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

Over the weekend, reports that Whitney Houston was found dead in the bathtub inside her Beverly Hilton hotel room caused many to suspect that an unfortunate drowning caused the singer’s untimely death. But according to TMZ, Whitney’s family members have been informed that her death was caused by a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol.

According to the coroner’s office, there was not enough water in Whitney’s lungs to conclude that she drowned, and she likely died before she was submerged under water. There’s also been a change in the story about who found the singer. Originally, Whitney’s body guard, Ray, was said to have pulled Whitney from the tub, but now reports say it was actually her aunt, Mary Jones, who discovered the body after Whitney had been in the bathroom for an extended period of time. When she found her, Mary Jones pulled Whitney out of the water and attempted to perform CPR, obviously unsuccessfully.

With reports of Bobbi Kristina’s hospitalization’s since learning of her mother’s passing and concerns that she may be suicidal, it’s also eerily ironic that she was found in a similar situation the day before Whitney’s death. On Friday night, when Bobbi didn’t answer the door for her friends who were knocking, they called security to unlock the door and let them in, and they reportedly found Bobbi sleep in the bathtub as well, although it hasn’t been mentioned whether drugs were involved at all in her situation.

We’re definitely wishing the family the best at this time.

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

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If you can die from a broken heart then surely a break-up can make you sick—that’s what level-headed people suspect led to Demi Moore’s hospitalization two days ago. As Demi’s rep said in statement earlier this week:

“Because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health.”

While some would rather suggest that Demi’s exhaustion is a result of substance abuse, courtesy of a nitric oxide binge from Whip-its, or an eating disorder, science actually backs up the idea that divorce can make one sick.

A recent review from the University of Arizona found that divorce can raise the risk of early death by as much as 23 percent. The researchers also likened the effects of divorce to other health risks like smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, getting limited exercise, being overweight, and drinking heavily. Although the cause and effect relationship between death and divorce wasn’t conclusive, the correlation isn’t hard to imagine. According to psychotherapist Rachel Sussman:

“When you are processing the ending of a marriage you are overcome with a variety of complex emotions–sorrow, anger, shame, fear.

“Sleep and one’s ability to eat may be impacted by the sorrow and stress, [which in turn] may affect your overall health and cause you to get very run down.”

We’ve all been so stressed or sick that we couldn’t eat—or ate too much. We may have even stayed in bed for a day or two and shut out the rest of the world. Unfortunately Demi is a recovering addict so the potential for her to return to drugs is much higher, but I don’t think people should jump to that conclusion considering the effects the stress of divorce can have on someone. I think most of us would be a little sick if our marriage of seven years was ending and our soon-to-be ex-husband was making a public mockery of our relationship.

Do you think Demi is suffering from a broken heart over her divorce? Has a breakup ever made you sick?

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

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We’ve all said we’re sick of it, we don’t want to hear about it anymore, and we’re not going to talk about it—-it being “The Tragic, Scientifically Less Attractive, Unmarriable, Single Black Woman Narrative.” Now, media personality Ariana Proehl of KnowThisTV1 has declared an official death of the tired story.

The proclamation is right on point for the new year. What better time to let go of the things that hold you back like stories and statistics that tell you you don’t have a chance in this world? Much like the Black Woman’s Manifesto for 2012, Proehl says in the coming year we shouldn’t even give these ridiculous notions “the dignity of our side-eye!”

Yes mam.

Check out the video and tell us what you think. Will you say RIP to the “Death of the Tragic, Scientifically Less Attractive, Unmarriable, Single Black Woman Narrative,” in the new year?

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

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A medical examiner with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office has ruled that a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis is what took the life of 44-year-old Dwight Myers, better known as Heavy D, Nov 8.

Pulmonary embolisms typically result from blood clots formed in the leg that travel up to the lung and stop blood flow. Although in most cases the clots aren’t life-threatening, officials say Heavy D’s heart disease may have been a contributing factor in his death as well. TMZ also reported that Heavy D’s flight from Wales after performing at a Michael Jackson tribute concert may have been a factor in his death, as the blood clots may have formed in his legs due to his prolonged immobility on the long flight.

Heavy D was finally laid to rest Nov. 18 although he will me missed forever. It will be sad going into 2012 without him but at least his family now has some amount of closure concerning his death.

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

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Joyce Vincent was 41 when she was found dead in her home, but she was 38 when she died. For three years, from 2003-2006, her body lay surrounded by Christmas gifts she was planning to wrap; the television still on.

How does this happen? Especially to a woman who was social, who two-years prior had a high-powered job at Ernst and Young, who had rubbed elbows with celebrities, and who wanted to get married? That’s what Carol Morley set to find out. But her new documentary film, “Dreams of a Life,” is about more than just Joyce Vincent, a young, beautiful London woman whose parents were from the Caribbean and who no one seemed to miss when she was gone. It’s about life, death, and loneliness.

To promote the film, the studio Hide & Seek, created a companion website called Dreams of Your Life to engage visitors to examine their own isolation with questions like, “Could something like that ever happen to me?” “Do you have friends?” “If you died, how long would it take for someone to find you?”

The questions are eerily introspective.“Our aim was to make something that would give people a chance to think about the people in their lives and think about whether or not there were any changes that they wanted to make about their degree of connectedness,” Hide & Seek’s Margaret Robertson said.

As for Joyce Vincent, her memory will live on in Morley’s film which debuted at the BFI London Film Festival in October and was shortlisted for best documentary there. You can also read more about her story here.

The film will be available for general release in March. Watch this clip and tell us what you think? Honestly, the way the trailer stuck with me, I don’t think I’d ever be able to get this movie out of my head.

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

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The hip-hop world is still in shock over the news of the passing of “the overweight lover” Heavy D two days ago at the age of 44.  Seeing Heavy perform just one month ago on the BET Hip Hop awards–his first performance in 15 years– brought back memories of the rapper’s ’80s and ’90s fame. The man behind the “In Living Color” theme song, won the hearts of females and the hard-earned respect of male hip-hoppers.  He was an everyman, whose hits like “Now That We’ve Found Love” and “The Overweight Lover” used to blast through speakers at family cookouts inspiring both grandmothers and teens to hit the dance floor.

Check out what the stars had to say on Twitter about his passing.

Well, that’s all folks. Michael Jackson has been dead since June 25, 2009, and after a media circus that has painted both the late singer and his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, as irresponsible and greedy folks, and a trial that didn’t get started until two years later, you can say that some form of justice has been served. Dr. Conrad Murray was just found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury that deliberated for a total of nine hours over two days.

While Murray’s lawyers tried their damndest to make it seem that Jackson was under so much pressure to perform and do well, that he took sleep sedatives on his own and administered a dose of Propofol to himself when Dr. Murray stepped out of the room, it didn’t work. The jury found that no matter who gave him the final dose or how he got it in his system, Murray was responsible because he was suppose to keep an eye on Jackson, and by leaving him alone, he caused the singer’s death. Especially since it was reported by witnesses that Murray was on the phone “parlaying” while his client stopped breathing.

Dr. Conrad Murray is now possibly looking at a maximum of four years in prison or a minimum of probation and the loss of his medical license. His license has already been suspended in California, so that seems like the probable next step. Judge Michael Pastor has decided to keep Murray in custody for the time being until sentencing.

Not sure if I feel happy or sad.

Let me rephrase that actually: I’m very happy that this over-amplified case is over, but still sad that Michael Jackson is gone. I was and will always be a huge fan of the singer, so knowing the manner in which he lost his life and the plans he had before he passed, it’s all still somewhat upsetting. However, I might be one of the few folks out there that doesn’t think Murray should go to jail for this. Blame that man for his death if you want, but in reality, blame can go around and around and around, from the folks in his family to the people that were supposed to be on his “team.” Real talk, I had no idea that MJ was addicted to drugs until he died (he covered it well), but those around him knew: his friends, some in his family. Hell, even Lisa Marie Presley admitted that his addiction ended their relationship, an addiction she became aware of in 1995. If this is true, then we can all see that folks had YEARS to intervene. But here we are, and all it took was one seriously misguided doctor to decide to take a phone call for all the blame to be transferred to him.

So yes, Dr. Conrad Murray is a mess for being greedy enough to ignore the morals of his practice to make money. However, I don’t look at him, or hear the details of the case and think he truly meant to put the icon in a coffin. He just got played into feeding Jackson’s habit, and in the end, played himself. But in all honesty, he’s not the first physician to do so for the pop star, he’s just the first one to get caught. I say strip this man of his license, give him probation, let him walk the streets with an infamous name, and leave the mess at that. He is the official scapegoat for a lot of people, but does he deserve jail? If you ask me–nope. I think losing the right to practice, knowing what he did for the rest of his life, and knowing that so many people are disgusted by him is more than enough. Maybe this will teach other people in Hollywood to start stepping up for the sake of their sick family members instead of letting them do whatever and take whatever because they don’t want to get cut off from a share of money they don’t deserve (and that’s directed at you poppa Joe, Jermaine and La Toya…).

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The singer in 2004

I was really hoping Amy Winehouse passed away from drug and alcohol withdrawal issues, but unfortunately, it was from alcohol poisoning.

In London, according to the Los Angeles Times, a coroner’s inquest found that Winehouse’s death was “death by misadventure.” The singer, who passed in July, was found with too much alcohol in her system, specifically 4.5 times over the legal limit. Coroner Suzanne Greenway reported that Amy Winehouse “had consumed sufficient alcohol at 416 mg per decilitre (of blood) and the unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden and unexpected death.”

Her family released a statement expressing their appreciation of the kind messages and love they had been receiving, and how relieved they were to actually find out what the cause of her death was–even if it wasn’t what they had hoped:

“It is some relief to finally find out what happened to Amy. The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time. She had started drinking again that week after a period of abstinence. It means a lot to us and from the overwhelming messages of support we have had since Amy died, we know she meant a great deal to people all over the world.”

After years of battling with drug addiction, including cocaine, heroine and alcohol addiction, it seems the singer gave into her demons and passed after going on a drinking binge. As someone that was a huge fan of the singer, this news is still sad, months after her death. As stated before, I was hoping she was just going through withdrawal after her parents said she had gone through a short period of being drug and alcohol free. I just hope other starlets and everyday people battling with the diseases of drug and alcohol abuse can get the help and support they need so they don’t have to meet Amy’s same fate.

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An unfortunate twist in what police are calling “a lover’s quarrel” resulted in the death of reality star Omarosa’s brother on Sunday.

Jack Manigault, 40, was gunned down in Youngstown, OH, when Marco Cardenas broke into his home and started shooting as he lay next to his 34-year-old girlfriend. Cardenas, who is only 22, was her ex-boyfriend.

According to Vindy.com, Manigault ran from the room and collapsed with a gunshot wound to the head. His girlfriend told police Cardenas knew she was with Manigault, then hit her in the head with the gun before trying to shoot Manigault again.  A short time later, Cardenas was arrested while still armed.

The murder unfortunately brought out details of Manigault’s criminal past, which his family said he had turned away from. In 1999, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for aggravated assault and was convicted of obstructing official business in 2003. He had also been arrested for possession of drugs, carrying a concealed weapon, and illegal possession of a weapon. Cardenas is not without a record either, as he is currently on a two-year probation from a December 2010 felony charge of breaking and entering. His current arrest in Manigault’s murder could mean an automatic one-year prison term on the previous charge although that hardly seems significant given the time he will get for the murder.

In a statement, Omarosa thanked fans for their support during this time. “My brother was so special to us! We loved him unconditionally and we were so proud of him when he turned his life around and gave his life to God two years ago.”

"John" Jandali, Steve Jobs's biological father

So I was perusing The Wall Street Journal today and came across a story on Steve Jobs that was a very rare feature; it was not on his legacy as a tech genius, his beginnings or how his company will hold up in the wake of his death. This time around, it was about Jobs’s alleged biological father, a man by the name of Abdulfattah “John” Jandali. Jandali was born in Syria and now, at the age of 80, resides in Reno, Nev., and is the general manager of a casino called Boomtown. If you didn’t know before, the Jobs was given up for adoption, and later adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. Why? Well, Jandali was allegedly in a relationship with Jobs’s biological mother, Joanne Schieble, back while studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her father didn’t approve of their relationship, and an already pregnant and stressed out Schieble went to California for a while to “get away.” While there, she gave birth to Jobs and gave him up for adoption.

Jandali says he found out in 2005 that Jobs was his biological son, but only during this year he says, did he start reaching out to Jobs when he found out that his health was failing. He says the most he got back from Jobs was a “thanks” from birthday greetings and get well messages sent via the Internet. His e-mails seem to be the only connection–if that’s what you want to call it–he has to Jobs. In an interview with The Sun in August after Jobs resigned from his post at Apple, Jandali said the following:

“If I could live my life again I would do things entirely differently. And even more so in recent years when I have heard that my son is gravely ill. It makes me feel like time is running out and that I am totally helpless.”

Now, when I read stories like this, I definitely feel somewhat sad for the parent, but of course, I always feel worse for the child. When you really want to have a meeting or a relationship with the children you never got to know or turned your back on, why go to the tabloids first? Scenarios like this remind me of the countless other celebrities who’ve had their parent–folks who seemed to have no interest in them for years–go to the public before going to them about reconnecting. It makes the circumstances look very sketch. Are you reaching out so late because you really care? Or because you want to profit in some way from a relationship with your child in the future?

Jandali did have another child with Schieble: the author, Mona Simpson. After Jobs was given up for adoption, Schieble returned to the University of Wisconsin, and after her father passed, she married Jandali and gave birth to Simpson (who takes the surname of her stepfather). The couple would later divorce. However, Simpson remains estranged to her father, and his attempts to reach out to her, he says, have been unsuccessful. She did, however, write a book in 1993 called The Lost Father. It was a fiction novel about a woman looking for the father she had no knowledge of. Janali believes the book is based on him, and in response to it, he says the following: “She’s entitled to that. It’s the price to pay for not being there for your child when you’re a father. Even though I don’t see her, I love her dearly.” Jandali says he has no plans nor does he want to try and take any credit for his children’s success (his words: “I can’t take credit for my children’s success.”), he just wishes he could have connected with him before it was too late, even if it was just through e-mail:

“I don’t know why I emailed,” Mr. Jandali said. “I guess because I felt bad when I heard about the health situation. He had his life and I had my life, and we were not in contact. If I talked to him, I don’t know what I would have said to him.”

To read more on Jandali, head over to The Wall Street Journal.