Songs, Movies & Moments: March 2023

A Look at Entertainment

by T.J. Moore –

Paramount, the parent company of BET and VH1, is considering selling a majority stake in the company. Included in the company are holdings in VH1 and BET+. According to The Hollywood Reporter, selling a majority stake in BET would secure cash to solidify Paramount+, its primary streaming service.

According to two sources in The Hollywood Reporter, Tyler Perry is interested in purchasing the majority stake. Perry has been in a partnership with Paramount for six years, and a number of his shows including House of Payne, Sistas, and The Oval are on BET+.

However, Perry may not be alone. According to a spokesperson for Allen Media Group, Byron Allen is also interested in purchasing the majority stake. Allen owns The Weather Channel, theGrio, and an equity stake in Bally Sports.

According to sources, the sale is not definite, and discussions about selling the stake are in the early stages.

Academy Award-winning actor Will Smith is still keen on repairing his rift with Chris Rock, a source told People recently.

In his Netflix comedy special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, the comic told fans that he’s not a victim and he didn’t do anything to warrant the slap—even though he made fun of Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head.

A source close to Smith said that the actor still feels “terrible” for slapping Rock at the Oscars and that he’s tried to make amends—but those attempts have been unsuccessful so far. Last July, Smith issued a formal apology to Rock. At the time, he said that he “wasn’t thinking about how many people that got hurt in the moment.”

Rapper Nicki Minaj is expanding her empire with her new record label. Minaj made her announcement on a recent episode of Queen Radio. Minaj didn’t share the label’s name, but she highlighted that her A&R rep is her longtime associate Patty Lauren and discussed her roster of artists. The rapper’s initial signees are Nana Sofie, Tate Kobang, Rico Danna, and London Hill.

Actor Michael B. Jordan said recently that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was an essential source of inspiration for Creed III. Jordan said that he pulled from the late basketball superstar and other celebrity fathers to mold the father-daughter dynamic in the movie.

Jordan, who made his directorial debut with the latest in the Creed series, explained Bryant’s connection during an IndieWire interview.

“We were on the Just Mercy tour and Kobe Bryant hosted a screening.” Jordan said Jamie Foxx, his costar in the 2019 film, was there and “had a strong relationship with his daughter, who was into basketball.” Jordan said that he remembers “stepping out of myself for a second, and I’m looking at these guys that I have real admiration for and hearing them talk about their daughters.”

That memory sparked Jordan’s imagination when it was time to direct Creed III. Jordan’s character Adonis has a young daughter in the film, and said he pulled from the inspirations and wanted to honor these kinds of relationships and what it means to be a “girl dad.”

Creed III debuted at No. 1 at the box office, earning $58.4 million on its opening weekend.