For the second time, the thriller streaming service Shudder is highlighting Black writers and directors with a new horror anthology, Horror Noire.
A follow-up to 2019’s documentary Black Noire: A History of Black Horror, Black Noire will feature six stories together in one two-hour presentation, each written and directed by Black filmmakers.
Included in the anthology will be the installments Daddy, Bride Before You, Brand of Evil, The Lake, Sundown, and Fugue State.
The films include Luke James from The Chi; A Black Lady Sketch Show’sErica Ash; Lucifer’s Lesley-Ann Brandt; You’re the Worst‘s Brandon Mychal Smith; John Wick: Chapter 2‘s Peter Stormare; Genius: Aretha Franklin’s Malcolm Barrett; Rachel True from The Craft, and horror icon and Candyman star Tony Todd.
Horror Noire debuts on Thursday, October 28 on Shudder and at a later date through Shudder as part of the AMC+ bundle.
Sara Bareilles will perform at a very special fashion show this November.
The Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show on November 13 will feature 26 models walking a virtual runway — all of whom have Down syndrome. The event is being organized by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, and will be hosted by ABC’s Kyra Phillips and John Roberts of Fox News.
During her performance, Sara will “share her personal connection” to the “Down syndrome community,” according to the Foundation.
Other stars who’ll be participating include Quincy Jones, Jeff Probst, Grey’s Anatomy stars Caterina Scorsone and Eric Dane, football stars Brandon McManus, Justin Timmons and Harrison Phillips, and supermodel Beverly Johnson.
Sara will end her current stint starring in her hit musical Waitress on October 17; the lead role of Jenna will then be taken over by country star Jennifer Nettles of the group Sugarland.
Twitter erupted with rage when Fat Joe recently compared DaBaby to the late Tupac Shakur. Now the Terror Squad leader is explaining the comment he made on BET’s new Rap City 21.
Wednesday on Instagram Live, Joe recalled he was put on the spot and wished that the host Big Tigger had never asked him to name a current rapper who was the new Tupac. The “Lean Back” rapper did not want to respond. Finally, he says, out of respect to BET and the return of Rap City, he reluctantly decided to offer an answer.
Joe said during his Instagram Live session, “I’m thinking DaBaby is a real one, certified real one. Whether you like him or you don’t like him, I believe he lives what he raps. And that’s very much like Tupac. But is he Tupac Shakur? No! No one will ever be Tupac Shakur.”
When DaBaby heard Joe’s comment he posted it on Instagram and wrote, “Agreed.”
Social media did not agree, at least not with Fat Joe. One person wrote on Twitter, “Fat Joe thinks DaBaby is 2021’s Tupac??? I want what he smoking right now.”
Another person tweeted, “Wait, Fat Joe said what? I don’t think so. Tupac is in a class all by himself. DaBaby don’t even come close to touching Tupac. Not in this lifetime. Nope.”
Prince‘s RIAA Platinum-selling fourth studio album, Controversy, was released 40 years ago today, and to commemorate the milestone, a previously unheard solo demo version of one of the record’s tracks, “Do Me, Baby,” has be issued as a digital single.
The “Do Me, Baby” demo is available now as a digital download and via streaming services, while two limited-edition physical versions of the track — on cassette and purple-colored seven-inch vinyl — are scheduled to be released in January 2022.
Prince is credited with co-writing “Do Me, Baby” with his early bassist, Andre Cymone, and recorded the demo in 1979 at two Los Angeles-area studios. A rough mix of the track on cassette was recently discovered in Prince’s vault, and the recording was newly mixed by the artist’s longtime engineer, Chris James, for the single’s release.
Prince eventually recorded a new version of “Do Me, Baby” in June 1981 for the Controversy album.
Controversy peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200, and featured two top-10 hits on the R&B singles chart — the title track and “Let’s Work,” which reached #3 and #9, respectively.
Meanwhile, a new podcast focusing on the 40th anniversary of Controversy, hosted by Estelle, is streaming now at Apple Music.
Justin Timberlake was taking a not-so-subtle jab at his ex Britney Spears when he cast a Britney lookalike in his 2002 “Cry Me a River” video. But it seems like Britney can have a good laugh about it now.
In a new Instagram post where she tries on a bunch of outfits and a familiar-looking hat, the singer makes a joke about her video twin.
“Thoughts while making this video … Hmmmm something looks familiar …. The hat …. wait I look like that girl in the Justin Timberlake video with that hat in Cry Me A River !!!” she writes in the caption.
“Oh sh** that’s ME !!! I’m Britney Spears ??? I guess I forget that sometimes,” she adds with the crying laughing emoji.
Earlier this year, following the release of the Framing Britney Spears documentary, Justin issued a public apology to Britney for comments he made following their breakup. He also supported her after her bombshell conservatorship testimony in June.
“After what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time,” he wrote. “Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what’s happening to her is just not right.”
While it’s no surprise that Jeannie Mai is pregnant with her first child with her husband, Jeezy, the actress-turned-The Real host is still pretty shocked.
In a new episode of her Hello Hunnay YouTube channel, Mai explained that she never pictured herself being in a baby way.
“If you took every penny I had and everything I loved and bet that I would be pregnant, I would absolutely bet against myself,” she noted with a laugh, calling being pregnant a “full-circle moment” for herself.
“I am in awe of how I grew to get to this place,” she admitted.
“I was always — and still am — very protective of women and people who don’t want to have kids,” she tells the camera in the confessional-style show. “I don’t like the guilt and the pressure that’s placed on women to have children. Just because we’re women, it means that we have the choice; it doesn’t mean that we have to have children.”
Mai explained she had “zero idea of how to take care of a newborn,” proving that by showing off a baby doll her friends had gifted her to get her used to the idea.
Jeezy already had two “beautiful” children, the actress said, and she was very content with not having any of her own. “That was our plan…But as you know, you’re always gonna have plan and then God reminds you who’s in charge.”
She credits her relationship with the rapper for changing her mind.
Mai explained it was sexual abuse she suffered as a child that led to the “trust” issues that she always thought would make motherhood a non-starter for her. As she wiped away tears, Jeannie noted that all began to melt away when she felt their baby kick.
In January, Keshasaid that when Demi Lovato was on her podcast, Kesha and the Creepies in 2020, Demi talked about contacting extraterrestrials — leading Kesha to pick up the hobby herself. Then, Demi got their own show on Peacock, Unidentified, which is all about aliens and UFOs. Now, Kesha’s landed her own streaming show about similarly supernatural phenomena.
Conjuring Kesha will premiere on discovery+ in 2022, and is currently set for six one-hour episodes. The show, which expands on the Kesha and the Creepies podcast, will feature the singer “checking off her creepy bucket list” by examining “all things unexplainable,” with help from celebrity pals and experts in the supernatural.
“On this new show, I will bring along my friends to some of the most mysterious paranormal hotspots to explore with me,” Kesha says in a statement. “We will explore life’s great mysteries and aim to catch something never-before seen on camera.”
“My hope is to show that supernatural isn’t just the thing of myths and fables. We’re embarking on a spiritual and cosmic exploration,” she adds.
On Instagram, Kesha says of the new project, “me n some of my bffs are road-tripping around the country in search of PROOF of something more. I am a supernatural and spiritual explorer, i want to SEE things that i can’t explain, I’m looking at YOU, universe, to expand my brain and beliefs !!!”
Kesha and her brother LaganSebert are executive-producing the series.
(CHICAGO) — Chicago’s police union chief is urging officers to defy the city’s requirement to report their COVID-19 vaccination status by Friday.
Under the mandate, all city employees must submit their vaccination status by the end of the workweek. Unvaccinated workers who refuse to submit to semiweekly testing will be placed on unpaid leave.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said, “It’s safe to say that the city of Chicago will have a police force at 50% or less for this weekend coming up,” in a video shared on YouTube Tuesday.
He urged officers, “Do not fill out the portal information,” and to file for exemptions. Under the mandate employees can apply for medical or religious exemptions, which will be reviewed on a case by case basis, but they’ll still be required to undergo regular testing.
“I’ve made my status very clear as far as the vaccine, but I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody, let alone that information about your medical history,” Catanzara said.
He threatened to take Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to court if she enforced the mandate.
The Chicago FOP did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
“I can guarantee you that no-pay status will not last more than 30 days,” Catanzara said. “There’s no way they’re going to be able to sustain a police department workforce at 50% capacity or less for more than seven days without something budging.”
There’s been a contentious back and forth between the police union and Lightfoot.
In a press conference Wednesday she said: “There’s all kinds of things that that guy will say, must of it untrue, patently false. We’re not trying to do anything other than create a safe workplace.”
“He’s threatening litigation, I say bring it. Because we’re going to create a safe workplace for all of our employees and by doing that, we create safety for members of the public as well,” she added.
When asked, “What will the city do if over 50% of cops go into work and get sent home this week?” she replied, “I don’t expect that to happen.”
Police have been hit hard by coronavirus.
Four Chicago police officers died of COVID-19 last year, Lightfoot noted. On Tuesday, the Chicago police union’s former president Dean Angelo, 67, died after a weekslong battle with COVID-19, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Nationally, at least 228 officers have died of COVID-19 this, and 245 died in 2020, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. The page said COVID-19 is the leading cause of death for law enforcement officers in both years.
San Francisco also announced a vaccine requirement for about 35,000 municipal workers in June and those who refuse and don’t get an exemption could be fired. New York announced the same requirement, which includes teachers and cops, which took effect mid-September, affecting some 340,000 city employees.
However, the Chicago police union isn’t the only one voicing opposition to the mandate.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he won’t enforce a mandate for LA County workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 1 for his agency. The mandate allows for religious and medical exemptions.
“No, I am not forcing anyone,” Villanueva said during a town hall-style event on Facebook Live last week. “The issue has become so politicized there are entire groups of employees that are willing to be fired and laid off rather than get vaccinated. I don’t want to be in a position to lose 5, 10% of my workforce overnight on a vaccine mandate.”
In a statement on Oct. 8, Villanueva said, “The Department will continue requiring all of our employees to register with the Fulgent system but will only seek voluntary compliance and testing for the unvaccinated.”
Similarly, in New York City, last week the city’s largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association, shared a statement opposing the vaccine mandate for emergency responders.
“In the PBA’s view, the COVID-19 vaccine is a medical decision that members must make in consultation with their own health care providers. We have pushed to make the vaccine available to all members who seek it, and we will continue to protect the rights of members who are not vaccinated,” President Patrick Lynch said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — Luchiano Lewis was sentenced Thursday to the maximum of nine years to life in prison for his role in the murder of Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors.
Majors, 18, was stabbed to death on Dec. 11, 2019, in upper Manhattan’s Morningside Park, just off the campus of Columbia University.
Lewis, who was 14 at the time and charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree robbery last month.
The two other teens arrested in connection to the slaying were 16-year-old Rashaun Weaver, who has pleaded not guilty, and a 13-year-old juvenile who pleaded guilty and is serving his sentence.
Lewis said the three middle school friends plotted to rob people in the park and pinned the idea on Weaver. Prosecutors said Weaver wielded the knife.
In the last moments of her life, a security camera caught Majors trudging up a flight of steps in the park, dripping blood and struggling to breathe. As she reached the street she collapsed against a lamppost and died minutes later of stab wounds.
Majors’ father, Inman Majors, briefly exited the courtroom Thursday while the video of his daughter’s final moments was played.
As the prosecutor read a family statement, Inman Majors sobbed audibly.
“We still find words inadequate to describe the immeasurable pain, trauma, and suffering that our family has endured since her senseless murder,” Majors’ parents wrote in a statement.
“Tess was a brilliant student, a voracious reader, a poet and a fledgling journalist. She had big dreams. She loved everything about music. … She loved meeting new people with different ideas and beliefs than her own,” her parents said. “But mostly she loved her family and friends, her cats, and especially her younger brother. Her family misses her every moment of every day.”
“Our hearts ache as we watch Tess’s friends return to school, perform concerts, start new jobs, and experience all the things that our daughter never will,” they continued. “It is hard for many old friends to be around us. Our grief is too profound. We are too changed from the people we used to be. Our lives are forever changed, and not a day goes by that we don’t think about what could have been for Tess’s future.”
Lewis, now 16, apologized and said he felt ashamed, embarrassed and “sad in the role I played in destroying two families.”
When Lewis told Majors’ father “I’m deeply sorry for your loss,” he wept and covered his eyes with his hand.
Lewis broke down as he apologized to his father, who was seated alone in the courtroom. “Dad, I’m sorry I failed you,” Lewis said.
Judge Robert Mandelbaum appeared skeptical of Lewis’ sincerity, saying “sadly and troublingly the defendant has learned no lessons.”
The judge noted the “multiple violent acts” Lewis has been involved in while incarcerated, including the beating of another inmate with a piece of metal wrapped in a sock.
Mandelbaum said in handing down the sentence, “The defendant was and is extremely young. He has his whole life ahead of him but Tessa Majors does not.”
Though Lainey Wilson’s still a little in shock that she’s got a number-one country radio hit, the “Things a Man Oughta Know” star says she’s fired up to be a part of where country music is headed next.
“It feels like it couldn’t be a better time for me and my music. I’m proud, humbled, excited and ready to it again,” she tells CMT.
The singer goes on to say that now she’s had a taste of success, she’s “hungry for more,” and she’s hoping to achieve her goals by sticking to the authenticity and heart that helped her create “Things a Man Oughta Know.”
“I’m going to keep saying what people are thinking with my music,” she adds. “If I stay extremely honest and continue to tell it like it is, I believe I’ll remain successful.”
“Things a Man Oughta Know” hit the top of the charts last month. Lainey wrote the song with collaborators Jason Nix and Jonathan Singleton. It’s a track from her freshman project, Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’.
