Some of Africa's biggest names feature on Beyoncé's Lion King-inspired album, but might the US singer also gain new audiences?
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Monday, July 29, 2019
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50 Cent: ‘Power’ being overlooked by Emmys is racial
50 Cent said he thinks “Power” being overlooked by the Emmys over the years was racial despite the success of popular Starz series that has a prominently black cast.
“I like to say it’s racial. That’s the easy way to get out of things,” said the rapper and executive producer of the series during a panel discussion Friday at the Television Critics Association Press Tour. “People who are running and connected to these ceremonies are not necessarily cool people.”
After 50 Cent’s comments, “Power” creator Courtney Kemp — who accompanied him on stage — sarcastically said “So now, we’ll never get one.”
“Power” stars Omari Hardwick as a man who’s trying to leave behind his life as a drug kingpin and go legit. The series has become one of Starz’s most popular shows, but the popularity of the series hasn’t translated into Emmy nominations.
50 Cent said he experienced being overlooked before during his music career, especially when his debut studio album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ” was released in 2003.
“This project is the same material I used for my music,” he said. “I didn’t receive an award for best new artist when I had the largest debut for a hip-hop album. I sold more records for a first album today. I look at it the same. I’m going to make the numbers. The viewership before we’re done with it, they’ll be looking around saying ‘Yeah, we (expletive) up again.’ ”
“Power” will air its sixth and final season in two parts, Starz said. The first half, which 10 episodes, will begin as previously announced on Aug. 25. The concluding five episodes will start airing in January.
Kemp said the Emmy snubs were “disappointing.” But she was happy that the show has gotten recognition from their “core audience,” including the NAACP Image Awards.
“I thought we were doing something new and fresh,” Kemp said. “I was hoping that the Emmy voters would take notice, and they didn’t. You just accept it and move on. But we’ve been winning Image Awards now for quite some time. It feels as though our core audience does love and respect the show. Not every show gets the attention it deserves.”
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T.J. Maxx apologizes to family for racially profiling their Black son
Discount retailer T.J. Maxx has apologized to a Connecticut family who says their teenage son was the victim of racial profiling by store employees.
Melissa Askew-Ferris tells WFSB-TV her three sons were at a T.J. Maxx store in Wethersfield earlier this month and were followed by store employees. The boys immediately left.
The family from Cromwell later learned an employee had identified one of her sons as someone suspected of stealing from the store. Askew-Ferris, who is black, says surveillance video showed her son bore no resemblance to the suspect.
T.J. Maxx, part of the Framingham, Massachusetts-based TJX Companies, in a statement said we “expect that all of our customers will be treated with dignity and respect” and “sincerely apologize that this was not the experience” of the Askew-Ferris family.
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Actresses of color make equal-pay quest a group effort
Actresses of color are getting more roles and acclaim, but not commensurate money. Recognizing that achieving change isn’t a solo act, they looked for help — and found it in each other.
Giving colleagues a peek at their paychecks, speaking out about economic disparity and using hard-won success to boost others are among the measures slowly gaining traction in an industry where most actors are hunting for their next freelance job and women of color face entrenched barriers.
“One of the first things we say is, ‘Find out what the people around you are making,'” said entertainment lawyer Nina Shaw, a founding member of Times Up, the organization created in 2018 to fight sexual misconduct and workplace inequality. “And more and more, we’re finding that people are willing to talk to each other.”
Without knowledge of what other actors with a similar track record are getting for equivalent work, “you are way behind the eight ball,” said Gabrielle Union (“Think Like a Man,” ”Being Mary Jane”).
Changing entrenched behavior takes time, Union said, but “little by little we’re communicating, and women of color, specifically black women, are like, ‘Oh, hell nah.’ We are so woefully underpaid, under-appreciated, disrespected.”
Ana de la Reguera (“Power,” upcoming film “Army of the Dead”) saw the value of networking as part of “Latinas Who Lunch,” an informal group started by Eva Longoria. Actresses, as well as writers and directors, gathered to share their experiences and job and career building tips.
“We were actually encouraging each other to, say, shadow (observe) a director, ask to direct an episode, ask to be the executive producer,” de la Reguera said. The #MeToo movement consumed their attention last year, but she continues advising women one-on-one as they learn to navigate Hollywood’s intricate system, which she said is more challenging than the still-growing industry in her native Mexico.
What performers earn is difficult to verify, say researchers who track film and TV employment. Privacy concerns are one obvious reason, as are the complex deals that include compensation for acting and other work (as with HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” which Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman starred in and produced).
But there is research that adds weight to complaints of disparity. In the latest San Diego State University analysis of TV’s broadcast, cable and streaming programs, women had 40 percent of the speaking roles while men had 60 percent in 2017-18 despite the genders being evenly split in the population. Further limiting opportunities for women of color: 67 percent of all female roles went to white actresses, the study found. That exceeds the almost 61 percent they represent among U.S. women.
Asked if industry racism is at play, Union, who won a contract dispute with media giant Viacom-owned BET over her series “Being Mary Jane,” had a ready reply.
“Based on the numbers that I know that black women, Latinas, Asian women, indigenous actors are making, there is no other logical reason why we are paid what we are paid versus what our contemporaries are paid who are lacking melanin,” she said.
Less work means fewer chances for an actress to build a resume and the fan base that leads to more and better roles. Yet box-office receipts and TV ratings show that audiences embrace projects with multiethnic casts, according to an annual Hollywood diversity report from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Union wanted an established actress playing opposite her in “L.A.’s Finest,” which spins off Union’s character from “Bad Boys II,” and settled on Jessica Alba (“Sin City,” ”Dark Angel”). As executive producer of the Spectrum TV series, Union was positioned to make that happen — and ensure that Alba was fairly compensated.
“Because of the way my deal is set up, I had no problem giving back money to make sure Jessica Alba gets paid what Jessica Alba is worth,” Union said. “But you have to have the studio, the network, everyone to sign off on that.”
Asserting one’s economic value can be complicated when the sensitive subject of ethnicity is involved, even for celebrated actress Viola Davis, an Oscar and Emmy winner. In a 2018 interview Davis said that while people have termed her “a black Meryl Streep” she isn’t paid what she’s worth.
Davis later felt compelled to offer a public apology, telling The Associated Press she doesn’t compare herself to Streep, others do, and that she was taking responsibility for making the most of her potential with her own productions.
While African American actresses fight for pay that matches the stardom and critical acclaim they’ve achieved after decades of struggle, the scant number of leading roles for actresses of Asian and Latino descent is a different burden.
Even with the box-office hit “Crazy Rich Asians,” the sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat” and Sandra Oh’s success in “Killing Eve,” actors with Asian roots struggle to get lead roles and commensurate pay, said Nancy Wang Yuen, a Biola University professor and author of “Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism.”
“There isn’t a kind of a consistent platform advocating for Asians in Hollywood, and that’s part of the problem,” she said.
Jennifer Lopez made a huge leap for Latinas with 1997’s “Selena,” becoming the first Hispanic actress to earn $1 million. The importance of that payday has grown in retrospect, said Lopez, who recalled that she felt undeserving and even ashamed of her success at the time.
“But now I realize that it was important because our community needed that boost to say, ‘Yes, we are just as much value as any other actor (in) a leading role in Hollywood, in a big film,” Lopez said.
“Everybody knows there is racism, there is sexism …. it all exists. It’s just about us getting to the point of you realizing what you’re worth and who you are,” she said.
Awkwafina, the young breakout star of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “The Farewell,” finds herself in a similar position but forced to navigate among established actresses fed up with the status quo and past ready to make waves.
“Maybe I should inform myself how getting paid works but, at this point, I’m a newcomer. … And I don’t know what I should be getting,” she said. “But I think if I continue to deliver products that are doing well and that are well-received, I should be compensated fairly, right?”
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To Compete With Mattress Startups, Tempur Sealy Plugs Into Data
Meghan Markle makes history as guest editor of British Vogue and interviews Michelle Obama
Meghan Markle lent her creative vision to help put together a memorable cover for the upcoming September cover for British Vogue as a guest editor.
—‘They don’t make it easy’: Meghan Markle admits struggles with being in public eye—
The new mom stepped into a history-making role as the legendary magazine’s first guest editor in its 103-year history. And the Duchess of Sussex selected key figures for the cover as well as chose the photographer, Vogue reports.
And when it came to showcasing her royal face, Markle was clear about getting the message across that she did not want certain assets covered up.
“My instructions from the Duchess were clear: ‘I want to see freckles!’” photographer Peter Lindbergh the outlet about her request the morning of their photoshoot.
—BBC slammed for ‘racist’ & ‘disrespectful’ cartoon of Meghan Markle—
The news was announced Sunday in Instagram posts by both the magazine and the official account of Markle and Prince Harry that revealed the issue was named “Forces for Change.”
“For the past seven months, the duchess has curated the content with British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful to create an issue that highlights the power of the collective,” the royals’ post read.
Included in the issue is an interview between Markle and former First Lady Michelle Obama and a conversation between Markle and Dr. Jane Goodall.
“For the cover, the Duchess chose a diverse selection of women from all walks of life, each driving impact and raising the bar for equality, kindness, justice and open mindedness. The 16th space on the cover, a mirror, was included so that when you hold the issue in your hands, you see yourself as part of this collective.”British Vogue noted that Markle is the first guest editor of the all-important September issue in 103-year history of the magazine.
“Guest editing the September issue of British Vogue has been rewarding, educational and inspiring,” Markle said in the Instagram post. “To deep dive into this process, working quietly behind the scenes for so many months, I am happy to now be able to share what we have created.”
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Sunday, July 28, 2019
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Michael Jackson: MTV weighs removing name from award, report
Michael Jackson‘s legacy is still experiencing backlash from the explosive documentary Leaving Neverland.
As a result, MTV is contemplating removing Jackson’s name from its Video Vanguard Award for the Video Music Awards in August, reported the New York Post‘s Page Six.
READ MORE: Michelle Obama, Victor Blackwell respond to Trump’s racist Baltimore rant
“There’s a lot of heated discussion at the network about how to handle the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award this year, and it’s getting ugly,” a source told Page Six. “There’s talk about if they should change the name, or get rid of it altogether. [There’s also talk] about who would present it and who would accept it. It’s a mess.”
Leaving Neverland highlighted sexual-abuse allegations by two of Jackson’s former child protege’s Wade Robson and James Safechuck. In the documentary the men and their families described the relationships they had with Jackson, which included stories of how Jackson groomed these men to be sexual partners with him during their adolescence.
The Jackson estate denied the allegations and has since filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO for violating a clause in a 1992 contract. The contract barred MTV from making “disparaging remarks” about Jackson, but HBO says the contract has expired.
The documentary aired in March, but Jackson’s legacy is still taking hits because of Robson and Safechuck’s allegations.
“MTV [potentially] banning his name is the latest fallout. They haven’t decided yet, but they’ve been going back and forth on it. There are a lot of issues,” a source told Page Six.
READ MORE: Black rag dolls created for abuse pulled from shelves
The VMA Video Vanguard award has recognized the accomplishments of artists, directors, and entertainers since 1984. Jackson’s work in music and his groundbreaking visuals, is what made the network rename the award the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 1991, according to Yahoo News.
The 2018 recipient of the Video Vanguard award was Jennifer Lopez, which the network released last July ahead of the August awards show. There has been no word on this years recipient.
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Lena Waithe signs major deal with Amazon
Lena Waithe has inked a deal with Amazon studios.
The news came at the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Saturday. The booked and busy producer signed an overall deal with Amazon Studios, which is already locked in a two-season commitment with her for the horror anthology series THEM, according to Variety.
Waithe will also create and produce other original shows under the new Amazon deal, which was previously set up under a first-look deal at Showtime, the report noted.
READ MORE: Black rag dolls created for abuse pulled from shelves
“Lena is a powerhouse writer and producer who also has a gift for identifying exciting and authentic voices,” said head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke. “Our upcoming series THEM is the result of her rare ability to cultivate brilliant voices like Little Marvin and bring his wholly original and compelling vision to Amazon. We look forward to collaborating with Lena and her team for years to come.”
Waithe’s work on the critically-acclaimed Netflix series Master of None scored her an Emmy Award in 2017 for best writing for a comedy series.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership with Amazon Studios and am looking forward to this next chapter,” Waithe said, writes the entertainment news outlet. “Both of our goals are aligned in that we want to continue elevating storytellers who are underrepresented and have a unique vision of the world.”
She has created a production company called Hillman Grad that has several projects under its belt. THEM isn’t Waithe’s only project in the works. She also is the creator and executive producer of The Chi, a Showtime drama series, as well as BET’s Boomerang. Both series have been renewed.
She also created, wrote, and is the executive producer for a new BET comedy series Twenties. The company also has an upcoming Showtime pilot How to Make Love to a Black Woman and an Untitled Kid Fury Project at HBO.
Waithe’s film writing debut Queen & Slim, will be released in November. She has also previously produced Step Sisters and Dear White People.
READ MORE: Michelle Obama, Victor Blackwell respond to Trump’s racist Baltimore rant
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Black rag dolls, designed to be abused, pulled from shelves
So-called “Feel better dolls,” which resemble black rag dolls, have been removed from shelves at One Dollar Zone stores because of the racist message attached to the front.
The purpose of this doll was to get the owner to abuse it or even find a wall to “slam the doll” into when they were feeling down, the message says.
New Jersey state legislator Angela McKnight discovered the dolls at a store in Bayonne, N.J., and found them “offensive and disturbing on so many levels,” according to CNN.
McKnight also added in a statement on Facebook, “Racism has no place in the world and I will not tolerate it, especially not in this district. When I saw the doll in person, I cringed and was truly disheartened by the thought of a black child being beaten by another child or an adult for pure pleasure. To have a product depict or teach children that it is OK to hit another child, regardless of race, in order to feel good is sick. Dolls should be a symbol of love, care and affection.”
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis also chimed in by calling the dolls “insensitive” and praising the community for saying something about the dolls. He ended his post by saying, “We will not tolerate any symbol of hate and division within our community!”
One Dollar Zone’s President Ricky Shah said the company immediately pulled the dolls from the shelves after customers complained, CNN reported.
“One Dollar Zone deeply apologizes for this incident,” Shah said.
The controversial dolls weren’t bought individually, but came as part of an assorted 35,000 unit purchase. Workers try to vet all incoming items, but can’t catch everything, a Dollar Zone worker told CNN. The worker also noted that the doll comes not only in Black, but green and yellow as well.
The manufacturing company of the dolls is Harvey Hutter Co., headquartered just outside New York City, appears to have gone out of business, The Associated Press writes. The company’s website not longer exists and the phone numbers have since been disconnected
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