Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty The late Kim Porter touched more lives than we can imagine and the Hip-Hop world is still in mourning . Producer Dallas Austin paid homage to his childhood friend, and prom date, and offered up some history in the process. “This is the hardest post I’ve ever had to do,” wrote Austin on IG for the caption of their prom photo. “…my mom and Kim’s mom was pregnant with us at the same time in Columbus …I have never known a life without Kim porter from kindergarten through all of our life long experiences in high school, having matching bmws or her being the biggest believer in me making it as a producer and us getting out of Columbus to be somebody ..and we made it!!” It also turns out the Austin and Porter’s relationship is what inspired the film Drumline, which starred Nick Cannon and Zoe Saldana. Say word? Austin added: “we were inseparable I feel like a part of my soul has has been taken away ..most people don’t know that Zoe Saldana played the role of Kim in ‘drumline’ as nick cannon played my character.” Kim Porter was found dead in her home on Thursday (Nov. 15). Her exact cause of death has yet to be determined. Rest in power Kim Porter.
Source: Jean Whiteside / Fox Season 5 of Empire finds the Lyon empire in a dark place. The family business was stolen, money has dried up and Cookie and Lucious are scrambling to figure out how to get back on top. However, one of the brightest spots is Jamal’s new love affair with Kai. We knew it was meant to be after Kai managed to escape a hostile situation in Nigeria, and even before that, he saved Jamal from being drugged and assaulted. Jamal and Kai’s chemistry is undeniable and the actor who plays the latter, Toby Onwumere, is excited to take on such an important storyline. Audiences were first introduced to Onwumere as Capheus on Netflix’s Sense8 , but with Empire , his second major role thus far, he’s helping to shift the narrative about how characters with HIV are portrayed. Hello Beautiful caught up with the USC grad about how he landed his latest role and the impact he hopes to have on the culture. —Starrene Rhett Rocque What do you look for in the roles you go up for and how did Kai match up to that? Considering that this is my second real role, I guess in general I like to look for some type of variety from the last one. Right. Because you’re in Sense8 and that’s completely different. Exactly. But I like both in like the storytelling and the character, and how it’s done, and I appreciated the juxtaposition between Sense8 and Empire . You know, something kind of, super niche on Netflix and this one is like, Empire is empire, as the name suggests. It is an empire. So, yeah, I really like that, and as far as Kai goes, I kind of knew, I didn’t have the script, but I knew about the character, and I definitely knew kind of the subject matter that we were trying to delve into. And, the manner in which that happened, telling the story is important. One, to the LGBTQ community and to educating the general populous at large. I think that’s important. The thing about Kai that I really like is you know with him and his HIV status—the character doesn’t feel sorry for himself and he’s not played in a terminal fashion. You see him hospital bed once as of now, but it’s not really due to the HIV, it’s more due to the injury he sustained when he was abroad, and he’s a character with integrity and with purpose and the HIV is not the totality of his life. And he still finds love. He finds love with one of the biggest pop stars in the world and they still have a very robust relationship despite the ailment. What was the process of getting the role like, did you get to meet Lee Daniels then? I didn’t meet Lee Daniels. It’s funny, I auditioned for it for maybe like two or three days. Then I [was] in New York about to go see some musicals and like kick it with some people I know, and I get a call from my agent, like, “You need to come home [to LA] because you have this chemistry read with Jussie.” So, I get my plane ticket back, and I think the next day I meet Brett Mahoney, some other producers, and then I meet Jussie. But, then I realized, the date that I was auditioning, Jussie was in the casting office with Leah Daniels Butler, and he passed by and I remember him saying, “Oh, I want to see who’s auditioning for this.” I remember that vividly. I always joke about it with him. I was like, “I saw you the first day”, and I looked at you like we’re about to do this together.” And then we had the chemistry reading; it was fantastic and I go home and I’m talking with my roommate later that night, and my agent and manager called me that I got it. That is awesome! You guys really do have amazing chemistry. Kai is actually my favorite boyfriend of Jamal. Talk that talk, please! Talk about their storyline and why it’s important. Well, you know that we meet in London and then we come over here. And then I get to see firsthand the quote-unquote energy of the Lyon family and how it’s affecting Jamal. And the beautiful thing about our relationship is, by telling the story I think we break a lot of stereotypes about relationships in general. We’re showing two normal people, and we’re really big on the normalcy of their relationship. And then if you bring the HIV into it—in mainstream culture—I don’t know that you see a relationship like ours. Somebody whose HIV positive, but it’s not treated in this super medical way. And I know that Jussie is really big, very very big on that. To like change the narrative of what it is to have, it can be undetected and bringing up things like PrEP. I just think we are changing the narrative a bit. Did you learn anything new because I think the PrEP thing is new information to a lot of people? I had known about PrEP, because I have some friends, I have maybe like two or three degrees of separation from people that have HIV so I know about PrEP. I know about being undetectable, but there are still quite a bit of people who maybe have outdated information on HIV. They might think it’s more terminal than it really is. That goes back to the 80’s propaganda of what HIV was and how it was a disease for the disenfranchised, and the LGBTQ community, but I do think that the scene with Cookie is such an amazing scene because it shows that nobody’s really immune to the lack of information. And there are people in your family who mean well, they mean the most positive, but due to the lack of information or the misinformation they kind of lead in the wrong way. What’s been the feedback thus far with you doing this role? Especially because, you know how sometimes, people see you in a role, and they think that you are actually that person. Oh, I get it so much, which is par for the course [and] that’s totally fine. My DM’s have been blowing up. Somebody even inquired if I really had HIV, which was interesting, but I think it’s all par for the course. The feedback has been, a sea of great stuff, it’s been fantastic, and that’s what I like. I’m actually interested somewhat in hearing it all. How’s your family reacting? My parents are in Nigeria right now, and my dad is a professor at this university in Imo State, and he is up to date. I was talking to him yesterday, and that’s so, pardon my language, that’s so fucking cool! He tells me, all the girls in his class watch the show religiously, and when they see the opening credits, they recognize the last name as the same name as their professor, and they’re like, “Wait, is that your son?” And my dad is like “Yeah, yeah, that’s my boy.” And they are like, “NO, I’m marrying him, I don’t know, what do I have to do, but we’re making it happen!” It’s just cool having my dad recap the events to me, and he’s like, “Why you let him talk to you like that?” Having him invested in the story like that, and talking to me about it, it really is special because I feel like my parents in particular afforded me this life. Empire can take you in twists and turns, so how can we brace ourselves to feel after tonight’s episode? You should brace yourself emotionally and hold onto people dear to you. I’m so bad at this part because I feel like if I say anything I’ll give it away. But we know it’s going to be a doozy, right? Always, it’s empire. We just want Jamal to have nice things, though. We’re gonna take care of him. RELATED POSTS ‘Empire’ Recap: Cookie And Lucious Kill Kingsley With Kindness ‘Empire’ Recap: Cookie Lands A Promising New Signee
Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale in American Son. Photo by Peter Cunningham Kerry Washington Tackles Implicit Bias, Classism & Biracial Identity In “American Son” She became a household name as political fixer Olivia Pope in “Scandal.” But Kerry Washington shows off an entirely different dimension of her acting chops in the new play “American Son,” which opened this month at the Booth Theater in NYC. Washington stuns in a vulnerable, visceral performance as Kendra, a mother and Harvard-educated psychologist who ends up in a Florida police station searching for her missing teenage son. Instead of finding answers, she’s met with stonewalling from the police and has to confront the state of her relationship with her estranged white husband (Steven Pasquale), and the fact that her seemingly successful life isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale in American Son. Photo by Peter Cunningham Directed by Kenny Leon, the 88-minute one-act play’s superb dialogue tackles issues like the divide between the black community and police, the erosion of families, biracial identity and classism. BOSSIP recently attended a performance, and Washington delivered a nuanced portrayal of the tragic Kendra – a capturing both strength and frailty as her character hurtles through a night that changes her life forever. Even her appearance, gaunt, frazzled and on edge, speaks to her character’s unraveling in front of the audience. The Bottom Line: We think that “American Son” will come home a winner come Tony Awards season time. “American Son” is on Broadway from now through Jan. 27th at the Booth Theatre.
Will you be watching??? Rickey Smiley Appearing On “Unsung Hollywood” Tonight Rickey Smiley’s telling all. The comedian/host is the latest celeb profiled on “Unsung Hollywood” and he’s speaking on a number of topics including his beginnings and love for pranks. As previously reported he’ll also talk about his character Lil Darryl which changed his life and shot him to superstardom. Rickey Smiley’s episode of “UNSUNG Hollywood” airs tonight Sunday, October 28th at 9/8C on TV One. Hit the flip for another clip.
Image via Joel Saget/Getty Botham Jean’s Mother Speaks Out Against Smear Campaign F**k the police . Periodt. Botham Jean ‘s mother is sick and tired of the f***ery that is currently taking place within the Dallas Police Department. The boys and girls in blue are doing everything in their power to besmirch Botham’s good name. A name that, according to what family lawyer Lee Merritt told CNN , had never once been associated with crime or arrest in his 26 years of life. “The Dallas Police Department investigators were interested specifically in finding information that could help assassinate his character,” attorney Lee Merritt told reporters. “Twenty-six years on this earth he lived his life without a blemish. It took being murdered by a Dallas police officer for Botham Jean to suddenly become a criminal.” Jean’s mother also had words for the people who are protecting the woman who murdered her son. “I’m calling on the Dallas officials … please come clean. Give me justice for my son because he does not deserve what he got,” Allison Jean said. There aren’t even proper words to describe the unbridled anger that we feel toward cops when things like this happen. Then they have the nerve to chide Black folks for wearing socks with pigs on them…
C olin Kaepernick stays winning. Even though the NFL tried to destroy him, he brushes the hate off his shoulder and comes out on top whether it’s a series with Ava DuVernay or becoming one of the faces of Nike’s 30th anniversary campaign of their “Just Do It” motto, which just happened yesterday. Of course Trump spoke out and he is in an orange outrage. SEE ALSO: From Al Sharpton To Barack Obama: Here’s How Aretha Franklin Was Celebrated At Her Funeral In an interview with The Daily Caller , Trump babbled, I think it’s a terrible message that they’re sending and the purpose of them doing it, maybe there’s a reason for them doing it. But I think as far as sending a message, I think it’s a terrible message and a message that shouldn’t be sent. There’s no reason for it.” He also issued an implicit threat, “Nike is a tenant of mine. They pay a lot of rent.” Maybe that means Nike will have to look for a new space — if this is true because we all know how Trump like to believe he owns everyone. For example, when he wrongfully said Aretha Franklin worked for him. The ad dropped on social media yesterday with a photo of Kaepernick and the text, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” See below: BREAKING: Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the company’s 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign. pic.twitter.com/uccpDStbq5 — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018 Gino Fisanotti , Nike’s vice president of brand for North America, told ESPN , “We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward.” He continued, “We wanted to energize its meaning and introduce ‘Just Do It’ to a new generation of athletes.” Again, Colin just keeps winning. SEE ALSO: Meet Jogger Joe, The Man Who Took Racist Cue From BBQ Becky In Tossing Homeless Man’s Clothes Trump-Supporting DA Calls ‘Ghetto’ Maxine Waters A ‘Bitch,’ Can’t Believe She Hasn’t Been Shot This Colin Kaepernick Retweet Says Everything You Need To Know About The NFL Players’ Anthem Grievance
Source: Andreas Rentz / Getty “The Bobby Brown BIOPIC shows Janet Jackson’s Character Getting put out bedroom” Check out Story here. https://pagesix.com/2018/09/03/bobby-browns-biopic-claims-he-bedded-janet-jackson-then-kicked-her-out/ Subscribe to my Youtube channel. Follow me on all my Social Media https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpqicA2v8jLYV8-fg5dYvhA https://www.instagram.com/deuceonair/ Remember We Are #Iamsomebody.
Source: Andreas Rentz / Getty “The Bobby Brown BIOPIC shows Janet Jackson’s Character Getting put out bedroom” Check out Story here. https://pagesix.com/2018/09/03/bobby-browns-biopic-claims-he-bedded-janet-jackson-then-kicked-her-out/ Subscribe to my Youtube channel. Follow me on all my Social Media https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpqicA2v8jLYV8-fg5dYvhA https://www.instagram.com/deuceonair/ Remember We Are #Iamsomebody.
Source: HBO / screen cap After a critically-acclaimed first season and second season that drew mixed reviews, HBO’s crime anthology series True Detective is set to make a return for a third go round. In the starring role, Mahershala Ali brings a steely coolness to the role of an Arkansas police detective troubled by a case. Ali plays Wayne Hays, featuring the character at various intervals to illustrate that the investigation takes the course of decades and consumes him to the point of obsession. “Before you ever knew me, I wasn’t scared much. That wasn’t a fear for me. Things I’ve seen, things I know, wouldn’t do anything but cause harm. My whole brain’s a bunch of missing pieces,” Ali says in a voiceover as Hays. This season of the series looks to be as gripping as Ali goes from sure-footed to frazzled over the course of the quick trailer which, depending on limited visual information, appears to involve missing children and Hays’ hunt for answers. Starring with Ali in the third season of True Detective are Mamie Gummer, Stephen Dorff and Carmen Ejogo. Daniel Sackheim is the director and series creator and executive producer Nic Pizzolatto will make his debut in the director’s chair as well. True Detective will come to HBO in January 2019. — Photo: screen cap
Source: Westend61 / Getty One Twitter page is getting a lot of attention for its video remixes of a subway passenger. A woman is caught on camera riding a train with her headphones on. She’s jamming to some music and clearly, the tunes make her feel sexy because she was giving all the late-night moves with the support of a pole next to her. Someone, threw music on the clip and voila, a movement was born… Pipe by Christina Aguilera pic.twitter.com/CSro7R9TCS — Subway woman listens to (@SubwayWoman) July 28, 2018 The “Subway woman listens to” Twitter page was started and it already has over 5,000 followers. Here you can find hilarious clips of the subway woman dancing to sensual songs that go great with her movements. Swipe through to find out how well she moves to artists like Beyoncé , Ciara and more!
