Good news Cookie Monsters! Empire star Taraji P. Henson will be hosting Saturday Night Live! Henson makes her SNL debut April 11. Will Cookie make an appearance? Or maybe even Lucious? Tune in and see! [Access Hollywood]
Teen star and style icon Zendaya is pegged to host the Radio Disney Music Awards. In addition to giving away the trophies on the stage, she may just get one of her own.
“We’re going to have a great show… a lot of fun and [I] get to watch amazing performances, so I’m very, very excited,” Zendaya said. “Plus, I’m nominated again for artist with the best style so I better wear a good outfit!”
The RDMAs will be held April 25 in Los Angeles. [Access Hollywood]
Who says Black women are afraid of the water? Three Black swimmers, two women from Stanford University, and one from the University of Florida, broke stereotypes and made history by taking first, second and third place at the NCAA Swimming Championships. Simone Manuel (pictured), Lia Neal and Natalie Hinds are now the first Black women ever to take the top spots in the championship. Congrats, ladies! [News One]
Iconic gospel artist Kirk Franklin is speaking out in disgust over Creflo Dollar, the Atlanta pastor who asked his congregation to donate money for a private jet.
“When a pastor wants people to buy him a private plane while a missionary in Somalia bathes children with sores, that’s a shortage of character,” Franklin wrote in an op-ed. “When I camouflage my ‘greeds’ to look like ‘needs,’ that’s a shortage of character.” [Patheos]
Naturi Naughton went from a member of a teen girl group singing sensation to a famous actress as the star of Power. But she says both careers haven’t been easy to navigate.
“When I was pushed out of [3LW], I was put in this box where nobody could sign me, the producers and managers I worked with definitely tried to blackball me. Coming out of 3LW it took a long time to reshape myself. It only motivated me,” she said.
Once she broke into Hollywood, however, she was faced with another struggle against colorism.
“You start to feel like you’re just a fad. Like, now the beautiful chocolate sisters are in…You start to feel like wait a minute what’s wrong with my features, my complexion, my body type? I go through moments where I can’t take it. I wish Hollywood would stay consistent.” [Clutch]
Not much has changed for Bobbi Kristina Brown’s condition since she was found unconscious in a bathtub in January. Her maternal grandmother, Cissy Houston, is keeping the faith that the 22-year-old will regain consciousness though it may be unlikely.
“There’s not a great deal of hope [but] we’re praying,” she said. “If [God] works a miracle, thank God. If it happens the other way, I’m alright.”
Bobbi Kristina was recently moved to a rehabilitation center to continue recovery. [WBLS]
