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BET says ‘audio malfunction’ caused heavy censorship of Usher’s speech at the 2024 BET Awards

BET says ‘audio malfunction’ caused heavy censorship of Usher’s speech at the 2024 BET Awards

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BET says 'audio malfunction' caused heavy censorship of Usher's speech at the 2024 BET Awards

Usher’s acceptance speech of the BET Awards’ lifetime achievement award was heartfelt, occasionally profane and lengthy — and few people got to hear it.

The 13-minute speech was largely censored by the network, leaving viewers at home curious to know what Usher said. A BET spokesperson told The Associated Press that “due to an audio malfunction during the live telecast, portions of his speech were inadvertently muted. We extend our sincere apologies to USHER as we couldn’t be more grateful for his participation.”

A full version of the speech is now available on BET’s YouTube channel and will be included in a Monday rebroadcast, with a few profanities removed. Much of his speech centered on the idea of fatherhood, forgiveness, and his three-decades’ long career. It appears that the heavy censoring started shortly after Usher said “Sorry, I’m gonna curse and let you know how I really feel” early on in his acceptance.

He recounted walking into music mogul L.A. Reid’s office at 12 or 13 years old and telling a room full of executives that he’d make it. “That wasn’t ego speaking. I rebranded that word that day,” he said in a section of the speech that didn’t air. “I rebranded that word that day. I expressed goals out loud.”

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The R&B superstar is an eight-time Grammy winner who recently ended a two-year Las Vegas residency, “Usher: My Way” at the Park MGM. In February, he released his first solo album in eight years, and in August is scheduled to kick off a 24-city U.S. tour titled “Past Present Future.”

Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl halftime performance drew acclaim and included guest appearances by such stars as Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and Ludacris. His album “Confessions” has sold more than 10 million units in the U.S., ranking it among one of the best-selling music projects of all time. It launched No. 1 hits such as “Yeah!” with Ludacris and Lil Jon, “Burn” and “Confessions Part II.”

A rebroadcast of the 2024 BET Awards aired on BET on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern.

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Writer Olivia Nuzzi, New York magazine part ways after relationship with political source revealed

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Writer Olivia Nuzzi, New York magazine part ways after relationship with political source revealed

New York magazine and its star political reporter, Olivia Nuzzi, have decided jointly to “part ways” after reports that she had a personal digital relationship with a source while covering the 2024 campaign.

The magazine said Monday that its own internal review and an investigation by a law firm it enlisted found no issues with Nuzzi’s accuracy or bias.

“Nevertheless, the magazine and Nuzzi agreed that the best course forward is to part ways,” the publication said in a post on its website, which it framed as an update to readers. “Nuzzi is a uniquely talented writer and we have been proud to publish her work over her nearly eight years as our Washington correspondent. We wish her the best.”

Last month, the newsletter Status, which broke the story, and The New York Times both cited unnamed sources in identifying Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the person involved with Nuzzi. She has not confirmed Kennedy’s involvement and Kennedy said in a statement that he had only met her once.

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David Haskell, New York magazine’s editor in chief, said in a note to staff members after the news broke that Nuzzi told them the relationship began last December, “after we had published her November profile.” Nuzzi’s only published profile that month was of Kennedy. The relationship reportedly ended in August, Haskell wrote.

The publication said at the time that if it had been aware of the relationship, Nuzzi would not have been permitted to cover the presidential campaign.

Last month, Nuzzi said in a statement to Status that the nature of some communication between herself and a former reporting subject turned personal early this year.

“During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source,” she said. “The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”

The publication said at the time that if it had been aware of the relationship, Nuzzi would not have been permitted to cover the presidential campaign.

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Last month, Nuzzi said in a statement to Status that the nature of some communication between herself and a former reporting subject turned personal early this year.

“During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source,” she said. “The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”

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‘Jigra’ suffers Alia Bhatt’s lowest Box Office in 10 years, lower than her notable flops

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'Jigra' suffers Alia Bhatt's lowest Box Office in 10 years, lower than her notable flops

‘Jigra’, a much-awaited motion picture by Vasan Bala, Anirudh Chawla, and Rashid Mubarak with Alia Bhatt in the lead didn’t meet expectations, making it one of the lowest performing movies of Bollywood diva.

Despite being only about 2 months in theaters, the film is competing against the box office by being labelled as not good enough. The movie hit the theaters on 11th October 2024 and has been in the top news for its secrecy and acting, however, it is not only a hit but also a fire of debates and dissatisfaction about its commercial success.

There are no additional indications of the film being well-liked by the public, it was released on October 11, 2024, and people weren’t interested in it, which was also a point of criticism. The plot revolves around Alia, who plays the character of a sister who is incredibly daring to leave home to find and save her brother.

The Wandering Lives is a story of a family that is so tied by the trauma they have experienced that it is impossible to sever the ties. Andreas Scholm develops as he tells more stories of encounters and adventures.

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The thing that was first said by the film’s director Vasan Bala. He even used these very specific words to describe what the post-production editing of the film will be his responsibility.

During an interview, he talked about the trouble of the film at the box office, and told them to search for the cause of the problem, by saying “Something has happened where people have stayed away.” Bala C. had to go.

Before its launch, the movie was at the core of several difficulties. Consequently, Vasan Bala made the news for his altercations with Karan Johar after the former made some remarks about the script’s alterations.

The film also faced plagiarism allegations by actress Divya Khossla who claimed that it was a copied version of her work. In the background of the other issues, this problem of the Bala film is mounted. He deleted his accounts as the pressure and stress had become unbearable.

As of the present, the revenue collected by Jigra is around ₹27.30 crores. A figure that is quite lower than the collection in a remake of the movie that is directed by one of the famous Bollywood actresses.

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Critics have written that the initial half of the film is interestingly devised while the second half of the film is stretched and needs some editing to maintain the pace. 

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Kajol gives her two cents on how to deal with trolling

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Kajol gives her two cents on how to deal with trolling

Bollywood star Kajol has shared her views on trolling faced by celebrities in the age of social media.

In a ceremony, she talked frankly over the complex problems faced by famous stars. She also gives her two cents on how the stars can maintain a balance in their lives.

She said she is grateful that she has spent the most of her life meeting with real people and not on some social media page where no one knows each other but they can pass comments on each other with disregard.

Calling the negative comments by some fans as ‘unavoidable’, she said any star cannot be liked by all the people at the same time. There would surely be his critics. One has to deal with it.

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She also called herself the laziest actor and talked about huge breaks from movies during a period of her fame.

But, she added how that break was a blessing in disguise for her: “Well, I got married and had children.”

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