• Salma Hayek is apologizing for promoting a controversial new novel, Jeanine Cummins' American Dirt, without actually reading it. Published Tuesday, the novel tells the story of a Mexican woman and her 8-year-old son fleeing to the U.S. border after numerous family members are murdered in drug cartel-related violence. The heavily publicized book has been praised by Stephen King and Ann Patchett among others and was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club. On Saturday, it ranked No. 4 on Amazon.com's bestseller list. But numerous Mexican-American writers have called American Dirt an ill-informed narrative about Mexico that reinforces stereotypes. Cummins, who is not Mexican, even acknowledged in an author's note that she had reservations about writing the novel. She has said she wanted to personalize the issue of immigration and be a "bridge" between different worlds. Earlier last week, Hayek had posted a picture of herself on Instagram holding the book, and she praised Winfrey for "giving a voice to the voiceless & for loving harder in response to hate." But after facing criticism online, the Mexican-American actress pulled back Friday, writing that she was unaware of any controversy. "I thank all of you who caught me in the act of not doing my research, and for setting me straight, because that means you know me and gave me the benefit of the doubt," she wrote. "I apologize for shouting out something without experiencing it or doing research on it."
• Rapper YG was arrested Friday at his Los Angeles home on suspicion of robbery just two days before he is scheduled to perform at the Grammy Awards, officials said. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies took YG, whose real name is Keenon Jackson, into custody at his Chatsworth home as they served a search warrant. He was held on $250,000 bail but was released on bond, according to the sheriff's website. The Compton rapper -- whose hits include "Toot It and Boot It" and "Go Loko" -- was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. Authorities did not immediately provide additional details about the arrest or alleged robbery. It was not clear Friday morning if YG had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. YG and several others, including John Legend and Meek Mill, are supposed to perform a tribute to Nipsey Hussle, a rapper who was shot to death last year outside his Marathon clothing store in the South Los Angeles neighborhood where he is from, at the Grammys today.
A Section on 01/26/2020