The internet wasn’t kind to Trina following her comments about the rioting going on in many cities across America. As people have gathered together to protest police brutality and advocate of justice reform, there were a few who took advantage of the opportunity and decided to start riots. There was looting in the streets and many businesses, big and small, found themselves at a crossroads as their windows were smashed and items were stolen. Rapper Trina shared her opinion on the rioting, calling the looters “animals,” and after the public dragged her name through the mud, she later clarified that she doesn’t have a problem with people who were peacefully protesting.

Neilson Barnard / Staff / Getty Images

“Nobody wants to see our communities being burnt down or torn down or ambushed, because this is still our community, our property, our place that we gotta go,” she said at the time. Now, the radio show host returned once again with a lengthy message apologizing for her recent remarks. “This week felt like an out of body experience,” she wrote. “I am a roller coaster of emotions, brought on by the events of the world we all live in. These are times of great tumult and trauma.”

“From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize for any grief I have caused,” Trina stated. “I live my life on the values of respect and regard for all people, and I will continue to do so. None of us are perfect, but thank God that we have the ability to reflect, dissect, and begin anew.” Check out Trina’s full message below.

Over the past week, people all across the United States have been protesting the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police. The demands are clear at this point. The vast majority of people want an end to police brutality and a significant defunding of police forces that don't serve their community in non-violent ways. Republican lawmakers, including the President, have been wary of these protests and have called for increased police and military forces in their respective states.

Washington, DC has seen quite a bit of action in regards to these protests, and recently, it was reported that heavily armed unidentified guards have been all over the city. Journalists repeatedly asked these guards who they were and who they were with but refused to give details. Eventually, some reporters figured out that the men were prison agents from the Bureau of Prisons.

Vanessa Bryant was feeling thankful this week that the murals of her late husband and late daughter, Kobe and Gianna Bryant, did not get vandalized during the protests in L.A. this past week. As protestors across the country have taken to looting and destroying some businesses and property as they fight for justice in the police killing of George Floyd, it looks like the Angelenos thankfully left the murals of the city's Lakers legend alone. Vanessa took to her Instagram stories on Monday (June 2nd) to share some photos of the "untouched" murals, some of which also include her late daughter, Gianna.

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

She first shared footage of a mural that depicts Kobe and their daughter, Natalia, being saved in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. She went on to share a screenshot of a tweet that read, "They know Kobe is off-limits" along with a photo of a Kobe mural with signs that say "Black Owned" on either side. Vanessa proceeded to post photos of different murals of Kobe and Gigi, both together and individually, that had been saved around L.A. In some of the captions, she wrote expressions of gratitude like, "Kobe and Gigi mural saved," "Untouched Kobe mural," and "L.A. love," along with an abundance of heart emojis. Check out the photos here.

In the Spring of last year, SZA took to Twitter to share an incident that left her disturbed. According to the Top Dawg Entertainment singer, she was at Sephora minding her own business when a white employee called mall security because she believed SZA was stealing. The celebrity-laden neighborhood of Calabasas isn't that diverse, so "Sandy Sephora," as SZA dubbed her, seemed to racially profile the singer.

Jamie McCarthy / Staff / Getty Images

In the wake of these current times as protests are being overrun with riots and looters, SZA shared she was out in California trying to do some shopping when she was asked to leave the store. "I’ve had the WEEIRDDESSST EXPERIENCES TODAY. ? another random ass man tried to remove me from a plaza In palisades while attempting to buy dog food for fear I was a 'rioter'," she tweeted on Sunday (May 31). "Lol He asked the grocery employee if he was 'okay' after watching him speak w me then told me 2 leave??." A fan asked if the man who confronted her was "you know," meaning white, and SZA confirmed that he was.

"Between the 'lock and load' rhetoric on my neighborhood app + being rushed out of a public space for being considered a rioter ...I was in tears," SZA added. "Couldn’t even jump up and down how I wanted cause I didn’t wanna look like a 'rioter' to the legion of cops across the street. Smh. And in that moment I realized I cared more about the white gaze than my own humanity .. I was sad for me . I don’t wanna live like that no more . I wanna cry and yell if I need to .. no guilt trip." Check out her tweets below.

After it was reported that President Donald Trump spent his evening in an underground bunker as the White House's lights were shut off amid protesting in Washington, D.C., Trump has come forward to speak about the civil unrest sweeping across the nation. President Trump has been criticized over the last few days about how he's responded to the protests, riots, and looting, and he addressed the nation, and beyond, in a press conference on Monday (June 1).

Trump stated that he was "revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd" and promised Floyd's family that "justice will be served." The President acknowledged the protests and said that he and his administration wouldn't allow the peaceful demonstrations to be "drowned out by an angry mob." After declaring himself the president of "law and order," Trump said he would do all that it took to protect American citizens.

"That is why I am taking immediate presidential action to stop the violence and restore security and safety in America," he added. "I am mobilizing all available federal resources, civilian and military to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans including your second amendment rights."

Unsurprisingly, his presidential address has rubbed a few people the wrong way as critics claimed that his word usage was language that incited violence among citizens. Take a look for yourself by watching Trump below.

View this post on Instagram

BREAKING: Addressing a nation on edge, Pres. Trump called himself the "law and order" president, and said he is mobilizing "heavily armed" military to stop continued protests in Washington, D.C. over the death of George Floyd. Before Pres. Trump spoke, what appeared to be gas was used to disperse peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park near St. John's Church, which was briefly set on fire last night. Trump then walked across Pennsylvania Ave. to appear before cameras at the church, holding a Bible. abcn.ws/3drsPzV #donaldtrump #georgefloyd #protests #washingtondc #military #usmilitary #nationalguard #stjohnschurch

A post shared by ABC News (@abcnews) on Jun 1, 2020 at 4:40pm PDT

Virgil Abloh’s been under fire in the past 24 hours for his comments regarding the recent protests across the country, especially when it came to his “streetwear is dead” comments. Abloh’s comments came across as slighting the racial injustices that people are fighting for across the country over brick-and-mortar stores that can be replaced. 

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

“Yesterday, I spoke about how my stores and stores of my friends were looted. I apologize that it seemed like my concern for those stores outweighed my concern for our right to protest injustice and express our anger and rage in this moment,” he said.

“Buildings are brick and mortar and material things can be replaced, people can’t. Black lives matter. In this moment, those other things don’t,” he wrote. “People who criticize ‘looting’ often do also as way to make it seem like our fight against injustice isn’t legitimate. I did not realize the ways my comments accidentally contributed to that narrative. As mentioned yesterday, if looting eases pains nd further the overall mission, it is within good standing with me.”

Immediately after, he explained the $50 donation that he’s been hounded over. He explained that it wasn’t the only donation that he made and apologized that it came across that way. “I can understand your frustration if you think my contributions were limited to $50. purely false when it comes to the total. I have donated $20,500 to bail funds and other causes related to this movement.”

Read his entire apology below. 

The protests are still going on across the country following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police. Over the weekend, cities across America and Canada held their own demonstrations protesting against social injustices across America. Some cities have experienced looting and riots but George Floyd's brother is begging for the violence to stop.

Following the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, many have felt compelled to stand up in the face of racial injustice -- a systemic injustice that has claimed the lives and shattered the safety of black people for years. Even now, disgraced police officer Derek Chauvin's fate remains uncertain, with questions on whether George Floyd's murderer will end up doing significant jail time to begin with. 

Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Amidst all the pain that these killings have caused, the entire hip-hop community has been mobilizing. Several rappers have already issued statements; some have taken to the streets alongside the people to demand justice. For Denzel Curry, the scars of police brutality run deep. In March of 2014, Denzel's brother Treon Johnson was killed after sustaining fatal injuries at the hands of police officers, who tased and pepper-sprayed Johnson into a state of sepsis. Yesterday, Denzel took to Twitter to share a powerful reflection on current events. 

"After looking at most of your comments in my last few posts about the current situation happening in the U.S.A," begins Denzel, addressing his fans and supporters. "It seems a lot of you are Extremely insensitive, Extremely Ignorant, and most likely come from places where you don’t have to face the prejudices that my people face on a daily basis. To you I’m just an entertainer and I’m suppose to dance for your support of my music and craft but now I’m here to say FUCK ALL THAT. We are living in one of the worst times in America."

"It’s even got to the point that I don’t even want to consider myself as an American, most people don’t treat us as Americans let alone human," he continues. "Most of you say there’s no reason to riot but in our defense there’s no reason to be killing my people. The tension in the United States has got me at a crossroads and I’m here to tell you it’s either you With Me or Against Me. I don’t agree with senseless violence and that goes for both ends... I advocate for doing the right thing." 

Our thoughts go out to Denzel Curry, and everyone hurting as a result of systemic racism and police brutality. Rest in peace to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. 

Travis Scott has released a lengthy statement regarding the death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests across the country.

Rich Fury / Getty Images

The rapper uploaded his statement to Instagram, calling for police reform and speaking about police brutality.

“As I pace around thinking, trying to find something to ease the pain,” the post began. “There are almost no words that I can think of to properly express, or I can use to suppress, this enraged feeling of us continuously losing our brothers and sisters to brutality at the hands of officers, or anyone with misguided intentions for our well-being.”

“The rage that we are feeling is from direct personal experience and the constant pain of wanting our voices to be heard,” he continued. “To be seen as equal and human, too. We have to change and reform police policy in our U.S. cities, and there needs to be accountability immediately! Especially when officers abuse power to the point where it callously takes a life.”

“My heart goes out to George Floyd’s family and everyone who’s suffered loss based on this type of senseless injustice and brutality,” he concluded. “Me and the team are gonna do everything possible to make sure these issues are addressed on a long-term basis. Thank u Bun for picking me up this morning and helping me figure out ways I can really help move this forward. Love. See you all soon!”

[Via]

Target will be temporarily closing a number of stores while the protests following the death of George Floyd continue to be held in cities across the country.

Stephen Maturen / Getty Images

Six stores will be closed in total, while many others will be running under adjusted hours. "We adjusted hours or closed more than 200 stores over the weekend," a Target spokesperson told USA TODAY. 

The six closed stores are as follows:

- Broadway Oakland, CA
- Buckhead South Atlanta, GA
- South Loop Chicago, IL
- Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 
- Uptown Minneapolis, MN
- Washington Square W Philadelphia, PA

CEO Brian Cornell released a statement on Friday, explaining the store's position on the protests and how the company is moving forward: "The safety of our team and guests is our top priority. We recognize the important role we play in helping our communities shop for the food, medicine and other essentials they need. We apologize for the inconvenience and will reopen our stores on their normally scheduled hours as soon as it is safe to do so.