Serena Williams Goes unretouched for Harper’s Bazaar US Aug 2019
Serena Williams appears unretouched in the August issue of Harper's Bazaar, and fans are praising her for the issue's cover shoot.
The US outlet curiously unveiled its latest cover during Williams' quarterfinal match at Wimbledon on Tuesday morning, with a post going live on Williams' own Instagram page as she played fellow American Alison Riske on Centre Court (she won in three sets).
"I’m proud to use my voice and words to share an essay on the raw feelings I had during a match we may all remember," Serena wrote of her personal essay in which she reflects on the controversy from the 2018 US Open final. "The essay and unretouched photos are live on @harpersbazaarus."
See photos from Serena Williams' Harper Bazaar photo shoot below.
While some fans questioned who had posted the photo for Serena during her match ("How did you just post this if you’re playing?!?" and "Who’s in charge of this account? The Queen is currently playing her second set" are two sample comments), others were quick to praise the all-time great for continuing to be so open and real with her fans.
"Brilliant. Brave. Bold. You are an inspiration. Can’t wait to read this," former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth said.
"Unretouched photos," someone else wrote. "Giving REAL examples of women."
"Stunning!!! More un-retouched photography please!" another user commented on Harper Bazaar's post.
"Every magazine cover should stop retouching as a practice," someone else said.
In the photo shoot, Serena wears a series of eye-catching gold gowns by Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren and Lanvin. Her hair flows in the wind in her natural curls as she wears diamond and gold jewelry and gold Louboutin heels.
"I’ve been called every name in the book. I’ve been shamed because of my body shape. I’ve been paid unequally because of my sex. I’ve been penalized a game in the final of a Major because I expressed my opinion or grunted too loudly...And these are only the things that are seen by the public," she writes in the cover story, which is a personal essay written by Williams herself. "In short, it’s never been easy. But then I think of the next girl who is going to come along who looks like me, and I hope, ‘Maybe, just maybe, my voice will help her.’"
Read Serena Williams' full personal essay for Harper's Bazaar's August issue here.
#RHOA: Dennis is hoping Porsha will reconsider their relationship. So he’s giving her some space!
Porsha Williams’ ex Dennis McKinley is seemingly not ready to let go of his little family.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta star and the businessman reportedly split back in June after one year together and eight months as an engaged couple. The couple also shares a 3-month-old daughter, Pilar Jhena. The Inquisitr previously shared that the cause of the split was rumors that McKinley had cheated on Williams during their relationship.
Hollywood Life reports that while it’s been more than two weeks since the couple parted ways, McKinley is still hopeful that it isn’t over the couple. A source revealed to the outlet that McKinley is willing to take the necessary steps to win Williams back. He is also reportedly giving Williams her space and is focusing on work until Williams is ready to come around.
“Dennis has been heartbroken over the breakup from Porsha and is doing everything and anything to win her back,” a source revealed to HL.
“He loves his family with all his heart and really can’t imagine living without Porsha and PJ every day for the rest of his life.”
Before their breakup, Williams dropped some major hints that she and McKinley had called it quits. The Dish Nation host was spotted without her engagement ring and had also reportedly unfollowed McKinley on Instagram. Since it was announced by E! News that the couple was over, Williams has deleted photos of both her and McKinley from her Instagram account.
McKinley, on the other hand, still has a plethora of photos of him and Williams on his page. Most recently, he wished the mother of his child a happy birthday in June with a photo of her from when they celebrated her birthday together in 2018.
The couple did recently join forces to celebrate Pilar’s first Fourth of July. Williams shared a video of PJ sitting on her dad’s lap as Williams recorded her. The caption of the video was simple, with Williams wishing her 4.7 million Instagram followers a “happy fourth.”
#Empire: Flashback Video See Cookie Gossiping With Her Sisters
Cookie Lyon’s (Taraji P. Henson) world was turned upside down on Empire when it was revealed her husband, Lucious, had a son named Jeff Kingsley with another woman many years ago. Cookie could hardly believe that he could have done this to her.
In this flashback video from Season 5, Cookie and her two sisters — Candance (Vivica A. Fox) and Carol (Tasha Smith) — discuss Kingsley and his mother, Tracey, and what it was like for all of them back then that perhaps Cookie had missed.
“There were these little rumors about her though, that she had some kid. That’s why she disappeared,” Carol says. Watch the video above to see how they truly feel about Lucious’s son and about the little lies they’ve all told themselves.
WATCH
Don’t you miss the Good times on Empire?
#NewMusic from Raphael Saadiq ‘Glory to the Veins’
As Raphael Saadiq‘s new single “Something Keeps Calling” eyes the top 10 spot on urban adult contemporary radio, the creatively restless musician premieres another track from his forthcoming album, Jimmy Lee.
LISTEN HERE
As mentioned earlier, Saadiq’s lead single “Something Keeps Calling” featuring Rob Bacon is flying up the urban AC radio chart. The song stands at No. 13 and totals over 4.6 million in urban AC listeners.
Closer to the release of his follow-up to 2011’s Stone Rollin’, Saadiq will make his rounds in select cities for a six-date trek. The first stop of the mini-tour will be at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on the same date of his album release.
#HipHopNews: JAY-Z Wins “Reasonable Doubt” Royalty Lawsuit
NEW YORK CITY, NY – The lawsuit against JAY-Z over Reasonable Doubt royalties has officially been dismissed. According to court documents obtained by The Blast, both JAY-Z and Raynard “Ray Rae” Herbert agreed to close the case without the option to refile and will each cover their own court costs.
Last year, Herbert sued Hov claiming his royalty checks stopped arriving for the 1996 album that he allegedly helped master. Beginning in 1998, he was paid 1 percent of album sales until the checks stopped coming in 2008. Herbert sued JAY-Z, Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, Damon “Dame” Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke for the outstanding fees, damages and interest.
JAY-Z recently filed his own lawsuit against Iconix Brand Group Inc. for allegedly lying about its earnings. The licensing company entered a brand partnership with Roc Nation in 2013.
#RIP: H. Ross Perot, Texas billionaire tycoon and 2-time presidential candidate, Dies at 89!
H. Ross Perot, the billionaire tycoon who mounted two unsuccessful third-party presidential campaigns in the 1990s, died Tuesday, family spokesman James Fuller confirmed to CNN. He was 89.
A billionaire by his mid-50s after he sold a controlling interest in the data processing business he founded, Electronic Data Systems Corporation, to General Motors for $2.5 billion, Perot mounted one of the most successful third-party presidential candidacies in US history in 1992. He garnered nearly 19% of the vote and finished third behind Bill Clinton and incumbent President George H.W. Bush.
Perot directly challenged Clinton and Bush's support of the North American Free Trade Agreement during the election cycle, and argued the treaty would cause the loss of American jobs.
In 1995, he created the Reform Party, and the following year received 8% of the vote in the presidential election as the party's candidate.
"In business and in life, Ross was a man of integrity and action. A true American patriot and a man of rare vision, principle and deep compassion, he touched the lives of countless people through his unwavering support of the military and veterans and through his charitable endeavors," Fuller said in a statement. "Ross Perot will be deeply missed by all who loved him. He lived a long and honorable life."
Nicki Minaj pulls out of Saudi Arabia concert To support Women and The LGBTQ Community!
“After careful reflection I have decided to no longer move forward with my scheduled concert at Jeddah World Fest. While I want nothing more than to bring my show to fans in Saudi Arabia, after better educating myself on the issues, I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression,” Minaj said in a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press.
Minaj was originally scheduled to headline the concert on July 18. The Human Rights Foundation issued a statement last week, calling for Minaj and other performers to pull out of the show.
In Saudi Arabia, gender segregation between single men and women is still enforced in many restaurants, coffee shops, public schools and universities, but other rules have loosened with women now allowed to drive and attend events in sports stadiums.
Jeddah World Fest, which in line with Saudi laws, is alcohol and drug-free, is open to people 16 and older and will take place at the King Abdullah Sports Stadium in the Red Sea city. Other performers include former One Direction member Liam Payne and DJ-producer Steve Aoki.
Saudi organizers said the concert will be broadcast globally. The kingdom is also promising quick electronic visas for international visitors who want to attend.
Over the past several months, the kingdom has seen performances by Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, the Black Eyed Peas, Sean Paul, David Guetta and Tiesto. That’s a stark change from when Saudi morality police would raid establishments that played loud music.
#LGBTQ: 'Fuller House' actor and 'DWTS' contestant Juan Pablo Di Pace talks about accepting himself as a Gay man!
Fuller House actor and Dancing With the Stars competitor Juan Pablo Di Pace has got you covered in a resurfaced talk given at an independent TedX event in March, which the organization shared on its YouTube channel in the last days of Pride Month.
In it, Di Pace talked about how, as a kid growing up in Buenos Aires, he was sometimes bullied and called a gay slur.
“Acceptance was my fuel, and when that is the case, like an addict, you do whatever it takes to get a fix.” He added, “I figured if I changed my f***** self, I could be in.”
He found self acceptance, though, after attending college in another country and, most importantly, through creating art. He recalled taking an autistic man to the theater for the first time. When the man was moved to tears, Di Pace knew that’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to do that for even more people.
Di Pace recalled being cast as Jesus Christ in the 2015 NBC series A.D. The Bible Continues.
“Many years later and still justifying my being gay with my critic, I get offered the role of a lifetime: Jesus Christ,” Di Pace said. “Well, you know, of all the people in the world that could play this part, they gave it to me. So there I am, hanging on the cross... in Morocco... and I look up at the sky, and I think, ‘You could still strike me down with lightning. Are you sure you want me to play your son?”
Di Pace confirmed to the audience that he had not been struck down by lightning.
“Instead, what I felt was an overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance and freedom that I could never even put into words. A message from God? Maybe,” the actor said.
He explained that, to him, “Words are like universes and we are musicians who can create universes with them.”
Di Pace encouraged everyone to fire their own inner critic, a voice that’s as unkind to them as a bully.
“I could tell the same stories, but I know that when I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I will ask myself, ‘Was it worth telling that f***** story over and over again? Who are you trying to convince with that plot? Did you enjoy the movie?”
Di Pace is next expected to star in the biopic Gardel.
Samuel L. Jackson To Star In Chris Rock's New Saw Film as The Father!
Honestely, you'd think this whole story was an April fool if it wasn't July. Following on from the odd news that Chris Rock had an idea for and was getting involved with the Saw horror franchise, studio Lionsgate has now released some casting details. Rock, it turns out, will be appearing in front of the camera as well as steering the story. And he'll be joined by Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols.
Rock will play a cop on the trail of a serial killer responsible for a string of gnarly deaths. Minghella is his partner, Nichols their captain, and Jackson is playing Rock's father. There's no mention yet of Tobin Bell, the franchise's fiendish "Jigsaw" killer, but his involvement in the last one, 2017's attempted reboot Jigsaw, was kept largely under wraps until the eleventh hour too. “I’ve been a fan of Saw since the first film in 2004,” Rock said of the horror saga originated by James Wan. “I am excited by the opportunity to take this to a really intense and twisted new place.”
“We think Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock along with Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols make this film completely special in the Saw canon," says Lionsgate chairman Joe Drake, "and we can’t wait to unleash this unexpected and sinister new story on fans of this franchise. This is next level of Saw on full tilt.”
Rock’s Saw will be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who previously made _Saw_s 2, 3, and 4. It's currently pencilled in for an October 2020 release.
Wendy Williams’ son Kevin Hunter Jr.’s assault case dismissed
Kevin Hunter Jr., the son of Wendy Williams and estranged husband Kevin Hunter, is off the hook.
After pleading not guilty to allegedly assaulting his dad, Kevin Jr.’s case has been dismissed, Page Six confirmed. Kevin Jr., 18, appeared in court on Tuesday following his initial June 25 appearance.
The prosecutor reviewed the case and ultimately decided not to pursue charges.
Kevin Sr. attended the hearing and told the judge he agreed with the prosecutor’s decision not to pursue charges. Kevin Sr. made it clear from the beginning that he didn’t want to see his son in any legal trouble.
Williams didn’t attend the hearing because she taped her talk show live.
Kevin Sr. and Kevin Jr.’s fight in a New Jersey store parking lot began after he called his father “a bitch.” It resulted in Kevin Jr.’s arrest for domestic violence simple assault.
According to a heavily redacted police report responding officers were told that the situation escalated after Kevin Jr.’s comment, causing Kevin Sr. to strike his son “with a closed fist to the face,” which Kevin Sr. later denied.
The two were separated by a bystander, and Kevin Jr. proceeded to call his mother, who was not present. The family’s home is located in nearby Livingston, NJ, though Williams has moved to New York City since filing for divorce.
Kevin Jr. had no signs of injury or complaints of pain and refused medical attention following the incident.
Teen Tennis Phenom Coco Gauff Says of Wimbledon 'I'm Still Living a Dream'
Cori “Coco” Gauff’s impressive Wimbledon debut may have reached its end, but the 15-year-old tennis phenom is just getting started.
Gauff, who shocked fans by beating her idol Venus Williams in the first round of women’s singles, said the London tournament has been full of ups and downs, but will certainly remain memorable.
“To be honest I feel so blessed that all of this has happened,” she said Tuesday on Good Morning America. “This has all been a surprise.”
The Florida high school student entered the tournament as a wildcard and continued on, even coming from a set and 5-2 down to beat Polona Hercog of Slovenia in a thrilling match.
“This tournament has really been a roller coaster,” she said.
The teen also appeared on the Today show Tuesday and spoke of how life has flipped upside down since losing in the fourth round on Monday to Simona Halep.
“I woke up and I’m still living a dream even though I’m walking on the street, people are asking me for pictures,” she said. “So that’s just really crazy and I don’t think I’ll ever believe it, to be honest.”
Of her win over Williams, Gauff said she was “shocked” to learn she’d be facing the star and had to double-check with the Wimbledon app before she believed it.
“I woke up, and I’m still living a dream.”
“A lot of people say, ‘Were you nervous? Were you mad?’ ” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘No, I’m super excited.’ Like, it was always a dream of mine to play Venus and I never thought it would be soon … The night before I kind of planned out what I was going to say [to her afterward] but I didn’t think I would be on the winning end to be honest.”
While Gauff’s star is certainly on the rise, so is that of her parents, Corey and Candi Gauff, who have gone viral in recent days thanks to their enthusiastic crowd reactions.
“It’s kind of weird, because my mom, she’s never really like that,” Gauff said. “[It’s like], ‘What possessed you to even do that?’ It looks so funny … I don’t know if she likes [the attention] or not but I’m definitely loving it.”
While Gauff, the youngest player to ever qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon, certainly has many years of play ahead of her, she’s keeping focused on one specific goal: being “the greatest.”
“A lot of people try to say, ‘Oh, that won’t happen,’ but I really do believe that you should really dream high and dream to the highest possibility because anything is possible,” she said.
#OHSNAP: Is Keke Wyatt Pregnant With Her 10th Child?
Is Keke Wyatt pregnant with her tenth child? Some fans think so. The celebrity mom was recently filmed while performing in Los Angeles, and Keke appeared to cradle a protruding stomach throughout the show. Could Keke and her husband, Zakariah David, be expecting their first child together?
It was nearly two years ago that Keke Wyatt welcomed her ninth child. The little one came just four weeks after Keke’s then-husband, Michael Ford, asked her for a divorce.
“You want to know something, America,” Keke said in an emotional video in which she broke the sad news of her marriage to Michael failing. “When you’re eight months pregnant and you got a child sick, in and out of the hospital, and you’re husband’s got the nerve to tell you that he wants a divorce,” she said.
“He says that you’re an emotional wreck,” Keke continued. “He says, ‘From the very beginning, you never trusted me,’ and all that kind of stuff. Telling other people, other women, that we’re getting a divorce. Like, what? I am so done with Michael Jamar.”
ASAP Rocky Being Held In Swedish Jail With Inhumane Conditions: Report
A$AP Rocky is reportedly being held in a Swedish jail with "shocking inhumane conditions."
According to TMZ, the 30-year-old rapper is sleeping on a yoga mat with no blankets in a facility that is filthy and "disease ridden." Furthermore, insiders claim there is a prisoner in the cell next to Rocky's who has "severe mental issues who slams his head against the concrete wall and hurls feces every which way." (The feces is reportedly not cleaned up.) The source added, the water "is not clean and the food is not edible. For the first five days, A$AP ate an apple a day, and that's it."
As previously reported, Rocky was taken into police custody in Stockholm, Sweden for his involvement in a street fight nearly two weeks ago. TMZ reports that he is being held for two weeks "while prosecutors decide whether to charge him for aggravated assault." The incident was caught on camera. While it showed that Rocky and his crew were not the aggressors in the situation it also showed Rocky and his entourage tossing a guy and punching him at one point.
Witnesses initially told the entertainment news site, "the fight started because a man was hounding A$AP and his team over a pair of headphones he claimed they had broken." However, the "Praise the Lord" rapper later posted a nearly three-minute long video on Instagram showing that the aggressor was actually the man who'd broken his headphones and smashed them on the head of his bodyguard. Even after that, Rocky is shown on camera playing peacemaker, trying to deescalate the situation. The fight reportedly erupted several minutes later when the man continued to hound Rocky and his crew, and after a woman claimed the man had groped her.
If convicted, Rocky faces up to six years behind bars. According to TMZ, Swedish officials have made it quite difficult for Rocky to communicate with the U.S. Consulate about his detainment, despite that being his legal right. After being initially denied access to an official from the American Consulate — which sources said was because "Swedish officials did not want him to see the condition inside the facility" — "Rocky's team persisted and eventually the consulate official was allowed to see him two days later, but only in the presence and earshot of two Swedish guards."
Rocky's team is now reportedly trying to get the State Department involved to help get him from behind bars
Chris Brown Earns Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Indigo'
Chris Brown notches his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as his new effort Indigo launches atop the list with 108,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 4, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 28,000 were in album sales.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new July 13-dated chart (where Indigo bows at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard's websites on July 9.
Indigo’s first week was supported largely by streaming activity, as the set tallied 76,000 SEA units, which equates to 97.95 million on-demand audio streams for the set’s lengthy track list of 32 songs. It’s no surprise that Indigo was also the most-streamed album of the week in terms of total on-demand audio streams earned for its tunes. (Comparably, the album with the second-most streams in the tracking week, Lil Nas X’s 7, tallied 74.8 million on-demand audio streams from seven songs. More on Lil Nas X in a moment…)
Chris Brown Shares 'Indigo' Album, With Appearances From Lil Wayne, H.E.R. & Tyga: Stream it Now
Of Indigo’s total first-week launch, 28,000 of the sum is in album sales, supported by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with Brown's upcoming tour, along with merchandise/album bundles sold via his official website.
Trey Songz Reveals Son’s Birthday, Says Baby’s Mama Is None Of Your Business
Trey Songz is not ready to reveal the identity of his son’s mother. The celebrity dad is, however, ready to share baby Noah’s birthday.
Trey uploaded a candid of his son this past weekend. The celebrity father not only shared a picture of his precious little one, but Trey Songz also told fans that baby Noah was born on April 20, 2019. Many were happy to get the tidbit of information from the recording artist seeing as how Trey has been fairly private regarding his son.
It was back in May that the celebrity father revealed his fathering a child. “My son Noah,” the star dad wrote to introduce his son. “We are blessed and overjoyed. Peace.” Trey took to Instagram a second time last month to celebrate Father’s Day as a dad for the first time. “Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there holding it down,” Trey wrote online. “I ain’t share a lot with y’all about how I feel about being a father,” he admitted. “But I am happy as h–l and I love my son to death,” the singer concluded.
The caution that Trey Songz has taken when sharing information about his son should have been clear indication of the singer’s desire to maintain a rather high level of privacy in terms of his family. One online fan, however, did not pick up on the celebrity father’s wishes and, thus, boldly asked about the identity of Noah’s mother in Trey’s latest post. Such inquiry did not go without a verbal thrashing.
“Noah’s mom and you don’t have s–t to talk about,” Trey responded to the fan. “And the rest of y’all either,” Trey added. “Mind ya f—-n business.”
There is a rumor circulating that Caro Colon is the mother of Trey Songz’s son. Do not, however, expect Trey to confirm or deny these things. His lips are sealed. Stay tuned for more celebrity dad news!
Trump Says He Feels ‘Badly’ For Alex Acosta Amid Jeffrey Epstein Uproar
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he feels “very badly” for Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta, who is facing calls for his resignation over a controversial 2008 plea deal he made with billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president suggested that “what happened 12 or 15 years ago” shouldn’t reflect on Acosta now.
“I can tell you that for two and a half years he’s been just an excellent secretary of labor. He’s done a fantastic job,” Trump said. “I feel very badly actually for Secretary Acosta.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), speaking on the Senate floor on Tuesday, also pushed for Acosta’s resignation and called on the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility to publicize the results from its review of the labor secretary’s involvement in the deal.
“The newly released evidence of Epstein’s behavior involving dozens of children is sickening, is appalling, is despicable,” Schumer said. “Epstein should have been behind bars years ago.”
Schumer also demanded that the president “answer for his statements he has made about his relationship with Mr. Epstein.” Trump in 2002 called Epstein a “terrific guy” who liked women “on the younger side.”
The president told reporters on Tuesday he hadn’t spoken to Epstein in years and “was not a fan” of the billionaire.
“I had a falling out with him a long time ago, I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years,” Trump said. “I wasn’t a fan…I was not a fan of his.”
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES?
‘OLD TOWN ROAD’
Lil Nas X doing wonders for the underground gay cowboy community. You go buckaroo!
#EGGPLANT NATION: Meet Mr Jay!
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ENJOY!
HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!
EFREM
