Alicia Keys, who many people already suspect is a lesbian, actually thought that playing a lesbian in last year’s Smokin’ Aces was a refreshing change of pace from her girlish persona.
…The more I read, the more I got it. I was like, “Wow, there’s nothing people will expect from me less than this.” And that’s what I wanted when it came to the film. I don’t want to be the singing, piano-playing “girl role.” I want to be something that’s not who I am.
Clearly, Alicia subscribes to the Mariah Carey school of thought and doesn’t read what other people say about her.
[QT]
Though they’re separated and have each taken up with younger, hotter significant others, it doesn’t mean that Kimora can’t throw Russell star-studded surprise 50th birthday parties. Lots more pictures after the jump, including some heartwarming bonding between Djimon Hounsou and Russell. They should be a lesson for broken families everywhere!
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Yes, I usually have something smart to say about new videos, but I kind of just really like Alicia Keys and this new song, plus I’m generally unoffended by the clip, if a bit mystified by the concept. Shouldn’t there a love interest in there somewhere?
• Donovan McNabb says America has it out for black QBs. When one of them gets caught fighting killing dogs, it probably makes things a little worse. []
• As more details come out about the West Virginia kidnapping/torture/rape case, police pile more charges against the six suspects. Do any of the new charges carry a mandatory sentence of burning in hell for all eternity? []
• Stars are not immune to acne any more than we are, and it’s also not a secret that Alicia Keys has some skin problems. But if you’re beautiful with cover-up on, then I don’t buy the argument that if you have acne you aren’t pretty. [SR]
• Lou Gosset, Jr.’s bringing the social activism in his old age. [NR]
• From what I know about Jena, the residents are just going to love it when swarms of unhappy black folk/northern white liberals swarm their town for the Sept. 20th rally. [USAT]
Upon the completion of last night’s disaster of an award show, my first thought was that it’s going to be uglier than Britney’s extensions at the MTV offices today. I foresee heads rolling. My second thought was to rewatch Britney Spear’s performance, but I realized I couldn’t. It was that bad, for those of you lucky enough to miss it. The woman who used to bring the house down, couldn’t even lip-synch properly, had serious trouble standing still, let alone dancing, and pretty much put on the most listless, embarrassing, shoddy performance in VMA history. I’m sure there was some sort of sedative and/or alcohol involved. Anyway, it’s rough watching a career terminate before your very eyes. Don’t think I can do it again any time soon.
And the new format, with the main stage and all the little parties in other rooms, was confusing and annoying, even though it allowed for more performances. The whole thing was sloppy and unorganized. My highlights and lowlights, plus pics galore after the jump.
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The federal government has always had a knack for misusing our tax money in the most wasteful of ways. Take, for instance, the FBI’s interest in Coretta Scott King in the years following her husband’s assassination. A recently unearthed memo shows that the geniuses at the FBI were worried that the wife of a man famous for his use of non-violent resistance to effect change would become some violent anti-Vietnam rebel.
In memos that reveal Coretta Scott King being closely followed by the government, the FBI noted concern that she might attempt “to tie the anti-Vietnam movement to the civil rights movement.”
Four years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, the FBI closed its file on Coretta Scott King, saying, “No information has come to the attention of Atlanta which indicates a propensity for violence or affiliation of subversive elements,” according to a memorandum dated Nov. 30, 1972.
This is more ridiculous — but less surprising — than the time the NYPD felt the need to stalk the dangerous terrorist that is Alicia Keys, who was no doubt up to some subversive shit on the set of the Nanny Diaries.
[]
Alicia Keys plays Scarlett Johansson’s confidante in The Nanny Diaries, and, although the movie is new, the role is not. She’s the BBF — the black best friend — and she appears alongside (or rather, slightly behind) the white female lead in countless movies and television shows.
The BBF syndrome isn’t something that Hollywood likes to talk about, even as it continues to be a winking in-joke among blacks in the industry. One African American actress said that she and her actress friends tease one another about forming a support group for characters who had to help out their “woefully helpless white girls.”
But on a more serious note, the trend of BBFs underscores the limitations that African American actresses still face more than five years after Halle Berry’s Oscar-winning performance as best actress in a leading role for “Monster’s Ball.” Despite impressive résumés, solid credentials and successful achievements, many of the black actresses who have played BBFs are rarely offered the heroine role in mainstream projects. Not one black actress will star in a prime-time series on the four major networks this fall season.
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I’m shocked and amazed at the lack of major fashion don’ts last night, considering the crowd. Even Lil’ Kim, while I wouldn’t have chosen that outfit/makeup/hair necessarily, could have done much, much worse. I’m not saying there weren’t some questionable wardrobe and hair choices — I’m talking to Keyshia Cole and Vivica Fox specifically, here — but in general things were looking pretty good. More red carpet pics than you can handle after the jump.
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It would have been asking too much to be spared a live performance from Rihanna (although I am interested to see what she’s wearing on the red carpet), but I don’t object to any of the other presenters and performers in the final lineup for next week’s BET Awards. Oh, except for Al Sharpton, who has spent the better part of the last couple of months waging a half-assed war against some of the artists being honored by BET that night. Wouldn’t the best form of protest be to stay away? Anyway, here’s the lineup.
Newly-added big name celebs scheduled to appear or perform include: mega-star Beyonce’, hip-hop mogul Diddy, R&B divas Keyshia Cole, Kelly Rowland, and Alicia Keys, chart-topping ingénue Rihanna, legendary singers Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan, sultry crooners Robin Thicke and Mario, soul maven Erykah Badu, rap stars Nelly and Fabolous, actress Vivica A. Fox, funnyman Charlie Murphy, activist/political leader Al Sharpton, hip hop activist/rapper Chuck D, American Idol Jordin Sparks, writer/director/actor Tyler Perry, movie stars Nick Cannon, Michael Clark Duncan and Henry Simmons, and NFL superstar Reggie Bush.
They join previously announced show talent T.I., 50 Cent, Ne-Yo, Ciara, Terrence Howard, Queen Latifah, Yolanda Adams, Tyra Banks, Katt Williams, Big Boi of Outkast and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
With the list above, the majority of which are performers, I don’t know when there is going to be time to hand out the awards. Actually, that’s what makes the BET awards so much better than all the others. Still, since it is an award show, I’ve listed my admittedly Beyonce-heavy picks (in bold) after the jump. They’re a combination of who I want to win and who I think is going to win. I’m interested to know yours.
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