D (3:25)

You need.

A (3:26)

You need people that have, like, experienced things already and have gotten through these things. And whether they failed or they, you know, succeeded through these things, they're still here and they're still thriving and they're doing well, but they have a lot of knowledge to impart. I'm always here for the substance of things. Like, everything I do. I'm always thinking about, like, you know, how can I make sure that, like, this is actually going to lead to something that is long lasting. I also always am battling against the fear and just the mindset of, like, what if this all goes away tomorrow? Which is partly trauma and, and partly, like, anxiousness because of what I've never experienced before and seeing it happen, happening and unfolding in my life. But even those conversations, like, I was able to have so much of those conversations with these women, you know, who were intended, who were in attendance, who. A lot of them, like me, they're reaching success for the first time and they're just figuring it out as they go. And, like, they're like the first people in their, like, immediate families to do so. And, you know, in certain friend groups to do so. Like, it's just a very different experience that's happening daily. And a lot of times, like, when. When I'm going through it, there's not too many people that I can pick up the phone and describe things to. I have a lot of people that I can call and that will listen. That's not what I'm saying. But who can actually listen and advise and guide me through it. Is getting a little bit different because of the things that I'm getting to experience in this conference and accelerate her and this tribe of people that I've now been introduced to and hugged on and loved on by. I'm just excited to be able to have that in a real way. I learned so much, not even just in the panel discussions and the presentations, but in common. Casual conversations, just in the elevator, walking to the bar, sitting at the bar, you know, grabbing food at the restaurants in the hotel and just joining conversations. Like, I. I went by myself, so I had no choice but to, like, just talk and meet people. And I was actually really excited about that part of it, and it did for me what I knew I needed it to do.

E (5:31)

It.

A (5:31)

It made me, like, throw myself into unknown territory with people that I didn't know whatsoever, which has always been an easy thing for me. But, you know, a lot of times you walk into these rooms and these people are so successful, you're like, what the hell do we have in common? So I just sit back and listen. And, you know, and I was doing a lot of that, but the conversations were so inviting. It was like, no, we want to hear your perspective too. And I don't know, it was just. It's just such a good space to be in, to be figuring things out and now be able to pick up the phone and call people who look like you, who have experienced same things the way that you have experienced that are genuinely there to help you, but have. Have gotten through it in a way that make them cream of the crop. So shout out to Kim Blackwell and accelerate her. I received the bossy award while there. Thank you again for that. And if you guys are listening to this episode, we did upload some bonus content of me receiving that award and my thank you speech and things. So go take a listen to that. Now let's get on into the latest. So it is the first Monday in May, but, baby, the people are already calling it the first Monday in B E Y. And that is because Beyonce is making her return to the Met Gala after 10 years. Now, the theme this year is costume art, and Beyonce is one of the co chairs of the gala, along with Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, Anna Wintour. And you're probably wondering, like, you know, if you're not a fashion person, if you're not a person who's into all these celebrity red carpets and the things. Why you even care about this right now. There are a few reasons, and I'm gonna break it down to y'. All. So Fans, number one of the gala, are talking about the fashion. And they expect to see, you know, cultural firepower that is celebrated and born by a lot of the icons that you'll see on the Met Gala carpet, from people in music to sports to fashion to film. But the more important conversation here that translates, you know, even far beyond the celebrity of all of this is the storytelling that will happen and how amazing that that storytelling happens on such a big platform like the Met Gala red carpet, because millions of people around the world, whether they want to or not, will get to see these photos but also hear the conversation around it.

D (7:54)

Yes, it's me,

A (8:01)

and we prepped.

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It's the time for empowerment. And I've got a message for you. You gotta think about sexual health no matter what. Where, with who? Who.

E (8:27)

Yeah.

A (8:27)

Yeah.

D (8:29)

To all you lovers out there, ain't no judgment. This is your cue. It's time to talk about pre special prophylaxis, a part of HIV prevention. Talk to a healthcare provider and visit

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carefortheculture.com to learn more.

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Hey, I'm Gerard Onno. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the Internet.

E (8:58)

Help.

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Somebody, please.

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But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions.

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Eh? Cream. Cream of chicken soup.

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This is help from a hypocrite. The worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to help from hypocrite as of part of the Mike Cultura Podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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May is mental health awareness month and your twenties, they can feel like a lot. On the psychology of your 20s podcast, we unpack the anxiety, the overthinking, the heartbreak, the identity crisis, all of it that comes with being in your 20s. Because if you've ever thought, is anybody else feeling this way? They definitely are.

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I feel like my 20s was a process of checking off everything that I

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The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

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This mental health awareness month, tune into the podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace and self mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected, we're becoming more individualized. But we actually need people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you. To hear more. Listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

A (12:01)

So with costume art in the, in the co chairs that they've picked, what I'm predicting will happen is we will see a lot of deep storytelling that makes you culturally tap into, you know, the history of certain people and their races and their origins and their religions and just things that we as people like to separate ourselves from. So, like, we like to think that, you know, because I'm black and because this person's white, we don't have anything in common. Or like I was even talking to you guys, like the wealth gap of the women in the room that I was just with, my first reaction was, what do I have in common with these ladies? But it's like when you really get into the storytelling, into the background, into all the wins, the losses, you know, just the culture of it all, you'll find that a lot of times there's a lot more similarities than differences. And that's why I love the power of storytelling. But I love it through fashion because you can't deny it. You can't deny what's happening right there in front of you, but also through art and fashion, people will look at things and take things so many different ways, so there'll be so many much conversation that comes out of it. And when you talk about, like, a Beyonce, right, or a Venus Williams, these women are people who have championed, you know, the storytelling throughout their whole careers, and we've all clung to that, like Beyonce information. When she used, you know, that time and that whole rollout to address Hurricane Katrina and race relations and Black Beauty and the Blackest king. She showcased a lot of African heritage, Afrocentric fashion and fashion designers. Braids, Bantu knots. Beyonce has always been one to celebrate black designers, but during the Renaissance tour, I feel like a lot of people paid more attention to it. She spotlighted Laquan Smith. She, you know, even around Juneteenth, she did so much within that space. And Laquan Smith is somebody who, you know, he is a young black designer who has been making his way in this couture world for a very, very long time. Him and Sergio Hudson right now are like the two black designers that people point to most in the couture space. It is a very hard space to live and thrive in. Couture is not very welcoming of us, of black people, of black designers, of black body shape. It has opened up a lot more, but it is still what it is. So her championing those people means so much. Cowboy Carter. We know that that was like the cowboy, the western, the country music era, where she was able to, through her fashion, through her partnership with Levi's, through her music, really spot, like, black people's place in country music. And a lot of the things that we originated in country music and just our roots there and why we actually belong. When you think about Venus and Serena Williams, you think a lot about their fashion, because people have always talked a lot about, you know, them on the court and how well they play and all the, you know, the barriers that they break. These are two young black women from Compton, right? So there's always that conversation around them, both positive and negative, but they get a lot of. For their body, silhouettes for. I remember, you know, them wearing, you know, certain fits and cuts and cat suits was a conversation at one point. And they. They've used it to their advantage. Like they've kind of flipped it on their head. I remember when I went to the US Open in 2025, Venus Williams, actually, she did a tribute to Althea Gibson, who was the first black woman in tennis who was able to play at the height of something like a U.S. open. And she wore a white polo and she had the white pleated skirt on. And for a lot of people who don't know much about Athea Gibson, and I didn't at the time, if I'm being honest, when I saw the Vogue article with her giving the nod to Althea Gibson and talking about Athea Gibson in the interview, that made me understand more culturally, right? And I'm there at the US Open. So you have Althea Gibson memorials set up everywhere. Her family's there. It was such a tribute. So everything symbolically is making you go back, learn, research, understand regardless if you're white or black. And that's what costuming is, art is all about. And I think we're going to get to see so much of that on the Met Gala red carpet that I am really, really excited about just with the conversations. Culturally, it will spark. And I will say Beyonce doesn't lend her time, her energy, and especially not her presence to any old thing. So if she's going to show up, and it has been over a decade since she has been there, you all know she is about to start a hell of a conversation. So I'm very excited to see what that will be. I know a lot of the Beehive believe that this is the start of Act 3 and. And her team has come out and said that there is no music done. People believe that we're going to get a single around the Met Gala, that there will be some visual stuff that drops around the Met Gala with her music. But I just know if she's showing up, that alone is going to be a conversation and a start of something, because she don't go anywhere. She don't just go anywhere. And when she's somewhere, it. There's a. There's a reason, there is an importance around it. And the celebrities have been running around all weekend in celebration of the Met Gala. So you have so many people that will be in attendance. Serena Williams, I mentioned Venus, is one of the co chairs, but Serena Williams is. Is set to attend. I know Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton are set to attend. Zendaya, who we always look forward to on the carpet, reportedly is not attending this year. I saw the Met Gala released a statement about that, but there's no reason yet as to why I did see reporting that. You know, she's just so busy right now. But the fact that she's in New York and she's not attending has become, you know, a conversation of people wanting to Know why people love to see Zendaya and her stylist Law Roach and just their combination of the things on the carpet. I'm looking forward to, you know, Cardi B. And Colin Carter on the carpet. I know Cardi is in New York. She went to go see Meg the Stallion on Broadway to support Meg the Stallion's final night there. So I'm looking forward to a lot of that and. But deep, more deep though. Like, I love it when we can tell story through eye catching things and educate people and pull people up. And I think that this year's Met Gala, just like last year's Met Gala when they did the dandy theme in 2025, will be that. And people complain about how the Met Gala has become just so like surface level and no real storytelling. I think this will be another year of that storytelling. Now moving on into our next story in the latest, your girl Cardi B, as I just mentioned, is in New York. It's Met Gala Monday, but last weekend she went to see Meg the Stallion close out her role in Moulin Rouge as Ziddler. Let's take a listen to Cardi's review of Megda on Broadway.

E (18:50)

And Megan looked amazing and she did amazing. I don't know if she ever going to do it again, but I thought she was gonna do it longer. And then I'm like, oh. And I promise her, I told her I was gonna come. I told her I'll be telling her like, it's like, when you in my city, I'm gonna come see you watch. No. Okay. She would think I'll be capping. It's like, all right, if you're in New York, I'm gonna be seeing you. I ain't got.

A (19:18)

I'll be here.

E (19:21)

When I be in LA or other places, I don't really go out too much because if I'm in another state, state is for mostly work related. If I'm in New York, I'm coming to get you. It was so amazing. I hope she does it again.

A (19:38)

I told y' all a couple weeks ago that me was actually really, really good. And I keep saying actually because a lot of celebrities get on Broadway and you can tell that they are the celebrity on the cast. Like, it's just they don't, they don't blend as well as you think they would. But she did an amazing job. Like, a really amazing job. But, you know, in recent weeks with her announcing the breakup between her and Klay Thompson, she's decided to leave and not finish out her full Run on Broadway. She was supposed to be there until May 17, but May 1 was her final date, and I thought that it was nice to see that people came out and supported her, because I know she needs it right now. Like, I. I can't imagine, like, you're in this public eye, you're going through this big breakup, which, to be fair, she did announce. We didn't even know it was happening. But still, it's there. And you got Cardi B coming out to support you. Candy Burr is coming out to support you. You know, the girls rallying around her, but also her cast rallying around her, too. They sung her a really sweet goodbye song that I thought was cute. Backstage. As the night closed let's take a listen. Until we meet again Happy trail to you.

F (20:49)

Happy trail to you until we meet again.

A (21:11)

I wish Magdasallian the best. I don't know what's coming up next. I also don't know. I'm still trying to figure out, like, the why, because the why behind her revealing that her and Klay Thompson had broke up in the way that she did. I thought that maybe we were about to see him pop out with another woman, or some allegations, him running around, some photos pop up, and she was just trying to get ahead of a story. I didn't want to believe that it was just all emotion because she's Magna Stallion. Like, girl, yeah, your microphone is big, but she's human. And I get that. I'm just really still trying to figure out why. Like, why. Cause of all of the fanfare and the conversation around you and your relationship when we didn't even have to know what was happening if nothing was about to break. Right. But that question still hasn't been answered. I do know that there will be some things announced for her coming up very soon that I'm hearing are supposed to be really big, so maybe it points, you know, and paints a better picture. Speaking of, you know, art and costuming paints a better picture of, like, the why and what's happening. So, you know, we'll be tuned in, and I'll keep you guys updated with the latest. But, yeah, I wish Magdasan the best in all of this. I know the people are really upset about everything that has happened because people feel like she should have kept her mouth shut and not revealed her breakup and, you know, talking about how unfair it is to Clay. But regardless of where you stand on whether she should have or should not have, I'm telling y' all now, it's hard as hell to have to tell people that what you believe would be something isn't that. And I can't imagine doing it as Meg thee stallion, a superstar. So I'm saying we give her some grace, but to each his own. I'm Lauren LaRosa. This has been another episode of the Latest with Lauren LaRosa, your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversations that shake the room. I will be back tomorrow because we are going to have to talk about the carpet that actually happened. And I will have some audio from an expert. I'm going to be sitting down and having a conversation with one of my homegirls who, you know, speaking of the girls supporting girls have been supporting me and I've been supporting her for some time. Her name is Alexis Bennett, and we actually met. I just graduated college. I don't even know if I. I actually hadn't even graduated. I was a junior in college. I think she had just finished college and we were trying to figure out work in New York and we went to this Cosmopolitan magazine, Fun, Fashion and fearless conference, and we were the only black girls there. So I walked over to her and her friend and just said, hey, it's only us in here. And we laughed and joked about it, and we've been friends ever since. She is the director of shopping partnerships with Refinery29. She works with Essence, Beautycon and Afropunk as well. And, you know, she was the director of Econ. She was the head of E commerce over at Vogue for some time, was at InStyle magazine. And if you know of her work in the world, she's a young black girl that is out here killing it. So we're going to really break down some of the looks, the meanings, and, you know, all the things. So be back for next episode. I tell you guys, every single episode, I appreciate you. You could be anywhere with any old body having these conversations, but you choose to be right here with me, my low riders. I'll see you in my next episode. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.