Michael Winans Jr., a member of a famous family of gospel musicians, has been sentenced for his role in a Ponzi Scheme that defrauded investors of over $8 million. He will spend 13 years and nine months behind bars. Prior to sentencing the singer, a U.S. District Court Judge came down on him for robbing “good, decent, church-going people.” Winans has said there was “no malicious intent on [his] part” and that he just “wanted people to have a good life,” though the 1,200 individual fiscally injured in his hoax may disagree with that assessment. The artist is the son of Michael Winans Sr. and older brother Benjamin “Bebe” Winans and Priscilla “Cece” Winans. He has also been ordered to $4.8 million in restitution to his victims.
Johnson’s take on ‘Circle of Life’ heralds the beginning of the ‘Zoanette Era’ on ‘Idol.’ By Adam Graham Zoanette Johnson performs on “American Idol” Photo: Michael Becker/ Fox
Justin Bieber does a Michael Jackson crotch-grab while in concert at Liverpool. View post: Star Spotting: Justin Bieber Takes On A Classic Michael Jackson …
Five guys get cut during the Thursday’s sudden death round, including alum Johnny Keyser. By Adam Graham J’DA performs on “American Idol” Photo: Michael Becker/ Fox
Lady Gaga said she has undergone successful surgery to repair an injured hip that forced the pop singer last week to cancel the remainder of her tour . The star thanked fans in a blog post on her littlemonsters (dot) com fan website on Thursday, saying the surgical setback was “just a bump in the road.” The 26-year-old writes: “As they wheeled me into surgery, I thought about all of your pain and perseverance, your unique family situations, school environments, health issues, homelessness, identity struggles.” “So I thought to myself, ‘I’m alive; I’m living my dream.'” “This is just a bump in the road.” A labral tear of her right hip was what sidelined Gaga, leaving her unable to walk . No timetable has been set for her to return, but she will require “strict downtime.” The injury, while specifically not something anyone predicted, wasn’t all that surprising to those familiar with Lady Gaga and how dedicated she is to her craft. She’s been on the road pretty much non-stop for two years, performing concerts on six continents, while doing albums, TV and other work in between. Be well, Mother Monster. Be well. We anticipate your return and all the catchy tunes, outrageous fashion and Lady Gaga hermaphrodite rumors it will bring.
We’ve all been tailgated by people we felt were following us too closely, but it takes some serious brass to do something about it … let alone what this guy pulled. With the tailgater’s dashboard camera apparently recording, this well-dressed motorist decided to make his point by stopping in the middle of the road . Calmly, he gets out of his car and gives the tailgating driver a stare down … all while wearing a pink power tie. Now that’s how you drive. Like a BOSS. Driver OWNS Tailgater With Power Move Of all the methods to combat tailgating , this is definitely the craziest/ballsiest/awesomest. Please don’t try this at home, unless you feel like getting run over/shot.
What’s next, will Lindsay Lohan turn down a drink? Justin Bieber keep his shirt on? Chris Brown treat women with respect? In a truly stunning turn of events, 18-year old Courtney Stodden has rejected an offer from Twistys.com to create a more erotic version of her music video for “Reality.” The site had offered to reshoot the video with a larger budget and to give it a “Katy Perry meets Lady Gaga theme,” while also incorporating a porn star as the leading man. Courtney Stodden Music Video: Behind the Scenes But even though Stodden is “flattered” by the proposal and even though it didn’t require nudity, her mom/manager tells E! News: “[Courtney] does not want her name associated with an adult website.” We’re very glad to hear that, but we are then left to wonder: How does Courtney Stodden expect to get famous?!?
Veteran news anchor Rob Morrison resigned in shame from CBS yesterday over his drunken, wife-choking arrest … then hit up a Connecticut bar to drink more. The best part? A reporter from the New York Post was there and they talked. “I just lost my job today,” Morrison sighed at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Stamford, Conn., as he searched for answers at the bottom of a Bud Light pint. “I could not go on the air again,” the husband of Ashley Morrison lamented. When asked if he is depressed – as Ashley told the police – Morrison said, “I see a psychiatrist once a week,” and added that he suffers from anxiety. He left after 90 minutes and three beers with a takeout order of hot wings. He is free on $100,000 bail following Sunday’s arrest on a litany of charges. Now barred from the million-dollar home he shares with Ashley, he is staying at a hotel across from BWW, which has become his favorite haunt since. As he sat with The Post yesterday , the handsome local news anchor blamed Ashley Morrison, a “CBS Money” anchor, for allegedly striking the first blow. The argument broke out after they watched Mystic Pizza . He said Ashley, a petite, 115-pound blonde, bashed him in the face with the remote, giving him a bloody nose and lip – she’s abused him for years, he adds. The 180-pound former Marine denied choking her, as she told cops. Asked about the marks on her neck indicated in the police report, he said, “What marks?” Morrison denied threatening their 7-year-old son, Jack; Ashley’s brother claims he said “he would shoot their son in front of her and then shoot her” if she ever left him. He teared up when talking about wanting to stay married to Ashley for Jack’s sake. He said he feared she’d divorce him and turn him into a “part-time” dad.
Dr. Conrad Murray will testify in the Michael Jackson wrongful death lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson, who is looking to collect damages from AEG. Michael’s mother wants Murray to testify about comments he made in his documentary, in which Murray said AEG honchos told him MJ was on “death skid row.” AEG, Murray claimed, boasted in 2009 that it owned “the toilet paper he wipes his ass with” and “the f**kin’ popsicles that his children are sucking on.” Referring to his ill-fated This Is It concert dates, the promoter allegedly told Murray, Jackson’s physician, “if he doesn’t get the show done he’s over.” Katherine thinks Murray’s comments will help her convince a jury that AEG played fast and loose with her son’s life, and showed no concern for his welfare. Dr. Conrad Murray was reckless too, of course, but he’s already doing time for manslaughter and more or less broke. So AEG, his employer, is KJ’s target. Murray was fighting the subpoena he was given demanding he be deposed, but a judge ordered him to do it; now he’ll have to take the oath next month.
J. Cole, Meek Mill and Bun B recount their favorite MJ moments and sneakers on Jordan’s 50th birthday. By Rob Markman, with additional reporting by Sway Calloway Michael Jordan in 1989 Photo: Mike Powell/Getty Images Sport
