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Trontavious Stephens, a co-founder of YSL, took the stand in the ongoing RICO trial where Young Thug and his co-defendants hope to disassociate themselves from alleged ties to criminal activity. During the 20th day of the trial, Stephens explained Young Thug’s name, gang signs, and more.
As reported by local outlet Fox 5 Atlanta, Trontavious Stephens, 30, was questioned at length by prosecutors looking to land a big win in taking down Thug and his co-defendants over their alleged criminal acts. During the series of cross-examinations spanning days, Stephens, also known as Tick or Slug, discussed his YSL connection, alleged gang connections, and his plea deal.
On Monday (Jan. 22), LeBron James, Snoop Dogg, and other known figures were mentioned for their use of alleged gang signs. The defense raised a counter by saying that the insinuation that these figures are members of gangs or promoting gang culture can be proven.
The defense also played a clip of Snoop Dogg taking the stage at the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show where the Long Beach rapper wore a blue bandana, assumed to be a reference to the Crips gang, along with the rapper’s signature “crip walk” and their side says that does not prove true affiliation. The defense showed Serena Williams doing the same dance in an earlier portion of the trial.
Stephens also hammered home to the prosecution that the “Thug” in Young Thug’s stage name stands for “Truly Humble Under God,” a point raised earlier in the trial. The trial was to resume on Wednesday (Jan. 24) but as Fox 5 Atlanta reports, the trial was halted for reasons not known to the public.
A recording of the trial can be seen below, along with reactions from X, formerly Twitter.
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Photo: Liudmila Chernetska / Getty
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The 2024 Oscars are upon us and the full slate of nominees have been announced for the highly anticipated event. However, as these things go, fans online are unhappy that some of their favorite stars were snubbed in the nominations announcement.
The 2024 Oscars will take place on March 10, 2024, and the stars will be out in droves to take in the festivities and hopefully take home a coveted award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In the Actor in a Leading Role category, Colman Domingo and Jeffrey Wright were named as nominees for their roles in Rustin and American Fiction respectively, joining the likes of Bradley Cooper, Paul Giamatti, and Cillian Murphy.
For the Actor in a Supporting Role category, Sterling K. Brown was nominated for his role in American Fiction, joining Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr. Ryan Gosling, and Mark Ruffalo.
Going over to the Actress in a Supporting Role category, Danielle Brooks and Da’Vine Joy Randolph were nominated for their roles in The Color Purple and The Holdovers respectively, joining Emily Blunt, America Ferrera, and Jodie Foster.
For Animated Feature Film, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse landed a nomination next to The Boy and The Heron, Elemental, Nimona, and Robot Dreams.
With the 2024 Oscars nominations list going wide, the requisite reaction from fans on social media has come in strong per usual. Some are alleging that The Color Purple star Fantasia Barrino was snubbed along with other chatter.
See the full list here. Keep scrolling for reactions from X, formerly Twitter.
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Dwayne Johnson, largely known by his pro wrestling moniker The Rock, rose from his time in the square circle to becoming one of Hollywood’s top draws. Johnson recently joined the company board that oversees the WWE and UFC and earned himself millions.
Dwayne Johnson, 51, was announced as the latest board member for TKO Group Holdings, Inc., a sports and entertainment company that recently merged the interests of the WWE and UFC on Tuesday (Jan. 23). The Rock has diversified his holdings via his production company Seven Bucks Productions, Teremana Tequila, ZOA Energy, and the UFL among other ventures. Now as a member of TKO Holdings’ board, Johnson not only earned substantial stock options but also retains full ownership of his stage name.
In a statement, Johnson spoke to the significance of his new role at TKO:
My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, and my dad, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson, would’ve never thought this day would come. Which is why I’m very humbled to have a seat at the table that has decades of history and family legacy for me. A table that my family helped to build. Being on the TKO Board of Directors, and taking full ownership of my name, ‘The Rock’, is not only unprecedented, but incredibly inspiring as my crazy life is coming full circle. At my core, I’m a builder who builds for and serves the people, and Ari is building something truly game changing. I’m very motivated to help continue to globally expand our TKO, WWE, and UFC businesses as the worldwide leaders in sports and entertainment — while proudly representing so many phenomenal athletes and performers who show up every day putting in the hard work with their own two hands to make their dreams come true and deliver for our audiences. I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them.
The move puts Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson back next to TKO’s Executive Chairman of the Board, Vince McMahon who said of the move, “Very few people on the planet understand the convergence of sports, entertainment, media, and business like Rock. We are proud to have him join the TKO board to help take our company to new heights.”
Salute to Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock for this latest win.
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Roda Osman, a Texas woman largely referred to as “Brick Lady” on social media, has been charged with making a false assault claim where she said she was hit in the face with a brick. Osman went viral after sharing a video of injuries that were linked to the assault, raising over $40,000 on GoFundMe in the process.
Local outlet KPRC 2 reports that Roda Osman, 33, was charged with felony theft by deception after investigators discovered that Osman’s story didn’t add up. According to the report, Houston police responded to the scene of the alleged assault on Sept. 3 of last year, meeting with Osman and another woman. According to the officers, Osman was reportedly under the influence and hostile.
Osman told police that she was walking in the city when a man threw a brick at her for not giving up her phone number, according to findings from the court documents. Adding to this, Osman claimed that the driver of an Uber car service she ordered was the man who assaulted her and said that the man was part of a human trafficking scheme.
Almost two weeks later on Sept. 15, detectives attempted to contact Osman by phone but the number belonged to the woman that was on the scene of the alleged assault. The woman said she was not a native of Houston and went out drinking with Osman that night and added that Osman called male friends to provide transportation.
The woman said that when the pair entered the vehicle, Osman yelled out “why you hit me” but said she didn’t hear any sort of argument or discussion beforehand. Off the record, the woman said she didn’t think Osman was hit by a brick. The woman then said that the man suspected of hitting Osman exited the car and entered another vehicle before driving off. It was then that Osman decided to go live on Instagram with the woman suggesting she contact the authorities.
Days later on Sept. 20, Houston detectives obtained surveillance video footage and located Olan Douglas, the man Osman claimed hit her. Charging documents say that Douglas and Osman were arguing with Douglas reportedly swinging his right hand and striking Osman in the face with what appeared to be a plastic water bottle. This information has some supporters of Osman saying she was indeed assaulted but there was also an alleged account that Osman struck Douglas first.
As it stands, the issue is that the story Osman gave police neglected to reveal that she knew the man who allegedly struck her instead of it being a random person who was harassing her during her night out. This prompted Daphne Sutton, a popular TikTok user, to call Houston police and suggest that Osman made everything up because of an incident that allegedly place in Minnesota in 2020.
Sutton gave Houston police the GoFundMe link from 2020 that shared a similar bent to the Houston attack story and also obtained statements from Osman’s former roommate and friends. Minneapolis police said to Houston officials that Osman never reported the alleged assault despite launching the GoFundMe page. The roommate that Sutton spoke with also reached out to Houston police and said that Osman was scamming people out of money.
Roda Osman, who had prior criminal charges in the Virgin Islands, Minnesota, and across Texas, is currently out on bail for felony assault and domestic violence connected to an incident in Minnesota.
On X, formerly Twitter, many are reacting to the news. We’ve captured comments from all sides below.
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Happy New Year we’re happy to be back with our first Baes & Baddies entry of 2024, and this lovely lady is one of the rising stars in her respective lane right now. Myah Jane, who hails from Michigan, has a lovely and bubbly personality that will have folks hooked at first sight.
Information on Myah Jane is on the scant side but from what we’ve seen via her social media feeds, she’s a young woman who loves to show herself living life on her terms and having fun.
She also has a very active TikTok page and has a running series of food delivery pranks that you’ll have to check out for yourself. But what remains constant is her award-winning smile, fun-loving charm, and a figure that will turn heads in any season.
We also learned that Myah Jane is on a fitness journey, although she already looks quite delightful in her current form, but health is definitely wealth these days.
Check out our latest Baes & Baddies feature, Myah Jane, and make sure you follow her on everything.
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Photo: Instagram/@myah.jane_
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Yung Miami and Armon Wiggins got into a wild back-and-forth on social media which caught the attention of DJ Akademiks. What has ensued is quite a bit of mess and we’ve got details down below.
From what we learned on X, formerly Twitter, Armon Wiggins, a popular YouTube and social media personality, shared a clip of DJ Akademiks slamming Yung Miami by calling her music career and other endeavors a failure which prompted a response from the City Girls rapper.
From there, things escalated after Wiggins fired back at YM’s money jab, which then prompted Big Ak to go even harder with his long-running disdain of the Florida rapper.
“Failed? LMAOOOOO I got more money than both of yall. Made a million in 15 days off a card game! Got all yall crying both a podcast when I was just trying some sh*t what exactly do yall do besides reporting bout B*TCHES ALL DAY??” YM wrote in her initial salvo.
Akademiks replied with, “Don’t let her talk that money talk wit u. N*gga why she ain’t get on that wit me when I was violating. N*gga only way on earth she got more bread than BIG AK is if she got it by selling that 30 year old P*SSY to PUFF DADDY. A whole billionaire.”
YM and Wiggins continued their intense argument and it appears the pair have crossed paths before.
“I saw you in person you was on MUTE REMEMBER????” YM said to Wiggins, who fired back with, “No I don’t remember that. I remember YOU being RUDE acting as if you had a STICK up your a$$. Remember I OFFERED you a seat! You know RIGHT before you got PUT OUT of Yo Gotti section remember? AND LETS BE CLEAR! I AM THE REASON YOU & EVERYONE you CAME WITH was AT THE BEYONCE CONCERT! ..I SIGNED OFF ON THAT SWEETIE..Remember you couldn’t even get tickets in your OWN CITY.”
Ak, who doesn’t know the meaning of subtlety, was relentless in his attack on YM despite most of the timeline slamming him for keeping things going.
Yeah, it’s all very messy and the reactions from X are all over the place. Of course, Yung Miami being linked with Sean “Diddy” Combs amid the mogul’s recent troubles gets mentioned, but YM fires back at Armon Wiggins and DJ Akademiks, the latter of which YM shares a timeline of questionable comments and actions from the streaming personality.
Check out the reactions below.
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Yasiin Bey doesn’t pop out too often but when he does, it will always get attention from the Hip-Hop masses. In a new viral clip making the rounds, the former Mos Def likened the music of Drake to what one would hear while shopping at Target; the reactions are priceless.
Yasiin Bey was a guest on The Cutting Room Floor podcast and a clip from the conversation made it onto Twitter and spread widely. During the discussion about Drake, Bey said that Drake’s music was “likable” after the host said they found the Canadian superstar’s music to be good mainstream fun.
As the conversation progressed, it was clear that Yasiin Bey was trying to be diplomatic and the pair decided to advance the conversation to another topic. What might be getting people talking the most online is that when the host elected to move on, the pair seemed to smirk at one another.
Drizzy fans are rallying together to question Bey’s pedigree as a rapper but the Brooklyn MC has a sizeable share of defenders schooling the youngins on the fact that he’s one of them ones on the microphone.
Hopefully, Drake doesn’t take this personally and it all blows over by the end of the weekend.
Check out the clip of Yasiin Bey speaking on the sound of Drake’s music below.
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G Herbo faced up to 20 years behind bars for a credit card scheme that involved a boutique puppy business, a Jamaican villa, and other illegally obtained assets. The Chicago rapper pleaded guilty to the charges last summer and received three years of probation related to the matter.
As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, G Herbo, 28, was handed down the three-year probation sentence on Thursday (January 11) after using stolen credit cards to finance a scheme that involved the aforementioned puppy business, private jets, and other items.
U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni ordered the rapper, who was born Herbert Wright III and once rapped under the moniker Lil Herb, to pay restitution totaling $139,968 and hand over assets equally that same amount according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts website:
“On social media, Mr. Wright boasted an extravagant lifestyle. He gave the impression that his use of private jets, luxury cars and tropical villas were the legitimate fruits of his booming rap career as “G Herbo.” However, his lavish lifestyle was shamelessly built on deceit and fraud using stolen account information that inflicted substantial harm on numerous businesses, leaving a wake of victims burdened with financial losses.” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This case should serve as a stark reminder that breaking the law leads to prosecution and accountability, regardless of who you are, how many likes you rack up or how many followers you have.”
As was revealed in 2020, G Herbo was able to obtain stolen credit card information from so-called “dark web” sites. The scheme also involved forged identification cards, licenses, and email accounts as seen in the indictment records.
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2. Good luck, Lil Smurf.
5. Mans is stumped.
6. What crimes are people doing out here?
9. Read is…you know the rest.
10. “That’s hate” (JBP)
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Stephen A. Smith has the reputation of being a fiery commentator from his years at the top of the sports talk show world, and now it looks like he’s got beef in that arena. In a new video, Stephen A. Smith took heavy shots toward fellow sports journalism and reported MAGA enthusiast Jason Whitlock which has X reacting.
Smith, 56, published a new episode of his The Stephen A. Smith Show framed as a response to Jason Whitlock. It appears that the beef has been brewing for a while after Whitlock claimed that Smith’s memoir, Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, was nothing but a bunch of tall tales.
As is Whitlock’s typical tactic, the sports commentator known for his outsized right-wing takes and harsh critique of Black people never ducks an opportunity to use his platforms to take shots. According to people who have observed this behavior over time, they’ve said that Whitlock is fishing for a reaction and an attempt to gain momentum for his various endeavors.
Whitlock responded on X, writing, “Stephen A Smith, the self-proclaimed face of ESPN, embarrassed himself and ESPN last night. He vows to never say my name again. No problem. He doesn’t have to say my name to explain the hard-to-believe stories in his “memoir.” Amazed seemingly no media outlet in the country is interested in why the face of ESPN tells so many farfetched stories about himself in a book. Make it make sense.”
Well, it appears that Smith has had enough. In the latest episode of his podcast, he opened up the show by saying that while there were several topics in the sports world to get into, it was time for him to fire back at Whitlock, whom he referred to as a “fat b*stard” and a “piece of sh*t” in the opening segment.
It is an explosive and intense display of anger, irritation, and frustration that is starting to buzz heavily on social media. As a result, fans on X, formerly Twitter, are chiming in with their thoughts complete with the requisite jokes and such.
We’ve got all the reactions to Stephen A. Smith banging it on Jason Whitlock below.
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Safaree is trending on X this week and as it happens, it’s never for a reason one would readily expect. The reality television star posted a NSFW gym video mocking Wiz Khalifa and fans online believe they’re having a bulge war.
Earlier this year, Wiz Khalifa, a known gym rat who trains in mixed martial arts, posted a bench curl video in his typical workout shorts with fans noticing that “Little Wiz” was able to be seen in full color through the gear. While it didn’t seem to be an intentional choice, fans made a bit of a commotion but moved on from the moment quickly.
However, Safaree, who operates an OnlyFans page, posted and deleted a video of him doing a similar workout with his goodness and mercy showing through his pants, and fans were taken aback. On OnlyFans, Safaree called his video the “Wiz Khalifa Workout Challenge” although we doubt the Pittsburgh rapper signed up for this particular footrace.
On X, formerly Twitter, the comments are a little lusty with some wondering how Safaree’s ex-girlfriend, Nicki Minaj, managed the, ahem, equipment for the years they dated. Others are calling the former Scaff Beezy corny for doing so while some ladies are saying that his corniness is part of the appeal.
Check out the reactions below. Naturally, we can’t share the video but it’s out there if you’re looking hard enough.
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