‘Made in Staten Island,’ an MTV Reality Show, Makes the Borough Look Bad, Critics Say
First there was “Jersey Shore” on MTV and then “Mob Wives” on VH1.
Now another reality television series, set to debut on Monday, features a blend of both — and like its predecessors, it is drawing criticism that it stereotypes Italian-Americans.
“Bosses aren’t born, they’re ‘Made in Staten Island,’” MTV said in promotional materials for the show, “Made in Staten Island,” which the network described as “grittier and edgier” than its other reality shows.
“Made in Staten Island,” which tracks young adults trying to avoid mob lifestyles, has drawn the ire of city officials and thousands of people who signed an online petition calling for it to be canceled. The show perpetuates the notion that Staten Island is “a cesspool of gangsters, meatheads and low lives” and is premised on the idea that “kids from Staten Island all grow up surrounded by the mafia,” the petition said.
One of the show’s executive producers is Karen Gravano, a star of “Mob Wives” and the daughter of Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano, who was a hit man for John Gotti, the Gambino crime family boss, and later became a government informant. Ms. Gravano’s daughter Karina Seabrook, 19, is one of the stars of the show.
“A lot of us are faced with two options: the street life or the straight life,” says one of the show’s other stars, Christian Patterson, 20, in a preview. “Our crew was born in the streets, and now they’re looking for a way out.”
Article via TheNYTimes
Walmart bans woman who rode cart while drinking wine from Pringles can
Police in Texas received a strange call on Friday that involved a woman drinking wine in the parking lot of a Walmart.
According to USA Today, employees at the store in Wichita Falls had asked officers to ban the woman after she had been drinking wine from a Pringles can for several hours as she rode around on an electric cart.
The incident reportedly began just after 9 a.m., when officers received a call about a suspicious person in the parking lot.
The woman was reportedly riding around on an electric shopping cart that’s generally used by people with physical limitations.
She was also drinking wine from a Pringles can, according to USA Today.
Police said they were told that the woman had been riding around the parking lot since 6:30 a.m. while drinking the wine.
When officers arrived, they found the woman at a nearby restaurant and notified her that she’d been banned from the Walmart.
Article via FOXNews
Dwanye Johnson The Rock says tabloid interview 100 percent false
Dwanye Johnson widely known as “The Rock” has said the interview in which he is reported to have criticized General Snowflake never happened,calling it 100 percent false.
The wrestler-turned Hollywood star posted a video t his Instagram, explaining “the interview never took place, never happened, never said any of those words, completely untrue, 100 percent fabricated. I was quite baffled when i woke up this morning”.
In the clip he said “you know its is not real DJ interview if I am ever insulting a group, a generation or anyone. That’s not me, that is not who I am”.
The “Rampage” star added:”I always encourage empathy. I encourage growth, but most importantly, I encourage everybody to be exactly who they want to be.
Generation Snowflake is a term used for the young adults of the 2010s as being more prone to taking offence and having less psychological resilience than previous generations, or as being too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own.
Article via TheNews
Kanye West dropped out of Coachella due to over-the-top demands, ‘port-a-potties’ talk
The real reason why Kanye West dropped out of the mega-music festival Coachella has been revealed, and unsurprisingly, it has to do with the star’s over-the-top requests.
Billboard claims that on New Year’s Day, just two days before the highly anticipated lineup was set to be unveiled, West threw a fit because the festival’s organizers refused to allow him to build a giant chrome dome in the middle of its grounds to perform on instead of the main stage.
ARIANA GRANDE TO HEADLINE COACHELLA AFTER KANYE WEST DROPS OUT OF FESTIVAL
Executives from Coachella’s parent company Goldenvoice told West that the custom-made dome wouldn’t be possible, because it would force them to reorganize the festival’s setup entirely, and move one of the largest sections of portable bathrooms on the grounds. West reportedly hung up abruptly and said he was “an artist with a creative vision who shouldn’t be spending his time talking about port-a-potties.”
Due to West’s last-minute cancellation, Coachella was forced to make a quick replacement, which they found in Ariana Grande. The pop star is managed by Scooter Braun, who also worked with West until the rapper ended their professional relationship late last year because he claimed he “can’t be managed.”
Grande will now take West’s place to close out the final night of the three-day festival, and will make history as the youngest Coachella headliner ever.
West’s lofty request is just the most recent in the star’s erratic behavior spanning the last year. West, who claims he was diagnosed, then misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, has been candid about his mental health struggles, and proudly declares that he no longer takes medication at this point in time.
It’s certainly a disappointment for fans that West will no longer be performing at the festival, which is widely considered one of the biggest music festivals in the world. Pre-sale tickets sold out in just six hours for this year’s lineup, and an estimated 125,000 people are expected to flock to the desert to see their favorite artists at the festival’s 20th iteration.
West’s appearance at Coachella had reportedly been in the works for several years. Now with the financial backing allowing artists to be paid between $2 million and $5 million to perform there, the draw for musicians and concertgoers alike is at an all-time high.
However, given that West had not collected any payments from Goldenvoice or signed any contracts, they decided to abandon negotiations with him about the dome shortly before the deadline to announce the lineup arrived.
Billboard also revealed that West nearly landed a headlining spot at the Governors Ball festival in New York, which never happened because of his demands for a dome stage.
Article via FoxNews
R. Kelly’s Estranged Daughter Calls Him A ‘Monster’ Amid Sex Abuse Allegations
“I am well aware of who and what he is,” Buku Abi wrote on Instagram.
R. Kelly’s estranged daughter spoke out for the first time since the “Surviving R. Kelly” docuseries premiered on Lifetime last week.
Buku Abi, whose real name is Joann Kelly, posted a statement to her Instagram stories on Thursday evening, denouncing her father as a “monster” and asking for understanding for her family. Abi is the daughter of R. Kelly and his ex-wife, Andrea Kelly.
“I just want you all to understand that devastated is an understatement for all that I feel currently,” Abi wrote. “I do apologize if my silence to all that is happening comes off as careless. That is my last intention. I pray for all the families & women who have been affected by my father’s actions. Trust, I have been deeply affected by all of this.”
She added: “The same monster you [are] all confronting me about is my father. I am well aware of who and what he is. I grew up in that house.”
Abi said neither she nor her mother have spoken to R. Kelly in years.
“My mother, siblings and I would never condone, support or be a part of ANYTHING negative he has done and or continues to do in his life,” she added.
R. Kelly did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
“Surviving R. Kelly,” a docuseries that highlights the R&B singer’s history of psychologically and sexually abusing young women, brought renewed attention to the accusations and increased pressure to pursue criminal charges. Prosecutors in Georgia announced this week that they are investigating some of the allegations discussed in the docuseries.
An average of 2.1 million people tuned in to watch the series, which aired from Jan. 3 to Jan. 5, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline recently reported a 20-percent surge in calls on dates the program aired.
In the last few weeks, multiple artists, including Lady Gaga and Chance the Rapper, have publicly apologized for working with R. Kelly and have condemned his alleged behavior.
Andrea Kelly, was married to R. Kelly for 13 years until 2009. Last year, she spoke out, alleging she endured domestic abuse at the hands of Kelly in an interview with TV One’s “Sister Circle.”
Read Abi’s full statement on HuffingtonPost
Four black men accused of 1949 rape of white woman in Florida are pardoned
Four black men accused of 1949 rape of white woman in Florida are pardoned
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After a dramatic, hour-long meeting that recalled events from nearly seven decades ago, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s three-member Cabinet granted posthumous pardons Friday to four African-American men accused of raping a white woman in a 1949 case now seen as a racial injustice.
The case of the men known as the Groveland Four has been documented in a book and is considered a blight on Florida’s history. One of the four was killed before he could be charged and the other three were convicted on dubious evidence.
The families of the men accused of the assault told DeSantis and the Cabinet — meeting as the clemency board — that there is overwhelming evidence the men were innocent and there was no rape. The woman who was 17 when she said she was raped, sat in a wheelchair and later told Gov. DeSantis and the Cabinet the rape did indeed happen, saying she was dragged from a car, had a gun put to her head and was told not to scream or they would “blow your brains out.”
At one point, the two sides briefly clashed. Beverly Robinson, a niece of one of the Groveland Four, was speaking to the governor and the Cabinet when she turned to the woman and her sons.
“It never happened. You all are liars,” Robinson said.
“That’s enough out of you,” the woman said.
“I know it’s enough out of me. It’s always enough when you’re telling the truth,” Robinson replied.
The unanimous vote to pardon came almost two years after the state House and Senate voted to formally apologize to relatives of the Groveland Four and to ask then-Gov. Rick Scott to pardon the men. Scott, now a U.S. senator, never took action. DeSantis replaced Scott on Tuesday and made the pardons a priority.
“I don’t know that there’s any way you can look at this case and think that those ideals of justice were satisfied. Indeed, they were perverted time and time again, and I think the way this was carried out was a miscarriage of justice,” DeSantis said.
The ordeal began in Lake County in 1949, when the then-17-year-old said she had been raped. Three of the men were arrested and severely beaten; a fourth, Ernest Thomas, fled.
A posse of about 1,000 men was formed to hunt down Thomas. He was shot 400 times when they found him sleeping under a tree. White residents also formed a mob and went to a black neighborhood, burning houses and firing guns into homes in a disturbance that took days to quell.
Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin and Samuel Shepherd were convicted by an all-white jury. Other evidence that could have exonerated them — such as a doctor’s conclusion that the teen probably wasn’t raped — was withheld at their trial. Greenlee was sentenced to life, and Irvin and Shepherd to death.
Thurgood Marshall, later the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, took up Irvin and Shepherd’s appeals for the NAACP, and in 1951 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered new trials.
Just before those trials began, Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall shot Irvin and Shepherd, claiming the handcuffed men tried to escape as he transferred them from prison to a jail. Shepherd died. Irvin was shot in the neck and survived despite an ambulance refusing to transport him because he was black. He was again convicted, even though a former FBI agent testified that prosecutors manufactured evidence against him.
Charges were never brought against any white law enforcement officers or prosecutors who handled the cases.
Irvin was paroled in 1968 and found dead in his car while returning to Lake County for a funeral a year later.
Greenlee was paroled in 1960 and died in 2012.
Greenlee’s daughter, Carol Greenlee, told DeSantis and the Cabinet that there was overwhelming evidence that her father was innocent.
“He was accused, put in jail and tortured for something he didn’t do,” she said.
The woman who said she was raped disputed the families’ stories.
“Y’all just don’t know what kind of horror I’ve been through for all these many years,” she said. “I don’t want them pardoned, no I do not, and you wouldn’t neither. I know (Robinson) called me a liar, but I’m not no liar.”
Afterward, state Sen. Gary Farmer, who sponsored the 2017 resolution apologizing to the families, said the woman’s comments were disappointing.
“She’s now here at the end of her life and she had a chance to come clean, to seek forgiveness for herself and to support the justice these four families and these four men deserve,” Farmer said. “It’s very said that she lost this opportunity and continues to perpetuate this lie. This crime did not happen. The evidence is overwhelming.”
Article via NBCNews
‘The Rock’ laments ‘snowflake’ culture
Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson lamented the “snowflake” culture in an interview with the U.K.’s Daily Star published on Friday.
Johnson, who has toyed with the idea of politics, told the publication that snowflakes’ complaints do a disservice to the war heroes who fought for freedom of speech.
‘THE ROCK’ HAD EPIC RESPONSE TO TEEN’S ‘PROMPOSAL’
“So many good people fought for freedom and equality – but this generation are looking for a reason to be offended,” he said. “If you are not agreeing with them then they are offended – and that is not what so many great men and women fought for.”
He said he may not agree with what someone thinks, who they voted for, but he will support their “right say or believe it,” according to the publication.
“That’s democracy,” he said.
“We thankfully now live in a world that has progressed over the last 30 or 40 years,” the 46-year-old superstar continued. “People can be who they want, be with who they want, and live how they want.
“That can only be a good thing – but generation snowflake or, whatever you want to call them, are actually putting us backwards.”
Article via FOXNews
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Photo of black, white students segregated in South African classroom draws fire Elizabeth Llorente By Elizabeth Llorente | Fox News
A photo that an elementary school teacher in South Africa took of her classroom to soothe parents nervous about their children’s first day of school instead generated shock and outrage after it showed four black children sitting at a small table in a corner, separate from the white children seated at a larger table.
The teacher at Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke in South Africa’s North West province, shared the picture on the school’s WhatsApp group, intended as an update for parents.
However at least one of the children’s mothers, who does not wish to be identified, was furious with the connotations.
All I saw was messages from the white parents saying ‘dankie, dankie [‘thank you, thank you’] but no one was saying anything about the separation of the learners,” she told the South African Times.
The chairman of the school’s governing body, Jozeph du Plessis, said the teacher thought she was helping the students feel at ease on their first day of school, by seating them with children from their own racial group.
“We saw the photo and we were also angered by what we saw,” he said. “The kids were quite unsettled – you must realize they were five years old on their first day at school – and she grouped them in a way she thought would settle them quickly and comfort them.
“There was no intent of racism or segregation from the teacher’s side. We are investigating – perhaps it could be a language issue, perhaps those kids are not speaking Afrikaans, but I can’t speculate.”
The controversy prompted a protest outside the school on Thursday, and some white parents retrieved their children from class.
Sello Lehari, the provincial Education Minister, said after stopping by the school: “From the information I got from the meeting, it seems that there are a lot of cases here of racism.
“I will send a team to do an investigation into all schools… to deal with issues of racism in totality,” Lehari said.
Student activist Mcebo Dlamini said on social media the most “provocative” thing about the whole situation “is not that black kids are ostracized from white kids, that is common in our supposedly post-apartheid Africa.”
“Rather what becomes painful is that there are black people who still insist that racism has ended and who think that blacks and whites can have peaceful relations that do not have undertones of racism.”
The teacher has subsequently been suspended, according to South Africa’s News24.
Article via FoxNews