Daily 30: Sat 08.23.2014

A "Fancy" Fail! 6mo
Iggy Azalea Falls Hard

4 Iggy Azalea Falls Hard TMZ

Iggy Azalea took a massive tumble off the stage she was performing on Friday night ... and the video is intense.
Let's Talk About Money! 6mo
Who Has The Last Word Now?

9 Who Has The Last Word Now? Forbes

It's the 5 year anniversary of the infamous Kanye West diss to Taylor Swift at the MTV VMAs. Forbes takes a look at how they've stacked up over the years.
Show Me The Money 7mo
Real-Life "Aunt Jemima" Demand $2 Billion

17 Real-Life "Aunt Jemima" Demand $2 B… Celebrity Net Worth

When I was a kid there was always a bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup in the fridge and a box of the pancake mix in the cupboard. On pretty much every childhood birthday I can remember, I would request chocolate chip pancakes and then proceed to drench them in Aunt Jemima syrup. It's making me hungry thinking about it right now. On the other hand, even as a 10 year old, I always thought there was something weird about the brand's name and spokeswoman. Without knowing anything about the corporate history, something just felt off and slightly racist. Fast forward to the present, when everything is so politically correct, how is it still ok to have a brand that is pretty much blatantly racist? If the "Washington Redskins" team name is so controversial, why aren't more people up in arms about Aunt Jemima? Well, it turns out some people are very angry at the brand. Angry enough to sue parent corporations Quaker Oats and PepsiCo, but not for the reasons you might think. Earlier this week, a group of people filed that claims their great-grandmother was the real-life model for the "Aunt Jemima" character. And if you think this is some silly little attempt to grab headlines and maybe score a small payout, you are wrong. The relatives have a fairly solid case and they are suing for no less than $2 billion in unpaid royalties. Aunt Jemima History: The concept of "Aunt Jemima" dates back nearly 150 years, decades before the syrup or pancake mix existed. Back in the late 19th century, Aunt Jemima was a popular minstrel show character. For those of you who do not know, a minstrel show was a form of entertainment popular after the civil war where white actors would dress up in black face to act out skits that today we would consider horrendously racist. In 1875 a song from one such minstrel show titled "Old Aunt Jemima" was recorded by an African American songwriter named Billy Kersands. When the song was performed during shows, Aunt Jemima would be portrayed by a white man in black face who act out stereotypes of a female former slave who is now a cook. In 1889, two actors convinced the Peal Milling Company to use their version of Aunt Jemima as a pancake mix spokeswoman. This first iteration was a failure and soon the Pearl Milling Company was sold to the Randolph Truett Davis Milling Company in St. Joseph, Missouri. The R.T. Davis Milling Company hired a real-life former slave named Nancy Green to act as the spokeswoman for the newly launched Aunt Jemima pancake mix. In 1913, the R.T. Davis Milling Company changed its name officially to "Aunt Jemima Mills". Over the next 33 years, from 1890 until her death in 1923, Nancy Green worked as "Aunt Jemima". Nancy would conduct pancake seminars at fairs and travel to towns across America to spread the word about the pancake mix. In 1926, Quaker Oats acquired the Aunt Jemima Mills company. No real life person was used as an Aunt Jemima for the next decade. A woman named Anna Robinson played the character for Quaker Oats from 1933 to 1935 until she was replaced by a woman named Anna Short Harrington. Anna Short Harrington: Anna Short Harrington was discovered by Quaker Oats executives at a cooking fair where she had won praise for her own homemade pancake mix. She was exactly what they were looking for in a spokeswoman. Anna was hired on the spot as the company's new full time real-life Aunt Jemima and within months an ad featuring Anna appeared in the magazine Woman's Home Companion. The company also started using her recipe for mass production of their mix. In 1937, Quaker Oats filed for a trademark for the brand. This is important: In their trademark application, they included a photo of Anna Short Harrington dressed up as Aunt Jemima. In the lawsuit that was recently filed, Harrington's descendants claim the company dissuaded their great-grandmother from seeking legal help to protect her rights in the trademark registration. Here's an example of Harrington's Aunt Jemima: Jemima Gets A Reboot: The image of Anna Harrington's Aunt Jemima went largely unchanged for more than 50 years. In 1989, Quaker Oats decided it was time to update Jemima's image. The face of Aunt Jemima that most of us are familiar with today, is actually Harrington's youngest daughter Olivia Hunter. This likeness is what you see at the super market right now on all Aunt Jemima-related products. The Lawsuit: Enter a man named D.W. Hunter, Anna Short Harrington's great-grandson. In the lawsuit that was filed earlier this week, Hunter alleges that Quaker Oats has illegally used his great-grandmother's image and recipes for decades without ever paying a dime in royalties that should have been standard. Furthermore, he claims the company has gone out of its way to deny that his great-grandmother ever even worked at the company. Quaker Oats reportedly told Hunter that there were no employment records for Harrington or any proof that she was used as the basis for Aunt Jemima. There's just one problem with that argument. Actually two problems. The first problem is the fact that when Quaker Oats filed for the trademark back in 1937, they reportedly included a photo of Anna Short Harrington dressed as Aunt Jemima. Woops. The second problem is the fact that the company just happened to hire Harrington's daughter to be the model for the current Jemima. That would be a pretty crazy coincidence considering the fact that Harrington supposedly never worked for the company. Damages: In his lawsuit, D.W. Hunter's legal teams have cited the standard royalty and residual policies that have been used in Screen Actors Guild (SAG) agreements for decades. Based on these industry standards, plus penalties and late fees, he is seeking $2 billion in damages from Quaker Oats and parent company PepsiCo. Lawyers on the other side have, not surprisingly, denies that this lawsuit has any merit. Will this lawsuit be successful? At first glance it sounds totally unrealistic, but when you consider some of the above facts… who knows?! What do you think? Do Anna Short Harrington's descendants deserve $2 billion? Let's say that number is purposely outrageous because they are hoping to settle on something smaller but still significant. Do you think they deserve $500 million? $100 million? Nothing? Let us know what you think in the comment section below…
8mo
Video In A Plain Brown Wrapper

18 Video In A Plain Brown Wrapper Redd Foxx

Redd Foxx Video in a Plain Brown Wrapper: Here's the infamous REDD FOXX-star of "Sanford and Son" and renowned stand-up comedian-live in his concert act, strutting the stage and sharing his own outrageous brand of ribald comedy.
Classic Hip Hop Doc 8mo
The Show

19 The Show Rysher Entertainment

The Show is a 1995 documentary film about hip hop music. It was directed by Brian Robbins and featured interviews with some of hip hop's biggest names.
8mo
Cocoa Love

20 Cocoa Love James Bland

A young couple's relationship is tested when a funeral for a loved one turns into a misadventure of mayhem, secrets and surprises.
Bringing Blacks Back To Baseball? 6mo
Chicago's Jackie Robinson West

21 Chicago's Jackie Robinson West First Take

First Take's Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless discuss the success of Chicago's Jackie Robinson West in the Little League World Series and will their success bring african-americans back to baseball.
Did they square off or nah? 6mo
2Pac and I Never Had a Problem

22 2Pac and I Never Had a Problem Vlad TV

Keith Murray dispels rumors that he squared off with 2Pac, and explains that there was never an issue between him and the legendary West Coast rapper. Speaking more on the incident, Keith says one of Tupac's boys came over and asked him about LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya" record. The NY rapper says Pac also came over and asked if the song was a diss track, and Keith assured him that it wasn't. Afterward, they shook hands and parted ways.
Editorial 7mo

Brad James | Embracing Change in Em… Jai Ferrell

“I have to embrace change. It’s required for me to grow. Change is required of all of us to grow.” At the start of the school year in primary school, we can remember being asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? Brad James confesses he always drew blank and never had a direct answer to that question. He could recount a list of all the things he imagined he would be, inclusive of a secret agent, attorney and surgeon, but could not settle on just one.  As the universe pulled him into the profession of acting, James now realizes this was divine. “Acting is perfect for me. It allows for me to be all of the things I wanted to be when I was growing up, what profession allows you to do that?” James asks. Born of mixed heritage but reared as a person of color, Brad James hails from Augusta, Georgia, a small town 45 minutes away from Atlanta.  The town was too small for his big dreams and he later relocated to Atlanta. While seeking his dreams on the big screen, he acknowledges that he has tangoed with the lines of how he identifies himself and the influences that effect how he is viewed as an actor.  “I am a man. I am a black man and I am all of these things before I am an actor,” states James. In a virtual time machine, he recalls enlisting into the United States Marine Corp, working as a waiter and even a door-to-door salesman as the humbling work experiences before connecting with acting.  Each job opportunity plays a huge role in his professionalism and appreciation for acting as his past experiences keep him humble.  The former Marine officer turned heartthrob actor transitioned from training on battlefields into homes and hearts around the globe. “When I left Marine bootcamp, it was like leaving a hostage situation,” he says jokingly.  “The sun looked different when I got out.  I learned some life skills, but that experience taught me to be appreciative for my opportunity as an actor.” The self-professed novice thespian accepts that he has been granted access into his dream and cherishes the moments that make his career journey surreal.  “Every moment on this journey is a big moment. I have these moments that happen all the time.  I don’t know if there is one singular time, but I realize there will be more of these.  Every time something new and exciting happens I have a moment. When strangers stop you, especially the ones you don’t expect, like an old Asian couple, I have one of those moments.” With a tone of modesty, Brad defines his personal successes and love for his craft.  “I feel successful because I am on a journey that enables me to love everyday.  Being successful means I am doing exactly what I set out to do.  Being successful means I’ve made a decision and now I’m carrying it out,” says James.  In this moment of truth, he ends with saying,  “The fact that I can wake up everyday knowing that I am doing what I set out to do, that’s success to me.  Tune in to the new season of Tyler Perry’s For Better, For Worse weeknights on OWN Network.
8mo
Let's Be Cops

27 Let's Be Cops 20th Century Fox

"Two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party and become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted ""heroes"" get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line
7mo
Wer

29 Wer Universal Pictures

Witness the rebirth of a legend in this spine-tingling descent into true terror. When a vacationing family is brutally murdered, an intrepid attorney, Kate Moore (A.J. Cook), is assigned to defend Talan (Brian Scott O’Connor), the main suspect and mysterious loner with a strange medical condition. As she delves into his shadowy past and runs scientific tests to prove his innocence, Talan’s darker instincts soon surface with unparalled violence. As Talan slashes and shreds his way to freedom, Kate must stop the atrocity she’s unleashed before the city is torn apart limb by bloody limb.
Based On The Best Seller! 7mo
Fifty Shades Of Grey

30 Fifty Shades Of Grey Universal Pictures

Fifty Shades of Grey is the hotly anticipated film adaptation of the bestselling book that has become a global phenomenon. Since its release, the “Fifty Shades” trilogy has been translated into 51 languages worldwide and sold more than 100 million copies in e-book and print—making it one of the biggest and fastest-selling book series ever.