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Former First Lady Michelle Obama shared some life advice and wisdom with Zaya Wade on Instagram on Thursday afternoon, imploring young people to move out of their comfort zones and prepare themselves for life's challenges. Obama said her husband, former President Barack Obama, and Wade's father, NBA legend Dwyane Wade, met in Hawaii while on vacation and suggested the two should speak.The former First Lady, who has since become a best-selling author and podcast host, imparted some choice words to Zaya during their 10-minute conversation. Zaya asked her about any advice she would give to teenagers these days, and Michelle said teens should be prepared to expand their social circles and experiment with who they are. "Be patient with yourself. At your age, or in the teenage years and probably through your 20s, you're going to be experimenting with so many versions of yourself. All young people are trying on different versions, different voices. They're learning more about their intellect, they're learning about what they love, what they're good at, what they like," Michelle said.  "This is the period of exploration and sometimes, we put too much pressure on teenagers to know who you're going to be," she added. "Your job now as a teenager is not to have it all figured out but to give yourself space and time to learn and grow. So that means you want to try things on, you want to read a lot of good books, you want to experiment with different friends and connect with people who are not like you."Michelle went on to say that more teens and everyday people should look to expand their social circles to include people who are not like them, noting that teenagers often seek out "sameness." View this post on Instagram A post shared by dwyanewade (@dwyanewade) "Growth comes from difference. Growth comes when you try on something new, and you learn from that. Right now, I would just encourage young people to keep on exploring that because its a lifelong journey, and who you are today, no matter how confident you feel, by the time you're my age, almost 60, you will have tried on so many different versions of yourself and hopefully I have more things to try on," she said. "So the journey of becoming and learning who you are, it never ends. just continue to grow if you're lucky," she continued.The 13-year-old agreed with the sentiment and shared a personal story from her life about a friend who helped give her a different perspective. "We all think we thrive with people who are just like us. But I think getting a different perspective from someone else who isn't like you really helps, and that definitely helped me in becoming me and defining my truth. Change, even though it's scary, is probably one of the most beneficial things in growth," Zaya said.Michelle said she and many others are often afraid of change and growth because of fears about thinking outside of your sphere of knowledge, but she noted that everything good that will happen in your life will probably require trying something new. She begged young people to not miss out on opportunities due to fear and to lean into hesitation because it often fades in a short amount of time.  "Learn how to do something new. Learn how to do things that make you feel uncomfortable, because if you don't, then you're just stuck where you are. You're stuck in the same place with the same people and if you do that for decade after decade, that's kind of sad," Michelle said."I want young people to practice embracing the new because I don't want them to ever feel stuck in their lives. I think that you are the kind of individual that will never feel stuck. and that's one of the important things you're offering to the audience that you're serving," Michelle explained to Zaya. "Break out of the same old thing and try something new because the world will be your oyster, and you'll be able to do anything in life."The two pledged to meet in the flesh at some point in the future and lauded each other for their impact.Zaya noted that she had to skip a period of class for the conversation but said her teacher would probably...

A simple Instagram post from Halle Berry which was meant to be empowering resulted in a series of clapbacks from the legendary actress. The  Sunday post in question was a text photo reading, "Women don't owe you s**t" with a caption that read “& that’s on Mary had a little lamb."Berry had the time that day to address the haters in the comment section who criticized her love life throughout the years. Throughout her love life, the Catwoman actress has been married three times including to David Justice from 1993 to 1997 and Eric Benét from 2001 to 2005 .“Says the woman who can’t keep a man,” one person by the name of @PhiBadBoy68 commented, according to Harper's Bazaar. “Who said I wanted to keep them? I’m all about living your best life,” the 54-year-old wrote in response. “If you make a wrong move, course correct and re-spin and start again!”Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Berry has had to come to her own defense in the comment section regarding love, sex and relationships. From the pregnancy rumors circulating around the internet in 2017 to her previous relationships with heartthrobs Shemar Moore and Their Eyes Were Watching God co-star Michael Ealy, Berry has always made a point to unapologetically make her own choices as a grown woman in the industry. More recently, according to ET Canada, Berry clapped back at actress LisaRaye McCoy for suggesting that she was bad in bed on her "Cocktails with Queens" show on FOX Soul. "Ask my man," Berry responded via Twitter while tagging singer Van Hunt's handle.Ms. @TheRealLRaye1, ask my my man @vanhunt he’ll tell ya all y'all need ta know. 😂 https://t.co/ozoUtmFEH3— Halle Berry (@halleberry) November 25, 2020Throughout the multitude of negative comments, there were a few about the superstar actress’ marital status and previous court cases surrounding custody and child support agreements for her now 12-year-old daughter Nahla, as reported by Complex. Nahla’s father is model Gabriel Aubry.“As for child support I feel I can speak on it as I’ve been paying it for a decade now. I feel if a woman or man is having to pay support that is way more than the reasonable needs to help SUPPORT the child, I think that is wrong!” the Oscar-winning star clapped back in the comments section. “I understand some parents (man or woman) may need help, but I also feel that in these modern times both men and women have the responsibility to financially take care of their children and work hard and make every effort to do so.” Aubry, 45, and Berry dated between 2005 and 2010, and their daughter was born in 2008. Berry, who is reportedly dating Hunt, was rumored be ordered by the courts to pay Aubry $16,000 a month. As of 2014, she filed court documents to reduce the amount to $3,800, according to The U.S. Sun.In addition to her daughter Nahla, Berry is a mother to her son Maceo Robert Martinez. Maceo, 7, is the son from her previous marriage with Olivier Martinez. Berry will be making her directorial debut in Netflix’s Bruised later this...

A 4-year-old is winning hearts all over the internet with a video of her speaking her mind and making a melody of a phrase that runs through most minds on a weekly basis, at the least.Video of Milan Marie rhythmically proclaiming, "I want you to leave me alone," has amassed over 237,000 views on its original Instagram post.Milan's mom, Jovan Phillips-Lloyd, was able to catch the candid moment with all the falsettos, runs and passion of the little girl's voice. Phillips-Lloyd called her daughter's vocal masterpiece a “banger.” Milan has always been chock full of personality and has been singing since she first had the ability to talk, 6ABC Philadelphia reported.The little girl is no stranger to the spotlight especially since her Instagram page, which is managed by her mother, has over 370,000 actively engaged followers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Milan Marie - Mini Influencer (@lovemilanmarie)Milan is constantly making up her own melodies to her own beat in the backseat of her mother’s car, according to Good Morning America.“She's always added her own melody and sang with so much heart," Phillips-Lloyd told Popsugar. "When she turned three, I began to see a change in her made-up songs where she would add more of her own lyrics, and you could tell she actually knew what she was trying to say and sing."Taraji P. Henson was impressed by Milan, too. The Empire actress posted the video of the self-proclaimed “mini influencer” to her own Instagram page, where it received over a million views. “It’s the vibrato for me!!!” Henson wrote in the post's caption. “SHE IS A BIG MOOD!!!”Other celebrities and influencers such as Janet Mock, Erica Campbell, Tamar Braxton and Regina King commented on Henson's post applauding Milan.“Its the shoulder roll for me. If y'all see me hit the subtle shoulder roll you know I want the mofo in my face to "LEAVE ME THE F**K ALONE,” King commented on the...

Visual artist Melody You is making waves among Hollywood stars and online fans alike by creatively reimagining the album art of famous musicians as receipts on Instagram.In an interview with Hypebae, You detailed her journey to viral stardom due to the popularity of her Instagram platform, @albumreceipts. Since the spring, with the coronavirus sheltering most of the country to the confines of their homes, she has been remixing the discographies of artists by redesigning the track list of albums onto an infamous piece of paper people usually trash or scrap.According to Asian news publication Bandwagon, her Instagram account gained over 93,000 followers in the span of three...

Facebook has admitted to censoring posts tagged with #EndSARS following thousands of complaints from Instagram users, including Kelly Rowland, who shared photos of their content either being blocked out or tagged with a note saying it was "false information," according to Vice News and Al Jazeera.Instagram is wrongly censoring posts about Nigeria #EndSARS protests, labeling info about police violence "false information."Many users reported problems, including activists and celebrities like Kelly Rowland. A Facebook rep told @VICE it is working to fix the issue. pic.twitter.com/JJf1g5MrkM— AJ+ (@ajplus) October 22, 2020 Nigerians across the internet and many others have spent the last few weeks raising awareness about the #EndSARS movement that has evolved into a massive protest effort against police brutality and impunity in Nigeria. #EndSARS, a reference to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad within the Nigerian Police Force, has been trending for weeks as the peaceful protests have grown and the response from police has been increasingly violent. Earlier this week, security forces shot at protesters as Blavity previously reported. As people continue to spread awareness about the crisis, many have found that when they post about the protests on Instagram, their posts are either being censored or flagged as false. "We are aware of an issue where some posts in support of #EndSARS are being incorrectly flagged as false in our systems. We are working quickly to resolve this,” a Facebook spokesperson told VICE News.But thousands of people were still reporting that their posts were being censored if they included anything about the protests or added the #EndSARS...

Nearly two weeks ago, thousands of Twitter fingers co-signed a high school senior's tweet urging former President Barack Obama to deliver a virtual national commencement speech for the graduating class of 2020. Although the former Illinois senator has yet to make any decisions regarding the request, Facebook announced Tuesday morning that another famous, adopted Chicagoan will be presenting the commencement address for this year's graduating class who will be unable to enjoy the pomp and circumstance of a formal graduation ceremony due to social distancing measures. The event, titled "#Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020," will take place on May 15. According to a Facebook bulletin, Oprah Winfrey has agreed to present the virtual commencement address and will join other celebrities in giving words of wisdom to graduating high school and college seniors. The list of celebrities includes Lil Nas X, Simone Biles and actress Awkwafina. Miley Cyrus will also give a live performance of her single "The Climb." Marne Levine, vice president of global partnerships and corporate development for Facebook, noted in the event’s announcement that graduation is a special celebration that has been stripped away from students during these trying times. “As students head toward graduation, it’s not the day they might have imagined — no processions, no diploma handoffs, no parties,” Levine wrote in the bulletin. “But graduating is a tremendous achievement, and worth pausing to celebrate even in these circumstances.”However, in a lot of ways, Facebook might stand to benefit the most from the large influx of viewers and engagement the event is projected to garner, as most of the country is adhering to social distancing guidelines at home. The social media giant is also allowing graduates to host their own virtual ceremonies and parties via the Facebook app, with special features including a virtual graduation hub stocked with custom filters. Facebook and Instagram are set to launch other programming and features in the week leading up to the 2020 graduation livestream.According to the event release, Instagram will begin to host daily programming that covers graduates’ experiences, like dances, senior pranks and picture day. Instagram also will issue new in-app creative tools and features that include the custom hashtag #Graduation2020, stickers and new augmented reality effects. Both Facebook and Instagram Stories will be launching a graduation theme for music stickers, chock-full of graduation songs to use in posts. Individual segments will broadcast via Instagram and from various contributors’ social media accounts. During the ceremony, spotlights will be shined on various high schools and colleges in the U.S., with individual institutional features and messages from principals and...

April 12 may have been Easter Sunday, but all Lizzo was trying to resurrect was her famous twerking skills.The only thing that got in the way of the singer and dancer's mission was Diddy. The two artists collided on Sunday during Diddy's Instagram Live party, where he was hosting the "world's biggest dance-a-thon" to raise money for healthcare workers during the coronavirus outbreak.According to ET, Lizzo was one of the celebrities who joined the party, along with others such as Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez. Diddy was off-screen for a minute while his sons danced in front of the camera. But when Lizzo started to bust a move to MoneyBagg Yo's “1 2 3," Diddy immediately came back into the picture and jumped in front of his sons."Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he told Lizzo. "Stop the music. It's Easter Sunday, let's play something a little more family-friendly."   The dancer, who has been known to twerk on various stages, including the Staples Center, was immediately apologetic. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! Let's do something fun. Well, don't play that kind of... play something I can bop to," she said before suggesting her own song "Juice."Diddy shutdown Lizzo but not Draya. 🔥pic.twitter.com/BXGcop6YJG— ™️Marcus (@TheMisterMarcus) April 13, 2020Fans weren't happy with Diddy, calling him out for later letting model Draya Michele twerk without issue."These mfers were fine with a slim woman twerking, but 5 seconds into lizzo doing the same thing and suddenly it’s a f**king crime," one Twitter user said. these mfers were fine with a slim woman twerking but 5 seconds into lizzo doing the same thing and suddenly it’s a fucking crime pic.twitter.com/g8pQkOGyBL— will (@APESHITWILL) April 13, 2020"Diddy letting Draya twerk, but telling Lizzo issa 'family show' is some grade A fat phobic bulls**t," another Twitter user said.Diddy letting Draya twerk but telling Lizzo issa "family show" is some grade A fat phobic bullshit... pic.twitter.com/CkDnXR2c5u— Big Girl Slay 💋 (@Biggirlslay) April 13, 2020With Lizzo trending on social media, some fans used the opportunity to enjoy more of her dancing. Lizzo is trending because people are plus-size phobic idiots. anyway stream Juice ✨ pic.twitter.com/sP00z9slAT— 𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙯𝙤 (@hizzonation) April 13, 2020As usual, Twitter's meme reactions were on point. Lizzo: Ya'll wanna see me twerking Diddy: pic.twitter.com/1NpCqebRw7— J (@JDab113) April 13, 2020Lizzo: Imma shake it... Diddy: pic.twitter.com/16zXCBIzZe— Mars (@_Marz101) April 13, 2020Diddy later responded to the anger on social media.“When I stopped the music, it’s because it had a lot of curses in there, not cuz she was twerking. She’s one of the best twerkers in the world,” he said.Mind you, Michele danced to Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up," another rather explicit song, and was met with a "Yo, Draya, we're proud of that. You killed that," from Diddy. Diddy on stopping Lizzo: “When I stopped the music, it’s because it had a lot of curses in there, not cuz she was twerking. She’s one of the best twerkers in the world.” pic.twitter.com/tRl2cEZshL— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 13, 2020Last month, Lizzo accused TikTok of body shaming after the social media platform deleted a video of her dancing in a bikini, as Blavity previously reported. “Tiktok keeps taking down my videos of me in my bathing suits,” she said. “But allows other videos with girls in bathing suits. I wonder...

What are you doing to manage your anxiety? According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, some  helpful solutions include exercising, getting adequate sleep and volunteerism. In light of COVID-19 drastically changing the ways with which everyone navigates life, we wanted to give you free game. We've compiled a list of 11 Instagram accounts to put your anxiety at ease during this difficult...

Families across the nation are being forced to get creative while practicing social distancing at home with their loved ones. Actress Halle Berry thought to bring some laughter into her household by allowing her son to dress in a pair of high-heeled boots inside the house.In a video posted to Instagram, her son, 6-year-old Maceo, donned a set of plaid pajamas with white knee-high boots a few sizes too big as he attempted to make his way up a set of stairs.  View this post on Instagram #Quarantine Day 12 🥴A post shared by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on Mar 24, 2020 at 11:38am PDTHer video, intended for laughter, didn't sit too well with some of her fans, causing people to bash her. The mother of two hopped in her comments, defending her decision. “[This is] harmless fun. It’s tight on these kids right now. Let’s have a laugh and some compassion yawl!” she wrote. “Tryna survive right now, You feel me?”The Oscar-winning actress has been an ally for the LGBTQ community, saying that she took her son to a Los Angeles, California, pride festival, Us Weekly reports. The 53-year-old said she teaches her children the importance of acceptance during an interview with Us Weekly in 2019.“My job is to bring him down here, let him experience the love, the unity and discover on his own what this is all about,” she said. “I think that’s what my job is. It’s not to mind-lead, it’s to lead an experience.”In 2019, during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that triggered the LGBTQ rights movement, Berry posted a picture of herself on Instagram with a rainbow streak across the photo."Standing tall for everyone to have the right to live and love out loud! Happy Pride, everyone!" she captioned the picture.The actress also found herself in mid-smooch with The Chi creator Lena Waithe during a taping for Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the director asked for some words of encouragement. Before beginning her opening monologue, Waithe said she was "a little nervous" and needed help getting "psyched up.""Like that Oscars speech you gave [in 2002], that got me hyped, ok? I need you to give me some of that Halle Berry juice," Waithe said.The veteran actress appeared on stage beside Waithe and gave some inspiring words."I know that you are a force of nature," Berry said."You are a beautiful African American queen going after everything that is hers. And, Lena, tonight you are a writer, an actor, a producer, and tonight you are a late-night comedian and you're about to slay," she added before leaning in for a kiss.Berry has boldly shared her stance alongside the LGBTQ community and seems to be raising up children who feel free to express themselves however they...

Taye Diggs had some hilarious, but important, words for "certain white" gym members who refuse to clean up after themselves.In a fun Instagram video, Diggs said he was disgusted when he saw that dirty towels covered the floor of the luxury gym he goes to.  View this post on Instagram 🤷🏾‍♂️A post shared by Taye Diggs (@tayediggsinsta) on Mar 10, 2020 at 9:24am PDT“I have been blessed enough to afford to work out at a luxury gymnasium, but alas there is a problem. I don’t mean to make this about race, and I do believe we should all get along, but there are white people, certain white people, in my locker room that refuse to pick up their soiled towels," Diggs said while driving."They leave them strewn about, willy nilly…on the counters, on the floors and on the benches. Dare I say, the steam room where I enjoy frequenting. So I ask you white people, were you raised in a barn?” Diggs added.The 49-year-old actor, best known for his work in Brown Sugar and The Best Man, made his comments in a British accent."Did you not have mothers and fathers that taught you to pick up after yourselves? Or are you in fact just lazy, spoiled, forgetful honkeys? Excuse my language. Pick up your damn towels! I don’t work for you, and the people who work for the gymnasium have enough to do. Pick up your damn towels, whities! Pick ‘em up!” he yelled. Some people in the comments noted that despite his criticism of "whities," his ex-wife Idina Menzel is white and he has frequently dated white women in the past.In 2018, he made controversial comments on Van Lathan's The Red Pill podcast, where he said he resented Black women for shaming his interracial relationship, as Blavity previously reported. “When I was 13, I was reading a magazine and there was a picture of a Black woman and I said, ‘Oh, she’s pretty, I want to marry her.’ And my mom said, ‘Oh honey, you’re going to marry a white woman.’ It hurt my feelings but she was right,” Diggs said. “Even though you understand the logic, I don’t know if I can mess with a white girl now. I feel like I’ve had to deal with that so long it's changed what I think I like, what I’m attracted to. It’s not where my eyes gravitate to naturally,” he continued.After his comments, his Black was revoked and as always, Twitter roasted him for the comments.Y’all shamed Taye Diggs into dating in his own race 😭😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/a4H7Z1tOYR— Akeem The Dream (@IcebergAk) February 27, 2018We dont care— jiggaman (@jiggyjayy2) February 27, 2018pic.twitter.com/FGwMgHsQ2v— Just Jade (@Jadie_Padie) February 27, 2018It's clear that some Black women aren't really here for Diggs' revelations, especially when it comes to...