Another professional athlete puts his foot in his mouth with regards to the
LGBT community. San Francisco 49er Chris Culliver has emphatically stated
that gay players are not welcomed on the team.

During an interview during a
Super Bowl media event earlier this week, the NFL player gave his opinion on
playing with gays to comedian Artie Lange. TMZ reported that, when asked if a gay man would
be welcomed into the 49ers, Culliver replied: "I don't do the gay guys man. I
don't do that.”

The homophobic comments continued as Lange asked Culliver if he
knew of any gay guys on his team. "No, we don't got no gay people on the team,”
he said. “They gotta get up out of here if they do."

"Can't be with that sweet stuff,” Culliver continued. “Nah … can't be … in
the locker room man. Nah." He further explained that if a gay player did join
the NFL he should keep his sexuality a secret and not tell the other
players.

Since Culliver’s comments, the 49ers coach, Jim Harbaugh, and several
of his teammates have publically come out against what he said. "At the end of
the day,” said linebacker Larry Grant, “we are all family in this locker
room, and we accept each player for whoever they are."

"Whatever makes you happy, do it,” echoed cornerback Tarell Brown. “I
just feel like, you shouldn’t hide it. At the end of the day don’t be
embarrassed with what you are, or what you do. If you are that way, that’s
you.”

No word yet on how the team will handle the incident.

It's a hard-knock life for the producers of Annie.

Willow Smith will
no longer play the lead in her father Will Smith and Jay-Z's film remake of the
classic musical, a statement from Smith's company Overbrook Entertainment
confirms. Producers site production delays and the "Whip My Hair" singer's age
as the reason for her bowing out of the project.

"Willow was nine years old when we started developing this project,
and has since grown out of the role," the statement reads. But the company and
Jay-Z, who is a producing partner on the project and is also writing new songs
for it, insists that losing Willow does not mean the film has been shelved. In
fact, rumors are swirling that both 9-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané
Wallis and Hunger Games' Amandla Stenberg are being considered
for the part.

Jay-Z said in a statement: “For [my company] Marcy Media's first
foray into film, we couldn't ask for better partners and mentors than Overbrook
Entertainment. We are excited to work with [director] Will Gluck and Sony
Pictures Entertainment. My well-known affinity for the classic "Hard Knock
Life" makes Annie a natural vehicle to lead us into the world of
the cinema."

Rihanna on Chris Brown: "We Value Each Other"

If Rihanna
got annoyed over questions about her reunion with ex-boyfriend Chris
Brown during her Complex cover story, she definitely didn't keep answers
to herself for her latest magazine feature. As Rolling Stone's cover girl, the singer
dished on turning a new leaf with Breezy despite the criticisms.

"I
decided it was more important for me to be happy," she said. "I wasn't going to
let anybody's opinion get in the way of that. Even if it's a mistake, it's my
mistake. After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I'd
rather just live my truth and take the backlash. I can handle it."

She
also addressed the 2009 incident that led the two to break up after Brown hit
Rihanna. The singer explained that they no longer have those heated arguments
anymore and instead have learned to talk through their issues.

"When you
add up the pieces from the outside, it’s not the cutest puzzle in the world,”
Rihanna says. “You see us walking somewhere, driving somewhere, in the studio,
in the club, and you think you know. But it’s different now," she said. "We
don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about s--t. We value each
other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don’t want to lose
that."

That said, Rihanna says she's ready to put her foot down and leave
Breezy if he ever shows his violent side again.

"He doesn't have the
luxury of f--king up again," she said. "That's just not an option. I can't say
that nothing else will ever go wrong. But I'm pretty solid in the knowing that
he's disgusted by that. And I wouldn't have gone this far if I ever thought that
was a possibility."

"He made a mistake, and he's paid his dues," Rihanna
adds. "He's paid so much. And I know that's not a place he would ever want to go
back to. And sometimes people need support and encouragement, instead of
ridicule and criticism and bashing."

Timbaland Joins Roc Nation

Timbaland and Jay-Z
have created an impressive body of work together as collaborators and now
they're opening up a new chapter in their relationship.

Jay announced the signing of the super producer to his Roc Nation label
today. News of the big-name signing came via a post on the Roc Nation
website.

“Roc Nation welcomes TIMBALAND to the family,” the statement read.

Few details of the deal have been
reported and it’s not clear whether Timbaland is still signed to Interscope
Records as a solo artist. It’s likely that the producer may have signed on to
the management division of the company. If so, he’d join Rihanna, Meek
Mill and Solange as artists who have turned to the hip hop mogul
to serve as a deal broker for their careers. 

Together Tim and Jay have collaborated on numerous hit singles. The
Grammy-award winning producer was the track master behind Jay-Z’s "Big Pimpin,"
"Dirt of My Shoulder" and "Off That."

50 Cent Planning Animated Series

We're still not sure if we'll
ever see another 50 Cent
album — that Feb. 26 release date for Street King Immortal is already
looking iffy — but at least we may get a 50 Cent cartoon.

According to Deadline.com, FOX is in talks for an animated
comedy project from 50, producer Randall Emmett, Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox
TV. The as-yet-untitled project is expected to receive a pilot or presentation
order. Written by Carl Jones, the show, loosely based on 50's childhood, will
reportedly focus on an adventurous but good-hearted boy and his run-ins with his
off-kilter family and neighborhood. The show will be executive-produced by 50,
his producing partner Andrew Jameson, Jones, Emmett and Imagine TV’s Brian
Grazer and Francie Calfo.

It'll be 50's second semi-autobiographical project: In 2005 he released and
starred in the street drama Get Rich or Die Tryin’, in which 50 made his
acting debut as the lead. He also has upcoming roles in The Frozen Ground
and The Tomb.

Emmett and 50 have worked together for years — he even ran 50 Cent’s former
company Cheetah Vision for a bit. The two are also partnering up to
executive-produce Power, a drama about a shady New York nightclub owner,
which is in development at Starz.