Halle Berry has a very surprising distant relative in her family tree, but let her be clear, former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is NOT invited to the cookout. Halle threw some shade Ms. Palin's way on Friday Twitter, after the Daily Blast Live tweeted the little known fact about her family tree as part of a thread on celebrities who are surprisingly related. Among the herd are Hillary Clinton and Madonna, best buddies Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, Kerry Washington and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and lookalikes Sen. Bernie Sanders and Larry David, who actually plays the Democratic presidential candidate on SNL.
The thread noted Halle and Sarah's relation in a tweet that reads, "This pair shares roots that may seem like they're from different trees, but @halleberry and former VP candidate @SarahPalinUSA are distant relatives -- though the actual connection is unclear." Halle saw the mention of her and the unwelcome member of her bloodline, and decided to respond in the most hilarious way possible.
"She may be on the tree but she ‘AINT invited to the cookout," Halle responded, making her feelings toward the conservative politician very clear. The actress has never denied their relation, however, and even addressed their ties back in 2012 during a promotional tour for Cloud Atlas. "You want to know who I'm related to?" she asked in an interview. "Sarah Palin."
"No!" interviewer Jerry Penacoli, exclaimed. "That's what I said! 'NOOOOO!'" Berry shouted while laughing. When her co-star, Tom Hanks, asks, "is it a DNA thing?" she replies, "some twisted way...somebody sent me this information that she was my distant [relative]."
Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union Invite Teen Suspended For Dreadlocks To Oscars
The team behind "Hair Love" are showing this teen's hair some love.
The team behind the Oscar-nominated animated short, Hair Love, are walking in the spirit of the film by inviting a Texas teen who was suspended for his dreadlocks to the prestigious award show next Sunday. DeAndre Arnold, a high school student who was suspended and told he wouldn't be permitted to attend his graduation ceremony in the spring unless he cut off his dreadlocks, got the invite from Hair Love's director, Matthew A. Cherry, along with producers Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union. "We love the way that you carry yourself and we wanted to do something special for you," Dwyane told the teen, who received a wave of support from the public following the injustice he faced. "You and your mother Sandy are the official guests of the Oscar-nominated team behind Hair Love at the 2020 Academy Awards."
"We've all been so inspired by your story and this is the very least we can do to thank you for standing up for yourself and for your right to wear your natural hair at school," Matthew told him. The Oscar-nominated director told "CBS This Morning" that "just hearing [DeAndre's] story, it really just represented everything we were trying to do with the short film, Hair Love. We really wanted to just normalize black hair, normalize us." Matthew is also using DeAndre's story to shed light on the CROWN Act, which bans the discrimination of people based on their hair. He believes that the act, which has passed in California, New York and New Jersey, should be nationwide. "If this law was in Texas, this situation with DeAndre wouldn't happen," he said.
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As for DeAndre, finding out that he was invited to the Oscars was a "surreal moment." "It's hard to take in," he said. "I've got excitement and then it's just like, 'Is this really happening? Am I in a dream?'...it blows my mind that people that have so much voice, they're on my side and they're with me. I love that. I appreciate that. I really do." The teen was especially thrilled for his mom, who has been fighting by his side to get his story out. "My mom deserves any special treatment she gets," he said. "She deserves this. She's been working so hard, on the computer day and night, just to try and help me get my word out. When you have people like this in your corner, there's no way you can lose. No way." Matthew revealed that both DeAndre and Sandy will be "provide[d] full wardrobe and glam for the big night." The Oscars take place Sunday, February 9th.