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Hennessy, the world’s largest producer of cognac, now finds itself in the middle of a trade dispute that sparked a strike among the brand’s workers in France. Earlier this week, Hennessy factory staff organized a mass walkout strike to protest a proposed move to shift the bottling of the brandy from France to China.
By way of a New York Times report, Hennessy unveiled plans of bottling its prized product in China to offset the costs of import tariffs, with France’s President Emmanuel Macron requesting of China’s President Xi Jinping to end the tariffs. As the news broke regarding the bottling move, around 500 workers at the company’s factory in southwestern France walked off, which makes up half of its workforce. Thus far, the strike has gone on for two days since beginning this past Tuesday (November 21).
China has imposed tariffs on European brandy, a category cognac does fall under, and the country is one of Hennessy’s top markets. The plan to move the bottling operation is to save the company costs by not paying the hefty tariffs. The tariffs imposed by China are likely in response to the European Union voting to levy higher tariffs on electric vehicles produced by China with France being the leading voice in that charge. Conversely, the European brandy tariffs will deeply affect any brandies made in France.
The strike has spread to other cognac producers, collectively known as the Big Four, which include Martell, Rémy Martin, and Courvoisier. The quartet produces much of the cognac consumed globally. Hennessy says it has no plans to move its entire production to China and will test out the program by sending distilled cognac in vats to bottle there and thus bypassing the brandy tariffs.
The strike has the potential to run longer than a week as both sides continue to hammer down a day to discuss the matter between management and the workers.
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Denzel Washington spoke candidly about having issues with alcohol, detailing his reasons and his sobriety in an interview.
Veteran actor Denzel Washington revealed his past issues with alcohol in a far-ranging interview for Esquire Magazine’s Winter 2024 issue. The interview was released in conjunction with promotion for his starring role in Gladiator II.
The Academy Award-winner detailed how he had a preference for wine and talked about drinking due to being “bitter” after losing out on the Oscar in 1999 for his portrayal of wrongly-imprisoned boxer Ruben “Hurricane” Carter in The Hurricane to controversial actor Kevin Spacey for his role in American Beauty. “Wine is very tricky,” Washington said. “It’s very slow. It ain’t like, boom, all of a sudden. And part of it was we built this big house in 1999 with a ten-thousand-bottle wine cellar, and I learned to drink the best. So I’m gonna drink my ’61s and my ’82s and whatever we had.”
The Equalizer actor stressed that it never interfered with his acting work because of his self-imposed restraint. “I’d call Gil Turner’s Fine Wines & Spirits on Sunset Boulevard and say, Send me two bottles, the best of this or that. And my wife’s saying, Why do you keep ordering just two? I said, Because if I order more, I’ll drink more. So I kept it to two bottles, and I would drink them both over the course of the day,” he recalled, continuing: “I never drank while I was working or preparing. I would clean up, go back to work—I could do both. However many months of shooting, bang, it’s time to go. Then, boom.Three months of wine, then time to go back to work.”
Denzel Washington Reveals He Is Now Sober
Washington would remark that the fifteen-year period until he gave up alcohol altogether did “a lot of damage to the body.” But he stated that he’s been sober for ten years as of next month. “I haven’t had a thimble’s worth since,” he said. Washington cited his faith and getting more health-conscious with the help of Lenny Kravitz, who helped him get a physical trainer.
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Malcolm X, the civil rights leader who later transformed into a global activist, was assassinated in 1965 just as his messages for human rights began to resonate with the wider public. The family of Malcolm X has filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the United States government, alleging its involvement in his passing.
As reported late last week by ABC News, civil rights attorney Ben Crump was flanked by members of Malcolm X’s family and announced the $100 million lawsuit while addressing a media gathering in New York where the leader was gunned down.
According to Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), said that the family and their legal team have uncovered damning evidence that connects the NYPD and FBI worked in concert to kill her father.
“We fought primarily for our mother, who was here,” Ms. Shabazz said referencing the late Betty Shabazz while speaking at the site of the former Audubon Ballroom. “My mother was pregnant when she came here to see her husband speak, someone who she just admired totally and to witness this horrific assassination of her husband.”
Crump added in his statements to the press that the lawsuit targets an alleged scheme from the authorities to keep the truth of X’s death under wraps. In the lawsuit, a witness by the name of Mustafa Hassan claims that when he and others tried to stop the individuals who carried out the assassination, NYPD officers intervened to allegedly help the suspects escape. Hassan was reportedly never questioned by investigators on the scene despite him giving an account of the incident.
Further, the family’s legal team says it has two affidavits from a pair of X’s bodyguards who claim they were jailed by an undercover NYPD officer one week before the slaying was carried out and were kept from X’s side to guarantee the job would be done.
The FBI and NYPD have declined to comment on the lawsuit according to the outlet.
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For a minute, it seemed like Colman Domingo was set to become the new Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While that may not be the case anymore, having Domingo take on the Dark Knight isn’t a bad consolation prize.
According to Variety, the Fear The Walking Dead star will be the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Spotify’s second season to Batman Unburied: Fallen City, which is set to premiere Nov. 26. Taking over voicing duties from Winston Duke, who was the caped crusader in its first season, Colman Domingo’s deep baritone voice seems to perfectly fit that of the Dark Knight. We all know Kevin Conroy will forever be Batman’s voice GOAT (RIP, sir).
Coming in at eight episodes deep, Batman Unburied: Fallen City is the brainchild of filmmaker and comic book writer David S. Goyer, who reimagined Bruce Wayne as a Black man born in Gotham City as opposed to the privileged rich white man who decided to take justice into his own hands. We’re low-key surprised MAGA nation wasn’t in an uproar about this. They must not have discovered Spotify yet or something. Just sayin’.
Per Variety:
“This story, one that explores Bruce losing a friend and an emotional new discovery about his parents’ death, was exciting and challenging,” Domingo said in a statement. “I can’t wait for listeners to experience the twists and turns awaiting them.”
Here’s the description for “Batman Unburied: Fallen City”: As Gotham City is plagued by seismic tremors, Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent launch a social program that rattles the city’s elites yet earns praise from the city’s newest masked figure: the Oracle of Gotham. But when Harvey goes missing, Batman is forced to descend into the city’s labyrinthian underground, uncovering a horrific conspiracy by a secret society that has ruled Gotham for ages, one that has ties to his parents’ tragic murder. While Two-Face works to puppeteer the strings of law and order, Batman must defend his life — and his city — before everything he knows and loves turns to rubble.
We’re not gonna lie, we wish this was a live-action film or at least an animated one. But then MAGA nation would definitely take notice, and social media would be chaotic over it, as that’s their thing.
Listen to the trailer for the second season of Batman Unburied: Fallen City, and let us know if you’ll be lending it your ear when it premiers on Spotify on Nov. 26 in the comments section below.
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Source: Pool / Getty / Donald Trump / RFK Jr.
When it comes to RFK Jr. caring about the health of American citizens, the jig couldn’t be clearer, thanks to a photo making its rounds on social media.
Donald Trump’s heada** pick to head the Health and Human Services Department, RFK Jr., got caught consuming the food he claims is “poison” and is on a mission to stop Americans from eating.
In a photo that made its rounds on social media, Donald Trump, his new favorite glazer, Elon Musk, his “favorite son,” Donald Trump Jr., and RFK Jr. all looked very stupid while consuming McDonald’s, presumably on Trump’s private plane.
Before his election win, in exchange for his support, Trump vowed to allow the alleged Democrat/Independent “go wild on health” before ultimately nomination the health conspiracy theorist and vaccine skeptic to run the Health and Human Services Department.
Kennedy, in the past, has been vocal about the obesity rate of Americans and once ridiculously claimed that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” not to affect Jewish people.
Social Media Is Frying RFK Jr.
Social media instantly started frying everyone in the picture, specifically RFK Jr., because of how hypocritical it made Kennedy look.
“Making the new gang member do drugs to make sure he’s not an undercover cop,” Economy commentator Geiger Capita wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The Tennessee Holler wrote on social media, “Nothing says ‘Make America Healthy Again’ like a Big Mac and a Lipper.”
“Mr. Kennedy, blink twice if you are being forced to eat McDonald’s against your will,” added market researcher Anna Matson.
Welp.
The Senate has not yet confirmed RFK Jr. for the job, and many are clinging to the little hope that he doesn’t earn the nomination because he is not qualified for the gig—period.
The confirmation hearing is still many days away. Until then, you can see more reactions to RFK Jr. getting caught consuming McDonald’s in the gallery below.
2. F R A U D
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Source: David Jensen / Getty / LaMelo Ball
Charlotte Hornets superstar LaMelo Ball’s wallet took a hit after the NBA fined him for language it deemed “offensive and derogatory” during a postgame interview over the weekend. He’s adamant there isn’t a hateful bone in his body.
You can bet LaMelo Ball won’t be saying “no homo” during his postgame press conferences ever again. The professional hooper learned the term often associated with “pause” and made popular by rappers like Cam’ron and Ma$e and often used during their sports debate show It Is What Is when trying to signify they are not gay after saying something that would be considered “homosexual” in nature.
“We loaded up,” Ball said before making sure to add in, “no homo,” during the postgame interview following the Hornets thrilling 115-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Following Sunday’s 128-114 loss to the still-undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers, Ball told reports that he “really didn’t mean anything” by the remark and doesn’t “want to offend anybody.”
“I’ve got love for everybody,” he added, “and I don’t discriminate.”Before the game, Hornets head coach Charles Lee said Ball was “very apologetic,” adding, “He and I talked about it, and he definitely said going forward, ‘I’m going to be better,’ and I want to see that happen. So for somebody to use those words and say that out of his mouth, we will make sure to hold him accountable to that.”
Ball is not the first player to feel the league’s wrath for using the term. Brooklyn Nets rising star Cam Thomas was fined $40K by the NBA, well below the league maximum fine of $100K Ball was hit with.
Social media also had thoughts on the matter. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
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Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
The hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe program met with Donald Trump, leaving social media users to roast the pair
mercilessly.
With Donald Trump winning the presidential election, some media figures have begun to waver on not associating with him. According to reports, they now include Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe program.
The couple met with President-Elect Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida over this past weekend to “restart communications”. Scarborough and Brzezinski disclosed their meeting on the Monday morning (November 18) episode, citing the election as a factor.
“Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump but also talking with him,” Brzezinski stated. “For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back, why wouldn’t we? Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country.”
The duo, who were once friendly with Trump, famously and consistently criticized him during his first presidential administration, with Trump firing back in posts on X, formerly Twitter. “We talked about a lot of issues, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets,” Scarborough said of the meet. “We talked about that a good bit. It will come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so.”
The two said that Trump was upbeat during their meeting and that they agreed to “restart communications,” per Brzezinski, who cited her father, former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, as an example of communicating with figures and countries which one disagrees with. “I will tell you a lot of Democratic leaders we have talked to this past week since the election have told Mika and me it’s time for a new approach,” Scarborough added.
The news was met with scorn and derision for the MSNBC hosts from users on X, formerly Twitter. One called them “Morning Joke”. One user, Bud McLaughlin, summed up the frustration in a post: Your job isn’t to “work with” the administration, no matter who is in power. Journalists are the Fourth Estate for a reason. We are the check, not the balance.”
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Diddy’s pursuit of bail continues to be an uphill battle. Prosecutors claim he has been abusing his phone privileges to finesse the system and more.
PEOPLE reports that the mogul’s latest push for a restricted release faces more objection. On Friday (Nov. 15), prosecutors submitted new documents detailing their reasoning on why the Bad Boy Entertainment founder should not be granted a new bail hearing.
This time, they point to some of his behavior while behind bars and claim he has been bending the rules in his favor. They say the “Victory” rapper has been utilizing a “non-authorized third-party messaging service” to communicate with his staff, family, and others.
The app in question is ContactMeASAP, and the filing asserts he has been using it to contact “unauthorized” contacts. He is also accused of using other inmates’ phone access codes to make “three-way calls to contact other individuals.”
Will A Recent Social Media Media Post Doom Diddy?
Prosecutors also point to his recent conversation with his children on his birthday.
“The defendant enlisted family members to plan and execute a social media campaign around the defendant’s birthday, with the intention of influencing the potential jury in this criminal proceeding,” the paperwork reads. “At the defendant’s carefully curated direction, the defendant’s children posted a video to their respective social media accounts showing the defendant’s children gathered to celebrate the defendant’s birthday.” The feds would also go on to suspect Diddy had “monitored the analytics” of the post and “explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure that the video had his desired effect on potential jury members in this case.”
The footage in question shows Justin Combs, Quincy Combs, Christian Combs, Jessie, D’Lila Combs, and Chance Combs, who joined via FaceTime and spoke to Diddy over the phone. His children wished him a happy birthday and had a small cake on the table in his honor. Diddy has plead not guilty to the charges.
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Source: Matthias Nareyek / Getty / Kanye West
Ye, the artist formally known as Kanye West, is the subject of another lawsuit, and it alleges plenty of anti-Semitic behavior and perverse behavior from the Hip-Hop star.
Variety reports that a new lawsuit alleges that Kanye West told a former employee that his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, who has recently claimed that she is raising their four kids basically by herself, has “Jewish masters.”
“The Jews are out to get me,” West said, according to the lawsuit. “They froze my bank account. The Jews got Kim and my kids… The Jews convinced Kim. She has Jewish masters.”
Murphy Aficionado, a project manager, says in the lawsuit that West made him wait in his suite on two separate occasions while he had loud sex in an adjacent room. One time was with his wife, Bianca Censori, who was topless when Aficionado entered the suite; the other time, alongside an unnamed “famous NFL wide receiver,” was with a masseuse. We can all guess who that former NFL player was, *coughs Antonio Brown,* Rolling Stone reports.
Per Rolling Stone:
Aficionado claims that in late November 2022, West summoned him to the Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria for a meeting. He says a lawyer for conservative commentator Candace Owens exited the suite as he entered. (A month prior, West and Owens posed together at his Paris fashion show wearing matching “White Lives Matter” tee shirts.) Aficionado alleges he quickly spotted West’s wife Bianca Censori standing topless inside and tried to exit as well, but West “commanded” him to sit down. He says West told him the lawyer was “a Jewish spy” and then demonstrated his “dominance” by opening the door to the bedroom where Censori had retreated, exposing her again. He claims West left the door slightly ajar as he had loud sex with Censori while Aficionado waited silently for their meeting to resume.
“Disturbed, Aficionado wanted nothing more than to leave. However, Aficionado feared further retaliation by one of the most famous, powerful, and erratic artists in the world,” the lawsuit states. Aficionado claims West returned from the bedroom wearing a T-shirt with a swastika and aggressively asked him, “Don’t you like my shirt?”
According to the website, West demanded Aficionado return to the suite a second time, and upon arrival, he saw West and the NFL wide receiver both just wearing a towel. He claims they both took turns going into a room where they could be heard having sex with the masseuse.
Bruh.
Aficionado was fired after he was told West’s school, the Donda Academy, would be shut down.
This latest lawsuit is just one of many brought by former employees of the producer/rapper.
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Matt Gaetz, the former Florida congressman who resigned on Wednesday (November 13), found himself getting loads of attention after President-Elect Donald Trump named him as his Attorney General pick. The resulting fallout from Matt Gaetz being selected for the role has led to details of a House Ethics Committee probe against the AG hopeful, with a new report highlighting a woman saying that she and the congressman had sex when she was still in high school.
ABC News reports that the unnamed woman testified in front of the House Ethics Committee over the summer as part of the long-running investigation of sex trafficking allegations swirling around Matt Gaetz. The committee’s report was slated to be released but a meeting with members to discuss those terms was canceled on Friday (November 15) amid calls for the report’s release. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson does not want the report’s findings to be released.
The woman shared during her testimony that she and Gaetz, 42, entered a sexual relationship when she was just 17 at the time. Gaetz has since responded to the allegations and framed them as false.
“These allegations are invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress,” Gaetz said to the outlet regarding its report. “This false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.”
As noted in the report from ABC News, Justice Department officials launched the probe into Gaetz three years ago which included claims of obstruction of justice but no charges would emerge from their findings.
Back in September of this year, Gaetz issued a response to a series of questions sent to him by the House Ethics Committee regarding the allegations, which wanted to examine the claims of sexual misconduct and drug use claims that were publicly made.
“Your correspondence of September 4 asks whether I have engaged in sexual activity with any individual under 18. The answer to this question is unequivocally NO. You can apply this response to every version of this question, in every forum,” Gaetz shared via social media.
Public skepticism has remained high as Trump has selected several officials and named them as potential appointees for several high-ranking positions in his cabinet. As a result, there has been chatter about Matt Gaetz cropping up on social media, and we’ve got some of those responses below.
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