Michael B. Jordan is issuing an apology after the name of his new rum brand, J'Ouvert, sparked backlash over cultural sensitivities.

An annual festival with origins in Trinidad, J'ouvert - an Antillean Creole French term translating to "daybreak" - goes back to the 18th century, during a time when people were still enslaved in the Caribbean country.

Many have used social media to explain the cultural significance of the holiday, including one Instagram user whose post was shared by Nicki Minaj. (The singer was born in Trinidad and Tobago.)

Jordan, 34, posted his apology on his Instagram Story Tuesday night, writing, "I just wanna say on behalf of myself & my partners, our intention was never to offend or hurt a culture (we love & respect) & hoped to celebrate & shine a positive light on."

"Last few days has been a lot of listening. A lot of learning & engaging in countless community conversations ... " the Without Remorse star continued.

Jordan ended his post by assuring readers, "We hear you. I hear you & want to be clear that we are in the process of renaming. We sincerely apologize & look forward to introducing a brand we can all be proud of."


Hours before Jordan addressed the controversy, Minaj, 38, shared an image that broke down the historical significance of the J'ouvert event. The post read, in part, "IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE NAME IT'S WHAT IT REPRESENTS PERTAINING TO ENSLAVEMENT AND FREEDOM."

"I'm sure MBJ didn't intentionally do anything he thought Caribbean ppl would find offensive- but now that you are aware, change the name & continue to flourish & prosper. 🙏🏾🇹🇹 #jouvert," the "Super Bass" hitmaker wrote in her caption

In an exclusive interview with Hollywood Unlocked with Jason Lee, T.I. and Tiny former friend and alleged sexual assault victim Sabrina Peterson is now alleging that she was told by a Grand Hustle artist that T.I. paid him $25,000 to kill her in the midst of her allegations against him and his wife.

Around the 28-minute mark of the below video, Peterson describes the circumstances under which she was informed of the alleged hit, which she said she was told about not long before she was released from prison. “Maybe like right when I came home from prison, he was laughing… He was like, ‘You know that n***a tried to pay me to kill you?’”
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See the entire interview below.

Last month, Peterson said that she would drop the lawsuit against the Harrises if they apologized to her within a week of her IG request. The request went unanswered and this appears to be Peterson’s next claim to be heard in court.

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Vin Diesel is opening up about his rocky relationship with former Fast & Furious co-star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The F9 star, 53, spoke about working with Johnson, 49, in the hit film series with Men’s Health for the publication's July/August issue cover interview, People reports.

"It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character," Diesel said. "My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be."

The actor continued, "As a producer to say, 'Okay, we're going to take Dwayne Johnson, who's associated with wrestling, and we're going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don't know' - Hobbs hits you like a ton of bricks."

"That's something that I'm proud of, that aesthetic. That took a lot of work. We had to get there and sometimes, at that time, I could give a lot of tough love. Not Felliniesque, but I would do anything I'd have to do in order to get performances in anything I'm producing."

The feud between the two co-stars first surfaced in 2016 while filming “The Fate of the Furious,” the franchises eighth film, the outlet reports.

Johnson sparked the feud rumors as he took to Instagram with an angry rant about some of his male costars. "Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't," he said. "The ones that don't are too chicken s— to do anything about it anyway. Candy a—es."

Johnson later spoke about their improving relationship in an interview with Rolling Stone.

"Vin and I had a few discussions, including an important face-to-face in my trailer," the former WWE star said. "And what I came to realize is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating. It took me some time, but I'm grateful for that clarity. Whether we work together again or not."
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"I wish him all the best, and I harbor no ill will there, just because of the clarity we have," Johnson continued, before cheekily adding, "Actually, you can erase that last part about 'no ill will.' We'll just keep it with the clarity."

A slew of leading Caribbean celebrities have adopted the new title of “Disaster Fighters” ahead of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which climate scientists forecast will be above normal.
Top West Indian cricketers and music stars are joining arms as the new “Disaster Fighters” with The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the regional inter-governmental agency for disaster management in the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM).

The creative campaign to fighting disasters this season, kicks off today, May 31, 2021, one day ahead of the start of the hurricane season, and aims at reiterating the importance of Caribbean nationals to be prepared, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

West Indian cricketers, DJ Bravo, Darren Ganga and Stacey-Ann King of Trinidad and Tobago; Jamaica’s Chris Gayle; St. Lucia’s Darren Sammy, and St. Kitts & Nevis’ Kieran Powell, have joined forces with retired celebrity cricketing great, Sir Gary Sobers of Barbados and former cricketer turned music star Omari Banks of Anguilla, as well as musicians Mr Killa of Grenada, Tafa Mi Soleil of Haiti and Ricky T and QPID of St. Lucia, for the May 31st campaign kick-off.

The new CDEMA ground-breaking initiative, supported by the Africa Caribbean Pacific – European Union Natural Disaster Risk Reduction (ACP-EU NDRR) Program, the Canada Caribbean Resilience Facility, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (managed by the World Bank), and Binance Charity, aims at increasing community preparedness and resilience to risks, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, COVID-19, and other natural hazards affecting the Caribbean region, through a catchy disaster prevention song and music video that will be promoted on social media.
The month-long campaign that coincides with the beginning of the annual hurricane season and will feature important preparedness messages alongside the campaign song and music video on Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as the campaign’s website, disaster-fighters.org.

In an unprecedented move for the campaign, CDEMA will implement its first-ever Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) marketplace to raise donations and support disaster preparedness and disasters in the region. Participating musicians, cricketers and other celebrities will donate signed balls, t-shirts and various memorabilia including exclusive, limited-edition collectibles, that will be auctioned to the public as part of the initiative’s fundraising efforts. Items will include unique, personalized messages from the “Disaster Fighters” celebrity team.

Fans and the public are encouraged to show their support for the initiative by purchasing collectibles signed by their favorite celebrities to assist CDEMA in the important and meaningful work it does.

“Many Caribbean countries have been battling the compound impacts of drought, COVID-19, volcanic eruptions and now hurricane season,” said Elizabeth Riley, Executive Director (ag), CDEMA. “We wanted to use an innovative, inclusive approach to ensure that communities are empowered with the necessary plans, information and tools to tackle the disaster impacts that we as a region have been facing.”

Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean, added: “The past year has been very challenging for the Caribbean. Although much of the region has managed the health effects of the pandemic through early actions, the socioeconomic impacts have been severe. It is more important than ever this year for Caribbean countries and people to be well-prepared for the hurricane season. We are pleased to support this innovative new campaign from CDEMA that aims to help communities protect themselves and their livelihoods.”

For more log on the initiative and the marketplace log on to disaster-fighters.org or on  Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Source: News Amercicas Now

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Britain's Prince Harry, who now lives in California, is expected to attend his grandfather Prince Philip's funeral in London, Buckingham Palace confirmed Saturday.

Harry's wife, Meghan Markle, is pregnant with their second child and will not travel for the service, however.

"The Duke of Sussex is planning to attend. The Duchess of Sussex has been advised by her physician not to travel. So the duke will be attending," a royal spokesman said Saturday afternoon, according to People.com.

Harry's brother, Prince William, 38, had been scheduled to participate in the virtual BAFTA Awards ceremony honoring excellence in film this weekend, but he canceled after Philip died.

"In light of the Duke of Edinburgh's passing, the Duke of Cambridge will no longer be part of BAFTA programming this weekend," the British Academy said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "Our thoughts are with the royal family, to whom we offer our deepest sympathy at this time."

Philip married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 and was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch.

He died Friday at home after spending weeks in London hospitals and undergoing an unspecified heart procedure March 4 for a pre-existing condition. He was 99.

Harry, 36, and Markle, 39, announced last year that they were stepping away from their roles as senior members of the royal family.
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They recently accused Harry's family and palace staff of mistreatment in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey.

​Paramount announced new release dates for Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible 7, a new Star Trek film and more films Friday. With the shifting release dates, Universal moved a film into a vacated spot, too.

Deadline first reported Paramount's new slate and Variety confirmed. Tom Cruise's Top Gun sequel vacates its July 2 slot. The follow-up to Cruise's 1986 hit was originally slated for the 2020 holiday movie season before COVID-19 delays.

Mission: Impossible 7 was due Nov. 19, but Top Gun will take that date, bumping Mission to May 27, 2022. Cruise's spy sequel was in production under COVID-19 safety protocols. An eighth Mission: Impossible moves from Nov. 4, 2022 to July 7, 2023.

Deadline reports that The Forever Purge will take Top Gun's place on July 2. It was originally opening July 9, postponed from the 2020 4th of July weekend. Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway also moves to June 18, from its previous July 2 date.

Paramount has set June 9, 2023 as a date for a new Star Trek film. However, the studio was entertaining multiple possible Star Trek ideas, including one with the cast of J.J. Abrams' reboot, one written and directed by Noah Hawley, and another proposed by Quentin Tarantino.

Paramount's Dungeons and Dragons reboot moves from May 27, 2022 to March 3, 2023. The G.I. Joe spin-off Snake Eyes moves earlier, from Oct. 22 to July 23, 2021.

The fourth Jackass movie moves from Sept. 3 to Snake Eyes' old Oct. 22 date. A Bee Gees biopic directed by Kenneth Branagh opens Nov. 4, 2022.
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A Ron Howard animated film, The Shrinking of Treehorn opens Nov. 10, 2023 and an untitled Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski film opens Nov. 17, 2023.

Showtime is giving a glimpse of The Chi Season 4.

The network shared a trailer for the season Thursday featuring Alex Hibbert as Kevin Williams and Michael Epps as Jake Taylor.

The preview shows Jake (Epps) and Kevin (Hibbert) have a confrontation with a police officer that appears to land Jake in the hospital. Jake's brother Trig (Luke James) is also seen being confronted by a police officer with a gun.

"There's a war going on outside. The police department is on one side and the Black community is on the other," Otis "Douda" Perry (Curtiss Cook) is seen saying.

Season 4 will follow Jake, Kevin and Papa (Shamon Brown) as they "confront the harsh reality of how the world views young, Black men in the aftermath of an act of police brutality," according to an official synopsis.

"As the three friends reckon with a broken system, the aftershocks ripple across the South Side, inspiring friends and neighbors to rise up and take action."

The Chi is created by Lena Waithe, who executive produces the series with Common. Jacob Latimore, Alex Hibbert, Yolonda Ross and Birgundi Baker co-star.

Season 4 premieres May 23 at 9 p.m. EDT on Showtime.

Source: UPI

YouTube Video:

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence transformed into their Detective Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett characters to celebrate the 26th anniversary of their classic film, Bad Boys.

In a video shared on Instagram Wednesday, 52-year-old Will dons his signature sunglasses as 55-year-old Martin put on his police badge, mirroring the film's poster.

"When we say FOR LIFE we mean it. Bad Boys came out 26 years ago today! @martinlawrence," Smith wrote in the caption.

Sharing the video on his Instagram page, Martin Lawrence wrote, "...And we still riding strong. Bad Boys for life. #teammartymar."

The original Bad Boys action movie came out in 1995. Smith and Lawrence reprised their roles in 2003's Bad Boys II as Miami narcotics detectives on the hunt for a dangerous Cuban drug smuggler. Last year's box office smash, Bad Boys for Life, won Outstanding Motion Picture at the 52nd NAACP Image Awards in March. During their acceptance speech, Smith and Lawrence hinted they're developing a fourth and final installment in the franchise.

Demi Lovato is aware of the disturbing parallels between her 2018 overdose and what DMX is currently experiencing as he fights for his life in the hospital. 

DMX, the 50-year-old rapper whose real name is Earl Simmons, is currently in critical condition in the ICU after suffering a heart attack on Friday. The heart attack was reportedly triggered by a possible drug overdose. 

Speaking with TMZ Live on Tuesday, Lovato opened up about hearing the news of the performer's critical condition. 

"Anytime that I see somebody OD or even pass away that's in the public eye, I immediately think, 'That could have been you had you not been putting all this work in to the last couple years of your life,'" the 28-year-old "The Art of Starting Over" singer shared. "There's times where I've even talked about feeling survivor's guilt because you do ask yourself why am I still here? Why are others not? It's a challenging thing to get over." 

Lovato, who revealed in her YouTube docuseries, Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil, that doctors had given her five to 10 more minutes to survive after her 2018 overdose, said that she tries to see the positive in her situation. 

"Ultimately, I had to realize that every day is a day that someone else doesn't get," she continued. "Every day that I'm here on this earth is a day that I need to be counting my blessings for and just being appreciative and grateful for it. It makes me want to live the best life I can possibly live, knowing that others didn't get the same chance that I did." 

In her docuseries, Lovato opens up about the many medical complications and struggles she faced following the overdose. 

"I had three strokes. I had a heart attack. I suffered brain damage from the strokes," Lovato shared. "I can't drive anymore. I have blind spots in my vision." 

Vigils have been held outside of DMX's hospital room in White Plains, New York, following the news of his condition. 

A source close to DMX told ET that medical staff "tried to revive him twice in the house, and revived him again in the hospital."

"This is a very difficult time for the family," another source told ET, adding that DMX had recently relapsed with his drug addiction and had also suffered from COVID-19. "They are standing by his bedside, holding his hand and praying. They are really in prayer mode."

Source: AOL

Six weeks after golf legend Tiger Woods suffered serious leg injuries in a car accident, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it will release details of the cause of the crash Wednesday.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva will discuss the findings of the investigation at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET).
Last week, the sheriff said the investigation was complete, but he could not release the collision report without the golfer's permission.

Woods was driving a Genesis SUV around 7 a.m. February 23 when the vehicle veered off the road and rolled over.

After weeks in the hospital, Woods has been recovering at home.

"Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery," Woods tweeted in March.
"I am so grateful for the support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.

Source: CNN