Celebs Out & About: Janet Jackson, Rihanna

Pop icon Janet Jackson gets emotional as she performs during her sold out “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal” World Tour at the Gibson Amphtheatre in Los Angeles last night.

To those who thought Ms. Jackson was washed up at age 45, her tour was just extended to add more U.S. cities due to the high demand. The tour has received rave reviews from even the most discerning music critics. Good for her!

R&B singer Rihanna was spotted arriving at Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles last night. Rihanna can smile now that she’s broken the record for most consecutive shows booked at London’s O2 Arena (10). But tickets to her tour continue to sell slowly in the United States — and it will remain that way at least until she adjusts her stank attitude.

Photos: Splash News Online

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Photos of The Day

As part of their new campaign to “redefine the color of beauty” beauty brand Carol’s Daughter chose three light skinned women, model Selita Ebanks, Beyonce’s sister, Solange Knowles, and Puffy’s concubine, Cassie, to be their new spokeswomen. Is anyone surprised?

Selita Ebanks explains that the starlets were chosen for the texture of their hair, rather than for the hue of their skin: “Carol’s Daughter doesn’t have just one direct demographic,” she said. “Solange’s hair is a different texture than mine; so is Cassie’s. Our skin and body types are different. Today, people are blended, and I think the three of us are a prime example. Women in my family range from vanilla to the deepest chocolate.”

That’s funny, I don’t see the “deepest chocolate” represented in this photo. I guess they couldn’t find any chocolate sistas on such short notice?

Here’s an excerpt from the WWD Style feature, via The Life Files:

“They will serve as cultural ambassadors in bringing forth this acceptance that the definition of beauty is now colorless,” said Steve Stoute. “There are no longer boxes of white, black, Latina, Asian. More and more women are checking the other box.” According to Stoute, the trio was chosen because aside from their beauty “they share the vision and embody the messaging in their attitude, appearance, projects and core values.

Remember the sad story of Lashaun Armstrong, the little boy who was the only survivor after his mother drove her family into the Hudson River last week? Lashaun Armstrong, 10, is shown walking outside a residence in Newburgh, New York with a woman identified as “Lisa.” He seems to be holding up really well considering the horrific deaths of his mother, Lashanda Armstrong, and his three siblings. Photo: Splash News Online

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Put ‘Em On Blast: Tameka Foster (The Rebuttal)

Yesterday, I posted excerpts from a rather lengthy “Put ‘em on Blast” email written by a former employee of Tameka Foster-Raymond.

In the email, Becca Bussert, former manager of Foster’s Estella Boutique, tendered her resignation after being accused of stealing merchandise from Tameka’s shop.

The “Put ‘em on Blast” section gives a voice to those in the industry who feel they have been wronged by certain industry execs, celebrities or companies.

The email author is solely responsible for the content of the email.

As always, we give the parties on Blast (and their representatives) the opportunity to rebut the complaint within a reasonable timeframe.

Edited: to add that Becca Bussert did not send the original email or the picture of herself to me. The email author just assumed that she did.

Raechel Taylor writes:

Dear Ms. Rose,

I am a business consultant by profession, hired in March of 2011 to support Ms. Tameka Raymond’s collection of businesses. Ms. Raymond sought my advice prior to taking action against Ms. Bussart for stealing from her store. For the record, Ms. Raymond reacted with integrity and concern when personally witnessing Ms. Bussart removing inventory from the premises without consent, and placing the items in the trunk of her vehicle. When Ms. Raymond approached Ms. Bussart asking why she was doing this, Bussart replied that her intention was to try on the clothing at home. Ms. Bussart should have had the authorities called upon her, yet Ms. Raymond was graceful and did not want to cause a scene.

When I questioned Ms. Bussart’s intentions a day later, she agreed that “that wasn’t the right thing to do.” Ms. Bussart has expressed serious intentions to pursue a career in fashion styling, just like Ms. Raymond has achieved, the reason for her to have sought employment with Ms. Raymond. When Ms. Bussart was caught removing Ms. Raymond’s merchandise without permission, she immediately became indignant, defensive, and retaliatory, considering that a future career in retail for Ms. Bussart could now be at stake.

It is my personal opinion that Ms. Bussart personally submitted her photo, taken in Ms. Raymond’s place of business during company time, to sandrarose.com with the intention of abusing this online portal for her own personal exposure. I am sorry to see that she has abused sandrarose.com’s integrity by submitting a public tantrum in response to her inevitable and impending termination of employment for stealing from Ms. Tameka Raymond. I might add that Ms. Bussart copied me in the original email she distributed with the intention of embarrassing Ms. Raymond, and when I questioned her intentions, she revealed that “when I pressed the SEND button, I did not have a good feeling in my stomach…it was not the right thing to do.”

As a retail consultant, it is my opinion that business owners who hire store managers do so with the intention that the business gets professional support which the owner may not possess. Ms. Raymond has been nothing but humble in her quest to explore the challenge of being a business owner, and maintains the savvy to know when to ask for support. She has sought advice and has accepted constructive criticism with grace and a positive attitude. Ms. Raymond, as of April 2011, can only be accused of hiring an opportunist who took advantage of her trust and patience. Ms. Raymond will be referring the case to the proper authorities, in light of the fact that Ms. Bussart has unlawfully compromised the confidentiality agreement she signed upon her employment with the company.

When reminded of this fact, Ms. Bussart said to me that “if I I had remembered that I had signed that, I would never have done this.”

It is my hope that sandrarose.com post an addendum to this saga, perhaps with the intention to warn others who try to abuse this online portal for their own personal gain.

Sincerely,
Raechel Taylor
Retail Savvy
[Phone # removed]

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Morning Wood: Romeo Miller

Today’s edition of Morning Wood is for my Cougars who thirst for a young hard leg to sling that wood as they sip their morning coffee.

21-year-old Romeo Miller, son of rap mogul Percy “Master P” Miller, is one of the stars on this season’s ‘Dancing With The Stars.’

He started out as Lil Romeo, a bubblegum rapper introduced to the world by Master P to give fellow crumb snatchers Bow Wow and B2K a little competition.

The nephew of rappers C-Murder and Silkk the Shocker, went on to release 3 albums before giving up rapping to pursue a career in film and television.

Currently, Romeo stars in the TriStars film Jumping The Broom, produced by Tracey E. Edmonds and T.D. Jakes. Jumping The Broom is in theaters, May 6th.

Photos: INF PHOTO

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Obama: “Some of the excitement is not going to be there”

U.S. President Barack Obama kicked off his 2012 re-election bid with a DNC fundraiser rally at the Grand Ballroom of the Navy Pier in Chicago last night.

In a sobering statement that sets the tone of his re-election bid, Obama conceded to the well-heeled crowd, “Some of the excitement is not going to be there.”

Obama was referring to the polls that reflect a declining support of his base: the millions of kool aid drinkers — mostly disillusioned blacks — who hosted Obama on their shoulders and carried him to a historic victory as the first biracial president of the United States in 2008.

Chicago Bulls star guard Derrick Rose, 22, attended the rally. And Grammy Award-winner Colbie Caillat performed. As Rose took the stage, the crowd chanted “MVP, MVP.”

Rose, the favorite for the 2011 MVP trophy, cracked jokes, saying he was sorry to see Obama running again because “the Bulls need a starting two-guard.”

The well-to-do audience paid upwards of $100 to the legal maximum of $35,800 for their tickets. There were reports that the kickoff rally netted Obama another $2 million for his already swollen campaign coffers.

Meanwhile, in an effort to humanize Mr. Obama and soften his public image, the White House released candid photos taken by Obama’s personal photographer over the past 2 years. The photos portray Obama as a doting father and statesman at work and at play.

White House photos source

(Photos by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Put ‘Em On Blast: Tameka Foster

The manager of Tameka Foster’s Estella Boutique, has just tendered her resignation to Ms. Foster-Raymond. As you know, Foster-Raymond is the baby mama of R&B crooner Usher’s two sons.

In an email sent to industry tastemakers and published on Zeralyn.com, makeup artist Rebecca Bussert (pictured above) writes “I won’t work for a disrespectful, conceited person.”

In her bio posted on her facebook page, Bussert writes: “I value intelligence and integrity in others; I don’t care for flippant, ignorant pigs.” There is no doubt to whom she is referring.

Bussert, who is Caucasian, wrote that Foster-Raymond’s racist attitude and poor management skills is what drove off her prospective clients and employees.

I have observed some ridiculous things during my time working for you, Ms. Foster-Raymond, and I am glad to say that I will no longer work for such a farce as you. I have seen you ridicule potential workers such as Mr. Phil Plunkett, who gave you an estimate for shoe cabinets. After you lauded his work and said that this job would be beneath him, yet you called him to come in and do an estimate, you said that his estimate was way too expensive, and that you could probably ask “the Mexicans down the street” to do the job.

Before applying for the job, Ms. Bussert did her research on Foster’s troubled background and decided to take her chances and work for her anyway:

I have worked for you for just over a month, and after the first couple of days, I can see that the research I did before getting hired gave me ample warning about your character. I only wish I had heeded that research. That fact aside, I can also see that you have no idea how to operate a business or take ownership in it.

In her rather lengthy email, Bussert complained that Foster-Raymond was “an extremely disrespectful, rude, careless individual” to work for. Bussert wrote that Foster-Raymond made unrealistic demands on her time without ever clearly defining her job duties.

Click link to read more

Read more…

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Beyoncé – Girls (Who Rule The World) Snippet

A snippet of Beyoncé’s new single, “Girls (Who Rule The World)”, has leaked online. Bey’s fourth studio album, tentatively titled B Revolution, is 2 years in the making. I don’t have time to listen, so let me know what you think.

Source

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