Politics
Cap’n MAGA: Herschel Walker Falsely Claims He Was A Cop
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: The Washington Post / Getty Georgia Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker is once again facing scrutiny after making another false claim—this time, stating that he was once an officer with law enforcement and the F.B.I. According to reports, the former Heisman Trophy-winning running back claimed that he once worked for the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia during a speech he made in 2017. His campaign claimed that he occupied the position of “honorary deputy” there as well as in three other counties. When contacted, the police department said it had no record of him working there. Related Stories The former football star endorsed by former President Donald Trump also made another false claim, stating that he was an agent with ...
Rudy Giuliani’s Story Reimagined as an Opera in ‘Rudy! A Documusical’ at Tribeca Festival
A new documentary about Rudy Giuliani premiering at the Tribeca Festival weaves in musical performances to give the ups and downs of the man once commonly referred to as “America’s Mayor” an operatic flavor. Rudy! A Documusical, directed by Jed Rothstein, is in large part a sober, conventional analysis of the unlikely trajectory of Giuliani’s political life, from New York prosecutor, mayor and Sept. 11 hero to the pusher of bogus legal challenges to the 2020 election for then-President Donald Trump. But to fully convey the exaggerated highs and lows of Giuliani, Rothstein felt he needed a Greek chorus. “His story is very operatic,” Rothstein said in an interview. “The music can bring out emotional truths that’s different than having someone talk about it. It’s certainly unconventional in a...
Truth Social Bans Users Who Discuss Trump’s Role in January 6th Insurrection
On Thursday, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol made a clear case that Donald Trump was at the center of the failed insurrection, but you wouldn’t know it from Truth Social. Several people using Trump’s so-called “Free Speech” platform reported that they received bans after posting about the committee hearings. “My Truth Social account was just permanently suspended for talking about the January 6th Committee hearings,” Travis Allen, an information security analyst, wrote on Twitter. “I was suspended from Truth Social for posting about the January 6th hearing last night,” Democratic digital strategist Jack Cocchiarella reported. “Donald Trump is scared of free speech.” Advertisement Related Video Max Burns, communications director ...
Arizona Republican Strikes Protester Wearing BLM Shirt, Allegedly
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Kent Nishimura / Getty A GOP candidate for the Senate has sparked outrage after a video shows him assaulting an activist wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, but the candidate claims there is more that happened. According to reports, Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters was caught on camera committing assault on an activist at a meet-and-greet for all the candidates at the Continential Shopping Plaza in the town of Green Valley this past Saturday (June 4th). The event was crashed by Democratic activists, a group that included 73-year-old Peter Jackson. Jackson was wearing a t-shirt with “Black Lives Matter” and a hat with “Jail Trump.” The footage allegedly showed Masters lunging after Jackson with both hands outstretched. The action fo...
Arizona Republican Strikes Protester Wearing BLM Shirt, Allegedly
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Kent Nishimura / Getty A GOP candidate for the Senate has sparked outrage after a video shows him assaulting an activist wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, but the candidate claims there is more that happened. According to reports, Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters was caught on camera committing assault on an activist at a meet-and-greet for all the candidates at the Continential Shopping Plaza in the town of Green Valley this past Saturday (June 4th). The event was crashed by Democratic activists, a group that included 73-year-old Peter Jackson. Jackson was wearing a t-shirt with “Black Lives Matter” and a hat with “Jail Trump.” The footage allegedly showed Masters lunging after Jackson with both hands outstretched. The action fo...
Rep. Bennie Thompson Delivers Blistering Opening Statement At Jan. 6 Hearing
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Getty Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat representing Mississippi, delivered the opening statement at the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Insurrection hearing in the House chambers. Thompson’s blistering words decried the attempted coup allegedly linked to former President Donald Trump and related agents of chaos. Bennie Thompson, chair of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, delivered his remarks from a prepared statement which we’ll share a portion of below. We can’t sweep what happened under the rug. The American people deserve answers. So I come before you this evening not as a Democrat but as an American who swore an oath to defend the Constitution. The Constitution doesn’t protect just Democrats or just Republican...
Laurie Anderson Called Off Plan to House Lou Reed Archive in Texas over Gun Law
The new exhibition “Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars” opens at Lincoln Center’s Library for Performing Arts on Thursday, but it nearly ended up in Texas. As Reed’s widow Laurie Anderson explained in conversation with The New York Times, she cut off conversations with UT Austin after Texas legislators passed a law allowing handguns to be carried on college campuses. Reed died in 2013, and Anderson had initially wanted his archive to be housed at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, which already boasted papers from James Joyce, Norman Mailer, and Don DeLillo. But after Governor Abbott signed the campus-carry bill in 2015, “I called them up,” she said. “‘This thing we’ve been talking about for a couple years? It’s off. Because of guns.’” A few months later, she read about a...
Laurie Anderson Called Off Plan to House Lou Reed Archive in Texas over Gun Law
The new exhibition “Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars” opens at Lincoln Center’s Library for Performing Arts on Thursday, but it nearly ended up in Texas. As Reed’s widow Laurie Anderson explained in conversation with The New York Times, she cut off conversations with UT Austin after Texas legislators passed a law allowing handguns to be carried on college campuses. Reed died in 2013, and Anderson had initially wanted his archive to be housed at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, which already boasted papers from James Joyce, Norman Mailer, and Don DeLillo. But after Governor Abbott signed the campus-carry bill in 2015, “I called them up,” she said. “‘This thing we’ve been talking about for a couple years? It’s off. Because of guns.’” A few months later, she read about a...
Matthew McConaughey Gives Emotional Plea for “Gun Responsibility” from White House Briefing Room
Matthew McConaughey appeared at the White House Press Briefing Room on Tuesday, where he delivered an impassioned plea for Congressional leaders to pass new bipartisan gun legislation in response to the recent wave of mass shootings in the US, including in the actor’s own hometown of Uvalde, Texas. McConaughey began his remarks by sharing personal anecdotes about the nineteen students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School on May 24th. He and his wife, Camila Aves, traveled to Uvalde the day after the shooting and met with the families of the victims. In one particularly striking moment, Camila held a pair of green Converse shoes belonging to one of the victims, Maite Rodriguez. The nine-year-old girl had drawn a heart on the shoes because it “represented her love of nature,” Mc...
Dave Chappelle to Donate Buffalo Show Proceeds to Shooting Victims
Dave Chappelle is donating the proceeds from a recent standup show in Buffalo, New York to the families of those killed in the May 14th mass shooting in the city. Chappelle performed Sunday, June 5th, at Buffalo’s Shea’s Performing Arts Center after surprise announcing the show last week. According to TMZ, all of the ticket sales from the sold-out, 3,000-capacity venue will be donated to the local community. An 18-year-old opened fire at a Buffalo Tops Friendly Market on May 14th, driving hours across New York state to target a predominantly Black neighborhood. The gunman, who posted a white supremacist manifesto online, live streamed the attack. He pleaded not guilty to the 25-count indictment against him. Advertisement Related Video Chappelle was recently attacked on stage during a stand...
New York Moves to Ban Hidden Fees from Concert Tickets
New York State is working to save you from the heartache of spending way more on concert tickets than you originally anticipated. A new bill will ban hidden fees from concert tickets, requiring ticketing companies to show “all-in” ticket prices up front rather than letting them sneak up on you at the last minute. Via Stereogum, as of June 3rd the bill has passed the New York state senate and assembly and is awaiting Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature. Once signed, both primary and resale vendors will be required to disclose the final ticket cost on concert tickets’ initial listing, offering a more accurate picture of ticket pricing. What’s more, that final ticket cost cannot be printed in a smaller type size than the initial cost — a nod to the bill’s requirement that prices be displayed in...
Big Thief Announce Israel Tour Dates, Internet Boos
Big Thief have extended their world tour by adding two dates in Tel Aviv, Israel, cushioning the announcement with a statement claiming to be “open to other people’s perspectives” regarding the country’s conflict with Palestine. Noting that bassist Max Oleartchik is from Israel, the band explained that they wanted to explore Oleartchik’s hometown and meet his family and friends in the same way that he had done for them as they toured the United States. “It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them,” the band said. “It is foundational. It is in that spirit that we made our decision to play in Israel.” Aware that many fans would likely not support their decision to perform in a country currently occupying another, Big Thief went on on to add, “We ar...
