Fans Think Rihanna is hiding a Baby bump, Peek Inside the House Billy Porter had to Sale, Oprah Wants to Discuss Ozempic and More News for The Culture

A collection of The Root’s best posts of the week for The culture

Fans Call Rihanna’s Performance at Billionaire’s Bash ‘Lazy’ but Some Theorize She Was Hiding Something

Rihanna attending the Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 22, 2024 in Paris. Photo: AP Sipa

Besides her record-breaking Super Bowl halftime performance in 2023, it’s been over five years since fans have seen pop princess Rihanna perform live on stage. And we’re not even going to talk about the last time she dropped new music – although I guess she has been raising children and running a fashion and beauty empire. – Angela Johnson Read More

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‘Origin’ Star Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: Ava DuVernay Is “A Freedom Fighter Posing As A Director”

A Peek Inside Billy Porter’s Long Island Home Up For Sale

Screenshot: YouTube

Last week, we told you how financial pressure from the SAG-AFTRA strike forced multi-hyphenate entertainer Billy Porter to put his home up for sale. The “Pose” star told The Standard that he’s still living check-to-check, which means months without work forced him to make the difficult decision. – Angela Johnson Read More

Done With Weight Watchers, Auntie Oprah Now Wants to Teach Us About Ozempic? Who Will Tell Her to Sit down?

Photo: Getty Images Phillip Faraone

In 1988, while revealing her shocking weight loss on her talk show, Oprah Winfrey famously wheeled out a wagon containing 67 pounds of fat. She explained how she’d been on a “medically supervised” liquid protein fast. This was the beginning of a decades-long emotional roller coaster involving Oprah’s weight. Her popularity and influence meant that not only was the audience deeply invested in her weight loss journey, if she recommended a diet, product or method, it usually became the hottest trend in the industry. – Stephanie Holland Read More

Here’s Why Rihanna Is a Billionaire and Her Peers Aren’t

Photo: Getty Images Emma McIntyre

Even if you’re in your “abolish all billionaires” bag, it’s kinda tough to apply that to Rihanna: How could you not want to see her win big?

In our on-going series on Black business, we take a look at how Ri-Ri started and built her billions: The Barbadian beauty became the youngest self-made female billionaire and youngest female billionaire in 2022. She’s worth about $1.4 billion today, placing her among the top five richest Black women in the world. Though Rihanna has numerous music accolades – second highest-selling woman artist of all time behind Madonna and nine-time Grammy winner – the music alone didn’t make her a billionaire. – Dustin J. Seibert Read More

There Is A Big Boss Reason Why Rihanna Just Performed a Multi-Million Dollar Concert in India

Screenshot: YouTube/Page Six

Earlier, we told you about Rihanna’s multi-million-dollar payday to perform at a pre-wedding party for the son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Now, some are suggesting the “We Found Love” singer’s decision to take the gig was less about the music and more of a calculated business move. – Angela Johnson Read More

Mike Tyson, Meet Jake Paul’s Obsessive White Fan Base

Screenshot: Taken from Netflix trailer

Mike Tyson will be in new territory when he fights Jake Paul come July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Not because it’s his first live fight in nearly four years or because it’s the first time Netflix will broadcast a boxing match. But because of the audience that will be watching him: old boxing fans who know him as Iron Mike Tyson, and a new generation sports fans who have learned everything they know about boxing from social media star and champ, Paul. – Noah A. McGee Read More

Chinese American Family’s Million Dollar Gift Honors Black Family Who Helped Them When No one Else Would

Lloyd Dong Jr. and Ron Dong stand in front of their childhood home. Screenshot: Facebook

Just across the bay from San Diego, Coronado, California, is a community known for beautiful beaches. But in the 1930s, it was also known as a community that wasn’t exactly welcoming to families of color. The Dongs, a Chinese American family, learned that the hard way in 1939 when they had trouble finding a place of their own. – Angela Johnson Read More

Ex-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Isn’t Divorced, But He’s Doing His Thing in These NYC Streets

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 06: Chirlane McCray and Bill de Blasio attends the Clive Davis 90th Birthday Celebration at Casa Cipriani on April 06, 2022 in New York City. Photo: Getty Images Jamie McCarthy

Move over, Will and Jada. It looks like New York City may have its own polyamorous power couple – former mayor Bill de Blasio and former first lady Chirlane McCray, who have been doing things their way for nearly three decades. – Angela Johnson Read More

We Love To See It! Reesa Teesa Of ‘Who TF Did I Marry’ TikTok Series Just Landed a Big Deal

Screenshot: ABC News

Tareasa “Reesa Teesa” Johnson and her 50-part TikTok series went viral beyond belief. Now, she literally turning her pain into gold. Johnson has officially signed with the prominent Los Angeles-based talent agency Creative Arts Agency for representation. – Candace McDuffie Read More

Do We Love Coco Gauff’s Vogue Cover? Inside the Tennis Star Reveals What Venus and Serena Williams Told Her

Photo: Getty Images Matthew Stockman

Since winning her first Grand Slam at the 2023 US Open, tennis star Coco Gauff has not only become the No. 3 player in the world—making her the top-ranked American—she’s reached a new level of stardom. Case in point, she graces the April cover of Vogue, where she’s featured in a glamorous photo shoot. In the accompanying interview, she discusses that instant classic final at the U.S. Open, her battle with perfectionism and the influence of tennis greats, Venus and Serena Williams. – Stephanie Holland Read More

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