A documentary on the music duo Milli Vanilli is coming to Paramount+ and will address all of the “sensational headlines” that have plagued the group for decades.

Milli Vanilli is most famously known for being one of the only music acts who were forced to return their 1990 Grammy Award for Best New Artist after the secret got out on who was really singing their records, via AP News. The duo was performing at MTV Live in 1989 when their record skipped and revealed the duo had been lip-syncing their records the entire time.

Now, a new documentary premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival tells a more in-depth story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, the German childhood friends who followed their dreams of becoming world-famous superstars, Deadline reports.

“For over 30 years, the story of Milli Vanilli – in particular Rob and Fab – has been reduced to sensational headlines,” director Luke Korem said. “With this documentary, we pull back the curtain on pop music.”

“Featuring interviews with the real singers, record executives, the producer mastermind behind the deception and exclusive interviews with Rob and Fab, we unveil the truth of this complex, exciting and dramatic story. I’m thrilled that Paramount+ shares our vision and will bring this film to audiences around the world.”

Rob and Fab achieved global superstardom after their 1989 debut album that went six times platinum with their hit single “Girl You Know It’s True” selling over 30 million singles worldwide. Robert Pilatus passed away in Germany in 1998, but his groupmate Fab is happy to see their “true story” get shared with the world and give him the “peace” he’s sought for over 30 years.

“Finally – the true story of Milli Vanilli has been told,” Fabrice Morvan said.

“I’m thankful Luke Korem and his team went to the lengths that they did. The journey I returned to during the filming of this documentary didn’t leave any stone unturned. At last, I can close this chapter in peace… Get ready to take a walk in our steel-toe boots.”

It’s reportedly “undisputed” that Shannon Sharpe will be leaving Skip Bayless and Fox Sports.

According to the New York Post, the former NFL superstar has agreed with the network to sever ties. Sharpe’s last appearance on the sports debate show Undefeated is expected to be after the NBA Finals, which start tomorrow.

As part of the reported buyout agreement, Sharpe’s podcast, Club Shay Shay, will also be off the network.

The reason for the departure has not been stated, but fans of the show and of Sharpe in particular will not be surprised. Sharpe and Bayless have been at odds in recent months.

Things got heated at the end of 2022 during an episode of Undisputed when Sharpe and Bayless engaged in a none too cordial discussion about Tom Brady’s recent game performance. Bayless repeatedly threw shade at Sharpe by reminding him that Brady was still playing at 45.

Then he took a shot at Sharpe by saying that at 35, Sharpe didn’t match Brady’s abilities at 45.

Sharpe, clearly agitated, responded angrily, reminding Bayless that he’d won three Super Bowls and was also in the NFL Hall of Fame. Bayless goaded Sharpe by saying that Brady was a better football player (although Brady and Sharpe played completely different positions).

In early January, Sharpe and Bayless were at odds once again. Bayless posted what many football fans deemed an insensitive tweet after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

Sharpe was noticeably absent from Undisputed the next day. When he did return, two days later, he immediately confronted Bayless, a former newspaper columnist and ESPN personality, about the tweet in question.

Before joining Undisputed, the 54-year-old Sharpe was on the ESPN morning debate show First Take with superstar sports provocateur Stephen A. Smith in 2016.

The Phoenix Suns terminated the contract of Monty Williams, their head coach of four years, at the end of its 2023 season, following the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs. After being unemployed for several weeks, Williams is now the highest-paid coach in NBA history after signing a contract with the Detroit Pistons.

According to ESPN, Williams has agreed to take on the head coaching position with the Pistons for a reported six-year, $78.5 million contract. The agreement is the largest coaching deal in NBA history.

The 51-year-old former NBA player, who played for five different teams in his career, was fired in May after the Suns were beaten by the current Western Conference champions. They were eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Williams is an NBA Coach of the Year who won the award back in 2022. He had a winning record as a head coach with a total of 194 wins against 115 losses (.628) in regular season games. His playoff record for the Suns stands at 27-19. The team made it to the NBA Finals in 2021 and won a franchise-record 64 games in 2021-22.

The Pistons are in need of guidance as they have not had a winning season for the past seven years. Their last winning season took place in 2015-16.

Williams played his collegiate career at Notre Dame from 1989 to 1994 before becoming an NBA first-draft pick in 1994 by the New York Knicks, who made him their 24th selection. He played for the Knicks, the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets, the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers during his athletic career.

He started his head coaching career when he took the reins for the New Orleans Hornets in 2010; he lost that job in 2015 and began coaching the Suns in 2019 until being fired in May.

Williams replaces former head coach Dwane Casey, who stepped down in April to take a position in the front office.

Actor Harold Perrineau is finally shedding light on his removal from ABC’s Lost in the early 2000s after asking for “equal depth” for his character.

Perrineau was one of the better known actors when Lost premiered in 2004. He was fresh off breakout roles in Oz and Romeo + Juliet when he was cast to play construction worker and artist Michael, a lost survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 along with his son Walt (Malcolm David Kelley).

But what started as a “really equitable” role for Perrineau at the time soon turned into a recurring guest spot after The Best Man star talked to Lost showrunners about the treatment he was receiving compared to his white counterparts.

An excerpt from author and television critic Maureen Ryan’s new book, Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, was published in Vanity Fair and reveals Perrineau’s recollection of being written off the series after expressing his concerns to showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

“It became pretty clear that I was the Black guy. Daniel (Dae Kim) was the Asian guy. And then you had Jack and Kate and Sawyer,” Perrineau said.

Actors Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, and Evangeline Lilly played the roles of the white characters that took center stage on the six-season show, People reports. Perrineau also remembered the cast photo shoots, where the three white characters were seated in front of the people of color.

“‘I don’t have to be the first, I don’t have to have the most episodes — but I’d like to be in the mix,” he said at the time. “But it seems like this is now a story about Jack and Kate and Sawyer.” According to Perrineau, the Lost producer claimed that the show’s fans found Jack, Kate, and Sawyer to be “relatable.”

Yet when Michael’s son, Walt, was kidnapped, it was only briefly mentioned in one scene. Perrineau says he explained to showrunners why the script was problematic to the Black community.

“‘I don’t think I can do that,’” he thought at the time.

“I can’t be another person who doesn’t care about missing Black boys, even in the context of fiction, right? This is just furthering the narrative that nobody cares about Black boys, even Black fathers.”

That’s when he noticed his character getting less and less screen time as the season went on. Perrineau, who was lauded in the show’s early days, told producers how ready he was to “work” and didn’t want to just be “‘the Black guy’ on your show.”

But just ahead of the Season 2 finale, Perrineau was informed that he would not be returning for Season 3.

“I was f—ed up about it,” Perrineau shared. “I was like, ‘Oh, I just got fired, I think.’”

Perrienau claims that when he confronted showrunner Cuse about his removal from the show, Cuse was offended.

“I was just asking for equal depth,” Perrineau told Cuse. “It was all very much, ‘How dare you?’”

Lost writer and producer Monica Owusu-Breen, who joined the show in Season 3, alleges to have once heard showrunner Lindelof say that Perrineau “called me racist, so I fired his ass.”

Lindelof claimed to have never made the comment but did express his “regret” for slowly erasing Perrineau from the show.

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Ennerèssa LaNette, the founder and CEO of Praize Productions, Inc. (PPI), a Chicago-based dance company and arts organization, has much to celebrate. LaNette’s company reached an impressive milestone, celebrating its 12th anniversary season this year. And now PPI will also participate in the inaugural Millennium Park Residency Program (MPRP), joining three other highly respected cultural organizations.

The program, organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, offers resources and a platform for select organizations to showcase their work during Millennium Park’s vibrant summer season.

On June 4, PPI is scheduled to captivate a sold-out audience with its unique fusion of dance and storytelling on the iconic Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage. Under the guidance of an esteemed Black female leadership team, PPI is dedicated to giving voice to the stories and experiences of Black artists through their work. By maintaining strong connections to the community and fostering social consciousness, PPI’s influence extends beyond the stage, inspiring future generations of artists and change-makers. The organization consistently provides high-quality performances rivaling those of non-minority-led dance companies. The company’s dedication to its craft has resulted in outstanding success and recognition at both local and national levels.

“We at PPI feel incredibly privileged to be part of the first-ever Millennium Park Residency cohort. Being a Black-led organization hailing from the South Side of Chicago, we can’t help but feel that this is a truly special chance for our city and the world to see the amazing talent that our community has to offer,” said LaNette. “Our hearts are deeply committed to working towards giving a voice, platform, and opportunities to professional artists of color, and we couldn’t be more excited about this journey.”

Praize Productions, Inc. will present a one-of-a-kind photography installation called “The Rhythm Within Our Blues” for this year’s Blues Festival. It incorporates life-size photographs depicting the history and authentic culture of Blues music through the lens of professional photographers of color from Chicago’s South Side. They include Amber Green, Seed Lynn, and Tony Smith.

Festivalgoers can expect to be imaginatively transported to Bronzeville, Chicago’s blues district, and witness  images of historical landmarks, blues artists, and much more. This new addition to the Blues Festival, the largest festival in Chicago, adds to the artistic richness and deep appreciation of blues music and its greats. The festival runs from June 8-11.

• News

by Sidnee Michelle Douyon

June 1, 2023

Trump Vows to End Birthright Citizenship for Children of Immigrants In U.S. Illegally, Black and Brown Immigrants Targeted

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Donald Trump said on Tuesday that if elected president again in 2024 he would seek to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to immigrants in the country illegally — a plan that contradicts how a 19th century amendment to the U.S. Constitution has long been interpreted.

Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in an increasingly crowded field of candidates, said in a campaign video posted to Twitter that he would issue an executive order instructing federal agencies to stop what is known as birthright citizenship. Any such action by Trump would be certain to draw a legal challenge.

Birthright citizenship arises from the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, three years after the conclusion of the American Civil War that ended the practice of enslaving Black people in southern states and overturned a Supreme Court ruling that slaves and free African Americans were not entitled to U.S. citizenship.

The amendment granted citizenship to all persons “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people, and has been interpreted to apply whether or not their parents were in the country legally.

The proposed executive order, planned for the first day of a second Trump term in office, would require that at least one parent be an American citizen or lawful permanent resident for their children to become automatic U.S. citizens, his campaign said in a press release.

While president in 2018, Trump said he planned to issue an executive order to limit birthright citizenship but never followed through. Many legal scholars at the time were skeptical that Trump could use his executive authority to roll back that right.

Trump on Tuesday also criticized President Joe Biden, the Democrat who defeated him in 2020 and is seeking re-election in 2024, for the record numbers of migrants caught crossing the border illegally in recent years, calling the citizenship right for children born on U.S. soil a “magnet.” Trump noted that many countries restrict birthright citizenship for noncitizens.

The former president has sought to appeal to Republican voters on his party’s right flank who support a crackdown on immigration. As president, Trump pursued hard-line policies toward immigration and took steps toward building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that he’d promised as a candidate in 2016.

Another day, another Ye lawsuit.

Paparazzo Nichol Lechmanik has filed a suit against Kanye West for a January incident in which West was recorded snatching her phone and throwing it into the street, TMZ reports.

West and his wife, Bianca Censori, as were leaving his daughter North’s basketball game when he noticed the paparazzi. Ye confronted another photographer, and Lechmanik feared the rapper had a weapon on him.

Lechmanik’s video of West, which went viral, shows Ye approaching her as she sits in the driver’s seat of her car. He yells, “You all ain’t gonna run up on me like that!”

He then tells her, “If I say stop, stop with your cameras.”

Lechmanik filed a report at the local sheriff’s department, and Ye was listed as a suspect in its investigation but never charged, as the photographer declined to press charges. Documents from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office revealed her phone suffered minor damage to its case — $30 worth, to be exact.

Lechmanik is now suing for assault, battery, and negligence, claiming she was left traumatized and humiliated.

According to The Fader, she is seeking an injunction that would prevent Ye from confronting any photographer with threats or physical action.

West and the paparazzi have had their share of issues in the past, including his attempt to knock a camera out of a man’s hand at LAX Airport in 2013. That incident was settled for an undisclosed sum two years later.

The latest suit adds to the existing pile of them against the embattled rapper and style icon. Last week, Gap announced it was planning a suit worth $2 million in damages. The retail giant claims that Ye “made unapproved” changes to a Los Angeles rental property its landlord is trying to collect on, by altering the exterior and interior of a commercial property.

The LGBTQ+ community isn’t letting Florida’s laws stop them from showing their pride during Pride Month.

Thousands of LGBTQ+ people are heading to the Sunshine State for the Gay Days festival starting June 2, the Associated Press reports. Hosted at “the happiest place on Earth,” Walt Disney World, the annual celebration includes theme park rides, all-night parties, and joyful networking.

The turnout is expected to be large, and the festival organizers hope it will send a statement to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers: that members of the community won’t be turned away.

Gay Days Inc. CEO Joseph Clark said if the anticipated 150,000-plus people join in for the fun, their point has been made. “Right now is not the time to run. It’s not the time to go away,” Clark said. “It’s time to show we are here, we are queer, and we aren’t going anywhere.”

Started in 1991, Gay Days is a bonus for the city of Orlando, which typically celebrates Pride in October. The highlight of the weekend is traditionally a Saturday meetup of LGBTQ+ visitors at Magic Kingdom. Attendees wear red shirts to stand out as they meet for the afternoon parade in front of Cinderella Castle.

Standing with its gay customers, the Disney park is currently involved a legal battle with DeSantis as he sought to take over Disney’s governing district in response to the park publicly opposing the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that includes the exclusion of classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity for all grades.

Many Pride groups in Florida have already canceled their celebrations as they are concerned about the potential blowback, according to The Daily Beast. Other activists, like Danielle Olivani, president and CEO of Lake County Pride, say that while being gay in parts of Florida is very hard, she isn’t going to back down.

“It’s not exactly being welcomed by the community where we’re having it,” said Olivani, adding that she’d already received a cease-and-desist letter. “We’re gonna have this Pride because we’re fully within our rights to do so. And you know, we’re just gonna deal with things as they go. Yet I’m hopeful at the same time.”

by Jameelah Mullen

June 1, 2023

Attorney Ben Crump Hired By Family Of James Lanier

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Acclaimed civil rights attorney Ben Crump will represent the family of James Lanier, the 34-year-old man who was shot and killed by police officers in Wallace, North Carolina, while experiencing a mental health crisis.

The incident occurred on Feb. 24, 2023, when police were called after Lanier walked into a convenience store naked.

The store owner claimed employees saw Lanier charge the officer, who in turn used a taser gun on the unclothed man. Witnesses said they then heard three gunshots.

After an investigation, district attorney Ernie Lee found the officer justified in shooting the unarmed man.

“I find that the officer was justified in using deadly force against Lanier,” Lee stated in a press conference.

At that same press conference, Wallace police chief James Crayton said, “Mr. Lanier made several decisions that acted in a way that left our officer with no other choice than to use deadly force,” Fox News reported.

Lanier’s family questioned the district attorney’s findings.

“For this to happen to an unarmed and naked man, where was the threat?” Yamaneka Brice, the victim’s sister, told WITN.

Footage of the incident has not been released by the police. Crump demanded that the footage be made public.

“This man should have been detained and taken to the hospital, not tased and shot. We demand that Wallace police operate with transparency and release any and all video footage to the public and the family’s attorneys,” Crump said in a statement released by his law firm.  

NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump and attorneys Dawn Blagrove and Kenneth Abbarno have been retained to represent the family of James Lanier — an unarmed Black man who died after police tased and shot him as he was suffering from a mental health crisis. pic.twitter.com/Uy8830Tlge

— Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) May 31, 2023

Crump has taken on several well-known cases involving police brutality against Black people, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

He also represented the families of Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed by volunteer neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, and Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old man who was gunned down by three white men in a racially charged hate crime.

Lizzo has set her Twitter page to private after calling out the non-stop criticism she receives about her body size.

The Grammy award-winning singer spoke out on Wednesday in a series of tweets after she came across a fat-shaming tweet about her, Billboard reports.

“I JUST logged on and the app and this is the type of s–t I see about me on a daily basis.”

“It’s really starting to make me hate the world,” Lizzo continued.

“Then someone in the comments said I eat ‘lots of fast food.’ I LITERALLY STOPPED EATING FAST FOOD YEARS AGO… I’m tired of explaining myself all the time and I just wanna get on this app w/out seeing my name in some bulls–t.”

Lizzo responds to the onslaught of fatphobic comments she faces daily:

“Y'all don't know how close I be to giving up on everyone and quitting and enjoying my money and my man on a FUCKING FARM..” pic.twitter.com/FkDtwxZfti

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 31, 2023

In additional tweets, Lizzo attributed the constant body-shaming with her frequent desire to quit music and live a life of normalcy with her boyfriend.

“The Love definitely do not outweigh the Hate on social media… all because I’m fat????” she said.

“Y’all don’t know how close I be to giving up on everyone and quitting and enjoying my money and my man on a F–KING FARM…”

According to the musician, she doesn’t even search for the body-shaming comments, they just find her as soon as she goes on social media.

“I swear I just wanna look at dance videos and science news and this s–t comes in every day…” she wrote.

Lizzo’s tweet comes a few weeks after she took to TikTok to second one user who explained why they weren’t trying to “escape fatness.”

“I’ve always loved moving my body, I’ve always loved working out,” she explained in the video post. “I think a lot of people see a fat person that way and immediately just assume everything they are doing is trying to be thin. I’m not trying to be thin, I don’t ever want to be thin.”

@lizzo #stitch with @ ♬ original sound – lizzo

After going on her Twitter rant, fans have been rallied behind the “About Damn Time” singer to combat body shaming.

“The woman is vegan, does full choreo every show, works out, and is still fluffy. So what? Leave her alone!” one fan wrote.

Taking a brief pause from FESTA to say I love Lizzo and some bodies are naturally bigger than others. The woman is vegan, does full choreo every show, works out, and is still fluffy. So what? Leave her alone! pic.twitter.com/HxPXg3LHQv

— ✨JCPurpleARMY✨ (@JCPurpleARMY) May 31, 2023

“Lizzo is a high volume performer and it’s a full time vegan/vegetarian. So it’s not about health, it’s about looks? Got it. You can be big and in shape. Weight ≠ fitness,” another user wrote in response to the initial body shaming tweet.

Lizzo is a high volume performer and it’s a full time vegan/vegetarian. So it’s not about health, it’s about looks? Got it. You can be big and in shape. Weight ≠ fitness https://t.co/P2ecv8F7JY

— Chris. (@chefmade_92) May 31, 2023