Source: Hypelife.tv

Beenie Man has issued a bit of a PR PSA to clean up his homophobic reputation. It’s been a while since we heard the Jamaican rapper on any mainstream tracks here in the states but over the course of his long career he’s been known to lay down some pretty anti-gay material, including this line from his song, “Damn” which forced him to cancel a British concert series due to protesting: “Well I’m think of a new Jamaica, me come to execute all of the gays.”

Now though, Beenie promises to have turned over a new leaf and wants everyone to know that without a shadow of a doubt, he has nothing against the LGBTQ community. In a random, new video he stated:

“Let me make this clear and straight. I have nothing against no one. I respect each and every human being, regardless of which race or creed, regardless of which religious belief you believe in, and regardless of which sexual preference you are, including gay and lesbian people.”

I respect all humans. I respect each and everyone because we are human. Do not fight against me for some song that I sang 20 years ago…I was a kid…

“Now I know that people live in the world that live their life differently than the way I live my life. I still love them so I’m begging you, do not hate me for some old song that I wrote. Just love the music and respect the music.”

Is this more Obama effect or is someone getting ready to drop an album? You have to admit the timing is pretty odd, although Beenie told The Independent that in Jamaica the homosexual lifestyle is very different from how it is in other countries.

“What we have in Jamaica is not what it is in England where two men live together. In Jamaica, gay is rape. It’s a big man with their money going into the ghetto and picking these little youth who ain’t got nothing.”

That execution statement makes much more sense in that context but it’s hard to say whether people will dismiss his ignorance of homosexuality when he said those words. Check out the video of his apology. What do you think about it?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Source: Gossip Juice

Part of me wants to say this is what happens when you play the race card too much, but Newt Gingrich knows there was nothing offensive about a joke Robert De Niro made at the Obama fundraiser in New York Monday night. Even Ann Coulter agrees with that—and you know that’s rare.

On Monday, the actor opened the fundraiser by listing the wives of the republican presidential candidates, saying:

“Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney, now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?”

As the crowd laughed at the obvious play on questions about whether America was ready for a black president in 2008, De Niro added: “Too soon, right?”

Well, if you ask the GOP, it never should have happened. Newt Gingrich couldn’t wait to harp on the comment with this:

“What De Niro said last night was inexcusable and the president should apologize for him,” he  told supporters in Shreveport, LA. “It was at an Obama fundraiser, it is exactly wrong, it divides the country.”

Sort of like black folks and food stamps, right Newt? He also added this comment:

“I do want to say one thing, both on behalf of my wife and on behalf of Karen Santorum and on behalf of Ann Romney, I think that Robert De Niro’s wrong. I think the country is ready for a new first lady and he doesn’t have to describe it in racial terms.”

Responding to backlash I’m not sure the White House received from anyone but Newt, FLOTUS campaign spokesperson Olivia Alair did release what seems to be an obligatory statement, saying: “We believe the joke was inappropriate.” Robert De Niro has also issued a statement of apology:

“My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone — especially the first lady,” he said.

Interestingly, Ann Coulter, who you’d think would be second in line to race bait this issue, actually didn’t have a problem with it. She tweeted:

“Can we please stop the fake ‘offended’ routine? Pls explain what was allegedly offensive about DeNiro’s joke.”

Never thought I’d see the day where we’d agree on something.

Do you think offense cries and apology demands are getting out of hand lately?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Photo courtesy of AllHipHop.com

Once Too Short’s “Fatherly Advice” video went online last week, the viral disgust spread like wildfire. Later the same day the video was removed from XXL’s site, but many said that wasn’t enough and they demanded that the publication’s editor-in-chief, Vanessa Satten, be fired. So far that hasn’t happened, but the staff responsible for uploading the video has been suspended.

On Monday, XXL and Too Short issued an apology for the clip which went up last Friday. For XXL’s part, the EIC stated she agrees with those who were angered by the video and relinquished responsibility for the posting:

“I do not see all content before it goes live. When I saw this video, I was truly offended and thought it crossed the line. I had it taken down immediately. I am disappointed that an employee decided to post it and I am putting internal procedures in place to make sure content like this does not go on the site. The video goes against my value system and represents poor judgment on behalf of the individual who posted it.”

And Too Short was basically, Too Short:

“I want to apologize to anyone I may have offended with the XXL video interview I recently did. When I got on camera I was in Too $hort mode and had a lapse of judgement.I would never advise a child or young man to do these things, it’s not how I get down. Although I have made my career on dirty raps, I have worked over the years to somewhat balance the content of my music with giving back to the community. Just coming from a man who wants to see young people get ahead in life, I’m gonna do my best to to help and not hurt. If you’re a young man or a kid who looks up to me, don’t get caught up in the pimp, player, gangster hip-hop personas. Just be yourself.”

Since issuing this statement, the internal procedure has meant suspension for those who were responsible for producing and posting the video, and development of a new method of uploading to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Vanessa Satten also wants to make it clear that she is in no way down with the “fatherly advice” that was shared, saying in another statement that as soon as a reader made her aware of the video she had it taken down.

“As a woman, I in no way find the content of the video acceptable. To think I would ever approve anything that would harm women or endanger children is absurd. Under no terms should sexual assault be tolerated, nor do I endorse making light of it.”

Since comments are closed on both statements, it’s hard to say whether this will satisfy the public, but I’m curious why the content of the video wasn’t discussed before production began anyway. Sounds like someone is passing the buck. I vote no more Too Short videos period.

Do you think Vanessa Satten should be fired over the Too Short controversy? Is suspension enough for the XXL employees behind the video?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Aaah youth. It will cause us to do some reckless things. We know this personally, which is why we won’t judge Nick Cannon for his indiscretions when it came to former girlfriend, Christina Milian.

Recently, the media mogul used his radio show to apologize to his ex after coaxing from his co-host Sarah Lee.

Read what Nick had to say over at Hello Beautiful.com.

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Eddie Long looked pretty comfortable being raised up on the shoulders of the four corners of the earth in his king crowning ceremony the Sunday before last, but now the bishop has asked the Jewish community to forgive him for the egregious display.

“The ceremony was not my suggestion, nor was it my intent, to participate in any ritual that is offensive in any manner to the Jewish community,” Long wrote in a letter sent to Bill Nigut, Southeast Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League.

“I denounce any action that depicts me as a king, for I am merely just a servant of the Lord.”

Is that right?

Rabbi Messer also put out a statement on the situation, but from his perspective the whole cult backlash is just a big misunderstanding.

“It was simply a way of bringing honor to a man who had given his life to the Lord and had given so much to his church, the Atlanta metro area and throughout the world,”  he said.

The Rabbi also put out a video “explanation” of what exactly went down to try to smooth things over but I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been any hope for Eddie long since those pictures of him in spandex sportswear hit the web.

Check out the video and tell us what you think. Is this just more stunting from Eddie Long’s PR camp?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Explaining racism to people who’ve never had to deal with it must be like explaining the birthing process to a man. They’ll just never get it.

Eva Hoeke’s resignation from Jackie magazine following the Rihannagate situation earlier this week appeared to be an admission of wrongdoing on their part—but just to make sure no one would think such a ridiculous thing, the magazine’s publisher, Yves Gijrath,  has issued a statement of his own, saying quite the opposite. According to an interpretation, he said:

[T]here is nothing wrong in the magazine. [Hoeke] presented it as a joke, but it most certainly was not a joke. It was an interpretation [of a fashion style]. [...] She should have said: “we did not realize this interpretation is such a touchy subject. We never meant any harm and offer our sincere and upright apologies.” But because of all the fuss, Eva started to wiggle in all directions, and therefore we have come to the conclusion her credibility has been undermined.”

And while that seems like a step in the right apologetic direction, Gijrath followed the statement up by emphasizing that although the magazine had invited Rihanna to respond, it would not be printing a retraction.”We will not be silenced. People are totally off limits when calling both the magazine Jackie and Eva Hoeke racist. Jackie is even produced by an editorial staff that is of mixed origins.”

Is that sort of like saying, “I have black friends?” Would people be off limits if they called Jackie, Eva Hoeke, and Yves Gijrath ignorant?

I need for Gijrath to recognize that with his words he basically undid the sorry apology that Hoeke issued in the first place by saying it wasn’t her editorial judgment that got her fired, it was her refusal to stand by the magazine’s decision to publish racist and sexist terms. Perhaps he isn’t so concerned with how he’s skewed the image of black women in America by printing this article; and it’s evident he doesn’t care whether or not we feel disrespected by those words, but how have we come to the point that we’re not even deserving of an adequate apology?

In so many instances we hear apologies that we know were forced and don’t hold much weight, but the fact that the publisher doesn’t see fit to issue his own speaks to how unimportant he sees this issue. It’s not enough to say Hoeke should have offered her utmost sincere apologies, where are his?

Anyone with a tenth of a brain knows the history of the N-word, and even if you chose to ignore that for your own racist enjoyment, is it cool to refer to a woman as a B in a female magazine? I guess as long as she’s black, right?

Jackie continues to dig itself into an even deeper hole with this situation and unfortunately there is little we can do here in America as consumers. Hopefully those who receive the Dutch magazine and who initially expressed outrage at its poor word choice will vote with their feet and cancel their subscriptions, and maybe even advertisers will take a second look at how the magazine upheld its “integrity” among this scandal. This entire situation serves as a reminder of how far we still need to go—-not that we really needed one.

What do you think about the publisher’s words?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Well that didn’t take long. Eva Hoeke, editor-in-chief of Jackie, the controversial magazine that’s having a PR nightmare over the racist terms used in an article to describe Rihanna, has resigned. According to Necole Bitchie, the editor and the publisher felt her credibility were compromised by the incident, and in a statement on the publication’s Facebook page, she announced she is laying down her editorial responsibilities. Here’s what the statement says:

I realize that my first reaction on Twitter, where I indicated that it was a joke, was an incomplete description of what I, and also the author of the article referred. The term ‘n—a b—h’ h” has come over from America and we have only this to describe this particular style of clothes that we can try to interpret. Due to the enormous pressure from social media, I promised to do better regarding the language in future issues of Jackie and I have offered to rectify the situation.

I have now come to the conclusion that rectification is not the right solution. I regret that I have taken too quickly positions on an item in Jackie – which incidentally had no underlying racial motive. In the course of events I went with, the publisher came to the conclusion that, now that my credibility is affected, it’s better for all parties if I immediately lay down my duties as editor. After my eight years giving my heart and soul for Jackie, I realize that these errors – although not malicious intent – are a reason for leaving. “

What do you think about the editor resigning? Is it the right thing to do?

In a twitter lashing that only Rihanna is fit to dish out, the pop star nicely laid into Jackie editor-in-chief Eva Hoeke for dismissing the n****b**** term used to describe her as a “stupid joke.” Here’s what she tweeted:

@evajackie I hope u can read english, because your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights! I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!! You ran out of legit, civilized information to print! There are 1000′s of Dutch girls who would love to be recognized for their contributions to your country, you could have given them an article. Instead, u paid to print one degrading an entire race! That’s your contribution to this world! To encourage segregation, to mislead the future leaders to act in the past! You put two words together,with the intent of abasement, that made no sense…”N**** B****”?!….

Well with all respect, on behalf of my race, here are my two words for you…F*** YOU!!!

Rihanna is known to check someone quickly on twitter so we all should have seen this one coming. What do you think of her response?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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The words Dutch magazine Jackie used to describe Rihanna in their latest issue make the pop star’s racist altercation in Portugal this weekend almost seem harmless.

In a very crass description of the singer’s image, the author of the article writes:

She has street cred, she has a ghetto a** and she has a golden throat. Rihanna, the good girl gone bad, is the ultimate n****b**** and displays that gladly, and for her that means: what’s on can come off. If that means she’ll be on stage half naked, then so be it. But Dutch winters aren’t like Jamaican ones, so pick a clothing style in which your daughter can resist minus ten. No to the big sunglasses and the pornheels, and yes to the tiger print, pink shizzle and everything that glitters. Now let’s hope she won’t beat anybody up at daycare.

Thankfully, readers were not shy about their disapproval of the article’s racial slur, and their reactions prompted the magazine’s editor-in-chief to issue an apology, writing on Facebook:

Dear readers,

First: thanks for all your responses. We are of course very fed up over this and especially very shocked. However I’m glad that we’re engaging in a dialogue on this page — not everybody does that. Thanks for this. Other than that I can be brief about this: this should have never happened.Period. While the author meant no harm — the title of the article was intended as a joke — it was a bad joke, to say the least. And that slipped through my, the editor-in-chief’s, fingers. Stupid, painful and sucks for all concerned. The author has been addressed on it, and now I can only ensure that these terms will no longer end up in the magazine. Furthermore I hope that you all believe there was absolutely no racist motive behind the choice of words. It was stupid, it was naive to think that this was an acceptable form of slang — you hear it all the time on tv and radio, then your idea of what is normal apparently shifts — but it was especially misguided: there was no malice behind it. We make our magazine with love, energy and enthusiasm, and it can sometimes happen that someone is out of line. And then you can only do one thing: apologize. And hope that others wish to accept it.

From the bottom of my heart I say it again: we never intended to offend anyone. And I mean that.

Regards,

Eva Hoeke

What a convenient slip. Regardless of what you think about Rihanna and her wild-child image, this article is beyond her. It speaks volumes to people’s attitudes about black women and their obliviousness to the inappropriateness of offensive language directed at us. The slang most likely slipped through the editor-in-chief’s fingers because it’s a term she has no problem applying to black women herself.

The article also exemplifies the reason black women police one another’s women’s images so much. Rihanna is not at fault for the racial slurs directed at her, but it’s a reminder of how black women are not allowed to be overly sexual or have a “bad girl” image without being racially and sexually targeted.

What do you think about the magazine publishing these words and backtracking? Do you think the editor-in-chief’s apology is sincere? Do you think this term is specific to Rihanna or perceptions of black women in general?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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You may have caught Rashana A. Hooks brutally honest article, Things You Should Never Apologize For.  Still, I suspect that many of you still have your bags packed and ready to go for your daily guilt trip and are undeservingly beating yourselves up for all the things that make you fierce and fabulous.  Apologies are used for the recognition and remorse of a wrongdoing, but more often than not, you’re only living your life the best way you know how, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Here are 10 more things that you can save your apologies for:

1.  Being educated/Conscious of grammar.

I’ve noticed how easily offended people become when I correct them on a fact that they’ve quoted incorrectly or point out that they’ve used the wrong “you’re” in a Facebook status update.  Instantly, I’m attacked with loaded gratitude like, “Thank you, grammar police.”  In my opinion, friends don’t let friends stay confident in ignorance.  You can be helpful without being insulting.  While there’s certainly a time and place to be more laid back and relaxed with your language, you’ll be thanking me and my thesaurus before you print out a thousand business cards labeled, “Thank you for you’re business.” (Microsoft Word weeps.)