The 5X Press Weekly Roundup

In this weeks's 5X Press Roundup, we give you a quick break down of 5 trending stories that you may have missed this week, to highlight stories that may have slipped under your radar.  Don't worry, we got you covered! Join the conversation on socials, and head to 5XFest.com/5XPress to read the rest of this week's stories -- trust us, you don't want to miss it!

Punjab’s Princepal Singh called to play for Sacramento Kings

Punjab’s very own Princepal Singh has made it to the Sacramento Kings roster for the California classic Summer League. The 20-year-old player, who stands at 6 feet 9 inches, played previously in the NBA’s developmental G League for theIgnite. Fans are excited to see Singh get closer to the NBA as it could be the first time we see a player from India in the league. Singh only started playing basketball when he was 14-years-old after he was spotted playing volleyball by a coach from the Ludhiana Basketball Academy. Soon thereafter he was hooked and now we get to see a glimmer of what kind of representation he can bring to the forefront.The Kings will reportedly play two games at the California Classic, and hopefully Singh will get to show what he’s all about. 

India Field hockey Olympics

India has become an absolute force when it comes to field hockey in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Indian men's field hockey team took home the bronze medal when they defeated Germany on July 29, earning the first medal won by India since 1980. The Indian women’s field hockey team will now also get their shot when they face Great Britain on Aug. 6, and a second win for India will surely be a historic moment for the Nation. The goal of the women's team is to not only bring home the meda,l but to also to set an example for others. Captain of the women's team Rani Rampal told reporters in Tokyo that “we have a team motto that means we want to inspire the young girls in India.” While many reflect on how India has been held back in the Olympics over recent years, it’s exciting to see them achieving higher than what was expected. 

Dababy’s homophobic comments and the repercussions of his actions

Concerts in the U.S. are back in full effect, and with live performances comes artists sharing their bad takes on stage. Last week at the popular Rolling Loud music festival in Miami, rapper Dababy decided to take to the stage to express his “thoughts” on HIV/AIDS. The comments made were clearly against only the LGBTQ+ community and were outright homophobic, as well as grossly misinformed. As the clip continued to go viral, past collaborators like Dua Lipa have come out to condemn his remarks as has Elton John. In fact, his song “Levitating” with Dua Lipa has reportedly been getting less airplay, and in some cases has been completely pulled from radio stations after the incident. The rapper has also been dropped performing from at Lollapalooza and the Governors Ball, among other smaller festivals. Since the backlash, Dababy has issued an apology on his Instagram for his “triggering” comments towards the LGBTQ+ community and his “misinformed” comments about HIV/AIDS. Hopefully he takes Miley Cyrus up on getting properly educated about these matters, or just learns to stop talking. 

Bibis face racist harassment at Surrey’s Aspen park

A video has gone viral of a white couple harassing a group of elders in Surrey’s Aspen park this past week. The video shows a couple yelling at the Punjabi elders and children who were gathered in the park enjoying the day. The couple uttered racist remarks at the group and told them to “speak English,” according to a video uploaded to social media. A granddaughter of one of the elders told Global News that the couple threw garbage at them while yelling racist remarks. She added that her Bibi’s (grandma’s) clothing had been soiled because of it. Many people on social media including the Punjabi community and even BC’s Premier John Horgan have condemned the actions of the couple. Community organizers including One Voice Canada, Stand With Asians Coalition (SWAC), Mustang Justice, Team Souda and Shakti society came together to organize a rally that was held on August 3 to show solidarity with the elders in the face of racism.

Rihanna is a billionaire 

It’s official: Rihanna has become a billionaire! The music, beauty and fashion mogul is now worth $1.7 billion according to Forbes. She reportedly reached this huge accolade mostly through her makeup and skincare line Fenty Beauty which has been praised for being inclusive to women of all skin tones unlike many other high-end beauty lines. Forbes reports that Riri owns 50 per cent of Fenty Beauty which is worth $1.4 billion on its own. Her lingerie line Savage x Fenty also brought in a chunk of earnings for her over the last couple of years. Celebs like Nicki Minaj took the time to congratulate Rihanna’s billionaire status via Instagram. Many fans were also ecstatic with some being conflicted for their love for Riri and their hate for billionaires. Do we as a society need billionaires anyways? (Sorry, Rihanna). While most fans and stans have been bugging her to return to her music and asking when the next album can be expected, it’s clear that her focus on her empire outside of music is what’s taking her brand to the next level. Nevertheless, hopefully we can get dope beauty AND music from Riri soon, and in the meantime, maybe she and the other billionaires out there can ponder about redistributing their wealth.

That's it for this week's roundup! Don't forget to join the conversation on socials and tell us what you think!

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