[Afrochic]

411 for the week of December 15, 2003:


Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown are making headlines again. Last week Bobby was charged with battery after he beat up Whitney. Whitney had to call the cops on her husband after he bruised her cheek and busted her lip. Bobby is due back in court on January 7th, and Whitney has forgiven him. A lot of people are wondering what are they fighting about now? Sources say Whitney has refused to help Bobby with his child support payments. Bobby has other children and the other baby mommas have not received any money. Bobby is behind on payments and is now in the arrears. Whitney is tired of the money she has to put out to help support other people's lifestyles. Bobby has no income and he has to rely on Whitney for everything. Whitney is sick of the handouts; especially, when Bobby isn't acting right. Whitney's career is also on the decline with poor record sales. Whitney is vowing to stand by her man. Maybe she will resume giving him money to help him with his child support. Meanwhile, Whitney's Mom Cissy Houston in New Jersey is now raising their daughter Bobbi Christina.

Did Santa Barbara police rough up Michael Jackson? According to Michael's brother, Jermaine, when Michael was booked on suspicion of molesting a young boy the police roughed him up and he has the marks on his body to prove it. He says Michael was slammed against a wall and his shoulder was dislocated. Santa Barbara police say Michael was treated with courtesy and respect.

Does George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic fame need to check into drug rehab? Clinton was arrested last week in Tallahassee, Florida on drug possession charges. Clinton was sitting in a parked car when the cops noticed him. The cops went to his car and he dropped an object on the seat. The officers asked Clinton what did he have and he told them he had cocaine. The object he dropped was a crack pipe. Clinton is known for his weed smoking.

In a recent interview with Time Magazine Oprah Winfrey talked about her refusal to do the David Letterman Show. Oprah says she has appeared on his show twice and both times he made her feel uncomfortable. She says she doesn't like being the butt of his jokes and she does not want to be on his show again. Oprah says she's not snubbing him and she respects his talent. She even sent his new baby some gifts when he became a dad. Letterman has had a long running gag on his show on how Oprah is avoiding him. Oprah says she would love to have Dave on her show, but Dave says he doesn't want to go on the show and break down and cry like a little girl. I think the two are going to appear together next year. The question is on whose show?

Singer Billy Preston is not doing well. The 57 year old Grammy Award winner is best known for the hits "Nothing from Nothing," "Will It Go Round In Circles" and "With You I'm Born Again" with Syreeta. Billy underwent a kidney transplant last year, but the transplant is failing. A church member gave up a kidney for him, but now his chances of survival are slim. Billy has high blood pressure, diabetes and he has lost 30 pounds. He doesn't want to undergo another transplant.

Paris Hilton the star of the Fox reality show The Simple Life is now in talks with the Fox network about doing a spin off series. I hear the deal is being worked out worth $3 million and it does not include her co-star Nicole Ritchie. Nicole Ritchie is the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie and his first wife Brenda. Nicole also stars on the hit Fox show, but she is being left out. Nicole has turned her life around. She has been drug free since March and she is undergoing drug rehab. Nicole has decided to leave her wild past behind. Nicole was a tabloid darling with her drug and fighting exploits and now she is serious about having a career. Lionel and Brenda adopted Nicole when she was three. Her birth parents are a musician and a backstage assistant. Next year she is doing a guest appearance on Eve's UPN show and she is currently sharing a house with Justin Guarini from American Idol. Why is Nicole being pushed aside for Paris? She is just as funny and dumb as Paris, so what gives? Paris says Nicole is her best friend. Maybe she will look out for her. Nicole is also working on a recording career.

Talk show host and author, Tavis Smiley, is gearing up for his return to late night television. Tavis was in town last week for the "Pass the Mic" tour and he was looking good. Tavis has lost 75 pounds thru diet and exercise. Tavis says a sports injury caused him to be inactive and he gained a lot of weight. Tavis returns to late night TV on January 5th, on PBS. His show will air at 11:30pm.

Janet Jackson is also gearing up to give us new music by the start of the year. Janet has also been tapped to provide the halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl 2004. Outkast will also be performing. Her romance with producer Jermaine Dupri is still going strong. She recently gave the pint-sized producer a large platinum Rolex watch that was covered in diamonds.

Gospel sensation Vicki Winans took in husband number three. He's a Detroit businessman.

The business partnership of Jennifer Lopez and Luis Vuitton has come to an end. The popular designer franchise used J-Lo for their fall 2003 campaign, but they have decided not to renew her as their spokesperson. They are still mad over her behavior when she took tens of thousands dollars worth of merchandise after a photo shoot.

Singer Alicia Keys wants the gay rumors to stop. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Alicia addressed the rumors head on. She says she is not gay. Alicia has been seeing her producer, Kerry Brothers, for the past six years. Alicia's new CD, The Diary of Alicia Keys, is topping the charts.

Singer Roberta Flack is sporting a new look. Roberta has lost 42 pounds and she says she wants to lose 20 more. Roberta has battled her weight for years and now she fears she has conquered it. Roberta says she plans on getting surgery to remove excess flesh from her body. Roberta has a new holiday CD called Roberta Flack Holiday. Roberta is also madly in love with her husband. For the past four years she has been married to a man who is much younger than her. Roberta says her husband is young and gorgeous and not in the music business.