NEWS
Billboard & The Hollywood Reporter’s Pride Prom: Here’s What Went Down
The pandemic might have put a damper on gleefully crowded Pride celebrations, but stars hailing from the television, film and music industries came together virtually to honor and recognize the LGBTQ community at Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter’s second annual Pride Summit and Prom on Saturday. Following a day full of insightful conversations about LGBTQ representation in the media, social justice and mentorship, YouTube makeup artist Patrick Starrr and Jennifer Lopez’s hairstylist Chris Appleton shared tips on how to achieve Pride Prom-ready looks. The beauty gurus showed off their favorite Pride looks, including Appleton’s wavy half-up half-down hairdo, and Starrr’s glittery rainbow eye makeup. To complete his Pride mug, Starrr used all Black-owned beauty products, ranging fro...
Martin Garrix’s Radio Show Expands to YouTube
In celebration of its landmark 300th episode, Martin Garrix‘s radio show is expanding to YouTube. Prior to the announcement, Garrix’s preeminent “Martin Garrix Radio” was available via Apple Podcasts and Mixcloud. The barnstorming EDM wunderkind took to Instagram to share the news. Martin Garrix According to a press release issued to announce the expansion, the addition of YouTube will give the show an extra dimension due to the infusion of “accompanying live footage of Garrix to enhance the listener’s experience even more.” With over 63 million weekly listeners, Garrix’s ubiquitous flagship radio program, which launched back in 2014, is one of the most popular electronic dance music mix shows in the world. Spanning across 83 m...
FCA Wins Case Against Mahindra Roxor’s Jeep-Like Look
The automotive world was treated to a rare look inside the politics of the American auto industry last fall when General Motors filed a racketeering lawsuit against Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) for allegedly bribing UAW officials in a bid to undercut it. But, with the automotive world being a complex place, that was not the only legal action FCA saw this past holiday season: On behalf of the Jeep brand, it won an interim victory in its International Trade Commission infringement case against Mahindra’s Roxor, which we can all agree looks a lot like an old Jeep. This week, the victory was made final, with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) issuing orders to force Mahindra to stop production and sales of the Roxor as currently designed. The interim finding issued by the...
The Ford GT40-Based Road Car That Could Have Been
Good racing films don’t happen very often, and rarely do they receive as much critical acclaim as 2019’s Ford v Ferrari. Propelled by the real-life drama behind Ford’s historic 1-2-3 sweep at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, the movie brings the adrenaline and danger of racing in the 1960s to life, carefully weaving that action into a character-driven origin story of the Blue Oval’s most iconic race car: the Ford GT40. Though the film gets a good majority of the facts straight, it presents the viewer with a condensed version of Ford’s road to victory at Le Mans. And even at a bladder-busting two and a half hours, there just wasn’t time to mention the GT40-based road car Ford was considering from the outset of the program. Wait, a GT40-based road car? That&#...
Alicia Keys & John Legend to Face Off in Juneteenth ‘Verzuz’ Battle
R&B superstars Alicia Keys and John Legend will face off in a Verzuz battle on June 19. “Let’s celebrate Juneteenth with a special edition #Verzuz! @AliciaKeys vs @JohnLegend,” the popular online battle series announced Saturday (June 13) on Instagram. The Verzuz Instagram battle series — co-helmed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic by legendary hip-hop producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland — has seen showdowns between such all-stars as Nelly and Ludacris, Lil Jon and T-Pain, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu and many more. Starting as a 20-song showdown between evenly matched producers, the series has also come to encompass writers and now performers, as hip-hop and R&B fans have been glued to their IG feeds on countless weekend nights to watch the d...
Lena Waithe, Jonica Gibbs on How Lesbian Representation Creates a ‘Space of Understanding’
Lena Waithe, the award-winning Master of None and Queen and Slim scribe, said that while she feels accepted as a Black, gay woman in the entertainment industry, she believes audiences need to see even more Black queer representation. “If you look at how many people that are known and that are Black in the industry, and then if you can count on like maybe one or two hands how many of them are out? The numbers just don’t add up,” Waithe said at Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter’s second annual Pride Summit and Prom. On Saturday, Waithe joined her mentee, Twenties breakout Jonica Gibbs, for a conversation that touched on expanded lesbian representation in television, the recent Black Lives Matter protests across the country and the role of the industry in the movement. Th...
Wilson Cruz and ‘Visible’ Team on LGBTQ Representation In 2020: ‘There Is a Lot More Work to Be Done’
Actor Wilson Cruz, producer Jessica Hargrave and director Ryan White participated in Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter’s Pride Summit on Saturday. During a live-streamed panel — titled “Apple TV+ Presents: Visibility” — the team behind Apple TV+’s docuseries Visible: Out on Television discussed the importance of LGBTQ representation in a time of unprecedented divisiveness. According to Cruz — an executive producer on the project — uplifting marginalized voices feels particularly meaningful as Pride marches are beginning to overlap with protests for the Black Lives Matter movement, reignited by the killing of George Floyd and unceasing police brutality against Black people. “In this moment, given everything that we are experiencing globally — not just here i...
Lilly Wachowski and Abby McEnany on the Power of Showcasing ‘Unpalatable Queers’ on TV
Lilly Wachowski and Abby McEnany — stars, writers and producers of Showtime’s LGBTQ-centered series Work in Progress — participated in Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter’s Pride Summit on Saturday. During their live-streamed discussion, titled “Work in Progress: Being Your Authentic Self in This Business” and sponsored by Wells Fargo, the talented duo spoke about the power of showcasing “unpalatable queers” in 2020. But first, Wachowski and McEnany touched on the intersection of Pride marches and protests for the reignited Black Lives Matter movement, a direct response to the killing of George Floyd and unceasing police brutality against Black people. “I think Lilly and I have been talking and we don’t know what we’re going to say. Th...
Jay Pharoah Reveals LA Police Officer Recently Kneeled on His Neck
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police, Jay Pharoah took to Instagram to share his own recent horrific run-in with cops. The Saturday Night Live alum told his story of LAPD officers mistaking him for a suspect, and kneeling on his neck as they cuffed him. “Coincidentally when the footage dropped of Ahmaud Arbery, a week prior to that I was actually on Ventura, I was exercising,” he explained. “As I’m walking across the street, I see an officer to the left of me. I’m not thinking anything of it cuz I’m a law-abiding citizen. And also keep in mind I’ve got my Bose headphones on – noise cancelling – so I’m in my zone right now. I look to my left, the officer – I see him coming with guns blazing. I see him say, ‘Get on the ground. Put your hands ...
Stormzy Announces Plans To Finance British Black Empowerment Organizations
Source: Paul Bergen / Getty Stormzy has announced new plans to donate funds to a number of organizations and causes in support of British Black empowerment. Over the next decade, the popular rapper will donate 10 million pounds to various groups as the fight against racism continues to swell worldwide. In a new piece from The Guardian, the artist born Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. shared a statement in regarding his new initiative in conjunction with the rapper’s #Merky company and brand. From The Guardian: The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit is that black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life – simply due to the colour of our skin. I’m lucky enough to be in the position I’m in and I’ve heard pe...
Jay Pharoah Shares Video Of LAPD Accosting Him With Guns Drawn After A Jog
Source: Screenshot / Jay Pharoah Jay Pharoah found fame as a former cast member of SNL and has parlayed that notoriety into a booming acting career, but even that didn’t shield him from the cruel reality of racism in America. In a new short film, the actor and comedian detailed how he came close to losing his life at the hands of the police simply for being a Black man. Working with @TheOnlyCarey to shoot the video piece, Pharoah is seen narrating the incident in question, which he says took place a week before Ahmaud Arbery was murdered in Georgia while jogging. While going about his workout routine in Los Angeles and getting in some exercise, Pharoah shares security video footage of Los Angeles officers surrounding him with their guns drawn. At one especially uncomfortable portion of the...
Liam Gallagher Recalls Nearly Burning Down Noel’s House in Ibiza
Liam Gallagher once almost set his brother Noel’s house on fire — and that was before Oasis’ dramatic split. The singer recalled the incident during a visit to Peter Crouch’s show, Save Our Summer (via NME). “Our kid had a house [in Ibiza] once, years ago, which I nearly set fire to cause they lent it [to] me,” Liam explained. “So I get there, I’m getting a bit giddy and I’ve gone, ‘this is nuts innit’, got the drinks out, got a cig out, and it was like right on the sea, and I lit up and then I flicked it, it’s gone down the cliff… and the next minute there’s loads of fire.” “We’ve not even unpacked our bags so I’m there running out with loads of pots and pans just launching at it because you couldn’t go down to it,” he continued. “I’d only been there about 10 minu...
