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Madam C.J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire in the United Stats, is being honored by Mattel as the next female role model to be featured in Barbie’s line of Inspiring Women dolls.
Walker made her fortune beginning in 1910 in Indianapolis by developing a line of haircare products and cosmetics designed for Black women. In 1998, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Madam C. J. Walker commemorative stamp as part of its Black Heritage Series.
The Madam C.J. Walker doll features a rendition of the entrepreneur holding her original product, “Wonderful Hair Grower.”
Walker’s great-great granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles worked with Mattel on the collaboration and introduced the doll in an Instagram video.
“As a collector of Black dolls, I can tell you this really makes my heart sing!” she commented. Bundles is elated that Walker follows other trailblazing women in this special Barbie collection.
“I love that she joins Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Sally Ride and Eleanor Roosevelt,” added Bundles, who wrote the 2001 biography On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker.
The Barbie Inspiring Women Series pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before.
(NEW YORK) — Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fetterman recently attended a fundraiser in the Hamptons, a previously unreported appearance as he recovers from a stroke and ramps up to face Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz — whom he often attacks as an elitist celebrity versus his blue-collar style.
Photos posted to a public Instagram on Aug. 19 show Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, at a gathering in Amagansett on Long Island.
“Another fun one with our guy #johnfetterman #winning,” Quinn Blackwell wrote in a caption. Blackwell declined to comment when reached by phone; he also made his account private.
An account tagged in the photos, “jamesalexandernyc,” appears to belong to James Alexander, a director at the Cassia Group, according to a Linkedin page with his photo.
According to its website, Cassia Group is a private company that advances projects in various industries abroad, including energy ventures in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries.
Alexander did not respond to messages from ABC seeking comment, nor did Cassia Group when contacted by phone and email.
Suffolk County records for the address of the Hamptons home show that it was sold by a trust in Alexander’s name to Margaret Street LLC in 2012. Alexander’s name did not appear either in Federal Election Commission campaign finance data or on a list of Fetterman’s individual donors that spanned from June 2021 to June 2022.
A Fetterman campaign spokesperson, Joe Calvello, told ABC in a statement: “The only reason a dude like John would ever go to the Hamptons is because his campaign needs to raise money to fight back against the unprecedented onslaught of attacks and negative ads from Dr. Oz and his rich friends.”
Calvello did not answer specific questions about the fundraiser.
The pictures posted online from the event are standard fare, showing Fetterman — in his traditional hoodie — mingling with a group of people with name tags and posing with others in front of an outdoor pool. And it’s not, of course, unusual for Republicans and Democrats to raise money in the Hamptons during an election year.
Just this summer, according to CNBC, Democratic candidates from across the country attended or were scheduled to attend fundraisers there, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and gubernatorial hopefuls Stacey Abrams, of Georgia, and Wes Moore, of Maryland.
Oz, Fetterman’s opponent, has also spent time in the Hamptons and attended a July 4th weekend “white party” there this summer.
But Fetterman’s stop occurred as he has launched a number of high-profile attacks on Oz, accusing the former TV host of being out-of-touch with everyday voters in Pennsylvania — and more at home in the New York City area and its tony vacation enclaves.
“We just can’t be more different. We have a guy that lives in New Jersey, a guy that has — what is it, nine or 10 houses?” Fetterman told a crowd at a recent event in rural Mercer County, in one of his first in-person campaign appearances after his stroke in May.
Fetterman was in the Hamptons exactly one week after he returned to the trail at an energized rally in Erie as he continues to recover from his stroke. He has had a limited schedule since then, but he appeared at public events on consecutive days over the weekend — the first time he has done so since his health scare.
Some of Fetterman’s supporters downplayed his Hamptons visit.
Geraldine Eckert, who lives in Sharon, Pennsylvania, told ABC News that she wanted to do her own research on the event but said she “wouldn’t hold it against him.”
“If I were putting myself in Fetterman’s shoes, I guess I would go where I thought I could get money for my campaign and I would be honest with my constituents,” she added.
“He’s for the common people. He’s for the middle class. I can identify with him on a much easier scale than I can with any of the Republicans who are out there,” Jack Figaretti, a Democrat, told ABC News outside a campaign event.
Cassia Group, Alexander’s firm, appears to be engaged in business in conflict with some of Fetterman’s campaign issues. Cassia’s website touts work in metal mining and in various aspects of oil production, including “enhanced oil and gas recovery” and drilling. The website also described a 2016 project that involved collaboration with a firm linked to the Kuwaiti national oil company.
Fetterman’s website urges a “transition to clean energy as quickly as possible … in a way that preserves the union way of life for the thousands of workers.”
Miley Cyrus deposited an impressive $14.5 million into her bank account after selling her home in Franklin, Tennessee.
Dirt reports the “Malibu” hitmaker can now claim to have the second-highest real estate deal of the year.
Reese Witherspoon has her beat after buying a home in an affluent Nashville neighborhood of Belle Meade.
It also should be noted Miley bought the home in 2017 for a deal — $5.8 million dollars, meaning she inflated the house’s price by a whopping 150 percent. Even better, Miley didn’t have to deal with open houses and showings to sell her home because this deal was made entirely off the market.
The five-bedroom, five-bathroom farmhouse-style home sits on a 33.5-acre lot. The abode offers roughly 7,000 square feet of living space as well as a detached barn-style guest house, which the publication believes could have been used as a recording studio.
The home sits at the end of a cul-de-sac and is fully gated. It offers 2 powder rooms, a kitchen with premium appliances, a master suite on the main floor with a soaking tub as well as a swimming pool and putting green.
Dirt also found out who bought the house: It’s Dairy Queen mogul Matt Frauenshuh, who owns the biggest DQ franchise in the world with over 200 stores.
This isn’t the only home Miley has parted ways with recently. She sold her home in Hidden Hills for $7.2 million last year and unloaded her home in Malibu for $1.7 million in 2020.
Ashley Judd takes an unflinching look back at the traumatic final moments of Naomi Judd’s life in a new op-ed penned for The New York Times.
In it, she recounts the experience of finding her mother, who died by suicide: “The trauma of discovering and then holding her laboring body haunts my nights.”
She recalls feeling forced into cooperating with an investigation in the immediate aftermath of that devastating experience — never realizing, at the time, that the information she divulged could be made public.
“I felt cornered and powerless as law enforcement officers began questioning me while the last of my mother’s life was fading,” she writes, saying that she was forced to give four interviews to police the same day that Naomi died.
In the wake of the country legend’s death, her family members headed to court in an attempt to keep the records of Naomi’s death investigation sealed from the public. At the time of the op-ed’s publication, the family was still awaiting the court’s decision.
In the Times, she explains that privacy surrounding the day of Naomi’s death is an important part of preserving her dignity.
“And for those left behind, privacy avoids heaping further harm upon a family that is already permanently and painfully altered,” she continues.
Naomi died by suicide on April 30 at the age of 76. She used a firearm to end her life, a detail that Ashley subsequently shared during an emotional Good Morning America interview. The day after her death, Naomi and her daughter Wynonna were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame for their work as The Judds.
Anthrax won’t be thrashing through Europe this fall as planned.
The “Madhouse” metallers have announced that their upcoming tour of the continent has been canceled.
“Sadly due to ongoing logistical issues and 2022 costs that are out of our control, we have no other option but to cancel the European leg of our upcoming 2022 tour,” the group writes in a Facebook post.
Those who purchased tickets may receive a refund at point of purchase.
British Anthrax fans are in luck, though, as the band will still play their eight scheduled shows in the United Kingdom in September and October.
Anthrax has spent the summer touring the U.S. while celebrating the group’s 40th anniversary. The outing, which also included Black Label Society on the bill, just wrapped up over the weekend.
John Stamos posted an emotional picture to Instagram Wednesday, just as his 4-year-old son, Billy, was about to leave for his first day of school.
Stamos was pictured sitting on the steps in front of his young lookalike, who has apparently inherited his dad’s flowing locks. The pair is wearing adorably matching white button-down shirts.
“One of us is starting his first day at school. And the other is doing everything in his power not to cry,” the 59-year-old Big Shots and Full House star captioned the sweet photo.
Billy is Stamos’ only child with his 36-year-old model/actress wife, Caitlin McHugh, who posted her own first day of school photo to the social media platform. McHugh also matched her son in a white button-down. “Nervousness and excitement all around,” she captioned the picture, in which they admired Lilo, their small black mutt.
Arctic Monkeys have announced a one-off headlining show in New York City.
The concert will take place September 22 at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, September 1 at 10 a.m. ET.
If you’re lucky enough to snag tickets, be warned that the show will be a “phone-free” event, meaning you’ll have to lock up your cell in one of those pouches, Jack White-style. The venue’s website also notes that AM’s performance will be “professionally filmed and recorded.”
Arctic Monkeys just announced the details of their new album, The Car, last week. The follow-up to 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino will arrive October 21. The first single, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball,” is out now.
When Jon Pardi drops his Mr. Saturday Night album on Friday, he’ll likely turn some heads with one song on the album: There’s a track on the project called “Reverse Cowgirl.”
According to CMT, however, Jon says that the song’s subject matter isn’t what some fans might think.
“It’s the best, dirtiest, cleanest thing you can have,” the singer describes. “It’s got a funny, humorous twist to it, but it’s also really pretty and really romantic in a way.”
The song’s also a big favorite with other country artists, Jon continues. “Jake Owen made sure he called every three months until he knew I recorded that song,” he remembers. “He’s like, ‘Well, if you don’t want it, you know I want that song!’”
Jake’s not the only one. “Chase Rice texts me like, ‘Dude, did you record ‘Reverse Cowgirl’ yet? I cannot wait!’” Jon goes on to say.
Mr. Saturday Night also contains Jon’s latest chart-topping hit, “Last Night Lonely.”
Items from the personal collection of late Megaforce Records co-founders Jon and Marsha Zazula are going on sale in an upcoming auction.
Among the pieces available are various concert tickets and flyers from early Metallica shows, the key to a truck stolen from Metallica in 1983; photos, a poster and other memorabilia from founding KISS guitarist Ace Frehley; and the original headpiece for the Anthrax Not Man mascot.
Also up for bid will be several Grateful Dead memorabilia items the Zazulas collected, including a Gold record award for the band’s 1989 album Built to Last and various posters.
The auction, which is being put on by Backstage Auctions, will run from September 2 to September 11. For more info, visit BackstageAuctions.com.
The Zazulas founded Megaforce Records in 1982 and soon signed a then-unknown Metallica to their first-ever record deal. Marsha passed away in January 2021, followed by Jon in February 2022.
Taylor Swift has responded to a creative fan theory about the house featured in her 2019 “Lover” music video.
The Grammy winner hit the like button on a fan’s TikTok video that shared a theory that every room featured in the “Lover” house symbolized a different album of hers. Each of the nine rooms offers a different color and motif, which the fan thinks are clues about what album they embody.
For example, the dimly lit attic symbolized the 2017 album Reputation, while the red entertaining space is — of course — Red. The fan also suggested that the black-and-white staircase represented folklore, the sepia-toned closet was evermore and, finally, the starry night sky symbolizes Taylor’s forthcoming album Midnights.
Midnights will be her 10th studio album.
While the “Shake It Off” singer did not confirm the theory outright, fans are taking her small interaction as her way of confirming the fan’s theory. They also say this means Taylor’s “Lover” house is now complete.
Taylor also liked another fan theory that Dylan O’Brien, who starred in the 14-minute music video for “All Too Well,” may have enjoyed a sneak peek of the upcoming album.
Speaking of Midnights, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara poked fun at the album art by making their own parody on Twitter. It shows them Photoshopped onto the album cover, both chomping on the same cracker, with the title “Midnightsnacks.”
Taylor announced Midnights, which arrives October 21, at the VMAs on Sunday.
