One year after Lizzo launched her Yitty clothing line, the Grammy Award-winning singer is expanding the brand to include gender-affirming shapewear.

On Thursday, Lizzo took to her social media pages to announce the addition of Yitty’s “Your Skin” collection.

“Introducing.. YOUR SKIN by @Yitty,” Lizzo wrote. “You deserve to feel like you. You deserve to feel good in Your Skin.”

“We’ve been working on this a long time & it’s finally ready!” the “About Damn Time” singer added. “Binder tops & tucking thongs coming this summer !”

 

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Lizzo stands confidently front and center alongside a diverse group of models, all wearing black or purple form-fitting tops and bottoms. Yitty’s official Instagram page went into more detail about the summer 2023 release date.

“The rumors are true: YOUR SKIN by YITTY is coming late summer 2023 and will be here to stay, forever!” they captioned the post.

“Our Binder Top and Tucking Thong are designed with the comfortable, shaping compression y’all love, with additional seam and stitch details to keep you snatched AF in alllll the right places. Time to feel more like YOU.”

The “I’m Free” singer followed up with a behind-the-scenes video from the photoshoot to explain her inspiration for creating the inclusive line.

“I’ve watched countless videos of people crafting their own garments to wrap or tuck their bodies so their body can truly feel like theirs,” she wrote.

 

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“I’ve heard people talk about their preference of wanting to be fluid in how they want to present their bodies depending on their mood or style of clothing. And I wanted to help. I called my team at yitty and they immediately jumped to action. It took 2 years of extensive wear testing, community feedback, and attention to detail. I’m excited to say we have a great product that promises to grow and expand with Your needs.”

The announcement comes one week after Lizzo tweeted about recent anti-LGTBTQ+ legislation.

Hi! As we speak:

– the ceo of tiktok is being interrogated by congress with intent to ban TikTok in America

– anti lgbtqia legislation is being passed banning gender affirming health care & drag shows

– Jim Crow era laws are being reinstated in Mississippi

— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) March 23, 2023

Fans have been praising her newest collection.

“We love an inclusive queen,” one fan wrote.

“I love you. As a mom of a child who is gender non conforming and wears binders, I do appreciate this. Thank you!” another user wrote.

Whether you see him on your phone or television screen, Kalen Allen will surely lift your spirits. Kalen Allen’s name has become synonymous with laughter, from his humorous Instagram stories to his famous food reactions. Allen, however, isn’t just a digital content creator. He is also television’s hilarious new ‘it man,’ and he’s on a mission to spread joy to all our lives.

At just 27 years old, he is already an award-winning actor, producer, singer, and television personality. Discovered by Ellen DeGeneres from one of his viral food reaction YouTube videos, Allen’s infectious personality quickly took over our screens. From YouTube, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and hosting red carpets to joining the Food Network team, dropping a Christmas EP, and an upcoming role in the Netflix rom-com Meet Me Next Christmas, Allen is undeniably taking the entertainment world by storm.

The Start of Kalen Allen’s Journey

Allen shared that the theater kid in him loves to do anything that’s in front of an audience. “I’m so used to having an audience, and that’s where I feed energy from.” Luckily for him, his mom has always supported his journey. He believes one of the reasons he has made it to where he is today is because he was never forced to have a Plan B.

“I think when you have people around you that believe in you and always tell you that you’re going to be great, you start to believe that yourself. When you have that foundational support, the world is your oyster.” And while people have doubted him along the way, he has never let that stop him, stating, “I always use underestimation as my motivation.”

Allen has a strong sense of self and trusts his journey every step of the way. “I have a theory in my life that I am divinely guided,” Allen shared. The success of his first YouTube video was unexpected and a bit of an accident. He reacted to someone making cornbread that popped up as a sponsored ad. “Something in my spirit just told me at that time to make a video about it.” He set up his phone, hit record, and that first video went viral. Following his gut, he made more content similar to the first. That first video was created in November 2017. By December 2017, he was already taping his first episode for Ellen DeGeneres; by January 2018, he was moving to L.A. Things have not slowed down for Allen since.

What He is Up to Today

While he may no longer be filming The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Allen still finds himself in front of the camera and his calendar full. In addition to working with Food Network, filming a Netflix movie, working on a new Christmas album, co-hosting the Raised by Ricki Lake Podcast alongside Ricki Lake, and countless brand deals, Allen is also in the process of getting a master’s degree in Journalism at NYU, along with taking a certificate program through the Juilliard Extension Program. He has a packed schedule but makes it all work seamlessly. He recalls filming an episode of Supermarket Stakeout, leaving the set, and joining class immediately after.

“It’s just how I know how to operate. It’s who I’ve been ever since I was a kid. When I was a kid, I was doing musicals; I was doing plays; I was president of the NAACP Youth Council in my community, I was on student boards. I was doing all those things. It’s just how I naturally function. I was in dance classes. I was in voice lessons. Like all those things – so I think I’m really just doing what I know how to do. Everybody looks at it, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know how you do it all.’ Or ‘Wow, that’s a lot; you’re sure you won’t get burnt out?’ and I’m like, I’m just doing what I know how to do. I’m just being me. I’m just doing me.’”

Allen is used to being involved in many things simultaneously and has worked for everything he has.

“I’m not a nepotism baby. I grew up in Kansas City. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. And if it can happen for me, it can happen for anybody.”

 

– KALEN ALLEN

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You can keep up with Kalen Allen’s many moves by following him on Instagram @thekalenallen, Twitter @thekalenallen, or YouTube @thekalenallen.

Freeform is done with the -ish.

Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi left a message for her fans on the network’s YouTube channel revealing that season six of the series will be its final season.

“Hey grown-ish fam, it’s Yara, and I wanted to share the news with you guys, our day ones, that season 6 of grown-ish will be our final season,” she shared in the video. “But don’t be sad, because we’re going to do it up big.”

According to People, the final season will be released in two parts, the first airing this summer and the second part following in 2024, “which means you still have a full year with the crew at Cal U,” the actor and producer said to fans.

“And we have so much to celebrate this season, including hitting our hundredth episode,” she said, revealing some guest stars that will join the cast, including Lil Yachty, Anderson .Paak, and The Free Nationals. She noted that the network would be sharing more names soon.

“You guys have been with us since season 1, and it has been such an honor to play Zoey and grow up alongside her for the past nine years,” she shared, recalling her starting role on black-ish. “Your support over the last five seasons has really meant the world to us, the cast and crew, and we wanna take the time to thank you all for the love and support that has kept us going.”

“And like I said, there’s still another season to go and trust me, it’s gonna be big,” Shahidi reiterated.

The first season of grown-ish premiered in January 2018. The black-ish spinoff surrounded Shahidi’s character Zoey Johnson’s college experience and starred singing duo Chloe and Halle Bailey. Season five underwent some changes in the plot as Marcus Scribner, who plays Zoey’s brother Andre “Junior” Johnson, took on the lead role following his sister’s exit from college. In addition to Shahidi and Scribner, the final season will star Trevor Jackson, Diggy Simmons, and Daniella Perkins.

“We’ve spent nearly a decade telling our stories through the -ish series and to say it has been an amazing journey would be an understatement,” executive producer Kenya Barris said in a statement. “To be able to watch Yara, Marcus [Scribner] and our entire grown-ish family grow up in front of (and in many ways alongside) us over these past several years has been both a joy and an honor.”

Actor Jonathan Majors’ rise to fame was mounting with recent projects like the recently released Creed III and other upcoming movies. That path went off course with a current domestic abuse allegation reported earlier this week. Now, an Army advertising campaign featuring Majors has been altered.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the ads that the United States Army planned on running this weekend for the NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament featuring Majors will be altered to remove the actor from the campaign.

On Saturday, instead of seeing Majors in the commercials, viewers will see existing footage from previously aired commercials and unused material from the new “Be All You Can Be” campaign.

The repurposed ad content is from earlier ad campaigns, “Passions” and “Know Your Army.”

“The U.S. Army has preserved 100 percent of the value of our media inventory so far, losing no money in the brand campaign’s media investment,” Laura DeFrancisco, the public affairs chief for the Army Enterprise Marketing Office, informed The Hollywood Reporter.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, head of Army marketing, expressed that there will be no loss of the planned $70 million advertising buy for the campaign.

“We are absolutely able to utilize a majority of what we have invested,” Fink said in an interview. “We think that we’ll have some brand new creative ads in time for the Women’s Final Four on Friday.” The Army has gathered “an enormous amount” of content and footage for the two commercials, “Overcoming Obstacles” and “Pushing Tomorrow,” that showcased the Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania actor as the narrator of the creative spots.

“A majority of that content did not contain our main narrator. … So we have a ton of content to go back to, to create basically new commercials new ads, if we need to,” Fink said. “The campaign is full steam ahead.”

Majors was arrested in New York City over the weekend on assault and harassment charges and charged in a criminal complaint alleging that he struck his girlfriend in the face with his open hand, causing a laceration behind her ear, and grabbing her hand and neck, causing bruising.

Priya Chaudhry, Majors’ defense attorney, said in a statement that Majors was innocent and was “provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.”

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

March 31, 2023

Rep. Jamaal Bowman Calls Republicans ‘Cowards’ In Viral Shouting Match Over Gun Control

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Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) is not backing down regarding gun reform.

In a viral video, the New York congressman got into a passionate shouting match with his Republican colleague, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), outside the House chambers. The Washington Post reports Bowman accused Republicans of being “gutless” for not doing anything regarding gun control laws after a mass shooting at a Nashville elementary school on Mar. 27. While sharing his views, Massie walked by and questioned what Bowman was talking about. “I’m talking about gun violence,” Bowman said.

Republicans won’t do SH*T when it comes to gun violence, but try to tell me to calm down.

NO.

We can’t calm down. People are dying everyday while we wait. pic.twitter.com/38mYYW9cgs

— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) March 29, 2023

In response, Massie said, “there’s never been a school shooting in a school that allows teachers to carry.”

According to ABC News, the former middle school principal says Congress is “broken” and failed to provide a solution for what he calls a “sick society” that allows gun violence to occur regularly. “The whole country should be yelling and screaming and marching on these steps to make sure we pass legislation to do something about gun trafficking, assault rifles, and to bring some commonsense gun control,” the 46-year-old told reporters.

Monday’s shooting took the lives of three nine-year-old students: Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus, and William Kinney, and three adults: Katherine Koonce, Mike Hill, and Cynthia Peak. Adding to the list of hundreds of other mass shooting victims, U.S. lawmakers, like Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), have suggested legislative fix for school shootings isn’t coming anytime soon.

WATCH – Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) turns his back on the role he was elected to fill as he tells reporters “we’re not gonna fix” school shootings.pic.twitter.com/65EXzfSAjE

— The Black Wall Street Times (@TheBWSTimes) March 29, 2023

“It’s a horrible, horrible situation,” Burchett said. “We’re not gonna fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals.”

Several Democratic leaders have made statements on Bowman’s stance and support him in his passionate arguments. “Our children are being slaughtered in the streets of America. We need to do something about this problem,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. “And so passions may be running high here in the Congress. Passions are definitively running high throughout the United States of America.”

• Career

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

March 31, 2023

5 Steps to Communicate Like a Boss

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Effective communication is essential in any workplace. It helps build a positive and productive work environment, fosters collaboration and teamwork, and ultimately leads to better business outcomes. However, many employees and managers need help with communication. Ineffective communication can often lead to misunderstandings, low morale and lost productivity. So, here are five steps leaders can take to communicate like a boss.

1. Active listening

One of the critical elements of effective communication for leaders is active listening. Active listening requires leaders to pay close attention to what their team members say, ask relevant questions and provide feedback demonstrating understanding. Leaders who listen actively can gain insights into their team members’ thoughts and feelings, understand their concerns and build stronger relationships with them.

Active listening involves fully engaging with the speaker, verbally and non-verbally, to demonstrate interest and understanding. The purpose of active listening is to promote effective communication and build strong relationships, both personally and professionally.

2. Clarify expectations

Another important aspect of effective communication for leaders is providing clear and concise instructions. Clear expectations help prevent misunderstandings and errors when team members need clarification about what they are expected to do. Leaders who offer clear instructions can ensure that their teams are on the same page and working towards a shared goal.

Here is a simple roadmap to clear expectations:

1. Define the task or project: Define the task or project and what needs to be accomplished. Identify the goals, timelines and any other relevant details.
2. Identify stakeholders: Determine who will be involved in the task or project, including any team members, stakeholders or others impacted.
3. Discuss expectations: Leaders should talk with each stakeholder to ensure they understand their expectations and concerns about the task or project. This can include goals, timelines, resources and any other relevant details.
4. Document expectations: Document the expectations discussed, including specific details such as timelines, deliverables and responsibilities. Make sure everyone involved in the project has access to this documentation.
5. Confirm understanding: Confirm that all stakeholders understand and agree to the expectations that have been outlined. This can involve asking each person to summarize their understanding and addressing any confusion or disagreement.
6. Monitor progress: Monitor progress throughout the task or project to ensure that expectations are met and adjust as necessary. This can involve regular check-ins, progress reports and feedback sessions.

3. Give and accept feedback

In addition to providing clear instructions, effective communication requires leaders to give constructive feedback. Feedback can help team members improve performance, develop new skills and achieve goals. However, feedback must be provided constructively and respectfully. Leaders who provide constructive feedback can help their teams grow and improve while maintaining a positive work environment.

Constructive feedback is intended to help the recipient improve their performance, skills or behavior. The feedback is given to be helpful rather than critical or negative.

Constructive feedback typically includes specific, actionable suggestions for improvement. The feedback should be based on observations and facts rather than assumptions or personal opinions. It is focused on the behavior or performance rather than on the individual.

Effective constructive feedback is also given in a respectful and supportive manner. It is not meant to be confrontational or accusatory. Instead, it should be delivered in a way that encourages the recipient to reflect on their actions and make positive changes.

Constructive feedback is essential for helping individuals grow and develop their skills and abilities. By providing feedback that is specific, actionable and delivered in a supportive manner, we can help others improve their performance and achieve their goals.

4. Communicate goals clearly

Clear communication of goals means that goals are communicated in a way that is easy to understand, unambiguous and specific. When goals are communicated clearly, it helps individuals and teams to know what they are working towards, why it is essential and what is expected of them.

There are several key components of clear communication of goals:

1. Specificity: Goals should be clearly defined, with specific details about what needs to be achieved, by whom and when.
2. Relevance: Goals should be relevant to the overall mission or purpose of the organization and aligned with the values and priorities of the team or individual.
3. Clarity: Goals should be communicated in a way that is easy to understand and unambiguous, with no room for misinterpretation or confusion.
4. Accountability: Goals should be tied to specific individuals or teams, with clear expectations for who is responsible for achieving them.
5. Feedback: Regular feedback should be provided to track progress toward the goals and to make any necessary adjustments or changes along the way.

Clear communication of goals is crucial because it helps to align efforts towards a common purpose and provides a framework for measuring progress and success. When everyone is on the same page about what they are working towards, it helps to create a sense of unity and shared purpose within the team or organization.

5. Practice and be flexible

Effective communication for leaders requires ongoing effort and practice. This includes seeking input from team members, attending communication training programs and practicing active listening and clear communication in everyday interactions. Communication skills can be improved through practice and feedback, and leaders must be willing to continually work on their communication skills to become more effective leaders.

Leaders must also be able to adapt their communication style to different situations and audiences. Some team members may have different communication preferences, and leaders must be able to adjust their communication styles accordingly. Leaders who can adapt their communication style can build stronger relationships with their team members and create a more inclusive work environment.

Effective communication is essential to the success of any workplace. While these best practices may require effort and practice, the benefits of effective communication are well worth it.