Celebrity News
‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’ Review
by Betti Halsell
In The United States Vs. Billie Holiday the audience is thrown into a war zone. Viewers stare at the social terrain with world-renowned Jazz legend Billie Holiday, as she climbs through trenches of trauma, addiction, love, betrayal, and corruption, ultimately leaving some of her best men behind.
Holiday, played by Andra Day, encapsulated the current state of events happening to Black Americans with a simple string of verses over a solemn melody. Her song Strange Fruit paints a vivid picture of events that took place during her time – lynchings in the 1930’s that were happening with no reprimand. The melancholic melody still hits home today, as if America is still singing the same song, with a different tune.
Holiday bellowed with her smoldering voice,
“Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.”
The recording and performance of Strange Fruit stood out like a thorn protruding from the rosey lens the rest of America looked through, causing a problem for those in “high places”. So they created a suffocating smoke around the singer’s life, following her to her final resting place.
The movie focuses on the unsolicited surveillance from federal and local law enforcement because of the pressure that came with the iconic song. It touches on a reoccurring theme happening in newly released biographic films, uncovering people within the Black community supplying incriminating intel to the federal government.
This confirms the involvement of federal sources, but also the lack of trust happening within the collective community. The film was as explicit as the song itself, telling an unbiased truth of an Artist caught in a war that went far beyond her talent.
Directed by Lee Daniels and written by Pulitzer prize-winner Suzan-Lori Parks and Johann Harri, the movie depicts Holiday as an undeniable force – she was feminine and sensual, yet she held a sense of masculine ownership over her life. Although the 1900s were set in gender roles and confined social placement, Holiday was outspoken and knew she had a level of power. The salute to her self-awareness may have beckoned from her childhood. The film exposed Holiday’s early surroundings, which included the power in sexuality and a sense of liberty for women when she was young.
However, there are two sides to every coin. The trauma in her childhood may have given her the soul that is found in her voice and a sense of empowerment, but it also left her damaged. The movie captured her dependency on strong stimulants, to mange her mental state. The singer’s upbringing left her without a true vision of her reflection. The feature focused on nostalgic transitions and captured an unfiltered story of Holiday’s flaws as a friend and lover.
In The United States vs Billie Holiday, Day is joined by Trevante Rhodes (Birdbox) who played Jimmy Fletcher, the first Black FBN agent and Garrett Hedlund (Four Brothers) as Harry Aslinger, Chief of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.
Rendering the critiques from Rotten Tomatoes, the story was labeled “sloppy” and “over-characterized.” However, most of those inferential opinions came from predominantly White men. This leaves the opportunity that they may have been missed; the concept of struggle in being a Black woman, while fighting multiple layers of internal and external battles and combating different perspectives of self-worth.
America is still singing about the strange fruit that holds a rotten core, the Anti-lynching Bill was passed last year. A back-breaking victory, countless marches, too many lives lost, all for roughly 100 years of “consideration.”
The strange fruit from those times left seeds, a new harvest of injustice is ripening. Thanks to Holiday’s strong will to keep performing the truth, others have joined the choir for change. The nation is still singing about the obscurities found in racism. It’s all the same song, just a different tune. Stream The United States Vs. Billie Holiday on Hulu starting February 26.
Taylour Paige-Angulo shared that she is expecting her first child with her husband, fashion designer Rivington Angulo, earlier today.
The announcement, made official through a captionless Instagram post, featured Paige-Angulo in a white dress that beautifully highlighted her baby bump. This milestone comes after a deeply personal journey, including a decades-long battle with endometriosis, which the ‘Zola’ actress openly discussed on social media.
Paige-Angulo’s pregnancy reveal follows her first public hint at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards on February 27, where she debuted her (hidden) baby bump in a chic brown dress. A TikTok video captured her chatting with fellow actors Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors.
Behind Taylour’s joyful announcement lies a challenging history with endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, often causing severe pain and fertility issues. The actress has been candid about her struggle, which went undiagnosed for 20 years. In an emotional Instagram post on March 4, 2025, during Endometriosis Awareness Month, she described it as a “lifelong journey of healing” and a “really violent illness” that brought “agony and turmoil.” She recounted debilitating symptoms—pain so intense it made her “see stars,” monthly vomiting, and times she couldn’t drive.
In fall 2023, Paige-Angulo underwent a four-hour surgery to remove endometrial tissue. Reflecting on the experience, she wrote, “So many women are going THROUGH it okay. Be gentle with us.”
The Angulos tied the knot on October 5, 2022, on Paige’s 32nd birthday. Their intimate ceremony unfolded at the Wattles Mansion in Los Angeles. The couple’s romance had blossomed quickly after meeting during the pandemic at a party hosted by a mutual friend. Paige-Angulo later recalled how Angulo’s energy felt like “home” from the start. For the occasion, she wore a custom sheer white gown designed by her then-fiance. The event was attended by close friends, including a notable appearance by Rihanna, adding a touch of star power to the heartfelt affair. Paige-Angulo described the day on Instagram as “the greatest day of my life.”
Congratulations to the happy couple!
Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors have officially become husband and wife. The couple, whose relationship has been public since they were first linked in May 2023, exchanged vows in an intimate, secret ceremony at their Los Angeles home on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Majors himself confirmed the news during an emotional appearance on the Sherri show earlier this week.
The wedding was a deeply personal affair, attended only by their mothers. Majors revealed that his mother, a pastor from Dallas, officiated the ceremony. “My mother came from Dallas, where I’m from,” Majors shared with host Sherri Shepherd. “She came to the L.A. screening [of Magazine Dreams], and we had told her, ‘Hey, we’re gonna do this thing.’ And we did. My mother married us yesterday. Her mother was there.” Good’s mother served as a witness, making it a gathering of just four people.
The timing of the wedding coincided with a significant professional moment for Majors, as it took place just days before the special showing of his new film, Magazine Dreams. The couple had attended the movie screening the night before their nuptials.
Majors, 35, teared up on Sherri as he told Good, 43, “Today might be the happiest day of my life.” He added, “I love that woman so much.” For Majors, the wedding was “always the plan,” a culmination of a love story that began two years earlier at the EBONY Power 100 Gala, where they first met in a unisex bathroom—a quirky detail Good shared with a laugh during their engagement announcement in November 2024.
Their journey to the altar has been anything but conventional. The couple’s romance ensued amid Majors’ highly publicized legal troubles, which began with his arrest in March 2023 following an alleged domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Good stood by his side throughout the ordeal, attending court hearings and offering unwavering support as Majors was found guilty of misdemeanor assault and harassment in December 2023. Sentenced to a year-long batterers’ intervention program in April 2024, Majors has credited Good with being his rock, once comparing her to Coretta Scott King for her strength and loyalty. Good, previously married to pastor DeVon Franklin until their 2022 divorce, has spoken of her and Majors’ “instant chemistry” and her determination to stand by him, telling PEOPLE in July 2024, “The things that I’ve been through gave me the bandwidth to love other people, regardless.”
As they step into married life, Majors and Good continue to defy expectations and loud public opinions. With Majors hinting at future plans for “a couple kids” in a recent Hollywood Reporter interview, we hope to see their love story unveil more chapters of joy, happiness, and success.
Netflix’s newest lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, is set to air season two this fall, per Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s Instagram. The short post follows the release of the show’s first eight episodes this past Tuesday.
“If you’re loving Season 1, just wait until you see the fun we cooked up on Season 2!” the caption reads. “Thanks for joining the party, and an endless thanks to the amazing team and crew who helped bring it all to life!”
The lifestyle series revolves around the actress turned dutchess’ cooking and entertaining all who visit, producing engaging tutorials and conversations. This season featured various guests, including actress and producer Mindy Kaling, former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, makeup artist Daniel Martin, and skin care entrepreneur Vicky Tsai.
With Love, Meghan, where Sussex is listed as an executive producer, is filmed in Montecito, California, where she and her family live full-time. For privacy reasons, however, the set used for filming is a nearby rental, not Sussex’s actual home.
Although the show majorly centers around the Los Angeles native’s hosting and cooking skills, her husband, Prince Harry, makes an appearance during an intimate brunch co-hosted by chef and restaurateur Alice Waters in the series’ final episode. Markle’s royal spouse, “H” as she calls him, is often mentioned throughout the season, along with their children, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie, whose faces are never revealed in the episodes.
With Love, Meghan is revered as Sussex’s first major independent project since she and Prince Harry resigned as senior members of Britain’s royal family in 2020 and moved back to her home state of California. Before meeting and marrying into the royal family in 2018, Markle had a lifestyle blog titled Tig, which inspired the Netflix show.
In addition to the series, the 43-year-old announced that she is rebranding her fledging lifestyle company to As Ever after originally naming it American Riviera. The company’s site went live with eight products available for purchase this spring, the same day as With Love, Meghan debuted on the streamer.
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