#FASHIONFILES: Precious Lee by Luis Alberto Rodriguez for Vogue US January 2021!
F5, Fashion 2021
Precious Lee, Carlos Nazario, Luis Alberto Rodriguez, Vogue US
#RHOA: Monique Samuels is NOT Not Returning for ‘Real Housewives of Potmac’ Season Six!
Monique Samuels says she's done with Real Housewives of Potmac.
After the latest episode of the season five reunion aired on Sunday (December 27), the 37-year-old cast member took to her Instagram Live to announce that she is not returning to the show for season six.
"It was a crazy ride, it’s not easy doing reality TV, and to be quite honest, I’m over it,” Monique said. “I appreciate everything people have done for me, everybody that has been Team Monique, I love yall, but when you cross certain lines there’s no going back. For me, my family is that line. The opinion of my family and my kids and what they think about that I do is more valuable to me than anybody’s opinion, so, I’m over it.”
Monique explained that she's leaving the show for her family, saying that she doesn't want her kids to grow up and see the rumors that are said about her on the show.
"I wanted to represent real Black love and show people something outside what the stereotype has been on TV,” Monique continued. “Unfortunately, this season I played right into that stereotype. I was working overtime to check myself because that’s the opposite of what I want to display. I’m always going to be a great example or a role model for my kids and you have to know when enough is enough.”
Monique joined RHOP in 2017 for season two.
Real Housewives of Potmac still includes Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby, Robyn Dixon, Karen Huger, Candiace Dillard Bassett, and Wendy Osefo.
#NewMusic from Omar Wilson, Sisqo, Raheem DeVaughn & Shawn Stockman Remakes The Quincy Jones Classic ‘Secret Garden’!
Quincy Jones’ “Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)” featuring the multi-generational dream team of Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, El DeBarge and Barry White is an undisputed Quiet Storm staple that will make you, your momma and your momma’s momma feel some kind of way. The old school R&B posse cut may have only spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Black Singles Chart at the time, but it’s got an eternal place in the heart of R&B and soul music lovers everywhere.
However, a new dream team of artists has stepped up to show out: Omar Wilson, Sisqo, Raheem DeVaughn and Shawn Stockman. Instead of trying to give us a pop refix, trap remake, a bounce mix (we're talking to you, Jermaine Dupri) or anything else that we don't care to hear, the fellas stay close to the original for their “Secret Garden” remake. Raheem kicks things off with Al B!'s verse before passing the mic to Omar who channels his inner James Ingram before Shawn gives us his spin on El and Sisqo takes over for Barry. Each singer brings their A-game to the track, making it their own without turning it into mimicry or a mockery.
Wilson and friends take their sensual seduction from song to the screen in a music video that brings the grown and sexy track to life. Directed by Derek Blanks, the visual is set in a lavish mansion surrounded by lush foliage. The quartet is suited, booted and gathered in a room with a grand piano in their scenes together before getting to spend some one-on-one quality time with each of their scantily-clad video vixens.
WATCH HERE
The clip is what R&B fantasies are made of.“Secret Garden” will appear on Omar Wilson’s sophomore album, Omar Wilson Sings The Classics, which will be released sometime in spring 2021.
#HipHopNews: Cardi B Reportedly Settles $30m Lawsuit With Former Manager!
Cardi B earned herself a legal win just before Christmas. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, the Grammy Award-winner settled a two-year, $30 million lawsuit with her former manager Klenord “Shaft” Raphael on Thursday (December 24).
Raphael claimed he discovered Cardi in 2015, setting off her path from Instagram personality to Love & Hip Hop cast member to global superstar.
In 2018, Raphael filed a $10 million breach of contract lawsuit against Cardi, claiming the Invasion Of Privacy rapper broke the deal she had with him and opted to sign with Quality Control. Cardi then filed a $15 million countersuit, prompting the settlement.
“This action, including all claims and counterclaims, is hereby dismissed in its entirety with prejudice against all parties,” court docs state. “The parties have further agreed that all parties to this action shall bear their own costs and attorney’s fees.”
On July 17, Cardi took to Twitter after a fan discussed how she never got payment despite all of her success.
The lawsuit held up Cardi’s recording career following the release of Invasion Of Privacy in 2018. Since the release of her double-platinum album, the Bronx-bred rapper has released singles in the form of “Money,” “Press,” “Please Me” and “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion.
Cardi’s moves outside of music have grown larger since the release of her debut. She was recently announced as the star of a Facebook Watch series titled Cardi B Tries and the series is set to debut in 2021
Actor Tyler Lepley Says He Nor Tyler Perry Are Gay As He Addresses Rumors About His Sexuality!
‘P-Valley’ Star Tyler Lepley is setting the record straight when it comes to his sexuality. The 33-year-old actor recently did an interview with Angela Yee’s Lip Service, where he discussed rumors of him being gay as well as rumors of director/producer Tyler Perry. Lepley stars in Tyler Perry’s prime time soap opera, “The Have and The Have Nots”. He explains that the rumors began when he started working for Tyler Perry.
“I remember when I first started out, I was seeing it here and there. For whatever reason, people were associating it with my first show. I came out on a Tyler Perry show and for whatever reason he gets a rap like that and I know Tyler [Perry] personally and he’s not gay. I was seen around him and all of a sudden ‘he’s rubbing off on me’ and people felt like I was gay or something like that.”
Tyler Leplay then reflected on another time when fans questioned his sexuality.
He says, “I had done something while I was on the set of ‘P-Valley’, maybe I was with Clifford or I think I was taking a picture with Alphonse who plays Little Murda, and people started off with the gay thing again. –I think if you have a space that people cant figure out, they can just create a judgement.”
Hmmmmmm, Thoughts?
Oprah Winfrey Gets Stake in Discovery as Company Takes 95 Percent of OWN!
The conglomerate, led by David Zaslav, now holds 95 percent of OWN, with Winfrey opting to receive a $35 million-plus stake.
Oprah Winfrey has taken a stake of $35 million-plus in Discovery Inc. as part of a deal that boosts the factual content giant's holding in OWN, a joint venture with Winfrey's Harpo, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Discovery and Harpo's original deal to form OWN in 2008 included options for Harpo to sell its stake to the content company, and Discovery has been increasing its OWN stake over time. According to Discovery's 2008 annual report, Winfrey had a put agreement that would require Discovery to buy out a portion or all of her stake in OWN that was set to expire at the end of this year.
The new deal increases Discovery's ownership in OWN from 73 percent to 95 percent, according to a source familiar with the situation. That person said Winfrey elected to swap most of Harpo’s interest in OWN for voting Series A shares in Discovery.
Winfrey continues to serve as CEO and chief creative officer of OWN, though she now owns only a 5 percent stake in it. A rep for Harpo and OWN declined to comment.
The news emerged as Discovery, in a Tuesday securities filing, mentioned that Harpo now owned about 1.34 million shares of Discovery, less than 1 percent of the firm's Class A common stock, and was registering 670,477 of them for possible sale. "Oprah Winfrey has voting and dispositive power over the shares of Series A Common Stock owned by Harpo," of which she is the sole shareholder, it said in a regulatory filing. It added that Harpo does not have to sell all, or even any, of the shares. It is understood that share sales would cover the tax cost of the deal.
At Monday's Discovery stock closing price of $27.37, the 1.34 million shares were worth around $36.7 million.
In 2017, Discovery paid $70 million to acquire an additional 24.5 percent stake in OWN to boost it to 73 percent, but that agreement also took into account net debt at the network, the parties said at the time. Winfrey back then agreed to continue in her role as OWN CEO, with her exclusivity commitment to the network extended through 2025.
OWN had been Winfrey's primary home on television ever since it launched in 2011. However, in June 2018, Apple and Winfrey unveiled a multiyear content partnership that would see Winfrey host and produce TV shows, films and specials for the tech giant's streaming service Apple TV+ in addition to her work for the cable channel.
The news of Discovery's OWN buyout comes as the company is set to launch an international streaming service of its own, Discovery+, in January. That service will compete directly with Apple TV+, though it leans on unscripted programming such as food, home and reality content.
Mike Epps Reveals His Mother Has Died!
Mike Epps has suffered a terrible loss this holiday season. The funny man revealed in his latest post on Instagram that his mother has passed away. Under a photo of them together smiling he wrote:
“Rest in paradise mama thank you for all the lessons and life it’s self you fought hard baby because of you I will never stop fighting in this thing called life she loved her kids and family and we had good times with her this is not a good bye it’s a We will see you later.”
He didn’t reveal her cause of death. Epps and his mother seemed to be very close. He would often post sweet photos of her on his Instagram with him and his children. In the comments of his post where he revealed her death, Epps’ celebrity acquaintances like Nia Long, Deon Cole, T.I, DeRay Davis, Killer Mike, Melba Moore, Cedric the Entertainer and others sent their condolences.
“I’m so sorry Mike,” Nia Long commented. “We’re praying for you and your family. Love you.”
The Indiana native shared the sad news on December 27, 2020 but that isn’t the day she passed. According to Joy 105, radio host and comedian Rickey Smiley sent his condolences to Epps regarding the passing of Reed on December 22, 2020 on his radio show.
Hilaria Baldwin Responds to Accusations She's Pretending to Be Spanish!
Hilaria Baldwin has found herself in a situation she probably never imagined herself having to go through and just a few months removed from giving birth. The actress and wife of Alec Baldwin are shooting down allegations she has been faking her Spanish accent and heritage all of these years. The 36-year-old took to Instagram to share a slightly longer than seven-minute video in which she explained her roots.
Addressing the claims head-on, Baldwin said she takes the allegations “very seriously” which is why she felt the need to reiterate her story to shut down the rumors. “I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain,” she stated.
“My parents and sibling live in Spain and I chose to live here in the USA,” she said. Among the other topics covered in the clip included the five children she has with Baldwin, all of whom have Spanish names. The pair’s daughter is named Carmen with their four sons being Rafael, Leonardo, Romo and Eduardo. She said her husband has been very supportive of her culture and that’s why they are raising their children to be “bilingual,” something that she said is very important to her. She attempted to then put an end to the rumor and any future allegations that her accent has been a ploy all of these years. “I understand that my story is a little different, but it is mine, and I’m very proud of it,” she noted.
All of this comes after a tweet went viral last week that pointed to a “decade long grift” in which Baldwin had been impersonating a Spanish person. Then came clips of various interviews and videos of her talking that showed her speaking Spanish as the posts intended to show how she would come in and out of her accent. As Baldwin noted in her video, she was born in Massachusetts and stayed there growing up, which the accusers claim to be true but that she had no Spanish roots. Baldwin did say this isn’t the first time she has had to go these measures to shut down people who accuse of her not being of true Spanish heritage, admitting that her story is not an ordinary one.
The Baldwins tied the knot in 2012, three years after they first began dating. They welcomed their first child, their daughter, in August 2013 and recently gave birth to their fifth child this September, Eduardo.
Siohvaughn Funches-Wade Spends Christmas with Her Children!
Back in 2011 retired NBA player Dwyane Wade famously won full custody of his two children with his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade in the midst of their contentious divorce [click here if you missed that].
Over the Christmas break Siovaughn shared pictures with her children in her first public acknowledgement of her transgender child Zaya...
Awwwwww!
Vanessa Bryant Shares First Family Christmas Card Without Kobe & Gianna!
Vanessa Bryant honored her first Christmas without Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna.
The widow of the iconic NBA basketball player unveiled two family Christmas cards to celebrate the bittersweet holiday for the first time after losing her husband, 41, and their 13-year-old daughter to a tragic helicopter crash at the beginning of the year.
The first Christmas portrait features Vanessa with three of her and Kobe’s daughters — 17-year-old Natalia, 4-year-old Bianka and 1-year-old Capri — sitting beside her on a white couch. The next holiday card features the couple’s entire family including the departed Kobe and Gianna, who are all smiles in the heartwarming black-and-white photo.
“Always Together, Never Apart Together Forever In Our Hearts. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Kobe, Vanessa, Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri,” Vanessa captioned the emotional tribute on Instagram.
Taraji P. Henson Reveals She Contemplated Suicide Amid Pandemic!
Taraji P. Henson opened up about the “dark moment” she endured during the pandemic.
In the latest episode of her Facebook Watch series Peace of Mind with Taraji, the Empire actress spoke candidly about contemplating the terrifying decision to end her own life when the coronavirus pandemic forced millions into lockdown earlier this year.
"For a couple of days, I couldn't get out of the bed, I didn't care. That's not me," the Oscar-nominated star admitted to co-host Tracie Jade and licensed psychologist Dr. LaShonda Green, according to PEOPLE. "Then, I started having thoughts about ending it.”
Henson explained that she’d recently purchased a gun at the time, thinking to herself, “‘I could go in there right now, and just end it all.’”
The 50-year-old then thought of her son, Marcell Johnson, and recalled thinking, “He’s grown, he’ll get over it.”
Thankfully, those thoughts never manifested into action and Henson decided she should speak with someone.
"I felt myself withdrawing. People were calling me, I wasn't responding. I just didn't care. Finally, I'm talking to one of my girlfriends and I knew, I was smart enough to say, 'I have to say it,’” said Henson, who recalled feeling “ashamed.”
"I was like, I don't want them to think I'm crazy. … So one day I just blurted it out, to my girlfriend. She called me in the morning and I was like, 'You know I thought about killing myself last night,’” she recalled, breathing a sigh of relief.” “‘Oh my god, I feel so much better. I'm not gonna do it now.'"
Henson said her suicidal thoughts became repetitive, adding that they came “two nights in a row.”
Green reassured the actress that having "unhealthy" thoughts is “absolutely normal” but that releasing those thoughts by speaking them out can be cleansing.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Authorities Say 7-Year-Old Shot In Head While Riding In A Car In Buckhead Has Died!
The 7-year-old shot in the head while riding in the car near Phipps Plaza last week has died.
According to Atlanta news station WSB-TV, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office told the outlet’s reporter Michael Seiden that Kennedy Maxie passed away Saturday night.
On December 21, the young girl was riding in the backseat of her aunt’s car when gunshots rang out. The aunt drove for a few miles before realizing Kennedy had been shot and rushed her to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite.
Police believe a stray bullet hit the girl due to two groups of men arguing in the shopping center’s parking lot.
“We do know that there was a dispute involving multiple males in the parking lot of Saks Fifth Avenue. We don’t know if that dispute led to the shooting. We have security camera video and we are recovering and going through that video,” Atlanta Police Homicide Detective Peter Malecki said last week.
Atlanta has been riddled with violence; Kennedy’s death is an example of how senseless the violence has become. Leaders and residents of the area are calling for a change.
Elected officials have called out the City Hall and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms about the spike in violence and crime. The Mayor’s office released a statement: “The senseless murder breaks our hearts of Kennedy. While the Atlanta Police Department has significant leads in the apprehension of those responsible, it does not erase the pain felt when a beautiful, vibrant, and loving child is tragically taken from her family,” Bottoms said in a statement. “We urge the public to continue to provide information that will lead to the arrests of the careless and heartless people responsible for Kennedy’s death.
On Sunday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reported a 16-year-old girl was fatally shot at a downtown hotel Saturday morning. The death became the city’s 155 slayings making 2020 the highest homicide year in more than two decades.
The teenager’s death was one of three killings authorities investigated in less than 24 hours.
There is a $15,000 reward for information on Kennedy’s shooting.
Noelle Robinson Just Confirmed She's Single Again!
Cynthia Bailey’s daughter Noelle Robinson has just dropped a major update on her love life. The Real Housewives of Atlanta daughter is single again after splitting from girlfriend Alexis Powell, as she recently revealed in a new video on her YouTube channel.
Noelle confirmed her relationship status while playing a game of “Truth or Drink” with three of her friends. “Yes, I am single,” the 21-year-old stated during the game, also going on to add, “I’ve been single for a few months now.”
Noelle first went public with her relationship with Alexis back in March, several months after she came out as sexually fluid during Season 12 of RHOA. She later revealed more details about how they met, confirming that they first crossed paths while she was attending Howard University.
Cynthia Bailey's Daughter Noelle Robinson Confirms She's Sexually Fluid
“We met at school,” Noelle explained at the time. “I think I actually met her like, maybe the third day of school? I came up to her, literally...she was doing a little YouTube survey, and I told my friend, ‘Come on, you gotta come over here with me and do this survey,’ because I just wanted to talk to her, whatever, see what she was about.”
Several months after first confirming their relationship, Noelle also revealed that she and Alexis had actually been in each other's lives and "romantically involved" since August 2018.
Noelle Robinson Explains How She Met Her Girlfriend, and Who Made the First Move
“It’s definitely not a new situation," Noelle previously told The Daily Dish. "I just am kind of wary about stuff. So, I really wouldn’t put anything on social media unless I kind of knew that to a certain degree it was solid. So we’ve definitely been dealing with each other. My family has already known her like this... none of this stuff is really new. But I think because it just came to light in the public eye, people think that it just happened.”
Trump Begrudgingly Signs COVID-19 Relief Bill, Government Spending, Averting Shutdown!
After throwing the bill into doubt earlier this week, President Donald Trump caved Sunday night and signed the coronavirus relief and federal spending measure, averting a government shutdown and ensuring millions of unemployed Americans get some relief going into the new year.
It was an act of mercy for millions, after the president suddenly indicated Tuesday night that he wouldn’t support the bill. Trump said he wanted to increase direct stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000 ― as well as eliminate a number of foreign aid provisions that were included in his own budget request earlier this year ― but Republicans wouldn’t go along with his call to increase checks, and Trump seemed to realize that holding out on the bill would cause chaos and distress across the country. On top of ending unemployment benefits for more than 10 million people, Trump would have caused a government shutdown, delayed vaccine distribution, and held up stimulus checks for weeks ― if they ever even came.
Instead, Trump folded and agreed to the bill that lawmakers and his own administration negotiated. An hour before signing the bill, Trump tweeted from his Mar-a-Lago resort that he had “good news on Covid Relief Bill.” He is vacationing at the Florida resort for the Christmas holiday.
Trump’s decision to sign the bill is a major sigh of relief for Republican lawmakers, who were surprised to see the president, who spent months seemingly uninterested in negotiations, suddenly turn on a bill that’s been tediously hashed out for months.
Trump released a ranting four-minute video on Twitter Tuesday, where he called the government spending Congress had passed “wasteful” and criticized the COVID-19 provisions as inadequate. He also demanded $2,000 stimulus checks, even though he hadn’t pushed for them in a package his own White House negotiated.
The bill, which was largely seen as the only compromise that could get through a deeply divided Congress, passed with veto-proof majorities — 359-53 in the House and 92-6 in the Senate.
“The Senate will start the process for a vote that increases checks to $2,000, repeals Section 230, and starts an investigation into voter fraud,” Trump said in a statement after signing the bill. Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act shields social media companies from being liable for their users’ behavior.
But Trump’s sudden turn against the legislation threatened to sink it entirely. Because the congressional session ends on January 3rd, Trump could have waited to veto the bill and seen the measure die then, forcing both chambers to pass the bill again to send it to his desk, at which point he could have waited another 10 days before deciding to either veto it or let it become law without his signature.
Such a decision would have caused another government shutdown ― absent a stopgap spending bill ― and withheld aid from tens of millions of struggling Americans who have lost their jobs or have seen reduced income due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The federal programs Congress created to help the jobless earlier this year expired on Dec. 26, cutting off much needed financial help to upward of 14 million Americans who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. In fact, because Trump waited to sign the bill until Sunday night, millions won’t receive benefits this week.
According to Michele Evermore, an unemployment policy expert with the National Employment Law Project, unemployment recipients will miss out on one week of the extra $300, already bringing the 11 weeks of extra federal unemployment benefits provided by the legislation down to 10.
Congress could still try to pass extra stimulus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) already attempted to increase direct payments in the COVID-19 relief bill from $600 to $2,000 — as Trump demanded — on Christmas Eve, but Republicans blocked the attempt.
In the end, Trump signed what Congress gave him in the first place.
“As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump said in the statement.
“I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed,” he continued. “I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill.”
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) released a statement about Trump wanting to “reverse funding his own administration requested and undo the careful bipartisan agreement he has just signed.”
“The House Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over rescissions, and our Democratic Majority will reject any rescissions submitted by President Trump,” said Lowey, who chairs the committee.
Pelosi said in a statement Sunday night that the COVID-19 relief package is “a down payment on what is needed to crush the virus.”
“We need to ensure robust support for state and local government to distribute and administer a vaccine, keep workers employed and prevent devastating service cuts — and we must do so as soon as possible,” she said.
The law will provide $300 a week in unemployment insurance until mid-March, and a $600 direct payment to those making under $75,000.
The law also includes $20 billion for vaccine procurement, and $9 billion for vaccine distribution. K-12 schools, colleges and universities will get $82 billion to deal with pandemic.
Small businesses get the most funding; the Paycheck Protection Program will get $284 billion more for forgivable loans to businesses, and there’s an additional $20 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loans, $15 billion for live entertainment venues and movie theaters, and several billion for other Small Business Administration programs.
Federal emergency relief has been a crucial part of keeping Americans afloat as the economy has tanked this year.
This law would make people’s lives better by dramatically reversing a persistent decline in personal income caused by the CARES Act programs expiring, according to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a federal spending watchdog group.
CFRB estimates the aid in the COVID-19 relief bill would increase income in the first three months of 2021 between 11 and 13% above pre-pandemic levels. Previous studies have shown the federal programs created under the CARES Act kept millions from sinking into poverty over the summer.
“While this boost will not last through the second quarter of next year, higher household savings in the first quarter and a robust economic recovery as the weather warms and vaccines are distributed could make a huge difference for the remainder of 2021,” the CRFB said in its analysis.
Trump’s penchant for drama threw Washington in a frenzy this week, completely scrambling political alliances and risking the livelihoods of millions. Suddenly Republicans were forced to defy their own president’s calls for an even bigger relief bill and Democrats were given renewed hope that they could renegotiate parts of the proposal more to their liking.
But in the end, Democrats got a different kind of political win. By criticizing the bill before ultimately signing it, Trump has stepped all over the GOP’s message that this bill is a major win for his party — and he’s done it just weeks before two high-stakes Senate races in Georgia on Jan. 5 that will decide control of Congress, where Republican incumbents Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue now have to eat their words touting a law that Trump is on record saying he hates.
“Now, the President must immediately call on Congressional Republicans to end their obstruction and to join him and Democrats in support of our stand-alone legislation to increase direct payment checks to $2,000, which will be brought to the Floor tomorrow,” Pelosi said in her statement. “Every Republican vote against this bill is a vote to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny the American people the relief they need.”
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘THE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION’
And 1 and 2, and 1 and 2 now sweat, now sweat, now sweat, and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2, now be creepy, be creepy, be creepy, work it out girls!
HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!
EFREM
No comments:
Post a Comment