VIDEO CONVERSATION: Nicki Minaj says she is retiring and the Barbz says not so fast; is there a Real Housewives of Chicago on the drawing board?

In this episode of What's The 411's Quick Takes, award-winning journalist, Kizzy Cox, and; comedian Onika McLean are talking about Demi Lovato’s Instagram post of a picture of herself exposing cellulite with the caption, Cellulit! and Mike Johnson of Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise fame’s positive response.

R. Kelly is now in the general population and his trial for sexual misconduct is set to start on April 27, 2020; meanwhile, Harvey Weinstein’s trial date is set for January 6, 2020.

What is a 50 Cent story without a feud with someone? This time, 50 is feuding with Paris Jackson over his belief that singer/songwriter Chris Brown is better than Michael Jackson. 

Popular actress Rosie Perez, who is from Brooklyn, will receive the Latinavator Award from John Leguizamo’s NGL Collective. 

Nicki Minaj says she is retiring to start a family and many say they will believe it when they see it.

The US House of Representative’s Judiciary Committee will begin a Congressional Impeachment Probe/Inquiry into Donald Trump’s unconstitutional and alleged illegal activities.

And, rumor has it that Bravo producer Andy Cohen is considering a “Real Housewives” show for the Midwest, Real Housewives of Chicago.

How will the Tekashi69 abduction case end? La La Anthony is in the news again, and guys are here for it! Is the U.S. stock market sending a message?

IS VICTOR CRUZ IN LOVE?

Former NFL football standout, Victor Cruz, recently expressed his love and appreciation for Karrueche Tran on social media, stating: “I’m a grown-ass man and still get butterflies every time I think about my lady. This love thing has no age bracket.”

JAY Z and WILL SMITH INVEST

While many people are focused on Jay Z becoming a partner with the NFL, he and Will Smith were among the companies that were part of a $25 million investment round for an Airbnb-like app called Hipcamp. According to the founders of the company, the app is designed for an inclusive community that values the environment, preservation, and the great outdoors.

TEKASHI69

Recently, the attorney for one of the defendants in the Tekashi69 kidnapping case dropped a bombshell! If you recall in July 2018, the rapper who also goes by the name of 6ix9ine was reportedly abducted, forced into a car, assaulted, and robbed of hundreds of thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry. But Deveraux Cannick, the lawyer of the man accused of the crime, Anthony "Harv" Ellison, said not so fast, as he told reporters that he intends to argue that the incident was staged. Keep an eye out on this case.

LA LA ANTHONY

It seems like you can always tell when La La Anthony and Carmelo Anthony are on the outs because girlfriend is setting those “thirst traps!”

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS HANGS OUT WITH CARDI B

Grammy Award-winning rapper, Cardi B, is no stranger to voicing her concerns about government and politics, and her support of US Senator Bernie Sanders for US President. Cardi recently spoke with the senator in a Detroit nail salon about issues surrounding policing, student debt, and wages.

STOCK MARKET HAS SOME ON EDGE

The U.S. stock market has been acting a little jittery recently in reaction to impending recessions around the world and to Donald Trump’s erratic imposition of tariffs on China, the effects the tariffs are having on US farmers and Americans as a whole.

America’s current Immigration Policy is tarnishing the American brand, African Americans Cultural Appropriators or Survivalists?

In this episode of What’s The 411, Kizzy Cox, Onika McLean, and Keisha Wilson are talking about accused sexual predators, R. Kelly and, Jeffrey Epstein; Donald Trump’s immigration policy, African Americans migrating to Africa, African Americans and cultural appropriation, and the backlash surrounding Halle Bailey’s selection to star in the Disney remake of The Little Mermaid.

ACCUSED SEXUAL PREDATORS JEFFREY EPSTEIN AND R. KELLY

Kizzy: Hey, all right, so guys, it was not a good week last week if you were an accused sexual predator because they’re just sweeping up, scooping up them sexual predators.

So, singer, songwriter, and producer R. Kelly, he got swept up on sex trafficking charges again now. Um, and also the financier…Have you heard of Jeffrey Epstein? He also got swept up on federal sex trafficking charges. It's worth noting that Jeffrey Epstein back in 2008, was convicted, he was convicted of soliciting a 14-year-old girl for prostitution and…

Onika: He knew she was 14?

Kizzy: Of course, of course. And, he served 13 months, get this, 13 months in custody with work release, that that's what he got. So, he got six days. He could go off and go to work and then come back into prison...

Onika: …New York…has John School, well I don't even know when you get caught soliciting prostitution and instead of going to jail, you got to go to schools on a Sunday, not Saturday. Cause most of them see the Jewish men and um, and they just talked to them about how it's wrong.

Kizzy: This was way worse. I mean, and this, I mean this is 36 victims that he had here and that was the plea deal. So, you just mentioned him, Alexander Acosta, who was just now the former US Secretary of Labor. He was the one who gave him like this kind of sweetheart deal. Cause at the time he was working for the United, he was working as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida where they brought the charges.

Now part of that was that he got immunity from all federal criminal charges. Right. And so that's what his, you know, team, is now sitting on. They’re like, oh no, no, no. He can't get federal charges.

Onika: Double jeopardy.

Kizzy: They're (Southern District of New York) like, nope, nope. Not in our state. This is New York, womp, womp. So right now, Jeffrey Epstein is trying to get bail. He's putting up his mansion, $77 million. He has a jet that he's trying to put up as well. He's saying he's going to pay for his own guards around the clock. He's trying to do anything he can to stay out of…

Onika: All of this because he had sex with children and youth.

Kizzy: Woo, Lord. But listen, listen, listen. Now nobody knows him. Nobody knows Jeffrey Epstein. Before, he was hanging out with Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and now, plane, what plane. I don't know about a plane. What are you talking about a plane? Now, nobody knows him.

But my thing is, what do you ladies think, because you know, Onika, we've had conversations. People are like, oh my God, they threw Bill Cosby in jail, right. We got Harvey Weinstein running free. Jeffrey Epstein is a very wealthy, white, well-connected man, and he's going down in this. So, what do you guys think about these charges?

Wow. They're pretty disturbing when you think about it. Um, and it's just interesting how money and power can really buy you freedom. Even though it's been reported. R. Kelly doesn't have as much money that he might be in financial straits, dire, dire straits. Um, he still has some power. He has recognition. He could probably still afford better lawyers than some, or maybe even most. So…

Kizzy: He got off, back in 2012 was it when they finally call the case and he got off.

Keisha: He got off and then allowed to walk around and, and allegedly, almost definitely still commit these heinous crimes. So, I'm just, I'm curious with the Epstein case as the pressure mounts on him, when he's going to start singing and how many people…

Onika: Singing what, like taking other people down.

Keisha: Yes. Because there’s the notion is that the reasons why he got that nice deal because he was connected to Bill Clinton and other powerful political figures. So if he starts, if the pressure gets to him and he started singing, we may find out who really had more of an active role and knowingly participated in his like…

Onika: There are going to be so many presidential hopefuls like, no, I'm good. Forget that presidency.

Keisha: And one other thing, that I will, I'm interested in knowing is if both R. Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein are found guilty, what's the sentencing going to be for both of them? Because money can be a really good equalizer in terms of leveling the plane. But now you have a racial aspect going on here. Will R. Kelly get a sweetheart deal or something similar to that of Jeffrey Epstein?

Onika: But, he won’t.

Kizzy: Because now he doesn’t even have bail. They’re not even setting bail with R. Kelly.

Onika: The way things are set up. We try people in the media. He’s got that documentary. He’s got all that other stuff going on. They’re going to try to throw the book at him. Now, Jeffrey Epstein is going to be different because his connections are going to be on the back end, a lot of stuff you’re not going to know about.

Keisha: But, are they going to be allowed to touch him?

Onika: They’re going to touch him because they gotta save him. Some things are just too big to fail.

Kizzy: I don't know. Let's see how this plays out because I actually think Jeffrey Epstein is going to serve some time. I don't think he's going to get off scot-free the way he did before, or almost scot-free.

Onika: So, why is Harvey Weinstein still in these streets.

Kizzy: Harvey Weinstein is actually in court. He's having his court cases still playing out.

Onika: So, he'll still be in the streets. We still,

Kizzy: We'll see what happens.

AMERICA’s NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY

Onika: Switching from a Trump associate to Donald Trump himself, his new policies regarding the treatment of immigrants…, like Central American immigrants in particular. He is going bat shit crazy.

Kizzy: Onika, you know this is not my topic.

Onika: What do you think it's going to take to turn this around? Like, it's so much going on, he's saying so much stuff now. He's like, oh, well if you're trying to get asylum then you should seek asylum in the country that’s right adjacent to your country.

Kizzy: Which is Mexico.

Onika: It's like, get the hell out of here. No, we're in,

Kizzy: Did you see his most recent tweet? Calling out (Congresswomen) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar…

Onika: The squad? He said, go back home if you don't like America…

Keisha: Go back where you came…

Kizzy: Crime infested place.

Onika: You know who should go back to where they came from, Melania, are you crazy, all your ex-wives, well, except, except Marla, but you know, Marla. But, come on.

Kizzy: And, that's what's so funny. It's like everybody, even, um, Ilhan Omar, she's been a citizen longer than Melania Trump has and how can you say…

Onika: I know Melania is saying, I can't wait until they take him to jail. I just can't wait until this is over. Come on Baron, get your toys, get your toys.

Kizzy: I mean when you have people saying, I mean the immigration policies are horrible. We already knew that. He kind of rode in on the whole immigration thing, saying Mexicans are rapists and we've got to get them out of the country and its invaders. All this stuff. He's already established that. But for him to even say now that people who are here are ready, people who are American citizens, you don't belong here because they're black and brown, that is ridiculous.

Onika: He knows that. What he's saying is if you don't love America, you should leave.

Kizzy: No, that's, that's, that's the gloss he's putting on it. What he means is, you don't really belong here because you are, but he's black.

Onika: This is going to heat up because he has to win this election, and that rhetoric wins the elections.

Kizzy: That is what he thinks, but think about it when you look at the midterm elections when he doubled down on the immigration, he lost a whole bunch of house seats, so it didn't really help him as much as he thought it was going to.

Onika: Guess what, Billy Bob is going to come down out the mountains. They all gonna be like, get your possum and your handguns.

Kizzy: Onika McLean. Onika McClean.

Onika: Okay. I'm just saying what do you guys think needs to happen to turn this thing around? Like, America has lost so much street cred, like America's like…

Kizzy: We’re supposed to be that shining city on the hill, the land of opportunity.

Onika: How do we get it back?

Keisha: Ideally, you get him, and all the people of his ilk and you send them out on a remote island where they can live out the rest of their ignorant lives together. However…

Onika: But then there would be nobody here. It would just be us. Like there'll be a good one good meal.

Keisha: But, in all seriousness, I think, I mean, he's definitely got to go.

Onika: He's got like four more years.

Keisha: No! Agent Orange, gone. He's got to go. And I think, I mean, I'm not professing to be a political expert at all, but I feel as though there has to be more unity between the Democrats and Republicans on what vision they want from America's for all Americans, not just the rich, not for the poor.

Onika: But that's not happening.

Keisha: I know, but that's the problem.

Onika: That's like that statement. I want to see like five like little kids singing behind your singing swing low, sweet chariot. But because it's a capitalist society.

Keisha: But I said the only way that's ever gonna move. Because every, both sides have their own agendas and they're not there to staunch on it. Right, right.

Kizzy: And I think Republicans, you know, they have that proximity to power. Yes, their man is, it has the presidency. They have all these statehouses across the country. They have the power and trading higher than it's ever. Right.

Onika: The money is happening. Like, the Dow is trading high as it ever…the money is happening.

Kizzy: But, at what cost because you know, you're doubling down on who you think might be okay with this kind of rhetoric, this kind of white identity politics stuff. The white population is shrinking. The people of color is what's growing in this country. By 2050 we'll be…

Onika: But not the white dollar. It's not strong. So that's the thing.

Kizzy: So, it's not, it's not sustainable. It's not sustainable. It's not sustainable.

Onika: It is.

Kizzy: But, not long-term.

Onika: Oh, it is and it goes to another story I am going to talk about later because what we have, what we have bought into is, white culture in a way that that...

Kizzy: Who?

Onika: Non-white people, the makeup, the hair, the nails, everything to be like this lily-white thing. So as long as we're not gonna, we're not gonna, we're not gonna...

Kizzy: I know where you're going with this. But we're not going to vote for that at the ballot box. I don't know. A whole lot of black people are gonna say, Trump.

Onika: No, but you're going to know a whole lot of black people that don't vote still. Same thing. Cause they still don't feel like they are part of (a seat at) the table. They still, they don't feel like eating at that table still. Right. Okay. So, I know that you guys have comments on this subject. Like give me a break, please comment below, let us know if and then share this video because this is like a topic that we really need to start like really circulate it.

Kizzy: Yes. And we need to vote. Guys hope, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote.

Onika: But they have to feel like they're part of it. That's the thing.

Kizzy: But that's what I saw. Like 25 people running for president. Right. So everybody's like, I represent you, I represent you. I represent, you know, so there's, there's a lot of options this time. Hillary Clinton just wasn't popular.

Onika: We had a lot of options last time before they dwindled it down to Hillary, we had a lot of options.

Kizzy: No we didn’t. We had Bernie (Sanders), we had Bernie and we had Hillary. That's it.

Onika: No.

Kizzy: We had a gazillion Republicans running.

Onika: Oh. Well, maybe Kamala (Harris).

Kizzy: We'll see. We'll see what happens. But yeah, you know, hit us up in the comments and let us know what you think.

AFRICAN AMERICANS MIGRATING TO AFRICA

Keisha: As more people want to come into the country, we will discuss people who want to leave the good old United States of America. Many African Americans here in the United States are very pessimistic about the mood and the direction in which this country is going. And they have decided that they are going to return home, quote-unquote, to the African continent. Recently on Al Jazeera English, they sat down and spoke with a black South African and African Americans who moved from the United States to Namibia and Ghana to share their experiences. Before I ask my questions, I'll ask both of you and you at home, have you ever been to Africa? Would you consider migrating to Africa or maybe another country? And what would it take for you to make that big move?

Kizzy: Onika, you first.

Onika: So I have? I've not been to Africa, so, I really, I don't know. I don't think so. I like Brooklyn. Is it like Brooklyn? Cause I like Brooklyn, not the gentrified Brooklyn, like old school Brooklyn.

Kizzy: I've been to Africa several times. I've been to South Africa, which is a lot like I'd say, Harlem, it's a lot like Harlem. There are…it's a mix of people. There are so many places.

Onika: is there a Red Rooster?

Kizzy: No. They have their own version though. They have all of their rooftop bars. Um, it is very easy, I'm telling you, South Africa was lit. I loved South Africa, so I went to Kenya, which is very different, but it also has a lot of things to do.

Onika: Trevor Daly is from...

Keisha and Kizzy: Trevor Noah.

Onika: Right, Trevor Noah, from The Daily Show.

Kizzy: I've been to Egypt, which I loved. I love Egypt. You know what it was, what was so interesting, I felt really connected to the continent in Egypt. I don't know whether it was because there are so many different pyramids and all that stuff. I felt connected to history there. It just, it just felt, it just filled me up in a very different way.

Onika: Would you move?

Kizzy: So I, you know what, because I've had friends who actually have lived there and diplomats who've lived there for years and years and years. I could see myself living in Africa. Absolutely. I could see myself living there. I don't know if I lived there forever because I do love Brooklyn, Brooklyn. But I'm, I definitely would like,

Onika: I think it’s a boy in Africa does not make sense. It's…

Kizzy: No, I mean it's just, it's a beautiful, beautiful place. And it's sometimes nice to just be in a place where you feel like you have the majority. And I'm not saying it's not good here. I love it here. I love the diversity here, obviously. But just feeling sometimes that it's not like you're not singled out because you're black. Everybody kind of looks like that.

Onika: Right. So, in Paris and, actually in Spain, I didn't feel black. I felt like a person. Mm. If that makes sense to you. What I was like, wait, I don't feel black. Like I don't have anything that I felt black and in America until you leave America. And I was like, wait, what's this?

Kizzy: Exactly. And I'm saying, wait, go to Africa. Okay. That's, you know what I mean That's that feeling in it and it's a good feeling.

Onika: But what are we going to do about Brooklyn, though?

Kizzy: Oh, we’re going to come back to Brooklyn, we’re going to be here, we’re going to be right here. Yeah. So, I would, I would do that. I would definitely move to Trinidad. I would definitely do that. Yeah. So, definitely moving around and just being you places where, you know, feel like home.

Onika: Maybe I'll go to Africa with you.

Kizzy: You need to come to Africa, you need to come to Africa, we need to go to Nigeria.

Onika: I keep feeling they might keep me, they’re gonna keep me. They’re going to be like, oh, our queen and then I'm going to be there.

Keisha: Well, then you'll be a queen.

Kizzy: Oh, Lord.

Onika. You remember…remember what I'm saying,

Keisha and Kizzy: Don’t say, “Coming to America.”

Onika: You remember in “Coming to America,” and they saw him in the stadium. They were like, oh, hailing. I wouldn’t even know what to do with that kind of power.

Keisha: You would get used to it.

Kizzy (to Keisha): Would you, go, would you go?

Keisha: Oh Gosh. I've been to, Africa. I've been to Egypt and I loved it. I just thought I loved it.

Onika: I feel left out, I’m mad. The jealous part of me, okay, I'm going to go.

Keisha: I didn't speak a lick of Arabic, but I found the people to be really warm and the history, I mean it was just really great. And I have a friend who currently lives in Johannesburg and she loves it there and I'm trying to visit. I think it's, I think the question is, there are a couple of questions, what am I leaving the U.S. for? Am I trading one set of problems for a different set of problems? You know, at this point. In the video, Al Jazeera English, at least one of the women described this pull to go back to Africa and feel connected.

Onika: What’s his name?

Kizzy: You are so cynical, Onika.

Onika: I’m just saying, I felt a pull…

Keisha: Yeah, I didn't, I don't feel that pull, I mean not that I don't have an interest to or desire to learn more about Africa and African culture, but I just don't feel like I need to uproot my life to gain that knowledge.

Right.

Keisha: And then, also I am very much a creature of habit and I'm a sports junkie, so I need ESPN in my life and everything.

Kizzy: It's a cricket, you know.

Keisha: I told them I need my football I need my basketball.

Kizzy: You know, they have soccer.

Kesha: No, no, it's not the same.

Onika: You know, soccer players are hot.

Keisha: I'm not saying that they aren’t, I wouldn't mind dating a couple. However,

Onika: You could date Carmelo in Africa, and LaLa, she wouldn’t know, she wouldn’t know anything. Maybe you could do that.

Keisha: I think he does some work in Africa.

Onika: Um, maybe he'll do some extra work.

Keisha: Oh, maybe so.

Kizzy: She’s not ready yet.

Keisha: So yes, as I was saying, as a sports junkie, you know, I'm used to having my ESPN and there are just certain comforts that I'm used to being here, that when I travel outside of the country that I don't get, and I think I would really miss, but never say never. You never know what circumstances life would bring. Maybe it's Carmelo for me or my African prince…

Onika: You might like eggplant…

Keisha: maybe an amazing job opportunity. Who knows?

Onika: That's true.

Kizzy: You know what, Onika, stop the madness. Let’s bring it back. Let's bring it back.

CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

Onika: Okay. Hey, what's up! We've seen many articles. This is my kind of a call back from what I was talking about earlier. So, we have seen many articles about black people just being outraged about, cultural appropriation. Like, oh, Kim Kardashian, take those braids out, un-pout your lips, take the butt down. So, they’re, you know, up in arms about culture. “Cultural appropriation, it's real, mom.” I have like a whole joke about that because my daughter says that all the time. So, this is my thing. Why do black people have selective outrage over cultural appropriation when we are the ultimate appropriators? It's like, think about what we do. And I know y'all gonna think I've come for your edges because I'm about to talk about weaves, but y'all got weaves.

Kizzy: I don’t have a weave.

Onika: Okay. Cosmetics. Right. Even gels, we’re trying to soften up all the things that are, that are inherently ours. Right. So, we're doing the same thing, right. We're, we're doing the same thing.

Kizzy: It's different. I think it's different because, you know, again, going back to being a minority in a country that for years told you that you are not good enough, that you know, the...the width of your nose was too big, that your hair was too kinky, that your body wasn't right. And then we grew up having to maneuver that. And so, we, we took on those trappings of white culture to fit in better. I think that's very different than now.

Onika: Okay.so now we got it, right?

Keisha and Kizzy: No

Onika: But we’ve got it enough to say that you're appropriating my culture. You got it enough to say that you've been brainwashed.

Kizzy: It’s very funny that a Kim Kardashian will be celebrated for her body type and cornrows much more than we are doing the exact same thing.

Onika: But guess what, who is celebrating her? We’re supporting them.

Kizzy: And other people as well. If we're wearing cornrows and, and we go to work or something and we wear our natural hair, there've been plenty of stories where we've reported on where people are like, oh, your hair is not professional. Or, take a kid out of school because you're your cornrows are not professional. A white person will more quickly get, um, accepted for that, than we will.

KEISHA: Two states have passed legislation banning discrimination against natural hairstyles. California was the first. New York was the second. So that means there were enough incidents where people were having issues because of their hair because they chose to wear a more natural hairstyle. One that's more like an African descent.

Onika: But now it's more acceptable for us. We're accepting it more so, so, so the numbers are increasing. So, all of us, you, if everybody had the damn Afro, then it just is what it is. Right?

Keisha: But when you think about who has a lot of decision-making power, it's not African Americans. When you go for job interviews, chances are you're sitting in front of a non-minority. You're sitting in front of a white male of a white woman and they have the decision-making powers. So, if I go in with my with dreadlocks or braids, cornrows, whatever, an Afro, I'm looking at them and they’re like, umm, I don't like that look, that's not appropriate when there's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing or how I wear my hair, but the decision-maker doesn't like it, so, therefore, I lose out on an opportunity. So I think sometimes for us, appropriation is a means of survival. It's a means of surviving and advancing in life. So, whether it's your hair or living in a certain neighborhood, because unfortunately a lot of resources are pumped into neighborhoods where black, and minorities are not, are not predominate. So, for myself, if I had a child, the better school system might be in that white neighborhood.

Onika: I did the same thing for my children. They went to school in East New York, like hello, yeah.

Keisha: Yeah, you wanted to give your children better opportunities. So that means you had to get them into a school that didn't, where the library, you have to test them and then you had to guide, not even busted him. You had to transport them someplace far.

Onika: I get it. But those dollars can totally be spent, our dollars can be spent with black businesses to build that up. So, so eventually when you're sitting across from the interviewer, they look more like you. You understand. So, what happens. Well, what happens, we still buy non-black. We still need to have the latest Gucci, Fendi, all those companies.

Keisha: Not, me I can't afford that.

Onika: Then, we’re really quick to say, we’re poor. Like, that's the thing in our culture, we're poor. Oh, like that's the thing. We don't embrace wealth, power and success, we are like, oh, I don't have that, that I wouldn't do that. You know, I'm trying to say, it's like so accepting for us to feel like that. No.

Keisha: But, just because I can't afford Gucci or Fendi, it doesn't mean that I can't and I can't or I won't support a black (owned) business. The place where I get my nails done. It's a black-owned business.

Onika: But they have black couture, like, high end.

Keisha: I can’t afford that either! Don’t judge me Onika. Just because you got edges, you want to act brand new.

Onika: So, you see how she’s coming for my edges.

HALLE BAILEY TAPPED FOR LITTLE MERMAID

Keisha: Halle Bailey is tapped to take the lead role in Disney Freeform’s remake of The Little Mermaid.

Everyone: Yay!!

Onika: I knew that. I knew that.

Kizzy: You did not know that.

Keisha: Entertainment Tonight posted on their Instagram page that despite the criticism that Disney Freeform has received for choosing Halle, they've got their girl and they're standing by their decision. So now, Onika and Kizzy, there are a lot of people on Instagram who are still livid over this choice. One person saying that the mermaid is a white character with red hair. And that Disney should not be so lazy and create a new character. What do you guys think?

Kizzy: I think it's ludicrous because she is a mermaid, a mermaid is not real.

Onika: She's a cartoon first of all.

Kizzy: Cartoon, mermaids don't exist.

Onika: They should make Mickey Mouse black. That will piss them off. Wait, Mickey Mouse is black.

Keisha: Mermaids, don't exist. So mermaids could be any color. So who decided that mermaids are white? So, you know, I think it's interesting that you know, there's this outrage over this.

Onika: Shout out to white people, shout out to white people. I like how white people do stuff, right. They be, like, this is our stuff. Tell me, different. And then that's the thing. Y’all are going for it, y’all are going for it.

Kizzy: Are we back to the appropriations thing, again? I don’t know.

Onika: Yes. You’re smart girl, you’re a smart girl.

Keisha: I'm just gonna say, just going to say that it's really ironic that there's outrage for this when there were plenty of white actors who played minority people.

Onika: Shout out to Liz Taylor!

Keisha: I Googled this and there were at least 25 cases. There were four that I popped out.

Onika: Please say, Liz Taylor.

Keisha: It was Liz Taylor, Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl. Mariane Pearl had curly hair. She had a darker complexion, Afro-Cuban descent, and Angelina is not that.

Onika: Sigourney Weaver was going to play Rosa Parks….I’m lying.

Kizzy: Girl, that doesn’t make sense.

Onika: None of it makes sense.

Keisha: Joseph Fiennes played Michael Jackson, Lawrence Olivier was in full blackface for Othello (Shakespeare) who is a Moor, and then Jake Gyllenhaal was the lead in the Prince of Persia. No Persian heritage whatsoever. Yet there is no outrage. So white people, the ignorant white people, because not all white people are the same. Get your life together.

Kizzy: Not all white people.

Keisha: just like all black people don't do they buy, buy, buy, buy

Onika: All anything doesn't do...

Keisha: So that clarifies

Kizzy: Exactly. Exactly.

SHOW CLOSE

Kizzy: That’s going to do it for this week’s edition of What's The 411! Yes, your smart source for urban lifestyle and entertainment. I'm Kizzy Cox and on behalf of my co-hosts Onika McLean and Keisha Wilson. Thank you for spending your time with, What's The 411.

Nobel Peace Prize in the spotlight, Pennsylvania school district officials go too far to shame parents, Blue Ivy Carter sends Twitterverse into a tailspin

The Lion King, starring Beyonce and Donald Glover, earned a whopping $185 million in its opening weekend. The Jon Favreau directed film is good for the eighth-best opening of all time and the best opening ever for a family-friendly PG film, narrowly edging out Incredibles 2. Moreover, the film has earned over $346 million overseas, priming The Lion King to be another $1 billion worldwide hit for Disney.

Blue Ivy Carter is on her way! The Twitterverse went crazy when it discovered Beyonce's 7-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, sings and has a writing credit on "Brown Skin Girl," one of the tracks released from The Lion King: The Gift, the album Beyonce curated for the film. Blue Ivy begins and ends the song, which features her mother, Beyonce, SAINt JHN, and Wizkid.

Donald Trump hosted in the Oval Office at the White House survivors of religious persecution from 17 countries around the world, including Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner. And, Trump is being roundly slammed because he was so focused on the fact that Murad has a Nobel Prize that he couldn’t focus on why she won or what happened to her family. Also, speaking of Trump, his friend, Jeffrey Epstein was denied bail in his sex trafficking case.

School Lunch Program Officials Running Amok. Roughly 1,000 letters were sent to parents whose kids are in school in the Wyoming Valley West School District in Pennsylvania. The letter said pay your lunch debt, or your kids will go into foster care. Joanne Van Saun, who runs the local child and youth services agency, is not happy and clapped back at the Wyoming Valley West School District, saying, 'To weaponize my agency was just outrageous'. 

Once the media made Ms. Van Saun's comments public, the West Wyoming School District pulled back its comment about putting kids in foster care.

Unfortunately, last week, there was so much national attention on Donald Trump’s outrageous use of Congressional Representative Ilhan Omar, as his poster child to get votes for 2020, that the American people did not know that Representative Omar had introduced legislation to end school lunch debt shaming.

VIDEO: Will Tanisha Foster prevail over Nipsey Hussle's family? What will be next for Ming Lee and Swae Lee? Cats, the movie, receiving mixed reviews so far

Celebrities including Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, have been applauded for urging Donald Trump to work with Swedish officials to release rapper, A$AP Rocky, who is in a Swedish jail for suspicion of assault. However, when Justin Beiber offered:

I want my friend out…I appreciate you trying to help him. But while you're at it @realDonaldTrump can you also let those kids out of cages?

The Twitterati quickly turned on the “Beib,” here’s a taste of some the responses:

‘He only doing this for black votes and to redeem himself from his racist remarks. While I appreciate it, I also see this as an act of selfishness.’

‘His publicist told him it’d be a good look to address it. You not fooling nobody. You really don’t care.’

‘I wish these fake justice advocates felt this way about all the American children we have in cages called juvenile detention centers.’

Q. What do you think about the reactions to Justin Beiber? Also, reports state that the Swedish prime minister, Stefan Löfven, was polite to Trump. Do you think that in the back of the Swedish Prime Minister’s mind, he was saying, this man has babies in cages, and he has the audacity to ask me to release a millionaire!?

Nipsey Hussle’s ex, Tanisha Asghedom, Up Against late rapper’s family 

Onika: The late, Nipsey Hussle’s, ex, Tanisha Asghedom, you've heard about her before? So, she claims that the late rapper's family is trying to kick her out of her home. According to TMZ, Nipsey Hussle paid for her house and now the late rapper's family is trying to get her out and trying to deem her as an unfit mother so that the estate won't have to pay her bills. Isn't that crazy?

Kizzy: That is, that is terrible. That's greed. They want to keep all of his money for themselves. And, then you're doing that, and you're harming a child, his daughter. So it's like, you know, the granddaughter, what have you.

Onika: Why would you do that to her mom?

Kizzy: Exactly. It doesn't make any sense. It's, it's, it's greed. Yeah.

Onika: I know Nipsey Hussle wouldn't approve of that. Like, oh, he was paying for, well, when he was alive. So just stop. Just keep, keep that energy. Cause this is similar to XXXTentacion. Same thing. Like, come on guys, stop it. We know you guys have an opinion. You drag them, drag them, drag them in the comments. You know y'all like to do that.

Keisha: Terrible because the only person that suffers is the daughter. You know, from what I read, she was taken from the home the day that they buried her father. So, imagine, she lost her father; she's going through that and now she's not able to see her mom the way she used to. And of course, I don't know if I should say, of course. However, Nipsey's family is claiming Tanisha to be an unfit mother and they're trying to go to court. And this is according to TMZ. They feel as though, given her legal battles, past and current,…

Kizzy: What were her legal battles about? Why would that make her an unfit mother?

Keisha: Well, I, I think she might've been doing drugs. I don't (know), I don't want to speculate, but she does have some legal issues that she's battling. And then they also claim, Nipsey’s family that is, they claimed that based on what's happening with her other two children, she has two older children,…they're not, they, she's not fit.

She has a daughter, I read according to TMZ is incarcerated right now and has been in and out of jail, since she's…

Onika: Her older daughter?

Keisha: Yes.

Onika: So, what's that got to do with anything?

Keisha: Well, they're saying because that daughter has been in out of jail, that, you know, the mom is not fit. And then she has an older son, who's younger than the daughter who's been bounced around from home to home, that there's not been provided a stable environment.

Kizzy: So, they want to take away the stable environment from this last little child and do the very same thing.

Keisha: It doesn't make sense because clearly, she and Nipsey had an agreement. And from what I was able to ascertain, he never felt the need to go to court to get custody or stop the child support arrangement. So, if he felt comfortable enough with this woman and her skills as a parent to keep the child there and you know, had their own arrangement and paid for her, the mom, which also meant supporting his child. Now, you want to take all of that away and that just seems to be anti-Nipsey Hussle.

Kizzy: Right, exactly, exactly, and not what he would have wanted. He would've wanted his child to be taken care of. And so yeah, it’s just what I said, greed, and that’s bad. It's very bad.

Keisha: And, it seems like they were almost waiting for this moment to pounce because I would imagine that they probably had some kind of feelings about the mother, Tanisha, to begin with, but Nipsey may have kept them at bay.

Kizzy: Right, and now that now he has passed, they're like, ah, I never liked you anyway, that kind of thing.

Keisha: Right. Not that, of course, they wished him dead, but they're seizing this opportunity and unfortunately to carry out their deeds.

Kizzy: Sad. Very Sad. Yeah, but hit us up in the comments. Let us know what you think.

Kylie Jenner’s Friendship Dynamics | Relationships

Keisha: So, we're going to move from one child to another and we're going to talk about Kylie Jenner. She recently posted an emotional Instagram message where she talked about experiencing the loss of self and the loss of friends.

Onika: And, the loss of her appearance because that’s not even on her face.

Keisha: Yeah, that's a part of the loss of self because she's got a whole new face and body. But you know, she talked about losing friends and although she did not mention Jordyn Woods by name, we can assume that Jordan would be in that category. But Kylie has since struck up a really close relationship with Sofia Richie, who is the girlfriend of Scott Disick who is the father of her sister Kourtney's (Kardashian) three children. Kylie recently organized a girls' trip to Turks and Caicos and extended the invite to Sofia, and she, accepted.

Kizzy: That’s weird.

Onika: No, it's not, she has to be on the Kardashians. She needs to be on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. They need to have Scott written in a little bit more. And then Scott's girlfriend and, and, um, what's that other one's name…

Kizzy: Black Chyna?

Onika: No, not, Black Chyna. What’s that other one’s name?

Kizzy: Kourtney.

Onika: It's Kourtney, Kourtney and, Kourtney. They have to, have like some kind of conflict. So that works. What are you talking about?

Kizzy: So cynical.

Onika: It's not cynical. That's just the handwriting on all the walls.

Kizzy: You think it is all very orchestrated.

Onika: That's what it is. Okay. I'm going to say two words, Kris Jenner.

Kizzy: Okay. I think it's weird. I think it's really, weird. I think it's very almost, it's almost one, cause not really, cause think about things that. Go back to when Kylie was dating Tyga even though Black Chyna at the time she was engaged to Tyga. So, then it was weird because Black Chyna went on to date Kylie's brother, Rob, right?

Onika: But didn't he have a show? It was a show.

Kizzy: Okay. So, okay, so my thing is, so had Kylie and Tyga got married; so, then she'd have been stepmother to Chyna's kid and Auntie to Rob's, weird. All of that is just very weird.

Keisha: But you know. But you know, their weird is normal. This isn't, this is normal.

Onika: You know what’s really weird? We watch it.

Keisha: For some, it may…but this is, as weird as it is for us, it's normal to them. This is like for better or for worse, Kardashians are really big into family…it’s bizarre …because they have a fascination, the girls have fascinations with rappers and athletes, minus Kourtney, she doesn't seem to follow in that, that mold.

Onika: She just likes Scott.

Keisha: Scott. And you know, she was dating some billionaire who did something. I don't know if he inherited his money or whatever, but she seems in, in terms of her dating patterns, she seems to go a little to the right…

Onika: Is she still wearing deodorant? Cause remember she had stopped.

Keisha: Maybe so, I don’t know, I haven’t smelled her armpits

Onika: Remember, everything was all-natural.

Keisha: It’s possible.

Onika: That was many, many seasons when I used to keep up with the Kardashians until I figured out, they were just keeping up with black ladies. And then, I was like, oh well shit, that's me. Bye.

Keisha: And, I guess it's also interesting to know, that Sofia Richie is the daughter of famous singer Lionel Richie. And so, I'm thinking that maybe Kylie has found some kind of connection in her as someone who's grown up in the spotlight. Lionel Richie had his own little scandal in the past. So maybe, you know, in addition to Kylie feeling that Sophie, Sofia is kind of like family cause Scott is still very, you know, affluent.

Onika: She used to be with um, the Hilton girl.

Keisha: Yeah. Paris Hilton.

Kizzy: Yeah, the something life. What is it, Simple…

Keisha: The Simple Life. Yeah. Yeah.

Kizzy: The early 2000s, taking us back.

Onika: So, so that's the first Kardashians, right, The Hiltons.

Keisha: They have started, all of this stuff, and The Osbourne's I think they might've been the first family on.

Kizzy: Yeah, I think so. I think they were. The first big, the first really big reality show where people were like, we can make money off of that family

Keisha: You know, the very first…I remember was The Real World. But they, The Osbournes were the first family and very, very,

Onika: You guys are old.

Family Disowns Bride and Groom Over an Adult-Only Wedding

Who should decide who can attend a wedding? Should, children be at an event where there is an open bar?

Kizzy: Last week, we were talking about bridezillas and crazy stuff. So now we're, we're talking about weddings again. Now, this couple, for financial reasons, decided to host an adults-only wedding. And, so that meant no kids allowed, which eliminated 14 kids from their wedding. Thirteen from the groom’s side and one from the bride’s side. So, the result of this was there was a massive argument among the families. The bride’s stepmother ex-communicated her because she couldn't bring her one-year-old grandson, even though the bride offered to pay for a babysitter. So, my question is were the bride and groom, correct and sticking to their guns and insisting upon an adults-only wedding? What do you guys think?

Keisha: Well, there's a saying Kizzy and Onika, whoever carries the purse makes the rules?

So, the couple was paying for the wedding themselves and they decided what happens at their wedding. So, if they decided for financial reasons or even if they just didn't like kids, and didn't want them at the wedding, that is their choice. Right. And you abide by it or don't come. And if I'm not mistaken that the bride even offered to hire a babysitter so that the one-year-old grandbaby could go. Well, grandma didn't want that baby there that badly then.

Kizzy: It just made no sense. It made no sense. It's like why are you trying to control what people do for their wedding. You are not, like you said, not paying for it. They're paying for it all on their own. You don't know their pockets. That's all these kids, you got all this extra food, nine oh kids don't really eat everything. You, know what I mean? So, it's kind of like a waste. You know what I mean, I get it, you know, in an ideal world, you want everybody to be there. You want the kids to be there and everything too. But if those people were getting married and it's, remember, it's about them and they cannot afford it, I think you should understand that. And I don't think you should make an issue.

Onika: I don't think that children should be at weddings. It’s an open bar. People are drinking, getting drunk, acting up, nobody's watching the doggone kids who are sliding… I don't think that that's the place. I feel like it's an adult event and I think the only children that should be at the wedding are the children that are in the wedding. That's what I think.

You see all those kids and stuff if I’m drinking. I don't want to be, you can't get in the bar. The children can't be in a bar. And you have an open bar, at a wedding or you know, alcohol, children shouldn’t be around adults drinking. Maybe if you’re at a home or house party or something like that, but for the most part…

Kizzy: But everybody's not going to be drinking though. And I think again if you're a parent, obviously, you're not going to be over-drinking…

Keisha: You hope, you hope.

Kizzy: Of course, of course, you hope because…

Keisha: Sometimes parents don't get out much. So, a wedding is a perfect occasion to let down their hair down and get loose, you got free food, free booze…

Kizzy: Keep the kid home if that's the case. But if you want your kid there, and again, this woman wanted her grandson there. I'm assuming you're not going to be drinking all that much anyway. But again, I think it’s their day, it's their money, they decide who can come. I think. Yeah.

Are Ming Lee and Swae Lee a Couple in the Making?

Keisha: So, we're going to move from bridezillas and "familyzillas" and we're going to talk about hip hop royalty. Microphone check one, two. I don’t know why I said that.

Kizzy: You are on today. Bring it home, Keisha, bring it home.

Keisha: I’m just going to reel it back in. We're going to talk about Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons, child, children, Ming Lee, who appears to be dating rapper Swae Lee, which has set off his on-again, off-again, girlfriendMarliesia Ortiz  to the point that Ming’s little sister, Aoki Lee, came through with the clap backs on social media letting people know Marliesia, in particular, that she does not want to tangle with her or her mother. Oh yes.

Onika: The mother’s getting involved too? Come on.

Keisha: I mean she can, she can jump in.

Kizzy: Yeah, she can.

Onika: I don’t think I’d jump in, I’d just let the sisters handle it, those girls got it.

Kizzy: Yeah, I think it's kind of, yeah, whatever. Um, I don't know. I don't know. I mean I think when you grow up rich and famous as they have, you will find yourself in these types of situations. I mean, even though I haven't …

Onika: They all gotta like to mess with each other. The pool is small. Yeah, because there’s a bunch of broke dudes.

Kizzy: And, you don't, you don't need that. You don't because they just might want to be with you because they want to get put on, they want your money. They want to be around that.

Onika: People in this circle have money.

Kizzy: That's what I'm saying. So you don't, again, you only have a few people that you can actually date and so it would make sense if she's in a circle and Swae Lee is there. We know their eyes meet, their hearts touch, there they go.

Onika: Their last names are Lee, right? That’s a bunch of Lees, right? Bruce Lee, I don't know.

Keisha: Do you think that because Ming comes from hip-hop royalty, legendary, her dad is Russell Simmons. Her uncle is Reverend Run of Run DMC. Do you think that dating someone like Swae Lee is above her status (meant below her status)? Why would she want to date someone like Swae Lee that has this history of volatile…?

Onika: Because he’s cute?

Kizzy: Did you or did you see that Bobby Brown documentary where he talked about his life, or it might've been, no, it was New Edition. Back in the day, Bobby Brown, you know, was the bad boy. Janet Jackson was the good girl and they had a thing going on. And when…I remember when, I remember when I watched it, I was like, wow, what, Bobby Brown got Janet Jackson! It was crazy. But that's the thing like you come from, you’re supposed to be a good girl. You got Reverend Run as your uncle or whatever. You’re supposed to be like this good girl, but you got this little edgy guy and there's, there's a pull there. So, I'm not surprised. I don't think it's really, beneath her. I just think caught up…

Onika: And, Russell Simmons was a hood dude, so she probably likes hood dudes. You, know what I mean? Now, he's all yogi. But he wasn't always like that.

Kizzy: Yeah, Vegan. I don't think it's surprising. I don't think it's surprising at all. And hopefully she, they're not gonna start throwing hands ‘cause that would be like a mess. Please don't do that.

Onika: Nobody throwing hands.

Keisha: Well, Ming (Aoki) is about to go to Harvard. So soon she'll have her head in the books, hopefully in and not a dropout after the first…

Onika: Look how we’re smiling, we’re like, Onika don’t say it. Onika, don’t say it. I'm not.

Keisha: Well, they say, good girls like bad boys.

Onika: Why do good girls like bad guys? Okay.

Cats The Movie: Can Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba Get a Do-over

Onika: Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, uh, and Jason Derulo, all looked a hot damn mess! I'm like, what the "F" is happening here?! Hmmm! I think they need a do-over! If I was Idris (Elba), I'd be like, hmmm, you played me.

Keisha: What accent is that!?

Onika: I'm doing Margaret Mag, you played me.

Kizzy: Girl, no. Is that the Jamaican an accent that you used to do?

Keisha: You know he’s (Idris Elba) British, right?

Onika: This is my British accent! First of all, don't judge me. Played me, you played me. Can I have a spot of tea?

Laughter

Kizzy: Awful, awful.

Onika: I want to know if they can get a do-over?

Kizzy: But, that was really weird, really weird. It was just, it was just weird. It was like the CGI, I think with the CGI I'm thinking maybe even if they just went with fur instead. white on the far and actors and act looking crazy I think. I think, well you know, Cats is hard because you know just the idea of humans being cats, it's like a weird concept, anyway.

Keisha: That's what the Broadway show was, it was a bunch of human actors playing cats, plus dancing and singing.

Onika: You know we understand that.

Keisha: So, what do you expect.

Onika: But they should look good. They shouldn’t look crazy.

Kizzy: The CGI, but then they have fur over them.

Keisha: The fur coats kinda got me.

Kizzy: Yeah, why they have fur coats when they’re already cats.

Onika: Because you know how you have dumb people like take dogs and put coats on the dog and they already have a fur on them. What’s different, the same shit. PETA was like enough. Poor PETA.

Keisha: It was a little weird with the human faces and the bodies. Yeah. I just, I know I didn't get an uproar over, it's a movie about cats that sing and dance. It’s not real in any sense of fashion.

Onika: We have social media, so anything that happens, there will be dialogue. There will be dialogue. T

Kizzy: And, there will be dragging.

Onika: The revolution will be televised.

Keisha: You know what I didn't like, and this may be blasphemous. I did not like Jennifer Hudson's rendition of Memories. I did not like it. I was like, who is this cat-scratching, and dying singing this song.
And, I think Jennifer Hudson has a wonderful voice. But what I heard, from what I heard on that trailer, it did not put her in the best light. I didn't like it. They can do that over.

Kizzy: Really!?

Keisha: Yes. Yes.

Kizzy: I liked it. I liked it. I like the way she sang.

Onika: She sounds like a dog? Are you barking?

Keisha: Yes, (barking sounds)

Kizzy: Well, on that note, that will do it.

Keisha: ruff.

VIDEO DISCUSSION: Donald Trump's policy of putting children in cages with lack of nutrition, toiletries, and adequate sleeping conditions is unconscionable

VIDEO DISCUSSION: Serena Williams first female athlete on Forbes' list of Richest Self-Made Women; Odd couple AOC and Ted Cruz collaborate on legislation

In this episode of What’s The 411’s Quick Takes, award-winning journalist, Kizzy Cox, and comedian, Onika McLean, are talking about:

Jordyn Woods:

The reality TV personality, Jordyn Woods, seems to be bouncing back very nicely since the Tristan Thompson debacle. Woods is set to guest-star on Season 2 of Freeform’s television series grown-ish. One door closes another one opens.

Lamar Odom

Former NBA basketball player, Lamar Odom, who used to be married to Khloe Kardashian, has had some dark times in his life, and his tell-all book, Darkness to Light is causing an uproar and making Khloe very uncomfortable because he’s telling secrets.

Amazon’s Alexa is a Babysitter?

A recent survey by ASecureLife.com found that one in five parents said they would trust their children with Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa, in their absence.

Magid Magid

Britain’s coolest mayor is now a Member of the European Parliament. Magid Magid, who was born in Somalia and came to Britain at age 5, was the youngest Lord Mayor of Sheffield in Britain.

Unbeknownst to most Americans, Magid is not a fan of Donald Trump and has branded him a “Wasteman.” Magid has also stood in solidarity with Mexicans in his town of Sheffield, and similar to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in style, Magid is now looking to turn the tide of history in the European Parliament.

The Notorious B.I.G Gets His Street

Biggie, Biggie, Biggie! The Notorious B.I.G., whose birth name is Christopher Wallace, has a huge mural on the side of a building in Brooklyn and now he will finally get a street named after him. St. James Place between Fulton Street and Gates Avenue in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn will be named, "Christopher Wallace Way” at a ceremony on June 10.

Jay-Z, the Billionaire

Rapper and entrepreneur, Jay Z, is the first hip-hop artist to make it to billionaire status.

Serena Williams Makes a Forbes List

Congratulations to Serena Williams! Legendary tennis star and new mother, Serena Williams, is the first female athlete on Forbes' list of Richest Self-Made Women

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ted Cruz

Who would have thought that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) would ever agree to work together? Well, Senator Cruz reached out to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter to gauge her interest on co-sponsoring legislation to create a lifetime ban on Members of Congress serving as paid lobbyists once they have left office. When Ocasio-Cortez realized Cruz was serious, she agreed to work with him on the legislation.

Janet Jackson and Daddy Yankee perform for 30,000 people in Harlem; LisaRaye criticize for ending engagement | VIDEO

QUICK TAKES

It’s official. Tamar Braxton has confirmed she’s NO LONGER with her ex, Vincent Hubert. Also, they quietly sold their L.A. property for $9.25 million, much less than the original asking price and even less than the $10.5 million they paid to buy it in 2012. They also paid their former nanny $213,431.37 from a judgment she won relating to unpaid wages.

The beef between Nicki Minaj and her ex-boo, Safaree, has gotten so loud that MTV beefed up its Video Music Awards security.

ESPN has decided to not televise the National Anthem during NFL Games.

Jesse Williams went before a judge to get his child support payments lowered, but the Judge in the case said no way. So, thus far, the Grey’s Anatomy actor will continue to pay his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee the court-ordered $50K for his two children. OUCH!

Bossip is reporting that Lauryn Hill’s NJ mansion is in foreclosure because a nearly $1 million tax bill has gone unpaid.

Pop star Janet Jackson performed before 30,000 adoring fans in front of the State Office Building in Harlem for Harlem Week.

And, we end this Quick Takes segment with condolences to the family and friends of two icons, Kofi Annan and Aretha Franklin. Annan was the first Black person to serve as UN Secretary-General, and the first officeholder to be elected from the UN staff itself. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, was not only a pop singer but a cultural icon that helped to bridge the racial divide with her music. Franklin’s first hit, “Respect,” immediately became an anthem of the African-American civil rights movement and later other movements. In addition to Franklin’s 20 Grammy Awards, she was the first woman to receive a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame award. She performed at the White House for several presidents and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George Bush in 2005. Thank you, Aretha, for your life-long contributions to the world.

WHAT’S POPPIN – CULTURE

The culture of taping everything. In the last few weeks, we have learned that Omarosa Manigault Newman has perhaps, hours of tape from her time in the White House. And, we already know that Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, has hours of recorded telephone conversations with Donald Trump.

WHAT’S POPPIN –RELATIONSHIPS

Recently, LisaRaye McCoy got engaged to Anthony B. on the television show, The Proposal. A month after a 2nd proposal at her home with family and friends, LisaRaye has called off the wedding. During a Facebook Live, LisaRaye said she's glad she did the show, and that she did the show because she was "lonely" and wanted to find a companion. LisaRaye then went on to say that she wants a man that's "equally yoked."

Soon after that comment, some on the Facebook Live started calling her a gold-digger because in effect, she considered Anthony B’s net worth to be too low.

Q. Is it fair to call LisaRaye a gold digger?

WHAT’S POPPIN – HEALTH

Southwest Airlines has joined the list of airlines to crack down on “Emotional Support Animals” flying with passengers.

The airline is limiting the ESAs to dogs and cats, so no, you can’t bring your pet peacock or kangaroo, and claim they are emotional support animals.

Q. As one who travels by plane often, do you welcome this announcement? Do wish the NYC Transit would do the same?

WHAT’S POPPIN – RELATIONSHIPS

Refinery29 posted an article, What Happened When I Moved in With A Casual Fling. A woman’s roommate unexpectedly moved from their rent-stabilized NYC SoHo apartment, so she now had to find a new roommate or a new apartment, and a guy she had been dating for six weeks became her new roommate. They broke up for financial reasons and both moved on with their lives. Lo and behold, a few years later they are both financially stable, living in L.A. and married with children.

Q. This story went well, rather fairytale like. Do you think this happens more than we know?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Our Quote of the Week is:

“Kindness comes back like a boomerang by those who are kind. Perhaps its return takes years. Perhaps the kindness returns from a different direction. But, it will return. It is never lost.”

This is a quote attributed to John Marks Templeton and was posted by Denise Hurley.

If you would like for us to shine a light on a quote, hit us up on our Facebook page or on LinkedIn.

 PHOTO OF THE WEEK:

Our Photo of the Week is a photo of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at the wedding of 2Chainz and Kesha Ward this past weekend in Miami.