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Kaya Jones considers herself pro-life, and in a sensitive new interview, the 38-year-old singer has explained why. Speaking with Students for Life on Jan. 5, the former Pussycat Dolls member revealed that she has had three abortions in her lifetime — all of which she says she deeply regrets — and claimed that she was once pressured to seek out the procedure back in her girl group days.
Jones started out by revisiting a statement she’s made before — that being a Pussycat Doll was like being in a prostitution ring — and compared her alleged experiences to Britney Spears‘ conservatorship. Specifically, Jones referenced how Spears once likened her conservatorship, which was terminated in 2021, to being sex trafficked.
“It feels like you’re a slave, literally, to your dream,” Jones said. “You have no access to personal thoughts, space, choices, decision. You are an owned commodity. What you eat has been decided for you, where you live is gonna be decided for you. Ultimately, you can’t have a child. The level of control is to the point of, ‘Who am I?’”
According to Jones, she experienced an epiphany during a Pussycat Dolls performance, during which she says she spotted two little girls in the crowd watching her with adoration. “At that moment, I was going through an abortion,” she recalled. “I’m losing my child in real time. Nothing on me in that moment said, ‘Caution: this is a lie.’ And I was a lie in that moment. There was nothing beautiful about me. I was tainted. I was living in my worst self.”
“I was basically saying: you can be sexually overly-perverse, doing things that you’re not happy about,” she continued, describing the message she felt she was sending to those two girls in the audience. “Low self esteem leads to promiscuity ultimately, which leads to you having an abortion that you wish you’d never even encountered because it’s painful beyond measure.”
“Do you ever get over it? Never,” she added. “It is something that you will live with for the rest of your life.”
The National Diversity Coalition for Trump ambassador went on to outline her three abortion experiences. The first happened when she was 16 or 17, which she says desensitized her to the gravity of the procedure. When she found out she was pregnant while still in the Pussycat Dolls, she says she was “told to get rid of it.”
Long after she left the Pussycat Dolls in 2004, Jones said she became pregnant at 30 after being sexually assaulted by someone she trusted at the time. She said the assault was caused by poor self esteem she developed “going through these forms of abuse in my earlier life.” Due to the stress of the situation, Jones says there were complications with the pregnancy that led to another abortion.
Abortion has, of course, been a particularly hot button issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Many of Jones’ fellow musicians spoke out against the decision, with artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Halsey even sharing personal stories of how abortion had at one point been a beneficial or life-saving form of healthcare for them.
Jones sees abortion differently, though. “Children are a blessing from God,” she concluded. “I hope to one day be able to be a mom, I hope to be a wife and get to to be able to share what I do believe is the greatest gift, and ultimately the greatest job you’ll ever have on this planet as a woman, to be a mother.”
See Kaya Jones’ interview with Students for Life below.
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We couldn’t make this up with we tried. Lynette Hardaway of the infamous MAGA-loving and Black self-hating duo Diamond & Silk has passed away.
It was Donald Trump himself who announced her passing via a post on his Truth Social Network.
“Really bad news for Republicans and frankly, ALL Americans. Our beautiful Diamond, of Diamond and Silk, has just passed away at her home in the State she loved so much, North Carolina,” wrote Cheeto.
For those of you who may be interested, Hardaway was Diamond.
Trump added, “Silk was with her all the way, and at her passing. There was no better TEAM anywhere, or at any time! Diamond’s death was totally unexpected, probably her big and precious HEART just plain gave out. Rest In Peace our Magnificent Diamond, you will be greatly missed!”
We’d safely bet Trump didn’t actually write that himself. About a month ago, Hardaway was hospitalized after coming down with COVID-19. Ironically, it was Diamond & Silk’s spewing of COVID-19 disinformation—they are anti-vaxxers—that got them booted from right-wing network FOX News back in 2020. So this makes Hardaway just the latest celeb or noteworthy anti-vaxxer to reportedly die from what they called a “hoax”—that being COVID-19.
Reactions to Hardaway’s passing span from indifference to potent slander. The MAGA crowd has the sads, but you can’t really trust that they have actual feelings, respectfully.
“Diamond —of the right-wing, Trump- loving duo Diamond and Silk— has died. In late November, she was hospitalized due to COVID-19. The duo was fired by Fox News a couple years ago for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines,” tweeted political activist and professor Mark Lamont Hill. “You cannot script this stuff.”
Also worth noting, the grift is already in effect.
Peep more reactions to Hardaway’s untimely passing in the gallery.
5. Allegedly.
10. Easy guess who this guy votes for.
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Controversial Republican politician George Santos has made headlines again, this time for flashing a white nationalist symbol during a vote in the House of Representatives last week.
Santos, the elected Republican representative from New York, was making his vote for Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.) in the tenth round of his bid to become Speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday (Jan. 5th). As he did by raising his right hand, his left arm was folded across his waist and observers noted from the coverage on C-SPAN that his left hand made a sideways “OK” gesture.
The gesture has been appropriated by white nationalists as an expression of white supremacy, which was first boosted by right-wing trolls on the 4chan website in jest. There are those who use the gesture as a way to “trigger liberals,” as shown by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Santos’ action was not received well by many, including another Representative from New York, Democrat Ritchie Torres who derisively wrote on Twitter: “George Santos is not biracial but tri-racial. He has Latino, black, and now white power.”
Santos has been constantly under fire ever since he admitted to lying about large swaths of his work and education history after an investigation by the New York Times in late December found many discrepancies in his story. Further investigations also found that Santos had attended a gala in Manhattan that was frequented by numerous white nationalist figures and prominent supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Santos was sworn in after McCarthy finally was elected speaker on Friday night (Jan. 6th). The troubles for the congressman aren’t over – on Monday morning (Jan. 9th), a formal ethics complaint was filed against him with the Federal Election Commission by the Campaign Legal Center. The Washington D.C.-based nonprofit group contends that Santos illegally used campaign funds for personal use. Authorities in Brazil have also announced that they will reopen a fraud case against Santos involving a stolen checkbook in 2008 in Rio de Janeiro.
If your name is Marjorie Taylor Greene and you’re looking to license music from a certain legendary hip-hop star … let’s just say you can forget about Dre. Dr. Dre has addressed the controversial Georgia congresswoman following a video she posted using his and Snoop Dogg‘s 1999 smash hit “Still D.R.E.” to celebrate Kevin McCarthy’s choppy Speaker of the House win — and the artist isn’t happy.
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“I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” Dre said in a scathing statement about Greene to TMZ Monday (Jan. 9).
Billboard has reached out to Snoop Dogg for comment.
The video in question — posted Monday morning on Greene’s social media accounts — features the Republican representative strutting through the halls of Congress in slow motion, grinning at the camera as Dre’s infamous piano riff repeats on a loop. Toward the end, it calls back to a photograph taken of her on the House floor during McCarthy’s speakership vote, holding up her phone to show she’s conversing with “DT” — presumably former president Donald Trump.
The video then cuts to footage of McCarthy being confirmed as the new Speaker of the House, a title he won only after several grueling days of back-and-forth between members of the Republican party and 15 rounds of voting. Greene had backed McCarthy in the speakership vote, and she immediately posted a selfie with the California congressman after he was declared winner.
Reactions to Greene’s video ranged from amusement to anger, with many calling on Dre to address the use of his song, which reached a new Billboard Hot 100 peak of No. 22 last year after the rapper performed at the 2022 Super Bowl. “Hey @drdre & @SnoopDogg y’all cool with this lunacy?” tweeted House of Cards actor Michael Kelly, re-sharing Greene’s post.
“@DrDre @SnoopDogg, did you approve this?” tweeted the Lincoln Project.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene using Dr. Dre songs for her campaign videos,” commented another. “We’re living in an episode of South Park.”
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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries decided that his first order of business as the new House Minority Leader was to address the division in the House of Representatives between the Republicans and Democrats. The congressman then launched into a speech employing the alphabet that took some slight digs at Republicans and urged collaboration.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 52, graciously extended his party’s hand to the newly-elected House Speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and members of his party vowing to find “common ground” in their future proceedings.
“We do extend our hand of partnership to you and want to make clear that we extend and intend to try to find common ground whenever and wherever possible on behalf of the American people,” Jeffries said. “Not as Democrats, not as Republicans, not as independents, but as Americans. But I also want to make clear that we will never compromise our principles.”
Jefferies then launched into his “Alphabetical Slaughter” (Look up this classic from Papoose) speech, using each letter of the alphabet to deliver a poignant line.
The speech in full below:
House Democrats will always put American values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry, the Constitution over the cult, democracy over demagogues, economic opportunity over extremism, freedom over fascism, governing over gaslighting, hopefulness over hatred, inclusion over isolation, justice over judicial overreach, knowledge over kangaroo courts, liberty over limitation, maturity over Mar-a-Lago, normalcy over negativity, opportunity over obstruction, people over politics, quality of life issues over QAnon, reason over racism, substance over slander, triumph over tyranny, understanding over ugliness, voting rights over voter suppression, working families over the well-connected, xenial over xenophobia, “Yes we can” over “You can do it,” and zealous representation over zero-sum confrontation.
We will always do the right thing by the American people, so let us not grow weary of doing good for the American people who will reap the benefit of the harvest if we do not give up. God bless you, God Bless the house, and God bless the United States of America.
Salute to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
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Photo: Tom Williams / Getty
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Rep. Cori Bush is currently making waves in the U.S. House of Reprensativies amid the ongoing debacle that is the Speak of the House selection process. After Rep. Kevin McCarthy repeatedly failed to gain support from his Republican Party cohorts, Bush claims that a Black Republican congressman is being used as a “prop” by the MAGA faction of the party.
Rep. Cori Bush, 46, is one of the rising star members of Congress after assuming office back in 2021 and is known for her outspoken views and unwavering critique of the GOP. The Democratic Party congresswoman fired a shot toward the opposing party after McCarthy failed yet again to assume the Speaker role due to some fringe members of the Republican Party withholding their vote over dissatisfaction with some of his positions.
Bush took to Twitter to blast Republican Congress members for attempting to push a Black candidate among its ranks for the Speaker role in Rep. Byron Donalds. In the tweet, Bush wrote, “FWIW, @ByronDonalds is not a historic candidate for Speaker. He is a prop. Despite being Black, he supports a policy agenda intent on upholding and perpetuating white supremacy.”
Bush continued with, “His name being in the mix is not progress—it’s pathetic.”
Donalds’ little feelings were hurt and tweeted back, “FWIW, nobody asked @CoriBush her opinion on the matter. Before you judge my agenda, let’s have a debate over the policies and the outcomes. Until then, don’t be a crab in a barrel!”
Rep. Dan Bishop, getting in the middle of Black people’s business uninvited, called Bush racist for her jab at Donalds.
And as of this writing, Rep. McCarthy is still not the Speaker of the House.
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Photo: Getty
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Herschel Walker endured several jabs at his intelligence, fitness for office, and character during his Senate campaign run. It has now come out that a member of his campaign staff is accusing a notable Republican Party activist of sexually assaulting him.
The Daily Beast exclusively reports that American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp allegedly groped the crotch of a male staffer in Walker’s camp this past fall. The unnamed staffer says that Schlapp, who is the lead organizer for the powerful Conservative Political Action Conference, committed the alleged act while driving.
From The Daily Beast:
The staffer said the incident occurred the night of Oct. 19, when Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union and lead organizer for the influential Conservative Political Action Conference, “groped” and “fondled” his crotch in his car against his will after buying him drinks at two different bars.
The staffer described Schlapp, who had traveled to Georgia for a Walker campaign event, as inappropriately and repeatedly intruding into his personal space at the bars. He said he was also keenly aware of his “power dynamic” with Schlapp, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in national conservative politics.
Walker’s failed bid for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat revealed the incredible lengths conservative pundits and voters would go to ensure a win for their candidate. Despite several unsavory news items that came out during Walker’s campaign run, the former football star still enjoyed high levels of support from the Republican Party base.
Schlapp, via his attorney, is denying the charge and threatened a legal response to what their side framed as a hit piece.
Read the rest of The Daily Beast‘s report here.
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As Republicans continue to hold up the congressional duties of our elected officials due to their reluctance to vote in Kevin McCarthy as the Speaker of the House, newly elected member of U.S. Congress Robert Garcia already knows how he plans on being sworn in once things get back to normal, and it’s a pretty interesting way of going about his inauguration.
Earlier this week the California congressman took to Twitter to reveal that when it comes time to get sworn into the 118th United States Congress, Robert Garcia will be using three items that mean the world to him including a photo of his parents whom he lost to the COVID pandemic, his certificate of citizenship, and an original copy of Superman #1 from the Library of Congress.
While the picture and certificate of citizenship makes sense, it’s interesting that he chose the priceless comic book as an item to use as he prepares to work for the people of the United States. Still, the first Latino and first openly gay mayor to ever be elected to be Mayor of Long Beach, California told Buzzfeed that the reason he chose the comic book is because he “learned to read and write English reading comics as a kid,” and ultimately “Never stopped reading.” Neither have we.
As for why he chose the Man of Steel over other superheroes, Garcia said, “I’ve read almost all genres, but Superman is always the character that stood out and spoke to me the most.”
He must’ve been heartbroken like the rest of us when he found out that Henry Cavill wasn’t going to be returning as Superman in James Gunn’s reboot of Warner Bros. DCEU.
Unfortunately for Garcia, he won’t be taking that Superman oath anytime soon as far-right MAGA Republicans and Conservative Republicans continue to bicker over who’ll be the next Speaker of the House and begin swearing in the next members of congress. But when that time does come, y’all know Robert Garcia will be flying high like his favorite superhero.
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In an astonishing display, Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become the Speaker of the House was thwarted three times – by members of his own Republican Party.
The House of Representatives convened Tuesday (Jan. 3) to open the 118th Congress, with Republicans having a slim majority after the midterm elections last November. As the first vote to elect the Speaker of the House unfolded, the congressman from California fell short as he received 203 votes with 19 voting for Jim Jordan, the GOP representative from Ohio. The second vote bore out the same results, and the third and final vote in the chamber actually saw McCarthy lose a vote, making the tally 202 to Jordan’s 20.
The failed bids marked the first time since 1923 that an election for speaker went through multiple ballots. In contrast, the Democrats in the House displayed a firm and unified stance as they nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to be Speaker in each round of voting with no defections.
Many observers point to a giant divide between McCarthy, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump to be in the role, and the 19 GOP members who represent the far-right segment of the party. This includes Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Boebert would later claim in a Fox News interview with Bret Baier that she and the other representatives had gone to McCarthy with a deal to help him attain the 218 votes needed for him to be Speaker but he “smugly refused.”
GOP members had also spent time Tuesday attempting to bargain with Democratic members of the House to not be present for the next round of votes so McCarthy could win. This was confirmed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was seen talking with both Gaetz and oddly enough, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona. “McCarthy was suggesting he could get Dems to walk away to lower his threshold,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And I fact-checked and said absolutely not.”
Meanwhile, Kevin McCarthy is refusing to cave in his attempt to obtain the speakership as the House will vote again at noon Wednesday (Jan. 4). “I’m staying until we win,” he said to members of the press between the second and third votes. “I know the path.” Trump put out a call for unity among Republicans in a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning, saying “it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN.”
*UPDATE: After losing the 4th vote, It seems McCarthy is well on his way to losing a 5th, too.
By now you’ve probably heard about the boatload of lies incoming New York Republican Rep. George Santos unleashed during his successful run to represent Long Island in the House. The 34-year-old fabulist is already facing probes from the House Ethics Committee, as well as federal, state and local authorities over his wide-ranging fibs, from lies about the elite Bronx prep school he didn’t attend and the colleges he didn’t graduate from, to the prestigious jobs he never held at a pair of Wall Street firms, lies about his grandparents surviving the Holocaust (and his Jewish heritage) and a series of whoppers he told about his mother’s death.
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It would all be pretty funny if it wasn’t potentially illegal and it didn’t put a pathological phony near the levers of government, so naturally The Late Show‘s cold open on Tuesday night (Jan. 3) took on the story by putting Santos’ many deceptions into song, cued to Meredith Brooks’ 1997 breakthrough hit, “B–ch.”
The “A Definitely True Message from George Santos” bit opened with news reports about Santos’ multiple misrepresentations of his mother’s death before a fake George said he had only one (or two, or maybe 10 things) to say. Then, to the strains of Brooks’ urgent pop hit, he proclaimed, “I’m half black/ I’m a Jew/ I graduated from Baruch/ My grandpa fled a war/ But wait there’s even more/ I invented root beer floats/ I’m the guy from Quaker Oats/ And that’s not even all the stuff I am.”
The parody went on, with fake Santos proclaiming that he’s also Chinese, from Belize and in a pair of claims outrageous even for him, that his hair is made of bees and that he’s actually Adele in disguise. Some of the fabrications sounded almost plausible, like that he ran the New York Marathon and was instrumental in demoting Pluto from planet-dom. And he swore the latter on both of his mother’s graves, so they must be true.
Santos had a pretty terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first day in Congress on Tuesday, with cameras catching him sitting by himself as other representatives seemingly shunned him and he walked briskly away from reporters, while a Washington Post writer revealed that when Santos stood up to vote for still-unseated Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a “Hispanic Democrat yelled “mentiroso!” which means “liar” in Spanish.
Watch the Late Show cold open below.