Bishop TD Jakes opened up about filming the Sparkle remake, what it was like working with the late Whitney Houston, and what he would tell the singer today if he had the chance. “I think she would have been amazed to see how many people really loved her – loved the body of work that she produced, loved her cinematically as well as auditorily, but also I was struck at the funeral by the people who worked closest to her; how much they loved her and how much they wept at her loss”...I think sometimes professional people are so busy doing what they do that they don’t think that anybody loves them for who they are..” [Examiner]
Rapper Snoop Dogg has changed his name to Lion. According to Snoop the move is in part to help him create music his children can listen to. “Rap isn’t challenging; it’s not appealing,” said Snoop. “Reggae was calling “... it’s a breath of fresh air. I’ve got to give [my kids] something. That’s what you do when you’re wise.” With his new persona, Snoop Lion has collaborated with his daughter Cori on a reggae track entitled “No Guns Allowed.” [Black Celeb Kids]
Meagan Good addressed controversy surrounding her decision to do a burlesque performance with the PussyCat Dolls just before she got married in June. While the sex-charged performance didn’t sit well with many Christians, Meagan says that she and new hubby DeVon Franklin talked and prayed about it, and she wasn’t going to let others’ opinions dictate her life. “I’m not out here showing my booty. I’m not out here doing all that kind of stuff,” said Meagan “I’m getting sexy and all that but there is a way to do it. There is a classy way to do everything and there is nothing wrong with being sexy or having sex appeal.” [Just the Fab]
Tia Mowry is in negotiations with Nickelodeon to star in a new Nick at Nite series, Instant Mom. The show centers around Mowry’s character, a young party-girl who marries an older man with children. The series features an all-black cast and is based on the real lives of the shows writers, Warren Bell and Jessica Butler. [Popular Critic]
Samuel L. Jackson may not be competing in the Olympics, but the actor may be deserving of a medal for his blow-by-blow Twitter updates about the Olympic competitions. Samuel L. is being called an “Olympic superfan” and hailed as being better than sports commentator Bob Costas in his tweets to his more than 1 million followers. Although he’s blasted some commentators for their negativity (“Commentator dude spends a Lot of time yakking about the negatives of the gymnasts… Even the Americans.”) and wasn’t into boxing (“Tried to watch Boxing, BORING! Might need to change to UFC/MMA style to draw interest!”) Most of his tweets show strong support of the competing athletes, especially Team USA. [USA Today]
NBA baller Grant Hill and wife Tamia along with Mariah Carey and hubby Nick Cannon were honored for their philanthropy at the 13th Annual Art for Life Fundraiser at Russell Simmons’ home in East Hampton, NY. Kimora Lee Simmons collaborated with ex-hubby Russell to host the event which raised more than 2 million dollars for the arts. Anita Baker, Babyface, Salt and Pepa and Melanie Fiona were among the celebs at the star-studded event. [Necole Bitchie]
If you saw a “Last Friday” poster floating around the net earlier this week, don’t get your hopes up. According to comedian Mike Epps, rumors that a new “Friday” film featuring Mike Epps, Ice Cube, Chris Tucker and members of the original cast of the movie is set for release are untrue. While Ice Cube is working on getting a script together for the movie, New Line Cinema has yet to give the next installment the green light. [Freddyyo]
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