The Root

The world finally has answers as to how Wendy Williams was placed under a court-appointed guardianship. And the answer will absolutely shock you and break your heart.Read more...

If you've been daydreaming about a date with actor Aaron Pierre, take notes. The Mufasa: The Lion King" star is dishing about what he's looking for in an ideal mate. Pierre, who has had practically everyone under the spell of his hazel eyes, recently sat down for an interview with the folks at the online dating app Bu...Read more...

Four years ago, police conducted a routine traffic stop when they discovered a disturbing stench from the driver's car. They later found the smell came from the decaying bodies of two children. The twist? The driver was a relative of the victims.Read more...

In this digital age of disinformation, it's easy for simple facts about the Civil Rights Movement to get misconstrued. During this era, which rose to prominence in the 1950s, Black folks worked diligently-and even lost their lives along the way-to level the racist playing field and achieve equal rights. As we...Read more...

Days after her surprising guest appearance at Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance, many talking heads have used it as an opportunity to criticize the tennis legend...including ever-controversial sports pundit Jason Whitlock.Read more...

At the beginning of this month, TIME Magazine published a cover that visually says what most of us have been thinking about the state of things over on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. And it should scare the hell out of you if you're paying attention.Read more...

While Kendrick Lamar's hit songs Not Like Us" and luther" may be climbing the charts following his epic 2025 Super Bowl halftime show performance, there's one bar that many are still puzzled by. Thankfully we-and Spike Lee-have an answer for you.Read more...

Things are only starting to get more complicated between the late Stephen tWitch" Boss' family and his widow Allison Holker. Nearly a week after his brother, Dre Rose, and mother, Connie Boss Alexander, shared all about their relationship with Holker in an interview with Gayle King, they are looking to take things...Read more...

A Detroit mother of two is distraught after having to make arrangements to bury her children after they died from something that was preventable in America. In fact, the mother claims she sought city assistance to save their life but to no avail.Read more...

We know Marcus Garvey as a powerful figure in Black history who dedicated much of his life to promoting self-love among Black people and encouraging an eventual return to their ancestral homeland of Africa. An outspoken Black nationalist who is said to have influenced other civil rights leaders including Malcolm X,...Read more...

R. Kelly's latest appeal to overturn his New York sex trafficking and racketeering conviction has been denied. According to recent reports, the disgraced musician's convictions and 30-year prison sentence were upheld this week in federal appeals court, despite his argument through his attorneys that he did not run a...Read more...

Though Wendy Williams may have been fighting to get out from under her court-appointed guardianship, it looks like she just got one step closer thanks to this major move. And if it works, she could go free sooner rather than later.Read more...

Over the last several months, there has been an uptick in white supremacists spreading hate in Ohio. In November, a Nazi march took place in Columbus. Just one month later, disturbing racist signs were popping up all over Cleveland.Read more...

Though Hitch" may be one of Will Smith's best-performing films at the box office, the hilarious rom-com almost didn't see the light of day without the help of a very surprising person. Or at least, that's the story being put forth by the director of the film, Andy Tennant.Read more...

Sean Diddy" Combs is clapping back once again from behind bars. The rapper filed a lawsuit against NBCUniversal for their addition to the pile of Diddy documentaries. However, the egregious accusations made about him in the film may have fallen out of the bounds of allegedly."Read more...

Although they've been married for more than three decades, Terry Crews and Rebecca King-Crews can admit that things haven't always been so peachy between them. Despite that, they've found a way to work through their differences and continue a happy life together.Read more...

Drake has lost a lot of things in the last year: He lost the battle with Kendrick Lamar, which basically ended once the Compton rapper dropped Not Like Us". He lost the internet, which had a blast making the Toronto rapper the butt of every joke and meme.Read more...

The NFL gave Kendrick Lamar the biggest platform in sports to stage an artistic protest. Like many Black Americans who took to social media to say they were disappointed that K-Dot didn't comment on Trump, Roger Goodell and his crew may have missed it. But the critique of the administration was there. And the league...Read more...

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has a lot to celebrate these days. Hurts, who just led the Eagles to a 40 - 22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs to become one of just four Black quarterbacks with a Super Bowl W" under his belt, is about to join an even more exclusive team, as he prepares to say I Do"...Read more...

Even though social media can instrumental in building community amongst Black folks, it has become just as easy to peddle hate. One TikTok user was reminded of this fact when he posted about being a commercial pilot.Read more...

Earlier this week, we told you that Kanye West - who now goes by Ye - bought local ad time in Los Angeles during the Super Bowl to promote the latest from his Yeezy fashion line. The ad, which was shot on his iPhone from a dentist chair (we're also confused), encouraged viewers to visit his website where the only...Read more...

A new documentary takes a dive into the life of Wendy Williams since the decline of her health. The talk show host is currently being held in a health facility. So far, she's says it's been a suffocating" experience.Read more...

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Though Usher may be the king of R&B, it also looks like he's the king of collecting impressive pieces of real estate. This is evidenced by his pattern of buying phenomenal homes that are fit for a star of his caliber.Read more...

As everyone celebrates the success Kendrick Lamar has had over the past couple of weeks, they've also noticed some weird behavior from his rival, Drake. Instead of attacking the man who called him a certified pedophile" on a diss track, the Toronto rapper is going after women.Read more...

As the internet continues to debate Kendrick Lamar's larger-than-life Super Bowl halftime show, there's one group of people who are up in arms: white folks. On Monday, The Root reported that MAGA supporters were up in arms as Lamar's critical messaging of America went over their heads.Read more...

The drama between the late Stephen tWitch" Boss' family and his widow Allison Holker isn't showing signs of slowing down. And that's all thanks to a new interview that just dropped this week.Read more...

The New York City Police Department finally issued a formal apology to a 16-year-old Black boy wrongfully accused of a heinous crime. But even with the record being set straight months after the traumatic event, Camden Lee is still dealing with the emotional consequences of the careless mistake.

It's no secret The Boondocks," one of Black America's most iconic and outrageous animated shows, took inspiration from real life events to bring to light on television. But what happens when art imitates real life a little too well?

Soulja Boy has not been shy about attacking people on social media, even if that person is not able to defend themselves. So it shouldn't be a shock that the Atlanta rapper is attacking Marlon Wayans over comments he made a couple of weeks ago.Read more...

Blaine and Diane Smith are true evidence of reclaiming Black History, having ownership of up to 600 acres of land their enslaved ancestors used to farm. However, they're facing a serious battle against the local Georgia government who authorized what they consider an unlawful seizure of their property.Read more...

Updated as of 2/12/2025 at 3:00 p.m. ETRead more...

The film adaptation of the sensational Nigerian fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone" has been teased for years. Finally, in 2024, author Tomi Adeyemi announced an open casting call. But once the final cast was revealed, there was backlash on social media.

Kanye West's weird iPhone-recorded advertisement on Super Bowl Sunday directed people to his Yeezy website, where customers and fans found a single swastika t-shirt listed for sale. And just like his anti-semitic social media tirades, he's seeing consequences for his actions.Read more...

Kendrick Lamar likes to keep his personal life separate from his rap career, but that doesn't stop those two worlds from often colliding. After gracing Lamar's album cover in 2022 and being thrown into the middle of his rap beef with Drake, Lamar's fiance, Whitney Alford, has the world wanting to know more about her.Read more...

At one point, Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors were poised to be Hollywood's next dynamic duo thanks to the success of Creed III." Or at least, that was the case until Majors' domestic dispute trial derailed his career back in 2023 and put a damper on the growing relationship between the two stars who once...Read more...

We still have 75 years left to go in the 21st century, but the folks at The New York Times have already compiled a list of the best books released between 2000 and 2025 (so far). A group of over 500 writers and critics, including Stephen King, James Patterson and Roxane Gay, joined forces with The New York Times Book...Read more...

Philadelphia Eagles star C.J. Gardner-Johnson is feeling what it's like to be an enemy of the Swifties after attacking Travis Kelce on social media. But before he even has a chance to respond, his mother is coming to the rescue.Read more...

Serena Williams' 2025 Super Bowl appearance during Kendrick Lamar's halftime show performance may have drawn its fair share of praise, but it's also drawn it's fair share of critics. Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, isn't here for the negativity.Read more...

A former University of Connecticut basketball player, Eric Cobb, has been charged in connection with the death of his mother, Erika Winford, 51, in Jacksonville, Fla. The details are the stuff of nightmares.Read more...

February 11 may have been Kelly Rowland's birthday, but it was her fans who got a surprise gift. The singer-actress celebrated turning 44 with a sexy ballon-filled photoshoot, and she dropped a photo dump in an Instagram post for her over 16 million followers to drool over.Read more...

It's an age-old question that gets asked every year before the Super Bowl: How much are these artists getting paid to perform during the halftime show? The answer is zero...and Kendrick Lamar was no different.Read more...

Cardi B is keeping it real and calling out President Donald Trump-but it's not in the way you might suspect. Don't worry, we'll explain.Read more...

You can't expect to shake up the foundation of the country without some level of pushback. And in the case of President Donald J. Trump, serious legal and political backlash comes in direct opposition to controversial executive actions signed within the first month of his term.Read more...

Whether he's filming a music video or writing a song, Kendrick Lamar is always deeper than most of us. And, that's what made his Super Bowl Halftime performance so exciting and controversial. It was layered with easter eggs that only Black people and true fans would understand.Read more...

We've already dissected the hell out of Kendrick Lamar's incredible Super Bowl halftime show, from his amazing backup dancers to his decision to end his powerful set with a mic drop-worthy performance of Not Like Us." But while Kendrick's special guests included greats like Serena Williams, SZA and Samuel L. Jackson,...Read more...

After winning his first Super Bowl, you could expect Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts would need a bigger trophy cabinet, but it seems the NFL star has no plans to upgrade his lifestyle, and he has a pretty good reason for it.Read more...

A Phoenix man faced murder charges after his girlfriend's body was found torched to a crisp and her infant was found abandoned. Now, he's learned his fate after being found guilty in connection to both incidents.Read more...

The world is still recovering from Kendrick Lamar's explosive halftime at the Super Bowl, although the star-studded performance was arguably the perfect way to celebrate Black History Month, one sports commentator- to no one's surprise- isn't happy about the moment when the one and only Serena Williams graced the...Read more...

You already know that TikTok is a one-stop shop for everything from the latest commentary on the Kendrick-Drake beef to tips on how to give yourself a DIY facial while making a simple weeknight dinner for your family. But you may not know that the beloved social media platform has also become a popular resource for...Read more...