no more internet gurus
derrick jaxn, deshaun watson & more.
Welcome back to The Update! This newsletter is a companion to The Andrea Brown Podcast, a weekly show that recaps the latest in news, culture, and innovation.
The show drops every Wednesday. Click on one of the links below to listen on your preferred platform:
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Don’t forget, anything underlined in this letter is a link. Click to learn more!
Let’s jump into the headlines:
news.
There was another mass shooting this week, this time in Colorado. 21-year-old Ahmad Alissa walked into a busy grocery store with a semi-automatic weapon and killed 10 people. He bought the gun last week, and friends have since said that he was a ticking time bomb. How many more times do we have to hear the thoughts and prayers before we can get some action?
Yesterday, Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation that restricts voting rights for people in the state. Some of the highlights? More stringent voter identification requirements for those that submit absentee ballots, limiting the use of ballot dropboxes, granting authority for state leaders to interject in local elections, and criminalizing the act of approaching voters in line to give them food or water.
He signed the bill in a closed-door session and when GA State Rep Park Cannon knocked on his door to try to observe it, she was arrested, dragged from the capitol by police, and was eventually charged with a felony. This is Jim Crow remixed for 2021.
you should know.
Tamika Mallory has been in a firestorm online since being called out by Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice, for performative activism.
Mallory responded this week on her podcast.
“I support, 100 percent, how she feels and what she has stated in terms of her pain related to her son,” she said. “And, in fact, I think and I was going to say to you, I feel like we all have failed her … As a nation, I think that whenever a child or any person–but particularly a child—is killed, we should, this nation should have erupted. And the fact that she did not get the proper justice for her son would make anyone angry, so I totally understand [and] respect the trauma and pain that she feels as a mother.”
This is messier than it needs to be. Since the podcast, Roland Martin has come to her defense on social media and even challenged her detractors to engage her in a debate. My question is… who is any of this helping?
The number of civil suits against NFL star Deshaun Watson has grown to 16, and it’s now been uncovered that Watson had a consensual interaction with at least one of the women. It looks like Watson’s going to have to surrender some text messages, but no information on any of the allegations has been delivered to the Houston Police Department. Seems sketchy.
YouTube relationship guru Derrick Jaxn got caught up cheating on his wife this week, and I can’t say that I was surprised. He released several videos, a couple with his wife by his side, that were widely joked on. It did spawn great memes though.
The worst part of it all is that there are literally millions of women who have taken his advice who are being harmed by this situation. I think we should have fewer internet gurus and more licensed therapists. But that’s just me. How do you feel? Send me a voice note to share your opinion on any of the stories you’ve read here today:
wknd guide.
Looking to find out what to get into this weekend? Check out my weekend guide that puts all the newness in one place. This week, I want to remind you that the NAACP Image Awards are going down tomorrow, and if you’ve ever whined about a lack of representation on any other award show, you better be watching it. Plus, some new jams for you to get into.
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend fam!
