Messy Messy Messy: Labor Day Week News Recap (2018)

By Sierra Pepin

In the words of my editor, last week was nuts. Don’t worry, while you catch your breath, your good sis (me) will get you up to speed.

Let’s start with the ugly - George Zimmerman allegedly threatened Beyoncé Giselle Knowles, and her husband, Jay-Z. According to The Blast, Zimmerman, the man acquitted of taking the life of teen Trayvon Martin, allegedly called Bey a "broke whore" and said if he saw either part of the power couple, "they'll find themselves inside of 13-foot gator."

Zimmerman supposedly sent a series of texts to a private investigator, Dennis Warren. Warren was responsible for contacting potential participants for the six-part docu-series about Trayvon that was co-produced by Jay-Z.

Photo from TheBlast.com

Totally related: for the heartbreaking history of black babies being used as bait for alligators and crocs, see here, here, and here.

I know I said I'd help you breathe easier, and if you're a decent person, your heart is probably in your throat right now. Let's move on to less violent racism *inserts awkward smile*

Our tennis queen and arguably the greatest athlete ever, Serena Williams, was portrayed in an image by Australian cartoonist, Mark Knight. I won't share the toon here, because black women deserve better but boy, did Twitter have a lot to say about his depiction. The disproportionately drawn image of Serena's body, exaggeration of her behavior, and the white-washing of U.S. Open champ, Naomi Osaka, sparked outrage. So many people called out Knight, that his Twitter account is no longer active. The cartoon was featured in Aussie newspaper, the Herald Sun. Their response? That we, race-obsessed, overly-sensitive, politically-correct, folks are the problem.

The bad (but entertaining, not gonna lie):

Nicki and Cardi B (attempt to) throw hands. Or just Cardi, really. Nicki Minaj very clearly told a pissed off Belcalis Almanzar, "I'mma stay right here." Things popped off at Harper’s Bazaar ICONS fashion week party in New York. Multiple 'B*tch, c'mere's' can be heard from the Bodak Yellow star. Cardi left with a knot on her head, a ripped dress, and looking unbothered (probably because she tried to knock Nicki out with a high heel). Cardi says things got ugly because the Barbs has been trying to secretly sabotage her career and had insulted her child and parenting skills. On Monday, through her Queen Radio platform, Nicks implied that Cardi is in general, a hot problematic mess, and is actually hurting because of Offset's infidelity.

...It's sooo messy.

Who else is fighting, you ask? There was a rumor about Auntie Mary J. and Faith Evans bringing hateration and holleration in P. Diddy’s dancery. However, Mary J. Blige cleared up the rumor. She was in another part of the country. Faith Evans’ camp also denounced the rumor. In fact, there was no Diddy party. (PHEW)  

The good

There's not enough good to undo this messy mess (and racism and misogyny), but Drake and Meek Mill are friends, now. That's nice.