Prank Caller Sends Cops to Chris Brown's House
Cops were on the scene at Chris
Brown’s Hollywood home yesterday afternoon (Jan. 21)—but no, it wasn’t
because of any Breezy misdeeds.
TMZ reports that law enforcement sources say a
prank caller dialed 911 and reported a domestic incident involving a gun, which
prompted the police to speed to singer's home.
The caller alleged a mother and father were fighting and that the father went
to another room in the house to get a gun. The prankster then hung up without
mentioning that it was Chris Brown's residence.
When cops arrived, they found zero evidence of a gunman or any dispute—and
Chris Brown wasn’t even home.
It’s very possible he was out in the scene with Rihanna: The on-again,
off-again couple have been spotted around L.A. together recently—at the studio
recording a new song (though they left from separate exits), hitting the Emerson
nightclub and even making a Slurpee run.
The prank is the latest in a series of “swatting” pranks targeting
celebrities. Last Friday a caller falsely reported a man with a gun in the home
of Kris and Bruce Jenner. The LAPD is on the case, and say they’ve made catching
the culprits a priority.
Kanye West to Headline Governors Ball in New York
Kanye
West will take center stage under the bright lights of the Big Apple in
June as he’s been announced as a headlining act at the third annual Governors
Ball in New York.
In a press
release today Founders Entertainment, the organizers of the event, revealed
the star-studded 2013 lineup that will perform on Randall’s Island Park. New
York native Nas will also be among the names that will perform at
the festival that celebrates music, art and entertainment. The event has been
expanded to three days this year, June 7-9, so music lovers will have ample
opportunities to see a variety of stars in action.
"It has been our goal since day one to build a world class music festival for
our hometown of New York City," says Founders Entertainment partner Jordan
Wolowitz. "With the incredible support of the fans, and the artists involved, we
are taking the next big step towards achieving this goal. Gov Ball '13 will
feature the very best acts in live music over what are sure to be three epic
days in June. We can't wait."
Django Unchained Dolls Discontinued, Jamie Foxx Responds to Spike Lee
The film Django Unchained continues to make news. This time a
marketing ploy for the hit movie is discontinued and the film’s star criticizes
Spike Lee.
A month after Lee slammed Django — without seeing the film — actor
Jamie Foxx offered his response. On Twitter, Lee commented that,
“American slavery was not a Sergio Leone spaghetti western. It was a holocaust.”
And in an interview, the director said he considered the slaved-themed flick
“disrespectful.”
Foxx gave his retort last week
via an interview in The Guardian . "The question for me is:
where's Spike Lee coming from?" he said. "He didn't like Whoopi Goldberg,
he doesn't like Tyler Perry, he doesn't like anybody, I think he's sort
of run his course. I mean, I respect Spike, he's a fantastic director. But he
gets a little shady when he's taking shots at his colleagues without looking at
the work. To me, that's irresponsible."
The merchandise surrounding
Quentin Tarantino’s box office hit got an equally harsh response. A
groundswell of fury against the selling of Django Unchained action
figures has made marketers seriously rethink the idea of packaging slavery. Following the outrage
expressed by civil rights groups like Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network
and Project Islamic Hope, the Weinstein Co. has removed the dolls from shelves and discontinued selling the items.
"In light of the reaction to the Django Unchained action figures,”
said the Weinstein Co. in a statement, “we are removing them from distribution.
We have tremendous respect for the audience and it was never our intent to
offend anyone."
"They were meant to be
collectibles for people 17 years and older,” they explained, “which is the
audience for the film." Earning close to $130 million, the film is the highest-grossing film of Tarantino’s career
The Wire's Robert F. Chew Found Dead
Robert F. Chew, one of the
stars of hit HBO series The Wire, has died, TMZ reports. He was 52.
The actor was
found dead in his Baltimore apartment on Thursday. The city's coroner says Chew
died of cardiovascular disease, with morbid obesity being a contributing
factor.
Chew is best known for playing manipulative drug kingpin
Proposition Joe on all five seasons of The Wire. He also appeared in
episodes of The Corner and Homicide: Life on the Streets, both
created by The Wire mastermind David Simon.
"I didn't want
to believe this #RIP Robert F Chew," tweeted his Wire co-star Jamie
Hector on Friday. "Prop Joe will always be remembered Robert Chew will
always be loved and missed!"
Our condolences go out to Chew's
family and colleagues.
Michelle Williams Opens Up About Battling Depression
Michelle
Williams recently revealed that she'd been fighting depression
since her teens, but had decided to tell her story for the first time in the
hopes that others find the strength to get through their own battles,
too.
"We're taught, 'Just go to church and pray about it. The Lord is
going to heal you.' Well, in the meantime, I believe God-gifted people,
physicians, doctors, therapists — that's your healing. Take advantage of it,"
she said. "Go see a professional so that they can assess you. It's OK if you're
going through something. Depression is not OK, but it is OK to go get
help."
The singer, who's currently starring in a national tour of the
Broadway musical Fela! and is set to release a collection of love songs with former Destiny's
Child members Beyoncé
and Kelly
Rowland, said her depression began when she was 15 or 16 and she hasn't
taken medication to treat it. She added, "I had to choose to get out of bed and
do whatever I needed to do to be happy."
