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PEOPLE & ARTSTuesday 9 January 2018
Tavis Smiley announces deal
for new show on cable TV
In this April 27, 2016 file photo, Tavis Smiley appears at the 33rd By DAVID BAUDER with PBS that aired for 14 But Smiley said he believed
annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles AP Media Writer years. that going digital positions
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — “I would not wish this ex- him well for the future. He
Associated Press Less than a month after PBS perience on my worst en- also said he’ll attract a
dropped Tavis Smiley’s talk emy,” Smiley said. “Having younger audience than
show after reported inap- said that, the last time this he was getting at PBS, and
propriate relationships with happened, great things that he has also struck a
subordinates, Smiley an- came out of it.” deal for international dis-
nounced a deal Monday Although conceding that tribution for “The Upside”
to go back to work with a what was once considered and his production com-
new series about inspira- acceptable in the work- pany’s inventory of inter-
tional stories. place may no longer be, views that he conducted
His series, “The Upside Smiley has been defiant, in the past.
with Tavis Smiley,” will suggesting that romances He announced plans for a
be streamed online and between professional col- book and online course in
shown on The Word Net- leagues is hardly unusual. “Leading by Listening.”
work, a religious-oriented However, PBS investigators His “town hall” appearanc-
cable and satellite chan- reportedly found women es in Chicago, Los Angeles,
nel directed at black view- who felt their advance- New Orleans, Washington,
ers. He also announced a ment at work was tied to D.C. and San Francisco
five-city “town hall” tour to the sexual relationships, will have him moderating
talk about relationships in an assertion Smiley has de- discussions about accept-
the workplace. nied. able workplace protocols.
Among the men caught He’ll be a test case for “Everyone is saying, ‘We
up in sexual misconduct whether fans will be willing need to talk about this,’
cases the past few months, to overlook behavior that but nobody is doing that,”
Smiley has been most ag- an employer considered he said. “Nobody is cre-
gressive in fighting back out of bounds. ating a space for it. Now
and the first to publicly an- By fashioning a new pro- here I am doing it.”
nounce plans to resume gram focusing on inspi- Smiley said he was moti-
his career. His new show rational stories instead of vated to get back to work
is expected to start in the more general interest news quickly because of con-
spring. and entertainment, Smiley cern for employees of his
Smiley compared the ex- will sidestep the issue of production company who
perience to when he was whether his downfall would learned that the PBS show
fired by BET in 2001 for of- make celebrities reluctant was ending at the begin-
fering an interview that to be interviewed by him. ning of the holiday season.
he had conducted with a By striking a digital distribu- He said he wasn’t con-
newsmaker to ABC News tion deal with the media cerned that by moving so
before BET. He wrote books company AerNow and a quickly, he might be miss-
about rebounding from little-watched cable net- ing out on better opportu-
setbacks, and launched work, he will also be much nities if he waited for the
the late-night talk show less visible. story of his firing to fade.q
Red dress takes heat amid Golden
Globes all-black dress code
Blanca Blanco arrives at LOS ANGELES (AP) — Near- ment industry — including
the HBO Golden Globes ly every star attending the Meryl Streep and Oprah
afterparty at the Beverly Golden Globes wore black Winfrey — who have band-
Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. as a statement against ed together to advocate
7, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. sexual misconduct in Hol- for gender parity in execu-
lywood — so one red dress tive ranks. Also not in black
Associated Press didn’t blend in on the red was Meher Tatna, the pres-
carpet. ident of the Hollywood For-
Actress Blanca Blanco eign Press Association. She
ditched the black dress says that in India black is
code for a red cut-out the color of mourning and
dress, and was getting isn’t worn on social occa-
heat on social media. Oth- sions, adding that her red
ers said shaming her for her dress was made months
color choice is part of the ago. It wasn’t clear if Blan-
problem. co didn’t get the memo or
Sunday night’s black-clad just decided to go her own
demonstration was pro- way.
moted by the recently Blanco tweeted after the
formed Time’s Up. It’s an show “The issue is big-
initiative of hundreds of ger than my dress color
women in the entertain- #TIMESUP.”q
