Facebook Announces Name Change Amid Controversies

Facebook is dead! Long live Fac... err Meta!

You heard the man-bot, right kiddos? After 17 years of representing the best of what it is to be a bleeding-edge multimedia platform, — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is rebranding itself as Meta.

The name change is in no way an effort to distance the platform from the increasingly bad press generated by its refusal or inability to deal with its sex-trafficking problem, hate-feuling algorithms or less than perfect privacy practices.

Zuckerberg instead insists that it is an effort to encompass his companies virtual-reality vision of the future. 

"I believe the metaverse is the next chapter of the Internet, and it's the next chapter of our company too," he said, adding, "While most tech companies focus on how people could connect to technology, we focus on building technology so people could connect with each other."  

Today we're introducing Meta, which brings together our apps and technologies under a new company brand. Learn more about how we’re helping build the metaverse and other news from Connect. https://t.co/6s3GKjWq4S

— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) October 28, 2021

So what is the metaverse? Unless you're already working Big Blue or one of its digital brethren like Google, there's no simple explanation. But, in his founder's letter, Zuckerberg likened it to an immersive version of the internet, "where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it," adding, "The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place. Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. That is why we are focused on building this."

Dave Chappelle Drops Instagram Video to Defend Himself Amid Controversy Over 'The Closer'

Photo Credit: @davechappelle Instagram

Dave Chappelle dropped a five-minute clip on Instagram to defend himself from the controversy surrounding his latest Netflix release "The Closer" on Monday, which critics have called transphobic and attempted to have removed from the streaming platform.

In the video he denies being invited to speak to transgender employees at Netflix, hundreds of which staged a walkout because of the special, and refusing to do so saying, “If they had invited me, I would have accepted. Although I am confused about what we would be speaking about. I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. It seems like I’m the only one who can’t go to the office anymore.”

Chapelle went on to say, “I’m more than willing to give you an audience, but you will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody’s demands.”

He noted that the meeting would not come without conditions, however, adding that he had three: anyone participating had to watch "The Closer" in its entirety, he would choose the time and place, and “you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.”

Gadsby, an Australian comedian who also works with Netflix, likely drew Chapelle's ire when she criticized Netflix for defending Chappelle and the content of his special earlier in the month.

He went on to say that his "cancellation" was affecting a project close to his heart, insisting that his documentary "Untitled" was being dropped from film festivals, though he did not list which ones.

To circumvent this and get the project, produced and directed by Oscar and Emmy-winning filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar and which claims to provide a" glimpse into the challenges facing a rural village in Ohio during the early days of the pandemic," to the masses Chapelle said he is taking the film on a 10-city screening tour.

“You will be able to see this movie in its entirety, and you can see what they’re trying to obstruct you from seeing,” Chappelle said of the film. “And you can judge for yourself, but you cannot have this conversation and exclude my voice from it. That is only fair.”

Watch the entire video below:

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Megan Thee Stallion Teases Upcoming College Graduation on Instagram

Photo Credit: @thestallion Instagram

Summer may be over, but that doesn't mean rapper Megan Thee Stallion has given up doing "Hot girl s---!"

The 26-year-old rapper, whose viral single "Hot Girl Summer" helped catapult her to superstardom in 2019, took to Instagram Monday to announce her impending college graduation from Texas Southern University with a degree in health administration.

Posting with her graduation cap, adorned with the words "Real hot girl s---", the three-time Grammy winner wrote, "2021 finna graduate collegeeee. Taking my graduation pics today. I can't wait for y'all to see."

The milestone is just the latest in a long list of victories for the artist, born Megan Pete, who grew up in Houston, Texas, on and off the mic. Earlier this year she became a Popeyes franchisee and signed a deal that included a co-branded merchandise line as well as debuting her own "Hottie Sauce" and making a six-figure donation to Houston Random Acts of Kindness — a charity group that aims to help those in need, including children with special needs and veterans.

Still, this may be her most important accomplishment. In 2020 she told PEOPLE, "I want to get my degree because I really want my mom to be proud." Holly Pete died in 2019 after a battle with brain cancer but not before seeing the beginning of her daughter's journey.

"She saw me going to school before she passed," said Megan, whose father died when she was a teenager

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