Hello to all my pop addicts of VSU. It’s been a week since I’ve seen you last. HOW Y’ALL DOING? I’ve got a nice a nice cup of Jasmine Chai brewing, so let’s get into it.

Taraji P. Henson, the auntie of new-age actresses, has finally gotten her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It’s about time. Taraji has been worthy of her star since she was playing Yvonne in Baby Boy and fighting with Tyrese’s or Jodi’s big-head self. With that being said, she finally got what she deserved. Although she was able to get her star, she also had a very questionable week last week. With all of the heat surrounding R. Kelly, Henson went out on a limb to try and “protect him.” She went on Instagram and searched the hashtag #MuteRKelly, then showed her searching #MuteWeinstein, and even went on to search for #MuteHarveyWeinstein. After she received backlash for her bold actions, she then wanted people to understand that she wants anybody that does wrong to be held accountable for their actions. Okay… like, girl. Everybody has BEEN muted Harvey Weinstein. Have you read a newspaper or watched a reliable news outlet? For the past year and a half, Weinstein’s life has been in complete mayhem. It just shows that most people will do anything to make sure that they can preserve their fond memories of “Step in the Name of Love.” Like, Taraji, sweetie. Don’t you have a movie coming out (that already looked questionable)? Either way, Taraji, enjoy your moment.

Erykah Badu, about a week and a half ago, while at one of her shows in Texas, went on a rant about why she’s still supporting R. Kelly. EWWwww. The hotep, greater conscious, high self-learning queen then took to Twitter to defend her friend and threw a monkey wrench into the bad publicity. This shouldn’t be surprising since she is the one that said that LITTLE GIRLS should stop wearing clothes that show their shoulders, knee caps and elbows in order to stop enticing GROWN MEN. Yes, read that sentence over again if you must. So, this didn’t surprise me. What I will say is that she’s doing the most. Either way, her and Taraji have a movie, and it doesn’t appear to be good. This was bad publicity all around for this already not promising movie. Moving right along.

Jussie Smollett is an icon on primetime television. He has taken his real life, being a black gay man, and has applied it to his character’s role on Empire, a black gay man. Smollett was attacked while he was in Chicago this week. Reports show that he was leaving one of his shows and going to Subway to eat. As he was leaving the restaurant, two white men approached him and was calling him racial and homophobic slurs. He tried to disengage and mind his business, but they physically attacked him, wrapped a noose around his neck and poured some sort of chemical on him (some sources are reporting that it was bleach), all while screaming, “This is MAGA country.” Smollett was fighting back, but he couldn’t take on both of them. Yesterday, he was reportedly in the hospital and in good condition. When I first read this story, I was ENRAGED. How dare somebody feel like they can do this to somebody and get away with it? And MAGA country? Sweetie, your president doesn’t even care about y’all. He just opened the government so that y’all can get a check. I think that this has opened up the floor for more discussions about how these homophobic “jokes” or “arguments” have turned into harmful situations. Celebrities showed Jussie a downpour of love and well wishes, but even being a celebrity didn’t stop the two suspects. So, imagine how hard regular black LGBTQ members have it in everyday life. This country is sad. The fact that people are still being harmed for being themselves, is just ridiculous. DISGUSTING. Get well Jussie, and keep being an advocate for all the things that are right in the world.

The Fyre Festival documentaries are out on both Hulu and Netflix. The fact that about 400-600 people were hoodwinked, bamboozled and led astray, is unfathomable. Stay tuned for a review coming out next week.

That’s all the tea that I have for this week. Remember to check back here next week to get your teacup filled with more piping hot tea!

Written by Jacorey Moon, Special Projects Manager.

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