Madame Noire | Black Women's Lifestyle Guide | Black Hair | Black Love

Chris Brown took a lot of heat during his performance at the 54^th Grammys. It has been three years since Brown has been to the annual awards show as a result of his domestic abuse event with his then girlfriend, singer Rihanna. Domestic abuse sadly happens all of the time to all types of people, but because both of these young performers are in the public eye, everyone saw their problems and criticized them both. There’s a love/hate split for Chris Brown in the music community. He still has tons of female fans who have forgiven him for what he did to Rihanna. They’ve forgiven him so much that they went on twitter complaining how Rihanna was stupid and would love for Chris Brown to beat them. Yes you heard that right. It speaks volumes to the self-esteem of some of the young ladies who admire the young singer. But it also shows that they don’t view Rihanna as a victim.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here at Madame Noire, we’re always curious about the family members behind the big celebrity names. If you haven’t noticed, we like to poke around and find photos of siblings, mothers and dads of the rich and famous. And they’re so many of ‘em to cover, we can’t do it all in one installment. So enjoy this latest installment of Celebrity Moms and let us know if you’d like us to feature anyone in the future.

Lil Wayne’s mom, Jacinda Carter, had him when she was only 19 years old. The man she remarried years later was a huge and positive influence on her son’s life; unfortunately, her husband (Wayne’s stepdad) was murdered, leaving an indelible mark on Lil Wayne.

One of two things happen when an actor steps outside of him or herself: they either win an Oscar or find it hard to work in Hollywood ever again. Film is a powerful medium and your favorite actors’ on-screen portrayal are exciting, entrenching, and even uncomfortable at times.

Maybe that’s the mark of a good story and stellar portrayal but drama is drama. It’s easy for real emotions to get all wrapped up and influenced by people on screen as if they aren’t fictional characters. You may hate them, love them or simply wish they’d never existed but for the length of the film, make believe personas become flesh and blood thanks to actor portrayals.

The following screen stars dug deep, transforming themselves into characters that couldn’t be further from the truth of who they really are. Case in point:

You smell that girl? This movie stinks!

Halle Berry

More than once, Halle has hit the nail on the head as a crackhead (Jungle Fever, Saving Isaiah) and it’s hard to forget her over-the-top homegirl role in B.A.P.S. No, none of these roles are how anyone would most like to remember Halle Berry.

A little over a week ago, a writer for French Elle wrote a blog post narrating the American “black-geoisie’s” adoption of white codes of fashion to go from street to chic. The piece didn’t go over so well here, and it obviously didn’t well with French natives who have written an open letter, calling the magazine out on it’s carelessness and lack of black representation.

The letter, published in Le Monde, was written by a group of black French celebrities including supermodel Noémie Lenoir, Cahiers du Cinéma critic Vincent Malausa, and Morehouse College’s Julius E. Coles. Here’s what it says:

“Elle magazine informs us that in fashion, in 2012, “the ‘black-geoisie’ has finally integrated white codes” of dress. Moreover, “chic has at last become a plausible option for a community that previously knew only streetwear.” While for decades blacks were dressed as hoodie-clad “thugs” [Translation note: cailleras, the word given here as "thugs," intentionally recalls "racaille," the derogatory term infamously used by then-interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy to describe the banlieue rioters of 2005, which is most often translated as "scum"], they have finally understood, through the education of white people, that they must pay more attention to their appearance.

“It is high time for the editors of Elle to venture out of their glass-enclosed headquarters in the business district of Levallois-Perret to mix with the population, to see what black people are really like, and how they dress in real life. It is also time for them to realize that there are many black women in France. Black people do not all live in the United States, and they are not all pop singers, film actors, and sport stars.

“Why not,” asks the open letter, “hire some black editors? Call us crazy, but why not have a black woman on the cover? Just for once.”‘

Tell ‘em how you really feel.

The authors clearly have several good arguments and, as has been pointed out on numerous sites, French Elle is a weekly magazine—out of 52 cover opportunities, it shouldn’t be hard to find black models to fill the space. In 2011, only two non-white models covered the mag, and considering the publication is keen on placing white American models on it’s cover, it could certainly give a top black American woman cover space, since they love to write about them so much.

What do you think about this letter? Will it make any difference?

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

More on Madame Noire!

• What’s With Some Black Women’s Fascination With Marilyn Monroe?
• The Dark Side of Being Jealous in Love
• Ask A Very Smart Brotha Live: A*sholes & Disappearing Acts
• Undercover Brothers: Not-So-Famous Brothers of Famous Celebs
• What The Heck Happened To You: What Lost Celebs Look Like Nowadays
• Hair Q&A: Good Weave Hair and Flat Iron Recommendations
• 7 Things That Could Change The Way He Feels About You
• Say Cheese! Unfortunate Yet Unforgettable Celebrity Mug Shots

Photo courtesy of untitledflow.com

You have probably already heard about the new tattoo Chris Brown has (stans would say it’s old, but who’s keeping up with the dates?). To show his love for girlfriend Karrueche Tran, Brown got a tattoo of the young lady’s face on his arm. And you know there’s nothing that says I love you like permanent tattoos of a person you’re not even married to…(*sarcasm*). If you’ve followed any of our tattoo stories from back in the day, you know it’s a horribly bad idea to get a tattoo of the person you’re with, whether it’s their name or their face–anything = bad idea. Just because you’re with them now doesn’t mean you’ll be with them forever, and who needs a constant reminder of something that didn’t work?

But with all the money Chris has, I’m sure he could get that removed if worse came to worse (or if he got back with Rihanna). And speaking of tattoo removal, he’s not the first celeb to get a random tattoo on them for the one they love. Just take a look at the following folks who need to go ahead and burn their symbols of love off. Notice how most of these folks are men. We told you: when men love, they love HARD.

(*Note: Shout outs to the late Amy Winehouse’s “Blake” tattoo, which was on the list originally.)

These are the men who are truly loyal to their biological destinies. These are the men who think that what they should be doing is populating the earth with their seeds. Is it bad? No, not if they stay in the child’s life. But somehow we can’t help but judge the lack of self-control involved in farthering so many kids especially the ones who did so outside of any official relationships…

Lil Wayne

He’s the obvious one, ain’t he? Weezy has three baby mamas and counting. At only 29 years of age, he’s on track to reach ODB status by the time he’s 40. He’s currently dating a new woman, an Arizona waitress by the name of Dhea. If she’s as savvy as Lauren London, she’ll get knocked up soon.

When two celebs unite and decide to get married, more often than not the event becomes a sought after spectacle for the world.  With typically large bank accounts, and plentiful staff and resources, mega stars tend to shout their love from the rooftops of the most exquisite and elaborate villas and resorts.  The scope of the wedding is usually pretty outlandish, with any country in the world at their fingertips.  So where are some of the most exclusive and luxurious wedding destinations?  Check out this list and be prepared to be jealous!

Read the rest of this entry »

Although I’m not one of those people who tries to define what a “normal” name is, it always makes me laugh or just truly confuses me when I hear about an entertainer with a real name that is soooooo different than what I thought it would be. From names you think look better on nerds, to ones that are just really random, here are just a few that we can’t seem to understand or get with.

They come into your life, make you happy and then, just like that, it’s all over. They’re gone, leaving you alone to pick up the pieces and start all over again. No, I’m not talking about your no-good ex. It’s those TV, movie and music stars that were a regular part of your life before their limelight was up, or so you thought.

Here’s a selection of stars you probably haven’t thought about in a long time.

Kellie Shanygne Williams-Jackson

Kellie Williams is better known as Laura Winslow from the 90′s TGIF hit, Family Matters, in which she spent the majority of her time playing off the affections of Steve Urkell.

These days, Kellie is spends most of her time tending the matters of her own family. She got hitched to a guy named Hannibal Jackson in 2009 and they had their first daughter last year. Fans can ogle pictures of Jackson’s on Kellie’s Facebook page.

Since Family Matters, she’s had a handful of roles, and recently completed a lead role in a short, Aide-de-Camp.

We’ve all seen the lifestyles of the rich and famous–celebrities spending more money in a day than most people see in a year. Same old story–they’re rich, you’re not. Got it.

That is, until news of a bankruptcy breaks and it looks like Mrs. Rich and Mr. Famous were spending money faster than a crackhead with an IRS refund check. Most people have horrid financial sense to begin with, and celebrities are no different. Especially those ones who go from rags to riches.

There’s a pitch for a new reality show if I’ve ever heard one: What happens when the famous stop being rich, and start being bankrupt. I would revel in guilt while taking pleasure watching Lindsay Lohan’s car repoed.

Plus it’s a win-win. Cash-strapped celebrities get a few more paychecks and viewers at home, learn some hard lessons at someone else’s expense. Public education. You too can learn financial success while being entertained by fiscal failures.

Granted, claiming bankrupt is a smart fiscal strategy to keep money-grubbing hands out your pocket. But at the end of the day, making millions only to end up losing it all like you’ve been betting big in Vegas, is one thing, and one thing only: dumb. Oh yeah, and entertaining.

Here’s a look at some of our favorite, and financially dumb, super stars: