EW’s LGBTQ Issue Celebrates New Storytellers, Enduring Icons, And Hollywood History!
How do you gin up a celebration in the midst of a global pandemic? For our annual Pride issue, EW editors turned to the power of art.
The cover is always a salute to LGBTQ entertainers. So, EW teamed with London-based illustrator Jack Hughes to create a totally different kind of EW cover — one that pays tribute to the central role LGBTQ artists have had in Hollywood from its very beginnings.
The cover — and indeed the entire Pride cover package —was created in collaboration with LGBTQ illustrators in an effort to make the Pride experience richer for folks stuck in their homes (even the portrait for my editor’s letter is a work of art — by Michael Hoeweler).
It’s all part of an expansive celebration of Pride that includes interviews with Greg Berlanti, Hannah Gadsby, and rising star Hayley Kiyoko, among others. There’s also a roundtable with the hottest LGBTQ authors and deep dive into the complex life and legacy of a Hollywood original: Paul Lynde.
For more from Entertainment Weekly’s celebration of LGBTQ pop culture, order the June issue now.
#RHOA: Is NeNe Leakes Allegedly Having Affair An With Longtime Friend Rodney White?
RHOA star Nene Leakes may have been exposed for having an affair with longtime friend Rodney White.
According to Page Six, while Nene, 53, and Gregg, 65, were having marital issues and fighting publicly, she was allegedly snuggling up to USDA director Rodney White. Gregg and Nene have been married for 22 years, with the exception of their brief divorce in 2011, and NeNe has known Rodney prior to her days on Bravo, Bossip reports. But, according to a Page Six source, Rodney and NeNe started getting closer and hanging out in 2017.
“People close to him have said that it’s all about the lifestyle,” the source said. “If it wasn’t for that, he wouldn’t give her the time of day … because he didn’t before when she was a nobody. He knew her before she became the NeNe Leakes that she is today and before the multiple surgeries to change her looks.”
The source told Page Six that they saw NeNe out having dinner with White at Bâoli in Miami in early January 2019 while Gregg was at home, at the time battling stage 3 colon cancer. On that same Miami trip, another source said NeNe was seen with a tall, handsome black man” in South Beach. “They were all over each other,” a source said. “They were touching each other, laughing, giggling, kissing, but it wasn’t like they were full-blown slobbering down. I don’t think she was trying to hide it.” Another witness said, “She was all over this guy. Kissing, cuddling, holding, sitting on his lap.”
Bossip reports that even NeNe’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta” co-stars know about her secret boo. Rodney is reportedly from Maryland and works for the United States Department of Agriculture. One source said he hangs with NeNe mostly to ride her celebrity coattail. “He loves the limelight,” the source said. “He loves to have the red carpet rolled out. He feels like he’s a celebrity. He’s that type of person.” Rodney has kept a low profile by deleting his Instagram, but he did take a photo of himself at “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” on Nov. 24 when NeNe was a guest on the show. He also went with NeNe to her appearance on Good Morning America.
#MusicNews: Megan Thee Stallion And Beyoncé Top Billboard Hot 100 With ‘Savage’!
Move over, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. There’s a new No. 1 on the charts.
Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” featuring Beyoncé rises to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track previously peaked at No. 2 following its remix with Beyoncé, and becomes Megan’s first No. 1 on the chart and Beyoncé’s seventh as a solo artist.
It marks a new milestone for Meg, who previously peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 last year with “Hot Girl Summer” featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign. “HOTTIES WE ARE NUMBER 1 ON THE HOT 100 FOR THEE FIRST TIME EVERRRR,” she told her fans. “WE FUCKING DID IT thank you god this is our first but it damn sure won’t be our last ! I love y’all so much.”
This marks Beyoncé’s first No. 1 since “Perfect” with Ed Sheeran in 2017. She previously hit No. 1 with “Crazy in Love” feat. Jay-Z (2003), “Baby Boy” feat. Sean Paul (2003), “Check On It” feat. Slim Thug (2006), “Irreplaceable” (2006), and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008).
This is in addition to her four chart-toppers with Destiny’s Child—”Bills, Bills, Bills” (1999), “Say My Name” (2000), “Independent Women Part I” (2000), and “Bootylicious” (2001). Beyoncé is the only act other than Mariah Carey to have ranked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in four separate decades.
“Savage” dethrones Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s “Stuck With U” from the No. 1 spot after one week. The charity duet drops to No. 13 in its second week.
Doja Cat’s “Say So” featuring Nicki Minaj holds at No. 2 after hitting No. 1 earlier this month.
Elsewhere in the top 10, DaBaby’s “Rockstar” featuring Roddy Ricch jumps 8-4, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” rises 4-3, and Drake’s “Toosie Slide” moves up one spot to No. 5. 6ix9ine’s “GOOBA” has dropped out of the top 10 after debuting at No. 3 last week.
#HipHopNews: Future Debuts At No. 1 With ‘High Off Life’!
Future is riding high on the charts. The rapper earns his seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as High Off Life debuts at No. 1. The album, which features Travis Scott, Young Thug, and Lil Uzi Vert, earned 153,000 equivalent album units in the U.S., of which 16,000 are in album sales.
It becomes Future’s biggest week for a solo album, besting DS2, which opened at No. 1 with 151,000 units in August 2015. His only bigger week was What a Time to Be Alive, 2015’s joint album with Drake, which opened at No. 1 with 376,000.
Prior to High Off Life, Future topped the chart with 2019’s Future HNDRXX Presents: The WIZRD, 2017’s HNDRXX and Future, 2016’s Evol, and 2015’s What a Time to Be Alive and DS2.
Jimmy Fallon Apologizes After “Unquestionably Offensive” Blackface SNL Video Resurfaces!
Jimmy Fallon has apologized after a video of him wearing blackface on Saturday Night Live in 2000 resurfaced earlier this week.
The Tonight Show host issued the statement yesterday (May 26) following the backlash which greeted the clip, which saw him impersonating the comedian Chris Rock while in blackface for a sketch on the long-running comedy series.
Fallon wrote in his statement on Twitter that the 2000 SNL sketch saw him make “a terrible decision” to wear blackface, adding that “there is no excuse for this”.
“I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”
Fallon has also faced calls to quit his position as the host of The Tonight Show, which he has fronted since 2014. He was previously the host of Late Night between 2009 and 2014.
Fallon was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for 120 episodes between 1998 and 2004.
Back in August 2019, comedian Sarah Silverman said she was once fired from starring in a movie after the producers found a photo of her wearing blackface during a 2007 episode of The Sarah Silverman Show.
Chrissy Teigen Having Breast Implants Removed: ‘I’m Just Over It’!
Chrissy Teigen is having her breast implants removed, the multi-hyphenate revealed on Instagram Tuesday.
“So I posted myself getting a covid test on the Twitter, as I’m getting surgery soon,” Teigen, 34, wrote. “A lot of people are understandably curious (and nosey!) so I’ll just say it here: I’m getting my boobs out! They’ve been great to me for many years but I’m just over it. I’d like to be able to zip a dress in my size, lay on my belly with pure comfort!”
“Don’t worry about me,” the star wrapped up. “All good. I’ll still have boobs, they’ll just be pure fat. Which is all a tit is in the first place. A dumb, miraculous bag of fat.”
Teigen is apparently not one for idle talk: She’s having her breast implants removed mere months after revealing for the first time in March that she’d gotten the surgery — which put “a quarter ‘teardrop’ cup in the bottom and filled out the breast line” — in her early 20s, before noting “I want them out now.”
“I think you’re supposed to replace [implants] every ten years,” she said at the time. “But when you have kids you think about [the risks] of surgery and I think, ‘This is not the way I want to die, in boob surgery.’”
Teigen’s plastic surgeon is probably on a shortlist of people not asking her about Alison Roman right now, though, so we get it.
Protesters Marches In Minneapolis After George Floyd's Death!
Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday after the detention and death of 47-year-old George Floyd — a scene that unfolded in a Facebook video showing a white officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he pleaded with police, “I can’t breathe.”
Floyd died at Hennepin County Medical Center soon after the encounter, which started when police detained him Monday evening on suspicion of trying to pass a fake $20 bill at a convenience store.
The FBI launched an investigation Tuesday, as the Minneapolis Police Department fired the officer as well as three others who were at the scene. The quick action didn’t prevent a large protest Tuesday evening that included tense confrontations with police, who responded with tear gas.
“Being black in America should not be a death sentence,” said a visibly shaken Mayor Jacob Frey, who said the officer used an unauthorized move against Floyd. “For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a black man’s neck. Five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense.”
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he had stayed up all night wrestling with his decision to fire the officers. Arradondo said he couldn’t say much about the case — either about the FBI’s investigation or a parallel probe by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) — but added that “sanctity of life” has always been a pillar of his department.
“What occurred last night was certainly very tragic, and very sad,” he said in an afternoon news conference on the steps of City Hall.
A large group gathered at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, where Floyd was restrained by police, before marching over to the 3rd Precinct headquarters.
Officials have not publicly named the four officers, but multiple sources identified the two prominently featured in the 10-minute Facebook Live video as Derek Chauvin, who was kneeling on Floyd’s neck, and Tou Thao, who stood by as witnesses pleaded with the officers to let Floyd up and to check his pulse.
Arradondo said at an earlier news conference that he’d asked the FBI to take the case after watching the video of the encounter and receiving “additional information” about it from community members, without elaborating.
Community activist John Thompson says the images of Floyd and other black men across the country who have met unjust deaths at the hands of police trigger a kind of collective trauma within the black community.
“Let’s be clear: This is murder,” said Thompson, whose advocacy in the 2016 police killing of his friend Philando Castile catapulted him into a run for state office. “I don’t want to be labeled the angry black man — I should be able to have that emotion. I’m angry. Wouldn’t you be?”
Floyd’s family has retained attorney Benjamin Crump, who also represents the families of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, a black man and woman killed in recent high-profile cases.
“This abusive, excessive and inhumane use of force cost the life of a man who was being detained by the police for questioning about a nonviolent charge,” read the statement from Crump’s office.
Chauvin is represented by Thomas Kelly, a Minneapolis attorney who was part of the legal team that successfully defended former St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the 2016 fatal shooting of Castile. Kelly declined to comment through a spokesman Tuesday.
A Statue Honoring The Late Little Richard Will Be Installed Outside His Childhood Home in Georgia!
A statue of the late music legend Little Richard will be installed outside of his childhood home in Macon, Georgia.
Little Richard, whose real name is Richard Wayne Penniman, died earlier this month at 87 years old.
According to The Little Richard House Resource Center, the statue is expected to be installed by December 5 – what would have been his 88th birthday.
The statue and a replica of the singer’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star will be funded by the Friends of the Little Richard House and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia.
Rep. James Beverly said the fund will also support organizations that provide music education to low-income students across Georgia.
During the Zoom board meeting where plans for the statue were announced, a member read a proclamation from Macon Mayor Robert Reichert stating December 5 will now be “Little Richard Penniman Day.”
“Little Richard’s contribution to music as a whole, to all the genres of music, was monumental and very instrumental in a lot of people’s careers,” said board member Antonio Williams.
Legendary Jazz Drummer Jimmy Cobb Dead At Age 91!
A legendary Jazz Drummer passed away on Sunday after a battle with lung cancer. Jimmy Cobb who was famous for his work on Miles Davis’ highest-selling album passed away at age 91.
Cobb was known for playing the drums on Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue album from 1959. The Washington D.C. native leaves with credits on the highest selling jazz album of all time. According to Billboard the album has sold more than 4 million copies. Cobb was the last surviving member from that album.
Cobb’s wife announced his passing on Facebook saying that the musician died at his home in New York City. Cobb was recording music as recently as last year when he released his album This I Dig of You.
Andre Harrell Celebrated With Virtual Party After BET Tribute!
Close friends of the late music impresario Andre Harrell celebrated his life at a virtual after-party following BET’s tribute telecast honoring him Sunday.
DJ Cassidy hosted the event with Harrell’s cousin, O’Neal McKnight, who broke down in tears during the Instagram Live celebration. Cassidy premiered Part 2 of a mixtape called “Champagne & Bubbles,” which was produced by Harrell.
Robin Thicke, Naomi Campbell, Russell Simmons, Rev Run and Doug E. Fresh were some of the starry names who popped in virtually. Harrell was laid to rest in New Jersey on Saturday. The longtime music exec died May 7 in West Hollywood, Calif., at the age of 59.
Chris Rock, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige were reportedly among the stars who attended the funeral.
You in Danger Boy! Twitter Takes Aim At Shaun King For Not Fulfilling Promises!
Shaun King is polarizing. For those in the culture, he is fearless and direct with his excoriation of white privilege and injustice.
For his critics, he is a con man manipulating racial sensitivity to his financial advantage. This morning, King is trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons after an explosive article came out in The Daily Beast.
Last night, the article, “Shaun King Keeps Raising Money, and Questions About Where It Goes” dropped like a bomb. It details how King went on an ambitious venture to re-establish Frederick Douglass’ newspaper, The North Star.
King and his partner, progressive journalist Benjamin Dixon, launched an ambitious multimedia reboot with the blessing of Douglass’ descendants.
The project was celebrated across social media by celebrities and cultural critics alike. Its champions included Susan Sarandon, Michael Eric Dyson, and Megan Mullally.
That propulsion led to a boast of “multiple angel investors” on Twitter by the company. They also claimed to have more than 30,000 subscribers contributing $5 or $10 a month based on subscription level.
Many gave funds. Billionaire philanthropist of color, Robert Smith, gave a healthy $10,000 a month. The project seemed on its way to blaze a new path in history, until it didn’t.
However, 14 months after launching, almost none of King’s deliverables have appeared. The headquarters and television studio was quietly shuttered last summer. All the Atlanta-based staffers were laid off and the site struggled with issues that alienated many subscribers.
The mobile app also disappeared for over a year.
King has chalked the experience up to over-zealousness and attempting to launch too much content at once. Former staffers said the issue was less King’s over-ambition than what they viewed as a few less flattering competing factors.
They describe a pattern of absenteeism, insistence on absolute control, and radical incompetence. In addition, there are long-standing accusations by his former employees and supporters. They say that King has inflated, mismanaged or failed to account for funds he’s raised for various social justice causes.
However, no criminal or civil charges have ever been filed against King and that is important to note. The Daily Beast piece was written by Kali Holloway, a woman of color. She exposes what the new digital generation will have to constantly face, digital emotional manipulation.
Charismatic leaders are electric and serve an integral purpose in providing a voice for a community. It takes a village. Too often these leaders begin to make the movement less about collectivization and more about personal gains.
King is a prominent voice for social justice. No doubt he has done much to raise awareness of police brutality and more. However, no one is above reproach. His detailed missteps need to be in the light so people can wake up to his humanity.
Shaun King has used the power of the pen to uplift communities of color while also propping up himself. But will his shortcomings expel him from the platform he has built?
In the court of public opinion, for many, he is already cancelled.
The Parents Of Late Youtuber Corey La Barrie Files Wrongful Death Suit Against “Ink Master” Star Daniel Silva!
Fox News reports that the parents of the late YouTube star Corey La Barrie have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against former Ink Master contestant Daniel Silva, 27, who was reportedly the driver in the crash that killed La Barrier.
On May 11, Barrie’s 25th birthday, he and Silva were involved in a crash allegedly caused by Silva. According to the press release, The 27-year-old tattoo artist was reportedly driving at a high speed when he lost control of the car, “ran off the road and collided with a stop sign and a tree.” The crash resulted in the death of the passenger, Corey La Barrier.
Hours after news surfaced of the fatal crash, Barrie’s mother, Lissa Burton, responded to the news via Instagram. In a post that featured a picture of her late son Corey, Lissa captioned:
“My heart breaks right now, on my sons 25 birthday today he got into a car with a drunk driver. The accident killed him instantly. No words can describe the sadness I feel in loosening a child. It just feels so unreal, and I’m overwhelmed with grief. I love you so much, Corey, and will miss you so, so much. It’s just so unfair.”
Now, Lissa Burton and Corey’s father, Simon La Barrier, are taking legal actions against Silva and his company, Daniel Silva Tattoos. According to Entertainment Tonight, court documents reveal that the late YouTube star’s parents are suing Silva for “cost of suit, compensatory damages as well as pre-judgment and post-judgment interest in addition to ‘any fair and equitable relief'”
In the court documents, Lissa and Simon allege that Silva was driving at a very high speed that was not conducive to him being “drunk.” They argued that the tattoo shop owner “failed to use reasonable care” while driving behind the wheel of a car with their son and accused him of being hammered by substances given to him by his company.
In the case of Corey La Barrie’s death, the Los Angeles Police Department is reportedly still investigating. Earlier this month (May 11), Fox News reported that the LAPD had arrested Silva as the alleged drunk driver that was driving the car that killed Corey.
“A 27-year-old man has been charged with killing the passenger in his McLaren sports car after crashing into a tree in Valley Village earlier this month,” the release said.
It was later revealed that the person in question was, in fact, Daniel Silva, a resident of North Hollywood.
When asked to provide a comment to Corey’s parent wrongful death suit, Silvia did not immediately respond.
Kevin Hart Downplayed The Seriousness Of Accident, Refused Pain Meds: 'Every Night Was A Horrible Night'!
Kevin Hart has “98 percent” recovered from last year’s horrific accident that nearly killed him. The 40-year-old comedian opened up to Joe Rogan about the life changing event, explaining he sees the world “differently” now.
“I saw that light,” Hart said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Monday. “When you come close to that light — and the light that I’m talking about is death — when you come close to that light… and if you are fortunate enough to come back from that light, you value life differently. There are no bad days for me. There are no bad days for me.”
In September 2019, Hart was a passenger in his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda when it went off Mulholland Highway and into an embankment near his home in Los Angeles. Hart’s spine had to be fused back together and he told Rogan it’s nearly all metal now.
“This thing that’s my spine has eight screws, and these eight screws now hold it together,” he explained.
Doctors told Hart he likely would have been paralyzed if it weren’t for his physical shape.
“The work that I put into my core and my upper body over the years are what saved me, outside of God of course,” the actor shared. “This health and wellness s*** is so much bigger than what you think it is… you don’t know when all that stuff comes into play.”
Hart continued, “My healing was a lot faster because of the years of work I put into it before. Now, if I didn’t have that core I’d be paralyzed. I’d be f***ing paralyzed.”
The actor lied to his doctors about his pain level because he was eager to begin the recovery process.
“I lied in the hospital because I didn't want them to know that I was having pain because I thought they would stop me from letting me try my walks,” Hart said, adding he felt “defeated a little bit.”
“I was a stubborn man,” Hart admitted. He ended up only using a walker for about two-and-a-half weeks. “I should have had the walker. I am giving the perception that it’s better than what it is.”
Hart even refused pain medication given his father’s history with drugs.
“I stopped f***ing taking meds. So every night was a horrible night,” he recalled. “Every night.”
Hart said he had the “biggest cry” he’s ever had in his life when he returned home from the hospital. The actor realized how close he came to “never seeing my wife and my kids again.”
“I know how fortunate I am to be taking these steps,” Hart declared. When Rogan asked if he’s struggling to balance family and his busy career, Hart replied, “Not after that f***ing accident.”
“That accident was the best eye-opening experience ever,” Hart said. “I was married to my career and dating my family.
2 Chainz Restaurant Shut Down For Allegedly Violating Covid-19 Guidelines!
Escobar Restaurant & Tapas Lounge, co-owned by rapper, 2 Chainz (born Tauheed Epps, 42) was shut down Monday (May 25th) for allegedly violating COVID-19 guidelines.
According to the police report, it was said that officers drove by and,noticed that the location was rather loud, busy, and occupied to be operating as a restaurant at that time of night.”
Allegedly, police said they “spoke to the manager before shutting the location down as it was violating executive orders regarding protocol issued due to COVID-19.”
On the Georgia Restaurant Association website, the reopening of restaurants in Georgia require certain social distancing measures. It states,
Update floor plans for common dining areas, redesigning seating arrangements to ensure at least six feet of separation between table setups. Limit party size at tables to no more than
ten people as approved by state government. Where practical, especially in booth seating, physical barriers are acceptable. Consider a reservations-only business model or call-ahead seating to better space diners.
No more than ten patrons should be allowed in facility per three-hundred square feet of public space. Calculating public space includes waiting, bar, and outdoor spaces but not hallways, restrooms, and spaces closed to patrons.
A video of the gathering during the Memorial Day weekend was captured at the restaurant. Patrons can be seen dining and eating, seemingly less than six feet from each other.
Just last month, 2 Chainz had a change of heart after stating he would reopen his restaurant for dine-in service. After receiving backlash on social media, co-owner, Snoop Dillard released a statement, saying:
“After careful consideration, we are not going to open our restaurants on Monday. It has not officially been decided when we will start having dine-in service.”
Not only did the rapper have a change of heart, he instead opted to feed the homeless. 2 Chainz is seen in photos and a video below with caption stating,
No additional details about the restaurant’s closing have been released. What are your thoughts about this situation?
Disney, CBS Sued Over ‘Criminal Minds’ Sexual Harassment by California Department of Fair Employment!
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed a discrimination suit against Disney and CBS Studios, alleging the companies allowed “Criminal Minds” cinematographer Greg St. Johns to get away with sexual harassment for 14 years.
According to the suit, St. Johns habitually touched men on the groin and butt, and kissed and caressed their necks and shoulders. The suit alleges that, over the years, more than a dozen men were fired for complaining about his behavior.
ABC and CBS co-produced the show, which ran for 15 seasons on CBS. St. Johns left the show after Variety reported in 2018 that crew members had repeatedly complained about his behavior, but that management had done nothing about it.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, names Disney, ABC Studios and CBS Studios as defendants. Also named are four executive producers on the show — Erica Messer, Harry Bring, Breen Frazier and Glenn Kershaw — and co-producer Stacey Beneville.
“Defendants’ executive team not only had actual and constructive knowledge of St. Johns’ abusive conduct, they condoned it,” the lawsuit states. “No necessary steps to prevent sex-based harassment and discrimination were taken over the years, nor were appropriate corrective actions. Instead, the executives fired anyone who resisted or who tacitly evaded St. Johns’ advances or abuse.”
The DFEH launched a systematic investigation in March 2019, after two former employees filed administrative complaints.
According to the complaint, St. Johns was given an “enhanced severance” when he was dismissed from the show in October 2018, in response to the Variety report.
“Defendants chose to act in conscious disregard of its employees’ rights by ignoring the complaints made by the crewmembers,” the suit states. “It was not until the media made St. Johns’ conduct public and threatened their image that defendants removed St. Johns from the show.”
The civil complaint states claims of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination and harassment, violation of personal rights, and acts of violence.
“All people in California have the right to make a living free from sexual harassment,” DFEH director Kevin Kish said in a statement on Tuesday. “Companies and leaders who protect harassers and retaliate against those who complain violate the law.”
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘SEGA’
When gaming is life…a virgin life, but still life.
HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!
EFREM
