When I was younger, I had dreams. What they were doesn't matter now for that time has come and gone; but my parents didn't give me the support for my dreams. My father wanted me to fail, my mother wanted me to be a lawyer. I had other dreams and desires but found support nowhere. Oh I'm not mad at my parent for I didn't get support anywhere else. I had no friends because being Black and I know I'm gonna' catch some flack for this; but Black people are some of the worst people out there. While growing up I didn't do that streetwise slickster bullshit; I was introspective and bookish and other Blacks HATED that! I grew up in one of the most racist cities in America, and though ironically my best friend in the world was white, he was the only one ever. It was just crazy how miserable some people tried to make me! It's like Black people thought it good to be inhumane, insensitive, and incorrigible. They got a lugh out of that bullshit and thought it some kind of damned sport to push someone to the limits of their patience. This is why there are so many killings in the African American community. And it's interesting that it was just the beginning of it for me! I have walked through miles and miles of hell trying to find my way and deal with life as it was presented to me. I started to writing as a relief coz' it was just too much for me and it is just something to But you see in America, a Black man isn't allowed to be sensitive, introspective, and possesing true emotions for these racist sob's out there try hard to portray Black people as animals! We're not human is the bullshit they want to press, when really it's them who are the fuckin' animals! I can't have feelings, heartaches, and dreams. It's really a shame. The thing that really hurt is the fact that I got absolutely no support for what I wanted to do with my life. Now I am just a man with unfulfilled aspirations dreams and much sadness in my heart. I know God will one day raise me back up but for now the disappointments really sting.
This is why I suggest to all to listen to your kids and help guide them along. You never know. I have so many disappointments and so much anger that I can trace all the way back to my childhood and negative encounters with racist whites and their evil bullshit. As bad as my people are many of these whites are the sons and daughters of saatan himself and many of them dwell in new york chicago and other big cities. They're not just in the south anymore! But try an be an inspiration to your children rather than break their hearts and dash their dreams. You don't want your kids to be halfway through their lives and go to looking back saying 'man what if!'
Ja Rule announced that attendees of the first-ever Fyre Festival in the Bahamas have safely returned home after the event was postponed indefinitely when guests arrived to chaotic conditions.
“Relieved to share that all guest are safe, and have been sent the
form to apply for a refund,” the co-creator of music festival that was
billed as the next Coachella wrote. “Our deepest apologies…”
The inaugural event, which the rapper co-created with business
partner Billy McFarland, was touted as a unique, multi-day luxury music
and arts festival with celebrity chef-catered meals and impressive
accommodations. Tickets ranged from $1,500 to $12,000, with those who
bought VIP passes getting access to a yacht.
In reality, however, the festival appeared to be half-finished when
attendees started arriving on Friday and many bands — including
headliner Blink 182 — had dropped out of the lineup. Festival-goers shared images on social media of their disappointing meals — cheese splayed on bread with a small salad for dinner
— and their accommodations, which were little more than relief tents
and mattresses. Attendees also complained about the lack of services and
overall chaos involved in trying to get to the actual festival.
Noam Galai/WireImage
Ja Rule previously insisted the “luxury concert” was not a scam despite the sub-par accommodations.
“We are working right now on getting everyone of [sic] the island
SAFE that is my immediate concern,” he wrote in a tweet on Friday. “I
will make a statement soon I’m heartbroken at this moment my partners
and I wanted this to be an amazing event it was NOT A SCAM as everyone
is reporting I don’t know how everything went so left but I’m working to
make it right by making sure everyone is refunded.”
He continued: “I truly apologize as this is NOT MY FAULT… but I’m
taking responsibility I’m deeply sorry to everyone who was
inconvenienced by this…”
This isn’t the first poorly executed business venture from Ja Rule
and his business partner, McFarland. The pair previously founded
Magnises, an “elite credit” card that had a $250 annual fee for
discounted access to exclusive events — but customers claim that the
card never delivered on the perks it was advertising.
She
has been lambasted by fans for her promotional support for the failed
Fyre Festival but looks like this star and her rumored love adhere to
the saying 'when the going gets tough, the tough get shopping'.
Kendall Jenner and A$AP Rocky shopped her troubles away along with pals Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin on Sunday.
The
21-year-old model and the 28-year-old rapper have yet to confirm their
romance but one thing is for sure they share a passion for fashion.
+17
Shopping up a storm: Kendall Jenner and A$AP Rocky shopped her troubles away at Balenciaga in New York on Sunday
Kendall Jenner set aside some time for a
little retail therapy as she joined her rumored boyfriend ASAP Rocky at a
Balenciaga boutique in Manhattan.
Always dressed to impress the leggy model
looked casually cool in a cable knit sweater and cropped jeans. On her
feet was a pair of white patent leather ankle boots with a partially
sheer ombre heel.
They're by Kurt Geiger, a British footwear
brand that counts Beyonce, Jennifer Lawrence and Jada Pinkett Smith as
fans. These beauties have a retro vibe that we absolutely adore but
unfortunately they're sold out in white.
No problem because you can get them in black
with a click of the link opposite. But if you want to stick to the ivory
hue, see below for alternatives.
The model appeared to help the rapper with a pair of shoes, bending down to get a better look.
For
their shopping expedition, Kendall dressed in a rather conservative
look of high waisted tailored pants and a cropped knit sweater.
+17
+17
Retail crew: The rumoured coupled were joined by pals Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin
+17
Decisions, decisions: A$AP appeared to be having a more successful day than Kendall, picking out a few items to try
The sweater had unusual strips of knotted material flowing from the sleeves.
The look was certainly a lot more covered up than the one she rocked on Instagram the day before.
The
21-year-old posted a topless snap of herself wearing just a pair of
jeans, a hat and some bright orange thigh highs from the Vetements X
Manolo Blahnik collaboration.
+17
New job? The model appeared to help the rapper with a pair of shoes, bending down to get a better look
+17
+17
Scandal!
Kendall and fellow shopping mates Hailey Baldwin and Bella Hadid have
been under fire since Friday as they helped promoted the doomed Fyre
Festival in the Bahamas
+17
Background: The high-priced
festival was cancelled after guests arrived to find the island location
not fit for habitation and performers also started pulling out
A$AP meanwhile, wore some embellished plaid pants with a Himumimdead denim jacket and Vans sneakers.
Kendall
and fellow shopping mates Hailey Baldwin and Bella Hadid have been
under fire since Friday as they helped promoted the doomed Fyre Festival
in the Bahamas.
The high-priced
festival was cancelled after guests arrived to find the island location
not fit for habitation and performers also started pulling out.
+17
It's called fashion, look it
up: For their shopping expedition, Kendall dressed in a rather
conservative look of high waisted jeans and a cropped knit sweater
+17
+17
+17
Hello, gorgeous: Kendall's white leather boots featured stylish wooden heels
+17
Garnishing the look: She'd accessorized with round sunglasses and gleaming hoop earrings
+17
Cool kid: A$AP meanwhile, wore some embellished plaid pants with a Himumimdead denim jacket and Vans sneakers
While
Kendall and Hailey have remained silent, Bella took to Twitter to
express concern about those left stranded at the festival site.
The
model said: 'Even though this was not my project what so ever, nor was I
informed about the production or process of the festival in any shape
or form, I do know that it has always been out of great intent and they
truly wanted all of us to have the time of our lives.
'I
initially trusted this would be an amazing & memorable experience
for all of us, which is why I agreed to do one promotion…not knowing
about the disaster that was to come…
+17
Oh la la: The previous day, the
21-year-old posted a topless snap of herself wearing orange thigh highs
from the Vetements X Manolo Blahnik collaboration
+17
Don't listen to the
hype: Kendall and fellow shopping mates Hailey Baldwin and Bella Hadid
have been under fire since Friday as they helped promoted the doomed
Fyre Festival
'I feel so sorry
and badly because this is something I couldn’t stand by, although of
course if I would have known about the outcome, you would have all known
too.'
Co-creator of the festival Ja
Rule has denied the event was a scam and on Sunday confirmed those who
shelled out thousands of dollars will be refunded.
He
tweeted: 'Relieved to share that all guest[s] are safe, and have been
sent the form to apply for a refund. Our deepest apologies...
#fyrefestival.'
+17
Sorry! While Kendall and Hailey
have remained silent, Bella took to Twitter to express concern about
those left stranded at the festival site
You know, I don't know the whole story behind Mary J and her marriage, but I'm getting tired of hearing from women that cheating is the worst crime ever He cheateed! So what?!!? Here are some worse things that can happen! Beating you, kicking you, and physically hurting you, stealing from you or something, abusing your kids, or killing you or one of your kids these are worse things. I feel you having a baby out of wedlock was the worst thing ever for you were a very bad example for other young ladies out there who thought it was alright to get pregnant by a man they're not married too thus depriving a child of a proper family and home, coz their hero Mary J. Blige did it and she's alright; so you need to shut up about 'he cheated!'' bullshit! You were irresponsible and brought a kid into this world without being married and providing him with a proper home to grow up in and thrive in! So you cheated! You're supposed to have the baby AFTER you get married!!! Cheating, get over it! If you were the most beautiful woman in the world a man is still gonna' want another woman. You women need to abandon this stupid fantasy that a man will only want you in his life! Not gonna' happen! If it bothers you that much, go out and get you another guy. Breaking up a family because of 'cheating' is selfish and stupid! Keep your girlfriends out of your business and learn how to live with your man coz' prince charming is where he belongs; on the pages of fairytales. Learn how to get along with each other for it ain't gonna' be no damned rose garden everyday!
And men, I'm not saying you got a license to cheat; I'm just saying women need to quit judging and trying to run the relationship and decide what 'offense' is the greatest and all that shit. You really shouldn't cheat but be mindful you took a vow before God to be good and faithful to her. You need to take it seriously or think it through carefully before you make it. Temptation will always be there and you shouldn't be judged for making some mistakes. You shouldn't keep making mistakes though just as women shouldn't keep having children out of wedlock. There's enough sins to go around. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. he will be back but just keep on resisting.
Mary J. Blige Talks Divorce & 'Strength of a Woman' Album on NPR
Mary J. Blige attends a Meet and Geet and Interview for Streetz 94.5 at 94.5 Studio on April 26, 2017 in Atlanta.
With Mary J. Blige's new album Strength of a Woman set to drop tomorrow (April 28), the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul sat down with NPR to discuss her failed marriage, overcoming adversity in the music industry, and more in her exclusive interview.
The demise of Blige's marriage will be the central theme of her upcoming album. After being married for 13 years with Kendu Isaacs, the couple split due to irreconcilable differences. Blige candidly spoke about her song "Thick of It" and how the recording process nearly broke her down.
"This
song was originally written about me fighting for my marriage," said
Blige. "The lyrics were completely different, and it was saying things
like, "We just don't give up when we're in the thick of it." And then
with all of this happening, it was hard to go back to the studio and do
it, but I had to do it, in order to -- how can I say it? -- get free,
because my music is therapeutic to me as well. And if I don't write
about it and if I don't sing about where I am in my life, I won't start a
healing process."
Blige also delved into the downside of being in the
music industry. "It's the business," she said. "When it looks like
you're not doing as well, or you're getting older on top of not doing
well as how you used to do, they just start counting you out."
Though
Blige admitted to having difficulty overcoming life's hurdles, she says
her struggles molded her into who she is today. "It's hard, it's a
responsibility being Mary J. Blige," she said. "I wouldn't trade it
-- but the trials and tribulations I could do without. If I could do it
without the trials -- but those are the things that make us or break us.
And, in my case, I'm not going to be broken."
Last month, Blige released her empowering single "Love Yourself" with Kanye West. Strength of a Woman will include guest appearances by DJ Khaled, Missy Elliot, Quavo, Kaytranada, and Prince Charles.
You can read the full interview with NPRhere.
(CNN)It's doubtful anyone would think that Lolo Jones was made of anything but the sternest stuff.
The 34-year-old native of Des Moines, Iowa, is one of the few athletes to have competed at both Summer and Winter Olympic Games -- an impressive feat in itself.
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But
that's before mentioning she transitioned from competing as a hurdler
to appearing in bobsled events where she hurtles down an ice track at
speeds close to 100 miles per hour (161 kph).
"There's nothing I can tell anyone for their first trip down a bobsled track," Jones told CNN.
"It
was honestly like I was stuffed inside a metal trash can and thrown off
a mountain. It's a lot of noise, you're getting banged up inside the
sled.
Lolo Jones swapped the track for 100mph speeds 'inside a metal trash can.'
"But
you learn to appreciate certain elements of it and, man, I'll
definitely be able to tell my kids one day: 'I am a tough chick.'"
After
an injury-hit summer on the track, in which she pulled out of the US
Olympic trials, Jones has fulfilled her first bobsled dates of the
season and is now preparing for more competition in Europe over the
winter months.
Face to face with Lolo Jones05:58
The
International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation World Cup tour event
in Lake Placid, New York, was also her first competitive outing in the
sled since appearing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Yet she's reluctant to choose which sport she prefers.
"Hurdling
I have more control because, you know (it) is an individual sport and I
have to do a lot within that race, you know individual adjustments,"
she says.
"But bobsled I just have
to be the most powerful, fastest athlete at the top. Once I'm in the
bobsled, because I'm the brake man, I do nothing.
"A
lot of people ask me what I do in a bobsled and I'm like 'pray, read a
book.' I mean, I'm doing nothing until the finish line and then I pull
the brake."
She
was favored for gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but stumbled at the
second last hurdle in the 100-meter hurdles final when victory seemed
certain.
The London Games four years later saw her just miss out on a medal when she finished fourth. Her bid to compete at Rio 2016 was hampered by a hamstring injury -- her last race before July's trials was in February.
Lolo Jones: Not my job to sell papers 01:40
But
there have been many successes in Jones' career as well, including
world indoor championship gold for the 60-meter hurdles in 2008 and
2010.
She also picked up a gold
medal in the combined bobsled-skeleton team event at the 2013 world
championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
"I
know that failure and losing is a major setback and it hurts you. There
are so many times when I'm just like '(I) might be done, I quit,' Jones
says.
"But then, I take a day or two and I can take away something from that. Then I use that to eventually win.
"When
I'm talking to younger generations I'm like: 'You lost this race, you
didn't achieve your goal but that doesn't mean you can't.' My first time
I tried to make an Olympic team I failed miserably.
"Now, I sit here as a three-time Olympian and one of the few athletes to go to a Summer and Winter Olympics.
"Just because you fail doesn't mean you always will continue to do so. You just have to use it all as momentum and get better."
'Breaking down barriers
Jones is an advocate for greater female participation in sport.
She is an ambassador for the ASICS Extra Mile campaign, which promotes self-confidence and healthy lifestyles for young girls through running.
Skiing's most successful 'bromance'03:10
This work is important to her given she started out in track and field with a pair of donated running shoes.
But at the highest level, some barriers remain for women which she feels are important to break down.
"I
think for female athletes in sports, it's evolving. For so many years,
we didn't have actually the chance to compete. And there's still areas
where we are trying to break through, even in the bobsled," Jones says.
"People
ask me every day, 'Are you on the four-man bobsled team?' Right now,
women in the Olympics are only allowed to compete in the two-man.
B.B. King the world's greatest blues singer's kids are still fighting
ovet the money they think he had and may have had. His manager claims
that it isn't as much as people think. The problem is, she could be
right. BB King should have hundreds of millions of dollars left behind,
but Black artists were cheated so badly in the early days it just may
not be there. Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Bobby Womack are examples of
Black artists who made hundreds of millions of dollars but were ripped
off by white managers and white corporations. Even James Brown and Bob
Marley can tell this tale . It's only aftr the Prince's and Michael
Jackson's came along did Black artists start getting a good share of
their profits. I am suspicious of this manager of BB King's but if she
has stolen money it's his children's fault. There is enough of them that
somebody should have went to school and got a degree in business so
they could manage their father's career instead of waiting around for
him to give them some money!! Why didn't they invest in businesses or
start their own careers instead of sitting on their asses waiting for a
handout! If she does makes off with all of the money, serves their lazy
asses right!
B.B. King's Estate War: 15 Kids, 15 Moms and a "Totally Haywire" Fight
The
King of the Blues never contested claims from women during his decades
of touring who came forward saying he was the father of their babies —
even though a low sperm count made it highly unlikely. Now, a year after
his death, as memories of a loving, generous parent slip away, his
descendants go to war in court.
When bluesman B.B. King died last
year, he bequeathed to the world a body of work spanning six decades
that brought joy and comfort to millions. The crooner of "The Thrill Is
Gone" and "Sweet Sixteen" transformed American music, inspiring such
rockers as Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson and Buddy Guy. King was 89 when
he succumbed to congestive heart failure in his Las Vegas home and died
peacefully in his sleep on May 14, 2015.
The year since then has
been decidedly less peaceful. While neither of King's two marriages
resulted in children, he managed to leave behind a vast family: 15 kids
from 15 women. If that family history weren't complex enough, King's
authorized biographer Charles Sawyer wrote in his book, The Arrival of BB King, that doctors found the musician's sperm count too low to conceive children. In 2015, Sawyer told The Guardian
that he had given King the option to remove the reference and that King
declined. Either way, King claimed 15 kids as his own — never disputing
his paternity — and of the 11 who survive, many now are fighting with
King's appointed trustee over his estate, a fortune that family members
tell THR could be worth between $30 million and $40 million
when royalties, asset sales and rights are taken into account. Many of
the kids point to a 2007 will and trust that they claim grant them
generous allowances. But King's longtime business manager, LaVerne
Toney, who is now the legal trustee of King's estate, asserts that she
merely is following a 2014 trust, which names the children but doesn't
provide for them with specific monetary gifts. According to the
trustee's own legal filings in Nevada, King's estate also is far smaller
than the children allege: $5 million and change spread across a few
Wells Fargo bank accounts. But the kids have assembled teams of lawyers
to fight the estate's guardians. The litigation could continue for
years.
While the value of King's estate is the subject of great
contention, observers say it hardly is a case like Michael Jackson's
estate, which has gone up in value roughly $1 billion since the
enigmatic singer's death. In King's case, he wrote few of his hits, sold
records for decades to a segregated America and made deals at a time in
which black artists were hardly paid handsomely. According to analysis
conducted for this story by Billboard, King's publishing and
recording assets — including his catalog — are valued at roughly $7
million to $8 million, based on Nielsen Music data and consultation with
a financial executive who buys publishing and master recording
catalogs.
Members of King’s family, from left: Willie King, Tanya Deckard, Patty
King, Karen Williams, Barbara King and Rita Washington after a family
viewing at a Las Vegas funeral home on May 21, 2015.
By all
accounts, King loved each of his kids dearly and, while alive,
generously offered financial help. He bankrolled college tuitions,
visited children in prison and set up trust funds. But the equilibrium
he maintained in his family, balancing a frantic touring schedule — he
often played upward of 200 gigs a year — with the needs of his clan,
collapsed when he died. THR has learned that since his death,
three more people have surfaced, claiming King was their father, too.
"My dad told us, 'Even when I'm gone, I'm gonna take care of you.' But
we haven't received a dime since he died," says Riley B. King, B.B.'s
son, 67. "We got a lawyer, and we are trying to fight and get what
belongs to us."
The legal fight began within weeks of King's
death. Then a few children went public with a stunning allegation: Toney
and King's personal assistant, Myron Johnson, had fatally poisoned
King. The accusers had no hard evidence, but investigators ordered an
autopsy report. Police found nothing to support the allegations, and the
suit was dismissed. Johnson then sued the accusing family members
(including his own sister, Karen Williams) for defamation; the outcome
still is pending. These accusations split the family, one side fueling
toxic innuendo about King's fate, the other wincing at the resulting
tabloid headlines. Since then, several children have pursued lawsuits
targeting King's music estate, which remains in dispute. "I saw him work
all his life to take care of the family, and that's what it should have
stayed like," says Shirley King, his eldest daughter. "It got really
bad before he left this earth, and then it just went totally haywire."
View Slideshow
SEE MORE:
B.B. King and His Family in Pictures
•••
The son of sharecroppers, King was raised by his
grandmother on a cotton plantation near Indianola, Miss. His career was
extraordinary — he won 15 Grammys, was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame and sang for President Obama at the White House. Yet the
so-called King of the Blues maintained a modest lifestyle, traveling on a
tour bus and staying at inexpensive hotels.
That this estate
battle has descended into chaos might partly be because of King's broad
concept of family. Humble and full of good cheer, not to mention
talented and famous, King had no shortage of female companions. "That
was a good-looking man," says Shirley. "You spend that much time being
that good-looking, you can get any woman you want." Thousands of gigs
over the years led to countless dalliances from which his children — or
people who claimed to be his children — sprang. "Every time my dad got
more famous, I found out about a new sister," says Shirley. "I was happy
at first, and then nobody gets along, and I stopped being happy."
B.B.'s youngest daughter, Barbara, a hairdresser in Texas who says she's
"between 40 and 60," says her mother hooked up with King when he was
passing through Shreveport, La., for a gig: "He was coming through town,
and here I am."
King’s longtime business manager, Toney (center), entered a Las Vegas courtroom shortly before King’s death in May 2015.
Most
of the children's parenthood stories resemble this. If a woman told him
a child was his, King took her word for it and never looked back. He
remained friendly with many of his children's mothers. "It didn't matter
how we got to be a family, it was that we were a family," says Barbara.
"He made sure we knew he loved us."
Spread thin between his work
and his dispersed family, King still made time for his children. His son
and namesake Riley B. King, who did a five-year stint in prison during
the early 2000s for dealing drugs, says B.B. visited him three times
behind bars. When the two met, father and son would always kiss on the
lips. "People looked at us strange, two men kissing," says Riley, "But
he'd say, 'I love you.' He never missed a birthday. He never missed a
Christmas. We were tight." Barbara King remembers a hard-working but
fun-loving dad who loved watching Westerns, eating soul food and
cheating at his favorite card game, spades. Even children who saw him
intermittently, like Claudette Robinson King, a singer herself, recall
B.B. as being generous with his finances and his good name. "He said,
'Show the gift that God has given you and remember you're B.B King's
daughter,' " she says. "The name means a lot; it opens doors for me."
As
King got older and his health deteriorated, he began to moderate his
generosity, according to his grandson Christopher, a former Marine who
now works as a motivational speaker and entrepreneur. As a kid, he
remembers watching King count out $180,000 in cash on a hotel bed, some
of which he then doled out to family members who needed it. Christopher
says that King wasn't immune to the pain that bickering within the
family caused him. "It upset him sometimes," he says. "He would say:
'It's family, son, period. We gotta take care of the family.' "
Rita Washington (left), one of King’s 15 children, left his funeral on May 23, 2015.
A
diabetic, King began to suffer from hypertension and arthritis. In
2007, he signed over control of his medical care to Toney, who'd worked
by his side for 40 years. Four years later, he gave Toney control over
his business affairs and power of attorney. To Christopher, King began
to worry more about his musical estate's future. "There've been times
when he told me, 'Those that have eaten while I live will not eat when
I'm gone,' " says Christopher. "He was cutting things off little by
little as he got older; he knew he wanted his estate to be flourishing
after he was gone."
Exactly how King wanted his estate divided now is the subject
of ongoing lawsuits. Shortly before his death, Karen Williams filed a
motion in a Las Vegas court to have herself named as her father's legal
guardian, replacing Toney. In her suit, Williams alleged that Toney and
Myron Johnson had abused their positions as King's confidants, resulting
in King's diminished physical condition, the disappearance of hundreds
of thousands of dollars and the theft of personal belongings from one of
King's storage facilities. A suit brought by Williams asserted that
Toney had been "taking Mr. King's assets for her own use or for the use
of her family," according to publicly available documents. The suit also
alleged that Toney was neglecting King medically, stealing money from
his accounts and preventing family from seeing King. The allegations
resulted in two investigations, by the Las Vegas Police Department and
the city's Aging and Disability Services Division. Both found no such
wrongdoing and rejected Williams' claims outright.
Half sisters Patty King (left) and Karen Williams hired attorney
Benjamin Crump (center) and made allegations that their father had been
poisoned.
Meanwhile, Eric Brent Bryson, an attorney
representing Toney, uncovered a publicly available birth certificate
showing that Williams was not biologically related to King at all.
(Williams didn't respond to requests for an interview.) And Myron
Johnson signed a sworn affidavit in support of Toney and against his
sister's allegations. According to court documents, Johnson told the
court that he had "personal knowledge that Karen Williams personally has
previously manipulated Mr. King into giving her money." In court,
Bryson produced affidavits from King's personal physician and dentist
stating that Toney and Johnson always looked out for King's best
interests. "LaVerne denies any type of wrongdoing, and the children were
never able to prove any type of wrongdoing," says Bryson. As for the
allegation about goods stolen out of King's storage facility, Toney
conceded that there was a theft but told the court that King had
insisted she not file a police report because he thought members of his
family might have been responsible.
Some siblings are chagrined
with Karen's tactics. "How are you gonna accuse somebody of murder with
no proof?" asks Christopher. In recent months, however, others have
joined forces to fight Toney because they say King would have wanted his
family taken better care of, especially financially. "LaVerne and Myron
are controlling everything," says Shirley. "They're fighting some of
the kids with my dad's money — how stupid is that?" Adds Barbara: "The
poisoning thing? Yeah, that was a rough time, there was a lot of hurt,
but that situation will be cleared up in the end. We all support and
love each other." Even Christopher, who says he has no beef with Toney,
wants to see the value of the trust revisited. "Five million is nowhere
near what he's worth."
Williams and Patty King touched their father’s hearse in Memphis on May 27, 2015.
•••
All
this chaos has achieved what King apparently tried so hard to avoid: It
"split the family," according to B.B.'s son Riley. One group has banded
together into what Riley and others call a "committee" that they formed
to fight Toney in court. Riley says there are at least "four factions"
fighting with Toney over the estate in various lawsuits (all filed in
Nevada). James King, B.B.'s nephew, says that the fight has broken down
along geographic lines, with an "L.A. crew" mostly backing Toney against
a "Vegas crew" opposing her. Says Riley, "Even though we have different
lawyers, they're corresponding together, working together to put as
much paperwork on LaVerne as they can."
All of which may be a sign
that siblings and family members think Toney will have to cede ground.
Bryson says that Toney, as the "personal representative" of King's
estate, is dutifully carrying out the orders of his last and final will.
Some family members say that King had not one will but two. And of the
two recognized trusts, it remains unclear which one will hold sway in a
court of law. Estate jurisprudence generally holds that the latest
document supersedes earlier versions. But the children say the 2014
trust is flawed because it was finalized when King was nearly blind and
suffering from Alzheimer's-related cognitive impairment and memory loss.
They want the earlier documents to be reviewed and, hopefully, honored.
The legal system may now be giving them a chance. Christopher
King claims that earlier this year a judge agreed to have the 2007 trust
reviewed by a court. "LaVerne got everything," complains Riley King.
"She stole everything." Bryson insists these claims are bogus. "The
children and grandchildren are angry because Mr. King chose not to leave
them a bunch of money," Bryson tells THR. "He gave them a lot
of money over the years and wanted whatever he had left [to] go to
[having] his great-, great-grandchildren educated." In any event, adds
Bryson, King's years of hard work resulted in far less of a fortune than
the kids hope: "It's not anywhere close to what some of the relatives
are asserting."
Shirley King performed at a Las Vegas concert honoring her father in May 2015.
Even
if the earlier documents are reviewed, some King children may still be
unhappy. Only some of his descendants are named in the 2007 trust,
according to King's grandson Christopher, who says he has viewed the
2007 documents. "I think it's very fair," he says, without specifying
exactly who or how many of the children are entitled to how much. "I
want the issue to go away," adds Christopher. "I want him to be able to
really rest in peace and for all of this to be over so we can move on
with other things."
Looking ahead, the possibility of more
claimants emerging can't be ruled out. Some of his kids say that the
King family drama is a cautionary tale. "Maybe if there wasn't so many
kids from so many different parents, it would have been different," says
Shirley. "But all of a sudden my dad was just a bank." Three people
have gotten in touch with Shirley in the past few months claiming a
familial relation: a 72-year-old man who told Shirley that B.B King had
sworn him to silence years ago, a claim she calls preposterous; a much
younger woman from Florida; and then a woman from Detroit who showed up
unexpectedly at a memorial service last year. The last woman apparently
had been trying to contact King for some time, even going so far as to
send him some legal paperwork to prove her claim. But she didn't get
far. King had the last word. "He said to send the paperwork back,"
recalls Shirley, "He wasn't taking no more kids on."
