Al Sharpton thinks President Trump joking about renaming a military base after him is more of the same old song the man has played time and again ... think Song of the South.
We got the Reverend Sunday in NYC ... not too long after Trump's interview with FOX News' Chris Wallace aired earlier in the morning. The Prez was asked about threatening to veto a military spending bill that has bipartisan support ... all because it also seeks to rename national military bases named after Confederate generals, like Fort Bragg.
DT challenged Chris to come up with a new name .. and then he name-dropped Al out of nowhere.
Welp, the good Reverend has some thoughts on that ... telling us it's hard to make sense of what Trump's getting at, because he says the dude's so nonsensical. Still, in Al's eyes ... he finds it crazy that Trump's so stuck on defending the Confederacy as a heroic cause.
It obviously wasn't, as he points out -- the rebels were traitors, and definitely on the wrong (and losing) side of history.
Rev. Sharpton has been on Trump's case for decades, from the Central Park 5 to the racism spewing out of the President's mouth, so Sharpton's not surprised Trump got snarky on him.
Kanye West's first presidential rally just wrapped up and he stirred up lots of controversy by discussing Harriet Tubman, abortion and the possibility of divorcing Kim Kardashian West.
Ye held his first event as a candidate Sunday at the Exquis Event Center in North Charleston, SC -- and right off the bat ... it was unorganized and rowdy. He didn't even have a podium or a microphone to address the crowd, which was right up in his face.
At any rate, Kanye rambled through a number of topics -- oftentimes incoherently -- but one thing he said that came through crystal clear ... him suggesting that Harriet did NOT free slaves in her day, but just siphoned them off to other oppressive white folks.
That line drew jeers and groans from the crowd almost instantly -- we gotta say, it seriously reminded us of his "slavery was a choice" moment at TMZ a few years ago.
There's more. At one point, Ye launched into a rant about abortion, a woman's choice, etc. -- and he got incredibly emotional recounting a story about his then-girlfriend (now wife) Kim once telling him she was pregnant and how they considered not having the baby.
Kanye broke down sobbing while telling the story, saying that it hurt him because he confessed he did not want to have it ... which reminded him of his own father, who apparently didn't want him either when his own mother, Donda West, was pregnant.
It was a very personal thing to share, and Ye seemed to acknowledge as much when he followed up by saying it's possible Kim might wanna divorce him after this. He continued that train of thought, saying if she ever did ... he'd be thankful for her delivering North.
Ye went on to touch on a number of other subjects, including the fact that there weren't enough Black people in true positions of power -- including at Adidas, where he says he wants to sit on the board of directors, or else. Of course, he also talked about God and Jesus.
During the chaotic rally, Ye tried fielding questions from onlookers -- all of whom had to wear masks, but hardly any of whom were socially distanced -- but it mostly turned into a shouting match between himself and the rambunctious crowd. It was all hard to follow.
Probably not the greatest start for the Birthday Party campaign, but Kanye doesn't seem to mind ... he said he doesn't care if he wins the presidency or not. Why run then, right?
Anyway, up until today, Kanye seemed pretty serious about his presidential bid. TMZ broke the story ... Ye has filed docs with the Federal Election Commission, and he's also filed docs to get on the ballot in Oklahoma.
He tweeted Saturday, "Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations," and he went on to list various places, in addition to his 2020 website.
The first poll shows Kanye is pulling 2% of the vote. What's unclear ... between Biden and Trump, who gets hurt more and who benefits the most? What's also unclear ... if Ye's gonna go the distance after the train wreck that just occurred.
Nick Cannon seemed to have contemplated suicide ... calling 2020 the most "f***ed up year I've ever witnessed," talking about his friend who he says took his own life, adding, he was in "dark contemplation of continuing my physical existence on this planet," and admiring his friend who "had the balls to do it."
It's an alarming message, but not totally surprising. Nick's been called out from all sides, it seems, this week, after his anti-Semitic comments he made on a podcast, for which he apologized. Although Nick says he's trying to educate himself as he meets with rabbis and others, he's now being attacked for apologizing. On top of that, Viacom fired him from 'Wild 'n Out.'
Nick recounted the story of his friend, Ryan Bowers -- an up-and-coming rapper who Nick signed to his label -- who was shot in his own home last year by a San Diego cop. Nick says Ryan was in a coma for months and Nick was by his side. Cannon says his friend fought hard, re-learning basic functions like walking.
Nick says on the surface, Ryan seemed to rebound ... returning to perform to sold-out crowds. But, behind the veneer, Ryan was hurting, whispering to Nick, "Everything still hurts."
Nick says, "I can't help but think if I wasn't so engulfed in my own bulls*** I could've been there for you when you finally took your life after several attempts ...F*** this place!! #CantWin#ForLosing🙏".
We have checked and the Medical Examiner tells us a Ryan Bowers died Saturday.
Nick said on Thursday, "I hurt an entire community and it pained me to my core, I thought it couldn't get any worse. Then I watched my own community turn on me and call me a sell-out for apologizing," adding, "Goodnight. Enjoy Earth."
Roger Stone called a Black radio host a "negro" during a contentious interview.
It went down Saturday on Mo Kelly's show on KFI radio, after Stone claimed the conviction and sentence -- which Trump undid -- was unfair, because, as he put it, "It was a jury of my political opponents."
Mo shot back that it was actually the reverse ... that Stone benefited because he's tight with Trump. Mo then doubled down, saying, "There are thousands of people treated unfairly daily. Hell, your number just happened to come up in the lottery," adding, "I'm guessing it was more than just luck, Roger, right?"
Then there's a pause, and you hear Stone mumble, "I don't really feel like arguing with this negro." It's hard to know, but it seems Stone is saying it to someone he's with.
Mo is clearly indignant, repeatedly asking Stone what it was that he called him.
Stone goes radio silent for a long while, before speaking again and denying he called Mo a "negro."
Mo tweeted afterward, "I'm nobody's NEGRO."
Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress on 7 felony counts. Trump granted him clemency.
If you wanted to get into a bar in downtown Nashville over the weekend, good luck, because they were packed to the gills, and no one was social distancing and almost no one was wearing masks.
The lines to get inside snaked around the block as everyone partied liked it WASN'T 2020.
What's especially revealing ... it seems like authorities are just backing away and not enforcing the law. The City's issued an order requiring people to wear face masks in public spaces -- both indoors and out.
On top of that, young people in Nashville -- especially in the 25-year-old range -- are contracting coronavirus at a higher rate than older people. No shock here, based on the video.
The Mayor ordered bars to close until the end of July, with an exception. Bars can stay open if they make the majority of their money from food, but only at half capacity. The video does not seem to sync up with the law.
Toward the end of the video, you see police cars, but not much, if anything, by way of enforcement.
Master P has a simple, but controversial, solution to Nick Cannon's problems ... and firmly believes he should not have apologized for his anti-Semitism.
The No Limit mogul was in Bev Hills when we asked him about the fallout from Nick espousing the anti-Semitic remarks made by Professor Griff and Minister Farrakhan. Master P repeatedly took a pass on addressing the "hurtful and divisive" words Nick admits he used -- but did say, "I hate that Nick Cannon apologized. He shouldn't have did that."
His explanation for that is, basically -- Nick wouldn't have to say he's sorry if he didn't have to worry about losing jobs. Watch the clip. That's what he says.
Of course, that dangerous theory suggests anyone who owns their own business or TV show, should be able to say anything they want ... without consequence.
Remember, Nick said Griff was "speaking truth" when he said, back in 1989, Jews were responsible for spreading most of the world's wickedness -- and even Cannon now acknowledges that stance was horribly anti-Semitic
As you know ... the backlash against Cannon began when he made anti-Semitic remarks on his podcast, got called out, and then dropped by ViacomCBS. About 24 hours later, he changed his tune after speaking with Rabbi Abraham Cooper and issued a seemingly sincere apology to the Jewish community.
Interestingly, the 'Masked Singer' host says that move resulted in Black people turning on him ... calling him a sellout for taking back his comments and deleted that episode of his podcast.
Master P says if Nick's a good person who has good intentions, there's no need to apologize.
Again, that's not how Nick feels, but this vid is a clear illustration of what he said about his own community giving him flak.
Nick Cannon will NOT make his daytime talk show debut this fall ... it's being pushed to next year on the heels of his anti-Semitism controversy.
Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury -- the co-producers behind his nationally syndicated daytime talk show -- announced Friday, Nick's debut will be pushed from this September to fall 2021. The production company said, "After conversations with Nick, we do believe that his public comments don’t reflect his true feelings and his apology is heartfelt and sincere."
The company added, "We want to continue the healing process as he meets with leaders of the Jewish community and engages in a dialogue with our distribution partners to hear their views. We are standing by Nick in our hope that by fall 2021 he will be able to use his extraordinary talent and platform to entertain, enlighten and unite his audience on the ‘Nick Cannon’ talk show."
As we reported ... Nick said Thursday night the black community turned on him after he apologized for the anti-Semitic remarks he made on his "Cannon's Class" podcast. The comments triggered ViacomCBS to cut ties with him... because the company said he refused to apologize
Nick ultimately changed his tune after a discussion with Rabbi Abraham Cooper. He later posted a lengthy mea culpa for his "hurtful and divisive words."
8:37 AM PT -- Team owner Dan Snyder has finally weighed in on the allegations ... saying the alleged behavior has "no place in our franchise or society."
UPDATE
"This story has strengthened my commitment to setting a new culture and standard for our team, a process that began with the hiring of Coach Rivera earlier this year," Snyder added.
UPDATE
Dan says once the law firm he hired to investigate the claims completes its probe, "we will institute new policies and procedures and strengthen our human resources infrastructure to not only avoid these issues in the future but most importantly create a team culture that is respectful and inclusive of all."
"My daughter works for the team and I sure as hell am not going to allow any of this!"
That's Washington head coach Ron Rivera promising to shut down ANY toxicity in his new org ... this after 15 women came out and said they experienced rampant sexual harassment and verbal abuse during their time with the team.
The women -- per a Washington Post report -- claimed high-ranking execs made inappropriate comments to them, and on at least one occasion, called a woman "f**king stupid."
In fact, some of the ex-female employees say it got so bad ... they would meet up in the bathroom on lunch breaks and cry over their experiences.
58-year-old Rivera -- who just took over the reins as the team's head coach this offseason -- released a statement to ESPN Thursday night ... vowing to change the culture.
"Biggest thing is we have to move forward from this," Rivera said, "and make sure everybody understands we have policies that we will follow and that we have an open door policy with no retribution."
For the team's part ... it has already parted ways with several of the employees accused of wrongdoing in the WaPo report -- and says it's hired an attorney to investigate further.
The NFL, meanwhile, said in a statement early Friday morning it takes the claims very seriously and will work with Washington's investigators to determine the necessary steps going forward.
"These matters as reported are serious, disturbing and contrary to the NFL's values," the league said. "Everyone in the NFL has the right to work in an environment free from any and all forms of harassment. Washington has engaged outside counsel to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations."
"The club has pledged that it will give its full cooperation to the investigator and we expect the club and all employees to do so."
The statement continued, "We will meet with the attorneys upon the conclusion of their investigation and take any action based on the findings."
Pro basketball star Amar'e Stoudemire is both Black and Jewish -- and says he's uniquely positioned to help "bridge the gap" between the two groups.
Stoudemire has been living and playing ball in Israel since 2016 -- but he's been paying attention to the recent wave of anti-Semitic comments from high profile people like DeSean Jackson, Stephen Jackson and Nick Cannon.
All 3 of the above-mentioned stars have apologized -- but Amar'e says moving forward, there should be a focus on educating young people about the SIMILARITIES between Black people and Jews.
"There's more similarities with the African Americans and Jewish people than there are differences. I went over a few of them -- the Holocaust and the transatlantic slave trade. There's post-traumatic stress between both from those events. Think about all thepersecution, it's always the Jews or the blacks," Stoudemire says.
Stoudemire suggests a "lack of leadership" in the Black community has led to many Black people turning to Louis Farrakhan for leadership, which is problematic because of his long history of anti-Semitic comments.
"Amongst the African-American community, there's not a lot of leadership," Amar'e says ... "So, they gravitate to a leadership factor that help keep people off the streets, right? So, Farrakhan is seen as one of their leaders in their African-American community."
"But, I do think, I know with me being in the position where I am where being an African American Jew who's learning at a high level, I think there's a narrative shift that's happening."
"We have to figure out a way to now teach the next generation on positivity."
There's more ... Amar'e explains why he's down to have conversations with both DeSean Jackson and Stephen Jackson.
Nick Cannon is at his wit's end over his anti-Semitic comments and his apology for them -- he clearly feels he's in a no-win situation, and now some fans are concerned about his well being.
"The Masked Singer" host let his frustrations out Thursday night, saying ... "I hurt an entire community and it pained me to my core, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Then I watched my own community turn on me and call me a sell-out for apologizing."
He added ... "Goodnight. Enjoy Earth."
An hour later, he followed that up, tweeting ... "Y'all can have this planet. I'm out!"
As you know ... Nick came under fire for pushing anti-Jewish rhetoric on his "Cannon's Class" podcast, which resulted in ViacomCBS dropping him. Instead of apologizing, he initially stuck to his guns and was defiant.
But he changed his tune after a discussion with Rabbi Abraham Cooper, and posted a lengthy apology for his "hurtful and divisive words."
Nick's frustration is clear from his Thursday night tweets -- after initially getting backlash for the anti-Semitic remarks, he's now getting backlash for apologizing. It's interesting ... you could read the apology backlash as a reflection of just how much anti-Semitism there is out there.
Some fans online took Nick's tweets as a sign he might harm himself.
As we reported, Nick had a follow-up face-to-face meeting with Rabbi Cooper Thursday night, but the social media trolling is obviously weighing heavily on him.
Nick Cannon's seeking enlightenment following his anti-Semitic comments and subsequent apology ... according to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who says they're getting to work right away.
Rabbi Cooper tells us his first step was sending Cannon a report on Louis Farrakhan -- whose teachings Nick has vocally supported -- to show him the Minister's pattern of hate speech ... and then they started talking on the phone.
As you know ... "The Masked Singer" host came under fire for pushing anti-Jewish rhetoric on his podcast, and though he was initially defiant ... Nick eventually said he was sorry and credited Cooper for helping him understand why his words were hurtful.
The rabbi says Cannon was apologetic upfront, but more importantly ... he listened when Cooper explained how some of his perceived "facts" were actually hateful and harmful propaganda.
Rabbi Cooper says Nick's owned up to his wrongdoing, and he's even requested another discussion to gain more knowledge. The rabbi's obliging and says their having a face-to-face meeting Thursday evening, which he thinks could lead to some major progress.
As we reported ...FOX said it believes Nick's apology shows he's remorseful, and as a result, it's keeping him on as host of "The Masked Singer."
W. Kamau Bell says Nick Cannon's anti-Semitic comments were wrong -- full stop -- but he has a theory about how Nick got himself into this bigoted mess.
The "United Shades of America" host told us he thinks Nick wanted to show that he supports the black community, no matter what ... so he leaned in to defend Professor Griff and repeat some of Minister Farrakhan's preachings.
Kamau joined on "TMZ Live" Thursday when he suggested Nick can still be a strong voice for African-Americans ... but it should be done without promoting divisive and anti-Semitic ideas.
As we've reported ... Cannon has since apologized, and FOX has said he'll remain the host of "The Masked Singer."
Kamau's show returns to CNN on Sunday night for its 5th season, and he'll be taking a hard look at anti-Semitism and white supremacy -- in all its forms -- on the premiere episode. That got us talking about all the violence between citizens, police brutality and general contentiousness across the country.
In his eyes, it's pretty clear America is on the brink of a historic turning of the tide ... and NOT in a good way. Watch how he breaks it down, but when you're using Roman Empire analogies ... ya know it's pretty dire.
Here's a shocking and downright disturbing video of maskless citizens jam-packing a county meeting in Utah ... despite the fact COVID-19 is spreading out of control there.
Before the Utah County Commission Chairman Tanner Ainge could even begin, he commented on the utter lack of coronavirus safety -- NO mask wearing -- he was witnessing in the room, saying ... "This is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing."
You gotta see the room's reaction when he dared to point out there was also NO physical distancing. The situation forced Ainge to pull the plug on the meeting altogether ... which set off the crowd even more.
Utah County -- which has a population of roughly 636,000 -- currently has 5,794 residents who've tested positive for coronavirus ... one of the highest infection rates in the country.
The state also reported its highest number of COVID-related deaths Tuesday.
As a result, Utah is requiring school kids to wear masks upon returning to classrooms, and the meeting was intended to address residents who want masks to be optional. It never got that far. Not even close.
Kanye West is full steam ahead in his 2020 Presidential run ... he just filed a second set of documents Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.
Ye's latest filing is called a Statement of Candidacy, which shows he's raised or spent more than $5,000 in campaign-related expenses. That elevates him to candidacy status under the federal campaign law.
Kanye, of course, lists his party as BDY -- Birthday Party is now abbreviated. He designates the name of his political committee, "Kanye 2020."
He also lists his residence as Cody, Wyoming, where he and Kim just bought a massive property.
This is the second -- and more important set of docs -- that Kanye has filed with the FEC. He filed his first set Wednesday -- a Statement of Organization for the campaign, declaring the Kanye 2020 committee will serve as the Principal Campaign Committee.
It's interesting ... some media outlets are saying Kanye is not running, but we've been told otherwise, and the documents underscore that. The latest was filed Thursday morning at 12:34 AM ET.
Kanye also filed legal docs qualifying him to get on the ballot in Oklahoma, however, he missed the Wednesday deadline in the battleground state of Florida.
As we reported, a market research company conducted a poll showing Kanye capturing 2% of the national vote. He ain't gonna win, but he could be a spoiler in a close election. The question -- who would he help, and who would he hurt?
Nick Cannon says his eyes have been opened to the horribly anti-Semitic things he said, and he's offering an apology -- one that might have saved his 'Masked Singer' gig.
24 hours after Viacom cut all ties with Nick for anti-Semitic remarks he made on his podcast, he says, "First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin."
He continued, "They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naive place that these words came from."
If you missed it, Nick defended Griffin -- aka Professor Griff, ex-Public Enemy member -- over comments he made in the late '80s about Jews spreading wickedness around the world.
On the podcast, Nick supported Griffin ... saying he couldn't be anti-Semitic because black people are the real Semites. He also said Griffin was speaking the truth, and repeated long-held -- going back to Hitler -- stereotypes about Jews controlling banks and much of the world's wealth.
I just had the blessed opportunity to converse with Rabbi Abraham Cooper director of global social action @SimonWiesenthal My first words to my brother was, I apologize for the hurt I caused the Jewish Community....
While he got tons of backlash online -- in addition to the Viacom axing -- Nick says several rabbis, including Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, have also tried to educate him. As he put it on social media ... "I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement."
Late Wednesday, FOX -- home of "The Masked Singer" -- said it had been in talks with Nick regarding the podcast and felt he was "clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate." The network said, based on that convo, it would move forward with him.
Cannon also vowed he is now committed to strengthening the bond between black and Jewish cultures going forward. He says he's also taken down the Professor Griff episode of his podcast.
I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education—I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward.
It's interesting ... Viacom said Nick was unwilling to apologize when they contacted him about his podcast comments and, in fact, said that was a big part of why they were cutting ties.
It's unclear, at this point, if his mea culpa will change anything for Viacom. Nick had demanded the company give him ownership of his show, 'Wild 'N Out.'
Legendary trainer Bob Baffert has just been SUSPENDED by the Arkansas Racing Commission ... after 2 of his horses tested positive for a banned substance.
Of course, Baffert is a Hall of Famer in the sport ... and his horses have brought home the Triple Crown in 2015 (American Pharoah) and 2018 (Justify).
The 67-year-old was just hit with a 15-day suspension by the racing org. on Wednesday ... after 2 of his horses tested positive for lidocaine, a banned numbing agent.
Both horses had just won races at Oaklawn Park recently ... and the owners now have to forfeit their prize money.
Charlatan -- which won a division of the Arkansas Derby back in May -- earned $300,000 in prize money ... and Gamine's owner received a $36,000 check after placing 1st in another race earlier that day.
Baffert argued that the banned substance was transferred to the horses by accident ... after an assistant trainer applied a medical patch to his back after breaking his pelvis.
But, the excuse didn't cut it with the ARC ... which handed down the punishment beginning August 1.
