LGBTQ+ employees of Pixar are alleging Disney executives demanded cuts of same-sex affection in films. Variety reports the employees wrote a statement saying the executives wanted to cut “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection, regardless of protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.”
“We at Pixar have personally witnessed beautiful stories, full of diverse characters, come back from Disney corporate reviews shaved down to crumbs of what they once were,” the letter states. “Even if creating LGBTQIA+ content was the answer to fixing the discriminatory legislation in the world, we are being barred from creating it.”
This comes as the company sent an email about its response to the measure critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that recently passed in Florida.
Disney’s CEO said in the email, “the biggest impact” the company can make is “creating a more inclusive world” in the content they produce. According to the Pixar employee’s statement, that claim is at odds with experiences had by employees.
Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper and former member of legendary hip-hop collective Slum Village—Elzhi is back with a new release with one of today’s iconic artists. Entirely produced by the genre-bending musician, producer, and vocalist Georgia Anne Muldrow, the release is undoubtedly a piece of art. Their new collaborative album Zhigeist was just released on all platforms and highlights the chemistry between these two prolific artists.
A carefully crafted mix of psychedelic instrumentation and whirlwind lyricism, Georgia Anne Muldrow also contributes vocals on several tracks.
“The album is a mixture of what we both bring to the table,” explains Elzhi. “I dabbled in different textures of technique over Georgia’s soundscape fusions.” Overall, the album is an aesthetic triumph infused with an undeniable message. “Lyrically and musically, this album is a love letter to people of color,” says Elzhi. “What makes this project special is our determination to put medicine in the music.”
Check out an exclusive look at the making of Zhigeist below, featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Elzhi, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and album contributor Dudley Perkins.
The Documentary short ‘The Queen of Basketball’ has just gotten some big-name support behind it as Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors has signed on to join retired NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal, as executive producer of the 22-minute documentary. which is already nominated for Best Documentary Short at this year’s Oscars, and winner of the best documentary short Critics Choice Award at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. The short tells the story of a trailblazer in women’s basketball and pioneer Lusia “Lucy” Harris who died this January. And currently streaming on The New York Times and the NYTimes YouTube channel. I’m thrilled to have him (Curry) join the team to help immortalize Lusia Harris, aka ‘The Queen of Basketball.’” Says O’Neal in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lusia “Lucy” Harris was the only Black basketball player on a college team in the 70’s . The first woman to score a basket at the Olympics. She was also the first (and only) woman officially drafted by the National Basketball Association. Through the efforts dedication and support of both Shaq and Curry, her name and legacy will live on. “The family of Lusia Harris-Stewart would like to thank Steph Curry for joining The Queen of Basketball as an executive producer. We know our mom would have been overjoyed with his addition as she loved to watch Steph ‘shoot the lights out of that ball.’ We are grateful to Steph for believing in the project and helping to ensure her story is never forgotten. Long live the Queen.” in a statement from the family
Because of the short, her legacy will continue to live on and impact audiences all over the world.
Nicki went on her Instagram Live on Tuesday night to announce her new partnership with Amazon and her podcast ‘Queen Radio’ returning with the first official show on April 8th. The new platform includes a place for fans to listen to music have conversations with her and create a unique experience for the fans. Later in the Live, she bought in Joe Budden to also promote her appearance on his show, discussing everything from the music industry to relationships and when they got on the topic of what is a man’s love language. Nicki took the time to speak to Black men first, offering advice to the ladies Looking good for our man. “We don’t dress or do our makeup for men. Dear Black men, I f*cking love you. Dear Black men, I appreciate you. Dear Black men, you are needed and wanted, and dear Black men, you are the only men on this planet that, as little boys, you don’t get to be nurtured and treated like a child, like a baby, like someone’s thing that needs to be loved and hugged and kissed and told that we love you.” she told Joe and her followers. See the entire discussion below.
Over the weekend rapper, Lil Baby and girlfriend, social media Influencer, Jayda Cheaves were living their best Paris Fashion Week lives this serving high fashion looks while attending shows, out to dinner, and strolling down , what is considered one of the city’s most luxurious areas, Avenue Montaigne the on again off again couple has been turning heads in all weekend long. The’ Do We Have A Problem’ rapper was spotted wearing a fuzzy cheetah Print Fleece and matching shorts while shopping while Jayda has been showing off both her fashion and beauty options. And if that wasn’t enough for fans, Jayda and Baby broke the internet after they attended Balenciaga’s F/w 22′ Fashion Show. A picture posted to Cheaves’s account captured the two lovebirds wearing all-black Balenciaga ensembles. They were met with Mix reviews with fans and celebrity friends of the pair commenting on their flaming hot outfits. The Do We Have A Problem” rapper issued a statement on his IG stories that clapped back at naysayers that included him saying. “Once you get to a certain point you suppose to change!! If you think I’m The same Persons I was, Then Sorry But You don’t Kno Me anymore.”
Jayda and Baby have been dating on and off over the last couple of years. The pair also share a two-year-old son named Loyal Armani. Take a look at all their Paris Fashion looks below.
Balenciaga
Rick Owens show
Givenchy
Clearly, they didn’t come to play any games, Let us know what you think and hit us up in the comments.
Over the weekend rapper, Lil Baby and girlfriend, social media Influencer, Jayda Cheaves were living their best Paris Fashion Week lives this serving high fashion looks while attending shows, out to dinner, and strolling down , what is considered one of the city’s most luxurious areas, Avenue Montaigne the on again off again couple has been turning heads in all weekend long. The’ Do We Have A Problem’ rapper was spotted wearing a fuzzy cheetah Print Fleece and matching shorts while shopping while Jayda has been showing off both her fashion and beauty options. And if that wasn’t enough for fans, Jayda and Baby broke the internet after they attended Balenciaga’s F/w 22′ Fashion Show. A picture posted to Cheaves’s account captured the two lovebirds wearing all-black Balenciaga ensembles. They were met with Mix reviews with fans and celebrity friends of the pair commenting on their flaming hot outfits. The Do We Have A Problem” rapper issued a statement on his IG stories that clapped back at naysayers that included him saying. “Once you get to a certain point you suppose to change!! If you think I’m The same Persons I was, Then Sorry But You don’t Kno Me anymore.”
Jayda and Baby have been dating on and off over the last couple of years. The pair also share a two-year-old son named Loyal Armani. Take a look at all their Paris Fashion looks below.
Balenciaga
Rick Owens show
Givenchy
Clearly, they didn’t come to play any games, Let us know what you think and hit us up in the comments.
Harlem-bred former In Living Color, “Fly Girl”, Jossie Harris-Thacker was a trendsetter when she became one of the top hip hop dancers of all times. From her signature braids to her 90’s style—young girls everywhere wanted to be like Jossie. We watched In Living Color to get a glimpse of her moves and adored her as Renee in The Lost Boyz video. She was definitely the ‘it’ girl but doused in immense natural talent.
Although she wasn’t formally trained in dance, her talent landed her featured roles in a host of music videos including, Michael Jackson’s, “Remember the Time”. As one of the most sought out dancers, touring the world with top artist such as Janet Jackson, and many others, Jossie starred as one of the acclaimed, “Fly Girls”, in Keenan Ivory Wayan’s, hit TV show, “In Living Color”, alongside her friend, Jennifer Lopez, Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, and Damon Wayans.
Following, In Living Color, Jossie honed in on her natural acting talent that landed over 45 roles in many top television series. Jossie’s lead performance in the NAACP nominated short, “Brooklyn’s bride to Jordan”, led to her award winning role, “Charlie”, in Chicago International Film Festival’s best film, “Mississippi Damned”, which earned Jossie “Best Supporting Actress” award and makes her the first African American, Latina woman ever to win in that category. Jossie recently won the People’s Choice award for “Best Lead Actress”, at the Las Vegas Film Festival for her film work in, “No Weapon Formed Against Us”.
Still fine as wine, Jossie’s passion is teaching. Known as a professional acting coach to the stars, Jossie has her own, “Respect for Acting Academy” for adults and “Kids W.A.Y. (Who Are You?) Acting Academy.
Grammy Award-Winning artist Ciara gues hosted ‘The Ellen De Genres Show’ on Thursday and was joined by her husband for the special occasion. During the show, Ciara admitted and joked to the audience that Russel’s presence makes her nervous after giving her a large bouquet of roses the Seahawks quarterback asks the audience “Do you guys want me to make her more nervous?” As he bent down on one knee popping the question “I have a question for you. Serious question. Can we have more babies?” The couple who have been married since 2016 years are already parents to 19-month-old son Win Harrison, daughter Sienna Princess, 4, as well as son Future Zahir, 7, whom Ciara shares with ex Future “I mean, it would be perfect. Just give me one more at least Ciara replied and joked “We definitely can, but we’ve got a little time before we get there.” We definitely see children in their future as the couple who just recently launched a Children’s Book “Why Not You” named after their foundation and Charter School ‘Why Not You Acadamy’ on March 1st focuses on the attitude they want every child to have. See the sweet moment below.
Safaree thought he would be able to go out and party in peace. Wrong. Erica Mena tried to have Safaree served with divorce papers during a night out.
According to The Jasmine Brand, Erica Mena and Safaree had a wild moment in front of the Love & Hip Hop cameras at Spice’s celebration party. The party was set to celebrate some of Spice’s recent moves in music and Safaree was to perform. During the event, Mena popped up yelled at Safaree, and attempted to give him divorce papers.
When Safaree attempted to remove himself from the situation, it reportedly got a bit testy. Video from Safaree’s pre-papers performance is available below.
Last year, Safaree took to Twitter to air his grievances about Love and Hip Hop. In the clip, a pregnant Erica scolded him for not rushing to pick up their daughter who fell. “Safaree pick her up you freaking idiot. What’s your problem?”
He responds, “She’s fine. When she’s in here, when we’re by ourselves, this don’t happen.”
Erica said during the confessional, “This moment is probably setting me up to get ready for what my life is about to be. Me having to hold down my babies by myself, even when they’re hurting, because Daddy finds it to be funny. It just proves how immature he is.”
After receiving backlash, Safaree said he didn’t want the clip aired in the first place. “And y’all LHH editors ain’t s***. we told y’all not to air my baby falling and y’all still used it. Had us reshoot a whole bunch of bulls*** and y’all still used that. Y’all don’t have no respect, because that was not my response of me finding out I was having a boy!”
He threatened to depart from Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta. “That was tacky and tasteless!! It’s definitely about to be a wrap on my time with y’all. Y’all be wanting too much of ppl time to be doin dat type of wack s***!! We filmed a hr long convo for that scene and y’all chop it to 3 mins and use that and make it a focal point. Weak”
Shortly after unleashing the series of tweets, the New York native vowed to be more private. “It’s called social media let’s stop being so personal on this app. Try it for a week and let’s watch the climate change. I’m bout to be so private about my sh*t. Ain’t nobody gonna know nothing…”
Every now and then, the age-old debate on whether to have dinner with Jay-Z or take $500,000 trends on social media. Fans provide arguments for both sides of the spectrum. Some argue that a conversation during a dinner with Hov will catapult them to insurmountable heights, while others look to cash-out on-demand.
Well last September, TIDAL’s Twitter account finally put the debate to rest with the now viral response “Take the $500K,” tweeted from the thumbs of social media manager, Melanie Mercedes.
The New York University alumna has held the role of managing all social platforms for TIDAL. Now her role has evolved to community manager of social which she describes is a role that goes far beyond solely publishing on social media.
Melanie Mercedes
“The magic in social is being able to identify your audience and speak to them directly. When they feel seen and heard, they’re much more likely to engage in a meaningful way.”
Humanizing the brand is pivotal to keeping the audience engaged. While social media controls the direct-to-consumer voice for the platform, Alexa Disney connects the DSP and collaborating artists with external brands that coincide with their musical content and overall message.
The Sony Music alumas, where she held a similar role, stresses the importance of authenticity when pairing TIDAL or other artists with other brands.
Alexa Disney
“Fans know if it’s not authentic,” she says.
There was more push back during the beginning of her career, where many artists perceived brand partnerships to be a gimmick, rather than something that can help expand their audience. In this day and age, artists are more receptive because it helps to only add to their overall brand.
For Tonya Nelson-Fisher, the manager of music programming, she connects TIDAL’s “most passionate music fans” to their favorite genre, artists, era of music and more. In addition, Nelson-Fisher helps to curate themed playlists for specific holidays, months and even cultural icons. Back in January, TIDAL uploaded a playlist of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speeches. The same goes for Maya Angelou and Malcom X.
“I think that differentiates us and helps us to stand out from the pack,” she says.
Tonya Nelson Fisher
Nelson-Fisher promises that TIDAL will introduce new features to enhance their user experience in the near future. The digital streaming platform has added the HiFi Plus tier user experience, which grants access to lossless High Fidelity sound quality, master quality and immersive audio.
Although Tonya, Alexa and Melanie’s roles differ, they co-exist to expand TIDAL’s reach to potential new audiences, while maintaining the interest of the ones that already exist.
Their musical obsession only adds to the growth and success of the platform.
Continue the Women of TIDAL conversation on social media.
