A clip went viral last week of Keke Palmer at the Los Angeles protests. As she faced the National Guard, she requested that they join in the march. They declined. Instead, they took a knee with Palmer and those that were marching with her. They said that they needed to guard their post.

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In a recent op-ed posted to Variety, Keke Palmer details her experience at the Los Angeles protests and explains the viral clip. "At one point, I spoke with National Guardsmen who were preventing us from marching past a certain point and challenged them to march with us," she wrote. "They didn’t march with us, and while one offered to for a short stretch, he also said he had to “protect the businesses” and buildings in the area."

She said that at that point, she wasn't considered the buildings but the innocent lives lost to racial discrimination and police brutality. And if any of these officers did decide to march with her, it would make a much bigger statement about the systemic oppression Black Americans face regularly.

"In that moment, I wasn’t thinking about who may or may not touch a building; I was thinking about how we’re out here, fighting for a call to protect human lives. And the government is telling you to protect a building? That doesn’t add up to me, and I wanted to challenge them with the question, “How does that add up to you?”

While a few guardsmen knelt, for me that isn’t enough. Kneeling has become a mockery of sorts. Kneeling on George Floyd’s neck is what killed him. Now we see police officers kneeling and then, moments later, attacking peaceful protesters. At this point, the kneeling has no meaning."

You could read her whole piece here. 

The relationship between Gabrielle Union and America’s Got Talent was one that quickly turned sour. She was brought on as a judge, but according to Union, the work environment not only became physically unhealthy for her as she said she endured Simon Cowell’s perpetual indoor smoking, but it was an emotionally damaging experience, as well. The 40-year-old actress has shared stages and sets with thousands of other entertainment industry professionals in her 25-year career, but she recently shared with Variety why America’s Got Talent was one of the most toxic.

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On her first day on the AGT set, Union, who claims she’s allergic to cigarette smoke, complained of Cowell’s habit to production. She said it was like “coming onto a set and you are literally met with the very definition of a toxic work environment, and it’s being carried out by the most powerful person on the production.” There were allegations of racially inappropriate remarks, including Jay Leno reportedly making a remark about Cowell’s dogs being like the food at a Korean restaurant. Howie Mandel, who is a self-professed germaphobe, couldn’t handle sitting next to Union whose nose was constantly running due to allergies.

“I signed up for the experience of being a part of a show that hails itself as the biggest stage in the world. Super diverse, and one about giving people an opportunity to shine where they otherwise probably wouldn’t,” Union says, adding, “What could go wrong?” The actress says she hopes that changes have been implemented so that the future of their work environment is more “inclusive.”

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The falsettos have been coming out to play as they’ve attempted to give their renditions of Usher‘s 2012 single “Climax.” In a recent interview with Variety, The Weeknd sparked controversy after he mentioned the R&B icon. “I heard ‘Climax,’ that Usher song, and was like, ‘Holy f—, that’s a Weeknd song,'” he told the publication. “It was very flattering, and I knew I was doing something right, but I also got angry. But the older I got, I realized it’s a good thing.”

Diplo, who helped craft “Climax,” later tweeted that he wanted to bring “dark edges” to R&B, much like The Weeknd did with House of Balloons in 2011. The Weeknd replied that the media blew things out of proportion. “Usher is a King and always an inspiration so it was flattering to hear what him and Diplo did on climax. XO.”

Later, singer Brian McKnight’s son, Brian McKnight Jr., added his two cents to the controversy. He shared a video of himself showing off his singing skills and wrote that truly, “Climax” leans more to his father’s sound. “I always thought it sounded more like a Brian McKnight hook, personally, which is really just a Prince Rip off, at the end of the day,” Brian Jr. wrote in the caption. “But that’s only if you ask me. ??❤️. What do y’all think?”

He then tagged Usher, The Weeknd, and Eric Bellinger before tossing in a few hastags including “#TheBestArtistsSteal.” Check it out below.

Fans were curious as to whether or not Usher would issue a response to The Weeknd‘s recent remarks. The After Hours hitmaker is the cover star for Variety‘s latest issue. Inside, The Weeknd talked about his latest album and the rise of his career that began after he made waves with his 2011 mixtape, House of Balloons. One year later, Usher shared his single “Climax,” a track that The Weeknd says mirrored his talents.

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“I heard ‘Climax,’ that Usher song, and was like, ‘Holy f—, that’s a Weeknd song‘” he told the publication. “It was very flattering, and I knew I was doing something right, but I also got angry. But the older I got, I realized it’s a good thing.” That was a bold statement to make about the R&B veteran and fans were divided while discussing The Weeknd’s comments.

Instead of clapping back, Usher decided to kick off a “#ClimaxChallenge.” The singer took to his Instagram Story to share a video of himself singing his track while also highlighting other vocalists who wanted to give their take on his sexy single. Not everyone could hit those high notes like the R&B icon, but they did their best. Check out a clip of Usher along with the music video for “Climax” below. Let us know if you think Usher was a tad influenced by The Weeknd for this one.

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Is it time for another Harold & Kumar adventure? Sixteen years ago, John Cho and Kal Penn starred as friends who set out on a hilarious journey to fulfill their munchie cravings after smoking weed. The 2004 film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle became a comedic classic that was followed up with two sequels: Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay in 2008 and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas in 2011.  

Jason Merritt/TERM / Staff / Getty Images

Kal Penn took a break from his Hollywood career to take a job working with former President Barack Obama’s administration as the Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement. Now that he’s no longer working for the White House, Variety wanted to know if the 42-year-old actor would be open to reviving his pothead character for another installment of the series.

“I feel like it’s gotta be a streamer because people just love watching [these movies] in the comfort of their own home on a Friday night at 2 a.m., which is more streaming ‘binge-able’ than it is going to the theater,” Penn told the publication. He added that Cho is open to the idea, as well. “We would love to do a fourth movie. John Cho and I text about it all the time.”

“Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg — who created and wrote all three movies in the franchise — we all would love to do one,” Penn added. “I think we all, thankfully, have the blessing of being really busy right now and want to find the right venue and the right timing.” Would you want to see another Harold & Kumar film?

The Jordan Peele-curated Amazon Prime series, Hunters, is catching some heat from the Auschwitz Memorial for a historically inaccurate depiction of an event that never actually occurred during the Holocaust, according to Variety. The show’s opening credits feature several frames from the premiere episode where Nazi soldiers played a game of chess using Jewish prisoners as chess pieces. As each chess piece is eliminated, the Jewish captives are executed on the spot. 

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The show about a team of American Nazi hunters originally debuted this past Friday (Feb. 21) and was almost instantaneously met with harsh criticism from the Auschwitz Memorial who took to their Twitter account to voice their displeasure with the scene, Tweeting: 

“Auschwitz was full of horrible pain & suffering documented in the accounts of survivors. Inventing a fake game of human chess for @huntersonprime is not only dangerous foolishness & caricature. It also welcomes future deniers. We honor the victims by preserving factual accuracy.”

David Weil, the series’ showrunner and creator released a statement of his own this past Sunday (Feb. 24) saying, “symbolic representations provide individuals access to an emotional and symbolic reality that allows us to better understand the experiences of the Shoah.”

Weil also stated that the show “is not a documentary” and “was never purported to be.” He told Business Insider that Hunters was based on an 80-page “bible,” he created five years ago which details each characters’ backstory. Weil’s grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, was his inspiration for the show’s existence.

Hunters is currently available to watch on the Amazon Prime streaming service. Check out the trailer to the series in the video provided below. 

After teasing their upcoming track by sharing a snippet of their collaboration two weeks ago, Justin Bieber and Quavo were captured out and about filming the music video. Bieber and his team are preparing for the release of his forthcoming album rumored to be titled Changes with a March 2020 release date. The singer has already shared his hit song "Yummy," and it looks like his joint single with the Migos rapper is next up. 

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According to TMZ, Bieber and Quavo were in Los Angeles at a daycare facility on the front steps dancing with what's rumored to be members of the community. “Ain't it funny how the money, and the cars, and the clothes were nothing until I met Jesus / And ain't it funny how they you look up in the sky and see the stars & the moon and still don't believe them," Bieber rapped in the snippet of the Murda Beatz-produced track.

The other day, Bieber held a listening party for his new album in Los Angeles. “I don’t even think I should be alive never mind thrive,” he said as he recounted his depression while both growing up and being "hurt by the industry." According to Variety, Bieber looked over to Scooter Braun and tearfully said, “You walked with me through a lot of sh*t."

Check out a few highlights from Bieber, Quavo, and their film crew in L.A. below.

The period right before the Grammy Awards makes for an eventful week in Los Angeles. This Sunday (January 26), the coveted music ceremony will take place at the Staples Center in Downtown L.A., and all week artists have been hosting and attending parties in celebration of the big event. Justin Bieber used the opportunity to host a listening party for his forthcoming album that, according to Variety, is titled Changes.

Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Staff / Getty Images

The 25-year-old’s new album will be his first studio record since his 2015 release Purpose. The pop singer recently shared “Yummy,” the album’s lead single, and as his team anticipates a rumored March release date, Bieber and friends gathered together to hear the project before anyone else.

Variety reports that Bieber joined together with listeners at West L.A.’s Village Recorders, and while giving a speech to a crowd of approximately 200 people, the singer broke down in tears.  “I don’t even think I should be alive never mind thrive,” he said as he recounted his depression while both growing up and being “hurt by the industry.” At one point, he reportedly looked over to Scooter Braun and tearfully said, “You walked with me through a lot of sh*t.”

Bieber didn’t go into detail about those that he said did him wrong, but he did add that he went through a period of confusion because he didn’t know who was trustworthy. The Christian singer also spoke about relying on God through his struggles. “There’s power in weakness,” he said. He told his wife Hailey Bieber, “I love you with all my heart…and I’m so proud of us.”

Before streaming the album, which is said to have heavy R&B influences, Bieber joked that he had to “get it together… I’m gonna go shoot myself.” He made sure to repeatedly state that he was just kidding and didn’t mean that in any serious manner. Are you ready for R&Bieber?

He’s a rookie in the music scene, but Lil Nas X has made history. He’s broken Mariah Carey‘s record for the longest-running No. 1 song on the Billboard 100 chart, and although the “Old Town Road” hype has dissipated in recent months, the song is an unforgettable milestone for the 20-year-old artist.

Emma McIntyre / Staff / Getty Images

The 62nd annual Grammy Awards will take place this Saturday (January 26) in Los Angeles, and Lil Nas X has received his first nominations—six, to be exact. He recently caught up with Variety to chat about his quick rise to stardom while sharing a few unknown facts about his background. “So much happened during my rise,” X said of artists like Nipsey Hussle, XXXTentacion, and Juice WRLD dying. “You know, drugs and murders. And my grandmother passing [in 2018]— she was the first person close to me who died. It was devastating. And it made me a hypochondriac: I’d wake up, heart racing. It was scary.” That caused him to “[smoke] [weed] heavily, but then I started feeling more connected with the universe, and taking everything as a sign.”

Lil Nas X also shared that while he was one of the most talked-about artist of 2019, he was secretly attempting to get his mother into rehabilitation. “I never really talk about my mom. She’s an addict so we don’t have the closest relationship,” he said. “Even trying to get her better — things didn’t quite work out. But there’s still love… The biggest surprise of becoming globally famous? On the outside, everybody loves you — but on the inside, everything [feels] the same.”

Back in September 2019, he announced that he was taking a break from music after he canceled two festival appearances. “I wanted to do more performances last year, but it didn’t go as planned and I didn’t have confidence,” he said. The time off wasn’t particularly helpful.  “I would start to overthink it all and I’d get overwhelmed. Like, what song should I put out next? Or should I put out multiple songs? Or how do I prove this person wrong?”

Make sure to tune into the Grammys this weekend to see if Lil Nas X takes home any trophies. In the meantime, swipe through below to check out a few images from his Variety feature.

The relationship between The Breakfast Club co-hosts Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God may be on ice. The pair seemed to have been good friends over the years, but that was tested just months ago when Charlamagne sat down to interview Gucci Mane one-on-one. Years ago, Gucci alleged that Angela was trying to have sex with him, a claim that she adamantly denied. Last year Gucci returned with allegations that he was banned from The Breakfast Club because of Angela.

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Charlamagne told him that he wasn’t, so the two chatted for a lengthy interview. In October, Angela told DJ Quicksilva that she believed Charlamagne should have supported her, especially because she believed Gucci disrespected her. The Lip Service host recently sat down with Variety to discuss her podcast, but the current status of her relationship with Charlamagne came up in conversation.

“We’ve always been the same. We work together, it is what it is,” Angela said when asked about the status of her friendship with Charlamagne. “Like he said, we’re co-workers. A lot of people have jobs where they don’t necessarily love the people they work with, it’s just a part of life. That’s not the person you’d hang out with in real life.”

She also revealed that the Gucci Mane situation wasn’t the first time that she and Charlamagne have had tensions. “There’s been a lot of experiences. The important thing is I’ve always been a responsible person. As a woman, too, you have to be a lot stronger,” she said. “Things are always happening that if you let it bother you, you’ll be mad all the time. It’s hard not to [take things personally]. It sucks because sometimes you feel so numb. You used to get so upset over things and feel so much, after a while shit keeps happening, you’re just numb to it now.”

The fact that they’re sometimes at odd makes things “interesting.” Angela added, “The way that I am: there’s certain things that I don’t agree with and I’m just never been the type of person… I was taught in radio: if somebody is talking, then you don’t talk over them. Sometimes, it’s hard to even speak. Sometimes being the only woman on the show, I have to always try to cut in…. Because I’m also the person who’s doing the research; watching the shows; reading the books. I’m always trying to get validity and points across. There’s not enough room for me to do that and express my feelings, you have to figure one or the other. When we do Rumor Report, I have the stories. When we do Front Page News, I’m presenting the stories. They’re jumping in with their opinions, but somebody has to present the stories. It doesn’t leave as much space for you to say ‘Ok, here’s what I think.’ I express myself a lot more outside of that show.”