Former "Empire" star Jussie Smollett said he felt "extremely emasculated" by the outpouring of support he received after he came forward with his assault allegations.In the Netflix documentary "The Truth About Jussie Smollett?," Smollett spoke about the messages he read on social media rallying behind him after he claimed to have been the victim of a racial and homophobic attack in January 2019.The documentary featured a news clip rounding up messages from A-listers like Viola Davis and John Legend, as well as then-former Vice President Joe Biden, who said, "Homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie."FROM JUSSIE SMOLLETT TO BYU, THE MEDIA'S HISTORY OF PEDDLING RACE HOAXESA clip of President Donald Trump's reaction was also included, saying at the time that the alleged attack was "horrible.""There was a moment when I went on social media, and I felt like I was being eulogized," Smollett said. "I felt like I had died, and I was alive to see - and what people were saying was so kind, but it was too much for me.""It made me very uncomfortable, made me very extremely embarrassed. It made me feel extremely emasculated," he continued.Later in the documentary, Smollett attempted to fend off the questions that had swirled around the time of the controversy, including why he refused to hand his phone over to the police, which he said was to hide his drug use, as well as why he was walking around at 2 o'clock in the morning. He claimed he "always did that."JUSSIE SMOLLETT CALLS CHICAGO PD AND RAHM EMMANUEL VILLAINS' WHILE DENYING HATE CRIME HOAXIn the early hours of Jan. 29, 2019, during a historic polar vortex in Chicago, Smollett alleged he was attacked by two MAGA hat-wearing thugs who yelled racial and homophobic slurs at the actor while he was out getting a Subway sandwich, yelling "This is MAGA country!" He claimed the two men assaulted him, poured bleach on him and tied a noose around his neck.The incident was quickly denounced by the left, including then-Sen. Kamala Harris who called the attack a "modern day lynching." The media similarly offered sympathetic coverage. "GMA" anchor Robin Roberts sat down with Smollett for his first interview following the alleged incident, offering minimal skepticism to his claims.CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWSAs it turned out, it was a hoax. Police said Smollett orchestrated the attack, hiring two Nigerian brothers to assault him while wearing red hats. Smollett was later charged and convicted for his crimes against the city of Chicago but was let out of jail just six days into his 150-day sentence.Smollett's conviction was later overturned in 2024, and the actor reached a settlement with the city of Chicago in May. Smollett denied allegations he orchestrated a hate crime and stands by his story.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Saturday Night Live" creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels expressed confidence that NBC's late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are safe after CBS' stunning cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."In an interview with Puck News' Matt Belloni, Michaels said that he was "just stunned" by the Tiffany network's announcement last month that it was pulling the plug on Colbert's late-night program in May. Liberal critics accused CBS of bending the knee to President Donald Trump, while the network insisted it was purely a financial decision.The 80-year-old late-night powerhouse also acknowledged the changing landscape in the industry and how people are increasingly watching clips online and not the TV broadcast, crediting Fallon, who hosts "The Tonight Show," for creating content "you can watch all day."When asked whether he thought there was a political motivation behind CBS' decision to cancel Colbert, Michaels replied, "I dont think any of us are going to ever know that."NEW PARAMOUNT CHIEF BACKS COLBERT CANCELLATION, SAYS LATE-NIGHT LANDSCAPE HAS HUGE PROBLEMBelloni then pivoted to Fallon and Meyers' future at NBC, noting that both of their contracts end in 2028. Michaels also serves as the executive producer of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers," shows whose television ratings fell behind "The Late Show.""Have you been assured by Comcast that the Jimmy and Seth shows are safe for the foreseeable future?" Belloni asked."Yes," Michaels responded. "I think [Comcast CEO] Brian Roberts who I will be working for the rest of my life, who I have very high admiration for has integrity. But at the same time, everyone has [broadcast] licenses, everyone has you know. But I really dont believe that we affect things."FOX NEWS' GREG GUTFELD DELIVERS MASSIVE RATINGS BOOST TO FALLON'S TONIGHT SHOW WITH CROSS-NETWORK APPEARANCE"Even with this president?" Belloni followed."Even with this president," Michaels said. "Whatever crimes Trump is committing, hes doing it in broad daylight. There is absolutely nothing that the people who vote for him or me dont know. You know what I mean? And he is a really powerful media figure. He knows how tohold an audience. Thats a very powerful thing,and I think it was always underestimated. His politics are obviously not my politics, but denouncing [him] doesnt work."Michaels also denied the notion that political comedy "will be tougher" following Paramount and Disney's settlements with Trump over his lawsuits against CBS News and ABC News.The "SNL" veteran later teased that there would be a shake-up of the cast of the forthcoming 51st season of the long-running NBC show, but that cast member James Austin Johnson would continue impersonating Trump.Colbert's cancellation sparked fury among his liberal fans, including Democratic lawmakers, who've suggested that Paramount violated anti-bribery laws. They've tried to tie the company's decision to cancel Colbert to the settlement, which came just days before the FCC approved Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWSHowever, Belloni previously reported Colbert's show had been losing "more than $40 million a year" for CBS and that it had a budget of "more than $100 million per season," contrasting it with the network's daytime and primetime programming, which he noted were "still profitable."

George Mason University violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by illegally using diversity, equity and inclusion practices, the Department of Education announced Friday.The department's Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into the institution's hiring and promotion practices last month following a complaint filed by several of its professors who claimed preferential treatment was given to prospective and current faculty members from "underrepresented groups" to advance "anti-racism."The complaint accused George Mason President Gregory Washington of issuing guidance that prioritized diversity initiatives over qualifications."In 2020, University President Gregory Washington called for expunging the so-called racist vestiges from GMUs campus," Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education Craig Trainor said in a statement. "Without a hint of self awareness, President Washington then waged a university-wide campaign to implement unlawful DEI policies that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race. You can't make this up."TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE STRIKES DOWN ANTI-DEI MEASURES FROM EDUCATION DEPARTMENT"Despite this unfortunate chapter in Mason's history, the University now has the opportunity to come into compliance with federal civil rights laws by entering into a Resolution Agreement with the Office for Civil Rights," he continued. "In the last seven months, this much is clear: The Trump-McMahon Department of Education will not allow racially exclusionary practiceswhich violate the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Protection Clause, and Supreme Court precedentto continue corrupting our nations educational institutions."The Office for Civil Rights proposed a possible resolution to the university's president that includes six conditions to which the institution must agree. The university must agree to the conditions within the next 10 days to resolve the matter.The proposed resolution would require the university to send a statement to students and faculty committing to comply with Title VI in its recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure decisions, and the statement should include a personal apology from the university's president for "promoting unlawful discriminatory practices."GMU BOARD AGREES TO CUT DEI PROGRAMS WHILE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVING RAISE FOR EMBATTLED PRESIDENTThe statement must also be displayed prominently on the university's website and any contrary statements would have to be removed, according to the proposed resolution.The university would need to agree to revise any policies and documents used in its recruitment, hiring, promotion and tenure process and must remove any provisions that require or encourage the use of race as a factor in these practices.The federal government also said George Mason must conduct annual training for anyone involved in these practices to affirm that it would not give preferences based on race.Additionally, the institution must make records demonstrating compliance with the agreement available to the government upon request.George Mason's failure to agree to the proposed resolution could lead to a loss in federal funds.The Trump administration has already pulled funding from several universities, including Harvard, Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles, over discrimination accusations and their handling of alleged antisemitism on campus.Fox News Digital reached out to George Mason for comment.

As photos of so-called "Frankenstein" rabbits and squirrels with strange growths on their heads and bodies have started to pop up on social media, users are now sharing pictures taken of deer with bulbous warts.While the warts, or "fibromas" as theyre called, may look scary, they generally dont affect the deers health unless the growths are around the eyes and mouth, hindering their ability to see and eat and making it harder to move, according to experts.Deer fibromas are caused by an infection and are common in the U.S., the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says on its website, adding that similar diseases affect squirrels and rabbits.WILD RABBITS SPOTTED WITH STRANGE 'HORN-LIKE' GROWTHS SPROUTING FROM THEIR HEADSWhile in captivity it may be possible to remove large growths, there is no effective treatment for deer in the wild, and they should be left alone, the department says."Cutaneous fibromas are hairless tumors found on skin," Mississippi State University said in a previous X post. "This disease is caused by a papilloma-virus that is host-specific. Deer warts occur only on the skins surface and dont penetrate the muscle, so hunters can skin the deer and treat the meat as they would any other deer."DEER CAUGHT ON CAMERA 'THRASHING AROUND' 103-YEAR-OLD WOMANS APARTMENT BEFORE ESCAPING THROUGH GLASS DOORThe warts are "firm, hairless, gray or black in color, can be smooth or rough in texture, as small as peas or as large as footballs, and may grow in clusters," The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says on its website.The department added that the fibromas can be found anywhere on a deers body and they typically "will eventually outgrow their blood supply and fall off."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPPapillomaviruses spread in deer populations through insect bites, "direct contact, or sharing rubbing posts and bedding sites," the department added, noting that the virus is most commonly seen in late summer to early fall "probably due to increased biting insect activity during this time of year."

Virginia leaders from both parties have condemned a racist sign aimed at Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, which was raised during a protest outside a school board meeting where she was speaking.Earle-Sears the Republican nominee in the states gubernatorial race spoke at the Arlington County school board meeting on Thursday, which was reviewing its transgender bathroom policy. Outside the meeting, where a transgender rights rally was being held, a person displayed a racist sign directed at Earle-Sears.The protester's poster, which has gone viral on social media and sparked outrage from across the political spectrum, read: "Hey Winsome, if trans cant share your bathroom, then Blacks cant share my water fountain."POLITICAL ACTIVIST CJ PEARSON SAYS WHITE LIBERALS ARE STARTING TO FEAR THEY'RE LOSING 'POWER' OVER BLACKSGovernor Glenn Youngkin defended Earle-Sears on X on Thursday, blasting what he labeled as the "hypocrisy of the liberal left.""Winsome is so much bigger than this idiocy," Youngkin added.Attorney General Jason Miyares joined in, writing on X: "This is wrong. [Winsome Earle-Sears] and Virginia deserve better."VIRGINIA LT. GOVERNOR ON WHY HER STATE IS AT RISK OF LOSING FEDERAL FUNDING OVER TRANSGENDER BATHROOMSVirginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who is also the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, denounced the poster, saying it evokes the "pain of racism, segregation and Jim Crow-era ugliness.""These sentiments are unacceptable," Hashmi said on X. "We each have a responsibility to move our communities to unity and to reject all forms of bigotry."In a post to X, Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones echoed the other leaders' sentiments, calling the sign a "horrific display of racism."VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICTS SUPPORT FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS' RIGHTS IN GOVERNOR'S RACE SPOTLIGHT"My parents grew up during the height of segregation in America," Jones said. "This horrific display of racism is wrong and unacceptable. It has no place in our communities or politics, period."Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid wrote on X, "Theres no place for hate here in Virginia. This is wrong. Will [Abigail Spanberger] or [Ghazala Hashmi] condemn racist attacks like this?"Sen. Minority Leader Ryan McDougle took to X to write, "The tolerant left strikes again."In an X post, Sen. Schuyler Van Valkenburg wrote: "Two wrongs dont make a right. Been teaching my kids and students that for years. In the age of Trump its easy to get in the gutter. We should insist on betting the better angels of our nature."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPDel. Mike Cherry, R-Chesterfield, said on X: "Wow. Sad."Earle-Sears' opponent, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., also condemned the sign, calling it "racist, abhorrent and unacceptable," but Earle-Sears felt that her response should have been stronger."A very weak response from a very weak person who we know cannot lead Virginia as governor," Earle-Sears asserted. "She's finally come out of hiding when she should have a long time ago come out and defended so many things that are so wrong, and she's been absent."

SAN DIEGO Lyle Menendez, one of the two brothers convicted in the 1989 shotgun slayings of their parents in Beverly Hills, was denied parole by a California review board on Friday in his first appearance before the board.The decision came after his brother, Erik, was denied parole on Thursday. The brothers will be eligible to go before the parole board again in three years.The California Board of Parole Hearings recommendation marks a significant development in the decades-long case that drew international attention, with the brothers televised trial becoming one of the most infamous of the 1990s. Lyle, now 57, has spent more than 30 years behind bars.Gov. Gavin Newsom can still review, and potentially veto, the decision.MENENDEZ BROTHERS' JUNE HEARING CONVERTED FROM CLEMENCY TO PAROLE AS DECISION LOOMS FOR GOV. NEWSOMA panel of parole hearing officers evaluated the brothers individually. Similarly to his brother, Lyle Menendez faced the board via video conference from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego."The panel has found today that there are still signs" that Lyle poses a risk to the public, Parole Commissioner Julie Garland said."We find your remorse is genuine," she said. "In many ways, you look like you've been a model inmate. You have been a model inmate in many ways who has demonstrated the potential for change. But despite all those outward positives, we see ... you still struggle with anti-social personality traits like deception, minimization and rule breaking that lie beneath that positive surface.""Dont ever not have hope this denial is not its not the end," Garland added. "Its a way for you to spend some time to demonstrate, to practice what you preach about who you are, who you want to be."The board members mentioned Lyle's history of breaking rules behind bars and his repeated cellphone use in prison."You seem to be different things at different times," Deputy Parole Commissioner Patrick Reardon said.Lyle's attorney, Heidi Rummel, said during the hearing that he "spent the first 21 years of life in the prison of his home, and the rest of his life in prison I hope that were in a place today that we have a deeper understanding of childhood sexual abuse."Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ethan Milius said that Lyle has shown "no growth," however."When he commits a violation, he lies about it, and tries to avoid responsibility."Milius said.Lyle said he does take "responsibility for all this pain," though. "My Mom and Dad did not have to die that day."Lyle, who cried during his closing remarks, spoke with a strained voice about Aug. 20, the date that he and his brother murdered their parents."Its the anniversary of a crushing day for so many in my family," he said. "I think about all the phone calls on that day with the shattering news and the loss and the grief.""I will never be able to make up for the harm and grief I caused everyone in my family," he added. "I am so sorry to everyone, and I will be forever sorry."The brothers' family said in a statement after Lyle's hearing that "this is not the end of the road," and that both will go before the board again, and their habeas petition remains under review."While we are of course disappointed by todays decision as well, we are not discouraged. The process for parole is exceptionally rigorous, but we are incredibly proud of how Erik and Lyle showed up with honesty, accountability, and integrity."The California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH), under the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), has 21 full-time commissioners. Each commissioner is appointed by the Governor of California and confirmed by the state Senate. The commissioners serve three-year terms, with the brothers' each meeting with 2-3 commissioners.Because the California Board of Parole Hearings did not recommend Lyle Menendez for parole, he will remain incarcerated.Newsom, while hell be unable to reverse the independent boards decision, will still be able to affirm, reverse, or take no action on the boards decision. Under California law, he has 30 days to make a decision.If the governor chooses not to act, the parole boards decision stands.MENENDEZ BROTHERS ASK CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM FOR CLEMENCYDuring Thursday's parole board hearing, Erik Menendez was denied a recommendation for parole.Commissioner Robert Barton emphasized the weight of Eriks actions and subsequent prison conduct."I believe in redemption or I wouldnt be doing this job but based on the legal standards, we find that you continue to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety."He said that while the familys forgiveness was "amazing," forgiveness and parole eligibility were separate matters: "Two things can be true. They can love and forgive you and you can still be found unsuitable for parole."Barton raised concerns, not only of the nature of the shotgun killings, but of Erik's misconduct during his sentence. He pointed to his use of contraband, including a cell phone, drug and alcohol, as well as his role in a prison gang tax scheme.The decision came on the heels of a bombshell resentencing hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court in May, where Judge Michael Jesic reduced their life-without-parole sentences to 50-to-life, making them eligible for parole consideration.In a press conference following the ruling on Wednesday, May 14, Newsom explained the multi-layered process of considering the Menendez brothers eligibility for release.The governor explained that, before any decision was finalized, a team of forensic psychologists conducted individualized risk assessments on each brother."We thought that would be prudent to do," he said, saying that those assessments have been "debated" not only by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and the victims family, but also by the judge "both publicly in another conversation, some of it behind closed doors."The topic of the brothers' Comprehensive Risk Assessments (CRA) has been a sticking point for Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman.The brothers' were marked as "moderate risk," an increase from their previous "low risk" assessment. The moderate risk increase came after each report found that Erik and Lyle, in recent months, had been cited for breaking prison rules for contraband violations, specifically the possession of cell phones.Hochman shared the findings on Lyle Menendez first, whose "actions perpetrated deceit," speaking about the contraband phone.He added that Lyle had "downplayed his rule-breaking" and that his report showed his "entitlement and willingness to meet his own needs."MENENDEZ BROTHERS ASK CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM FOR CLEMENCYAlong with the illicit cell phone usage, Erik was flagged for possessing and dealing drugs, as well as helping other inmates with tax fraud. Hochman, who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, has been vocal about the brothers' lack of rehabilitation.In August 1989, Beverly Hills socialites Jos and Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their home.Hochman previously called the murders "mafia-like hits," remarking on the violent nature of the repeated rounds that were fired at the parents.The boys, then 18 and 21, were convicted in 1996.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe defenses assertion was that the brothers had been driven to violence by years of physical and sexual abuse at their fathers hands.Despite the first trial resulting in a hung juror, leading to their eventual conviction in 1996, the public has remained divided on whether the brothers acted in greed or in self-defense.