Celebs Out & About: NY Fashion Week ’09
Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson got Fashion Week off to a great start in this beautiful off-white pantsuit with black satin lapels. I realize she wasn’t at Fashion Week when these pics were taken. But she will be.
Photos: Wireimage/Getty
The celebs were out & about in NY last night attending all the fabulous Fashion Week events. Teyana Taylor was cute as a button in her “Dirty Couture” rhinestone gem denim jacket and jeans. I recall buying a similar jacket back in the 80s when rhinestones were really in. I paid $600 for the jacket in NY. Again, that was 80s prices so you know a jacket like that costs a grip now. It’s great to see rhinestones making a comeback.
Photos: Wireimage/Getty
Singer Santogold showed off her flair for the unusual and stylishly dramatic. As my new friend Juanita would say, “it looks nice, but I wouldn’t wear it.”
Photo: Wireimage/Getty
Actress Joy Bryant is simply stunning in this strapless metallic Missoni Spring 2009 pantsuit. If Joy was my friend I would urge her to put the cigarettes out for good. Her cigarette habit is showing on her face.
Photo: Wireimage/Getty
Solange Knowles was a mismatched cutie pie in Bryant Park on Friday. She wore a black cropped jacket over a sheer white frock with a baby blue Chanel bag and grape Christian Louboutin heels.
Photo: Getty Image
Kanye West, who aspires to replace Andre Leon Talley when he retires from Vogue, attended a Fashion Week event in NY yesterday. Kanye was decked out in Louis Vuitton from head to toe.
Photo: Wireimage/Getty
Obama Supporters Scammed By Fake Obama Coin Collection
They say a sucker is born every minute, and on Nov. 4, 2008, 58 million of them became potential victims of scammers just itching to separate them from their money.
Consumerist.com points out that many Barack Obama supporters were shocked to learn that the “historic” Presidential Obama Coin Collection they rushed to buy are just coins with Obama stickers on them. [LINK]
I’m not sure what people thought they were getting. I’ve never seen silver or gold coins in full color that weren’t painted or had a sticker on them.
Besides that, in the commercial you clearly hear Montel Williams say the coins are “quarters” with Obama’s image [stuck on them].
The company that manufactured the coins, U.S. Coin Network (uscoinnetwork.com and obamacoincollection.com), say it is against their policy to cancel orders that haven’t been shipped yet.
Those Kool-Aid drinkers who seek refunds had better get in line. I suspect this company will file for bankruptcy soon, which will protect them from their creditors and dissatisfied customers.
Thanks to loyal reader Karen D. Civil for the link!
Celebs Out & About
Beyonce, Jay-Z, LeBron James and Sprite Green teamed up to donate $50,000 worth of instruments to the Mesa Arts Academy located in Mesa, AZ. Bey and Jay also donated $10,000 of their own money to the school. This was one of many events connected with the NBA All Star Weekend extravaganza. I see Jay Z wore his signature filthy “Dirty Couture” jeans to the charity event. He’s a great role model for the kids, isn’t he? By the way, I don’t know anyone who sat through that entire game last night. It was so boring I didn’t make it to halftime.
The big news of the weekend was Allen Iverson’s new hair cut. AI cut off his trademark braids after 12 years. Iverson told SLAM magazine that he cut his hair to “do something different.” He said the big difference is the time it takes him to get ready in the morning is now cut in half. Really?
The royal couple T.I. and Tiny spent quality time together in Phoenix while Tiny’s mom Diane stayed home with the babies.
Shaquille O’Neal stepped out with on-again/off-again wife Shaunie at the Kenny Smith All Star Jam on Friday (2/13). Remember when Shaq was a rapper and called himself Shaq Fu? I still have his rap album that I use to prop up one side of my coffee table.
Photo: Wireimage/Getty
Arrest Made in Shooting Death of Teen Outside His Father’s Recording Studio
An arrest has been made in the murder of Adair Freeman, 19, who was gunned down outside his father’s recording studio on January 24. [LINK]
U.S. Marshals arrested Melvin Bardwell, 25, last Monday morning at the West Houston apartment building where he was hiding out. Police have charged him with homicide and aggravated robbery. Bardwell’s accomplice who drove the getaway vehicle from the shooting scene remains at large.
Police say Bardwell was the gunman who ambushed and robbed Freeman of his fake diamond chain before shooting him in the chest and leaving him to die in the parking lot of his father’s Hot Beats studio. Freeman still had $90 in his pockets.
Bardwell was identified as a suspect in Freeman’s murder through a tip called into the Crime Stoppers program.
Bardwell has a lengthy criminal history, which includes a jewelry store heist in 2005 in his hometown of New Orleans that netted him over $500,000 in stolen jewelry.
According to New Orleans PD, Bardwell, then 21, held an employee at gunpoint while another man robbed an eastern New Orleans jewelry store. Bardwell and his accomplice were quickly apprehended and the stolen jewelry was recovered.
Bardwell was released from a Georgia prison last October after doing a 3-year bid for aggravated assault. He was living with his mother in Tucker, GA at the time of the Freeman murder.
Pastor Sentenced To Prison For Preaching Fire & Brimstone
This Sunday, while attending Sunday service this weekend, my pastor spoke about a minister who is imprisoned in Detroit for preaching the word.
I knew there had to be more to the story than that, so when I got home I Googled the pastor’s name. I learned that Rev. Edward Pinkney, pastor of Bethel Christian Restoration Center in Benton Harbor, Michigan, was arrested and charged with three counts of voter fraud in a local election.
Rev. Pinkney stood up to corporate giant Whirlpool and helped to defeat the city commissioner who was financially backed by Whirlpool in the election. Whirlpool hoped their city commissioner would pave the way for them to tear down housing for the poor and elderly and replace those dwellings with luxury lake front homes for the wealthy.
When Whirlpool’s candidate lost, the local sheriff supposedly found people to admit they were paid $5 each by the Rev. Pinkney to vote in the tight race.
In 2007, the Reverend was convicted of voter fraud and given probation. But Rev. Pinkney languishes in prison today because he tested the limits of freedom of speech in an article in a Chicago newspaper. He wrote that the judge would “be punished by God with curses, fever and extreme burning unless he changed his ways.”
A different Detroit judge decided that the “threat” violated Rev. Pinkney’s probation and sentenced him to 3 to 10 years in prison.
The ACLU has asked the state appeals court to release the Rev. Edward Pinkney on bail while he appeals a probation violation. Lawyers say his free-speech rights were trampled in Berrien County. [LINK]
So just to sum it up: a man of the cloth, who helped the poor, sits in jail for preaching, while a racist cop who stood over a defenseless black man and shot him in the back is free on bond. Got it?
If you think this is unjust and you would like to donate to the Rev. Pinkney’s defense fund, send checks to:
BANCO
1940 UNION
BENTON HARBOR, MI 49022
Chris Brown (Or His Publicist) Says “Sorry”
Notorious woman beater, Chris Brown, finally released a prepared statement through his publicist. We know he didn’t write this statement (the publicist did) so the words are meaningless. But this is a blog and we do aim to entertain. So here it is for what it’s worth:
“Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired. I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God’s help, to emerging a better person. Much of what has been speculated or reported on blogs and/or reported in the media is wrong. While I would like to be able to talk about this more, until the legal issues are resolved, this is all I can say except that I have not written any messages or made any posts to Facebook, on blogs or any place else. Those posts or writing under my name are frauds.” [LINK]
Meanwhile, industry insiders are scratching their heads and asking how did Rihanna go from a man (Jay Z) to a geeky, silly, immature boy?
I know Jordin Sparks is counting her blessings that CB hooked up with RiRi instead of her!
Jay Z refused to be pulled into the middle of the drama surrounding his protégé RiRi. He told HollyScoop.com,
“It’s not a soundbite, this is a real situation. You have to have compassion for others. Just imagine it being your sister or mom and then think about how we should talk about that.”
But he added, “I just think we should all support her. She’s going through a tough time. You have to realize she’s a young girl, as well. She’s very young.”
Missing ATL Nightclub Promoter Found Dead
Police say the body of a black male found inside a Ford Explorer over the weekend is that of missing nightclub promoter Marc Stewart.
A passer-by spotted the truck parked on a side street in unincorporated Gwinnett County Saturday night, and called police.
Stewart’s wife, Andrea White, reported him missing on Feb. 11 when he failed to return home from work.
Stewart was last seen leaving his Stone Mountain home Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM in a silver 2005 Ford Explorer. Friends say Stewart’s ATM bank card and cell phone had been used in the days following his disappearance.
White told police she received an email alert from Bank of America warning of “irregular check card activity” on Stewart’s account 3 hours after Stewart called White to say he was on his way home.
Stewart, a native Jamaican, was a well known nightclub promoter and party planner who specialized in events with a Caribbean flavor.
Stewart was president and chief executive officer of Island Coast Entertainment, an event planning firm based in Atlanta.
Police have classified Stewart’s death as a homicide.
