Source: WENN

From BlackVoices

NEW YORK — A day after Reebok ended its relationship with Rick Ross, the rapper acknowledged that his lyrics on Rocko’s song “U.O.E.N.O.” were “offensive.”

In a statement Friday, Ross said being a musician is “a great responsibility” and that his choice of words in the song “does not reflect my true heart.”

In the song, Ross raps about giving a woman the drug MDMA, known as Molly, and having his way with her.

“Put Molly all up in her champagne, she ain’t even know it, I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it,” he raps on the track released in January. It gained traction in recent weeks after women’s groups and rape victims issued petitions.

“Before I am an artist, I am a father, a son, and a brother to some of the most cherished women in the world. So for me to suggest in any way that harm and violation be brought to a woman is one of my biggest mistakes and regrets,” his statement said.

Read more on BlackVoices.com.

Source: WENN

From TheGrio

For several months in 2011, the world of hopeful romantics was tilted on its axis. Rumors swirled and swelled and were splashed across gossip sites and magazines “reporting” the end of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s then-15 year marriage. Pinkett-Smith finally addressed the hearsay head on with French magazine Gala: “Every year, one celebrity couple is under the microscope. This year, unluckily, it’s us!”

Well, it’s a new year, and an unlikely couple has taken The Smith’s unfortunate spot. A pair of gaffes by President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama has drawn new scrutiny upon their 20-year marriage and folks have been steadily weighing in.

The president’s “big” gaffe

During a recent speech at a Democratic National Committee luncheon in California, President Obama gave a “shot out” to California Attorney General Kamala Harris. “She’s brilliant and she’s dedicated, she’s tough,” Obama said. “She also happens to be, by far, the best-looking attorney general … It’s true! C’mon,” he added.

The remark was swiftly derided in many circles. Writing for New York magazine, Jonathan Chait called Obama’s comments “disgraceful.” ”Women have a hard time being judged purely on their merits,” he wrote. “Discussing their appearance in the context of evaluating their job performance makes it worse.”

Yet for others, it was nothing worth noting. At The Washington Post, Jonathan Capehart scoffed at criticism of the president’s remarks, suggesting that detractors “lighten up.”

The president apologized to Harris anyway, the same night.

The first lady calls herself “single,” the press runs with it

However, it was a misstep by the first lady on the same day that turned up the attention on the state of the first marriage. Mrs. Obama described herself as a “busy single mother” during a recent television interview, but quickly corrected her mistake. “You know, when you’ve got the husband who’s president, it can feel a little single — but he’s there,” Obama told a CBS local station. She then described herself as a “busy working mom” instead.

New York’s Daily News referred to these twin slips of tongue as “double trouble for the First Family,” stirring up an air of negative innuendo around the Obama’s relationship. Some commenters on the highly-covered story even wondered how Mrs. Obama felt about his public compliments of another woman — especially in the context of misstating herself as being a “single mom.”

As much as I love to generate a juicy story on an otherwise slow news day, there’s not much to see here, folks. These slip ups don’t reveal anything about the Obama marriage other than that the participants in it, despite their fame, are regular folks who make ill-timed comments and may struggle to find a work-home balance just like the rest of us.

Read more on TheGrio.com.

From StyleBlazer

Before The Face season finale aired this week, she was known as  “Sally,” not to give away the big reveal. Well, she’s Sally no more. Gorgeous, outspoken and original, Devyn Abdullah is fashion’s newest face! The Bronx born beauty has landed a contract with Ulta Beauty, after years of hard work and hustle to both support her young daughter and achieve her dreams. Finally, it’s her moment! We met with Devyn and her supermodel coachKarolina Kurkova for a celebratory lunch at the Peninsula Hotel in NYC. She excitedly talked about the next chapter of her life, inspiring young girls, and finally set the record straight about not considering herself a black girl model, but one that every woman can see a bit of themselves in when they look in the mirror.

SB: I know recently you caught a lot of heat when you said you didn’t consider yourself a black model. Do you think that comment was taken out of context and do you want to clear it up?

Devyn: “I’ve been waiting for the moment to address this.  I can understand how someone can take it out of context, and how someone could misinterpret it. I definitely want to apologize because I didn’t want to offend anybody in any type of way.

Check out the rest of her response on StyleBlazer.com.

From BlackVoices

Numéro Magazine has found itself in the middle of a racially-charged firestorm after using a highly bronzed white model in one of its fashion editorials entitled “African Queen.”

In the spread, Ondria Hardin, a 16-year-old, blond-haired, blue-eyed model is seen with darkened skin, striking a pose for the glossy.

The Huffington Post reached out to the magazine for comment and received the following statement Wednesday morning via email:

Read the statement on BlackVoices.com.

I have a friend… let’s call her Kim, who had a cousin who was murdered in 2010.  The two men who stabbed him were caught and convicted.  For anyone who’s been through something like, you probably knows that at the sentencing hearing, you’re allowed the opportunity to read a victim’s impact statement, which is pretty much a letter that you write, detailing how the loss of your loved one has negatively impacted your life.  You read it in the courtroom and it allows the family members who are hurting an opportunity to tell the person who’s up for sentencing how their actions made them feel, and allows the judge to hear from the grieving family; which helps him/her to make a decision for how long the person will be sentenced.

But there are rules to impact statements and you can’t read your impact statement until your lawyer reads it to make sure that the letter follows all guidelines.

So, the night before the sentencing hearing her aunt, who was the mother of the deceased, asked if Kim could help her write the statement and email it to the lawyer.  Kim and her aunt worked for hours perfecting the words that her aunt wanted to say on behalf of her son, how she felt whenever she saw his daughter, and how the entire situation could have been avoided.

Finally, the letter was done, a copy of it was printed and a copy was sent to the lawyer.  Afraid that she might have mistyped the email address, Kim looked back and made sure that it was identical to the email address that her aunt gave her.  She rechecked her email two more times after she sent it, felt satisfied that it was actually sent and probably received, bid farewell to her aunt and called it a night.

The next morning she wakes up happy, sun is shining, birds helped her get dressed that morning, and she goes to her computer, checks her email and sees the dreaded “Mailer-Daemon” email three hours after she sent the impact statement, alerting her that the email had never been sent.

Though the day was beautiful, immediately, she felt horrible.  She tried contacting the lawyer and the courthouse to figure out if she could resend it, but it was too late.  They needed it before that day.  A dark cloud of depression came over Kim and followed her the rest of the day.  She fought back tears as her family went to the courthouse and she stayed home not wanting to witness the hurt that her aunt would feel by not being able to express how she felt for losing her son.

At the end, the two boys got seven years.  Even though Kim knew that if they would have gotten the maximum (22 years in her state) it wouldn’t have brought back her cousin, she couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt.  She kept on wondering:  How could I have miss-typed the email address?  If my aunt got a chance to express how she felt, would the judge have given the boys more time?  Oh my God, this is all my fault…  

After two days of feeling extremely guilty, her family and friends tried to convince her that it wasn’t her fault.  Her aunt shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to do it. Kim did the best she could.  The judge probably had what sentence he was going to give already made up in his mind, and it probably wasn’t going to change.

About three weeks have passed and I’m not too sure if Kim is completely over it, but the only thing she feels she can do is block it out, because no matter what, she can’t change the outcome. She can’t flip the past.

I said all of that to say this: There are times when things are going to happen that might directly or indirectly be related to your actions. During the times that you actively caused someone pain, those are the times that you need to take responsibility, make amends and try to do better.  For those times where you tried your best, and the resulting failure caused someone else pain, after you apologize, try to give yourself a break. Obsessing over what happened, how you could have fixed it and what you did wrong isn’t going to change what already happened. It’s tough, indeed, trying to move on with your life after making a big mistake, but it’s even worse when you’re bogging yourself down with guilt over something that you can’t change and know was unintentional.  In those moments, learn from the situation and give yourself the opportunity to move forward. You can’t do that if you dwell on the past.

Kendra Koger is on twitter.

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Source: Iamsupergorge.com

It was quite odd to find out that The Game’s wedding to Tiffney Cambridge was called off just 10 days before the ceremony and just two after we’d learned they were working on a reality show based around it. When most heard the news they assumed Tiffney finally got a clue and The Game basically admitted that’s exactly what happened on Twitter. Yesterday he sent out these tweets confirming the rumors:

So yes, The Game now joins the extraordinarily large league of men who didn’t realize what they had until it’s gone. With the nuptials being called off so close to the big day part of me wonders whether the reality show they were working on has anything to do with the cancellation. We all know how these shows are a curse to real-life relationships. Even though most couples usually don’t break up until after the shows air, it’s possible something could have come out during the taping. Or like you all said, maybe Tiffney was just like, um, this ain’t gone work.

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Source: Aceshowbiz.com

Tween R&B group Mindless Behavior ruined any chance of being “those cute little boys on stage at the BET Awards” when they cracked a joke on L-Boogie during the award show Sunday night.

One of the members of the quartet —the one with the wild, curly hair specifically—alluded to Lauryn Hill’s tax problems while they were on stage to present an award with Mike Epps, saying something was “Lauryn Hill not paying her taxes bad.” And though the jab was no doubt scripted, the audience was not amused. Supposedly, neither was Beyonce who got on stage singing Lauryn Hill’s praises immediately after.

Yesterday afternoon, the group tried to right their wrong, via Twitter of course, tweeting:

I’m really not sure if anyone could have gotten away with that joke but it definitely would have sounded better coming from someone who probably actually knows who Lauryn Hill is, and not a group of 14 year olds. Like Bey supposedly said, “not cool.”

What I think is even funnier about this situation is the response MB has gotten from its female fanbase, like this tweet:

@MindlessBhavior The team will never be mad at you. & you don’t need to apologize. Y’all didn’t do anything wrong. We love you.

Ahhh, remember when you were 14 and thought celebrities could do no wrong? Batman of the group Immature ruined that for me when he showed up on their IMX “The Journey” album cover with a pressed bob.

But anyway, do you accept Mindless Behavior’s apology?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Source: AskKissy.com

“Basketball Wives” was on for four seasons before they started being sorry for their actions. We haven’t even hit a full week since the Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta” premier and already Joseline Hernandez is apologizing for her behavior

In response to the “drag queen” rumors, she posted a naked picture of herself on Twitter and apparently leaked a sex tape to World Star Hip Hop. Rumor has it, executive producer Mona Scott-Young was not pleased with Joseline’s actions.

Is an apology via Twitter enough to keep Mona from kicking Joseline off of VH1′s most popular new show? Joseline hopes so. The newfound reality star tweeted an apology saying:

@MonaScottYoung hey u, thank u 4 the opportunity u gave me. yesterday was what it was today im gona b the best i can be. I really <3 you.

Thank you guys that’s there for me and that’s really understanding of this situation. I love u guys.

My past is my past the Future is so much clear!!!

Thank you @MonaScottYoung u gave me a great shot at life I’m sorry for letting u down yesterday. I truly apologize.”

Mona didn’t respond via Twitter as of yet, but I’m guessing she is blowing smoke with those threats anyway. Female or male, naked pics or clothed, Joseline’s antics have been attracting even more publicity to the inexplicably popular show. I wouldn’t be surprised if the viewing numbers are up even higher on Monday simply because more people want to see who this man/woman is. It’s not time for Mona to pull a Shaunie O’Neal and pretend she didn’t know what she was getting with these castmembers. They’re cash cows for the exec producer and I’d be surprised if she sent a single one of them back to the unemployment line as long as they’re raking in the viewers.

So, enough with the lukewarm apologies via social media. Mona Scott knows Joseline is a hot mess on-screen and off. And now, we all know it too. It’s the rapper’s true gender that remains a question.

Alissa Henry is a freelance writer living in Columbus, OH. Follow her on Twitter @AlissaInPink 

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Apologizing is a hard thing to do, especially in professional situations where people are hesitant to claim liability and be accountable when things go wrong. However, learning to say “I’m sorry” is important in business. The repercussions for not acknowledging mistakes can have disastrous effects on a brand’s reputation. The train wreck that is “Basketball Wives” serves as a perfect example.

The show was able to coast on its success and ignore criticism of the ladies’ outlandish behavior until the most recent season. The show’s biggest culprits, Tami Roman and Evelyn Lozada, have been on an apology tour in an effort to mend the damage their bullying antics have done to their respective careers.

Tami has taken to social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to express her regret over her treatment of fellow cast-mate Kesha Nichols. Tami took responsibility online and on Wendy Williams’ couch for her actions, and promised to use her platform more responsibly. Evelyn tweeted her remorse for her public feud with former friend Jennifer Williams and pitching a wine bottle at cast-mate Kenya Bell. She took it a step further and penned a public letter to her 7-year-old self, promising to be a better role model for young girls.

There is nothing like threats of a boycott and the collective dragging of your Twitter handle through the mud to churn up feelings of remorse. When your public image is at stake, a speedy apology is a good first step to repairing your reputation. Being honest about mistakes made allows a brand to reach a turning point within a crisis, and enhance its reputation by building trust, satisfaction, and loyalty. Business is all about relationships, and no one wants to be in a relationship, professional or personal, with someone who can’t own up to a mistake. 

I don’t know what type of relationship Evelyn Lozada and Star Jones have but it’s odd.

Yesterday we told you about the Vibe cover with the reality TV “role models”, and in the issue the ladies were asked for their opinion on Star Jones, who has been vocal about the negative portrayals of black women on such shows and wants to create a larger petition to get them off the air. Evelyn responded to that question by saying, “I think she’s going to have to get a whole lot of names. Actually, I like the petition and I like the controversy because I’ve learned controversy is good. But I think she’s irrelevant. And she’s using our coattails to get relevant again. Nobody gives a f**k about her.” But by the time the presses rolled around and the issue went viral, Evelyn decided to take it all back.

Yesterday she sent this tweet of apology out to Star:

The ladies were apparently brought together by media personality Jawn Murphy, and when Star saw Evelyn’s tweets, she responded with a couple of retweets from Ev and Jawn and then her own joking message:

So I guess that means they’re cool now and Star won’t be attempting to put Evelyn out of work anymore? I’m all for dialogue and seeing other people’s side but I think it’s interesting that this Vibe interview and photo shoot was less than a month ago and these two have suddenly become buddy buddy now. Maybe all the adoration is just a Twitter front but I think I just saw Star Jones’ anti-BBW coalition idea go poof and disappear into thin air.

What do you think about Evelyn and Star’s new-found relationship?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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