Source: Bob Levey / Getty Chamillionaire has long made the seamless transition from award-winning musician to savvy businessman and has used his platform to help others achieve their goals. Having done similar contests in the past , the Texas artist will join forces with E-40 and FUBU’s Daymond John to launch a competition that will grant seed money to the next great minority or woman-owned startup. Chamillionaire was on CNBC Monday to discuss the new competition, mentioning in the chat that the trio will be working with equity investment firm Republic as he’s done in times past with E-40. This time, the stakes are higher and the startup has the potential to win $100,000 for their idea or company. While talking with CNBC, Chamillionaire made note that he finds it baffling that venture capitalists claim they can’t find African-American projects to fund, this after he attended the AfroTech conference in Oakland, Ca. this past weekend and came across thousands of tech workers and entrepreneurs of color. Via Cham’s Convoz app, potential contestants can make their pitch and get connected with the judges. Check out Chamillionaire’s CNBC chat below. Salute to him, E-40, Daymond John, and Republic. He's back! @chamillionaire talks investing, wealth, $LYFT and more on Squawk Alley… @CNBC pic.twitter.com/SEICA3Rruf — Squawk Alley (@SquawkAlley) November 11, 2019 — Photo: Getty
Source: Prince Williams / Getty Summer Walker Empathly Explains Her Meet & Greets Summer Walker is catching heat (again). The singer who said she’s ditching the music industry after she ends her current tour was blasted on social media this weekend by a disgruntled fan. According to the woman she shelled out good money to see the “CPR” songstress during a meet & greet but only met her “literally for five seconds.” The fan ranted and told the singer she’ll no longer support her career and remarked that Summer “doesn’t deserve” her fanbase. “Such an anticlimactic and disappointing experience meeting Summer Walker yesterday,” wrote the fan. “We were informed to have our phones out, ready with flash, and not to sit too close or touch her. She barely spoke to anyone, every couple people she’d say ‘Hi’. It was a big hurt piece for me because I really idolised her and her work. Summer, you lost a big fan. I’m glad this is your first and last tour. You don’t deserve us!” OUCH. Summer caught word of the rant and she responded on Instagram with a looooooong post explaining why she doesn’t give out hugs. According to Summer, she’s an empath, a person who can literally absorb another person’s energy/ emotional state, so she avoids contact to protect herself. OH. BWOY. “…for those who’re upset b/c I don’t give hugs idk what to tell you…I’m an empath, and that transference of energy from that many people each day would literally KILL me,” Summer wrote. “y’all may not understand what I’m talking about but for example… there’s a lot of people out here faking the funk with a smile on their face like they got it together but inside your actually suffering from some sort of traumatic experience, a loss, depressed, fearful, envious or whatever the case may be BUT I CAN FEEL IT. So I ask you please respect my space in those moments.” View this post on Instagram I just want to say to all the fans who purchase meet & greets I really APPRECIATE y’all taking the extra time to meet me and share your stories. I tell everyone individually “thank you”, I spread love, we laugh & I give genuine compliments now for those who’re upset b/c I don’t give hugs idk what to tell you…I’m an empath, and that transference of energy from that many people each day would literally KILL me.. y’all may not understand what I’m talking about but for example… there’s a lot of people out here faking the funk with a smile on their face like they got it together but inside your actually suffering from some sort of traumatic experience, a loss, depressed, fearful, envious or whatever the case may be BUT I CAN FEEL IT. So I ask you please respect my space in those moments A post shared by Summer Walker (@summerwalker) on Nov 10, 2019 at 10:11pm PST You KNOW social media had a field day with Summer’s comments and she’s being accused of being a “scammer” despite her explanation. Still, however, some fans are defending her and pointing out that she’s openly talked about having crippling social anxiety. “ It’s when your convinced that everyone in the room thinks your hideous & all intimate conversations are about you,” wrote Summer about her anxiety. “Whatever’s being said is negative.” […] “It affects your occupational performance,” she added. “It affects romantic relationships, friendships (which I have none ) & pretty much throws you into depression.” View this post on Instagram minding my business living my best life A post shared by Summer Walker (@summerwalker) on Nov 11, 2019 at 2:20am PST What do YOU think about Summer Walker’s meet & greet explanation? Empaths do exist. Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Source: Jason LaVeris / Getty French Montana Goes Sneaker Shopping With Complex French Montana is the latest celebrity to go Sneaker Shopping with Complex’s Joe La Puma, and this time, he joined the host at Stadium Goods in New York City. Throughout the episode, the rapper discusses sneakers of course, talking about Kanye West giving him some seriously rare one-of-one Yeezys, how he felt about Drake’s line about 350’s on his song “No Stylist,” and what his favorite sneakers were growing up. Check out the video down below to get a better look at French Montana’s love for sneakers and how that has transformed throughout his life. https://youtu.be/ShG9Dv_IgCY
Welp. This is one way to make folks believe you’re totally and completely over Khloe Kardashian: Lamar Odom has proposed to girlfriend Sabrina Parr! And she has said yes, you guys! On Monday, Odom announced his unexpected engagement via a romantic Instagram photo of the soon-to-be married couple posing together inside Prime 112 Restaurant in Miami. “Introducing my new fiancée!! Soon to be Mrs. Parr-Odom,” Odom captioned the post adding very simply and sweetly: “She the ONE!!!!! @getuptoparr.” As you can see above, Parr is wearing her engagement ring in the picture, while Odom is wearing a surprisingly sullen expression, considering the occasion. For her part, Parr also shared a video on social media, coming across as rather excited about the entire development. “I SAID YES!!!!!!” she captioned this post on Instagram on Monday, showing off her ring in a video and two photos as they dined at this same restaurant. Parr added the hashtags #mrsparrodom and #lamarandsabrina. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Nene Leakes commented on the post, writing as a remark: “SO GLAD I COULD BE HERE WIT YOU! LOVE BOTH OF YOU AND PRAYING OVER THIS UNION.” Odom, of course, is a former professional basketball player who battled substance abuse problems throughout nearly his whole career. In celebrity gossip circles, he’s best known for having been married to Khloe Kardashian for four years, prior to a divorce mostly based on his infidelity and those same substance abuse problems. He nearly died from an overdose while partying with hookers in Nevada back in 2015. Odom made his relationship with Parr Instagram official in August, sharing a photo of his lady love sitting in his lap. “It’s just like when you’ve got some coffee that’s too black, which means it’s too strong, what do you do? You integrate it with cream… But if you pour too much cream in it, you won’t even know you ever had coffee,’” he wrote at the time, adding: “‘It used to be hot, it becomes cool. “It used to be strong, it becomes weak. It used to wake you up, now it puts you to sleep.’ – MALCOLM X @getuptoparr #blackroyalty.” That same month, Odom and Parr spoke out about their romance during an interview on Dish Nation. “I wasn’t attracted to the pain and the drama,” the health and life coach explained, continuing as follows: “You have to meet people where they are. “He was never in a position to be someone’s husband, you know? He was sick, he needed to heal, he needed to grieve. He experienced a lot of losses. And he never had time to go through that.” Just a few weeks ago, in the wake of constant questions about Khloe, Odom insisted he really did love Parr . “Outside of my daughter, this is the most serious and committed relationship I’ve ever been in with a woman,” he said toward the end of October. And now he’s proven it. Congrats to the happy couple!
Vicki Gunvalson was a mainstay of The Real Housewives of Orange County , and of the entire franchise, for 13 seasons. Then, for Season 14, she accepted a demotion to “Friend” in order to stay on the show … as a guest star . Many had assumed that this meant that Vicki was desperate to remain on the show and would accept whatever Bravo wanted. That no longer appears to be the case. Vicki has announced that she's done filming for the Real Housewives and is moving on. Wow. 1. Vicki is done! As you’re about to see, Vicki is making it clear to her fans that she has no problem leaving RHOC in the dust. 2. It started on Friday On Friday, November 8, Andy Cohen snapped a selfie, announcing that the Season 14 Reunion special was about to be filmed. “About to start filming the Season 14 #RHOC reunion. FOURTEEN YEARS!!!!!” 3. Vicki was on the hype train Sharing a glimpse as she prepared for the special, she captioned her post: “Are you ready to Whoop it up? I’m getting ready for season 14 #rhoc Reunion. #keepitclassy #standmyground #ogoftheoc #bravo #woohoo” 4. It’s been a complicated season Vicki was one of the very first Housewives, ever, and she reigned for 13 seasons. Only this season was she demoted to a mere “Friend” of the Housewives, losing her Orange. 5. Fans say that it’s beneath her One commenter wrote to Vicki: “Vicki, you need to be done with that show. In my opinion, outside of Shannon, at times, you are so much better than the females on that show. I had to stop watching many season’s ago. Mainly because of Kelly and Tamra. Please let it go and look forward to the life you have long wanted with Steve!” 6. Some even boycotted “Never watched the season boycotted it when you were not a regular,” a fan shared. “And I have been a faithful watcher since day 1.” View Slideshow
You know things have gotten bad when even Farrah Abraham is looking at you with pity in her eyes. Granted, Farrah is delusional, and she thinks her life is awesome, so she might look down on a lot of people who are actually doing just fine. But when Abraham offers words of sympathy and support for Jenelle Evans, they're well-deserved. As you've likely heard, Jenelle has filed for divorce from David Eason amid abuse allegations. And now, it seems she's found an unlikely ally in fellow disgraced Teen Mom alum Farrah. Of course, Farrah being Farrah, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to throw a little shade at her ex-rival when commenting on the situation this week. Take a look: 1. Better Days It wasn’t all that long ago that Farrah and Jenelle were both raking in six-figure salaries thanks to their cushy gigs at MTV. Both ladies also supplemented their income with side ventures such as sponsored content partnerships. 2. Hard Times These days, however, both moms are out of work and increasingly desperate for cash. Farrah was the first to be let go, having been fired from the network back in December of 2017. 3. An Interesting Career Path MTV execs justified the decision by claiming that Farrah had violated her contract by continuing to perform in adult webcam shows. But in reality, they were probably just sick of dealing with her diva nonsense. 4. The Nugget Affair Jenelle was next to get canned. And her termination took place under even more bizarre circumstances. The situation involved the death of a beloved pet at the hands of Evans’ famously short-tempered husband. 5. Devastation David shot and killed Jenelle’s French bull dog, Nugget. The act of senseless violence led to a CPS investigation that caused her to temporarily lose custody of her children. 6. Not Great Jenelle helped David hide his crime from police, and she defending him in public, even claiming at one point that he was not involved with the dog’s death. View Slideshow
Disney Plus launched in the wee hours of Tuesday morning! There were plenty of good reaosns to sign up for the streaming service. In my case, they had me at “new Clone Wars episodes.” Those aren't out yet, of course. What is out is The Mandalorian , whose first episode went live at launch. To say that the first episode was “good” does not do it justice. Check out our review (and carefully crafted gifs) below and see if Disney's live-action Star Wars series sounds like a hit or miss. We promise that we've only included minor spoilers. 1. It’s a Space Western Usually, that would be a critique, but Star Wars has always had strong Western vibes, though that has never been exclusive. Environments like the cantina at Mos Eisley Spaceport on Tattooine are basically saloons, and in his first scene, the titular Mandalorian might as well have pushed through a pair of saloon doors. 2. It FEELS like Star Wars We’ll talk about this more once we get into the gifs, but this show really feels like it’s part of the broader Star Wars canon in a way that the Sequel films, for many fans, have not. The vibe here is definitely more Rorgue One, and that’s exactly how it should be. 3. Aliens are back! Anyone else notice how there are almost no new Alien roles in the Sequel films? (Holdo should have been a Theelin; fight me, Rian Johnson) Well that last slide showed a Quarren, a classic Star Wars species who share a homeworld, Mon Cala, with Admiral Akbar’s species. And then there’s this dude, an Alien with an extended speaking role. 4. Yes, there are monsters A huge part of Star Wars has been the existence of terrestrial perils unrelated to evil generals or Sith Lords or whatever the heck a Ren is. From “Sand People” to wampas to giant worms that live in asteroids, sometimes planets just have monsters on them. The Mandalorian knows this and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 5. It’s a BEAUTIFUL show This particular beast looks like a blend of a walrus and a hippopotamus, and we learn that it’s attracted to the spaceport area because ships dump their gray cargo — that is, their organic waste — which attracts a whole food chain of critters. Also, it just looks great. Shows need good budgets to be viable, and we’re glad that this show delivers. 6. The Mandalorian isn’t all action The titular character has some serious childhood traumas — including an apparent aversion to droids, but one that is not absolute. He also has tremendous respect for Mandalorian culture and traditions, many of which were nearly lost when the Empire (at first, the Republic) invaded Mandalore to oppose Maul’s faction of Death Watch. It was many years before his people were free again. View Slideshow
Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz Over the weekend, Instagram “models” and “influencers” reacted after news broke that Instagram will begin test hiding likes. The announcement even sparked reactions from Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. The Facebook-owned social media platform has already begun testing hiding likes in seven countries but has yet to try out the new idea in the states. Speaking at the WIRED25 conference, Instagram CEO Adama Mosseri made the announcement Friday (Nov.8) that it will begin test hiding likes for some users starting this week. WATCH: Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announces that the platform will start hiding likes for US audiences starting next week. It's the latest step in Instagram’s quest to become the safest place on the internet. https://t.co/BGkMG57rdk #WIRED25 pic.twitter.com/WNTyAPVhaD — WIRED (@WIRED) November 9, 2019 In the tests that have rolled out in Canada, Ireland, Ital, Japan, Brazil, Austria, and New Zealand, the likes are hidden from the public in the feed, web, and in profiles. Users will still be able to see how many likes their posts receive. Only other people will not be able to know. The motive behind the move is to help “depressurize Instagram” by “making it less of a competition Mosseri told Bloomberg on Friday. He continued: “The idea is to try and reduce anxiety and social comparisons, specifically with an eye towards young people.” While the other countries really haven’t been complaining, the news removing likes is being met with criticism from influencers and celebs alike. The decision has even brought feuding rappers Nicki Minaj and Cardi B together in agreement that they are both skeptical about the removal of likes. On Twitter Friday (Nov.8), following the news, the “Anaconda” rapper declared that she will no longer be posting on Instagram. I’m not posting on IG after this week cuz they removing the likes. Hmmmm what should I get into now? Think of all the time I’ll have with my new life — Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) November 9, 2019 She followed her Tweet by hopping on Instagram Live , making the case that IG taking away the likes is an elaborate scheme to force people to pay them for “sponsored” posts. “So basically no, Instagram is about to take everyone’s likes simply because they don’t want you to go off on the side, forming all sorts of businesses and being able to say, ‘I get this amount of likes,’ and charging brands. They want you to have to pay them. If you pay them, then that’s why we have all these ‘sponsored’ Instagram posts… They had to shuffle it real quick to let you know, you ain’t the boss.” Cardi B also didn’t care for Instagram’s decision and sounded off on her IG Live as well, but she argued that the social media platform should focus on comments, not the likes. “It’s a big ruckus right now that the likes on Instagram are getting taken away,” she said in a Friday night Instagram post. “… This is my opinion on it, right? So from the beginning of Instagram, we had likes. And I feel like, in the beginning of Instagram, everything was so fun, people wanted to post their pictures, get likes … where I think that Instagram got a little nasty, and it just took a weird turn, was when people started to like the comments when they were allowed to like comments or reply back to somebody’s comments.” Well, we shall see how this all pans out, no word on if Instagram is gonna have second thoughts about the idea. We think everyone should just calm down and let’s see how it works first. — Photo: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
Source: Bennett Raglin / Getty 2019 was a year of several ups and downs for A$AP Rocky . Pretty Flacko will soon have to face the country that almost ended his career and personal life. Page Six is reporting that the Harlem native has been booked to perform at the Ericsson Globe venue in Stockholm. He will return to Sweden after receiving “tremendous support from the Swedish fans”. The move has come as a complete surprise to the Hip-Hop community as he once vowed never to return. Considering his harrowing experience we don’t really blame him for his original stance. View this post on Instagram STOCKHOLM A post shared by PRETTY FLACKO (@asaprocky) on Jul 2, 2019 at 11:11am PDT In July he and his entourage were booked for assault after two locals claimed they were assaulted by their bodyguard. Footage once posted to his Instagram account seemed to show that the two Swedes were actually the aggressors. Although Rocky was convicted of the crime he was eventually released in early August. View this post on Instagram SO A FEW DRUG ADDICTS ARE NOT MY FANS , WE DONT KNOW THESE GUYS AND WE DIDNT WANT TROUBLE , THEY FOLLOWED US FOR 4 BLOCKS , AND THEY WERE SLAPPING GIRLS BUTTS WHO PASSED , GIVE ME A BREAK A post shared by PRETTY FLACKO (@asaprocky) on Jul 2, 2019 at 7:56am PDT “I AM OF COURSE DISAPPOINTED BY TODAY’S VERDICT. I WANT TO SAY THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF MY FANS, FRIENDS, AND EVERYONE WHO SHOWED ME LOVE DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME.” he wrote at the time of his release. View this post on Instagram I AM OF COURSE DISAPPOINTED BY TODAY’S VERDICT. I WANT TO SAY THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF MY FANS, FRIENDS, AND EVERYONE WHO SHOWED ME LOVE DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME. IMMA KEEP MOVING FORWARD. THANK YOU TO MY TEAM, MY MANAGEMENT, ATTORNEYS, LABEL AND EVERYONE WHO ADVOCATED FOR JUSTICE. A post shared by PRETTY FLACKO (@asaprocky) on Aug 14, 2019 at 12:33pm PDT The show is scheduled for December 11. Photo: WENN.com
Source: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty The hardest working man at ESPN just got rewarded mightily. The New York Post is reporting that Stephen A. Smith is now the highest-paid sportscaster at the Disney owned sports network. According to The Post , Smith’s tireless work at ESPN is paying off big time. The network is reportedly tossing damn near $8 million of them thangs at him a year over the next five years. According to the reports, ESPN offered the 51-year-old living meme some of that salary upfront to get him to negotiating table. Smith now moves past Mike Greenberg, who was making $6.5 million, which earned him the honor of having the highest salary at the network at the time. As part of his new deal, Smith will continue to host his popular debate show alongside co-host and frequent sports troll Max Kellerman and moderator Molly Qerim. He will also continue to head up his own edition Sportscenter at 7 pm on Wednesdays before NBA Games. ESPN is also looking for a way to maximize their dollars by including him in its subscription service ESPN+. Smith has been a staple at ESPN since 2005, but he hit his stride when he sat across from now FOX Sport’s analyst Skip Bayless on ESPN First Take , who was subsequently replaced by Kellerman following his departure. View this post on Instagram I said it years ago. I say it now. I will forever say this: A post shared by Stephen A. Smith (@stephenasmith) on Nov 8, 2019 at 10:25am PST If there is any question as to why ESPN is backing up the brinks truck for Smith, look no further than him hilariously going in on his beloved New York Knicks. If there was ever a time where I wish I WASN'T restricted by FCC airwaves, it would be RIGHT NOW, DAMNIT! pic.twitter.com/ONWejT3zST — Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 11, 2019 ESPN would be crazy to let this man go, congrats to Stephen A.Smith. — Photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty
