How’s it going, everyone? It’s been a slow week and I’m
ready to recharge over the next two days. This week proved to be interesting
with two NFL stars lost at sea despite an extensive search, Wall Street going
up and down with the state of the economy and RNC chairman Michael Steele
engaging in a war of words with Rush Limbaugh. Just another week in paradise.
Shout out to the sounding boards for making weekends the
best two days of the week.
And now I present…the Last Word for the week ending March 6,
2009.
1. Alicia Keys Channels Michelle Obama for Glamour Magazine
She’s got a knack for making a hit or two, not to mention
filling a few seats at the local movie theater. And now Alicia Keys has her
sights on the White House. At least in the lens of Glamour Magazine.
The songstress is among a group of entertainers who posed as
influential female history makers and style mavens for a series of pictures in
the publication’s 70th Anniversary/American Icons issue, which
arrives in newsstands on Tuesday (March 10). Dressed in a blue Carolina Herrera
dress, a black Michael Kors belt, Miriam Haskell necklace and black Christian
Louboutin shoes, Keys embodies Michelle as she is photographed with look-alikes
of first daughters Sasha and Malia.
The chance to be Mrs. Obama proved to be a no-brainer for
the vocalist, who voiced her admiration for the First Lady.
“She has worked hard for everything she’s accomplished, and
done so with grace and humility. So many women and girls can identify with her
story,” she said.
Others featured in the Icons issue include Paula Patton, who
becomes jazz legend Billie Holiday; Lindsay Lohan, who recreates Madonna’s
classic 1983 VMA as the Material Girl herself and Ugly Betty star America Ferrerra, who takes a stand as United
Farm Workers of America cofounder Dolores Huerta.
2. Chris Rock Revisits Old Fling in New Civil Suit
The fallout from Chris Rock’s 1998 fling with a former model
continues to haunt the comedian.
The LA Times reports
that a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has unsealed details regarding a
new civil suit filed by Monika Zsibrita. According to the suit, which was filed
in August, Zsibrita accuses Rock of breach of contract as well as a string of
other charges that harbor a theme of Rock being “a monster.”
Zsibrita goes on to accuse Rock of raping her, hiring a
private investigator to follow her and airing their situation out during a 2004
appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show. And while things like this are usually
kept private, Zsibrita revealed she wanted the details of her suit made public
so the people and those in her native Hungary would get her version of what
happened.
“My side has never been out,” Zsibrita told the Times. “This has basically ruined my life.”
Among the things noted in the new suit are portions of a
recorded phone call in which Rock says being accused of rape would devastate
his career and his private investigator promises to “blacken this girl up to
the left and right.” The suit goes on to say that Zsibrita’s home was
repeatedly broken into and photos of her daughter removed. Rock was never
charged with rape.
Although the suit was initially filed under seal for fear of
Zsibrita violating a confidentiality agreement contained in a settlement of her
paternity case against Rock, her lawyer, Neville Johnson, cited the Stern show
appearance as the reason why his client shouldn’t follow the agreement.
And while most people assume she is playing the gold-digger,
Zsibrita is quick to say that she never asked Rock for money, despite him
giving her several checks that amounted to less than $18,000.
“I am not a poor girl,” said Zsibrita, who comes from a
wealthy family. “I don’t need to date people for money.”
Call it what you want, but I guess that’s why everybody
hates Chris.
3. Halle Berry and Salma Hayek Contribute to Making a
Better Version of You
Is there not a celebrity who doesn’t have a clothing line,
perfume, cologne or desire for world domination?
I guess I can’t put Halle Berry or Salma Hayek outside of
that view anymore. Media sources reveal that Berry has partnered with Coty to
bring her new perfume, Halle by Halle Berry to a store near you.
Not one to let everybody else do the work, the Oscar winner
took a personal interest in the venture has she played an active role by
working closely with the International Flavors & Fragrances and
participating in smell tests and coming up with bottle designs and images that
will properly represent the scent.
“Fragrance is something I’ve wanted to do for myself. It’s a
real true expression of who I am. I was involved in all aspects of making it,”
Berry admitted to members of the press. “It felt like it was the right time in
my life to take it on, and Coty’s been a great partner to do that with. I hope
this is the first of a number of fragrances.”
The perfume, which the entertainer geared toward conjuring
up “the spirit of a woman who is effortlessly sexy, stylish, and elegant,” will
include natural scents such as freesia, hibiscus, mimosa, sandalwood,
driftwood, cashmere musk, olibanum absolute and sensual amber.
Halle by Halle Berry is slated to hit stores this month,
with prices ranging from $17-$35 for various sizes of eu de parfum and $12.50
for a 6.7 oz body lotion. Other Halle products include a 6.7-oz. shower gel and
a 2.5-oz. deodorant natural spray.
Following suit with her line of cosmetics is Salma Hayek,
who is interested in creating something that won’t break the bank for
consumers.
“I am trying to develop a line with a drugstore so that it’s
affordable for everyone,” the actress told E! News. “I’ve been doing research
for two or three years. My whole approach is how can we get the essence of the
really expensive ones but for everyone to be able to use?”
Wow. Nothing like a pair of sexy stars to inspire you to be
just as sexy in your own way. And all for a low price. What will they think of
next?
4. Michael Jackson Finally Focuses on Music
With all the court cases, tabloid stories and other
foolishness, it took Michael Jackson long enough. But it seems the King of Pop
is on his way back to doing what he is known for, music.
The singing icon confirmed to E! News that he is “constantly”
working on new songs.
According to his rep, Jackson is preparing “both a world
tour and a series of specials and appearances.” Jackson, who said he might
debut some of the songs on the outing, went on tell E! that he had “all kinds
of titles” in the works, but didn’t elaborate. The tour would mark Michael’s
first live public performances since his 20th anniversary solo show at New
York’s Madison Square Garden in 2001 and his last tour in 1996.
As a Michael Jackson fan, it’s about time. Maybe now he can
make enough dough to help himself and his family. Jermaine could definitely use
a handout out as well as Janet since her tour was less than a success. And
father Joe…well, that’s another conversation in itself. Some things change and
some things remain the same.
5. Rosario Dawson Reminisces Over Motherly Discipline and
Sex Talk
With a string of hit movies and the fame that goes along
with it, it’s safe to say that Rosario Dawson made the right choice to pursue
acting rather than an engineering or marine biology degree.
And while she’s now comfortable in her own skin with sexy
photos and love scenes, it took a while for Dawson to appreciate the joy of
sex, thanks to her mother.
“My mom told me so much about sex at an early age that she
scared me: I didn’t have sex until I was 20,” the actress admitted to New
York Post’s Style magazine. “….I think all
that talk of sex put me off. The first time I had it, I think it was in a
head-to-toe rubber. I was terrified of getting pregnant.”
Sex wasn’t the only thing mom had a hand in. According to
Rosario, she had a unique way of disciplining her.
“My mom licked me — that was her punishment. If I was
a little uppity or if I didn’t listen or if she wanted to get my attention,
she’d lick the side of my face or under my armpit,” she revealed. “My mom’s a
six-foot-tall amazon and she’d say, ‘You came out of my v##### and I own every
part of you,’ and she’d lick me like I was her wee pup and she was a lioness.
It was humiliating and really intense. Very primal. It’s not spanking, but it
definitely works.”
Eventually, Rosario got over her fear and managed to have no
problems heating up the big screen with co-stars such as Will Smith and Colin
Farrell. Not that the all the licking by mom and traumatic sex talk would’ve
changed anything. No embarrassment there, just tough love. Nothing like
parental guidance.
In Other Words…
* Last week’s report of a future death for Madea may have
been premature. Seems like Aretha Franklin took those rumblings to heart as she
personally penned a letter to Tyler Perry voicing her opposition to doing away
with the gun-toting granny. “I got a letter from The Queen of Soul herself
saying (and this made me laugh so hard) ‘There are two things that have brought
you over. One is Jesus, and the other is Madea.’ And you best not get rid of
either one of them!’” Perry shared with People.
Fans can take comfort in knowing that Madea will be back on the
big screen in the upcoming adaptation of his hit play, I Can Do Bad All By
Myself, which will star Oscar-nominated
actress Taraji P. Henson. The feature is scheduled to hit theatres on Sept.
11. Perry will follow that up with
the sequel to his 2007 hit Why Did I Get Married. Why Did I Get Married Too, is set to come out on April 2, 2010.
* There is life after Chappelle’s Show for Charlie Murphy.
The comedian is gearing up
for the debut of his new show Charlie Murphy’s Crash Comedy. The sketch comedy series, which premieres March 20
on Crackle.com, will feature sketches as well as parodies and infomercials.
* After years of being in front of the camera, Angela Bassett
is making moves behind the scenes with her directorial debut, United States.
The Hollywood Reporter reveals the independent film is a dramatic comedy
centering around Monk Ellison, a prominent black literary figure who writes a
faux autobiography from the perspective of a barely literate hoodlum to decry
what is wrong with the glorification of “ghetto” culture. But when the book is lauded as a possible
contender for the National Book Award, he must choose between pride and fame.
United States, based on the Percival Everett novel Erasure,
is the first project produced by Bassett and her husband, Courtney B. Vance,
under their production company, Bassett/Vance Prods.
* If you’re a Prince fan, you will love this. The artist is
releasing a three disc CD set March 29 at Target. The set will include two new
Prince albums — LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND — an a third release from his new artists Bria
Valente. And here’s the kicker…All this will be available at Target and its
website for $11.98. If that isn’t a steal, then I don’t know what is.
Definitely more bang for the buck.
