docuseries

Jussie Smollett Docuseries Will Highlight Hoax Attack As He Appeals Conviction

by

Buckle up for the next wave of the Jussie Smollett controversy. The singer has been living his best life away from scandal but is about to return to the true crime limelight. It was announced this week that a new docuseries about Smollett’s 2019 encounter with the Osundairo brothers is being made. Fox Nation helms Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax, a five-part series set to premiere on March 13.

In early 2019, Smollett alleged that while walking in Chicago, he was attacked by two white men. He claimed he was taunted with racist and anti-gay slurs and even appeared with a noose around his neck. He received widespread support from activists and fans, but later, Chicago police alleged Smollett staged the entire incident. A lawsuit was even filed against the actor, and as more information was shared, he was let go from Empire.

The Osundairo Brothers Say It Was All Fake

ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 08: Jussie Smollett attends the “B-Boy Blues” Atlanta premiere at Silverspot Cinema at The Battery Atlanta on June 8, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)

Later, police tracked down Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, brothers, athletes, and small-time actors. They reportedly met Smollett on the set of Empire and had regular correspondence with him. They claimed they worked with the actor in the attack, and it was speculated that Smollett orchestrated the event for sympathy. He denied every theory of blame and, until today, maintains his innocence. In court documents, Smollett demanded a new trial and stated, “In the present case, instances of prosecutorial misconduct were clear and egregious.” His legal team also alleges prosecutorial misconduct.

However, in 2021, he was convicted of five counts of felony disorderly conduct. There was reportedly a sixth count involving lying to investigators, but he was acquitted. Smollett was released from jail pending his appeal, but he still faces 150 days. Meanwhile, Fox Nation issued a statement about their upcoming docuseries.

A “Deep Dive Into A Scam”

“Anatomy of a Hoax takes a deep dive into a scam that reverberated through the worlds of entertainment, pop culture, and politics. We’re excited for viewers to hear the real stories behind this scandal from the Osundairo brothers for the very first time,” said John Finley, Fox Nation Executive Vice President.

[via]

Conway The Machine Announces New Album & Docuseries From His Drumwork Label

by

Conway the Machine just announced a new album and docuseries on the way from his new music collective, Drumwork. Moreover, this news comes almost a full year after the 40-year-old lyricist left his longtime label, Griselda. Still, the future is bright for the “Scatter Brain” rapper. Furthermore, the upcoming projects will highlight each of Drumwork’s members, which are not apparently set in stone. “We here!!!” Conway captioned the post. “They doubted us, now we gon make them respect this Drumwork s**t! Time to etch this s**t stone! DW the album & docu-series on the way.” While fans are already ecstatic, he hasn’t shared a release date as of yet.

However, his departure from Griselda is not a sign of bad blood or enemy status when it comes to his former label mates. In fact, in Conway’s announcement post on Instagram, fellow MC extraordinaire (and Griselda member) Benny the Butcher commented a slew of fire emojis. Also, Conway spoke to Ebro last year about the realities faced in his decision to leave. “It ain’t nothing to even trip off, for real,” the Buffalo native expressed. “I don’t know what’s going on… everybody just doing so much man, just on the individual side that we don’t really kinda be having the time to really connect all the time and link.

PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 21: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY – For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House) Conway the Machine attends the Casablanca Menswear Fall-Winter 2023-2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 21, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pierre Suu/Getty Images)

Moreover, he continued: “We don’t all live in the same city no more, we don’t really hang out and do shit no more, see each other. So all these conversations we don’t necessarily get to have all the time.” However, in the time since those statements, Conway built an impressive team at Drumwork. Furthermore, it started when he signed Buffalo rapper Jae Skeese to Drumwork Music Group in January of 2021. Upon the announcement, Skeese posted a picture of him and the Machine, calling it the moment he “always prayed for.”

“I’m happy to announce the ink is dry!!” Conway wrote in his post with the same picture. “It’s official!! The first artist signed to @drumworkmusic CONGRATULATIONS KING @jaeskeese this is just the beginning the REAL work begins NOW!! I believed in u from the start and I know when it’s all said and done u gon be in that top 5 convo… it’s up!!!” Skeese dropped his first Drumwork single, “Against The Grain” with Conway and Griselda’s Flee Lord, last March. Stay tuned to HNHH for the latest on Conway the Machine, Drumwork, and a new batch of top-notch MCs.

[via]

Meghan Markle On Friendship With Beyoncé: “I Still Can’t Believe She Knows Who I Am!”

by

Every so often, Netflix unveils a new original series that takes the world by storm. While Tim Burton’s Wednesday is definitely one of those at the moment, another recent arrival is the Harry & Meghan docuseries. The first three episodes premiered earlier in December. Now, the latter half hit the streamer on Thursday (December 15), giving us further insight into the lives of the two former royals.

Additionally, in the second half of the hit documentary, Meghan Markle briefly discusses her friendship with Beyoncé. As PEOPLE notes, the two previously met in 2019 after both working on Disney’s The Lion King remake. Paparazzi caught photos of the two hugging at the premiere. At the time, Queen B reportedly whispered “my princess” to the mother of two.

Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (3rd L) and Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (2nd L) meet cast and crew, including US singer-songwriter Beyoncé (C) and her husband, US rapper Jay-Z (R) as they attend the European premiere of the film The Lion King in London on July 14, 2019. (Photo by Niklas HALLE’N / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read NIKLAS HALLE’N/AFP via Getty Images)

Those who saw the pair’s first meeting noticed an immediate “familiarity” between them. So much so, in fact, that many refused to believe that weren’t already kindred spirits. At the same time, Prince Harry was chatting it up with Jay-Z, who had some advice for the couple.

“The best advice I can give you, [is to] always find some time for yourself,” Hov told Markle and her husband.

Elsewhere, Beyoncé previously showed tons of love to the Suits actress following her and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey. The conversation aired back in March of 2021. It found them discussing things like losing police protection, the strain they’ve felt on their relationships with royals, and their daughter, Lilibet, who was still in utero at the time.

After the emotional interview aired, Beyoncé posted a public tribute to her on Instagram. “Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership,” the Houston native wrote. “We are all strengthened and inspired by you.”

As it turns out, the Lemonade hitmaker also sent Markle a private text with even more kind words. In the docuseries’ latest episodes, we see the couple working side by side at home when the California native announces that she’s gotten a text from her famous friend.

“I still can’t believe she knows who I am!” she went on to gush about her sweet message from the vocalist. “She said she wants me to feel safe and protected. She admires and respects my bravery and vulnerability and thinks I was selected to break generational curses that need to be healed.”

Prince Harry responded, “that’s well said.” No doubt!

Check out the trailer for the second installment of Netflix’s Harry & Meghan above. Afterward, let us know if you’ve tuned into the docuseries down in the comments.

[Via]

Meghan Markle Says She Wasn’t Treated “Like A Black Woman” Until UK Move

by

Marrying into royalty may sound like a dream come true. However, Netflix’s new Harry & Meghan docuseries proves that for one famous couple, it was anything but. On Thursday (December 8), the streaming service premiered the first three episodes of the long-awaited project. One of them finds Meghan Markle discussing how the treatment towards her shifted upon moving to the UK.

Throughout the show, the Suits alum discusses how she spent much of her life with others seeing her as a white woman. At one point, she even recalled times from her childhood when people would stop her darker-skinned mother, Doria Ragland. They would surprisingly ask her whose baby she was carrying around due to their difference in colour.

Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (L) and Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, react as they attend the annual One Young World Summit at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, north-west England on September 5, 2022. – The One Young World Summit is a global forum for young leaders, bringing together young people from over 190 countries around the world to come together to confront the biggest challenges facing humanity. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

According to Markle, it wasn’t until her relationship with Prince Harry began making rounds in the media that her race became something of prominence. “At that time, I wasn’t thinking about how race played a part in any of this,” she said of the beginning of their romance. “I genuinely didn’t think about it.”

“It’s very different to be a minority but not be treated as a minority right off the bat,” the activist went on to explain. “I’d say now, people are very aware of my race because they made it such an issue when I went to the UK. But before that, most people didn’t treat me like a ‘Black woman.’ So that talk didn’t happen for me.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Ragland speaks of cautioning her daughter of the rampant racism headed her way. “I said to her very clearly, I said, ‘This is about race.’ And Meg said, ‘Mommy, I don’t want to hear that,’” she shared.

“I said, ‘You may not want to hear it, but this is what’s coming down the pike,’” Markle’s mother added.

Additionally, Prince Harry was expressing frustration at how his family refused to offer protection to the woman that he loves. “Some of the members of the family were like, ‘But my wife had to go through that so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently?” he vented.

“Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?’ I said, ‘The difference here, is the race element,’” the father of two declared.

Check out the trailer for Netflix’s Harry & Meghan docuseries below. Afterward, let us know if you tuned into the first three episodes down in the comments.

[Via]

Nicki Minaj Shares Details About Her Upcoming Docuseries, ‘Nicki’: ‘We Have The Month’

by
nicki minaj rolling loud
Getty Image

The internet has been abuzz with the announcement of new Nicki Minaj music, as well as a six-part docuseries. Following yesterday’s unveiling of the trailer for the docuseries, titled Nicki, several fans have been sharing what they would like to see throughout the six episodes.

In between preparation for the August 12 release of her new single, as well as her upcoming Rolling Loud and OVO Fest performances, Minaj took time to answer questions from the Barbz in a special episode of Queen Radio.

Before going on air, Minaj instructed fans to share questions on Twitter using the hashtags #NickiDocumentary and #FreakyGirl, and also invited them to call in using the Amp app.

Early on in the episode, she admitted that she’s nervous about putting the documentary out in the world.

“It’s extremely scary to share the lows,” Minaj said. “It makes me very proud to know I inspire my fans. And seeing fans that grew up with, still here with me, always makes me emotional, to be honest. I’ll never get over that, ever ever ever. Because y’all guys are the reason. Period.”

During the session, she revealed that each of the Nicki episodes will run an hour long. She also confirmed to a fan that each of the episodes will focus on a different era of her career, and will stream in chronological order. She promised fans that there will be footage from her wedding in the docuseries, as well as footage of her recording her upcoming fifth studio album, which the Barbz have nicknamed NM5.

As for pregnancy footage, “You just gotta wait and see, boo boo,” she said.

While she did not go into details regarding a release date or even a platform on which the documentary will stream, she did revealed that the documentary is coming very soon.

“We have the month that the documentary is coming,” Minaj said. “We do not have the date, but we have the month. It’s going to be a very exciting month for the Barbz. It’s obviously coming out in 2022.”

In regards to music, she also revealed that “‘Freaky Girl’ isn’t actually going to be called ‘Freaky Girl,’” admitting that she wasn’t allowed to use that title.

You can listen to the full episode here.

Nicki Minaj Reveals The Trailer For Her Upcoming Six-Part Docuseries, ‘Nicki’

by

Signs are pointing at a new Nicki Minaj era imminent. As the Barbz wait on bated breath for her upcoming single, “Freaky Girl,” Minaj surprised fans today by sharing the trailer for her upcoming six-part docuseries, Nicki.

The trailer is filled with footage from several eras of Minaj’s career, from her mixtape era of the mid-aughts, her breaking into the mainstream pop landscape in the early 2010s, all the way up to the era of her most recent album, Queen. Fans will also see clips of Minaj alongside her husband, Kenneth Petty.

The docuseries, produced by the Canadian Bron Studios, was first announced in 2020, with plans to stream on HBO Max. However, she appeared to indicate on Instagram she is looking for a new platform on which to release the docuseries.

“Coming out SOONER THANK YOU THINK,” she said in a caption. “I took some time to perfect this very intimate, delicate, electrifying, inspiring body of work. As I decide on a home for this project, I can’t help but reflect on what I’m including in this doc. Some things are so personal, it’s scary. It’s like NOTHING you’ve seen before & I need it to be handled with care. Love you so much. Thank you for the continued support.”

Check out the trailer above.