MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images(MONTANA) — In a personal and political Instagram post, Sharon Stone explained her younger sister Kelly and brother-in-law Bruce are “fighting for their lives” in the hospital, suffering from COVID-19. And the actress is blunt about assigning blame.
“My sister Kelly, who already has lupus, now has COVID-19. This is her hospital room. One of you Non-Mask wearers did this,” Stone captioned a trio of photos.
The Basic Instinct star added, “She does not have an immune system. The only place she went was the pharmacy. There is no testing in her county unless you are symptomatic, & then it’s 5 day wait for results. Can YOU FACE THIS ROOM ALONE? Wear a mask! For yourself and others. Please.”
Stone also posted a video, in which she mentioned her grandmother and godmother both died of the disease, and went on to criticize the governor of Montana for “lying” about the availability of testing.
Endorsing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Stone says, “With women in power, we will fight for our families. We will fight for people to live. We will fight for people to get tested. Because the only countries that are doing well with COVID are the ones that have women in leadership.”
Stone closed the video with, “Please vote. And whatever you do, don’t vote for a killer.”
(NEW YORK) — As the NFL prepares to kick of the regular season, the Washington Football Team made a historic announcement Monday naming Jason Wright the league’s first ever Black team president.
The newest addition to the Washington organization joined ABC News’ Good Morning America exclusively to discuss the opportunity and his plans for the future of the team.
“I think first and foremost it’s obviously very personal for me,” he said, adding that he has played football since he was seven years old. “[I] played a decent amount of time in the league and then became a businessman and cut my teeth in some of the best business schools. I have been helping some of the most complex and important organizations around the world transform over the last few years, so for me it’s personal and an opportunity to bring together my two worlds in a really unique way, at a unique time.”
“The fact that I happen to be Black and the most qualified person for this is a boost,” Wright said.
Wright also shared his perspective on joining the team amidst turmoil and shared his plans as the new president for making changes from the inside out.
“Part of what excited me about taking this role — we had a phrase when we played that said, ‘you don’t talk about it, you be about it,’ — and I think what I’ve seen from Dan and Tonya Snyder in the hiring of coach Rivera and some of the decisions they’ve made, to have an independent investigator come in around the sexual harassment allegations, there are actual shifts in action to suggest it’s a new day, and that’s why I’m excited to take this on,” Wright explained.
“It’s a culture transformation first to make sure that we have an organization that people want to be a part of and that itself will start to expand the value of the franchise and make the good things happen,” he added.
The new leader joins the franchise after seven years in the league as a running back who was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent and played with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.
His responsibilities will include leading the organization’s business divisions, including operations, finance, sales and marketing, the team said Monday.
“The transformation of the Washington Football Team is happening across all aspects of the organization – from football to operations to branding to culture – and will make us a truly modern and aspirational franchise,” said Wright in a statement.
At 38, Wright is also currently the youngest team president in the league and the fourth former NFL player to become president of a team.
During his career in the NFL, Wright was a team captain and NFLPA player representative for the Arizona Cardinals during the 2011 NFL lockout.
He has a B.A. in psychology from Northwestern University, where he was an Academic All-American student-athlete, a two-time All-Big Ten football selection, and the president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
He received his M.B.A. in Operations and Finance, with honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
“If I could custom design a leader for this important time in our history, it would be Jason. His experience as a former player, coupled with his business acumen, gives him a perspective that is unrivaled in the league,” Washington Football Team owner, Dan Snyder, said in a statement.
“We will not rest until we are a championship caliber team, on and off the field. Jason has a proven track record in helping businesses transform culturally, operationally and financially,” Snyder said. “He is a proactive and assertive advocate for inclusion of all people and will set new standards for our organization, and for the league. There could not be a better duo than Jason Wright and Coach Ron Rivera as we usher in a new era for Washington Football.”
The latest shakeup comes on the heels of the organization’s name change and internal investigation into allegations of sexual and verbal harassment as it looks to make a fresh start in the team’s new chapter.
The decision comes after months of turmoil for the league’s Washington, D.C. franchise under Snyder, who has faced mounting pressure to sell the team after a series of scandals for the former “Redskins.”
Snyder, who once vowed to never change the controversial name was the center of direct backlash amid calls for racial justice, but after sponsors like FedEx, Nike and Pepsi all added to the pressure, the organization eventually renamed the team temporarily ahead of the upcoming season until it decides on a permanent one.
The team is also the subject of an internal investigation amid sexual and verbal harassment allegations made by 15 former employees to the Washington Post.
Multiple top-level employees who stood accused of misconduct are now no longer part of the Washington Football Team organization.
The team’s owner said in a statement to the Post that the behavior described, “has no place in our franchise or society” and the team plans to institute “new policies and procedures.”
(NEW YORK) — Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson teased fans for weeks — posting workout videos and cryptic messages on social media — before finally announcing his long-awaited return to the ring.
On Nov. 28, Tyson, 54, will face off against “Captain Hook” — also known as former four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr., 51.
Unlike fights of their generation, Tyson’s return to the ring won’t be presented by HBO, ESPN, Showtime or any other legacy network. Instead, the fight will be presented by Triller, an up-and-coming music video app akin to TikTok.
“At the end of the day, someone like Tyson has the pick of the litter,” Triller CEO Mike Lu told ABC News. “What our team was able to do for Tyson was really showcase the identity of Triller … and we just vibed with him.”
Founded as a music video app, the platform allows users to create professional-looking music videos in a matter of seconds using artificial intelligence — making the app a clear competitor to TikTok. And like TikTok, Triller has become more of a creative platform for users to produce many genres of video-based content.
“We get compared to TikTok often enough, but the way we look at it: we are the voice of an American based Gen Z platform,” Lu said, drawing a distinction from TikTok’s Chinese roots. “Another difference: We have grown 100% organically. We’ve never spent any money on marketing, it’s always been word of mouth interactions or people sharing creative content they made on Triller.”
Relying on that organic growth, Triller has more than 140 million downloads, with celebrities like Alicia Keys, Cardi B, Marshmello, Roddy Ricch and Eminem regularly using the app to create their own music videos.
“We’ve got a saying here, which is: ‘We want the next Chris Brown or Justin Bieber to be discovered on Triller,'” said Lu.
Along with the rights to the live event featuring Tyson, Triller — an app with no current footing in the world of sports — obtained streaming rights to a soon-to-be-released, 10-part docuseries featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the fight. Two episodes will be released each week leading up to the match.
“The way we look at our product: We define cultural moments,” said Lu, acknowledging Triller’s unprecedented introduction to the boxing scene. “Obviously we went against all the major [legacy companies], like ESPN. Everyone wanted this, but per our motto — ‘You do you’ — we allowed Tyson to express himself on our platform that’s all about creating and defining that cultural moment … and that’s why Tyson agreed to do it.”
Amidst the pandemic’s rocky economy and TikTok’s uncertain future in the United States, CNBC reported that Triller paid a whopping $50 million for the exclusive rights to the event.
“I can’t comment on rumors like that,” Lu said regarding exclusive’s reported price tag. “But look, at the end of the day we believe in Tyson, we believe in this cultural event … and I believe history will tell us this was the right move for us.”
Techcrunch reported earlier this month that Triller was seeking $250 million in funding that would push its valuation to over $1 billion, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. This would be an Olympic-length leap from its $130 million valuation reported last October by the Wall Street Journal.
A three-hour live event, the Tyson vs. Jones bout will last eight rounds and be part of a multiple-fight card. The event will also include significant undercard matches as well as musical performances to be announced in the coming weeks.
The fight will also be available on traditional pay-per-view platforms and the cost of the event is reported to be $49.99.
The fight, dubbed “Frontline Battle,” will be the first event in a series produced under Mike Tyson’s Legends Only League, a venture owned by Tyson and STX president Sophie Watts’ Eros Innovations. Per the deal, all rights for “Frontline Battle” are controlled by Triller. Lu has also teased further collaboration.
“We haven’t announced anything … but our goal is to move forward [working with them],” Lu told ABC News.
Lu added that Triller would be presenting similar events in the world of sports, music and entertainment in the near future.
Tyson himself has taken to Triller in anticipation for the event — sporting Triller attire with a promotional “Triller Presents” intro. His announcement video received over four million views on the platform.
Tyson is known as one of the most feared heavyweights in history, claiming the division for himself throughout the late ’80s. He became the youngest heavyweight champion in history with a 37-0 record before the world witnessed one of the greatest upsets in sports history: Tyson was knocked out by James “Buster” Douglas in Tokyo in July 1990.
Jones went on to be named the best boxer of the 1990s by Ring Magazine. After nearly 50 victories in the ring, Jones finally met defeat in a controversial disqualification against Montell Griffin. Jones swiftly repaid the favor in the first round of a rematch shortly after.
Although Tyson’s upcoming fight is slated to be an exhibition match, according to Andy Foster of the California State Athletic Commission, Triller plans to present a Vegas-scale event as the world-renowned champions return to the arena.
ABC/Rick Rowell(LOS ANGELES) — The Democratic National Convention starts Monday and one of the many esteemed guests speaking at the ceremony will be Pose star Billy Porter, who is eagerly looking forward to the event for several important reasons.
One thing he’s anxiously awaiting is his performance. Speaking with ABC Audio, Porter revealed, “I’m singing ‘For What it’s Worth,'” which is a cover of the Buffalo Springfield protest anthem.
When asked how he worked with the DNC to put together a show-worthy performance, the Tony winner disclosed, “They came to my house, they set up a green screen, I sang the song.” Porter also tossed in that he “put on a cute outfit” and that “It was social distanced. Everybody had on a mask.”
Porter is also looking forward to leaving a mark on new voters in this time of uncertainty because it mirrors his hard-fought life experiences.
“I am first generation post-civil rights movement, and then I came out as gay in 1985 and, you know, we went straight to the front lines to fight for our lives during the AIDS crisis,” The 50-year-old actor recounted. “So activism is in my DNA. Fighting is the only thing I know. It’s the air I breathe.”
The Grammy winner also said the 2020 election is important because “these last four years has been a horror show” and that it’s time for everyone to pack the polls on November 3 because “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. That’s what Frederick Douglass said.”
When asked about his thoughts about Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris, Porter could barely contain his approval.
“He got the right one,” the American Horror Story alum affirmed. “I’m glad he chose Kamala. She was my first choice, but whoever he chose was gonna get my vote.”
(NEW YORK) — The owner of a popular Jersey Shore bar has been charged with violating Gov. Phil Murphy’s coronavirus social distancing laws after police officers allegedly found patrons crowded into the business’ rooftop patio, officials said.
Joseph Mahoney Jr., 34, owner of the Flip Flopz Bar & Grill in North Wildwood, New Jersey, was charged by the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office with a disorderly persons offense for allegedly being in violation of Murphy’s executive order, “specifically related to failure to adhere to social distancing regulations,” according to a statement released by the North Wildwood Police Department.
“This is not a game,” Murphy said last week, referring to bar and restaurants flouting his executive order intended to blunt the spread of COVID-19. “Standing around maskless in a crowd outside a bar is just as big a knucklehead move as standing around maskless inside one.”
Mahoney’s bar was busted a day before Murphy made his statement.
North Wildwood police said officers went to the bar around 12:34 a.m. on Aug. 9 after receiving a complaint that the establishment was not following Murphy’s executive order No. 150, which requires employees to wear face masks and ensure patrons stay at least 6 feet apart.
“Officers on scene witnessed large amounts of patrons crowded around the upstairs, outside patio bar at the Flip Flopz known as the ‘Tiki Topz’ with social distancing regulations not being enforced by staff at the location,” the police statement reads. “The police department received complaints for repeated violations of the Governor’s Executive order on prior occasions before this incident and had warned Flip Flopz management of the same.”
Mahoney has been issued a summons for the alleged violation, police said.
Mahoney did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
It was not immediately clear what punishment Mahoney faces if he is found guilty of violating the rules.
“[There are] numerous examples of bars that may have been trying to do the right thing once patrons got in, but whose lines were filled with people, particularly young people, who were neither being kept socially distanced or wearing masks,” Murphy said.
Indeed, Mahoney’s bar isn’t the only business accused of violating social distancing laws.
The two owners of the Atilis Gym in the Camden County town of Bellmawr, New Jersey, were fined multiple times and eventually arrested last month for allegedly continuing to operate their business in defiance of Murphy’s COVID-19 order for indoor workout facilities to remain closed. The Bellmawr Borough Council voted 5-1 last week to revoke the mercantile license of the gym co-owners Ian Smith, 33, and Frank Trumbetti, 51.
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images(MONTANA) — In a personal and political Instagram post, Sharon Stone explained her younger sister Kelly and brother-in-law Bruce are “fighting for their lives” in the hospital, suffering from COVID-19. And the actress is blunt about assigning blame.
