Celebrities At Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Dinner Last night, celebs turned out in droves for music exec Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy dinner party . Performers and industry insiders alike got glam for the annual event celebrating the nominees. Ciara stunned on the red carpet in all-white… While Pharrell and his wife Helen looked hipster chic… Hit the flip for snaps of Iggy, Breezy, Rita Ora, and more as they arrive for the annual pre-awards bash. WENN
Unarmed Black Carpenter Shot 8 Times By Police Awarded $2.5 Million In Settlement via Contra Costa Times The state of California agreed Tuesday to pay $2.5 million to settle an excessive-force lawsuit filed by an African-American carpenter who was shot at least eight times by a white CHP rookie during a traffic stop. The state offered the settlement on the first day of trial in federal court, after the officer who shot James Henry Ligon Jr. in 2012 testified that Ligon stepped out of his car and charged directly at him, shouting threats. The problem with CHP officer Joe Lafauci’s account was it did not match the physical evidence in the case, said Ligon’s lawyers, Jaime Leanos and Nelson McElmurry. Ligon was shot four times in the back, suggesting he was not coming at the officer. “Officer Lafauci immediately went for his gun, unlike his more experienced partner, who got out of the patrol car without even taking out his gun,” just his Taser, McElmurry said. Lafauci had only 14 months on the job when he emptied his service pistol of 12 rounds, at least eight of which hit Ligon. Ligon, now 37, said he had stepped out of his car after leading the CHP on a high-speed chase for three miles because he couldn’t hear what the officers were yelling and to show them he was unarmed. Details surrounding what led to the high speed chase reveal that Mr. Ligon was suspected of drunk driving at the time of the incident. According to Sunnyvale police, which investigated Ligon’s shooting, Lafauci and fellow CHP officer Cory Walczak tried to stop Ligon in a gold Toyota Corolla about 1:30 a.m. on southbound Highway 101 near Ellis Street, suspecting he was driving drunk. It was later determined he had an estimated blood-alcohol level of .25-.32, at least three times above the legal limit of .08. He was on probation at the time for possession of mushrooms for sale. Ligon did not pull over and instead drove onto city streets in Sunnyvale for about three miles to the 200 block of Alturas Avenue, near where his mother lived. He was driving her car and did not want it to be impounded, Leanos said. Ligon pleaded no contest to felony evading and misdemeanor DUI charges, after prosecutors dropped a felony resisting arrest charge. This case serves as a great example for how these types of incidents SHOULD be handled. No one is advocating that people breaking the law should get off scott-free (drunk driving and evading police is certainly a punishable offense) however, police officers shooting to kill should NEVER be the first course of action without consequence when a suspect makes it clear that he is unarmed.
Rick Ross’ Girlfriend Ming Lee In case you’ve been hiding under rock, Rick Ross has a new Atlanta based boo thang and her name is Ming Lee . Lee is an entrepreneur and the owner of Snob Life hair… and was recently by the biggest boss’ side after the Patriots’ Super Bowl win … before snapping selfies with Rozay during his birthday dinner. Are you feeling Ricky’s new girlfriend???? Hit the flip for more photos of Miss Ming Lee.
Rick Ross’ Girlfriend Ming Lee In case you’ve been hiding under rock, Rick Ross has a new Atlanta based boo thang and her name is Ming Lee . Lee is an entrepreneur and the owner of Snob Life hair… and was recently by the biggest boss’ side after the Patriots’ Super Bowl win … before snapping selfies with Rozay during his birthday dinner. Are you feeling Ricky’s new girlfriend???? Hit the flip for more photos of Miss Ming Lee.
Family Reportedly Saying Goodbye To Bobbi Kristina Things are looking especially grim for Bobbi Kristina who remains in a medically induced coma after being found face down in a bath tub Saturday. As previously reported her brain function has allegedly continued to diminish and now a new report claims that her family is gathering to say their final goodbyes. People Magazine reports: It wasn’t the news that Bobbi Kristina Brown’s family wanted to hear. On Wednesday, four days after the 21-year-old was found unresponsive in her home, a doctor told her family that nothing more could be done. “Everyone is coming to the hospital to say goodbye,” says a family member. The news was especially devastating to her father, Bobby Brown. “Bobby has been crying nonstop since yesterday,” says the source. “We are grieving.” A second family member went by the hospital overnight to say goodbye – and admits that the devastating news is hard to believe. “If you saw her, you’d think she was just sleeping,” says the source. But even with the bleakest prognosis, the family is still clinging to some hope. “It’s sinking in that this is it,” says the second family member, “but we’re all still praying that God will intervene and heal her body.” This latest bit of news is so disheartening; continue to pray for her and her family.
Issa Rae’s Comedy Series Picked Up By HBO After seemingly landing an ABC show “[I Hate L.A. Dudes”]co-written by Shonda Rhimes that was later passed up on, Issa Rae has some new exciting news to share. The “Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl” creator’s new comedy series “Insecure” has been picked up by HBO. Deadline reports: HBO is moving ahead with Insecure, giving a pilot order to the comedy project starring Issa Rae. Co-created and written by Rae and Larry Wilmore, Insecure focuses on the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern day African-American woman. These are also themes Rae has tackled in her successful webseries, The Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl, which won a Shorty Award. The project was originally set up at HBO in summer 2013. Wilmore now has a late-night talk show on Comedy Central, so the extent of his future involvement in Insecure is still being figured out, but he remains attached as an executive producer alongside Rae. 3 Arts is producing the project, with Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky and Jonathan Berry serving as executive producers. Search is underway for a director and showrunner. Rae’s online content has garnered over 20 million views and nearly 200,000 YouTube subscribers. She has made a number of lists, including Glamour Magazine’s “35 Under 35″, Forbes’s “30 Under 30” (twice), Rolling Stone’s 23 Funniest people in America and People Magazine’s “One to Watch” list for 2015. ”Her book, “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl,” a collection of reminiscent essays, is being released next Tuesday, Feb. 10, via Simon & Schuster. Rae is repped by UTA, 3 Arts and Hansen, Jacobsen. Congrats to (someone we actually really, really like) Issa Rae!
Poll Shows Most Americans Business Have A Right To Deny Gays Via The Grio reports: While finding that Americans narrowly favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry, a new Associated Press-GfK poll also shows most believe wedding-related businesses should be allowed to deny service to same-sex couples for religious reasons. Roughly half the country also thinks local officials and judges with religious objections ought to be exempt from any requirement that they issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, according to the poll. That view of the same-sex marriage issue echoes that of the Mormon church. Last week, the church called on state legislatures to pass new laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination but also to protect the rights of those who assert their religious beliefs. David Kenney, a self-employed Catholic from Novi, Michigan, said he’s fine with same-sex marriage being legal. He’s among the 57 percent of Americans who said wedding-related businesses — such as florists — should be allowed to refuse service if they have an objection rooted in their religion. “Why make an issue out of one florist when there are probably thousands of florists?” asked Kenney, 59. “The gay community wants people to understand their position, but at the same time, they don’t want to understand other people’s religious convictions. It’s a two-way street.” Kenney isn’t alone. About a quarter of those who favor legal same-sex marriage also favor religious exemptions for those who issue marriage licenses, the poll finds, and a third say wedding-related businesses should be allowed to refuse service. Geri Rice, who lives near San Francisco and works in law firm management, strongly favors gay marriage. She’s torn about whether a public official with religious objections should be exempt from issuing a license but says she believes that business owners should be allowed to tell somebody no thanks. “I don’t like it,” Rice said, “but I think they have the right.” Whether a business can refuse service to someone is a matter of federal, state and local law. National gay-rights groups called the idea of trying to carve out religious exemptions in anti-discrimination statues, such as those proposed by leaders of the Mormon church, deeply flawed. James Esseks, who directs the LGBT project of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom “does not give any of us the right to harm others, and that’s what it sounds like the proposal from the Mormon church would do.” The poll found that 44 percent of Americans favor and 39 percent oppose legal same-sex marriage in their own states, while 15 percent expressed no opinion. But the country is evenly divided, 48 percent to 48 percent, on which way the Supreme Court should rule when it decides the issue for the entire nation this spring. Discuss…
Beyonce & Jay Z Argue At LA Restaurant We’ve seen how much Bey gets bothered by Jay’s iPhone antics before…but witnesses say she finally blew her top at the Brooklyn rapper when he couldn’t seem to stay out of his iMessages for five minutes during a recent date night the couple had at an LA sushi spot. Via OK! Magazine : No one ignores Queen Bey! Beyoncé appeared to have to give her husband, Jay Z, a lesson in date etiquette during a recent outing in Los Angeles, California. The pair was photographed grabbing dinner at Sushi Park restaurant on Jan. 30. And it seemed like quite the romantic moment for the two. However, things looked to take a turn for the worse thanks to the third wheel present at their table, Jay’s cell phone. The rapper seemed to be more into his handset than talking to his wife as he appeared to glance at his phone several times during their date. And at one point, a frowning Bey looked to yell and wave her finger at Jay Z, possibly instructing him to put his phone away. C’mon, Jay. You know better! SMH…Jay better back away from the phone when the queen is speaking, before it mysteriously ends up with cracks, scratches, and water damage…
Stacey Dash Apologizes For Calling Rape Victims Naughty Girls Stacey Dash has learned the hard way that, when in doubt, leave the humor out. Via EOnline reports: The co-host of Fox News’ Outnumbered took to Facebook today to clarify the remarks she made last week on the show about “good girls” who would benefit from a ban on fraternity parties and the “bad girls” who may still go out and get hurt. Her comments came as the group debated the merits of the University of Virginia banning sorority members from attending fraternity parties as a precaution against sexual assault. “After a failed attempt at humor about ‘good girls’ and ‘naughty girls,’ during my recent appearance on Outnumbered, I transitioned to the very serious issue of men blaming alcohol for their vile behavior,” Dash’s Facebook post began. “LET ME BE CLEAR: I am a victim of physical and sexual abuse. My point was that there IS NO EXCUSE for a man taking advantage of women under any circumstances. I believe that these universities focusing on alcohol consumption as a means to stop evil behavior takes the focus off the real issue of the objectification of women and how that can be prevented. I apologize to anyone who believed I was blaming the victims of these horrible acts.” Calling UVA’s move “ridiculous,” Dash said last week: “I think it’s a good thing, for the good girls, to you know…Women, sorry, not to be told, ‘stay home, be safe.’ The other bad girls—bad women—or the ones who like to be naughty might go out and play and and get hurt.” “But the other thing about this is,” the Clueless star also said, “it then blames the alcohol instead of the person who overdrinks, so you know, it’s like, the same thing with guns. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Alcohol doesn’t get you drunk, you get yourself drunk.” Twitter went off on Dash’s comments, to say the least, with the majority (or all) interpretations of her comments being that she was suggesting a certain type of girl was more likely to be a victim of rape than another. Do you think Stacey’s apology was heartfelt and sincere?? Facebook/YT
