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As critics like Piers Morgan used their platforms to condemn Simone Biles for opting out of four Olympic events, it was recently revealed that the champion’s aunt died while she was in Tokyo. Biles has been at the top of her game for years and was a frontrunner for the Tokyo Olympics, so it came as a shock when she decided not to compete in several finals for mental health reasons.

Millions of Americans took to social media to vocalize their support through the difficult time, and while most didn’t understand the reasoning why Biles pulled back, her coach recently gave insight. Biles jumped back into the competition for the beam final where she earned the U.S. a bronze medal.

“We’ve had a lot of tears combined because as much as we’re happy for Team USA, in the back, it was a little heartbreaking to know that she could’ve been out there and she could’ve, hopefully, earned some medals as well,” Biles’ coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi said. “But, she was the best cheerleader. She wanted to be here, she wasn’t forced. That was her own will to be here and she was really proud of all of them.”

Biles revealed that during the Olympics, she learned that her aunt had “unexpectedly passed” away. Landi said she asked Biles “what do you need,” and the award-winning gymnast requested “some time.” This came after Biles complained of feeling the “twisties,” a condition that causes disorientation for gymnasts in mid-air. It can cause great injury as athletes with “twisties” often don’t know where they are during flips, resulting in dangerous landings.

“I don’t think I would have had the guts to say I’m not okay,” said Landi. “I think I would have probably just crashed somewhere, and probably injured myself. I think for me, she’s the first one at a meet at the biggest stage, to say ‘I’m not okay.’ A lot of people don’t understand it, but we do.”

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Tattooists often clamor to have celebrity clients who come in for exclusive work, but the Stygian Gallery didn’t seem interested in accomodating Summer Walker. It is not uncommon to see entertainers from almost every facet of the industry show off their ink while tagging the tattooist in an effort to help boost the artist’s skills, but Summer shared a rejection letter of sorts after reaching out to a shop in Atlanta.

It is unclear what the chart-topping songbird wanted to get, but the Stygian Gallery told her the tattooist she requested “is not able to take on this project and we don’t have another artist who would be a good fit to work with.”

The studio manager added that because of their schedule, Stygian “aren’t able to take on every request that comes in” and couldn’t guarantee they would be available in the future, either. She was encouraged to try again “at a later time,” but Summer wasn’t convinced that availability was the issue.

“I should of known what was up when I seen out of 1000 something pics not one black person had been tatted & it’s Atlanta,” she penned over a screenshot of the shop’s email. A quick browsing of their Instagram page confirms Summer’s complaint, and social media users have concluded that Stygian Gallery either doesn’t want to work with Black clients or they aren’t proficient in tattooing on dark skin. Still, some say it’s plausible that they’re just overbooked.

Check out a few posts below.

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If you’ve been curious as to why you haven’t heard T.I. continue to defend DaBaby in recent days, it’s because he has been in Amsterdam living the good life. Following the rise of DaBaby’s Rolling Loud scandal, T.I. immediately jumped in to defend the North Carolina rapper and issued videos where he questioned why DaBaby couldn’t share his views the way Lil Nas X expresses his sexuality creatively. The backlash was swift, but suddenly, T.I. was no longer to be heard.

On Tuesday (August 3), T.I. resurfaced on his Instagram with a video where he told his followers he was arrested in Amsterdam. “So, I’m locked up now,” he said with a laugh. “I’m obviously not supposed to have my phone as I’m biking and because the policeman ran into me and broke his rearview, you know.”

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“And because I didn’t have my passport on me, I don’t know. It’ll be fine,” he added. T.I. said the officer was “extremely upset” while the rapper was “having a great time.” He was even reportedly arrested without even being handcuffed. “They just opened the door and invited me to the backseat. I obliged,” T.I. said with a laugh.

Because he couldn’t post his bond with cash, T.I. had to make some moves in order to get out of jail.  He laughed throughout his video and stated, “This is great, this is actually experiencing the culture.”

Check it out below.

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Hip Hop has been a driving force in shifting cannabis culture into becoming mainstream, and in recent years, we’re seeing more artists either build their own brands or partner with others to develop strains. Kehlani has been a long supporter of cannabis and even would partake herself, but she recently explained why, back in 2018, she decided to part ways with marijuana.

For many artists, weed can help with focus and creativity, but Kehlani revealed that she was smoking so often that it was having an adverse effect. “I used to smoke a lot of weed and now I speak on it in a past tense perspective,” she said in a TikTok video. “People think I’m sh*tting on weed, I’m not.”

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“I loved weed when I was involved with it,” said the singer. “It’s a beautiful plant with very nice properties when used correctly. I don’t think that I was using it correctly. I think I was overusing it. I wasn’t the most productive pothead.”

“It really really messed with my vocal cords and it really took a lot of energy from my day. I stopped to regulate my body and myself,” she continued. “I got to a point where I couldn’t eat, sleep, or be at a social gathering. I couldn’t kick it without smoking weed and I just didn’t want it to have that hold on my life anymore.”

“And also my throat and lungs were tired of me,” she added. “But I’m not judging the weed smokers!” Kehlani has previously spoken about quitting smoking after her doctor alerted her that if she stayed on the path she was on, she would only have a few more years in her singing career. The singer reportedly quit that day.

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As DaBaby continues to face consequences for his Rolling Loud Miami remarks as well as his controversial apologies that subsequently followed, his supporters have vocalized their ire. After penning an apology yesterday (August 2) where he called out people who would rather criticize than educate, DaBaby was removed from the iHeartRadio Music Festival and Midtown Music Fest, in addition to several others. 

Rapper Trouble has come forward to defend DaBaby’s right to express himself while also condemning Cancel Culture. “All this sh*t just fake as f*ck!” Trouble said in a video he uploaded to Instagram. He angrily questioned how people, who were just lifting DaBaby up could be calling for him to be punished.

“One motherf*ckin’ mistake ’bout sh*t and you actin’ like a n*gga just went on this b*tch and said, ‘F*ck all gays,'” he continued. Trouble recalled DaBaby’s Rolling Loud moment and said if he was there, he would have followed suit and just put his light in the air. He also called out rappers, as well, for remaining silent during times of controversy.

“You wanna do songs when it’s beneficial, get on a n*gga’s sh*t, ride a n*gga’ d*ck, but you don’t got sh*t to say when that sh*t taken away from a n*gga or a n*gga in jail. Come on, man.” Watch Trouble vent his frustrations below.

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