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Gwyneth Paltrow’s N-Word Tweet Gets Thumbs-Up From Russell Simmons

Gwyneth Paltrow’s use of a racial slur on her Twitter account over the weekend angered many. But Russell Simmons wasn’t one of them. Hip-hop mogul Simmons weighed in on Paltrow’s controversial tweet via a post on Global Grind on Tuesday, and to hear him tell it, the only thing that offended him about the actress’ tweet was that he wasn’t also at the Jay-Z and Kanye West concert that Paltrow tweeted from.

“It was at this show that my friend Gwyneth Paltrow tweeted something that got me a little twisted,” Simmons wrote. “I follow Gwyneth on Twitter and when I saw her tweet about the ‘N*ggas in Paris’ show in PARIS, I said ‘Damn everybody is there but me.’ I’m a bit older and I don’t get to jet-set to concerts like I used to, but when I saw Gwyneth was there, I must admit, I got a little jealous.” (more…)

Geraldo Rivera offered something of an apology on Tuesday for controversial comments he made last week about the hooded sweatshirt Trayvon Martin was wearing when the unarmed 17-year-old was shot and killed by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., last month. “I apologize for hurting people’s feelings,” Rivera said on his radio show Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t back down from my message … Don’t be a 911 call waiting to happen.”

Russell Simmons, who called Rivera his longtime friend, promptly ripped the apology.

“Geraldo, your apology is bull—-!” Simmons wrote on GlobalGrind.com. “Your apology is nothing but a defense of a racist, backward thing you already said. And I am a yogi, and I generally don’t speak like this, but I have to say it like it is. It is a non-apology apology that continues to blame the victim for their appearance.”

Simmons continued: (more…)

Hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons has given bottles of water – and moral support – to the Wall St. sit-in, calling the protesters “sweet kids.” Simmons made the rounds at Zuccotti Park near Ground Zero Wednesday and again Thursday morning, giving out 500 bottles of water to the protesters who have huddled there since Sept. 17. He stopped short of saying he would join the Occupy Wall St. group, but urged the protesters to remain civil and to more clearly define their agenda.

“I think they have to keep this completely nonviolent,” Simmons said of the sit-in, an ever-building but somewhat ideologically undefined assembly of voices for social change. What started as a pushback against Wall St. excess has gained momentum since police arrested more than 80 protesters on Saturday and pepper-sprayed a group of women – leading to a video that has gained international attention.

The NYPD is investigating the pepper-spraying incident involving Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna – but Simmons said police brass need to look on the protesters with more understanding. (more…)