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Source: Patrick McMullan / Getty / Debra Lee
Former BET CEO Debra Lee has a new memoir out. While it talks about her legendary career and the challenges she encountered, it also has eyebrow-raising revelations.
In her new memoir, I Am Debra Lee, BET’s former CEO gets candid on many topics in her life, including the time she hit the late Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and Oprah Winfrey with a “NO,” something those two women are not used to hearing.
Lee said in the memoir that dealing with both women gave her the necessary tools to navigate a world dominated by men.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Lee said, “I didn’t have very many female role models. I never worked for one,” and “prominent people in my career were always men. So, it was great to get to know Aretha, and I was a little terrified of her at first.”
She talks about shutting down Franklin’s requests like “a full winter wardrobe” or “a diamond Harry Winston watch worth $50,000” when she was BET’s COO. Lee says they didn’t agree to many of Franklin’s requests in the book, but they reached compromises.
The two would become friends, with Lee attending Franklin’s 2015 performance at the Justice Department during a ceremony for then-Attorney General Eric Holder as one of her special guests. “I learned a lot just from watching her,” Lee said, speaking on their friendship.
Debra Lee On Shutting Down Oprah’s Requests
Regarding her dealings with Oprah, Lee described shutting the billionaire mogul down after Winfrey asked to purchase ad slots on BET to promote her television network, OWN, because she felt they were competitors.
“It felt not pleasant,” Lee told PEOPLE. “But I also knew I couldn’t let her do that. I wouldn’t let any other Black targeted network buy time on BET. And, as I explained to Oprah, ABC doesn’t let NBC advertise on their network, and the same with CBS. It was difficult, but I explained to her my rationale, and I hope in the end that she understood it.”
Debra Lee Confirms Her Affair With BET Founder Bob Johnson
But there is one part in the book that has Twitter talking, and that is Lee speaking on her affair with BET’s founder Bob Johnson while they were both married.
In the book, Lee says she released she was manipulated into the relationship with Johnson and that he would use his power to do things like booking her hotel room next to hers, dictate her schedule, and book private meetings.
“I never thought it would turn into something other than a professional relationship. And then, when it did, I had to deal with it. And then when it wasn’t working anymore, I had to deal with that, too,” Lee said when speaking with ESSENCE.
As expected, the confirmation of the rumored affair has social media talking. Some applauded Lee for opening up about her relationship with Johnson, highlighting the toxic behavior in the corporate world.
While some people are calling her a hypocrite.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Patrick McMullan / Getty
1. Interesting
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Source: Scott Olson / Getty / Hershey’s
First, they were mad at M&M’s for making Maya Rudolph its spokesperson. Now, they have set their crosshairs on Hershey’s.
There are a bunch of sour people on the internet now after Hershey’s Canada announced that Fae Johnstone, a trans woman, would be one of five women to be featured in Hershey’s Canada’s International Women’s Day campaign.
Hershey’s Canada rolled out its Her For She campaign on Wednesday, which features limited edition wrappers with the likenesses of five Canadian women, including Johnstone.
Johnstone is an award-winning trans activist and a professional LGBTQ+ advocate. When speaking about her involvement in the campaign, she said, “I hope this campaign helps give more young women and girls role models and possibility models.”
Immediately bitter conservatives lost their collective marbles, and #BoycottHershey began to trend on Elon Musk’s Twitter. “How does it honor women to feature a MAN wearing lipstick? Did you feature a white man in blackface during Black History month?,” one Twitter user stupidly wrote.
“Hershey’s celebrates #InternationalWomansDay featuring a biological male You can’t make this shit up #BoycottHersheys,” another MAGA clown wrote.
These people are genuinely not okay.
But, for every person showing expressing blatant transphobia, there was someone to defend Hershey’s for standing in solidarity with Trans women.
“It’s sad that #BoycottHersheys is trending because of transphobia. I think we’re going to see conservatives start lashing out more at gay marriage as well. This is not OK,” another Twitter user wrote.
The right is dug in deep on identity politics. You don’t have to look further than U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who constantly spews hateful rhetoric daily toward the Trans community.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Scott Olson / Getty
1. The dog whistling is getting very loud.
2. Exactly
3. LOL, no one is erasing women
4. That’s fine more chocolate for us to enjoy.
5. L M A O, these people need help.
6. There are four other women in the campaign though
7. She sure told them.
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Source: Xbox / The Mandalorian-Inspired Xbox Series S & X Bundle
The folks are Xbox are back with another exciting giveaway that fans of Disney’s original Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, will absolutely love.
To celebrate season three of The Mandalorian, Xbox partnered with Lucasfilm to celebrate the return of the hit show starring Pedro Pascal as the titular character to giveaway Mandalorian-inspired gear.
Fans can enter a sweepstake right now where they can hope to win custom Xbox Series X and S consoles featuring Mando and Grogu, oops, we mean Baby Yoda and a custom controller that looks like The Child and a controller hoodie playing off his drip.
That’s not all. Fans can also win a life-size version of the Baby Yoda’s hovering ride, called The Pram XL, that they can actually sit in and either game or watch the new season of The Mandalorian.
Before you ask, no, it does not hover. Still, it is a fully operational gaming station featuring massaging cushions, cupholders, LED lights, and holders for your controllers and headphones, making it the best gaming chair on the planet and in a galaxy far, far away.
Source: Xbox / The Mandalorian-Inspired Xbox Series S & X bundle
Here’s How To Win
Retweet the official Xbox Twitter account starting today to enter for a chance to win the custom Mandalorian-inspired gear. You have until May 11 to enter the contest.
If you want to land the Pram XL, you will have to enter with Microsoft Rewards for the chance to win a full entertainment package by heading here starting March 16 until May 11.
In more Mandalorian news, Disney partnered with Xbox for a season three launch event in Los Angeles at the iconic El Capitan Theater.
In attendance were stars of the show Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Katee Sackhoff, Emily Swallow, Chris Bartlett, Rosario Dawson, and more. Series creator Jon Favreau, plus directors Rick Famuyiwa and Dave Filioni were also on hand for the big night.
Source: Xbox / The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
So, may the force be with you when trying to win that custom Mandalorian swag.
For more photos from The Mandalorian’s season 3 launch event, hit the gallery below.
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Photos: Courtesy of Xbox
1. The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
Source:The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
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2. The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
Source:The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
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3. The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
Source:The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
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4. The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
Source:The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
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5. The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
Source:The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
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6. The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
Source:The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
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7. The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
Source:The Mandalorian Season 3 Event
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Source: VALERIE MACON / Getty / Keke Palmer
Keke Palmer and her boo, Darius Jackson, celebrated the birth of their son on Monday and revealed that his name is Leodis Andrellton Jackson, who has the baby-naming brigade sharing their thoughts.
Okay, we can’t front. Celebrities are doing too damn much when naming their children, to the point their pets have better names.
This is not one of those cases here.
Palmer is understandably ecstatic to welcome her son into the world and introduce him to her fans in an Instagram gallery featuring videos and, of course, a photo of baby Leodis. In the caption, she begins, “Hey Son!!!!,” before writing “Born during Black History Month, with a name to match. LEODIS ANDRELLTON JACKSON, welcome to the world, baby Leo.”
No kidding that is a very STRONG, Black name.
As with any celebrity baby name reveal, social media always has thoughts. One Twitter user wrote, “That name sound like it led a civil rights March.”
Palmer, easily one of the wittiest celebs on Twitter, responded, “It’s giving I marched with Martin, purrrr.”
Ha, gotta love Keke Palmer.
Still, plenty of other people have some thoughts about the child’s name like Britni Danielle, the senior culture editor at ESPN’s Andscape, wrote, “Who granddaddy Keke’s baby named after??”
Another Twitter user wrote, “Keke Palmer said she bringing back the strong BLACK names. The great granddaddy names! She said her son gone know how to chop wood, start fires & build houses with his bare hands.”
Keke Palmer Told Us Her Son’s Name Was Going To Be Black ASF
To her credit, the actress put us on notice ahead of time about her son’s name, stating, “It gives Black American storyline,” and “We’re not going for anything too unique. It’s not about to be Stone and Sand. It’s just like a nice natural [name].”
Mission accomplished.
You can peep more reactions to Keke Palmer’s son’s name in the gallery below.
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Photo: VALERIE MACON / Getty
1. Okay, this tweet is funny and accurate.
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty / Carl Crawford
Megan Thee Stallion has been out of the spotlight since taking the stand against the man who shot her, Tory Lanez. But she has continued to rack up victories, big and small, against the people who caused her nothing but grief.
Megan Thee Stallion’s battle with her label 1501 Certified Entertainment is no secret. The Houston artist has taken the imprint owned by former Major League Baseball player Carl Crawford to court on numerous occasions claiming the label wouldn’t let her out of her jacked-up deal and even got a restraining order against them.
Crawford has denied all of MTS’ claims against him and his label, but now he is finally copping to being the pest in the entire situation.
Speaking exclusively with TMZ Hip Hop, Crawford admitted that his beef with Megan Thee Stallion and JAY-Z was dumb and only did it for social media attention.
“Me and Megan, we haven’t talked since 2019,” the 41-year-old told the celebrity gossip site. “We’ve been going through, I guess, what you guys see online, and it’s unfortunate because I never wanted to have a situation where I was, you know, going back and forth with her on the internet.”
“You take this social media part out of it, we don’t have a problem … I’m done with that,” he continued. “You not gon’ hear me mention Megan Thee Stallion name in the media unless I’m doing something like this. You not gon’ see me texting or making a post or doing any of that stuff that would cause social media to go crazy.”
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The 1501 Certified Entertainment Owner Sees The Error of His Ways
Crawford is singing a different tune now, but the tension between him and the “Savage” crafter got so bad at one point after hanging out with Tory Lanez in a nightclub in April 2022.
Tory Lanez was recently found guilty on all three charges in the shooting trial of Megan Thee Stallion and is waiting to be sentenced. Crawford called the encounter posted on the label’s Instagram Stories “petty” and another mistake.
“Oh, the thing is with that, I don’t stand with nobody in that situation,” Crawford said. “That’s none of my business. You get caught up in the internet stuff and doing stuff just to — I don’t know if we can just use the word petty, ’cause there’s been a lot of petty stuff going on. […] We all make mistakes. I’m not on nobody’s side with that. I was just… I don’t even know.”
The Hotties Want The Apologies To Megan Thee Stallion To Be Loud
The Hotties, MTS’ loyal fans, have been rolling their eyes following these recent revelations. They have been mainly calling out anyone labeling Megan Thee Stallion a liar following her accusations against the label and Lanez.
You can peep those relations in the gallery below.
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Photo: Prince Williams / Getty
1. Never forget
3. Mmmmhmmmm
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Source: Raymond Hall / Getty / Ice Spice
Former SNL star Pete Davidson is famous for his comedic exploits and legendary for dating history because he always has a baddie on his side. A rumor came out of nowhere, implying Davidson is now dating Ice Spice, and Twitter, of course, reacted.
Ice Spice is arguably one of the hottest Hip-Hop artists out right now, so why not link up with one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors?
Well, sorry to break it to those excited about Ice Spice and Pete Davidson, but the rumor of these two hooking up was another Twitter joke that someone decided to run with, according to TMZ.
Sometimes Twitter misses the whole “satire” element embedded in tweets, and this situation is one of those cases.
Pete Davidson, who collects hotties like Thanos collects infinity stones, is currently dating Chase Sui Wonders and was recently showcasing public displays of affection with her at the Daytona 500.
Ice Spice has been romantically linked with many people coming out, like Drake, Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin and fellow rapper Lil Tjay, who blessed the “In Ha Mood” crafter with a custom-made rose gold Richard Millie RM-05 watch.
Even though the rumor was flat-out false, that didn’t stop Twitter from making jokes and having ridiculous reactions to the idea of Pete Davidson possibly munching on Ice Spice.
Lol.
This is good news for those who think they got a shot at bagging Hip-Hop Annie. You can peep more reactions to the false dating rumor in the gallery below.
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Photo: Raymond Hall / Getty
1. Lol, gotta love a good Future meme.
4. No chill.
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Source: Cindy Ord / Getty / Deion Sanders
Coach Prime hasn’t coached a game at Colorado yet, but his tenure is off to a rocky start, at least public-wise. His latest comments aren’t helping his case either.
Since his controversial exit from Jackson State University, Deion Sanders has been making his rounds gearing up for this coaching debut at Colorado, hoping he can bring the same energy he had at JSU to the fledgling Buffaloes, who have not been relevant in quite some time but when the season does begin all eyes will be on them to see if Coach Prime can deliver and prove his coaching skills will translate at a D1 school.
During Super Bowl weekend Sanders stopped by the Rich Eisen Show and shared his recruiting philosophy, which is not sitting well with people.
So What Exactly Did Deion Sanders Say?
Well, what’s rubbing many the wrong way, including former NFL players, was Coach Prime’s mental breakdown when it comes to recruiting quarterbacks and other position players like defensive linemen eluding that he prefers his QBs to come from two-parent households and DLs to come from single-parent households because they are hungrier due to their struggle.
“Well, we have different attributes. Smart, tough, fast, disciplined with character. Now, quarterbacks are different,” Sanders told Rich Eisen. “We want mother, father. Dual parent. We want that kid to be 3.5 [GPA] and up because he has to be smart. Not bad decisions off the field at all. Because he has to be a leader of men.”
“Defensive linemen is totally opposite,” said Sanders as he went even deeper into his flawed and racist philosophy. “Single mama, trying to get it, he’s on free lunch,” Sanders added. “I’m talking about just trying to make it. He’s trying to rescue mama. Like mama barely made the flight. And I want him to just go get it. “It’s a whole different attribute that you look for in different positions. And we have that stuff just chronicled. We know what we want, and we go get it.”
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Whether Coach Prime and his recruiting methods were serious or just a joke is unknown, but as noted above, they are not going over well with Black folks.
ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears was not feeling Coach Prime’s comments writing in a tweet, “this shit ain’t funny.”
“This is very problematic, and not funny. Notice who is laughing the loudest. Respect for his game/record, but this is full of stereotypes and juvenile thinking. He’s dissing his *own* players,” another tweet read.
Welp.
Coach Prime has yet to respond to the criticism. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Cindy Ord / Getty
2. Trueeeee
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Twitter
Many Twitter users were experiencing bizarre issues that made the social media platform unusable.
Elon Musk’s Twitter is an absolute mess, and users let bootleg Tony Stark know it. Wednesday afternoon, around 4:45 pm, per the New York Times reporting, Twitter’s core features, like direct messages and tweets, were not working for many users for several hours.
Around 6:30 pm, Twitter acknowledged the issues and said it was working to fix the issues in a tweet. “Twitter may not be working as expected for some of you. Sorry for the trouble. We’re aware and working to get this fixed,” the company’s support account said.
While some users could send tweets, others got a message incorrectly telling them they were “over the daily limit for sending Tweets.” Even retweets were not working when users attempted to send one, and they would get this “Sorry! You’ve have exceeded your Tweet limit. Try retweet again tomorrow” message.
The ability to follow accounts was also not working for many. Rex Chapman and many others shared the issue on their timelines.
Was This Done On Purpose?
The Hollywood Reporter reports the company is limiting users to 2,400 tweets a day, significantly impacting businesses and individual accounts.
Per THR:
The company, under Elon Musk, is now placing limits to the number of direct messages and tweets that a user can send per day, according to a page on Twitter’s Help Center site. The daily tweet limit is 2,400, but the site notes, “the daily update limit is further broken down into smaller limits for semi-hourly intervals.” Retweets also count toward that limit.
In response to the THR report, the company claims, “The “limits” mentioned in the article are not new, and were not just implemented today. They have been the policy since 2019 on Twitter.”
Regardless of what they say, there is no denying after Elon Musk reluctantly acquired the platform for $44 billion, it’s been a hot mess, and users are letting him know that.
You can see the reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty
2. Accurate
5. Another interesting problem
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Source: Justin Ford / Getty / Ja Morant / Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe has some advice for Memphis Grizzlies’ superstar Ja Morant after his entourage got into a bit of alleged trouble.
Allegedly, some of Ja Morant’s boys “aggressively confronted” some Indiana Pacers staff following a Grizzlies win on January 29.
Sharpe spoke on the alleged altercation on a Monday episode of Undisputed with his co-host Skip Bayless. “Ja is an outstanding basketball player,” Sharpe begins. “Ja did everything he could to lift himself and his family out of this type of environment and to get away from this, and for some reason, he wants to surround himself with these type of people. Why? Bruh, you not hard. That’s not your life. People in that life would give anything to be in your life.”
Before the altercation, tempers flared on the court, with Morant and Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard getting into a heated exchange during the third quarter. Morant reportedly said he “checked [Nembard’s] temperature” and that “he didn’t have a fever.”
Per The Athletic’s reporting, someone in Morant’s entourage inside an SUV pointed a red laser at the Indiana travel crew. They also claimed Morant was allegedly in the vehicle and that someone pointed a firearm at them from the SUV.
The Pacers’ staffers declined to file a report about the incident out of fear of retaliation, so the organization did it for them.
Following its own investigation, the NBA said it “could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon.” But, a member of Morant’s crew was banned from FedEx Arena for a year.
Morant spoke about the situation in a tweet calling cap on the situation.
Shannon Sharpe Wants Ja Morant To Stop Pretending To Be Tough
Sharpe also touched on the tweet, adding, “Stop pretending… You’re not gonna do nothing,” he continued. “What you’re gonna do is get yourself in trouble — [and] put yourself and your family in harm’s way — when you don’t have to. Just play basketball.”
“You pretend like you’re hard, but you’re not, Ja,” he added. “You’re opening yourself up. You’re putting yourself in a position you don’t even need to be in. And for what? Street cred? Come on, bruh.”
Twitter chimed in on the situation, agreeing with Uncle Shannon, pointing out that Morant needs to focus on his play and stop trying to be Larry Hoover.
You can see the reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Justin Ford / Getty
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Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty / XXXTentacion
The certified lover boy, Drake, has blood on his hands. That is what defense lawyers in the XXXTentacion murder trial are claiming.
Drake allegedly played a vital role in the 2018 murder of Hip-Hop star XXXTentaction, the defense team for the three men on trial for the death of the “SAD!” crafter claim.
According to the lawyers, an alleged beef between the late rapper and Drizzy possibly led to XXXTentacion’s 2018 murder, but authorities never pursued that angle.
The trial of Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams is finally underway, with opening statements being presented. All three men are charged with first-degree murder and are looking at life in prison for XXXTentacion’s murder.
A fourth member, Robert Allen, who was with the three other men, has already pled guilty to second-degree murder last year and will take the stand against Boatwright, Newsome, and Williams.
In December, the three defendant’s attorneys named Joe Budden, Drake, and The Migos, plus others as key witnesses, the Miami Herald reports. The defense also claims the three men are a victim of the lies being spread by Allen.
Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan isn’t buying what the defense is selling, and wonders what relationship the celebs named have with the murder. The prosecution called the defense’s tactics a silly stunt.
The Prosecutor Thinks The Drake Link Is A Joke
“It is apparent from the deliberate, late disclosure of the defendant’s witnesses and comments made between the parties that [the] defendant intended to ‘surprise’ the state and create a trial by ambush,” prosecutor Pascale Achille said to the judge.
She also said the defense provided no addresses or contact information for the celebs so that a subpoena could be issued.
Dedrick Williams’ attorney, Mauricio Padilla, pushed back at Achille’s claims of his tactics being nothing more than a joke.
“They are high-profile people,” Padilla told Judge Usan. “And it’s not easy for me to subpoena. I don’t have numbers, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be able to. Trying to subpoena Drake is not easy — you need a drone.”
Drake’s name being brought up during the trial by lawyers due to an eyebrow-raising post on XXXTentaction’s Instagram page where he wrote, “If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi.”
The post was eventually deleted, and the late rapper said his account was hacked. XXXTentacion also threw shots at Drake and his mother on Twitter.
As expected, Twitter had thoughts and sounded off on the platform. You can see the reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Scott Dudelson / Getty