Why Ray Winstone nearly quit MCU’s ‘Black Widow’: ‘Soul-destroying’

Why Ray Winstone nearly quit MCU’s ‘Black Widow’: ‘Soul-destroying’

Acclaimed British actor Ray Winstone says he nearly quit the 2021 MCU movie “Black Widow” — and likened its “soul-destroying” endless reshoots to being “kicked in the balls.” Winstone, 67, who played villainous Russian general Dreykov in the movie — opposite Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow — made his damning comments about working in the … Read more

Reviving ‘The Wiz’ Through ‘the Blackest of Black Lenses’

Reviving ‘The Wiz’ Through ‘the Blackest of Black Lenses’

Schele Williams first saw “The Wiz” when a tour of the original Broadway production came through Dayton, Ohio. She was 7 years old, and recalled it being the most “beautiful reflection of Blackness that I had never seen.” Years later, she was cast as Dorothy in a high school production of “The Wiz,” and the … Read more

How Donna Summer made black female history on the country charts before Beyoncé

How Donna Summer made black female history on the country charts before Beyoncé

Yes, Beyoncé made history this week by becoming the first black woman to go No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs with her bluessgrassy bop “Texas Hold ’Em.” But, in the last week of Black History Month, we gotta give props to another African-American diva who broke down genre barriers on the country charts … Read more

Beyonce makes history as first black woman with No. 1 country song thanks to ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’

Beyonce makes history as first black woman with No. 1 country song thanks to ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’

She’s ready for “Act II.” Beyoncé has officially become the first-ever black woman to secure the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs — since its inception in 1958 — following the release of her song “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The achievement was announced by Billboard on Tuesday. Beyoncé’s tune also holds the No. 1 … Read more

Machine Gun Kelly debuts shocking new tattoo — fans accuse rapper of wanting to ‘turn black’

Machine Gun Kelly debuts shocking new tattoo — fans accuse rapper of wanting to ‘turn black’

Machine Gun Kelly fans are mourning the loss of his Cleveland-inspired chest tattoos — and others are accusing him of wanting to be black — upon the reveal of his massive blackout tattoo. The Grammy-nominated “Bloody Valentine” rapper showed off his new art piece Tuesday on Instagram, which turned his entire upper chest black — … Read more

New James Brown doc reveals how he helped make black beautiful with his ‘Say It Loud’ anthem

New James Brown doc reveals how he helped make black beautiful with his ‘Say It Loud’ anthem

At the beginning of the new documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud” — a four-part series that premieres Monday and then continues Tuesday on A&E — the Godfather of Soul himself breaks down exactly why his 1968 anthem “Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud” changed the way African-Americans saw and spoke of themselves … Read more

Andra Day wows with a stirring rendition of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ at Super Bowl 2024

Andra Day wows with a stirring rendition of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ at Super Bowl 2024

Andra Day has officially taken the field at the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday. The “Rise Up” singer, 39, performed the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas before the big game kicked off. She rocked a plethora of gold jewelry for her performance and a gray … Read more

Five Black Romantic Movies to Stream

Five Black Romantic Movies to Stream

Much like Blackness is not monolithic, neither is Black love. The relationships in this collection range from young passions to midlife romance, and the types of movies range from glossy studio pictures to vital queer indies. They are poetic, comedic, rapturous and politically minded films — told with soul-stirring intimacy. ‘The Best Man’ (1999) Rent … Read more

Jenna Bush Hager ‘totaled’ her car in scary crash: I’ve ‘never heard of black ice’

Jenna Bush Hager ‘totaled’ her car in scary crash: I’ve ‘never heard of black ice’

Jenna Bush Hager revealed Thursday on “Today with Hoda and Jenna” that she was recently involved in a car accident that totaled her car. “I got in one total wreck in my own driveway of late,” Bush Hager told “Today” show personality Willie Geist who was filling in for Hoda Kotb. “Totaled the car. Total … Read more

Clyde Taylor, Literary Scholar Who Elevated Black Cinema, Dies at 92

Clyde Taylor, Literary Scholar Who Elevated Black Cinema, Dies at 92

Clyde Taylor, a scholar who in the 1970s and ’80s played a leading role in identifying, defining and elevating Black cinema as an art form, died on Jan. 24 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 92. His daughter, Rahdi Taylor, a filmmaker, said the cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As a young … Read more

Felicity Huffman complains life has ‘been hard’ since the ‘black and white’ college admissions scandal

Felicity Huffman complains life has ‘been hard’ since the ‘black and white’ college admissions scandal

Felicity Huffman, who served 11 days in jail for her involvement in the nationwide 2019 Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, said, “It’s been hard” ever since — and she’s finding it tough to land acting roles. “I walk into the room with it. I did it. It’s black and white,” the former “Desperate Housewives” star … Read more

‘American Fiction,’ ‘Origin’ and the Pressures Black Writers Face

‘American Fiction,’ ‘Origin’ and the Pressures Black Writers Face

“We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame,” a young Langston Hughes proclaimed in an essay nearly 100 years ago. “If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter.” Seeking to establish his autonomy as a Black writer, he … Read more

Mom finds ‘infested, disgusting’ bandaid covered in black mold inside toddler’s yogurt

Mom finds ‘infested, disgusting’ bandaid covered in black mold inside toddler’s yogurt

Imagine the horror: you’re about to serve a snack to your toddler, only to discover something unthinkable within.  This was the reality for one Australian mom, who recently found a used band-aid in a tub of chocolate yogurt.  The unsuspecting woman says she was just “moments away” from serving her one-year-old the seemingly harmless dessert, potentially exposing … Read more

‘The Color Purple’ Tips Its Hat to Classic Black Musicals

‘The Color Purple’ Tips Its Hat to Classic Black Musicals

Even when Hollywood saw little use for Black performers other than as mammies and butlers, the musical genre, a storytelling mode composed of magical realist fantasy and hoofing artistry, provided space for Cab Calloway, Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge to manifest their glamorous glow. Through rapturous songs, sung in resplendent gowns and tailored tuxedos, the … Read more

ESPN’s Marc Spears gets apology from California store he accused of racially profiling him, black friends

ESPN’s Marc Spears gets apology from California store he accused of racially profiling him, black friends

ESPN’s Marc Spears made sure to say he loves the city of Healdsburg, Calif., but that didn’t stop him from lambasting a store that he says racially profiled him. “On this night, however, while enjoying Healdsburg, my friends and I, all African-American, were racially profiled at a store in Healdsburg called @antheminteriors (Anthem Interiors) by the two … Read more

Cher’s son said he was the ‘black sheep’ of family, ‘shunned’ before conservatorship filing

Cher’s son said he was the ‘black sheep’ of family, ‘shunned’ before conservatorship filing

Shocking comments from Cher’s son, musician and artist Elijah Blue Allman, have resurfaced one day after the Grammy award-winning artist filed for a conservatorship of her troubled child, claiming he would spend all of his money on drugs. In a 2014 interview with ET, Allman said he felt “shunned” by his famous mother and his … Read more

‘Men in Black’ and ‘Field of Dreams’ actor Mike Nussbaum dead at 99

‘Men in Black’ and ‘Field of Dreams’ actor Mike Nussbaum dead at 99

“Men in Black” and “Field of Dreams” actor Mike Nussbaum has died at age 99.  He was reportedly the oldest professional working actor in the U.S., according to the Associated Press. Nussbaum died of natural causes in his Chicago home, just six days shy of his 100th birthday, according to his daughter, Karen.  “He was … Read more

The Black Death might be the reason we can’t stop eating junk food — new study

The Black Death might be the reason we can’t stop eating junk food — new study

The dietary and hygienic changes that people underwent as a result of the Black Plague could be the reason why human being are so fond of junk food 700 years later, scientists say. Those changes came about because the disease, which wiped out 60% of Europe in the 1300s, dramatically altered the bacteria found in … Read more

Kodak Black arrested for cocaine possession, evidence tampering

Kodak Black arrested for cocaine possession, evidence tampering

Kodak Black has once again landed behind bars following an arrest in Florida on charges of cocaine possession. The 26-year-old rapper, born Bill Kapri, was booked into a county jail in Plantation, FL and was also charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and improperly stopping or parking a vehicle according to arrest records … Read more