Celebrities at the Heat vs. Hawks Game @ Philips, 10-21-10
The Atlanta Hawks snuffed LeBron James and the Miami Heat 98-89 last night at the Philips Arena. Heat star Dwyane Wade, who was sidelined with a pulled hamstring, will participate in full practice with his Heat teammates on Sunday.
Celebs in the house included rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, basketball legends, producer The Dream and socialite Ciara, who attended the game with Christina Milian’s ex, The Dream. CiCi was described in the caption on the AJC website as an “American recording artist, dancer, actress, and fashion model.” I had no idea she did all that!
What? Me? Worry?
T.I., who has a date with the Federal Bureau of Prisons on November 1st, sat courtside during the 2nd half.
All photos: CURTIS COMPTON CCOMPTON@AJC.COM
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Fox News Offers Juan Williams $2 Million Contract
On Wednesday, news analyst Juan Williams found himself without a job after airing his feelings about seeing Muslims on a plane. Yesterday, Williams signed a contract worth $2 million with Fox News cable network.
All’s well that ends well? Not exactly.
Williams is still fuming that National Public Radio (NPR) fired him in the first place for simply expressing his feelings during an appearance on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor on Monday.
He is considering taking legal action against the network, and a prominent Republican is calling for Congress to defund NPR, meaning the network will no longer receive millions in public funding.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also a Fox News contributor, called the firing “an act of total censorship.”
Even Whoopi Goldberg, host of ‘The View’, came out in defense of Williams. “I don’t think he should have been fired, because, in fact … lots of people have this idea,” she said.
Williams, a frequent Fox contributor who has written a book on the civil rights movement, said on Monday:
“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot….But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”
Bill O’Reilly who had Williams on as a guest again on The O’Reilly Factor last night vigorously defended Williams for expressing his fears — not his opinion — on Muslims.
O’Reilly, who noted NPR only had one black journalist — Williams, said “It’s the end of NPR.”
He also called the CEO of NPR, Vivian Schiller, “a pinhead” for saying Williams should have kept his feelings about Muslims between himself and “his psychiatrist or his publicist.”
Schiller later apologized on the NPR website for expressing her opinions about Williams. Should she be fired next?
What happened to free speech in this country? We are considered racist or bigoted for expressing our feelings now that we have a Muslim president in the White House?
In the 90s, while on board a flight to New York from Miami, I panicked when I saw a middle Eastern man in full Muslim garb get up out of his seat.
All the man did was stand up in the middle of the flight and I nearly had a heart attack. Why? Because Muslims were notorious for hijacking planes way before September 11, 2001.
Was I being racist to feel that way? Is it racist when the American news networks refer to Nigerians and Africans as Internet scammers?
We all know that a great majority of emails coming out of Nigeria today are sent by scammers. If I receive an email from someone with an African sounding name that begins with “Hello dear,” I automatically know what’s coming next.
Does that mean I’m being racist or bigoted against Africans? No. It simply means that we all react emotionally to a situation based on our prior experiences and knowledge of that situation.
PICS: LeBron James, Ciara, Tia Mowry, Meagan Good, Pooch Hall at Compound
Alex Gidewon of AG Entertainment brought NBA superstar LeBron James to the Compound nightclub in Atlanta last night. Other celebs in the house included Socialite Ciara, actress Meagan Good, who is in town filming Fast & Furious; and actor Pooch Hall, who is in town shooting his TV show The Game.
I hear the turnout was better than expected. The line started forming around the building at 9:30 pm. By midnight it was a wrap. If you weren’t inside by then, you didn’t get in.
Heat star Dwyane Wade promised a Chicago judge that he would stop partying if granted full custody of his sons. Wade made good on his promise last night. The promoters thought in good faith that he would show up.
Ciara, who is forced to pay her own bills now that she’s no longer with rapper 50 Cent, stayed close to LeBron in the VIP all night. She looked HAWT in a little black dress, faux fur and black pumps!
Thanks to Prince Williams of ATLPICS.net for the Exclusive pics!
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Gabrielle Union Gets LASIK Eye Surgery to Correct Her Vision
Actress Gabrielle Union invited the paparazzi into the medical clinic where she got Lasik Eye Surgery at Millennium Laser Eye Center in Sunrise, FL. yesterday. Lasik improves vision dramatically in qualified patients by reshaping the cornea using a laser.
Patients who have been diagnosed with myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism have seen dramatic improvements in their vision.
Will all procedures there are risks and complications involved. Gabby’s costs were reduced in exchange for providing valuable advertising to the clinic.
Photos: Splash News Online
LeBron James and Monica Endure Bullying and Racism Online
Just weeks after admitting that racism still exists in America, NBA superstar LeBron James retweeted several racist “tweets” posted by one of his followers on social networking site Twitter.com.
According to ESPN.com, LeBron said he just wanted people “to see what type of words that are said toward me and towards us as professional athletes.”
Stars like LeBron expect to be treated with kid gloves by those around them.
But with the emergence of mini-blogging networks like Twitter.com, they openly expose themselves to negativity, harsh criticism and vulgarity from bullies who enjoy unprecedented access to the stars.
Gone are the days when celebrities were protected from the harsh realities of life by their handlers and publicists who monitored all forms of communications between their star clients and the public.
Two nights ago, R&B Diva Monica announced to the world that she was quitting Twitter after being bullied by a psycho who frequently targets urban celebrities on Twitter.com.
Monica’s BFF Keyshia Cole was able to convince Mo to make her Twitter page private. But the problem won’t end there.
Ironically, Twitter.com claims to have a policy in place for dealing with harassment. Maybe they will put that policy into action one day.
Celebs Out & About: Halle Berry, Christina Milian, Brandy, Justin Bieber
Beyonce and her hubby Jay Z were spotted arriving back at the Delano Hotel on South Beach, in Miami after dining out last night. Yesterday Bey’s mom squashed rumors that Bey was pregnant with her first baby.
Singer Christina Milian had dinner with a couple of cuties at Katsuya restaurant in West Hollywood last night. C-Mili is being extra careful not to be seen in pictures with men now that The Dream is working to get her back. We wish them both luck. It’s rough out here in the streets when you’re single.
Photos: Splash News, Wireimage/Getty,INF Photo and PacificCoastNews.com
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NPR fires Juan Williams over anti-Muslim remarks
Veteran journalist and political analyst Juan Williams was fired by National Public Radio yesterday for making what they called “anti-Muslim” remarks.
In reality, Williams was merely expressing the sentiments of many Americans in this post-9/11 era when he said that he gets “worried” and “nervous” when he sees people dressed in Muslim-style clothing on airplanes.
Williams, 56, made the comments Monday on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor”.
Bill O’Reilly, who made news himself when he told the ladies of ‘The View’ that Muslims caused 9/11, said, “The cold truth is that in the world today, jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet.”
Williams, who is a frequent contributor to Fox News, agreed, and added:
“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country,” he said. “But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”
In a statement released by NPR, the company said Williams’ comments “were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”
NPR needs to get in touch with reality. All of a sudden it’s considered politically incorrect to express realistic fears now that we have a Muslim president in office?
