culture
-
Nebraska Toddler From ‘Thug Cycle’ Video Will Remain With Mother
The 2-year-old Nebraska toddler who has become the center of national scrutiny after an Omaha police union posted a video of him swearing labeled “The Thug Cycle,” will remain with his mother, a juvenile-court judge ruled on Monday, according to CNN. Both the child and his 17-year-old mother will be placed with the same foster…
-
Herbie Hancock Named Professor of Poetry at Harvard
Herbie Hancock, one of the architects of contemporary American music, who has left his fingerprints in just about every form of the art, is now the Harvard University 2014 Norton Professor of Poetry, BBC reports. The jazz legend will deliver six lectures on a variety of topics, according to Rolling Stone. His talks will mostly…
-
Transgender Woman CeCe McDonald Released From Prison
CeCe McDonald, a 26-year-old transgender woman who was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for manslaughter, was released Monday, ABC News reports. McDonald didn’t plan on becoming a figure for the transgender-activist community late one night in June 2011, when she and friends were leaving a Minneapolis bar and were confronted by ex-con Dean Schmitz.…
-
Teenager Hurls Racist Remarks, Kanye West Allegedly Throws Punches
Looks like Kanye West’s plan to chill didn’t last long, as TMZ is reporting that the hotheaded rapper, who is now known as much for his antics as for his music, punched a teenager. According to TMZ, his fiancee, Kim Kardashian, had arrived at medical building when photographers swarmed her. Not wanting to deal with…
-
Online Gangbangin’: Flaunt It, Boast About It, Busted
The beat comes in—a rapid high-hat, laced with a dope-smoking, hypnotic keyboard punch—and then the hook, an ode to how Twain Gotti, a 22-year-old rapper from Newport News, Va., will ride out on his enemies. Gotti proceeds to spit the lyrics that got him arrested for an unsolved murder in 2007: Listen, walk to your…
-
Being Mary Jane Creator: ‘I Think Mary Jane Is All of Us’
When BET’s original movie Being Mary Jane premiered last summer, it drew 4 million viewers, making it the highest-rated cable show for the evening. When the show officially premiered last Tuesday, it was cable’s top show for the night again, attracting 3.32 million viewers. The show’s creator, Mara Brock Akil, is excited about what she…
-
Fat-Shaming Trolls Need to Get Over Gabourey Sidibe’s Weight
Gabourey Sidibe attended the Golden Globes Awards Sunday night. And in what has become a time-honored (and vile) tradition anytime she appears anywhere and happens to be photographed, some viewers thought it would be a good idea to mock her weight. Again. There was, of course, the flat-out name-calling, which was clear fat-shaming. And then…
-
Kerry Washington Makes Rare Appearance With Husband at Golden Globes After-Party
Kerry Washington is notoriously hush-hush about her private life, so what a surprise when she stepped out with her husband, Nnamdi Asomugha, at the Golden Globes after-party. According to the Huffington Post, the couple was spotted partying at the Weinstein Co. and Netflix party at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday. Washington, who was dressed in…
-
Sheriff’s Department Looks for a ‘Black Man’ Involved in ‘Suspicious Activity’
If you see a black man in West Virginia—any black man—he could be a person the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department is interested in because of suspicious activity. No, seriously. Over the weekend, Morgantown, W.Va.’s Dominion Post published a blurb describing how the sheriff’s department was looking for a man involved in some suspicious activity, according…
-
Murdered Brooklyn Slumlord’s Unpaid Debt Helped Shut Down Obama’s Bank
Unpaid loans to slain Brooklyn, N.Y., slumlord Menachem “Max” Stark contributed to the demise of Chicago’s Broadway Bank, which served high-profile customers such as President Barack Obama and had ex-Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon as a board member, the New York Post reports. Two sizable loans to Stark, in addition to 15 other bad bets…