The Daily Roundup for May 25

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LOVE TO LOVE YOU: Boris Kodjoe's SWEET Poem To Wife Nicole On Their 7th Wedding Anniversary

Seven years and 2 kids later, actor Boris Kodjoe still has the hots for his actress wife Nicole Kodjoe. And can we really blame these two ridiculously good looking people for still acting like newlyweds?

Check out what hottie Boris penned for Nicole, the mother of their 2 kids Sophie (7) & Nickolas (5), today for their 7th wedding anniversary. Cue the coo's and aww's...

Boris, who will appear in the upcoming film Resident Evil: Retribution, is so in love with his wife that he can't even hide it. Not that he wants to. He actually wants the world to know as he wrote a poem for his gorgeous wife Nicole Kodjoe--who is curently starring in the Broadway production of Streetcar Named Desire--for Essence.com. Check it below:

My Seven Year Itch
You've always been my itch, so many ways you've touched my body, mind and soul from the moment He designed our paths to cross, finally.
You've always been my itch, so good to me I've wanted you day after day, night after night, making me wonder how my body was able to be without you all this while, before our very first touch.
You've always been my itch, giving wings to my thoughts, encouraging them to unforeseen heights, where I would build our castle in the sky, fit for a king and his queen.
You've always been my itch, filling my spirit with comfort and peace like I hadn't felt since a child in Oma's garden, so familiar and yet so new.
You've always been my itch. My seven year, seven days a week, 24/7 itch I always want, desire, crave, and never ever want to be without.
Not for seven seconds.

Nicole,
Happy 7th anniversary
Let's do this again
I love you more

Awww....

The Lineup For Jay-Z’s Budweiser Made in America

Looks like Jay-Z’s Made In America festival lineup has now been revealed. The festival will be taking place on September 1st & 2nd at Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Check out the full line up below, and tickets go on sale this Wednesday May 23. through LiveNation & Ticketmaster.

Jay-Z
Pearl Jam
Skrillex
Miike Snow
Afrojack
Calvin Harris
Odd Future
D’Angelo
Maybach Music (feat. Rick Ross, Wale, Meek Mill)
Passion Pit
Santigold
Dirty Projectors
X
Janelle Monae
Prince Royce
Rita Ora
Savoy (DJ set)
The Knocks

Baptist Georgia College’s Anti-Gay Pledge And Ban On Premarital Sex Causes Entire Faculty To Quit

A Georgia college’s controversial “personal lifestyle statement” which includes rejecting homosexuality has caused to students and staff to leave
Inside Higher Ed cites an anonymous survey which found that a mere 12 percent of the faculty said they planned to stay at Shorter University, a 139-year-old Baptist school located in Rome, Ga. In addition, more than two dozen staff members had already resigned before their new contracts — which included the “pledge,” condemning homosexuality, premarital sex and public drinking — were even distributed.

The Religion News Service notes that the school usually has about 100 full-time faculty members.

An online campaign called “Save Our Shorter” seems to blame the departure of many employees on the pledge, even though the university’s president told the Religion News Service that some of those who resigned did not state their reason for leaving.

“I feel that Shorter, the GBC, the Board of Trustees, and/or whoever can do what they want to the school,” one student writes on the site. “It’s their school, but I cannot personally attend a school so full of hate. The personal lifestyle statement is picking and choosing which sins are worse than others, but a sin is a sin. Why were homosexuality, premarital sex, and adultery singled out? What about child molesters?”

One of the school’s tenured professor felt similarly. “Lest anyone think I am ‘promoting’ homosexuality, please know that I am not,” professor Sherri Weiler, who resigned last week, wrote in the Rome News-Tribune, according to the “Save Our Shorter” site. “I am simply not going to judge anyone who expresses his/ her sexuality in this way.”

She continued, “All I know is that I cannot sign a document that “reject[s] as acceptable” any one of God’s creatures, be they adulterers, sexual ‘sinners’ of any stripe, or drinkers of alcohol in public. All I know is that I cannot ‘reject as acceptable’ people who have sinned in any way, because I’ve sinned, too, and no doubt will again.”
Still, Nelson Price, who was chairman of the Board of Trustees when the lifestyle statement was approved, denounced the survey cited by Inside Higher Ed, describing it as “skewed” to the Rome News-Tribune . “The senders sent it to a group they selected and left out persons known to be in support of the direction the school is going,” Price noted. “It was not an objective blind survey…the questions were highly biased.”
People can’t express themselves, have sex or drink??? What the hell kind of college experience is this? We would have left too!

Usher ACCUSES Tameka Raymond Of ATTACKING And SPITTING At His "Girlfriend"

Usher testified in court that things once got physical between his girlfriend Grace Miguel and ex-wife Tameka Raymond with Tameka spitting at her. Get the deets inside and find out what Wendy Williams has to say about black women and plastic surgery.

Who knew Tameka Raymond was "Bout it Bout it?" 

Usher testified in court that the day he showed up at Tameka's house with his girlfriend Grace Miguel (he called Grace his "girlfriend" under oath but seems to deny it to the media), Tameka went HAM hitting him, throwing food and spitting at his girlfriend.

As the ex-couple continues to battle for custody, Usher said Tameka approached him and Grace and "wanted to fight." He said that Tameka walked up to the car and said, "I'm gonna kick your ass. Bitch get out of the car. How dare you bring this woman into my subdivision in my house?" He added, "She continued to spit. At this point she pulled the door open, tried to swing at her."

Deep sigh. He alleges that after he got out of the car to calm her, Tameka hit him. THEN, "she threw a plate of food at the car!" He added that one day, Tameka told Grace, "I will f**k you up."

Watch the video here:

There's three sides to every story. We do know that. But we can't say we wouldn't be surprised if every bit of this was true. Maybe not the full story, but true.

Bobbi Kristina Busted Gambling in Vegas

Bobbi Kristina spent the weekend in Las Vegas to attend the 2012 Billboard Music Awards and is now under investigation for underage gambling. TMZ first reported the incident and posted a leaked video of the incident which caught the 19-year-old on tape playing on a slot machine at the MGM Grand with her 22-year-old boyfriend, Nick Gordon.

The Nevada Gaming Commission has launched an investigation into the incident to which Bobbi may face a $1,000 fine or 6 months in county jail.

What do you think of Bobbi Kristina gambling?

Rapper Young Buck Gets Evicted

Young Buck can’t PAY for a break-literally!!! The Man is trying to take everything! Even his name!

TMZ is reporting that the rapper Young Buck, who once rapped about how much money he has, is in serious financial trouble. The rapper has been booted out of his Tennessee mansion and the IRS is after him for $300,000 in unpaid taxes.
Buck has been ordered to vacate his home within the week. Court documents show that the judge agreed to let Buck sell his mansion, as long as he used the proceeds to pay his IRS bill.
Buck was shot at in early March, which basically makes this a really bad year for him.
Maybe one day rappers will learn how to get an education so they don’t keep getting ripped off by their accountants and lawyers who actually did go to school.

Did Pat Houston tried to have Ray J EJECTED from The Billboard Awards?

Pat Houston has denied reports she tried to have Ray J ejected from the Billboard Music Awards, but Ray J insists the story is true...!

Pat Houston explained to Hip Hollywood that she had possession of six tickets for seats near the front of the stage at the Billboard Music Awards Show. Sitting in those seats were, Bobbi Kristina, her boyfriend Nick, a friend and two seat-fillers. At some point, Ray J moved from his original location to an open seat near Bobbi Kristina.
The production staff saw Ray J move and asked him to please return to his original seat. We’re told Ray J refused. Hotel staff/security witnessed Ray J’s refusal and stepped-in to ask him to return to his seat. Ray J again reportedly refused. 

After multiple attempts to get Ray J to return to his seat with no success, the Las Vegas Police were called by production staff to remove Ray J. Upon their arrival, Pat Houston was made aware of the situation, and told her security to inform the Police to “Stand-down” and that as the ticket holder, she would allow Ray J to remain in the seat.
Pat did not want Ray J removed and says all claims are completely FALSE, telling us, “Im a woman of order and dignity, I would have not had anything to do with that”
Hip Hollywood reached out to Ray J’s camp for comment. They stand by initial reports.

Nas Talks To COMPLEX About His Money & Split With Kelis, "Life Is Good" & What He Teaches Knight About Women

In a colorful early 90's style shoot with COMPLEX magazine, The Don is officially solidifying his place in the current hip hop world. Nas is more than back (and even sexier we may add) on the rap scene as he preps his tenth studio album, Life Is Good. So he's revealing how his new outlook on life came from his rough split with Kelis, the drama with his teenaged daughter, Destiny, how he looks to please no one but himself & his changed outlook on women...

I picked out my fave highlights from Nas' big cover story with COMPLEX magazine. The spread, styled by June Ambrose, is accompanied by Nas dishing all on those rumored money problems and cheating rumors Kelis has blasted him on (and why his feelings were hurt), and how he doesn't let anything affect his happiness this many years in the game. He speaks on the sexiness of our First Lady, offers up a few compliments to his ex wife, and what he won't tolerate from folks. 

And gives more details into the controversies surrounding his life:

“Daughters” was an emotional record. What made you be so honest?
This is the first time I’m dealing with a teenage daughter, and it blows me away. I don’t know that you’re ever prepared to be a parent. Once you become one, that’s your responsibility. It’s more like me talking to myself, about how I could have been there a lot more. I beat myself up for not being the best I could be. I would ask her: “Am I a cool dad?” or “Am I a good dad? Did I fuck up?” And she would say, “Nah, you’re good.” That’s important to me because I started as a teen. I was around 19 when her mother was pregnant. My daughter means a lot to me. It’s just a record that came from the heart.

What’s the most important thing that you want to teach your son (Knight) about women?
He has to have his own life. My experience could be the wrong thing for his life and what’s ahead of him. A lot of older people are giving the worst advice, based on the problems they had. I’m going to need him to tell me what to do. That’s what I’m looking forward to. If I’m here, we’ll talk. If not, he’s going to figure it out on his own. He’ll take his mother’s words, he’ll take my words, and then there’s the truth. Whatever he feels, he’s got to go with his heart, and be a man in every occasion.

You talked about regrets, and looking back. Do you feel like you were punished for surviving, on some level? Big and ’Pac are untouchable now.
I’m blessed to be here and be able to go into the studio and record another album. If someone has a problem with how I’m doing my thing, how I’m living my life, how they see my legacy, that’s none of my business. How can I be mad, when I still have more to say and the opportunity to make music? That alone—that’s why my life is good.

What’s your relationship with the blogs and Twitter?
I don’t understand how artists get pissed off at people on Twitter. I appreciate a good joke. I mean, who are you? Not to say that people should have the toughest skin, and nothing should bother you... Maybe it’s just my age. I know who I am. I know what I’ve survived, and I know what I’ve done. That shit wasn’t easy. So for someone who doesn’t know anything about that to comment on it, you can’t be mad at them. They don’t know any better.

There's a record about Kelis on Life Is Good that goes into what made you fall in love with her. How hard was that breakup? What was the feeling when she had your son after you were separated?
There was a point where we were trying to hold onto a relationship that was finished. She was pregnant and in the studio while we were recording Distant Relatives, and he would move when the music would come on. That was a great feeling for me, just to have that feeling of family. It ended around the time the record was being done.

There were times when it didn’t bother me, and there were times when it bothered me a lot. There were times when I was thinking, Damn. I had this shit all planned out, and now I’ve failed. That was hard on me, because I don’t like to fail at anything. Accepting that I failed at this relationship—and it was public—messed me up. You ask yourself, How could that person be so cold? And I’m sure she felt the same way about me. It was ugly.

I saw Kelis as Courtney Love—but I also saw her as a mahogany queen. I saw us as a beautiful thing.

How has your relationship with women changed, now that you’re older and you’ve been divorced?

?

I’m taken aback by the beauty of women. There was a time when I only saw big breasts and thick asses. Now, I see the beauty in the subtleties. Those are even better than the tits and ass. The aesthetics have changed for me.She might not be the prettiest, but there’s something special about her—

That makes her pretty. No disrespect to women when I say bad bitch, but my definition of a bad bitch is not always the video vixens. A bad bitch can be a younger woman, in her early 20s, but wise beyond her years. It could be a woman in her late 30s, who’s cool as hell, smart, and has great motherly qualities—or has great motivational skills, or is a powerful mover and shaker in her own career. Like Michelle Obama is sexy. Michelle Obama is the most beautiful woman on the planet. She cares about people. All first ladies have their jobs to do, but you can feel her sincerity.

After you say “I do,” everything changes.
Yeah. (From a previous question) It’s fucked up when money’s involved in divorce. And I don’t give a fuck. I can’t take it with me, so someone can take the money. Anyone that I’m married to, if I give you my life, I give you my heart, I love you—my money is nothing. You can have it all. It’s just sad that when you’re dealing with love and life and marriage, that marriage is a contract. It’s a business deal. That messes people up.

Did you see a problem immediately?
Yeah, but it was a problem I was attracted to. It was rock and roll. I saw Kelis as Courtney Love—but I also saw her as a mahogany queen. I saw us as a beautiful thing. I saw us as inspiration. People weren’t seeing hip-hop artists get married. A lot of people came at me crazy. But I think overall, we were inspiring people to love.

My daughter would be calling me, like, 'Dad, they’re talking about you on the radio.' She wanted to tweet back, and I told her to take the high road. It was ugly.

There was a lot that was thrown at her that she couldn’t handle. Like I was saying earlier, there’s a lot that I could tell my kids, but they’ve got to fish it out for themselves. Every night, she was in bed with Harvard. She was sleeping with Harvard. She had all the answers, but I needed something more from her, that she either wasn’t ready or didn’t know how to provide. Plus, she is younger than me and she hadn’t seen all the things I had seen. She was on her journey, I was on mine. In the beginning, I said, “There’s parts of this that might not work,” but there was a beautiful part of it, too. For the most part, I had a great time being married. It was amazing. She’s an amazing woman.

She never threw daggers at you in the media.
No, she did. Over Twitter, and there were things.

In an article, she said that she wasn’t going to say anything bad about you.
That was later, because the response was not good. There were bad tweets. She was angry. She was lashing out at anyone—and anyone she would lash out at, people automatically thought she was talking about me. My daughter would be calling me, like, “Dad. I’m on my way to school, and they’re talking about you on the radio.” My daughter wanted to tweet back and shit, and I told her to take the high road. It was ugly.

How is it now?
It’s a lot better.

So there are no issues? You see your son as you please?
That side is not great yet, but it’s working toward being that way. She’s a new mom. I’m busy and she’s busy. From what I see, she’s being a good mom, and it’s working toward a great place. There was a time when I couldn’t see him at all. It was terrible when the divorce was fresh.

Did you ever get to a point where you hated her?
No. I got to a point where I was like, “Did she always hate me?” and “Did she ever love me at all?” I’ve got to admit, I did feel like that. But she did love me.

The backlash is because she loved so hard.

Exactly. They wind up taking it out on you. A lot of divorces are bad because a woman is just being vindictive. She’s not after the money, she just wants you to hurt the way she was hurt.

Could you ever see yourself getting married again?
Not right now. I’m enjoying life and looking at each day like, “This is beautiful.” I’m having a good time. I’m not going to bring anybody in to mess that up. You come around looking like you’re going to mess this good time up, you’re out of here—fast. [Laughs.] I’m not sacrificing my happiness for nobody and their drama. No way.

WHAT THE F*CK? France BANS The Release OF "Think Like A Man" Over LACK OF DIVERSITY

In a shocking move which some think is blatantly racist, France has decided to cancel the release of the major hit film Think Like A Man -- due to the casts' alleged "lack of diversity. Tim Story's blockbuster hit Think Like A Man has raked in over $73 million since its April 20th release. But that means nothing to the french movie guild.

While tons of French films and films from any country are produced year after year with "Black characters" that can be counted on one hand (if at all), France has decided that Think Like A Man DOES NOT promote diversity and has been banned. So the films with all white casts do promote diversity?

Majority of films starring majority black casts never make it overseas. Because it is said that the people of those countries "will not relate and will not want to see that." This also affects how black and other ethnicity are perceived globally if there's never anything allowed to counteract negative stereotypes. So how does it makes sense to ban a positive film starring a cast of minorities when the film could actually stimulate diversity in the future? Global Voices offered an answer saying,

“Surprising as it may be, the answer lies in the fact that the film has an all-black cast. French cinema is often pointed at for not fairly displaying all components of the country’s multiethnic population. Although the recent success of the movie Les Intouchables, which earned French African actor Omar Sy the Cesar award for Best Actor in 2012, caused great pride and hope among French nationals from Africa and the Caribbean, it was not to be the turning point for a deep and lasting change.”

If it still doesn't make sense, French blog People Bo Kay added (translated), "The French state has had a sociopolitical strategy which favors interracial relationships rather than valuing communities. In the comedy ‘Think like a Man', the focus is on black couples."

So we're just ignoring the relationship between Gabrielle Union's character and "Turtle"/Jerry Ferrara? This sounds like some ish they'd try in Hollywood. It's interesting to note that France also bans the release of Tyler Perry flicks.

“Black actor and producer Tyler Perry’s movies are never scheduled in any French movie theaters or are only released in DVDs, even though he has been used to leading the US box-office, as with ‘Why did I get Married’ and ‘For Colored Girls’. The French society acts hypocritically, when it refuses to show movies from black producers who earn millions from conveying a positive message to the African diaspora through their films.”

Do you think the French are being racist in a reverse way? Or do you agree with their explanation?

SPEAK ON IT!

Hot Shots: D’Angelo Brings His Sexy Back For GQ

Soulful crooner D’Angelo is back!
Having weathered a number of personal storms, the ‘Untitled’ singer has returned to fighting form – as evidenced in his new GQ spread.
Cop a gander of the 38 year old, who is working on a comeback album, below…

Your thoughts?

New Music: Whitney And Jordin – Celebrate!

Get ready to celebrate! Whitney’s got one more gift to give back to us. We’ve got the world premiere of the very last song she recorded before she passed away: Celebrate a duet with Jordin Sparks. It was produced by R. Kelly for the movie Sparkle, which will hit theaters August 17th. In the movie Whitney plays Jordin’s mother. It will be great to see Whitney’s face on the big screen one last time. Listen to Whitney and Jordin’s duet — after the click…. And I must warn everybody that the song is poor sound quality — it’s

Listen:

Thoughts?

John Truesdale is revealed by the Daily News as one of the masseurs who accused John Travolta of sex shenanigans

Via NYDailyNews:
The Daily News tracked down one of John Travolta’s first accusers, revealing him as a hulking 250-pound masseur and certified black belt who works at a posh spa in Atlanta. John Truesdale — formerly known only as John Doe No. 2 — sued the “Welcome Back, Kotter” star for sexual battery only to withdraw the case on Thursday. He was nameless and faceless until the Daily News found him this week. “I thought I was supposed to be anonymous,” the mild-mannered massage therapist said, as he posed for a photo.

Truesdale, 40, confirmed he works in the spa at the posh Mandarin Oriental in Atlanta but declined to discuss claims that Travolta sexually accosted him in a hotel suite on the 15th floor in January. At that time the swanky hotel was called the Mansion on Peachtree. “The paparazzi are here for me?” he asked, breaking out in laughter. “I can’t believe it.” Truesdale dropped the suit and his original lawyer, Okorie Okorocha.

He’s now represented by Gloria Allred, a move that set off fireworks between the two lawyers. A beefy 6-footer with massive arms, Truesdale is soft-spoken and has a calm demeanor. He’s a certified nail technician, a licensed massage therapist and a married dad. He filed a bombshell $2 million federal lawsuit on May 8, claiming in graphic detail that the “Pulp Fiction” star had “bloodshot eyes” and a “strange” disposition as he stripped naked and started to “hump” a massage table set up in his private suite on Jan. 28.

Truesdale accused Travolta of “spreading his butt cheeks.” Then the actor asked for an odd amount of work on his butt muscles, he charged. He said Travolta groped his upper thighs and grabbed between his legs, according to the lawsuit originally filed by Okorocha. The Atlanta man said the Oscar nominee started pleasuring himself with about 15 minutes left in the session and “forcibly” hugged him as he tried to flee.

“I can’t talk about (the case),” said Truesdale, a former high school football player and onetime U.S. Army medic. “I’m not allowed to give any comment.”

If this is true I’m SMH at John Travolta..

Unsung’: Gerald Levert, Angela Bofill, Six More for Summer 2012

*The story of psychedelic soul band Sly and the Family Stone kicks off a new 8-episode season of TV One’s “Unsung,” the NAACP Image Award-winning series celebrating the lives and careers of successful artists or groups who, despite great talent, have not received the level of recognition they deserve or whose stories have never been told.

Also set for this summer are episodes on R&B songstress Angela Bofill, rap collective Arrested Development, the late Gerald Levert and 70s band Con Funk Shun.
TV One Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Production Toni Judkins states: “While we have now produced several dozen episodes of Unsung, it t is remarkable that we have no shortage of incredibly talented candidates for new episodes – and our audience continues to want more. The winter 2012 season of Unsung was our highest-rated, most-watched season ever, and we look forward to celebrating with our viewers more amazing stories of great talent this summer and helping to paint that richer portrait of black music in America.”

Rounding out “Unsung’s” summer slate are rapper Kool Moe Dee, soul icon Lou Rawls and Motown group The Marvelettes.

View the schedule below:Sly & the Family Stone (June 25)
Angela Bofill (July 2)
Con Funk Shun (July 9)
Kool Moe Dee (July 16)
The Marvelettes (July 23)
Gerald Levert (July 30)
Arrested Development (Aug. 13)
Lou Rawls (Aug. 20)

Diddy and Cassie Come Out in Cannes

There was a rare sighting of Diddy and Cassie out as a couple at Eva Longoria's yacht party in Cannes, France.
What's even more interesting to note is who else is traipsing around that part of world right now...
According to Kim Porter's fan page she was spotted in Vienna [a stones throw away ] at the Life Ball accompanied by her son Quincy.

Keep your fingers crossed that we get a nice family portrait when they all meet up for Kanye's debut at the Film Festival in Cannes later this week.

The 80th Birthday Celebration Of Ambassador Andrew Young

Folks came out and celebrated the 80th birthday of United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young in Atlanta. Oprah & The Harrises in the same room?
Lots of celebrity guests partied in Atlanta at The Andrew Young Foundation's celebration of the 80th birthday of Ambassador Andrew Young. I would have paid money to hear a conversation between Tiny & Oprah. Oprah would have SO asked for a translator and meant no shade by it.

The Ambassador celebrated the evening with his wife Carolyn Young.

Oprah Winfrey was among the celebs at The Hyatt Regency Atlanta to pay tribute.

India.Arie was there to present a musical tribute. 

T.I and Tiny was there too!

And actor Tyrese also performed.

He later got Oprah dancing on the floor. Clearly she knows fineness when she sees it.

Chris Tucker rocked a powder blue suit for the party.

Producer Dallas Austin was there too.

Judge Glenda Hatchett put on her good church boot and showed support.

Think Like A Man producer Will Packer was there.

"The Biggest Loser" trainer Dolvett Quince walked the red carpet.

Martn Luther King III arrived with Armdrea.

And Jasmine Guy looked good, finally, in a silver gown.

Happy Birthday Amb Young!

Arsenio Hall is the winner on ‘Celebrity Apprentice’

In last weeks news…LOL! Arsenio Hall was flying high after winning “Celebrity Apprentice”on Sunday night — but how will he feel once he realizes there’s a lot of air travel in his future. A source who attended the season finale and after-party for Donald Trump’s NBC reality series said the former talk show host, who took home $250K for the Magic Johnson Foundation, was lapping up the praise at the American Museum of Natural History soiree.

But, the insider notes, Hall’s victory means “he will have to travel more” to fulfill promotional obligations, and it’s no secret that he’s fearful of flying. Oh well Arsenio good luck with that!

AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
Fupa Di Do!

OH GEEZ!!!! Green shoes with that blue outfit, really? Oh ya, and the upper part of your fupa is showing. Hmm, that’s not something you get to say often.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND GREAT MEMORIAL DAY EVERYBODY!!!
EFREM