Beyoncé, like the rest of us, is feeling devastated by the senseless killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and is opening up about it.
“We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities,” she writes. “It is up to us to take a stand and demand that they ‘stop killing us.'”
However, the most important part of Beyoncé’s note is that she uses the post as an opportunity to call everyone to action. “We’re going to stand up as a community and fight against anyone who believes that murder or any violent action by those who are sworn to protect us should consistently go unpunished.” She then urges everyone to click in on her website to contact the politicians and legislators in everyone’s own area.
She is clear and concise in her message and correctly notes that this is a human fight “no matter your race, gender, or sexual orientation.” Public outrage has exploded in the wake of the deaths of both Sterling and Castile and shows no sign of slowing down with many mobilizing in protest.
Drake, Kanye West, Chance the Rapper, John Legend, Meek Mill, and many more artists have since used their platforms and spoken out to declare their own wishes for change. Beyoncé is one more extremely powerful voice lending herself to the fight.
You can read Beyoncé’s powerful note in its entirety below or on her website.
32-year-old Castile was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights when Castile reportedly went to reach into his back pocket for his ID as the officer had asked him for it. The aftermath of the shooting was recorded by Castile’s girlfriend Diamond Reynolds, who along with her four-year-old daughter, witnessed the shooting.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Ciara have tied the knot as husband and wife in a very private ceremony in Liverpool, England, according to E! News. The high-profile couple exchanged vows in a castle in front of about 100 guests of their closes friends and family. The pair did not leave anything to chance and seemingly had all guests leave their cell phones outside the ceremony so that no pictures or videos of the event would make their way to the press or online as reported by TMZ.
However, Jennifer Hudson posted pictures of herself getting ready for an event on Instagram that many assumed to be the couple’s wedding, which got a lot of fans excited. Hudson didn’t specify where she was, but she did caption her posts with cryptic messages like “Here we go guys!” and “Love is your color” indicating that something special was about to go down.
Probably the biggest hint that the duo’s wedding was coming was that Ciara hit Las Vegas in June for what now seems to have been a bachelorette party. Ciara’s best friends, Serena Williams and Kelly Rowland, hit up the Wynn with Ciara’s other close friends.
Ciara and Russell have been dating for over a year when he expertly dodged a question about their status to the press before making it official only two days later when he took the singer as his date to the White House State dinner. The pair later made headlines for their openness about their decision to abstain from sex until marriage. It left many feeling puzzled about the relationship since both were clearly not virgins prior to the relationship considering Ciara shares a child with her ex, Future. Ciara also faced backlash from Seahawks fans when the team struggled during the 2015 NFL season, but it didn’t seem to phase the pair too much who stayed together and got engaged in March.
Of course, every public couple receives a little heat, but the greatest challenge for the pair was the very public custody battle of baby Future. Ciara filed a suit back in February accusing Future of slandering her name in public and seeking $15 million from him. Future shot back with a countersuit and things only got uglier from there until a judge denied Ciara full custody of their child. Future then dropped his suit because the legal victory awarded him more time with his son and all seemed cool between the couple until earlier this week when reports surfaced that Ciara was worried Future would kill Russell based on Instagram comments and song lyrics. Future shut the whole thing down with one tweet reading, “Wish everyone could move on like me…that’s my only wish.”
Hopefully, everyone can work everything out now that Ciara and Russell are married and both of them along with Future will all be permanent figures in baby Future’s life. We also hope they don’t wait too much longer to finally consummate their marriage because they’ve definitely earned it. Check out a glimpse of Ciara allegedly before the rehearsal dinner Tuesday evening, Russell heading to the venue Wednesday, and more below and congratulations to the new couple.
50 Cent has reached a bankruptcy deal that will end his longtime financial troubles. As reported by TMZ, a judge signed off on a deal for 50 that will require him to pay out $23 million to his creditors over the next five years, including $17 million to Sleek Audio and $6 million to Lastonia Leviston. If you remember, 50 was ordered to pay over $7 million to Leviston, who is also the mother of Rick Ross’ child, for publishing her sex tape with his own personal commentary.
The proposed plan was actually first presented to the judge by 50’s team back in April, but the judge just signed off approval. “Mr. Jackson is pleased that the Bankruptcy Court approved his plan of reorganization today, less than one year after filing for chapter 11 to reorganize his financial affairs,” 50’s lawyer told TMZ. “Mr. Jackson appreciates the fresh start this process provides.”
News of 50’s finances first erupted back 50 Cent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July of 2015. 50 later commented on the case being settled via his Instagram and joked that he found where he hid all of the money.
Soon after Kanye West released the controversial visuals for “Famous,” the rapper went to Twitter with a bold question: “Can somebody sue me already [?]””
Well, he might just get exactly what he asked for.
Ray J’s manager, David Weintraub, told Heat magazine that the singer/TV personality is considering taking legal action over the “Famous” visual for including Ray J’s naked likeness.
“We’re talking about potentially doing something,” Weintraub told Heat. “There’s too many times Kanye has done this. You can’t really continue to use people’s likenesses without either compensation or clearance. It seems to be becoming an issue—this is like the fourth time in six months he’s done this. We haven’t really worked anything out. There were kind of discussions but it’s getting old, so our legal team is working out what we want to do with everything.”
Less than a week after the “Famous” visuals premiered, Weintraub shared some pretty harsh words about Kanye and the project: “If they didn’t show Ray J with his dick in Kim Kardashian’s mouth, then tell Kanye to go back and reshoot that shit,” he told TMZ. “Tell that n*gga he’s a long way from Chicago, he’d better watch his motherfucking mouth.”
Ray J also responded to the video, insisting he was “just trying to stay positive.” But he also told Entertainment Tonight that his fiancé was “tripping” about his depiction, and that it’s taken a toll on their relationship.
So, will Ray J slap West with a lawsuit? He definitely has a case, but we’ll just have to stay tuned.
Iggy Azalea is pissed—and understandably so. Soon after it was announced that she and Nick Young had called it quits, the rapper was allegedly blindsided by more devastating news: Young had been sleeping with his ex Keonna Green, and they’re now expecting another baby.
Iggy has since gone to social media insisting she didn’t know about the pregnancy until after the break-up. In an exclusive interview with US Weekly, Green says she attempted to reach out to the rapper but never received a response. And Iggy said she found out from E! News.
Just hours after the exclusive dropped Wednesday, Iggy was seen at an Australian airport and had a not-so-subtle message for Young and Green. And she didn’t have to utter a single word.
So what was the message caught by TMZ? It was a good ol’ fashioned “F**k you” presented with her middle finger. And just so people wouldn’t think the gesture was directed at the nosey paparazzi, Iggy made sure to say it was specifically for Young and his baby mama.
Clearly, this shit storm, which has also included a D’Angelo Russell scandal, is far from over. Let’s just hope for Iggy’s sake that there’s no more secrets emerge. You can check out the clip at TMZ.
Lionel Messi and Jorge Horacio Messi have been found guilty of tax evasion in Spain. The Barcelona superstar and his father were accused of evading more than $4 million in tax payments between 2007 and 2009 and were handed 21-month prison sentences for their actions. However, it’s unlikely that either Messi or his father will actually be required to serve any jail time.
Under Spanish law, any tax prison sentence that is under two years long can be served on probation, so Messi and his father will reportedly be allowed to skip the sentences they were given, assuming they abide by the terms of their probation. They will also both be required to pay fines as a result of their tax fraud case. Messi has been ordered to pay about $2.2 million, while his father has been told to pay about $1.6 million.
More than 24 hours after two white police officers shot and killed a 37-year-old black man outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., details of the fatal altercation are continuing to emerge.
The officers were reportedly responding to an anonymous report on Tuesday that Alton Sterling was brandishing a gun as he sold CDs outside when they shot him several times. A coroner ruled Sterling died on the scene due to multiple gunshot wounds in the chest and back. Here is what we know about the incident, and what action is being taken in its wake.
21 Savage’s show at the Opera Nightclub in Atlanta on Monday night was cut short after he leapt into the crowd mid-set to fight someone. “He was on the last song of his set when guys in the crowd were throwing up their set and disrespecting his,” an inside source who was on stage at the event told Complex exclusively. “He told them to calm down but then they started trying to rush the stage.”
Savage is then seen tucking his chain in and jumping off the stage, with his crew following close behind him. “They found in the middle of the crowd and then the fight started spreading to bystanders and it became a brawl,” the source said. As KTT users point out, the entire incident was captured live on Periscope, which you can watch below. The fight starts around the 10:30 mark.
The altercation broke up soon after 21 Savage returned to the stage, but the damage seemed to be done. People quickly left the venue, and just a few minutes later, heavily armed police officers were seen entering the building. “APD SWAT was called in with AR-15s and was told to evacuate the building and shut down all the surrounding streets,” the insider said. Although initial reports indicated that shots were fired, they proved to be incorrect. In addition to the fight, however, police did report that bottles were thrown into the crowd. The insider told Complex that he also saw chairs and barricades being thrown.
So far neither 21 Savage nor Opera Nightclub has released a statement regarding the incident.
Ciara is embroiled in a defamation lawsuit against Future, and in new document she just filed in the case, she reportedly expresses concern that Future might kill Russell Wilson. According to a report from TMZ, Ciara lays out a number of supposed threats Future has made against Wilson. Most notable is an Instagram post in which Future had gun emojis pointed at footballs, which she thinks is in reference to Wilson, who plays for the Seattle Seahawks.
She also points to lyrics from his recent song “Juice,” which appeared on his latest mixtape Project E.T. Esco Terrestrial. In the song, he raps the line “Tryna fuck with my baby mama, dog what’s up with you?/You gon’ make me get that heat, I’m pulling up on you.” According to the report, Ciara’s filing called Future’s supposed threats “frightening” and “socially irresponsible … where there has been a recent rash of gun violence.”
The filing isn’t clear what exactly this has to do with her defamation suit against Future. She originally filed the suit back in February, accusing Future of slandering her name in public and seeking $15 million from him. She claimed that in a series of tweets and interviews, Future made her appear to be a bad mother and generally defamed her.
Future filed a countersuit, claiming her recent album Jackie was a “flop” and that as such, he couldn’t slander her name in an impactful way. Although he later dropped it after being awarded more time with the pair’s son, the bad blood between the two camps clearly remains.
Future later tweeted alluding to the incident, saying that he wished “everyone could move on like me.”
