Erika Kirk and Charlie Kirk’s parents walked out of court as a police officer described the moment Charlie was fatally shot … an emotional scene as prosecutors began laying out their case against his accused killer. Erika — along with Robert and…

The 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture came to a close on Sunday after another full day in New Orleans. Shamea Morton, Mario, LeToya Luckett, Reginae Carter, Yandy Smith-Harris, Lance Gross, and other familiar faces appeared at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center as daytime programming wrapped for the weekend.

Sunday night, Festival attendees headed to Caesars Superdome for the final installment of the Evening Concert Series. T.I. took the stage before an audience ready to celebrate the last night of EFOC. George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic also performed, while Public Enemy brought Chuck D and Flavor Flav back to the Superdome. The show also featured Mýa, Chlöe, Normani, Ryan Destiny, Sevyn Streeter, Tevin Campbell, MC Lyte, and Scarface.

As another ESSENCE Festival weekend comes to an end, take a look at some of the celebrities spotted during the final day of this year’s celebration.

Shamea Morton

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Shamea Morton seen backstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

T.I. performs during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: T.I. performs during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Brasted/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Mya, Ryan Destiny, and Chlöe

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: (L-R) Mya, Ryan Destiny, and Chlöe during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Brasted/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Mya

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Mya performs during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Normani, Ryan Destiny, Mya, Chlöe, and Sevyn Streeter

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: (L-R) Normani, Ryan Destiny, Mya, Chlöe, and Sevyn Streeter perform during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Flavor Flav and Chuck D of Public Enemy.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: (L-R) Flavor Flav and Chuck D of Public Enemy perform during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

MC Lyte

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: MC Lite performs during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Tevin Campbell

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Tevin Campbell performs during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Scarface

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Scarface performs during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

George Clinton

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic perform during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Brasted/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

DJ Trauma, Kenny Burns and LeToya Luckett

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: DJ Trauma, Kenny Burns and LeToya Luckett perform during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture® Presented By Coca-Cola® at Caesars Superdome on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Charles Beloved hosting.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Charles Beloved Kuykendoll performs onstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Peter Forest/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Mario

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Mario performs onstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Peter Forest/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

LeToya Luckett

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: LeToya Luckett speaks onstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Pastor Mike Jr.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Pastor Mike Jr.
performs onstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Reginae Carter

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Reginae Carter speaks onstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Peter Forest/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Miles Minnick

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Miles Minnick attends the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Yandy Smith-Harris

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Yandy Smith-Harris speaks during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Rodney Rikai, Lance Gross and Julian Horton

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: (L-R) Rodney Rikai, Lance Gross and Julian Horton pose onstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

Lance Gross

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 05: Lance Gross speaks onstage during the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture® presented by Coca-Cola® at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 05, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

The Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine said he was assessing next steps after allegations of sexual assault were reported on Monday by Politico. Platner denied them as “categorically untrue.”

(Image credit: Laura Brett)

“‘Man do those dots connect’ is such a great way to validate someone else’s feelings.”

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Maine Senate Democratic candidate Graham Platner on Monday said that “we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” just minutes after Politico published a story in which a woman who previously dated the oyster farmer alleged he had sexually assaulted her. “I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious and false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual…

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Maine U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner said Monday he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” for his candidacy minutes after POLITICO reported that a woman who dated him said he forced her to have sex with him.

Platner denied the allegation, but he said in a roughly two-minute video posted to social media on Monday that he is “mindful of the political reality” the reporting “will inflict.”

“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path

Micheal Ward, who denies the charges, tells a jury he thought they were “having a great time”.

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is facing a new sexual assault allegation from a woman he previously dated … an accusation he strongly denies. Jenny Racicot — a 41-year-old Maine woman — tells Politico she had an on-and-off…