Below are pics from our campaign visit to Michigan. I did something at a finance event I haven’t done in a very long time – I introduced Dad to the crowd (because my Mom had hurt her hand at a campaign event). I have never been completely comfortable speaking in public but it just seemed easier this time because it was my Dad. On to California and Miami later this week! Song of the Day: “Gone Till November” by Wyclef Jean (Get it? 82 days…)
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Michigan
Posted in Celebrities, Gossip, Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged been-completely, campaign, campaign-visit, Celebrity Gossip, Crowd, great-track, hollywood-gossip, original-song, senators, the-new, time, week, wyclef-jean
Yele Haiti , the sketchy foundation that Wyclef Jean founded to help the Haitian people —which received millions in the outpouring of generosity following the wake of the earthquake there—paid Jean’s mistress and personal assistant $105,000 in 2008. That’s Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus on the right in the photo above. According to Yele Haiti’s 2008 tax return, which was posted this week by the Smoking Gun , the charity paid Khatou-Chevassus $105,000 as an independent contractor in 2008 for “program development.” That amounts to roughly one-third of all the money Yele spent that year on management and general expenses. So what did she do for that money? Khatou-Chevassus is currently listed on Yele’s web site as the organization’s vice president. But according to four sources familiar with Yele’s operations, in 2008 she served as Jean’s personal assistant—working on his commercial endeavors as well as his charitable ones—and was involved romantically with the former Fugees star. “She worked for Wyclef on all Wyclef matters,” says one source who has worked with Jean in the past. “She did whatever Wyclef needed that day, whether it was related to Yele or not. She would do things like book flights, and she wasn’t very good at it. It’s a shame that she made that much money.” The source said Khatou-Chevassus’ salary amounted to more than three times what Suzie Sylvain, Yele Haiti’s dedicated program director who is credited by many Yele Haiti insiders with actually keeping the organization running, was paid. “Everyone knows they were in a relationship,” says another source familiar with Yele Haiti. “A dozen people, including me, saw and knew. It wasn’t a secret.” Jean is married, but he has said in the past that he has an open relationship with his wife. Jean has a long history of using Yele Haiti’s money for his own commercial gain. In 2005, 2006, and 2007, the foundation paid out a total of $410,000 to commercial entities controlled in whole or in part by Wyclef , including a whopping $250,000 for advertising time on a Haitian television station he co-owns. According to internal financial statements obtained by Gawker in January , Jean didn’t contribute a single dollar to Yele Haiti’s American operation during the year he founded it, and its founding executive director resigned because he “saw hundreds of thousands of dollars going to business needs and nothing going to the charity, when it seemed that part of Wyclef’s new PR strategy focuses on his charitable endeavors.” In 2006, he demanded a $100,000 fee to perform at a Yele Haiti fundraiser designed to raise money for his own hometown. The event was canceled in part because securing Jean’s participation was too expensive. As the Smoking Gun noted, Khatou-Chevassus seems to have done some modeling in the past . The photo on the right above was taken at a 2009 reception she organized in New York for Prince Edward’s International Award Association. (Captions from photographs taken at the event that we found online identify her as the CEO of Carte Blanche International, but we’re almost certain that’s an error. All of the people we spoke to who know Khatou-Chevassus say it’s preposterous that she’d be a credit card executive; we’ve called Carte Blanche to ask.) A call to Khatou-Chevassus and an e-mail to Yele Haiti’s publicist were not immediately returned.
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Wyclef Jean Paid His Mistress $105,000 Through His Haiti Charity [Employee Relations]
Posted in Celebrities, Hot Stuff
Tagged bennyhollywood, carte-blanche, charitable, credit-card, exclusive, haiti, Money, organization, philanthropy, Photo, smoking, wife, wyclef-jean, zakiya khatou-chevassus
Former ‘Hills’ star’s second young-adult novel, Sweet Little Lies, makes it to #1 on Children’s Chapter Books list. By Jocelyn Vena Lauren Conrad Photo: Getty Images It seems in Lauren Conrad’s world it’s not just the lies that are sweet. Her second young-adult novel, Sweet Little Lies, released less than a year after her first, L.A. Candy, is the former “Hills” star’s latest book to hit the top of the best seller list. Conrad has topped the New York Times list for Children’s Chapter Books for the week of February 21 for Lies, which was published earlier this month. In a statement to People, Conrad said that it feels good that her book is a success. “It’s so gratifying for my second book to be so successful and it was so fun to write! The characters were already developed so I really enjoyed the process so much more this time around,” she said. “All the characters have become like my friends now. “I just sat in bed writing and it was the best process,” she continued. “Who gets to work from home in their PJs? I’m just so thankful to my fans. Everyone is coming out to see me in the snow. I just can’t believe it.” MTV News checked in with Conrad while she was in New York promoting the book, and she said that this time around her heroine, Jane, finds that her life is about to get a lot more complicated thanks to the pitfalls of fame. “I think that if fans take anything away from the book, [they should realize] there’s a back side to every story,” she explained. “And when you’re reading tabloids and seeing these people’s lives exposed, it does affect them and it is hard to go through as a young girl.”
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Lauren Conrad Tops New York Times Best Seller List Again
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Tagged artists, book, characters, haiti, jamie foxx, lauren-conrad, Mtv, nicole richie, wyclef-jean
Director Paul Haggis and producer RedOne give a preview of the Haiti benefit single and video. By Jocelyn Vena Wyclef Jean, Kanye West and Jennifer Hudson perform at the “We Are The World 25 Years for Haiti” Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage “We Are the World — 25 for Haiti” is set to premiere on Friday night (February 12) at 7:30 p.m. ET, during the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Vancouver. The song features appearances by a number of artists including Janet Jackson, Justin Bieber, Jordin Sparks, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Pink — along with some newly added artists who won’t be revealed until the remake airs. But while we wait for the debut of the Haiti benefit, organized by Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones, we have a preview from the people behind the song. “I just keep the class of the original one,” producer Wyclef Jean also said he added a “Haitian influence” to the song. The video’s director, Paul Haggis , also spoke to MTV News about his involvement in the project and admitted he “embraced the chaos” of shooting everyone from Celine Dion to Kanye West, most of whom recorded the track on February 1 in Los Angeles. “You hear these stories about people checking their egos at the door, and it really is true,” the “Crash” director explained. “They came and stood forever and were glorified extras a lot of the time. They just stood in the corner and waved.” Even in a room full of stars, the participants put the cause, helping raise money for Haiti’s earthquake recovery, above all else. “It was hot and it was crowded,” Haggis said, but as a director, he was almost disappointed by how well everyone got along. “When there’s chaos, there’s friction. Where there’s fiction, there’s drama, and I knew I’d have fun things to shoot. Unfortunately, there wasn’t as much drama as I expected. People really got along very well.” The video was shot in 3-D , and green-screen technology will eventually allow viewers at home to place themselves in the chorus. “You would think we have a full-blown motion picture going in there,” Richie marveled at a press conference earlier this month. “We have 3-D cameras, we have Technicolor cameras, we have every imaginable form of technology. You can put yourself into the ‘We Are the World’ family from the computer.” The other “We Are the World” artists include Miley Cyrus, Wyclef Jean, Jamie Foxx, Josh Groban, Keri Hilson, Zac Brown Band, Akon, Brandy, Melanie Fiona, Mya, Musiq Soulchild, Katharine McPhee, Trey Songz, Faith Evans, Joel and Benji Madden, members of Sugarland, Jennifer Hudson, Jason Mraz, India.Arie, Mary Mary, Tyrese Gibson, Raphael Saadiq, Rob Thomas, Usher, the Fray’s Isaac Slade, pianist Ethan Bortnick, Enrique Iglesias, Robin Thicke, Jamie Foxx, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, the Jonas Brothers, Nicole Scherzinger, Julianne Hough, Barbra Streisand, Carlos Santana, Natalie Cole, BeBe Winans, Orianthi, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson, Freda Payne, Harry Connick Jr., Earth, Wind & Fire, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, Tony Bennett, composer A.R. Rahman, “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson, Patti Austin and Gladys Knight. Actors Jeff Bridges, Vince Vaughn and Jimmy Jean-Louis were there, as well as some “WATW” offspring: Nicole Richie (Lionel’s daughter), “Parks and Recreation” star Rashida Jones (Quincy’s daughter) and the members of 3T (the sons of Tito Jackson), Taj, Taryll and TJ Jackson. All proceeds from “We Are the World” singles and video sales will go to the newly formed charity We Are the World Foundation LLC and will then be distributed to Haiti relief efforts. Related Videos Behind The Scenes Of ‘We Are The World’ Related Artists Wyclef Jean Kanye West Jennifer Hudson
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‘We Are The World’ Remake Premieres Tonight During Olympics Opening Ceremonies
Posted in Music
Tagged artists, earth, faith, haiti, jamie foxx, jennifer-hudson, Mtv, Music, news article, nicole richie, recreation, Videos, wyclef-jean
‘I want to welcome y’all to Haiti,’ he says before launching into ‘Hold On.’ By Jocelyn Vena Wyclef Jean performs at BET’s “SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti” telethon on Friday Photo: BET With images of Haiti flashing in the background and a sweatshirt emblazoned with the name of his charity Yele Haiti, Wyclef Jean took the stage to kick off BET’s “SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti” telethon Friday night, live from Miami. Jean told the crowd, “Get ready — I want to welcome y’all to Haiti
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Wyclef Jean Opens BET’s ‘SOS Saving Ourselves: Help For Haiti’ Telethon
Posted in Music
Tagged Mtv, Music, performs-at-bet, project, project-media, responsibility, took-the-stage, Water, wyclef-jean
‘It’s an emotional experience,’ he says of his album with the Administration. By Jocelyn Vena Nick Jonas Photo: George Pimentel/ WireImage Nick Jonas and the Administration’s debut album, Who I Am, is in stores Tuesday and the band’s frontman and pop superstar says the LP definitely shows the teen heartthrob’s growth as a musician and songwriter. He also hopes fans of the Jonas Brothers will be able to relate to the album’s more mature songs.
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Nick Jonas Says Solo Album Who I Am Is ‘Definitely Different’
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Tagged artists, bennyhollywood, brothers, debuted-on-ryan, Facebook, jonas, jonas-brothers, Music, Photos, recording, Videos, wyclef-jean
Lil Wayne, Kanye West, T-Pain, Wyclef Jean, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, Drake, Kid Cudi among hip-hop luminaries who joined in for ‘We Are the World — 25 for Haiti.’ By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Gil Kaufman Lil Wayne at the “We Are The World 25 Years for Haiti” recording session in Hollywood on Monday Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage iPhones, Twitter, green-screen technology, BlackBerries, Facebook … and hip-hop acts. Those are some things that were not around for the recording of the original “We Are the World” in 1985
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Hip-Hop Was Definitely In The Building For ‘We Are The World’ Remake
Jamie Foxx, Jeff Bridges, Vince Vaugn, Usher, Lil Wayne were also in the house. By Gil Kaufman Wyclef Jean, Toni Braxton, Wyclef, Kanye West Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage LOS ANGELES — When it came time to record the 25th-anniversary sequel to “We Are the World,” the legendary African-famine relief benefit’s co-writer and producer, Lionel Richie, said he wanted to approach the project from a modern perspective.
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‘We Are The World — 25 For Haiti’ Artists Include Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber
Posted in Music
Tagged artist, beach, black, faith, Hollywood, House, lionel-richie, Mtv, Music, nicole richie, project, victims, wyclef-jean
Album sells more than 171,000 units in less than a week.
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Hope For Haiti Now Becomes First Digital Album To Top Billboard Chart
Posted in Music
Tagged global-benefit, haiti, health, Hollywood, live, Mtv, Music, online, People, phone, Street, united-states, Videos, wyclef-jean
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