Month: February 2017

Back in September, Disney announced plans to create a remake of its animated classic “The Lion King.” This time around, director Jon Favreau will likely use CGI animation to create a circle of life that looks much more realistic than it did in the 1994 version.

Disney is currently rebooting many of the music-filled movies that dominated previous generations’ childhoods ― including “Beauty and the Beast,” “Cinderella,” “Pete’s Dragon” and “The Jungle Book,” which Favreau also directed.

In very 2016 fashion, Favreau used emojis to reveal his involvement in the new movie on Twitter:

Last night, Favreau tweeted more details about the project, finally revealing that Donald Glover will play Simba and James Earl Jones will reclaim the role of the patriarch, Mufasa.

Glover is becoming reboot royalty. He just landed the role of Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Han Solo “Star Wars” movie. Of course, Disney now owns the rights to that franchise as well.

Glover’s two Golden Globe wins earlier this year, for the creation and lead acting role in his new show, “Atlanta,” are contributing to the young actor’s rise.

Jones, meanwhile, has voiced Mufasa multiple times since he first lent his talents to the original Disney movie. His voice appears in a “Lion King” video game, short side clips, and the sequels “The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride” and “The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar.”

The actor also recently reprised his speaking role as the villainous Darth Vader in Disney’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

Hopefully Jones and Glover can pull off a father-son dynamic in “The Lion King” that has less of an underlying dark side than the one in “Star Wars.”

It remains unclear when the new version of “The Lion King” will finally debut.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

As a rule, The Huffington Post’s Queer Voices won’t publicize the white nationalists’ favorite troll Milo Yiannopoulos. The last thing we want to do is give this attention-seeker oxygen for his racist, transphobic, misogynist dumpster fire. 

But there are moments when I think it’s important to fact-check his insanely dangerous rhetoric and one of those moments came Friday night, courtesy of Bill Maher’s “Overtime” aftershow.

After he engaged in a disappointingly playful interview with Yiannopoulous on his HBO show “Real Time With Bill Maher,” he offered the Breitbart editor more airtime, alongside panel members Larry Wilmore, Malcolm Nance and Jack Kingston on “Overtime.”

During the appearance, Yiannopoulos misgendered a trans woman he had previously attacked at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, claimed that transgender people suffer from a “psychiatric disorder” and stated he “makes no apologies for protecting women and children from men who are confused about their sexual identity.” 

He went on to claim, “women and girls should be protected from having men who are confused about their sexual identities in their bathroom.” And Maher shockingly responded, “That’s not unreasonable.”

Actually, Bill, not only is it “unreasonable,” it’s absolutely untrue and 100 percent indefensible.

So let’s quickly get a few things clear (and then let me go take a 72-hour bath in a tub full of boiling bleach to try and rid myself of the heebie jeebies I got from watching even three minutes of Yiannopoulos’ appearance with Maher):

1. Transgender people are not ‘confused’ about their ‘sexual identity’

Being transgender has nothing to do with sexual identity ― it has to do with gender identity. Sexual identity is who you are sexually attracted to: men, women, both, neither, some combination of all of the above. Gender identity is how you identify: male, female, neither, both, some combination of all of the above.

2. Transgender people do not suffer from a psychiatric disorder 

While many transgender people are afflicted by gender dysphoria ― feeling emotional distress over the difference between the gender they are thought to be at birth and the gender they know themselves to be ― they are not mentally ill. 

3. Transgender people are not “disproportionately involved” in sex crimes

At least not in the way Yiannopoulos claims. In fact, in the past 35 years, only one case of an alleged trans person attacking someone in a restroom has been reported anywhere in the entire world.  

4. Transgender people are the ones harassed and discriminated against in restrooms

The Williams Institute found that 70 percent of trans people have been “denied access, verbally harassed, or physically assaulted in public restrooms.” 

5. Transgender people face shockingly high levels of sexual abuse and assault

One in two transgender people are sexually assaulted or abused at some point in their lives. What’s more, 2016 was the deadliest year on record for transgender people with at least 24 trans people, most of them transgender people of color, murdered and many more deaths not reported.

6. Trans people using restrooms corresponding with their gender identity doesn’t  allow predators to gain access to those venues 

As Massachusetts State Rep. Paul Heroux explained in a blog on The Huffington Post, “If a predator or pervert tries to gain access to an opposite sex bathroom or locker room, that is already against the law. Furthermore, over 90% of assaults on children are done by someone the child knows. Only with extreme rareness is it someone who is using a restroom, and that is and will continue to be against the law.”

7. Transgender people just want to use a bathroom and leave ― just like everyone else. 

So, in summary: No, Milo ― just no. No to your campaign of willfully misinforming anyone who will listen to the sewage that so joyfully spills out of your mouth. No to your despicable and dangerous lies about transgender people. No to everything you said Friday night on Maher’s show. Actually, no to everything you’ve said anywhere at any point. No. No. No.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Bill Maher might have been willing to give ultra-right wing agitator Milo Yiannopoulos a free pass on “Real Time,” Friday night, but that certainly wasn’t happening on the post-program revisit “Overtime.”

Comedian Larry Wilmore told Yiannopoulos to “go fuck yourself” twice, once after the white nationalists’ favorite claimed that transgender people suffer from “a psychiatric disorder” and shouldn’t be “around little girls.” Yiannopoulos said they are “vastly disproportionately involved with sex crimes.” “I make no apologies for protecting women and children,” he added. Maher, astonishingly agreed, saying, “that’s not unreasonable.” The host asked panelist and former Republican congressman from Georgia Jack Kingston, “where do you stand on weirdos peeing?”

After Wilmore and “Overtime” panelist counter-terrorism expert Malcolm Nance attacked Yiannopoulos, Maher asked him why he always had to fight with people. “We were having such a nice time, but you always invite such awful people on your show, they’re so stupid,” he whined to Maher. “You need to start inviting higher-IQ guests.”

Wilmore responded that Nance could “talk circles around your pathetic, douchey little ass.”

The men mostly smiled or chuckled through the parries and Kingston urged Yiannopoulos on, saying, “Milo, for it, Brother.”

“Are you the real, true face of the alt-right?” Nance asked at one point. “I thought the Nazis were in there, how did they take you on board?”

Yiannopolous responded that they hate him. “The worst people on the very far left and the very far right all hate me,” he added.

Wilmore quipped, “I think you’re leaving out a lot of people.”

Maher advised Yiannopoulos to tone down his rhetoric — not just for the show but in general. “Look, this is the beginning of your career,” he said. “People are just starting to hate you. You remind me of a young, gay, alive Christopher Hitchens, but you gotta lose that kind of shit.”

Twitter, meanwhile, wasn’t particularly happy about Maher’s gentle treatment of his guest earlier on “Real Time,” when the two seemed to get on famously and Maher never held Yiannopoulos’ feet to the fire. Others were simply outraged he was invited to begin with.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Bill Maher might have been willing to give ultra-right wing agitator Milo Yiannopoulus a free pass on “Real Time,” Friday night, but that certainly wasn’t happening on the post-program revisit “Overtime.”

Comedian Larry Wilmore told Yiannopoulus to “go fuck yourself” twice, once after the white nationalists’ favorite claimed that transgender people suffer from “a psychiatric disorder” and shouldn’t be “around little girls.” Yiannopoulus said they are “vastly disproportionately involved with sex crimes.” “I make no apologies for protecting women and children,” he added. Maher, astonishingly agreed, saying, “that’s not unreasonable.” The host asked panelist and former Republican congressman from Georgia Jack Kingston, “where do you stand on weirdos peeing?”

After Wilmore and “Overtime” panelist counter-terrorism expert Malcolm Nance attacked Yiannopoulus, Maher asked him why he always had to fight with people. “We were having such a nice time, but you always invite such awful people on your show, they’re so stupid,” he whined to Maher. “You need to start inviting higher-IQ guests.”

Wilmore responded that Nance could “talk circles around your pathetic, douchey little ass.”

The men mostly smiled or chuckled through the parries and Kingston urged Yiannopoulus on, saying, “Milo, for it, Brother.”

“Are you the real, true face of the alt-right?” Nance asked at one point. “I thought the Nazis were in there, how did they take you on board?”

Yiannopolous responded that they hate him. “The worst people on the very far left and the very far right all hate me,” he added.

Wilmore quipped, “I think you’re leaving out a lot of people.”

Maher advised Yiannopoulus to tone down his rhetoric — not just for the show but in general. “Look, this is the beginning of your career,” he said. “People are just starting to hate you. You remind me of a young, gay, alive Christopher Hitchens, but you gotta lose that kind of shit.”

Twitter, meanwhile, wasn’t particularly happy about Maher’s gentle treatment of his guest earlier on “Real Time,” when the two seemed to get on famously and Maher never held Yiannopoulus’ feet to the fire. Others were simply outraged he was invited to begin with.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The man accused of killing an 11-year-old Chicago girl was attacked by another inmate before a courthouse hearing, and it was captured on surveillance video.

Antwan Jones, 19, was pummeled as he waited for his bail hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Wednesday. An unidentified bystander quickly moved away, but a Cook County sheriff’s guard rushed over to grab the attacker by the waist and pull him off Jones.

Jones was charged with fatally shooting Takiya Holmes as she sat in the backseat of her family’s parked van on Chicago’s South Side last Saturday. Prosecutors said Jones and other members of the Black Disciples gang had opened fire on intruders selling drugs in their territory. One of the bullets pierced the van and struck Takiya in the head, officials told the Chicago Sun-Times. She was hit in the right temple as she sat next to her 3-year-old brother. She died in her mother’s arms after the family took her off life support Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Jones turned himself in to police on Tuesday.

The surveillance video shows Jones awaiting his appearance in court in a holding section of the courthouse, apparently handcuffed to a chair. A man wearing the clothing of a Cook County Jail inmate suddenly punches Jones a number of times in the head.

Chicago police identified the attacker as Renard Williams, 24, who is also facing murder charges. It’s not clear why the attack occurred.

Jones declined to press charges against Williams in the attack. Williams was issued a disciplinary ticket, Cook County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cara Smith told the Sun-Times. Williams has been “a challenging detainee” since he was jailed in August, according to Smith, racking up punishment for various jail infractions.

Jones was later ordered held without bail, and he was placed in protective custody at Cook County Jail. Williams continues to be held in the maximum security section of the jail.

Chicago saw 762 homicides in 2016, the highest in nearly 20 years. 

And now, just weeks into 2017, the notoriously violent city is reeling from a number of child murders as victims become trapped in the crossfire of raging gang violence or battles over drug turf. Kanari Gentry-Bowers, 12, was shot last Saturday as she played basketball. A short time later, Takiya was struck. Kanari died Wednesday.

On Tuesday, 2-year-old Lavontay White Jr. was fatally shot in the head when the car he was in riding in was ambushed in what police believe was a gang-related attack. The shooting was streamed live on Facebook.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Asian men are sexy and they know it. 

In a new video from comedy duo Seventh Grade, Asian guys with some serious dance moves get down to “Pony” by Ginuwine and effectively thrust aside Steve Harvey’s recent remarks about women not finding Asian dudes attractive. 

Take a look:

And here’s another preview, just for good measure:

Last month, Harvey laughed hysterically at a 2002 book called How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men. The TV host just couldn’t buy into the idea that any woman would want to date an Asian guy. (He later apologized.)

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Geo Lee said he and Chuck Maa, the co-creator of Seventh Grade, were taken aback by Harvey’s comedy bit.

“When we first heard it, Chuck actually said out loud, ‘What? Is this real life?’ We honestly thought the ‘joke’ was a bit dated,” Lee told us. “At the same time, we weren’t surprised because both of us and most likely a lot of Asian American men have been dealing with this for the majority of our lives.” 

Dealing with it but not taking it lying down. Seventh Grade is breaking down stereotypes with their grade-A sense of humor and ~steamy~ choreography. 

At the end of the video, the guys all joke that they don’t need to worry about their attractiveness since they all have girlfriends anyway. But that’s not exactly true.

“We lied in the video,” Lee said. “Chuck is currently single.”

Ladies…

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Broadway babies and Harry Potter super-fans, listen here: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” auditions are happening. In New York. Next week. 

That’s right, according to a listing on Backstage, tryouts for J.K. Rowling’s play picking up where the final book’s epilogue left off, will be held from Feb. 20 until Feb. 22, 2017. Those who make the cut will probably come as close to receiving a Hogwarts acceptance letter as a muggle could possibly dream of. 

The memo itemizes all the roles under consideration, along with short descriptions of the characters. Luckily, most of us already know the parts quite intimately. Harry Potter, for example, is described as “Father of James, Albus and Lily. Married to Ginny. Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic.” The actor who takes on the role should be no taller than 5’10” and between the ages of 37 and 40.

The casting call notes, as well, that every role, all ethnicities are welcome. 

Those familiar with the London run of play might recall that Hermione Granger was played by black actress, Noma Dumezweni. Despite the fact that Rowling described Granger in the books as having brown eyes and bushy brown hair, with no mention of her being white, the casting decision was met by some with outrage, outrage Rowling dutifully called out as straight-up racist. 

Thus, it’s exciting to see that Rowling and the “Cursed Child” team have continued the tradition of colorblind casting. Given the author’s glorious skewering of the bigoted Twitter trolls in her mentions, it’s not too surprising that she is using her platform to spread a message of diversity and inclusion. 

Head to the listing itself to see if you have what it takes to play Harry, Ginny, Moaning Myrtle or Professor McGonagall. The pay, if you’re curious, is $1,974 a week. If you have talent, or a lightning-shaped scar on your forehead, please apply. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

This Black History Month, HuffPost Black Voices is declaring “We, Too, Are America” and we held an event in Harlem on Monday to acknowledge and celebrate this theme. 

While black history is something we acknowledge all the time on HuffPost Black Voices, February is a time for us to double down on this mission and further amplify the experiences of black men and women who have helped to make America what it is.

This month, we’ve adopted and adapted the last line in Langston Hughes’ iconic poem “I, Too” to declare #WeTooAreAmerica. With it, we aim to reinforce a message that all black people ― including those who identify as Muslim, immigrant and queer ― are who help to define the identity of this country. 

On Monday, we partnered with The Creative Collective NYC, a New-York based networking group for millennials of color who work in creative industries, to co-host an event at WeWork Harlem titled “ACTivism.” The event included a discussion moderated by myself with featured guests Bryan Terrell Clark ― an actor who currently stars in “Hamilton” on Broadway ― and Jennifer Epps-Addison ― an activist and the newly-named president for the national non-profit organization Center for Popular Democracy.

“Our guest speakers were two individuals who are black history in the making and between the wisdom they shared throughout the night to the undeniable positive vibes found in a room overflowing with melanin, it was truly an empowering experience,” Imani Ellis, the founder of The Creative Collective NYC, which prefers to be identified as theCCnyc, told The Huffington Post. “We wanted to curate a safe space for creatives of color to love on each other and build with each other—not just for black history month, but beyond.” 

The event, which kicked off with a performance from poet and playwright Cyrus Aaron, included more than 80 millennials of color who work across various creative industries. Following the discussion, Black Voices invited attendees to participate in an activity in honor of Hughes’ and our campaign.

In printed copies of the last few lines of Hughes’ poem ― which reads “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am/ And be ashamed— I, too, am America,” we omitted the word “beautiful” and then asked attendees to fill in the blank with a word or phrase they believe best describes them.

Our goal with this initiative was to highlight how these young men and women of color each have qualities that make them beautiful and unique. Photographer ChiChi Agbim took images of many of the New-York based millennials at the event, so we’re posting the pictures below to celebrate these influencers and have them serve as a source of inspiration for others: 

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At least four members of the Congressional Black Caucus spoke out against President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday, expressing reservations about members of the president’s inner circle and challenging him to work with African-American lawmakers to address the concerns of black communities.

“There’s a whole host of issues we’d like to discuss with him,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told MSNBC, mentioning criminal justice reform, income inequality and voting rights.

“We look forward to an open dialogue ― Steve Bannon, however, should not be in the room,” Jeffries continued.

Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, has attracted controversy for elevating white nationalist views and the so called alt-right movement as former executive chair of the website Breitbart News, which publishes racist and misogynistic content.

“He’s a stone-cold racist and a white supremacist sympathizer,” Jeffries said. “It’d be hard for me to participate in any meeting with Steve Bannon that normalizes his presence in the White House.” 

The CBC media appearances came after Trump’s chaotic Thursday press conference, in which the president asked April Ryan, White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, if she could help facilitate a meeting with the caucus. Ryan is black.

“Do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours?” asked Trump, responding to a question about whether he planned to work with the CBC on crafting policies regarding “inner cities.”

Jeffries and other CBC members said they’d already reached out to Trump in a letter last month, but that the president hadn’t responded.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) told MSNBC on Friday that the CBC’s January letter was sent as a rebuttal to some of Trump’s heated campaign rhetoric referring to undocumented immigrants and border security.

“We don’t believe in divisive politics, we don’t believe in a wall,” Jackson Lee said. “We believe in comprehensive immigration reform.”

Jackson Lee went on to say that a “possible meeting [with Trump] will be coming.”

Other CBC members characterized Trump’s treatment of Ryan as insensitive. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) criticized Trump’s decision to ask the reporter for a meeting with the CBC, especially after he’d ignored the group’s initial request.

“It would have been funny if it wasn’t so serious,” Meeks said.

Meeks said Trump could have instead worked with Omarosa Manigault, a former “Apprentice” contestant and current director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, to craft an appropriate response to the CBC.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) was perhaps the least sympathetic to Trump.

“I don’t even think there’s been any contact or communication [with the CBC],” Cleaver told MSNBC. “I don’t even think, to be 100 percent honest, that the president even knew what the CBC was.”

Still, Cleaver said the exchange with Ryan could have been worse.

“I’m also really pleased that he didn’t ask her to sweep and mop in the room where the press conference was held,” he said.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The ladies of Twitter never fail to brighten our days with their brilliant ― but succinct ― wisdom. Each week, HuffPost Women rounds up hilarious 140-character musings. For this week’s great tweets from women, scroll through the list below. Then visit our Funniest Tweets From Women page for our past collections.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices