• Thandie Newton, who is still pretty damn thin, says that she has battled with bulimia in the past. [People]

• Why it sounds more realistic for many black Atlanta residents to think that Michael Vick is being targeted for his race than his alleged crimes. [ESPN]

• Madonna might have some problems with the Malawi government and her toddler son, David. [MG]

• After last week’s media frenzy, I don’t want to hear from Usher. I don’t want to see Usher. And I definitely don’t want to smell Usher. [C&D]

• Brandy may or may not be prosecuted for the fatal car crash she was involved in last year. []

There are so many things wrong with this picture, not the least of which is that Brandy is stuck being third wheel to her porn star-wannabe brother and his older, plastic-surgeried, ex-con lover. How much does Brandy’s life suck right now?

Maybe she’s smiling through it all because she is supposedly back with her ex-fiance, New York Knick Quentin Richardson. His camp says no, but for Miss Norwood’s sake, I hope it’s really a yes.

[BF, EUR]

• I think it’s really rude to fire a woman for calling two black employees “jungle bunnies” when swears she didn’t know it was offensive. [RR]
• Brandy’s E! True Hollywood Story premieres tomorrow at 6pm. It will probably be pretty boring until the last 10 minutes. [CL]
• To make matters less interesting, Brandy and Tyrese are not getting married. Did anyone ever believe they were? [C&D]
• Now that I know Morgan Freeman is playing Nelson Mandela in a new movie, I can’t picture another American actor playing the role. Although Angelina Jolie would probably audition. []
• Diddy’s lashing out over false media reports that he dropped Cassie from Bad Boy. With a voice like that, he could never let her go! [SP]

Dear Brandy,
There have been a few minor missteps in our past, like when you pretended to be married to the father of your baby for the purposes of an MTV reality show and to protect your reputation, but other than that I feel like your life has been pretty uneventful, in terms of bad press. For a child star, that’s all we can really ask for, isn’t it? I mean, compared to your wannabe porn star brother, you are a saint. Look at what a lifetime in the spotlight has done to Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. You have avoided crotch-flashes and rehab thus far, and for that I commend you. Unfortunately, you have been unable to avoid a fatal car crash, which may or may not be your fault.

CONTINUED »

Tired of being sued for her involvement in a fatal car accident last year, Brandy filed a court document to say she denies every wrongful death accusation leveled against her. This hasn’t stopped yet another shameful opportunist/victim from trying to get more money out of the singer, who surely does not have anywhere near the amount of cash her opponents think is owed to them.

Three wrongful death suits have been filed, one by Aboudihaj’s parents, one representing the deceased’s two children, and, earlier this month, one by Aboudihaj’s husband, Maroune Hdidou, for the loss of “support, maintenance, solace, moral support, companionship and comfort” that his “faithful and dutiful” spouse provided him.

“This answering defendant specifically denies each and every allegation in the complaint and further denies that plaintiffs have been damaged in any sum or sums whatsoever,” read court papers obtained by E! Online.

In the filing, Brandy asserts her Fifth Amendment privilege to not incriminate herself and requests a jury trial.

Notorious stage mom Sonja Norwood has got to be looking at Brandy’s situation, not to mention her amateur porn star son’s, and thinking that maybe the spotlight isn’t the greatest place to thrust your kids at such a young age.

[E!]

The girl power version of “I Wanna Be Down” came out way back in 1994. Those were simpler times for Brandy. I would guess they were simpler times for most of us. But, you know, especially Brandy. This was back when the remix was king, girls had an unhealthy relationship with both synthetic braids and over-sized hats, and a little soft lighting from Hype Williams made the most hardened of female rappers look like they were shooting a CoverGirl ad. This was before MC Lyte and Yo Yo had faded into obscurity and acting made Queen Latifah more famous than rapping ever could. Before Brandy’s fatal car accident had her embroiled in three multi-million dollar lawsuits and got her fired from her cushy reality show hosting gig. And please notice an adolescent Ray J before he showed the world how much he wanted to be down with Kim Kardashian.

1994. Simpler times.

• Ask CSI’s Gary Dourdan where the good weed is. He’ll tell you. [PH]
• Charlie Murphy doesn’t know the “itinerary” of any man’s penis. And how shame on you for asking! [EUR]
• The only time I’ve ever envied the British — Lauryn Hill just announced plans for a UK mini-tour. [AllHipHop]
• Chris Brown has a new single, “Wall to Wall,” and he turns 18 tomorrow. Not that his age would be of any interest to like, every woman I know. [CL]
• A fatal car crash, a dumbass brother, three multi-million dollar lawsuits and getting fired from a hit reality show? For Brandy, bad things come in sixes. [E!]
• Barack Obama wants to use footage from the presidential debate without any copyright restrictions, probably so he can burn all the clips of that crazy, disoriented Alaskan candidate showing all of them up. [Jossip]
• Al Sharpton admits he was wrong when he called ex-NYC Mayor David Dinkins a “nigger whore” a few years back, but not as wrong as Don Imus. Why? Because Al Sharpton marched to protest Barbershop. Yeah, don’t even try to understand. [TMZ]