culture

Update: In a prerecorded appearance on NPR’s Weekend Edition, Bill Cosby was joined by his wife, Camille, to discuss a loan of his extensive collection of African-American art to the Smithsonian Museum. According to NPR, host Scott Simon, during the interview, offered Cosby the opportunity to address the allegations that have been swirling in the…

In a move that could bolster 34-year-old Marissa Alexander’s case, a judge ruled this week that evidence of prior alleged acts of domestic violence against other women by her estranged husband would be allowed at her December retrial, First Coast News reports. Circuit Judge James Daniel on Wednesday stipulated certain conditions in the ruling, including…

By all accounts the family of 17-year-old Jessica Lynn Brewster, a high school senior with a 4.0 grade-point average, had high expectations for her, and a pregnancy would be viewed as hampering her future. That is why, police allege, the Muskegon, Mich., teen hid her pregnancy from her mother. And when she gave birth last…

On Sunday night, Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta returned with a new season, its first since cast member Porsha Williams physically attacked cast mate Kenya Moore during the show’s reunion special earlier this year. With cast and crew looking on, Williams found herself in tears on the floor of the set, restrained by security,…

The seventh episode of ABC’s Black-ish aired this week, and as the show establishes itself thematically, one of the motifs that it consistently explores is parental trial and error. No matter how many books one reads or advice one stockpiles, parenting requires on-the-job training, and the perils of poor parenting decisions have served as prime comedic fodder for family-sitcom…

I’m dating a guy I met through a friend. She introduced him as a friend only but admitted that she used to find him attractive. When he approached me about spending time, I asked her if it was cool and she said, “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?!” He later tells me they had sex…

Joke: “A hip-hop purist and his friend walk into a bar for a good time.” The end. It’s funny, right? Because hip-hop purists don’t have a good time—they’d rather spend their meanwhiles masquerading as tastemakers, directing traffic in and out of the “respectable” rap lane. They’re the cultural-gatekeeping equivalent of Otis the security guard from…

The New England Patriots are in hot water after tweeting out a message containing the n-word, according to the New York Daily News. The football team’s Twitter campaign to highlight its one-millionth follower caused a social media PR disaster because the winner’s Twitter account contained the n-word. The Patriots’ account posted a picture with a…

On last night’s episode of Scandal, Mellie slept with Andrew, who slept with Elizabeth, who is working with Kubiak, who was murdered by Huck, which was witnessed by Javi. Jake and Fitz engaged in the world’s cattiest pissing contest. And Olivia wore a winter-white pashmina-cape-snuggie number that was so sick I took some Theraflu on its…