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Source: Club Shay Shay / Shannon Sharpe / Megan Thee Stallion
Shannon Sharpe didn’t waste the opportunity to apologize to Megan The Stallion face-to-face.
Sharpe continues to land prominent guests on his Club Shay Shay podcast in 2024, with Megan Thee Stallion being the latest celebrity to sit across from the First Take host and former NFL star.
After a fantastic introduction where he rang off the Houston Hip-Hop star’s long and still growing list of accomplishments, Sharpe took a moment to apologize for egregiously horny comments he made about Thee Stallion.
What Shannon Sharpe Originally Said To Warrant An Apology
For those who need a refresher, on an episode of his other popular podcast, Nightcap with Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson, Sharpe delivered some sexually suggestive comments.
“I’d have her stretched out like quarter to three,” Sharpe said before adding: “I do it three ways, Ocho: deep, hard, and continuously … I’d have her opening up like saloon doors.”
Yikes.
Thee Stallions loyal fans, the Hotties, wasted no time packing the 55-year-old Hall-of-Famer, which led to him apologizing on another Nightcap episode.
UNC wasn’t done apologizing. Before his sitdown interview, he expressed more regret for BIG HORNY telling the “HISS” crafter:
“For any unwanted attention, harm, shame, embarrassment that I caused you or your family, I wanna say as a man, as I sit here before you, I apologize. You’ve been amazing, and you have an amazing career going forward.”
Megan Thee Stallion graciously accepted his apology, and the two enjoyed a shot of his cognac.
The Hotties also appreciated Sharpe’s apology to their leader.
“I appreciate Shannon taking responsibility. This is so important. It’s what Meg deserves. Happy to see her have this platform and be comfortable,” one person on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
Good on Unc for apologizing. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Source: TikTok / Today
Over the past few years inflation has caused grocery prices to rise and everyday necessities to take a big bite out of our pockets, but at least our beloved AriZona Iced Tea continues to remain at a single $1.
Why you ask? Well according to Today the founder of Arizona Iced Tea feels that the company doesn’t need to resort to raising the price of a single 23-ounce can of iced tea ((he said the same TWO years ago). While many companies are taking advantage of price hikes and following suit even if they don’t have to, Arizona Beverages’ chairman and co-founder Don Vultaggio says that business is still booming and they aren’t looking to make life harder on their customers by digging in their pockets for a few more cents.
Per Today:
“We’re successful. We’re debt-free. We own everything. Why? Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent have to pay more for our drink?” he told Sellers. “Maybe it’s my little way to give back.
When asked whether he ever intends to raise prices, he responded, “Not in the foreseeable future. We’re gonna fight as hard as we can for consumers.”
Thank you, sir!
Again we all know how money hungry business brains work and tend to follow whatever trend they feel can bring in more revenue. So when they see prices rising amidst a global inflation, many will follow suit and raise the prices on their products even if it’s not necessary.
Vultaggio on the other hand isn’t trying to exploit any situation just for the sake of money and it’s a mindset that he’s had for quite some time.
“To me, the worst day as a salesman is to go to a retailer and say, ‘Hey, by the way, I’m raising the price on that can today,” Vultaggio told TODAY.com in 2022. For him, such changes have negative trickle-down effects, which he’s made a point to avoid.
“What you want to do is have a customer come in and get a fair value on a can of tea or juice and then buy other things in your store to offset those costs,” he explained.
If only more business people kept it this real.
That being said we have seen a few spots where a can of Arizona Iced Tea was selling for $1.25. Now we know that wasn’t a price set by the company itself, but the owner of the bodega we happened to step into.
Bastards.
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Source: Carolyn Cole / Getty
The state of California has set aside $12 million in reparations funds for its Black residents as restitution for the history of anti-Black oppression that has plagued Black people for the overwhelming majority of our existence in America.
The $12 million included in California’s $300 billion budget is far less than what activists wanted, but it’s also far more than the amount the MAGA world wants to see gifted to Black people anywhere in the country, which is zero.
“Obviously, it’s not enough, but this is the first time ever that reparations for Black people will be a line item in a state budget,” said Chris Lodgson, a reparations activist who lobbied lawmakers to make it all happen, according to the Washington Post.
California’s reparations task force, which was established by the state legislature, actually recommended billions in reparations funding, including $1.2 million in payments for Black Californians over 50 who have lived in the states their whole lives. While the state only ended up approving a fraction of the amount proposed, proponents of the initiative say it’s fortunate even the $12 million total was approved considering the state’s current financial situation, which includes a nearly $50 billion budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year.
“In this tough economic climate, for us to find this money for reparations sends a signal not only to the state but to the nation that California is committed to addressing the harms that are the result of slavery in this country,” said state Sen. Steven Bradford (D).
But it’s not quite safe for state Democrats to call the reparations approval a win as they still have to contend with salty white conservative activists who will certainly fight them tooth and nail before they allow a single Black Californian to receive a check that non-Black Californians don’t also have access to.
From the Post:
Recently, Judicial Watch, a conservative advocacy group, filed a lawsuit to stop the country’s first government-funded reparations program in Evanston, Ill., which had already paid nearly $5 million to 193 of the town’s Black residents. And the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently dismissed a lawsuit by survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre seeking reparations.
“In the wake of the Tulsa decision and the Evanston lawsuit, folks have been asking: ‘Is the reparations movement really going anywhere?’” said Trevor Smith, executive director of the BLIS Collective, a nonprofit focused on restitution for Black and Native Americans. “So the fact that California continues to lead the way is really important.”
The state’s reparations effort is still facing resistance from state Republicans and some Latino and Asian lawmakers, who have argued that it’s unfair to make current residents, a majority of whom are people of color, pay for the sins of the state’s White founders.
“Most every Californian, regardless of race or background, comes from a lineage involving immense pain and struggle,” Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (R) said in a statement. “Singling out just one demographic is extremely problematic and likely unconstitutional. The problems of the past cannot be paid for by the people of today.”
Yeah—it might be true that Black people don’t have a global monopoly on historic oppression, but we’re the only people in America who endured roughly two and a half centuries of slavery followed by another century of legally-sanctioned second-class citizenship.
So, there’s that.
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Source: Alex Wong / Getty
Reverend Al Sharpton had some terse words for Democrats upset over President Joe Biden’s debate performance, telling them not to be hasty.
The debate performance of President Joe Biden Thursday (June 27), against Donald Trump has prompted a wave of concern among Democrats and the left, with some calling for Biden to drop out for another candidate in the November elections. Reverend Al Sharpton firmly disagreed with that position on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, saying that such talk helps Trump more than they realize. “He had a bad night, he had a terrible night, but do we not say, ‘Wait a minute, he helped to preserve and maintain affordable care, he fought for police reform giving the executive order on George Floyd, brought unemployment numbers down after a catastrophe that Donald Trump handed us,’” Sharpton said to the panel.
“Record low Black unemployment numbers,” he added. “Really all the things: infrastructure bill, inflation bill. We’re not going to give him the weekend to see if he can recover?” The civil rights activist then exclaimed, “I think that we cannot — we have to stop whining and start winning. The whiners and the winners are the ones that have to make a choice in this case.” Sharpton would conclude by presenting a scenario of what could happen at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago if Biden were to step down. “The other part, and I’ll finish, is that what happens if he steps out?” he asked. “We going to have a riotous convention? We going to have this crowd against this crowd against this crowd? All Donald Trump has to do is sit back, get a Big Mac, and watch the Democrats destroy themselves.”
Sharpton held fast to that sentiment as he sat down for an interview with MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace Friday (June 28). “What I say to all these people talking about a brokered convention or should he step out, I say one, that’s up to him. But second, who steps in that you can tell me can beat Donald Trump?” he said. “The only one I’ve known to ever beat him is Joe Biden.”
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Source: Kevin Winter / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion
This is Megan Thee Stallion’s summer; we’re just living in it. The Houston Hip-Hop star’s self-titled album MEGAN is here, and the Hotties are praising the project.
MEGAN is Megan Thee Stallion’s first project since she finally gained freedom from her former label, 1501 Certified Entertainment.
Listeners quickly noticed that Thee Stallion possibly had more smoke for Nicki Minaj. The album begins with Megan’s scathing diss record “HISS,” in which she takes shots at Minaj and Tory Lanez, his fans, her ex-boyfriend Pardison Fontaine, and Drake.
Megan Thee Stallion seemingly revives her feud with Minaj taking shots at her on the track “Rattle.”
“I wanted everybody right here with me/ But that was my fault, bein’ too friendly/ I was thinkin’ everything was all good/ But the whole time, you was my enemy,” the leader of the hot girl movement raps.
In another verse, Megan Thee Stallion mentions the Queens rapper’s husband and child, rapping: “Damn, bitch, it been four years/ Worry ’bout your man and your kid/ Your life must be borin’ as fuck if you still reminiscin’ ’bout shit that we did.”
Megan Thee Stallion could be referring to her collaboration with Nicki Minaj’s longtime rival Cardi B or possibly the Tory Lanez shooting. Minaj made light of the shooting in her attacks on the “Savage” crafter.
Minaj’s “allies” also caught a stray on the project, with Megan rapping, “And I ain’t worried ’bout the bitter-bitch link-up/Y’all hoes earned them seats in the fan club,” referring to BIA, JT formerly of The City Girls, and Akbar V whom Minaj brought out during stops on Pink Friday 2 Tour.
Megan Thee Stallion Opens Up About Her Bisexuality & Embraces Love For Anime On MEGAN
Thee Stallion also addresses her bisexuality on the album, rapping, “I like girls and I like niggas, both of ’em gettin’ ate, “while also letting her love for anime on the tracks “Otaku Hot Girl,” which will surely flourish at every BLERD convention across the country and become the next viral TikTok and IG Reels track.
If you asked the Hotties, Thee Stallion delivered them a project they have been waiting for.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. It’s okay, you can still get lit.
5. A win for BLERDS everywhere
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Source: Kevin Dietsch / Getty
Vice President Kamala Harris defended President Joe Biden’s performance in the CNN-hosted debate, insisting he had a “strong finish”.
The first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump took place in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday night (June 27). Biden’s near-listless performance became a hot topic after it ended, and the main subject for Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper afterward which got contentious as he pressed her about Biden’s performance at the debate hosted by his network.
“Yes, it was a slow start, but it was a strong finish,” Harris said, adding that “what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance. Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong.” As Cooper returned to query about Biden’s showing citing the concern from some Democrats and pundits, the vice president pushed back against it. “Listen, people can debate on style points,” Harris replied. “But ultimately, this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance, and the contrast is clear.”
Cooper noted Harris’ own debate performance against Biden in 2019, noting “he was a very different person on stage” before asking: “Can you say that you are not concerned at all having watched the president’s performance tonight?” Harris responded firmly: “It was a slow start. That’s obvious to everyone. I’m not going to debate that point. I’m talking about the choice in November. I’m talking about one of the most important elections in our lifetime.” She stressed that point to Cooper, pivoting to talk about Biden’s “three and a half years of performance,” and pointing to what would be at stake in the November elections.
The vice president also defended Biden in another interview on MSNBC, acknowledging the slow start but insisting that his messaging was “clear” and hammering Trump on the litany of false claims he made – which were disproven in a fact-checking segment by CNN after the debate ended, which stated that Trump issued at least 30 false claims while on stage.
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Source: Getty Images / Getty
Crazy news coming out of Central America as the former President of Honduras was just sentenced to four decades in prison for moving the kind of weight that would impress El Chapo.
According to the New York Times, Juan Orlando Hernández was just hit with a 45-year sentence in prison after he was found guilty of helping gangs move hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States during his eight-year stint as the president of the small Central American country. Even though he buddied up to the U.S. and presented himself as an anti-drug ally, Hernández was working in conjunction with traffickers to import cocaine into America and was eventually busted for his role in the operation in 2022 after leaving office in disgrace.
Having accumulated millions of dollars for his dirty work from Honduras, Mexico and other countries during his presidency, Hernández was singled out by lower level workers who his lawyers say were lying in an attempt to get lighter prison sentences.
The New York Times reports:
Prosecutors countered that Mr. Hernández’s arguments “reflect an alternate reality.” They wrote that he had protected “his drug trafficking co-conspirators from prosecution and extradition, giving safe harbor to violent, massive cocaine traffickers as they used Honduras as a springboard for pumping cocaine into the United States.”
The verdict in Mr. Hernández’s trial came after weeks of evidence that he had received millions of dollars from drug organizations in Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere. In addition to statements by former traffickers, that evidence included testimony from a Honduran investigator and notebooks with Mr. Hernández’s initials that prosecutors said detailed drug transactions.
By early 2022, when Mr. Hernández was detained in Honduras less than a month after leaving office, he had become deeply unpopular there. His successor as president, Xiomara Castro, accused him of turning the country into a “narco-dictatorship” and officials in the United States said that Mr. Hernández had used drug money during both of his presidential campaigns to bribe election officials and manipulate the vote.
Hernández was eventually convicted and sentenced Wednesday (June 26), in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Though some were upset that Hernández got such a stiff sentence, other’s rejoiced at the news as they blame him for the horrible state that Honduras finds itself in these days.
More from the Times:
Some in the overflow room jeered when Mr. Hernández, dressed in a dark suit, testified in his own defense. At one point he denied associations with drug traffickers even as prosecutors displayed a photograph of him posing at a World Cup soccer match in South Africa with a notorious narco kingpin.
After Mr. Hernández was convicted, crowds of Hondurans celebrated outside the courthouse, chanting in Spanish and displaying an orange prison jumpsuit with handcuffs connected by a long chain. One woman held up a sign reading, “No clemency for narcopolitics.”
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Source: NICHOLAS KAMM / Getty / Blacks For Trump
Two of Donald Trump’s few favorite Black people, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and his former HUD secretary, the sleepwalking brain surgeon Ben Carson, headlined a “Black Americans for Trump” event in Atlanta, and no surprise, it was full of white people.
Per Raw Story, via The New Republic’s Talia Janes reporting, the latest jig, aka a Blacks for Trump event, was a massive bust in getting Black people to attend.
The event went down at Rocky’s, a Black-owned barbershop in Atlanta, Georgia. Jane’s report mentions that Trump didn’t even bother to show up in all of his felonious glory, instead opting to call into the event, so that should tell you how unserious he is about reaching out to Black voters.
Trump got on the phone and boasted about tax cuts for businesses, something Black people and a majority of his white supporters wouldn’t even benefit from because they are not in the 1%.
The orange menace also bragged about his struggle mugshot during his phone call. But what took the cake was the fact there were not that many Black people in attendance, but a “sea of white people.”
Per Raw Story:
“The roundtable setup featured Representative (and Trump V.P. wannabe) Byron Donalds, former Trump Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, and Representative Wesley Hunt in attendance,” she writes. “The seats were positioned in a semi-arc facing a gaggle of cameras and sea of white people, and everyone looks abundantly unenthused to be there.”
Jane goes on to explain how the Atlanta event was just one of a string of failed Black voter outreach efforts.
What was even more hilarious was writer/journalist Michael Harriot pointing out there is still a photo of former President Barack Obama hanging in the shop.
This event is just the latest lame attempt to pilfer the Black vote with lazy tactics. With the help of a Black conservative activist, Trump staged a stop at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A restaurant.
He also staged an appearance at a Harlem bodega where he was greeted by more whites than Blacks, gasp.
Of course, there were those trash Trump sneakers that he also claimed were his way of connecting with the Black community.
The man is never beating the racist allegations.
You can see more reactions to this latest mess in the gallery below.
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Source: Fulton County Jail / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
Donald Trump’s decision to again tout his mugshot as a reason Black voters will pick him was met with laughter and scorn, especially on social media.Days before his first debate with President Joe Biden, former president and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump held court at a Black Americans For Trump panel discussion convened by Representative Byron Donalds of Florida at Rocky’s, a Black-owned barbershop in Atlanta, Georgia.
Trump, however, was not physically present for the discussion, opting instead to join by telephone. That poor decision was compounded by another as the convicted felon referenced his mugshot taken in Fulton County after being indicted for election interference related to the 2020 presidential race, which he lost. It began in an answer to a question from Marc KD Boyd of the Helping Empower Youth group referencing the infamous photo: “So my question is, what can you do about those Alvin Braggs on your side that have been doing such railroading from the time?”
“Since this has happened — the mugshot — the mugshot is the best ev- it just beat Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra by a lot by the way, beat ’em by a lot,” Trump touted over the phone as Donalds (who hopes to be Trump’s vice presidential pick) sat with Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas. “But that’s the number one mugshot of all time. It’s really an amazing thing. Since it happened, the support among the Black community and the Hispanic community has skyrocketed. It’s been amazing. Really it’s been amazing. It’s been actually very nice to see.” Trump and his campaign team have persisted with the belief that his mug shot has only increased his support among the Black and Latino community since it was taken, adding it to other attempts at outreach including the manufacturing and sale of $400 “Trump sneakers”.
The response to Trump’s words was swift and damning. Cedric Richmond, the former Congressman from Louisiana who’s a senior member of President Biden’s campaign team didn’t mince words during an interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt. “I think it’s absolute foolishness!”, he said. “But it’s typical Donald Trump. African-American, especially African-American men, do not gravitate to you because you are a convicted felon.” Responses on X, formerly Twitter, were just as sharp. “I wonder how the Black and Hispanic community feels about his promise to give police officers immunity?,” wrote X user CeliaStar99.
Check out some of the reactions to Trump’s latest claims below.
1. BlackKnight10k
2. JustVent6
3. Ron Filipowski
4. Keith Murphy
5. Jim Gray
6. StrictlyChristo
7. TrueWordsRSpoken
8. William A Goldsborough
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Source: Kevin Winter / Getty /Megan Thee Stallion
Get those knees ready hotties; Megan Thee Stallion is kicking off “Culture’s Biggest Night,” the 2024 BET Awards.
Megan Thee Stallion has been tapped to set the tone for the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday, June 30, starting at 8 p.m. ET when she hits the stage to perform one of her hits, or possibly a new track off her new album, MEGAN.
Taraji P. Henson returns for a second year to host the popular awards show everyone looks forward to in the summer.
Usher will also finally get his BET Awards flowers when he is honored with the Lifetime Achievement BET Award.
Thee Stallion will not be the only one gracing the stage that night. Will Smith, who is currently enjoying a resurgence thanks to his latest summer blockbuster Bad Boys: Ride or Die, will perform a new song.
Other performers include Megan Thee Stallion’s tourmate GloRilla, Ice Spice, Latto, Ms. Lauryn Hill &YG Marley, Muni Long, Sexyy Red (lord help us), Shaboozey, Tyla, and Victoria Monét. Additionally, Tanner Adell will perform on the BET Amplified stage.
2024 BET Award Nominations
Regarding awards, Kendrick Lamar’s favorite target, Drake, leads all nominations with seven, including Album of The Year, Best Male R&B/Pop Artist, and Best Male Hip Hop Artist.
Drizzy also earned double nominations in the Video of The Year category for “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole and “Rich Baby Daddy” featuring Sexyy Red and SZA.
Nicki Minaj has the second-most nominations coming into the 2024 BET Awards weekend. She will be up against her Young Money brethren in the Album of the Year category for Pink Friday 2 and nominated in the BET Her category and Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.
Other nominees in the BET Awards’ second biggest category, Video of The Year, include Doja Cat (“Agora Hills”) and Lil Durk ft. J. Cole (“All My Life”), Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice (With Aqua) (“Barbie World”), Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion (“Bongos”), Usher, Summer Walker & 21 Savage (“Good Good”), Victoria Monét (“On My Mama).
Sounds like it will be a lit night. Do you think Drake will be there or nah?
