The singer is asking for joint custody of their two children, 9-month-old son Epik and two-year-old daughter Melody.
Ray J has filed for divorce from wife Princess Love, less than two months after she asked a court to dismiss her own filing to end their marriage.
The couple tied the knot in 2016 and are parents to 9-month-old son Epik Ray, and two-year-old daughter Melody Love. Ray J is asking for joint custody of the children, PEOPLE reports.
Love originally filed for divorce in May, six months after she publicly stated that her husband left her and their daughter alone in Las Vegas after an argument. The Love and Hip Hop star was pregnant with Epik at the time.
“It’s a very difficult time for both Princess and Ray J and we are asking that we just let them have their privacy as they work through and deal with this very trying situation,” a rep for the couple told PEOPLE in May.
Last November, Love told her social media followers that she didn’t “want to be married anymore.”
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Ray J (L) and Princess Love attend the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards on June 15, 2019. (Getty)
“I don’t have time for this. This is not love. And I’m done,” she said on Instagram, following the Las Vegas incident.
theGRIO previously reported, Princess Love said Ray J left her and Melody to go “party with escorts and strippers,” with no way to get home and while blocking her from calling. In a comment on Ray J’s Instagram, she said, “Left me and Melody stranded in Las Vegas and blocked me from calling… now you wanna post family photos. #ByeUgly.” This caption has since been deleted.
Ray J later appeared on The Wendy Williams Show to tell his side of the story, saying he was ready to commit to being a better husband and father.
“Princess made it pretty much clear enough, so at the end of the day, I’ve got to compromise,” he said. “I have to do better as a husband. I’ve got to do better. I’ve got to do better and I have to understand my wife is pregnant and I have to think a little more wiser when I’m making decisions.”
Weeks after Love filed for divorce, Ray J praised her for being a “supermom,” and gushed about being able to spend time with the kids amid their separation.
“We’re taking it one day at a time,” he said during a virtual press conference.
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Physicians for Human Rights collected data using information from social media with verified photo and video proof, lawsuits, locally reported news, and other publicly available and credible sources to confirm the number. PHR identified at least 115 people shot in the head by rubber bullets and other kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) from May through August in various cities.
KIPs are defined by the organization as including projectiles used for crowd control worldwide counting various bullets, baton rounds, and tear gas canisters, that are fired into crowds from a gun, rifle, or other launchers.
Although they are frequently referred to as less-lethal, an injury from many KIPs can result in life-threatening injury, permanent disability, and death PHR finds. The fired rounds commonly grouped together as rubber bullets can be made from combinations of rubber, wood, various metals, and more. They are not intended for head shots, PHR reports.
This, however, did not stop police officers from targeting protesters from the neck up during a season of protests sparked by the violent death of George Floyd.
Protesters demonstrate during a night of clashes between protesters and Detroit Police Officers, violence returned to downtown Detroit as police made dozens of arrests and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters on May 30, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. The ongoing protests in Detroit come as a nationwide movement to protest the death of 46 year-old George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)
“Protests calling for justice and accountability for police violence have often been met with more police violence,” said PHR research leader Rohini Haar in a statement, according to The Hill.
She continues “from Los Angeles, CA to Little Rock, AR, demonstrators, and bystanders suffered fractured skulls, broken jaws, traumatic brain injuries and permanent vision loss from these inherently indiscriminate weapons.”
Los Angeles, Portland Oregon, and Austin, Texas are identified in the research as locations where head injuries happened more frequently resulting from KIPs. TheGrio reports Insecure actor Kendrick Sampson described being shot at point-blank range with a rubber bullet by law enforcement while participating in a peaceful protest near Beverly Hills.
“Imma just let y’all know right now. None of these police cars were touched until they started hurting people,” Sampson said of the May 30 protests cited in PHR data.
PHR finds at least 12 people were hit in the head with KIPs in Los Angeles on May 30, six on May 31 in Austin, and at least 14 by the end of July in Portland. The organization also documents multiple head injuries in Michigan, Florida, and Colorado.
Haar says the use of KIPs by police officers in the United States indicates a larger problem.
“The sheer scale and scope of the head injuries caused by kinetic impact projectiles across the country suggests that U.S. law enforcement has a systemic problem when it comes to abusing crowd-control weapons during protests,” she said, according to The Hill.
The group, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, finds that police use of rubber bullets only escalates situations rather than controlling the crowd and suggests “we must ban the use of KIPs in crowd-control situations.”
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It seems that Jones has had a change of heart about heading to the ring to fight Tyson
Two months ahead of their scheduled head-to-head, boxer Roy Jones Jr. is admitting he may have “made a mistake” when he agreed to fight in an exhibition with former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.
According to reports, Jones and Tyson were originally supposed to fight this month, but promoters pushed the exhibition back to attract a larger audience.
Now the duo is set to compete in an unofficial bout on Nov. 28 in Carson, California.
But over the weekend the former four-weight world-champion boxer expressed reservations about the fighting the now 54-year-old former heavyweight champion, who he knows won’t take it easy on him.
Boxer Roy Jones Jr. works out at the Mandalay Bay Resort in 2010.
“When it comes time to fight, we’re going to fight,” Jones said. “If it comes down to bite, we’re going to bite. Whatever has to happen is going to happen. That’s just what it is.”
He added: “He’s still Mike Tyson. He’s still one of the strongest, most explosive people who ever touched a boxing ring. If anything, I made a mistake going in with him. He’s the bigger guy. He’s the explosive guy.”
Roy Jones Jr. said he may have 'made a mistake' agreeing to an exhibition with Mike Tyson because 'he's the bigger, explosive guy' https://t.co/LHlo0dK9p0
“He’s going to have all the first-round fireworks, not me,” the 51-year-old predicted. “I do have first-round fireworks, but he’s known for more first-round fireworks than anybody to ever touch boxing, other than maybe George Foreman.”
“With him having the first-round fireworks, he’ll be against a guy smaller than him, maybe 40-50 pounds smaller than him.”
Considering Tyson’s recent comments about the event, Jones’ concerns may be well deserved.
“We’re throwing punches at each other. This is going to be my definition of fun … broken eye sockets, broken jaw, broken rib. That’s fun to me,” Tyson recently said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show.
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A record was achieved this first week of the NFL season due to some of the league’s top Black talents at QB
While social justice remained at the forefront of pro sports through symbolism, messaging and peaceful protests, the NFL made one big stride in the season’s opening week.
For the first time in NFL history, reports Touchdownwire, the league started 10 Black NFL quarterbacks.
Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, 31; New England Patriots’ Cam Newton, 31; Los Angeles Chargers’ Tyrod Taylor, 31; Carolina Panthers’ Teddy Bridgewater, 27; Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, 27; Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson, 25; City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, 24; Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, 23; Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, 23; and the Washington Football Team’s Dwayne Haskins, 23; all started under center to kick off the 2020-21 season.
Among the group are the league’s reigning MVP in Jackson and the league’s Super Bowl champion (and last year’s MVP) in Mahomes. Wilson and Newton, along with former NFL QB’s Colin Kaepernick,Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, and Doug Williams, who was the first for the then Washington Redskins, have all started a Super Bowl. Wilson is the only one to start twice and he, Williams, and Mahomes are the only Black QB’s to take home the Lombardi trophy.
Cam Newton pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman. (Credit: New England Patriots)
As Mahomes and Watson are now the #1 and #2 highest-paid players at the position, you can say that despite a checkered history and that Kaepernick will likely never play again, that the league has evolved in its treatment and view of Black players at the position.
So in this new era, which looks like the future of the league given the age of the group, how did they all do on a historical day? Here’s the summary and what it looks like for them this season.
RUSSELL WILSON – W, 38-25 vs. the Atlanta Falcons
Russell and his Seahawks team made some great offseason movies acquiring safety Jamal Adams from the New York Jets, among others. This year, expect Wilson to continue his dominance of the QB position. But can his team follow his lead?
CAM NEWTON – W, 21-11 vs. the Miami Dolphins
Newton looked sharp coming off the shoulder and foot surgery that led to his being unceremoniously dumped by the Carolina Panthers, who he took to Super Bowl 50 in 2016. As Tom Brady‘s ‘replacement,’ in New England, expectations are beyond high, but he’s already won a fan in Bill Belichick who’s had nothing but praise for Newton thus far. Should Newton’s surgically repaired body parts hold up, it will be an interesting season in New England.
TYROD TAYLOR – W, 16-13 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals
Taylor has bounced around some in the league but keeps a job and this year he’s the only Black QB also coached by a Black head coach. Taylor and his squad spoiled hometown guy and #1 draft pick Joe Burrows‘ solid NFL debut, but the kicker won the game for the Chargers more than Taylor did, so we’ll have to see which way each team is heading in ensuing weeks.
TEDDY BRIDGEWATER – L, 30-34 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders
Bridgewater, who is now on his third NFL team, took the Saints 5-0 while starter Drew Brees was injured last year. But they clearly didn’t see him as the 41-year-old shot caller’s successor, instead betting on Taysom Hill, who’s three years older and taken far less snaps at QB. Bridgewater takes the L against the newly relocated Raiders, who pulled out the victory on the road.
DAK PRESCOTT – L , 17-20 vs. the Los Angeles Rams
Prescott had a rough offseason that got worse when his older brother Jace, was found dead by suicide in April. You can’t equate a sibling’s death to football but unfortunately, though, that’s Prescott’s profession. So speculation continued about his signing a franchise tag, not a contract extension, for this year. What that means basically is an NFL team gets more time to determine if you’re worth contract extension money. In this first-game loss, despite new coach Mike McCarthy, Prescott didn’t quite answer that question.
PATRICK MAHOMES – W, DESHAUN WATSON – L, 34-20
Not sure if this is the first time two Black QB’s started off the season playing each other (someone may have that stat, if so, let us know) but when you’re Super Bowl champion, you could get overconfident. Unless you’re Mahomes, then you’re just dominant. If you’re Watson, who lost arguably one of the league’s top 5 receivers in Deandre Hopkins, you might be thinking that this is going to be a long year.
LAMAR JACKSON – W vs. the Cleveland Browns 38-6
It’s still early and anything can happen in the NFL, but what it looked like you saw this week were two quarterbacks and two teams going in very different directions. Jackson already promised Ravens fans a Super Bowl – and unless he or key elements of his squad get injured, he looks like he’s worked hard to fulfill that promise and sooner than later.
KYLER MURRAY – W 24-20 vs. the San Francisco 49ers
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals wasted no time getting Deandre Hopkins into the action – he had 14 catches for 151 yards. We’re sure Watson is crying somewhere but Murray is happy as the duo helped spark and season-opening win against a team that was in the Super Bowl last year. Murray ran in a 22-yard-touchdown himself so he and Hopkins are looking like the league’s most watchable duo so far, at least for any QB not named Lamar.
DWAYNE HASKINS – W 27-17 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
It’s a bad day in Philly when a team that won the Super Bowl just two seasons ago has disgruntled fans throwing in their ‘Philly Philly’ towels this fast. However, despite all the pre-season drama with the Washington Football team, including a cancer diagnosis for new head coach Ron Rivera, it looks like Haskins might be that guy as he gave a rousing speech to the locker room when Rivera sought medical treatment at halftime. Pulling out a victory also helps.
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Kevon Chisolm, Esq. founder and president of Black Wallstreeter Consultation Services, is teaming up with his wife, Kim, and their 13-year old son, Kamari, to launch a weekend series that teaches African American families financial literacy skills and how to invest in the stock market. The weekend series is geared towards encouraging families and individuals to build generational wealth together while also learning about African American history and culture.
The goal is to continue the success that they had with the Junior Wallstreeters Summer Camps. One parent wrote: “I just wanted to thank you for the educational and impactful experiences you provided through the Jr Wall Street camp. I appreciate the tools used to empower our children through the convergence of African American history while teaching strategies and the importance of building future wealth.”
Kevon comments, “In addition to topics like budgeting, establishing and maintaining good credit, banking, and investing in the stock market, the weekend series teaches generational wealth building through investment clubs.”
Saturday’s series is titled: Empowering Youth & Parents with Financial Wellness. The Sunday’s series is titled: Empowering Youth & Parents with Financial Wellness and African American History and Culture. Both sessions will provide life-long financial education and resources, which can be applied to address the lack of generational wealth in the African American community.
“Our goal is to teach financial knowledge to eliminate the wealth gap by showing young people and their parents how to properly use money as a tool,” he adds. The online series will primarily be taught by Stanley Anderson and Isaiah Cromwell, a high school teacher who helped Kevon develop the curriculum.
The weekend series will be held every other Saturday (11am-1pm EST) and Sunday (1pm-4pm EST), starting on October 3rd and 4th. All ages are encouraged to attend the series, but youth under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants must have a computer with Internet access. The cost of the Saturday series is just $250. While the cost for Sunday’s series is $350 because it is an hour longer and includes additional materials. This fee includes course materials such as an electronic student handbook, Junior Wallstreeters Envelope Budgeting System with tracking sheets, and a Stock Tracker Lite Notebook.
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