Source: WENN

We often hear tales told by celebs that reveal just how damaging the entertainment industry can be on a person’s self-esteem, especially women. There’s the pressure of being thin enough and constantly having your physical appearance scrutinized by Hollywood execs. Soulful songstress Kelly Price recently opened up to the lovely ladies over at CocoaFab about her ongoing battle with weight loss and having to walk on egg shells as a “big girl” in the industry. Peep some of what she had to say below.

On her struggles with weight loss:

“I’m a big girl that comes from a big family, with a very slow metabolism and if I don’t exercise I cannot [lose weight]. Even if I’m not doing bad eating wise, I can stay the same, but I can’t lose weight. I have to stay mobile and that’s good for me because I need to keep myself moving. It’s really hard keep on track while being on the road, but I can’t go very long without feeling it. My body will remind me, ‘You have to get up and do something.’ I am grateful for that. In that sense, I’ve retrained my body to miss it if I don’t exercise.”

On why maintaining a healthy weight is important:

“To be able to use a God-given gift and to live from it and to really live well from it, I would be a fool to allow being undisciplined to cut my life short and so that’s really what it’s about. I fall off the wagon, but you know that wagon is still parked in the garage so I get back on it.”

On the industry’s cruelty towards larger people:

“I was always the fat girl. It was super extra hard because we didn’t have a whole lot [growing up], so I didn’t dress fly. I didn’t have any of that stuff happening. And then coming into this industry, I was known for being talented, but I was still the fat girl. And it wasn’t what people were looking for. There’s a lot that you hear, there’s a lot of cruelty out there. Some of it comes from the executive offices. It comes from other artists at times. It was a very difficult thing to overcome.”

On having to always portray herself as sweet and non-threatening because of her weight:

“When I first came into this business, I had to, for the sake of being able to sell myself as an artist, always be happy and jovial and smiling. I was the happy nice girl. And I am a happy nice girl, but I have my moments too. But you kind of know that you can’t afford to have a bad moment because you’re also the fat girl and you’re going to give them another reason to talk about you. “

On how she overcame it all:

“I kind of had to come into my own and again it was the realization that I came from nothing, except for my foundation in faith and I’ve been given this great opportunity. And as far as I’m concerned, that happened because God let it happen. There was no person, whether they thought I was too fat, too black, too country, too ghetto, too New York, too thug, too whatever. Nobody ultimately had the say over whether or not I was going to make it. So again, it falls back to my foundation of faith. Sometimes I gotta look in the mirror say, ‘Hey, they’re still saying you’re too fat, but you’re here. They gotta take it or leave it.’ And in most cases, if they leave it, it’s all good because they don’t need to be in my space anyway.”

Turn the page to watch Kelly’s interview and hear her sample a few lines from “Heartbreak Hotel.”

Queen Latifah made a big splash at the 2013 Oscars when she debuted her new slimmed down figure. And she’s not the only celebrity who’s shocked us with their sudden weight loss. How do they do it? We’ve got the answers here. Read on to find out the secrets behind the most dramatic celebrity weight loss stories to date.

Image Source: WENN.com

Vegetarianism

The good reverend Dr. Sharpton transformed himself from a heavy 214 lb. man to a slim 167 lbs by banishing meat from his diet in 2010. Sharpton told Vanity Fair “I was a chicken junkie. I used to eat chicken three times a day.” So he cut The Kernel out of his diet along with refined sugar, starch and all other meat. Now he’s taking his healthy eating habits to the community by encouraging African American churches to offer healthier options to their parishioners.

Source: WENN, JLN Photography

Yesterday songstress and new cast member to TV One’s R&B Divas: LA, Kelly Price took to her Twitter page to express her disappointment in an unnamed singer’s non-existant vocal abilities.

While Kelly never mentioned actual names, followers were quick to assume that she was referring to Mariah Carey, who was scheduled to perform on television that night. Ironically, Kelly sang background vocals for MC for over six years, prior to her solo album debut. Mimi’s “lambs” wasted no time attacking Kelly for her statement and we all know that stans can be downright mean, especially when they’re able to conveniently hide behind the internet and 140 character phrases. They attacked Kelly about everything from her weight to the current status of her career. Judging by hertweets, their harsh words caught her completely off-guard.

She eventually discovered that someone had altered her original tweet, adding in Mariah’s name, which is what actually caused the mayhem.

Well, that’s settled. What “singer” do you guys think Kelly was referring to? Is she innocent or were fans on the money when they called her out on the Mariah shade?

Source: TV One

Unexpectedly, I became a fan of the R&B Divas in Atlanta. Unlike most reality tv shows featuring casts comprised of mostly women, the R&B Divas had disagreements but they never resulted in blows or bottles being thrown. There was no physical drama but the show was never boring. So I’m happy to see that TV One is expanding the franchise and hiring a whole new cast for LA. We already told you who’s going to be on the show but here’s what we’re looking forward to learning and seeing from each cast member.

Source: JLN Photography, WENN

If you enjoyed the premiere season of TV One’s hit reality show, R&B Divas, you’re in for quite a surprise as the cast of the show’s Los Angeles spin-off, R&B Divas: L.A. has officially been announced. The new series will be starring Kelly Price, Chanté Moore, Lil Mo, City High’s Claudette Ortiz, Michel’le and Dawn Robinson, reports Broadway World.

The eight-episode series is said to revolve around the six ladies and their attempts to reemerge into the spotlight that they once dominated. Although the commonality shared between the cast members is their desire for the limelight, they each add their own touch of personal drama to the storyline, according to the show’s press release.

Kelly Price is seeking to “conquer the music business” while remaining devoted to her husband and manager Jeffery Rolle and their three children.

Hip Hop songstress, Lil Mo is returning to the music industry after an extended hiatus, which she took to focus on her children, who range in age from 10 years old to 4 months old and her husband/manager, Phillip Bryant.

A newly divorced Chanté Moore is gearing up for her 2013 album release as she continues to raise her two children.

Claudette Ortiz, former lead singer of R&B group, City High  is seeking to revive her music career and secure financial stability for her three children after her ugly divorce from City High group member, Ryan Toby.

Since her 2007 divorce, Dawn Robinson has thrown herself completely into her craft as she attempts to form a girl group and prepares for an upcoming book release.

Last but not least, Michel’le copes with single motherhood as she seeks to “reclaim her place” in the music industry, release a memoir and meet someone special by she re-entering the dating world.

The series is scheduled to begin production in Los Angeles this month.

What do you think of the lineup?

Source: sgrho1922.org

Last but certainly not least…Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on November 12, 1922 on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, IN.  With many community service ventures like Habitat for Humanity and Cancer Awareness, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority will continue to increase community involvement.  The following celeb members are honorary and official members of the organization.

We love each of these actors and singers for their talent, but no role in film, TV or stage is more perfect than the roles they have together, reliving some of the most classic movie roles and songs as a duet. Here are 15 Black celebrity couples, primarily from the 90′s and beyond, we love to see together on the big screen, the main stage or in our headphones, and the many projects they’ve starred in together.

Source: Goldstar

Angela Bassett & Laurence Fishburne

This perfect cinematic couple have been featured in multiple projects together, from the big screen to the small stage. This couple most famously played Ike and Tina Turner for “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” were mother and father to Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), performed on the stage together in “Fences,” and appeared together again in the 2006 film, “Akeelah and the Bee.”

Source: thisisrnb.com

This past weekend, Kelly Price posted on Facebook and tweeted about the poor customer service she and her husband experienced with United Airlines. Now, the singer/actress has started a petition on Change.org blasting what she called the “classist, racist practices hidden in corporate code”.

It started on Saturday night when Kelly Price says that a United Airlines agent in Houston named Stephanie asked her to go to the back of the coach passengers line. Kelly says she was in the line with the Premier and First class ticket holders and that Stephanie didn’t check her ticket first before sending her to the back of the “other line”. The singer alleges that Stephanie then helped the “nonblack man in a suit” instead of her. Kelly tweeted that the co-workers stood by while the agent yelled at her and when Stephanie realized her mistake (and that Kelly was indeed a Premier and First Class ticket holder), she didn’t apologize.

The Queens native kept it classy and filed a formal complaint with United Airlines, but she didn’t stop there.

She has started a Change.org petition titled “Demand United Airlines Treat ALL Passengers Fairly”. According to the website, she is petitioning: The President of the United States, The U.S. Senate, The U.S. House of Representatives, The Governor of CA, The CA State Senate, The CA State House and Jeff Smisek President United Airlines (United Airlines).

Her petition reads:

Profiling passengers is a common thing with air travel. The world has changed and traveling has not been the same since 9-11. The discomfort and sometimes annoying process of getting from here to there is a cross we all bear in this country to insure the safety of all Americans when we travel by airplane. Unfortunately, some use this as a bullying tool.

On Saturday June 23, 2012 I was bullied by Stephanie a United Airlines employee when she assumed I was not a first class passenger and refused me service at the Customer Service/Rebooking counter in Houston. Even once she realized she was wrong she still ignored me and refused to help me. Her co-workers also ignored me. When I asked to see her name on her badge she hid it and began to scream out loud that I was harrassing her in an attempt to have security come an remove me. I am not a terrorist. I am not a criminal. Had Stephanie (The United Airlines Employee) been successful in her attempt to have me removed I would have likely been arrested and certainly not allowed to travel that day.

As American citizens we are entitled to each have the same civil liberties and basic rights. I want United Airlines to have mandatory Cultural Diversity and Tolerance training for ALL employees of their company. I want United Airlines to implement better checks and balances that insure their employees CANNOT misuse their “authority” with customers and passengers. I want a United policy that demands the immediate termination of a United Airlines employee who discriminates or violates the civil and/or consumer rights of a customer/passenger in either of these manners. Classist, Racist practices hidden in corporate code cannot be tolerated. If we don’t speak out this will never change.

After talking about her ordeal, Kelly tweeted: I wish I knew 600,000 miles ago what I know now about @United. 600k that would be the # of miles I’ve flown on YOUR airline in the last 5yrs.

600-thousand miles is a lot and I’d be interested to know if she’s had a negative experience in the past. United Airlines is the world’s largest airline but last year, in a story titled America’s Meanest Airlines: 2011, US News and World Report ranked United as the “Worst Major Carrier”. The LA Times reports that the latest statistics from U.S. Transportation Department show United is the most complained-about airline in America by far.

Kelly says her complaint isn’t about money or fame, but about her civil rights being violated and that no one (celebrity or non) should have to put up with that.  More than 500 people have signed her petition so far. Given the track record of Change.org and the major movements it has sparked around the country, it’s likely this petition will reach the necessary eyes and ears in the corporate office, possibly sparking a change in the company…or at least getting Kelly Price a sincere apology.

What do you think about Kelly Price’s petition?

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

More on Madame Noire!

• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making of School Daze
• They’ve Got a Story To Tell: Celebs Who Went From Top Ramen to Top Dollar
• If I Wanted to Deal With Kids, I’d Have My Own: A Letter to Parents Who Think Everyone Loves Their Kid as Much as They Do
• Let’s Talk, Ladies: Are You Afraid Of The “S” Word?
• My Story: For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Law Couldn’t Protect Them From Incest
• Evening Eye Candy: NFL Baller Ray Edwards
• HALF ON A BABY: The Top 7 Ways You’ll Know He’s Ready For Kids