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."