Episodes – Page 1356

Is R. Kelly planning to launch a website to “expose” his accusers?

Scott Legato/Getty ImagesR. Kelly has reportedly found a way to discredit his accusers, who, he claims, lied in the Lifetime docu-series Surviving R. Kelly.

Sources tell TMZ that Kelly’s camp is working to launch a new website titled survivinglies.com, which will attempt to expose his accusers and highlight their real motivations. The site, which has yet to be launched, currently has a Facebook page associated with it.

One of the accusers that Kelly’s team plans to discredit is Asante McGee, who was recently featured on the Lifetime doc and claimed she was one of Kelly’s “sex slaves.”

In a video posted on the “Surviving Lies” Facebook page, a woman who the site claims is Asante’s daughter is heard telling her now ex-boyfriend that her mom often raved about the perks of being with Kelly. This seemingly contradicts McGee’s claims of being sexually abused and controlled by the singer.

The video also goes on to highlight McGee’s previous arrests and claims that she is working with the father of another alleged “sex slave,” Joycelyn Savage, to extort the singer.

As previously reported, Kelly threatened to file a federal lawsuit against Lifetime if they didn’t pull the plug on series. The doc, which aired over the weekend, examined how Kelly’s star power allegedly allowed him to brainwash, manipulate and abuse numerous women.

It also featured interviews with people who were once affiliated with Kelly’s inner circle, as well as women who were reportedly pulled into his alleged “sex cult.”

Drake under fire after footage surfaces of him kissing a 17-year-old fan

Ethan Miller/Getty Images via ABC

Drake has been slammed on social media, after an old video surfaced of the Toronto rapper kissing and fondling a 17-year-old girl went viral.

Friday night, the footage made its rounds on Twitter. In the fan-captured video, Drake stands with a young woman onstage as he touches and kisses her for several seconds. Then, the “Nice For What” lyricist asks how old she is. When the young woman responds that she’s 17, Drake throws his head back in astonishment.

“I can’t go to jail yet, man!” he laughs. “Why do you look like that? You thick. Look at all this.”

He continues, “‘I don’t know whether I should feel guilty or not, but I had fun. I like the way your breasts feel against my chest. I just want to thank you.”

Before sending her offstage, Drizzy kisses the young fan’s hand several times. According to The Sun, the video is from 2010, when the OVO founder would have been about 24, and filmed in Colorado, where the age of consent is 17.

The footage has ignited into a firestorm of controversy, with people comparing Drake’s behavior to that of R. Kelly‘s alleged predatory behavior with under-aged girls. The video arrives on the heels of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docuseries, which details decades of accusations of sexual abuse against the R&B crooner.

Neither Drake or his camp have responded to the video at this time.

Last year, Drake was also criticized after it emerged that he and 14-year-old Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown have a texting friendship in which the rapper gives Millie advice about “boys.” Brown was offended at the insinuation, writing on her Instagram Story, “Why u gotta make a lovely friendship ur headline?”

Clemson, Alabama to face off in championship game

Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images(SANTA CLARA, Calif.) — The stage is set Monday for the biggest game of the year in college football.

The Clemson Tigers will go up against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Both teams are facing off for the title for the third time in four years.

The game will be held in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Timberwolves fire head coach Tom Thibodeau

Michael Reaves/Getty Images(MINNEAPOLIS) — Tom Thibodeau has been let go as the president of basketball operations and head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced on Sunday.

The shakeup came following Minnesota’s 108-86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday. League sources told ESPN Thibodeau had no idea he was going to be relieved of his duties.

“We would like to thank Tom for his efforts and wish him all the best,” Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy to make, but we felt them necessary to move our organization forward.”

Along with Thibodeau, the Timberwolves also fired assistant coach Andy Greer.

Assistant coach Ryan Saunders will step in as Minnesota’s interim head coach for the remainder of this season, the team said, while Scott Layden will stay put as general manager. However, sources tell ESPN Layden’s future with the team remains uncertain.

Nearly halfway through the season, the Timberwolves are in 11th place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 19-21.

Report: Grizzlies, forward Chandler Parsons agree to separation

Tar_Heel_Rob/iStock(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Chandler Parsons’ time with the Memphis Grizzlies appears to have come to an end.

Citing league sources, ESPN reports the team and the 30-year-old forward agreed to separate on Sunday.

The Grizzlies and Parsons’ agent will work on placing him in another team and structuring a resolution on his future, the sources told ESPN.

Per his four-year, $94 million contract with Memphis, Parsons is owed $38 million, including $25.1 million for this season, according to ESPN.

Scoreboard roundup — 1/6/19

iStock(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Minnesota 108, L.A. Lakers 86
Washington 116, Oklahoma City 98
Toronto 121, Indiana 105
Brooklyn 117, Chicago 100
Atlanta 106, Miami 82
Charlotte 119, Phoenix 113

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Arizona 5, NY Rangers 0
Vegas 3, New Jersey 2
Washington 3, Detroit 2
Winnipeg 5, Dallas 1
Edmonton 4, San Jose 0
Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 3

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Indianapolis 21, Houston 7
Dallas 24, Seattle 22
San Diego 23, Baltimore 17
Philadelphia 16, Chicago 15

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(16) Marquette 70, Xavier 52
(2) Michigan 74, Indiana 63
(25) Iowa 93, (24) Nebraska 84
(19) Houston 90, Memphis 77
(22) Wisconsin 71, Penn State 52

Chance the Rapper claims “Surviving R. Kelly” interview was “taken out of context”

Chance the Rapper found himself in the hot seat, after his comments featured in the Surviving R. Kelly docu-series began circling the net.

In the interview, the Coloring Book artist acknowledges that his past collaborations with R. Kelly were a “mistake.” The rapper also suggests that perhaps his dismissal of Kelly’s shocking past was in part due to the the fact that the singer’s accusers are black women. The admittance, however, was meant to punctuate Chance’s larger point of feeling more inclined to be “hypersensitive” to black men’s oppression as oppose to black women’s.

Saturday night, Chance took to Twitter to clarify his statement before issuing a more formal apology. “The quote was taken out of context,” he wrote. “But the truth is any of us who ever ignored the R. Kelly stories, or ever believed that he was being setup/attacked by the system (as black men often are) were doing so at the detriment of black women and girls. I apologize to all the survivors for working with him and taking this long to speak out.”

He continued by tweeting, “Regardless of the proximity of beneficial [sic] black women in your life, or being black yourself, we are all capable of subconsciously discrediting [sic] black women and their stories because its indoctrinated.”

Chance previously collaborated with Kelly on the 2015 effort “Somewhere in Paradise,” and even featured the R&B crooner as a surprise guest during his set at a 2014 Lollapalooza performance.

Report: Bruno Mars & Cardi B plan to release new collab ahead of Super Bowl Music Fest

Theo Wargo/WireImageWhen Bruno Mars tapped Cardi B for his “Finesse” remix, he ended up with a huge hit. Now, the two are reportedly teaming up again for another new track.

The New York Post says it’s been told that the new track, which will feature a third big-name artist, is scheduled to be released January 25, but it could be pushed back because of Cardi’s crazy schedule.

However, as the Post notes, dropping a new song on that date would make sense, considering Bruno and Cardi are both performing at the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest in Atlanta, GA on February 2, ahead of the Super Bowl on February 3. Being able to perform a new song together would be a treat for fans.

Cardi has already said that she wants to release a new album this year, but said, “I don’t know if that’s possible, because I feel like I’m gonna be extremely, extremely busy.”

As you may recall, last year, Cardi was supposed to open for Bruno on the final leg of his 24K Magic tour, but she canceled those plan in July, saying it was too soon after the birth of her daughter Kulture for her to go on the road.

“I think I underestimated this whole mommy thing,” she said at the time.

North Dakota State wins record seventh National Championship

Bo Rader/Wichita Eagle/TNS via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — North Dakota State Bison have won their seventh Football Championship Subdivision National Championship in the past eight years with a 38-24 win over Eastern Washington.

The seven FCS national championships breaks the FCS record that was previously held by Georgia Southern.

It was the final game for fifth year head coach Chris Klieman, who is taking over at Kansas State. Klieman joins former Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressel as the only four-time winners.

Defensive coordinator Matt Entz has been named the next head coach.

Quarterback Easton Stick improved to 49-3 as a starter, breaking former NDSU QB Brock Jensen’s record for the most wins by an FCS QB.

The title was the school’s fifteenth total title, with three coming from their time in the College Divisions and five Division II crowns.

The Bison finish the season 15-0. They won 21 straight games, the current longest streak in Division One.

Since the Bison’s first title season in 2011, they’re 111-8.

Knicks center Enes Kanter to skip trip to London

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — New York Knicks Center Enes Kanter will not travel with the team to London when the team face’s the Washington Wizards on January 17 due to his ongoing going clash with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kanter, a native of Turkey, told the media he fears for his life.

“I talked to the front office and said I’m not going because of that freaking lunatic, the Turkish President,” he said following the Knicks 119-112 of the Lakers on Friday night. “There’s a chance that I could get killed out there.”

In 2016, Kanter spoke out against Erdogan following a bombing in Turkey’s capital.

The following year, his Turkish passport was canceled and he was held at the Bucharest airport upon landing in Romania.

Kanter also believes his father has been a target of the government because of Kanter’s stance against it.

Asked if he really believes he would be killed if he traveled Kanter said, “Oh yeah easy.”