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The theme for Louis Vuitton’s FW19 presentation at Paris Fashion Week Men’s, which originally wowed the fashion industry in all the right ways, is now causing the brand to completely backtrack and remove it altogether. It’s an act that truly has us wondering one thing: is this truly the beginning of the end for Michael Jackson’s legacy?

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A post shared by Louis Vuitton Official (@louisvuitton) on Jan 15, 2019 at 6:59am PST

As unfortunate as it is to report this, both for the nature of the crime in question and the one being accused of it, the luxury fashion house and its recently-appointed menswear creative director Virgil Abloh are the latest to face backlash brought forth by the scathing Leaving Neverland documentary. Backed by a premiere at Sundance, a two-night airing on HBO and an after show special hosted by media maven Oprah, the doc depicts the disgraced King of Pop being accused of extreme acts of child sexual abuse by two of his former prepubescent associates. The reactions have been split — loyal MJ fans stand by his innocence while abuse survivors are denouncing the mere mention of his name — which has now put Virgil and LV in a tough predicament, seeing as the FW19 show was completely dedicated to him down to the “Billie Jean”-inspired set design.

Here’s what Louis Vuitton’s chief executive officer Michael Burke told WWD in an official statement regarding the doc:

“We find the allegations in the [Leaving Neverland] documentary deeply troubling and disturbing. Child safety and welfare is of utmost importance to Louis Vuitton. We are fully committed to advocating this cause.”

— Michael Burke, Chairman/chief executive officer, Louis Vuitton

Abloh followed with similar sentiments, addressing the controversy in the same statement by saying, “I am aware that in light of this documentary the show has caused emotional reactions. I strictly condemn any form of child abuse, violence or infringement against any human rights.” According to WWD, the brand has made the decision to remove all MJ-focused themes from the FW19 offering. While specific items weren’t named, we can assumed that it will include the sparkly gloves (seen above), T-shirts depicting MJ’s signature tip-toed dance move and quite possibly the Jackson 5-inspired sweaters. What lingers are the range of items inspired by The Wiz. While Michael Jackson did in fact star as Scarecrow in the 1978 retelling of The Wizard of Oz, he alone doesn’t embody the entire significance of what that movie means to Black culture and cinema in general. We’ll just have to see when the collection starts hitting retailers in later months.

Image: Louis Vuitton

Image: Louis Vuitton

Let us know whether you agree or disagree with this decision to remove MJ from the Louis Vuitton FW19 Collection by sounding off over on Twitter and Facebook. Take a look below to reminisce on better times and watch the full runway show:

The post Virgil Abloh & Louis Vuitton Remove Michael Jackson Themes From FW19 Collection Amid ‘Leaving Neverland’ Controversy appeared first on The Source.

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This week, Wu-Tang Clan is screening its upcoming documentary Of Mics And Men at the Sundance Film Festival. While promoting the four-part Showtime doc, RZA and Ghostface Killah revealed that they have another film endeavor on the horizon, a Suspense Horror feature. RZA (aka Robert Diggs) will direct. Meanwhile, the story comes from none other than Ghostface Killah (aka Dennis Coles). This storyline is rooted in Wu’s real-life upbringing in the project houses of Staten Island. According to Deadline, the two Wu co-founders have teamed with Oscar-nominated producer Shaun Reddick (BlacKkKlansman, Get Out) and his Impossible Dream Entertainment to bring this project to screen. RZA said told the publication, “The creative collaboration of RZA and Ghostface [Killah] has stood the test of time through our music. Now the opportunity to put our creative energies together onto the silver screen has arisen and I’m turbo charged.” Including in a 2014 conversation with Ambrosia For Heads, Ghostface has long compared writing Rap songs and arranging albums to movie-making. Wu-Tang Clan’s Documentary Trailer Shows 9 MCs’ Triumph Through Life With Mics Ghost’ worked on the story with longtime manager Mike Caruso. Matt Leslie and Stephen J. Smith have taken that story to script. Meanwhile, as RZA scores the film, G.F.K. and Caruso are at the helm for a soundtrack of all new music from Wu-Tang Clan and presumably, some of the group’s affiliates. Deadline‘s Mike Fleming, Jr. details the premise as follows: “‘Casey’ is a normal yet exceptionally smart teenager and talented rapper but after the mysterious death of his parents he’s been forced to grow up in New York’s roughest inner-city streets (known as ‘Shaolin’ in Wu-Tang folklore), basically on his own. As life in the hood around him gets tragically worse, he must put his skills to the test to survive not only the gangs, corrupt cops, junkies and bullies, but a serial killer with seemingly supernatural powers dubbed ‘Angel Of Dust’ by the media.” Ghostface Killah Releases His First Song Of The Year & He’s Shining For the last 20 years, RZA has moved into Hollywood while maintaining his music career. The Abbott has been acting in film since 1999’s Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai. He made his directorial debut with 2012’s The Man With The Iron Fists. RZA followed with 2017’s Love Beats Rhymes. He is also producing Thriller, which debuted on the festival circuit last year. Meanwhile, Ghost’ has appeared in handfuls of movies and TV shows, typically playing himself. Next month (February 15), Ghostface will team fellow Clansmen Inspectah Deck (along with his CZARFACE collective) to release Czarface Meets Ghostface. Late last year, they dropped the “Iron Claw” single. Additionally, Wu has a 10-part documentary that is expected to arrive on Hulu later this year. Method Man Recites The First Rap He Ever Wrote (Video) #BonusBeat: Last week, Ghostface Killah re-vamped Wu-Tang Clan’s classic, “C.R.E.A.M.” with singer, Nicole Buss:

Source: AmbrosiaForHeads.com

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RZA & Ghostface Killah Are Making A Horror Movie Based On Wu’s Real Life Experiences

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