Actor Michael B. Jordan gave a powerful call to action during Saturday's Black Lives Matter demonstration in Los Angeles, telling Hollywood insiders they "need to go on notice."
Rich Fury / Getty Images
"We are in the heart of Hollywood right now, one of the world’s most powerful industries and I am an active member of that. And they need to go on notice," he said. "Anybody that deals with me, if you have racist beliefs, if you have a racist bone in your body, if you're not with me, if you don't stand with me and people that look like me, you don't need to be with me. I use my power to demand diversity but it's time that studios and agencies … do so."
"You committed to a 50/50 gender parity in 2020, where is the challenge to commit to black hiring? Black content, led by black executives, black consultants … So let us bring our darkness to the light? We're done with discrimination," he added.
Insecure star Kendrick Sampson also made an appearance during the event.
"I want you to spread the word, this is factual: The police system that we know today is based on slave-catching," Sampson said. "... The policing system started with a bad seed. It has grown a bad tree and it bears bad fruit ... We need to imagine a world free of police terror. We call ourselves an industry of creatives. Where the fuck is your imagination?"
Check out footage from the event below.
View this post on Instagram#justice #blmla #bldpwr ? @producertommy
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Mayor De Blasio Confirms NYC To Enter Phase 1 Of Reopening
New York City will begin to reopen on Monday. Mayor de Blasio confirmed the date earlier this week.
New York City will begin the first phase of its reopening process Monday, June 8. Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed the date proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this week.
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“[These businesses] were chosen because you can create physical separation,” said Mayor de Blasio. “That’s a lot of employees coming back to work … we want to emphasize safety throughout. We say ‘restart’ — we do not mean rushing back to something we used to think of as normal. We do not mean flicking a switch and suddenly everything is where it was again. We have to make sure this virus is in check. We’ve come a long way, not going to blow it now.”
Gov. Cuomo said he planned to have the city open on June 8th, last week, contradicting de Blasio, who said a date had not been determined at that time.
“It is reopening to a new normal. It’s a safer normal. Reopening doesn’t mean going back to the past,” Cuomo explained. “People will be wearing masks. It’s just a new way of interacting, which we have to do.”
De Blasio says that New York City will be giving out 2 million free masks to employees returning to work during phase 1.
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J.K. Rowling Comes Under Fire For Tweets Labeled As Transphobic
J.K. Rowling is on the hot seat for tweets being labeled anti-trans.
J.K. Rowling, author of the book-series Harry Potter, is under fire on Twitter for posts that fans have labeled as anti-trans.
Bennett Raglin / Getty Images
The author posted the link to an article titled "Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate," with the caption, "‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"
Many took offensive to condescending tone of the tweet. She has since explained her position on the issue and what she meant with the tweet.
"The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women - ie, to male violence - ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences - is a nonsense.
"I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so," she wrote on Twitter.
"I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so,” she added.
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Justin Bieber Credits Black Culture For His Style, Dancing, & Fashion
Justin Bieber shows his appreciation for black culture in a new Instagram post.
Justin Bieber is voicing his support for the black community with a new post on Instagram. The artist says he is both “inspired by black culture,” and has “benefitted off of black culture.”
Stuart Franklin /Getty Images
“I am inspired by black culture. I have benefited off of black culture. my style, how I sing, dance, perform, and my fashion have all been influenced and inspired by black culture,” Bieber says in the Instagram post.
“I am committed to using my platform from this day forward to learn, to speak up about racial injustice and systemic oppression, and to identify ways to be a part of much needed change,” he continues.
In the days since the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin, Bieber has been consistently active on his Instagram page raising awareness for the issue of police brutality and calling for the arrest of the officers involved in Floyd’s death.
Floyd died on May 25, after Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over 8 minutes. Video of the incident, which shows Floyd pleading with the officer that he cannot breathe, went viral online. All four officers have since been fired and criminally charged for their involvement.
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"Rogue" NFL Employee Pressured League To Support Black Lives Matter
A "rogue" employee was the reason the NFL came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Brydon Minter, described as a "rogue" NFL employee was by Yahoo! Sports, was reportedly responsible for the NFL's video statement expressing support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the NFL players' video message that came before it, this week.
Cliff Hawkins / Getty Images
Minter began by sending a DM to Saints' wide receiver Michael Thomas, saying that he had a plan to put pressure on the NFL to support the Black Lives Matter movement. "Hey Mike," he wrote. "Want to help you create content to be heard around the league. I'm an NFL social employee and am embarrassed by how the league has been silent this week... I want [to] help you put the pressure on. And arm you with a video that expresses YOUR voice and [what] you want from the League. Give me a holler if you’re interested in working together, thanks bro!”
Thomas immediately responded and soon, the video below was uploaded to social media.
"We didn't feel like our voices were being heard," Minter told Yahoo! Sports. "And that's what ultimately inspired me to go rogue."
“The players are the league,” Minter continued. “Without the players, no one gives a shit. Our game is the players, it’s our players’ personalities, it’s our players’ performance, it’s all about them. And if they speak up, they have the power.”
Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a video expressing the league's support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
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San Jose Police Severely Injure Man Who Trains Them On Implicit Bias
San Jose police injured the man who taught them about implicit bias and procedural justice during protests, this week.
Derrick Sanderlin, who teaches police about implicit bias and procedural justice, is severely injured, after being the victim of excessive police force during George Floyd-inspired protests in San Jose.
Elsa / Getty Images
Sanderlin claims to have seen officers shooting young women at close range with rubber bullets and decided to intervene: “I really just couldn’t watch it anymore,” he explained. “And just kind of made like a parallel walkover, put my hands up, and just stood in the line of fire and asked them to please not do this.”
The officers proceeded to shoot Sanderlin in the groin with rubber bullets. He needed emergency surgery and doctors say he may not be able to have children.
“I pause for a moment like maybe this isn’t, maybe this doesn’t hurt and falling afterwards is like the most painful experience,” he continued.”The doctor had to let me know before the operation that there’s no way of fully telling until you try to have for kids.”
Sanderlin and his wife Cayla have hired an attorney and plan to fire a claim against the city.
“They were aiming for a body part that is prohibited when using those types of riot guns,” their attorney Sarah Marinho said. “You’re not meant to aim at the groin or the head ever.
“The way that the way that they’ve treated people out there has over the weekend has been really heartbreaking because the chief is like a good person, who’s really trying to do the right thing,” he added.
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Pete Davidson On His Future With "Saturday Night Live"
Pete Davidson says he hopes to stay on “Saturday Night Live” for as long as he can.
Pete Davidson says he plans to be on Saturday Night Live for as long as the show will have him. Conflicting with previous statements from earlier this year, Davidson told Entertainment Tonight that he wants to stay on the show.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
“I will be there as long as they allow me to be,” Davidson said. “I think I’m very lucky to be on that show and I’m really lucky to have Lorne Michaels as, you know, not only a mentor and a boss, but a friend. I’ll be there as long as they allow it.”
Earlier this year, the comedian told Charlamagne tha God that he doesn’t enjoy being on the show, and is treated like a joke by the rest of the staff: “I should be done with that show because they make fun of me on it. I’m like, cold open, political punchlines,” he said. “… I have a weird feeling in that building, where I don’t know whose team they’re playing for — if I’m the joke or I’m in on the joke. I really wanted last year to be my last year, but I’m still around … Maybe I just shouldn’t be there. They think I’m fucking dumb. Like, I’m literally painted out to be this big, dumb idiot.”
Davidson is set to star in the upcoming film The King of Staten Island, which releases on June 12.
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Gregg Popovich On Confronting Racism & Police Brutality
Gregg Popovich speaks on George Floyd, police brutality, and more.
San Antonio Spurs' Head Coach Gregg Popovich discussed his thoughts on police brutality and the death of George Floyd in a new video series for the team's social media titled "#SpursVoices." He says he is "embarrassed as a white person" to see how black citizens are being treated by police.
Hector Vivas / Getty Images
"In a strange, counterintuitive sort of way, the best teaching moment of this recent tragedy, I think, was the look on the officer's face," Popovich said in the powerful video."For white people to see how nonchalant, how casual, just how everyday-going-about-his job, so much so that he could just put his left hand in his pocket, wriggle his knee around a little bit to teach this person some sort of a lesson -- and that it was his right and his duty to do it, in his mind.
"I think I'm just embarrassed as a white person to know that that can happen. To actually watch a lynching. We've all seen books, and you look in the books and you see black people hanging off of trees. And you ... are amazed. But we just saw it again. I never thought I'd see that, with my own eyes, in real-time."
Floyd died, May 25, after police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for over 8 minutes.
Check out the full video of Popovich's thoughts below.
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Action Bronson Shows Off 65 Pound Weight Loss In Workout Video
Action Bronson has lost a ton of weight during quarantine.
Action Bronson, rapper and host of Fuck, That’s Delicious, is down 65 pounds from his previous weight of 363 pounds, a size that had him on a “path that leads straight to the graveyard,” he says.
Bryan Bedder / Getty Images
Bronson spoke about his weight loss and workout regimen in a new Instagram post with video of himself exercising: “I was on a path that leads straight to the graveyard,” he says in the caption. “Eating for sport took its toll but it’s my fault and it’s on me to fix me. I owe it to myself and my family. I reached 363 pounds and I was shocked and scared. I busted my ass for the past 3 months, and I’m down to 298. Then a good friend got me to the right spot now I’m training hard. This is week one.”
As Bronson says, he’s been on the weight loss grind for 3 months. At the 50 pound mark, he spoke with TMZ: “Me, myself, I lost 50 pounds just now. I mean, I’m still fat, which shows you I still need to lose another 60,” he joked. “I mean, I’ve been working out crazy, I’ve been eating really good, I’ve been juicing.”
Podcaster and fitness fanatic Joe Rogan commented on the video saying, “That’s beautiful! Keep going my brother!!!”
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Justice Smith Comes Out As Queer While Stressing That “All Black Lives Matter”
Actor Justice Smith came out as queer on an Instagram post in which he expressed his disappointment over the lack of support for Black queer and trans lives specifically.
Actor Justice Smith, known for his work in Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, The Get Down and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, came out as queer on an Instagram post regarding the recent protests against systemic racism and police brutality. In the post, Justice expresses his disappointment over how many Black Lives Matter supporters at these protests and in general do not show equal support for Black trans and queer individuals. He also reveals that he and Queen Sugar star Nicholas Ashe are a couple.
“@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans,” he begins. “We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added. I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black.”
He goes on to highlight the death of Tony McDade, a Black trans man who was murdered by police in Tallahassee last week. “If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black. You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice.”
Keith Tsuji/Getty Images
“But the revolution is not about appeal,” he stresses. “It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning. Which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence.”
“There is so much tragedy on the timeline these last couple of days,” he points out, “so I added some photos of me and Nic to show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove. You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much. I know that on the other side of this Is change, though the fight is far from over. #justicefortonymcdade #justiceforninapop #justiceforgeorgefloyd #justiceforahmaud #justiceforbreonna #sayhername #defundthepolice #endwhitesupremacy.” Congrats to Justice on finding love and speaking out!
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