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Kif Fury
Inspired by Judy Blume's groundbreaking 1975 novel Forever, watch the reimagined coming of age series about young love by Mara Bracha Kiel, the iconic creator of Girlfriends. The epic love story follows two black teens, Keisha and Justin, as they explore romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other's firsts. Watch forever. Premiering May 8th only on Netflix. If you don't know about our flyer deals on Instacart, this message is for you. Flyer deals are like strolling through your favorite store looking for deals, but instead you're scrolling on your phone. Because getting delivery doesn't mean you have to miss out on in store deals like the creamer that doesn't upset your stomach or the pasta sauce that you can't not buy when it's on sale. Download the Instacart app, shop flyers and never miss a deal. Plus get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes. Happy day.
Crystal
Hello and welcome. Welcome back to the show. I believe it is May now and you've returned or come for the first time. We appreciate it. I'm Flo Millies au pair.
Kif Fury
And I am Viola Davis. This is the Read. Thank you for coming back.
Crystal
Thank you in fact, for returning. Let us begin, May with one of our common and regular segments segment about excellent blacks. And we will begin with LeVar Burton, friend of the show. Levar Burton will be the keynote speaker for Howard University's 157th commencement ceremony. That's 157 ceremonies of commencement. And he will also be awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree because Reading Amongst the Rainbow, Life changing Icon legend moment. Thank you for encouraging us to read. Although many of these niggas have refused.
Kif Fury
Mm. They have. But that's not your fault.
Crystal
Yeah, it's not your fault. That's above you now.
Kif Fury
That's true. You did what you could.
Crystal
Howard University 157. Also, we will be giving honor to an Anne Collins Smith. Anne has been appointed the chief curator or as chief curator at the New Orleans Museum of Art. She's the first black American and the first black native of New Orleans to hold a full curatorial role at this museum. Ann attended Spelman, where she studied African American art, of course, so she is far past qualified for this position. She went on to get a master's degree in visual Arts Administration at New York University.
Kif Fury
Mm.
Crystal
She since held positions at Spelman at their Museum of Fine Art, the Davis Museum at Wellesley College and the St. Louis Art Museum. So Museum of Art. Yeah. Very decorated, very accomplished, fierce name. So Congratulations. Yeah, Very, very Spelman, actually. Yes. Very, very Spelman.
Kif Fury
Congratulations.
Crystal
Is there, like, a Spelman movie?
Kif Fury
You know, I don't even think people want to play with Spelman like that.
Crystal
Not like a. Not like a biopic, but like a. Like a girls trip. Insecure. Scripted. Stomp the yard. Be good. You know, like, just stay in the life.
Kif Fury
Okay.
Crystal
Girls at Spelman, based on In Spelman. Like a tribute, too, but for young black girl. I don't know. Anyways, yay for being black. Excellent. Congrats, folks. Keep it up. Let's move into this week's Hot box. Hot tops. Tops of Hot box. All right, we'll just begin with the obvious. She's begun.
Kif Fury
Yes, she has.
Crystal
She hasn't begun. And Blue Ivy's tour has started. It kicked off this week right here in Los Angeles. I would say sunny. It's a little. A little overcast. But the girls here love that, so whatever, I guess. But, yes, Blue and her mother have begun their Cowboy Carter tour. And, yeah, the folks are excited. The cowboy hats are back out. I'm seeing everyone wearing, you know, their chaps. I'm. I'm going to chase to deposit something. And there's someone in the. At the ATM next to me with assless chaps.
Kif Fury
Correct.
Crystal
And it's like, you going to the concert tonight? No, I'm just in the mood.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah. Everyone's just in webo and that's just what we do over here.
Crystal
So. Yeah, it hasn't begun, obviously. It won't be a surprise that the girlies here are excited. I'm not losing my mind over spoilers. I'm not seeking anything out. I'm trying not to, but I'm not gonna, like, pull out my eyelashes if I see a picture from the Guy concert. Like, there's nothing like being there, so whatever.
Kif Fury
That's true. I'm definitely not being as strict as I was about Renaissance.
Crystal
True.
Kif Fury
But I told myself, okay, you know, I'll avoid spoilers. Open Instagram. Look at Solange's Instagram story. It's Blue fucking it up. I said, ok, what are you gonna.
Crystal
Do about, like, how you can't.
Kif Fury
All right. So I said, okay, if it's the girls, I'mma stop and watch. Cause then I saw Rumi, and I was like, you think I'm gonna pass on this video of Rumi on stage with her mom and sister? I'm not doing that.
Crystal
You have to look at it.
Kif Fury
I had to watch it.
Crystal
Rumi.
Kif Fury
I have to talk about Rumi Carter.
Crystal
She's the biggest, prettiest smile.
Kif Fury
What a star that little girl got on stage. You know, she was like, oh, yeah, the choreography. Mm, that part. But, girl, do you. Do you hear these fans? She was waving at everybody cheesing all big. Like, in front of that is tens of thousands of people. And she is eating it up. Turned around and hugged her mom. When she turned around and hugged Beyonce and Bea was so overwhelmed, she couldn't even sing no more and hugged her back. That was, first of all, my heart. Just. She was already doing protector, so I was already losing it. And then she and Rumi have this hug. And while Rumi is like, face in Beyonce's belly, she hears the people reacting to this, and she turns around very slowly, and she has this look in her eyes like, I'm sorry, is that for me? Like, she just seems, like, born for the stage, born to perform. I feel like when Beyonce said, oh, it was like she knew, like, a Solange is born. Like somebody who is finna eat this stage up. Like, she done got bit now, child. I know she ran right backstage and told absolutely everybody, Grandma, daddy, cousin, sir, everybody, did you see me out there with mommy in Blue killing it?
Crystal
Rumi was like, first of all, I told you, like, I don't even understand what took so long. I was obsessed with her. Like, duh. Clearly, Rumi has been giving it to y'all for a bit now from when she was. When. When Beyonce and Blue were doing that interview, I think for Mufasa.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah.
Crystal
And Rumi stepped in on the camera and was like, okay, that's fine. They're in the film. I'm Rumi Carter, a born star. Hello.
Kif Fury
She did do that.
Crystal
She's just been like, girl, my time. It is my time. It's my time. She done been to all the goddamn award shows. She toured. She in the films and things like that. It's my time now.
Kif Fury
Yeah. Yep, just like that. That really melted my heart. I think if Beyonce thought that was gonna be a one time thing, child, I'm pretty sure Rumi is about to be like, I need to be available to go on stage at every show.
Crystal
After reading her mother's book, and I.
Kif Fury
Haven'T even opened mine. It's still sitting.
Crystal
Getting more information of how Ms. Tina was when she was a kid. You know, all this stuff. Superstar, confident, baddie.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
That then gave birth to Beyonce and Solange. You thought that you weren't gonna have kids that were gonna say, move out of my way and bust out the spotlight.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
They want you to Move.
Kif Fury
Roomy does just move. She was absolutely ready for her moment. I saw another shot of, I guess, people who were seated towards the back and to the side because they could see Rumi when she was up there with, you know, some adult handler before she went around to the front where everybody else could see. So these people who were on, like, the side of the stage are like.
Crystal
Oh, my God, roomie.
Kif Fury
And she's over there just looking very calm. She's, you know, mimicking the. Like Blue used to do, mimicking the moves that they're all doing. Like, girl, Beyonce, you got two of them things. You got two of them things. Rumi, though, she's at rehearsal, sparkle in her eyes. When Rumi turns around, I go back and rewatch this. That little girl has a glint in her eyes like, I haven't seen this at all.
Crystal
I only saw a picture of them hugging.
Kif Fury
Oh, she has a look on her face like, y'all are gonna have to peel me off of this damn stage. And Blue did have to escort her like, okay, Rumi, you're eating it up, but it's time for you to go.
Crystal
I'll never forget when that lady won that Grammy. When that lady won that Grammy and thanked everybody and then went backstage and told Entertainment Tonight. I forgot to thank Rumi. She's gonna be pissed.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah, I'm gonna see now.
Crystal
Rumi's not playing with him.
Kif Fury
Big personality. Big, big personality.
Crystal
Not playing with them. I love it. I love it.
Kif Fury
I do, too. It was. And that's pretty much all I've seen is the clips of Blue. Who? I mean, we saw her grow in confidence and ability just from when she first came out at Renaissance in Paris to the end of the tour. Niece is like, that. That was actually all I needed. I'm good now.
Crystal
Oh, you mean those training wheels.
Kif Fury
They're off.
Crystal
She's like, bonafide star precision.
Kif Fury
This is the 13. Taller than her mama and easily taller than her mama.
Crystal
Like, no, like, without debate.
Kif Fury
It's not. Stand back to back. Let's see. Like, it's.
Crystal
Yeah. No, it's not up for discussion. That lady is taller than you. Beyonce said, I don't like you. I don't.
Kif Fury
Well, I wouldn't either.
Crystal
I feel you. I wouldn't either. I would not either.
Kif Fury
I really do feel for you.
Crystal
But a young girl going into their teens where all of them hate everybody, right? Oh, boy, baby. But, yeah, I feel like they're gonna be besties forever.
Kif Fury
All the ladies, Blue and Rumi, and they.
Crystal
Mama, like, I feel like, they're like. I feel like all the girls, they're always gonna be super duper, duper, duper tight. I mean, I can't imagine roomie Solange, Ms. Tina, Angie. Like, I feel like all of them are gonna be. Say anything you want, and we'll start a fire.
Kif Fury
Oh, I'm.
Crystal
I mean, for life.
Kif Fury
Well, yeah. I can't fathom anything else, but, yeah, I'm excited to see the rest of the tour. I've heard that this is even better than Renaissance because it combines Renaissance and Cowboy Carter. That's what Tick Tock is saying. No, because it's not just Cowboy Carter. There's Renaissance in it, too.
Crystal
There is a.
Kif Fury
That's what I've heard.
Crystal
More excited.
Kif Fury
That's what I've heard. So thank you again to Sacred for sponsoring a ticket giveaway right here on the Read. So excited to send a couple of our fans to the show, but, of course, excited to see it. I've heard excellent things. Excellent.
Crystal
I was already excited just because I do love Cowboy Carter. And I was even saying to a friend of mine that I feel like this one's gonna make me cry for, like, different reasons.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
I feel like I got emotional at least one point during Renaissance, but the musicality, the emotion, and the. Of, like, Black Americana within the. And Reclamation within this. This piece. I feel like the visual component of that and the live component of that is gonna make me cry. I just don't know it where.
Kif Fury
Well, I knew.
Crystal
But then if you're saying. Right, right. But it's like, how was that visualized? Oh, you're bringing the children out, and they're. And they're living and giving you buggies.
Kif Fury
Right? Because it was.
Crystal
Yeah, I'm gonna cry.
Kif Fury
It was bad enough hearing her do protector, and then seeing. Of course, Blue is the only one wearing the same material as her mama. And so. And she's the only one who's, like, directly behind Beyonce. Of course. So it's already enough seeing Blue out there performing with you, and you're doing this song that breaks my goddamn heart. But then here come Rumi chewing the stage up.
Crystal
Yeah. The only. I just saw a picture of her.
Kif Fury
I cried at the video, so I know when I see it, it's over.
Crystal
It was Rumi hugging her, and I guess it was the moment. Yeah. She looked back, and she had this big beauty.
Kif Fury
That's it.
Crystal
On her face. And then Blue was, like, right behind her, like, above her.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
And I was just like. They also just know how to symbolically honor each Other. Cause Beyonce has done that with her mother a million times. Her mom always talks about her mother. You know, even on the podcast, she talks about her mom. In the book, she talks about the upset. Like, they. Yeah, there's just. They love each other big, and it's so beautiful to see.
Kif Fury
Yeah. The closeness makes a lot of sense. When you read the book, it's like you really came by this honest. Like, I hearing reading Ms. Tina talk about her childhood and formative years and all that, and then coming on the show and talking about it, it's like I see this connection. Like, the strength of this is really so much to do with you and how you were intentional about making sure your daughters could be themselves and still come to you and all that. And I'm sure that that's something Beyonce's also doing with her own girls. But, yeah, really beautiful to see. And I knew as soon as the tour was announced, Protector was gonna be the one. So I'm actually glad that that is the clip that went viral because so.
Crystal
You could just know what you do.
Kif Fury
You know, get the worst that'll say.
Crystal
By the time she gets to be different.
Kif Fury
Well, let's.
Crystal
She might switch something up a little bit more or add a new layer in there or mix it with another song that makes you cry.
Kif Fury
Yeah, really could.
Crystal
Because she was ready.
Kif Fury
Yeah. She was doing Dangerously in Love at the end of that, which is like, a really beautiful way to remix that song to be like, I can't do this thing called life without you here with me. And then Roomy's talking to her, so she can't even keep.
Crystal
Like, I almost hit.
Kif Fury
She's so almost hit.
Crystal
I almost.
Kif Fury
Yes.
Crystal
This lady of Dangerously in Love.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Can absolutely be attributed to the ladies.
Kif Fury
You set me free. I can't do this thing. I never leave. Like, oh, my God. It works it. So I. You right. You right.
Crystal
But that's probably the one. Like, if I were her and could sing and, you know, had talents and stuff, that's probably if I was, like, going to sing one of my songs. Is the Lullaby for the Babies.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Protector is a good one, too.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Well, but dangerously in. Dangerously in love had been in the bank. That is so true.
Kif Fury
Well, you can't just. You can't do the lyrics to Dangerously In Love. Those are really about a man. But that chorus and all.
Crystal
Some of it.
Kif Fury
Yeah, some of it.
Crystal
You. You really can.
Kif Fury
Yeah. And it's like. Yeah, this is absolutely. It's actually more accurate when I'm talking about my baby. Way more Cause I'll leave a nigga, but I'm not leaving my child so.
Crystal
Dangerously in love with your baby. Makes sense.
Kif Fury
It does.
Crystal
Cause it's like, y. You are. You are. I will catch every case today behind this one.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
I live. See, this is why there's nothing like being there. I can't wait to be there. I'm not wearing a hat. I'm not wearing a cowboy hat.
Kif Fury
No, me either. It's going to be too hot.
Crystal
It's going to be. I'm going to wear some denim. We'll do that.
Kif Fury
I'm watching all of y'all wear my culture as a costume, and I'm letting it go. I'm actually. I'm letting it go.
Crystal
I think that's why I didn't want to.
Kif Fury
I'm watching all of y'all appropriate my culture for this show, and it's fine. It's fine.
Crystal
I think I. I think that's the. Why I was like, okay. When I fagged out for Renaissance. That's me.
Kif Fury
That was your people.
Crystal
That I can.
Kif Fury
That's just your birthright.
Crystal
Uncle Johnny had f. Made you. Right, right, right.
Kif Fury
You're literally his descendant.
Crystal
So. But the cowboy, it was just like, I don't. So when I did the show. When I did my. My comedy show last year in Texas, I got a. A cowboy hat, and I wore it for literally, like, the first two minutes.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Like, I just walked out in it and then took it off and put it down a Too much. Like real.
Kif Fury
The real ones. The real ones are nice and heavy and good. Yeah, they're helmets. Yeah.
Crystal
They're meant to protect your head if you fall off your horse.
Kif Fury
People find that out about. People find that out about the boots, too. Like, oh, these boots are actually. These are quite expensive, these boots is $1,500.
Crystal
Yeah. They're more for more than just fashion.
Kif Fury
They do a job.
Crystal
Yeah. They're meant to do things.
Kif Fury
These people walk through cow and horse shit. All kind of shit all day. They out there in the grass, the dirt, Baby. Baby.
Crystal
Yeah. You go into Sofi Stadium, like, these boots are heavy. Yeah, bitch. They're so.
Kif Fury
Bitch. Cause they meant for a ranch hand, not your whole outfit. Is she in? And then you put cowboy boots on.
Crystal
Right. Head tipping over. Why? Because that's the only thing with real material, baby.
Kif Fury
If you don't put on some of them boneless sandals and go about your.
Crystal
Business, you will be fine. Okay. Get you one of them. What is it called? A bolo tie.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah. Get you a bolo Mm.
Crystal
And just call it.
Kif Fury
Yeah, that's fine. But enjoy yourself. Wear whatever you want to. We don't care.
Crystal
But yeah, have a good time.
Kif Fury
It. I'm just so excited to see this show.
Crystal
God, I love her gadgetary. This is gonna be.
Kif Fury
This is it. Yeah. This is it.
Crystal
I hope she takes a nice, healthy break before act three.
Kif Fury
Mm. Mm.
Crystal
Why don't you just be like, nobody told you how many. I didn't say a thing about. I didn't even put ass in front of cowboy Carter. Shut up.
Kif Fury
Have one o'clock. What she doing so bad. Y'all want to get so bad.
Crystal
And always wrong. And Loki. Loki. I feel like sometimes we be on the. We're like, on the money. And she's like, no, now he said it. I don't.
Kif Fury
Now I'm not gonna do it because you guessed it.
Crystal
No, you spoiled the surprise. I don't want to do it anymore.
Kif Fury
And that's what y'all did.
Crystal
I don't want to talk about anything not fun after. Okay, let's talk about Flamily. Flamily had a baby.
Kif Fury
Congratulations. Damn, I feel like she's been pregnant forever.
Crystal
It did feel like she was pregnant for a long time.
Kif Fury
I feel like she told us very early.
Crystal
Yeah, she. It was relatively early. She was showing.
Kif Fury
Oh, my God.
Crystal
But it was. It was like, super early.
Kif Fury
Oh, my God.
Crystal
That's like just a little baby boy named him. And she said. I saw in the caption, she said, and y'all better not play about your Internet nephew or something like that. I'm like. And don't and won't. Flo. Mommy. I'm so happy for her. Good for you, young lady.
Kif Fury
Yeah. I see here that the Daddy's name is G6reddot. So the 6 now is. I guess that's in honor of his dad. Yeah, I was. I was. I was like, six. So interesting. What's the story behind this? And then I saw the daddy's name, and I was like, copy, copy. But look how. Look at this little. He's so big. I love when newborns are, like, already a little chunk.
Crystal
Yeah.
Kif Fury
Because sometimes they look like a little baguette, but this one is wrinkly. I'm here. I'm ready. Oh, what a sweet baby.
Crystal
She probably went through it then.
Kif Fury
Oh, man. Congratulations. I was about to say, I pray your delivery was quick and as painless as possible, but congratulations, girl. Oh, I know. Motherhood. I mean, what a life changing event, but. Yeah. This is beautiful.
Crystal
Yeah. Jalen Hurts got married. Apparently he's officially married to one Bri Burrows. He revealed that the two tie the knot this spring in an issue of Men's Health, their May June cover story. Hearts and weeds were torn out across the nation by the news. And, you know, I suppose healing is all that can follow.
Kif Fury
Well, y'all was gonna have to get over it. He'd been with this girl for years and years. Y'all knew this was coming.
Crystal
And if he wasn't, was he gonna marry you?
Kif Fury
It wasn't gonna be you. Anything. I didn't wanna say it. I didn't wanna say it, but, sweetie, it wasn't going to be you.
Crystal
Yes, I have an imagination that's not.
Kif Fury
I do love me some Jalen Hurts. He did not go to the White House with a lot of the other Eagles players this past week. I guess, you know, I'll just save Saquon for later. But love, I love Jalen. Love, Bri, for you. And this is just. Yeah, I mean, saw this comment, so.
Crystal
Oh, it's Brie. I think I said Brian.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's Brie. I think it's short for Brianna, but.
Crystal
Yeah, it makes way more sense.
Kif Fury
But yeah. Sweet girl, beautiful girl. Love to see a black athlete with a black wife. I really do. I don't care. I don't care if y'all like, oh, love is love. Yeah, it is. And I like each other.
Crystal
That's not what we're talking about here today, right?
Kif Fury
I'm not. Right? Because I didn't say what she said. Choose black no matter what, right? I didn't say that.
Crystal
She said what she likes to see. Now, do you want to fight?
Kif Fury
I like to see young black people in love. That makes my old heart happy.
Crystal
What was that? Oh, okay. Speaking of Shannon Sharp now, who the fuck. Nobody.
Kif Fury
That big dumbass.
Crystal
Okay, here's his Instagram iOS press release. My statement is found here. And this is the truth. The relationship with that 20 year old white girl didn't say that.
Kif Fury
All right. Right. I almost believed you. I almost believe you too.
Crystal
The relationship in question was 100% consensual. At this juncture, I am a work. I'm. I'm sorry. This is very specific thing for me. I love when people use juncture when they don't need to. It's like, it's such a. Like wild. Anyways, whatever, he's a nurse. Juncture is just such a fun word. Okay, at this juncture, I'm electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties. Are you electing to, I don't think. Are you electing to? Okay, I don't even voting.
Kif Fury
Espn. Let's say it's mutual. Let's say you're here, you're electing to do it.
Crystal
Espn. ESPN said you can say that if you want to out of respect for all the time and money we've had together and the fact that we really don't give a fuck about women getting their ass beat. You can say what you want.
Kif Fury
They do not. They said we have to act like we're taking this seriously, but no mean.
Crystal
So, yeah, you can just say elect, whatever. Just leave.
Kif Fury
Yeah, have your. Have your moment. Just. The badge is deactivated, though. Do not try to swipe that badge.
Crystal
Don't swipe that anywhere, bitch.
Kif Fury
You're back in here, okay?
Crystal
You can't even get in the parking garage. So just go.
Kif Fury
Go home.
Crystal
I will be devoting this time to my family and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me. I plan to return to ESPN at the start of the NFL preseason. I sincerely appreciate the overwhelming and ongoing support I've received from my family, friends, fans and colleagues. Shannon Sharp. Shannon, I believe crystal healthily gathered your ass last week. I don't know what there is to say from this besides the SPN part of it being hilarious. You're you electing? Whatever. That part's real funny. But yeah, again, whatever. You know, y'all can figure out to however you can get lawyers to try to finesse this for you or whatever. I guess go for it. But you never gonna get me to feel like an allegedly consensual relationship with your 54 year old ass and a 20 year old is anything besides wrong, Eerie, predatory, strange, unnecessary growth.
Kif Fury
Yes.
Crystal
So, I mean, good luck.
Kif Fury
I mean, I. I don't understand why he took a screenshot of his publicist texting him that statement. Why you didn't just copy the text and paste it into the notes app or something.
Crystal
Because he's 56 and no one's telling.
Kif Fury
Him to do that because it, I mean, we can. So obviously it has the little curved comma looking thing at the bottom left and everything. Like, this is a text message.
Crystal
This is a text message.
Kif Fury
And we all know that you don't know this number of words, so we know that you didn't write this, but you could have at least copy and pasted it out of the text message.
Crystal
Like, God damn.
Kif Fury
I just know you was not supposed to take a screenshot of that message and crop it and post that on instagram. Straight. Like, I just know you wasn't supposed.
Crystal
I know his publicist saw this and was like, do. I called him and was like, shannon, Shannon, I really had to tell you to paste this yourself, Shannon. It would have been easier to just copy and paste it than to screenshot it, crop it, and then save and paste it. That's so true, Shannon. What the f. This is why Diddy lost two lawyers. There's only so much I can do. Like, nigga, help me help you.
Kif Fury
Like, can you do the just one thing right?
Crystal
Can you just do what the fuck thing?
Kif Fury
I know they was like, just get. Why don't you just let me log in? Because why would you do this? Why would you. All right, we'll see how it plays out. You're not coming back till what he say? NFL preseason. All right, so that's most of the summer. You plan to be out then? Okay, I guess that's about how long it'll take for ESPN to be like, y'all still mad? No, Bruce in a sharp, big dumbass back out here.
Crystal
True. Literally true.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
1,000%.
Kif Fury
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Crystal
Ari Lennox has parted ways with Dreamville. Around six months ago, she called Dreamville an interscope out for mishandling her marketing as well as not supporting her enough. And she publicly asked Dreamville to release her from her contract. I remember this. Her last performance with Dreamville was at the final Dreamville fest, I think just a couple of weeks ago. And during the performance she said to Dreamville, thank you for making my dreams a reality. Probably didn't intend for that to be a pun. Just being serious and pictures a new song and video out. So moving on for Madame Lennox.
Kif Fury
I think most of us thought this was the right decision anyway.
Crystal
What was Dreamville doing with her?
Kif Fury
What was other than putting her on tour with niggas shit and have no business being on tour with and having her be disrespected by Roddy Ricch's dumbass fucking drugged out fans and shit. Like you, right? Dreamville did not know what to do with you. They did not. And so yeah, I want the best for Ari Lennox. I feel like she hasn't been supported properly as far as her career is concerned. I'm sure this is why, you know, the split is even happening and people will be like, oh, you know, it was all on good terms. It was all in good terms. But then last year she was on her story talking about how Dreamville been playing with her and she tired of they bullshit. So that sounds more like, you know, the publicist put this little statement together. But actually she's thrilled to no longer be a part of this and yeah, looking forward to. To doing things on her own with people who maybe understand her and her marketing better because I mean, really. J. Cole. Never mind. Whatever.
Crystal
It's not like it's not possible. J. Cole, okay, let me not speak for him, but like signed to that record deal. She showed you and the world and everybody what she's capable of. How she is unique, talented, lucrative. So I don't see where the confusion would be. She sings rhythm and blues and soul and she's. And jazz. Like why are you putting her on tour? Roddy Ridge. That'll be no dance too. You know, it's like you have to.
Kif Fury
These are two different audiences. Like yeah, having her open for somebody where it's like you asking us to sell tickets to two completely different audiences. You want all the girls with natural hair to leave by 8:45 so that then a whole pack of little niggas who have lean on they tongue can come in like, that's not. That was never gonna work out. No fucking way. So yeah, I'm rooting for her.
Crystal
But if it was dealt with like in terms of her being able to. To leave her contractor move and if it was dealt with amicably or she got the deal she wanted, they got it. Yeah, really no reason for it to not be anything but. Thank you. Peace out.
Kif Fury
Right?
Crystal
Doesn't have to be messy.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Kanye west made a Twitch account, was banned after about seven minutes. I don't know what else. I only bring this up because I thought. I genuinely thought it was.
Kif Fury
Do we know what he did?
Crystal
You know, I usually don't. Everything on Twitch, like the usual. He made a Twitch account on Friday, was banned after about seven minutes because he immediately started a bunch of anti Semitic and homophobic. Oh my God, you know, I just.
Kif Fury
Saw he did a Nazi salute on Twitch. Like, that'll do it.
Crystal
That'll do it. And after seven minutes, the stream went down and a message came up from Twitch that said this channel is temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch's community.
Kif Fury
Correct.
Crystal
Correct.
Kif Fury
Correct.
Crystal
Kanye.
Kif Fury
Oh, Kanye.
Crystal
Actually, no, like I said, I thought it was hilarious. That's why I mentioned it.
Kif Fury
I mean, it is whatever God's plan is. The mental illness is just on full display. It's just. That's what we're watching.
Crystal
Last but not least, Kevin Hart will be hosting the 2025 BET Awards at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on the 9th of June. Anything that could be taking place, bet awards that you might actually want to see, could there be?
Kif Fury
Well, so I think Kevin Hart is funny enough to do a good job hosting.
Crystal
Okay.
Kif Fury
I think this could be like, I think, you know, this is better than having a bunch of influencers show up on TikTok trying to host the show or whatever other books they've done before, like get a professional comedian to go do that. But I haven't actually heard anything about like who is lined up to perform.
Crystal
I was thinking like guessing, like if you. In a perfect world, if I had my way, I'd love to see this.
Kif Fury
Well, I'm already going to see Beyonce. She won't be there.
Crystal
Yeah, I wasn't waiting for her. I.
Kif Fury
You know what? I would like to see the cast from Sinners come perform some music from Sinners.
Crystal
I would like to see that Taste, class, Viacom, production value, like cultural interest. That's it. You ate.
Kif Fury
Let's do that. What about you?
Crystal
I bet I don't Have a better idea.
Kif Fury
At least get Miles.
Crystal
That was literally perfect.
Kif Fury
Yeah. You don't have to white people, but Miles.
Crystal
That would be an amazing opening.
Kif Fury
Yes, it would.
Crystal
That would be an amazing opening. Nothing. Just them start singing and the stage is the Stackhouse twins.
Kif Fury
Yeah. Yep, yep.
Crystal
I would, I would give Black Entertainment Television their 10.
Kif Fury
Miles and Pearly need to perform. Michael B. Jordan can bring his ass on.
Crystal
Of course they can hologram the other one.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
But yeah, yeah, that was yours.
Kif Fury
Yeah. I would like to see some sort of musical tribute like that.
Crystal
Even if it's just Miles, Delroy Slim and oh my goodness, I have to find the name of the lady who plays Miles. Love interest. Yeah, Jamie. The lady.
Kif Fury
Yeah, that's her real name.
Crystal
Oh, okay. Okay, okay. Yeah. If it's just the three of them and like dancers.
Kif Fury
Jamie Lawson, kind of.
Crystal
Okay, perfect. If it's them performing and the dancers, I'll take that.
Kif Fury
Yeah. I would get my life.
Crystal
Yeah, I'll take that same. But if you get old Michael B. Jordan in there, especially if you can.
Kif Fury
Do well, it is B E T. Not everybody tv. But you tell them that it's not everybody Entertainment Television. But. And obviously there's some cross cultural representation in centers that. I mean it is in la. You absolutely could bring natives and Chinese people in to be a part of this as well. But I just think that would be a very dope idea. Seeing y'all execute. That would be really cool. And it would be, you know, a tie in to this huge black movie that's getting ready to like, it's breaking all these records for horror and might actually be nominated at the Oscars. It's so fucking good. So it's like, you know, BET ought to be the first ones to jump on celebrating this movie.
Crystal
If it doesn't get one Oscar nomination. I think I'm gonna riot. And I. And, and I'm. And I'm so serious. I know that horror doesn't get a lot of representation at the Oscars anyway because the industry just doesn't take horror. There's. Listen, that's fine. It's ridiculous. Toni Collette should have won an Oscar for Hereditary. It makes absolutely no sense that she wasn't even nominated for that. But now you're seeing slowly but surely, you know, the substance got an acting nomination because if anything, even like Avengers and stuff, they might give you like costumes.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Like makeup, but they're not sound design. Right. Angela Bassett was probably one of the first if only people to get a nom for a fucking marvel.
Kif Fury
Yeah. An actor.
Crystal
But Sinners, like we said, was so outstanding outside of its excellent acting.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
That if it doesn't get directing, costuming, hair, makeup, like something original, music. I'm cussing somebody out. I'm cussing somebody out.
Kif Fury
I actually think if y'all don't give Ryan Coogler the nomination for directing, that will be. Y'all can get. Y'all can nominate Sinners and everything else. Ryan Coogler deserves a nomination for this movie, period.
Crystal
Jon Shoe deserved a nomination for Wicked, period.
Kif Fury
Yes, he did. But Jon Chu didn't conceptualize and visualize and write Wicked either. So Ryan Coogler needs a nomination for Sinners. Original idea. Literally. Literally an original idea that he executed to that level. Yeah. Yeah. I need to see it. So.
Crystal
That'S all I have for Hot Tops this week. Take a break and come back.
Kif Fury
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Crystal
Okay folks, we're back and it is time for your listener letters.
Kif Fury
Yes, it is. Send your questions to Ask the Read. We may read them aloud on the show. Our first letter this week comes from Perry, who says, hey, Chris, Link, if you're my husband and I eloped at the end of February after dating for three years. We were planning to have a more traditional wedding, but decided to speed up our timeline based on the state of society and wanting certain legal protections in case the supreme court overturns the 2015 ruling. This man has been my rock as I healed from the traumatic wounds of being in a previous abusive relationship with a white walker. He's been my Prince Charming and there for me every step of the way, including helping me pay the $10,000 vet bill after my dog was hit by a car right in front of me. Oh my God. Nightmare scenario. Nightmare scenario. Oh my God. Not just, not just your dog being hit in front of you, but. Okay, sorry. Back to the back to the letter. Our families also get along and are accepting of us, which is so difficult to find for two gay black men in the south who have traditional Christian families. Up until recently, nothing I've seen from him has made me second guess his devotion or loyalty. But shortly after we got married in the first week of March, he tested positive for chlamydia. We're in a closed monogamous relationship or So I thought, and my head is reeling. He swears that he has not gotten the least bit physical with anyone since we started dating. He also said that he knows that since my ex cheated on me with everybody and risked my physical health, he would never do that to me. He says he previously tested positive for chlamydia back in 2021 and was treated and got tested again in 2022 when we started dating. And he was negative, which I remember because I started requiring that of my long term sexual partners. So as of right now, he is suggesting that the infection from 2021 could have persisted. At first I believed him because he's never given me any reason not to and I truly couldn't fathom him stepping out on. I tested negative for everything and went to Planned Parenthood to get more thorough tests in conjunction with the urine test he has. My husband has also tested again and it has come back positive again. When I asked my testing provider of the likelihood that this could be a continuation of the infection from 2021, she emphatically said no and that it would have had to come from re exposure through sexual activity. I feel lost and isolated. I'm afraid to talk to my friends about it because once I do, it's a wrap for how they view my husband moving forward. Yeah, I don't know if I'm ready to throw away everything we've been building together over the last few years. But I also refuse to commit to a lifetime of lies and infidelity. But this isn't just my boyfriend now. He's my husband and I made vows to him. He swears he's innocent. And I've asked that we go back to the therapist we did premarital counseling with because I don't think we have the tools to navigate this by ourself.
Crystal
No, you didn't.
Kif Fury
He has started sulking and shutting down because he says he knows how it looks and feels like there's nothing he can do or say to prove he's telling the truth. Didn't cheat on me.
Crystal
Girl.
Kif Fury
I feel so afraid because what if.
Crystal
I really are so audacious by marrying.
Kif Fury
Somebody who I thought was the perfectly put together, emotionally aware, unaware man? How do I know that maybe this isn't just some sort of freak medical abnormality?
Crystal
Sweets.
Kif Fury
The frustrating part is, Sweets, it's not even. It's not even the potential infidelity that scares me the most. I feel like it's a lot more common than people discuss, especially in the gay community. But what scares me the most is the lying. If I can't trust you to at least be honest when our health and safety is at risk, can I really trust you at all? If it doesn't work out with him, I think I'm going to give up on marriage altogether. I don't think my heart and mind can really take this. If this is what love is supposed to be. Could you please tell me any thoughts or advice you have? I feel very lost, confused. Sincerely, Perry.
Crystal
Perry is fucking spiraling.
Kif Fury
No, he is. Perry's going through it. And understandably so.
Crystal
Yeah. No, I fucking get it. This is ridiculous. And to be honest with you, at first. At first, nigga almost got me. No shade. I was like, well, I'm not a doctor, right?
Kif Fury
I don't know. Could it have done that?
Crystal
Is that something that can happen? So when you got to the point of the letter where that doctor said. And you used the word emphatically.
Kif Fury
Emphatically.
Crystal
So that doctor said to you, not only am I going to tell you that, not only going to tell you no, I'm going to tell you, hell fuck no. That is not the case. The only way that that shit could be positive right now is if he was re exposed to it because he was having sex and you don't have it. So.
Kif Fury
Right.
Crystal
There you go. God bless.
Kif Fury
Yes, because.
Crystal
And you sitting up here talking to us about possible freak health medical occurrences, new discoveries in technology and medicine.
Kif Fury
I do not want to believe the most obvious answer.
Crystal
That, that, that. And like, no shade. Like, that's sad. That's really heartbreaking that you, you are so in love and you want to believe this nigga. You want this to continue working so bad that you talking about some shit that don't make no sense.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
To two people that you are sure are gonna tell you it don't make no sense.
Kif Fury
Well, we didn't even have to say it, baby. The doctor did. We're not.
Crystal
The doctor did first.
Kif Fury
We're not doctors. I would have told you whatever MayoClinic.com says about chlamydia. I'm not a doctor. I so. And I did actually go see what the Mayo Clinic had to say about it. And they agreed with your doctor that that's not super likely. They even have a section of like, how did I get chlamydia if I didn't cheat? And the answer is, basically your partner did. And they're not answering it. Or, and they're not being honest with you. Or like, how is it that my partner has chlamydia and I don't and it's like. Well, I don't know how to tell you this, but it's true that you can be asymptomatic for weeks, months, or even years with chlamydia.
Crystal
But that is true.
Kif Fury
But. But if he was asymptomatic, he would have tested positive in 2022 when y'all started dating. But he did not.
Crystal
Exactly.
Kif Fury
He tested negative.
Crystal
Exactly.
Kif Fury
So, unfortunately, I'm gonna have to go right back over here and hold your hand.
Crystal
Yeah.
Kif Fury
To say there's. We can always hold out for the possibility. Like, you can always say anything's possible. You know, that's what that phrase is for.
Crystal
N in hell can wait for an.
Kif Fury
Avalanche for that 0.2% of a chance. That is what anything's possible is for. But, Perry, this man being unfaithful is. It's screaming you in the face like the barrel of a gun, baby.
Crystal
It sat down at the dinner table, ate his food, cleaned his plate. In life.
Kif Fury
I'm really sorry for you, because this sounds like, honestly, a great marriage. And I mean, it sounds like this is a man you really enjoy and had a lot of fun with. So you must be feeling. Well, you're confused because you don't want to accept what's right in front of you.
Crystal
Overwhelmed.
Kif Fury
Yeah. You don't want to believe that he would do this when he promised up and down he would never put you at risk. And, oh, I would never do you the way other people have done you. Like, you don't really want to believe that he did then turn around and do those things. But.
Crystal
And what's worse about it is that he has lied. I don't know, Perry, but if this had come out and he admitted to it, and maybe you guys have this, you know, argument. Maybe you separate, and those are the consequences of his, you know, infidelity. That. Or maybe, you know, you have an issue, an argument, separate for a bit, get counsel and get together. But rather, he lied about this situation that you're gonna get the truth to any fucking way and made up some medical f. Like, that nigga could have hopped on Mayo Clinic and found out that that lie wouldn't make no damn sense, but decided to tell it anyway. So what the fuck else you gonna lie about? Do you see how that. Then shattered, like the situation is bad itself. But as you already pointed out, Perry, this nigga is a liar, too. A big liar. And this lie concerns your health.
Kif Fury
Yeah. Yeah.
Crystal
It's not one that you should. As. As. As great as this nigga is, and you're married to him, so that's complicated. And vows and all that shit. Girl. Div, you don't need to be with this if he's gonna be treating you like on you. You can't trust him. He out doing whatever the. And lying to you about it or whatever. And now your. Your head is. Is your mind running 50, 000 miles and you don't deserve. That's not peace. That's not. You don't matter how many excuses and memories you run down. That's not what you need. That's not what you deserve in a marriage. Yeah, right. So you're gonna have to really call a spade a spade and move forward in the way that takes the best care of your mind, your body, and your presence. That nigga is not doing it. He ain't even taking care of his own. Yeah, the fuck. This is almost like. Remember that nigga who. Who. Who told his girlfriend who wrote in that, like his ex, he was watching his ex's porn, but it was. It her. Her part came up in a compilation video or something.
Kif Fury
Yeah, he wasn' watching her porn. It was. It came up.
Crystal
It was a combination.
Kif Fury
This sounds like that. Yes, it does. Yes, it does sound similarly desperate and not plausible. What did. Is that what I'm supposed to believe? Or am I supposed to believe that you had the tape, you knew exactly what you was doing, you knew exactly where the link was. You watched it deliberately, like, it's my bad. I'm sorry.
Crystal
Go out of style.
Kif Fury
I mean, honestly, Perry, the way he's reacting, sulking and shutting down, that's not a good sign to me because that is a tool that people often resort to. To try to get you to come take care of their feelings. They don't want you to leave, so now they're sulking, shutting down, giving you the silent treatment. Like almost in an attempt to be like, see, uh, you not gonna believe me. No way. I'm over here feeling so bad, and you just. You just holding it against me, hoping that you'll break down and come see about him and. Oh, yeah, okay, babe. Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, I don't know. I guess anything's possible. Blah, blah, like, that's exactly what he wants you to do. That this. How do you know it just isn't some medical abnormality, baby? Cause chlamydia is. Is. I'm pretty sure it's bacteria based. If I remember in my Mayo Clinic readings from two hours ago correctly, it is one of the most easily treated. You know, a couple of Weeks of antibiotics or something, and you're out of there.
Crystal
Yeah, I think chlamydia is the idea, right?
Kif Fury
Go to the clinic, get a. Yes, it is one of the easier ones. It's very common. You the idea that instead your boyfriend is the one person on the planet who's chlamydia laid dormant for four goddamn years.
Crystal
Ate the treatment, sat inside and said, I got something for that ass.
Kif Fury
So dormant that he tested negative and then tested positive. That's how. This is the super strain of chlamydia. Only he has, like.
Crystal
That's not how that works.
Kif Fury
You can choose which one you believe.
Crystal
But I think you know what show you run into.
Kif Fury
You feel lost and confused because you want to believe this man, even though common sense is telling you you cannot believe this man.
Crystal
And science and scientists, once you ex.
Kif Fury
Once you decide to be like, you know what? I accept that you cheated on me, and that's how you got chlamydia. Because there is sexual contact is like the only way. So. Or. Or genital contact. You call it sexual if you want to. Whatever. Somebody. Somebody played around with your parts, you played around in their parts.
Crystal
That's how that works.
Kif Fury
That's how that works. So once you accept that, maybe then you can, you know, just go. Go ahead and move forward. But it has to be painful. Of course it has to. I know, but running from it and.
Crystal
Denying it is not going to make it.
Kif Fury
That's only going to make the pain much worse.
Crystal
Worse.
Kif Fury
Much, much worse.
Crystal
It would be fierce if you guys had some sort of a lifetime sci fi story here. You just, you know, made headlines and get on the COVID of time, but that's not gonna happen. That cheated on you. God bless.
Kif Fury
Sorry, babes. Let's move on. Let's see. We have another letter from a gay man. I feel like it's been a while. So this is from Keonte, who says, I'm a gay man in his late 20s, living and dating in Atlanta. Imagine my surprise when y'all read a letter about anxious attachment. And I felt like Moesha sitting up in my room writing a diary entry and someone standing over my shoulder reading it aloud to the world. I say all that to say I too, am anxiously attached. And I had to the t some of the same qualities that young man was writing about. I received all the advice y'all gave, and I am now actively looking for a therapist because it's been a long time coming and this issue keeps coming up in my relationships. Like that letter. I feel like I found a great and secure guy in his mid-30s that I can see a future with. We've been dating for a little over a year and it's been great. Aside from my anxious thoughts causing fights every few months, this is understandably so because he has a past. He has a past full of dating and sexual encounters, as do I. Now, the problem is his friends are very social and active in the gay community here and are always throwing parties. After asking some probing questions and hearing a few stories about his past here and there, I started to put pieces together that many of his sexual encounters happened within these functions. And now I am understanding that we'll probably be running into a lot of those same men. My question is, do y'all think my boyfriend should tell me who at these parties he's hooked up with or tried to date, especially if I find myself kikiing with said person? I asked him this and he refused, saying that it would cause more issues than anything. To be fair, these people aren't necessarily in his immediate friend group, but more so on the outer circle and are mostly invited by his more social close friends. Is this normal in the gay community? Should I just get over it or do y'all think I should break up with him? I understand I need therapy, but I'm afraid I will decide that this should be a boundary for me and break things off just to realize that this is more common than not. And all these niggas are out here moving in the same way. I would love your advice. Thanks so much. Sincerely, Keonte.
Crystal
Atlanta Ding Gang and your friends are throwing.
Kif Fury
Your friends are throwing the parties, so. Or your man's friends are throwing the parties.
Crystal
I mean, what are you afraid of?
Kif Fury
Well, anxiety says I don't need a reason. Anxiety says I actually do not need a good reason to feel what I'm feeling. I'm gonna feel it any way.
Crystal
I mean, this sounds young. I don't really. I don't think that there's like any reason necessarily to have any like particular sense of. Well, no, okay, I shouldn't say that. Like I think the anxiety makes sense, but like outside is gonna be outside. And for the gays, a lot of us, especially those who commit to it the way it sounds like the friends do, they're committed for life, hun. Get into it, ok? Get into it. They should ain't just phase, they're going out, they're in style.
Kif Fury
I mean, in Atlanta you will always have options.
Crystal
There are never ending options, you know, and honestly, so many fun things to do in nightlife and daylight Hell, right. But if it's not like your thing, I think that you have to find or be intentional in how you have that separation where it's like, this is me and my nigga time in me and my nigga space in the way me and my nigga do things. But then you also have to just accept that, except that your partner has a world and a life that you're not in.
Kif Fury
A past that you weren't a part of. Right?
Crystal
Yeah. Yeah, Right. So it's like absorbing or allowing your anxiety to absorb those things up and put them into action. It's just not just enjoying the. The time and be confident that you're a bad bitch that deserves to be in the position that you know you're in and having a good time. Yeah, we start to like, especially with like your, Your, Your. Your partner's friend can be a tricky. Like we can play tricks on ourselves by like over analyzing our partner's friends and then making assumptions based on.
Kif Fury
That's true.
Crystal
When even you yourself, like, I. A lot of us could say, oh, yeah, well, we have that friend who always be drinking, or we have that promiscuous ass friend, or you have that friend who never leave the goddamn house, or you have that friend who never has a babysitter. And that's not any, you know, that's your friend. And we all together. You laughing, Kiki, and everybody jokes about wine or niggas or TV or what have you. But yeah, sometimes you have to just remember, like. Like let your partner's friends be their friends and their life and their story. Be that. If you're having a good time with them, that's it. I don't even really give a fuck about, you know, as long as you don't try me. And we're all laughing and smiling, we're together, then it is. I don't really give a fuck about a nigga's friends when I'm dating. Play your role, not mine.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
But as long as there aren't clear, blatant red flags that are affecting my time with you, I don't give no goddamn fuck.
Kif Fury
I mean, Keonte has said that the year of dating him has been great. Aside from his own anxious thoughts causing fights every few months. So it sounds like this man is not even giving you a reason to worry. So just like the other person who wrote in, it's really gonna be on you to get this anxiety under control. And if his friends are, you know, Circuit Party gays or whatever, then yeah, like, I've. I do Think, especially in Atlanta, if you break up with this man because he has slept with people who go to the same parties that he goes to, you are gonna run into that problem over and over. Because that's pretty common. Like, not just with gay people, but with gay like. Like straight people also be having these groups where such and such has slept with such and such and this and this. But that's also common with the gays, maybe more so. But yeah, I don't think it matters who he's hooked up with or tried to date before he ever knew you. So what if you kick in with that person? They probably not hung up on your man, you know? Probably not. They probably not. What. What's the anxiety trying to prevent you from? What's the anxiety trying to keep you safe from? You think that if you are laughing and talking with a dude at a party and then you find out your man slept with him three years ago, that what, that was only talking to you and being nice because he's secretly plotting and he gonna try to take your man from you in. In six months or something. Like, it can be useful to try to challenge the anxiety and be like, what exactly do you think is gonna happen to me? Like, sometimes you start that line of questioning, you realize that the anxiety is tripping and you're just fine, you're safe, you're not in any danger, and you can take care of yourself.
Crystal
So what's the other alternative to you're around this person that slept with their man three years ago, and they don't speak to you because they slept with their man three years ago.
Kif Fury
Is that what you want?
Crystal
They slept with their man three years ago, and then you feel like this person is. Is definitely trying to your man because they don't want to talk to you.
Kif Fury
And now you crashing out at the party, and now you can't come back to the party, and now things are really bad, right?
Crystal
Because anxiety, the end. Just enjoy your.
Kif Fury
Yes, like I said, anxiety will. Will ruin this for you. So.
Crystal
So especially like you said, Atlanta, baby parties, you're.
Kif Fury
If you're trying to curate a life where none of your friends know anybody that you slept with and vice versa, you're gonna run out of people eventually. Because. Anyway, so, yeah, you asked, should you get over it or break up with him? I would get over this. I don't think this is. Yes, I would try. If you can't, then maybe you should break up with him because you can't get over it. But I would try to get over this. All Right, babes? Let us know how it goes. Our last letter comes from Camille, who says, hi, friends. I started listening to your podcast a year ago, and I consider you both friends in my head. Sometimes when I hear the questions and letters you read, I think, is this real? Are people really like this? I wonder if y'all be thinking that too. I am in my early 50s and appreciate your point of view on all the topics you cover. I also love the black nerd moments on gaming, which I know absolutely nothing about. I just love how you both show up authentically with all your quirks. I think we are living in such an interesting time, which makes me question all the norms and what we believe to be truths. What I appreciate is how savvy this generation is at uncovering or discovering other versions of truth. So my question is, what have you discovered as an adult as an alternative to what you thought was the truth? How did that shape you today? Sincerely, an over 50 cis female fan who sometimes have to Google what y'all talking about. Work. Camille.
Crystal
That just made me so happy.
Kif Fury
I mean, that was. It's very different from most of what's in the inbox, but I love this letter. Thank you for. For. For sending it in.
Crystal
No one's okay. We love y'all. We haven't had a question like this in a while, and I want to say it's because a lot of the times the questions that we have are from people who are a bit younger or maybe around our age range who have, like, legit shit going through shit. They wanted advice, Avon. And Camille was just like, hey, Camille said what? I don't know what y'all Talking about about 70% of the time, but I fuck with it. Yeah, life good.
Kif Fury
And since y'all answering questions, here go a question I have that's a great one, and it has nothing to do with my man or my mama. So what's up?
Crystal
Work? Um. Or my stud. It's always a stud, a nigga or someone's mama.
Kif Fury
I mean, I mean. And I, I. That's what y'all are going through, so that's fine. But I do appreciate all the stud.
Crystal
Writing in about the.
Kif Fury
And sometimes y'all be having valid points. That's fine. So Camille says, what have you discovered as an adult as an alternative to what you thought was the truth? How did that shape you today?
Crystal
Fuck. I feel like so many things, and I can't think of one right now because I'm bad at thinking. I think it's just that one of the major things Is adults don't know everything.
Kif Fury
That's a big one.
Crystal
Is that simple. Simple.
Kif Fury
It's so real, though. The realest shit be basic as hell. And that is a good one.
Crystal
I think that probably even in my early teens, I was like, oh, yeah, well, I gotta follow the direction and keep my head, because the adults have the answers and they know smart and have. You know, and be able to government and what I'm. And now I'm like, these niggas don't know shit. They barely know left from right.
Kif Fury
Yeah, these niggas can't spell lose. They are chaotic.
Crystal
That's a Valentine's. So it's like, I think, yeah, the man that knows something knows that he knows nothing at all. And that has been very freeing because it means we don't have to. Man has pretty much always gone even a full life not knowing a fuck thing besides the scoop of things that they were taught or learned throughout life and clung onto. And that's one of the most beautiful things about existence, is that we're not supposed to. We don't have to. Okay, know what? You can do your best, be the best you can, and then turn to dust and go about your business. Like, yeah, people who. Who move about. And I. I do think a lot of this is mostly based in politics, but it's in so many other industries and parts of the world. Yeah. Once I got older, I realized, oh, these motherfuckers not only don't know anything, they're, like, real stupid. Like. Like. Like I'm smarter than some adults.
Kif Fury
Oh, yes. Yes.
Crystal
That's.
Kif Fury
That's a very. I honestly started feeling that way around seven or eight, like some of y'all are. But I think for me, the first thing I thought of when I read this question was religion. Because I grew up in Oklahoma. My family's from Texas and Louisiana. So that region, those three states. We just circulated through those three states growing up. And so it's very, very country. It's very, very religious. And growing up, it was like, christianity is the truth. It's not a truth. It's not a belief. It is the truth. It is. This is what's real. This is. Right. I mean, we were literally in the buckle of the Bible Belt. So growing up. Well, first, I grew disillusioned with the church at a young age when I would ask my mama certain questions, and instead of answering them, she would say, don't talk like that. So it's like, okay, same. All right, well, that tells me nothing. Which means you just choose to Believe this, you know, and you're satisfied with not having an answer to it. But I would like one. And then, you know, just honestly, a lot of it was growing up leaving Tulsa, leaving Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman, and moving to New York where the culture could not be more different. In Oklahoma, the only holidays they celebr are American and Christian, and that's it. Living in New York City and seeing that these kids get Muslim holidays off from school and Jewish holidays off from school. Oklahoma would literally never. There's no acknowledgment of anything other than Christianity. It's that homogenous. Everybody I knew of any race, everybody was Christian. So being around other people all the time, it naturally cracks your mind open. It's like, oh, my experience was so limited. I was. I knew what I knew based off what I had exposure to at that time. So living in New York City has really changed me in that way. And it's not that I don't have my beliefs. It's that I'm a lot less of a bitch about them, you know, and it's like, I don't want to serve Lindsey Graham's God. I don't want to serve Donald Trump's God. I don't want to serve Ted Cruz's God if that. I don't want to serve Elon Musk God. If that's the God y'all believe in, then I'm a different religion. Like, I don't believe in Yalls God, and I don't want to believe in a God that would send gay or trans people to burn in hell for all eternity, but is willing to forgive. A rapist and a rapist can enter the kingdom of God and live in celebration and harmony and peace and love for all eternity. All they have to do is ask for forgiveness. But trans people simply being who they are and not lying about it, they. They're gonna burn in all in hell for all eternity. For that. Gay people who are not out here pretending and lying, not lying. Like, they're not lying. They're not pretending, not deceiving, not manipulating.
Crystal
They are wearing pressed on acrylics. And that is not Christlike.
Kif Fury
It definitely, you know, I had this moment of thinking, I actually don't want to believe in a God that would do something like that, that would punish you. Because what I heard growing up was, well, you might be gay, but you just need to repent and ask God to take that out of your heart and, and, and you know, just don't act on it. You can be gay, just don't act on it. No, no. I simply refuse to believe that people who were made in God's image as the church preaches, are then automatically condemned to hell for all eternity if they, they live in God's image if they don't lie and pretend about who God made them to be.
Crystal
Yeah, God made you this way. But also God requires you to never love or have a partner, to not.
Kif Fury
Have a full life. Right?
Crystal
Right.
Kif Fury
To not be who you really are.
Crystal
Yeah.
Kif Fury
I cannot believe that there's one religion for all the billions of people on this earth because there's just too much variance between us all. All these billions of people are supposed to believe one way. And if they don't, if they never hear about it, or if some weirdo missionary shows up in their backyard in Ghana and they're like, fuck off. Then all of a sudden they burn for all eternity for that. Like, no, I don't think so. I actually don't believe that.
Crystal
So that's why I said. That's why I said last weekend after I saw Sinners and I was talking about witchcraft and that being anti black in a few different ways. Because there are. I'll just speak for like, black regions specifically, where for them, religion and spirituality involves ceremony. It involves like, the elements and things like that that aren't necessarily spells or black magic or, you know, praying to a different God, but the people who birthed. The people who birthed your Ted Cruz's and your Donald Trumps and your Elon Musk's and they went over there and said, you shut your fucking whore mouth and you won't be picking any more of those flower petals and making any more goddamn elixirs and thanking God for it. Bitch. Here's your book. And you can't read it, but we'll tell you what it says and when.
Kif Fury
You can heavily edit it so that you think that what we said was the truth. Like, right. For all we lie about the size of Africa, you know, And I'm not going to the church to argue with them about what they believe and what they preach because that's y'all build. I'm gonna just come over here. I'm. Welcome. I'm not going in there trying to change y'all minds. I'm not. But I am not going to act like I want to serve a God that would do something like that. Condemn people for being the way you made them, but not condemn people for assaulting children.
Crystal
I. I think for me, this is another one that was probably like seven or eight for Me, the church one or religion.
Kif Fury
Yeah, yeah.
Crystal
Is when I discovered the difference between religion and spirituality. Because I would speak to God on my own all the time because mommy and daddy told me to say my prayers before I go to bed.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah.
Crystal
So I would always talk to God and I would go to church on Sundays. Many times it's just church. But then there were other times. Me single digit age would be like, why is the preacher dissing everybody?
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah.
Crystal
Oh, yeah.
Kif Fury
Preacher's like, why?
Crystal
Why is he cussing out the.
Kif Fury
Yeah, he's.
Crystal
He's talking about. But he's. That's me. Like, and then I remember, like, no shade controversies within the church all the time. And this, that, and the third. And I'm just sitting there on Sundays like, oh, so none of you niggas know anything and y'all are just making up stuff based on the same book we read in. But when I go home and I go to pray to the same God we all said that he was talking about, we chilling. He love me. I love him. So I don't know what you talking about. So that, like that, that's. That's never clung on to me as much as the, the. The homophobia and stuff that humans try to use to. To. But I lived in South Florida.
Kif Fury
Right.
Crystal
You know, Right. Like a little bit, A little bit north.
Kif Fury
It's a different story.
Crystal
A little bit further north and it would have been a lot rougher.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
But yeah, I hear where you're coming from. It's like, I forget. I'm like, I know the Bible belt is the Bible belt, but even just you mentioning how like the certain, like, non Christian, white American holidays that just are like, yeah, whatever.
Kif Fury
It's not a thing. It's not. We would see that on the calendar, be like Yom Kippur. Who that? Rosh Hashanah.
Crystal
Who's Rochelle Shawna?
Kif Fury
Rosh Hashanah, squash banana. Like, we would. That is literally how we talked about them people, holidays and traditions and stuff. It meant nothing to us. It meant nothing. Nobody talked about Jews outside of Jesus being a Jew. And I'm so serious. I did not know a Jew till high school. And when she said it, I looked at her like she just grew another face.
Crystal
Jewish listeners let me know when I can call it Rochelle Shawna. I don't see there's a lot going on, but I want to go, like, that's fun.
Kif Fury
I'm just saying to go from someplace so homogeneous to some place where everybody simply lives together, coexists, and we don't care about none of that nut.
Crystal
That's why New York is so fire.
Kif Fury
We got shit to do. What you need. You know what you need to do? Make sure you not in the way when the train comes so that I can get my ass on that and go to work. What you need to do is not be the sick passenger who holds up the whole goddamn city for 20St.
Crystal
Patrick's Day. Martin Luther King or Independence. We all on Eric Adams ass because what is he talking about?
Kif Fury
Yes, and you know what?
Crystal
That's what America should do.
Kif Fury
Every goddamn thing. Don't close because it's Easter. Most shit is wide open. Cause Easter don't mean to us. The God here is capitalism.
Crystal
What do you mean the liquor store is closed cuz it's sunny?
Kif Fury
The liquor store is. The liquor store is never closed. When Covid first came, nothing was open but grocery and liquor.
Crystal
And that was alcohol, eggs, bread. You're having omelets and cocktails today.
Kif Fury
You're making focaccia and drinking gin in that bitch. We all know like it's just a completely.
Crystal
And that's why, that's why so many people who move away from places like in the south and stuff and they go to places like New York or even like in la. So like a lot of their family and folks, especially from a certain generation would be like, when you go out there, don't, you know, get all. Because I think you're gonna change the color of your hair and get gayer and become a witch. And it's like, meanwhile you just gotten a better job, don't have to beat somebody ass every time you leave the house. And like have way more dating options.
Kif Fury
I prefer it up here. I prefer everybody, not the topic of conversation, not being the Baptist versus the Episcopalians versus the AMUs. Like that's. That is gossip in Oklahoma, baby. I don't. I like it up here where everybody can be their own religion. And that's fine. I. I love that. I love just simply being around other people and realizing that like it can't be one size fits all because we are all just too. It's too much variation across the human race. So to get back to Camille and her incredible question that I think that is what I would say. It's definitely religion for me and how that. Yeah, it's not that I don't believe no more, but I'm just not a bitch or a dickhead about it. And I. Yeah, I think if trans people are going to hell, then men who put their hand on the small of a woman's back, even though they don't have to to try to get across a crowded room are going to hell too. Those of you who cat call women who are just on their way to work and not trying to be bothered and you sexually harassing her, you going to hell too. Those of you who touch kids physically or sexually, you going to hell too. If trans people are going merely for being trans, mind you, they didn't ask to be born into no gender binary. They didn't ask to be born into no society that sorts people based off their genitals. They're just who they are. If they going to hell, niggas are going to hell.
Crystal
And they're human beings and they have to pee.
Kif Fury
And y'all are like, no, your, your, your, your assigned gender at birth is the bathroom you use. And then when a lady with giant tits walks into the men's room or some nigga with a full beard walks into the ladies room. Now all of a sudden it's a problem. You didn't act. You don't. Y'all don't think shit through. You're being so weird because you hate these people. And that. That's a whole.
Crystal
And the head is attached to the fuck. Nothing.
Kif Fury
Yeah. I mean, and a lot of you use your religion to justify it.
Crystal
Exactly.
Kif Fury
How come you use religion to justify that and to argue against these people, but you don't use it to argue against that man who has been touching girls in the choir for the past six years. How come y'all don't ever use it against the people who claim to to support and prop up and be the church? How come? That's how come.
Crystal
I'm going to hell. But Shannon Sharp ain't going to hell for fucking KB 54 year old ass.
Kif Fury
Shannon Sharpe needs to be going to hell for being 54 and fucking 19 year olds. He not going to hell. But Laverne Cox is. It just doesn't. I've decided I don't want to believe that.
Crystal
One of the other channels that God's watches. God watches besides Earth is like I imagine. Oh God, I just gave someone. I'm about to give someone an idea.
Kif Fury
Oh, well, if you want to do it yourself.
Crystal
I want like a mockumentary style like Parks and Rec, the office style sitcom starring St. Peter and the gates.
Kif Fury
Oh, wow. Oh, yeah. You've said this before, I think.
Crystal
Can you imagine? Yeah, just an office style. We are working on who maybe written by the. The folks at the. Who did the Good Place.
Kif Fury
Oh yeah.
Crystal
The Same universe, but just the talent who, who helped bring that to life.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Just like. Okay, we're gonna have a conversation with you, bitch.
Kif Fury
Cause skin, I know you thought you.
Crystal
Were coming in here. Yeah. But let's talk about your life.
Kif Fury
It's getting weird.
Crystal
Yeah.
Kif Fury
Well, thank you so much, Camille, for the question. If you have a question for us, send it on over to AskTheRead gmail.com. we're going to take another quick break and be right back.
Crystal
Hey, also, listen, I'm approaching four zero and my body has told me before my mind that I got to get it together in pretty much every health department because I'm not a spring chicken anymore. Hydration is an essential department in that realm. Vitamin Water Zero sugar is the ultimate lifestyle water for people who want both fun and functionality. There's a variety of fun flavors that offer all the tastes without the trade off vitamin zero sugar flavors like Rehydrate Pineapple Passion Fruit squeezed lemonade, which is my favorite. And XXX Acai Blueberry Pomegranates.
Kif Fury
If you're nasty.
Crystal
They're all packed with essential vitamins to help you throughout your day. Personally, I'm a water girl anyway. I just drink water all the time. But every now and then with like a meal or just, you know, workout or something if I want a little bit of flavor in it, this is a night option. Grab a Vitamin water today. Copyright 2025 Glasso. Vitamin Water is a registered trademark of Glasso.
Kif Fury
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Crystal
We're back. We have returned. It is now time or the read. I will begin. I will Try to keep it brief. Next year on Home Box Office there will be the premiere of a Harry Potter television series.
Kif Fury
Oh Lord.
Crystal
HBO has been discussing their planned Harry Potter series for quite some time now. They are currently in the midst of casting and production is a set to begin very soon. The role of Albus Dumbledore was recently revealed and the character will be played by American actor John Lithgow. Pretty big name, interesting casting.
Kif Fury
It is.
Crystal
Now of course Harry Potter being created by the Queen Terf herself. What is her name? Joanne.
Kif Fury
Oh, J.K. yeah, just kidding.
Crystal
She's. She's obviously an exitive. Just kidding. Rowling is great. She's obviously an executive producer for the series.
Kif Fury
Yeah, of course.
Crystal
I don't think there is or will ever be anything Harry Potter related where she's not getting paid now, but she's big ep. Her name will be on it. And I write that she also has been involved in some regard with casting. Now lots of people when it was announced that John Lithgo will be playing this role were asking for him to step away from it. One reason being that Albus Dumbledore is obviously British and John Lithgow is American. I mean he's played a British.
Kif Fury
I was gonna say it's a very common accent for us to do so.
Crystal
And they do the reverse. I think if he can do it, he can do it. But the biggest thing obviously was just the fact that I think a lot of people are over the fact that this is taking place and that a horrible person is capitalizing off of it again. Especially since we already got seven movies, eight movies. Someone even wrote.
Kif Fury
Oh Lord.
Crystal
Someone, a friend of his sent him an article, a link to an article titled an open Letter to John Lithgow. Please walk away from Harry Potter.
Kif Fury
Oh no, I see where this is.
Crystal
He also received another text from quote, a very good friend who is the mother of a trans child and said that was the canary in the coal mine. So I'm reading this on Hollywood Reporter. They said when asked if he expected this criticism in relation to. Just kidding John Lutheran said, no, absolutely not. Of course it was a big decision because it's probably the last major role I'll play. It's an eight year commitment. So I was just thinking about mortality and that this is a very good winding down role. I thought, why is this a factor at all? I wonder how J.K. rowling has absorbed it. I suppose at a certain point I'll meet her and I'm curious to talk to her. And when they asked if the criticism had Discouraged him at all? He replied, oh, heavens no. So he also went on to say that he played Roald Dahl in a play and that nobody had a problem with that, even though Roald Dahl was anti Semitic and just, you know, thinks that that's odd, but they have a problem with him playing Dumbledore. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I just wanted to say, and I guess I'll try to say it softly, because on the one hand, right, These people, the people. There are hundreds of people who are going to be involved in the production of just this first season.
Kif Fury
True.
Crystal
All of those people will essentially be working for this transphobe.
Kif Fury
Correct.
Crystal
Whether they meet her or not. So on the one hand, I don't believe people who've never met her or had a conversation with her should be responsible for her publicity or anything like that. However, I do think that you should be aware of it, you should be cognizant of it, you should be sensitive of it, and you should be smart about it when you're discussing it. There's a reason. There is criticism in relation to this role.
Kif Fury
Yes.
Crystal
For this character written by this lady that everybody hates except trans folks.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
There's a reason why a very good friend, according to you, who is the mother of a trans child, said, hey, what about. No, because. Because transgender people are not only fans of the Harry Potter property and so have had to experience, like, an inexplicable and complicated level of, like, disappointment and hurt.
Kif Fury
Right.
Crystal
Just as fans. But then there's just the average, everyday existence of a trans person where, you know, you could just die for going to the gas station or something. So for you to be taking on the second screen adaptation of this story by a lady we've known is hateful for years and years and years now, who I think has even written another book about how to be a transphobe or some shit.
Kif Fury
She knew. Yeah. It isn't.
Crystal
Why are you coming forward and being like, oh, heavens no. This didn't change my mind at all. I played an anti Semite and nobody had questions like, white men never give a fuck. You sitting here talking about. The only thing I was thinking about was my last role and how I'm about to be old and dead and I wanted to go out with a bang. I don't give a fuck about your trans kids. That's essentially what you're saying.
Kif Fury
Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is.
Crystal
That's essentially what you're saying. It's so disgusting to me that, like capitalism, especially in the minds and eyes of whiteness, will always exceed human beings and human like, even the ones close to them. Even someone in your life is saying, my baby can, would, will be hurt by this. And you're like, I don't care. Yeah, this job sounds fierce.
Kif Fury
I'm old. This could be the last thing I do. Eight years, baby. That's a lot of money. I'm gonna be doing great. What you mean? What y'all mad at? What you talking about?
Crystal
So great, great job.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
An eight year commitment for a role that we haven't even seen you in costume for yet. And motherfuckers already hate you. You. Oh, I hate you. You really think that motherfuckers are going to be championing Albus D, one of the biggest goddamn heroes of the Harry Potter story. Story ever. Now that you, the American who clearly said, I don't give a fuck about trans. Trans people, like, no one's gonna give a fuck about you or this character.
Kif Fury
Now that's really.
Crystal
That's the last role you wanted, stupid. It is, man. It is. It would have. It would have been nothing. Especially if you're claiming that it's not like you went to do this interview, this press interview, and they just brought it up and it's the first time you're hearing about it because you were Patrick Starr and you've been living under a rock. You're saying you're like, people have been talking to you about this and sending you articles related to it.
Kif Fury
Right.
Crystal
And you don't give a fuck.
Kif Fury
Trying to help. At least in case you didn't know.
Crystal
Yeah, right.
Kif Fury
Yeah, yeah.
Crystal
Had the humanity to say, never met that lady. Maybe one day I'll meet her and get, you know, an idea of where her head is at or whatever. If that was you're gonna say. But you know what? I want to do this. You know, I don't know. Like, I don't. I'm not the one in the role. I wanted to do this for fans. Hopefully, you know, people of all ages and all identities. Trans cisgender will enjoy this. And, you know, outside of whatever. Whatever, Whatever.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
You didn't even try to pretty PR it up. You were just like, I don't give a fuck. The role sounded fierce. Eight years of a bag.
Kif Fury
Yep.
Crystal
And, you know, maybe one day me and. Just kidding will, you know, do a little key, have a little line. Brat. Summer girl. Fuck you and his TV show. I'm so glad I already read these books back to front and saw the movies. I don't need this show. I'm grown. And to Be honest with you. Do the kids. Well, they're reading other shit.
Kif Fury
Like, I mean, Harry Potter had its moment, but this is. Honestly, this is probably appealing to a bunch of 30 somethings. More than 80 something.
Crystal
That's what I'm saying.
Kif Fury
Yeah. Yeah. The kids have moved on. They're watching Baddies Midwest. So that's that on that. Oh, glory. Anything else? Anything you want to add on that was. I mean, that was thorough. But you said we needed to be said. I didn't even hear about that. How disappointing. I always thought John Lithgow was cooler than that.
Crystal
Oh, that was funny. I did too. I was bummed. That was really disappointing. It was so. It wasn't even just like, fantastic.
Kif Fury
So such a.
Crystal
And. And an excellent actor.
Kif Fury
Yeah, it's just.
Crystal
It's just you can't get that they. They be white. They such a white.
Kif Fury
White.
Crystal
It wasn't even directly transphobic as. As. It was just typical, entitled white Cassidy of it all.
Kif Fury
Yes.
Crystal
Gross.
Kif Fury
Well, speaking of white people just doing. You know what? I'm actually not gonna do that. I was gonna talk about the Shadora Sanders story and Jeff Ulbrich son and this prank call with Shadora, but actually, you know what? You what? What is that? But a privileged ass person doing something like fucking with somebody else's big moment for the fun of it. What really got me was that these kids was dumb enough to record themselves doing the prank call and then post it online. Like, I shouldn't. I shouldn't say kids, because you're 21. You're legally an adult.
Crystal
Yeah, I do this too, but.
Kif Fury
I'm. I'm actually not even gonna get into that. I'm gonna get it to Saquon Barkley like I said I would.
Crystal
Yep.
Kif Fury
Now, listen, Eagles, it's been easy to. To root for y'all, okay? First of all, color scheme looks so good on black people. That green, black, and white. That is so sharp on n. Also, Abbott Elementary. Abbott said in Philly, like, the first episode is about the Eagles and Jeanine getting that rug for her classroom. And it's an Eagles rug.
Crystal
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Kif Fury
So watching Abbott actually made me want to root for the Eagles. And I know I'm not the only one. And then final Jaylen hurts with his black wife and his all female team. You know, that was you. You had me at Jaylen. Yeah, Saquon. Also physically beautiful, gorgeous smile. And I talked about this online once several months ago, and everybody was like, oh, you don't know about his white wife. So not only does she have a white. Does he have a white wife? She. You know, the people did a search on her tweets a few years ago and found all these tweets of her saying N and calling the Cheetah Girls Cheetah niggas and stuff like that. Like, just nigga all over the place from Disney. Yes. Yes.
Crystal
Only two of them were black.
Kif Fury
Child white people don't need a reason. So Saquon Barkley is not one of the Eagles players who decided to not go to the White House. Saquon actually played golf with that nigga Trump and went to the White House, and when people pointed out that Saquon was doing this, he decided to tweet about it. He logged on to twitter.com and wrote, LOL. Some people are really upset because I played golf and flew to the White House with the president. That's what he said. Maybe I just. Maybe I just respect the office. Not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago.
Crystal
Oh, my God.
Kif Fury
And I look forward to finishing my round with Trump. Now you get out my mentions with all this politics and have an amazing day. Laughing face emoji.
Crystal
Yeah, that'll do it. Shut up.
Kif Fury
That'll do it for me. Let's go ahead and wrap this up. Are you what the is wrong with? Maybe I just respect the office. The office only deserves as much respect as the person in it.
Crystal
Thank you.
Kif Fury
That's extremely stupid to be like, no matter who holds the office, I respect the office.
Crystal
That makes no sense. Thank you.
Kif Fury
A sentient turd could be president, and you would be like, I respect the turd.
Crystal
Wait, have you seen her?
Kif Fury
I'm golfing with the turd.
Crystal
Quick sidebar. I just watched Gladiator 2 this past weekend, and I have not seen it. Of course not. Spoiler alert.
Kif Fury
Oh, I'm good. I'm so good.
Crystal
Spoiler alert. So Denzel Washington is the villain, right? So fierce, fierce, fierce, fierce. He plays like a former, like, slave or something like that who rises in the ranks. When you meet him, he's like a stable master, and he ends up becoming emperor.
Kif Fury
Oh, nice.
Crystal
But there's these two white twins who are the corrupt emperors at first. And one, the younger twin, has, like, a little pet monkey, I think, named Dondas. Anyway, the twins end up beefing. The younger twin kills his brother, and then he becomes emperor. And maybe he has, like, his first meeting, and he's like, I'm naming my consul, my head of consul for the empire, and they're all getting ready for and he turns and says, hail Dante. And cut to the monkey and the monkeys eating candy with, like, his robes on. And he essentially, like, made the fucking. The monkey, like, vice president or whatever. And everybody was like. They paused for a second, like, did this nigga really say the monkey? And then they all went, cal.
Kif Fury
Okay. Yeah, baby.
Crystal
That's what it made me think of. So anybody?
Kif Fury
So anybody? Any fan?
Crystal
Anybody? It could just be a sentient poop eating candy.
Kif Fury
It could just be anything. Breathing.
Crystal
And you'd play golf and you say, yeah. That is so wild. I can't.
Kif Fury
You have respect for Donald Trump. That tells me everything I need to know. You stayed married to a white woman who I know for. Y'all probably do race place shit. You probably on that Shannon shawshit. Y'all probably confused. Y'all probably do.
Crystal
You probably cheetah niggas.
Kif Fury
You probably walk in.
Crystal
There's no.
Kif Fury
Hey, Ms. Ann. Just got done shucking all your peas, right? Anything else you want me to.
Crystal
Coming in there dressing like magazine dreams and just being, like.
Kif Fury
Walking dressed like cornbread.
Crystal
You're right. We supposed to be loving each other.
Kif Fury
Y'all playing. Y'all playing. Y'all playing mistress and sharecropper?
Crystal
No, flat out. Flat out. He coming up with some patched up. Patched up overalls and ashy knees.
Kif Fury
Oh, God. So, yes, Saquon, you respect Donald Trump. I don't respect you. It's actually just that simple.
Crystal
It's the.
Kif Fury
Get out my mentions with all this Politics is insane, Nigga, you are politics. N. Yeah, you one of them ones. You think your money and your ability to run that ball is all you need. All right, good luck. Last but not least, Terrence goddamn Howard Work. Terrence Howard was on Bill Maher's podcast.
Crystal
He sure was.
Kif Fury
And said that the biggest mistake of his career was turning down the role of Smokey Robinson in a biopic because he was already in talks with Lee Daniels to play Marvin Gaye in a different biopic. However, he ended up not playing Marvin Gaye because when he went to Quincy Jones house and was talking to Quincy about it, he said, I'm hearing rumors that Marvin was gay. Was he? And Quincy said, yeah. Which. I mean, child. Okay, so once he found out that. Once he found that. Found out that Marvin Gaye, Richard Pryor, and all other kind of niggas was gay. I threw Richard Pryor in there for no reason. Just. I feel like.
Crystal
Don't know. It's. It's fine. You know, sometimes they need to.
Kif Fury
A reminder after that revelation, Terence Howard said he could not star in the movie because they would have wanted him to kiss a man.
Crystal
Did they tell him?
Kif Fury
Well, it is a Lee Daniels production, so you probably didn't even have to ask. But also, if we're. If we're doing a biopic, then you need to be. Yeah, we need to go ahead and tell the story. He kissed nigga.
Crystal
Yeah, he did.
Kif Fury
So we're gonna. We're gonna need to kiss niggas. And so Bill Maher said, you mean you couldn't kiss a guy on screen in a movie? And Terrence Howard said, no, because I don't fake it. That would fuck me. I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.
Crystal
Okay, so you've done it and said.
Kif Fury
It does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man. I can't play that character 100%. I can't surrender myself to a place that I don't understand. All right.
Crystal
Okay.
Kif Fury
So this explains why you've played the roles that you have and that.
Crystal
Yeah.
Kif Fury
And your extremely limited ability to act.
Crystal
Yeah, it actually does.
Kif Fury
Because when Bill Maher said, you mean you couldn't kiss a guy on screen in a movie? And you said, no, because I don't fake it. Acting is faking it. Acting is taking another person and pretending like you're them.
Crystal
Yeah, acting.
Kif Fury
That's what it is. That's the whole job. The whole job is not even, like a super.
Crystal
Yeah, you're pretending you're not being you.
Kif Fury
You're being someone else on purpose for dollars. It's. That's not.
Crystal
Is that why you're not in the MCU anymore?
Kif Fury
Like, do you. I feel like you've lost the plot here. Did nobody ever explain to you what it meant to be an actor?
Crystal
Are you in the position to turn John or old?
Kif Fury
Clearly so.
Crystal
Yeah, clearly.
Kif Fury
So I'm just. I just was shocked because I. I mean, I don't. I guess I never got homophobic vibes from. Maybe because of Empire.
Crystal
I do.
Kif Fury
And his character on Empire was right. But didn't he eventually kind of come around?
Crystal
I didn't watch it that long.
Kif Fury
Well, so maybe it's that I feel.
Crystal
Like there was an arc where. Where this. Where Jussie's character became kind of like him or.
Kif Fury
I really don't like that. Yeah.
Crystal
When that lady. When Lee Daniels had Taraji, he had to come down in that gorilla costume, that monkey thing. Yeah, I'm finished.
Kif Fury
It was. It was season two, episode one, where I said, that is my Last episode of Empire. That is it.
Crystal
Same.
Kif Fury
But, yeah, now I see why you're not a good actor because you don't fake it. And the whole job is faking it. So this actually.
Crystal
But also, t do a lot of the roles that he has gotten other roles before, they're all the same.
Kif Fury
None of them are like, oh, wow, Terrence Howard really portrayed a different. No, he's always been that. And I see. Yeah, you don't act, so. Yeah, you should have never been in talks to play anybody. I'm honestly shocked that you get booked to do anything else. You straight up admit you don't act.
Crystal
Yeah, I guess I don't know what the fuck that nigga was thinking.
Kif Fury
It's just weird to me. If you don't want to kiss a man, I actually don't care, but. But to say no, because I don't fake it is where I'm like, just stand up in the. I don't want to kiss a man.
Crystal
Yeah, just say.
Kif Fury
Just stand up in that. I act, but I don't have the ability or the desire to play gay characters. You could have just said that I would cut my lips off. All right, please do it now. What you being rude and disrespectful for?
Crystal
What's that for? I wouldn't even have an issue with you saying something as honest as, I don't know if I. I don't know that I'm comfortable enough with that to portray it in a way that would be believable. That's better than saying, I don't fake it. You're an actor, dumbass. That's what they all do.
Kif Fury
And I'd rather cut my lips off. If I kissed a man, I would cut my lips off.
Crystal
Yeah, I'm going to fake your biopic, and you're still going to have to fake parts. Stupid. What? Shut the.
Kif Fury
What? That was just really.
Crystal
Y'all go out of your way.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
To be homophobic. You talk about a dead nigga in a movie that you ain't in. Well, just to tell us that you don't want to kiss men. I don't believe it.
Kif Fury
Yeah, I. At this point, I kind of believe you actually have kissed a boy before, and you kind of liked it more than you thought you would. And immediately you said, I won't be doing that again. You tried to shove it down, and now here you are, the 30 years later on Bill Maher's podcast, talk about how you would rather cut your lips off. It just seems weird to me, that level of absolutely Not. No. I could never. Like, okay.
Crystal
Putting your lips on the lips of another man.
Kif Fury
You could just say, that's not for me.
Crystal
It's so revolting that you would want to. To. To mutilate yourself.
Kif Fury
It's just weird.
Crystal
Just. Just a hype of just, you know, just symbolically. Even if we're just using words. Kissing a man is that exchange. It.
Kif Fury
Take all that. Wanda Sykes did it for years. You don't see her threatening suicide. Like, it's that deep.
Crystal
That grown man did that all that time and look flourishing now.
Kif Fury
You said, I'd rather mutilate my face permanently than book a gig. All right, well, the movie is obviously better off without you.
Crystal
It is, T. Most of them are. That's another part of the reason why I like. Is it Fighting Vipers or the episode of Vivid Viv Striking Vipers with Anthony Mackie and Yaya. That one is great because that scene where they get together at the end in person to just, like, kiss and see, and they kiss each other, and they're like, I didn't like that. I didn't like that either. Okay, cool. Let's not do it. That was so tea. Yeah, that was so tea. Cause it's like, okay, yeah, I'm not gay.
Kif Fury
A lot of people just try it and they're like, yeah, this ain't for me.
Crystal
Right? But you see, like, neither one of them were like, where's the knife? I gotta cut these off. It was just like, oh, yeah. No, that's not.
Kif Fury
I had a thought. We played this video game. It seemed sexy in the game. So let's do it in real life. And in real life, y'all, Sex to od.
Crystal
Don't nobody care. White men. White men over out here. I think Army Hammer. Army Hammer. I feel like I just read a quote from him a couple weeks ago. He did an interview where he talked about, like, he hooked, like, he went to hook up. Hookup. He got on, like, Grinder or something.
Kif Fury
Oh, wow.
Crystal
Because he wanted to experiment and he had, like, a Out on the street hookup or somebody and just couldn't actually get to get to it because he was like, I don't like it. The beard and the mascara.
Kif Fury
That's his name.
Crystal
Yeah.
Kif Fury
What did I say? I thought this was the boy from this is Us.
Crystal
Oh, you're thinking of. I can't remember his name. I think it's her.
Kif Fury
Little J. Justin Hartley.
Crystal
Yeah.
Kif Fury
Oh, that's not the same person. Wow. Okay.
Crystal
Hammer is this huge white man that the ladies were in love with for A while. But, yeah, he had a quote a while ago where he said he tried it out. One for him.
Kif Fury
I see that he's the great grandfather of an oil tycoon, so quite wealthy even without this acting shit.
Crystal
Who?
Kif Fury
Armie Hammer. He's the great grandson of oil tycoon Armand Hammer.
Crystal
Oh, great grandson.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah. Oh, what did I say? Great grandmother.
Crystal
I just didn't bother at first.
Kif Fury
Oh, my bad. Well, you learn something new about whites every day.
Crystal
Yeah, I do, but.
Kif Fury
Yeah. Terrence Howard, this was just weird. And the part about cutting your lips off was too far. You could have just said, no, I don't want to kiss no man.
Crystal
Right.
Kif Fury
And that's fine. I don't really want to kiss a man either. I would do it for money, but I don't really want to.
Crystal
Right.
Kif Fury
So that's your.
Crystal
That's your choice, campaigning for kissing men here. If you don't want to fucking do it. But it's always like, oh, no, I had. I'd gouge my own eyes out.
Kif Fury
Right?
Crystal
Murder my.
Kif Fury
I'd rather. I would boil my own tongue with Lysol than kiss a woman. Okay.
Crystal
It.
Kif Fury
Don't take all that. You can just not do it.
Crystal
Right.
Kif Fury
Y'all so weird. Oh, all right.
Crystal
I think I can do it. I think I played a straight man. You didn't hear me complaining.
Kif Fury
You did. You tried your best, though.
Crystal
I did.
Kif Fury
You tried, but the sass just couldn't help. You know, it's always underneath in my mind.
Crystal
He was a little curious. He had a secret.
Kif Fury
Well, he had a. He. He had a very boy voice. Oh, I bet you do. Yeah. That was a fun time.
Crystal
It was. All right, Terrence.
Kif Fury
All right, well, that will wrap up this week's episode of the Read. Thank you again to the girly pops over at Sacred for sponsoring the Cowboy Carter ticket giveaway on the Read. Congratulations to Taylor, who won the tickets to the New Jersey show this week. We are giving away two tickets to the Atlanta show on July 13, so make sure you're following the Read on Instagram for your. For your chance to win. Follow us actually on all social media at this is the read our website, thisisthearad.com let's see any other announcements. Anything from you this week, Kit Fury?
Crystal
No, nothing much. I wanted to also extend a thank you to Sacred and everybody for the tickets as well. Again, as to Ms. Tina and everyone who helped put together the awesome interview and let us read her book early. I know that I can speak for the both of us when I say it is so freaking cool that we have gotten to go from endlessly fanning and speaking about this family and these people to meeting them and having them on the show and having the ability to send some of you guys to go see the show. It's just so cool. It's so cool. And I'm very grateful and I love y'all, so thank you and patreon.com kidfury if you want more of my foolishness. We just watched G20 last night for our monthly watch party.
Kif Fury
I don't know what that means. Oh, oh, the violence.
Crystal
We watched that last night. And yeah, next month I think we're gonna. I'm gonna do, like, mom themed stuff.
Kif Fury
Oh, it's Mother's Day.
Crystal
A mom comedy.
Kif Fury
Oh, yeah. I don't know.
Crystal
Stuff with moms in the league.
Kif Fury
Don't tell mom the babysitter's dead.
Crystal
Ooh, that's a good one.
Kif Fury
Yeah.
Crystal
Or Pro Mama from the Train.
Kif Fury
Is that a real movie?
Crystal
Yeah. Okay. With Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal.
Kif Fury
Absolutely not.
Crystal
He wants to kill his mom.
Kif Fury
Yes. So go. Go find him over@patreon.com Skiffury take care of yourselves. We will see y'all next week.
Podcast Summary: The Read – "Boots To The Ground"
Episode Information
Overview In this episode of The Read, hosts Kid Fury and Crissle dive deep into a variety of topics spanning notable achievements within the Black community, the latest in pop culture, personal listener dilemmas, and current events. With their signature humorous and candid style, they provide insightful commentary and engage in lively discussions that resonate with both long-time fans and newcomers alike.
LeVar Burton at Howard University
Anne Collins Smith at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)
Blue Ivy's "Cowboy Carter" Tour
Rumi Carter's Performance
Flamily's New Baby
Jalen Hurts' Marriage
Shannon Sharpe's Controversy
Letter from Perry: Marital Trust Issue
Letter from Keonte: Anxious Attachment in Relationship
Letter from Camille: Discovering Alternative Truths as an Adult
Harry Potter TV Series Casting: John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore
Terence Howard's Comments on Homophobia and Acting
Saquon Barkley and Eagles' Cultural References
Upcoming Themes and Giveaways
Notable Quotes
Final Thoughts In "Boots To The Ground," The Read effectively balances celebratory discourse with critical analysis and personal advice. Kid Fury and Crissle demonstrate their knack for blending humor with heartfelt insights, making the episode both entertaining and thought-provoking. Whether discussing the rise of young stars like Blue Ivy and Rumi Carter or tackling complex emotional struggles from listeners, the hosts maintain their engaging and unapologetic persona, solidifying The Read as a pivotal voice in hip-hop and pop culture commentary.