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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Calls Out Anti-Semitism In Hollywood & Sports

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is questioning how celebrities are getting away with blatantly perpetuating anti-Semitism more and more these days, especially in light of the larger-than-ever exposure of the Black Lives Matter movement. In a new column for The Hollywood Reporter, the NBA legend points out the lack of outrage toward celebrities for spewing anti-Semitic views, despite the growing support for BLM and the fight against systemic racism. In the piece, which dropped just hours before Nick Cannon was fired by Viacom on Tuesday (July 14th) for allegedly expressing anti-Semitic remarks during his rant about white people, Kareem expresses his fear that the lack of explicit outrage towards this anti-Semitism “in the face of sustained prejudice” will cause what he calls an “Apatholypse”—”apathy to all forms of social justice.”

kareem abdul-jabbar basketball anti-semitism jewish black lives matter movement racism hollywood sports celebritiesKevin Winter/Getty Images for Turner Sports

He goes on to call out certain celebrities by name for their recent anti-Semitic tirades, including Ice Cube, who went on a bizarre Twitter spree last month in which he tweeted a number of “creepy symbols and images,” that “implied that Jews were responsible for the oppression of” Black people. Kareem also condemned NFL player DeSean Jackson for aligning himself with a quote incorrectly attributed to Hitler, that claimed that Jews had a plan to “extort America” and achieve “world domination.” Kareem mentions that former NBA player, Stephen Jackson, an activist and close friend of the late George Floyd, co-signed this horrific quote, although both he and DeSean have since apologized.

kareem abdul-jabbar basketball anti-semitism jewish black lives matter movement racism hollywood sports celebritiesBrandon Bell/Getty Images

“It’s so disheartening to see people from groups that have been violently marginalized do the same thing to others without realizing that perpetuating this kind of bad logic is what perpetuates racism,” Kareem notes. He also points out that comedian Chelsea Handler, a Jewish woman herself, joined in on the anti-Semitic sentiments—albeit seemingly by accident—by posting a video in support of “notorious homophobe and anti-Semite” Louis Farrakhan on Instagram. 

“While it’s possible the words were wrong, celebrities have a responsibility to get the words right,” Kareem insists. “It’s not enough to have good intentions, because it’s the actual deeds — and words — which have the real impact.” He goes on to quote MLK as well as Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” before concluding with, “If we’re going to be outraged by injustice, let’s be outraged by injustice against anyone.”

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The Jonas Brothers Just Played Halftime At The NFL’s First-Ever Game In Australia

Jonas Brothers performing at their Happiness Begins Tour stop in Nashville, 2019
Photo: Hart1300caleigh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The NFL played its first-ever regular season game on Australian soil Friday, and the league handed the halftime slot to a band that knows a thing or two about stadium-sized nostalgia: the Jonas Brothers. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers on the field, the trio ran through a medley built for a crowd that grew up on them — “Burnin’ Up,” “Sucker,” “Year 3000,” and their new one, “Listen When Sad.”

They also did something no one was expecting: a cover of John Farnham’s “You’re the Voice,” the 1986 Australian anthem that’s basically a second national song at this point. It’s the kind of move that plays a lot better live in Melbourne than it would’ve on paper. “Playing at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of such passionate Australian fans is an incredible honor,” the group said in a statement ahead of the show. “We can’t wait to be part of this historic moment and celebrate with everyone in the stadium and watching around the world.”

The game itself wasn’t close — the 49ers took it 27-7 — but the real story was everything happening around the field. Cody Simpson opened the day singing “Advance Australia Fair,” and the whole event doubled as a launchpad for the Jonas Brothers’ next act: “The Burning Up Tour All Over Again,” kicking off Sept. 25 and running through Dec. 22, a nod to the original Burnin’ Up Tour from nearly two decades back.

That throwback framing isn’t just marketing. “Listen When Sad,” which the band debuted live at Madison Square Garden before Melbourne, pulls from a very specific corner of their teenage years. “We’ve tapped back into a sound that was kind of the sound of the early 2000s,” Nick told the MSG crowd. “Bands like Switchfoot, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional.” They’ve even re-teamed with the producer behind “A Little Bit Longer” and “Lines, Vines and Trying Times” to get it right. No album’s been announced yet, but between the halftime show and the tour, it’s clear they’re not easing into this one quietly.

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Harry Styles Is Extending His Tour Into 2027 — And Finally Playing U.S. Stadiums Solo

Harry Styles performing during his Live on Tour show in Nashville, 2018
Photo: itsloutual / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Harry Styles just told fans that “Together, Together” isn’t done yet. He’s tacking on 25 more stadium dates through 2027 — and this time he’s finally doing something he’s never done before as a solo artist: headlining stadiums in the U.S. and Canada.

The new leg kicks off in Phoenix on April 2 and rolls through Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Atlanta and Chicago before jumping to Europe for stops in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Dublin, wrapping with three nights at Wembley Stadium on Aug. 28. Tickets run $60 to $300, but Styles is also rolling out something new: “Unpredictable Fun Tickets,” a batch of $20 seats (£20 or €20, depending on the market) meant to keep the tour accessible, alongside a returning partnership with EARNT that lets fans earn tickets by volunteering in their communities.

Styles broke the news the old-fashioned way, in a newsletter to fans, confirming these are the tour’s “final cities.” “After that, I don’t know what comes next for me,” he wrote, “but I know that I’m excited to find out.” Every stop gets its own opening act, and the lineup is genuinely wild — Kylie Minogue in LA, Tears For Fears in London, LCD Soundsystem in Rome, Lainey Wilson in Toronto, and Caroline Polachek in Paris, among others.

This caps a run that’s already made history: Styles picked up a Guinness World Record in June for the longest residency by a musician at Wembley Stadium, beating out Coldplay’s old mark. The tour is behind his fourth album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.,” which debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. If this really is the last lap, he’s making sure it’s the biggest one yet.

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