were discussing Halle's rumored sexcapades. Host Claudia Jordan pressed her on this idea, but all she would say is: "That's what they said. That's what I read. That's what I've heard. That's what they say."
Soon enough, Halle herself learned of this rumor and took to Twitter to let LisaRaye know she can go straight to the source if she's dying to know the truth. She tweeted, "Ms. @TheRealLRaye1, ask my man @vanhunt he'll tell ya all y'all need ta know."
But now, LisaRaye is backtracking. The personality said she heard this rumor after Halle starred in Monster's Ball. She explained, "I remember when Monster's Ball was her love scene and they was trying say that that's how she is in bed. And it was like, no, it was a movie guys, what are you talking about?"
LisaRaye went on to say that she wouldn't be able to describe what Halle's like during sex, because she's never slept with her. "I don't know that because I'm not gay nor am I bisexual," she stated. "But that disturbed me because Halle is beautiful. I don't have a problem with Halle. I love Halle."
What's more, LisaRaye said, "Halle is breaking barriers for all of us, you know what I mean. So that is absolutely a no-no."
Halle recently made headlines for similarly NSFW reasons when she revealed she had her first orgasm when she was 11 years old. The star spoke openly of her experience in a video with stylist Lindsay Flores, sharing, "I was diddling. I was figuring out my sexuality, like most girls."
As for her boyfriend Van Hunt, he doesn't kiss and tell.
Cardi B Slams Wiz Khalifa For Pitting Her Against Nicki Minaj!
Cardi B is not here for Wiz Khalifa's shady tweets.Amidst the 2021 Grammy nominations fallout — many people were upset after nominees were announced on Tuesday (November 24) — Wiz took to Twitter to offer his take on the shocking snubs while simultaneously reigniting Cardi's beef with Nicki Minaj.
It all started when Nicki shared her thoughts on the 2021 Grammy nominations by reflecting on the year she was snubbed by the Recording Academy. "Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation," she tweeted. "They gave it to the white man Bon Iver."
Later, Wiz gave his opinion on Twitter, writing, "As a grammy nominated artist I know how it feels. Ni**as always think its unfair until they get their turn. Just keep workin and that time'll come through. I felt like I got throughly robbed for See You Again. Haven't been bacc since, but when tha time comes ima have a joint rolled and dope a** speech ready. And it's Taylor Gang Or Die."
A fan then replied, “cardi wining a Grammy when nicki minaj didn’t is the biggest proof that they don’t know a sh*t bout music." (The tweet was in reference to Cardi's 2019 Best Rap Album win.)
Shockingly, Wiz retweeted the fan's comment and added, “Most self made artists have this problem."
It didn't take long for the tweet to end up on Cardi's radar as she responded by tweeting a screenshot of an Instagram DM that Wiz sent her in September 2016. “This was Nikkas in my dms in 2016!” she wrote. “They really support you when you grinding at the bottom then it’s a different story when you make it !”
The “WAP" rapper additionally called out Wiz for acknowledging a tweet that compared her to Nicki, whom she's long had beef with. “I don’t understand why ni**as entertain tweets that pit successful women against each other? Ya not tired of that? Specially when ya was rooting hard when a bitch was at the bottom," she added.
Wiz then responded to Cardi, claiming he still supports her and didn't mean to imply that she wasn't self-made. “Damn that wuz good advice. I still support u,” he wrote. “Nothings changed. Your self made in my book as well.” He later added, he “don’t want a Cardi/ Wiz war goin on for no reason.”
Racism Is Being Recognized As A ‘Public Health Threat’!
USA Today reports that racism has been declared a public issue in 145 cities and counties across 27 states. This number has risen substantially from seven in 2019.
While experts say it is an essential first step, there needs to be action behind the declarations.
Melva Thompson-Robinson, a professor at the School of Public health, says that the summer of protests over racism and police brutality, and adding in the coronavirus pandemic that is disproportionately affecting people of color, created a “perfect storm” that could no longer be ignored.
And now, the American Medical Association has passed a policy that recognizes racism as a public health threat. In a statement put together by the AMA, racism is broken down into three tiers: systemic, cultural, and interpersonal. Each level impacts the quality of medical care.
“Essentially, with COVID, the Band-Aid was ripped off our health care system,” said Dr. Edwards, an internist. “And the disparities were so blatant as we see more Black and brown and Native American communities hard-hit by COVID.”
It’s not just COVID-19 that impacts communities of color. Heart disease and diabetes also disproportionally affect Black and Hispanic communities. Then you factor in the bias that influences their medical care.
Additionally, according to the publication, the AMA officially recognized race as a social construct rather than a biological one. Socioeconomic factors can also add barriers to treatment, impacting health and well-being.
Racism impacts almost all aspects of life. Regina Davis Moss, associate executive director for the American Public Health Association, says that racism impacts school funding, access to nutritious food, housing stability, and income security.
Now that racism has been declared a public health issue, communities need to follow through with action. According to Moss Davis, the significant ways to follow up on the declarations fall into categories. The categories are data and accountability; creation of officers, groups, or task forces; community engagement; policies and programs; and funding.
“You’ve declared that racism is a public health issue,” Tiffany Green, assistant professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin, told the outlet. “What exactly are you doing? You’ve acknowledged all these problems. How are you fixing this?”
“It cannot be symbolic. It has to be followed with action,” Davis Moss said. “It has to be followed with funding because if it’s not, we’re not going to see the changes that we need to.”
Dallas County in Texas and Boston are two examples of places that have focused on data to address the crisis. Other municipalities have created task forces. San Bernadino County in California and Holyoke in Massachusetts are examples of locations that have implemented task forces.
Dekalb County, Georgia, is focusing on racial equity training with community partners.
Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the catalyst for the “racial reckoning” occurring across the country, funds have been allocated to small businesses.
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting one exists, something the declarations have done. It’s up to the communities who have recognized racism for the public health crisis it is to begin to enact policies to create change.
President Elect Biden, Wife Jill Note Grief, Sacrifice in Thanksgiving Day Message!
On Thanksgiving Day, President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden wished the country a happy holiday, while noting the grief the coronavirus pandemic has brought for many Americans.
“This Thanksgiving, tables throughout our country will have an empty chair,” the Bidens wrote in an op-ed for CNN published Thursday morning. “Still, like you, our family will hold on to our most important tradition: taking a moment to count the many reasons we have to be grateful.”
As of Thursday morning, the United States has confirmed over 12,780,000 cases and over 262,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus resource center.
Despite warnings from the government-run Centers for Disease Control, millions of Americans have flown around the country to join family for the holiday. Experts expect to see a surge in coronavirus cases, which have already reached record highs in the U.S. this month.
On Wednesday, Biden urged Americans to “steel our spines” against the surging pandemic but assured them that “America is not going to lose this war.”
Biden added in the pre-Thanksgiving address to the nation, “There’s real hope, so hang on. This will not last forever.”
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden delivers a pre-Thanksgiving speech at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden Holiday Message: US Won’t Lose Fight Against Coronavirus
President-elect, a day ahead of Thanksgiving holiday, tells Americans, ‘There’s real hope, so hang on. This will not last forever'
He said the first vaccines against the coronavirus may be available by the end of December and vowed to “get the entire country immunized as soon as we can.”
Biden urged Americans to restrict their holiday festivities, saying that throughout his life, he has been accustomed to large family gatherings on Thanksgiving. But this year, he said, he is spending the holiday with only first lady-to-be Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley and her husband, Howard Krein.
Travelers dismiss warnings despite surge in COVID-19 deaths
In both his Wednesday speech and his op-ed Thursday morning, Biden recalled his own journey with grief, speaking of his first holidays without his son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015.
Biden won the November 3 election over President Donald Trump, who is continuing his long-shot legal efforts to upend Biden’s victory.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
THE THANKSGIVING FACE
That face I’ll be making today around 5 pm after hammering down approximately 72 pounds of turkey and all the fixings! Happy Thanksgiving!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!!!
EFREM
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