Source: Allen Berezovsky / Getty Bobby Brown has dealt with success, tragedy and through it all continues to try and be the best man he can for his family. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone the singer spoke about turning 50, his memoir and BET ’s “The Bobby Brown Story,” which will begin shooting soon. He also opened up about the death of his daughter, Bobbi Kristina and ex-wife, Whitney Houston . Follow @TheRSMS Brown revealed that although the pain still lives inside he tries to live everyday by being optimistic. This year marked the sixth year anniversary of Houston’s death. He said, “I don’t think she died from drugs. She was really working hard on herself to try to be a sober person and, um [pauses] she was a great woman.” Brown is happy to be a sober man and was able to create Serenity House to help women going through domestic violence. In June he will celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Don’t Be Cruel” and is excited to live and tell his story. RELATED: Bobby Brown On What Viewers Can Expect From The “Bobby Brown Story” [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] RELATED: Bobby Brown Reveals Bobbi Kristina Died Months Before The Public Knew RELATED: BET Preps “The Bobby Brown Story” For Fall 2018 The Latest : THIS SHIRT SAVES LIVES: Radio Cares For St. Jude 2018 DONATE NOW Watch Brandon Smiley Put His All Into Karaoke Night Performance [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] Is Support Growing For Mo’Nique After All? [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] Blac Youngsta Explains Why He Has No Problem Refusing To Give People Money [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] Why Bobby Brown Doesn’t Believe Whitney Houston Died From Drugs How You Could Get A Free Booty From Blac Youngsta [EXCLUSIVE] Faith Evans Performs Live At Women’s Empowerment! A Georgia Teacher Has Been Arrested After Firing A Gun At His High School How Indie Artists Can Leverage Paid Advertising To Get Their Music Heard 5 Takeaways From The Atlantic’s ‘Black Panther’ Chat With Ta-Nehisi Coates, Chadwick Boseman & Lupita Nyong’o [ione_media_gallery src=”https://rickeysmileymorningshow.com” id=”1763744″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Allen Berezovsky / Getty Bobby Brown has dealt with success, tragedy and through it all continues to try and be the best man he can for his family. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone the singer spoke about turning 50, his memoir and BET ’s “The Bobby Brown Story,” which will begin shooting soon. He also opened up about the death of his daughter, Bobbi Kristina and ex-wife, Whitney Houston . Follow @TheRSMS Brown revealed that although the pain still lives inside he tries to live everyday by being optimistic. This year marked the sixth year anniversary of Houston’s death. He said, “I don’t think she died from drugs. She was really working hard on herself to try to be a sober person and, um [pauses] she was a great woman.” Brown is happy to be a sober man and was able to create Serenity House to help women going through domestic violence. In June he will celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Don’t Be Cruel” and is excited to live and tell his story. RELATED: Bobby Brown On What Viewers Can Expect From The “Bobby Brown Story” [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] RELATED: Bobby Brown Reveals Bobbi Kristina Died Months Before The Public Knew RELATED: BET Preps “The Bobby Brown Story” For Fall 2018 The Latest : THIS SHIRT SAVES LIVES: Radio Cares For St. Jude 2018 DONATE NOW Watch Brandon Smiley Put His All Into Karaoke Night Performance [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] Is Support Growing For Mo’Nique After All? [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] Blac Youngsta Explains Why He Has No Problem Refusing To Give People Money [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO] Why Bobby Brown Doesn’t Believe Whitney Houston Died From Drugs How You Could Get A Free Booty From Blac Youngsta [EXCLUSIVE] Faith Evans Performs Live At Women’s Empowerment! A Georgia Teacher Has Been Arrested After Firing A Gun At His High School How Indie Artists Can Leverage Paid Advertising To Get Their Music Heard 5 Takeaways From The Atlantic’s ‘Black Panther’ Chat With Ta-Nehisi Coates, Chadwick Boseman & Lupita Nyong’o [ione_media_gallery src=”https://rickeysmileymorningshow.com” id=”1763744″ overlay=”true”]
Bobby Brown Doesn’t Believe Whitney Had Drugs In Her System When She Died Bobby Brown isn’t so sure about reports on the cause of Whitney Houston’s death. As the 49-year-old singer told Rolling Stone this month, despite reports that Whitney had everything from cocaine to Xanax in her system…the singer believes emotional distress played a much bigger role in sending her to the afterlife than any drug ever could. In fact…he doubts there were drugs in her bloodstream at all: This month marks the sixth anniversary of Whitney’s death. What do you think was the most misunderstood thing about her? Um … whoa [long pause] – I don’t think she died from drugs. You don’t? No, not at all. What do you think it was? She was really working hard on herself to try to be a sober person and, um [pauses] she was a great woman. When you say you don’t think she died of drugs, do you mean you don’t think there were drugs in her system at the time? Yes. [Alicia Etheredge-Brown, wife and manager, interjecting]: There were drugs in her system. Well, I don’t think so. [Etheredge-Brown]: You feel that other things played a part … That played a part. Yes. What do you attribute her death to if it wasn’t drugs? Just being broken-hearted. Interesting. Bobby didn’t elaborate exactly why he felt her heart would be broken, or who would have such a vested interest in going to great lengths to make the world believe she overdosed…but he seems pretty resolute that there’s more to the story. And when it comes to the death of his daughter with Whitney, Bobbi Kristina, he feels that justice will only be served when Nick Gordon…well, we’ll just let you read it: What does justice look like to you? Justice? If he was locked up somewhere where somebody can rape him. That’s just how I feel. He raped me by taking my daughter away. Well, as a father, you truly can’t blame him for feeling that way. What do you think of Bobby’s thoughts on the deaths of his loved ones? Splash/Getty/WENN Continue reading →
Demi Lovato isn’t just a talented singer with an ever-growing tour schedule . She’s not just an actress or a gorgeous role model. She’s an inspiration . Now, she’s posting a photo of her thighs — now that she’s stopped dieting — to share a powerful message about loving your body. In the (now-deleted) photo that you’ll see below, Demi Lovato shows off her thighs. Though Demi continues to work out by practicizing Brazilian martial arts for both self-defense training and for fitness purposes, she has not stopped dieting. In the caption of this wonderful picture, she’s written: “These are what I call no more dieting thighs and I’m proud of them #thickthighssavelives.” That’s an amazing message, and here is the photo itself: As we mentioned, this gorgeous pic of the singer has announced that she’s no longer dieting. Though her figure remains enviable to the point where every single photo of her is a thirst trap, her thighs have grown powerful. The “thick thighs save lives” motto is incredible and one that we hope to see repeated. it’s body-positive, it’s empowering, and it rhymes. What more could you want? This is not the first time that Demi has spoken up about her body image, however. Demi shared this lovely beach photo and addressed her eating disorder in the captions, writing: “So, I’m insecure about my legs in this picture but I’m posting it because I look so happy and this year I’ve decided I’m letting go of my perfectionism and embracing freedom from self criticism.” That sounds so wonderfully healthy! “Learning to love my body the way it is is challenging but life changing. Giving up my eating disorder has been the most challenging journey of my life but I work every day towards solid recovery even if I mess up sometimes.” By sharing her journey with the world, she can inspire others. “Today I’m feeling strong. You all can do it too. It IS possible. Thank you God for this new chapter in my life. #EDrecovery #happyAF” Demi Lovato has also opened up to People about her recovery. “It’s a daily battle. Some days I feel great and some days I don’t feel great. And sometimes it’s periods of times.” She’s admitted that she’s gained weight — a normal thing for human bodies, but difficult for someone recovering from an eating disorder. “I stopped dieting and have gained a little weight so it’s been a struggle but at the same time, I’m happier because I’m not restricting myself from certain foods and I’m no longer food shaming myself.” That is so good to hear! “As someone recovering from a food disorder, it’s something that I want to put out there that you don’t have to diet in order to be happy.” “I don’t think I’ve heard that message out there in the public and of course, it’s important to be healthy and everything in moderation is fine.” It’s so important to hear her talk about this. Sensible eating and moderation don’t have to look extreme. That applies to everyone, but it’s especially hard for people who struggle with eating disorders to understand. When she says that thick thighs save lives, it’s almost literal — people worried about their thighs not meeting some impossible standard might starve themselves to death or damage their organs in an effort to conform to what they think that they’re supposed to look like. Demi’s message could save lives. View Slideshow: 27 Celebrities Who Suffer From Mental Illness
Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images Are Tessa Thompson And Janelle Monae Dating? Janelle Monae just dropped a teaser trailer for her upcoming album release, Dirty Computer . Throughout the short 30 seconds, the singer is showed cozying up with Thor: Ragnarok star Tessa Thompson, with the majority of the scenes showing the two women about to engage in some romantic activity one way or another. This trailer is just the latest piece of evidence to fuel rumors of a Janelle Monae/Tessa Thompson relationship–and people all over the internet are super excited by the prospect of this union. Back in 2010, Monae told Rolling Stone : “The lesbian community has tried to claim me, but I only date androids. Nothing like an android, they don’t cheat on you.” Her thoughts from 8 years ago coud have changed by now, though. The two lovely ladies have been pictures together multiple times in the past couple of months, even appearing on the carpet together for Thompson’s premiere of Annihilation just a few days ago. The two also attended the Black Panther premiere together, and were pictures at the 2017 Emmy Awards looking mighty comfortable holding hands under the table. i just read this huge thing about how tessa thompson and janelle monae might be dating and just that fact that this is a possibility has raised billions for the lgbts pic.twitter.com/hN5YOBNZpp — king killmonger (@louislestats) February 9, 2018 Of course it’s a possibility these two are just really good friends, but….come on!! They would make the cutest couple of all time and we just want it to be true. There’s no telling when either Tessa or Janelle will come out and say anything about their relationship, but until then, we can just gawk over how adorable the two look together. janelle monae and tessa thompson let me BREATHE challenge pic.twitter.com/u5VjGkuE7U — dhani (@ranahabeebti) February 16, 2018
Celebrities attend The 84th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade on Hollywood Boulevard. Featuring: Sean Kingston Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 29 Nov 2015 Credit: Brian To/WENN.com “Beautiful Girls” Singer Sued Club Where He Said He Was Jumped & Robbed Of $330k In Jewelry An L.A. judge has thrown out Sean Kingston’s lawsuit accusing a Hollywood nightspot’s security guards of being in on his beat down and robbery after the singer straight up stopped coming to court over the matter. Sean Kingston sued SK WS Enterprises, the owners of Playhouse nightclub in 2016, accusing the club’s security of helping to set him up to get jumped and robbed of necklaces worth more $300,000. The club owners said in court papers that they had nothing to do with Sean’s assault and robbery inside the venue. The case was supposed to head to trial, but Sean abruptly stopped moving the legal proceedings forward. He missed his last two court hearings, and the fed up judge ordered the case dismissed last month, according to court papers obtained by BOSSIP. The judge said Sean didn’t tell the court why he was blowing the case off, but the singer’s major money troubles could be the blame. Last year, he admitted in court papers in a suit over unpaid legal work that he had less than $500 in the bank and was living with his mother. On the night of the alleged assault, Sean said he was hanging out in the VIP section, when the club’s security approached him and asked him to visit with another high profile guest. But as the singer approached, an unknown person began hitting him with their fists and knocked him over the head with a champagne bottle, according to his complaint. When Kingston’s friends tried to intervene on the assault, he said the club’s security guards stopped them in their tracks. He said a robber then snatched his chains – worth more than $300,000 – and fled the scene. Kingston demanded $900,000 for his pain and suffering and he’d been living in fear and suffered from crippling anxiety as a result of getting jumped and robbed. But last month, the judge dismissed the case, with prejudice, which means he can sue the club again if he wants.
The Kardashian-Jenner clan now nearly has enough little kids running around to start its own baseball team. But it's not the sheer number of sons and daughters shared by Kourtney, Kim, Kylie and Rob that has the Internet abuzz. It's the names of these sons and daughters! We mean no judgment at their expense, of course. They are cute and precious and they have no control over what they are called. But we do mean to pass A LOT of judgment on their parents for these unique monikers. Below, we rank the first names of these famous kids, from our absolute favorite to the one we still cannot believe is an actual name… 9. Penelope Disick This is a nice, normal, very cute name. Do they call her “Penny?” We hope so. Thumbs up all around. 8. North West First, the nickname “Nori” is sort of adorable. Second, the name may be ridiculous, but she is Kanye and Kim’s kid. Her whole life will be ridiculous. At least her parents leaned into it here. 7. Mason Disick Strong name. Sounds sort of like a detective on a Shonda Rhimes drama, doesn’t it? Also, like the first two names listed here, not a terrible shortened nickname. Mace. We don’t hate it. 6. Dream Kardashian We guess? Any of the following names could go in almost any order at this point… and that’s not a compliment. We just fell off a pretty huge cliff of semi-normalcy. 5. Chicago West Like we said, we’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel here… already. In this case, we’re relying again on the hope that she is really called “Chi,” which isn’t awful. And we’re giving Kanye some props for remembering when he comes from. 4. Saint West Saint is not a name. It’s just not. It’s a designation. There’s no cute shortening of any kind available here and no way to spin the name except that it was a very transparent and lame attempt to be edgy. View Slideshow
Back in November, several media outlets (including this one) reported on the widespread rumor that Lady Gaga and Christian Carino are engaged . The couple has yet to confirm those claims, but it looks more and more like they’re letting their silence do the talking. Gaga has never been shy about refuting inaccurate reports about her private life, so it seems she has no problem with the public believing that she’s soon to be married. And she certainly didn’t seem shy about rocking a massive oval-shaped pink diamond on her commitment finger at this year’s Grammys. So either she really said yes, or she’s just messing with her Little Monster’s minds at this point. As best we can tell, Gaga’s breakup with Taylor Kinney and the ensuing media circus left a lasting mark on the singer, and this time around, she’s keeping a much tighter lid on her prenuptial preparations. Of course, no one as obsessed-over as Gaga can really keep a secret for very long. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that Life & Style claims to have uncovered the mystery of where and when Gaga and Carino are planning to tie the knot. “Gaga and Christian are planning to wed in Italy this summer,” a source exclusively tells the tabloid. “It will be an over-the-top affair combined with classic Italian traditions.” Yes, Lady Gaga’s wedding ceremony will combine the outlandish with the traditionally Italian. In other news, water remains wet; Pope Francis has no plans to convert to Judaism, etc. The insider goes on to reveal that guests will enjoy an “Italian-inspired menu,” which frankly, doesn’t feel like much of a bombshell following the revelation that the wedding will actually take place in Italy. Of course, it would be hilarious to have your family and friends arrive by gondola at a Lake Como villa just to be like, “Gotcha, bitches! Hot Pockets!” Sadly, most brides aren’t big on punking their guests. Go figure. Carino, 48, is an agent at CAA, and despite counting Justin Bieber and Harry Styles among his A-list clients, he maintains a relatively low-profile and seems to enjoy the civilian life. Which is good, because while there are occasional exceptions (Jay and Bey, Posh and Becks), there’s generally only room for one superstar as big as Gaga in a marriage.
Source: Charley Gallay / Getty If there is one moment that best embodies 2 Dope Queens on HBO, it would be when hosts Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams invite “hair icon” Sarah Jessica Parker on the show to talk about black hair. The scene is just as awkward and random as you’d expect as you watch Parker take great pain to find the right words to describe what she loves about our hair, except that it doesn’t end with Carrie Bradshaw being dragged off the stage. In fact, the moment highlights Robinson and Williams’s penchant for addressing and dismantling what is considered taboo or controversial to have an honest, thoughtful conversation about sociopolitical matters. Not only does 33-year-old Robinson welcome the dialogue, she encourages it. Taking her and Williams’s wildly popular podcast to primetime television was a decision that at first made her nervous, then excited her as she prepared to headline a variety series unlike any other. With 2 Dope Queens , the Ohio native is helping normalize the presence of smart, fabulous, hilarious black women in late night TV to talk about things from “which white people need to apologize to us first?” to the wonderful moment when Robinson’s #Britishwhitebae offered to lotion her “ashy” feet. And that’s not all—they bring along a dazzling array of diverse stand-up talent including Baron Vaughn, Aperna Nancherla, Michelle Buteau, and Sheng Wang to offer their own candid observations on the world around them. Robinson jumped on the phone to talk to us about the new series, navigating social media, and disrupting the white boys club in comedy: HB: Congrats on 2 Dope Queens ! How important for you was it to create a positive, inclusive environment that was also woke AF for TV? Phoebe Robinson : I think because Jessica started out in improv and I was doing stand-up two years ago, we would see very white, very male faces. With the stand-up portion of the 2 Dope Queens special, I just noticed that these comedians don’t have the attention they deserve. It’s important for us that not only are we providing a platform for ourselves, but for other people who we think are amazing. I think a lot of people in comedy, the gatekeepers, are like, “oh, we don’t know how to find diverse talent. We don’t know how to find people who are different.” I always hate that, like you’re not looking at all the amazing people around you who are worthy and valuable and are hilarious. With Queens , it’s just been easy to book this. Everyone’s great. HB: What made you want to move the podcast to TV? PR : We were doing the podcast for a while, and we all thought we were going to do well, but we’re also so surprised to see how much people really enjoy not only the chemistry between Jessica and I, but also the stand-up and our interview style with guests. And one night we were just like, “I think that this could be a really fun TV show. I think this could be a variety show.” I told Jessica that, and she agreed. And we rounded everyone up and said, “this could be something different that hasn’t quite been on TV before.” I must give HBO credit, because ever since they’ve been around they’ve always had a keen eye on what’s different, what’s an audience that’s deprived of content and how can we be a facilitator of that. And I think they saw something with Jessica and I that was along the lines of Insecure and all this other stuff coming out in which people of color are not only in front of the camera but also behind the camera. They were just immediately on board. HB: Did you feel any pressure to respond to a certain political moment in pop culture? PR : I think the show existing is its own statement. But I think whatever Jessica and I talk about the show—whether it’s racism, or sexism in New York, or even something light like celebrities we have crushes on—we’re constantly bringing ourselves to the stage. Our stand-ups like John Early are very involved with what’s going on in the world, so I think the easy part is finding smart, intelligent people who will execute the way they do best. I don’t think it’s been tough for us to do it. I think we’re just grateful to have people around us who want to talk about these things. Jessica and Phoebe Source: Amy Pearl / Amy Pearl HB: You seem to have a very devoted and diverse audience that appreciate your unapologetic blackness no matter what. PR : If something is created by a straight white dude, did they think about how it was going to be relatable to other people? Was Jerry Seinfeld to make his show relatable? That’s just not a question he gets asked. So, when Jessica and I got into this, we want to do what we find funny. I just want to make her laugh on stage, and vice versa. I think this notion that anyone who doesn’t represent the patriarchy as we know it, they’re considered “other” or hard to understand. We’re all human, even if I’m talking about ashiness in the black community. So even if certain audiences don’t understand the experiences because they haven’t had them, I think they can empathize with people. They can really understand the comedy of it. I think we’ve gotten to a place where white people watch Insecure . Asian people watch Jane, the Virgin . Good is good, and I think it’s great that that could be celebrated. HB: That reminds me of the moment when you brought on Sarah Jessica Parker to talk about black hair. PR : She’s not the only person that’s scared about black hair. I think that’s why a lot of people touch it, because they don’t know how to respond to it. So, it was cool to have that moment and have her be vulnerable and say, “no, I don’t know anything about black hair. No one’s ever talked about it with me. Let’s get into it.” It was cool because the audience was nervous, and Jessica and I were like, “This is fine. She’s asking questions so that she could be more knowledgeable.” I wish moments like that would happen more in real life. HB: As soon as that moment happened, I immediately looked at SJP and thought to myself, “what in the world is she going to say?” It was a very pure moment when you didn’t know what to expect and she was obviously curious and complimentary about it. To see that moment in this era of black hair is very indicative of what the show is. PR : Yeah, I think instead of everyone being nervous to talk about different cultures, let’s just like get into it and open it up. When things are no longer a mystery, then everyone could be treated with respect as opposed to not acknowledging it, so they don’t say anything stupid. I’m glad that you really like that moment, because that to me is one of my favorite moments from the taping as well. HB: I think it also just allowed space for her to say something that she might have regretted later, especially important given the way in which we engage in this reactionary social media era. You were encouraging her to say the first thing that came into her mind because it was not a space in which you would judge her. PR : Yeah, it’s like “I want to try to say this, but I might say the wrong thing. I’m not trying to offend anyone. I’m trying to find the tools to equip myself to discuss this in the first place. I think in this era where everyone’s like, “I’m woke,” I’m like, you don’t know everything. No one knows everything. I don’t know everything about the LGBTQ community, so I’m learning. It’s like, I don’t know this thing and I want to know about it and become smarter about it. It’s creating a space where people aren’t snapping at someone when they get one thing wrong. Like today, I saw someone I know on Instagram post something simply stating, “Hey women, make sure to get your cervix checked” like a PSA. And someone immediately wrote, “you know, not all women have cervixes.” You know what she was trying to do! And then it turned into she’s being exclusionary, but this person’s trying to raise awareness. People are so quick to find a flaw in what people say without realizing that this person is trying to affect positive change. HB: You are a comedienne, showrunner, movie star, and a New York Times bestselling author. What would you like to conquer next? PR : I would love to keep working in TV. I would love to have my own TV show. I would love to do more movies. I’d love to write and direct like Ava Duvernay and Jordan Peele. If they can do it, I can do it. I’m working on my second book right now titled, Everything’s Trash but It’s Okay . So maybe do some stuff in publishing, maybe have my own imprint and publish people of color, queer people, women who I think don’t get the same opportunities because publishing is also overwhelmingly white. I’d also like to be more politically and socially active. I do some work with the Red campaign and would love to continue doing that because while it’s nice to get in hair and makeup and promote myself, I do think I have a responsibility to have it not all be about me. I want to use my platform for something good. 2 Dope Queens premiered on HBO Friday, February 2. DON’T MISS: ‘God Ordained It’ Tommicus Walker Has No Worries About Being LeToya Luckett’s Husband Former Temptations Lead Singer Dennis Edwards Dead At 74 First Person: My Mother’s Heart Disease Taught Me That Racially Biased Healthcare Is Deadly [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”2977298″ overlay=”true”]
