Napa Valley Wine Train Apologizes For Kicking Off Black Group Black women’s book club group — including one 83-year-old woman — were harshly removed from a California vineyard tour after white patrons accused them of being too loud on their train ride. The Napa Valley Train company has now publicly apologized for the incident. Via CBS : Executives of the Napa Valley Wine Train have apologized to members of a book club that were kicked off its train recently for laughing too loudly. The group said they were kicked off because of their race. The 11-member book club, composed almost entirely of African-American women, was told to leave the train Saturday mid-trip after several passengers complained about how loud the women were being. “We didn’t do anything wrong,” club member Lisa Johnson, told KTVU Monday. “We still feel this is about race. We were singled out.” News of the incident spread quickly and drew harsh criticism of the company after Lisa Johnson, a leader of the Sistas on the Reading Edge Book Club, told her story on social media. Many tweeted about the incident using the hashtag #LaughingWhileBlack Do you think the apology is enough??
MTV Announces Performers At 2015 Video Music Awards Right on the heels of announcing that Kanye West will receive this year’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award , MTV is lifting some more of the mystery surrounding the 2015 Video Music Awards. With the performing lineup a complete secret until news leaked that The Weekend would be hitting the VMA stage a few weeks back, the network revealed the rest of the people who’ll be performing between Miley handing out moon men. Peep the clip: Looks like they’re leaving us in the dark about two more surprise appearances until tomorrow. What do you think of the lineup thus far?? Will you be watching???
Caitlyn Jenner Halloween Costume Hits Retailers A new costume has hit stores, emulating Caitlyn Jenner’s coming out cover of Vanity Fair. Naturally, people are calling it both transphobic and hilarious. Via NBCnews : It’s nowhere near October, but one ensemble is already on track to be named the most controversial Halloween costume of 2015. Social media users were out in full force on Monday criticizing several Halloween retailers for offering a Caitlyn Jenner costume reminiscent of the former-athlete’s Vanity Fair cover earlier this year. While Jenner’s supporters condemned the costume as “transphobic” and “disgusting” on Twitter, Spirit Halloween, a retailer that carries the costume, defended the getup. “At Spirit Halloween, we create a wide range of costumes that are often based upon celebrities, public figures, heroes and superheroes,” said Lisa Barr, senior director of marking at Spirit Halloween. “We feel that Caitlyn Jenner is all of the above and that she should be celebrated. The Caitlyn Jenner costume reflects just that.” Despite the company’s stated intentions, transgender activists are lashing out. Those Halloween stores sure know how to ride a wave to make a buck off what’s trending! This one is pretty insensitive though. Would you dress up as Caitlyn Jenner for Halloween??
Barack Obama Gives Joe Biden The Nod To Run For President In 2016 Barry is wit it… Via CNN Vice President Joe Biden received President Barack Obama’s “blessing” to make a 2016 bid for the White House, according to a senior Democrat. But that’s if Biden chooses to run — the decision is his. While he doesn’t need the President’s permission, of course, a potential presidential candidacy was among the topics of their lunch Monday at the White House. The President made clear he would not stand in his way or counsel him against a run, the senior Democrat said. The Vice President’s office downplayed the speculation about Biden’s political future. “Sources continue to speculate about something they know nothing about,” Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said. “This lunch was a private meeting between two people — the President and the Vice President.” The Vice President was expected to huddle at his home Monday night with Anita Dunn and Bob Bauer, the husband-and-wife team who have been at Obama’s side for much of the last decade, two people familiar with the meeting told CNN. Steve Ricchetti, the Vice President’s chief of staff, was also expected to attend. “As a general rule, we are not going to confirm the Vice President’s private meetings or provide a readout of them,” an aide to the Vice President told CNN on Monday. Dunn, a former White House communications director, and Bauer, a longtime lawyer to Obama, were among those invited to a meeting at the Naval Observatory in Washington. Ted Kaufman, a loyal Biden confidant who briefly occupied his Senate seat from Delaware, was also among those gathering to discuss how Biden could run, if he decides to do so. Biden is leaning toward running, several people involved in discussions told CNN, but they stress that he has not yet firmly made up his mind. The meeting on Monday night, along with his private session on Saturday with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, underscores the length he is going to explore a run. While many top Democrats have already signed onto Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, several former Obama advisers tell CNN they would work for Biden if he jumps into the race. With Hillary’s campaign lookin’ boring and geriatric, she better watch her back if Joe decides to lace up his track shoes and run… Image via AP
Is Amiyah Scott Faking Her Relationship For “The Real Housewives Of Atlanta”??? Remember when we told you that transgender model Amiyah Scott had been added to the “Real Housewives Of Atlanta” cast??? Well as Amiya h continues to film as guest on the show , there’s controversy surrounding the authenticity of her relationship with her hairstylist boyfriend. The Jasmine Brand reports: The cameras are rolling and so is a bit of controversy behind-the-scenes of Real Housewives of Atlanta. As you know, BRAVO is currently filming season 8 of the hit reality TV show. And just last week, we shared that the show had snagged it’s first transgender cast mate, Amiyah Scott. Sources tell theJasmineBRAND.com exclusively that Amiyah is not only a non-housewife, but she’s faking her relationship with her alleged boyfriend, Kellon Deryck. As you’ll recall, Amiyah and Kellon filmed with the RHOA cast, during Kenya Moore’s hair care launch. Sources tell us that in order for her to seem more appealing to producers, she allegedly was untruthful about her relationship status. We’re told that Kellon is not Amiyah’s boyfriend, but her best friend. Another source tells us that she’s trying to keep the fact that they’re not in a romantic relationship, top secret, so that she can remain on the show. In fact, we hear that Kellon — who is a hair stylist — actually has a boyfriend! Anywho, only time will tell if Amiyah’s relationship with Kellon is authentic. Besides, we’re told that it may not really affect her situation with RHOA, as she’s NOT an official cast member at this point — but will be making a few appearances for now. Amiyah also recently posted a tribute to her boo thang on his birthday this week. Hmmm…what do YOU think about their coupledom??? Does this seem like another made for TV relationship???? Hit the flip for more.
Bill Cosby’s Team Plans To Use Race To Regain Favor With yet another three accusers recently having stepped forward, Bill Cosby’s team is apparently scrambling to save the last bit of his public image. A new report says that Cosby is planning on playing up the racial aspect of the rape allegations and insisting that a Black man could never have gotten away with such a thing back in the 70’s and 80’s… Via RadarOnline : Bill Cosby is claiming that he’s the victim of racism and a witch hunt after scores of women came forward claiming the disgraced comedian secretly plied them with drugs and raped them. RadarOnline.com has learned that Cosby, 78, and his handlers mapped out a media plan during an intense strategy session, which his spokespeople and Washington, D.C. attorney, Monique Pressley, now plan to execute. Cosby’s team will insist he’s been targeted because he’s black and famous. They are also determined to use terms like “lynching,” “witch hunt” and “persecution” in their public relations campaign to salvage what’s left of the actor’s image, a Cosby insider reveals to Radar. Cosby’s team hopes the strategy will help their famous client gain the support of African-Americans, including black journalists, who Cosby has said should be “neutral” in their coverage of the scandal. “Look, it’s not rocket science and it’s not hard to understand, particularly if you’re African-American, that no matter if an individual has fame and fortune, if he supposedly drugged and raped a white woman, he’s very much susceptible to swift and harsh punishment,” the insider said. So the team plans to use the same racial logic a lot of Black people who still support Cosby use to explain away his over 50 accusers as a conspiracy of lies… “So, what [the team] wants to do and will do on Mr. Cosby’s behalf is simply put to the public a scenario that everyone knows makes sense,” continues the insider. “Nearly all of these women are white and most of them said that this happened in the 1960s and 1970s. I don’t care if you’re Bill Cosby or any other black celebrity, you can’t tell me that a white woman’s claim of being assaulted in any way by a black man would be ignored.” “What cannot happen in the United States is that 40 years later there is a persecution tantamount to a witch hunt…” Cosby’s attorney has already noted of the scandal. “Bill Cosby was a black man in America. If we look back on our own history and see what was happening during those times, he would have been target No. 1 in those days,” Pressley also noted. “I’m saying, based on what I know of our country and our country’s history, and when we look back on the kinds of things that were being done to African-American males, I find it incredulous that no one would have believed [his white accusers] enough to check their story,” she added. The insider, who has regular access to Cosby’s team, said Camille Cosby, the star’s wife, has agreed to go with the new plan. Interesting plan. Do you think it will work??
Black Women Booted From Winery Tour For “Volume” A Black women’s book club group — including one 83-year-old woman — were harshly removed from a California vineyard tour after white patrons accused them of being too loud on their train ride. The women feel that no one was excessively loud or rude and they were unfairly targeted due to being the only Black passengers on the trip. Via SFgate : What started as a joyous ride through wine county Saturday afternoon turned into a “humiliating” experience for 11 African American women, who said they were booted off the Napa Valley Wine Train for laughing and talking too loud. Accounts and pictures of the episode have been spreading across social media, spawning the hashtag #LaughingWhileBlack while the women involved have questioned whether they would have been treated differently if they were not African American. “It was humiliating. I’m really offended to be quite honest,” said 47-year-old Lisa Johnson, who was among Saturday’s group. “I felt like it was a racist attack on us. I feel like we were being singled out.” The women have since been given a full refund by the train company, but continue to seek a public apology. In a statement Sunday, Napa Valley Wine Train spokeswoman Kira Devitt said the company “received complaints from several parties in the same car and after three attempts from staff, requesting that the group keep the noise to an acceptable level, they were removed from the train and offered transportation back to the station in Napa.” The women say none of them were drunk or exceptionally loud, but they singled out unnecessarily for all laughing and talking together: A short while into their trip, Johnson said a manager on the train asked them to pipe it down. “The train is set up to be with your friends, to drink wine and have a good time,” Johnson said. “We were thinking, ‘Who are we offending?’” Later on, Johnson said the manager told them that “this isn’t going to work,” and that if they didn’t “tone it down,” they were going to be asked to get off the train. “It was a bizarre thing for all of us,” she said, adding that many in the group quieted down and wondered what had happened. According to Johnson, one of the women in the same car told the group “this isn’t a bar.” “And we though, um, yes it is,” Johnson said. When the train pulled into the St. Helena station, the group had to do the “walk of shame” as they were escorted past passengers on the six other cars, Johnson said. At the station, the group was met by officers from the Napa Valley Railroad and St. Helena police departments. “People were looking at us,” Johnson said. “To get escorted into the hands of waiting police officers. That’s the humiliating part.” SMH! We wonder if the tour company will ever apologize for their behavior…
Kourtney Kardashian Heats Up Wardrobe Post-Breakup Kourtney Kardashian has been bouncing back nicely since getting dusted to the curb by her boyfriend and baby daddy 3 times over, Scott Disick . She’s lost every ounce of her baby weight, and whether she’s on a mission to make Scott remember what he’s missing or cruising for a new baller to bring into the Kardashian enclave, she’s been showing out via social media and paparazzi shots — making sure her slimmy trimmy lil Mommy body is on full blast at all times. Just peep some of the shots she’s been sharing the past few weeks: What one man won’t appreciate, another one will! Hit the flip to peep more of Kourtney’s bae-shopping mission… Instagram / SplashNews / FameFlyNet
