Janet Hubert, most known as the original Aunt Viv from the hit ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and her open letter to Wendy Williams just proved that there’s nothing worse than somebody, who just won’t let go of old -ish.

Tatyana Ali appeared on The Wendy Williams Show last week to promote the show Second Generation Wayans. However, in true Wendy Williams form, they end up talking about everything but the show, including bringing up why Hubert was replaced as Vivian Banks after the show’s third season. Not really pleased with Williams mentioning her in any context, Hubert wrote an open letter to Williams, which was also read on BlogTalkRadio, basically giving Williams the business.

While I won’t go through the entire letter, because by now most of you have probably already seen or heard it, she does say some pretty ugly things about Williams, including calling her a demon, body snarking and questioning Williams’ “sense of womanhood or manhood as some suggest.” She also took Williams to task for other unrelated offensive remarks that Williams has made over the years, including her comments about natural hair not being red carpet appropriate and kissing up to her fans on her show and then turning around and berating them later:

“Now perhaps other black women have allowed you to berate them and continued to support you in this manner of madness and rewarding hatefulness. It seems to become the norm and has taken over our society completely. But I, Janet Hubert, sat there and watched you tell the world that I was not a nice mother. I’m thinking to myself, the only person who has the right to say that is my child. So I sat there and watched you like some devilish sinkhole swallow up Tatyana Ali. You reduced her to a child sitting there tempting to keep some symbolism of dignity about her as you pried and invaded her life until you got what you wanted.”

First off, can we start a Change.org petition to get Janet Hubert on the next season of Celebrity Apprentice? I just need to see her on some sort of reality-based television, where she is just reading other people about both real and imagined infractions. Hollywood, can we make this happen?

But more to the point, I had to go back and watch the episode to better put this blow up into context. Without it, you are likely think of this as just the maddening, yet hilarious, rambles of an obvious self-absorbed, crazy woman. Not to mention that this is the second time Hubert has penned a open letter to the current Queen of talk; the first time she called Williams a “bully” and accused her of using Whitney Houston’s passing for money. After watching the episode, I have to say that while the conversation between Williams and Ali strayed completely away from what Ali was ultimately there to discuss, which was her show, I don’t think that Williams was exactly “devouring her poor soul” as Hubert suggested in the letter. In fact, Ali didn’t look very bothered by Williams’ prying at all. So maybe Hubert might have been exaggerating there a bit.

And I’m not quite convinced that Hubert is that offended by the gossip. While there is an entire industry built around the dirty business of tongue wagging and rumor mongering, not all gossip is bad. Recent research has suggested that the same backbiting speak, which can be used to drag a person through the mud, is also said to have positive outcomes, such as helping us police bad behavior, provide a boost to one’s career or even prevent exploitation. Now whether or not you personally buy that is up to you, but the over-arching point is, there is a market for gossip. And Williams is quite good at this sort of ditch-digging and producing little nuggets of dirt like, Ali and Drake might have been/are hooking up? Um, how come we are not discussing that?

With that said though, there is such a thing as old gossip. And I think that gets to the heart of Hubert’s annoyance. I don’t know about you all but Hubert strikes me as a woman who really wants to leave the entire Fresh Prince-era behind her. Every time I hear her discuss it, it always sounded like the experience was really a traumatic part of her life. And yet she is reminded of it daily, both directly and indirectly, through the gossip host and fans of the classic sitcom alike, who keep bringing up a situation that occurred nearly 15 years ago. Everybody else got to move on. Correction: Will Smith got to move on. You don’t see anybody asking Smith about Hubert (or anybody else from the show for that matter) in interviews do you? And yet every Fresh Prince actor, who is not Will Smith, will forever be pigeonholed to identifying with that show. Granted those roles made most of them somewhat household faces, however, as serious actors with probably other acting ambitions, they probably don’t want to get typecast either or thought of by the public as one character for the rest of their lives. After all this time, people still refer to Hubert as Aunt Viv as if it were her actual name and identity. Alfonso Rivera is most known by Carlton and people don’t even think about the other television shows he did before and after the Fresh Prince. Matter of fact, I think I saw him recently doing some sort of Carlton dance flash mob. I’m convinced that he is going to be doing that dance-for-pay through his twilight years. Even poor Ashley…er…I mean Ali, who despite being on The Wendy Williams Show to talk about herself and her new show, was dragged way back into the early ’90s for some old-timey gossip.

Janet Hubert has to find a way to move on past the drama surrounding the Fresh Prince from years ago. At the same time, we have to allow her and the other cast members to move on past it too.

Source: Instagram

Back in January, during an interview with the Huffington Post, former child star Tatyana Ali humorously poked at her fondness of rapper Drake. When asked what her show would be called it she ever did reality television, the Second Generation Wayans actress said:

” ‘Dirty Laundry,’ or ‘I Love Drake!’ — in which I stalk him on tour and try to make him realize we’re meant to be together. God, I love his voice.”

After her joke, which there was obviously some truth to, many predicted that Drake would be banging Taty’s door down in no time. Clearly, they guessed correctly. Not even fifteen days later, Drake crashed her 34th birthday bash at the Supper Club in L.A.and photos like the one above surfaced. Since then, there hasn’t been much said about whether or not the two hit it off. Well, until now that is. Yesterday, Tatyana visited the Wendy Show and we all know the “queen of all media” was not letting her get up from that sofa without getting the scoop on what went down with Drake. When asked if the two “hooked up,” she quickly diverted.

“He is absolutely brilliant and I am a huge fan of his,” she said before getting tongue-tied as she danced around the question. “He bought me a beautiful bottle of champagne and it fell down from the sky and I felt really special.”

Of course, Wendy called her out for using her tap shoes to avoid the question. A blushing Tatyana, at complete loss for words finally uttered:

“I think he’s awesome.”

Both Wendy and her audience took that as a hint and began hoo-ing and hi-5ing.

“I didn’t even say anything,” Tatyana said, attempting to clean up the story that her facial expression and body language clearly told.

Oh Ashley Banks, you never could keep a secret.

Turn the page to see her attempt to skate around Wendy’s questions and discuss how she felt when The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air switched Aunt Vivs.

Source: Instagram

We all know there’s Hollywood and then there’s black Hollywood. African American stars don’t get the same notoriety as their white counterparts despite their good looks, amazing acting chops and undeniable star power. Sad,right? From heartthrobs to veterans, these 15 thespians deserve the awards and accolades more than any other. Check out this list of black actors and actresses that should be leading in Hollywood.

WENN

Nia Long

Nia Long is beautiful. She is also the girl next door with a great deal of sass and sophistication. She lit our fire playing Nina in “Love Jones” and Bird in “Soul Food.” She’s been acting for quite some time and her staying power is phenomenal. Hollywood should take a deeper look.

We all love celebrity gossip and drama. But sometimes, enough is enough. These celebrities have gotten on our last nerves with their nonsense. It’s past time that they get their microphone’s cut off to make room for some fresh celebrity faces.

Source: WENN

Tamar Braxton

Good Lord. I honestly don’t know how Vincent Herbert stands it. She drives her sisters crazy, she stays on Twitter with some mess and I know I’m not the only one who’d like to cut her microphone off. There wouldn’t still be a reason to watch The Braxtons without Tamar but I’m cool with that too.

From BlackVoices

We all remember Tatyana Ali as Carlton’s little sister on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” but this ’90s child star isn’t so little anymore. The 33-year-old has come a long way from Bel-Air (though she can still rap the show’s theme song, duhhh!) and is set to star in BET’s “Second Generation Wayans” — a scripted comedy that follows the famous Wayans brothers’ nephews, Damien and Craig.

Now, just like her older brothers used to on “Fresh Prince,” we’re doing a little razzing ourselves — and Ali was more than game to play along.

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve read about yourself?
That I only date white guys. It’s dumb because it’s not true; I’m equal opportunity. But honestly, it’s really dumb to me because I can’t believe people still care about this in 2013.

Who’s on speed dial?
No one. I still memorize numbers. Is speed dial still a feature on phones? I just tell Siri who I need!

What New Year’s resolution can you never keep?
All of them, eventually.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Bread pudding with chocolate! And one-night stands.

Read the rest at BlackVoices

Not often do we get to see celebrities grow, mature, and blossom right before our eyes. But, some celebs became stars at a young age and we’ve been able to watch them become even bigger successes. Here are 14 black childhood stars then and now!

Add Tatyana Ali to the ever-growing list of people who are not fans of VH1′s reality shows “Basketball Wives” and “Love & Hip-Hop” nor their producers Shaunie O’Neil and Mona Scott Young. NecoleBitchie picked up on a video spoof starring the “Fresh Prince” actress titled  ”It’s My Show: The Producer” in which she emulates the so-called reality TV pimps responsible for the controversial shows on the network.

In one scene, Tatyana, or “Mona O’Neil” pokes fun at the video confessions we’ve seen from both producers as they’ve tried explain their casting choices and the “unique” stories they’re bringing to the world.

“Is the Louie in the shot?” Tatyana says before the cameras start rolling…

“I am Mona O’Neil. World Renowned reality show producer. It is my job to bring the excitement out of Bresha and Jameel. The hood if you will. Some people say Stereotypes. I say ‘Good Television’. When I’m done with them, they’ll have more cultural relevance than the ‘Cosbys’.”

The girl’s not lying. Even the other actors bust out the ridiculous nature of the shows, asking why the women are dressed up in club attire mid-day just to walk  around the house, with Tatyana adding “You got to show skin to win.” Sounds like she’s got a grasp on what the show’s all about.

Take a look at the short clip below. What do you think about the spoof?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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highonscore.com

While there are many celebrities who have hooked up then hightailed it, some, like Jay-Z and Beyoncé,  are living happily ever after.

Suppose Jay and Bey became the norm?  Would that inspire a few other celebs to hook up and go half on a baby?  Click through the gallery to find out who would make a great pair when it comes to procreating.

The dual identity of being black and Latino is a concept many who aren’t Afro-Latino struggle to understand. We often look at people with this mixed ancestry and ask which are you, black or Latino? Or demand that they identify with one or the other, but in a new documentary, “Black and Latino” on mun 2, part of the telemundo spanish-language network, several afro-latino celebrities explore what it actually means to be both.

From Laz Alonzo, to Christina Milian, Soledad O’Brien, and Mimi Valdes, these popular afro-latino icons discuss language, skin color, “good hair,” and being forced by Hollywood and the media to side with one aspect of their culture.

Check out a clip here and extended videos on the mun 2 website and tell us your thoughts. Can you relate to the issues surrounding dual heritage as a black Latino?

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

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Who would’ve guessed Tatyana Ali was a stepper in college—and at Harvard of all places—but it’s true. The young actress and Harvard grad, class of 2002, recently talked about what it’s like to be black in the Ivy Leagues, and she says it’s not at all like you’d expect.

Watch the video on TheUrbandaily.com and tell us what you think. Is her description of black life on an Ivy league campus pretty accurate from your experience?

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