Fall 2K5 NEWS

[ladylike]

Originally posted by jitterbug13
R&B singer Lil' Mo is getting a divorce from her husband, real estate developer Al Stone. The couple wed in August 2001, just three months after meeting at a gas station in Maryland.

Ummm...
Well, they were able to hang in there for four years.

[lovehaiku84]

That's what I was thinking!

[emeraldAKA99]

Ja Rule, Ashanti Torah The Roof Off At Girl's Bat Mitzvah

A bat mitzvah's not the sort of event that normally warrants a press release. But Amber Ridinger's coming-of-age was no cheap banquet-hall bash.

On Saturday Amber, a Miami Country Day School eighth-grader and aspiring fashion designer, became an adult — and it only cost her parents $500,000. Ridinger's bat mitzvah ceremony was followed by a chichi party that doubled as an out-of-this-world 13th-birthday celebration. It unfolded inside Miami Beach club the Forge, and the party's guests arrived in limos to a pink carpet cluttered with television cameras and local news crews.

Oh, and the entire evening was capped off with musical performances by Ja Rule, Ashanti, Marques Houston and Omarion. The guest list also included embattled Inc. president Irv Gotti, Playboy Playmate-turned-actress Brande Roderick and Nicole Richie's husband-to-be, DJ AM.

The high-priced party even had a theme: "Butterflies and Bling" ("Well, diamonds are a girl's best friend," she told The Miami Herald. "And I love butterflies, too, so I thought they would make a great combination.") And it was certainly a blingin' celebration. Ridinger donned a $27,000 Dolce & Gabbana gown and, before the evening was through, debuted her line of rhinestone-studded club clothes, Gossip, via a runway show. The club's wine cellar was even transformed into a real-life interactive Candy Land — the drapes, according to the Herald, were chocolate-covered ... and delicious.

"I hope our daughter one day doesn't expect something this big," said nervous Mets slugger and catcher Mike Piazza, who arrived with his model wife, Alicia Rickter. Amber's parents are dot-com millionaires James and Loren Ridinger.

Needless to say Amber's shindig put most sweet 16s to shame, thanks to Ja Rule and Ashanti, who Torah the roof off the Forge with renditions of Ja's "Always on Time" and "Livin' It Up."

For Ja, it was his first bat mitzvah. "I'm Uncle Ja," he said, with his arm wrapped around a beaming Amber. "I'm really here just to scare all the little boys, the little 13-year-old bad boys that try to hit on little Amber. That's why I'm here."

mtv.com



I think this is over-indulgence, but that's just my opinion.

[WenD08]

so if this cost $ 500,000, i wonder what her Sweet Sixteen would cost?
this makes me think MTV may have a new series featuring the Jewish bar/bat mitzvah set. i'd always heard they cost as much as a big weddingl...

[ladylike]

Has reality TV she-devil Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth already found love now that her divorce from ex-husband Aaron Stallworth is final? Sources tell BV Buzz that the star of 'The Surreal Life' and 'The Apprentice' is now dating Ford model Datari Turner.

I googled his name. Good, googa-mooga!!

[Eclipse]

Originally posted by emeraldAKA99
[B]Ridinger donned a $27,000 Dolce & Gabbana gown and, before the evening was through, debuted her line of rhinestone-studded club clothes, Gossip, via a runway show.
I think this is over-indulgence, but that's just my opinion.

Why would a 13 design "club clothes"?? What does a 13 year old know about "club clothes"??

I'm not even touching the party!

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by ladylike
I googled his name. Good, googa-mooga!!

And what is that wonderful man doing with Assaroma?

[lovehaiku84]

Originally posted by Eclipse
Why would a 13 design "club clothes"?? What does a 13 year old know about "club clothes"??

Pretty much

[lovehaiku84]

Originally posted by Steeltrap
And what is that wonderful man doing with Assaroma?

I want to know the same thing. I've met her in person and she's quite grotesque.

[jitterbug13]

Did ya'll read the part where he used to go with Fantaisia? Now 'Taisha may not be as well educated as Omorosa, but I bet ya' that she got A WHOLE LOT MORE PERSONALITY than Omorosa!

And yeah, dude is fine!

On the party in Miami, I heard they have parties like that for teens all of the time and they dress in "club clothes".

[jitterbug13]

OK, It's not about Rrrrrr. We know he loves the video camera. But it's the other people involved...a famous baseball player and his gospel-singing wife!
---------------------
A Chicago jury has returned a guilty verdict in a sex-tape case involving R. Kelly. Just not that sex-tape case.

Candid-camera enthusiast Kelly was merely a costar in the trial that ended Monday with a Windy City gadfly convicted in an extortion scheme targeting New York Yankees star Gary Sheffield.

Derrick Mosley, a self-proclaimed minister and community activist, was found guilty by a federal jury of two counts of extortion and two counts of wire fraud for allegedly trying to blackmail Sheffield and his wife, gospel singer DeLeon Richards-Sheffield, over videos featuring her having sex with a certain "I Believe I Can Fly" singer.

During the weeklong trial, Sheffield's business manager and a representative of the Yankees both testified that they were contacted in November 2004 by Mosley, who told them of the videotaped romp featuring Kelly and Richards-Sheffield.

They quoted Mosley as saying the video, shot before the Sheffields were married, would harm both the Yankees' reputation and Richards-Sheffield's standing in the gospel community if it fell into the wrong hands. Mosley, 39, asked for $20,000 to counsel the missus "about reform and her moral standing" and destroy the video.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clarence Butler Jr. also played audiotape of Mosley's meeting with Sheffield's manager, Rufus Williams. Williams had tipped off the FBI of Mosley's scheme and agents wired him for a meeting.

In his closing arguments, defense attorney Michael Petro repeatedly told jurors, "If there's no threat to 'D,' you must set Derrick free," per the Chicago Sun-Times. "Extortion requires a threat. There was no threat," the attorney said.

"The threat [was] to damage her reputation and injure her reputation," countered Butlerr. "This didn't have a damned thing to do with counseling at all...What he wanted was $20,000."

Per reports, the jury deliberated for just three hours before rendering its verdict. Petro said he would file an appeal.

Neither Sheffield nor Kelly testified during the trial. The tape itself was not played for jurors.

At the time of Mosley's arrest, Sheffield said that his wife had a relationship with "a musician" a decade ago, before they were married. "I have not seen the alleged videotape, nor do I care to," he said. "I love my wife and I vow again to stand by her through any trial or tribulation."

Kelly's lawyer declined to comment Monday. But last year, the singer's publicist issued a statement addressing the Sheffield-Mosley case.

"We have heard second-hand reports that the tape allegedly shows consenting adults, including someone identified as R. Kelly, engaged in sexual activity. Since we haven't seen the tape, we can neither confirm nor deny that it is in fact Mr. Kelly," said Kelly spokesman Allan Mayer.

"We can, however, confirm that no one is suggesting the tape depicts anything but the activities of consenting adults."

Mosley faces a maximum of 44 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 18.

That will be about the same time Kelly prepares for his own trial on 14 counts of child pornography stemming from another tape that purportedly shows him having sex with a minor. The 38-year-old Grammy winner has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

[AKA2D '91]

Originally posted by jitterbug13
Changing Lives
Veteran news anchor Arthel Neville is continuing the effort to support victims of Hurricane Katrina in her hometown of New Orleans. Neville, who provided in-depth Katrina coverage live from New Orleans on the recently cancelled 'A Current Affair,' has launched a charity organization called Arthel's Angels (www.arthelsangels.com) to provide financial contributions to displaced families.

Neville is the daughter of music legend Art Neville, founder of The Meters and The Neville Brothers. Her parents and other relatives were directly affected by Katrina. Though her relatives are all safe and relocated, Neville hopes to aide families still suffering as a result of the natural disaster.

Just wanted to note that she is a Soror.

[TonyB06]

Originally posted by AKA2D '91
Just wanted to note that she is a Soror.

...and foine as hayle, too.

[jitterbug13]

Originally posted by AKA2D '91
Just wanted to note that she is a Soror.

Didn't know that. Kudos to her and what she's doing to help Katrina survivors!

[jitterbug13]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Michael Jackson has stirred a small controversy in the United Arab Emirates by entering the ladies room in a shopping mall.

The pop star's publicist said Jackson, who arrived in Dubai this week as the guest of a champion rally driver, did not understand the Arabic sign on the door and left the bathroom as soon as he realized his mistake.

In the statement released late Tuesday, Jackson's publicist, Raymond K. Bain said: "Upon his exit (from the ladies bathroom), he was recognized and a crowd ensued. He had to wait in a nearby bookstore until police arrived to escort him through the crowd."

But local newspapers reported that the 47-year-old performer did not quickly leave the bathroom and was spotted applying makeup before leaving.

Jackson's host, the Emirates champion rally driver Mohammed bin Sulayem, dismissed the story as rumor.

"People are always interested in gossip and in portraying a negative image of (Jackson)," bin Sulayem told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "The reality is that he's an easy person to be with, not demanding and not difficult."

Bin Sulayem said Jackson was considering buying property in Dubai. This week's visit is his second after a stay in August.

"He likes the place and we want him to stay for good here. He likes what he saw and we should try to convince him to buy," he said.

Though it has been reported that Jackson has purchased acreage on Bahrain's Amwaj Islands, his publicist has denied it.

Since his June acquittal on child molestation charges, Jackson has made several trips to Bahrain as a guest of Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain's king.