9 d. ago Revealed, Chrisley Knows Best's wild blackmail, drugs and 'living in the closet' rumours: As Trump pardons reality stars, TOM LEONARD uncovers shocking financial black hole

While the US Constitution doesn't allow Donald Trump to pardon himself, it doesn't stop him from pardoning someone very much like him.

Events

1 week ago Trump’s pardoning of Black celebrities is a cynical ploy | Tayo Bero

It’s not the first time the president has sought to curry favor this way. His instincts about Black Americans are clearThis week, Trump issued two dozen presidential pardons to a motley crew of wrongdoers, including shady politicians, fraudulent CEOs and other wealthy ne’er-do-wells. On that list were the Louisiana rapper NBA YoungBoy (whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden) and the Chicago gangster Larry Hoover.Regardless of where you stand on American carceral culture and what we know about the ways the criminal justice system squashes Black people who have the misfortune of interacting with it, Trump handing out pardons to Hoover and Gaulden isn’t the magnanimous or justice-focused move he wants us to believe it is. Instead, it’s a clear effort to garner support from the Black community by way of its big names.Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Dear America: women’s bodies are not state property | Tayo Bero

Adriana Smith, declared braindead in February, is being kept alive because she’s pregnant. Where was the concern for her life while she was here?A Black pregnant woman who was declared brain dead back in February is still being kept alive on a ventilator, because of a Georgia law that prohibits abortions beyond six weeks. If this sounds like the stuff of speculative fiction, it’s because there’s literally a Handmaid’s Tale episode about this. And while the TV show based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 book may have gotten many things right about the soul of authoritarianism and a violently patriarchal society, living that reality is even more sickening.Anyone who thinks this is about the life of Adriana Smith’s child is fooling themselves. This is the state, boundary testing to see how far they can take their efforts to have full reproductive control over American women, and gauging how much the American public is willing to tolerate.Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Famous men’s toxic fandoms have become a tool for punishing women | Tayo Bero

From DDG to Tory Lanez, a male celebrity is accused of abuse – and his supporters reverse the roles of victim and offenderThere’s a new formula for punishing women who speak out about abuse by high-profile figures, and it usually goes like this: woman alleges abuse, woman seeks recourse through the justice system, woman’s accusation is made public – and then a tidal wave of fans of her abuser come together to help deny the abuse, attack her credibility and reverse the roles of victim and offender.If this sounds familiar it’s because Darvo – the “deny, attack, reversevictim and offender” method of manipulating abuse victims – has existed for forever. But social media has given it a whole new dimension, and powerful people now have an army of rabid fans ready to do that work for them. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Diddy’s lawyers are banking on the ‘mutual abuse’ defence. Newsflash: it’s not a thing | Tayo Bero

Power isn’t equal in an unhealthy relationship. But it’s no surprise Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s team is deploying the tacticSean “Diddy” Combs’s sex-trafficking and racketeering trial is under way, and the music mogul’s lawyers gave us a glimpse into what their strategy would be during jury selection last week, when they finally admitted that he was violent toward his ex Cassie Ventura. But now they’re claiming that the violence was mutual.In a statement to the judge, the defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said they plan to “take the position [that] there was mutual violence in their relationship”. Combs’s lawyers also describe Ventura, the prosecution’s star witness, as “strong” with “a nature of violence”, and “capable of starting physical confrontation”.Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnistIn the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence c...

Events

4 w. ago The new pope is the internet’s biggest meme. What does that say about us? | Tayo Bero

Social media has been fun for the first time in years. But the joy of this moment is about more than just jokesWhile most good Catholics spent the early days of this week in solemn contemplation, praying that the church’s new leader would be a person of character and someone who could unite us in these tense, ungodly times, the rest of us were on X cackling at our screens and reposting chimney memes.Social media has been having a field day since Pope Francis passed and the race was on for a new pope. And now that Pope Leo XIV from Chicago has been selected, the jokes have been top-tier – references to the TV show The Bear, videos of the new pope walking out to music by the Chicago legend Chief Keef, Spike Lee somehow making this a win for the New York Knicks – I don’t remember the last time I had this much fun in the hellish digital town square formerly known as Twitter.Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Politics