Join us in a fond farewell to Stereohyped's founding editor Lauren Williams. [Stereohyped]
PBS: What do you think about the power of the black blogosphere?
Stereohyped's Lauren Williams: It can't be denied! A hallmark moment happened last year with the Jena Six. Before most newspapers even made mention that anything was going on, entire blogs were devoted to this particular cause. The mainstream media would have never taken notice if it weren't for the serious coverage the case was getting on black blogs. The black blogosphere was instrumental in calling attention to the issue and effecting change in the case. [Mediashift]
Father’s Day has come and gone, but, as Barack Obama so eloquently said during his Father’s Day speech yesterday, being a Father is a full-time gig. So in honor of yesterday’s holiday, Stereohyped is presenting its first annual Father’s Day Awards.
Stereohyped launched exactly one year ago, and what I remember most about that day is that I was completely terrified. I was terrified that I would suck, that I would mess up, and that you wouldn’t like me. Well, over the course of the year, I have sometimes sucked, I have messed up on occasion, and some of you have not liked me at all.
Nevertheless, the good has far outweighed the bad, and the site has grown and evolved so much — with no small thanks to the readers, especially the ones who actively comment — since this cheesy, dated introduction was posted. Among other things, we’ve won awards and expanded our staff, and we hope for even more good things to come in our second year.
In honor of the Stereohyped’s birthday, I went through the archives and picked out some notable moments in the site’s short existence. If you’ve been reading for as long as I’ve been writing, you’ll probably remember many of these, too.
After seeing the trailer for wartime action-comedy Tropic Thunder, Stereohyped editor Lauren Williams no longer finds herself concerned with Robert Downey Jr. in blackface. Even though he's in blackface, he's just playing a guy who thinks it's okay to wear blackface. And that's okay. Just don't dress up as him for Halloween. [Stereohyped]
More pictures, equally ridiculous, from Bush's trip to Africa on Stereohyped.
Blind Items are like the James Joyce of gossip. They’re challenging, but with hard work comes great rewards.
From Page Six:
WHICH fashion designer is lying to her actor beau? While she proclaims her love for her man, New York insiders say she really prefers "butch Mexican and Latino women."
Frequent Stereohyped commenter daria of Gorgeous Black Women breaks down all the possible suspects:
DVF’s husband is gay and he’s not an actor.
Donna Karan is dating a 20something model.
Tracy Reese - ??
Vera Wang - married with kids, don’t think husband is an actor
Gwen Stefani - husband musician
JLo - husband is sometimes an actor. COULD be her.
Rachel Roy - husband music exec
Stella McCartney - don’t think husband is an actor
Tobey McGuire’s fiancee is a little suspect
Which only leaves one person …
First she gained a lot of weight. Then Beyonce gave her title away to Tina Turner. Now PETA is going after Aretha Franklin:
Music lovers may think of you as a ‘queen,’ but to animal lovers, you are a court jester . . . Why not shed the old-fashioned look that adds pounds to your frame and detracts from your beautiful voice? Please consider donating your furs to the homeless as ‘queen of compassion,’ Mariah Carey, did. You’ll get a tax credit for the donation, and we at PETA will all sing your praises.
We usually find PETA irrational and demanding. But as Stereohyped put it, "that's a lot of fur."
[Photos]
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER Hey undecided voters, what's going on? Just basking in the attention of the presidential hopefuls? Yeah, that's chill. Enjoy it. But before you head to the polls, check out Stereohyped and Queerty's write-up of all the candidates. Where 25 months of campaigning failed, these rundowns will succeed.
RACISM IS SO PASSÉ An anti-MLK rally held in Jena, LA was the biggest failure since the Atlantic’s 150th Anniversary party. Four people showed up and the event ended two hours early. Even counter-demonstrators were bored. Dr. King would be proud. [Stereohyped]
MOGULS MAKE IT HAPPEN Despite a bunch of hating, Jay-Z's 40/40 club opening Vegas last night. Congratulations Jay-Z on the opening and free press from us. [Stereohyped]
TELL IT TO THE INTERNET This dude Patrick Graber who tried to end it for the woman Kobe Bryant was accused of raping has published a book, and by "publish" we mean "click publish." The online only book, Dead Women Tell No Tales claims Bryant asked Graber to kill that chick. Bryant might sue, which would be a waste of good litigation considering that no one believes anything they read online, anyway. This post is all lies. [Stereohyped]
You’d think with all the puff milestones celebrated in its 50th anniversary issue, GQ would remember the first black model who appeared on its cover. Sadly, Renauld White gets no love in the recent issue.
Even considering all the terrible mustaches this guy must have inspired, when facial hair works, it really works.
Setting: Interior Boardroom - night. Two studio executives brainstorm for My Damn Channel.
Businessman 1: You know who was non-threatening to white people but still relatable to black people?
Businessman 2: Will Smith? Can we get Will Smith for My Damn Channel!?
Businessman 1: Dude, bro. We can’t even get Jaden Smith for My Damn Channel. The Smiths aren’t doing internet. I’m talking about Coolio. CONTINUED »
What do we do when one of our own hops aboard a plane of Victoria's Secret models wearing nothing but a thermal undershirt and flowery pajama bottoms? Publish the pictures for all to see! Because why suffer a private humiliation when it could just as easily be made public?*
*Special thanks to Trent from PinkIsTheNewBlog (who kinda, sorta, maybe knows our boss?) for making this moment possible by posting these pictures of Stereohyped's Lauren Williams and her beauty blogger sis, Tia. Wearing her favorite pair of Winter undies.
• Breaking! Brad Pitt to stop doing nude scenes and start making crappy family-friendly films a la Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. And while he's at it, he's also going to offend Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep by insisting that acting is a "younger person's game."
• "A meeting held at Madison Square Garden Wednesday between New York Knicks ownership and head coach Isiah Thomas was interrupted more than half a dozen times by 'Fire Isiah' chants which came at various points throughout the two-hour-long discussion, Knicks officials reported." Okay, fine, so that didn't really happen. But we're thinking it's just a matter of time.
• The most objectively attractive male contestant on Project Runway receives the honor of dressing Tiki Barber. In semi-related news, this is officially the happiest moment of his life since the day he got cheekbone implants.
"Here’s the good thing about a trend in sex tourism," writes our racially/ethnically diverse younger sibling, Stereohyped.
"It doesn’t entail rich white men traveling to third world countries to prey on underaged girls and boys." (With the possible exception of Jeffrey "I Devirginized The Virgin Islands" Epstein.) Meanwhile, it does, however, "entail rich white women traveling to places like Kenya to live out their Mandingo fantasies with 20-something men who will only have sex with them in exchange for new sneakers and free meals."
Disturbing? On many, many levels. In fact, despite the alarming AIDS epidemic, local Kenyans estimate that approximately 20% of "single female visitors" are trolling the beaches for sex. So the next time an undersexed, overprivileged WASP prissily informs you she's heading to Kenya, bear in mind that there's at least a 1 in 5 chance she's looking to open up a whole lot more than her pocketbook once she gets there.
Is it possible to interweave race-related humor without offending the delicate sensibilities of the Politically Correct patrol? Apparently, it is!
The Gray Lady congratulates Curb Your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock for effectively straddling the line between funny and racially insensitive, while impressively steering clear of any/all comparisons to Don Imus, The Dog and Sarah Silverman. [Stereohyped]
When are racially insensitive words a good thing? Answer: Never. Which is why Lauren Wiliams (the editor over at Stereohyped) rips a page out of our pagebook and goes on a lengthy-but-informative tirade about why there's still nothing to love about so-called "hate" words. [Stereohyped]
• Kim Cattrall is quick to remind us all that she hates Sarah Jessica, Cynthia Nixen and Kristin Davis i real life. That amazing, uplifting on-screen friendship that the entire series/unnecessary movie is based around? It's called acting.
• Stereohyped's editor freezes her ass off to interview Chris Brown. So you unappreciative jerks better watch it. And enjoy it.
• Lance Bass finds another person more attractive (and desperate for publicity) than himself to date.
• Cow falls from sky, crushes minivan on the road. Seriously.
• We can only hope/pray that rumors of a Spencer Pratt tape have been greatly exaggerated.
Editorial Director
