Actor Heath Ledger has been found dead in a Manhattan apartment, New York police tell CNN.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Kelly Rowland: People can't expect me to be Beyonce, or Beyonce to be me.
“As solo artists, we are three different people. people can’t expect us all to take the same route as solo artists or enjoy the same kind of success. Victoria [Beckham] has a different route to Mel B, Mel B has a different route to Geri, and so on. We all have different paths, cause we’re all different people. I’m more of an intimate person anyway; I like playing smaller and more intimate venues. people can’t expect me to be Beyoncé or Beyoncé to be me or me to be Michelle or whatever! Just allow us to be ourselves! The Lord brought Michelle and me into B’s life and look what kind of heights we’ve soared to.” ....."people see how positive we are as women and as friends, and instead of them learning from that, they wanna hate on it.
I have no time for that kind of negative thinking. people should be happy to see women getting along and working together, without being insecure about each other. It doesn’t have to be drama, but people always wanna create drama! I don’t even let that bother me. 'Cause people will continue to talk and we’ll just continue selling records.”--Kelly on why folks shouldn't expect her to be Beyonce and her feelings regarding loosing the Vibe magazine June 2007 cover story to Beyonce. Read blogger's note, by clicking HERE“When I got engaged and announced that, it became a media riot. So I feel like the next time anybody will know anything about me, as far as relationships are concerned, I’ll be married! I learned that I shouldn’t allow my past to affect my present. I didn’t grow up with my biological father and I think that girls who grow up in that situation can sometimes grow up looking for daddy. So I think it’s important to know who your father is. For me, Beyoncé’s father is like my father. When we’re all at home, Matthew treats me like his little girl. But for girls who grow up without a father figure, I think it’s important for them to know their self worth so they don’t look for the wrong things when they grow up and start to forge relationships.”.....“I wouldn’t shun it, but I’m not gonna force it or allow people to push me in that direction. If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen.”--Kelly on what she learned about talking about keeping her personal business to herself; her father/daughter relationship with Beyonce's father, Mathew Knowles; and if she'd ever be interested in achieving Beyoncé’s level of mega-stardom.Kelly's Ms. Kelly will be re-released on March 10th. The single, Work is out on January 28.
I have no time for that kind of negative thinking. people should be happy to see women getting along and working together, without being insecure about each other. It doesn’t have to be drama, but people always wanna create drama! I don’t even let that bother me. 'Cause people will continue to talk and we’ll just continue selling records.”--Kelly on why folks shouldn't expect her to be Beyonce and her feelings regarding loosing the Vibe magazine June 2007 cover story to Beyonce. Read blogger's note, by clicking HERE“When I got engaged and announced that, it became a media riot. So I feel like the next time anybody will know anything about me, as far as relationships are concerned, I’ll be married! I learned that I shouldn’t allow my past to affect my present. I didn’t grow up with my biological father and I think that girls who grow up in that situation can sometimes grow up looking for daddy. So I think it’s important to know who your father is. For me, Beyoncé’s father is like my father. When we’re all at home, Matthew treats me like his little girl. But for girls who grow up without a father figure, I think it’s important for them to know their self worth so they don’t look for the wrong things when they grow up and start to forge relationships.”.....“I wouldn’t shun it, but I’m not gonna force it or allow people to push me in that direction. If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen.”--Kelly on what she learned about talking about keeping her personal business to herself; her father/daughter relationship with Beyonce's father, Mathew Knowles; and if she'd ever be interested in achieving Beyoncé’s level of mega-stardom.Kelly's Ms. Kelly will be re-released on March 10th. The single, Work is out on January 28.
BEYONCE BACKLASH OVER GRAMMY DECISION?: Mathew's picket line talk not going over well.
*The New York Daily News is reporting that Beyonce may run into static from her industry peers if she goes through with plans to cross a potential picket line to perform at the Grammy's.
"Hours after her dad promised she'd be at the Feb. 10 event, people were ready to call the R&B superstar a scab," columnists Rush & Malloy wrote for Monday's paper.
"Beyoncé was not aware her name was going to be used," one insider told the column regarding the announcement last week from Mathew Knowles that his daughter was planning an "incredible performance" for the telecast.
"Beyoncé, as well as my other artists Solange and Trinitee 5:7, have been asked to participate and will do so," Papa Knowles said in the statement.
"Hours after her dad promised she'd be at the Feb. 10 event, people were ready to call the R&B superstar a scab," columnists Rush & Malloy wrote for Monday's paper.
"Beyoncé was not aware her name was going to be used," one insider told the column regarding the announcement last week from Mathew Knowles that his daughter was planning an "incredible performance" for the telecast.
"Beyoncé, as well as my other artists Solange and Trinitee 5:7, have been asked to participate and will do so," Papa Knowles said in the statement.
USHER'S FATHER DIES IN ATLANTA: Funeral for Usher Raymond III scheduled for Wednesday.
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*The father of R&B superstar Usher has died, reports the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Usher Raymond, III passed away Friday at a hospital in Atlanta, according to reports. His cause of death were not immediately known.
Usher and his dad were reportedly close, even following his father's split with his mother when the singer was young, reports gossip site MediaTakeOut.com. The website also says Usher, his wife Tameka and his mother Jonetta were at the elder Usher's side when he died.
Services will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 1 p.m. in the chapel of Taylor Funeral Home in Chattanooga, TN with Elder James Penny officiating. Burial: Highland Memorial Gardens. Visitation: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 from 6-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
According to the Taylor Funeral Home's website, Usher Raymond, III was 52 years old.
EDDIE MURPHY EARNS MULTIPLE RAZZIE NODS: "Norbit" singled out by annual celebration of year's worst films and performances.
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*Eddie Murphy has joined Halle Berry in the rare class of actors who have received nominations for both an Academy Award, honoring the best in film, and a Razzie Award, which "rewards" the year's worst.
Berry was a winner at both ceremonies – earning a best actress Oscar for "Monster's Ball" in 2002 and a worst actress Razzie three years later for "Catwoman."
While Murphy was unable to bag the supporting actor Oscar for "Dreamgirls" last year, chances are good that he'll take home at least one of eight Razzie nominations for his 2007 fiasco "Norbit."
Murphy alone received five Razzie nods, more than anyone has ever gotten in a single year. Besides worst picture, "Norbit" had nominations for Murphy as worst actor in the title role, supporting actress as Norbit's morbidly-obese wife, supporting actor as an Asian man and worst screen couple for Norbit opposite either of Murphy's other characters.
"We decided that each of his characters was so offensive that he deserved individual nominations," said Razzies founder John Wilson. Murphy also shared a screenplay nomination for co-writing the film.
"Norbit's" biggest competition comes from Lindsay Lohan's thriller "I Know Who Killed Me," which received a leading nine Razzie nominations, including worst picture.
The other worst picture nominees were "Bratz," a live-action take on the cartoon about four chic young girls; "Daddy Day Camp," with Cuba Gooding Jr. starring in a sequel to Murphy's "Daddy Day Care"; and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," Adam Sandler and Kevin James' comedy about firefighters posing as a gay couple.
Sandler and Gooding joined Murphy in the worst-actor category, along with Nicolas Cage for "Ghost Rider" and Jim Carrey for "The Number 23."
Razzie "winners" will be announced Feb. 23, a day before the Oscars.
Us Magazine: Britney Spears’ obituary already written
This news should make Britney Spears slide a little further off her rocker: US magazine admits it has an obituary prepared for the troubled singer. This is not surprising when you consider that every major media outlet has the obituaries of hundreds of celebrities and other notables on ice until that fateful day when they need to go live with it.
Says US magazine:
“We are not wishing it, but if Britney passed away, it’s easily one of the biggest stories in a long time. I think one would agree that Britney seems at risk right now. Of course, we would never wish any type of misfortune on anybody and hope that we would never have to use it until 50 years from now… but if something were to happen, we would have to be prepared.”
Says US magazine:
“We are not wishing it, but if Britney passed away, it’s easily one of the biggest stories in a long time. I think one would agree that Britney seems at risk right now. Of course, we would never wish any type of misfortune on anybody and hope that we would never have to use it until 50 years from now… but if something were to happen, we would have to be prepared.”
EXPLOSIVE: NE-YO MAY SUE BEYONCE OVER IRREPLACEABLE ROYALTIES!!!
January 22, 2008. If you thought Ne-Yo's R Kelly lawsuit was juicy, you're not going to believe what MediaTakeOut.com is hearing. Word around Ne Yo's camp is that he may be considering suing Beyonce over the royalties for her hit song Irreplaceable.A person familiar with the details spoke EXCLUSIVELY with MediaTakeOut.com on the condition of anonymity. That person explained, "[Ne Yo] was never paid for writing the song Irreplaceable. There was just an understanding that he'd help out on [Beyonce's album] and when it was his time to make his album, Beyonce would return the favor."But the insider tells MediaTakeOut.com that Beyonce is now refusing to record a duet on Ne Yo's upcoming album. The insider explains, "I don't know what's going on, but it doesn't look like Beyonce's going to be working on the album ... Ne-Yo could have sold that song for hundreds of thousands of dollars ... I know that he's consulted a lawyer over what to do about things."And our source supports Ne Yo's decision to take possible legal action. The insider added, "I'm not sure whether [Ne Yo] will actually go through with a lawsuit. But I know he's furious about it ... If she doesn't work on his album, I hope he does sue."Developing...
All the Britney's a stage
BRITNEY Spears is in cahoots with the paparazzi to make sure her every move is chronicled on camera, a top snapper says. Lensman Alison Silva tells celebrity private eye Paul Barresi: "Britney is in on it. [She] calls the paparazzi before she goes out. We know 15 minutes before she leaves the house. It's all staged."
Silva adds that when four photographers were arrested last week for chasing the increasingly demented pop tart, "one of [them who] works for my company told me that Britney sent him a text message and said she was sorry. She tried to talk the cops into not arresting them . . . Money, fame, the excitement. It's part of her life." Barresi told Page Six that after reviewing footage of Spears with Adnan Ghalib, "[he] appeared to purposely position Britney in full view of fellow paparazzi to help them get the shot . . . It appeared that Britney is in on the sham." Barresi says if anti-paparazzi laws are ever enacted, celebs in cahoots with them should be just as liable. Spears' rep could not be reached.
Life after Girlfriends – Jill Marie Jones gives us the scoop
Dallas-born actress Jill Marie Jones is making moves in Hollywood that prove that life without her Girlfriends isn’t so lonely
Jill Marie Jones is the total antithesis of Toni Childs, the sassy, materialistic real estate broker she immortalized for six years on the award-winning series, Girlfriends. Perhaps it's the infectious yet faint lilt in her speech, a by-product of her southern upbringing, that makes her more wholesome that her shallow, on-screen alter ego. Although Toni Childs lives eternally in her loyalists' hearts, Jones has been busy breathing life into new diverse characters on the big screen with the same fervor and diva-next-door appeal in three new flicks. In the straight-to-DVD indie dramedy Redrum, she plays a meek housewife turned blood-thirsty serial killer; in Major Movie Star she gets tough and dirty with Jessica Simpson as a single mom who joins the army for a promise of a better future; and in The Comeback she plays a school teacher who mentors a young female student who has joined the town's football team. Essence.com spoke to the Texan beauty about home sweet home, living in the swamp, and why she left her Girlfriends behind.
Essence.com: I love that you live in La La Land, but at heart you’re a true southern belle. Do you get home to Dallas often?
Jill Marie Jones: (Laughs) Yes and no because when you live in Los Angeles people want to come and visit you. But I was there for Thanksgiving and I’m going this weekend before heading to Shreveport, Louisiana to finish filming.
Essence.com: Do you come from a big family?
J.M.J.: No, I have two older brothers: one brother who is my mother’s child and the other is my father’s.
Essence.com: So do you still get treated like the baby?
J.M.J.: (Laughs) I don’t think so, but someone else might think, Oh, honey you are definitely treated like the baby. When I’m home I don’t get any special treatment. You know what though? I guess I am the baby when I go home because I sleep with my mom and take over her bedroom and bring my two dogs, Ciao, a Yorkie poodle mix, and Luca, a maltese. So it’s usually the four of us and my mom is like, ‘How you gonna come to my house and take over? I don’t even sleep with dogs!’
Essence.com: And your mom is okay with having your pooches in-between her sheets?
J.M.J.: (Laughs) Yes, she isn’t necessarily an animal person, but she calls them her grandbabies.
Essence.com: So tell me about the film you’re shooting in Louisiana, The Comeback?
J.M.J: It’s a lighthearted drama about a working class town that loses all its hopes, dreams and ambitions when the factory closes because it puts a lot of people out of work. So they have a lot of heart in this town, but not a lot of money. And then this little girl, Jasmine (Keke Palmer), ends up playing the quarterback of this local football team. The town rallies around this team and it brings the spirit back to the town. I play Jasmine’s schoolteacher and her uncle’s (Ice Cube) love interest, and Tasha Smith plays her mom. It’s so cute; I was crying reading it because it just tugs at your heart.
Essence.com: We’re so used to seeing you play the fabulous “diva” roles. Can we expect you to get dirty in Major Movie Star?
J.M.J: My character, Connie Johnson, is a single mother who’s been laid off her job for about seven months. She has dreams for her and her child’s future, so she joins the Army for job opportunities because it’s her last hope. And honey, this was not a fabulous role. If you consider swamp water and mud makeup, I wore that every day. It was real: we were in the swamps, we were dirty every day; so this was no “Toni Childs” character.
Essence.com: And let me tell you, Toni Childs is sorely missed.
J.M.J.: It was so much fun playing Toni Childs. I don’t walk that walk in my daily life. I like to think that I’m a pretty nice person, but to be able to play the diva and say some of the things those types of characters say was a lot of fun.
Essence.com: Do you miss being a part of "Girlfriends"?
J.M.J: I do miss Girlfriends. I don’t know if people know this, but Girlfriends was only my third audition. I booked my first audition for City Guys, a Saturday morning show. My second audition I didn’t book and then Girlfriends was my third, so you have to understand that I still very green to this industry and there was the whole film world that I didn’t know. So when I left Girlfriends after six years, there was just so much I wanted to know and do. I’ve just been having a ball having opportunities to do movies. It’s just been great.
Essence.com: Were you unable to pursue a film career while on the show?
J.M.J.: You have to understand when you do a television show that you go to work every day and come home and sleep in your own bed, which is great. It’s like having a regular 9-to-5. But you’re on hiatus for about two-and-a-half to three months in the summer. In order to do a film you would really have to book a job and shoot it in those few months. And because most television shows are in Los Angeles, it limits you. Already I’ve been to Louisiana twice to shoot two different films. I love the consistency of television, but it keeps you in Los Angeles and away from traveling to do other projects.
Essence.com: Nothing wrong with spreading your wings, which brings me to your departure from Girlfriends. Tracee Ellis Ross said in an interview that the reason you didn’t return was because the cast did not receive the huge raise they were expecting. Is that true?
J.M.J: First of all, let me tell you why I left. I left because I wanted to do movies. My contract was up after my sixth season and people forget that just like the network can choose whether or not to renew your contract, I can also choose and evaluate whether or not I want to come back. My actor’s chair that has Girlfriends and my name on it, you know the director’s chair? Well, on the very last day of my sixth season, I told them to grab my chair and put it in my car for me. Then we had to negotiate a contract that doesn’t happen until they decide that your show is going to be picked up. You end the show in like February and then they don’t decide if they are going to pick you up because the upfronts until May. So why would I take my chair if I thought I was coming back?
Believe you me, I would tell you. I’ve never made a decision based on money. I was on the show for six years and I think that’s a good run. There’s so much more I want to do in my career and so much more I want to know and learn, but my departure definitely had nothing to do with money.
Essence.com: So were you aware that this was the explanation given for your departure?
J.M.J: Someone sent that article to me a long time ago when it first came out, and you know, I love Tracee, I love Golden, I love Persia, I love Reggie. I really do feel like I was in the University of Girlfriends. I learned so much from them. I mean, where I started on Girlfriends and where I ended up is like night and day and that’s because of the great cast I had to learn from. It’s difficult when something has been set up for six years and then something changes. I didn’t get upset about the comment. It’s all good.
Essence.com: That’s great to hear. I think most folks speculate that you all had beef because you never responded. But that’s not the case is it? J.M.J: Well, no one asked me a question. I don’t believe in adding grease to fire. If I were doing an interview about something I’m working on and someone wanted to ask me something, I have no problem answering it. But for me to make a statement or a rebuttal, to me it’s just silly.
Essence.com: Well, the second part of Tracee’s quote expressed her sadness that after six years of working together you didn’t share your decision to leave with the cast. Is that true?
J.M.J: I’ll be completely honest: I just didn’t really. I wish I had a better answer or could tell you that I even thought about it. Maybe it was a lapse of judgment, maybe I should have called—I didn’t really think about it. When my call came in to say, ‘We’re going to pick up Girlfriends for another season, does Jill want to come back?’ My management and I were like, ‘Thank you, but no thank you.’ So maybe I should have made phone calls, but I didn’t really think about it. When the cast first came back for their seventh season, I sent them all—individually, every single person of Girlfriends—a big bouquet of flowers. I didn’t leave Girlfriends because I was upset or wanted more money. It really wasn’t that deep. It’s so disappointing that because I wanted to dream bigger or experience something new, it received all this hoopla and drama around it. I really just wanted to do movies. It really was just that simple.
Essence.com: Do you still keep in touch with the cast?
J.M.J: I’ve talked to them individually at different times. I have so much love for all of them. But are we hanging out and having some wine and cheese on a Saturday night? No. Do I think of them as friends? Absolutely. In a way, I think of them as extended family, like cousins. I’ve talked to them individually throughout this, but I don’t talk to them on a regular basis. I wish them all well and I still watch the show.
Essence.com: Would you ever return to the show?
J.M.J.: You know anything is possible; it just has to make sense in terms of the direction I’m going in my own career.
Essence.com: Thank you for setting the record straight because people always want to pit Black women against one another.
J.M.J.: Yeah we do that and it’s disappointing, especially when it’s Black women, and I don’t like that. I just had lunch with Mara [Brock Akil, the show’s creator]; we met for a coffee like a month and a half ago. When I say we’re all good over here, we’re good.
Essence.com: Good and busy! A lil’ birdie tells me that you’re a screenwriter. What’s next for you?
J.M.J: I write and I’m developing and writing scripts. I’ve just been living my dreams and having the time of my life. I was able to go to New Jersey for a month and work with one of my best friends, Gabrielle Union, for Perfect Holiday. It’s been great.
Essence.com: Well how does it feel to be immortalized in Kanye West’s song “The Glory” from his album Graduation when he says “House on the hill two doors from Tracee Ross and I'm asking about her girlfriends yea the dark skined one"?
J.M.J.: (Laughs) Really? That’s really cool. I wasn’t aware that he references me, I actually have that album and I’ll have to listen to it again.
Essence.com: So are you a hip-hop fan?
J.M.J.: I love all genres, even country. I love Jay-Z, Kanye, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def...I guess people would say I like all the conscious rappers.
Essence.com: Would you ever consider doing a hip-hop video?
J.M.J.: Yes, for sure.
Essence.com: As a former Dallas Cheerleader can you bust a move that isn’t choreographed?
J.M.J.: Hmmm, that’s a good question. I’ve studied modern, jazz, ballet. I would say yes. I loved when Golden and I used to go out to a party and make up choreography and dance and not have a care in the world and have so much fun.
Essence.com: Well you’re pretty fit. Do you still box?
J.M.J.: I do still box but I took a little break for a minute. I like to find fun ways to work out because I’m not that type of person who just wakes up and lives for working out. I do it because I know it’s the healthy thing to do.
Essence.com: Do you have a special someone who might be a little jealous of you appearing in a hip-hop video?
J.M.J.: No, I just got out of a two-year relationship, and have been dating and enjoying it the last six months.
Essence.com: Are you interested in getting married?
J.M.J.: It’s not the first thing on my mind in the morning when I wake up, but all my friends back home are.
Essence.com: (Laughs) I hear you. So when folks talk about you and your success, what do you hope they’ll say?
J.M.J.: That I’ve inspired somebody, somewhere. I think success could be a birth of a child but I’d like to think in some small way that I helped somebody in life breathe a lil’ easier.
On Good Character - Words of Wisdom - January 22, 2008
Good morning. Character is a choice. The scripture says reputation is more powerful than money. Proverbs 22:1 says “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” Become known for integrity... What you are... will eventually be exposed and known.. This is one quality that will make you unforgettable!
God is Love
Rev Run
Follow Favor - Words of Wisdom - January 21, 2008
Good morning. Go where you're celebrated, not where you're tolerated..
God is Love
Rev Run
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