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Patty Jackson's 411 for the week of December 4th, 2006

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Hot on the heels of his hot new movie Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy is running away from another scandal. Murphy is amazing in Dreamgirls, and word has it he could get an Oscar nomination for his role as Singer “James ‘Thunder’ Early.” The character is a combination of James Brown, Marvin Gaye and David Ruffin, talented with a lot of women problems. How ironic is that since Murphy is having problems with his last girlfriend? After his divorce in April from his wife Nicole, Murphy started dating former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, a.k.a. Mel B. She’s 31-years old, and she has a 7-year old daughter. Murphy is 45, and he is the father of six children. For a while, the two were hot and heavy, and Eddie was telling friends he was in love. Then, Mel B dissed his mom, and Eddie had to show her the door. Eddie’s mom visits regularly to help him with his children, and Mel B didn’t like it. When she complained, Eddie ended the relationship. But, this is not the end of the story. Mel B got pregnant. Eddie went into shock and then denial. He no longer wanted to be with the former Spice Girl. He was ready to move on with Film Producer Tracey Edmonds. Edmonds used to be married to Singer Babyface. Eddie can’t believe this is happening to him. He doesn’t want anything to do with Mel B. He wants her to submit to a paternity test because he doesn’t think the child she’s carrying is his. Eddie Murphy doesn’t need bad publicity like this. If he is perceived as turning his back on a former pregnant girlfriend, it could hurt his image and his chance at winning an Oscar. As for Tracey Edmonds, she is just going along for the ride, even though Eddie may be having a baby by someone else. Tracey loves the publicity, and she is sticking to his side as he attends every premiere. She’s already shopping for her Oscar gown and getting ready for awards season. As for Mel B, she intends to fight Eddie on this and get paid at the same time. In other Eddie Murphy news, he just signed on for a new installment of the Beverly Hills Cop movie franchise. Yes, “Detective Axel Foley” is returning.

Is Beyonce jealous of all the attention Jennifer Hudson is getting for her role as “Effie White” in Dreamgirls? Beyonce, who plays the Diana Ross-based character “Deena Jones,” says no. She says the media likes stirring up controversy between women. She says she is happy for Hudson. But, at the recent New York premiere, Beyonce was very standoffish, and was caught on camera frowning. She never stayed for the movie. She left right away for a special getaway with her boyfriend, Rapper Jay-Z. She is planning a birthday surprise for him in the islands. Sources say the surprise could be a wedding for them. Meanwhile, new questions are coming up about Beyonce’s true age. She says she’s 25, but documents show that she may have been born in 1974. This would make her 32-years old. Jay-Z just celebrated his 38th birthday. Beyonce will be headlining The 2007 Essence Music Festival, themed Coming Home, in New Orleans July 5th through the 7th.

Oscar Winner Jamie Foxx says he is on top of the world with the release of Dreamgirls. Foxx plays “Curtis,” the man who romances both “Effie” and “Deena.” Foxx says he enjoyed playing the role of heartbreaker. He claims Dreamgirls is a movie he had to be in. The January issue of Vanity Fair magazine features Jamie, Beyonce and Eddie Murphy on the cover. While doing press interviews for the movie, Jamie was asked if he would stop using the N-word in his comedy routines. Various leaders in the African American community and some comedians have vowed never to use the N-word again and have asked others to do the same since Actor Michael Richards’ racial tirade at a Los Angeles nightclub. Jamie says he will not stop using the word. He feels it’s relevant to his routine.

After 17 years of marriage, The Jordans may be calling it quits. Michael and Juanita Jordan have been trying to make their marriage work, but Juanita has grown weary of his cheating, the lawsuits and scandals. The former basketball star won’t stop cheating. His girlfriends even travel with him all over the world. This isn’t the first time that Juanita has tried to get out. In 2002, she filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. At the time, Michael convinced her to drop the divorce proceedings and go into counseling with him. Jordan is worth $500 million. Juanita is in line to get half.

Are Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri headed for a split? Friends close to Janet say she is having a hard time getting over the disappointment of her latest CD, 20 Y.O. Dupri was the executive producer of the project. He changed Janet’s image from a pop superstar into a 40-year old hip hop diva. The public wasn’t buying it, and the results were disastrous. Sources feel Janet and Jermaine will tough it out for the holidays, and split up right after the Grammy Awards in February.

Denzel Washington says reports of him cheating on his wife with his Dйjа Vu co-star Paula Patton are not true. Washington stars with Patton in the mystery thriller, and published reports claimed the two were getting very close. Patton is happily married to singer Robin Thicke, and Denzel has been married for years to his wife Pauletta.


“Tootie” is having a baby! Actress Kim Fields, who is best known for her roles as “Tootie” on the Facts of Life and “Regine” on Living Single, is going to have a baby. Fields is 3 months pregnant.

Actor Don Cheadle is set to play legendary Jazz Great Miles Davis in an upcoming movie.

Rapper/Actor Bow Wow is growing up, and he will prove it in the new John Singleton movie Boys. In a shocking casting move, Bow Wow will play a bi-sexual drug dealer. Word has it there will be gay love scene.

The Kennedy Center Honors will air on CBS, December 26th at 9pm. This year’s honorees include Smokey Robinson, Dolly Parton, Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Director Steven Spielberg.

Kirk Franklin is getting ready to start his movie career. Franklin will be starring in and producing the drama Choir Boy. The movie is about a boy who is abandoned by his mother. He then turns to the streets and gets involved in a wild lifestyle and drugs. After a downward spiral, he turns his life around and becomes a success. The movie is due out in 2008. Franklin is also doing the soundtrack.

Vivica A. Fox is joining the cast of the HBO comedy show Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show stars Larry David, and Vivica will play a member of a family who moves in with David and his wife Cheryl following a Hurricane Katrina like disaster. With David’s quirky behavior and Vivica’s tough sister girl attitude, this should make for must see TV. The new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm kicks off in the summer of 2007.

Boyz II Men return to the music scene in February with a new album called Remedy.

Friends are gathering around Actress Maia Campbell. The past few weeks have been rough for the former In The House co-star. Last week, Campbell lost her mother, Author BeBe Moore Campbell, to brain cancer. A few weeks ago, Maia was arrested on felony misdemeanor charges. Campbell is best known for her role as “Tiffany Warren” on In The House. Campbell doesn’t have a driver’s license or a car, and she took a car without the owner’s consent. She has also lost an alarming amount of weight over the past year. Friends fear since the loss of her mother, she may go over the edge.

A new tell-all book is in the works that is threatening to reveal the real story behind the marriage of Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons. They are the parents of two young daughters and they head up a fashion and hip hop empire. But, behind closed doors, a different story is played out. At the moment, the couple are only together in name only. Russell has been dating other women openly since the beginning of the year. Inside sources say Kimora has also been seeking comfort with her girlfriends. The author of the upcoming book is no fan of Kimora. He describes her as shallow, superficial, mean-spirited, deceptive and nasty.

Actress Nia Long is coming to TV. Long is joining the cast of the ABC hit show Boston Legal. Next year, she reunites with Ice Cube for the movie Are We Done Yet.

Martin Lawrence has signed on for the Malcolm Lee movie The Better Man. Lawrence will play a single father who has a career as a famous syndicated shock jock. As he deals with raising his daughter, he has a change of heart about how he is living his life. Martin is used to playing a radio guy because that was his profession on The Martin Show. Next year, Lawrence teams up with John Travolta and Tim Allen for the comedy movie Wild Hogs.

Model Gabriel Aubry is finding out it’s hard being Halle Berry’s man. The couple was recently photographed while they were having a heated discussion. From the looks of the photos, Halle was giving her man the business. Will this relationship go the distance?

Cedric The Entertainer is returning to television in a new show for ABC. Cedric will play a single father raising a teenage girl. The show will be produced by Larry Wilmore. Wilmore used to produce The Bernie Mac Show.

Sean “Diddy” Combs, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and John Stamos lead an all-star cast of the TV production A Raisin in the Sun. The TV movie is based on the Broadway play and book.

LaToya Jackson is also gearing up for a TV show. LaToya will be starring along with Erik Estrada and Jack Osborne in the reality show Armed and Fabulous, where they train to be cops.

WHAT’S THE UNDERGROUND BUZZ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This R&B Singer hasn’t had a hit song in years. He’s good looking and sexy, but his career never took off like it should. He worked with one of the music industry’s top producers, but it just never took off in a big way. This same Producer is now working with a Pop Star, and the Pop Star’s career has taken off in a big way. The R&B Singer feels slighted because he feels the Producer didn’t put out the same energy into his projects as the Pop Star. The R&B Singer and Producer used to be good friends, but now the Singer is telling folks that Producer can kiss his a**!