Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Despite his personal troubles, DMX is an icon that has contributed a great deal of timeless music to Hip Hop. Today, the living legend will celebrate his 48th birthday behind bars after he violated probation in his tax evasion case back in January. Testing positive for opiates, cocaine, and oxycodone at the time, a judge declared X a flight risk. In March, he was sentenced to one year in prison and an additional three years of supervised release . It saddens us to know that such an incredibly talented spirit is struggling in this way an we’re praying he’s able to turn it around when he gets out this time. For now, we celebrate him with some of the most memorable moments from his career.
Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty Ever since Fortnite: Battle Royale launched in 2017, gamers could use the third-person shooter game to battle other players, collect resources and build their own forts to defend against threats. The free game proved to be wildly popular with millions of people playing per month . However, despite the game’s goal of defending territory, the company behind the magic, Epic Games, might not have been prepared for its biggest threat yet… The dance world. Within the game, players can purchase moves for their character (also known as “emotes” ) using the Fortnite currency V- bucks (a.k.a. virtual bucks). According to Business Insider , players spend more than $200 million per month in exchange for V-bucks. So in other words, if you see a character doing “The Carlton Dance” on Fortnite , they probably paid for it. This didn’t sit too well with Carlton. Alfonso Ribeiro, who famously played Carlton Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, is currently suing Fortnite for swiping his dance without him being compensated. According to TMZ , Alfonso’s attorney, David Hecht said, “It is widely recognized that Mr. Ribeiro’s likeness and intellectual property have been misappropriated by Epic Games in the most popular video game currently in the world, ‘Fortnite.’” He continued, “Epic has earned record profits off of downloadable content in the game, including emotes like “Fresh.” Yet Epic has failed to compensate or even ask permission from Mr. Ribeiro for the use of his likeness and iconic intellectual property.” Ribeiro is also suing 2K Games, the makers of NBA 2K , for taking his moves for their characters. Ironically, The Carlton Dance isn’t all the way original. Ribeiro admitted in a 2012 TMZ video that he “stole” the dance, and it’s a combination of Eddie Murphy ‘s famous “White Man Dance” and Courteney Cox’ s moves in the Bruce Springsteen video “Dancing In The Dark.” Ribeiro’s lawyer wasn’t about to let this get Fortnite off the hook, however. He told TMZ , “On numerous occasions, Mr. Ribeiro has commented on his inspiration for the dance. In the clip, Mr. Ribeiro used the word ‘stole’ in jest. He did not use the word ‘stole’ in the legal sense.” Ribeiro is not the only one coming for Fortnite ‘s bucks either. As soon as he filed his lawsuit, Backpack Kid, who created the mega-popular “Floss” dance, was revealed to be suing Fortnite . The game also used his dance and his mom filed a lawsuit on behalf of her 16-year-old son. Backpack Kid didn’t seem to be all-the-way angry about the situation, however. “I care about people watching my videos and enjoying them more than I care about money,” he told TMZ . In the midst of all these lawsuits, Backpack Kid’s mom and Ribeiro probably have one person in particular to thank for leading the movement….Brooklyn rapper 2 Milly. 2 Milly saw his now iconic “Milly Rock” dance in Fortnite a couple of months ago and it wasn’t even called the Milly Rock. It was called “Swipe It” and it was available for purchase for Fortnite characters. Social media was quick to call out the video game for appropriating the Milly Rock and soon, 2 Milly decided to take legal action against Epic Games. He secured the help of David Hecht (who’s repping all of the dancers so far), and told TMZ in a video, “they took my craft and they sold that. Whatever they made off that specific emote ‘Swipe It,’ that’s what I want.” With 2 Milly’s legal moves, the dance and hip hop world took notice. Dances that were included in Fortnite , including BlocBoy JB ‘s “Shoot” dance , were being called out for not benefiting the originators. Chance the Rapper took notice of the funky situation months ago, almost prophesying that creatives would come after Fortnite . “Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes,” Chance wrote in a tweet in July. “Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them.” Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes. Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2018 It’s not like Fortnite doesn’t have enough funds to share the wealth either. According to Bloomberg , the game is on track to make $2 billion this year, which will make Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney worth $5 billion to $8 billion. In the words of attorney David Hecht to TMZ , “Epic is enjoying record profits off of downloadable content in ‘Fortnite,’ yet has failed to pay or even ask permission to use artists’ intellectual property and likenesses over many of its popular emote dances.” He went on to say that his law firm is “proud to stand up for African-American creatives whose expression and likenesses have misappropriated.” It seems like Fortnite better get fortified. The dance world is coming for them.
Source: Bravo / Getty T-Pain’s Ex-Manager Accuses The Singer Of Excessive Spending Even though he’s made millions of dollars throughout his successful career, T-Pain is now being accused of losing his hefty fortune due to excessive spending, according to his former manager. The spending reportedly got so bad that the artist was unable to pay his management team, which is said to be the reason he has now had a federal lawsuit filed against him. According to reports from The Blast , Chase Entertainment, the group suing the rapper stated: “In a futile effort to come up with a negotiating strategy to help T-Pain leverage his way out of his irrefutable legal obligation to pay Chase post-termination management commissions, believed to be in excess of $1 Million, T-Pain finds himself reduced to fabricating absurd and baseless claims against his former manager. Despite repeated demands by Chase, T- Pain has refused to account to or pay Chase for their rightful share of commissions.” This statement comes after T-Pain originally filed a lawsuit against them, claiming that he is the one who was owed money by the management company–$1 million to be exact. On the contrary, Pain has stated that he paid all of the commissions he owed over the years and did so on time, too. In the artist’s lawsuit to Chase Entertainment, the rapper stated that they failed to pay for the expenses they were supposed to and that they did not provide any accounting work for his finances. Now, Chase Entertainment is the one seeking $1 million in damages from the rapper. They have also denied all the allegations T-Pain has thrown at them in his lawsuit prior.
Those who’ve been on social media since 2012 have witnessed both the rise and fall of J Law. But even though Jennifer Lawrence defended Ryan Seacrest against #MeToo accusations, she totally disavows Harvey Weinstein. And she’s now responding to the rumor that the disgraced former producer launched her career in exchange for sex. Late last week, a Jane Doe plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein. The actual suit says that he lured her into a private meeting under the guise of discussing her career, only to then sexually assault her. It is an all-too-familiar story of the nightmare that many women face in the entertainment industry and beyond. Though the actress filing the suit has not been identified, one very recognizable name from court documents caught people’s attention. According to the lawsuit, Weinstein once claimed that he had slept with Jennifer Lawrence. His alleged brag also said that the sexual relationship was responsible for J Law’s A-list career. Of particular note was that he referred to Jennifer’s 2012 Oscar win. “I slept with Jennifer Lawrence and look where she is,” he reportedly told Jane Doe. “She has just won an Oscar.” The implication was that he could make — or break — careers on a whim. Pointing to a star at the height of her career and claiming that he made it happen in exchange for sex was clearly meant to encourage this woman to voluntarily sleep with him. That is just so gross — especially in light of everything else that the world has heard about Weinstein. So … is it true? Jennifer Lawrence released a statement to Entertainment Tonight to address the claim that Weinstein allegedly made to the unnamed actress. “My heart breaks for all the women who were victimized by Harvey Weinstein,” Jennifer Lawrence writes. But she, she announces, was not one of them. J Law states: “I have never had anything but a professional relationship with him.” “This is yet another example of the predatory tactics and lies that he engaged,” she concludes. “In to lure countless women.” “This lawsuit was filed and updated strategically with no notice given or any attempt to reach out to Mr. Weinstein’s attorneys for one reason;” Weinstein’s team claims. That’s right — he still has people who are willing to take his money in order to defend him. “It was meant to embarrass Mr. Weinstein and garner unchecked media attention,” Weinstein’s spokesperson claims. Bold of them to imply that their client could possibly be embarrassed at this point. We’re well past that. “There is absolutely no truth to the malicious claims made in this lawsuit,” the response claims. The statement continues: “And we are reviewing our options with an eye on filing for an immediate dismissal.” “Mr. Weinstein is embarrassed for Ms. Lawrence,” the spokesperson says. They continue: “with whom he has only had a professional and respectful relationship, who has sadly been dragged into this ugly attempt at defamation.” Jennifer Lawrence began her statement by directly expressing sympathy for Weinstein’s alleged victims, but she didn’t say alleged . We imagine that J Law would tell Weinstein exactly where he can stick his embarrassment. In the end, Weinstein’s response says that this lawsuit is just taking cheap shots without repercussion. “This filing further proves that anyone can say whatever they want in a lawsuit,” the spokesperson adds. The statement concludes: “for maximum shock value, to defame and debase, without having to offer any facts or reality.” Well, people can make a lot of accusations in lawsuits. But we somehow doubt that Jane Doe filed this suit for fun. View Slideshow: Hollywood Sex Scandal: Who’s Been Caught? Accused? Fired?
Source: Jacques LOIC / Getty Woman Dies On First Tinder Date In Motorcycle Accident This is sad! According to the Daily Mail reports , Jennifer St. Clair, 33 went on a date with Miles McChesney, 34, after meeting him on the Tinder dating app. Reportedly the date was riding a 2001 black Harley Davidson and St. Clair was his passenger for the night of December 6. She fell off the motorcycle and her body was run over by as many as nine vehicles after her date did NOTHING to help her, her family’s lawyer Todd Falzone told a news conference on Friday. Her date left her on the road and over a day later, she was finally helped by passing cars. St. Clair was found dead on Interstate 95 in Pompano Beach at 3.00 am on December 7. SMH. St. Clair’s family is not filing a lawsuit against the Tinder date, claiming he was drunk when the incident occurred. According to the lawsuit, the pair met with two other couples and visited a few bars in the area. The suit claims that McChesney ‘drank alcohol to the point where he became impaired’. McChesney is accused of ‘carelessly and negligently’ operating the motorcycle, causing St. Clair ‘to be expelled from said motorcycle into oncoming traffic’ on Interstate 95. Falzone said that McChesney did not call police and did nothing to help her. The lawsuit is seeking $15,000 in damages from McChesney. So far, no criminal charges have been file, the victims family is citing lack of witnesses as a reason. So sad.
Earlier this year, we reported that Thomas Ravenel was accused of sexually assaulting his children’s nanny and then firing her. That harrowing account was the second accusation of rape to come out against him. Now, Nanny Dawn is suing Thomas over the assault — and the lawsuit also includes Bravo and NBC. Here’s why: RadarOnline reports that Ravenel’s children’s former nanny, Dawn Ledwell, is suing the disgraced former reality star for “assault, slander, and libel.” In court documents, Thomas is accused of having “violently and aggressively” ripped off her clothes in the January 2015 incident. He then allegedly forced his hand between her legs to assault her genitals, “causing severe and significant injuries.” Per the documents, Thomas then attempted “to engage in sexual intercourse” against her will. Ledwell’s team says that hs “conduct was so extreme and outrageous as to exceed all bounds of decency.” “And,” documents read, his behavior “must be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” That’s all heinous, and we already know that Thomas Ravenel will go to trial over the alleged assault. But why are Bravo and NBC included in all of this? Court papers claim that the production company and network “created, permitted and encouraged Southern Charm plot lines.” These were plotlines, they say, “that focus on alcohol, sexual encounters.” “And,” documents accuse. “The concept that male cast members, including Defendant Ravenel, suffer from ‘Peter Pan Syndrome.'” The papers continue: “and they are the ‘Lost Boys’ and Charleston is their ‘Neverland.'” In the court documents, Ledwell says that, December of 2015, she informed an employee of “Corporate Defendants” about the allegations. The corporate defendants would be Bravo, NBCUniversal and Comcast. We have no idea what sort of employee her team means. However, the documents accuse that the companies “failed to investigate.” It may be difficult to prove that this matter was passed up the ladder to the appropriate individuals. But it sounds like the accusation is that executives didn’t want to stir the pot with a scandal and cared more about ratings than justice. Ledwell’s team believes that Thomas Ravenel knowingly benefitted from corporate greed. “Corporate Defendants and Ravenel have conspired with one another to deter the investigations of assaults committed by Defendant Ravenel,” documents read. Ledwell reports that she has not been contacted “since the public disclosure of the allegations of assault in or around May 4, 2018.” While Bravo did make it clear in 2018 that Thomas would never return to Southern Charm , this was only after the scandal came to light. Did execs feel that public pressure and #MeToo forced their hand, or was this just the first that the right people had learned of the allegations? A statement was released at the time of the allegations against Thomas Ravenel. “Haymaker, the production company for Southern Charm, and Bravo take allegations like these very seriously,” the statement read. It continued: “Haymaker is conducting an investigation, and once all the information is gathered and carefully reviewed, appropriate action will be taken.” Since then, of course, Thomas has not appeared on Southern Charm . Dawn Ledwell has requested a jury trial for the lawsuit. Proving sexual assault is extremely difficult in our legal system. Ledwell is already in the minority, in that her allegations led to an arrest. (The vast majority of sexual assaults are not even reported to police, and even fewer lead to arrests and trials) Proving this conspiracy to cover things up seems like a longshot, even if it is true. Unless there is an employee willing to blab or a particularly damning corporate email, it sounds very tricky. As always, we hope to see justice done. View Slideshow: Southern Charm Season 6: Everything We Know About the Return of Reality TV’s Most Scandalous Show!
Source: Tommaso Boddi / Getty The day after Cardi B announced she was divorcing her husband Offset , the rapper posted on her social media accounts of a full pic of their daughter Kulture —the first time she’s done that since the baby was born in back in July. The “I Like It” rapper captioned the photo with a simple “My heart.” Take a look at this chocolate cutie: Prior her post today, Cardi had been vocal about NOT wanting to full post pics of Kulture, mostly posting pics that hide the baby’s face. “I’m scared of sharing her to the world,” she told Entertainment Tonight last month. “There are too many mean people out there.” She even admitted that she and Offset turned down more than a million dollars to debut Kulture to the world for the sake of privacy. “Me and my husband… We just don’t wanna show our baby right now,” she told Apple Music’s Ebro Darden this October . Adding, “I got offered seven figures [for baby pictures], but I’m just not ready yet.” We guess now she’s ready. BEAUTIES: Isn’t Kulture a cutie? RELATED NEWS: #BlackTwitter Thinks Cardi B & Offset Broke Up Because Offset Was Caught Cheating Again ‘Y’all Won’: Black Twitter Roasts Offset For Accusing Folks Of Conspiring Against His Marriage Welp! Nicki Minaj Says Rah Ali Beat Up Cardi B ‘Bad,’ Offers $100,000 For Video Footage [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”2947267″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty Rapper 2 Milly is going forward with his lawsuit against Epic Games, the studio behind the addictive video game Fortnite. The rapper doesn’t want anyone Milly Rocking on any block in the game anymore, unless Epic Games cuts a check. Speaking with TMZ exclusively , 2 Milly admits he didn’t know anything about Fortnite until people started hitting him up on social media telling him his dance moves were jacked and being used in the game. He added his daughter even pointed out the similar dance moves players can make their in-game characters do. The Milly Rock didn’t start showing up in the game till season 5 back in July, and the rapper wasn’t aware his dance move called the “Swipe It” was being sold for use in the game till months after. Per TMZ : “The rapper filed legal docs this week against Epic Games — the company that makes Fortnite Battle Royale — for allegedly using his popular Milly Rock moves in the game without his permission to capitalize on the popular dance craze … and make a ton of cash.” “According to the docs … Fortnite players can purchase the dance — which is called “Swipe It” in the game — for their characters. Problem is … 2 Milly claims “Swipe It” is an exact replica of his Milly Rock, but they never asked him to use it or offered to pay him for it.” According to the docs, 2 Milly is suing Epic for legal fees and damages and wants the dance deleted from the game. The “Swipe It” is no longer being sold but if players already purchased it, they can still use it. The Milly Rock is not the only Hip-Hop dance move in the game, Snoop Dogg’s signature moves from his “Drop It Like It’s Hot” video and Alfonso Ribiero’s “Carlton dance” are also available for purchase and use in the game. 2 Milly’s attorney David L. Hecht of Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP speaking to TMZ that his firm “proud to stand up for African-American creatives whose expression and likenesses have misappropriated. Epic is enjoying record profits off of downloadable content in Fortnite, yet has failed to pay or even ask permission to use artists’ intellectual property and likenesses over many of its popular emote dances.” 2 Milly has a lot of people on his side including fellow Hip-Hop artist Chance The Rapper. Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes. Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2018 While he has allies, history isn’t on his side, and this might be an uphill battle. There is no case law surrounding the copyrighting of choreography. We wouldn’t be shocked if Epic and the rapper reached some sort of settlement. We wish him luck in getting his coins though. — Photo: Johnny Nunez / Getty
T he voter suppression outcries heard during Stacey Abram ’s historic run to become the nation’s first Black woman governor all but disappeared in Georgia’s runoff election—now that Brian Kemp is no longer in charge of the state’s voting process. Last month, Georgia Secretary of State Kemp oversaw his own race for governor, which was close but ended in defeat for Abrams. There was damning evidence that pointed to Kemp using a variety of voter suppression tactics to target Black voters. Kemp resigned under pressure on Nov. 8–after he had declared victory over Abrams. SEE ALSO: Georgia Isn’t Even Trying To Hide Its Racist Voter Suppression Efforts With This Video Georgia elected Republican state Rep. Brad Raffensperger as its new secretary of state in Tuesday’s runoff contest against Democrat John Barrow , a former congressman. The Trump-backed candidate won 52 percent to 48 percent . “There was a significant drop in enthusiasm after the general election. That was true on both sides, but it was greater for Democrats,” state Rep. Scott Holcomb told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . BREAKING: Republican Brad Raffensperger elected Georgia's new elections chief amid debate over access to the polls and election security. https://t.co/C6tCHzaZuD — The Associated Press (@AP) December 5, 2018 Kemp found himself in the middle of a firestorm before Election Day after the Associated Press reported his office had placed more than 53,000 voter registration applications on hold—about 70 percent of them from African-Americans. He also faced multiple lawsuits, including one from a group of voting rights organizations accusing him of using a racially-biased method to purge the names of about 700,000 voters from the rolls. Additionally, voters in predominantly African-American urban districts encountered lots of problems at the polls on Election Day—from faulty electronic machines that switched votes from Abrams to Kemp to excessively long lines because of missing power cords for voting machines. With Tuesday’s election results, Georgia Republicans retained control of all statewide offices. SEE ALSO: Meet Tammy Kemp, The Black Judge Assigned To Amber Guyger Murder Trial For Killing Botham Jean After Bracing For Lawsuit, Hoover Officials Finally ‘Publicly Extend Sympathy’ To EJ Bradford’s Family [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3839191″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Nomad / Getty 68-year old grandfather, William Hannah , has died after Salford Royal Hospital in the U.K. mistakingly filled his lungs with cleaning detergent instead of saline. The Hannah family’s lawyer told PEOPLE , During the procedure the doctor found there was no saline solution in the equipment trolley and so asked a healthcare assistant to pass this to him. However, the assistant became confused and instead of providing the doctor with the requested saline, accidentally handed him an unlabelled bottle containing detergent that they had prepared for cleaning equipment. The doctor then unknowingly used the cleaning solution to wash-out William’s lung. Following an internal investigation into the wrongful death, the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust concluded that the hospital did not deliver the “high standard of care” and offered its apologies to the family. Hearings for the case begin in February 2019. SMH, so sad.
