Source: Tetra Images / Getty A D.C. bar is under fire after a woman says she experienced “racist, sexist, colorist epithets” while visiting as a customer. Pierrea Naketa detailed the incident in a Medium article and explained that she visited Copycat Co. in the H Street neighborhood after leaving a silent dance party in the same area. At first, Naketa says she and her friend were having a good time but right when they were about to leave, the two witnessed a major disturbance at the bar area. Naketa says a male bartender “with deep brown skin” had “aggressively approached two black women sitting at the bar and snatched their plate of food.” Then, Naketa says he yelled to one of the women who was dark-skinned, saying “This bit** gotta go!” “Bit**? Why am I bit**,” Naketa says the woman responded. This is when Naketa says the bartender escalated things and went into a tirade screaming multiple times “YOU BLACK AND YOU UGLY BIT**! YOU BLACK AS F*** AND YOU UGLY!” Naketa noted that the dark-skinned lady’s friend had a lighter complexion. According to Naketa, the bartender was mad about another incident that happened the last time the dark-skinned woman was there. He argued that she was banned from CopyCat. Naketa explains, “the woman stated someone she was with got into an altercation with the bartender and they left, but she seemed to genuinely not know she was not welcomed to return.” As a matter of fact, Naketa said the woman and her friend were buying drinks and food with no interruption up until the bartender’s confrontation. Not too long after the bartender began his alleged tirade, Naketa says a short Asian man, who she assumed was the manager, came out and calmly told the dark-skinned woman she had to leave. Naketa then says, “After being humiliated in front of a packed room, she left with more grace than many I know would have. She obliged the request while noting to the manager, ‘Do you hear him calling me black and ugly? Is that okay?’” Once the woman left, Naketa says she felt obligated to talk to the manager: “I explained to him that while I do not know what happened before, and Copycat may have had good cause to want the woman to leave, the way she was asked to leave was disturbing. I asked him if he would be addressing the colorist rant with the bartender.” That’s when Naketa says the man said, “What? Do you want me to fire him?” He then tried to explain that the bartender was Black too. Naketa responded to the presumed manager in her article, saying, “that the bartender’s race is irrelevant and that his employee had screamed colorist remarks in front of a room full of people. I told him that my friends and I were uncomfortable and offended.” Naketa argues that the presumed manger didn’t take her concerns seriously and as she began to respond, “a young Black man who worked in the kitchen appeared from around the corner with a ladle in hand.” Naketa says he wrongfully assumed that Naketa was the woman who had been kicked out. Naketa says that he yelled, “Man quit talking to these bit**es! You been talking to these bit**es for 10 minutes! Kick the bit** out!’” After Naketa’s masculine partner came over and corrected the cook, Naketa says he apologized. However, when she asked for the presumed manager’s name, he replied, “I’m not giving you my name.” Naketa argues that if she hadn’t been a dark-skinned Black woman, “my complaint would have been taken seriously.” The next day, when Naketa Googled the restaurant, she realized that the man she was addressing who she thought was the manager was actually one of the owners of the restaurant Devin Gong. According to Thrillist , Gong is the owner of CopyCat Co., which “combines craft cocktails with Northern Chinese bites like pot stickers, skewers, and bao buns.” He just opened another restaurant called Astoria in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C., according to Eater . Since Naketa has shared her story on Medium , some folks across social media have supported her situation, saying they will never go to CopyCat Co. again. Naketa describes herself as a “Black lesbian, law school grad, organizer, writer” and “Founder and President of Play In the Sun , an anti-colorism organization.” The woman who she says was kicked out has yet to make a public statement about the alleged incident. NewsOne reached out to Devin Gong with no response. Naketa urged people to share her story, writing, “I hope that I will find this woman.”
As soon as the news broke that Jay Smith and Kayle O’Brien broke up , fans wondered if he might try to get back with Ashley. He had a much better life with her than she had with him. And the rumors sounded plausible after they showed up at the same event. Now, Ashley is telling 90 Day Fiance fans exactly what’s really going on, and why she and Jay were “together.” Over the weekend — around the same time as Jay’s split with his mistress-turned-girlfriend Kayla — Jay and Ashley appeared at the same venue. That’s odd for exes, especially bitter ones. In fact, it may have been a violation of Ashley’s protective order that is supposed to keep Jay at bay. “Was it weird being at the same event with Jay?” one of her devoted followers asked on Instagram. “It’s expected we both filmed the same show,” Ashley replied, expressing a cavalier attitude. Ashley continued: “I just do my thing and handle my business.” “Why are you and Jay acting like you didn’t hang out last night?” another, more confrontational and accusatory, follower asked. “Where did you see me to know how I’m ‘acting’ about last nights appearance,” Ashley clapped back. “I have not responded about what I did or didn’t do at the event,” she clarified. Ashley continued: “Please don’t state I’m acting some type of way.” “…stop creating stories in your head!” she concluded. That’s very good advice (unless you’re a writer). The venue in question, by the way, was an OK Magazine party. Honestly, the magazine should have known better than to invite both exes. Fine normally, not fine when there’s a domestic violence prevention order. Another guest was Bachelor in Paradise ‘s Christian Estrada, who is notably rumored to be dating Ashley. The most exciting guest of the night was probably Tyler Cameron — who did not have Gigi Hadid with him. (We don’t think that this means that their relationship is in trouble so much as that Gigi has no need to attend an OK Magazine party) We’re sure that it was a large enough crowd that Ashley and Jay could avoid rubbing elbows. Early this summer, Ashley went on a much-needed family vacation. After months of stress, it was the perfect getaway. Unfortunately, during her absence, Jay allegedly broke into her home — months after separation — and took things. Given what Ashley says is a documented history of abuse during their relationship, police advised her to get a PFA. On July 1, Ashley obtained that Protection From Abuse order from the court and Jay was barred from approaching her or discussing the order. Unfortunately, just one day later, he broke the PFA, publicly discussing the order. Police saw it on Instagram. Jay was at least wise enough to voluntarily surrender instead of forcing police to arrest him. Because he is not a legal resident, Jay was placed in ICE custody. He spent the majority of July behind bars and was miserable. (As abhorrent as ICE’s recent crimes against humanity may be, it’s not easy to sympathize with a dude who deliberately broke a restraining order) However, his boss at the tattoo shop wrote up a check and paid his bail once the court actually set bail for him. Jay was free. Honestly, after all of that, you would think that Jay would be more careful about the PFA order. Ashley probably could have made Jay’s life miserable this weekend, but clearly opted to do otherwise. Jay’s recent ex, Kayla, seems to think that Ashley is capricious and wants to lure Jay close to her so that she can call the police. Of course, she has that impression of Ashley because her knowledge of Jay’s ex-wife all comes through Jay. Consider the source, folks. View Slideshow: Ashley Martson: I’m Telling ALL of Jay Smith’s Dirty Secrets!
Colin Kaepernick is changing the game once again. His ambassador role at Nike has proven to be a wise move for the sporting goods giant. As spotted on Hypebeast the former NFL quarterback’s Nike campaign won an Emmy award for “Outstanding Commercial” at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Titled “Dream Crazy” the advertisement featured the Milwaukee native voicing the aspirations of different athletes throughout various sports including a young legless Olympic wrestler and female wheelchair basketball player. Kaep even pointed to his own personal story with “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” included in the voiceover. Even though many Americans took offense to his inclusion, the powerful two-minute clip resonated with millions across the world due to its potent message about chasing your goals regardless if you are outnumbered by your naysayers. “Dream Crazy” was apart of Nike’s 30th anniversary of their iconic “Just Do It” signature motto. It was originally released on the opening day of the 2018-2019 NFL season. You can view “Dream Crazy” below. Photo: Nike
Source: photo: WENN Don’t look now, Iman Shumpert, but your wife is in bed with the King of The South! Of course this is just part of the cinematic visuals to T.I. ’s latest Teyana Taylor featured joint “You (Be There).” Starting off with a quote from the election stealing Governor Brian Kemp in which he stated that ATL has become a haven human trafficking, the Spike Tee production finds T.I. and TT as gun-toting vigilantes who take down sex slave traffickers on some ATLien Avengers ish! From ride or die to soft and sweet, Alicia Keys makes her long awaited return as she and Miguel brave the rainy weather in the star-studded slow motion Matrix -ish visual to “Show Me Love.” Love hurts, b. Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Young Thug, E-40 featuring Payroll Giovanni, Peezy and Sada Baby, and more. T.I. FT. TEYANA TAYLOR – “YOU (BE THERE)” ALICIA KEYS FT. MIGUEL – “SHOW ME LOVE” YOUNG THUG – “JUST HOW IT IS” E-40 FT. PAYROLL GIOVANNI, PEEZY & SADA BABY – “I COME FROM THE GAME” MASEGO – “BIG GIRLS” L’ORANGE & JEREMIAH JAE – “AFTER ALLEY LIFE” LITTLE SIMZ FT. MICHAEL KIWANUKA – “FLOWERS” JACK HARLOW – “HEAVY HITTER” LIFE OF A BANDANA – “KXNG CROOKED”
Source: Leon Bennett / Getty Tami Sawyer is currently running to be Memphis, Tennessee’s first Black woman mayor. After a campaign already loaded with controversy, the candidate has now been the victim of racist attacks. According to Commercial Appeal , images made their way to social media showing a campaign sign of Sawyer vandalized with racist and sexist comments. The sign was one of several other campaign signs at Berclair Chuch of Christ on 4536 Summe Avenue. The location is a polling place for early voting, which started Friday and will continue up until September 28. The vandalized campaign sign shows a smiling image of Sawyer with her “We can’t wait” slogan. However, the picture is defaced with a mustache and blackened front teeth covering Sawyer’s face. Then, written across her forehead were the words “ni**** bi***.” The incident comes after a weekend in which Sawyer apologized for past homophobic and ableist tweets that she posted to her personal account over the course of ten years. “The tweets you see from that time are buried. Some of them, I’m not going to apologize for: they were jokes that didn’t land, or things that, right now, are being taken wildly out of context,” Sawyer explained in a blog post. “There are other tweets there, though, that I definitely will apologize for. There are tweets that show a woman who, at that point, still hadn’t come to terms with her homophobia, who still wasn’t standing up and being a voice for all, regardless of ability.” According to WMC 5 , a list of her tweets included: – “I like that @SpikeLee goes back at retarded tweeters,” Sawyer wrote on July 2012. – “We had a teacher that was a closeted lesbian. Decided it was our duty to out her. She quit after a semester. #meangirls #pocprepchat” Sawyer tweeted in 2014. When someone argued that the person was a good teacher and their mom supported them, Sawyer replied, “Nope not us lol. No open homosexuality back then. I know two teachers run out.” – In July 2009, Sawyer also replied to another user witing “…what movies we got? no homo. lol.” – Sawyer made controversial statements about the police writing in 2010, “I have little admiration respect for the police. Protect & serve… Meh.” – In 2009, she also wrote, “Little white kids in scary movies freak me out. I’m glad I can’t have white babies. Cuz I might kill one thinking they’re damned.” Understandably, Sawyer isn’t the easiest candidate to defend, but of course, her past still doesn’t excuse the racist vandalism. Earlier this month, the Memphis Magazine cover was even criticized fo racist caricatures of Sawyer, depicting her with an exaggeated nose and lips. Her political fate will be determined during Memphis’ mayoral election, which will be held on Thursday, Oct. 3.
Source: The Washington Post / Getty University Of Virginia Basketball Coach Declines Raise Following NCAA Win Tony Bennett, the University of Virginia men’s basketball coach, led the Cavaliers to their first appearance in the Final Four in 35 years and on to win their first NCAA Championship title in program history this year. But when he was offered a raise for such an amazing accomplishment, Bennett rejected it. “President Ryan and [Athletic Director] Carla were very gracious in what they offered to me as a potential contract, but I have a very good contract,” said Bennett, in an article published on UVA’s website. “I have more than enough, and if there are ways that this can help out the athletic department, the other programs and coaches, by not tying up so much [in men’s basketball], that’s my desire…I have more than I need. I’m blessed beyond what I deserve.” Not only that, the coach also donated $500,000 toward a career-training initiative for current and former UVA men’s basketball players. Bennett went on to say that he consulted with his wife, Laurel, before making the decision to turn the money down. “She’s always said, ‘Is there something we can do that can make a difference?’ That’s been on her heart and mind, and we’ve talked about it a lot,” he revealed. According to an estimate from USA Today, Bennett made approximately $4.15 million last season. This includes his base salary of $525,000, $1.175 million in performance incentives for the team’s 2018-2019 season, $2.5 million in annual “supplemental compensation,” which typically includes compensation for a university’s use of a coach’s likeness or image, and a longevity bonus of $1 million for staying with the team. Though it’s commendable that Bennet turned down a raise, these aforementioned numbers already put him among some of the highest-paid college coaches in the country. According to CNBC, the top 10 highest-paid NCAA basketball coaches all make over $3 million while the highest-paid coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, makes around $9 million per year. “Laurel and I are in a great spot, and in the past I’ve had increases in my contract,” said Bennett. “We just feel a great peace about where we’re at, all that’s taken place, and how we feel about this athletic department and this community and this school. I love being at UVA.” View this post on Instagram Scenes as we get closer to #NationalChampionship tipoff! #GoHoos #wahoowa A post shared by Virginia Men's Basketball (@uvamenshoops) on Apr 8, 2019 at 6:01pm PDT
Barbara Evans made $400,000 as a part-time cast member on Teen Mom last year. In a new interview with Radar Online, the polarizing mother of Jenelle Evans has plenty to say about both her own daughter and also Amber Portwood, but we felt it necessary open with this revealing tidbit. BARBARA EVANS MADE $400,000 FOR ONE SEASON OF TEEN MOM, YOU GUYS. This revelation aside (unless you still need a moment to digest it…), the crux of Barbara’s interview centered on two people and two facts: Her daughter, Jenelle, who was fired by MTV executives this spring after authorities temporarily took away her kids in the wake of David Eason murdering his family’s dog. Portwood, who remains a cast member on Teen Mom OG despite her July 5 arrest for domestic violence. In recently-released audio, we’ve learned over the past few days that Portwood seemingly beat and threatened boyfriend Andrew Glennon on numerous occasions, prompting Barbara to ask a pertinent question: How is she still a Teen Mom star?!? Moreover… how is Amber still a Teen Mom star while Jenelle is not?!? “Why should Jenelle and I lose our money, and why is MTV supporting Amber when Jenelle and I have done nothing wrong?” Barbara asks Radar . “We were on [the show] for 10 years too, and they stopped filming with us.” Adds Barbara, in total consternation: “Why is this fair? Why were we let go, and she wasn’t?” Barbara, of course, has been relevant on Teen Mom for years because she’s been serving as the guardian of Jenelle’s oldest child, Jace. She and Jenelle have had quite the contentious relationship, often arguing over both this custody arrangement and Jenelle’s past drug use, among other ways and reasons why she’s largely considered an unfit mothre. Does Barbara have a point here? Yes and no. Jenelle absolutely should have been fired for both lying about Eason attacking her last fall and then for allowing her children to grow up in a home that also houses such a violent bigoy. No one can argue with a straight face that Jenelle deserves the platform and/or salary afforded to her by MTV. Now… should Portwood also be fired? In light of her arrest and the subsequent information that has come out about this long-time star? Probably, but one really has nothing to do with the other. It’s also worth noting that Portwood almost definitely WILL be fired anyway . This, despite the following hilarious defense of Amber by an anonymous Radar source: “Amber didn’t kill a dog. And she has not been convicted of a crime.” Techically, Jenelle didn’t kill a dog, either. But point taken. Still, in the aforementioned audio recording that leaked late last week, Amber allegedly exploded at Andrew… with their toddler in the room. Hiw crime? Waking her up for an appointment at 2 p.m. “If you don’t pick him up you f-cking fat piece of sh-t I’m going to f-cking stab you,” she says. “Get your fat ass up and get him.” Yeah. She should be fired. View Slideshow: Farrah Abraham to MTV: Fire Amber Portwood NOW!
Source: screen gems / Screen Gems When it comes to the complex relationship between law enforcement and Black people , the discomfort and disconnect seemed to heighten over the last ten years with technology being so advanced. Thanks to cell phones, the world gets to a real-live police brutality incident go down right before their eyes— causing an even deeper distance between those in Blue and folks with Black skin. But what if you happen to be both; Black And Blue . Deon Taylor ‘s new action flick tells the story of just that. Rookie cop, played by Oscar nominated actress Naomie Harris , inadvertently captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing that the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the one person from her community who is willing to help her ( Tyrese Gibson ) as she tries to escape both the criminals out for revenge and the police who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage. I visited the set of the the thriller flick on day 28 of their 30th day of shooting and watched on as they filmed one of the more emotionally intense scenes of the film. Naomi’s character visits her mother’s grave accompanied by an old childhood friend (Tyrese) as she enlists his help to bust the corrupt officers. Their fellow cast members Mike Colter , Frank Grillo and Beau Knapp were also on set filming on that misty, New Orleans afternoon in Lafayette Cemetery. I caught up with director Taylor, Harris and Tyrese and more of the cast as they dished on all things Black and Blue. And one thing that every actor in the film had in common is their love and respect for their director, Deon. When asked what drew him to this particular film, Mr. Taylor shared with the panel of journalists: “I’m an independent filmmaker first. I’ve been doing this by myself for so long that I didn’t want to do anything studio wise. But when this script came to me, I just went crazy because I had never seen a film based around a female, Black police officer. And that’s just everything that I wanted to do.” On preparing for her role as a police office, Naomi told us: “I was able to draw on a lot of stuff that I did before because when I did Miami Vice, I did lots of undercover work, so I was out with the police and doing raids–I actually did a real drug sting. It was really exciting and terrifying.” Tyrese added that taking on such a gritty role in Black and Blue definitely challenged him as an actor. “First thing was me and Deon go back like six years. So once I got that call, my ears literally lit up. And on that call. I was saying to Deon, when you’re apart of these big franchised, it’s a gift and sometimes can work against you. Because these dark, dramatic roles that really require you to go there and peel back the layers — you get overlooked as an actor. They’ll say ‘Oh, he’s that guy from that thing.’ So the seriousness of a Naomi got me in the game of top. I was ready to make that statement.” As we chatted with the entire cast during their break, Deon Taylor opened up about his own personal relationship with law enforcement as a Black man, saying: “I’ve been affected by police officers in many different ways. From the patrolling, when I was younger, in terms of keeping people in certain areas and having a negative reaction to that in the Chicago area, and with how people police you, vs now, living in a different [area] and seeing how the police act there. You have to be a realist and understand, ok they patrol this way here, and they patrol that way there.” “That’s one of the biggest themes in the film — Alycia being from the inner city, coming back to the inner city as a cop and how people look at her and what they say to her. And she has to find out the hard way that people don’t view her as a black female cop. They view her as a cop. She’s trying to make a breakthrough. There are so many different experiences and what we try to actually do is push all of that into one film. The movie takes a complete turn based on the fact that when she’s in trouble, someone from the neighborhood helps her and breaks code. And everything that we’re taught not to do, this character does.” With everything going on in the world today regarding law enforcement, this film is a must see. The highly anticipated Screen Gems flick is in theaters nationwide October 25th.
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