What’s good everybody? Another week gone by, another two
cents made amid an active week filled with cold weather gripping the nation
with record low temperatures, Steve Jobs taking a medical leave of absence,
Pres. Bush admitting to mistakes made with Iraq and Hurricane Katrina during
his final news conference on Monday (Jan. 12) and Indiana Colts head coach Tony
Dungy announcing his NFL retirement.
Congratulations to Fergie and Josh Duhamel, who got married
last Saturday, Jill Scott, who is pregnant with her first child, and Lisa
Bonet, who gave birth to her new son Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.
Shout out to Jim Rice and Ricky Henderson for being elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame, the people who arrested and charged the ex-BART officer who allegedly
shot Oscar Grant with murder on Wednesday (Jan. 14) and the sounding boards for
staying true in a false world.
And now the main event…the Last Word for the week ending
Jan. 16, 2009.
1. Amy Winehouse Prepares for the Single Life; Gets
Honored for Bad Skin
Amy Winehouse just keeps making news, usually in a bad way.
But it looks like some good (or bad depending on how you look at) fortune may
have come her way.
According to reports, Winehouse’s husband, Blake
Fielder-Civil, wants a divorce from the singer and has begun filing divorce
papers through his attorney.
The reason for the pending split? Adultery. The divorce news
comes amid recent pictures surfacing of Winehouse hanging out with another man,
smiling and looking like she’s put on some weight.
The singer, who is vacationing in St. Lucia, doesn’t seem
troubled over the news as she told News of the World that she has “finally
escaped from hell,” is off of drugs for good and – here’s where grounds
for divorce likely come in – “in love again.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with us now and for the time
being I’ve just forgotten I’m even married…But our whole marriage was based
on doing drugs,” said Winehouse, who added that she would “deal with Blake when
I get back.”
While Amy prepares for life without her “Blake
incarcerated,” the songstress can take comfort in knowing that she’s earned
another award for her collection. This time it’s from celebrity dermatologist
Dr. Vail Reese. For her struggle last year with a severe facial skin infection,
Reese honored Winehouse with the Skin-enemy: Staph Bacteria Award, one of many
from the dermatologists annual Skinnies Awards.
I know the economy is affecting everybody here, but this may
mean hard times for dealers looking to maintain their relationship with their
star customer if Amy does clean herself up. I can only imagine how much of a
challenge it may be for the unemployment office to find work for all those
“entrepreneurs.”
2. Samuel L. Jackson Ponders a Nick Fury-less Payday
Seeing Samuel L. Jackson show up at the end of Iron Man as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury was a pleasant
surprise. And while Tony Stark and Co. will be back for the sequel in 2010, Mr.
Jackson may not.
It seems as though negotiations with Marvel Studios to bring
Sam on for Iron Man 2, The
First Avenger: Captain America
and TheAvengers are not going well. No specific
reason for the failed talks has been given as Jackson hints that Fury may not
be a big presence in the films if he even appears onscreen again.
“There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I
don’t know,” the actor told the L.A.Times.
“Maybe I won’t be Nick Fury. Maybe somebody else will be Nick Fury or maybe
Nick Fury won’t be in it. There seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel
Comics world so [they’re saying to me], ‘We’re not making that deal.’”
Finding the right person fill Sam’s shoes could be a
challenge for Marvel since the latest version of Fury in the comic books is
modeled after the entertainer.
First Terrence Howard, now Sam Jackson. Although Don Cheadle
is no slouch in replacing Terrence as Jim Rhodes, Marvel really needs to get it
together. ‘Nuff said.
3. T-Boz and SWV’s Taj Hop Aboard the Reality TV Express
When it comes to celebrity-based reality TV, VH1 has a
solid, scandalous lock. But NBC and CBS may offer a bit of competition as it
enlists TLC’s T-Boz and former SWV member Taj Johnson-George for their
respective reality shows, Celebrity Apprentice and Survivor.
T-Boz and fellow vocalist Brian McKnight will be in a
different kind of spotlight when they appear on the new season of Celebrity
Apprentice. In addition to proving their
worth to Donald Trump, the pair will compete against 14 other stars in a series
of business-oriented tasks around Manhattan to raise money for their favorite
charities. Among those trying their luck for charity are former football great
Herschel Walker, Andrew Dice Clay, Country music star Clint Black, comedian Tom
Green, poker champ Annie Duke, pro golfer Natalie Gulbis, and Khloe Kardashian.
T-Boz will play for the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia,
while McKnight will compete for Youthville USA and Kardashian goes all out for
the Brent Shapiro Foundation for Alcohol and Drug Awareness. Celebrity
Apprentice’s eighth season will premiere
March 1 on NBC.
As for Taj, look for her on the new season of Survivor, titled Survivor: Tocantins – The
Brazilian Highlands
. The former R&Bstar is one of 16 castaways on board for the Jeff Probst-hosted show, which
finds participants being split into two tribes and choosing one person from
each tribe to stay behind before their first conversation with each other. The
new season of Survivor will
premiere Feb. 12 on CBS.
4. Salma Hayek’s Chest Makes Megan Fox’s Wanted List
With her status as one of Hollywood’s most desirable
actresses, not to mention a guaranteed payday with the forthcoming Transformers sequel, Megan Fox should be enjoying life. But to
hear her tell it, the 22-year-old entertainer feels anything but beautiful
these days.
“I’m so painfully insecure I’m on the verge of vomiting
right now,” said Fox, who was named one of GQ magazine’s Men of the Year in 2008. Strangely enough, the actress has
no problem with taking the title to heart.
“I’m a tranny,” Fox told E! News Sunday (Jan. 11) on the red
carpet before attending this year’s Golden Globes ceremony. “I’m a man.”
Although she broadcasts it in a strange way, it’s a little
different for someone like Fox to openly admit to her imperfections. But don’t
worry. She already has an ideal body type (or rather body part) in mind as she
eyed Salma Hayek on the red carpet.
“I really want her boobs,” Fox said about the Oscar
nominee’s assets. “Those are the most amazing boobs.”
With all this talk about insecurity and being a man, don’t
be surprised if Megan turns into a real “transformer” down the road.
Apparently, there seems to be more than meets the eye with this lady. Gotta
love that Megan. She’s never one to hold her tongue.
5. Bobby Brown/Madonna Episode Detailed in New Book
Bobby Brown may be many things to many people, but you can’t
say he never capitalized on his fame. Especially when it came to women.
The R&B bad boy was formerly linked to Madonna at the
height of his popularity, according to Derrick Handspike’s recently released
new book Bobby Brown: The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But… Brown seemed to have a real thing going on as a
publishing source revealed to the National Enquirer that, “It [romance] began when one of Bobby’s
bodyguards caught the Material Girl with Bobby in the back of his limo. The
couple met years before when Madonna was on her way up and served as the
opening act for some New Edition shows.”
“The book discloses, after both had become well known,
Madonna was interested in having a relationship with Bobby,” the source added.
Seriously, could you picture a Madonna/Bobby relationship
back then? You have to wonder if the world would’ve been ready for something
like that. Being Bobby Brown may have been cool with Whitney, but with Madge,
the foolishness would’ve reached epic proportions with both of them struggling
to run the house according to their “prerogative.” Talk about a debacle.
6. Ne-Yo Is All the Man the Pussycat Dolls Need
Singer. Songwriter. Actor. With job security guaranteed from
three titles, it looks like Ne-Yo does a decent job of balancing his tasks
professionally. So it may not be much of a stretch for the entertainer to do
the same in his personal life, as he believes he could handle all five members
of the Pussycat Dolls.
“I’m not the biggest guy in the world but believe me, I have
enough to go round,” Ne-Yo told WENN.
While it would be easy to label the hitmaker as someone who
can’t get enough sex, Ne-Yo is quick to say that he is anything but.
“I’m 29, I like sex but an addict is someone who can’t live
without it,” the vocalist added. “I can, but I don’t want to.”
It’s good that Ne-Yo admitted to not being a sex addict.
After all, admission is the first step to overcoming whatever it is he’s really
addicted to. I’ll let you be the judge.
In Other Words…
* Christina Milian is setting the stage for her return to
music with the video for her new song “Us Against the World,” which
premiered Tuesday (Jan. 13) on MySpace. The ballad is the first single from the
singer’s forthcoming album Dream in Color. The release is scheduled to hit
stores in April.
* Zhang Ziyi may be able to kick butt onscreen in films like
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Rush
Hour 2, but the actress is catching flack
from folks in her native China after topless photos of her on a beach with her
Israeli fiancé Vivi Nevo surfaced online.
Ziyi is seen in the photos sunbathing on a Caribbean beach wearing just
a pair of bikini bottoms as Nevo touched her intimately.
As a result, the pics have set off a flurry of criticism,
which resulted in them being censored by China’s internet authorities and
removed from many websites.
* The Gospel Music Association (GMA) will soon have a new
member of its Hall of Fame. And her name is Dolly Parton. The country star,
along with Dr. Bobby Jones, the Dixie Hummingbirds and Michael W. Smith, will
be inducted into the Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony in Nashville,
Tennessee in February. According to GMA President John Styll, their shared
common heritage of gospel music was the reason Parton and Co. were chosen for
induction.
* Martial arts film star Jackie Chan will teach the art of
waxing on and off as he is negotiating to star alongside Will Smith’s son Jaden
in a remake of The Karate Kid. The
entertainer will play Mr. Miyagi, the role made famous by the late Pat Morita.
Jaden Smith will take on the role of a young boy mentored by
Chan’s character. The new Karate Kid will follow the original franchise by
centering on the relationship between a martial arts expert and a boy who is
picked on by bullies.
* As if you didn’t know already. It’s now been confirmed
that Aubrey O’Day will indeed grace the cover and pose nude for the March issue
of Playboy, which hits newsstands Feb.
13.
* R. Kelly is now free to freak anybody he wants. The
41-year-old singer has finalized his divorce from his wife, Andrea, after 11
years of marriage. In a joint statement, the former couple said they had
reached an amicable resolution concerning all issues related to their marriage
and will share joint custody of their three children. Parents guard your
children well.
