Fans of the FOX supernatural drama series Sleepy Hollow have always maintained that the show did lead actress Nicole Beharie dirty. She never got the star treatment or push that co-lead Tom Mison received. And when her character tragically exited the series at the end of Season 3, it was never the same. In case you weren’t one of those fans who stuck with it through all the nonsense, Sleepy Hollow followed Mison’s Ichabod Crane, a revolutionary war soldier thrust into the modern world as he fought supernatural threats alongside Beharie’s sheriff’s Lt./FBI agent Abbie Mills. A big part of the show’s draw was the amazing on-screen chemistry between the two leads, but a new book reveals that it may have just been the product of really great acting.

According to an excerpt in The Hollywood Reporter from Maureen Ryan’s book, Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood, the actors didn’t get along and “did not want to have a whole lot to do with each other.” Apparently, this was the real reason behind Crane’s signature bow, as Beharie and Mison didn’t want to hug each other. As much as the fans wanted it, this is the reason why the characters never became a couple. Showrunner Clifton Campbell told Ryan the actors “believed that the relationship between the characters should not evolve into a romantic relationship.” Two leads not getting along is actually pretty common in Hollywood, and normally wouldn’t be the subject of scandal. However, in this case, it looks like sides were taken, with Beharie being painted as “difficult,” despite the fact that there were issues with both actors.

Neither Mison or Beharie had been a lead on a TV series before, so there was a learning curve involved that led to issues for both. While sources in the book describe Mison as “a handful” with “his own set of issues,” Beharie was the one labeled “difficult. Some of them even stated, “I’ve always said that on any other show, he would’ve been the biggest problem.” Of course, why admit that your hero is the issue when you can just blame the Black actress. And we all know that once a Black woman becomes known as “difficult” she can never shake that assertion. Ryan also explains how early in the show’s run, “people with power” stated “they did not have ‘a good experience with Nicole.’” As you would expect, the book’s sources reveal that “It created a very us-against-her environment from day one.” This led to actress Lyndie Greenwood being introduced in Season 1 as Abbie’s sister Jenny, and as a possible replacement for Nicole. So these execs decided right from the start that Beharie was a little too much and set her up to fail. It seems clear that ehty never wanted her to succeed.

addition to ongoing issues with Beharie’s hair—something that seems to follow Black actresses to every set—there were also problems in the writers room. Ryan reveals how the series had three people of color in the room during season one, but then “returned for season two with an all-white, male team outside a ‘sole woman of color.’” For a series where one of the leads is a Black woman, and her family, as well as its history, plays a central role in the overall arc, this is very telling. It signals that producers have decided that Abbie’s story is never going to be as important as Crane’s.

The high turnover of writers, producers and showrunners was also a serious issue for Sleepy Hollow, as the “creative floundering” of those in charge is seen as a major reason behind the show’s dysfunctional, toxic workplace. Ryan describes Campbell as “‘unproductively’ emotional and defensive at times when Black writers made suggestions around elements of the scripts, potential unconscious bias being addressed by HR in terms of script assignments, and fans criticizing the show for its treatment of Beharie’s character.”

Sleepy Hollow was a unique, interesting show that didn’t fit in with the rest of the TV schedule. It’s a real shame that the powers that be couldn’t check their racism and misogyny long enough to let Nicole Beharie and Abbie Mills lead them to a classic hit.

( 📸: Getty Images )

Cousins! Are you amongst the long list of folks including us that wanted to see TLC group member Chilli and Usher rekindle their early 2000s romance? Whelp it won’t be happening in this lifetime despite the former couple’s decades worth of chemistry!

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Chilli spoke on her and Usher’s high profile relationship. “We definitely had some chemistry,” she says about their time together. “But working chemistry does not mean it works in your personal life. If we were working, it was great. But outside of that, we’re so different.”

The 52 year old says that despite everyone wanting the couple to be together forever, “It looked great, but in real life…he knew he had to be a certain way with me and he couldn’t.”

Though the two only officially dated from 2001-2004 Chilli revealed that they didn’t stop fully speaking until 2019. She says that she leaned on her Christian faith as she vowed to focus on herself. “I even stopped dating. Because before that I thought if I met the right guy during that time that I wasn’t over [Usher] it wouldn’t work. I would never want to straddle the fence.”

She also addressed rumors that Usher’s hit breakup album Confessions was a love letter to her and their dying romance. “I was with him at the studio that whole time”. Chilli says they just weren’t meant to be due to issues dealing with trust and personal values.”I love hard,” says Chilli. “I was like, ‘God, why can’t I get over this?’ He couldn’t either.”

Chilli says that though the two don’t speak, “ I have no hard feelings,” as she says the past has brought her a new relationship she can appreciate. “I have never experienced anything like this.”

She adds, “He wants to be the best guy he can be and who God wants him to be,” Chilli says about Matthew Lawrence, 42. “God-willing one day we’ll get married.”

Amidst a lot of talk about the future of tennis and who will take over as the new face of the sport, Coco Gauff has become a standout as the athlete everyone is watching. The 19-year-old star made it to the 2022 French Open final, before she lost to world No. 1 Iga Świątek. Now, she’s set to get a rematch in the 2023 French Open quarter-finals. Coco has looked really strong in this year’s tournament. Though she’s lost a couple sets along the way, she’s kept her cool and showed a spectacular maturity in her game. She attributes her positive mindset to being in Paris.

“I just like walking around here,” Gauff told ESPN. “I mind my business. I love walking around the city, I love people watching and the fashion is really cool here.”

Gauff has been open about how much losing last year hurt. But even though the media wants to talk about it non-stop, she’s trying to stay focused on this year’s competition. After her 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 first-round win over Rebeka Masarova, she was asked about coming back after losing the first set, to which she noted she was in a “bleep last year’s final, and bleep the first set” mental space.

Considering that she’s also made the semi-finals in women’s doubles, Coco’s performance here has been particularly impressive. Following a split with her coach earlier in the year, she tapped Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ former coach, to help her with her clay court game. If you’re not a tennis fan, clay is a very specialized surface that requires specific adjustments to how players hit the ball and approach the game. For most tennis players, they either love it or they don’t. Though she’s still relatively early in her career, Gauff seems to have learned how to get the best out of her clay court game.

“This week, in the last couple matches, my forehand has, I think, improved a lot, and I think it’s gotten me to win a lot of points,” she said. “I think [in] the last couple of matches that I have just become more and more comfortable being aggressive on it. But I think really it’s more so something that I just have to continue to improve. I’ll probably work on it more during the offseason, but right now I’m happy where my forehand is at.”

As for her rematch with Świątek, Coco is keeping that “bleep last year’s final” energy going in. She also recognizes that if she wants to be a Grand Slam champion, she will have to go through Iga, who has crushed her opponents. She beat Wang Xinyu 6-0, 6-0 in the third round and got a walkover when her fourth round opponent retired at 5-1 in the first set. Świątek has been on an unstoppable roll lately, so this will be Gauff’s biggest challenge to date.

“Since last year I’ve been wanting to play her here at this tournament,” Gauff said after her fourth-round win. “I’m the type of mentality that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. If you want to improve, you have to play the best. I think it would be almost cowardly to say that I want to not face the noise and not face the challenge, but I think that I’m up for it. I have improved a lot since last year, and she has too.”

Coco Gauff plays Iga Świątek in the quarter-finals of the 2023 French Open on Wednesday, June 7 around 6:30 a.m. ET/3:30 a.m. PT on Tennis Channel.

( 📸: WWBT )

Cousins! Tragedy struck outside of a high-school graduation ceremony Tuesday night as family and friends came together to celebrate in Richmond!

The incident took place within the Richmond Monroe Park area of Virginia at Altria Theater, as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the graduating class of Huguenot High School around 5PM. According to reports from Fox News,a gunman decided to open fire tragically killing two people and injuring others.

A 18 year old male graduate was fatally shot and a 36 year old male attendee has also passed away. As of right now neither of their identies have been publicly released. Officials state that additional attendees had still been exiting the theater when they heard a total of twenty gun shots ring off.

“That prompted, as you would expect, hundreds of persons in an effort to flee the gunfire to return to the building,”said member of the school board Jonathan Young.

Police officers within the area working traffic duty contacted dispatch around 5:13 PM alerting them of gunshots also.

It has been been indicated that five additional people were hit all facing different degree of injuries. Two others were treated at the scene following a fall, a 9 year old was hit by a car and is said to have sustained non life threatening injuries. An additional 9 people were treated for minor injuries including anxiety.

A 19 year old male identified as the gunman had attempted to flee the scene but thankfully was captured by officials within the area. Reports read that there were multiple firearms discovered within the teen’s car at the time of his arrest.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney described the shooting as being, “traumatic” for everyone.

“My administration continues monitoring the terrible shooting in the heart of Richmond tonight. State law enforcement are fully supporting the Richmond Police Department as this investigation moves forward.”

“Is nothing sacred any longer? We’re going to do everything we can to bring the individuals who are involved in this to justice. Not just for the families involved, but also the city,” he added.

According to the outlet another graduation ceremony was scheduled to take place directly afterwards but was canceled following the tragic series of events.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Richmond Police Department, officials are also on standby surrounding Richmond Park.

The gunman is currently facing charges for two counts of second-degree murder.

Cousins, please keep all attendees, victims and families in your prayers!

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Sunday’s episode of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” saw Kenya Moore and Marlo Hampton squashing their beef after the former beauty queen suffered a medical emergency. 

As People reports, it all started during the group’s trip to Birmingham, Alabama, for Moore’s halftime performance at the Magic City Classic football game last fall. Moore, 52, kept her performance a secret from the other ladies. So, they didn’t know why they traveled to the city, Hollywood Life reports. Moore’s co-stars became irritated when she refused to answer their questions, and her silence caused several heated arguments. 

At one point, Hampton and Shereé Whitfield kicked the door to Moore’s hotel room, and she threatened to call the police. 

The tensions simmered the following morning when Moore suffered a health scare, including “numbness in her left arm” according to People. 

“I don’t know where I am,” Moore said the morning she was set to appear at the football game.

As People reports, Moore told the Bravo production team: “I need an ambulance please … I’m dizzy, and I’m having a hard time breathing.”

Speaking to the 911 operator, Moore said, “I’ve just recovered from COVID, and I don’t know what it could be now.”

An ambulance rushed Moore to the hospital, and Hampton later led fellow co-stars in a prayer circle. 

When Whitfield FaceTimed Moore, the 1993 Miss USA winner shared from her hospital bed: “I had a fever of 102, and I’m waiting for the other tests to come back. They couldn’t get my vein, so I couldn’t get the IV push.”

Moore’s hospital stay was short, as Hampton noted on the show that she sent the mother-of-one flowers, but the hospital had already discharged Moore.

“B*tch, I said, ‘Get well soon’ — not immediately,” Marlo joked in a confessional, per People.

While recovering at home in Atlanta, Moore told Whitfield that doctors diagnosed her with the flu. 

“They did the chest X-ray, they couldn’t find anything abnormal,” she said. “They gave me some prescriptions. All this back-to-back sickness, it’s just something is not right.”

Moore also expressed disappointment about missing out on her performance at Magic City Classic, calling it “a little heartbreaking.”

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A star-studded concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop will take place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the birthplace of hip-hop, in August, according to Live Nation. Run-DMC will headline the event in what will likely be the group’s final show.

“Hip-Hop 50 Live” is scheduled for Aug. 11 to commemorate “the day it began,” when DJ Kool Herc hosted a party in the Bronx known as the beginning of hip-hop culture. Run-DMC’s set is listed as “Bottom of the 9th …The Walk Off,” implying that this could be the final show by the legends.

Herc and his sister Cindy Campbell, who organized the original party back in 1973, will be part of the “Pillars of Hip-Hop” set of the show. Other hip-hop pioneers like Grandmaster Caz, Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel, Roxanne Shante, Scorpio, and The Sugarhill Gang are also slated to participate in the special segment.

In addition to Run-DMC, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and Ice Cube were also announced as co-headliners. The announcement stated that surprise guests are expected to join the rappers during their performances. T.I., Fat Joe, Common, EPMD, Slick Rick, Ghostface Killah and Lupe Fiasco A$AP Ferg are also on the bill.

The concert will also feature a “Queens of Hip-Hop” set, with performances by Eve, Lil Kim, Remy Ma, and Trina, with more guests likely to join them. Battlecat, Clark Kent, Mannie Fresh and Marley Marl are listed to give D.J. sets throughout the event.

Run-DMC co-founder Darryl “DMC” McDaniels dropped hints in January that he and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons would put the group to bed once and for all with one last concert this year. McDaniels told Rock The Bells that he and Simmons could not continue without DJ Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell, who was killed on Oct. 30, 2002.

“There’s enough life left for both of us,” McDaniels said. “We can’t be Run-DMC without Jay.”

Presale tickets for “Hip Hop 50 Live” become available at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday via Ticketmaster. General tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.

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On Monday morning, hundreds of white women went to the Colorado Capitol to use their privilege for good and stage a silent sit-in protesting gun violence. Their hope was to force Gov. Jared Polis to ban guns and start a gun buyback program. Unfortunately, this method just simply won’t work.

Their actions comes two months after Polis signed into law four gun control bills, including one that would widen Colorado’s red flag law which allows police, family members or a household member to petition a judge to temporarily take a person’s firearms if they are deemed a risk.

Though the laws Polis approved would raise the age requirement for owning a gun and establish a minimum waiting period for gun deliveries, this isn’t enough. Here4TheKids was a a movement created after a mass shooting in Nashville in March left six people dead, including three children.

It called for mostly white women to stage a sit-in until Polis—who is a Democrat—signs an executive order banning guns. The women who founded Here4TheKids, Saira Rao and Tina Strawn, are people of color. Strawn, who is Black, say that white women need to be front and center because their voices will actually be heard.

“We know what happens when [Black people] show up in large numbers to fight for our rights. We’ve been doing it for generations. We’re always the ones whose bodies are in the most danger and at the most risk,” Strawn said on the “Speaking of Racism” podcast. She is correct in her assessment, but as we seen over the last two decades, America will choose to prioritize the right to bear arms over human lives—regardless of race.

So far, there have been a minimum of 276 mass shootings in the United States this year, which means there will be more shootings than days in a year. Colorado has been subjected to several, including the infamous Columbine High School shooting in 1999 as well as a shooting at a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs in November.

Despite the outrage over gun violence—which has made it unsafe for Americans to shop at malls or grocery stores, attend church, watch a movie, go to school and enjoy holiday parades—politicians have remained steadfast about not banning guns.

Instead of taking action to limit or get rid of gun ownership altogether, we are bombarded with hopes and prayers and active shooter drills. Victims of gun violence hail from various ethnic and racial backgrounds. No matter who is on the receiving end of harm, GOP lawmakers continually choose lining their pockets with NRA money over valuing human life.

Even the 2017 congressional baseball shooting which targeted Republicans and left House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and four others wounded didn’t stop them from protecting gun laws. In fact, Scalise said he was as “ardent as ever” about protecting those rights because he was “saved by people who had guns.” In other words, there is no reality in which America will prioritize people over weapons.

It was a valiant effort made by the white women who protested in Colorado yesterday. Unfortunately, it will just never be enough.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s reliance on the tactic known as “stop and frisk” as part of a new initiative to combat gun violence is harming communities of color and running afoul of the law, a court-appointed federal monitor reported Monday.

Monitor Mylan Denerstein said the NYPD ‘s Neighborhood Safety Teams — special units deployed in the past 14 months to seize guns in high-crime areas — were engaging in “unconstitutional policing” by stopping and frisking too many people without justification.

In one police precinct, Denerstein said, only 41% of stops, 32% of frisks and 26% of searches were lawful.

The Neighborhood Safety Teams, a replacement for the anti-crime units that the NYPD disbanded in 2021, operate in 34 areas that account for 80% of the city’s violent crime — largely communities of color. Of the people the teams have stopped, Denerstein said, 97% are Black or Hispanic.

A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said city officials “have serious concerns” with Denerstein’s methodology and that they only learned of her findings after news outlets reported on them.

The spokesperson, Fabien Levy, said shootings have fallen since the Neighborhood Safety Teams were created.

Officers assigned to the units “have enhanced training and oversight to ensure we are not only keeping New Yorkers safe, but protecting their civil liberties as well,” Levy said, adding that “any unconstitutional stop is unacceptable, and we will strive to do better for New Yorkers every day.”

Denerstein said she began her review after Adams announced in March 2022 that the NYPD was deploying Neighborhood Safety Teams in some precincts to combat gun violence. Team members, wearing modified uniforms and driving unmarked cars, conduct stops, frisks and searches in their assigned neighborhoods.

“Unfortunately, the results are disappointing,” Denerstein wrote.

Despite their training and experience, officers assigned to Neighborhood Safety Teams “overall appear to be stopping, frisking, and searching individuals at an unsatisfactory level of compliance. Too many people are stopped, frisked, and searched unlawfully.”

In 2013, a federal judge ruled that the NYPD had violated the civil rights of Black and Hispanic New Yorkers with stop and frisk, which was part of an effort to get guns and drugs off the street by frequently stopping and searching people on the street.

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled the stops were a form of indirect racial profiling. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, once a champion of the tactic, has since apologized for its use.

Since the ruling, the department claimed a sharp drop in stops, reporting an average of around 11,730 per year from 2016 to 2022, compared with a high of nearly 686,000 stops in 2011.

Black and Hispanic people continue to be the targets of the vast majority of stops, accounting for 89% of all stops in 2022, according to NYPD data compiled by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

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