Author: Shekari Philemon

Liza Morales thought she knew how her story with Lamar Odom would end. They had been together since high school, shared two children, mourned the loss of a third and had even been engaged. For years, marriage felt like an inevitability. Then one phone call changed that entirely. In August 2009, Odom met Khloé Kardashian. Within 30 days of meeting her, and just nine days after getting engaged, he was married. Morales found out through a text message followed by a brief call from Odom himself informing her of the news. Then, almost instantly, it was everywhere. The wedding was…

Chloe Bailey is stepping into her most compelling role yet. The singer and actress leads Strung, a psychological thriller produced by Tyler Perry and Blumhouse Productions that is set to make its world premiere at the 30th American Black Film Festival before heading to Peacock on June 26. Bailey plays a gifted violinist who accepts what appears to be a promising opportunity tutoring a wealthy and enigmatic family. The situation unravels quickly, pulling her character into a suffocating struggle for control and survival that drives the film’s tension from start to finish. It is a sharp pivot from anything Bailey…

President Donald Trump is set to become the first sitting president in American history to have his signature printed on United States banknotes. The Treasury Department announced the decision this week, framing it as a tribute to the country’s 250th anniversary and describing it as one of the most powerful ways to honor both the nation’s legacy and the current administration. Trump’s signature will appear alongside that of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the new bills, departing from a tradition that has been in place since 1861. For more than 160 years, American currency has carried only the signatures of…

Nicki Minaj has spent her career making shrewdly timed moves. She aligned herself with the right collaborators at the right moments, cultivated one of the most loyal fan bases in popular music and read the cultural current with the precision of someone who understood that timing in pop music is everything. That track record makes her recent political turn all the more striking, because by almost any measure, the timing could not be worse. Since late 2024, Minaj has positioned herself as a prominent supporter of conservative causes, amplifying right-wing talking points on social media, endorsing contested legislation, adopting the…

Usher is facing significant public criticism after speaking favorably about Sean “Diddy” Combs in a recent interview. Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, is currently serving a 50-month federal prison sentence following his July 2025 conviction on two federal prostitution-related charges. The remarks have sparked widespread debate about loyalty, accountability and what it means to separate a person’s legacy from the harm they caused. In a conversation with Forbes, Usher described Combs using the word “legacy” and made clear that his personal experience with the mogul did not reflect the picture of him that emerged through the legal proceedings…

One movie is carrying a lot of weight right now. Filmmaker Nina Lee went public this week with a frustration that many in Hollywood’s creative community have quietly felt for years, sharing that studios are holding her projects in a waiting pattern until they see how the upcoming romantic comedy You, Me & Tuscany performs at the box office. Lee, a Black filmmaker whose award-winning short film Artistic was executive produced by Lena Waithe and earned the Audience Choice Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, said two separate projects have been stalled by studio hesitation. One is an already…

Blue Ivy Carter has spent her entire life in the spotlight, but according to her father, growing up famous did not make the stage any easier to conquer. Jay-Z spoke candidly about watching his daughter grow into her role during Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour, and the pride in his words was impossible to miss. The rap mogul sat down with GQ and pulled back the curtain on what he witnessed behind the scenes, describing a transformation that he said genuinely caught him off guard. What started as a young performer going through the motions eventually became something far more compelling.…

A Los Angeles jury delivered what many online safety advocates are calling a historic moment, finding Meta and YouTube liable for the mental health damage their platforms caused a young California woman. The verdict sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley and drew swift praise from some of the most prominent voices in the online safety space, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have spent years advocating for digital safety through Archewell Philanthropies, welcomed the outcome as long overdue. They voiced their support publicly, framing the ruling as a turning point in the broader fight…

Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy about his complicated history with romantic relationships, and a recent podcast appearance gave him the perfect opening to address it with his signature humor. The NBA legend was a guest on a popular podcast when the conversation turned to Ne-Yo and the R&B singer’s very public embrace of polyamory, a lifestyle that O’Neal found both fascinating and just a little out of reach. Ne-Yo, who finalized his divorce from Crystal Renay in 2023 following her accusations of years of infidelity, made a deliberate choice after the split to pursue honesty over secrecy. In March…

Parenting trends move fast, and the vocabulary around them moves even faster. Gentle parenting has been one of the most discussed approaches of the past several years, sparking passionate debate online and earning significant media attention. More recently, a related style called soft parenting has been gaining visibility, and many parents are using the two terms as if they mean the same thing. They do not. Both approaches begin from a place of empathy and emotional attunement. Both reject shame-based discipline and prioritize a child’s inner emotional life. But the way each style handles boundaries, structure and discipline reveals a…