Bring that Week Back: Week of Sept. 13, 2009
Check out what happened in Black America this week.
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Blaming Bobby - Bobby made me do it? That isn't quite the approach Whitney Houston is taking in explaining her drug use — but it sounded like that for a while during her appearance on “Oprah” Tuesday. Houston says when it came to cocaine and pot use, she and her ex-husband were “partners." She says Brown "was my drug" and that she "didn't do anything without him."
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Failed Intervention - Meanwhile, Houston says her own family tried to do what they could to get her off drugs — but she wasn't having it. In her much anticipated sit-down with Oprah, Houston said her mother once tried to pull off an intervention to stop her from abusing drugs by showing up with the police once — but it didn't help. She said she had "so much money and so much access" to whatever she wanted. She added that it's a daily struggle to stay clean.
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Out of the Mouth of Babes - Houston told Oprah that it was her daughter Bobbi Kristina who led her to split with Bobby Brown. She said her daughter got in her face after her ex-husband Brown spit on her. Houston revealed that she thought she and Brown might reconcile, but her daughter told her that her dad was wrong and convinced her to leave her husband.
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Blige Not Surprised - Mary J. Blige isn't surprised that Whitney Houston's comeback CD is a hit. Blige says Houston is "too strong, even in her weakness, to fold." Blige says Houston's story of redemption is going to "move multitudes of people." She says Houston "went through what she went through to come back and save lives."
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Rihanna Photo Probe - It's being reported that two Los Angeles Police officers are on leave as part of the investigation into the leaked photo of Rihanna after she'd been beaten by Chris Brown. The Los Angeles Times reports the officers have been placed on leave until it's determined how TMZ.com got the photo.
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Manual Labor - Not exactly the kind of outfit his fans are used to seeing Chris Brown wear in public: an orange vest, white tank top, jeans and a baseball cap. But it was the kind of outfit he needed for his latest "job" — cleaning up as part of his court-ordered community service for beating Rihanna. Brown worked along with two others who were serving probation at clearing weeds and debris at police horse stables in Richmond, Va.
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Big Changes - A secretly taped video showing ACORN employees advising two people posing as a pimp and prostitute where to set up an illegal sex operation, has the group making some serious changes to avoid future missteps. Following the release of the tape, ACORN announced an immediate training program for all front-line staff and the selection of an independent auditor by the end of this week.
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Paying Back a Debt? - Former NBA all-star Antoine Walker is getting a little more time to get his money right. A court in Las Vegas has pushed back a status check in a case in which Walker is accused of writing three bad checks to try to clear gambling debts. The matter has been delayed until Oct. 29, as the ex-player and his people work out a repayment arrangement with the three casinos.
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Obama Disses Kanye - Remember when Kanye West went off on President Bush after Hurricane Katrina? Now, the rapper is on the receiving end of some presidential criticism, himself. Obama was getting ready to tape an interview with CNBC when the interviewer asked Obama about West's interruption of country star Taylor Swift during Sunday's VMAs. When someone asked why West would do that, Obama replies: "He's a jackass."
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Kanye Apologizes to Swift - It may not change the way President Obama and others view him — but Kanye finally apologized personally to Taylor Swift. The teen country star said on "The View" this week that she had yet to hear directly from West for butting in on her acceptance speech on Sunday. However, the TV show says West called and spoke with Swift after the show — and that Swift accepted the apology.
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"SOOOOO SORRY" - Before taking to the stage at the Jay Leno show this week, Kanye took to the keyboard to apologize for interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMAs. Typing in his blog, he said he was "SOOOOO SORRY" to Swift and her mother. It was his second attempt at an apology — in part because the first didn't go well. In his first posting he defending his actions, saying "BEYONCE'S VIDEO WAS THE BEST OF THIS DECADE!!!! ... EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I'M A FAN OF REAL POP CULTURE!!!"
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Stage Invasion - Lil Mama walked onstage uninvited during Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' performance of "Empire State of Mind." Her intent was to root Jay-Z on, not disrupt the production, she said. The "America's Best Dance Crew" judge apologized to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys via a statement on Monday, saying the spirit of the song moved her. She didn't realize until later that Jay-Z might have been upset by her unplanned move.
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Another Apology - Serena Williams is taking a page out of the Kanye West playbook — issuing an apology to the tennis judge she went off on. Williams was fined $10,000 for her profanity-laced rant directed at a line judge who called a foot fault on her during her U.S. Open women's finals match Saturday. Her outburst led to one-point penalty that ended the match, giving the title to Kim Clijsters.
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Settling Old Grudges - When Michael Jordan took the stage for his Basketball Hall of Fame induction, he used his induction as a platform to settle many of his old grudges from his playing days. In his speech, he talked about how many of these perceived slights motivated him to do better, but most of the time he simply brought them up to rub it in their respective faces that he became the greatest of all-time and they didn’t.
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Family Feud - Imagine if it took a court order to get you and your siblings together to have a civil discussion over sticky matters. That's the case these days with the adult children of Martin Luther King Jr. A judge in Atlanta has ordered King's children to hold a shareholders' meeting to discuss their father's estate. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III sued their brother Dexter last year to force him to open the books of their dad's estate.
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FBI’s Involved Now - Army reservist Tashawnea Hill says she hasn't been able to sleep since being beaten by a White man in front of her 7-year-old daughter last week. Hill was kicked and punched as Troy D. West screamed racial slurs outside a Cracker Barrel near Atlanta. West became enraged when Hill told him to be careful after he nearly hit her daughter while opening the restaurant's door, police said. The FBI is investigating the incident as a hate crime.
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Carter's Comments - Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst to President Barack Obama during a speech to Congress last week was an act "based on racism" and rooted in fears of a Black president. "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African American should not be president," Carter said.
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Hunger Strike - Don Cheadle has already done some things to help call attention to the suffering in Sudan. Now, he's getting ready to do nothing — at least when it comes to taking in food. He is joining an effort to fast on Sept. 21 to call attention to the crisis in the African nation. Others taking part in the hunger strike include musician Peter Gabriel, actress Mia Farrow and Sir Richard Branson.
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Date With Death - The mastermind of the sniper attacks that left 10 people dead in and around Washington, D.C. in 2002 is set to be executed in November. A judge in Virginia today set an execution date for John Allen Muhammad. His teenage accomplice is serving a life prison sentence.
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Death Delayed - Problems finding a usable vein during an attempt to execute an Ohio inmate have halted his lethal injection for a week. For more than two hours, executioners of 53-year-old Romell Broom were unable to find veins that would accept fluid from an IV without collapsing. Broom was sentenced to die for the rape and slaying of a 14-year-old girl in 1984. At one point, Broom covered his face with both hands and appeared to be crying.
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Gang Rape Lie - A New York prosecutor is considering whether to pursue charges against a Hofstra University student who has now recanted claims that five men raped her in a dormitory. Four of the five falsely accused were released Wednesday night. The fifth was still being sought when the hoax was revealed.
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Troop Decision Will Wait - President Barack Obama says he won't rush to make a decision about whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Obama says he's determined to get it right. His comment came one day after his top military adviser endorsed an increase in U.S. forces.
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Van Jones for Prez? - The Green Party reportedly has its sights set on Van Jones as its next candidate for U.S. president in the 2012 election. The former green-jobs czar under President Obama stepped down last Sunday after coming under fire for making derogatory comments about Republicans – calling them “a—holes” and former president George W. Bush a “crackhead.”
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Pick Chicago - Michelle Obama plans on traveling to Denmark to lobby Olympic officials to pick Chicago for the 2016 games. Mrs. Obama will leave for Copenhagen on Oct. 2. President Obama is sending his wife so he can keep lobbying for his health care plan. Chicago is in a tight race with Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.
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Deal With Students - Meanwhile, Michelle Obama has made a deal with students of George Washington University. If they do 100,000 hours of community service during this school year, she'll speak at their graduation ceremony next May. The president and first lady have been encouraging people across the country to volunteer in their communities.
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Ink Stinks - Gladys Knight says she wishes someone would tell young people that getting all those tattoos and piercings are a bad idea. She says she abhors what young people do to their bodies these days. She says she hopes people can get to young people and "catch them at an early age" before they go inking themselves up and sticking jewelry in all kinds of places on their bodies.
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Janet's Tribute - Janet Jackson looked visibly moved after performing her tribute to her brother Michael at the MTV Video Music Awards. She performed with the video to their duet, "Scream," as part of the opening number. After her performance she pointed to heaven and took a bow.
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Up for BET Hip-Hop Awards - One of the most influential figures in the rap game will be honored next month at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. Ice Cube will get this year's "I Am Hip-Hop" Icon Award. Ice Cube was among the pioneers of the rap movement on the West Coast in the late 1980s. He has since gone on to become a movie actor, producer and director. Among the Hip-Hop Award nominees are Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and T.I.
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The Smell of Bey - Wanna get a whiff of Beyoncé? You will be able to soon — without ever getting close to the singer. She's the latest celebrity to put her name on a designer fragrance, teaming up with Coty for the project. The new line is due out in North America early next year.
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Retailer Turns Up Nose at Bey - Beyoncé's plan to develop her own perfume is already raising a stink. Abercrombie & Fitch is suing Beyoncé in an effort to keep her from naming it after her alter ego, Sasha Fierce. The retailer says it already has a trademark for the word "Fierce" — and has had it since 2003. It's the scent sprayed around its stores to mark all the apparel they sell.
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Perry's No. 1 - Tyler Perry celebrated his 40th birthday this week with another number one movie. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" debuted in the top spot with more than $24 million this weekend. It's Perry's second film this year to open at number one – and his fifth overall.
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'Hancock' Sequel - Will Smith's boozy superhero, Hancock, is coming back. Variety reports that a "Hancock" sequel is in the works. All the main characters are coming back, including Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman. The sequel is expected to show the world where Smith and Theron's super-characters came from.
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Getting "Fit" - Sources say Bobby Brown intends on losing weight before millions. According to singersroom.com, Brown is one of more than five celebs signing on for VH1's next round of "Celebrity Fit Club." The show sends its cast through a number of grueling challenges in hopes that they will not only lose weight but maintain a healthy lifestyle. Brown is also due to appear on VH1 "Behind The Music" on Sept. 24.
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Jay-Z Beats Out Elvis - A little bit of music history for Jay-Z. His latest album has become his 11th release to reach number one on the Billboard album chart. The success of "The Blueprint 3" places him ahead of Elvis Presley as the solo act with the most number one albums.
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Soda Tax? - Some nutrition and economics experts are pushing for a tax of 1 cent on every ounce of soda and other sweetened beverages. Backers say a soda tax would generate tax revenue while discouraging people from consuming extra calories. Similar proposals have fizzled with lawmakers.
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Tax Credit - The White House is considering extending an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The tax break is credited with helping the number of U.S. home sales rise slowly. Builders and real estate agents say that trend could be reversed if the credit isn't extended.