This year was full of drama from all sides, but some celebrities took the foolishness way too far; consequently, we’ll never look at them the same again. Here are 15 famous folks we lost respect for in 2012 and who we hope can get their ish together in 2013.

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Too Short

Dirty lyrics are one thing, but Short crossed the line when he gave gross and probably illegal advice to young men on how to take it “to the hole.”

The details are too gross to include here and, thankfully, XXL took the video off their website shortly after this was published, but the “fatherly guidance” included graphic details on what to do with your fingers when you’re alone with a girl. I don’t know how anyone could buy another XXL or Too Short track after that.

WENN.com

The Material Girl is taking a serious stand on education in Malawi.

Pop superstar Madonna announced that her charity, Raising Malawi, built 10 schools in the country in 2012 and six of them are already in use.  Initially, the schools were supposed to take 18 months to build, with the last one going up in June 2013, according to News24; however, with help from partners at the non-profit buildON, they are six months ahead of schedule.  The four schools that aren’t already open will be ready to go by the first day of school in January, Madonna said.

With the opening of the schools, Raising Malawi noted that the schools would help an estimated 4,871 children receive an education.  Malawi is listed as one of the world’s least developed countries and only a very small portion of boys and girls are able to go to school so this undoubtedly help in a tremendous way.

This huge project seems to make up for Madonna walking away from the creation of a $15 million girls academy in Malawi back in 2009 after Raising Malawi was accused of financial mismanagement. Madonna dismissed it by saying she decided not to continue with that project because she wanted to be able to reach thousands of children, not hundreds of girls.

If you’re wondering why Madonna seems so closely connected to Malawi, it is because two of her children – David and Mercy – were both adopted from there.

This is a huge undertaking so here’s hoping Raising Malawi and buildON continue to make it successful for the sake of the children.

Katherine Christine/WENN

Well, it was good while it lasted. I guess. Maybe.

The NY Daily News is reporting that radio personality Tom Joyner and his wife, fitness guru and ESPN correspondent Donna Richardson, are no longer together.  A source has told them that Joyner and Richardson split up weeks ago in a “mutual but not exactly amicable” decision.  They’ve been married for 12 years.

The source also added that there were “outside parties” involved which lends to this divorce.  One can only assume that “outside parties” are another man or woman, suggesting that there was infidelity. This could get ugly, folks.

Unfortunately, I’m not able to hear the Tom Joyner Morning Show where I live anymore but I’d heard that he hadn’t been mentioning Donna’s name on the show as often as he used to. At one point, Tom would add a “You know, Donna and I…” to just about every sentence.  They’ve always come across as a really good couple so it is unfortunate to hear that it has come down to this.

The couple have no children and neither Tom’s nor Donna’s reps returned calls or emails from the Daily News.

Did you think they’d make it or were you one of the people who didn’t really see how the two of them got together in the first place?

What’s that saying, “Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” These celebrities need to take a good, long, hard look at what that quote really means. There isn’t a person walking this earth who hasn’t gotten involved with one — maybe even two — men or women who they knew were no good from the start but just couldn’t resist the temptation to see what that be like. We can give that a pass. But when you keep chasing after the same thing — even the same person in some cases — that has left you heartbroken and worse off than you were when you met them we have no choice but to consider you insane and in need of a (wo)mantervention. Here are 15 celebs who just can’t stop chasing after what’s no good for them.

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Stuck on Stupid: Fantasia Barrino

It hurts me to see Fantasia so thirsty for Antwon Cook. She is really trying to make this work even though he let her be the other woman, dumped her, almost drove her to suicide, and then moved on to Kendra James. Now they’re back together and the beef she recently had with his family doesn’t bid well for their future success. Good luck chasing that dream girl.

Women like to shade other ladies with questionable or busy pasts, but it’s clear a lot of men don’t feel the same way. These 15 celebrities didn’t care where their boo-thangs had been before they dated, slept with,  or married them — and they don’t care what we have to say about it either.

Source: WENN

Lil Wayne

We couldn’t start this list without acknowledging the man who inspired the headline. When you come out with a song titled, “Prostitute Flange” and announce, “I Wouldn’t Care If You Were a Prostitute and You Hit Every Man That You Ever Knew. See It Wouldn’t Make A Difference If That Was Way Before Me And You Girl,” you can only assume he’s living what he’s rapping about. We can’t say if he was literally speaking on the past of ex-girlfriend Trina, who joined him on that track, but every now and again Weezy’s face pops up in an Instagram pic with a random groupie, and that special relationship he has with Superhead is oh so suspect.

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Everyone has been on Kenya Moore’s back about fabricating her relationship to get on the Real Housewives of Atlanta,  but while it’s fun to hate on Kenya and that attitude of hers, let’s not act like she’s the only person that might be frontin’ a relationship for publicity’s sake. Half of the relationships in Hollywood are business deals and these are just a handful of the celebrity couples who don’t seem sincere at all.

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From ESSENCE

Hollywood hottie Nia Long and R&B crooner Tyrese have teamed up with Johnson and Johnson to deliver health services and educational information to expecting and new moms.  The pair is promoting a new Text4baby campaign, a free mobile health service that sends critical health and safety education messages directly to participant’s cell phones.

“I was raised by a single parent growing up in South Central, Los Angeles,” said Tyrese. “It is an honor to be part of this program to help reach mothers, who through all of life’s adversity, put the health of their children first.”

Moms-to-be who sign up for the Text4baby service will receive three text messages per week throughout their pregnancy and baby’s first year tailored to their due date and the developmental stage of the child.

Very nice! You can see the full details of the campaign over on ESSENCE.

Rihanna living up to her username, @badgalriri, on Instagram.

There was a time when stars were more like the celestial bodies they are named for, mysterious and unattainable. Prince’s two-syllable interview non-responses and the mystery hands covering Janet’s breasts on Rolling Stone (that turned out to be her secret husband) come to mind. The most dynamic cultural icons kept you wanting more by staying slightly out of reach.

Cue the internet age. Fans are now privy to the most miniscule details of their favorite celebrity’s life. What they ate for breakfast and what kind of toothbrush they used afterwards is just a click away. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

To be fair, the internet has made everyone more open. It demands that we continuously generate content for one another. Celebrities are not immune to the new kind of intimacy and community social media creates.

A New Kind of Star

Making stars used to be the job of an exclusive group of gatekeepers. Editors, studio heads, label executives and the like engineered what the story of the day or the phenomenon of the summer would be. That system has been blown to smithereens.

Well-established stars scoffed at Facebook and Twitter at first. Then they realized cat videos and GIFs were stealing their spotlight, and suddenly became keen to open up.

“Celebrity” has been democratized with the public setting the news cycle. Anyone can be one. If you can connect with people and keep them interested, you can build a career, whether your medium is video or 140 characters or less. Regular folks are using techniques previously reserved for the old guard of gatekeepers to promote themselves. A well-placed piece of news and a devout following birth a star.

Playing the Online Fame Game

Rihanna, named the top Social Networking Superstar by Forbes, and Chris Brown crooned that their tumultuous love affair was “Nobody’s Business” on her recent album. Days after its release, intimate photos of the pair were posted on their respective Instagram accounts. Both of which have millions of followers.

It’s a contradiction many stars play out (hello Robert).  They want a personal life, but like many social media users, they can’t seem to keep anything to themselves. The ones that do are criticized for not giving fans enough. The once private Beyoncé has made a foray into social media. Yet she’s still met with cries for more personal footage.

Going offline is not an option for the new generation of celebrity. Forums, blogs, and overzealous fans work around the clock to predict and perpetuate gossip. Social media gives stars an avenue to take control and elevate the conversation above the salacious. The trouble is many of them have no clue how to do that.

New Game, Old Tricks

To be a new age phenomenon, social media is based on old school principles. It’s about forging personal connections. Whether they’re on the playground or tweeting to millions, it is up to the individual to decide how to connect with another person. Gossip and private matters grab attention, but there are other things to talk about.

Some stars on catching on. Tracee Ellis Ross and Angela Simmons have launched websites based on their lifestyle interests. Starlet Jurnee Smollett uses her Twitter feed to bring attention to social issues.

Social media has created an audience that recognizes its power and wants to engage everything on a deeper level. Many in the public eye are still learning that a deeper level doesn’t always equal the tawdry or inane details of their private business. Forbes breaks it down like this:

We’re looking for celebrities who will acknowledge their dependence on us and their engagement with us. We want celebrities in fact who will admit that they are like us and… will also show us how they are different, bolder, more outspoken, funnier but not distant.”

Social media shrinks the distance between the stars and the rest of us, but we still want them to shine a little brighter.

C. Cleveland is a freelance writer and content strategist in New York City, perfecting living the fierce life at The Red Read. She is at your service on Twitter @CleveInTheCity.

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From ESSENCE

Amber Riley opens up about the unfair beauty standards in Hollywood in a new MTV series, This Is How I Made It. It takes a closer look at how some of Tinseltown’s biggest and brightest made it to the top. But the Glee star admits her rise to fame was a bit rocky. In fact, she says she encountered a number of setbacks, including directors encouraging her to shed pounds. But Riley refused.

“Hollywood is a very hard place to be in,” said a tearful Riley. “It really is. Being the person I am you know, the size I am, being a woman, being a black woman, there’s not a lot of roles for us.” The actress turned down roles that didn’t fit who she was—including anything that contained negative images of plus size women.

Check out what Amber had to say about some of her harsh auditions at ESSENCE.

Source: Shutterstock

From Black Voices

It’s often said there’s power in numbers, and in celebration of Black culture’s most dynamic duos, there is no shortage of power couple candidates. From television to film, music to politics, journalists to philanthropists, athletes to authors, the following are 21 runners-up to our list of America’s most famous and influential celebrity duos.

Read more at BlackVoices.com.