Current Events
Page: 48
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Source: CBS Texas / Youtube
Crystal Mason, who was sentenced to five years in Texas for trying to vote with a ballot in 2016 that was rejected, was acquitted.
On Thursday (March 28), an appeals court in Texas threw out a five-year prison sentence given to Crystal Mason, who was sentenced for trying to vote in the 2016 presidential election using a provisional ballot in Fort Worth that was rejected. Mason maintained that she had no idea she was ineligible due to being on supervised release for a tax felony at the time. The case became nationally known and was regarded as an attempt to intimidate Black voters as they saw the sentence as egregious for what legal observers saw as a simple error.
“We conclude that the quantum of the evidence presented in this case is insufficient to support the conclusion that Mason actually realized that she voted knowing that she was ineligible to do so and, therefore, insufficient to support her conviction for illegal voting,” Justice Wade Birdwell wrote in the ruling. The 49-year-old Mason was initially convicted in 2018 after a trial lasting just hours. The highest court in the state reviewed the case in 2022 and told the lower appellate court to reconsider. Mason had remained out of jail on an appeal bond but wound up losing her job at a bank and spent months in federal prison for being arrested for a federal crime while on probation.
“I was thrown into this fight for voting rights and will keep swinging to ensure no other citizen has to face what I’ve faced and endured for the past seven years, a political ploy where minority voting rights are under attack,” Mason said in an interview Thursday night. “Although I’ve cried for seven years straight, seven nights a week … I’ve also prayed for seven years straight, seven nights a week. Prayed that I would remain a free black woman,” she said in a statement released later. “I am overjoyed to see my faith rewarded today.”
“Crystal and her family have suffered for over six years as the target of a vanity project by Texas political leaders,” said Alison Grinter Allen, a criminal defense attorney who represented Mason. “We’re happy that the court saw this for the perversion of justice that it is, but the harm that this political prosecution has done to shake Americans’ confidence in their own franchise is incalculable.”
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Source: Variety / Getty / Daphne Joy
Is anyone on the planet enjoying Diddy’s downfall more than 50 Cent? In an interesting turn of events, the G-Unit general’s ex, Daphne Joy, name came up in the lawsuit against the embattled music mogul as an alleged sex worker.
Joy’s name joined others like Yung Miami in the $30 million federal lawsuit filed by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who worked on Sean Combs, aka The Diddler, last project, The Love Album: Off The Grid.
Per Page Six, Joy and the City Girls members were allegedly sex workers. Yung Miami also allegedly transports “Pink Cocaine” for Diddy.
50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, has been taking shots at Diddy on Instagram every chance he gets, so it should come as no surprise he had something to say about his ex being named in the lawsuit.
In the caption for the post, he wrote, “I didn’t know you was a sex worker, you little sex worker.LOL. Yo this shit is a movie.”
The 48-year-old Queens rapper had more to say about the 54-year-old Bad Boy Records CEO.
In a follow-up post, he shared a screenshot of the lawsuit, claiming that Diddy had hidden cameras in every room of his home, recordings of celebrities, artists, music label executives, and athletes engaging in illegal activity” at his “freak-off” parties without their consent.
In the caption for that post, he wrote, “Smh this is gonna be so good, what you want to bet I’m a get these tapes. I’ll pay top dollar for them.”
Lol, bruh.
Joy and 50 Cent began dating in 2011 and welcomed their only child, son Sire, in September 2012.
We can only imagine what other developments come from this lawsuit.
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Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment / Netflix / Good Times
Good Times is back—well, sort of. Netflix dropped the first trailer for the upcoming animated series, and it did not go over well with social media.
The animated Good Times project focuses on the new generation of the Evans family. While the names have changed, the struggle for the Evans family remains the same.
The adult-themed satirical cartoon, which arrives on the streaming platform on April 12, stars J.B. Smoove (Reggie Evans), Yvette Nicole Brown (Beverly Evans), Jay Pharoah (Junior Evans), Marsai Martin (Grey Evans), Gerald “Slink” Johnson (Dalvin Evans) and Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola (Lashes by Lisa).
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment / Netflix / Good Times
The official synopsis for the show reads:
An animated reboot of the Norman Lear series finds the latest generation of the Evans family, cab driver Reggie and his wife, the ever-aspirational Beverly, scratching and surviving in one of the last remaining housing projects in Chicago along with their teenage artist son, Junior, activist daughter Grey, and drug dealing infant son, Dalvin. It turns out the more things change, the more they stay the same, and keeping your head above water in a system with its knee on your neck is as challenging as ever. The only thing tougher than life is love, but in this family there’s more than enough to go around.
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X Users Are Not Feeling Good Times
The negative reactions to the trailer were immediate, with many focusing on the fact people like NBA hooper Steph Curry and Family Guy/American Dad creator Seth McFarlane are involved in the project as producers that follow a family growing up in the projects while never experiencing that kind of life themselves.
Other complaints focus on the show just not being a terrible reimagining of the original 70s sitcom that is full of racist stereotypes despite its predominately Black cast and showrunner, Ranada Shepard.
Carl Jones Clarifies His Involvement, Yvette Nicole Brown Shuts Down Haters In Her Mentions
Many also felt the show was trying to emulate The Boondocks’ style, which is ironic because Boondock’s creator, Carl Jones, was involved with the show at one point but revealed in a post on X that he left due to “creative differences.”
Yvette Nicole Brown even had to respond to people questioning her about her involvement in the “racist” show.
She followed up with a thread telling them no is forcing them to watch the show and explaining why she took on the role in the show.
Is The Immediate Fallout Justified?
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment / Netflix / Good Times
The immediate negative reactions to the Good Times trailer and people hoping for the show to fail also raise the question, are we too harsh on TV shows and movies geared towards us?
White folks have shows like this all the time: King of The Hill, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad, and they have all gone on to be successful, spawning many seasons.
All those shows depict White America’s tropes in a jokingly and, sometimes, serious light.
So when it comes to a show like Good Times that is trying to do the same, even though we can’t immediately tell that based on a three-minute trailer, is that fair?
Good Times is no different from Eddie Murphy’s stop-motion-animation show The PJs or Jones’ The Boondocks; the main complaints just seem to focus on the names regarding the production aspect.
But as we lawd the original show, we can’t ignore the fact a white man was instrumental in bringing that show to television across the country.
We shall reserve judgment and see if this show is Dy-No-Mite when it arrives next month.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. We understand
5. Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur is phenomenal, just hope y’all watching and not just talking
6. Another good show to watch, before Max scrubs it from existence
7. Well, Stewie killed his mom on Family Guy, just saying.
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Source: Stephen Butler / Getty / Cuba Gooding Jr.
As the saga continues for Diddy, aka Sean Combs, a lawsuit filed against him now lists problematic actor Cuba Gooding Jr. as a co-defendant.
The LA Times reports Cuba Gooding Jr. has been named in a lawsuit against the Diddler brought by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Joens, who worked on Sean Combs’ highly-anticipated The Love Album: Off The Grid.
According to the lawsuit like Diddy, the Jerry Maguire star got too handsy with the music producer, who feared Diddy was “grooming him” to pass him off to friends.
In an email sent to the LA Times, Rod’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn confirmed he filed the second amended complaint to the initial lawsuit on the same day the embattled music mogul’s homes were raided by Homeland Security as part of an investigation into alleged sex trafficking, which also led to his alleged “drug mule” being taken in.
Per The LA Times:
“Defendant Cuba Gooding, Jr. was a relevant actor who has fallen from grace due to several sexual assault lawsuits and a recent guilty plea for sexual assault,” said the complaint, which was obtained Tuesday by The Times. In it, Blackburn noted that his client — a Chicago-born producer, who produced nine songs on Diddy’s 2023 album — believed Combs “was grooming him to pass him off to his friends” and that “fear became reality” when Combs introduced him to Gooding on his yacht in January 2023.
Jones accused Gooding of fondling his “legs, upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders,” which made the producer “extremely uncomfortable.” Although he allegedly rejected the actor’s advances, Gooding “did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away.”
“As the owner of the property, Mr. Combs had a duty to protect Mr. Jones from the harm he suffered at the hands of Cuba Gooding Jr. Mr. Combs breached his duty when he failed to stop Cuba Gooding Jr from sexually assaulting Mr. Jones,” the complaint said. “In furtherance of this breach, Mr. Combs encouraged Cuba Gooding Jr to continue his assault on Mr. Jones when he said that Cuba Gooding Jr should privately get to know Mr. Jones better. Mr. Jones has suffered immensely because of Mr. Combs’s intentional breach of his duty to him.”
Other names in the lawsuit include Diddy, his son Justin Combs, Universal Music Group chief executive Lucian Charles Grainge, UMG, former Motown Records executive Habtemariam and Motown Records, Love Records, Combs Global Enterprises, ABC Corporations, Diddy’s chief of staff Kristina “KK” Khorram and several John and Jane Does.
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Source: Variety / Getty / Will Smith / Jada Pinkett
A new report reveals that the Oscars slapping incident was extremely detrimental to Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s philanthropic endeavors and sheds light on how donation money was handled.
Variety exclusively reports that the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation will shut down after donations began drying up following Will Smith slapping the taste out of Chris Rock’s mouth for not KEEPING HIS wife’s NAME OUT OF HIS MOUTH.
Per Variety:
According to tax records from the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation reviewed by Variety (via ProPublica), the foundation’s revenue dropped from $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021 to $365,870 in 2022. The year-over-year drop of 83% included the departure of contributors such as American Airlines, which donated $76,160 in 2021, and CAA, which contributed $100,000 in 2021.
The website also reports the charitable organization that focuses on matters the couple cares deeply about, like health and wellness, arts education, and sustainability, gave large sums of money to two organizations, Rebecoming and World Rebirth Foundation. that didn’t do a damn thing with the money they received.
The Will and Jada Smith Foundation gave $15,000 to Rebecoming in 2022, an organization “dedicated to understanding and unlocking the healing potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness through clinical research into the mechanism-of-action behind trauma release.”
When Variety did more digging on Rebecoming, they learned the organization’s website had not been updated since 2020 and continued to file tax paperwork through 2022.
World Rebirth Foundation Inc. received $10,000 from the Smiths in 2022. Variety reports the organization’s website is not live, and the last update on the Facebook page happened in 2023 while adding the organization’s mission statement is full of typos.
Bruh.
The Foundation’s Troubling Spending
Variety also touches on the Will and Jada Smith Foundation’s 2022 expenditures, which included office equipment and computers plus an eyebrow-raising $3,304 in “bank overdrawn” fees.
As of 2023, there are no more paid employees at the foundation, which began cutting back on staff in 2021, signaling the Smiths to move away from the organization.
Despite the Smith’s philanthropic failures, Will Smith is still one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, making $25 million per project, which includes Bad Boys: Ride or Die and his upcoming Netflix project Fast and Loose.
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Source: Jason Armond / Getty / Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani is doubling down on being hoodwinked, bamboozled, and led astray by his interpreter in this ongoing and still developing gambling scandal.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ $700 million man, Shohei Ohtani, wants the world to know he did not bet on baseball or any other sport and that his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, lied and stole more than $4 million to cover his gambling debts.
Spotted on Yahoo! Sports, Ohtani finally broke his silence with a nearly 12-minute statement on the matter after Mizuhara was fired as his translator following accusations he stole money from the MLB superstar via wire transfers.
Per Yahoo! Sports:
“I am very saddened and shocked someone I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said through an interpreter at the beginning of his statement. He then denied being involved in sports gambling in any form.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf,” he said. “And I have never been through a bookmaker to bet on sports. …
“Up until a couple days ago, I didn’t know that this was happening. … In conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”
Ohtani also denied knowingly paying off any alleged gambling debts.
“To the representatives in my camp, Ippei told the media and representatives that I, on behalf of a friend, paid off debt,” he said. “Upon further questioning, it was revealed that it was actually in fact Ippei who was in debt and told my representatives that I was paying off those debts.
“All of this has been a complete lie.”
Shohei Ohtani Claims He Had No Idea About His Interpretrer’s Gambling Issues
Ohtani also claims that Mizhura was telling a big lie when he told the Dodgers organization that he was in communication with Ohtani about the incident.
The slugger/pitcher claims he first learned about his interpreter’s gambling issues during a team meeting after the Dodgers played the San Diego Padres in South Korea.
Ohtani claims he and Mizhura had a “one-on-one” meeting at their hotel.
“Up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt,” Ohtani said. “Obviously, I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”
“And it was revealed to me during that meeting, Ippei admitted he was sending money using my account to the bookmaker,” he said. “And at that moment, it was an absurd thing that was happening, and I contacted my representatives at that point.”
People Are Still Skeptical
Ohtani is adamant he did not bet on MLB or any sports, but many people are calling it a cap on the idea that he had no idea about the $4 million wire transfers.
ESPN First Take contributor and sports talk radio legend Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo does not buy what Ohtani is selling outright. On his show, he believes that Ohtani’s interpreter stole the money and that the Dodgers’ superstar is guilty of being a “good friend and some poor judgement.”
We are intrigued to see how this situation pans out. The MLB is currently investigating. Until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Very unserious
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Source: MICHAEL TRAN / Getty / Ray J
Princess Love has allegedly moved on and Ray J isn’t hating at all.
Spotted on Vibe, Ray J shared his thoughts on the idea that his now ex-wife, Princess Love, is allegedly hooking up with Star Wars actor John Boyega.
The topic of Love and Boyega was brought up during Ray J’s interview on Way Up With Angela Yee. The former Breakfast Club host showed the singer/mogul/reality star a video of his ex-boo and Boyega looking cozy together while singing karaoke, according to Essence in Los Angeles at Station 1640 with friends.
Boyega’s arm can be seen around the waste of Princess Love while they were singing Fantasia’s “When I See You.”
“Is he a good guy?” the 43-year-old singer asked while Yee pulled up the clip. “That’s cool. I like him… He seems like a good dude.”
Ray J & Princess Love’s Relationship Timeline
After four years of dating, Ray J and Princess Love tied the knot in 2016. The couple has two children together: daughter Melody, 5, and son Epik, 4.
Their dysfunctional relationship was the main topic on VH1 shows Love And Hip-Hop: Hollywood and The Conversation: Ray J And Princess Love.
February, Princess Love said she was filing for divorce from the “One Wish” singer again, making it the fourth time the couple’s marriage is on thin ice.
This time, it looks like the divorce will stick after Love hit Brandy’s brother with a divorce filing in 2020, eventually calling it off. This led to Ray J’s filing for divorce in 2021, which was also rescinded.
In an Instagram post announcing the fourth divorce filing, Princess Love wrote, “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of our decision to divorce. After much reflection, discussion, and counseling, we have come to the difficult realization that our paths have diverged, and it is in the best interest of both of us to part ways.”
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty / Drake
Kendrick Lamar set the internet on fire with his “Like That” verse, seemingly calling out Drake, J. Cole, Future, and Metro Boomin’s new project, WE DON’T TRUST YOU. The Canadian rapper has responded, and Hip-Hop fans are giving him the side-eye.
GET IN THE BOOTH!
That’s what users on X, formerly Twitter, are screaming at Drake after allegedly addressing Lamar’s scathing bars.
Spotted on HipHopDX, the “Nice For What” didn’t clap back with bars but with a defiant and inspirational message during his most recent performance during his second performance of two shows during his stop at Sunrise, Florida, on his Big As the What? Tour on Sunday (March 24),
Per HipHopDX:
Drizzy delivered a message of defiance to the audience: “A lot of people ask me how I’m feeling… I’m a let you know I’m feeling. Listen, the same way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out this building tonight.”
“I got my fucking head up high, my back straight, I’m 10 fucking toes down in Florida and anywhere else I go,” he added, his voice growing louder and more aggressive. “And I know that no matter what, there’s not a n-gga on this Earth that could ever fuck with me in my life!”
His response follows Lamar saying with all of his chest on “Like That” that he’s best out of the “big three.” On the song he rapped:
“Okay, let’s get it up, it’s time for him to prove that he’s a problem/N*ggas clickin’ up, but cannot be legit, no 40 Water, tell’ em/Ah, yeah, huh, yeah, get up with me/F*ck sneak dissin’, first person shooter, I hope they came with three switches/I crash out, like, “F*ck rap,” diss Melle Mel if I had to.”
Hip-Hop Fans Want Drake To Find A Booth
The audience at his show felt what Drake said, but fans on X, formerly Twitter, are screaming at Drake to get in the booth to address Kendrick Lamar.
“Drake had two diss tracks Ina weekend for Meek but Kendrick Lamar got him doing self affirmations on the stage Cmon man,” one X user wrote.
Another user wrote, “Whenever Drake beefs with men, he becomes the world’s most polite Canadian.”
Lol, bruh.
Do you think Drake will clap back? After seeing his initial reaction, we don’t think so.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. LOL, y’all are so unserious
2. Accurate
3. Howling
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Source: Jason Davis / Getty
Right-wing figure Kyle Rittenhouse fled the stage during his appearance at a college event in Memphis after being confronted by protesters.
Kyle Rittenhouse, who gained notoriety in 2021 after being acquitted of killing two people and wounding another during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, fled off stage during an appearance after being confronted by protesters in the audience. The event at the University of Memphis on Wednesday (March 20), was hosted by members of the conservative Turning Point USA organization at the school.
As the event began, close to 200 protesters made their presence known with signs that read “put Rittenhouse behind bars not a podium” and “no killers on my campus” as Rittenhouse took the stage. One protester asked a question about Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, saying that he “said a lot of racist things,” which prompted Rittenhouse to retort, “Like what? What racist things has Charlie Kirk said? We’re gonna have a bit of a dialogue of what racist things Charlie Kirk said.”
The protester was unmoved, and shot back: “He says that we shouldn’t celebrate Juneteenth, we shouldn’t celebrate Martin Luther King Day—we should be working those days. He called Ketanji Brown Jackson an affirmation action hire, he said all this nonsense about George Floyd and he said he’d be scared if a Black pilot was on a plane. Does that not seem racist?”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Rittenhouse replied, resulting in jeers from the audience. The questioner pressed him. “After all that I just told you, you wouldn’t consider that hate speech?” they asked. Rittenhouse replied, “I’m not gonna comment on that,” before storming off the stage amid a chorus of boos. The 21-year-old was only onstage for a half hour. A video of the moment posted on X, formerly Twitter, has since garnered 7 million views.
Rittenhouse would later claim in a series of posts on X that he wasn’t forced to leave. “No one forced me to leave the stage… The event was scheduled for 30 minutes and I was on stage for 30 minutes,” he wrote in one post, before adding: “What I find hilarious is that everyone is saying I was ‘chased’ out of Memphis, when in reality, we went to this restaurant called Huey’s, grabbed some food, and nobody seemed to care or notice.”
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Source: Jason Davis / Getty / Candace Owens
Candace Owen’s relationship with The Daily Wire is over, and now X users are connecting the dots and feel she is using Black Press to get back in our good graces.
Per the Daily Mail, edgeless conservative Candace Owens and The Daily Wire are done. Per the website’s reporting, her exit comes after clashing with the company’s co-founder, Ben Shapiro, over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Co-founder and CEO Jeremy Boreing announced the split with Owens in a post on X, formerly Twitter, simply writing, “Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship.”
Owens confirmed her exit by responding, “The rumors are true— I am finally free,” in a post on her X account that also hilariously points her followers to a webpage to “support her work” or “give her a gift.”
The grift never ends with these people.
X Users See The Jig With Candace Owens
Anyway, the news of Owen’s exit from The Daily Wire, which was the home of her now-defunct talk show Candace, Owens has been making her rounds on more traditional Black outlets in what many have been calling a “rebrand.”
Owens has sat down with Joe Budden for a one-on-one interview, much to the chagrin of social media who feel people like Budden lack the skills to sit across from a person like Candace Owens, who has the propensity to push narratives that require pushback and extreme amounts of fact-checking.
Just recently, The Breakfast Club, for whatever reason, brought Owens on their show to spew her nonsense, and yes, like Budden, many feel the Power 105.1 morning show crew lacks the interviewing skills to handle her.
Also, now there are many clips of Owens landing on timelines where people agree with her outrageous talking points.
We here at HipHopWired are not buying what Candace Owens is selling.
In the gallery below, you can see more reactions to Candace Owens trying to rebrand herself.
1. Not here, not ever.
2. Exactly, stay over there Candace
3. Way too much
4. HEard you sis