Don Lemon Talks About His Experience As A Gay Black Man In this episode, Red Table makes a special trip to New York for an exclusive interview with Don Lemon about the horrific hate crime against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett . Lemon reveals the obstacles he faced being a gay, black man in a high-profile job, and the challenges facing gay men in the African American community. We thought he said some really interesting things about the Black church and the hypocrisy of our community using the same scriptures to judge gay people that were used to hold black people back.
For the most part, growing up with 18 siblings sounds like a nightmare. The lack of bathroom access alone would be reason enough to run away from home. But we suppose there are some upsides, too — like the fact that you really never have to worry about companionship. After all, with that many siblings, you're sure to get along with at least one of them, right? Of course, the problem with raising and homeschooling an army of kids in a rural environment is that they don't have much incentive or opportunity to branch out and form relationships outside the family. Which may be why fans are convinced the Duggar kids never bothered to make any friends. Take a look: 1. So Many Duggars The Duggars are a sizable clan, and they’ve been growing at an astonishing rate in recent years, as Jim Bob and Michelle’s kids are marrying and starting families of their own. 2. Sisters/BFFs Several members of the Duggar clan paired off in childhood with siblings who remain their best friends in adulthood. 3. Jill and Jessa Forever Jill and Jessa Duggar, for example, have been close friends for their entire lives. 4. Better Than Besties Jill and Jessa have a bond that goes beyond friendship, and it was only strengthened when they both faced the challenges of new motherhood together. 5. And They’re Not the Only Ones … There are other pairs of close Duggar friends, including twins Jana and John David, who are said to enjoy such a close bond that they can communicate without speaking. 6. Not the Same But some fans have argued that sibling relationships don’t fill the same needs as friendships, and the Duggars’ isolation has had a profound effect on their social development. View Slideshow
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Michelle Obama’s Book Sold More Than 750,000 Copies On Its First Day First day sales for Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” topped 725,000 copies, making it one of the year’s biggest debuts. According to the Associate Press , that the figures include sales and pre-orders for the former first lady’s memoir include hardcover, audio and e-books editions for the United States and Canada. The book follows Obama’s journey from Chicago’s South Side to the White House, and many reviews have been positive. The Washington Post praised it as “impressive balance in telling the truth of her challenges while repeatedly acknowledging her lucky life.” The book was released earlier this week and Crown (publisher) also announced that it had raised the book’s print run from 1.8 million copies to 2.6 million following the successful release. “Becoming” had the biggest opening of any books in 2018 by Crown’s parent company (Penguin Random House).
A s Republicans increasingly find themselves backed into the corner of their inevitable, impending losses in the Midterm elections next month, GOP candidates seeking office and re-election alike have been increasingly resorting to the single platform that has been helping their party thrive: racism-based politics of fear. The onslaught of racist political ads flooding regional airwaves underscores Republicans’ desperation to cling to power. And while culturally tone-deaf and racially insensitive ads are nothing new — remember when a John McCain TV spot manipulated Obama’s skin color to make it look darker? — this latest crop has been especially and unabashedly disrespectful, using the most damaging stereotypes to depict or refer to Black people in particular. The latest example came from Arkansas, where a radio ad released in support of Republican Congressman French Hill was in theory supposed to appeal to Black voters. But in real life, the desired effect was anything but achieved when someone decided that using stereotypically sassy Black women’s voices speaking in a dialect often-mocked by non-Blacks was the right move. This is a real radio ad currently running in Arkansas in support of Republican Congressman French Hill on radio stations targeted to the African American community. I don't even have words to describe it. pic.twitter.com/vpzt1nGPlc — (((Ben Tribbett))) (@notlarrysabato) October 18, 2018 “Honey I always told my son, don’t be messing around with that,” one voice says of dating white women and the possible consequences of being lynched because of it, evoking damaging and false imagery of an eye-popping, neck-rolling Black woman with a hand on her hip. “If you get caught, she will cry rape.” While just a radio ad, anyone remotely familiar with Diamond and Silk would easily be forgiven for confusing the voices on the ad with the embarrassing duo of Black Trump supporters who have made a living from reinforcing the same stereotypes featured in the pro-Hill spot. @HawleyMO has an almost identical ad running on a radio station in Missouri. I heard it at the barbershop JUST LAST NIGHT and I couldn’t hear the name of who paid for it. Thank you for this. https://t.co/9cpIb9w7Ny — Fredrick Doss (@FredrickDoss) October 19, 2018 Not to be outdone, the National Republican Congressional Committee released an ad last month trying to reduce New York congressional candidate Antonio Delgado , who is Black, to a “big city rapper.” While Delgado has indeed been a rapper , he is also a Harvard Law School-trained former Rhodes Scholar , by the way, making him completely qualified for public office. To add insult to injury, the right-wing propaganda tabloid New York Post referred to Delgado as a “Rappin’ Dem” in its headline on Thursday. And let’s not forget about how the Republican Governor’s Association in August featured a pair of tap-dancing feet in an attack ad on Stacey Abrams , who is battling all types of voter suppression efforts while campaigning to become Georgia’s first Black governor. For the uninitiated, the controversial imagery surrounding Black people tap dancing is rooted in racist minstrel shows and doubles down on the stereotype that Black folks can only entertain white audiences. But, of course, most importantly, tap dancing has nothing to do with Abrams’ campaign, showing the low, deceptive measures Republicans don’t mind stooping to. Never mind how Abrams’ Republican opponent, who just happens to be Georgia’s current secretary of state — the office that oversees elections — was featuring a controversial video on his website showing a Black child actor who failed to bring the acceptable government-issued voter ID to cast a ballot. Although the video was first posted in 2016, it remained on the site until Thursday. Wow. So on the SOS website #BrianKemp has an advance voting video. Take a look at who gets to vote and who doesn’t. Nice messaging, Kemp. Please just #resign already. #gapol #gagov #TeamAbrams pic.twitter.com/D4gmMeb4Cw — Anjali Enjeti (@anjalienjeti) October 18, 2018 Aside from political ads, white Republican candidates themselves have been using no uncertain terms to describe their Black opponents in coded, dog-whistled language. Ron DeSantis , who was trailing Andrew Gillum in the latest polls for the Florida governor race, has defended racism and has a lengthy, detailed history of racism . The day after Gillum secured the Democratic nomination in the race, DeSantis told Florida voters not to “monkey this up” by electing the person who could become the state’s first Black governor. Still not enough examples of how racism has permeated the 2018 election cycle? HuffPost listed more than a dozen other instances here to emphasize the tidal wave of racist “attacks made on candidates of color by their opponents.” We only defeat hate through these four letters-V.O.T.E … our lives depend on it! https://t.co/BI9rT3lgmH — NAACP (@NAACP) October 19, 2018 While the ads can’t be forgiven, they can certainly be understood, since the politics of fear worked so well for the president’s own election. And as has been shown time-and-time again, Republicans have no problem following the example of their leaders, even (especially?) if it means resorting to racism. SEE ALSO: Keith Ellison’s Political Opponents Are Trying Every Trick In The Book To Beat Him Here’s Why Black Seniors Are Being Singled Out By Voter Suppression Efforts [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3832182″ overlay=”true”]
B lack women candidates, who face disproportionately higher obstacles to fundraising, have gotten a much-needed financial boost to help push them across the finish line ahead of their opponents in the 2018 midterm elections. See Also: Blue Party: Say Hello To The Black Wave MoveOn.org, the progressive social justice and political organization, announced Thursday that it has raised more than $1 million in small donations from its members to help elect six Black women candidates in the 2018 cycle. They hit the milestone on Wednesday night, and the pot swelled to $1,101,791 by Thursday afternoon. The midterm elections are crucially important, and Black women bring an important voice to the political landscape, Karine Jean-Pierre , a MoveOn.org senior advisor and national spokesperson, told NewsOne . “Demographics are changing. You can’t move forward unless you have Black women at the political table,” she emphasized. “It would be a farce to say we’re moving forward as a country if you don’t have Black women there.” . @MoveOn has been quietly banging away to raise grassroots funds for Black women running for office, & we're approaching an awesome milestone. Soon, our members will have directly contributed > $1 million to ppl like @staceyabrams @LindaForNC @LUnderwood630 @lucymcbath @IlhanMN — Anna Galland (@annagalland) October 15, 2018 Raising campaign funds is arguably the biggest obstacle that hinders the success of Black women candidates. There’s already an overall gender gap , in which women running for Congress raise an average of $500,000 less than men. The challenges are even greater for Black women compared to white women. A March 2018 report from Arena, a progressive group that trains and supports female candidates, underscored the challenges Black women candidates face in attracting funding. In 2016, Black and Latinx women incumbents raised only half as much as white women did and just two-thirds as much as white men. “Money is incredibly important. You can’t have a campaign without money,” Jean-Pierre emphasized. The money could help them reach more voters by purchasing TV or radio ads, printing brochures or hiring essential staff members. MoveOn members have been incredibly receptive to supporting Black women candidates, Jean-Pierre said. The organization has built an email list over the past two decades that numbers in the millions. Their small-dollar member donations have accumulated to critical funding that continues to fuel campaigns. Stacey Abrams , who is running to be Georgia’s first Black governor, received MoveOn’s endorsement in November 2017. The group endorsed 11 non-incumbent Black women for Congress, three statewide and 13 in local elections. By Thursday afternoon, MoveOn raised $939,548 for Abrams. The other candidates who received funding included Linda Coleman ($48,004), Lauren Underwood ($47,366), Lucy McBath ($47,943), Ilhan Omar ($18,522) and Jahana Hayes ($406.00). “It was the first time that we’ve endorsed so early in a gubernatorial elections because of the importance of her elections,” Jean-Pierre explained. “When we bundled for Stacey Abrams, I know it was helpful, especially going into the primaries.” SEE ALSO: Please Stop Giving Racist White Women Adorable Nicknames Where Is Kierra Coles? Everything We Know About Missing Chicago Pregnant Postal Worker [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3831106″ overlay=”true”]
Earlier this week, Kim Kardashian welcomed her third child , but it seems she’s not letting the challenges of caring for an infant interfere with her ability to defend her beloved sisters with top-notch trash talk. As we reported earlier today, Lamar Odom gave a very candid interview to BET this week, and not surprisingly, the subject of Khloe Kardashian came up. It was Lamar’s first interview since the world learned that Khloe is pregnant with her first child , and while Lamar offered words of support, he also slipped in some not-so-subtle jabs. “I understand when it’s over, it’s over. When she was with her second or third NBA ball player, I could see that,” Odom replied when asked about his breakup with Khloe. Kim–presumably sleep deprived and obviously very pissed-off–decided she was having none of Lamar’s pettiness and she quote-tweeted the article along with a mic drop-worthy diss: “Or second or third brothel” Kim wrote in reference to Lamar’s love of prostitutes . (Pro tip: When someone loves hookers, you can pretty much always use that against them.) Now, Kim is being applauded for the savagery of her burn–and rightfully so–but we’re gonna have to be the nit-picking party-poopers for a moment and point out that it doesn’t totally make sense. The tweet makes it sound as though Khloe was on her second or third brothel, when clearly Kim meant to say Lamar was the brothel aficionado. We think. Hey, maybe she’s throwing heavy shade at Khloe, and this story’s even better than we thought! We kid. Most people aren’t obnoxious perfectionists like us, so predictably, Twitter immediately exploded with praise for Kim. Mrs. Kardashian-West was praised as the “Clapback Queen”; many fans made it weird by calling her Mom (a practice we had hoped would be left in 2017), and GIFs of Kim looking like she’d just ordered the beheading of a peasant were plentiful. Even Kim’s friend Chrissy Teigen offered her approval, tweeting: “GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH EM,” before clarifying, “Gaht*. Gaht too excited.” Lamar has yet to respond to the tweet, which isn’t all that surprising. After all, we assume he’s currently being treated at a nearby burn unit. View Slideshow: Khloe Kardashian is Pregnant, and Twitter Has SO MANY FEELINGS
(Photo by Ron Tom/ABC via Getty Images) Black-ish’s Zoey Johnson Is Perfect For Millennial Teens Yara Shahidi’s character on Black-ish is for teens today. She faces all of the challenges of the current generation and flips it into endless gems. Black-ish is returning to ABC Tuesdays this fall on October 3rd at 9pm. We’re here to highlight why college-bound Zoey is the best thing on TV for young girls like her. Representation matters, right? Hit the flip.
By now you’ve heard The Bachelor spoilers : Rachel Lindsay is The Bachelorette, despite still being in contention for Nick Viall’s heart. On TV, that is. She’s been eliminated by this point, as filming has concluded. We’re just learning about it ahead of time … from ABC. Therein lies the true “historic” nature of this announcement. Yes, Rachel Lindsay is the first African-American lead in 34 seasons of the reality franchise. That is significant and a very good thing. Giving away the fact that Rachel, a popular contestant this season, is not The Bachelor winner is a surprising and controversial decision. Rachel is still competing on the show, and will go on a hometown date (as will Corinne Olympios, Raven Gates and Vanessa Grimaldi). You can follow the links above to find out, but the assumption that Nick eliminates her after the hometown date isn’t necessarily true. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense if she made the finale now, but she could easily make it to the subsequent overnights following hometowns. For obvious reasons, the next star of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette has never been announced during the current season they’re on. As a result, Chris Harrison has apologized for this spoiler … one most likely necessitated or inspired by The Bachelor spoilers themselves. The third- or fourth-place finisher going on to be the next lead of the franchise is not abnormal. Finding out about it right now definitely is. If you’re hoping for a detailed, truthful answer to why the show’s brain trust went this route, you’re not gonna get it this week, anyway. “I hate that anything was ruined for #BachelorNation but I’m incredibly excited that @therachlindsay is our new #Bachelorette,” Harrison wrote. Notably absent? Any explanation of why. Entertainment Tonight reports that The Bachelorette will begin production sooner than usual, right after Nick’s season wraps on March 13. Producers need to start the process of casting suitors for Lindsay as soon as possible, and need additional time to generate interest? The producers did do this with Emily Maynard, who wasn’t on The Bachelor that season, as a means of getting applicants / fans excited. Perhaps the fact that Rachel has less of a social media presence than Corinne, Raven or others played a role in their decision to spill? Or, maybe it’s as simple as Chris, Mike Fleiss and their associates wanting to get ahead of the story and control it from the beginning. Every season, it’s spoiled. Just not by them. Rachel Lindsay has a fan base, one that is likely to grow in the period between the announcement and when she’s eliminated by Nick. Now that we know she’s The Bachelorette , the producers can craft what we see on and off the show accordingly to boost her popularity. Moreover, it avoids any disappointment by Bachelor fans who might be hoping for Raven or Vanessa to get the job (or Corinne, LOL). Dragging it out increases the possibility of spoilers, rumors and confusion taking away from Rachel’s announcement tour. No longer. As for whether the viewing audience will accept a black Bachelorette , and rumors that this had something to do with the early unveiling? We don’t see it. View Slideshow: Rachel Lindsay: The Bachelorette! This is a show that has survived since the early 2000s because of its format, not necessarily based on the strength of any one lead. Some leads are more controversial than others (Nick). Others (cough, Juan Pablo Galavis) have even gone onto be universally despised. Still, The Bachelor and Bachelorette soldier on, and by and large, the biggest stars of both genders are more popular with fans than not. Rachel will be no exception. As Harrison put it, she’s “a smart, strong, independent Texan who loves her @dallascowboys. What more could a man want?” Get to know her more via the gallery below and tell us what you think of ABC’s decision to cast her – and do so in unorthodox fashion … View Slideshow: Rachel Lindsay: Get to Know The Bachelorette!
Kendall Jenner was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night. Prior to joining the host for a game of Charades, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star sat down for an interview with the host, in which they discussed Donald Trump's immigration ban, the future of the Supreme Court and the challenges of climate change. Just kidding. Jenner and Fallon mostly talked about fashion and Kendall's life as a model. “It’s really, really fun,” she said of being involved i New York Fashion Week, which is taking place as we type. Added Kendall: “I forgot how fun it is. You work all day, and then people say, ‘let’s go out.’ There’s no sleeping.” Fallon then congratulated the young star on achieving her dreams of becoming a model, to which Kendall replied: “I can thank my parents for that. It really is a dream come true. It’s really awesome, the last three years have been awesome.” But what does Kendall do when she sees Kris Jenner in the front row of a fashion show? Or Kim Kardashian ? Or Kylie Jenner? Does she give them a subtle shout-out while she models a new design? Not quite. “I never look at the audience, ever,” she told Fallon, explaining: “If I do, it’ll mess me up. It’s kind of like being on stage I guess, if you’re a theater actor, if you look at something to take you out of your zone. “Kylie, sometimes, if she’s at a show, her and my mom usually, I can hear them screaming. I can never look at them.” Watch Kendall go into more depth about her career with Fallon below:
The Best Challenges Of 2016 Powered By Ford What social media challenges had the most impact in 2016? Millenials continue to prove why they’re considered the most resourceful generation we’ve ever seen as a nation. Kids have paved the way for new dances, songs, and social movements by just starting viral social media challenges. #ChuckECheeseChallenge is the newest internet craze sweeping Twitter as of today: #ChuckECheeseChallenge pic.twitter.com/nmXHpVdChk — Daniel (@MyFavsTrash) December 11, 2016 From standing still while “Black Beatles” plays in the background ( #MannequinChallenge ) to documenting your miraculous glo-up ( #DubChallenge ) these LIT sensations are here to stay. Hit the flip for the best challenges of the year powered by Ford… Twitter/IG
