Source: BET

Over the summer, BET got dragged into the middle of an ugly lawsuit with a woman named Stacey Mattocks, the fan responsible for creating the famous Facebook page that urged producers to bring back The Game after the sitcom was canceled by its original network, The CW. Once BET decided to revive the series, they used Stacey and fans like her, who protested against the show’s cancellation, as a means of promoting the show’s return. The page, which was first created in 2008, acquired 750,000 “likes,” later grew by nearly 100,000 “likes” per week as BET promoted the series’ return.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, BET initially offered to pay Stacey $30 per hour as a freelancer for her social media efforts, but they eventually wanted something more permanent, and reportedly offered to pay Stacey $85,000 to promote The Game via social media over a one-year period.

“BET was searching for a more ‘permanent’ way to capitalize on the FB Page and Mattocks’ efforts. Therefore, on December 15, 2010, BET submitted a proposed contract to Mattocks that would have paid her a maximum of $85,000.00 over a one year period. Mattocks declined this offer because it was unreasonably low, would have stripped her of all rights to the FB Page, and, moreover, could have been terminated at any point by BET, with or without cause.”

Once the series premiered, the page garnered 3.3 million “likes”

“In newspaper and magazine articles, Mattocks was credited by BET executives for playing a critical role in reviving interest in the Show and making it a massive success with viewers.”

One issue, however, remained: Stacey refused to relinquish rights to the Facebook page. The struggle continued and in 2011, Stacey even accused the network of having her page deleted by Facebook. Not long after, BET created their own page for the show; however, the page didn’t receive much attention from fans, so they decided to make Stacey another offer— $15,000 for the Facebook and Twitter page that she created. Stacey made a counteroffer for $1.2 million and BET declined. After much back and forth without reaching a resolution, BET sent Stacey a cease and desist letter, requesting that she stop her use of the network’s intellectual property. They also reportedly had Facebook remove Stacey’s page, which is something that she says caused her to lose income, since she formed media partnerships with multiple companies via said page. As a result, the insurance broker sued the television station for tortious interference, breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing. She’s also suing for copyright infringement, as she claims the folks over at BET copied content from her page and used it on their own.

After several months of silence, between finally responded to the suit.

“The conversion claim fails at the outset because a ‘Like’ is not personal property in which Plaintiff has any possessory interest. As the Facebook page itself makes clear, a Facebook user who bestows a ‘Like’ upon a piece of content or a Page on Facebook remains in control of the ‘Like’ at all times and is free to ‘Unlike’ the Page or content as the user sees fit… To the extent a ‘Like’ is anyone’s ‘property’ it belongs to the Facebook user…”

“BET did not revoke Plaintiff’s license until Plaintiff admittedly and intentionally ‘demoted’ BET’s administrative rights so that BET could no longer update the Facebook page in its ‘sole discretion.’ Plaintiff’s allegations do not allege a breach of the terms of the contract and further show that Plaintiff herself breached the license agreement, thereby relieving BET from any obligations thereunder.”

 It will be pretty interesting to see how this all plays out. Thoughts?

Jazmine Denise is an entertainment and celebrity news blogger. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise.

Back in October we told you that BET’s new series, Being Mary Jane, starring the beautiful Gabrielle Union, would be debuting on the popular network January 7th. As you may recall, we were first introduced to Mary Jane Paul through an two-hour pilot movie, which aired back in July.

I guess the folks over at BET figured they’d left us is in the dark long enough, so they released a 30-second teaser titled, “Drowning in her own thoughts,” to remind us just how much of a mess Mary Jane’s life actually is. In the trailer, Mary Jane disrobes and sinks into a bathtub full of yellow post-it notes. On the notes are quotes and affirmations including:

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”

“Open to love.”

“Feed your soul.”

“I trust me.”

Clearly, homegirl still has a lot of issues that she needs to work out. And we of course, will be tuned in week after week to see how she navigates through them all. In the December 2013 issue of ESSENCE, the actress behind it all opened up about her character in the film, and revealed that she hopes that watching Mary Jane’s life play out on-screen will broaden people’s horizons in regard to sexuality.

“I hope it widens the conversation. I hope people will be more forgiving of those who explore their sexuality unapologetically,” Gabrielle said.

“It would be very easy to label Mary Jane a ho a freak , a ho, whatever. But enjoying sex doesn’t make you a ho,” she continued, referencing that infamous scene where Mary Jane pleasures herself before going on a date to tame her sexual desires.

Check out the Being Mary Jane teaser on page two. Will you be tuning in January 7th when it airs?

PNP/WENN.com

If you’ve ever gone to a PWI (predominately white institution), you know the struggle of trying to have a gathering or event for black folks and having white men and women say, “But it would be racist if we had a white homecoming, right? That’s so hypocritical!” But you would think that in everyday life, if folks want to have black awards shows and event to show love to people who don’t get their just dues in the mainstream media, it wouldn’t be a problem. But alas, with Twitter, there’s always a platform to complain and bash just about everything and make it trend for attention. Such was the case with folks going in on the Black Girls Rock event that aired on Sunday night on BET, with white folks (and even some black folks) deciding to push a #WhiteGirlsRock hashtag that was pure foolery:

If there were a #whitegirlsrock special on TV, it would be declared #racist. #politicallyincorrect #hypocrisy

That #blackgirlsrock show is so racist. Where is the #whitegirlsrock show? Oh right, NAACP would be all over that.

And the Tweets went on and on with folks basically saying the same thing: If white women had a show solely praising their accomplishments, black folks would be up in arms. But of course, these Tweets were met with responses from black individuals who reminded everyone that when you’re in the majority, you will always see positive images of yourself (and just more images in general) on television and in the media, so would you really need a White Girls Rock show? Folks are always looking for a reason to pit one group of people against another these days. Writer Dream Hampton, a producer for the event, even decided to share the real:

Soon as white women show up at a runway show and ask ‘Why is this show totally white?’ I’ll pay attention to #whitegirlsrock

And it continued from others:

If you want #WhiteGirlsRock just check out the shows on CBS, NBC, ABC, MTV, FOX NEWS, Lifetime, HBO, Showtime, TNT, USA Networks…

It’s a shame how many black dudes are protesting for a #WhiteGirlsRock platform. Do their capes for their snow bunnies ever come off?

All in all, it’s just a shame that something folks CLEARLY didn’t watch and give time to before making a judgment was getting attacked for celebrating women who do great things and influence young black girls everywhere. And when you have people on Twitter steady trying to bring you down and ask why sistas even deserve an event to show love to one another, it makes such a celebration all the more necessary. Haters.

When BET premiered the pilot movie for Gabrielle Union’s Being Mary Jane in July of this year, I had high expectations for the show. Thankfully, the program, which is an hour-long scripted series from the mind of the uber-talented Mara Brock Akil, exceeded all of them, and seemed to impress many of the people I knew–including many of our readers. And the viewers tuned in big time, helping the pilot rake in more than 4 million viewers. Unfortunately, that would be the only taste of the show we would get for 2013, as we were quickly told that a full season of it wouldn’t be available until 2014 (even though BET was so confident in the program, it’s already renewed it for a second season). But good news! We know the exact date you need to be in front of your TV (or set your DVR), and have a clip from the upcoming season to share.

According to Shadow and Act, the first season of Being Mary Jane will debut on Tuesday, January 7 at 10 p.m. In this new offering, we will continue to watch Mary Jane try to deal with her volatile love life (last time we checked, she was stealing s*men from her ex-boyfriend…), her crazy family and try to keep her head above water at her job. In this new clip from the upcoming season, we see Mary Jane having a moral issue while delivering news for her popular show, “Talk Back With Mary Jane Paul” for the cable news network she works for. After delivering a shady story to pull in viewers, she has a heated exchange with her boss, Kara (Lisa Vidal). Check it out for yourself below and let us know if you’re as excited as we are about the show coming back!

Nikki Nelson / WENN.com

In a new chapter of the cougar files (kidding!), actress Vivica A. Fox spoke with BET recently about the state of her love life, and why she’s trying to be worried more about what’s inside of a man as opposed to what he’s got going on, on the outside. If you’ll recall, she was in a pretty serious relationship with Atlanta party promoter Omar “Slim” White that culminated in an engagement. But after 10 months of planning for their future, he called the whole thing off, saying it had nothing to do with the 20 year age difference, but that they simply grew apart:

“She’s a good woman, it’s just one of those situations where in life people outgrow each other. I’m highly intelligent, very wise and one thing I hate is negativity and drama, I hate arguing, and I value communication no matter what the problem may be. So as in any relationship, tension can build up and I finally had to walk away. I was only in it for love and it just didn’t work out. Even though she was older than me the age difference didn’t play a part.”

She didn’t comment on his claims (though she says SHE broke up with him), but it’s clear now that she’s learned from that past relationship, is ready to date again and wants it to be less about the physical. Here’s what she told BET:

“I used to be so lustful. I would lose my mind over a six pack and a smile, it would get me every time and usually get me in trouble. Pretty eyes, pretty teeth? Forget about it! But, I think now I’m looking for a good partner, just a good man, whereas before it would be mostly physical. Now, I need a man who’s a gentleman, more old-fashioned. Someone who I could laugh with and have fun with. I’m trying to date above 30 now. Thirty to 35 is the window. Not saying I won’t make an exception if someone special comes along, though! [Laughs]“ “The best part is waking up every day and being able to do whatever I want. I don’t have to answer to anybody, ain’t nobody quizzing Vivica about where she’s going or what she’s doing! But seriously, it’s been a couple of years now since I broke up with my fiancé, and I think I’m ready to start dating again.”

And who are Viv’s celebrity crushes?

“Oh, a combination of Idris Elba and Blair Underwood. Idris I like because he’s European, a little bit more worldly. Blair, I know him personally and I know he’s such a wonderful person, just a good man and a good father. He’s just got that man swagger!”

I think many of us have lessons that we learned from dating younger or older, and it seems Vivica is ready to let love in again. What kind of man do you think would be a good match for the 49-year-old?

WENN

From ESSENCE

TV personality and actor Terrence J. (nee Jenkins) has written his first book, The Wealth of My Mother’s Wisdom, expressing his gratitude to his mother Lisa for the encouragement and guidance she’s given him over the years. Terrence also pulls in friend Trey Songz to share lessons and advice from his own mother.

Here, the E! News co-anchor shares seven tidbits we didn’t know about him in relation to his mom.

1. I was born into welfare. But I watched my mom build a business without going to college; without doing a lot of the things she wanted to do because she made sacrifices for me.

2. I’ve never tried to get in touch with my biological father [Terrence was raised by his stepfather]. Something about him not wanting to be around kinda put an edge on my shoulder. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. It just always gave me the perspective that if somebody didn’t want to be in my life, then it wasn’t worth the time. Obviously I didn’t need him. I had the strength of my mother.

3. My mom never talked ill of my biological father. Once I was old enough to realize that I didn’t know anything about him, she told me that she would tell me whatever I wanted to know.

You can read the rest on ESSENCE.com. Terrence talks about the first thing he did with his first major paycheck and whether or not he considers himself a “mama’s boy.”  There’s something about Terrence J. we really like and his success story is great to hear and read about!

Source: WENN

Think Like A Man Too actor Terrence J recently stopped by Power 105.1′s The Breakfast Club to promote the release of his new book, The Wealth of My Mother’s Wisdom and his latest film, Baggage Claim. The 31-year-old New York native also opened up about overcoming major financial struggles and his split from former Victoria’s Secret Angel Selita EBanks. Peep some interesting highlight from his interview below.

On almost going bankrupt:

“There was a time when I was at 106 where I almost went bankrupt trying to keep up with other people. You know, you got all of these rappers coming on the show, you gotta keep up with them. You get your first AMEX, you blow through that money. There was a point where I lost everything. Then I get got diagnosed with vitiligo. I was scared about my health and everything. My skin started breaking out and I was just depressed.”

On his work ethic compared to former BET and 106 hosts:

“Giving 99% is the same as giving 0%. If you gon’ give 99%, you may as well stay home. I’m always like 110% in everything I do. You see the things that people do. I’ve seen the paths and I always wanted to excel. I knew I always wanted to do film. I never wanted to feel like I couldn’t pay my rent. When I first started at BET, I did not know how I was going to pay my college tuition. I was sleeping on the couch. I never wanted to feel broke. That’s why I hustle all of these jobs. It’s out of like, desperation. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night like, ‘Oh! Someone else is working and I’m not! Let me get back to the grind.’

On his split from Selita Ebanks:

“I think Selita is amazing. Sometimes things just don’t work. She’s a very busy woman. I work as well. I just think she’s amazing and I wish her the best.”

On being a bad host during his early years at BET:

“I didn’t think I was gon’ make it. I didn’t think was gon’ last. I’m just glad they stuck with me. I know for the first 2, 3 years I was terrible. So I’m just happy the network stayed with me. Things at E! are going really well.”

It’s inspiring to see that Terrence was able to roll with the punches and continued to chase his dreams, even while when he was faced with adversity.

Watch his full interview on the next page.

Well that’s the end of that.

Though Reed Between the Lines started with such promise on BET–that includes some people trying to say it could be a 2013 version of the Cosby Show–the show will not see the light of day again, according to Shadow and Act.  After Tracee Ellis Ross left the show last summer to try and work on a pilot for NBC that fell through, Reed had been on hiatus ever since. But Ross had at one point said that she would possibly return.

“I love Reed Between the Lines, I believe in it. There is a chance I’ll go back, always. There’s nothing weird about it.”

However, that’s not happening. Despite some decent first season success, and the addition of such new castmembers as Tony Rock to work with Malcolm Jamal Warner for season two, BET has decided to cancel the show altogether. And at this point, I’m not mad at them. The fact that we heard nothing about the status of Reed for all this time kind of gave off the signal the show wasn’t going to make it. And with the main character running for the hills after just season one, I think we can all agree the cancellation is no surprise.

But in good news for the network, after the uber-positive response Being Mary Jane‘s pilot episode received for the network, they’ve gone ahead and ordered a second season of the series, and the first hasn’t even started! That’s definitely a good sign and a good move on BET’s part because they definitely have a gem on their hands with the Gabrielle Union-led series, which debuted with a very impressive four million viewers. As long as they can keep the storyline as compelling as it was in the pilot, I can see this show being BET’s biggest hit. What about you? Talk about it below!

via Twitter

B. Scott’s lawsuit against BET and Viacom brings up questions of precedence. Have there been previous cases like this before the court? And do the verdicts favor B. Scott or BET?

To recap: B. Scott was supposed to host the the annual BET Awards’ red carpet pre-show. Shortly after it began, he was pulled from the show, told that his look “wasn’t appropriate,” and was replaced by Adrienne Bailon. Now, B. Scott is asking for $2.5 million in damages and an apology.

In a statement, he said, in part, “BET’s non-apology statement added more insult to injury. What happened to me was not a ‘miscommunication’ nor was it ‘unintentional’. It was wrong. I have been vehemently trying to come to a resolution with BET and Viacom behind the scenes…”

Adding that his “spirit” lies “somewhere in between,” he stated, “I accept and welcome the ‘transgender’ label with open arms. It is also by that definition that BET and Viacom willingly and wrongfully discriminated against my gender identity during the 2013 BET Awards Pre-Show.”

Last month, BET responded to the situation with this statement:

BET Networks embraces global diversity in all its forms and seeks to maintain an inclusive workforce and a culture that values all perspectives and backgrounds. The incident with B. Scott was a singular one with a series of unfortunate miscommunications from both parties. We regret any unintentional offense to B. Scott and anyone within the LGBT community and we seek to continue embracing all gender expressions.

What’s strange about this situation is Scott’s assertion that the outfit he’d originally chosen — a black tunic and pants — had been pre-approved. So the issue arose after he was already on camera and had completed the first segment.

Scott’s lawsuit adds that no one else was “restricted” in their attire reports E! Online, and lots of women were “twerking” in skimpy skirts and other outfits “without incident.”

We turned to our contributor Karen Francis, who’s also a media attorney by day, for some facts about the history of discrimination lawsuits that involve members of the LGBT community. She turned to the Human Rights Campaign, which says on its website that employers have the right “to establish employee dress code and grooming guidelines during work hours if they are reasonable and serve a legitimate business purpose.” Acceptable instances include to protect corporate image, the health and well-being of staff (for instance, requiring enclosed footwear in places where things can hurt a person’s foot) and to make employees “visible to the public,” like a policeman’s uniform.

“It will be interesting to see if there are any provisions, specifically relating to cross-dressing, that were added to the contract between B. Scott and BET.  Since Scott was hired as a ‘Style Stage Correspondent,’  image, dress and fashion would have been on the forefront of both parties’ minds when the employment contract was signed,” Francis wrote in an email to me.

She says the courts have been “mixed” in their decisions regarding cases with transgendered people. However, last year “the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) determined that ‘an employer who discriminates against an employee or applicant on the basis of the person’s gender identity is violating the prohibition on sex discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.’  This was an unprecedented decision by the EEOC, and the first time that it has ‘provided any guidance on the extent to which Title VII’s sex discrimination prohibition applies to transgender employees.’” This case, she says, will be litigated in California, where they do have laws on the books specifically addressing transgender discrimination.

The outcome is yet to be seen, but this case is sure to make an impact on the progress that the LGBT community is making in the eyes of the law.

How do you think it will turn out?

Source: BET

It’s been a little over one month since Being Mary Jane the movie (aka the pilot episode) debuted on BET. The Mara Brock and Salim Akil drama performed extremely well, attracting a whopping 4 million viewers for its July 5th debut. Now, as promised, the network is gearing up for the premiere of the first full season of the show. BET recently released two trailers for the upcoming season and they both look pretty promising.

In one scene titled, “Lovers Quarrel,” Mary Jane gets into a heated argument with her married boyfriend, Andre Daniels, after he sees her photographed with another guy. Somehow, they end up arguing about the fact that he hasn’t told his son that he’s moving out. The emotional squabble ends with Mary Jane chasing behind him as he storms out of her house and speeds off in his car.

In another scene, the deterioration of the relationship between Mary and Andre is pretty evident. Seemingly upset about something else, she proceeds to argue with him about why he hasn’t fixed the light in her pool. Realizing that their problems are much deeper than a broken pool light, he dives into the pool– fully clothed— and fixes the light.

Gabrielle Union totally nailed this role.

Check out a sneak peek of season one below. Turn the page for the second clip. Will you be checking out Being Mary Jane when season one airs?