between-NewsonCamera

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Mercedes "MJ" Javid Reveals Where Things Stand Between Tommy & Reza Today

The Shahs of Sunset star gives an update on her two-year-old son Shams and reveals where things really stand between husband Tommy Freight and co-star Reza Farahan. Watch below!

Calling a truce.

Shahs of Sunset star Mercedes “MJ” Javid gushed on E! News’ Daily Pop today that she has mended the relationship between co-star Reza Farahan and her husband Tommy Freight. In the June 4 episode, MJ explained to co-hosts Justin Sylvester and Lilliana Vazquez that it was at first a rocky start in repairing things.

“In the beginning it was hard because I just led by my own emotions,” MJ opened up. “I wanted to talk to Reza and I reached out and we had this incredible connection. We felt amazing about it. And then I realized I completely isolated Tommy.”

Reza previously filed for a restraining order against MJ’s husband amidst their ongoing feud. The Shahs star alleged Tommy vandalized his and Adam Neely‘s home in May 2019 amongst other claims of threatening messages. By 2021, MJ and Reza decided to move forward with their decades-long friendship, but Tommy wasn’t too pleased.

photos

Shahs of Sunset Season 9 Cast Photos

“He threw his ring,” MJ admitted. “He was not OK with it but that was a long time ago, and now I really believe in my heart that I’m so optimistic. Even if it’s unrealistic, my goal is for us to do this again, for Tommy and Reza to be able to like [come together] because it’s really important.”

Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

MJ and Tommy welcomed son Shams in April 2019 and his birth changed her perspective on holding on to anger. After a life-threatening delivery, MJ explained she still has “PTSD flashbacks.”

For now, the idea of baby no. 2 is on the back-burner. “I don’t have a definitive answer because the reason why is nothing is guaranteed,” MJ revealed of her possible surrogacy plans. “If you find the surrogate and you implant an embryo, it may not take.”

Instead MJ is completely devoted to her two-year-old son. “I’m so focused on being good to him and figuring out not to screw that up,” she joked. “He’s talking and running and going into school…I don’t think we can handle [another baby] right now.”

And MJ is still looking fierce post-pregnancy in Nina Parker‘s eponymous Macy’s collection.

Plus, what is MJ’s postpartum sex advice for Lilliana? Watch the whole interview for her TMI take on getting it on with a newborn.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Untangling the Sticky Drama Between TikTok Beekeepers

TikTok is buzzing after one beekeeper accused another of faking her bee hive removals with the help of her husband. Read on for why Erika Thompson is involved in this sticky drama.

Watch: Alicia Silverstone’s Iconic “Clueless” TikTok With Son Bear Blu

The beekeeping community is abuzz with drama.

Though TikTok has been dominated by the likes of Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio, there are those whose For You page is full of videos from BeeTok. Some of the short clips include footage of people harvesting honey, while others reveal how beekeepers remove hives from homes and other places occupied by humans.

Erika Thompson, who owns the business Texas Bee Works, is one content creator who has thrived thanks to the TikTok algorithm, garnering more than 6 million followers since launching her account last summer. The videos of Thompson scooping bees into boxes and saving the queen bee in her jeans and denim button-up shirts get millions of views, and have led to collaborations with stars like Jason Derulo.

She’s so successful, in fact, The Washington Post profiled her in March. She told the newspaper, “It’s something I’ve been into my entire life.”

photos

21 TikTok Stars to Follow in 2021

TikTok user @lahoneybeerescue, however, argues that Thompson is not the expert she claims to be. According to since-deleted videos from May, which were captured by Twitter users, @lahoneybeerescue claims it’s “dangerous” for Thompson to work with bees while “opening hives with her hair down [and] wearing dark clothes with exposed skin.”

Bees are aggravated by dark colors, which is why beekeepers wear white suits instead of other colors. The suit is also meant to protect people from stings, whereas Thompson’s casual outfits are ineffective at preventing injuries on the job.

@lahoneybeerescue also accuses Thompson of not actually rescuing the bees, claiming, “She shows herself removing comb which her husband has pre-cut for her very courteously—like I don’t see her using power tools. I don’t see her using ladders. Her husband goes in, cuts everything up for her.”

Instagram

“She looks really pretty doing it and that’s because it’s faked,” the user explains. “I hate to say that because y’all are going to say I’m coming for her, but it’s not.”

However, Vice writes that Thompson began Texas Bee Works five years before she married her husband, Andrew Hollister. The outlet also reports Hollister’s background is in real estate and investing, causing some doubt about whether he is really helping out Thompson behind the scenes.

Regarding Thompson’s choice of clothing, Vice shares some insight into her decision making. She recently told the outlet, “The removals that went viral, those are some cases where I’m not wearing gear… But, you know, there are other cases where I am wearing gear. One of the things you don’t see, maybe, in the one-minute TikTok videos—I’m in Texas, and it’s incredibly hot. Sometimes these removals take 30 minutes; sometimes they take three hours or more. Beekeeping gear in general, it’s big and it’s bulky… It makes it a little bit more difficult to work with these tiny creatures who are very delicate.”

Instagram

On Saturday, June 5, Thompson addressed the “untrue and hurtful attacks” on her Instagram, calling the controversy a “false narrative.”

“It’s a sad day when people see a woman doing something that’s so outside of the norm, they assume there’s no way she can actually be doing those things, and if she is, she must be getting help from a man,” she said. “Thank you to the mass of experienced beekeepers, leaders of the beekeeping community, and all of the beekeeping associations who were quick to come to my defense.”

Thompson then acknowledged bees are dangerous creatures, writing, “Experienced beekeepers are the only ones who should be handling bees in these situations, because sometimes… bees need a helping hand.”