Jenny

Friendly reminder that Ted Cruz will never be President

🚨 Jay-Z’s Recent Partnership With Target Is Nothing New Jay-Z’s decision to partner with Target for the 30th anniversary release of Reasonable Doubt on vinyl is being celebrated by some, but critics argue it follows a long pattern of aligning with corporations facing backlash from Black consumers. Many people remember the controversy surrounding Jay-Z’s partnership with the NFL following Colin Kaepernick’s blackballing. Critics accused Jay of leveraging a moment of protest to secure a business relationship with the league and take over aspects of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. But that wasn’t the first time. 📱 In 2013, Jay-Z partnered with Samsung for the release of Magna Carta Holy Grail. Samsung reportedly spent over $20 million purchasing one million copies of the album ahead of its release. At the time, Samsung was aggressively pursuing Black consumers as part of its battle with Apple for smartphone dominance. Marketers and industry observers debated whether the company’s strategy was genuine inclusion or simply corporate pandering aimed at capturing a highly influential demographic. 👔 The same album featured the song “Tom Ford,” which some critics allegedly viewed as helping elevate and normalize the luxury brand’s image following a series of controversies surrounding designer Tom Ford between 2010 and 2012. During that period, Ford faced criticism over multiple incidents, including accusations of cultural appropriation through the use of so-called “tribal” aesthetics in 2011, backlash over his 2011 womenswear show, and criticism of advertising campaigns that featured children styled and posed in ways some observers felt mimicked adult fashion imagery. Allegedly One of the biggest controversies came after his 2011 runway presentation, where predominantly white models appeared with darkened makeup and “tribal inspired” styling. Black commentators and fashion critics accused the brand of borrowing from Black and African aesthetics while failing to provide meaningful Black representation on the runway. 📡 Then came Sprint. In 2016, Sprint faced widespread criticism after running an ad that referred to T-Mobile customers as “ghetto,” a campaign many viewed as disrespectful and racially coded. The company faced backlash and calls for boycotts. Just over a year later, Jay-Z sold a 30% stake in TIDAL to Sprint for $200 million and made 4:44 available through Sprint exclusivity. 🤔 Critics argue these moments reveal a consistent pattern: when major corporations face criticism from Black consumers or controversies involving race, Jay-Z often emerges as a strategic partner, using his influence within Black culture to help reshape public perception while securing major business deals for himself. Whether you view that as smart business or partnership over principle depends on your perspective.

This must be a new investigation. Both the governor and his wife were being investigated by the feds prior to 2025 and possibly as far back as 2021.