Category: Celebrity OOPS!

Whitney’s Respiratory Infection Sparks the Paparazzi

Posted by Kat – April 10, 2010

It seems like a year can’t go by without there being some mention of Whitney Houston and substance abuse, and it looks like April is the month for this year. On Wednesday, after being released from a hospital in Paris due to a serious respiratory infection, the press was right there to find out if Houston had been abusing all over again. Her response to the paparazzi? The claims were “ridiculous” and in fact, she feels fantastic and is ready for her tour. She wants to continue travelling and performing, and she certainly doesn’t appreciate the claims, it seems.

To be fair, though, there was real concern for her health when Tuesday she was forced to be hospitalized by doctor’s. The press was eager to jump on the bandwagon that this might somehow be related to Houston’s previous abuse problems, but so far, she’s done a great job of coming back. When she came back last year with the album “I Look To You,” she had fought and conquered that addiction and after seven years of no studio work, she was out and out there with a vengeance.

But, whether or not she’s really stayed clean is the issue. She was given poor reviews during her tour while it was in Australia, as fans claimed she not only looked poorly, but sang off-key and seemed to be out of breath. Houston claims it’s allergies for this time of year, and she swears she doesn’t even read the tabloids or look at them, because she’s confident that she is truthfully clean and wants to be back in the spotlight. Let’s hope she’s telling the truth! If she isn’t, she might find herself in a worse position if she’s hospitalized again. Or, of course, she might just be having some bad international allergies.

Erykah Badu Gets No Easter Cheer For Her Video

Posted by Kat – April 4, 2010

Last time I had checked on the front of Erykah Badu’s controversial new music video shoot, where she was walking naked through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, TX, she wasn’t going to be charged. In fact, the Dallas police had stated that because no one actually called in a complaint at the time of the video shoot, they weren’t going to slap a charge on her. But, of course, leave it to someone to take things too far and to whine. A Texas woman has now filed a complaint of indecency with the Dallas police and they will be charging her with disorderly conduct. That means that in the mail, Badu’s about to get a citation for a $500 fine. Now, I have issue with this for more than one reason.

First of all, the video was shot completely in one take, and it involves her actually stripping down until she’s completely nude, where a gunshot then rings out and she crumples to the ground while what looks like blue blood then spills down onto the ground until it forms the word “groupthink.” So, you’re talking about maybe a minute of time where she is actually nude, and it was in one take. One minute, people. In my opinion, that’s guerilla theatre, and this should fall under artistic license. Regardless of if she warned the public of it, given that she didn’t and it was only her and a cameraman, she wasn’t walking around for hours on end with no clothes on shouting “Look at my boobies, children! Look at my boobies!” In fact, I’m more stuned that someone filed an indecency complaint against a woman who bared all in what is a very beautiful and non-sexual way, when it’s not like anyone files complaints against Usher for having a single where he drops the F-bomb throughout the entire chorus.

What does Badu have to say about this? She’s stunned, too. She says she’s been more naked in her lyrics and her words, and that’s where real vulnerability lies.

Gaga’s got a real “Bad Romance”

Posted by Kat – March 19, 2010

Who says there aren’t sour grapes in the music industry? Apparently, even Lady Gaga can’t avoid having the same trials as her lyrics, because now a music producer and songwriter who also claims to have been Gaga’s boyfriend is rearing the ugly head of jealousy and sour grapes over her career. According to Rob Fusari, who apparently needs $30.5 million in the lawsuit, even though he’s a music producer and a songwriter and has worked with plenty of other major recording artists, he fostered Lady Gaga’s career and she completely dumped him when her career took off. Would this be the first time that has ever happened to a music producer who thought their protege was attractive and date-able and then something came up that meant they couldn’t get all their money out of it? No.

To be fair, Fusari’s involvement in Gaga’s early career has been stated before in interviews and did clearly state that he was the one to introduce her to a record executive who would eventually bring her to Interscope Records, who would later release “The Fame.” His lawsuit is claiming that while he helped Stefani Germanotta become Lady Gaga, going so far as to claim that he gave her the name and that he “radically changed her style and look.” He did co-wite Paparazzi and Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,  and had a romantic relationship during the development of her career. Once she took off, she dumped him and even though they had a joint venture where he was to earn 20% of the proceeds, he’s claiming after they broken up that he wasn’t receiving any of the money he was supposed to receive. He’s already received $611,000 but claims that he is supposed to get more.

Personally, this sounds a lot like sour grapes and ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’, but we’ll see how it goes. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, hasn’t said anything immediately, but the actual comments about Lady Gaga’s own identity is that this had been her style since before she became “Lady Gaga.” And given her background, it makes sense. So what’s the real story here? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Lil Wayne’s Jail Term To Finally Begin

Posted by Kat – March 9, 2010

Considering I’ve been covering the ongoing circus that has been Lil Wayne’s quest to avoid his sentencing trial, it seemed only right to finally finish that particular tale as yesterday, March 8th, Lil Wayne attended his hearing and was finally sentenced.  His term for having pled guilty for attempted criminal possession of a weapon? A year in jail in New York City. It seems more than a little lax, considering he had admitted to having .40-caliber semiautomatic guns that were loaded and on his tour bus, but he was taken away and ordered to begin his sentence immediately. Born with the name Dwayne Carter, he is going to be serving his sentence in city jails, as opposed to a state prison, and with good behavior, he may be out in as soon as eight months.


If you’ve been following this story, then you already know that trying to get Lil Wayne to actually go to his sentencing hearing has been a bit of a pain for all involved. First, it was necessary surgery on his blinged out teeth, and then a fire broke out at the main criminal courthouse in Manhattan. Finally, though, after a very public appearance earlier at Jay-Z’s concert, Lil Wayne did make his court appearance and hsa now been sentenced.


As for what’s going to happen while he’s in jail, the man has already filmed several music videos that are going to premiere over the next several months while he’ll be in jail. And while he’s behind bars, he plans on continuing to write and work on new numbers by the time he comes back home. On top of that, he’s hoping to be in protective custody while behind bars, so it looks like his next year in jail won’t be the worst it could be.

Lil Wayne Gets ANOTHER Magic Trial Postponement

Posted by Kat – March 3, 2010

Okay, okay, seriously? Wait… SERIOUSLY? First it’s the dental work that he needed so terribly badly that he couldn’t go to trial until it was taken care of. Then, it was a courthouse fire that took place yesterday that made it impossible for him to have his sentencing done then. I understand that there was a fire and that that isn’t exactly an easy or quick fix, but putting all that aside… the guy’s then able to go and perform at the Jay-Z concert last night in New York. I am aware that we have due process and that he is not in custody and that means he should be allowed to about as if he is doing business as usual. In this case, it meant being at Jay-Z’s “Blueprint 3″ tour, while Young Jeezy had a set during the performance. BUT. If he had gone to his sentencing the last TWO times, he would be currently serving a very real sentence for a very, very real crime.

That being said, the performance was just as much of a surprise for the concert-goers as well. Jeezy and Jay-Z had performed a collaboration “Real As It Gets” onstage, then Jay-Z said he was leaving Jeezy to a solo performance. After leaving the stage, Jeezy performed a couple of verses on his own before ushering in the surprise guest of Lil Wayne. And that surprise performance was one that completely set the audience on fire, as it were. The number didn’t just have Lil Wayne, either. It also featured Nicki Minaj and Drake, and “I’m Goin’ In” wound up being one of the major highlights of the night.

Of course, when it came to an end and Wayne left, Jeezy made sure to give him his “we’re with you 100 percent” vote before they left. And not to sound cynical or like an old fogey, which I’m not, but doesn’t SOMETHING seem off about letting someone whose new sentencing date is Monday, March 8th, be allowed to go pop into a concert when he’s supposed to be preparing for a sentence?

Ahhh, entertainment industry, how you love to treat your stars.

John Mayer, Take a CHILL PILL!

Posted by Kat – February 10, 2010

Normally, I’m totally cool with any interview a celebrity puts out, and even if it’s about their personal life, it’s still totally up for grabs. But, I do draw the line when his interview hits levels of inappropriate and a little bit of controversy when it becomes about race. That and I also think it’s a little distasteful to start telling people about what your wang does, but that being said, John Mayer has certainly made quite a statement this last week. Known for being a playboy of the music world and dating women like Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson, it seems that none of his exes are going to appreciate the almost misogynistic ways he referred to his sexual exploits with Playboy.

With profanity and references to Jessica Simpson as “sexual napalm” and “crack cocaine,” Mayer’s interview really seems to rub the wrong way. It’s one thing to talk about his exes, but it’s another to sound disrespectful to the point of objectifying Simpson (Not that she needs any help, as she often objectifies herself on her own just fine).

On the other hand, his words about Aniston were fairly nicer, with all sorts of nice and kinds words to say about her, while also quelling rumors that he’d written songs in his new album about Aniston. He mentioned about how he’d been getting “less ass” since he became a huge star because he doesn’t want to jump through hoops, but if his opinion of women is still the same as it’s been since then, then it’s no wonder that comments about how his manhood was a “White supremicist” that preferred to be with white women, but that he wanted to start dating out of that type.

Either way, that interview came off as very “Good ole boys” in the WORST kind of way, and if that’s his opinion of women in general… I’m surprised Aniston hadn’t broken up with him sooner.

Lil Wayne’s Chompers Save Him From Sentencing – For Now

Posted by Kat – February 9, 2010

For Lil Wayne, famous rap star who hit the news junket last year over a arrest for gun possession, seems to have been spared his sentencing for that particular offense for another two months. The reason? Dental surgery. Of course, for Lil Wayne, this reprieve is going to be temporrary, because once these multiple, urgent surgeries are completed, he’ll still have to face sentencing for his conviction of illegal possession of a firearm. It certainly seems convenient, though, that it’s his teeth are such a health risk that he needs to have surgeries before he can be sentenced for an offense he was convicted of.

All the weirdness and bias aside, the sentencing has now been changed to be on March 2nd and it looks like the Supreme Court Justice that needs to sentence him, Charles Solomon, has no more patience for him. There will be no other delays in the sentencing, according to the justice. And what sentence is Lil Wayne looking at? Well, with good behavior, he might be able to get out in eight months, but he’ll be looking at around a year in jail, and that was with a plea deal.

Oddly enough, Lil Wayne was silent on Tuesday, when he stood in court with his dreadlocks and was later brought out of court and immediately into a black SUV. Of course, people were curious as to why exactly he needed this surgery and why it hadn’t been done sooner, but all that his defense lawyer Stacey Richman could say was that it was a medical concern and that had his dentist not been out of the country with charity work, he would have had it done sooner. Sounds a little fishy, and it’s only delaying the inevitable.

Men At Work Sued Over Their FLUTE?!

Posted by Kat – February 5, 2010

When you think of “Down Under,” the famous song by the Aussie 80s band Men At Work, there’s no way that you can’t think of that telltale flute riff. Here’s the tricky part, though. According to lawyers in Australia, that riff is a plagarism of the song sung by Girl Guides everywhere, “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.” The song about that native bird of Australia was written by Marion Sinclair over 70 years ago, who was a teacher who wrote it for a Girl Guides competition. But, it turns out that the music publishing company Larrikin Music has own the copyright to the song since Sinclair passed away in 1988 and they finally filed for a copyright lawsuit in the last year.

Now, if you didn’t know the tune of both songs really well, you probably wouldn’t even realize that it had similarities. And as far as similarities go, I have to say that the Vanilla Ice sample of “Under Pressure”‘s guitar riff seemed like a more blatant rip-off than the flute from Kookaburra. But, the Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson says differently and has determined that the flute is taking a significant amount of the original music and replicated it for “Down Under.”

Earlier, the justice had already given both of the parties the orders to start looking into what kind of compensation Larrikin should receive from the record companies for Men at Work, EMI Songs Australia and BMG Music Entertainment, as well as Ron Strykert and Colin Hay, the songwriters of the band. And we’re talking MILLIONS here, as the settlement could end up giving up to 60 percent of all of “Down Under”‘s royalties since it was released back in 1983.

As for Men At Work? Well, Colin Hay has gone on record saying that he realized he was borrowing from the tune but thought that it was as generic and public domain as Ring Around the Rosy. Talk about an expensive blunder.

Steve Tyler Needs a Replacement?!

Posted by Kat – January 21, 2010

Okay, so you might have heard a whisper here or there that Steve Tyler was now in rehab for a major addiction to painkillers. He announced it back in December, but he also announced that he was going to be actively writing and recording along with Aerosmith as soon as he could get things squared away. As it turns out, though, the guitarist, Joe Perry, has just let loose a major bombshell. The rest of the band is looking to replace Tyler.

Now, your brain probably just went “What? Aerosmith without Steve Tyler? Is that even possible?” But, the boys of the band have started to put the word out that not only is it possible, they’re going to be holding actual auditions soon to find the new front runner of Aerosmith. They haven’t stated whether or not this is going to be a permanent switch, but let’s just say that if Tyler doesn’t get clean quick, he might find himself kicked out of the band.

Part of the problem isn’t just that Tyler’s in rehab, though, it’s also because he’s got surgery on top of it, and there’s just no telling if he’ll be out in time for the 2011 40th anniversary of the group coming up. There’s a few people that they’ve spoken to, and the band, not surprisingly, sees having a new singer the same as getting a guitarist for when someone’s sick. Unlike many other bands, where the singer sees himself as the front liner and without him, the band would never make it, it looks like Aerosmith is not following that formula. There’s no official word on when the auditions will be, but it looks like whoever steps in is going to have some massive, massive shoes to fill and some fans to majorly impress. I do not envy the singer.

Can Mariah’s Melons Stop Getting Photo Opportunities?

Posted by Kat – January 19, 2010

It isn’t often that I get up in arms about how celebrities look, but when it comes to musicians who are talented enough to know that their “gazangas” don’t need to make an appearance at the Golden Globes, too, that just annoys me. After all, we all know that Mariah Carey has a vocal range that stuns and is the envy of many a woman, and we know that she has now begun a career (again, as no one wants to even think about “Glitter”) in film once more.  That’s all fine and wonderful, and really, we should all be glad that she’s getting out there and expanding her range of talents. But, there are two talents of hers that really need to stay put away, and that would be her substantial bosom.

Every single picture of her from the Golden Globes was one of mixed reactions. On the one hand, she looked gorgeous, and significantly more sober than the last time people called attention to her work on “Precious,” but her chest was swelling, no – BURSTING out of her top and she should know better. I want to know why not a single one of the people who work with her told her to get a dress with the top being a little bigger.  Of everyone who must have to look her over before she hits the red carpet, no one realized that it looked like someone had mated a push-up bra and gel inserts to make those suckers pop so much?

Don’t get me wrong, Mariah Carey is still a musician now dabbling in acting, but the impression that every single dress worn needs to make it look like your endowments are literally falling out of your top is really getting old. I mean, there used to be a time when you had to pay to get to see that much. Now? I’m getting them for free and way more than I wanted.