A quick refresher in case you forgot: in 2020, Cooper went viral in a video where a white woman, Amy Cooper (no relation), called the police on him after he simply asked her to leash her dog (in an area where leashing is required). Amy Cooper said, “an African-American man threatening my life,” on the call, which Christian, thankfully, caught entirely on camera, proving his innocence in the viral video footage.

While the unfortunate incident led to serious consequences for Amy (she was terminated from her job and received charges of false reporting), thankfully Cooper was able to take some pretty sour lemons and make lemonade, landing his own television series with National Geographic and Disney+.

Cooper won in the “Outstanding Daytime Personality – Non-Daily” category, taking to the Daytime Emmys stage to share his gratitude with his peers and those watching at home. The openly gay host said, “This is an unexpected journey from being a closeted queer kid in the 1970s and a Black kid in the almost totally then all-white field of birding, which makes this all the more thrilling.”

He continued to say in his speech that the “world has changed” and that, “no matter what anybody says or does we are not going back. We will only move forward together.”

To read this article in its entirety, visit The Root

The company’s current employees are set to become the biggest shareholder group of Revolt.

CEO Detavio Samuels explained the change in a statement. “We are stepping into the most revolutionary chapter yet for Revolt. When I joined in 2020, I quickly realized two things: Our mission is bigger than any individual, and we are the largest engine for transformative change that just so happens to be a media company,” Samuels said.

He continued:

“Over the past four years, this engine has created countless opportunities to build wealth for our community and empower creators and entrepreneurs globally, which includes our reinvestment of $50 million annually into the Black community, funding Black entrepreneurs with no exchange of equity, and ensuring creators have upside participation in the content IP we co-create…We are most proud of the transformation that our teams will experience as they shift from being employees to owners of the business they are helping to build. Black culture is global culture, and REVOLT’s superpower is being the home for creators that move culture globally, allowing us to build the most powerful storytelling engine for Black voices.”

Under the new structure, Revolt will stay Black-owned (around 80% of the staff are people of color). Combs left the company in November 2023 following a damning lawsuit from his former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Ventura stated that Combs sexually and physically abused her throughout the course of their relationship.

Expectations were all over the map for “Ride or Die” given the dismal moviegoing market thus far this summer and Smith’s less certain box-office clout. In the end, though, the Sony Pictures release came in very close to, or slightly above, its tracking forecast.

“Ride or Die,” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, is Smith’s first theatrical test since his 2022 slap of Rock earned him a 10-year Oscar ban. The “Bad Boys” film was in development at the time and ultimately went forward with about a $100 million production budget.

To read this article in its entirety, visit The Associated Press

Shelby County Judge Jennifer J. Mitchell set a Sept. 23 trial date for Justin Johnson, 26. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Young Dolph, who was buying cookies when he was gunned down in November 2021 at a bakery located near his childhood home.

Johnson’s trial had been set to start Monday. However, prosecutors and Johnson’s lawyer filed a joint motion May 14 asking the judge to delay the trial to allow them to present expert witnesses to discuss cellphone location records.

Mitchell ruled in February that the trial jury will come from outside of Memphis because of intense media coverage of the 36-year-old rapper’s slaying, which shocked Memphis and the entertainment world.

Authorities have said two men got out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies before fleeing. As they searched for the suspects, police released photos taken from surveillance video that captured the shooting.

To read the article in its entirety, visit The Associated Press

The media outlet recently released a piece detailing violence from the “Bad Boy” label owner based on information from many former associates, friends, and employees of Diddy. Rolling Stone investigated after Cassie filed a bombshell lawsuit accusing Diddy of sexual assault, among other things.

The article goes back to his days as a student at Howard University, where former schoolmates detailed some instances of abuse they witnessed while they attended the D.C. HBCU. They also had conversations with people who worked with him in the early days of starting his label up until recent times, where some stated they witnessed abuse from Diddy.

One of the people the media outlet spoke to was Wallace. Although she doesn’t want to believe what she has heard, after viewing the video, she says she is praying for Cassie and hopes he apologizes to his ex.

She also added, “I hope that I see Sean one day, and the only thing I want to do is slap the daylights out of him. And you can quote me on that. Because I liked him. I didn’t want to believe all the awful things, but I’m so ashamed and embarrassed.”

She also stated that the former Revolt owner needs to apologize to his mother, Janice Combs, and speak to her about his misdeeds.

“He needs to apologize to his mother,” she says. “I hope to God he sits her down and spills his guts and apologize to her.”

The woman in the ad showed off the growth of her natural hair and claimed it was the hair product from the ad that allowed the fake version of Viola Davis to see such growth. The AI version did a length check on a strand of hair.

“First of all, it’s this company using Viola Davis’ voice! And then they had the nerve to use AI and put her face on another person’s body like nobody was gonna notice!? I noticed!” Oloyede ranted. “Viola Davis! Get your PR team and fire these people! Cease and desist that company! That is unacceptable!” she urged.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7gDG2CsdzE/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=3aa33d78-735f-4355-ab00-c2ab9f78aeb3

The hair company in question used an authentic interview with Davis speaking on her natural hair. The ad then continued, showing photos of Viola with wigs and extensions and finally putting her face on someone else’s body. The company claimed its products are behind Davis’ hair growth. 

The EGOT awarded actress reposted Oloyede’s rant and captioned it: 

“Yep, I’ve seen this! That’s definitely not me. I wanna know what she’s using tho! Auntie Viola did NOT approve this ad…And trust, my team is on it! ”

Yes, Annalise Keating–do not let these people get away with murder! Speaking of Annalise, Viola used her best and most viral GIF of the character grabbing her bag and leaving as a comment in her comment responding to the AI ad. Hilarious! Here’s hoping they cease and desist!

Before your imagination runs too wild, pump your brakes. In a new interview with The Guardian in promotion of his new album Blue Electric Light, Kravitz revealed that he hasn’t been in a relationship—nor had sex—in nine years. And while the idea of a man as fine as Kravitz going home alone might seem incredulous and baffling to some, the “Honey” singer told the outlet that it’s for a good reason, explaining that “it’s a spiritual thing.” It also seems to be a decision stemming from his father’s alleged infidelity and player ways he witnessed growing up.

Though that reasoning may suffice for some, for like rapper Ice-T and a handful of folks on the internet, Kravitz revelation was met with skepticism and disdain.

In a since-deleted tweet, Ice T wrote: “9yrs without Sex? F that BS. Weirdo shit.”

When fans online pushed back, Ice doubled down: “Hey….. If you’re a Guy and you can voluntarily go 9yrs without sex… You’re following the wrong page…Shit’s Weird to me….. I love to Fuck. A lot.”

Others came to his defense:

“Not sure why Ice T has a problem with Lenny Kravitz being celibate for nine years? I thought God gave everyone separate sexual organs and the free will to use it however? How’s someone’s decision on how to use theirs your problem? Weirdo,” wrote one user.

“Lenny speaking on his celibacy is beautiful, which I can relate to, and I just posted that pic where you can literally see my aura glowing. Abstaining from sex and sexual orgasam is extremely powerful. It’s like fasting, which detoxifies and rids the body of anything unhealthy,” said another.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Rapper and singer Sean Kingston on Tuesday waived his right to fight extradition in a California court and agreed to be turned over to authorities in Florida, where he and his mother are charged with committing more than a million dollars worth of fraud.

Kingston, 34, did not make a public court appearance but signed papers agreeing to skip extradition hearings, representatives from San Bernardino courts and sheriff told The Associated Press.

He remained in a Southern California jail Tuesday afternoon, but sheriff’s officials will coordinate with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office to return him to Florida, sheriff’s spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said in an email.

Kingston was arrested Thursday at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing.

His mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, was arrested the same day, when a SWAT team raided Kingston’s rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Kingston and Turner have been charged with conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft and related crimes, according to arrest warrants released by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The warrants allege they stole money, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture.

The Jamaican American performer had a No. 1 hit with “Beautiful Girls” in 2007 and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”

Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, had said Friday that they planned to waive extradition, saying they looked forward to addressing the charges in a Florida court and “are confident of a successful resolution.”

Emails sent to Rosenblatt for further comment Tuesday were not immediately answered.

The warrants in the case say that from October to March they stole almost $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from the Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank, $86,000 from the maker of customized beds. Specifics were not given.

Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already on two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property.

His mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000 and served nearly 1.5 years in prison, according to federal court records