July 13, 2024 • 28 mins
Welcome to episode 64 of Amerisogyny! This weekend trip from the US to Brazil uncovers stories where individuals are hit and attacked, both physically and mentally, and must do a little bobbing and weaving to survive. We also emphasize the importance of self-worth and resilience in the face of online negativity.
As we expose greed, misogyny and corruption across global borders, we stress the significance of strong advocacy and global support for those in need. When women and children are at risk of exploitation, it is everyone's responsibility to create safe spaces in personal and public parameters.
Finally, we send a call of action for accountability and justice to you, the Listeners, underscoring the pervasive nature of racism worldwide. Join us as we explore these powerful stories of resilience, injustice, and the ongoing fight for a better world.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:17):
Bob and Weave. Yes, that's the title of this week's episode.
Because the stories that I'm going to bring you today remind me of the old boxing
matches I used to watch with my grandmother when I was a little girl.
The people in these stories are being hit and attacked, sometimes physically
(00:40):
and sometimes mentally.
Either way, many of them had to do a little bobbing and weaving.
President Joe Biden is doing some bobbing and weaving after the debate
he did with former President Donald Trump and people are calling for him to step down.
I'm going to say how I feel really quickly. I don't care what condition he's in.
(01:04):
I'm voting for Joe Biden this November because I'll be damned if I want to see
Donald Trump back in that White House again.
President Biden came to Raleigh, North Carolina and gave a damn fine speech.
No one seems to be talking about that. I've never cared about what rich people
(01:26):
want, and I'm not going to start now.
Some of them want him to step down and move aside. Move aside for who?
Hakeem Jeffries? Are we forgetting that we live in the most racist country in the world?
Do you actually think people are going to vote for another black man to be the
(01:48):
President of the United States, even after we had a wonderful president?
President Barack Obama. Here's the truth. And if you don't like it,
you can turn me off and stop listening to me. I don't care.
Here's the truth. It was only because some Americans were so outraged that President
(02:10):
Barack Obama won two terms in the first place.
That's the reason why Donald Trump got in office.
Because racists were outraged that a black man was the president of the United
States and they could not find one scandal on him. Not one.
(02:32):
Look it up. And he did a damn fine job for this country.
Oh, yeah. He would have did even better had turtleneck Mitch McConnell and other
conservatives not blocked everything he tried to do. Oh, yeah.
Mitch McConnell admitted that. Look it up. He was proud of it.
America, I don't think it's going to be in my lifetime.
(02:57):
America is not ready for another Black man to be in office.
And since we're talking about Black, now, this wasn't my topic for today,
but I'm going to speak my piece.
Since we're talking about Black, let me tell you what the real fear is.
A lot of these outspoken Americans, and I've noticed they are rich white guys,
(03:19):
it's not his cognitive deficit that they're so worried about.
Here's what they're worried about, that Joe Biden will die.
And when that happens.
Guess who's going to be the next president of the United States of America?
Uh-huh. Vice President Kamala Harris.
(03:44):
And let's be real. America would rather burn itself to the ground than to see
a black woman be their commander in chief. Oh, yeah.
You know, they want to flirt with Michelle Obama could beat Trump.
First of all, Michelle Obama had eight years in the office next to her husband.
(04:06):
She was called everything from a man to the N-word, and so were her daughters.
Michelle Obama, in my opinion, is not trying to come back to the White House
for another eight years of that. Okay? Okay.
That's why they want him to step down. They would rather see Hakeem Jeffries
(04:27):
lose than a black woman win. Well, guess what?
I'm hoping that Biden has another healthy four years. But if not,
Kamala Harris will be our president.
And you know what? I think it's time.
I think Hillary Clinton should have been the first female president.
But we know what happened with that, don't we?
(04:49):
For President Biden, here's my advice.
Keep bobbing and weaving until November, because the majority of us remember
how crazy and racist and toxic and destructive Trump is.
We remember when his supporters came to the Capitol and tried to overthrow their
(05:12):
own government, traitors to the USA. They broke windows.
They raised Trump flags.
They smeared poop.
On the walls of the Capitol, they brought zip ties.
One little brat tried to sell Nancy Pelosi's laptop after she stole it.
(05:34):
And Trump had the nerve to blame it all on Nancy Pelosi during the debate.
He told so many lies and those moderators were absolute trash because they fact
checked him on nothing. They sat there while he stood there and lied and lied and lied.
(05:55):
So let me tell you something, Democrats, for those of us who have common sense,
this is a no brainer, no pun intended.
Joe Biden is the best and the only choice for this country. That is my opinion,
and it's not going to change.
Now, let's get into our episode.
(06:16):
Listeners, I only have two countries for us to visit today, mine and Brazil.
And I'll be real honest with you, this is going to be a very short episode because
honey, North Carolina is hot and I'm ready to get up under my fan in central
air. That's right, I need both.
Our first stop, social media.
(06:39):
I try not to talk about celebrities too much on this show, but social media
is so detrimental to the self-esteem of young girls.
I want to talk about two very beautiful actresses.
One is still in the game and one hasn't been for a while, but it just goes to
show you can have all the money and the fame in the world and still it will
(07:04):
never be good enough for some people.
Vanessa L. Williams was our first black Miss America.
I grew up on her music. She has a fabulous voice. She's also a damn good actress.
Well, she made an appearance on Good Morning America and posted photos from
her interview on Instagram.
(07:25):
Vanessa is 61 years old and she looks absolutely amazing.
And of course she got some compliments. One person said, you are one of the
most beautiful, incredible women ever.
And another said, what a classic beauty and without much work from what I can
tell, meaning plastic surgery.
(07:46):
But we know misery loves company, don't we?
There just had to be one person who couldn't help but say something.
They wrote,
Vanessa Williams has lost so much weight, she has dissipated.
She don't even look like herself.
She looks much older now that she's trying to stay extra thin,
(08:08):
and that's not healthy. That sounds like a hater to me.
And this person got checked quickly, meaning they got put in their place.
Because someone said, well, first of all, she looks incredible. And I agree, she does.
She does not look older, even though she is.
Correct again. When have you ever seen the Vanessa Williams looking girthy?
(08:33):
She actually works out, stays in shape, and loves her family immensely.
So, for you to even get up this morning and decide to post some negative crap
like this under such a positive post on her page shows that you're not a fan.
(08:54):
Oh, I like that clap back. I like that a lot. And let me tell you,
this person hasn't been the only one to drag Vanessa.
Some have accused her of using Ozempic to lose weight. They criticized her
when she posted a selfie with no makeup.
People are just mean and evil, miserable.
(09:15):
But I'm not going to stop here. Let's talk about another actress, Lela Rochon.
Lela Rochon is best known for the movie Waiting to Exhale.
She is 60 years old, a very pretty woman.
But for years, Lela has taken many hits that she's had to bob and weave,
primarily about her weight.
(09:36):
In 2019, a photo of her husband, Antoine Fuqua, kissing Nicole Murphy went viral.
Now, some people put the blame where it belonged, her husband and Nicole Murphy.
But others sought to blame Lela for gaining weight.
There are some very good people in this world, but there are also trash people
(09:58):
and they love to spew their negativity on social media.
Someone posted that Lela had let herself go.
And here's what they said. When she married her husband, she looked like the then photo.
After two kids, she looks like the now photo.
She has money to get in shape. There's no excuse. You can't be mad if your husband
(10:20):
cheats on you with a more attractive and in-shape chick.
Nicole Murphy is sexy and in-shape, period. You can't blame her husband for wanting better.
Lela needs to work out or ship out, period. We like what we like,
and that's not a wife that doesn't take care of herself.
I thought this was absolutely toxic and disgusting to say. A woman's weight
(10:46):
should never be held as an excuse to cheat.
And I'm not going to focus on the cheating. I'm going to focus on what they said about her weight.
For years, she has been dragged for not looking the way she looked when she
starred in Waiting to Exhale.
And I think it is a shame and it is cruel.
Well, now Lela has lost weight and the hypocrisy plane sure is flying around.
(11:11):
All kind of compliments are coming at her now. But my question is,
where were these compliments before she lost the weight?
One person said, Leela got back fine. Oh, it's finna be on.
I think she looked great before she lost the weight. So here you have two very
beautiful women, one who gained a lot of weight.
(11:32):
And let me just say, bodies change as you age.
There's perimenopause. There's menopause. There's illness. There are all kinds
of reasons why our bodies don't remain the same.
And for social media, for strangers, they shouldn't have to.
(11:53):
I don't know why Lela Rochon gained weight and I don't care.
She shouldn't have been bullied for it. On the other hand, you have Vanessa L.
Williams who looks absolutely fantastic and people are not happy with that.
But here's my point, ladies and young girls too.
Whatever female is listening to me (12:11):
you are never going to draw your self-confidence from social media.
Either you're going to be too thin or too fat. If you're too muscular?
you look like a man.
It is up to you and you alone to carry a healthy self-esteem.
(12:32):
Don't look for it from strangers because you're not going to get it.
You need to understand that no matter how you look, even if you may not feel
it today, you are beautiful.
You are worthy of good things. You have the right
and deserve to be respected. I'm glad to see Lela is back.
(12:53):
They dragged her so badly, she had to shut down her social media.
Now, back when all that happened, some people did speak out in her defense.
One said, It is 100% gross that Lela Rochon's weight gain is being mentioned
in the same sentence and conversation about her husband, Antoine Fuqua,
locking lips with Nicole Murphy.
(13:15):
What does her weight have to do with his fidelity?
That's a damn good question. And another said, y'all really using Lela Rochon's
weight as a way to justify her husband's cheating like this woman ain't got lupus.
The world is going to hell.
The world has already been there, honey. Ladies, no matter what you do,
(13:36):
you will never please others. So don't even try.
Just be who you are. Be yourself. And if and when the verbal attacks come,
bob and weave like the champions I know you are.
Now let's get ready for our next stop.
Texas, USA. Now I would say Texas has gone wild, but it's always been that way.
(14:01):
I have family there and one of my beautiful models and her beautiful family lives there.
Shout out to Angela and shout out to Ava and Nomi, her little babies. They're so cute!
But there's nothing cute about this story I'm about to bring you.
It's about someone else's daughters. And although they tried to bob and weave,
(14:22):
they got knocked out... by lying and very nasty sex traffickers.
This happened in Princeton, North Texas.
And how did the traffickers get caught?
Bed bugs. Now, how nasty do you have to be to have bed bugs?
A technician from a pest control company is the hero of this story.
(14:44):
He said when he arrived, he was met by young men who showed him around the house.
And he said in each bedroom, three to five women were sleeping on the floor.
He saw a large amount of suitcases and no furniture beyond folding tables and air mattresses.
Well, a tip was called into the police and they found 15 women living inside
(15:09):
the house between the ages of 23 and 26.
They arrested four suspects. I'm only going to say their last names.
Male, Dasireddy, Gunda and Katkoori.
When police spoke with the women, they found that the women thought that they
were applying for an internship to learn Java Scripting or computer programming. But that was a lie.
(15:35):
Princeton police are working with the Department of Homeland Security to study
laptops, phones, and fake documents they got from the house.
Police suspect the operation is much larger, with maybe 100 victims or more.
Lieutenant Jesus Rodriguez says, and we believe they may have other homes in
(15:56):
the area for this operation as well.
He says he doesn't know what will happen to the victims, and it's up to the courts.
The suspects have all been released on bond, and Katkoori had the nerve to request
permission to travel the country on business.
What kind of business? Trafficking women? Their bails weren't set high enough.
(16:17):
After what they've done, they shouldn't be walking around free.
Ladies, even if you're applying for a job, you're going to have to do a lot
of bobbing and weaving just to make sure if it's legit.
Sex trafficking is real, and these men will say and do anything to make a buck off of women.
Bedbugs. How nasty is that? Well, they're a bit less nastier than racism.
(16:43):
And that brings me to our next story. Still in Texas, folks.
Let's mosey on over to Manville, Texas.
A mother says her two young boys have suffered from racist attacks for more
than a year. And from whom?
A racist white man who had the nerve to hang a noose in his yard.
(17:06):
And although she went to the police, the police did nothing about it until a
family member went to the mayor.
Mayor Dan Davis said he learned about the hateful incidents over the weekend
of June 29th through the 30th and immediately launched an investigation.
(17:27):
Manvel is a suburb in Houston, and the mother lives there with her father.
They spoke out at a Manvel City Council meeting and confronted the police,
demanding that they take action.
The mother's name is Kat Ducommun, and she said her neighbor hung the noose in
his yard directly in front of her house with a message for her young son.
(17:51):
According to Kat, he told her, well, I have something for your little boy and
pointed to a tree where a noose was hanging.
At the city council meeting, she was shaking and in tears.
She said, told your officers and nothing happened.
I'm sorry I'm getting emotional, but I'm a mom just trying to do this for my kids.
(18:14):
And the grandfather went to the police as well on four different occasions to complain. plane.
According to him, they blew him off. He said one officer told him,
well, what do you want us to do about it?
Kat says the noose was the last straw for her.
So now she's talking to the press and civil rights advocates as she should.
(18:37):
She also wants the district attorney's office to get involved.
She says the neighbor has pointed lights at their house throughout the night
and let his his dog off the leash to chase her son.
She says their house looked like Christmas every night. But the police told
her, well, just get blackout curtains.
And she said, well, why do I have to get blackout curtains when a known racist
(19:02):
is across the street from my children?
The police even told her that the noose was freedom of speech. Can you believe that?
If you're listening outside of the United States, this is what life is like
for Black people all the time.
This is what we deal with. This is what we live with.
(19:24):
It is not playing the race card. It is not complaining with no reason.
We speak up because we have something to speak up about.
Now, after the mayor lit a fire under his tail, Manvel Police Chief Keith
Traylor promised immediate action and said police are now investigating the
(19:44):
allegations of racism and racial threats.
But he initially told a reporter that the police needed proof of a racially
motivated threat regarding the noose.
Kat said her father thought about moving, but she said, for what?
If they move, this is going to happen to someone else who comes to live there. And she's correct.
(20:08):
They should not have to move. The police should do their jobs and do something about it.
But when police forces are racist, that's what happens. And yeah, I said what I said.
For them to excuse such vile, unjust actions by a man who is clearly racist,
that means they're in agreement with him.
(20:29):
Well, the mayor seemed to condemn the actions when they were brought to
him and he confirmed the noose is down.
He said, I am deeply troubled by this and I want to be unequivocally clear.
Racially motivated actions are abhorrent and have no place in our city,
nor do they reflect the values of our community or our city council.
(20:52):
He also said that they were informed the lighting was taken down,
which is, by the way, a violation of the city code.
And he says, if the neighbor continues to violate the city code,
they will issue daily citations until it's addressed.
Now, he is doing what the police should have done the first time.
(21:12):
And let's get this out of the way.
Symbols of hate, like a noose, are not protected under the First Amendment if
they're used to target or threaten an individual.
The only time they're protected under the
constitution (which they shouldn't be) is if they're
worn or displayed in a public place such as
(21:32):
a march or a rally and we know the Klan is good for that don't we? I feel so
sorry for this family and i absolutely agree with the mother when she said nobody
should have to deal with this. my kids should not have to deal with this. they
should not have to be raised next to this.
And she's right. It is 2024, you guys.
(21:54):
And we still have disgusting racists in this country.
And I'm going to say it again. That's another reason why Donald Trump should
never be president of the United States ever again.
This is what he approves of. The last thing this country needs is him as a leader.
But back to this family, this mother had had to bob and weave for the safety of her kids.
(22:21):
And why? Isn't that the job of the police? To protect and serve?
I applaud her for standing up for her boys, and I hope she gets the justice they so richly deserve.
Well, we know racism isn't just in America, folks.
It's all across the globe. Three young black males had to bob and weave from
(22:42):
police, and it all went down on our last stop.
Brazil. Now, Brazil is a country that listens to us often.
Extending a warm shout out to
all of our listeners in Brazil and get ready because this one is for you.
As I said, the three black boys had to do some bobbing and weaving,
(23:03):
but now it is Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs that has to do some and bobbing
and weaving because the three young black males were the sons of foreign diplomats.
Oh yeah, babe. So what happened? These young innocent boys were held at gunpoint
and searched by federal police officers when they had done nothing wrong.
(23:28):
And how did this story go viral? A mother of one of the teens uploaded video
footage on social media.
And of course, there was nationwide outrage.
This happened in Rio de Janeiro. Three black boys and one white arrived in Rio
for a five-day vacation to celebrate the end of the school year.
(23:50):
Well, here's what the dumb racist cops didn't know...
The black kids are sons of ambassadors from Gabon and Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso is also a country that listens to us. Shout out to you guys.
And the third black teen, is the son of a Canadian diplomat.
(24:11):
These boys are 13 and 14 years old. It was the first time they traveled without their parents.
And as a result, they're going to be emotionally scarred for the rest of their lives.
The racist cops actually pressed guns to their heads and forced the boys to
expose their genitals to check them for drugs.
(24:32):
Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds like pedophiles to me.
According to the mother of the white teen, the officer guided my son much more
gently because he is white, while the three black youths had guns pointed at their heads.
Now the crooked cops finally let them go, but they warned them not to wander
around Rio or they would get another search or worse.
(24:55):
Julie-Pascale Moudoute-Bell is the wife of the Gabonese ambassador and she told
reporters that she was appalled by the incident and demanded that the officers
be held accountable and it should be noted the ambassadors of Gabon,
Burkina Faso and Canada were all given
a formal apology but it's not enough the officers should be held accountable
(25:19):
for what they did... and fired... The ministry has called on Brazil's government to
conduct a thorough investigation and ensure appropriate accountability of the
police officers involved in the incident.
Of course. These boys have very wealthy, prominent parents.
They can't let this go. But just imagine if the boys had been poor with no one to advocate for them.
(25:45):
According to Jurema Werneck, Brazil's executive director for Amnesty International
said that's exactly what they do.
The police target people in the poorest communities.
She says, unfortunately, the brutality suffered by these teenagers is not the
first and sadly won't be the last.
(26:06):
In Brazil, no young black person is safe. Now, isn't that a shame?
Mrs. Bell, the wife of the Gabonese ambassador said, the police are there to protect.
How could they point guns at at the head of 13-year-old boys.
We trust in the Brazilian justice system, and we want justice.
(26:27):
That's all. And I hope they get it. And of course, the mental health that these
poor boys have suffered.
Rhaiana Rondon is a mother of one of the boys, and she said on Thursday,
they saw the same patrol car passing by, got really scared, and hid in an ice cream parlor.
When they hear a siren now, even if it's from an ambulance or the fire brigade, they get scared.
(26:50):
From the United States to Brazil in 2024, black children are not safe.
That's what we do, people.
Find the common links that bind us all.
And unfortunately, racism is one of them. Many times, change doesn't come until
something tragic happens.
(27:11):
So I hope that this incident will inspire the change that is so desperately needed in Brazil.
No child should ever have a gun to their head and be forced to show their genitals
just for being a different color.
They shouldn't have to bob and weave from police simply for walking down the street.
It doesn't matter where you live, the U.S., Brazil, or elsewhere.
(27:35):
If you see injustice, do something about it.
One of my professors, Pastor Gary Martin, always told us, if you see a good
fight, get in it! And that's what I'm telling you.
Stand up for people who cannot stand for themselves.
Otherwise, we're no better than these crooked cops or any of our other oppressors.
(27:56):
And with that, I'm out of time.
If you learned anything from today's episode, feel free to follow me. By now, you know where.
Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Samsung, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and more.
Shout out to the 40th foreign country to join our Amerisogyny podcast, South Korea! Welcome!
(28:24):
We've been waiting a long time for you!
I will be back with more stories.
Until then, be easy. Have a good weekend. Take care. And as always...God...bless!!
Music.
Music.
(00:17):
Bob and Weave. Yes, that's the title of this week's episode.
Because the stories that I'm going to bring you today remind me of the old boxing
matches I used to watch with my grandmother when I was a little girl.
The people in these stories are being hit and attacked, sometimes physically
(00:40):
and sometimes mentally.
Either way, many of them had to do a little bobbing and weaving.
President Joe Biden is doing some bobbing and weaving after the debate
he did with former President Donald Trump and people are calling for him to step down.
I'm going to say how I feel really quickly. I don't care what condition he's in.
(01:04):
I'm voting for Joe Biden this November because I'll be damned if I want to see
Donald Trump back in that White House again.
President Biden came to Raleigh, North Carolina and gave a damn fine speech.
No one seems to be talking about that. I've never cared about what rich people
(01:26):
want, and I'm not going to start now.
Some of them want him to step down and move aside. Move aside for who?
Hakeem Jeffries? Are we forgetting that we live in the most racist country in the world?
Do you actually think people are going to vote for another black man to be the
(01:48):
President of the United States, even after we had a wonderful president?
President Barack Obama. Here's the truth. And if you don't like it,
you can turn me off and stop listening to me. I don't care.
Here's the truth. It was only because some Americans were so outraged that President
(02:10):
Barack Obama won two terms in the first place.
That's the reason why Donald Trump got in office.
Because racists were outraged that a black man was the president of the United
States and they could not find one scandal on him. Not one.
(02:32):
Look it up. And he did a damn fine job for this country.
Oh, yeah. He would have did even better had turtleneck Mitch McConnell and other
conservatives not blocked everything he tried to do. Oh, yeah.
Mitch McConnell admitted that. Look it up. He was proud of it.
America, I don't think it's going to be in my lifetime.
(02:57):
America is not ready for another Black man to be in office.
And since we're talking about Black, now, this wasn't my topic for today,
but I'm going to speak my piece.
Since we're talking about Black, let me tell you what the real fear is.
A lot of these outspoken Americans, and I've noticed they are rich white guys,
(03:19):
it's not his cognitive deficit that they're so worried about.
Here's what they're worried about, that Joe Biden will die.
And when that happens.
Guess who's going to be the next president of the United States of America?
Uh-huh. Vice President Kamala Harris.
(03:44):
And let's be real. America would rather burn itself to the ground than to see
a black woman be their commander in chief. Oh, yeah.
You know, they want to flirt with Michelle Obama could beat Trump.
First of all, Michelle Obama had eight years in the office next to her husband.
(04:06):
She was called everything from a man to the N-word, and so were her daughters.
Michelle Obama, in my opinion, is not trying to come back to the White House
for another eight years of that. Okay? Okay.
That's why they want him to step down. They would rather see Hakeem Jeffries
(04:27):
lose than a black woman win. Well, guess what?
I'm hoping that Biden has another healthy four years. But if not,
Kamala Harris will be our president.
And you know what? I think it's time.
I think Hillary Clinton should have been the first female president.
But we know what happened with that, don't we?
(04:49):
For President Biden, here's my advice.
Keep bobbing and weaving until November, because the majority of us remember
how crazy and racist and toxic and destructive Trump is.
We remember when his supporters came to the Capitol and tried to overthrow their
(05:12):
own government, traitors to the USA. They broke windows.
They raised Trump flags.
They smeared poop.
On the walls of the Capitol, they brought zip ties.
One little brat tried to sell Nancy Pelosi's laptop after she stole it.
(05:34):
And Trump had the nerve to blame it all on Nancy Pelosi during the debate.
He told so many lies and those moderators were absolute trash because they fact
checked him on nothing. They sat there while he stood there and lied and lied and lied.
(05:55):
So let me tell you something, Democrats, for those of us who have common sense,
this is a no brainer, no pun intended.
Joe Biden is the best and the only choice for this country. That is my opinion,
and it's not going to change.
Now, let's get into our episode.
(06:16):
Listeners, I only have two countries for us to visit today, mine and Brazil.
And I'll be real honest with you, this is going to be a very short episode because
honey, North Carolina is hot and I'm ready to get up under my fan in central
air. That's right, I need both.
Our first stop, social media.
(06:39):
I try not to talk about celebrities too much on this show, but social media
is so detrimental to the self-esteem of young girls.
I want to talk about two very beautiful actresses.
One is still in the game and one hasn't been for a while, but it just goes to
show you can have all the money and the fame in the world and still it will
(07:04):
never be good enough for some people.
Vanessa L. Williams was our first black Miss America.
I grew up on her music. She has a fabulous voice. She's also a damn good actress.
Well, she made an appearance on Good Morning America and posted photos from
her interview on Instagram.
(07:25):
Vanessa is 61 years old and she looks absolutely amazing.
And of course she got some compliments. One person said, you are one of the
most beautiful, incredible women ever.
And another said, what a classic beauty and without much work from what I can
tell, meaning plastic surgery.
(07:46):
But we know misery loves company, don't we?
There just had to be one person who couldn't help but say something.
They wrote,
Vanessa Williams has lost so much weight, she has dissipated.
She don't even look like herself.
She looks much older now that she's trying to stay extra thin,
(08:08):
and that's not healthy. That sounds like a hater to me.
And this person got checked quickly, meaning they got put in their place.
Because someone said, well, first of all, she looks incredible. And I agree, she does.
She does not look older, even though she is.
Correct again. When have you ever seen the Vanessa Williams looking girthy?
(08:33):
She actually works out, stays in shape, and loves her family immensely.
So, for you to even get up this morning and decide to post some negative crap
like this under such a positive post on her page shows that you're not a fan.
(08:54):
Oh, I like that clap back. I like that a lot. And let me tell you,
this person hasn't been the only one to drag Vanessa.
Some have accused her of using Ozempic to lose weight. They criticized her
when she posted a selfie with no makeup.
People are just mean and evil, miserable.
(09:15):
But I'm not going to stop here. Let's talk about another actress, Lela Rochon.
Lela Rochon is best known for the movie Waiting to Exhale.
She is 60 years old, a very pretty woman.
But for years, Lela has taken many hits that she's had to bob and weave,
primarily about her weight.
(09:36):
In 2019, a photo of her husband, Antoine Fuqua, kissing Nicole Murphy went viral.
Now, some people put the blame where it belonged, her husband and Nicole Murphy.
But others sought to blame Lela for gaining weight.
There are some very good people in this world, but there are also trash people
(09:58):
and they love to spew their negativity on social media.
Someone posted that Lela had let herself go.
And here's what they said. When she married her husband, she looked like the then photo.
After two kids, she looks like the now photo.
She has money to get in shape. There's no excuse. You can't be mad if your husband
(10:20):
cheats on you with a more attractive and in-shape chick.
Nicole Murphy is sexy and in-shape, period. You can't blame her husband for wanting better.
Lela needs to work out or ship out, period. We like what we like,
and that's not a wife that doesn't take care of herself.
I thought this was absolutely toxic and disgusting to say. A woman's weight
(10:46):
should never be held as an excuse to cheat.
And I'm not going to focus on the cheating. I'm going to focus on what they said about her weight.
For years, she has been dragged for not looking the way she looked when she
starred in Waiting to Exhale.
And I think it is a shame and it is cruel.
Well, now Lela has lost weight and the hypocrisy plane sure is flying around.
(11:11):
All kind of compliments are coming at her now. But my question is,
where were these compliments before she lost the weight?
One person said, Leela got back fine. Oh, it's finna be on.
I think she looked great before she lost the weight. So here you have two very
beautiful women, one who gained a lot of weight.
(11:32):
And let me just say, bodies change as you age.
There's perimenopause. There's menopause. There's illness. There are all kinds
of reasons why our bodies don't remain the same.
And for social media, for strangers, they shouldn't have to.
(11:53):
I don't know why Lela Rochon gained weight and I don't care.
She shouldn't have been bullied for it. On the other hand, you have Vanessa L.
Williams who looks absolutely fantastic and people are not happy with that.
But here's my point, ladies and young girls too.
Whatever female is listening to me (12:11):
you are never going to draw your self-confidence from social media.
Either you're going to be too thin or too fat. If you're too muscular?
you look like a man.
It is up to you and you alone to carry a healthy self-esteem.
(12:32):
Don't look for it from strangers because you're not going to get it.
You need to understand that no matter how you look, even if you may not feel
it today, you are beautiful.
You are worthy of good things. You have the right
and deserve to be respected. I'm glad to see Lela is back.
(12:53):
They dragged her so badly, she had to shut down her social media.
Now, back when all that happened, some people did speak out in her defense.
One said, It is 100% gross that Lela Rochon's weight gain is being mentioned
in the same sentence and conversation about her husband, Antoine Fuqua,
locking lips with Nicole Murphy.
(13:15):
What does her weight have to do with his fidelity?
That's a damn good question. And another said, y'all really using Lela Rochon's
weight as a way to justify her husband's cheating like this woman ain't got lupus.
The world is going to hell.
The world has already been there, honey. Ladies, no matter what you do,
(13:36):
you will never please others. So don't even try.
Just be who you are. Be yourself. And if and when the verbal attacks come,
bob and weave like the champions I know you are.
Now let's get ready for our next stop.
Texas, USA. Now I would say Texas has gone wild, but it's always been that way.
(14:01):
I have family there and one of my beautiful models and her beautiful family lives there.
Shout out to Angela and shout out to Ava and Nomi, her little babies. They're so cute!
But there's nothing cute about this story I'm about to bring you.
It's about someone else's daughters. And although they tried to bob and weave,
(14:22):
they got knocked out... by lying and very nasty sex traffickers.
This happened in Princeton, North Texas.
And how did the traffickers get caught?
Bed bugs. Now, how nasty do you have to be to have bed bugs?
A technician from a pest control company is the hero of this story.
(14:44):
He said when he arrived, he was met by young men who showed him around the house.
And he said in each bedroom, three to five women were sleeping on the floor.
He saw a large amount of suitcases and no furniture beyond folding tables and air mattresses.
Well, a tip was called into the police and they found 15 women living inside
(15:09):
the house between the ages of 23 and 26.
They arrested four suspects. I'm only going to say their last names.
Male, Dasireddy, Gunda and Katkoori.
When police spoke with the women, they found that the women thought that they
were applying for an internship to learn Java Scripting or computer programming. But that was a lie.
(15:35):
Princeton police are working with the Department of Homeland Security to study
laptops, phones, and fake documents they got from the house.
Police suspect the operation is much larger, with maybe 100 victims or more.
Lieutenant Jesus Rodriguez says, and we believe they may have other homes in
(15:56):
the area for this operation as well.
He says he doesn't know what will happen to the victims, and it's up to the courts.
The suspects have all been released on bond, and Katkoori had the nerve to request
permission to travel the country on business.
What kind of business? Trafficking women? Their bails weren't set high enough.
(16:17):
After what they've done, they shouldn't be walking around free.
Ladies, even if you're applying for a job, you're going to have to do a lot
of bobbing and weaving just to make sure if it's legit.
Sex trafficking is real, and these men will say and do anything to make a buck off of women.
Bedbugs. How nasty is that? Well, they're a bit less nastier than racism.
(16:43):
And that brings me to our next story. Still in Texas, folks.
Let's mosey on over to Manville, Texas.
A mother says her two young boys have suffered from racist attacks for more
than a year. And from whom?
A racist white man who had the nerve to hang a noose in his yard.
(17:06):
And although she went to the police, the police did nothing about it until a
family member went to the mayor.
Mayor Dan Davis said he learned about the hateful incidents over the weekend
of June 29th through the 30th and immediately launched an investigation.
(17:27):
Manvel is a suburb in Houston, and the mother lives there with her father.
They spoke out at a Manvel City Council meeting and confronted the police,
demanding that they take action.
The mother's name is Kat Ducommun, and she said her neighbor hung the noose in
his yard directly in front of her house with a message for her young son.
(17:51):
According to Kat, he told her, well, I have something for your little boy and
pointed to a tree where a noose was hanging.
At the city council meeting, she was shaking and in tears.
She said, told your officers and nothing happened.
I'm sorry I'm getting emotional, but I'm a mom just trying to do this for my kids.
(18:14):
And the grandfather went to the police as well on four different occasions to complain. plane.
According to him, they blew him off. He said one officer told him,
well, what do you want us to do about it?
Kat says the noose was the last straw for her.
So now she's talking to the press and civil rights advocates as she should.
(18:37):
She also wants the district attorney's office to get involved.
She says the neighbor has pointed lights at their house throughout the night
and let his his dog off the leash to chase her son.
She says their house looked like Christmas every night. But the police told
her, well, just get blackout curtains.
And she said, well, why do I have to get blackout curtains when a known racist
(19:02):
is across the street from my children?
The police even told her that the noose was freedom of speech. Can you believe that?
If you're listening outside of the United States, this is what life is like
for Black people all the time.
This is what we deal with. This is what we live with.
(19:24):
It is not playing the race card. It is not complaining with no reason.
We speak up because we have something to speak up about.
Now, after the mayor lit a fire under his tail, Manvel Police Chief Keith
Traylor promised immediate action and said police are now investigating the
(19:44):
allegations of racism and racial threats.
But he initially told a reporter that the police needed proof of a racially
motivated threat regarding the noose.
Kat said her father thought about moving, but she said, for what?
If they move, this is going to happen to someone else who comes to live there. And she's correct.
(20:08):
They should not have to move. The police should do their jobs and do something about it.
But when police forces are racist, that's what happens. And yeah, I said what I said.
For them to excuse such vile, unjust actions by a man who is clearly racist,
that means they're in agreement with him.
(20:29):
Well, the mayor seemed to condemn the actions when they were brought to
him and he confirmed the noose is down.
He said, I am deeply troubled by this and I want to be unequivocally clear.
Racially motivated actions are abhorrent and have no place in our city,
nor do they reflect the values of our community or our city council.
(20:52):
He also said that they were informed the lighting was taken down,
which is, by the way, a violation of the city code.
And he says, if the neighbor continues to violate the city code,
they will issue daily citations until it's addressed.
Now, he is doing what the police should have done the first time.
(21:12):
And let's get this out of the way.
Symbols of hate, like a noose, are not protected under the First Amendment if
they're used to target or threaten an individual.
The only time they're protected under the
constitution (which they shouldn't be) is if they're
worn or displayed in a public place such as
(21:32):
a march or a rally and we know the Klan is good for that don't we? I feel so
sorry for this family and i absolutely agree with the mother when she said nobody
should have to deal with this. my kids should not have to deal with this. they
should not have to be raised next to this.
And she's right. It is 2024, you guys.
(21:54):
And we still have disgusting racists in this country.
And I'm going to say it again. That's another reason why Donald Trump should
never be president of the United States ever again.
This is what he approves of. The last thing this country needs is him as a leader.
But back to this family, this mother had had to bob and weave for the safety of her kids.
(22:21):
And why? Isn't that the job of the police? To protect and serve?
I applaud her for standing up for her boys, and I hope she gets the justice they so richly deserve.
Well, we know racism isn't just in America, folks.
It's all across the globe. Three young black males had to bob and weave from
(22:42):
police, and it all went down on our last stop.
Brazil. Now, Brazil is a country that listens to us often.
Extending a warm shout out to
all of our listeners in Brazil and get ready because this one is for you.
As I said, the three black boys had to do some bobbing and weaving,
(23:03):
but now it is Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs that has to do some and bobbing
and weaving because the three young black males were the sons of foreign diplomats.
Oh yeah, babe. So what happened? These young innocent boys were held at gunpoint
and searched by federal police officers when they had done nothing wrong.
(23:28):
And how did this story go viral? A mother of one of the teens uploaded video
footage on social media.
And of course, there was nationwide outrage.
This happened in Rio de Janeiro. Three black boys and one white arrived in Rio
for a five-day vacation to celebrate the end of the school year.
(23:50):
Well, here's what the dumb racist cops didn't know...
The black kids are sons of ambassadors from Gabon and Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso is also a country that listens to us. Shout out to you guys.
And the third black teen, is the son of a Canadian diplomat.
(24:11):
These boys are 13 and 14 years old. It was the first time they traveled without their parents.
And as a result, they're going to be emotionally scarred for the rest of their lives.
The racist cops actually pressed guns to their heads and forced the boys to
expose their genitals to check them for drugs.
(24:32):
Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds like pedophiles to me.
According to the mother of the white teen, the officer guided my son much more
gently because he is white, while the three black youths had guns pointed at their heads.
Now the crooked cops finally let them go, but they warned them not to wander
around Rio or they would get another search or worse.
(24:55):
Julie-Pascale Moudoute-Bell is the wife of the Gabonese ambassador and she told
reporters that she was appalled by the incident and demanded that the officers
be held accountable and it should be noted the ambassadors of Gabon,
Burkina Faso and Canada were all given
a formal apology but it's not enough the officers should be held accountable
(25:19):
for what they did... and fired... The ministry has called on Brazil's government to
conduct a thorough investigation and ensure appropriate accountability of the
police officers involved in the incident.
Of course. These boys have very wealthy, prominent parents.
They can't let this go. But just imagine if the boys had been poor with no one to advocate for them.
(25:45):
According to Jurema Werneck, Brazil's executive director for Amnesty International
said that's exactly what they do.
The police target people in the poorest communities.
She says, unfortunately, the brutality suffered by these teenagers is not the
first and sadly won't be the last.
(26:06):
In Brazil, no young black person is safe. Now, isn't that a shame?
Mrs. Bell, the wife of the Gabonese ambassador said, the police are there to protect.
How could they point guns at at the head of 13-year-old boys.
We trust in the Brazilian justice system, and we want justice.
(26:27):
That's all. And I hope they get it. And of course, the mental health that these
poor boys have suffered.
Rhaiana Rondon is a mother of one of the boys, and she said on Thursday,
they saw the same patrol car passing by, got really scared, and hid in an ice cream parlor.
When they hear a siren now, even if it's from an ambulance or the fire brigade, they get scared.
(26:50):
From the United States to Brazil in 2024, black children are not safe.
That's what we do, people.
Find the common links that bind us all.
And unfortunately, racism is one of them. Many times, change doesn't come until
something tragic happens.
(27:11):
So I hope that this incident will inspire the change that is so desperately needed in Brazil.
No child should ever have a gun to their head and be forced to show their genitals
just for being a different color.
They shouldn't have to bob and weave from police simply for walking down the street.
It doesn't matter where you live, the U.S., Brazil, or elsewhere.
(27:35):
If you see injustice, do something about it.
One of my professors, Pastor Gary Martin, always told us, if you see a good
fight, get in it! And that's what I'm telling you.
Stand up for people who cannot stand for themselves.
Otherwise, we're no better than these crooked cops or any of our other oppressors.
(27:56):
And with that, I'm out of time.
If you learned anything from today's episode, feel free to follow me. By now, you know where.
Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Samsung, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and more.
Shout out to the 40th foreign country to join our Amerisogyny podcast, South Korea! Welcome!
(28:24):
We've been waiting a long time for you!
I will be back with more stories.
Until then, be easy. Have a good weekend. Take care. And as always...God...bless!!
Music.
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