In the latest development of the domestic violence incident involving actor Jonathan Majors in March, a judge has granted Majors’ alleged victim a full temporary order of protection, according to The New York Post. Previously, the alleged victim was given a limited temporary order of protection.

“This is standard in cases such as this, and we consented because Mr. Majors wants nothing to do with the woman who assaulted him,” said Majors’ attorney, Priya Chaudhry, in a statement to The New York Post.

“We have been transparent and cooperative with the District Attorney, including giving the District Attorney ample evidence, including witness statements, of Mr. Majors’ innocence.”

The Lovecraft Country actor was arrested on March 25 in Manhattan after his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, accused him of striking and choking her. He was later charged with strangulation, assault, and harassment.

The Los Angeles Times reported the order of protection granted was “per the People’s request and with the consent of defense counsel,” a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office expressed to The Los Angeles Times in a written statement.

The fallout from the alleged assault continues, after, according to Variety, several other women have come forward with similar accusations against the man whose star was steadily rising until this alleged incident. The upcoming court appearance slated for May 8 may be the start of bigger legal issues for Majors.

Sources close to the matter have expressed to the media outlet that the other alleged abuse victims of the Yale University graduate are fully cooperating with prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York. This news comes amid recent revelations that Majors’ management team and publicists have severed ties with him. 

The backlash from the alleged assault has placed several projects on hold due to the escalation of this legal situation. The next court date may determine which projects will cut him entirely loose.

Compton-bred recording artist Kendrick Lamar has added to the legacy of the city’s rich history that is also the hometown of popular acts like N.W.A. and The Game.

After completing his latest tour, according to Touring Data, 2022’s “The Big Steppers” tour has officially become the highest-grossing tour by a hip-hop recording artist, surpassing Canadian rapper Drake’s “Aubrey & the Three Migos” tour. Beating his previous Top 5 record, Lamar also toppled Travis Scott, Kanye West, and Jay-Z, as well as Drake and Future’s co-headlining tour.

Here is a breakdown of the top tours by rappers: 

1. Kendrick Lamar, “The Big Steppers” 
2. Drake, “Aubrey & the Three Migos” 
3. Drake & Future, “Summer Sixteen” 
4. KanyeWest & JayZ, “Watch the Throne”
5.  Kendrick Lamar, “Damn”
6.  Travis Scott, “Astroworld”

Touring Data reported “The Big Steppers” tour, produced by Live Nation, had 73 shows that traveled across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The total revenue for the tour came in at $110,886,026 after selling 929,056 tickets. The average price for the coveted tickets was $119.35. The average revenue for the venues was $1,518,987 for an average of 12,727 tickets purchased.

Afrotech reported Lamar also served as the creative director of “The Big Steppers” tour along with Dave Free and Mike Carson. He invited his cousin, rapper Baby Keem, to be one of the opening acts.

According to The Source, the Good Kid, M.A.A.D City rapper will be a headliner for the iconic Lollapalooza festival in Chicago later this summer. The festival will be at Grant Park. Other hip-hop acts performing at the famed event will be A Boogie wit da Hoodie, J.I.D., Pusha T, Lil Yachty, Joey Badass, Tiacorine, and Big Boss Vette.

Reportedly last September, quarterback Lamar Jackson turned down a contract offered by the Baltimore Ravens that called for him to make over $250 million over the life of the deal, according to ESPN. Of that amount, $133 million of the deal was guaranteed. On April 27, the Ravens announced via the team’s Twitter page that Jackson inked an extension for five years to continue to lead the Ravens on the field.

“You know, for the last few months, there’s been a lot of he said, she said. A lot of nail-biting, a lot of head-scratching going on, but for the next five years, it’s a lot of flock going on. Let’s go, baby. Let’s go. Let’s go, man. Can’t wait to get there. Can’t wait to be there. Can’t wait to light up M&T for the next five years, man. Let’s get it.”

We’ve agreed in principle on a 5-year contract extension with QB @Lj_era8‼️

😈😈😈😈 pic.twitter.com/tQj1Rzqcha

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 27, 2023

According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, the contract is for five years, totaling $260 million with $185 million guaranteed. The reported $52 million a year contract makes Jackson the NFL’s highest-paid player.

Jackson’s rookie contract had just ended when the Ravens were eliminated from this year’s playoffs. After the team lost its last contest, The New York Post reported that Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he was “100 percent” certain that Jackson would be the team’s quarterback after this year. He emphasized his certainty by saying, “You know, 200%.”

“Lamar Jackson is our quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “He’s been our quarterback. Everything we’ve done in terms of building our offense and building our team, how we think in terms of the people and put people around him, is based on this incredible young man and his talent and his ability and his competitiveness.”

With last night’s NFL draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected a player Jackson could target. Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta selected wide receiver Zay Flowers, who played at Boston College.

Although he missed the final six games, most would agree that signing Jackson was wise. After his first full season as the Ravens’ starting quarterback in 2019, Jackson won the NFL MVP. He threw a league-high of 36 touchdown passes while throwing for 3,127 yards. He also rushed for 1,206 yards and scored seven touchdowns. He has been with the team since his rookie season in 2018 after being a first-round draft pick. 

Last November, it was announced that, among others, Carolyn Peck would be inducted into the 2023 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame class. She is the first Black woman head coach to win an NCAA women’s basketball championship, but she credits South Carolina basketball head coach Dawn Staley for making her entry into the Hall of Fame possible.

On April 29, Peck, a basketball analyst for ESPN, will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, along with Cathy Boswell, Donna Lopiano, Lisa Mattingly, and Lindsay Whalen. She coached Purdue University’s woman’s basketball team from 1997-99 and led them to the Elite Eight in her first season as head coach. During her tenure, Purdue won the national championship title in 1999, but she has yet to receive the recognition she deserves.

“We’re reading newspaper articles and going, ‘Why aren’t they talking about us?’ “Peck said. “We accomplished this. We just beat this team. Ukari Figgs is all of that, and nobody’s talking about her. Why?”

Not only was Peck the first Black woman to ever win an NCAA women’s basketball championship, but she is also one of only four coaches to win a women’s basketball national title within their first two seasons as a head coach. Cathy Rush, Margaret Wade, and Marianne Stanley won their respective titles during the AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) era, which started in 1971 and ended in 1983. Peck is the only female head coach who won the national championship in an NCAA tournament.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley acknowledged Peck by saying, “We often don’t give credit where credit is due. That’s a story that has been forgotten, and we only talk about the fact that she’s the first Black woman to do it.”

Staley won her first NCAA title as a coach in 2017, and the importance of Peck’s championship was finally grasped 18 years later.

“I don’t really think it mattered that I was the first Black woman to win a national championship until Dawn did it in 2017, and she reminded everyone of what we did,” Peck said.

According to USA Today, South Carolina Gamecocks coach Staley fulfilled her promise to former Purdue Boilermakers coach Peck, who, in 2015, gave Staley a piece of the 1999 championship basketball net with a caveat. Once she won her first title, Staley had to pass on the championship net.

After Staley won her first championship on April 2, 2017, she was known to wear the net from the game as an accessory. Later that month, Staley returned the piece of basketball net to Peck.

Peck will enter the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and stand proudly on the accomplishment of being the first Black woman head coach ever to hoist the NCAA national championship trophy. 

Toni Braxton has worked with Lifetime and A&E networks for nearly a decade. That relationship will continue with the latest production deal she signed with the networks.

In a recent announcement, the R&B legend signed an all-inclusive deal with the networks and her production company, Braxtoni Productions, to executive produce multiple projects. 

In a written statement, Braxton said, “Lifetime has been home to my film and TV projects for the past decade. My team and I are looking forward to continued success with the network as we bring projects to life for the audience that has so graciously welcomed us into their homes over the years.” 

RELATED CONTENT: Toni Braxton Stars in Lifetime’s Fallen Angels Murder Club

Braxton’s projects for the Lifetime network include A Christmas Spark and two films that fall under the Fallen Angels Murder Club banner. As well as Faith Under Fire with executive producer T.D. Jakes (2018), Everyday is Christmas (2018), Twist of Faith (2013), and her Lifetime biopic, Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart (2016).

“We are thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with Toni and continue to have her as part of the Lifetime family,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP of Scripted Content, Lifetime & LMN. “We love partnering with her on storytelling, whether it be a heart-warming holiday romance or a gritty new project, Toni is an excellent producing partner, a wonderfully versatile actress, and our audiences have shown us just how much they love seeing her on our air.”

The Maryland native has been in the industry for 30 years and continues reinventing herself. Selling more than 80 million records worldwide, receiving nine Billboard Music Awards, and being a seven-time Grammy award-winning artist, Braxton continues to solidify her icon status. 

RELATED CONTENT: Mary J. Blige Will Executive-Produce Lifetime Movies Based on Her Songs’ Real Love’ and ‘Strength of a Woman’

• Technology

by Jeffrey McKinney

April 28, 2023

Black-Founded Jopwell Diversity Tech Company Acquired By Global Talent Provider

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Described as the first and leading diversity and inclusion tech company, Black-owned Jopwell is being acquired by global talent provider True.

With a new record label alongside Usher under his belt, Antonio Marquis “L.A.” Reid is seemingly working to downsize his living arrangements.

The famed record executive and music producer is listing his Bel Air mansion for a third time, Finurah reports. This time, Reid is seeking $21.5 million after dropping his second listing in December 2022 for $21.9 million.

Reid’s seven-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom estate was built in 2014. He has made lavish improvements over the years since he purchased it for $18 million in 2016. The three-floor home includes illuminated staircases, a chandelier-focused dining room, a spacious kitchen, and a permanent round table for 10.

Originally listed at 11,246 square feet, Reid has dropped the price three times since first putting the home on the market for $22.9 million in 2019. Amenities in the home include a luxury bath with a soaking tub in one of the seven bedrooms, a glass-enclosed shower and sauna, a gym, a crimson movie theater with a wet bar, a 300-bottle wine cellar, four fireplaces, and an elevator.

An outdoor entertainment area includes a fireside pit, another kitchen, bar, and a hot tub. The subterranean parking area holds up to four vehicles.

The sale of the mansion comes as the LaFace co-founder transitions his focus to his new record label that boasts his longtime friend and protege Usher as its first signee.

“It felt like it could be spontaneous, but I swear it could have been by design,” Reid told GQ.

Usher and Reid mended their broken friendship after a major fallout following the release of his 2004 album Confessions. The pair had worked together since Usher’s days on LaFace, the label Reid co-founded with singer/songwriter Babyface.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by LA REID (@la_reid)

“His system is what created that expectation for me, as a young artist,” Usher said. “So now, damn near 25 or some odd years later, we feel inspired to go out and create more artists.”

RELATED CONTENT: Black Couple Settles Lawsuit Against Real Estate Company That Gave Higher Appraisal Thinking It Was White-Owned

• Celebrity News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

April 28, 2023

Taraji P. Henson Explains Why She Took A Trip to Bali: ‘I Hit A Brick Wall’

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Taraji P. Henson is opening up about the trip to Bali she took at the start of the year after realizing she hit a roadblock in life and “wasn’t happy anymore.”

The Academy Award-nominated actress appeared on Sherri Thursday and got candid about her decision to visit Bali for a personal recharge.

“I wasn’t happy anymore. I lost a sense of joy,” she revealed.

Henson, 52, has been a consistent figure in Hollywood since her breakout in John Singleton’s 2000 cult-classic, Baby Boy. After more than two decades of starring in major motion pictures, the Hidden Figures star was nearing a breakdown.

“I’ve been doing this for 20-some odd years. Working, grinding, whatever you want to call it. And I come up for air, and I hit a brick wall,” she explained.

Henson documented her Bali excursion on Instagram. Posts showed the film star embracing her “fears” on the Bali swing and relishing in her Black girl joy.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson)

Taking the trip was the first step Henson took to move past fear and caress the beauty in the unknown. She even went through the entire experience completely sober.

“If you let fear take over, it will let you believe in it. So I got past my fear, I went, [and] I did the whole trip dry. Eat, pray, love,” she shared.

“Because going by myself made me stay present. I had to have conversations with these beautiful people I met, and we still stay in touch.”

In December, Henson appeared on Angie Martinez’s In Real Life podcast and opened up about the decision to visit Bali. “I decided to take control and find my joy again, that deep joy. Without a drink. Without that outside anything,” she said.

Earlier this month, the What Men Want star stressed her newfound importance of maintaining her mental health to remain the best version of herself.

“I fight for my mental health because I want to live. I’m choosing to want to live. I want to live,” she told People.

Now Henson is all about that soft life that involves moving past fear, embracing the unknown, and knowing when it’s time to detach.

“Being real with myself and not being so damn strong all the time,” she shared. “Folding my arms like a kid in the corner saying, ‘I don’t want to be strong today. I need help.’ ‘I don’t feel good.’ ‘No, I’m not going to do this job. I don’t feel good today.’ Speaking up for myself. And my mental wellness.”

RELATED CONTENT: Taraji P. Henson Spending One Month in Bali Alone as Part of Her ‘Spiritual Journey’

Ariana DeBose did the thing and will star as Disney’s first-ever Afro-Latina princess in the upcoming animated film Wish.

Disney unveiled Wish‘s first trailer at CinemaCon Thursday, Deadline reported. DeBose voices the lead role, 17-year-old Asha, an adventurous idealist who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star.

Chris Pine provides the voice of the powerful King Magnifico and Alan Tudyk plays Asha’s pet goat Valentino. Set in Rosas, a fantastical land located off the Iberian Peninsula, the children’s film follows Asha and Star on their journey to confront King Magnifico in hopes of saving her community.

In accomplishing her goal, Asha aims to prove that courage aligned with the magic of the stars can make wondrous things happen.

“Our heroine, Asha, lives in Rosas, known as the kingdom of wishes,” director Chris Buck said. “People come from everywhere to give their wishes to a magical king who promises to grant their deepest desires—someday. Only he can decide which wishes will come true and when.”

DeBose should redeem herself after her viral BAFTA performance in February where she rapped about how “Angela Bassett did the thing.”

DeBose being Disney’s first Afro-Latina princess is another first for the Hamilton star, who last year became the the first Afro-Latina queer woman to win an Academy Award for her role in West Side Story.

Wish pays homage to Disney’s long history of magical fairytales and works to carry on the media giant’s legacy of introducing memorable princesses.

“We have been inspired by so many iconic films over Disney Animation’s 100 years, especially stories where we explore the power of someone with a wish, combined with the conviction to make that wish come true,” director Fawn Veerasunthorn said.

“Being able to honor that legacy with this incredible story and these amazing characters has been a joy for our entire team.”

Wish is slated to hit theaters November 22.

Tracee Ellis Ross’s work with Spelman College over the years is paying off in the form of an honorary degree she’s set to receive at the 2023 Commencement Ceremony.

The award-winning actress, producer, and entrepreneur is set to receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the renowned HBCU, a press release shared. The announcement comes after Ross came fashionably forward to speak at Spelman’s “Courageous Conversations: Black in the C-Suite” in February.

The “Black-ish” star has a history of supporting the leading liberal arts college for women. In 2020, Ross surprised Spelman students via Zoom to talk about her journey in the entertainment industry and share words of encouragement during the unparalleled time.

She also touched on the importance of authenticity and the need for more diversity in Hollywood.

“I love being a part of this ever-growing chorus of Black women owning our legacies, and owning our stories and owning our experiences,” Ross told the students.

“I feel honored for this moment to be brought into your journey and your path. I hope to see you on the world stage.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones will also serve a crucial role at the graduation while also being honored. The Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and journalist with The New York Times Magazine, will deliver the keynote address and receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Jones, who serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, has been awarded for her investigative journalism in the form of the MacArthur Fellowship, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards, and three National Magazine Awards.

She has used her journalism career to investigate racial and social injustice and founded the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard, co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, and opened the 1619 Freedom School in 2022.

Spelman’s commencement ceremony will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, Georgia on Sunday, May 21, at 3:00 p.m.

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