State Champ Radio celebrity news
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Ice-T has lived a colorful life as a founding voice in the so-called “Gangsta Rap” space as an artist ahead of a long and still-ongoing career as an actor. In a recent interview, Ice-T shared a tale of how a person he considered a good friend set him up and robbed him.
As spotted on Complex, Ice-T sat down with the Get Up & Tighten Up podcast hosted by Norman Seabrook, and he shared his early beginnings in Los Angeles, his foray into Hip-Hop music, and his journey as an actor.
Harkening back to his rapping roots, Ice shared how his alignment with individuals involved in street activity who were both protective of him and standoffish against other rappers, but also turned their backs on him while using his fame as an inside track to his riches.
“So when you’re from this environment…you just never know,” Ice-T said of running the streets. “I got set up by one of my best friends. It was funny, after it happened, I talked to somebody. They said, ‘That was somebody you fed, that was somebody who’s actually sat down to dinner with you that set you up.’”
To check out that portion of the interview, check out the 50-minute mark of the Get Up & Tighten Up podcast, posted below.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ high-profile trial will hear opening statements this week, and prosecutors have already suffered a setback. As previously reported, a key witness known as Victim-3 was expected to testify against Diddy but has yet to be found by the prosecution.
Deadline exclusively reports that the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has been unable to locate Victim-3 after Jane Doe initially stated they would testify in court. Jane Doe was scheduled to state before the court how Combs allegedly used his power and influence to sexually exploit her.
The outlet adds in its reporting that the inability of the prosecution to locate the witness gives Combs’ team fuel to halt the progression of the case in the short term. The defense team might attempt to lay groundwork for a delay in the start of the trial or even a mistrial, although the latter seems far away from the realm of possibility.
According to unnamed sources that spoke with Deadline, it is assumed that Victim-3 has ceased all communication out of a fear for her safety. The witness’s name was shielded from public view and would remain so.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs and his defense team were granted a delay in the jury selection process on Friday (May 9), pushing it to this coming Monday. Opening statements are reported to be heard after the jury is selected, and it was also revealed that a key witness has decided they will not testify against Diddy.
The Daily Mail reports that Judge Arun Subramanian granted the defense’s request based on their feeling that jurors would get “cold feet” between Friday and Monday (May 12), which is when opening statements were originally supposed to be heard. The prosecution attempted to push back, but the judge said that if the jury is fully selected on Monday, it would ensure that the process would not need to be restarted.
Other developments in the trial involve Jane Doe, also known as Victim Number 3, who was thought to be a key witness. It appears that Victim Number 3 never worked with prosecutors, and according to a TMZ report, she did not want to testify. The outlet added in another report that Victim Number 5 might testify, and the judge ruled that they will need to reveal their identity to the court.
The defense also claimed that Diddy and his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, were both physically violent with one another. Ventura came forth with explosive claims about Combs, which led to an investigation and his eventual arrest. She is not involved with the sex trafficking trial directly, but it is said to be a character witness.
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UMG (Universal Music Group) has filed a motion to have Drake’s amended lawsuit against his recording label dismissed, calling the rapper’s allegations “asthoning” in their filing. Drake filed a lawsuit against UMG at the top of the year over Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss record “Not Like Us” and has accused the label of defaming him.
As reported by Variety, UMG is responding to Drake’s claims made in the amended lawsuit, and the Canadian superstar is charging the label with heavily promoting the song, which features a lyric accusing him of being a pedophile.
The initial lawsuit came just as news surfaced that Kendrick Lamar would be the halftime performer at this year’s Super Bowl, and it was anticipated that “Not Like Us,” one of the biggest hit records of 2024, would be a centerpiece. It appeared that Drake wanted to get ahead of the noise regarding the track. Lamar did perform the track but altered the lyrics in question.
UMG, which filed its motion on Wednesday (May 7), had their legal representation address Drake’s amended lawsuit straight away, while seemingly taking a dig at the OVO honcho.
“As Drake concedes, Lamar’s Super Bowl performance did not include the lyric that Drake or his associates are ‘certified pedophiles’ (i.e., the alleged ‘Defamatory Material’ that is at the heart of this case). The focus of Drake’s new claims—that ‘the largest audience for a Super Bowl halftime show ever’ did not hear Lamar call Drake or his crew pedophiles—betrays this case for what it is: Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar’s lyrics.”
Drake has not responded publicly to the entered motion as of yet.
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Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was a guest on Piers Morgan Uncensored this week to discuss Shiloh Hendrix, the woman who called a Black boy the n-word and launched a fundraiser and gaining over $700,00. Piers Morgan urged a white guest panelist to use the N-word in front of Marc Lamont Hill, who stopped the act and framed it as an attack.
Marc Lamont Hill shared the clip in question on his Instagram account at the exact moment where Morgan tried to get cultural commentator Lilly Gaddis to say the N-word. Gaddis has been supportive of Hendrix and says she uses the N-word slur frequently herself.
Morgan, with a grin, asked Gaddis repeatedly to say the slur before Hill jumped ahead of her and said that he would not be subjected to the verbal assault on the program. Ahead of that moment, Gaddis attempts to illustrate that her use of the N-word slur is part of her right to free speech, which made Hill grimace in the video.
As Hill blasted Morgan for the stunt, he also threw fellow panelist and Fresh and Fit Podcast co-host Myron Gaines under the bus and referred to Gaines as an “Uncle Tom.”
Here is what Hill had to say about the moment on Instagram:
The other day, I was asked to appear on Piers Morgan to discuss the recent fundraising campaign for the white woman who used the N-word against a five-year-old autistic Black child. It wasn’t until the show started that I realized I’d be sharing space with Myron Gaines (racist, misogynist, antisemite who pretends to be a Black American) and Lilly Gaddis, a proudly self-proclaimed racist who admits to frequently using the N-word. At the end of our debate, Piers dared her to use the N-word on the show. While I understand that his intention was to expose her as a racist —and get ratings for shock value— I felt compelled to shut it down.
Check out Marc Lamont Hill blasting Piers Morgan for the ratings grab stunt below.
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Smokey Robinson and his wife were named in a $50 million lawsuit brought by four housekeepers who allege that the singer raped and abused them for almost 20 years. The four unnamed housekeepers say Smokey Robinson forced them to have sex in his Los Angeles home between 2007 to 2024.
We wish to urge caution in proceeding, as the details of the acts explained in the lawsuit filing might be disturbing to some.
Billboard reports that the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday (May 6) in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The four housekeepers say that the alleged acts took place at Smokey Robinson’s home in the Chatsworth neighborhood.
“Plaintiffs did not consent to defendant Smokey Robinson’s sexual contact or touching,” John W. Harris, an attorney representing the four housekeepers, wrote in the initial filing. “Plaintiffs explicitly told defendant Robinson on numerous occasions that they were not interested in his advances and objected to his forceful, physical, sexual, and harmful conduct.”
The four Jane Does, all numbered in sequence as such, stated in the filing that Robinson would have them come inside his bedroom, where he was wearing only his underwear. They claim Robinson would put down a towel and force the housekeepers to have oral and vaginal sex without protection.
One of the women say they didn’t report the crimes to the authorities “due to her fear of losing her livelihood, familial reprisal, public embarrassment, shame and humiliation to her and her family, the possible adverse effect on her immigration status, as well as being threatened and intimidated by defendant Smokey Robinson’s well-recognized celebrity status and his influential friends and associates.”
Frances Robinson, Robinson’s wife, was named in the suit for not preventing the assault and for creating an abusive and hostile working environment against the housekeepers, including allegations that she used racial slurs against them.
Smokey Robinson has yet to publicly respond to the lawsuit and the claims within.
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Sinners, the hit horror film from director Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, is set in Mississippi in the small town of Clarksdale. Clarksdale, which doesn’t have its own movie theater, will host a special screening of the film this summer, according to reports.
TMZ reports that Clarksdale, a predominantly Black town of just under 15,000 residents, is where Sinners takes place. The nearest major city to Clarksdale is Memphis, which is about 76 miles to the north. The town doesn’t have a movie theater, so some residents have made the nearly 90-minute trek to Memphis and beyond to see the film. This summer, it appears that the town’s fortunes are changing. Mayor Chuck Epsy told TMZ that his side has spoken with Warner Bros. to bring Sinners to the town. Epsy says that the plan is to host a Juneteenth screening at Clarksdale High School’s football field and perhaps a panel featuring the stars, including director Ryan Coogler, Wunmi Mosaku, and more.
Sinners has defied box office expectations for a horror film, especially one that focuses primarily on Black characters. The success of the film has surprisingly baffled critics despite the high quality of storytelling and craftsmanship Coogler brought to the film.
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Rihanna and A$AP Rocky might very well be the top “it” couple of the moment after the pair stunned and turned heads at last night’s Met Gala festivities. With Rihanna debuting her latest baby bump, proud papa A$AP Rocky also shone brightly.
As reported by TMZ, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky hosted the party at Jean’s Restaurant in Manhattan, and the swanky event was well-attended. The Barbadian billionaire stood out with a beautiful black top that exposed her baby bump. Rocky kept it sleek yet simple with a Black suit and an overcoat.
The party was attended by Megan Thee Stallion, Sabrina Carpenter, Daniel Kaluuya, and more.
There were several amazing looks at this year’s Met Gala, including Andre 3000 appearing at the event with a piano strapped to his back. Check out some of the flyness here.
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Turkey Leg Hut, the popular Houston restaurant that attracted huge crowds and celebrity interest, is at the center of an ongoing scandal involving its former owner, Lynn Price. According to the FBI, pounds of marijuana were sold at Turkey Leg Hut and reportedly emblazoned with the company’s logo.
The Houston Chronicle reports that FBI special Agent Deborah Cline testified last week at a detention hearing for Lynn Price, 42, who owned the Turkey Leg Hut, which closed for good last year. Price was arrested last week in connection with a 2020 arson, alleging that he paid four men $1,400 to set fire to a bar situated across the street from his establishment.
One of the four men, John Lee Price, said that he helped aid a covert marijuana operation using product shipped in from California and sold in bags bearing the Turkey Leg Hut logo. Price reportedly didn’t handle the day-to-day sales himself but is framed as a ringleader of the operation.
Lynn Price nor the men accused of setting fire to Bar 5105 have been accused of anything connected to the marijuana operation. Agent Cline said over 1,000 pounds of marijuana was kept on the premises of the restaurant, which was guarded around the clock.
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The sex trafficking trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs takes place this week, and on Monday (May 5), the jury selection process was underway. Diddy’s charges include sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transporting to engage in prostitution.
As reported by NPR, jury selection kicked off Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial on Monday in what is expected to be one of the more explosive cases heard in New York in some time. The longtime music executive and business mogul has been accused of several heinous crimes, and several individuals have launched lawsuits accusing Combs of committing acts of violence, intimidation, and more.
The jury selection process will reportedly take one week to complete, and opening statements are scheduled to be heard by U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian on May 12. Initially arrested on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, prosecutors filed a superseding indictment last and tacked on two additional charges: sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and the aforementioned transporting charge.
Diddy’s legal team requested a two-month delay for the trial as they wanted more time to respond to last month’s indictment. Judge Subramanian denied the request. It is expected that several witnesses and victims who allege Combs harmed them will take the stand. And unlike many trials of this magnitude, the trial will not be shown on television.
Combs faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The transporting to engage in prostitution count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
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