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Lauren LaRosa
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Ryan Seacrest
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Lauren LaRosa
Ah, come on.
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Lauren LaRosa
I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything and everybody.
Unknown
You know she don't lie about that, right?
Lauren LaRosa
Lauren Came in hot. Hey, y', all, it's Lauren LaRosa. And this is another episode of the Latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment, news, exclusives. Sometimes we do the exclusives here and all of the conversations that shake the room. Now in this episode of the latest, getting right on into some things. Cause we got some places to go and some things to talk about. We're gonna start off with more talk show news. Talk show Donald Trump. And y' all know we cover everything here at the Latest. I'm not like a heavy political politic, conversation, er, conversationer. I don't know. Is that a word? Basically, I don't always talk about politics here and you guys know that it's more like pop culture trending topics. But more lately, Trump been coming on over to our side. So we've been talking about him here. On the latest last episode, we talked a bit about Donald Trump because not even a bit. We took the whole episode and we talked about Donald Trump and his spat with Charlemagne. Now today I'm back again with another one because listen, Trump is never scared, okay? Trump is always out here shooting his shot at all of the outrage and just stirring the pot. So Trump tweeted out Gayle's King career. Sorry, not tweeted. Let me get that right. Because remember Trump, he got taken off of X. Then when he came back, he uses it. But like he really used, he really uses his platform, Truth Social, the most. So Trump posted on Truth Social, Gayle King's career is over. She should have stayed with her belief in Trump. She never had the courage to do so. No talent, no ratings, no strength. And he posted this because he was actually reposting and bringing light to a New York Post article. This New York Post article was exclusive that the New York Post did. And that actually dropped earlier today, where they're reporting based on sources that Gayle King's career at CBS doing CBS Mornings is looking murky. And the reason why they're saying that this is happening according to their source is because they're reporting that the higher ups at the network want to move away from polarizing coverage because basically coverage that is too woke according to what Trump and the Trump followers esque will deem as woke. So, for instance, one of the examples that they give here in the article is that one of the winners from RuPaul's Drag Race was on CBS Mornings with Gayle King. And the winner, his name is Bob the Drag Queen. Now, he was publicizing his first novel, Harriet Tubman Live in Concert. Right. So he came on the show to do so. According to the New York Post. The CBS Mornings website described the book as a gender bending story where the historic icon appears in modern day America to tell her story through a hip hop album. Now this is a story that you know was previously reported by the Post, but they're just using it to insert it into this to show an example of what the network execs are trying to get away from. So they point out this episode of the show because they have a quote in here from another source of the New York Post that alleges that. This source told the New York Post that the audience of CBS Mornings does not want woke. They do not like progressive and provocative bookings. Now we fast forward to them pointing to Bob the drag queen from RuPaul's Drag Race who was on the show promoting a book about Harriet Tubman. And Harriet Tubman finding herself in modern day time and just telling her story through hip hop. So they're like, they're talking about things that we don't want. We know that, you know, they are very even when they do have political conversations and the guests that they bring on these political conversations and the guests do not run away from being very vocal about how they feel about President Trump agreeing or not. And I'm sure this source or whoever, anybody that's deeming CBS Mornings as a woke platform would say that a lot of the guests there are normally critical of President Trump. But you guys see the pattern that's going on here right now with Stephen Colbert in the Late Show. When that happened, CBS pointed to money, finances. They talk numbers with Gayle King here in this New York Post article. And again, all of this stuff from the New York Post is sourced. Okay? So it's not directly coming from anyone. CBS declined to comment to the New York Post when the New York Post reached out on this article. Although they did comment on Stephen Colbert's cancellation of his show. The New York Post points out in this article they alleged that in the past three weeks Gayle King and her co hosts lost between 20% and 30% of their audience versus last year. And the advertiser coveted 25 to 54 year old demographic according to Nielsen and Nielsen, for those of you guys who don't know, it's just a site or it's a database that is supposed to be very accurate when collecting numbers as far as ratings and people and counts. So they're pointing to a study by Nielsen. They do not say when this study was last updated, but they do use it in this article, which again came out earlier today. It is August 5th 5th, 2025. And then they go into mentioning that Gayle King recently signed an extension for between $13 million and $15 million of her contract that runs through next May, according to this well placed source that they're pinning this whole report on. Now, they also point out, and like I said, y' all are seeing a pattern here. They also point out that that is the same month that CBS plans to pull the plug on the late night show with Stephen Colbert. And then once this report comes out, Donald Trump then goes over to Truth Social amplifies it and he says, Gayle King's career is over. She should have stayed with her belief in Trump. She never had the courage to do so. No talent, no ratings, no strength. Now, Donald Trump has also come out about Kimmel. He tweeted when Colbert's show was announced to have been canceled. He has been very vocal against, I mean, look, we just talked about him having the conversation and the back and forth that he had with Charlamagne because of Charlamagne's appearance on Fox News with Donald Trump's daughter in law, Lara Trump. You guys see the pattern here? I don't even have to say it. You see the pattern here. And I think at this point, for me, just in watching all of this, I was telling a friend the other day when all the Charlamagne stuff happened and I've said this to Charlamagne too, even prior to the Trump situation, like, you know, because Breakfast Club, I don't know about any other platform, I know about Breakfast Club because I work there. But because Breakfast Club has a variety of opinions, like we have conversations with Lara Trump, we have conversations with people that might not agree with what I personally agree with. Like, I don't agree with a lot of the things, the majority of things, honestly, the whole lifestyle of Donald Trump for the most part. But I'm never opposed to having conversation with people who are across the table. I also feel like, and I agree with the sentiment of the president, is the president at the time. And you just do whatever you can best to make sure that that person in that office is, you know, being the best face and ambassador for what it is that the people need, no matter where the people sit on whatever side of the table. But it's getting scary. It's getting real tricky out here. And as a person in the media who, you know, y' all know me, like, I like to lean toward truth. If I can't figure out who the source is or source it myself or find it to be fact myself. I don't like to touch it. I'm very careful about certain things. But I think it's getting scary because it's like, if you have an opinion at all, it seems like that leans away from what our current administration believes should be the conversation. It should be done. It gets tough out here for you. And I will say, you know, with Gayle King, even having to tell somebody in the media space, like, oh, be careful about you having an honest opinion about something. Now, defamation and things of that nature are completely. Because legally, there are certain things that you just can and can't do when you are in this space because your audience is counting on you to be transparent, to be as neutral as you can be, or to be able to define when you're not doing certain things. Like when you're giving your opinion about something and you want it to be known as your opinion, your audience trusts that you will give your opinion in a way that they know it's an opinion versus something that they know or can take and repeat as fact. Right? But just being able to say how you feel and not agreeing, being something that, like, makes you think, yo, Will, I have a job again. It is getting so scary. And it seems like it's such a pattern. It's like stories break about, like, ratings and shows not doing well. And then Donald Trump comes and he amplifies those stories, and he has something to say about what you're doing, how you're doing it, you know? And listen, this is not new. I mean, Donald Trump has always operated in the space as more of, like, a celebrity in chief. So he's paying attention to what's happening. He's responding to what's happening. But now it's starting to result in things not being there anymore. Stephen Colbert show not being there anymore. Joy Reid not being on MSNBC anymore. Those things get scary a bit, especially when you're sitting in my position. I'm like, yo, knock, knock, knock. Hello. I'm new here. Just begin building. Please don't tear down everything. I need somewhere to be at. You know what I mean? Like, and I was watching Kamala Harris. She did. Speaking of Stephen Colbert, Kamala Harris did Stephen Colbert show the Late Show. And it's her first interview since losing the presidency. And now she has this new book, 107 Days, which talks about the time that she had to run for president. And it was a very good interview. It was an interview about Everything from what she's been doing now to what her plans are moving forward. And the news had come out that she did not plan to run for governor and that, you know, she had this book coming out and then she goes on Stephen Colbert and she says this.
Kamala Harris
I believe, and I always believed, that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think right now that they're not as strong as they need to be. And I just don't want to for now. I don't want to go back in the system. I want to. I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people. And I don't want it to be transactional where I'm asking for their vote.
Lauren LaRosa
Now. I don't agree with Kamala at all. I understand. I think what she's trying to say. I think what she's trying to say, and I feel like it's a cover up, to be honest with you. I'll get to that. I think what she's trying to say is that you don't have to be a president, a governor, a mayor, an elected official to be able to go out in your community, touch people, work for change, do things that affect people, do things that get changed, do things that get people what they need. And that's where she wants to live. Now. She's not running away from the smoke, but she's approaching the smoke differently. You know, she's not tripping off of not being an elected official and all of the things that come with it. And she talked about, you know, Cause when Stephen Colbert opened the interview, the first thing he asked her was, you know, have you gotten some sleep? How are you? Let's take a listen to her answer. It's nice to see you again. It's great to be. It's good to be here. Thank you.
Ryan Seacrest
First of all, you look rested.
Lauren LaRosa
Yeah, I'm happy for you.
Kamala Harris
Thank you.
Lauren LaRosa
How are you doing? Well?
Ryan Seacrest
Oh, I'm fine. I'll get plenty of rested in June now.
Lauren LaRosa
So to hear her say that, right. She's had some time to reflect and I guess really put into, you know, and really prioritize what's important for her at this point in her life, whether that's being with family, getting to spend time with her husband, her nieces who she talks so much about, and just not being in the eye of all of the scrutiny. Like, I'm thinking about Gayle King, I'm thinking about Joy Reid. Right. And I mean, Stephen Colbert is unfortunate that his show is going off air, especially because it doesn't make any sense and it feels like censor. Censoring. But I'm thinking about these black women in this space because I can identify with them. Of course I can. Because I'm a black woman in a media space, I can identify with them a lot differently. And one of the first things I thought about was, man, like, you have to deal with people caring about what you wear, how you wear it, what your hair look like, what your makeup look like, are you overdressed, are you underdressed, the body type, what language you use, what language you don't use, are you smiling? Who are you sitting next to? Who's this man that you're seated next to? Are you dating him? Are you? Like, there's so many things that just women in general have to deal with, especially when you're in a spotlight. And then black women who aren't afraid to speak out when they feel away about something, when they don't agree with something, who aren't afraid to stand next to presidential candidates. And now on top of all the things that society and just people in general. And I feel like, you know, talking about being woke, I don't wanna sound woke either. Cause that's not my thing. I just like to. I just like to say how I feel. And how I feel right now is like, yo, it's so much other things that you deal with on a day to day trying to figure out life, career and all the things. And don't get me wrong, I'm of course a lot younger than Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris has had an amazing career. She, you know, is living her life. She's not complaining about things. That's not what that clip was. But I'm just thinking about all of the microaggressions and just the different silent battles that she's had to face and will honestly continue to have to face for the rest of her life. Because she's Kamala Harris, who was once vice president, and she's a black woman vice president. And she ran for the presidency and she did not win it. And she would have been the first black woman president. And just all these things, right, that she's gonna have to answer and say and never be able to get around for the rest of her life, that she then has to couple with everything that like she was just. Once you come out the womb and you walk, baby, your first flick of the hair. As a black woman, you gotta learn how to deal with issue in Society and the people. So then you bring all this extra spotlight, and, you know, politics is such a heavy thing to be in, and I just can't imagine so. I understand where she's coming from, but I don't agree with her. I don't feel like. I do feel like everybody has a place in change, but I do feel like there are certain people who get the privilege or the honor to have elected official status, and I don't think that those people should ever back away from trying. And it sounds to me like. And listen, maybe I'm reading in between the lines here. Y' all let me know what y' all took from it. Get in the comments. Get outside in the tweets, in the streets. Let me know you for the tweets. We outside. We outside. We outside, outside in the tweets.
Unknown
Every other page are gold.
Lauren LaRosa
I'm going the Rosa everywhere. How you guys felt. It sounded to me like as well rested as she said that she was, and, you know, as much as she's probably been able to, you know, prioritize and just think about what's important and what she don't want to deal with no more in her life, man, I know that feeling in her life. I think that there's a responsibility that you can't ever escape as a black person. And I think that she sounds tired still. Like, she's tired. She sounds fed up, but she's making it look good. She's making it sound good. And we, as black women, do that all the time, man. We do that all the time, and we're so good at it, because for so long and in different generations, you're literally taught that. You're taught to turn a house into a home. You're taught to nurture. You're taught to do so much that pours into other people and other things. And when I just told y', all, like, man, I felt that, like, she's probably just tired of the bullshit. Like, if I'm being honest with y', all, I get it, but I think we need her in the position, and I think that I don't understand where her purpose goes from here. If I'm being honest with you. I think that no matter how tired she might feel right now, no matter what happened in that office, no matter, you know, she. I'm sure she's tired of being asked about why she didn't tell the truth about President Biden and all the things. No matter how much that is getting on your nerves, your purpose is your purpose. And I just don't see her getting away from public service. I can't. And I honestly think we need people like Kamala Harris in public service, but we need people like Kamala Harris in a way where Kamala Harris is able to be the person that we watch in these interviews who Yo. When Kamala Harris sat down with Oprah during her presidential campaign, I was like, if she could be like this everywhere she went, we good. Especially in the White House. Like we good. Cuz this is what we wanted from her in the White House when we voted for Biden. I voted for Biden because Kamala Harris was the VP on the ticket. And I thought that she'd be able to keep things in check. I don't feel like she was empowered the way that she should have been. And I mean, people say, well, she's just vice president, but we all know what the. We know what it was given. We know why we went so hard for Biden in that election. And I really don't think she was empowered the way that she should have. I felt like she was put in the shadow of everything Bidenomics when she went to run. And I feel like by her not being able to come out and just really speak how she wants to speak and do what she wants to do and tell the truth and have to be loyal to the Democratic Party, which again, I'm not blaming her for it because as a black woman, I understand that, you know, sometimes even going against the. Even when you want to go up against the fire and stick it out, continue to be in presidential offices and all these things and all the things of the nature you don't have the resources you supposed to have to do so to be able to actually do it where it's effective and it's not just a freaking fight and mental tirade of like you breaking yourself down every single day. So I understand her and I get where she's coming from, but I don't agree that she can be as impactful now. She can have impact, don't get me wrong. And I'm not taking away from what she'll do because look, I'm not out here public serving every single day. So people that are. I feel like that's not even my place to kind of like, you know, critique or talk about as much. But. And just, you know, for sake of this conversation, I think we need her. Like she talked about having people in certain places when it comes to this whole government thing, this whole politic thing, I think we need her inside of the system that she says she don't want to be a part of for a little minute. We need her there. For sure.
Unknown
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Ryan Seacrest
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Lauren LaRosa
And lastly, up in the latest I was reading a article on my way over to film the show today because Scott Mills from BET sat down with Billboard and I'm pulling up the article right now. When we talk about resources, people always had a conversation around BET and what BET does, what they do well, what they don't do well, what we need, what we should see, all of the things. So Scott Mills has been doing some interviews. Bet is celebrating 45 years of the network and being one of the leading black media platforms. So Scott Mills, the CEO at bet, you know, sat down with Billboard to talk about a pledge to continue to always be a leading media platform for black people and for black things and black content. Now, during this interview, the journalist acts. Scott Mills, can you confirm the chatter that two of the annual shows in BET Awards franchise, the Soul Train and Hip Hop Awards. So Soul Train Awards, and separately the BET Hip Hop Awards are no longer going to be presented. So they're done. Are they done or not? And he says it's less about them being no longer and more about our team having to reimagine them for this changing media landscape that we find ourselves in. I think that we're going to see more people taking franchises and saying, this might have started on linear television, but now I'm going to move it to another space. Do I move it to streaming or do I make it another platform? So for BET Linear, we have suspended the Soul Train and Hip Hop Award Show. BET is announcing that they have suspended the BET Hip Hop Awards and the BET Soul Train Awards, y'. All. This is insane, because suspended is suspended. Like, doesn't mean indefinite. But I do think that there is something to having to take it off of tv, to have to figure out what to do with it versus it being such a vehicle and be built up enough where it stays on linear until you make that transition just because you want it to move forward strong to match where we are right now, which is what Scott Mills is saying. To me, this sounds like a roundabout answer to say it's not doing well on linear TV and we need to figure out something else for it because they are coveted shows and something across digital is a lot easier to execute as far as like, you know, keeping something on linear you need certain numbers, you need advertising dollars, you need, you need money, you still gonna need coins to produce an award show on digital, don't get me wrong. But to have it across linear tv, especially where it's taking up a slot where advertisers might wanna put something else or might be asking for something that is reaching more people or a larger, stronger demographic, that is a big say. Like this is a, a big statement that Scott Mills is making now. I will say I feel like what BET has done with the NAACP Image Awards over the years, even like last year, the show has gotten production is amazing. The quality and that goes into the dollars that are being put behind it. I love to see the celebrities showing up for the show as well. Like the NAACP Image Awards have had some pretty big shows these last couple years. Now the second question the journalists followed up with was they asked about the 2025 BET Awards viewership dropped almost 50% in the key demographic which is 18 to 49 demo from last year's show. Are there concerns about the longevity of that long standing show? So he says, Scott Mills says viewership was down. However, the cable ecosystem is smaller today. And that's what I'm saying by when he talking about taking the Soul Train Awards off of linear tv. That's why to me it's like, okay, this is saying something because it is very hard to get something on linear TV today. And it's not because people aren't watching. I mean, yes, less people are watching live tv, people are watching things on streaming, people are bulk watching things. You know, you have the Netflixes, Amazon Primes, BET plus was created. That's one of their vehicles because people are streaming. But there are still pockets of television where you do gather people and you get numbers. But it's not as easy anymore because it's smaller, there's less people watching. So you're fighting hard, you're fighting very, very hard for that viewership, especially to maintain it year to year to year to year. So he says, yeah, that's just the reality of it. You know, the ecosystem is way smaller today. But he says, you know, he gave a shout out to Connie Orlando, who is the evp, the executive vice president of specials, music programming and music strategy and her creative team who delivered an amazing 25th anniversary show for BET. They did the 106th and park anniversary during the show. I was in LA for the BET Awards and it felt so good. Like to hear that BET is struggling in the space of award shows at all. It's kind of disheartening because being at the BET Awards this year, it felt like the old days. Like big stars were there, people dressed up. It was classy. It was an event. It felt like a night of regal and of, like, black excellence. So it made you feel like, okay, we're back. Like, the art award shows. Like, you know, we didn't fully. It's not like it shut the whole world down. But for real, for real, it did. Like, everybody was talking about the BET Awards. Everybody was talking about how it looked, how it felt, all the things. So he's saying, look, that show just went down, and it went amazing. So I want to give her credit for that, but because this was one of the best BET Awards, he says, that he's ever seen. So he's saying the ecosystem has changed, and that is probably one of the issues. But at the same time, let's not just lean on that. They did move the night of the show. Now, I'm gonna tell you guys something. Every year since I can remember, the BET Awards has been on Sunday night, which was. It was a very big deal that they moved it. But this was a huge year for the BET Awards. Like, there was. So Kevin Hart hosted it. You had Drew Ski and Kai Sanat doing live streaming from it. There was just a lot that went down during the BET Awards this year. But he is saying that in 2026, they're gonna move back to Sunday, which I think makes sense because the BET Awards are also surrounded by the BET experience and people. It's kind of like almost like Essence Festival. You know, Essence festival happens around 4th of July. It's like the family reunion, you know, every year around what time your family reunion is happening with the BET Awards. It's the same thing with the timing, but also, too, one of the only reasons why I wouldn't be mad about. Because again, we're talking about resources, right? We went from Gayle King, who is few of many black faces on, you know, morning daytime television, cable, network tv. We talking about Kamala Harris, who is one of one in her space and just resources and a fight that it is. And then we get to BET in that conversation, which is crazy, because, you know, CBS and that whole big merger just happened, and you talk about resources. Scott Mills is, I'm sure, behind the scenes having to have conversations about what does. What does a Trump administration, cbs, Paramount merger look like because of all the Skydance stuff. He said in this interview that he's not really worried about it. And he, you know, he's not gonna speak to that. But, man, if I'm him, you have to look at what's happening. And if so, if you are looking at what's happening, you're basically looking at the fact that, like, all the edgy, hard conversations for us by us. Trump ain't gonna go for that for too long whatsoever. So what I was gonna just say is, like, when you're thinking about resources, if resources are thinning out in certain spaces, I say, let's laser in and focus. So instead of maybe, you know, and this is just. This is just me thinking as a viewer and as a content producer, it's like, okay, maybe we take the Soul Train Awards to digital and we make it something that is a smaller vehicle, but we lean in. The Hip Hop Awards, but we lean in even heavier to the BET Awards and make that the thing, right? Like, that is the big one. That is the one that's on tv, you know, and everything else is a smaller vehicle. And they all. Yeah, like, one hand shields the other, so they all lead into each other. Maybe they do it that way. There just needs to be a connectivity of sorts. I don't know. I always say a bunch of things. I know. And it'd be like, I don't know, right? But things are just different, y'. All. The media landscape right now is just different. My grandmother always says to me, the world is going to come to an end soon. That Jesus is on his way back. When any. Anytime anything happens. Like, she go to the grocery store, and they don't got her water. My grandmother buys deer park. They don't got her deer park water. Baby, the ends of times is coming. I went to the grocery store. They ain't got my waters no more. You need to start saving your money. Y' all know how y' all grandmas talk, especially if your grandmother's a black woman. You know, Y' all know how they talk. My grandmother has been telling me to prepare for the end of times for the last 10 years. I am finally at the age, and I don't know if it's just because of everything that is happening or if I really do feel like this. Maybe it's a mixture of the two. I'm finally at the age where when she calls me and say, baby, it's the end of times, I say, you know what? You're right. What you told me to do again, instead of just being like, mama, what are you talking about? It's like the things that I'm watching happening right now, I never. It's like something out of a sitcom or a movie I never thought that I would see, honestly, like, from our president and a lot of things that are happening with the administration. You know, people lose jobs every day, unfortunately. But, man, my friends in entertainment right now, bet did major layoffs. I have friends in every creative industry from music to fashion that, like, are just losing jobs left and right. My old job, like, where I used to work, tmz, they did huge firings as well. And I never thought that was happening. Shows were getting canceled left and right when I was in that newsroom. And one thing Harvey was always good about was ensuring us that we would still be working because of the vehicle and how it goes. And, I mean, it's just. It's crazy to see it. It's crazy to see it. It's crazy to think about it. And again, that's why I'm like, yo, I understand Kamala being like, yo, I don't want no parts of this. Take me on vacation. Read my book. I'll show up in the communities with my Chuck Taylors on and my laugh and my hehe ha ha giggle. But, baby, life is too short and it's coming to an end anyway. Let's live our best lives. This has been the Latest with Lauren LaRosa. I am Lauren LaRosa. Thank you guys for tuning in for another episode. Make sure you subscribe. Click the subscribe button. Click the bell, actually, because y' all need to know every single time an episode is uploaded, y' all asked me for the visuals. We didn't got the visuals. Shout out to guy house here in New Jersey. Make sure you guys are tuned in. I tell you guys at the end of every episode that at the end of the day, there's always so much to talk about and you guys could be anywhere with anybody as they talk about it. But my lowriders, all 1 million plus of y', all, I think we at 2 million at this point. Y' all are always right here with me to do it. I appreciate you guys so much, and I will see you in my next episode.
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Lauren LaRosa
This is an I Heart podcast.
Podcast Summary: The Breakfast Club Episode: Donald Trump comes for Gayle King + Does Kamala have a responsibility to remain political? ++ BET suspends award shows? Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts Release Date: August 5, 2025
In this compelling episode of The Breakfast Club, host Lauren LaRosa delves deep into the intertwined worlds of politics, media, and entertainment. The episode covers a spectrum of pressing topics, including Donald Trump's recent attacks on Gayle King, Kamala Harris's evolving role in politics, and significant changes within BET's award show franchises. Through insightful discussions and personal reflections, Lauren offers listeners a nuanced perspective on these events shaping the current cultural landscape.
Timestamp: 02:06 – 12:51
Lauren opens the conversation by addressing Donald Trump's recent condemnation of Gayle King. After being reinstated on Truth Social, Trump declared, "Gayle King's career is over. She should have stayed with her belief in Trump. She never had the courage to do so. No talent, no ratings, no strength" [06:45]. This statement stems from a New York Post article suggesting that CBS Mornings is distancing itself from "woke" content to appeal to a broader audience.
The article highlights episodes like Bob the Drag Queen's appearance on CBS Mornings, where he promoted his novel "Harriet Tubman Live in Concert," a narrative blending historical figures with modern-day elements like hip hop. According to sources cited by the New York Post, CBS executives are wary of polarizing content, fearing it alienates viewers who favor less progressive programming.
Lauren analyzes the implications of these developments, noting a 20-30% audience drop in Gayle King's viewership compared to the previous year [09:15]. She connects this trend to the broader issue of media networks grappling with audience preferences in a polarized political climate. The cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show further exemplifies the challenges traditional media faces in maintaining relevance and viewer engagement [10:30].
Timestamp: 12:51 – 21:26
Transitioning to politics, Lauren discusses Kamala Harris's recent interview on Stephen Colbert's Late Show, where Harris announced the release of her book "107 Days," detailing her presidential campaign. Harris stated, "I believe, and I always believed, that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think right now that they're not as strong as they need to be" [12:51].
Lauren expresses mixed feelings about Harris's decision to take a step back from elected office. While she acknowledges Harris's contributions and the pressures of political life, Lauren argues that true impact comes from holding public office. She voices concerns that Harris's retreat might limit her ability to effect systemic change, emphasizing the unique influence that comes with political power.
Lauren reflects on the broader challenges faced by black women in media and politics, highlighting the additional societal pressures and microaggressions they endure. She underscores the importance of representation and the need for leaders like Harris to remain in the public sphere to drive meaningful change [18:40].
Timestamp: 21:26 – 35:09
The discussion shifts to entertainment news, focusing on BET's decision to suspend its Soul Train and Hip Hop Award shows. Scott Mills, CEO of BET, explained to Billboard that the suspension is not permanent but a strategic move to "reimagine" these franchises for a rapidly evolving media environment [21:57].
Lauren critiques this decision, suggesting that it reflects broader struggles within traditional media outlets to adapt to streaming and digital platforms. She points out that declining viewership numbers, such as a nearly 50% drop in key demographics for the 2025 BET Awards, necessitate reevaluation of how awards shows are produced and distributed [28:40].
Despite the setbacks, Scott Mills praised Connie Orlando and her creative team for producing one of the best BET Awards to date, indicating that while the ecosystem is shrinking, there is potential for innovation and reinvention [34:15]. Lauren echoes this sentiment, advocating for a laser-focused approach where flagship events like the BET Awards remain prominent while legacy shows transition to digital formats [32:50].
Timestamp: 35:09 – End
In the concluding segment, Lauren shares personal insights on the intersection of media, politics, and societal issues. She remarks on the widespread layoffs across creative industries, including significant cuts at BET and TMZ, highlighting the precarious nature of media jobs in today's climate [35:40].
Lauren draws parallels between her grandmother's doomsday predictions and the current state of the world, contemplating the pervasive anxiety surrounding societal stability. She emphasizes the resilience required to navigate these turbulent times, especially for black women in media who continually balance authenticity with societal expectations [37:09].
Lauren calls for unity and continued activism, asserting that despite the exhaustion and challenges faced by leaders like Kamala Harris, their roles remain crucial in driving progress and fostering community engagement [37:39].
Donald Trump on Gayle King: "Gayle King's career is over. She should have stayed with her belief in Trump. She never had the courage to do so. No talent, no ratings, no strength" [06:45].
Kamala Harris on Democracy: "I believe, and I always believed, that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think right now that they're not as strong as they need to be" [12:51].
Scott Mills on BET Awards: "We're reimagining our award shows for the changing media landscape, considering digital platforms over traditional linear TV" [21:57].
This episode of The Breakfast Club offers a thought-provoking examination of the current challenges facing media personalities, political figures, and entertainment institutions. Through Lauren LaRosa's engaging and reflective commentary, listeners gain a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics at play and the resilience required to navigate them. Whether discussing Trump's aggressive media tactics, Harris's political strategies, or BET's strategic pivots, the episode underscores the importance of adaptability and integrity in an ever-evolving cultural landscape.
For more insightful discussions and updates, make sure to subscribe and stay tuned to The Breakfast Club.