Current Events
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Source: David McNew / Getty / Los Angeles Times
One Los Angeles Times Editorials editor is standing on business and wants to be on the right side of history, while the owner of his former employer opts to stay neutral.
Mariel Garza said, “screw you guys, I’m out,” after the publications owner refused to let the Los Angeles Times Editorials board endorse a presidential candidate.
Speaking with the Columbia Journalism Review, Garza said she is “resigning because I want to make it clear that I am not okay with us being silent. In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, told the editorial board earlier in the month the publication would not be making an endorsement, something it has been doing since 2008.
According to the CJR, the editorial board was set to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
In her resignation letter, Garza wrote, “Presidential endorsements don’t really matter,” adding that “reality bit me like cold water on Tuesday when the news rippled out about the decision not to endorse without so much as a comment from LAT management, and Donald Trump turned it into an anti-Harris rip.”
She wasn’t kidding. The Trump/Vance campaign immediately sent an email, calling the Los Angeles Times decision the “latest blow to Harris-Walz.” “Even her fellow Californians know she’s not up for the job.”
Garza continued that the decision not to endorse “makes us look craven and hypocritical, maybe even a bit sexist and racist. How could we spend eight years railing against Trump and the danger his leadership poses to the country and then fail to endorse the perfectly decent Democrat challenger — who we previously endorsed for the US Senate?”
Patrick Soon-Shiong Says A Whole Bunch of Nothing
Shiong took to X, formerly Twitter, to try and explain his decision not to endorse a presidential candidate:
So many comments about the @latimes Editorial Board not providing a Presidential endorsement this year. Let me clarify how this decision came about. The Editorial Board was provided the opportunity to draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH candidate during their tenures at the White House, and how these policies affected the nation. In addition, the Board was asked to provide their understanding of the policies and plans enunciated by the candidates during this campaign and its potential effect on the nation in the next four years. In this way, with this clear and non-partisan information side-by-side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being President for the next four years. Instead of adopting this path as suggested, the Editorial Board chose to remain silent and I accepted their decision. Please #vote.
In an election where one candidate, Donald Trump, is praising Hitler for having loyal generals and being blatantly racist, you would think you want your paper to stand side by side with the other candidate to keep a fascist out of the White House.
Welp.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Mmmhhmmmm
3. Good move
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Source: Elsa / Getty / 50 Cent
50 Cent has been in his share of Hip-Hop battles, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he had some advice for Drake, but many are giving the Queen’s rapper the side eye for what he said.
In a recent interview with Billboard, 50 Cent touched on many topics, including his Las Vegas residency and his 07 sales battle with Ye, aka Kanye West, but his comments regarding Drake’s dustup with Kendrick Lamar were quite interesting.
Speaking with Billboard’s Michael Saponara, the Queens rapper uttered Drake’s name numerous times, likening the Canadian rapper’s current stance with Hip-Hop fans to when he dropped his album, Curtis.
“Drake is in that position right now,” 50 Cent said, noting that he is a fan of Kendrick Lamar but also doesn’t feel that any music put out by Drake during the beef “was wack at any point.”
Saponara asked 50 Cent if he had any advice for the 6 God, and he pretty much coddled Drake, telling him he didn’t lose anything in his lyrical battle with K.Dot.
“On some real shit, I said, ‘They said you lost, okay. Well, what did you lose?’” 50 said. “What exactly did he lose, if he got $300 something million on his last tour? You didn’t lose a motherfucking thing, man. If that’s the moment, you keep your creative energy in the right place, and keep creating.”
Social Media Does Not Agree With 50 Cent
50 Cent might feel that way, but many others don’t.
“If you fight somebody, and afterwards your dawg tells you “it don’t matter cuz you got more bitches than him” or “you got more money than that nigga”………he is confirming that you indeed lost that fight,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
True.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. A clear sign you lost
4. Howling
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A former model is accusing Donald Trump of groping her in the early 1990s after meeting the former president through convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Stacey Williams says she was introduced to Donald Trump in 1992 but the incident in question took place the following year.
In a report from The Guardian, Stacey Williams, who modeled professionally through the 1990s, says she first met Donald Trump at a holiday party in 1992 by way of Jeffrey Epstein. Williams says that she and Epstein dated for a few months but the timeline wasn’t clearly stated.
“It became very clear then that he and Donald were really, really good friends and spent a lot of time together,” Williams shared early in the report. Williams goes on to reveal that the alleged groping incident took place in the late winter or early spring of 1993. Williams says that while out walking with Epstein one day, it was suggested that they stop to visit Trump at his Trump Tower establishment.
According to Williams, she claims that Trump greeted her and then grabbed her close and began groping her. Williams says Trump grabbed her breasts, buttocks, and waist but says she was rendered motionless and was “deeply confused” about the moment. Williams also added that it appeared that Trump and Epstein were smiling at one another over what took place.
Karoline Leavitt, who works as Donald Trump’s campaign press secretary, shared a statement with The Guardian and a portion of it reads, “These accusations, made by a former activist for Barack Obama and announced on a Harris campaign call two weeks before the election, are unequivocally false. It’s obvious this fake story was contrived by the Harris campaign.”
The timing of the accusation has also been shot down by those who support and defend Trump, claiming that Vice President Harris is instructing her campaign team to push negative messaging around Donald Trump.
Williams has shared her story around the alleged groping in times past via social media but went into further detail on a call earlier this week organized by a group called Survivors for Kamala. Ashley Judd, law professor Anita Hill, and others were on a Zoom call sharing their accounts of surviving sexual assault and violence, all of whom are throwing their support behind the Harris-Walz campaign.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Variety / Getty / David Jonsson
Actor David Jonsson is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s brightest stars. Fresh off his stellar performance in Alien: Romulus, Jonsson is set to star opposite Sydney Sweeny in Colman Domingo’s directorial debut.
Deadline exclusively reports that Jonsson will play Sammy Davis Jr., and Sweeney will play film star Kim Novak in Scandalous. The film will tell the story of Davis Jr. and Novak’s love affair in 1957.
The website reports that Colman Domingo’s film has been fast-tracked at Miramax and will begin shooting in Los Angeles after Sweeney and Domingo finish filming season 3 of the hit HBO series Euphoria.
Per Deadline:
Before he became Miramax CEO, Jon Glickman originated the project at Panoramic, and remained high on it. Novak, star of Vertigo, and Rat Pack member Davis were at the peak of star power when they met while guests on The Steve Allen Show. They fell hard for each other, but as rumors spread, the rampant racism in America threatened to derail their careers. Novak experience the ire of Harry Cohn, the Columbia Pictures chief who had the actress under contract. Their covert affair became big news when a Chicago gossip columnist in early 1958 wrote a detailed account of their relationship, including their plans to marry. This despite their denials. Davis nine days later married a Black chorus girl named Loray White.
Sweeney is coming off her performance in one of the year’s sleeper hits, Anyone but You, opposite Glen Powell. Deadline reports that Sweeney was “very active” in getting this project and will also serve as a producer along with Tani Cohen and Bobby Rock, with Jon Levin as the executive producer.
Domingo has also been busy coming off award-worthy performances in Rustin and Sing Sing. He also has a film about Nat King Cole he will direct and star in.
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Source: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion once rapped, “True Religion, I feel like a stallion, horseshoes on my a**,” in her song “Accent.” So, in a move that makes all the sense in the world, the Hip-Hop superstar is teaming up with the clothing brand.
Officially unveiled on Tuesday, October 22, Megan Thee Stallion and True Religion are coming together for their Where Holiday Wishes Come True campaign.
RapUp reports that, as part of the collaboration, True Religion will also hold a Where Wishes Come True event to benefit the Houston rapper’s nonprofit, the Pete & Thomas Foundation.
“Working with True Religion is such a full circle moment,” Megan said in a press release per VIBE. “I’ve been a fan of the brand since I was a kid, so it’s really exciting to star in this campaign and bring in the Hot Girl Holidays in a special way.”
The “COBRA” rapper and Hunxho can be seen rocking True Religion clothing. Thee Stallion rocks a red True Religion crop top with the company’s iconic logo and jeans with matching stitching in one look. In another look, she rocks a full denim-on-denim look.
Speaking on the collaboration, True Religion CEO Michael Buckley said, “Partnering with Megan Thee Stallion is a game changer for us. She’s the perfect face for our women’s business, which is thriving with double-digit growth compared to last year.”
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to mark our second annual holiday campaign with Megan, who is not just a fan but also ‘true’ to what our brand stands for. With a diverse, engaging approach, we’re eager to welcome both loyal and new customers into our True Religion family,” adds CMO Kristen D’Arcy.
Of Course, There Are Some Haters
The announcement of the collaboration between True Religion and Megan Thee Stallion puts the Hotties in a great mood, but there are always haters.
Some feel that True Religion dropped the ball by not linking up with “rapper” Sexyy Red, who regularly rocks the brand.
Others are saying nah to the notion that Sexxy Red deserved the look instead of Megan Thee Stallion.
“it should’ve been sexyy” aye man i love sexyy red but it’s kinda hard to imagine a major brand attaching themselves to somebody selling gonorrhea and discharge themed lip gloss,” one user on X, formerly Twitter, said.
Welp.
Congrats to Thee Stallion, who is set to release another project, MEGAN: Act II, and a documentary on Amazon Prime Video, Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Own Words, which will touch on her mother’s passing and the reactions following the Tory Lanez shooting.
You can see more reactions to the latest Megan Thee Stallion good news in the gallery below.
1. You think so?
2. Fair point
3. Sure do
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John Kelly, a former Marine general and former Chief of Staff to Donald Trump during his presidency, revealed insights into the former president’s political aims in a series of new interviews. In them, John Kelly framed Trump as a fascist who displayed an affinity for dictators.
John Kelly joins a growing list of former Trump staffers who have plenty to say about the business mogul’s aims in returning to the White House. In a piece published by The Atlantic on Tuesday (October), Trump’s disdain of the military and his desire for the armed forces to display fealty was on display, including Trump allegedly offering to pay for a slain soldier’s funeral but balking at the $60,000 bill and referring to the Army private as a “f*cking Mexican.”
Later in the piece, two people who say they were close to Trump overheard the former president say during a private conversation, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had” but this was later shot down by Trump spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer.
As the profile continues, the remarks Trump made regarding Hitler’s generals resurface and reference The Divider: Trump in the White House, a book by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. In their book, the pair look deeper into a conversation between Trump and Kelly with the former president asking the former general why he couldn’t be more like the German generals, assuming that they pledged complete loyalty to the Naz leader.
Kelly explained that Hitler’s generals attempted to assassinate him but Trump, apparently not someone who studied war history to the level Kelly had, was undeterred. In a quick follow-up chat with The Atlantic, it was made clear that Trump truly believed in the falsehood that all of Hitler’s generals were in his service.
In the New York Times, the outlet shared details of a recorded interview with Kelly, who was asked if he thought Trump was a fascist.
Kelly answered, “Well, looking at the definition of fascism. It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy. So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America.”
Kelly added, “Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators, he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”
The Kamala HQ X account reshared the audio interview to its 1.4 million followers, garnering replies expressing shock but also replies from the MAGA faithful seeking to portray John Kelly as a jilted former employee.
Q: Do you think Trump is a fascist?
Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly: Well, I’m looking at the definition of fascism. It’s a far-right movement with a dictatorial leader and forcible suppression of opposition… So certainly in my experience, he falls into the definition of a… pic.twitter.com/1znyIrkzJ8
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 23, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
The Exonerated Five have filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for defamation related to his comments about them during the September presidential debate.
The Exonerated Five, formerly known as the Central Park Five, have filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump for defamation of character. The filing, made by Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown, and Korey Wise, points to his remarks made about them and their case in the Sept. 10 presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Specifically, the filing addresses Trump’s false claim that the men “killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false. “Plaintiffs never pled guilty to any crime and were subsequently cleared of all wrongdoing. Further, the victims of the Central Park assaults were not killed.” The 1989 case began when all five, who were teenagers at the time, were arrested and convicted of the rape of a woman jogger in Central Park. Trump took out a full-page ad in May of that year demanding the city send a message and “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY AND BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” The five would have their convictions vacated in 2002 after police DNA testing found another prisoner had committed the rape, with New York City paying them $41 million in damages.
The lawsuit also includes other statements Trump has made about the case, including a 2013 tweet blasting the Ken Burns documentary on the case as a “one-sided piece of garbage that didn’t explain the horrific [sic] crimes of these young men while in park [sic].” It also details an interaction between Yusuf Salaam, now a New York City Councilman, and Trump after the debate in the spin room, where Trump rebuffed an attempt to dialogue about his remarks. Salaam and other members of the Exonerated Five have been campaigning for Vice President Harris and were onstage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with Reverend Al Sharpton in August.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung blasted the lawsuit in a statement, writing: “This is just another frivolous, Election Interference lawsuit, filed by desperate left-wing activists, in an attempt to distract the American people from Kamala Harris’ dangerously liberal agenda and failing campaign.” Defamation lawsuits have been a thorn in Trump’s side – in January, a jury awarded columnist E. Jean Carroll $88.3 million for social media attacks against her, followed by a $5 million judgment in May after he was found liable for sexual abuse.
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Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty / Jelly Roll
Fans of Jelly Roll, don’t go looking for the musician on X. He’s done with Elon Musk’s social media platform.
It’s no secret that ever since Elon Musk reluctantly purchased Twitter and changed the name to X, it has become a one-stop for toxicity, racism, MAGA nonsense, and all the Cheech and Chong gummies ads you can muster.
There was a time when it was still called Twitter, and it was a place where you could show off your wit and engage with your favorite musicians. One of those musicians, Jelly Roll, officially threw up his hands and quit the app.
The 39-year-old artist slammed the social media platform over the weekend, calling it “toxic.”
Per The Huff Post:
“This is for sure the most toxic negative app to exist ever — PERIOD. lol,” Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, posted on Sunday.
He added, “This place is different man, I always heard it was the Wild West on here but man it’s insane. It’s a safe place for everyone to say mean shit to each other with no consequences.”
He wrapped up his post with, “I’m out lol.”
The account, which he activated in 2009, has amassed over 300,000 followers and is still active. He has dropped two posts, his most recent one two hours ago.
Maybe he means he won’t be as active as he once was on X. Jelly Roll has been very open about his issues with social media, speaking with Variety about his break from it after he cyberbullied about his weight.
His wife, podcaster Bunnie XO, discussed her husband’s break from social media in an episode of her podcast.
Take all the time you need Jelly Roll. Protect your mental health.
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Former President Donald Trump is turning down interviews with outlets that are seen as unfriendly to him and raising concerns.
According to reports, former President Donald Trump is backing out of interviews with multiple outlets days before the November presidential election, with a staffer citing him as being “exhausted”. The claim comes after the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign team canceled interviews with neutral outlets with key audiences including The Shade Room.
Two sources close to the conversation stated that an adviser told producers with The Shade Room that Trump was “exhausted and refusing [some] interviews but that could change”, but it could change at any time. The sources also claimed that the adviser suggested Waka Flocka Flame, the veteran rapper who’s a major Trump supporter, as a fill-in interview for the platform.
Trump has also notably backed out of other interviews recently, beginning with CBS’ 60 Minutes a week ago as well as one with NBC and one set for CNBC’s Squawk Box.
When contacted by Politico about his state of alleged exhaustion, Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the report stating that it “is unequivocally false.” When asked about his cancellations, Leavitt replied:” That’s B.S. President Trump has never backed down from any interview. This is a man who held a CNN town hall in the middle of the Republican primary, for goodness’ sake.”
While Trump has made media appearances, they’ve been with outlets more friendly to him such as Fox News and most recently on the Six Feet Under podcast hosted by former WWE star Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway.
The cancellations also come as Trump has displayed a pattern of rambling and making outlandish comments in his recent campaign rallies.
In Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Saturday (October 19), while paying tribute to Latrobe native and legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, Trump told a story referring to Palmer’s genitalia. When he’s good, he’s great, and when he’s off message, he’s not so great,” Trump adviser David Urban said in an interview with the New York Times. “I don’t think anyone is really changing their mind at this point, but when he distracts from his biggest, broadest messaging, it’s counterproductive because the Harris campaign uses it to turn out their voters.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has been making multiple media appearances including her interview with Bret Baier of Fox News which proved to be a ratings hit with over nine million viewers tuning in.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: James Devaney / Getty / Dame Dash
Dame Dash has become what he used to despise: a chatty patty. The former “cakeaholic” now explains why he was doing his iconic dice roll dance moves in R. Kelly’s “Fiesta (Remix)” video even though he dated the late singer, one of the disgraced musician’s victims, Aaliyah.
The former CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records opened up about his appearance in the R. Kelly music video alongside his former business partner, JAY-Z, in a recent episode of his American Nu Network podcast on YouTube.
During the episode, he answered a question from Baller Alert about his appearance in the R. Kelly/JAY-Z video despite famously dating Aaliyah and knowing her past with the jailed singer/songwriter.
He reveals that he spoke with Aaliyah, expressing that he didn’t want to be in the videos, but she said she didn’t want to start any trouble.
Per XXL:
“When Jay was proceeding to still do business with R. Kelly, I went back and told Aaliyah, like, ‘Yo, they’re still doing projects. They got singles together. They are shooting videos. I don’t want to go to the videos. I don’t want to have any parts of it,” Dame says at the 38:55 mark of the video below. “And what she told me was that, ‘I don’t want to start any trouble that would probably trigger more attention on it. I just want to heal. I just want to leave this alone and get as far away from it as possible. I don’t want to hear about it. I’m really happy with our relationship in this moment and where it’s going. Just don’t be in any scene with him and don’t take any pictures with him.’”
“So, you can ask anybody that was on the set,” he continues. “I stood in the trailer. When it came time to do the shoot, I did my shots with Jay or whoever. I was not in one scene with R. Kelly. And you never seen me in a picture with R. Kelly. At least after I met Aaliyah.”
We see.
In the episode, he also discussed Jaguar Wright’s outrageous claims about JAY-Z and more. If you have time to waste, you can’t watch the episode in its entirety below.