Jennifer Hudson Wails as Aretha Franklin in First Official Teaser Trailer for RESPECT Biopic

She’s shouting it out for sure.

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Court upholds firing of cop who killed Tamir Rice

The firing of Timothy Loehmann, the former Cleveland cop who killed Tamir Rice, was justified, a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas decided.

The Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association has been fighting on behalf of Loehmann to get his job back after he was dismissed from the department for failing to reveal facts about his job history, and lying on his employment application, Cleveland 19 reports.

Loehmann dodged any possibility of being held criminally liable for Rice’s death after shooting the 12-year-old youth in November 2014. But he was terminated from his job as a Cleveland police officer in May 2017 for other matters unrelated to Rice’s death. However, he claims it was a wrongful termination.

READ MORE: Police union files appeal to get ex-cop who killed Tamir Rice his job back

Loehmann, however, was forced out by a suburban Cleveland police department, yet never revealed that fact on his job application. After the Rice shooting, Cleveland police learned Loehmann was not forthcoming about being forced to resign from a previous job with the police department in Independence, Ohio. Ultimately the rookie cop was declared unfit to work in law enforcement.

According to a 2012 police memo, Loehmann also had an “emotional breakdown” during a firearms exam.

The Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas ruled that the city of Cleveland was within its rights to fire Loehmann.

On Friday, Jeff Follmer, CPPA President expressed disappointment in the decision.

“We think it’s clear cut he didn’t lie on his application and this is another political decision,” Follmer said.

Union attorney Henry Hilow said they are still deciding whether to appeal the decision.

The city of Cleveland said in a statement on Friday that it was satisfied.

“The city has consistently maintained throughout the process that Loehmann’s termination was justified,” the statement said.

READ MORE: Cop who killed Tamir Rice finds new job, but boy’s mom not staying silent about it

Subodh Chandra, attorney for the Rice family, said in a statement:

“Having ended a child’s life, Loehmann should live his life as something other than a police officer. Having lied on his application to get the job that enabled him to end a child’s life, Loehmann should apply to be something other than a police officer. And Cleveland’s police union—which is apparently so uncommitted to truth and the rule of law that it thinks that it’s okay for an officer to lie—needs to end its relentless assault on the community’s intelligence and integrity. Clevelanders do not want Loehmann to ever again be entrusted with a badge and gun anywhere, but least of all here. The union leadership should stop embarrassing itself with the appeals and let the Rice family—and the community—heal.”

The post Court upholds firing of cop who killed Tamir Rice appeared first on theGrio.

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders Deletes Tweet Apologizing for Mocking Joe Biden’s Stutter

She’s a sorry woman for sure.

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SAG-AFTRA investigating firing of Orlando Jones from ‘American Gods’

After actor Orlando Jones was unceremoniously fired from the Starz series American Gods, the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced Friday that it is launching an investigation.

Along with a probe into the dismissal of why Gabrielle Union was reportedly fired from America’s Got Talent, SAG-AFTRA said it plans to explore Jones’ claims that he was let go because of racial and political concerns.

Who's naughty? Who's nice? @sagaftra investigation announced today @itsgabrielleu you're right sis❤️ #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/I9p5tXelA6

— Orlando Jones (@TheOrlandoJones) December 20, 2019

READ MORE: Gabrielle Union has ‘productive’ meeting with NBC execs over AGT toxic workplace complaints

Jones who played Mr. Nancy, an African trickster god who gives striking commentary about America’s history of slavery and racism, said that producers were concerned about the messaging the character sent to Black Americans, USA TODAY reports.

“After initial meetings with Gabrielle Union and her representatives about her experiences on America’s Got Talent, and after learning more about Orlando Jones’s experience on American Gods, SAG-AFTRA is expanding its investigation of Fremantle Media,” a statement read.  “Our enforcement actions are handled confidentially to protect the members involved, and we typically do not publicize these matters unless the affected members request that we do so.”

In response, Fremantle released a statement and said; “We welcome this investigation and intend to cooperate fully. Allegations without factual support should not go unchecked.  We have already informed SAG-AFTRA that we are willing to meet to discuss the allegations.”

At issue, Jones claims that he was fired for a superficial reason and without merit.

“There will be no more Mr. Nancy. Don’t let these m*****f*****s tell you they love Mr. Nancy. They don’t,” Jones said in a video. “I’m not going to name names but the new season 3 showrunner [Charles Eglee] is Connecticut born and Yale-educated, so he’s very smart and he thinks that Mr. Nancy’s angry, get shit done is the wrong message for black America. That’s right. This white man sits in that decision-making chair and I’m sure he has many Black bffs who are his advisors and made it clear to him that if he did not get rid of that angry god Mr. Nancy he’d start a Denmark Vesey uprising in this country. I mean, what else could it be?”

READ MORE: Orlando Jones says he was fired from ‘American Gods’ for a petty, superficial reason

He also called out Fremantle saying it was a “nightmare” to work for the company.

They “treated you like a 2nd class citizen for doing your job to [sic] well,” he tweeted.

“They were exceptionally nasty and evil the way they did it,” he added.

The post SAG-AFTRA investigating firing of Orlando Jones from ‘American Gods’ appeared first on theGrio.

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Jodie Turner-Smith and boyfriend Joshua Jackson got married

The brown skin beauty, Jodie Turner-Smith, that was the breakout star in Queen & Slim reportedly tied the knot to Joshua Jackson.

According to PEOPLE the two got married on the low recently. But word is that Turner-Smith, 33, and Jackson, 41, may have gotten married back in August when they were spotted leaving a Beverly Hills courthouse.

But that little courthouse rendezvous could have also just been a visit to secure the marriage certificates needed to make a marriage official.

READ MORE: Jodie Turner-Smith opens up on hating her dark skin in high school: ‘I remember how badly I hated myself’

In any event, the two have certified their relationship on the internet at least since 2018 when they were seen hand-in-hand happily leaving Usher’s birthday bash back in 2018, according to Us Weekly. 

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Turner-Smith’s Instagram pic gazing into Jackson’s eyes is pretty rich.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1E4v8ZAjKo/?utm_source=ig_embed

“Two people who fancy each other a little bit,” she wrote in the caption.

If you missed it, last month in Los Angeles, the British actress and her beau, hit the red-carpet premiere of Turner-Smith’s film Queen & Slim.

The couple looked cute in Gucci outfits with Jackson sporting a three-piece suit while his lady finessed in a silk plissé lilac gown.

Turner-Smith appears to be in a good place after her hit movie took flight. And it’s been a long-time coming for her to appreciate the skin she’s in.

READ MORE: WATCH: Melina Matsoukas on casting British leads in ‘Queen & Slim’: “All they see is Blackness”

After finding an old-school high school pic on the internet, she explained to her fans about her journey to come to terms with her own beauty.

View this post on Instagram

Proof That The Glow Up Has Been Really Real 😅😅😅 it’s been soooo long since i’ve seen these pictures, but because the internet is undefeated, i found them! a blast from the past! i’m humbled when i look at this girl. 17 year old me. not just because of how i look on the outside, but because i remember how i felt on the inside. i remember how badly i hated myself and hated the dark skin that made people call me ugly. how i turned my helplessness at being unable to change my outward appearance inward, by constantly cleaving away any and all parts of myself that i was told made me unacceptable to others. how i changed my voice, changed my hair, became captain of this and president of that, used my intelligence to build a wall around me, spent years in the practice of bending and shaping myself into the most acceptable form of Jodie for the people around me until there was nothing of me left but hate for a person i didn’t recognise and fear that i had become someone it was impossible to come back from… AND, MY GOD, IT WAS EXHAUSTING! but i say all that to say this— i am grateful for the girl in these photos and for every part of this journey. because i couldn’t be me, now, if i wasn’t first her, then. when you know what it feels like to hate yourself, finally loving yourself is a freedom that cannot be matched by anyone else’s approval 🥰🥰🥰 also worth noting— i was voted Most Likely To Succeed! but we all thought it would be in somebody’s office 🤓

A post shared by Jodie Turner-Smith (@jodiesmith) on Dec 17, 2019 at 12:33pm PST

 

“Proof That The Glow Up Has Been Really Real 😅😅😅 it’s been soooo long since i’ve seen these pictures, but because the internet is undefeated, i found them! a blast from the past! i’m humbled when i look at this girl. 17 year old me. not just because of how i look on the outside, but because i remember how i felt on the inside. i remember how badly i hated myself and hated the dark skin that made people call me ugly. how i turned my helplessness at being unable to change my outward appearance inward, by constantly cleaving away any and all parts of myself that i was told made me unacceptable to others. how i changed my voice, changed my hair, became captain of this and president of that, used my intelligence to build a wall around me, spent years in the practice of bending and shaping myself into the most acceptable form of Jodie for the people around me until there was nothing of me left but hate for a person i didn’t recognise and fear that i had become someone it was impossible to come back from…
AND, MY GOD, IT WAS EXHAUSTING!,” she posted.

She ended by explaining how much she’s grateful for who she has become.

Look at her now, glowing and feeling good about the skin she’s in with her boo by her side.

You go girl!

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