Source: Josh Brasted / Getty

Red Bull Dance Your Style has been an ongoing competition across major U.S. cities where dancers showcase their unique ways of moving while audience members decide who has the best performance. The winners will compete in the U.S. National Final in Las Vegas for a chance to compete in the World Final in Paris, France in October. When the competition stopped by New Orleans, it was only right that bounce music made an appearance and who better to represent for the culture than the Queen Diva herself, Big Freedia. 

Considering bounce music’s rich history and the twerk dancing that accompanies it, you’d think that someone would represent their booty-shaking abilities in the competition. But if you let Big Freedia tell it, twerking requires more skill than you’d imagine.

Before her high energy performance, I talked with the New Orleans native who continues to set the bar for herself even after a successful reality show, a Guinness World Record, and a collaboration with Beyoncé and Drake. Freedia has some major projects in the works and she also has a few thoughts when it comes to gyrators like Odell Beckham Jr. and “Twerk” video stars like City Girls. Similar to past critical comments about Miley Cyrus‘ twerking, Freedia won’t hold her tongue when it comes to the celebrated artform.

Thank you for talking with us, first of all. 

No problem.

So starting off, Odell Beckham Jr. — a New Orleans native — recently did an interview with GQ where he had to address speculation that he was gay, mostly because of videos he’s taken or because of how he always dances with guy friends…

Why? ‘Cause in New Orleans we bounce. The boys show the hustle. All the stuff that Odell do, all the boys do here and you don’t have to question their sexuality because it’s apart of the culture. It’s not like he’s up there shaking his ass, so I don’t see what’s wrong with it.

Were there any men you looked up to growing up who kind of helped you be more free or was it always just a culture thing?

Definitely. I mean, all the guys who danced for DJ Jubilee, they would twerk. They would like really pop like girls and get on their heads and put their legs in the air. They took it to the next level. And I was like man, if these boys can get out here and do it, everybody should feel okay. And the boys had many girlfriends, they had all the h*s behind them (laughter). That’s who gave a lot of inspiration to a lot of us in New Orleans.

Source: Carlo Cruz / Red Bull Content Pool

Is there anyone currently who would go in your twerk hall of fame?

Everybody loves Megan Thee Stallion. I mean, I haven’t really seen Meg twerk but once on Instagram. But yea she would get the title right now. It sure ain’t the City Girls. I mean they just don’t twerk. They got a hot song but they don’t twerk.

Even with Cardi B in the “Twerk” video?

I mean I love Cardi. She twerks down. Yea, that’s my girl.

Are you interested in doing more T.V. and movies?

Most definitely. I’m working on getting back to my T.V. world. I just went and had a lot of meetings for my new shows that I’m pitching. 

If someone was to do the Big Freedia movie, who would you want in your cast? Or who would be the writer and director?

All the best. I mean you know, if it’s something epic like that, you want to have the best of the best. I am working on the Big Freedia stage play so that’s the first thing before we get to the movie. 

Any more details you can spill on that? 

Amazing cast. I just did a casting call with all the amazing cast. I’m really excited about this. I was in tears crying. I don’t know if you saw it when I posted it on Instagram, but that day I did it, they had me in tears. It was very powerful and it’ll touched a lot of people.

And lastly, how do you feel about Red Bull Dance Your Style coming to New Orleans and what do you look forward to the most tonight? 

I mean I love Red Bull. They support everything that I do. They always support music and they’re always pushing music, which is a great thing. And tonight I’m expecting to see some amazing dancers and to have a good time and to turn out.

Source: Carlo Cruz / Red Bull Content Pool

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Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty

Before Halle Bailey takes the crown as Princess Ariel in the Disney remake The Little Mermaid, ABC will put on a live special of the musical called The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!

According to Deadline, Moana star Auli’i Cravalho will play Ariel, while Queen Latifah takes on Ursula and Shaggy will be Sebastian. The show will mark the classic animated movie’s 30th anniversary and will feature a mixture of live action, animation and puppetry.

ABC’s President of Entertainment, Karey Burke, has expressed major support for live specials and according to her, if The Little Mermaid Live! works, “I expect we will do more of them and we will work closely with the feature department about timing.” If you’re here for the live rendition, make sure you mark your calendar for its debut November 5!

Also on the horizon at ABC is an anthology series recognizing the women of the Civil Rights Movement. With the working title Women of the Movement, the series will chronicle an important time in American history as told by the women who led the way. Marissa Jo Cerar, who wrote on The Handmaid’s Tale, will lead the project as a writer and the producing team includes Will Smith, Jay-Z and Aaron Kaplan.

The first season will consist of eight episodes inspired by the book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson. It will follow Emmett Till‘s mother, Mamie Till, who spent her life seeking justice for her son’s murder in the Jim Crow South. It’s definitely an important story to be told, along with the many other women who dedicated their life to racial justice.

We’ll keep you updated as more info surfaces about the series.

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Jordyn Woods Talks Tristan Thompson Cheating Scandal For Cosmopolitan UK

Jordyn Woods covers the latest issue of Cosmopolitan UK and talks all about beefing with the Kardashian-Jenner klan. The entrepreneur, model, and reality star says the national cheating scandal really started to affect her.

“Sh*t happens,” Jordyn told Cosmpolitan UK. “And in the end, I never want to see anyone hurt; I would hate to be the reason for anyone’s pain. We all have to go to sleep with ourselves at night.”

She says at one point she became obsessed with people’s reactions to the scandal.

“It becomes addictive to look on the internet, to look at your name,” she said. “When I would look at my name and see all of the things that people were saying, it became like a tumor. It became cancerous to me.”

Jordyn also got really candid about the Tristan Thompson kiss, saying she was “in shock” and didn’t know what to do next.

“I just need[ed] some time by myself to try to understand what [was] happening, why it [was] happening, and how am I going to react to this internally, you know? How can I make things right with myself, with God and with my relationships?”

“That didn’t just happen,” was, reportedly, all she could think.

And even though Kylie unfollowed her on Instagram, Jordyn says she hopes they can get past it all one day.

“I love her. That’s my homie. I hope everything falls into place and that we can all grow and build our relationships with our family and God and come back together one day and be stronger and happier.”

Check out a few of her Cosmopolitan UK photos up top and stay tuned for more from the beauty.