15 Unforgettable Moments from Summer '23

The former president took to social media to announce his plans to surrender to authorities at Fulton County Jail after being slammed with a fourth indictment by District Attorney Fani Willis. He and 19 other defendants are facing charges in connection to the “stop the steal” campaign to overthrow the 2020 election results.

Atlanta hosted parties for the occasion, including one lounge’s “Welcome to Rice St.” celebration. Trump bailed himself out on $200k but nevertheless, the internet was gifted with his mugshot. It’s not oversaturated. That’s just his spray tan.

The country singer drew controversy after releasing this racism-coded song with hidden jabs at Black stereotypes and the Black Lives Matter movement. The music video featured clips from the 2020 protests and a courthouse where a Black teen was lynched back in the 20s. Despite the obvious implications, the singer insisted being racist wasn’t his intention.

It’s still a good ol’ boys, gun rights, MAGAt anthem nonetheless.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the beloved singer-actor dropped off the face of the earth and the next thing we knew, he was in the hospital fighting an unspecified medical complication. Not even TMZ’s best paparazzi and sources could get a picture of him or any information as to what was going on. Many people thought we were going to lose him. Then, the trailer for They Cloned Tyrone dropped and led the internet into a frenzy about the government making another Foxx to replace the OG.

He finally showed face weeks later and his friends and family say he’s good as new. We still don’t know what put him down.

The rapper was performing at Drai’s Nightclub in Las Vegas when a crowd member splashed a drink on her. Almost immediately, Cardi abandoned any determination to finish her song and threw her microphone at who she thought was the perpetrator. Online users say the wrong fan got smacked by the mic. In the end, the artist faced a battery charge.

Meanwhile, the mic is being auctioned off for near $100k on eBay.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour has officially previewed 100 different outfits, many reminiscent of the old style wear from her Formation era which means BIG hats. Songstress Erykah Badu took to Instagram one day reposting a picture of the Crazy In Love singer ascending onto the stage in a wide-brimmed chrome mirror hat. “Hmm. I guess I’m everyone’s stylist,” Badu wrote.

In response, fans speculated that Beyoncé omitted Badu’s name from her Break My Soul (The Queens Remix) performance. In another performance, she switched it up to “Badu, Badu, Badu, Badu,” which fans also took as shade.

After wreaking complete havoc on the education system with his anti-woke campaign, Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to weigh in on the topic of slavery. No, no one asked.

In addition to endorsing the state’s Department of Education’s ban of teaching subjects regarding the history of slavery and racism, he argued that slavery (the 400+ years of Black people being sold, abused and mutilated) was beneficial for Black people.... the white man who refuses to acknowledge racism.

In July, Carlethia “Carlee” Russell sent the nation into a panic when she allegedly disappeared after calling 911 to report a missing toddler on the side of the highway. Police found her car and belongings unattended on the side of Interstate 459. Two days later, she walked back home and told the police she was abducted by a orange-bearded man. After an investigation, police found Russell had records of searching kidnapping-related topics and just days after that discovery, Russell’s attorney released a statement that her disappearance was a lie. Now, she’s facing charges for faking her disappearance.

Some might say plain old racism brought a class-action butt whopping to a group of white folks. After refusing to move their boat from the dock, a white family then tried to provoke an altercation with the Black doc workers who were trying to doc another larger boat. After a group of white men ganged up on the Black doc worker, more Black bystanders spawned onto the doc swinging knuckles, ankles and chairs to defend the man who was just trying to do his job. One teen swam across the river fully clothed, shoes on and jumped onto the doc to promptly commence to beating ass. You just had to see it.

The new mama enjoyed a ladies night out to see Usher’s Vegas performance wearing a sexy, sheer dress. The clip of Usher serenading Palmer went viral on the internet but one hater had to try and ruin the fun: her damn baby father. In a tweet, he threw misogynistic shade at the video writing, “It’s the outfit tho... you a mom.” He must’ve forgotten we don’t know him like that. Thus, the internet dragged him back to the dusty corner he came from.

KeKe responded to his shade with a new single ladies anthem and an appearance in Usher’s new video saying, “I am a mother, after all.”

A brutal video of a woman getting punched in the face by a man circulated social media like fire on gasoline. The video showed her asking her son to get her gun while in an argument with a man at a food stand. After the man took that right-hook, the woman’s son pulled out a firearm and fatally shot him. The situation sparked debates on whether the mother and son should be charged in the shooting. However, the two had their felony murder charges dropped as soon as they’d gotten them.

Tiffany Gomas went viral within weeks after having a meltdown on an airplane that we still don’t know the reason for. She told reporters her issue stemmed from a spout with family members but other reports say she accused a Black man of stealing her AirPods. The video of her screaming, “I don’t give two fucks but I’m telling you right now, that motherfucker back there is not real!” drew the most attention as people speculated who wasn’t real and why.

She apologized for her episode on X but we still don’t know what caused the ruckus. The internet concluded she saw a demon, shapeshifter or skinwalker. Yet, there’s no proof.

YASSSSSSS... I mean, aw damn. Singer-rapper Tory Lanez got sentenced to ten years in prison in connection to the shooting and injuring of rapper Megan Thee Stallion. For years, the internet (and Tory) debated about what happened back in 2020. Meg stayed silent until Tory went on social media instigating an argument. Then, she finally gave an emotional account of the night she thought she’d die. He was convicted for assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

The singer-songwriter was slammed with a sexual harassment lawsuit listing three of her former dancers as plaintiffs seemingly out of nowhere. The suit alleged Lizzo engaged in “sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.” She was also accused of not paying her employees and verbally abusing them because of their weight. Her current dancers also weighed in echoing the concerns listed in the legal document. The artist responded calling the suit a “sham” and denied the allegations. The lawyer representing the plaintiffs said more allegations may be on the way.

In July, the House Oversight subcommittee on National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs held an impromptu hearing to confirm that aliens are real. Technically, it’s “unidentified anomalous phenomena” which may or may not be the green slimy things we consider aliens to be. A few military vets testified that the country recovered non-human “biologics” from certain crash sites and recounted traumatizing moments about what they saw. However, the nation seemed to react with one big fat shrug emoji because we already knew what was up.

The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strike took TV show and movie lovers by storm putting a harsh pause on filming as actors and screenwriters demand a fair negotiated contract for better pay, healthy working conditions and of course, protection from allowing AI to make carbon copies of the actors. Kerry Washington, Quinta Brunson and more have joined the picket line halting production on the film rendition of Broadway’s “Wicked,” Abbott Elementary and Marvel’s “Blade.”