Sherri Shepard Gives The Pink Slip To Former Producers Of ‘The Wendy Williams Show’
It appears Sherri Shepherd is making big changes on her talk show. According to a Page Six report, the television personality handed pink slips to producers David Perler and Suzanne Bass.
The comedienne served as a guest host on Wendy Williams show when the television personality was unable to work due to health complications. Wendy Williams’ show eventually was canceled and was replaced with the Sherri show. Perler and Bass worked on the Wendy show and appeared on camera sharing banter with the former host often.
According to reports, Shepherd released the longtime producers because she wanted “fresh energy.”
When the Sherri show was announced, the actress stated that she would have a different style of hosting than her predecessor who was known for her no-holds barred commentary. The mother-of-two told DailyMail that she would take a softer approach.
“Let’s be clear, I’m not a mean person at all!” Shepherd said. “I’m all about positive energy. I’m about joy. I’m about kindness and laughter. Anyone that knows me will tell you just that”
“I will follow the example set by Wendy and a former co-host on The View,” Shepherd said.
“I learned to be, from Barbara Walters, to be unapologetically me,”
She continued: “From Wendy, again, being unapologetically me. Watching her all the time, it was like that’s who Wendy was. And who is not inspired by that.”
In its first season, the Sherri show was met with positive feedback from its target audience which includes women aged 25-54. In January, Fox TV announced they will be renewing Sherri for a second and third season.
Meet Hannah Ferguson: Owner of the First Black, Female-Owned Cidery Dwelling on Positive Energy
It took about five years for Ohio’s first Black female professional brewer to mastermind a cider brand that would not only dwell in her hometown but on positive energy. Come to the steel city and sip on the good vibes at D.O.P.E. Cider House and Winery; thank me later!
The trailblazing Hannah Ferguson, the owner of the first Black, female-owned cidery in Ohio, brings a new and fresh outlook on specialty-made ciders and wines to the Youngstown area. D.O.P.E Cider House and Winery is a culmination of local roots, ambition, a couple of firsts, and the drive to diversify the craft beverage community.
“One of my goals that I’m passionate about is pushing us past the 1% when it comes to breweries. When it comes to cideries—even the spirit and wine industry. We have less than 1% ownership,” Ferguson told BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Recent reports show that out of the more than 11,000 wineries in the U.S., about a tenth of 1% of those are Black-owned or have a Black winemaker. With support and patience, Ferguson blazed the trail as an assistant brewer at the then-new Modern Methods in Ohio before turning her wine-making hobby into her full-time job.
“I’m not a multiple-generation winemaker. I am a first-generationwinemaker,and I want to be able to pass that on,” Ferguson said. In doing so, the Youngstown-bred entrepreneur leveraged her learning experiences to pursue wine and cider in a way that differs from other wineries and cideries, like reaching the Black community.
Courtesy of Hannah Ferguson
From the heart
Ferguson shared that she does everything from the heart, showing her support in more ways than one. She’ll even change her brand’s heart-adorned logo to rep Juneteenth or the Cincinnati Bengals going to the playoffs.
Ferguson shared it was important for her to lay down the groundwork of her enterprise within her hometown. So she created an educational pipeline by opening a Youngstown, Ohio chapter ofBlack and Brew, a nonprofit organization that aims to diversify the cultural landscape of craft beer consumers.
“It’s about growing our numbers,” Ferguson said. “I just want to be able to set up to provide a scholarship for someone to do something or an apprenticeship.”
While there may be progress toward a more diverse industry, Ferguson said she wants to reach the younger generations to fully represent what’s possible from an area similar to Youngstown.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no telling when D.O.P.E. would open its doors. Businesses, including D.O.P.E., faced challenges related to the supply chain for transporting essentials before they even opened.
“When it comes to capital, what you budgeted for, everything was almost double or triple,” Ferguson recalled.
Today, the customers vibe with D.O.P.E’s traditional, flavored, and non-alcoholic ciders so much that she started placing her kegs at other restaurants and bars. Situated on 460 E Federal Street, the establishment offers a coffee house feel with comfy rocking chairs and couches to indulge in impeccable tastes.
“I’m just proud and glad that people are liking what I’m producing,” Ferguson said.
In the beginning, raising capital was an undeniable concern for Ferguson, Ohio. Her company has relied on social media and word of mouth for promotion. So she advises others to do their homework and find a way on the other side of intimidation.
“Do your research. Look at your market and don’t let certain things be intimidating. Don’t let things likea business plan be intimidating.Don’t let things like capital be intimidating,” Ferguson explained.
She added: “If you just look at your resources in your city, there’s somebody that’sgoing to have certain programs. They’re doing it for free, and they’re helping you, and they’re guiding you along the way.”
“That’s how you get to meet people, and there are a lot of people that are definitely willing to help on that journey because they were where you are, they’re willing to give the time.”
News of the actor’s illness was shared by Foxx’s daughter, Corinn. In the now-deleted Instagram post, the actress said that her father suffered a “medical complication.”
The actor was in Atlanta filming the upcoming Netflix movie Back In Action. Filming was briefly halted following the incident but has since resumed.
The actor’s camp has been tight-lipped about his medical complication, but celebrities took their social media pages to show support for their peer.
“Sending you and prayers my movie huzbin,” Kerry Washington posted on IG.
Foxx became a household name after starring in the sketch comedy show In Living Color, where he displayed his musical talents in his comedy routines, wowing the audience by showing off his impeccable singing voice while playing the piano.
The singer-songwriter has released five studio albums and has collaborated with more than 20 artists, including Dionne Warwick, Kanye West, Wale, Adina Howard, and Busta Rhymes.
He won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in 2005.
CEO Tim Vidale Shares Lessons In Leadership And Going From Homeless to Living Momentous
For CEO Tim Vidale, high school sports was the path to living the life of his dreams. Today, in the sports medicine world, the Washington-DC-based physical therapist has designed a legacy as a resilient leader who empowers others to live momentously.
At 13, Vidale decided that he would take control of his future. He became a four-sport high school athlete with a passion for physical therapy and a drive to propel himself out of poverty.
Throughout high school, Vidale and his family lived in a shelter with no money, often relying on gifts and food donated by a church. He shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE that he would frequently crash at a friend’s house because away games took him past the shelter’s curfew hours, but sports was his way out.
“It was really imperative for me to find a way out of this situation. And for me, that was sports,” Vidale told BLACK ENTERPRISE, adding that he found solace in learning from the coaches who pulled the best out of him.
“That drive and that extra kick in the butt by my coaches to develop into what I became was my driving force. For a long time It was still my driving force. And it wasn’t until later when I started to have a mental shift into what I was becoming, you know, what my life was becoming, did my motivations change,” Vidale said.
Living momentous
Vidale has been living the best of both worlds. He currently serves as a physical therapist for the Baltimore Ravens and previously worked as a physical therapist and assistant rehab coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. After deciding to leave the Twins, he embarked on an entrepreneurship journey that would land him in Forbes magazine as one of the top 1000 entrepreneurs of 2021.
While securing family and work balance, Vidale masterminded Momentous Sports Medicine four years ago. He and his team offer world-class therapy, workshops, fitness education, and performance training; currently operating in three states with plans to expand to five states by the end of 2023.
The FAMU graduate, Division 1 hurdler, and decathlete shared that he became successful because he never had anything. It is now important for him to share his lessons along the way. He stands proudly among the disproportionate number of Black physical therapists while ushering in a new wave.
“It’sreally important to know thatit doesn’t matter where you start.It’s about where you’re going,” Vidale said.
“Less than 4% of people in physical therapy are black. Less than 1% are black males as .8% are black male in physical therapy. To me that’s a big problem, if the people that are providing medical care to them don’t have a connection with them to understand what’s going on with them. Working in sports, majority of people who are working with are people of color,” Vidale explained.
As a former assistant professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Howard University, Vidale witnessed firsthand the importance of representation. From higher education costs to the lack of financial support and career awareness, these barriers stand between increased diversity in sports medicine.
“It’s important to me to do things and get into rooms and get to tables that other people like me are not, to show that it’s possible,” Vidale said. “All of my involvement is in alignment with my goal of making sure that I’m not the last person that looks like me to do this.”
Lessons in leadership
Entrepreneurship
“Youdon’t have to do things the way that everyone else has done them because that’s the way that has always been done to be successful.”
“Being able to find what makes somebody tick, what makes somebody want to push themselves to whatever their higher self is, is what I took into leadership.”
Teamwork
“Listen to your team. Everybody has different opinions, perspectives, and feelings, and everybody has something different that makes them tick.”
“You need to learn your personnel, and once you’re able to know what to expect or what drives your personnel, you’re able to lead them better.”
Networking
“Networking is very important, and the biggest thing working against you is obscurity.”
“Network, network, network until you get into the room.”
If you’re in the DC area, check out the upcoming inaugural Momentous Hip Hop 5K run to help raise awareness and funds for Black Mental Health on June 25, 2023. Registration is live!
Bank Of America Reports Small Business Owners Can Expect Revenue Gains This Year
Though economic uncertainty and recession fears are at hand, a new survey reveals small business owners this year anticipate higher revenue and are ready to expand.
Some 65% expect revenue increases over the next 12 months. And 48% plan to expand their businesses, and 82% aim to secure financing, both higher than anticipated last spring. The optimistic outlook is from the 2023 Small Business Owner Reportfrom Bank of America, the nation’s second-largest bank.
The report is based on an online survey of 1,145 U.S. small business owners with annual revenue of between $100,000 to nearly $5 million. Further, about 250 small business owners were surveyed in the 10 target markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York.
However, the news was not all peachy. Confidence in the national economy is persistently low, with just 34% of business owners expecting it to improve in the next 12 months. And economic factors, including commodities prices and interest rates, are among the worries for business owners.
Concerns like inflation and supply chain disruptions linger. Consider 80% of business owners raised prices in the last 12 months, possibly to help counter the impact. And roughly 75% of entrepreneurs see a potential economic recession this year.
Contrarily, 76% of small businesses are convinced they are equipped to survive a recession, and many plan to re-evaluate their business plans to adapt to the current economic conditions.
Wrestling with labor shortages and a competitive job market, business owners are stepping up actions to help boost retention. Over the past 12 months, 53% added more benefits and perks to existing pay packages, including remote/hybrid work (34%), cost-of-living bonuses (34%), and more vacation time (33%).
(Image: iStock/kali9)
Sharon Miller, president of Small Business and Head of Specialty Banking and Lending at Bank of America, shared insights on the findings: “Our new Small Business Owner Report underscores the tenacity of small business owners, as many expect revenue increases and half plan to expand their operations over the next 12 months. Despite economic uncertainty, Black business owners have responded by being flexible and growth-oriented amidst today’s challenging small business landscape.”
Miller continued, “Innovation is driving expansion for business owners. Four-in-five entrepreneurs digitally optimized their business in the past year, with tactics including bolstering their social presence, implementing digital-first marketing strategies, and establishing online sales processes helping nearly half of these business owners reach new customers.”
Simultaneously, obtaining financing to help start or grow businesses remains an ongoing problem for many establishments, especially small Black-owned businesses.
A recent report disclosed 47% of Black small business owners predicted that the success of their business would be conditional on their ability to secure funding and grow their customer base.
The ‘Secret To A Happy Wife Is Money,’ According To Gucci Mane
As we get older and make life plans, happiness and money are typically at the top of our needs and wants, particularly when it comes to the union of two people. We all seek advice on how to make a marriage last, and rapper Gucci Mane has disclosed his wisdom on how to keep his wife, Keyshia Ka’Oir, happy.
In a recent video clip, Gucciwas asked, “How do you keep a happy wife?” Without missing a beat, he replied that it’s all about the money.
He expressed that he and his wife have two incomes and that his wife is also “rich as hell.”
“But I feel like, for me, it’s just a personal thing. I would have never gotten married if I wasn’t financially well off. Since I was little, I wanted to be rich, and I wanted to be married.”
The recording artist then insinuated that love doesn’t factor into his wanting to get married, and he stated that he didn’t want to be broke and married.
“If you ain’t got no money, why would you even want to be married? I would never want to be broke and married. He continued, “You want to be in love, but if you don’t got no money, what you gonna pay the bills with?”
When questioned about the type of gifts he and his wife exchange, he said, “It ain’t even about expensive; it’s about being happy.” He doubled down on how one can’t be happy and married without money and reiterated he wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t have the money, and the worries of having no money would be too stressful for him.
“How you gonna be happy if you worry about all these things? How are you gonna be happy with somebody? I wouldn’t be happy.”
“Happy wife, happy life” is the age-old saying, and it seems Gucci Mane may have perfectly mastered it for his union.
Ye Holds Secret Yeezy Season 10 Fashion Show in Los Angeles
While most media cameras were capturing images at the Met Gala in New York City earlier this week, a secret fashion show was taking place across the country by Kanye West.
According to Highsnobiety, Ye held auditions for models last week for a surprise fashion show he had in Los Angeles. Kanye showcased his YEEZY SEASON 10 fashion show on May 1. It was described as an extremely low-key affair featuring male and female models with bald heads, wearing skin-tight white T-shirts and black pants.
It was reported that instead of tracks produced by the eclectic music producer, every record played during the show were songs by Frank Ocean.
Ye seems to be inspired by Frank Ocean recently, last night he played Frank Ocean music throughout his YZY event, especially “Self Control”, all the cars dropping off the models were playing Frank Ocean as well pic.twitter.com/thHYzJUgl2
Meanwhile, trouble has been following Ye and the Yeezy brand.
According to news from SOHH, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gerald Lebovits ruled against the brand in a lawsuit brought by a creative director in the fashion industry. Yeezy is ordered to pay $300,000 to Katelyn Mooney, who sued Ye’s company for nearly $100,000 for a photo shoot that featured Ye and the SHDZ sunglasses line.
Mooney accused the brand of not fulfilling its end of a deal to fully pay her as a photographer for the shoot. She claimed she delivered the final digital photos in September 2022, but they only compensated her $15,000 of the agreed-upon total. According to her lawsuit, due to not getting paid the amount owed, she had to take out loans and use her credit cards to the maximum limit to pay her rent and other bills after not getting the amount due for two months.
Brian McKnight and Estranged Daughter Settle Differences Before Court Battle
The bad parenting rumors that have been following singer Brian McKnight for years aren’t going away anytime soon. One of his children sued the “Back at One” singer several years ago because he “maliciously defamed” her on social media.
According to Radar Online, both parties agreed to throw out the lawsuit, but court documents obtained by the outlet claim that McKnight’s daughter Briana filed a defamation lawsuit against her father in 2020. In the suit, she claimed her father had defamed her via social media when he stated online that she had sex with an older cousin.
McKnight’s daughter said that her father was being motivated by “animosity” when he “publicly humiliated” her “falsely” representing to his social media followers that “she had some years earlier, and while a minor, engaged in sexual relations with an older cousin.”
The singer had an affair with his daughter’s mother, Patricia Driver, while still married to his then-wife Julie McKnight. The once-married couple share two sons, Niko and BJ.
His estranged daughter stated in her lawsuit against McKnight that she had a close relationship with Niko and BJ as children but did not have a very close relationship with her father.
“At times their relationship was cordial, and at times it became strained or all but non-existent,” according to the paperwork. Although the relationship was non-existent, she said the two of them never aired their dirty laundry and she never revealed publicly that Brian was her father.
The 22-year-old tried to create a bond with the R&B singer and his new wife in 2018; however, she claimed he dismissed her and her efforts and “did not see or meaningfully communicate with her.”
In 2019, after being shunned by her father, she took to social media to talk about her “unnamed absent father.” She stated she never mentioned him by name or profession but after viewing the post, he publicly attacked her.
In response to the lawsuit, the Grammy winner denied he did anything wrong and argued his statements were substantially true and that he had no malice when he spoke of the situation.
If You Have $88 Million, Drake Wants to Sell You Something
October’s Very Own recording artist, Drake, recently listed his Beverly Hills mansion on the market.
According to Elle Decor, the Canadian rapper is selling his house for $88 million. He only purchased the property last year for $75 million. English pop singer Robbie Williams was the previous owner who sold it to the former Degrassi: The Next Generationactor.
Williams bought the property in 2015 for $33 million and renovated it into a more contemporary style. Mansion Global reported that the estate is nearly 20 acres, as the property is being billed as an “exquisite celebrity compound.” Branden and Rayni Williams of Williams & Williams at The Beverly Hills Estates have listed the property.
The listing describes it as “perfectly suited for grand-scale entertaining and showcasing world-class art collections,” with canyon, city, and ocean views.
The main house reportedly has seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, with formal living and dining rooms. Also included is a gourmet kitchen with a breakfast room, a library, and two family rooms—one that can be used as a screening room.
It’s unknown why the “Hotline Bling” singer is selling the property, but if he is flipping houses, it’s right in line with him selling Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford a pair of ranches for $12 million last year. According to Dirt, Drake still has property in Canada, owning a 50,000-square-foot mansion in the Bridle Path neighborhood in Toronto.
This is the same home that was reportedly burglarized in January by a man seen leaving the house, allegedly stealing artwork, the Los AngelesTimesreported.
Police had been called to the house by Drake’s security team but by the time the cops arrived at the scene, the suspect had fled. The Los Angeles Times reported that after police officers reviewed security footage, they identified the alleged suspect, caught him later near the property, and arrested him for burglary.
Vice President Harris To Meet With CEOs About Artificial Intelligence Risks
Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the CEOs of leading technology companies to discuss the future of artificial intelligence and its possible risks.
As the Biden administration prepares to roll out a set of initiatives to ensure the rapidly evolving technology improves lives without jeopardizing people’s rights and safety, Harris will discuss the risks they see in current AI development with the leaders of Alphabet, Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
The administration is also preparing to invest up to $140 million to establish seven new AI research institutes, according to The Associated Press.
The announcement comes as stories about the dangers of artificial intelligence mount. Earlier this week, the New York Times profiled Geoffrey Hinton, renowned researcher and “the godfather of AI,” who expressed fears about how quickly the technology is advancing and how little regulations exist to keep track of developments.
“I think if you take the existential risk seriously, as I now do–I used to think it was way off, but I now think it’s serious and fairly close–it might be quite sensible to just stop developing these things any further,” said Hinton, who left Google to speak more freely about his fears. “But I think it’s completely naive to think that would happen.”
According to Hinton, tech companies have instead joined the race to create AI technology that will continue to advance past the knowledge available to control it.
President Joe Biden noted that AI can help to address disease and climate change but also could harm national security and disrupt the economy in destabilizing ways, according to the Associated Prss. Because AI can generate human-like writing and fake images, the ethical and societal ramifications concern many.
The government leaders’ message to AI companies is they have a role to play in reducing the risks and that they can work with the government to do so.
