When Interpol issues a red alert you know you’re in trouble. Six individuals associated with the FIFA corruption scandal have been put on notice by the international police for their involvement in largest scandal to hit the sport. There has been an estimated $100 million that has been taken bribes and investigators are convinced that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Well, soccer may not have been big in the States before, but we do love a good scandal.
Pop Off of the Week:
“I am not here to be anybody’s watcher.” That was a statement made by actress and rock star Jada Pinkett-Smith on her marriage to Will Smith. Jada went on The Howard Stern show and when the conversation turned to her rumored open marriage she said this: “You gotta trust who you’re with,” Pinkett-Smith said. “And, at the end of the day, I’m not here to be anybody’s watcher. I’m not [Will’s] watcher. He’s a grown man.”
Listen to the full segment here: https://soundcloud.com/howardstern/jadapinkettsmith_marriage
In other Smith family news, Jaden Smith took the lovely Amandla Stenberg to prom. Smith, a #carefreeblackboy through and through, sported a black and white colorblock dress with a blazer, while Amandla looked like a goddess in fierce bronze gown and silver braids.
Poliwood Round-Up: Trending Topics in the #BlackTwitterverse This Week
Trend of the Week: #MyVanityFairCover
When Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover came out it seemed the world stopped. With over 40 million views, a national conversation emerged around gender identity and standards of beauty. Actress Laverne Cox took the opportunity to congratulate Caitlyn on her glamorous debut but also to highlight that the world that Caitlyn and now Laverne occupy is far from the norm for most transgender people. Laverne shared her thoughts on Tumblr:
"Most trans folks don’t have the privileges Caitlyn and I have now have. It is those trans folks we must continue to lift up, get them access to healthcare, jobs, housing, safe streets, safe schools and homes for our young people.... I hope, as I know Caitlyn does, that the love she is receiving can translate into changing hearts and minds about who all trans people are as well as shifting public policies to fully support the lives and well being of all of us. The struggle continues…"
THREE: Stripping Away Racism
Bethann Hardison joined the ranks of celebrities and regular people alike and participated in the StyleLikeU video series entitled: What's Underneath? Where women talk about their style, vulnerabilities and life's purpose while undressing. In the latest installment of the series model turned businesswoman turned fashion icon, Bethann Hardison talks about her amazing career and working to combat racism in the fashion industry.
TWO: The N-Word is NOT for Everyone
Just what the world needs--another privileged white rapper. Chet Haze aka Chet Hanks, son of famed actor Tom Hanks, got into some hot water in the 'grams this week. The aspiring rapper posted a picture of himself alongside a black friend with the caption: “Check out the song me and my n***a just dropped.” Yes, he actually wrote that on his Instagram page.
Then when critics began to express their outrage over his use of the n-word “Haze” went on a rant, “If I say the word nigga I say it amongst people I love and who love me.” He went on to say, “If I say “f*** yall hatin a** ni***” it’s because that’s really how I felt at the time.” Ah, America.
ONE: Spy Games
It seems like Congress has had a change of heart. After 9/11 the Bush Administration vowed to keep America safe by any means necessary. What did that mean exactly? The creation of blanket policy called the "Patriot Act" that would authorize the surveillance of American citizens. Well, this week parts of the Patriot Act expired but were renewed later under the USA Freedom Act with what many are calling "sweeping reforms to our surveillance programs."
Here's what the new bill does: The USA Freedom Act ends the National Security Agency’s (NSA) bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records, limits other ways the government collects large amounts of records and adds new transparency measures to the way the government collects information. So, in other words feel free to speak somewhat freely on the phone again, hopefully Big Brother is no longer listening.
