Source: FOX / Getty ‘Empire’ Cast And Crew Anxiously Await News Of Season Six Renewal Fox hasn’t renewed Empire for season six and the cast and crew are anxious about their future paychecks according to what production sources have told TMZ . Word is that the folks who have been working on Empire for years feel that they should have heard by now whether or not Fox is interested in continuing to fund the production. In fact, they expected to hear about the renewal two weeks ago. Crickets. Each season for the past 5 years Fox has renewed the show in January, months ahead of the finale. We can’t imagine that this is going to do good things for morale on set. Obviously, people feel like Jussie’s case will be a major factor in the network’s decision. “Jamal” has already been cut from this season’s final two episodes. Even if Empire does return for season six, it looks like Jussie may be done for good. The suits at Fox aren’t really hype on him and the cast and crew perhaps even less so. Guess we’ll just have to see how everything plays out. Oh, the drama. Smh.
Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Issa Rae Talks Getting In Shape With ‘Women’s Health’ Magazine In a new interview with Women’s Health, Issa Rae talks about dealing with unexpected weight gain and how she’s been keeping the pounds off after not liking how she looked on her hit show Insecure . In a very real moment, she tells the publication that with success came more access to good food and voila, thickness . When the Web series started, I was very, very broke. Then more opportunities began to come,” she explains. “I was gaining New Money Weight.” As Issa saw it, the seemingly unlimited access to good food was one of the perks of her hustle. “When you get a good job, you’re like, ‘I can afford to eat at restaurants all the time!’ That adds up in weight.” While she was enjoying all that good food, Issa tells Women’s Health her “New Money Weight” started messing with her self-esteem and so she decided to get healthy. “Time to work out is so limited, but when I first started seeing myself on TV, I was like, ‘I gotta make time.’” she said. Like many of us, Issa was full of excuses at first, but now she’s found a routine that works. “I was a big excuse person when it came to exercising and eating right. I’d have spurts of trying to work out and being good. Then once I fell off, I’d be like, ‘Well, there’s always next year. Let me make it my New Year’s resolution.’ But even then, I would still be eating wrong while exercising vigorously.” (Issa is more “paleo-leaning” in her eating habits now, having rediscovered bacon after being a vegetarian for 15 years.) View this post on Instagram Check me out on the cover of @womenshealthmag oversharing about my own fitness journey. Such a fun shoot! Thanks @lizplosser. Fits: @jasonrembert Face: @joannasimkin Hair: @lovingyourhair A post shared by Issa Rae (@issarae) on Mar 12, 2019 at 6:02am PDT “Let me not put extras on it,” she says, lest I think she’s about to detail some sort of extreme CrossFit-inspired routine worthy of a superhero flick. “I exercise for, like, an hour each day. My neighborhood has a bunch of hills, so it’s walking up hills. Then I alternate between walking and jogging. I hate jogging—you’re going in circles, but I recognize that it helps.” Check out a behind-the-scenes clips on the flip, plus her full interview with Women’s Health here . She goes on to talk about her friendships with Debbie Allen and Ava Duvernay , her favorite musicals, and the one piece that keeps her puzzle together.
Ford Releases Two Ads Featuring The “Black Panther” Star Angela Bassett has partnered with the Ford Motor Co. for two commercials that celebrate the African-American experience. The ads, “Built Ford Proud: We Lead” and “Ode to the Builders,” is narrated by Bassett and feature African-American families and Ford employees along with imagery like Detroit’s Joe Louis Fist and the Los Angeles Crenshaw Mural. “I am proud to have narrated these inspiring and powerful Ford spots that showcase the leadership and strength that are embedded in the African American community,” Bassett said in a statement. Bassett premiered the two spots last month at Essence’s “Black Women in Hollywood” luncheon before celebrating “Black Panther’s” historic win at the Academy Awards. Check out the spots above.
Source: Bauer-Griffin / Splash News YBN Almighty Jay Jumped & Robbed In NYC YBN Almighty Jay must’ve pissed some folks off when boasting about his expensive drip on Instagram. On Friday, a video began circulating of the 18-year old running from a mob of New Yorkers who repeatedly kicked him and stole his chain. In the footage, you can hear one of the aggressors yell out, “is that the YBN n***a? Take his chain!” #ybnalmightyjay was allegedly robbed tonight in New York pic.twitter.com/Y63g50Tay0 — 24/7 HipHop News (@BenjaminEnfield) March 9, 2019 No word on what actually sparked the beat down, but there is some speculation that it stemmed from altercation that Jay was involved with earlier that day. More footage of #YBNAlmightyJay and #LilTjay earlier in NYC #BusttdownMedia YBN Almighty Jay and Lil Tjay pic.twitter.com/S0KZCtUd5O — Busttdown Media (@busttdownmedia) March 9, 2019 Or, it could’ve just been some goons that knew who he was wanted a viral moment. Judging by the footage, Jay got away pretty much unscathed, besides having his chain and ID stolen. Moral of the story, beware of drippin’ too hard in the wrong spaces.
You can add Bobby Shmurda to the list of folks who want nothing to do with Tekashia69 after his November arrest. VladTV interviewed Bobby via phone and reminded him that 69 is fully cooperating with police before asking whether or not he’d do another track with the rainbow haired rapper. Bobby, who was featured on 69’s chart topping track “Stoopid”, didn’t hesitate to answer, saying: “Hell m****ck*ng no! I don’t even want to be next to that man—I’m good. These m*****ckers would have everybody locked up. That’s why I tell these kids, too: These entertainers they just entertainers. They ain’t living that shit they be talking.” Bobby added that he avoided snitching in his case by taking more prison time. However, he says that he’ll be a free man in 20 months and it’s “gonna be a movie”. Meanwhile, Tekashi’s sentence went from a minimum of 47 years to him being released in 2020 thanks to the terms of his recent plea deal. Should be an interesting two years for hip hop.
Source: Scott Olson / Getty Spokesperson Claims Some Info Leaked To The Press Was “Not Factually Accurate” The always questionable Chicago Police Department is in the hot seat now that they’ve launched an internal investigation surrounding leaks in the Jussie Smollett case. Anthony Guglielmi , a spokesman for the CPD, confirmed with ABC News that the probe was launched last month “during the interrogation of the brothers when information leaked out,” referring to the two Osundairo brothers who investigators claim staged Smollet’s hate crime attack in January. Investigators are trying to determine who anonymously leaked important info about the case to the press. “I will also add that there were several agencies briefed with information during that time and some of the information that went out was not factually accurate,” Guglielmi told ABC News on Thursday. “These types of investigations are fairly common so that we can determine if we have any integrity issues for future cases.” In February, the CPD accused Jussie of staging his attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.” He now faces one count of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report which could carry a three years in prison sentence plus fines.
Source: WE tv/Think Factory Media / WE tv, Thinkfactory Media Tammy And Waka Flocka Get Real Over Trust Issues Happy HUMP Day! We’re just a day away from a brand new episode of “Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition” and we’ve got an exclusive clip for you! Tammy and Waka Flocka stand in front of Judge Toler to see if Waka is committed and things get really real for them. Watch below: Check out more details from the episode: The couples sweat it out in the hot seat during a surprise lie detector test and deception is indicated. The stars hit the club for a single’s night out where temptation strikes at every turn, and someone gets caught in the act. MARRIAGE BOOT CAMP: HIP HOP EDITION – “LYIN’ DIRTY” – Airs Thursday, March 7th at 10/9C on WeTV Will you be watching?
View this post on Instagram Ahead of her 30th birthday, Taylor Swift is sharing 30 things she learned before turning 30. “I’ve come to a realization that I need to be able to forgive myself for making the wrong choice, trusting the wrong person, or figuratively falling on my face in front of everyone,” she writes. “Step into the daylight and let it go.” Link in bio for the full essay penned by ELLE’s April cover star. ELLE April 2019: Editor-in-chief: @ninagarcia Creative director: #stephengan Cover star: @taylorswift Photographer: @benhassett Stylist: @paulcavaco Wearing: @burberry Hair: @sergenormant Makeup: @francelledaly, @lovecraftbeauty Nails: Denise Bourne, @deborahlippmann Producer: Kristen Terry, @roscoproduction A post shared by ELLE Magazine (@elleusa) on Mar 6, 2019 at 5:05am PST Taylor Swift Covers Elle Magazine, Talks Beef With Kim Kardashian We were all tuned in when Kim Kardashian called Taylor Swift out with blaring snake emojis, claiming the “I Did Something Bad” singer lied when she said she didn’t approve Kanye West’s “Famous” lyrics. Not only did Kim K. hit Twitter with all the shade, she hit Snapchat with video recordings of Taylor Swift on the phone with West, in which she seemed to give the rapper her blessing . Branded a liar, it didn’t take long for Kim K. fans to attack Taylor’s IG account with endless snake emojis. Wait it's legit National Snake Day?!?!?They have holidays for everybody, I mean everything these days! — Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) July 17, 2016 Now, covering the April 2019 issue of Elle magazine, Taylor Swift references her beef with Kim K . In a list of 30 things she learned before turning 30, Taylor speaks on bullying. She said : “I learned that disarming someone’s petty bullying can be as simple as learning to laugh. In my experience, I’ve come to see that bullies want to be feared and taken seriously. A few years ago, someone started an online hate campaign by calling me a snake on the internet. The fact that so many people jumped on board with it led me to feeling lower than I’ve ever felt in my life, but I can’t tell you how hard I had to keep from laughing every time my 63-foot inflatable cobra named Karyn appeared onstage in front of 60,000 screaming fans. It’s the Stadium Tour equivalent of responding to a troll’s hateful Instagram comment with ‘lol.’ It would be nice if we could get an apology from people who bully us, but maybe all I’ll ever get is the satisfaction of knowing I could survive it, and thrive in spite of it.” Although Taylor never mentions Kim by name, her statement was pretty obviously directed at the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star. Do you think she was bullied?
For some reason, R. Kelly decided it would be a good idea to do a TV interview amid his severe sexual abuse charges. On Tuesday, the singer — who has been accused of partaking in sexual acts with three children older than 13 but younger than 17 — spoke out in his first post-jail interview since turning himself in to Chicago police last month. He opened up to CBS This Morning with Gayle King saying: “They’re going back to the past and they trying to add all of this stuff now to that, to make all of the stuff that’s going on now [feel] real to people. be stupid of him to hold girls against their will. Use your common sense. Forget the blogs, forget how you feel about me. Hate me if you want to; love me if you want. But just use your common sense. Kelly added: “How stupid would it be for me with my crazy past and what I’ve been through? I didn’t do this stuff. This is not me. I’m fighting for my f****** life.” The 52-year old was charged in on Feb. 22 with 10 counts of felony aggravated sexual abuse. If convicted, he faces three to seven years in prison for each count. Check out R. Kelly’s tearful plea above. See the full interview when it airs Wednesday morning on CBS.
