(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

For many celebrities, a chunk of the bread and butter comes from side hustles as product spokespeople. And more companies are turning to a diverse group of celebs to serve as the face of their products. For example, we reported recently on new gigs for Olympic  gold medalist Gabby Douglas and astronaut Dr. Mae Jamison were just tapped as spokespeople for two separate major advertising campaigns. There have however been some notable campaigns using black spokespeople. We take a look at some of our favorite African-American celebrity spokespeople.

Past Shorty guest, Tracy Morgan. Mr. Blue/WENN.com

A day after news of women walking out of Tracy Morgan’s comedy set in the land down under hit the U.S., Billboard just made a very interesting announcement. Tracy Morgan will be hosting the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.

According to Billboard, Tracy is just one highlight — if you’re not put off by his racy routine — of the show:

As host of the awards, Morgan joins a lineup of performers that includes Justin Bieber, Miguel, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars. The show will also include a highly anticipated performance by Prince, who is receiving the Billboard Icon Award at the telecast, produced by Don Mischer and sponsored by Chevrolet and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Tracy appears to be pretty excited about the opportunity as well, telling Billboard:

“I’m honored to be a part of one of music’s biggest nights,” Morgan said. “When you look at the artists who have come up through Billboard over the years, it’s incredible. And how can you say no when Prince is going to be there!”

Great question. Voting is now open on Billboard’s website for the Milestone award which gives fans the chance to vote for their favorite artist online and enter a contest to win an opportunity to present the award live at this year’s event alongside Cee Lo Green. Justin Bieber, Miguel, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars are all up for the award, along with The Band Perry and Pitbull. If you’re interested in voting for your favorite artist you can do so at Billboard.com/milestone and hold out to see who gets the coveted honor when the show airs Sunday, May 19, on ABC.

How do you think Tracy will do as a host?

Credit: WENN

From EurWeb

Comic Tracy Morgan is firing back at women’s rights groups following fierce criticism of his shows in Australia and calls to boycott the rest of his tour Down Under.

The comedian suffered a mass walk-out during his performance in Melbourne on April 13, with fans and critics subsequently complaining about the overly sexual references and explicit content.

Women’s rights activists, including Melinda Tankard Reist, who runs female-focused campaign group Collective Shout, branded Morgan’s show sexist and called for fans to boycott the rest of his dates.

Read more at EurWeb.com.

Credit: WENN

From TMZ

Tracy Morgan believes his former “30 Rock” co-star Alec Baldwin should APOLOGIZE IMMEDIATELY if he used the C-word toward a black photog … claiming that particular racial slur is simply “played out.”

Morgan just appeared on the “Drex and Maney Show” on WNKS in Charlotte … and said, “If [Alec] called somebody a fool, he should apologize.”

Read more at TMZ.com.

AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

If you’re not into NFL football, Super Bowl parties or even Beyonce for that matter, Sunday’s big game might not be a highlight for you, but the multi-million dollar commercial advertisements might be!

You might have already seen a few ads here or there gearing up for the Super Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and San Fransisco 49ers and the record-breaking audience it will receive, including Beyonce’s Pepsi ad for her sponsored halftime show, but there are many more to come. From big household names like Toyota to smaller, but well-established products like Mio drinks, we are anticipating some of the biggest Super Bowl commercials ready to premiere this coming Sunday evening. Are you?

Source: WENN

The list of summer celeb babies just keeps growing longer by the day. People mag has just reported that funnyman Tracy Morgan and his fiancée, 26-year-old model Megan Wollover, are expecting a little bundle a few months from now. 

“I am over the moon excited and just want a happy and healthy baby and a safe delivery for Megan,” the 30 Rock star and comedian told People.

The baby will be the first for the couple who announced their engagement in September 2011, six months after the proposal. Tracy, who’s 44, has three adult sons,  Bobby, Tracy Jr., and Chris, with his ex-wife. Tracy divorced his high school sweetheart, Sabrina, on August 7, 2009, after 23 years of marriage.

The actor recently told Rolling Stone, in an interview on “The Last Days of 30 Rock,” that he hopes to have a baby girl the fourth time around. And after dealing with numerous health problems, like being diagnosed with diabetes in 1996 and undergoing a kidney transplant in December 2010, he’s just looking forward to enjoying a similar life. He told the mag:

“You know what happiness is? Happiness is a simple thing, man. It’s having something to look forward to.”

Here’s to the couple happily welcoming their child this summer!

For anybody who ever tuned in to “Showtime At The Apollo” back in the day, you know brutal it can be for contestants to get booed off the stage. If you’re horrifically bad and don’t realize it, not only will the crowd let you know, but they’ll send the Sandman on you; the tap-dancing man thirsty for his own 15-20 seconds of notoriety during each airing. And while most people who get booed, denied a W and even kicked off the stage at the sound of the loudest horn go on to fade into obscurity, there have been a few celebrities who managed to get through the embarrassment and blow up big by cultivating their talents. Here’s nine comedians and singers who got the last laugh.

From Eur Web

Paramount Pictures and director John Singleton have reached a settlement to end litigation stemming from a 2005 deal for the breakout hit “Hustle and Flow,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

THR’s Eriq Gardner reports:

Singleton sued Paramount and MTV Films in October 2011, originally claiming he was owed at least $20 million for alleged breaches of contract and fraud.

Read more at EurWeb.com.

jessejackson.net

Family can be a blessing and a curse.  You have that connection with other people, you have the freedom of being yourself without people judging you and you know each other well enough that you can say a multitude of things without saying a single word.  But, it doesn’t change the fact that sometimes they can be annoying as all get out (love you, fam!!).  However, at the end of the day, you love them.

But, as Biggie let us all know that with the accumulation of money, there are more problems that arise, and just because your pockets are fat doesn’t mean that your siblings aren’t less annoying (did I mention that I really, really love my family?).  Here are 9 celebs who have had public falling outs with their family.

Source: People.com

Early this morning, Kerry Washington took the stage with Jimmy Kimmel (who was wearing pajamas!) to announce the nominees of the 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards and a there are some notable brown faces among the nods.

Idris Elba received a Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie nod for playing John Luther in the BBC miniseries “Luther”. That miniseries is up for an award of its own in the Best Miniseries or Movie category. Don Cheadle was nominated for Lead Actor In A Comedy Series for his character Marty Kaan on Showtime’s “House of Lies”. Giancarlo Esposito is nominated for Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for his role in “Breaking Bad”. Maya Rudolph is nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series for her hosting gig on “SNL.” Loretta Devine was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Adele Webber on “Grey’s Anatomy”.

Tracy Morgan plays in “30 Rock” and that show picked up a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Also, Cee-Lo Green is a judge on “The Voice” and that show reportedly took American Idol’s spot as it was nominated for Best Competition Reality Show for the first time. Among other categories, The Daily Show picked up a nomination for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series and Wyatt Cenac is a writer on that show.

Of course you can’t talk about who was nominated without noting who was not nominated.

Despite mostly rave reviews and predictions otherwise, neither ”Scandal” nor its castmembers received nominations this year. The reasoning is unclear. It would be easy to say “Oh it debuted in April and only had seven episodes”, but Shonda Rhimes’ other show “Grey’s Anatomy” first season debuted in March and only had 9 episodes yet Sandra Oh was nominated and the show itself received three nominations that year. Besides, cable shows get nominated regularly even though they may only about produce six to ten shows (compared to maybe 20 for a broadcast network). In addition, it obviously was eligible because ABC was definitely campaigning for Scandal to get a nomination this year, but it didn’t happen. Maybe next year.

Regina King – who famously declared the Emmys were “White As Ever” in 2010 – was snubbed against this year after many thought she’d be nominated for for her role in  ”Southland”.

“Mad Men,” earned a leading 17 Emmy nominations. The miniseries “American Horror Story,” received a matching 17 award nominations. “Downton Abbey,” earned 16 bids. “Hatfields & McCoys,” also earned 16 and “Hemingway & Gellhorn” was nominated for 15. ”Modern Family,” honored as best comedy series for the past two years, was the sitcom leader with 14 bids.

You can see the whole list here

What do you think of this years nominees? Who do you think will win?

Follow Alissa on Twitter @AlissaInPink

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