Bill Cosby’s publicist issues statement against Harvey Weinstein verdict, slams #MeToo movement

Bill Cosby’s publicist has issued a statement in support of Harvey Weinstein on the day the disgraced movie producer was convicted of rape.

Posting via Bill Cosby’s official Facebook page, Andrew Wyatt questioned whether Weinstein received a fair trial due to widespread media coverage and a persistent judge who wouldn’t let jurors remain deadlocked. According to Page Six, Wyatt says Cosby called him numerous times on Monday because he was so upset at the verdict.

READ MORE: Bill Cosby thanks Snoop Dogg for profanity-laced IG video ripping Gayle King

“This is not shocking because these jurors were not sequestered, which gave them access to media coverage and the sentiments of public opinion. There’s no way you would have anyone believe that Mr. Weinstein was going to receive a fair and impartial trial,” Wyatt wrote on Instagram. “Also, this judge showed that he wanted a conviction by sending the jurors back to deliberate, after they were hung on many of the counts.”

 

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Official Statement From Andrew Wyatt Regarding The Verdict Of Harvey Weinstein: This is not shocking because these jurors were not sequestered, which gave them access to media coverage and the sentiments of public opinion. There’s no way you would have anyone believe that Mr. Weinstein was going to receive a fair and impartial trial. Also, this judge showed that he wanted a conviction by sending the jurors back to deliberate, after they were hung on many of the counts. Here’s the question that should haunt all Americans, especially wealthy and famous men…Where do we go in this country to find fairness and impartiality in the judicial system; and where do we go in this country to find Due Process? Lastly, if the #metoo movement isn’t just about Becky [White women], I would challenge #metoo and ask them to go back 400+ years and tarnish the names of those oppressors that raped slaves. This is a very sad day in the American Judicial System. #FreeBillCosby #FarFromFinished #DueProcess #JusticeReform

A post shared by Bill Cosby (@billcosby) on Feb 24, 2020 at 11:17am PST

In the statement, Wyatt also said the judicial system’s treatment of rich and famous men— including Weinstein and Cosby who collectively have more than 200 women accusing them of sex crimes— is abhorrent.

“Here’s the question that should haunt all Americans, especially wealthy and famous men…Where do we go in this country to find fairness and impartiality in the judicial system; and where do we go in this country to find Due Process?” Wyatt wrote.

Then he challenged the #metoo movement to act as zealously in naming slave masters who raped their slaves.

“Lastly, if the #metoo movement isn’t just about Becky (White women), I would challenge #metoo and ask them to go back 400+ years and tarnish the names of those oppressors that raped slaves,” Wyatt wrote. “This is a very sad day in the American Judicial System.” Wyatt ended the post with several hashtags, including #FreeBillCosby, #FarFromFinished, #DueProcess, #JusticeReform.”

Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape against former aspiring actress Jessica Mann and sexual assault against former production assistant Miriam Haley, reported NBC News. He originally faced three additional counts which were more severe— two counts of predatory sexual assault and rape in the first degree, which could have landed him in jail for life— but the jury chose the lesser crimes. He faces 29 years when sentenced.

READ MORE: Bill Cosby spokesperson accuses Eddie Murphy of selling out

In total, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual assault and harassment dating back many decades. The convictions, however, were based on allegations made from Haley and Mann.

In 2018, Cosby was convicted for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand. For that conviction, he’s serving a 3-to-10 year sentence.

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A Moderate Millennial Out of Houston Wants to be Texas' First Black U.S. Senator

HOUSTON—Amanda Edwards is all about those deliverables. That’s her training as a lawyer: results. Public consensus is how she views a pathway to policy that can save lives and extend them. In Amanda Edwards’ world, there is plenty of space for values, integrity and people’s humanity. There is, however, no space for…

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Study shows HBCU graduates may be charged higher interest rates on loans

Students who graduated from historically Black colleges and universities or Hispanic-serving institutions may be slapped with higher interest rates to borrow or refinance student loans compared to students who graduated from mostly white colleges and universities.

The Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit focused on ending student debt, studied loan rates given to borrowers from very similar backgrounds—including almost identical majors, annual incomes and occupations—but found that online lending sites like Upstart still offered graduates from HBCUs or Hispanic-serving institutions loans with higher interest rates, according to NBC News.

READ MORE: Black borrowers are struggling to repay student loan debt, here’s why

What SBPC researchers found in their “Educational Redlining” report was that when they plugged in background information on hypothetical graduates of HBCUs like Howard University or Spelman College, students could be charged $3,500 in additional monies for a $30,000 five-year loan and students who’ve attended Hispanic-serving institutions such as New Mexico State University at Las Cruces could be charged even more, compared with similar information for hypothetical students attending non-minority institutions, such as New York University.

“It seems apparent when you do the side-by-side comparisons that where this hypothetical borrower went to school mattered in terms of how Upstart measured their creditworthiness, and that to Upstart there’s a penalty for attending an HBCU or HSI,” Kat Welbeck, civil rights counsel at SBPC, told NBC News.

Welbeck said the research was “alarming,” particularly when one considers the important mission HBCUs and HSIs fill in opening up access to higher education to Black people, Latinos, women, and older adults.

The study also found some disparities in the loan rates that Wells Fargo charges depending on where a graduate went to school, NBC News found.

“Basing a person’s creditworthiness on how ostensibly elite the institution they attended will perpetuate inequality and socioeconomic barriers,” Welbeck said to NBC News. “We talk about using educational data as innovative, but this is redlining education.”

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) shared the report on her Twitter page, writing “It makes no sense to charge students of color *more* for their loans simply for attending HBCU’s and Hispanic-serving institutions. These are students who already face enormous barriers to succeed. I’m looking for answers.”

It makes no sense to charge students of color *more* for their loans simply for attending HBCU’s and Hispanic-serving institutions. These are students who already face enormous barriers to succeed. I’m looking for answers. https://t.co/yrloLPdqRF

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) February 23, 2020

Harris joined Sherrod Brown, D-OH, Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, Bob Menendez, D-NJ and Cory Booker, D-NJ, in sending a letter to Upstart urging the company to stop using educational data to determine loan rates, saying it could end in bias against minority students.

“The (Consumer Financial Protection) Bureau found that the use of (cohort default rate) to determine loan eligibility, underwriting, and pricing may have a disparate impact on minority students by reducing their access to credit and requiring those minority students . . . to pay higher rates than are otherwise available to similarly creditworthy non-Hispanic White students at schools with lower CDRs,” the senators said in the letter, according to NBC News.

READ MORE: OPINION: Congress has the power to ‘fix’ the lack of access to loan options, but their decision could leave Blacks permanently in the poor house

However, Upstart and Wells Fargo say they are not discriminating and they disagree with the SBPC report.

“The study’s characterizations … do not reflect our lending practices and its conclusions are exaggerated,” Vickee Adams, senior vice president of corporate communications at Wells Fargo, told NBC News in an emailed statement.

 

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Karen Civil Opens Up on Achieving Balance While Building Multiple Businesses

Karen Civil has made a name for herself as a social media and digital media marketing strategist. For over a decade, she has built her personal and professional brand into prominent roles at Beats by Dre and Universal Music Group early into her career.

In 2008, Civil launched KarenCivil.com, an industry insider look into hip-hop. Two years later, she founded Always Civil Enterprise, a full-service branding and marketing powerhouse that specializes in the imaging of brands and creating a foundation of endless success and visibility.

Now, as a leading lady on the digital side of marketing, Civil’s work spans from the entertainment industry to politics. Her clients range from rapper and entrepreneur YG to Hillary Clinton. And she is known for being a cultural architect in the corporate space. In 2018, she helped open the first smart-store, the Marathon Clothing, in Los Angeles with the late, great Nipsey Hussle as her business partner.

Civil is also an author, philanthropist, and STEM advocate for children. As a businesswoman, she is known for being ambitious and unapologetic. We caught up with Civil at Fueled by Culture and spoke with her about what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur in the digital space. During our conversation, Civil kept it real about the sacrifices that come with success.

What goes into the business side of building a brand?

People tell me that I make it look easy and that they want to do what [I] do. Or they say, “I just want to hang out.”

Before the “hangout” or getting paid to do things that you love, [you have to understand that] there’s a lot of sacrifices that come with that. The time and dedication that you put into your career and craft is something that I don’t necessarily apologize for.

Everybody is not built to be a CEO. Everybody is not built to be an entrepreneur.

I always ask people, “Do you hate your job?” They say, “Yes.” Then I ask them, “Do you hate working 40 hours a week?” They say, “Yeah.” And then I tell them, “You probably wouldn’t be cut out to be an entrepreneur. Because it requires more than 40 hours a week.” I’m sending emails at one in the morning and at 3 p.m. because I work across different time zones. I put in 120%.

You’re surrounded by so many influential people and have deep, long-lasting relationships. How important is being relational and authentic?

Being authentic and having great relationships are two things that I live by. I’m not a character. I’m not a gimmick. I’m just authentically myself. And I tell people to do the same thing.

I don’t necessarily look at titles. I don’t walk into a situation and treat the CEO better than the janitor. To me, you should give more respect to the janitor because at the end of the day, you’re gonna lose them keys and need to get into that office. I’m grateful for all people in different places from different walks of life.

How do you practice being healthy and whole as you do the work?

Right now I’m going through a fasting phase for 90 days. And I’m not doing it for any religious reasons or anything like that; I’m doing it for my own sanity. But I am somebody who is spiritual. I light my candles; I have sage in my home; I talk to God; and I follow the Muslim prayer.

I live off inspiration. The first thing and last thing I see are quotes on my walls on my doors, it’s not the TV. That’s what keeps me going and inspires me.

What is next for you as you build and inspire?

My Live Civil imprint is something that I care about deeply. It’s my foundation. I have a school in Haiti and I also have a computer lab. My goal is to put my second computer lab, because it’s important to me, for kids in Haiti to have the same opportunity I did to get to know the world around them. Them being able to log on to the computer, do their homework, learn different languages, and see what’s happening outside of their community to broaden their horizons, is exciting to me.

 

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Karen Civil Opens Up on Achieving Balance While Building Multiple Businesses

Karen Civil has made a name for herself as a social media and digital media marketing strategist. For over a decade, she has built her personal and professional brand into prominent roles at Beats by Dre and Universal Music Group early into her career.

In 2008, Civil launched KarenCivil.com, an industry insider look into hip-hop. Two years later, she founded Always Civil Enterprise, a full-service branding and marketing powerhouse that specializes in the imaging of brands and creating a foundation of endless success and visibility.

Now, as a leading lady on the digital side of marketing, Civil’s work spans from the entertainment industry to politics. Her clients range from rapper and entrepreneur YG to Hillary Clinton. And she is known for being a cultural architect in the corporate space. In 2018, she helped open the first smart-store, the Marathon Clothing, in Los Angeles with the late, great Nipsey Hussle as her business partner.

Civil is also an author, philanthropist, and STEM advocate for children. As a businesswoman, she is known for being ambitious and unapologetic. We caught up with Civil at Fueled by Culture and spoke with her about what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur in the digital space. During our conversation, Civil kept it real about the sacrifices that come with success.

What goes into the business side of building a brand?

People tell me that I make it look easy and that they want to do what [I] do. Or they say, “I just want to hang out.”

Before the “hangout” or getting paid to do things that you love, [you have to understand that] there’s a lot of sacrifices that come with that. The time and dedication that you put into your career and craft is something that I don’t necessarily apologize for.

Everybody is not built to be a CEO. Everybody is not built to be an entrepreneur.

I always ask people, “Do you hate your job?” They say, “Yes.” Then I ask them, “Do you hate working 40 hours a week?” They say, “Yeah.” And then I tell them, “You probably wouldn’t be cut out to be an entrepreneur. Because it requires more than 40 hours a week.” I’m sending emails at one in the morning and at 3 p.m. because I work across different time zones. I put in 120%.

You’re surrounded by so many influential people and have deep, long-lasting relationships. How important is being relational and authentic?

Being authentic and having great relationships are two things that I live by. I’m not a character. I’m not a gimmick. I’m just authentically myself. And I tell people to do the same thing.

I don’t necessarily look at titles. I don’t walk into a situation and treat the CEO better than the janitor. To me, you should give more respect to the janitor because at the end of the day, you’re gonna lose them keys and need to get into that office. I’m grateful for all people in different places from different walks of life.

How do you practice being healthy and whole as you do the work?

Right now I’m going through a fasting phase for 90 days. And I’m not doing it for any religious reasons or anything like that; I’m doing it for my own sanity. But I am somebody who is spiritual. I light my candles; I have sage in my home; I talk to God; and I follow the Muslim prayer.

I live off inspiration. The first thing and last thing I see are quotes on my walls on my doors, it’s not the TV. That’s what keeps me going and inspires me.

What is next for you as you build and inspire?

My Live Civil imprint is something that I care about deeply. It’s my foundation. I have a school in Haiti and I also have a computer lab. My goal is to put my second computer lab, because it’s important to me, for kids in Haiti to have the same opportunity I did to get to know the world around them. Them being able to log on to the computer, do their homework, learn different languages, and see what’s happening outside of their community to broaden their horizons, is exciting to me.

 

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