Celine Dion: ‘Drugs killed Whitney’
One of music’s most respected living legends has weighed in on the sudden death of pop icon Whitney Houston at age 48.
TMZ reports that Celine Dion isn’t waiting for a coroner’s report to confirm the obvious. Dion called into Good Morning America this morning and told Robin Roberts, “Whitney has been an amazing inspiration for me … It’s just really unfortunate that drugs, bad people or bad influence took over. It took over her dreams. It took over her love and motherhood.”
She went on to say, “When you think about Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse, to get into drugs like that, for whatever reason. Is it because of the stress and bad influence? What happens when you have everything?”
It’s interesting that she should ask “What happens when you have everything?” I tell people all the time that you get what you ask for but you may not be ready for it.
Everyone wants to be rich (and some want to be famous) but they never think about the heavy burden that comes with the riches and the fame.
Life is about the struggle. As infants being born, we struggle to get here, and life continues to be a struggle. The struggle doesn’t get any easier with money. It’s a sobering reality when you achieve your dreams and there is nothing left to achieve. You have every materialistic thing you could ever want, but you have nothing else to look forward to.
There’s a line in one of my favorite movies that goes, “When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.”
The true meaning of life is in the struggle. The happiest people I know live from paycheck to paycheck. Once you reach the top, there is nowhere left to go but down. Be careful what you ask for, kids.
Medical Minute: Autism
We’ve all seen the touching photos of Halle Berry’s 3-year-old daughter Nahla caressing Halle’s face or exploring the handsome features of her father, Gabe Aubry. We all assumed that Nahla was just a very affectionate little girl.
But as a loyal reader pointed out in an email to Sandrarose.com earlier this week, Nahla might be an autistic or special needs child who communicates nonverbally with her hands.
The list of famous celebrities with autistic children includes Toni Braxton, Holly Robinson Peete, Sylvester Stalone, John Travolta, Jenny McCarthy, Dan Marino, Dawn Neufeld (‘Football Wives‘), and more.
Signs of autism begin in babies before they are 12 months old. Most children are diagnosed with autism by age 2 or 3. That’s the age when parents become aware that their toddlers’ communications skills aren’t keeping pace with other toddlers their age.
Autism is a disorder of the nerves in the brain that interferes with the signals sent from the brain to other parts of the body. The disorder is marked by poor communication skills and lack of social interaction. Doctors aren’t sure what causes autism.
Sheriff’s Deputy arrested for having sex with male inmate
Channel 2 Action News reports that Duone Clark, a Gwinnett County Sheriff’s deputy, has been arrested for having sex with a male inmate in full view of other inmates.
Gwinnett sheriff’s officials are trying to determine if any Gwinnett County employees also witnessed the lewd act between the deputy and the inmate, who is serving time for financial identity fraud, theft by deception and probation violations.
The inmate, whose identity is being protected, reported the sexual encounter to jail officials after the Jan. 13 incident.
“The witnesses included definitely other inmates. I’m not sure about other deputies,” Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Lt. Sean Smith told Channel 2′s Kerry Kavanaugh.
According to Channel 2 Action News, Clark is being held without bond at the Oconee County Jail on charges of violation of oath by a public officer and sexual assault.
A loyal reader writes:
Please do not include me info but he is engaged to be married (2nd marriage) and doing this. How many of our men are on the DL? None of his close friends (one of whom is my cousin) had a clue! They are shocked
Is Halle Berry’s daughter Nahla a special needs child?
Earlier this week, I received an email from a loyal reader who asked to remain anonymous. According to the email author, Nahla may be autistic. At this moment, Nahla’s dad, former underwear model Gabrielle Aubry is behind closed doors in a special hearing in Dependency Court “because authorities are concerned about his ability to safely care for his child,” according to celebrity gossip website TMZ.com.
TMZ reports that “the DCFS investigation goes beyond an incident in which Gabriel allegedly pushed the nanny who was holding 3-year-old Nahla.”
It seems the scope of the problem may be that Aubry gets angry and loses his patience with his daughter who requires special care and attention.
None of this has been confirmed. But it is interesting that CPS has once again recommended that another adult be present whenever Nahla is in Aubry’s custody.
Read the email after the break and draw your own conclusions. The email has not been edited.
AKOO’s Team of Champions photo shoot with the NY Giants
Rapper T.I. dressed the NY Giants in looks from his AKOO Winter 2011/2012 Collection. Here’s a photo from the shoot. Among the players pictured are: Antrel Rolle, Terrell Thomas, and Kenny Phillips. The NY Giants celebrated their Super Bowl 46 victory over the New England Patriots with a ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heros in New York City yesterday. I’ll post more pics from the photo shoot when I get them.
Source: @MelNYC of @Akooclothing
Celeb Style: Ashanti wearing a Jack Guisso Couture Dress
Pseudo singer Ashanti attended the NY premiere of ‘Safe House’ wearing a Jack Guisso Couture dress yesterday.
The gown is from the Lebanese designer’s Couture Fall/Winter 2011/12 Collection. Known for his exquisite gowns and sophisticated designs the Lebanese designer knows how to dress the modern woman. Guisso has presented his collections in Paris, Spain and Italy. He offers breath taking evening gowns and chic ready-to-wear dresses with handmade embroidery and top quality fabrics.
Source: D’Orazio & Associates
Photos: Richie Buxo / Splash News
fanMAIL: ‘Let Beyonce and Jay Z be happy’
Reader Yves Ganthier writes from France:
Dear Sandra,
Why can you not let people just be happy? You seem only to portray this particular couple in a negative light. Now, you say the woman has had a “breast augmentation” on top of a faux pregnancy. Then, you assert that the counterpart stiffs the poor of giving back while downplaying the performance at Carnegie Hall.
In the same article you sourced, it says that the show’s ticket sales have accumulated over one million dollars in USD, which will be dedicated to his foundation. Did you mention that? No.
You often complain about them always being in the spotlight but can you explain what exactly you’re doing? Keeping them in the media, thus contradicting yourself. Everything they do, you seem to have a problem with, despite the couple drawing away from the media for a month to focus on family. An eventful night turned into a ‘stunt’ of some sort.
If it were not for being surrounded by amazing, loving and intelligent people of African descent everyday of my life, I would assume that they are all as bitter and hateful as you.
I beg of you to find happiness and humanity.
Amitiés,
Yves Ganthier
Photo compilation
Photos by: Splash News Online and and INFphoto.com
