Warning: This story contains sensitive content. Discretion is advised. This Is Us writer Jas Waters’ cause of death has been revealed. On Wednesday, Waters’ death was confirmed by the joint Twitter account for all of the This Is Us writers. “The entire #ThisIsUs family was devastated to learn of Jas Waters passing. In our time together, Jas
Pop Culture
On Friday, an Atlanta police officer shot and killed 27 year old Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-thru. It will not surprise you to learn that Brooks was a Black man, and the officer was white. His murder is yet another in the countless police murders of Black people, and it happened in the midst
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, Dave Chappelle has partnered up with Netflix, once again, to release a surprise comedy special, 8:46. The 27-minute feature dropped on Friday morning through the streaming platform and was also released for free on
Ultimately, Pennsylvania saw a more than eighteen-fold increase in the number of ballots requested for its 2020 primary as compared to 2016. And one quirk of the absentee ballot processing rules in those two states—and it’s true in about a dozen others—is that those states are not permitted, by law, they’re not permitted to start
In response to the weeks of protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, cities around the country have begun to consider cutting back on the footprint of their police forces. As we watch officers descend on unarmed crowds of civilians, equipped with riot gear, tear gas, and freely wielded batons, it’s perhaps not
Anyone who grew up from the late ’60s through to the early ’80s will be familiar with K-tel Records, the Winnipeg-based label founded by Phil Kives, a travelling salesman from Oungre, Sask., (current population: 15). Starting out with Teflon-coated frying pans and then moving to knives, and the insanely popular Miracle Brush, Kives came up
It wasn’t quite the Mall in London, but the Queen managed to celebrate her 94th birthday on Saturday despite the coronavirus lockdown. With Her Majesty and the government’s blessing, Buckingham Palace organized a military ceremony in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle to mark the Queen’s official birthday. The monarch has two birthdays—her actual birthday is
WARNING: This story contains explicit language. Rapper Gucci Mane claimed that he’s leaving Atlantic Records on July 3 and referred to the label as “polite racist.” In a now-deleted tweet, Gucci Mane wrote, “Leaving #AtlanticRecords July 3rd these crackers polite racist #SolcySummer.” In another deleted tweet, the I Get The Bag rapper took aim at
Update, 6/13: New footage outside the Rikers Island jail cell in New York City where transgender woman Layleen Xtravaganza Cubilette-Polanco died last June reveals that guards waited 90 minutes before calling for help. Her family told NBC News that the footage shows that guards failed to provide her with the care she needed when she
For the eleventh year in a row, and for the first time digitally, the non-profit veteran foundation To the Stan and Back will host its annual Party Under the Stars benefit concert this weekend. The virtual event comes amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and will feature surprise guest musical performances from artists such as George Canyon, Jason
On March 4, No Time to Die—the fifth and final Bond film with Daniel Craig in the role of 007—saw its release date pushed from April to November. Two weeks later, theaters across the U.S. were closed. That’s how quickly the coronavirus pandemic wiped out moviegoing this year, halting productions and forcing studios executives to
Yesterday, the Trump administration announced that it was rolling back healthcare protections for people who are transgender. The protection was part of an Obamacare regulation that prohibits discrimination against trans patients, an expansion of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, known as the Health Care Rights Law, which “prohibits discrimination based on race, color,
A social media post by the Hallmark Channel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement has a triggered growing backlash from members of Vancouver’s film industry. Many are calling the message “hypocritical” amidst allegations the company’s productions suffer from a lack of diversity. “We stand with you in the fight against racism and injustice,”
Jay Pharoah said he was aggressively stopped by police while jogging in Los Angeles, and detained by an officer who pinned him against the ground and put a knee on his neck. It took place in April on Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, and the comedian just released security cam footage of the
Last summer, Nikil Saval was best known as a head editor for the literary and political magazine n+1. He wrote freelance articles about architecture and design for The New York Times and The New Yorker. He used a Motorola razr flip phone. A year later, Saval’s life looks markedly different. Last week he was declared
Following the BBC‘s recent decision to remove a single episode of the mid-1970s British sitcom Fawlty Towers from its UKTV streaming service, John Cleese — star and creator of the popular TV series — has criticized the British broadcasting network. The episode in question, The Germans, originally aired in 1975 and heard a number of racist
The Oscars are implementing some big changes, including a set number of best picture nominees and to-be-determined representation and inclusion standards for eligibility. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that there will be 10 best picture nominees beginning with the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. The organization is also planning to
Time may march along, but the album Hughie Mac Sings Some Great Songs Part 4, is a time stamp to the song’s that have captivated audiences for numerous decades. A sort of grab bag approach, Philadelphia’s Hughie Mac sings the American music staples, dabbing in songs from Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and even Jimmy
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet has come unstuck in time. The thriller, staring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson as agents of a mysterious organization that appears to be able to manipulate chronology, has been locked into its original July 17 release date throughout the coronavirus crisis, even as virtually all other Hollywood films abandoned the summer.
In his new single “A Change,” Kendre Streeter channels soul and crossover R&B legends like Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder while putting his own unique spin on a timeless brand of melodicism. From the moment that we press play forward, there’s a sense of sensuousness that follows us everywhere we travel in “A Change.” The
Tumbling from the heavens above like dewdrops on an early spring morning, Natalis’ “Praise You” comes alive ever so pendulously only to erupt in colorful harmonies less than sixty seconds into its complete running time. There’s an atmospheric sensibility to the instrumentation at the start of this track that immediately clues us in to the
Hey Sarah, welcome! To start off, tell our readers where you grew up? Thanks for having me! I was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and when I was eight years old, I moved with my Mom to Knoxville, Tennessee and that is where I was raised. Music can be a great healer for many people. What
Welcome JaneliaSoul! Excited to chat with you today. We know you’re quite an advocate for affirmations. How important are affirmations in your day to day life? I think we all experience those voices, be it internal or external, that tries to tell us that we are not good enough or cannot achieve something. Affirmations serve
Kelly Clarkson’s surprise divorce from her husband of nearly seven years, Brandon Blackstock, happened because of what she realized about their relationship while quarantining with him in Montana, Entertainment Tonight reports. A source spoke to the outlet about why Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock last week. Blackstock and Clarkson have two children together. He’s
Jessica Mulroney is back in the headlines this week, and not for old news like her friendship with Meghan Markle or her work with Canadian designers. Mulroney’s rise to fame has been peppered with TV appearances, hosting jobs and “secret” wardrobe consultant gigs with the likes of Markle and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. But after being
CTV has announced the removal of Jessica Mulroney’s reality show I Do, Redo from its airwaves, saying the recent conduct of the host conflicts with the broadcaster’s “commitment to diversity and equality.” READ MORE: Woman called police on a Black man in Central Park, then she was fired The news comes a day after writer
You know, in 2017, as we were running the campaign, there was a remarkable energy of coalition-building, community organizing, using the platform of political organizing to create a new vision around the abolition—you know, what other ways can we respond to harm in our communities? So in that moment I think there was definitely a
J.K. Rowling has refused to “bow down” to criticism of her recent tweets about the transgender community, doubling down and expanding on them by sharing her concerns about “new trans activism.” The famed British author took to her personal website on Wednesday, sharing a lengthy blog post in response to the backlash triggered by her
Though the common thinking may be that movies all but disappeared during the first half of 2020—with the coronavirus epidemic chasing many films away from their planned release dates, and theaters around the country shuttering indefinitely—there were at least a handful of worthy films that managed to make their way to theaters or on-demand platforms
Jared Leto isn’t the type to blast his love life on social media, but Leto has had a steady partner in 26-year-old model Valery Kaufman over the last few years. People got some rare detail on the couple this week after Kaufman and Leto were seen together hiking in Malibu in early June 2020. Here,