Pop Culture

David Johnson courtesy of Amazon Prime Video Bronx-born comedian Gina Brillon is the co-host of the hilarious self-help podcast Mess In Progress: A Homegirls Guide To Self-Hel‪p and star of her own Amazon special The Floor is Lava. Her next act? A spot on Soledad O’Brien’s Matter of Fact Listening Tour, to demythologize what it means to pursue the “American Dream.” Below, Brillon on perfecting the art of virtual stand-up (“It feels like I’m performing it in front of the bathroom mirror”), discovering TikTok as a millennial (“I’m addicted!”), and...

Beyoncé may have declined her invitation to perform at this year’s Grammys, but the singer still made an in-person appearance. Footage of her and Jay-Z sitting at a table, dressed all in black, was shown during the broadcast. It appears the couple opted not to pose on the red carpet at the event. Beyoncé, famous for sharing her own red carpet photos, will likely share her images of her full-length look later.This is a big night for Beyoncé: Her daughter Blue, 9, won her first Grammy. And Beyoncé is the...

Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé won the Grammy for Best Rap Song for “Savage”—and the two took the stage together to accept the award. Megan dedicated the bulk of her speech to Beyoncé, speaking to her idol about how much she looked up to her in her childhood. Beyoncé was moved and repeatedly told Megan how proud she was of her. Kevin WinterGetty Images This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more...

Empowered women empower women—and that includes sharing lessons learned along the way, even if they're not always about the finest moments. Often it's in the most challenging of times that the clearest path forward actually emerges.To celebrate that spirit of continuing to forge ahead, Combs Enterprises and CÎROC tapped Culture Creators—a women-led organization started to honor and amplify cultural vanguards who have helped shape the world's view of Black culture—to shine a spotlight on 50 extraordinary luminaries across the social impact, technology, business, entertainment, and arts and style industries. The...

While Beyoncé opted not to perform at the Grammys this year, the singer—the most nominated artist of any this year with nine nods—still made history. Bey won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance. With that award, she became the most awarded female artist ever at the Grammys with 28 lifetime wins. Beyoncé gave a heartfelt speech, marveling over the achievement and giving a special shoutout to her children Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir Carter. She gave Blue a special nod, as her nine-year-old daughter also won a Grammy tonight, her...

K-pop superstars BTS graced the Grammys with one of their best performances of the year so far. J-Hope, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, Suga, RM, and V did an electrifying and visually breathtaking performance of “Dynamite.” They recreated the Los Angeles set from Seoul! Every second of dancing and singing was can’t-l00k-away.It was truly one of the best and most highly-anticipated performances of the night. Clips surfaced on Twitter soon after of highlights, which you can watch below: This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same...

Peering through the thick bars cutting a horizontal strata in the window, I watch the streams of fog soften the edges of the housing unit’s silhouettes lined up outside. Towering stadium lights illuminate the prison grounds when it is dark; this morning they beam a soft light through the mist. This is what mass incarceration looks like at 5:00 am. Turning on the lamp that’s fastened to the metal frame of my prison bunk, I adjust the coarse, orange fabric of the prison-issued face mask I’ve tied over it. Transformed...

Crop top, Versace, $3,195. MARIO SORRENTI Somewhere in Los Angeles, Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) is sheltered in place in a deep white chair before a fire. Her little buddy Oscar, a blonde Yorkie, a Christmas present from her husband, is himself sheltered in place in her lap, which is arranged in a kind of modified lotus pose, one knee akimbo. It’s chilly for Southern California. For our interview over Zoom, Hailey, 24, is dressed all in black—her oversize sweater and sweatpants are from Baserange. Because she’s sitting a few feet...

ELIJAH NOUVELAGEGetty Images On Tuesday evening, eight people were shot dead at three different massage parlors near Atlanta, Georgia. According to the New York Times, six of the eight people were Asian, and seven were women.This shooting comes after months of violent attacks against Asian and Asian Americans, several of which have gone viral on social media. The organization Stop AAPI Hate formed in March 2020 to track reports of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders "in response to the alarming escalation in xenophobia and bigotry resulting from the...

It’s been two years since news of the college admissions scandal broke, sending high-profile celebrities, financiers, and Ivy League athletic coaches to prison. There’ve been podcasts, books, and even a Lifetime scripted telepic based on the twisty tale. Now there’s also a docudrama: Netflix’s Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal delves into the seedy underworld of college recruiting and the stomach-churning lengths wealthy parents are willing to go to—and the hundreds of thousands of dollars they are willing to pay—in order to get their children illegally admitted to elite...

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and almost a year after police brutality protests erupted across the country, it is increasingly challenging to make sense of where America goes from here. Rolling up her sleeves to bring brilliant minds together, all in search of an answer, is renowned journalist and documentarian Soledad O'Brien. This spring, she's once again crusading against ignorance with another installment of her "Matter of Fact Listening Tour." The series, an extension of her half-hour weekly talk show, Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, is creating ongoing...