African American farmers lost about $326 billion worth of land in the U.S. due to discrimination during the 20th century, a study found. From 1922 to 1997, Black farmers in … Click to Continue »
Kim Kardashian shut down the Met Gala red carpet Monday (May 2) in one of Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic dresses, a gold beaded body hugger Monroe wore when she sexily sang happy birthday to President John F. Kennedy 60 years ago.
Kardashian had to lose 16 pounds to fit into the dress, designed by Jean Louis and purchased in 2016 by the Ripley’s Believe or Not! museum in Orlando, Florida, for a whopping $4.81 million.
“It was such a challenge,” she said. “I was determined to fit it.”
The dress originally cost $12,000. It was so tight Monroe had to be sewn into it when she purred “Happy birthday, Mr. president” on May 19, 1962, at a Madison Square Garden fundraiser. She died three months later. It has been known as the “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress ever since.
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson at The 2022 Met Gala celebrating In America: An Anthology of Fashion held at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2022 in New York City.
The celebration of American design was themed to gilded glamour, sprouting classic black tuxedoes for many of the men and lots of dresses in black and white for the women. Others paid literal homage to New York City and still more shimmered in metallic golds and silver.
It’s been just under eight months since the last gala, an annual fundraiser that raises eight-figure sums for the Met’s Costume Institute. Pre-pandemic, about 600 A-listers from fashion, sports, music, film, TV, technology and beyond were invited. This year and last, the numbers were closer to 400. The 2020 gala was canceled.
More than $16.4 million was raised last year. The starry event is the institute’s primary budget feeder.
This year’s gala coincides with the opening of the second part of a two-part exhibit at the Costume Institute focused on American fashion and style. The evening’s dress code is gilded glamour and white tie, a la the Gilded Age, that tumultuous period between the Civil War and the turn of the 20th century known for its robber barons, drama and grandeur.
Megan Thee Stallion accompanied Jeremy Scott to the 2022 Met Gala on Monday (May 2), where she painted the red carpet gold with her luxurious look.
The 27-year-old, Grammy winning rapper wore a golden cut-out Moschino gown, complete with a feather shawl, a sleek bun and a winged out black smokey eye.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Regina King, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds serve as co-chairs of this year’s event with the theme of “Gilded Glamour,” inspired by the turn-of-the-century Gilded Age in American history. The theme encourages today’s biggest stars to interpret late 19th-century clothing through a modern lens.
See Megan Thee Stallion’s 2022 Met Gala look below.
Megan Thee Stallion at The 2022 Met Gala celebrating In America: An Anthology of Fashion held at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2022 in New York City.
Olivia Rodrigo channeled her ethereal beauty at the 2022 Met Gala on Monday (May 2), when she walked the red carpet in a sparkling lavender Versace gown.
The look was complete with mesh lilac gloves, loose wavy hair with butterfly clips and a purple smokey eye.
“We were inspired by the opulence of the Gilded Age,” the Grammy winner told Vogue‘s livestream host Vanessa Hudgens. When Hudgens asked when the follow up to her smash debut album Sour will be arriving, Rodrigo replied, “I’m working on it right now. I’m constantly writing and I want to make sure it’s right. I’m excited for a new era.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Regina King, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds serve as co-chairs of this year’s event with the theme of “Gilded Glamour,” inspired by the turn-of-the-century Gilded Age in American history. The theme encourages today’s biggest stars to interpret late 19th-century clothing through a modern lens.
See Olivia Rodrigo’s 2022 Met Gala look below.
.@oliviarodrigo is channeling ‘90s @versace in a lilac metal mesh look with butterflies in her hair at the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/htUc724xmH
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) May 3, 2022
Olivia Rodrigo at The 2022 Met Gala celebrating In America: An Anthology of Fashion held at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2022 in New York City.
Nicki Minaj rocked a baseball cap at the 2022 Met Gala, but her look was anything but casual.
The rapper teamed up with designer Riccardo Tisci for the all-black Burberry look, which included a leather baseball cap/headband combo up top.
Minaj even insisted to Tisci that the hat needed to be part of the final look. “I love the hat,” she told La La Anthony after walking the red carpet. “I’m obsessed with the hat.”
The rest of the ensemble included a low-cut feathered bustier with a train paired with leather leggings and high-heeled boots. And to top it all off, celebrity makeup artist Pat McGrath was behind all the hand-placed jewels on Minaj’s face, shoulders, arms and across her collarbone.
During Minaj’s livestream interview with La La, Spanish superstar Rosalía ran up to fawn over her friend: “I love you, Nicki!”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Regina King, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds serve as co-chairs of this year’s event with the theme of “Gilded Glamour,” inspired by the turn-of-the-century Gilded Age in American history. The theme encouraged today’s biggest stars to interpret late 19th-century clothing through a modern lens.
See Minaj’s full look below:
Nicki Minaj attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City.
Stevie Wonder has received countless awards for both his music and his work in advancing social justice, but the one he is set to get from the Legal Defense Fund on May 10 is especially meaningful. Wonder will receive the inaugural Icon Award at the 34th National Equal Justice Awards Dinner on Tuesday, May 10, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Wonder will be honored for “his steadfast work throughout his illustrious career, spanning over half a century, which embodies LDF’s values and demonstrates his commitment to confronting the barriers that face Black Americans and other marginalized communities,” according to a statement.
In addition, Nikole Hannah-Jones, journalist, professor, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The 1619 Project, will be recognized with the Spirit of Justice Award. Sherrilyn Ifill, LDF’s outgoing president and director-counsel, will be awarded the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award.
With a theme of “Truth Is Power,” the evening will feature video messages from former first lady Michelle Obama and civil rights activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In addition, the Dance Theater of Harlem will present two performances.
LDF’s signature event is an opportunity to recognize and honor leaders in law, the arts, business, and philanthropy who have demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of racial justice and equality. The evening will also serve as an opportunity to celebrate the civil rights work that has been accomplished by LDF over the past year.
“Since the organization’s founding in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund has been an ardent defender of civil rights, advocating for the social, political, educational, and economic advancement of Black Americans,” Janai S. Nelson, LDF’s president and director-counsel, said in a statement.
“Our honorees have unapologetically used truth as power,” Nelson added. “They have refused to back down when others tried to silence them. And they have held their convictions fiercely and been unyielding to false narratives. Most importantly, they have used truth to shape outlooks, inform mindsets, and touch souls.”
Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, who in 1967 became the first Black associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
LDF has been separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
The Dolphins sat idly through the first two rounds of the NFL Draft before selecting Georgia linebacker Channing Tindall with their first pick in the third round. It was a … Click to Continue »
The Judds and Ray Charles joined the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday (May 1) in a ceremony filled with tears, music and laughter, just a day after Naomi Judd died unexpectedly.
The loss of Naomi Judd altered the normally celebratory ceremony, but the music played on, as the genre’s singers and musicians mourned Naomi Judd while also celebrating the four inductees: The Judds, Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake. Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill and many more performed their hit songs.
Naomi and Wynonna Judd were among the most popular duos of the 1980s, scoring 14 No. 1 hits during their nearly three-decade career. On the eve of her induction, the family said in a statement to The Associated Press that Naomi Judd died at the age of 76 due to “the disease of mental illness.”
Daughters Wynonna and Ashley Judd accepted the induction amid tears, holding onto each other and reciting a Bible verse together.
“I’m sorry that she couldn’t hang on until today,” Ashley Judd said of her mother to the crowd while crying. Wynonna Judd talked about the family gathering as they said goodbye to her, and she and Ashley Judd recited Psalm 23.
“Though my heart is broken I will continue to sing,” Wynonna Judd said.
Fans gathered outside the museum, drawn to a white floral bouquet outside the entrance and a small framed photo of Naomi Judd below. A single rose was laid on the ground.
Charles’ induction showcased his genre-defying country releases, which showed the genre’s commercial appeal. The Georgia-born singer and piano player grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry and in 1962 released “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music,” which became one of the best selling country releases of his era.
The piano player, blinded and orphaned at a young age, is best known for R&B, gospel and soul, but his decision to record country music changed the way the world thought about the genre, expanding audiences in the Civil Rights era.
Charles’ version of “I Can’t Stop Loving You” spent five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remains one of his most popular songs. He died in 2004.
Brooks sang “Seven Spanish Angels,” one of Charles’ hits with Willie Nelson, while Bettye LaVette performed “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”
Country Music Hall of Famer Ronnie Milsap said he met Charles when he was a young singer and that others tried to imitate Charles, but no one could measure up.
“There was one of him and only one,” said Milsap. “He sang country music like it should be sung.”
The Hall of Fame also inducted two recordings musicians who were elemental to so many country songs and singers: Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake.
Bayers, a drummer in Nashville for decades who worked on 300 platinum records, is a member of the Grand Ole Opry band. He regularly played on records for The Judds, Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney. He is the first drummer to join the institution.
Drake, who died in 1988, was a pedal steel guitar player and a member of Nashville’s A-team of skilled session musicians, and played on hits like “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette and “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones. He is the first pedal steel guitar player to become part of the Hall of Fame.
Sam Smith‘s new single “Love Me More” tops this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (April 29) on Billboard, choosing Smith’s new anthem about loving one’s self as their favorite music release of the past week.
The empowering “Love Me More” — Smith’s first release since 2020, when they dropped their Love Goes album — was written “for anyone who feels different, anyone who has to stop themselves every day from saying unkind things to themselves, in their head, all the time,” Smith has said. “I felt like that for the longest time and slowly I’m learning how to just be nice to myself. I wanted to share that because I captured it in this song.”
“Love Me More” brought in more than 78% of the vote.
Trailing behind were Justin Bieber and Don Toliver’s new track “Honest” with 7% of the vote and Future‘s I Never Liked You album with 5% of the vote.
See the final results of this week’s poll below.
Avril Lavigne, who’s currently on the road in support of her Love Sux album, has called off a string of concerts in Canada due to a positive COVID-19 case on her tour.
“To my fans and friends in Laval, QC, Moncton, NB and Halifax, NS, we are sincerely sorry to let you know that we are postponing these shows due to a positive COVID case within the tour and subsequent exposures,” she wrote on Twitter on Sunday (May 1), just hours before she was scheduled to play a show in Laval.
“Tonight’s show at Place Bell will be rescheduled for May 7th and new dates for both Moncton and Halifax will be announced shortly,” Lavigne said.
“I/we sincerely apologize and want you to know that this was not a decision we made lightly,” she wrote in her update. “We remain focused on everyone’s safety and can’t wait to see you all very soon.”
Lavigne just shared the stage with Olivia Rodrigo in Toronto on Friday (April 29), performing a duet of the Canadian star’s 2002 breakout hit “Complicated.”
Lavinge’s tour is scheduled to continue across Canada and the U.S. through the spring and summer.
In February, the singer announced that she was pushing a U.K. and Europe trek to next year (April-May 2023) due to concerns over COVID-19: “Due to the on-going issues surrounding the pandemic, there are a series of travel and venue restrictions from country to country that have made the tour not possible to happen,” she wrote to fans at the time.
See Lavigne’s latest announcement below, and visit her official website for a full list of upcoming tour dates.
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) May 1, 2022
