Latest news with #FreeYourMind
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jiggly Caliente Remembered As An 'Icon' And 'Trailblazer' In Beautiful Tributes
The world of drag is in mourning following the death of performer Bianca Castro-Arabejo, better known to fans of RuPaul's Drag Race as Jiggly Caliente. Over the weekend, it was announced that the fan-favourite queen had died at the age of 44, days after it was announced she had been hospitalised with a severe infection that led to her leg having to be amputated. A statement from Jiggly's family posted on her official social media account on Sunday confirmed: 'It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Bianca Castro-Arabejo, known to the world and cherished by many as Jiggly Caliente. Bianca passed away peacefully on 27 April 2025, at 4:42 am, surrounded by her loving family and close friends.' Remembering Jiggly as a 'luminous presence in the worlds of entertainment and advocacy', the statement continued: '[She] was celebrated for her infectious energy, fierce wit, and unwavering authenticity. She touched countless lives through her artistry, activism, and the genuine connection she fostered with fans around the world. 'Her legacy is one of love, courage, and light. Though her physical presence is gone, the joy she shared and the space she helped create for so many will remain forever. 'She will be deeply missed, always loved, and eternally remembered.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jiggly Caliente (@jigglycalienteofficial) Jiggly first rose to fame when she was cast on the fourth run of RuPaul's Drag Race, a season which helped turn the show from cult favourite to global hit. While Jiggly almost went home in the first episode, her lip sync to Britney Spears' Toxic meant she stayed in the competition, eventually finishing in eighth place and being embraced by Drag Race fans. Almost a decade later, she was invited back to compete on the sixth All Stars season, delivering another memorable lip sync of En Vogue's Free Your Mind during the competition. A spokesperson for RuPaul's Drag Race said on Sunday: 'We are devastated by the passing of Jiggly Caliente, a cherished member of the Drag Race family. Her talent, truth, and impact will never be forgotten, and her legacy will continue to slay – always. 'We're holding her family, friends, and fans close in our hearts during this difficult time.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by RuPaul's Drag Race (@rupaulsdragrace) Judge Michelle Visage wrote in the comments: 'She was one of the best humans walking this earth and so pure. What you saw was what you got only waaaaaay more twisted in the best possible way.' Since the news of her death, those from the drag community who knew and worked with Jiggly have also paid their respects on social media. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Michelle Visage (@michellevisage) I love you — Jaremi (@JustJaremi) April 27, 2025 🕊💙 — Jaremi (@JustJaremi) April 27, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by KYLIE SONIQUE LOVE (@xosonique) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ginger Minj (@gingerminj) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rajah Ohara (@therajahoharashow) Going to miss our 4hour phone conversations that were never planned, you surprising me if we're in the same town for a gig, or just hearing your laugh. To Know that i whote see you again is really tough & that's going to take a min for me to work through, I'm going miss u sis💕 — DiDa 'Susan Lucci' Ritz (@TheRealDiDaSwag) April 28, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pandora Boxx (@pandoraboxx) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Trinity K. Bonet (@trinitykbonet) View this post on Instagram A post shared by AkeriaChanelDavenport (@mizakeriachanel) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss PepperMint (@peppermint247) View this post on Instagram A post shared by jujubee (@jujubeeonline) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Madame LaQueer (@madamelaqueer) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mrs. Kasha Davis • Drag Queen storyteller & speaker (@mrskashadavis) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jan Sport (@janjanjan) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Katya Zamolodchikova (@katya_zamo) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bob/ Caldwell Tidicue (@bobthedragqueen) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bianca Del Rio (@thebiancadelrio) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alaska (@theonlyalaska5000) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manila Luzon (@manilaluzon) As well as competing on RuPaul's Drag Race, she later became a judge on Drag Race Philippines for its first three seasons. She also had minor roles in the hit comedies Broad City and Search Party, and played Bianca Ferocity in the award-winning drama Pose. RuPaul Voices 'Heartbreak' Following The Death Of Drag Race UK Winner The Vivienne, Aged 32
New York Times
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Dawn Robinson, En Vogue Alum, Says She's Been Living in Her Car for 3 Years
Dawn Robinson, a founding member of the '90s R&B group En Vogue, said this week that she had been living in her car for roughly three years after several living arrangements fell through. In a nearly 20-minute video that was posted to her official YouTube channel on Tuesday, Robinson said that she did not want anyone's pity and that she was comfortable with the decision she had made. Although she said she would rather have her own apartment, she put somewhat of a positive spin on her circumstances. 'I'm glad that I made this choice because I needed to go through this fire,' Robinson said in the video, adding that she was in the middle of a spiritual journey involving a period of isolation from family and friends. 'I'm in the trenches of this right now and I'm like, 'I wouldn't trade my experiences and what I've gone through for the world.'' A representative for En Vogue, which is still active without Robinson, declined to comment beyond saying that the group had not been in contact with her in more than five years. Robinson could not immediately be reached for comment and did not say in her video where her vehicle is. En Vogue was founded in the late 1980s with Robinson, Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones and climbed the charts in the 1990s with songs like 'Hold On,' 'Free Your Mind' and 'Giving Him Something He Can Feel.' A New York Times review of one of their concerts in 1992 praised the members' vocal skills and said, 'There's not a weak voice in the group.' Robinson left the group in 1997 but made reunion appearances in 2005 and 2009, according to Billboard. Its current members — Ellis, Herron, Jones and Rhona Bennett — performed at the N.B.A. All-Star Game in February. Robinson, who was also in the music group Lucy Pearl with the singer-songwriter Raphael Saadiq, said friends had warned her not to share the details of her living circumstances. 'My aim is to inspire,' she said. 'And to let people know that you're capable of anything, no matter what the odds are against you.' The singer recounted the many living arrangements that had fallen through over the years, including stays with her parents in Las Vegas and her then manager in Los Angeles. She also lived in a hotel for eight months. In March 2022, she said, she decided to take a different approach and try living in her car after researching 'van life,' a trend that surged during the coronavirus pandemic in which people permanently live in a vehicle. 'I loved what I was seeing,' Robinson said. 'I just thought, 'I could do that, I can do this.'' Robinson said that over the years she had developed a careful routine that included caring for her car, covering her windows when necessary and not talking to certain people. She also has a membership at a gym where she showers. 'I'm a funky diva, but I'm not funky,' she said. Toward the end of the video, Robinson said her career would bounce back and addressed concerns that she might be sharing the information for publicity. 'There are many things that people have done for publicity stunts,' she said. 'Saying that I'm living in my car and actually not living in my car would be a stupid publicity stunt. But this is not publicity. I have all the footage from Vegas to L.A. to prove that.'
The Guardian
13-03-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
En Vogue singer reveals she's been living in her car for years
Dawn Robinson, a founding member of the widely popular R&B girl group En Vogue, has revealed she has been living out of her car for years. In a video she uploaded to social media, the singer said she moved into her vehicle out of necessity during the pandemic. Robinson added that she has since become devoted to the lifestyle. 'This is not like, 'Oh my God, poor Dawn. She's living in her car. It's terrible. Oh, woe is me,'' Robinson said in the nearly 20-minute video. 'I'm learning about who I am. I'm learning myself as a person, as a woman.' Though Robinson did not go into detail, she explained that she began taking refuge in her car in 2020 after living with her parents in Las Vegas and that her relationship with her mother became troubled, causing her to move into her car. She said she slept in her car for about a month before staying with a manager in LA, but he ultimately didn't have room for her, so she wound up in a hotel he paid for. She worried whether he could continue to pay the hotel bill. 'I told my assistant one day, 'I have been researching car life,' she said. 'I loved what I was seeing.' Despite the first night in the vehicle being 'scary' she said she soon learned how to make herself feel safe. She described the first time she watched a sunset from her vehicle as 'beautiful.' 'I was so free, I felt like I was on a camping trip,' she said. 'It was the right thing to do, I didn't regret it.' According to data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, over 40% of the unsheltered homeless population in LA county rely on vehicles (defined as cars, vans and RVs) for shelter. According to the University of Los Angeles Institute of Transportation Studies, there is a lack of research on this large and growing population. Robinson rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of En Vogue with Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones. The band would go on to become one of the most successful girl groups of all time, selling upwards of 20m records and nabbing seven Grammy nominations, with hits including Free Your Mind, Don't Let Go (Love), Giving Him Something He Can Feel and Hold On. Billboard named them the second most successful female group of the 1990s.
The Independent
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
En Vogue singer reveals she's been living in her car for last three years
Dawn Robinson, who rose to fame with the girl group En Vogue, has opened up about how she's been living out of her car for years. The Grammy-nominated singer, 58, shared a candid video to YouTube where she explained how she's become devoted to the lifestyle that was once a necessity. 'You guys, for the past three, almost three years, I have been living in my car,' Robinson told viewers in the clip posted on Tuesday (11 March). 'I said it. Oh my god, it's out. I've been living in my car. Oh my gosh.' Robinson explained that she had moved in with her parents near the beginning of the pandemic, around 2020, but had fallen out with her mother. 'That was wonderful until it wasn't,' she said. 'I love my mum, but she became very angry, and a lot of her anger was taken out on me. I was like her target all the time, and I was like, 'I can't deal with this.' Like, I respect her too much. 'I didn't understand it,' she continued. 'I still don't. And it hurt me, so I was just trying to figure it out, but I couldn't.' Robinson said she slept in her car for around a month in Las Vegas before accepting an invitation from her manager at the time to stay with him in LA. However, it turned out he didn't have room for her, so she stayed in a hotel for eight months, which he paid for. She said she felt constantly stressed over whether he could pay the bill and that her attempts to move into an apartment, which she estimated would cost less than a lengthy hotel stay, were thwarted because he didn't like the neighbourhood. After researching communities of people who live in their cars and RVs, she told her assistant that she was going to give it a go. 'I just thought, 'Wow, these people. I could do this, I think',' she said, laughing. 'And I ended up in my car, and it's been, like I said, three years.' She recalled the first time she saw the sunset from her car: 'It was beautiful.' The first night was 'scary', Robinson said, but she soon learnt how to make herself feel safe. 'I was so free, I felt like I was on a camping trip. It was the right thing to do, I didn't regret it.' Robinson soon discovered that many other celebrities had experiences of living in cars, including Marvin Gaye, who was living in a bread van on the beach in Maui before the release of his song 'Sexual Healing'. 'We say that we can't do certain things before we even know we're capable,' the former singer continued, confirming that she is documenting 'this whole adventure'. She added that she's 'glad' she 'made this choice'. Robinson rose to fame in the early Nineties alongside original En Vogue members Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones, becoming one of the most successful girl groups of all time. They have sold millions of records worldwide and achieved a number of his songs, including 'Hold On', 'Free Your Mind', 'Don't Let Go (Love)' and 'Giving Him Something He Can Feel'. Robinson departed from the group after a brief reunion for the En Vogue: 20th Anniversary tour in 2009, along with Jones.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
En Vogue star Dawn Robinson has lived in her car for the past three years
En Vogue singer Dawn Robinson has been living in her car for the past three years. The 58-year-old star - a founding member of the 'Free Your Mind' group - explained that she has now become devoted to the lifestyle after first doing it out of necessity during the coronavirus pandemic. In a lengthy YouTube video, Dawn said: "You guys, for the past three years, I have been living in my car. "I said it. Oh, my God, it's out. I've been living in my car. Oh, my gosh." Dawn explained that she first started living in her car after she moved out of her parents house in 2020 as she became weary of her mother's anger. She said: "That was wonderful until it wasn't. I love my mom, but she became very angry, and a lot of her anger she was taking out on me. And I was her target all the time, and I was like, 'I can't deal with this. Like I respect her too much'. I didn't understand it. I still don't. It hurt me, so I was just trying to figure it out, but I couldn't." Dawn was offered the chance to stay with her manager in Los Angeles but he didn't have any room and she ended up in a hotel he had paid for. However, her attempts to move into an apartment were thwarted, prompting her to make the decision to live in her vehicle. Robinson recalled: "I told my assistant one day, 'I have been researching car life. There's a whole community of people that live in their cars, and a whole community of people that live in their RVs, and a whole community of people that live in vans, van life, car life, RV life, and I loved what I was seeing. "I just thought, 'Wow, these people. I could do that, I could do this, I think. And I ended up in my car, and it's been, like I said, three years." Dawn is happy with life in her car although she does have to be mindful of her safety at times. She said: "That first night was scary, but then, as I got to know what to do in my car and how to do it, like, how to cover my windows and, you know, you don't talk to certain people. You're careful of telling people that you're alone, as a woman especially, and I'm a celebrity. "I don't just divulge that to people. If you don't know who I am, I'm not telling you that part."
