Patty Jackson's 411 for the week of April 17th, 2006
Whitney Houston is back in rehab. The troubled singer has been making headlines due to her addiction. Over the past few weeks, we have seen the pictures and heard the stories about her drug addiction, and how it was destroying her life. Whitney has checked into a facility in Arizona. Her family convinced her to go.
Two back up dancers for Prince have been arrested on drug charges. The two dancers were arrested with 20 kilos of cocaine.
Bishop T.D. Jakes has signed a three year deal with Sony Pictures to distribute films and DVD’s. Bishop Jakes had tremendous success with Woman Thou Art Loose. His next film is based on his book, Not Easily Broken.
Babyface is suing Singer Anita Baker. Apparently, Anita didn’t pay him for a song he produced on her last album. They were also supposed to go on tour together, but, after two dates, Anita decided to end the tour with him. Babyface tried to reach out to Anita to clear things up, but she ignored him. So now, he is taking her to court. He is suing her for $250 thousand. He is seeking producer fees and royalties, plus, the money he lost when she decided she didn’t want to tour with him. Ever since he had to fork over $70 million to ex-wife Tracey Edmonds in their divorce settlement, Babyface is looking to get all money that is owed to him. He does a lot of work for other artists, and this is just a warning, you must pay him for his services.
Paula Abdul caught in a lie? Say it ain’t so! Last week, the American Idol Judge made headlines when she claimed she was attacked by a man at a party. She says the man slammed her into a wall after they had a disagreement, and she suffered a slight concussion and lower back injuries. Well, it appears Paula wasn’t telling the whole story. She was at an after hours club in Los Angeles acting strange, as usual, and management decided they had enough of her. Paula was falling down drunk. They wanted her out of there as quickly as possible, and that’s when she was put out. Paula needs help. Her behavior is getting weirder and weirder. Is it pills, booze? What is it? What is making her act crazy? She just signed a new three year deal with American Idol. They have a lot of faith in her, but will they get her the help she needs?
The family and friends of model Denise Vasi are warning her about her new relationship with Hip Hop Mogul Russell Simmons. Vasi is a 23-year old model, and she is the new girlfriend of Simmons. Russell Simmons is 48-years old. He is recently separated from his fashion model wife Kimora Lee Simmons. They have two children, and they have a business empire. He runs Phat Farm, and she runs Baby Phat. The two have been leading separate lives for awhile. Kimora has been very quiet since the announced separation, but Russell has been hitting the town with his new young girl. Her family doesn’t like it at all. They feel he is too old and too fast for her. Friends say he treats her like a showpiece, and he parties way too much. They all agree he’s got the money, but that’s all as far as they are concerned.
Mike Tyson continues down his troubled path. The former boxer recently walked out of a drug rehab clinic. He was hoping to get help for cocaine and anger problems, but he left the clinic after five days to return to his world of drug abuse.
Actress Lisa Raye has got her man, and she is now officially a first lady. After a four month delay, she got married to Chief Minister Michael Misick. She is now the First Lady of the Turks/Caicos Islands. She looked stunning in a backless gown. Lisa Raye pledged her love in front of 300 guests. She has a teenage daughter. She was tired of the dating scene, and tired of being with men who just wanted to play games. Lisa Raye met Michael Misick last year, and she was not going to let him go. Members of the bridal party included her sister Rapper Da Brat, Vivica A. Fox, and Randy Jackson of The Jacksons.
The family of Singer Ashanti is in mourning over the death of her 20-year old cousin Quinshae Sneed. Sneed was Ashanti’s personal assistant and was on tour with Ashanti in South Africa. Sneed was killed by a 17-year old drunk driver while running an errand for the singer. The family is in shock, and Ashanti has returned to the states with the body of her cousin. They are currently working on funeral arrangements for Sneed. The family has been devastated by this tragedy.
Michael Jackson has struck a deal to save his financial life, but he had to give up half of his stock in the Beatles’ catalog. Sony Music now owns 75 percent of the Beatles’ catalog with Michael owning the remaining 25 percent. He also had to refinance hundred of millions of dollars in loans. He has been in debt since he was acquitted in his child molestation trial. He gave up most of the Beatles catalog to save his financial life.
Get ready for a remake of the 1974 classic Claudine. Diahann Carroll starred in the original with James Earl Jones, and she won an Oscar nomination for the role. Bernie Mac and Halle Berry are set to star in the remake. Filming is scheduled to start this summer in Chicago. I wonder if the movie will have a hot soundtrack. The original soundtrack to Claudine was produced by Curtis Mayfield and featured the music of Gladys Knight & The Pips. This has to be one of the best soundtracks ever recorded.
Eddie Murphy as a man and a woman? Yes! Eddie has signed on for the movie Norbitt. Eddie will star as a man who marries a monstrous woman, and Eddie will play both parts. The movie will also star Terry Crews, who plays the dad on Everybody Hates Chris, Cuba Gooding Jr., Thandie Newton and Eddie Griffin. In the meantime, Eddie is going to have to pay his wife child support for their five children as their divorce becomes final. How much did Nicole get? It’s being called a secret settlement, but we will find out...hopefully, next week.
Queen Latifah has signed on for the movie Welfare Queen. She will play a woman who got rich taking advantage of the welfare system.
The Rhythm & Blues Foundations’ Pioneer Awards take place in Philadelphia on June 29th. Smokey Robinson and Patti LaBelle will be hosting, and the honorees include Frankie Beverly & Maze, The Delfonics, Singer Bettye LaVette, Songwriter/Producer Thom Bell and Motown Founder Berry Gordy, who is getting the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Rhythm & Blues Foundation provides financial, medical and other forms of assistance to struggling soul musicians. The festivities are happening at the Park Hyatt Hotel.
The second season of Flavor of Love is set to kick off in August. The show was one of the most popular in VH1’s history. The antics of the women, New York, Goldie, Hottie, and Pumpkin, were hysterical. The popular rapper is looking for love again. He didn’t find it with Hoopz, who won the first competition. Who will win Flav’s heart? Will New York return? I think she is his true love.
LL Cool J is teaming up with his trainer Dave Honig for a book about physical fitness. The fitness book, LL Cool J’s Platinum Body, is due out in January.
Boxing Great Muhammad Ali is $50 million richer. The 64-year old Ali got paid $50 million in cash to give up his name, image and likeness.
WHAT’S THE UNDERGROUND BUZZ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the 80’s, this Pop Superstar was on top of the world. He was cute, he could sing and he had hit after hit. In the beginning, he was quiet about his private life, but he got arrested for soliciting a male cop. The Pop Superstar decided to come clean about his sexuality, but his career fell off. He is now living a troubled life involving drugs and alcohol. He also suffers from depression, and friends believe he may kill himself. He likes to go out driving at night, and he always comes back with his car smashed up. He has also been found passed out on the streets with his drugs and sex toys. Will someone be able to help the Pop Superstar before it’s too late?
She is the daughter of a famous troubled couple. She became known as one of the co-stars of their hit reality TV show. In the beginning, she looked chubby and frumpy. She hated how she looked. She realized boys would never look at her unless she got it together. Well, she has turned her look around. She has lost weight, hired a hairstylist and started wearing makeup. She is desperate to get out of the shadows of her parents. She wants to date boys and be popular. She dreams of being a covergirl, and she has started posing in bikinis. The only problem is she looks like her dad, not her mom, who used to be a beauty. Can she make her dream of becoming a sexy covergirl come true?
Well...we can guess Bobby's child for the second one (thanks to the pics. 
First one, Tevin Campell
