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Donna Leslie

Donna Leslie

What’s The 411 Episode 49: Kanye West; Instagram’s New Nudity Policy

Onika McLean, partner to Ericka Pittman in Bravo's reality TV series, The Singles Project, Guest Hosts

 

 

Kanye West, Netflix's Orange is the New Black, Instagram's new nudity policy are just some of the topics we're talking about on What's The 411 Episode 49.

What's Poppin Quick Takes

Call him King Kanye. Time Magazine has released its 100 Most Influential People and Kanye West topped this year's list. Also on the list is Kevin Hart, Laverne Cox, and Lee Daniels.

Netflix has renewed Orange Is The New Black for Season Four.

Rapper and actor Nelly was arrested recently on felony drug charges in Tennessee. He was released on $10,000 bail

Ten former Atlanta educators will receive prison time for their part in one of the biggest school cheating scandals in U.S. history. A total of 35 educators were indicted on charges stemming from racketeering to making false statements.

Univision TV's longest-running variety show Sabado Gigante bids adios after 53 years.

In memoriam, we remember:

• R&B great Percy Sledge has passed away at age 73. Sledge is known for his hit When A Man Loves A Woman.
Good Times actor Ben Powers, has passed away. He was 64. Powers played Thelma's husband Keith Anderson
Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr., a noted Johns Hopkins Hospital surgeon and civil rights activist, has died at age 70. He was the first surgeon to put an automatic heart defibrillator into a human. He also fought for black students to be admitted into medical schools
• Singer Johnny Kemp has died at age 56. Kemp is known for his hit Just Got Paid.

What's Poppin'

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is not happy with Spike Lee. He recently met with the filmmaker and urged him to change the title of his upcoming film. The title, Chiraq, is a nickname for Chicago often employed by rappers to highlight the violence in parts of the city.

Fox News is reporting that a planned concert by R&B/Hip-Hop artist Akon was cancelled in Kuwait. Conservative members of the parliament pressed for the cancellation saying that children need protection from "negative people".

Shelly Sterling, the wife of disgraced former L.A. Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, has won her court case against her husband's ex-girlfriend, V. Stiviano. Ms. Stiviano has been ordered to pay back 2.6 million dollars. The Washington Post reports that Stiviano also has to turn over the keys to a 1.8 million dollar duplex and $800,000 in cash to the Sterling Trust.

Under the Radar

Instagram had come under fire for allowing some nude photos to remain on its platform and removing others. The social media platform has revised its terms of service and now, no nude photos will be allowed except a breastfeeding mother or photos of woman post-mastectomy.

On The Carpet

On The Carpet is the UNCF and its CEO, Michael Lomax.

Last year, when the UNCF announced a gift of $25 million from the Koch Brothers as 'one of its largest gifts ever', several people took to twitter to express shock and anger. One person wrote:

"#UNCF literally 'sells their souls to the devil' accepting checks from the #koch brothers without knowing their evil history. Craziness".

Another tweet read:

#Koch donation to @UNCF tells children everywhere that money is first and integrity is unnecessary. Sends the wrong message. Period."

A little background on the Koch Brothers, according to the progressive Center For Media and Discovery, Charles Koch was once a member of the John Birch Society, a far-right group that so opposed the civil rights movement, that it declared the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., a communist.

Additionally, Charles Murray, author of the bell curve that depicts black and Latino people as innately intellectually inferior to white people was a guest speaker at a Koch retreat.

A very telling reaction to the Koch Brothers involvement with the UNCF is that the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the largest predominately black labor union in the country, severed ties with UNCF because the UNCF accepted the Koch donation of $25 million.

What's in the Pipeline?

Rolling Stone is reporting that Snoop Dogg will produce an original family drama series with HBO. It is currently in production.

Blackfilm.com and WBLS is reporting that the cast is in place for the new Nat Turner biopic. The film will star Gabrielle Union, Nate Parker, Aja Naomi King (How To Get Away With Murder), Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo, Dwight Henry, Roger Guenveur Smith, and Arnie Hammer. The film, entitled The Birth Of A Nation, is in response to the controversial 1915 film and it is currently in production.

Variety is reporting that actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw has joined the cast of the new Disney live-action film Beauty And The Beast. She will play Plumette the Feather Duster.

Former Destiny's Child, Latoya Luckett, has joined the cast of the upcoming NBC pilot Love Is A Four Letter Word.

Shondra Rhimes, Ava Duvernay, Debbie Allen, and Issa Rae will grace the cover of the May issue of Essence magazine.

Empire sensation Taraji P. Henson is working on a memoir. The book will be released in 2016.

Erica Campbell, with special guests Brian Courtney Wilson and the Allen AME Choir will perform live in concert at B.B. King's on May 2nd.

TV One will begin its 2015-2016 season with 8 new original series and 16 original movies beginning on May 9th.

  • Published in Videos

What's The 411TV:Chris Brown offers advice, Actress Daniele Watts Handcuffed for PDA, School's Out for Nicki Minaj, and more

In this episode of What's The 411, the panel of Kizzy Cox, Jacinda Motton, Rita Obi, an Glenn Gilliam are talking about:

The children of the late R&B singer, Marvin Gaye, have filed papers for a summary judgment in a lawsuit over the Robin Thicke song, Blurred Lines.

SNL welcomes a new cast member for its Weekend Update segment. Michael Che, formerly of Comedy Central's Daily Show, is the first black cast member to host the segment in the show's 40-year history.

Actress Daniele Watts was briefly handcuffed and detained by two police officers on Thursday, September 11th, after allegedly engaging in public display of affection (PDA) with her boyfriend.

Minnsesota Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson, child abuse charges.

There have been celebrity responses to the Ray Rice incident. Singer Chris Brown, who had his share of abuse, offered this advice: "Ray (Rice) or anybody else, because I'm not better than the next man, I can just say I've been down that road and I've dealt with situations and made my mistakes, too. But it's all about how you push forward and how you control yourself."

ON THE CARPET

It's obvious. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should be called on the carpet primarily because of his declaration that he, nor anyone within the NFL, had seen the Ray Rice elevator video before TMZ SPORTS released the video to the public on September 8th.

IN MEMORIAM

Bandleader, musician, composer, and educator, Gerald Wilson, died on Monday, September 8 at age 96, and jazz great Joe Sample passed away on Friday, September 12 at the age of 75 years-old.

Red Carpet fashions during New York Fashion Week featuring celebrities:

Angela Simmons, shoe designer and entrepreneur
Joan Smalls, fashion model
Nicki Minaj, rapper, singer, and actress
Skylar Diggins, professional basketball player with Tulsa Shock (WNBA)
Tracee Ellis Ross, actress, producer, and television host

Vogue magazine gets smacked down for Columbusing after declaring that we are in the Age of the Big Booty. The Twittersphere jumped all over Vogue with the #VogueArticles.

WATCH VIDEO AND JOIN THE CONVERSATION

  • Published in Episodes

What's The 411TV: Jill Scott, Kim Kardashian, GQ Men of the Year Awards London Red Carpet Fashions, and more

In this episode of What's The 411, the panel of Kizzy Cox, Jacinda Motton, Rita Obi, and Glenn Gilliam are talking about:

Jill Scott is The Latest Celebrity to Have Semi-Nude Photos Hacked
Kim Kardashian - British GQ's Woman of the Year
• Red Carpet Fashion at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2014 in London featuring celebrities: Rita Ora; Pharrell; Samuel L. Jackson; Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger among others.
• Are Reality Television Shows Helping or Exploiting Black Women
• Ms. A.Yamina Collins, Author of the Last King

A robust and spirited conversation breaks out about Kim Kardashian's business prowess.

WATCH VIDEO & JOIN THE CONVERSATION

 

  • Published in Episodes

Mo'ne Davis, Mariah Carey, J. Lo, Kevin Hart News and more

In this episode of What's The 411, we are talking to about:

1. Congratulations to Mo'Ne Davis! She is the first girl to win a game at the Little League World Series and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history. She is also the first Little League player to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine as a Little League Player.

2. Congratulations are also in order for the Jackie Robinson West Little League team for winning the Little League national championships.It is the first all African-American Little League team to win the national title and to represent the U.S, in the Little League World Series

3. NFL is suggesting that the Half-time performers at the Super Bowl should pay the NFL to perform. The NFL's reasoning is that the acts go on to reap huge financial benefits after the Super Bowl gig. Rita Obi seems to think that the NFL proposal is a good idea. However, Chris Graham thinks it's ridiculous, the NFL makes enough money on the Super Bowl. In the past, musical guests did not get paid by the NFL to perform and have performed mainly for publicity.

4. Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon Breakup

5. Jay Z & Beyonce Punked Their Fans With Divorce Rumors

6. Kevin Hart Engaged the Same Day that his Ex-Wife's Show Premieres

7. Fashion on the Red Carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards showcasing J. Lo; Nicki Minaj; Jordin Sparks; Kylie and Kendall Jenner

8. Kareem Abdul Jabbar Says Classism Trumps Racism or in other words, Racism is Over, It's Classism, Stupid!

9. The family of Anna Short Harrington, the woman who was the inspiration for much of the Aunt Jemima imagery, is suing Pepsi Co. and its subsidiary the Quaker Oats Co., along with the Pinnacle Foods Group and the Hillshire Brands Co. for use of Ms. Harrington's Likeness for profit without proper payment

10. Tren'Ness Woods-Black Talks About the Legacy of her Grandmother, Sylvia Woods

Who's Being Called on the Carpet:

1. P. Diddy Gets Called on the Carpet for Calling out President Obama for Not Speaking up about the police Shooting Death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri

2. Rapper 50 Cent Gets Called On The Carpet for Immaturity and Ignorance about Literacy

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