Sloane Stephens has entered the chat to support her friend and tennis peer Taylor Townsend. While Townsend is progressing in the US Open tournament held in Queens, New York, the conversation became less about her game on Wednesday when her defeated opponent said she had “no class” and “no education.”

“I feel like Taylor showed what class and education she does have,” Stephens said on ESPN yesterday. “She went out there and she played.”

After her second-round win against Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday, Townsend and the Latvian tennis player exchanged words on the court. Ostapenko said to Townsend that she had “no class” and “no education,” complaining about a shot Townsend took that clipped the net, but was declared legal.

“Learn how to take a loss better,” Townsend said in response.

Stephens, who has known Townsend from a young age, told ESPN that it was Ostapenko who “didn’t show her class and education” after losing the match.

Townsend addressed Ostapenko’s comments in a press conference after the match. When a reporter asked her if she felt the comments were racist, Townsend said that she didn’t take the comments that way, and that if they “had racial undertones or not, that’s something [Ostapenko] can speak on.”

“I’m just not going to tolerate disrespect. You’re not going to disrespect me in my face,” Townsend said. “I’m very proud as a Black woman being out here representing myself and representing us and our culture. I make sure that I do everything that I can to be the best representation possible every time that I step on the court and even off the court.” 

Ostapenko has defended her remarks on social media, saying she is not racist and that Townsend was “disrespectful” to her for not apologizing for the shot she took. She argued that Townsend was helped because the tournament was in the United States, and they were playing for an American crowd.

Stephens expressed her concern that the conversation about Ostapenko has ultimately taken focus away from Townsend’s tennis, but that maybe in the future, people will “think twice” before making similar comments, which “happens often.”

“I don’t like the fact that she’s playing some of the best tennis of her life, she’s gotten to #1 in the world in doubles, she’s playing amazing singles. And these are the types of situations she’s dealing with,” she said. “This should be happy. She shouldn’t have to be dealing with this outside situation.”

Jess Hilarious has landed herself in the hot seat after a jab at a content creator’s fitness video took a turn on Instagram quick. What may have started as a “jokey-joke” instantly gained traction online, sparking heavy backlash from fans and followers who felt the comedian crossed the line!

In the now viral video the Instagram user is seen working out with dumbells while wearing grey spandex and a sports bra with Chris Brown’s hit single ‘It Depends’ playing in the background. With a play on words–Jess joked “Nah did the lyrics say “YOU FAT AS HELL”???? OMG noooo with an emoji.

The content creator didn’t back down—instead, she flipped the moment into fuel for her own motivation, using Jess’s words as a push to keep going strong in her fitness journey.

” You know you’re a big deal when you got celebrities hating on you too.”

That response quickly turned the spotlight back on Jess, with many calling her out for body-shaming and being dismissive of someone’s progress.

🙏 Jess Issues A Public Apology

In the wake of the backlash, Jess returned to social media with an open apology, admitting her comment was out of pocket. “I want to sincerely apologize for what I said—it was uncalled for and hurtful,” she shared. Jess acknowledged that while comedy is her lane, sometimes jokes can miss the mark and do more harm than intended.

Her willingness to own up to the mistake did soften some critics, but the moment also served as a reminder of how quickly comments online can impact real lives—and how accountability matters just as much as the laugh.

💡 A Lesson In Accountability

Jess Hilarious has built her brand on being unfiltered, bold, and funny. But this viral moment highlights the fine line between keeping it real and causing real harm. With her apology, she’s hoping to move forward with more mindfulness while still holding on to the humor that made her a household name.

One worker in Manchester, UK, is singing “Beat It”—the case that is. After a nearly two-year battle over alleged workplace harassment leading to termination of employment, Lucasz Zawadzki is cashing a check for over $14,000 after an employment tribunal determined that he had been unfairly dismissed. 

According to Newsweek, Zawadzki, who had been employed at Co-op—a British wholesale company for various retail businesses—was fired in March 2024 after a Black employee, identified only as SM, accused him in December 2023 of making “Michael Jackson” noises (think “tee-hee”) and “monkey noises” at him for as long as two years. SM alleged that the noises were made because he was Black. 

That same December Zawadzki was suspended. The company’s reason for the suspension was their policy against bullying and harassment. After interviewing other employees and his colleagues, several people claimed to have heard Zawadzki making noises but didn’t assume it was racism, but more sexual in nature. One co-worker assumed the target of his “noises” was a female worker, not SM. 

During his disciplinary hearing in February 2024, Zawadzki denied making any “Michael Jackson” noises or “monkey” noises at SM, though he did admit to what he described as “embarrassing and juvenile” behavior, though said he never intended to bully or harm anybody. On March 7, 2024, Zawadzki was informed of his termination via letter, though the letter claimed that he admitted to making “Michael Jackson noises” and “monkey” noises, something he never admitted to. The company’s reasoning for the firing was listed as “gross misconduct, specifically for admitted breach of the bullying, harassment, and discrimination policy, making inappropriate comments/noises towards a colleague causing hurt and distress.”

A tribunal was empaneled and both the company and Zawadzki shared their sides of the story. The company claimed that they have a zero-tolerance policy for workplace harassment and that Zawadzki’s actions were detrimental to SM. However, an employment judge claimed that Zawadzki’s actions amounted to little more than a nuisance to SM, saying in her ruling that “In essence, the misconduct of the claimant was inappropriate and juvenile conduct in the workplace. There was no satisfactory evidence before the dismissing officer that that particular admitted conduct was offensive to SM or caused him distress.”

In their findings, though, the tribunal laid out a much more complete accounting of why Zawadzki would ultimately be awarded compensation and deemed to have been unfairly fired: 1) the dismissing officer did not determine that Zawadzki’s conduct was racist or targeted; 2) the dismissal letter inaccurately stated that he admitted to making “Michael Jackson” or “monkey” noises; 3) Zawadzki had not been provided with investigation documents before his hearing; 3) he had never been given the Co-op’s bullying and harassment policy, nor trained on its contents; 5) he had no prior disciplinary record.

In a nutshell, the tribunal ruled that not only did SM, the Black employee NOT face anything that rose to the level of harassment or bullying for racial reasons, but also despite the company’s zero-tolerance policy, the company made several errors along the way that effectively turned Zawadzki into the victim of aggressive action on the part of Co-op. He was awarded over $14,000, which oddly represented half of what he asked for; the tribunal ALSO claimed that his behavior was “culpable and blameworthy,” essentially that he might have offended or humiliated colleagues…but none of it was racist. 

Hopefully, Zawadzki looks at the man in the mirror before acting in a similar fashion at his next job. 

Kirk Franklin’s “Den of Kings” program is a place where men can pull up and speak to each other as their real, authentic selves (as much as you can do when you know you’re being filmed, anyway) and share honestly and even get emotional if need be in a safe, healthy environment. Such was the case recently when Skyh Black joined the table and was asked by Franklin if he had any regrets about posting all of their wedding pictures online in 2023. It turns out, he does: his wedding to KJ Smith, a fellow actor in the Tyler Perry Universe on the show “Sistas,” was met with criticism from people who thought they were “doing too much.” 

“Your marriage was all over IG. The pictures were big. They were beautiful,” started Franklin. “They were this. They were that. They were I mean, it was like I mean, you know, you’re a good-looking dude. She’s a beautiful woman. Y’all look like y’all are models. It’s like everything looks beautiful. Do you ever have moments when you, yourself, that you’ve ever had regrets showing so much?”

Black, who has had roles and starred in several films and television shows and is currently starring in “All The Queens Men,” executive produced by Tyler Perry, didn’t hold back. 

“Yes. I do. And the reason being is because the response from people made both of us feel displaced. It hurt. I’m not gonna sit up here and say it didn’t; it hurt,” he shared. “A lot of people said it looked fake.” 

He continued, seemingly getting a chance to address something he’s been holding in for years, which drew emotions out of Black that he’s been sitting on as he reflected on why he and his wife wanted to share their happiness and come up with the world.

“People talking about a wedding! I’m able to get my grandma here who doesn’t fly, who grew up in Union Springs, Alabama, who raised me—I was abandoned as a kid. My granddad died before I made it, and that’s all he wanted to see. I’m able to show her Malibu. Wow. That’s what I’m able to do. So we were celebratory. Damn, I found somebody that I can talk to—I’ve cried so many times in front of my wife. That woman was my savior, and I’m her savior,” he started, as you can see the emotion starting to build in him. 

“I’ve waited and I deserve this moment. And people on social media made us feel like we didn’t deserve it. Yeah. And it hurt,” he said visibly hurt. 

“It’s like, ‘Damn, I’m happy, man.’ And you want to share it. It took me 17 years to be happy. Yeah. And I met the love of my f—- life. And I was like, and now you’re concerned about your image and then people have all this shit to say about your wedding. It’s like, I did my wedding my way. I just wanted to have a good time.” Black then reflected on trying to be there for his wife, which took him to another level of hurt.

“And not only that, when you can’t console your wife ’cause she’s going through she’s hurting. So it’s like, I don’t want you to hurt cause of somebody else. Stay out of the comment section, but that s—t is real.”

Hopefully Black and Smith are able to move on from that criticism and negativity and enjoy their life and love, and hopefully Franklin’s “Den of Kings” continues to be a space where men can speak and share and get counsel when needed; the other men on the episode (including Tyrese) along with Franklin provided words of affirmation and advice for navigating those troubled waters.