‘I knew I was spiraling’: Fabolous finally speaks out after 2018 domestic violence incident

Rapper Fabolous shocked and disturbed fans after reports that he was charged with domestic violence against the mother of his kids, but after over a year of silence, he is finally addressing what happened.

According to Vibe, Fabolous is notoriously private, but on Wednesday he appeared on HOT 97’s Ebro in the Morning radio program where he finally addressed the March 2018 incident, which was caught on camera. The footage showed the rapper beating long-time partner Emily B. According to OK!Magazine, he was arrested and charged with four felonies after punching Emily in the face several times, knocking out her two front teeth, but served no jail time after taking a plea deal.

READ MORE: Rapper Fabolous caught on tape threatening ‘Love and Hip-Hop’ star Emily B

“There’s going to be some speculations, there’s going to be ‘Oh, what really happened?’ But the clarity that I was looking for was inside more than anything,” the rapper said during the interview. “Because that’s the people that I have to deal with every day. Those are the people that I care about, that I love, that I want to make sure that they are clear on what’s going on. That’s what I really focused on. I didn’t really focus on what was going on the outside. I knew a lot was spiraling.”

READ MORE: RUMOR PATROL: Did Fabolous and Emily B secretly wed amid abuse drama?

Fabolous was later asked about what he would say to those fans that were unsure about whether or not they still wanted to support his music after the domestic violence incident, and he decided the best way to address them was to apologize for his behavior.

“I apologize for coming across in a light that I wouldn’t want to be represented in,” he continued. “People make their opinions and it’s hard to, after the fact, change somebody’s opinion on seeing a video of something because people still see with their own eyes and they just make their own judgement.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Cory Booker announces initiative that would provide almost $100 billion to HBCUs

Presidential hopeful Cory Booker just unveiled a new plan to help historically Black colleges and universities that would roughly provide $100 billion in support.

Booker, who is still in the running for the 2020 Democratic nomination, has been an outspoken supporter of programs that enrich HBCUs and his proposed plan is by far the largest dollar amount of any of the other Democratic candidates.

“HBCUs make our country stronger and more reflective of the diversity that makes us so great,” Booker said in a statement. “I am here today because of the power of these institutions to uplift and bring about opportunity to Black Americans. As president, I will redouble our efforts to support and invest in HBCUs across the country ― my mother and father wouldn’t have it any other way.”

READ MORE: Aiming for debate, Cory Booker appeals directly to Kamala Harris voters

With HBCU enrollment steadily decreasing, Booker hoped to create programs that would help these historic institutions thrive. According to the Huffington Post, Booker hopes to focus on both immediate protections and long-term strategies to help them weather rough economic times. His plan includes grant initiatives that would enhance STEM programs, legislation to make certain HBCUs more affordable to low-income students and programs that would make HBCUs hubs for climate-focused research.

Booker also hoped to link investments into his climate research, the Huffington Post reported that the 10 percent of the senator’s $400 billion “Moonshot Hubs” would take place at HBCUs.

READ MORE: Cory Booker calls out President Trump as ‘worse than a racist’

“Each hub would be focused on reasserting our global leadership in Research and Development (R&D) and leading the way in tackling the most important challenges in basic science, applied research, manufacturing, and commercialization,” Booker’s campaign said in a press release on Tuesday.

Fellow 2020 candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have proposed HBCU initiatives of their own. Sanders has spoken out about the lack of resources available to HBCUs and vowed to put billions of dollars into helping them stay afloat.

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Petition to remove Michael Vick as honorary Pro Bowl captain receives over 200,000 signatures

Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick was recently given the opportunity to be a captain at the upcoming 2020 NFL Pro Bowl, but many people are not on board with the idea.

A woman going by the name Joanna Lind started a Change.org petition urging the NFL to remove Vick as a captain, which according to CNN, would allow him to mentor other players and be on the sidelines during the highly anticipated game.

“Just saw this on Facebook and was absolutely disgusted,” she wrote on the petition page, referring to a social media post about Vick’s inclusion. “When is the NFL going to take any responsibility for the behavior of it’s current and former players? To honor a man who had zero regard for animals is unacceptable and I would like your help to make sure he is not honored at the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl.”

READ MORE: Michael Vick’s wife refused sex over Kaepernick comments

More than 200,000 people have signed the petition and as of Saturday morning, the petition is halfway toward its goal of 300,000 signatures.

In 2007, Vick admitted to participating in the killing of dogs, mainly pit bulls, and also operating a business enterprise that involved illegal gambling. He was subsequently suspended from the NFL and was forced to file for bankruptcy. He also spent 18 months in federal prison and became the poster child for animal cruelty.

READ MORE: Michael Vick to lobby for law to protect animals in hot cars

According to CNN, Vick returned to the NFL in 2009 and played for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring in 2017. He later signed with Fox Sports as an analyst.

As of Saturday morning, there is no word on whether or not NFL officials are reconsidering their choice to make Vick a captain at the Pro Bowl and Vick has yet to respond to the petition.

The 2020 Pro Bowl is set to take place on Jan. 26 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

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Saturday's Best Deals: Anker PowerPort Strip, Aged & Ore Drinkware, Razer DeathAdder, and More

A huge toy Gold Box, The Claw multi-tool, magazine subscriptions, and a $50 Instant Pot lead of Saturday’s best deals from around the web.

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Tamron Hall denies rumors that she exploded after learning Kelly Clarkson show renewed

On Friday, reports began to circulate that reporter turned talk show host Tamron Hall was not only angry that another show was renewed before hers, but that she was difficult to please. Hall has since come forward and denied the claims.

The Daily Mail claimed in an exclusive report that a source told them that Hall had a whole fit when she found out Kelly Clarkson‘s show was renewed before hers. The source also claimed that Hall blamed the crew for the snub.

“‘We would have gotten an early renewal too if you were all doing a better job!'” The source reportedly told the Daily Mail.

READ MORE: Tamron Hall denies dealing cocaine after reportedly confessing to once ‘facilitating’ a sale

According to the Daily Mail, the Tamron Hall Show premiered on the same day as the Kelly Clarkson Show with a solid 1.4 rating, but that has since dropped to 1.0 while Clarkson’s show has been able to maintain a 1.5 rating.

“She wasn’t mad per se that Kelly’s show got picked up for a second season,” the source continued, “but she’s apparently frustrated with the direction of her show and afraid of it becoming a failure after walking away from her job at NBC and banking everything on this opportunity working.

READ MORE: Tamron Hall gets real about her ‘Today Show’ firing during opening of new talk show

On Friday, Hall posted a screenshot of the Daily Mail headline to her Instagram and decided to take the opportunity to set the record straight. In her caption, she released a statement denying the claims made in the article.

“It’s ironic that a few days after I said on my show that I’ve seen ‘men storm out of rooms, puffing and huffing, and no one says anything’ while ‘women [who] speak up [are viewed] as difficult’ that someone would leak a false story about me being difficult,” Hall wrote in a statement on Instagram. “As I said live on my show while defending Gabrielle Union, women are perceived as ‘difficult’ when they speak up. I have never once complained about Kelly’s renewal – I am so happy for my fellow Texan. I’m excited about my show and I can’t wait for season 2!!”

View this post on Instagram

Welp it was bound to happen the ole difficult and angry is lame. ..So here is my statement. “It’s ironic that a few days after I said on my show that I’ve seen ‘men storm out of rooms, puffing and huffing, and no one says anything’ while ‘women [who] speak up [are viewed] as difficult’ that someone would leak a false story about me being difficult. As I said live on my show while defending Gabrielle Union, women are perceived as ‘difficult’ when they speak up. I have never once complained about Kelly’s renewal – I am so happy for my fellow Texan. I’m excited about my show and I can’t wait for season 2!!”

A post shared by Tamron Hall (@tamronhall) on Dec 6, 2019 at 11:28am PST

In a second Instagram post, Hall posted a video clip from her show where she talked about how difficult it is for women to speak up.

View this post on Instagram

Flashback Friday #fbf to @tamronhallshow Tuesday. The “difficult” conversation and women in case you missed it. As we say on the show “let’s talk about it”. See yall Monday.

A post shared by Tamron Hall (@tamronhall) on Dec 6, 2019 at 6:09pm PST

As for her show, Disney, who owns ABC, released a statement to the Daily Mail gushing over Hall’s show and showing no signs of stopping things anything soon.

“We had an extremely successful launch” the statement said. “Disney, Tamron, and Bill Geddie are all very pleased with the direction and performance of the show, and we look forward to our continued success.”

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