celebrity news
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Source: @mr_camron / Instagram
Cam’ron celebrated Independence Day his own way. The rapper wore O.J. Simpson’s NFL football uniform with pride.
As reported by HipHopDX, the Harlem, New York, native isn’t using the holiday to pay his respects to Amerikkka. On Thursday, July 4, he found himself in Las Vegas for a private party. In signature fashion he threw all cares out the window and wore Orenthal James Simpson’s iconic look to the event. The outfit included O.J.’s Buffalo Bills jersey, pants and even the original helmet two-bar face mask. To further make the cipher complete he carried a football in one hand and wore the Nike Air Jordan Cherry 11 retro sneakers on feet.
“OJ was here!!!! Happy INDEPENDENCE DAY! This ain’t really Our holiday.. But it feels good not to have to answer to nobody!! #FreeNigga #IIWII,” the caption read. While the post seemed to just highlight Cam’ron’s cosplay range some of his followers assume it was a shot at Stephen A. Smith who recently called out BET for celebrating O.J. Simpson during the 2024 BET Awards.
“Did y’all see the in memoriam segment paying tribute to quote, ‘Black excellence,’ that we unfortunately lost this year?” he said on the opening segment of his self-titled show. “There was a notable silence from the crowd when the image of O.J. Simpson appeared on the big screen. You may recall O.J. Simpson died this past April after a battle with cancer. Yes, he is known for being a Hall of Famer on the football field out of USC, and ultimately with the Buffalo Bills in his NFL career, but he was also accused of double murder!”
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Smith also called out that the late great didn’t side with people of color once he became successful but also reminding us of his infamous “I’m not Black, I’m O.J.,” quote. Simpson was a frequent guest on Cam’ron’s sports talk show It Is What It Is. You can see Cam’ron’s outfit below.
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Source: Denise Truscello / Getty
Flavor Flav’s efforts to save the cheddar bay biscuits are getting traction. Red Lobster has announced a new meal in his name.
As spotted on The Grio, the seafood restaurant chain is making it clear that the Public Enemy member’s efforts did not go unappreciated. This week the Orlando, Florida-based company announced the launch of “Flavor Flav’s Faves.” The meal includes a Maine lobster tail, snow crab legs, garlic shrimp scampi, and bacon mac and cheese, plus a side dish.
The “911 Is A Joke” rapper expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership in a formal statement. “As a long-time Red Lobster fan, I’m fired up to bring a little bit of my own flavor to fans with a meal featuring my seafood favorites,” he said. “You gotta get to Red Lobster and give it a try because this signature meal is hype, boy!”
Red Lobster detailed why the limited-time menu was a no brainer. “When you have someone like Flavor Flav who shows their love for a brand by ordering the entire menu, you know there is a lot more fun to be had,” said Sara Bittorf, chief experience officer at Red Lobster. “Flavor Flav’s passion for Red Lobster is unmatched, and we’re excited to bring our guests a flavor experience unlike any other.”
Along with the launch of Flavor Flav’s Faves, Red Lobster also launched some new menu items including the Creamy Crab Carbonara, the Crab & Lobster Duo and the Snow Crab & Crab-Topped Steak. Earlier this year the chain announced bankruptcy after taking a huge hit on their endless shrimp promotion. Upon hearing the news Flavor Flav ordered every item off the menu in an attempt to save the franchise.
The Flavor Flav Fave’s offering is available during Crabfest.
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Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty
Lee Daniels and Lena Waithe were among the attendees at the renowned event held in Los Angeles at the end of Black Music Month.
Last Friday (June 28), the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles, California, was the site of the Innovators and Leaders Awards Brunch, held by the esteemed Culture Creators Foundation. The non-profit group’s premier event was a fundraiser brunch for its mission of being a platform to recognize and salute those making significant contributions to the culture, business and entertainment industries. It was marked by the appearance of some notable figures such as director Lee Daniels and producer and director Lena Waithe, who were on hand to present awards. BET was a main sponsor of the event along with Möet Hennessy, Lexus and Rap Snacks.
Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty
Journalist and NAACP Image Award nominee Gia Peppers served as the host of the expansive event, which began with “The Collective Conversation,” a talk between rapper and actor Joey Bada$$ and political strategist Quentin James about the ways that the community can be more politically informed and engaged with emphasis placed on voting and advocating for more diversity and increases in Black employment. After a performance by Roc Nation’s remarkable R&B band, Infinity Song, actress and singer Teyana Taylor was surprised by Waithe who presented her with the Innovator of the Year Award, providing a heartwarming moment for all attending.
Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty
A similar moment occurred as CAA agent and board member Lorrie Bartlett was honored with the ICON Award by her longtime friend Daniels on stage. “I have had an incredible run and I feel so proud and lucky when I think about all I have accomplished thus far. Here’s the truth: more often than not, you have to make your own luck. The pathway to success is not the same for everybody,” Bartlett said to the audience. Other guests at the brunch included former honoree L.A. Reid, Andra Day, Regina King, Omarion, Debra Lee, YK Osiris, Alex Isley, Vanessa Estelle Williams, Pretty Vee, Trevor Jackson, Elijah Blake, Estelle, Cory Hardrict, designer Karl Kani, Flau’Jae, Jasper Hagen and Jessica Betts.
Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
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Source: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty
Chet Hanks’ aka Shabba Hanks aka Tom’s Son’s redemption arc comes with some wild stories. He says cokeheads told him he was abusing the drug.
As reported by Page Six, the Your Honor actor made a recent appearance on Bradley Martyn’s Raw Talk podcast. The Los Angeles, California, native discussed a variety of topics during the almost two-hour interview. He openly talked about his struggles with drug abuse, specifically cocaine. “The drug I had the most problem with was just f****ing coke, dude,” he revealed. Hanks went on to admit he was an addict to the white powder. “I’m a f***ing cokehead, straight-up,” he said before adding, “Not anymore, but that is my drug of choice — cocaine, bro, like Tony Montana.”
The “White Boy Summer” rapper went on to admit that he was doing so much that his co-conspirators were advising him to slow down. “I would go do coke with the cokeheads, and they would be telling me, like, ‘Yo, chill, bro. … Wait a second. Give it like 15 minutes.’” Thankfully, Chet kicked the habit by going to rehab and eventually found God in the process.
You can view Chet Hanks’ Raw Talk interview below.
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Source: @champagnepapi / Instagram
On Monday (July 1), the internet reacted in all kinds of ways when a video of Rick Ross and his crew getting jumped in Vancouver, Canada, by Drake super fans hit the web, and now it seems like the King of the North is practicing a bit of trolling over the incident with his latest social media post.
Following the release of the video, Drake took to his IG page to post a pic and a video of himself and his crew enjoying some outside weather at his mansion as Drizzy raps along to “Northern Touch” by the Rascalz, who hail from Vancouver. Coincidence that Drake is listening to a rap group that represents the city where Ross and company got jumped? Maybe, but we doubt it.
Drake also dropped another video in which he wished his fellow Canadians a “Happy Canada Day” before saying, “Cheers to the whole country” and taking a sip of some adult juice with a slice of lemon in it. Fancy!
50 Cent meanwhile didn’t miss the opportunity to continue to troll his former rival Rick Ross as well with a new video. While Fiddy called it a “very unfortunate situation that took place in Canada” and said, “I hope that brother made it home safely,” he ended his quick reaction by saying Ross should call on Meek Mill’s Dream Chasers crew or the “305 killers” before laughing it off as he’s known to do.
Man we hope this doesn’t lead to North vs. South Hip-Hop war like the East vs. West thing in the ’90s.
What are your thoughts on Rick Ross getting jumped in Canada for playing Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss song “Not Like Us”? Fair or foul? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Lyvans Boolaky / Getty
Another day another case for Kanye West as the “MAGA” rapper has just been slapped with a brand new lawsuit which accuses him and his former chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos of some pretty wild stuff.
According to TMZ, former employees of Kanye West have filed a suit against the Donda rapper and Milo Yiannopoulos, claiming that they were subjected to a horrible work environment, which “forced labor and cruel inhuman, or degrading treatment.” In the suit they claim that not only were they referred to as “new slaves” but Yeezy’s wife, Bianca Censori, also sent porn to staff members which were accessible by minors.
Sounds like the kind of place hardcore MAGA enthusiasts would love to work in actually.
TMZ reports:
It all started in the Spring of 2024 when Ye decided to launch the YZYVSN streaming service app to rival Tidal, Spotify and Apple Music. The suit says Ye wanted to avoid paying those companies to promote his new albums, “Vultures” and “Vultures 2.”
So, he and Milo allegedly hired an international developer group comprised of several Black members, which also included underage teens as young as 14.
The docs say the employees mostly worked remotely, staying in constant communication with Ye, Milo and their team by using digital and online communication applications such as Discord, Zoom and Slack.
In April 2024, the docs say, Milo promised to pay $120,000 to the developer group after they completed the app if they agreed to the work conditions and didn’t complain.
While that sounded good and all, things apparently went left after everyone was forced to sign non-disclosure agreements under the threat of termination if they didn’t. Younger workers had to sign on as “volunteers” if they wanted to keep their jobs. Once they complied, the ugliness came out courtesy of Yeezy’s white management team.
In group chats, the Caucasian managers used harassing language toward the underlings in regards to their age, race, gender, sexual orientation and national origin. Some team members were called “slaves” while others were referred to as “new slaves.”The docs say Milo once sent a chat message with a Black/brown skin emoji to an African American team member, while calling a younger worker a school shooter. The employees were also bullied into working long hours through the night without pay or sleep.Then, in late April, Ye announced he was launching an adult film biz called “Yeezy Porn,” with his wife Bianca sending one worker a file-sharing link containing hardcore sexual activity, according to the docs. The minors were not shielded from viewing the smut videos as they developed Ye’s porn app. Bianca is not named as a defendant.
Ultimately, the team was able to finish an app and handed it over to Ye on May 1 of this year. Unfortunately, they weren’t paid what they were owed, which led to the lawsuit at hand.
The workers are seeking damages for unpaid wages and overtime pay, and of course, emotional distress.
Don’t be surprised if Kanye and Milo settle this one out of court.
What do y’all think of this latest lawsuit against Kanye West? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Julia Beverly / Getty
Just weeks after it was reported that Diddy returned to keys to New York to the offices of Mayor Eric Adams, it’s now being reported that Miami wants nothing to do with the embattled music mogul either as they’re canceling the one day they dedicated to the Bad Boy founder.
According to TMZ, the Miami Beach Commission has made the decision to cancel their annual “Sean Diddy Combs Day,” which has apparently been a thing since it was bestowed on him in 2016. (Who knew?) The Miami Beach Commission becomes the latest institution to publicly cut ties with Diddy as Howard University, Revolt, Capital Preparatory Schools and a few others have done the same since the video of Diddy assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie, came to light.
TMZ reports:
In fact, Diddy received the proclamation in October 2016 … just 7 months after he was caught on surveillance video assaulting ex-GF inside an L.A. hotel. Of course, the general public — and certainly not the City of Miami Beach — knew that had happened until the video came out this year.
According to the Miami Herald, the MBC made the final decision this past Wednesday without any debate.
Miami Beach has long been Diddy’s home … his properties on Star Island were raided back in March and he’s since been spotted out and about.
Real talk, we didn’t even know Diddy had so many multi-city accolades until they began rescinding them after learning he was in fact a trash human being, allegedly.
What do y’all think about Miami canceling “Sean Diddy Combs Day”? Did y’all know that was a thing? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Chatham County Sheriff’s Office / Chatham County Sheriff’s Office
After facing some lengthy fed time for his recent drug bust in Savannah, rapper Quando Rondo got some “good news” as his legal team has reached a plea agreement with the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
According to WJCL, a plea agreement has been made in the case of Tyquian Bowman aka Quando Rondo, who was booked and accused of being part of a drug conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana. Though details of the agreement aren’t known nor how much time Rondo may or may not serve, he’ll at least avoid having to go through a trial which would’ve led to him spending a good portion of his life behind bars.
WJCL reports:
The federal indictment and being taken into custody by the FBI followed an arrest in Savannah on state charges of drug and gang activity.
A hearing will be scheduled to accept Bowman’s plea. The specifics of the plea deal are unclear at this time.
With his many legal woes, Rondo must be able to breathe a little easier with this pending case seemingly being settled. The only question is what are the specifics and what is his punishment, if any. Guess we’ll have to wait and find out.
What do y’all think of this latest development? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: @ludacris / Instagram
This past Saturday (June 22), Ludacris had a scheduled concert in Milwaukee canceled due to bad weather conditions, but being the man that he is, Luda decided to give an impromptu performance at a local market, and we love him for it.
With his team in tow and a huge portable Bluetooth speaker on his person, Ludacris headed down to the 3rd St. Market Hall and surprised shoppers with a free concert that he was more than happy to bestow upon them. With a mic in his hand Luda had everyone in attendance rapping along to “Move B*tch” while they pulled out their camera phones and recorded the memorable moment that they were lucky enough to be a part of.
Taking to Instagram to post the video of his performance, Luda explained the situation writing, “My Show In Milwaukee Got Cancelled Last Night Due To Rain & Thunderstorms But I DEFINITELY Wasn’t Leaving The City Without Touching The People. Shouts to @stevedastoner4149 for the #freeconcert inspiration.”
We’re not sure how many songs he performed, or if this was just a quick one-shot drive-by, but regardless, it was still hella dope. And we’re sure everyone who was there left feeling happy about what they just witnessed.
Check out Ludacris’ free concert below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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Source: Andrew Chin / Getty
Love him or hate him, 50 Cent has proven over the years to be a helluva business man, and now he’ll be sharing some of his knowledge to the good people of Atlanta this coming August.
According to TMZ, the multi-platinum rapper-turned entrepreneur will be headlining Earn Your Leisure’s Invest Fest in the A where he’ll be giving attendees some insight and information he feels can help them on their way to their first million. Naturally, many won’t have the platform that 50 had before getting into the film and TV industry, but it should still be quite the insightful event.
Per TMZ:
The event is right up 50’s alley … he and attorney Ben Crump recently went to Washington, D.C. in the name of Black entrepreneurship, pushing for minority representation in the alcohol biz … and we’re told he’ll speak to that topic and much more during the annual event.
Even more fittingly, 50 will succeed Diddy, who hosted last year’s Invest Fest, and we all know how “competitive” he’s been with Puff for years, and especially lately … in the wake of the latter’s slew of legal issues.
Earn Your Leisure co-founder Troy Millings tells us 50 represents “the powerful blend of culture and business,” — so, recruiting him for the coveted gig was an easy call.
Rashad Bilal believes 50 will leave attendees with invaluable lessons — “We believe [50’s] insights and experiences will inspire and empower our audience to pursue their own paths to financial freedom.”
Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if 50 accepted the invitation just to spite last year’s host, Diddy. Heck, the man’s so petty he might throw a few jabs at the embattled music mogul while sharing his knowledge.
Invest Fest will be going down from Aug. 23 to the Aug. 25 and will feature the likes of T.I., Stephen A. Smith, Monica and Pinky Cole amongst others.
Will you be checking it out? Let us know in the comments section below.