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Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 53 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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R. Kelly has received some favorable news regarding his ongoing legal matters. Illinois prosecutors have dropped sexual assault charges against him.
As per Raw Story, R. Kelly is sighing a breath of relief this week. On Monday (Jan. 30), Cook County Attorney Kim Foxx announced that the state will no longer be pursuing the indictments filed back in 2019. The charges include aggravated criminal sexual abuse and assault and allegedly involved four female victims; three are said to have been underage at the time of the crimes. At a news conference, Foxx explained the reasoning behind the statement in detail.
In essence, timing played a significant role in their decision as two other federal trials took priority. “Due to the extensive sentences these convictions hold, our offices have decided not to expend our limited resources and court time with the indictments” she explained. But with this decision, some of his accusers feel their voices have been silenced.
Lanita Carter, who claims she was assaulted by R. Kelly back in February of 2003, admits she was “extremely disappointed” when she heard the charges were dropped.
“I have spent nearly 20 years hoping that my abuser would be brought to justice for what he did to me. With today’s announcement, all hope of justice for my case is gone,” Carter said in a statement to AP News.
As expected R. Kelly’s legal team agrees with the decision. Steven Greenberg spoke with ABC 7 Chicago about the matter. “In my opinion, the charges should have never been brought in the first place,” Greenberg said.
You can see the press conference below.
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State Farm’s “like a good neighbor” tagline got the SNL treatment last weekend when host Michael B. Jordan put on the signature red polo shirt and took over a family.
In the sketch, Michael B. Jordan shows up when a set of parents were looking to file a claim after their daughter clogged a toilet with her stuffed animals.
Mikey Day plays the confused dad who comes home to discover that Jake from State Farm really was “here for you 24/7” in fact, playing with his kids. Jake also takes the kids and their mom, played by Heidi Gardner, to church on Sunday morning — sparking a fight between the couple.
As Jake continues to take over the family, teaching the little girl piano and playing catch with the son, Day’s character becomes more and more perplexed. He even looks up rates of other insurance when Jake shows up in the shadows, whispering that it won’t help because State Farm matches rates. Jake then taunts Day with a sinister voice saying, “Save more when you bundle home and auto.”
Left with nothing, Day mourns losing his family to handsome insurance pitchman Jake, drunkenly singing “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” as he plans to jump off a bridge. “He took everything,” he roars.
The whole sketch takes another turn when it’s revealed that the entire scene is a commercial for Liberty Mutual insurance.
The hilarious sketch isn’t the first time Jake from State Farm has been the subject of satire. In a commercial during Super Bowl LV, the company hired Drake to don the red shirt as “Drake from State Farm.”
The actor who plays Jake is actually Kevin Miles from Chicago, in 2021 he told Forbes about his experience with the notoriety that comes with the role.
“They never say Kevin, which is okay (laughs). They’ll say ‘Jake.’ Even on-set, they just say ‘Hey Jake!’ and I just answer. It definitely started with the mask a little bit. I’d walk my dog and people would be like Hey, you’re ‘Jake from State Farm.’ They could still tell! One time I was at the store and I had my glasses on with a hat, deep incognito mode. Someone was just like Man, your voice is just so recognizable. That felt cool and weird.”
As for Michael B. Jordan, he will make his directorial debut with Creed III in theaters March 3, 2023.
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Damar Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills who suffered a medical issue during a Monday Night Football contest, made his first public statements since the harrowing incident. In the video, Hamlin thanked the Bills, the fans, and the NFL for supporting him during his recovery.
Damar Hamlin, 24, posted the video to his Instagram account titled “From The Heart,” and he opened up the clip by stating that he is still processing the gravity of the moment on all levels. Hamlin collapsed on the field on Jan. 2 as the Bills were battling it out with the Cincinnati Bengals. As the disturbing image went wide, former players such as Shannon Sharpe and others stood in solidarity with Hamlin and applauded the Bills and Bengals for stopping the game.
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Hamlin made his first public appearance a week ago ahead of releasing this current video during Buffalo’s playoff loss against the Bengals. Hamlin’s time at the stadium sparked a flurry of silly controversy with people alleging the team was using a body double.
“I can’t tell you how appreciative I am of all the love, all the support and everything that’s just been coming in my way,” Hamlin said. “What happened to me on ‘Monday Night Football’ I feel is a direct example of God using me as a vessel to share my passion and my love directly from my heart with the entire world and I’m able to give it back to kids and communities all across the world who need it the most, and that’s always been my dream.”
Salute to Damar Hamlin.
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Brandon Smiley, the son of radio host and stand comedian Rickey Smiley, has died. The elder Smiley shared the news via social media but no cause of death was shared.
Rickey Smiley, 54, shared the news via his Instagram account in a video clip that was captioned “My Son Passed Away” with the post’s caption asking for warm thoughts for Brandon’s mother and daughter.
“I lost my oldest son #BrandonSmiley this morning. I’m okay, but please pray for my son’s mother Brenda, his siblings and his daughter Storm,” Smiley said.
Looking over Smiley’s page, he shared images of his children, including a video of Brandon, who was also a comedian like his father.
We send our condolences to the entire Smiley family.
Brandon Smiley was 32.
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DJ Khaled is back in his brand ambassador bag once more and this time, he’s taking on the role of model. For Savage X Fenty’s new Valentine’s Day campaign, the We The Best Music honcho donned some relaxed fits for the hot-selling fashion line.
DJ Khaled, 47, revealed that he was soon to take to the runway as a model for Savage X Fenty in an exclusive first look at the campaign in a Zoom chat with BET Lifestyle. The Miami star was grateful for the opportunity to work with Rihanna’s brand and saluted the Barbadian businesswoman’s vision.
“I want to thank Rihanna and Savage X Fenty for letting me be part of this campaign,” Khaled said. “Rihanna is a visionary, and for her to give me the opportunity to wear the clothes, it was so dope and organic. I love that she lets me be myself. I promote to the world to always be yourself. She inspires me.”
Rihanna announced the Valentine’s Day campaign as only she can on Jan. 12, and the entire collection for both guys and gals and whoever can be purchased now.
To see DJ Khaled and his Savage X Fenty look, check out the post below.
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Yung Gravy should be enjoying the fruits of his virtual track “Betty (Get Money)” that’s all the rage on social media. However, the Rochester, Minn. rapper is facing a lawsuit from 1980s hitmaker Rick Astley for an unauthorized imitation of the British singer’s voice.
Deadline reports that Yung Gravy, 26, sampled Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” track from 1987. According to the suit, Astley, 56, approved the sample of the original but did not authorize Gravy to hire a performer to imitate his voice.
The suit was filed in Los Angeles and states that only the instrumentals to “Never Gonna Give You Up” were licensed and that Astley’s voice was a “resource that needs to be carefully managed.”
The outlet obtained the legal filing which cites Yung Gravy and producer Dillion Francis “conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of Mr. Astley’s voice throughout the song.”
Also named in the lawsuit is Nick Seeley, better known as Popnick, who performed the vocal impersonation.
According to Astley’s filing, the impersonation upended a future collaboration with another artist who wanted to use Astley’s vocals.
Yung Gravy has not made a public response to the lawsuit.
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Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 8 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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Ed Reed made quite the splash when it was announced that he would be taking over head coaching duties at famed HBCU, Bethine-Cookman University. However, the 44-year-old Hall of Famer is out as coach after the university discovered a video that painted the institution as unfavorable.
Ed Reed and his hire by Bethune-Cookman was celebrated widely and looked to signal a potential rise of relevancy in the college football ranks as it relates to HBCUs. As it stands, Reed and the university entered into preliminary talks to sign a contract and it all looked to be in the books but there seemed to be some issues within the athletic department and beyond.
Similarly to Deion Sanders, Reed’s legendary stature as it relates to his prowess on the football field was assumed to transform the fortunes of student-athletes at the school just as Sanders did in his tenure at Jackson State University. However, Reed was critical of the school’s conditions and didn’t mince words in a video rant he since apologized for. However, Reed’s passion upset those in the hiring position and they decided to sidestep the hire which sparked protests at the school.
In his own words, Reed says that he did not withdraw his name from consideration and instead Bethune-Cookman officials made the decision. In a posted video ripe with emotion, which we’ll share below, Reed blasted the school for their decision and hammered down on the point that he wanted to be there in service of the students. In that same video, Reed goes on to say that “Deion was right,” no doubt referencing Sanders’ time at Jackson State and some of the hurdles he faced in transforming its football program.
As noted in the referenced video, Ed Reed apparently ruffled feathers to the point that it was no longer amenable for both sides to move forward.
The video can be viewed below.
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Yung Miami and her new REVOLT talk show, is all the rage once again due to the host of the program telling it exactly how it is. During the show’s latest episode, the Miami, Fla. rapper admitted to enjoying golden showers, which got the trending topic “Pee Diddy” going wild on Twitter.
Yung Miami sat down with veteran rapper Trina and the pair got into a raunchy sex discussion during the so-called “Resha Roulette” Q&A game. The game involves players taking a card and share the whatever the details out loud. If the details match the actions of the person, they have to take a shot. In this case, Yung Miami shared that the card said she had to take a shot if she enjoyed golden showers.
“It says take a shot if you like golden showers. I Do,” YM shared in between laughs. Trina, taken aback by the admittance, asked, “Meaning when the guy pees on you. Pee on you everywhere, you like it?”
“I just like it. I don’t know, it just do something to me,” YM fired back as she got ready to down a shot.
As it stands, folks on Twitter are immediately connecting the dots that YM’s frequent romantic partner, Sean “Diddy” Combs, is the shower delivery man. Of course, this sparked the aforementioned “Pee Diddy” moniker and a lot of rampant kink shaming. As the saying goes, don’t yuck my yum. Yung Miami and Diddy are adults and what they do in the bedroom is fine for them as long as everything is consensual. We’re pretty sure some of the folks with something negative to say have a few skeletons in their too-small closet.
Check out some of the reactions of Yung Miami admitting she likes a little man rain every now and then below. Also, we’ve included the episode.
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