Jonathan Majors is speaking out after Robert Downey Jr. was cast to play Marvel villain Doctor Doom as a replacement for Major’s Kang the Conqueror.
Majors shared that he was “heartbroken” by the casting decision on Tuesday shortly after Downey revealed that he will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the 2024 San Diego Comic Con on July 27. Majors was set to play Kang in the 2026 film “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” but Marvel decided to shelve the project and rename it “Avengers: Doomsday” when Majors was convicted of assault last year, per People.
“Yeah, heartbroken,” Majors told TMZ when asked how he felt about losing the Avengers villain role to Downey. “Come on, yeah, of course. I love him. I love Kang.”
Majors went on to say that he would like the Kang role back one day, adding, “If that’s what the fans want, if that’s what Marvel wants, let’s roll.”
Jonathan Majors is shown at a “Creed III” HBCU fan screening in February 2023 in Atlanta. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for MGM Studios) –
Majors first appeared as Kang the Conqueror in the Disney+ series “Loki” and 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The actor’s career was heavily impacted after he was found guilty of assaulting former girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Majors was sentenced to one year of domestic violence counseling in April 2023.
In June, he booked his first movie role since the conviction. The “Creed III” actor will star in the upcoming thriller “Merciless,” according to Variety. Martin Villeneuve, who will direct the film, confirmed Majors’ casting, the publication reported. In “Merciless,” a CIA investigator is called to action after the woman he is in love with is overcome by an evil influence.
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Producer Christopher Tuffin defended Majors’ casting in a statement, saying that he “refuses to let the court of public opinion and selective prosecution undermine great art and artists.”
Tuffin shared that he learned about “the dangers of letting politics undermine due process and deprive artists of their careers” in graduate school.
“I consider it an honor and a privilege to be working with such a great talent now that this matter has been adjudicated,” Tuffin said about Majors.
50 Cent is keeping it all the way real when it comes to his thoughts on Diddy as he gears up to produce his forthcoming documentary about the disgraced producer and businessman.
A Look Back At Rapper 50 Cent’s “Many Men” On Its 20th Anniversary
A Look Back At Rapper 50 Cent’s “Many Men” On Its 20th Anniversary
Speaking in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the “Power” mogul explained why he was never interested in forging a friendship with the Bad Boy mogul, taking the time to point out the difference between the two as musical businessmen.
“I didn’t ever party or hang out with him. Puff is a businessperson; when [people call him] a producer, I see people that were taken advantage of, who produced things that he took from them,” 50, legally Curtis Jackson, said. “He got the credit. He’s not a producer. He’s been able to take advantage of the business and the creatives in it. I don’t have any interest in doing that. I actually fall under the creative. So I just didn’t take to hanging out with that.”
Fif also touched on why he’s not afraid to call Diddy out for his alleged dastardly deeds (namely, the myriad sexual assault lawsuits that have been lobbed against him since last fall), and why he believes others have chosen to stay silent on the matter.
Some of them were involved, at the parties and enjoyed themselves, so they don’t know what the fuck is on tape or what’s not on tape, so they’re not going to say anything because they might have had too much fun. And then you’ve got other people who look and go, ‘Well, that’s not my business and I don’t want to be in it.’
Then you’ve got a part of our culture that says, ‘That’s snitching’ or ‘dry snitching’ or shit like that. It’s not uncomfortable for me to say what I said because I’ve been saying this shit for four years, five years. I been telling you, ‘I don’t fuck with him. I don’t like the way he moving. This is a little crazy.’ Everybody else is not going to be as comfortable as I am saying it.
Elsewhere in the conversation, 50 gave an update on where he stands with Daphne Joy, the mother of his nearly 12-year-old son Sire. As previously reported by The Root back in March, Joy accused him of rape and abuse in an Instagram post. In response, 50 filed a defamation suit against her the following month. He’s seeking more than $1 million in monetary damages.
However, now it appears that the two parents may have worked something out or at the very least, come to some sort of agreement as it relates to their son. Choosing his response carefully, 50 explained:
“The allegations that came out—she posted things to her page saying some crazy shit—but this comes eight hours after I filed for custody for my son. And she put that up in response to that, and I’m like, ‘Ugh.’ In this climate, you know how quickly they pass judgment. Things have worked out since she’s said those things. I had my son on Father’s Day, and we chilled. I’d like to respond and say some wild shit, but I’ve got to sustain that for my son.”
He concluded, “It is damaging. It is damaging just to have anything said about you at this point. Because you have people out there who don’t believe in your intentions, and if things are going in a positive direction for you and something pops up, they go (gasps), ‘This is what we have been waiting for.’ For entertainment purposes, they exploit that as much as possible, but there is no merit to it.”
Former President Donald Trump drew swift and immediate outrage during a Wednesday interview with Black journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention in Chicago.
The 2024 Republican presidential nominee prompted many gasps and grumbles during the panel conversation that lasted just over 30 minutes. The sit-down, moderated by ABC reporter Rachel Scott, Semafor reporter Kadia Goba and Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner, was expected to last an hour.
Trump, 78, spewed disparaging insults against his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as Scott of ABC, repeated his infamous “Black jobs” remarks and struggled to defend controversial comments made by his vice presidential pick, J.D. Vance.
Here are six highlights from the explosive panel event.
Trump says Harris “turned Black”
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.’s Grand Boulé, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) –
When asked by Scott if he agreed with Republicans that Harris is a “DEI hire,” Trump falsely claimed that the vice president and former U.S. senator “was always of Indian heritage” and was “only promoting Indian heritage.”
“I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black,” said Trump, who initially challenged Scott to define what DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) meant rather than answer the question directly. “Now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian, or is she Black?”
Scott rebutted that Harris “always identified as Black” and noted that she attended Howard University, a historically Black college.
In response to Trump’s false claim about Harris, U.S. Rep. Greg Meeks, who serves as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, said Trump’s remarks were “extremely offensive.”
“Donald Trump using the largest convening of Black journalists to publicly question Vice President Harris’ identity as a Black woman and insult her intelligence is extremely offensive to Black voters across our country,” said Meeks.
“This is yet another example of the bigotry that has been apparent throughout much of his public life. Given a platform to make his case to Black voters, Donald Trump chose to offend Black journalists, our communities, and continue his pattern of blatant lies.”
Michael Tyler, communications director for the Harris campaign, slammed Trump’s “tirade” as a “taste of the chaos and division that has been the hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign.”
“The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his time in office, and throughout his campaign for president,” Tyler said in a statement. “Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.”
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JULY 31: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump participates in a question and answer session at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention at the Hilton Hotel on July 31, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Trump fielded questions from (L to R) Rachel Scott, senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus on FOX News and Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) –
Scott asked the first question during the interview with Trump, pressing the former president about his past statements about Black politicians and journalists.
She noted that Trump previously insulted Black female reporters and told Black and brown members of Congress to “go back to where you came from.” Scott also pointed out that he questioned the citizenship of Barack Obama, America’s first Black president, and his former Republican presidential opponent Nikki Haley, who is Indian.
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question so…in such a horrible manner,” Trump bemoaned. He then proceeded to call ABC News “fake news” and, later in the program, accused Scott of posing questions in a “hostile, nasty tone.” He used the word “nasty” three times to describe her line of questioning.
Trump repeatedly blasts NABJ
Despite the invitation to this year’s convention, Trump did not mince words when talking about NABJ and their handling of the event. Within minutes of the interview he blamed the panel’s hour delay on the organization’s equipment.
“I have too much respect for you to be late. They couldn’t get their equipment working or something,” said Trump, who complained throughout the conversation that he could not hear the moderators because the microphones were in “lousy shape.”
Trump also accused NABJ of inviting him under “false pretense” and claimed he was told that his “opponent was going to be here.”
He also complained about Harris being allowed to speak with the organization through Zoom; however, the format of Harris’s sit-down with NABJ has not been determined. The esteemed group representing thousands of Black journalists notably received public backlash since announcing their invitation to host Trump.
As theGrio previously reported, Harris was unable to attend the convention due to scheduling amidst her newly launched campaign for president.
Trump doubles down on “Black jobs”
Though he received public backlash for his “Black jobs” remark during the June 27 presidential debate with President Joe Biden, Trump brought back the term when asked by Faulkner of Fox News why he chose to attend the NABJ convention.
“My message is to stop people from invading our country that are taking, frankly, a lot of problems with it,” he said. Trump added that “millions and millions of people” are “taking Black jobs.”
When Scott asked Trump to define what he thought a “Black job” was, the presidential candidate said, “A Black job is anybody that has a job.”
Trump added, “They’re taking the employment away from Black people.”
Trump unclear on Sonya Massey and police “immunity”
President Donald Trump speaks at Suffolk Community College on July 28, 2017, in Brentwood, New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) –
Goba of Semafor took Trump to task for previously vowing to grant police officers “immunity.”
The journalist asked him if he believed former Illinois sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, charged with first-degree murder for the July fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, deserved immunity.
“I don’t know the exact case, but I saw something, and … it didn’t look good to me,” said Trump.
The Republican presidential nominee said Grayson “might not” get immunity, adding, “it depends.”
Trump tried to clarify that his support for immunity is “different” from the Massey case and pointed to shooting incidents in Chicago.
“Nobody wants that,” he said. “We need to have our police officers have their respect and dignity back.”
Trump said there is a “big difference” between an officer who made an “innocent mistake” and “being a bad person.” He added, “If somebody made an innocent mistake, I would want to help that person.”
Trump struggles to defend running mate J.D. Vance
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump (left) and Republican vice presidential candidate Ohio Sen. JD Vance attend the Republican National Convention on July 15 in Milwaukee. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP, file) –
Scott also pressed Trump for comments made by his vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. The ABC reporter asked Trump if he agreed with Vance’s past remark attacking Democrats as “childless cat ladies.”
Scott aimed to get the former president’s stance on Vance’s suggestion that people who do not have children or choose to not have children are less admirable.
“He is very family-oriented, and he thinks family is a great thing,” said Trump. He added, “That doesn’t mean he thinks that if you don’t have a family,” before trailing off to say he knows people with “great” families, those with “troubled” families, and those who don’t have any families because they didn’t “meet the right person.”
“What he’s saying is that he thinks the family experience is a very important thing,” said Trump.
“But that doesn’t mean that if … you don’t meet somebody … that’s a bad thing.
Scott also asked Trump to clarify Vance’s comment that people with children should get “more votes” than those who do not.
“It’s not something I have ever heard before,” said Trump before reverting back to his usual talking points about the U.S. border and immigrants.
If you’ve ever been to the playground with a toddler, you already know how it goes down. Any time you get a group of two-year-olds together who have no tolerance for the word “no,” you have to expect that at any moment, a scuffle can break out over the last swing, a turn on the slide or a toy that may or may not be theirs.
Gossip Girl Star, Grace Duah, Plays That’s So Random
Gossip Girl Star, Grace Duah, Plays That’s So Random
Actress and new mom Keke Palmer just learned that lesson the hard way, and she took to social media to ask other moms for advice on how to handle it. In a July 30 Instagram video, Palmer shared a story about an incident with her 17-month-old son Leo on the playground that got her heated.
“He met this little friend, and everything seemed to be going well,” Palmer says in the video. “And then all of a sudden, the little boy sticks his little arms out and pushes my son onto the ground.”
Palmer went on to describe to her over 14 million followers how she wished she could have handled the situation – which involved her and her son fighting back against the kid and his mom – before telling them what actually happened:
“I picked up my son, I hugged him and told him that everything was going to be ok. And I did everything I could not to send all of my energy over into the other direction,” she said.
Palmer acknowledged that playground dustups happen all the time, but added that she’s worried that the incident is just a sign of what’s to come in a world where people aren’t always nice.
“How do we deal with this?” the “Password” host added. “Because guys, I don’t know if I’m going to make it.”
Palmer’s post, which has received over 60,000 likes so far, was flooded with comments from other parents who have had similar experiences with their kids.
Most commended her for showing restraint, but some said she should have tried sneak in a shot at the aggressive toddler on her son’s behalf.
“I push the kid back when no one looking 🤷🏾♀️” wrote one person in the comments.
And still others warned Palmer that the mama bear instinct doesn’t go away as your kids get older.
“It never ends my kids are 18, 14, and 13, and I’m still standing on business about those three,” wrote one parent in the comments.
The comments on Palmer’s post are confirmation that these kinds of things happen all of the time. But let this be a warning to other kids who may encounter little Leo on the playground – if you come for him, you’re going to have to come through Keke.
Fans of Allen Media Group’s HBCU GO will now be able to watch games from the 2024 football season at FOX affiliates.
The streaming platform announced on Wednesday that it has expanded nationwide clearance for its 2024-25 sports season. The expansion includes FOX owned-and-operated stations in Los Angeles (KCOP-TV) and Chicago (WPWR-TV), as well as distribution on the Armed Forces Network, according to a press release.
With the expansion, HBCU GO “is cleared in over 95% of U.S. television households,” per the release. In addition to the previously announced deal with CBS O&O duopoly stations, HBCU GO has secured distribution with several other group-owned TV stations, including AMG Broadcasting, Sinclair, Gray, Tegna, Hearst, Nexstar, and Scripps.
Broadcasters are shown reporting on an HBCU game on HBCU GO. (Credit: Allen Media Group) –
Byron Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of HBCU GO’s parent company Allen Media Group, which also owns theGrio, said in a statement that the company is “proud to be the No. 1 provider of live Black college sports.”
“It is important for us to showcase these excellent athletes and amazing HBCUs — not just in their hometowns, but to sports fans worldwide,” Allen added. This season, the HBCU streaming platform will be carried in 15 new television markets.
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There will be 26 HBCU football matchups this season, including eight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association games, nine Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games and 14 Southwestern Athletic Conference match-ups. The SWAC games include the Southern Heritage Classic, six homecoming games, and the CIAA Football Championship.
HBCU GO is the leading media provider for the United States’ 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This year, viewers can watch HBCU GO games in a variety of ways – broadcast syndication in major television markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and nationally on theGrio Television Network.
Disturbing footage has emerged showing police conducting a wellness check at the Arizona home of former UFC fighter Casey Kenney. The incident unfolded after Kenney’s girlfriend’s mother called the authorities to report a domestic violence claim.
The video, which has since gone viral, captures the tense moments when the mother arrived at Kenney’s residence. She can be seen knocking on the door, visibly anxious to find her daughter. As Kenney opened the door, his dog ran out, causing the door to swing wide open. This unintentional reveal exposed Kenney’s girlfriend, who appeared visibly beaten, standing behind him.
The mother’s reaction, captured in the footage, is heart-wrenching. Upon seeing the injuries on her daughter, she screamed in horror and distress before collapsing in the middle of the street, overcome with emotion. Bystanders and police quickly rushed to her aid.
Authorities have confirmed that the wellness check was initiated following the mother’s report, and they are currently investigating the claims of domestic violence. No official statements have been released regarding the condition of Kenney’s girlfriend or the potential charges that Kenney might face.
Kenney, who has not fought in the UFC since 2021, has yet to comment on the situation. His career has been on hiatus, and this incident further clouds his future prospects in the sport.
Further updates are expected as the investigation continues.
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Maya Rudolph is headed back to “Saturday Night Live” — just in time for the 2024 election.
The actress will return to the sketch comedy show to play Vice President Kamala Harris leading up to the November election, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Universal Television and Lorne Michael’s Broadway Video delayed production on Rudolph’s Apple TV+ series “Loot” allowing her the time needed to play Harris once again, THR reported.
Rudolph originally played Harris, first as a candidate for president and then as Biden’s running mate, from 2019 to 2021. She most recently played the politician in a March 2021 episode of “SNL” that she also hosted, per THR. In the sketch, Martin Short plays Harris’ husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Rudolph is just one of many celebrities who have portrayed politicians on the iconic sketch show. Comedian Jay Pharoah played Barack Obama during his second term, while Fred Armisen appeared as the former POTUS from 2008 to 2012, according to Vanity Fair. Fans have called for Rudolph’s return as Harris on “SNL” ever since the VP announced her run for president earlier this month, according to THR.
Rudolph received universal acclaim for her Harris impression “when she was introduced in the cold open for the Dec. 21, 2019, episode of ‘SNL,’ hosted by Eddie Murphy,” according to Deadline. The actress won the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance, despite only having a few lines of dialogue, per Deadline.
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The news of Rudolph’s return comes just a few short weeks after Harris revealed her presidential campaign. The vice president announced her run shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed her as his replacement. In the weeks since, several celebrities have shown their support for Harris, including Shonda Rhimes, Spike Lee, and Beyoncé.
The “Sorry” singer gave Harris permission to use her song, “Freedom,” throughout the presidential hopeful’s campaign. The vice president walked out to the 2016 song, which was featured on Beyoncé’s groundbreaking album “Lemonade,” during her first official visit to her campaign headquarters on July 22.
“SNL” will premiere its milestone 50th season on Sept. 28.
Picture day seems like a lot of fun when you’re in school and getting your best outfit ready for the big event. But once you get older and start looking back at those old photos, it all takes on a “what was I thinking” vibe. Before we wrap up summer, we thought it was time to take a nostalgic trip back to school. Whether they were destined for music superstardom, EGOT status, or the White House, we’ve got a fun look back at the yearbook photos of your favorite Black stars.
In a heartfelt comment, McKayla Maroney celebrated Simone Biles’ latest milestone, becoming the most decorated gymnast in history. “It doesn’t get more iconic than this… She f’d around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name,” Maroney wrote, expressing admiration and humor under Biles’ Instagram post.
However, this celebration has also highlighted a recurring confusion among gymnastics fans. Many have mistakenly associated Maroney with controversial comments by MyKayla Skinner, another gymnast with a similar name.
To clarify, MyKayla Skinner, who went viral for criticizing Biles and her teammates as “untalented and lazy,” is not the same person as McKayla Maroney, the gymnast known for her “not impressed” meme face from the 2012 Olympics.
The confusion is understandable. Both gymnasts share nearly identical names and birthdays, and both have won silver medals on vault at different Olympics (Maroney in 2012 and Skinner in 2021). Yet, their personalities and public personas couldn’t be more different.
Maroney remains one of the most universally liked figures in gymnastics, revered for her athletic prowess and positive influence. She has consistently been an exemplary role model, making her unjust association with Skinner’s comments particularly unfortunate.
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VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — South Sudan coach Royal Ivey says his life feels like a movie right now.
He might be onto something: An underdog, under-funded team from a nation still dealing with the aftereffects of a civil war and bracing for its first free election stuns the basketball establishment by qualifying for the Olympics, then nearly beats the best team in the world and goes on to win its opening contest at the Paris Games.
Yep, that sure sounds like a movie script. And make no mistake: The U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team loves the story.
It just has no interest in providing a Hollywood ending.
“Everybody is going to give us their best shot,” Ivey said. “We’re not a secret anymore.”
So true. The U.S. and South Sudan meet in a group-play game at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, two weeks after the African nation — the world’s newest country, one that got its independence just 13 years ago — nearly stunned the Americans at an exhibition in London, falling 101-100 in a game that it led for most of the way.
“Secretly, I am rooting for him just a little bit,” U.S. forward Kevin Durant said when asked about Ivey, who was teammates with both Durant and U.S. assistant coach Tyronn Lue during his NBA playing career and is someone Durant still considers a close friend. “Except for when he plays us.”
Both teams won their first of what will be three group-stage games at these Olympics; South Sudan knocked off Puerto Rico while the U.S. rolled past Serbia. Wednesday’s winner might emerge locked into a quarterfinal berth, depending on the outcome of other games. At worst, the winner will be on the brink of moving into the knockout stage.
For the U.S., that’s no big deal considering it has been to the Olympics on 19 occasions and medaled every time. For South Sudan, everything is a big deal — first Olympics, first win, first time the world will be watching to see if the near-upset of the Americans two weeks ago was a fluke or not.
“Obviously, we’re very confident,” South Sudan’s Nuni Omot said. “We’re going to continue to play our game. Continue to defend. Anything is possible. It’s basketball at the end of the day. We all work hard. We all do the same thing. Just to be able to go up against a team like that, it’s a big test.”
How this team even got to Paris is a story in itself.
Two-time NBA All-Star Luol Deng, who runs the South Sudan program and was the mastermind of making this happen, spends some of his personal wealth — his NBA contracts added up to about $175 million — to cover team expenses. The team famously doesn’t have a training site in South Sudan, because there is nothing close to an NBA-caliber gym in South Sudan. The players fly coach, squeezing big guys into exit rows and experiencing things like seven-hour delays in Rwanda. And yet they did well enough at the World Cup last summer to clinch the Olympic spot, then nearly beat the Americans on their way to France.
“For us, the fact that we’re already here in itself is a massive accomplishment,” forward Kuany Kuany said. “So, we just want to enjoy it, make the most of it, have fun and just show everybody what South Sudan’s about.”
That is, the good side.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict, then a civil war broke out two years later and — before it ended in 2018 — left nearly 400,000 people dead and more than 4 million displaced. There are still clashes in South Sudan, the economy is fragile at times and human rights groups warn of food insecurity for millions of residents. The long-awaited election was supposed to be held in February 2023; it is now slated for December.
“It’s an incredible accomplishment, given the strife in that region for so long, so many refugees coming to the United States and other countries for the last few decades, rebuilding lives, and to build a basketball federation amidst the war and the difficulty,” Kerr said. “And then for Royal and his staff to put together a really good team that plays modern basketball — stretch the floor, shoot 3s, attack the rim, it’s pretty dramatic and remarkable.”
It also has captured the Americans’ attention.
There will be no overlooking South Sudan on Wednesday, not after the last time these two teams met and the U.S. needed a layup from LeBron James with 8 seconds left to avoid what probably would have been called the most surprising loss in major international basketball history.
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South Sudan’s best player this summer has been Carlik Jones. He has NBA experience; 12 games of it, to be exact. And yet he dropped a triple-double on the Americans in London. If this really was a movie, he would be the plot twist. But a team of NBA stars is leery, rightly so, and U.S. guard Stephen Curry says it’s a reminder that the Americans have what he calls “appropriate fear” of every opponent.
“We’re beatable if we don’t play our game,” Curry said. “But if we do, we have a lot of confidence we can beat everybody.”
The U.S. team saying that would be expected.
Thing is, South Sudan feels exactly the same way.
“This is so surreal,” Ivey said. “I couldn’t experience anything better than this.”
