View this post on Instagram August Issue @HarpersBazaarCN on stands July 15th! @kimmiekyees @priscillaono @yusefhairnyc Stylist: Xiaomu Fan @chenman Chief Editors: @shasimona @weitian25 Visual Direction: @mumoodsight #harpersbazaarCHINA A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Jul 9, 2019 at 3:19am PDT Rihanna is the latest cover girl for Harpers Bazaar China and the cover has caused a bit of controversy. The images depict Rihanna in traditional Chinese garb and while she looks absolutely stunning the imagery has raised the question of if she is participating in a bit of cultural appropriation. See, Rih Rih is wearing clothes and participating in a tradition that is not her own, which is usually a red flag for people looking for examples of appropriation. Is it fair or foul? https://twitter.com/georgieecw/status/1148673311343296520 The issues are even deeper because just a couple of weeks ago Kim Kardashian came under fire for trying to name a brand Kimono . The backlash was so intense that Kim had to change the name. Which all begs the question: what’s the difference between Rihanna’s look and Kim’s brand name? Well, for one, Rihanna was styled and photographed by a whole crew of Chinese people. Kim’s ideas came straight from her own culture vulture brain. But is that still fair? Take a look at the debate raging across the internet.
Source: min chul kim / Getty Cash Falls Off Armored Truck On I-285 In Atlanta If you live on the north side of Atlanta and missed the free-for-all on I-285 yesterday evening then you’re probably going to kick yourself after you read this. According to the AJC , an armored truck door swung open while haulin’ a$$ down the highway near Ashford-Dunwoody Road yesterday evening and cash went flying everywhere! “I saw a bunch of paper floating around in the road and everybody pulling over on the shoulder, and as I got closer I noticed it was all just cash,” the driver reported. A viral video of cash ruling everything around people circulated social media almost immediately. Oh y’all thought I was lyin? Yes, there was money flying all over I-285!!! #atlanta pic.twitter.com/aAL6e8huGa — Kites & Flights… (@Caramelbelle) July 10, 2019 Based on that video, police are trying to identify the license plates of anyone seen committing “theft of lost or mislaid property” which could be as many as 50 people. “The law is the law,” Sgt. Robert Parsons said. “You need to turn in the property. It doesn’t belong to you. Reality needs to kick in, and you need to realize this money belongs to someone.” There hasn’t been an official count yet, but the trucks drivers estimate that they lost around $175,000. Police say they only recovered about, wait for it…$200.
Source: Brian Ach / Getty In a new interview with the New York Times , Whoopi Goldberg was asked about being unsuccessful in love and marriage . The 63-year-old comedic legend has been married three times over the years, including to Alvin Martin from 1973 to 1979, David Claessen from 1986 to 1988, and most recently, and her shortest union, Lyle Trachtenberg from 1994 to 1995. In the past (in 2016 specifically), she simply said she was no longer married because “I don’t want somebody in my house.” In this new interview though, she broke things down a bit further, saying she was exchanging vows with these men for the wrong reasons. She felt like that was what she was supposed to do, but when she was actually in the marriages, she found there were certain things about being in a relationship that she just didn’t feel comfortable with. Those things included having to check in with someone else. Text “RICKEY” to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. ( Terms and conditions ). “Look, people expect you to have a boyfriend. They expect you to get married. So I kept trying to do that, but I didn’t want to share information with somebody else,” she said. “I didn’t want anybody asking me why I was doing what I was doing, or to have to make the other person feel better. But if you’re in a relationship, you have to do those things, and it took me a while to figure out that I didn’t want to. I’d be thinking, why don’t I feel the thing that I’m supposed to? Then one day I thought: I don’t have to do this. I don’t have to conform. I tried marriage, and it wasn’t for me. You can’t be in a marriage because everybody’s expecting you to.” Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit Whoopi says she’s just fine going it alone, especially with the lengths people feel are necessary to go to in order to keep their partners these days. “I know people who have never farted in front of the person they’re in a relationship with. They would rather be ill than do that,” she said. “That’s insane. You can’t let a little out? ‘No, I don’t want her to know that I do it.’ She knows you do it! But you can’t say to people, ‘You must let it go.’ So I say: ‘Listen, if you’re comfortable, let it happen. If you’re not, I get it, but I think it’s not good for your body.’” Sis said thanks, but no thanks. This story was originally published on MadameNoire.com . ALSO TRENDING ON RICKEYSMILEYMORNINGSHOW.COM : August Alsina Hospitalized After Singer Lost The Ability To Walk Whoopi Goldberg Is Launching Her Own Fashion Line And We Love What We See So Far Whoopi Goldberg Hasn’t Been Seen In A Month Because She’s Been Battling With Pneumonia Follow @TheRSMS
It will sadly not be any surprise to learn that the same awful dude who thinks that Meghan Markle is ruining Prince Harry is back at it. This time, notorious twonk Piers Morgan is putting the Duchess on blast for requesting privacy during an event. As he rails against her, he begins to demand that she “go back to America,” and even his poor cohost is scandalized. Meghan Markle attended a Wimbledon tennis match. Contrary to speculation, she was not seated in the royal box, but was invited as a friend of the player — Serena Williams. According to a report from the match, at least one person in the stands was asked to not photograph the Duchess. “Would you not take photographs of the Duchess?” a royal protection officer allegedly requested. The royal protection officer then explained: “She's here in a private capacity.” That sounds fair and reasonable, which is of course why Piers Morgan was outraged. Piers Morgan, who is actually paid money to voice his horrible thoughts, went on an unhinged rant on Good Morning Britain . “You're public people, all of you!” Piers can be heard ranting in the video that we have included. “In that moment,” he continues. “You're public people.” “Stop your squealing about privacy!” Piers demands. “We don't want to hear it.” “If you want to be private, go back to America and live privately,” he instructs. “it’s pretty straightforward.” Susanna Reid, whose unenviable lot in life is to exist in physical proximity to Piers Morgan, did not like what she was hearing. “They don’t have to go back to America by the way,” she counters. “She does,” Piers insists. “She’s American!” “They don’t have to go back,” Susanna emphasizes, arguing: “She’s married an Englishman!” “She doesn’t want to be a British public figure in the royal family,” Piers says. “Go back to America.” As always, Piers wasn't interested in walking back his awful claims. He reitorated his attack on the only adult British royal family member of color in a later tweet. “It’s absurd for Ms Markle to demand privacy as she sits in the royal box on a publicly-funded jolly with her mates,” Piers asserted. Again, she was not seated in the royal box — that was debunked. She was literally just seated in the audience at Serena Williams' invitation. That's it. We mentioned before that Piers is leveling these attacks very conspicuously against the only adult black member of the family. This is not out of a desire to “pile on” attacks on Piers — honestly, every time that he opens his mouth, he gives critics nothing but ammunition. We mention it because his “go back to America” cries sound awfully familiar. There are those in both the UK and America who have suggested that black people who are unhappy in either nation should “go back to Africa.” That's a vile thing to say regardless, but especially cruel to people whose ancestors were abducted and brought over to be sold. Why is Piers ranting about Meghan Markle allegedly asking for a modicum of privacy while privately attending an event? Mostly because it's his job to stir up pointless controversy, though he still thinks he's some sort of newscaster. It's the same reason that Meghan McCain's huffing and endless name-dropping of “my father” has been a boon to The View . Having someone like Piers around means that every time that he puts his foot in his mouth, Good Morning Britain is a hot topic. But even Piers could try to reel it in when it comes to Meghan, who has faced so much racist hate since her engagement to Harry was announced.
Source: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Getty Things went very left last at an iconic amusement park last week. A fight that got very nasty is now on the radar of the law. Today at the happiest place on earth. pic.twitter.com/79j2godsUz — OutSide (@ImReallyOutHere) July 8, 2019 On Saturday, July 6, a big brawl erupted at Disneyland . Several park goers were on site so the shocking melee was caught on film. In the video a man in a red shirt is seen arguing with a woman; she later goes to spit on him thus enraging him. The two start exchanging blows which naturally stuns everyone in eyesight. Soon after other family members jump into it turning things into a hood royal rumble. Unfortunately, the woman took the worst of the exchange as she is seen on the floor after more punches from the man. Anaheim police department is now looking into the matter. Their official Twitter account posted a message saying there is an official investigation in place. “All parties were from the same family and were uncooperative. A report was taken. Now that we have video, the investigation can continue”. APD is aware of a video going viral of a fight inside @Disneyland on Saturday. We responded to investigate. All parties were from the same family and were uncooperative. A report was taken. There was no video at the time. Now that we have video, the investigation can continue — Anaheim PD (@AnaheimPD) July 8, 2019 Representatives from Disneyland have also commented. “Any type of violence is inexcusable and will not be tolerated. Those involved were immediately removed from the premises and turned over to the Anaheim Police Department,” said Liz Jaeger. Disney Land part2 pic.twitter.com/2CC56RIIph — OutSide (@ImReallyOutHere) July 8, 2019 Photo:
Source: picture alliance / Getty Teen Who Couldn’t Get Six Flags Job Because Of Locks Gains Modeling Deal Back in March, Kerion Washington was denied a position at the Six Flags in Texas all because of his hair. Now the teen is working with a modeling agency for the same reason. According to Madame Noire , Washington’s story went viral when he didn’t get the Six Flags job because of his locs: “They told me I could cut my hair and come back, that it’s just hair and it would grow back,” he told Dallas News . “But they compared it to having a tattoo. I didn’t want to cut it.” A few months passed and Washington received an Instagram message from Corrie Caster, head of development for IMG Los Angeles. IMG represents major models like Bella and Gigi Hadid , Kate Moss and Ashley Graham . Caster heard about Washington’s story, peeped his photo and reached out to talk modeling potential: “I scout the world looking for talent and stories,” Caster said. “I didn’t know his story then, but he had a lot of the physical features we look for in our models.” View this post on Instagram What yall think about it #kerionwashington #jonesmodelmanagement #thinkbig #newface #malemodel #jonesingtobeajones A post shared by Kerion Washington (@kerion_washington) on Jul 2, 2019 at 12:31pm PDT From there on out, Washington and his mom agreed to work with the local modeling agency Jones Model Management, and they traveled to Austin for his first shoot. For now, he’s learning the ends and outs of modeling such as how to walk the runway, the best positions for the camera and how to give his best pose. Once his portfolio is on and poppin’, it will be pitched to IMG Models for consideration. Winning. View this post on Instagram There will be more coming soon for the other photographers but here a little something. Thank you @jonesmodelmanagement for the opportunity to model for y'all and hope I'll do great #kerionwashington #jonesmodelmanagement #newface #jonesingtobeajones #malemodel #dreambig #whenonedoorclosesanotheropens A post shared by Kerion Washington (@kerion_washington) on Jul 2, 2019 at 12:51pm PDT Now if only these companies can axe their messed up hair policies.
Source: HelloBeautiful / Interactive One On Monday, August Alsina informed fans why he had to bow out of an Essence Festival gig. In a video shared to his Instagram, the singer told fans that he’s currently hospitalized as his autoimmune disease has caused him to temporarily be unable to walk. View this post on Instagram Hiiii guys!! It’s me, being my most awesome, weirdly great self. I’m here with the stitch & to also apologize for not being able to make the essence fest gig last night. I take my career & your time very seriously & the fact that you guys show up for me, endlessly. Means the world! I’m man down right now, & figured I should share.. that My auto immune disease is raging, but im fighting this thing & on my mission to shake back & beable to make it up to you! I got so much NEW NEW to share w/ you!!!..& Big Love to give. Big Life, Big Dreams & every peaceful thing to you! Less stress, More Love, More Rest, & Jah Bless. know that HE’s got you even when it all feels too complex. A post shared by Yungin' (@augustalsina) on Jul 8, 2019 at 12:59pm PDT “Hi guys,” August says in the clip, in which he’s laying in a hospital bed. “As you can probably tell I’m in the hospital. So, here’s the stitch. I woke up one day and wasn’t able to walk. I couldn’t feel my legs and my doctor ended up admitting me into the hospital.” Join Our Text Club To Get The Latest Music, Entertainment, Contests And Breaking News On Your Phone. Text BOX to 24042 to join! He added, “We’re doing a bunch of tests and they’re saying I have some nerve damage going on throughout my body. “It’s like my immune system went on vacation. So, I’m just waiting on it to come back and we can get together and it can do what it do, man.” In 2017, the singer revealed that the autoimmune disease he suffers from attacks his life. It let to multiple incidents health-wise for him, including a moment where he collapsed on stage in 2014. He opened up about the disease on an episode of Red Table Talk , saying that he wants people not to treat him like a “f*ckin’ cancer patient”. “I have a liver disease, where my autoimmune system is fighting against itself,” he said. “Reality is that I’m sick all the time. I don’t really like to talk about it because I’m not looking for anybody’s sympathy. Don’t treat me like I’m a f*ckin’ cancer patient, because I’m not.” View this post on Instagram Please excuse my defense mechanism in this clip.. I'm sicker than ever & having a hard time accepting what I feel & what the Doctors are saying is most true. After sitting down and talking with my fathers mother and sister.. They explained to me that sickness & illness runs in my family. My father & grandfather both died of severe illness. but they were FIGHTERS & that's all that matters. Just ride with me is all I ask. A post shared by Yungin' (@augustalsina) on May 30, 2017 at 12:31pm PDT RELATED: Why People Think August Alsina Is Singing About Jada Pinkett On “Nunya” [VIDEO] RELATED: Watch: August Alsina Reunites With His Estranged Mom On Stage RELATED: August Alsina Is Battling Liver Disease
Source: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com / WENN The Original Ariel Responds To Everyone Mad At Disney’s Casting Decision As you’ve probably already heard by now, one of the biggest stories last week was the news that 19-year-old singer and actress Halle Bailey has been cast as Ariel in a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid . You might know Halle from her group with her sister Chloe x Halle, or maybe you’ve seen her staring on Grown-ish with Yara Shahidi . Whether you’ve been a fan of Halle for a while now or this casting decision was your first time hearing of her, the second you hear her angelic singing voice there’s no doubt that she is absolutely perfect to portray the famous mermaid. Of course, racists with nothing better to do were up in arms over this decision, adopting the hashtag #NotMyAriel and complaining that Disney cast a black performer in the role. While some people sat on their phones all day and cried about a fictional mermaid not being white, celebrities and friends of Halle all rallied behind the young star to show their support after the decision was announced. Freeform, the network that airs Grown-ish , even published a great response to everyone who thinks because Ariel is a Danish fairy tale, she has to be white. View this post on Instagram An open letter to the Poor, Unfortunate Souls: ______ #TheLittleMermaid #Ariel #MyAriel A post shared by Freeform (@freeform) on Jul 6, 2019 at 6:16pm PDT One of the most notable responses to come from this, though, was from Jodi Benson , the woman who voiced Ariel in Disney’s original animated film back in 1989. The singer just made an appearance at Supercon in Florida , where she was asked about the controversy–and she was ready to defend Halle, Disney, and their decision to cast the star as the newest iteration of Ariel. “I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters,” she replied. “What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart, and their spirit, is what really counts. And the outside package — cause let’s face it, I’m really, really old — and so when I’m singing “Part of Your World,” if you were to judge me on the way that I look on the outside, it might change the way that you interpret the song. But if you close your eyes, you can still hear the spirit of Ariel. We need to be storytellers. And no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the color of our skin, our dialect, whether I’m tall or thin, whether I’m overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever color, we really need to tell the story.” In other words, #NotMyAriel hashtaggers can stay mad! If the original Ariel is cool with this new casting decision, how can you justify being mad over fake issues of “authenticity”? Halle Bailey is going to absolutely crush her role as Ariel and that’s all that needs to be said. View this post on Instagram dream come true… #thelittlemermaid A post shared by chloe x halle (@chloexhalle) on Jul 3, 2019 at 1:56pm PDT
Source: Michael Kovac / Getty Jay-Z just got onboard with the legal weed hustle . Today (July 9), cannabis company Caliva announced it has named the Brooklyn multi-hyphenate its Chief Brand Strategist. Reportedly it’s a multiyear deal and Jigga is tasked with “driving creative direction, outreach efforts and strategy” for the brand. We’re going to say he has experience in such matters. Part of Mr. Carter’s duties includes the participation of individuals who were incarcerated for their illegal marijuana activities. The goal is giving the aforementioned a fair shot at getting in the game post-legalization. “Anything I do, I want to do correctly and at the highest level,” said Jay-Z via a press statement. “With all the potential in the cannabis industry, Caliva’s expertise and ethos makes them the best partner for this endeavor. We want to create something amazing, have fun in the process, do good and bring people along the way.” Caliva is a cannabis consumer products company that was founded in 2015. The brand boasts a first-place finish in the 2019 High Times Cannabis Cup thanks to the “Z-Cube” in the Best Hybrid category. Other products it sells include vapes, tinctures and beverages. Jay-Z wins, again.
