The weather outside is frightful. See why we’re keeping warm with a steaming cup of hot topics:
- Usher now joins Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Nelly Furtado in the club of celebs expressing regret over having been paid millions to perform for the Gaddafi family. Usher says he is “sincerely troubled” by a 2009 private concert on St. Barths for Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Mutassim Gaddafi. “I will be donating all of my personal proceeds from that event to various human rights organizations,” he said in a statement. Um, okay Ursh. [E! Online]
- Kanye West is a man of reinvention, so we aren’t exactly surprised to learn that he might be looking to take his passion for fashion to another level. The rapper has allegedly applied to get a Masters in Fashion at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins College. If you recall, after Taylor Swift-gate, Kanye decamped to Italy to work as an intern at Fendi. Central alumni include Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. We’re not mad at Ye for that move. [UK Sun]
- Though watching NeNe Leakes and Star Jones have at each other makes for scintillating television, we get the sense that there’s so much more to this story. NeNe calls Star her “one enemy” while the former “View” co-host says she’d rather not see the feud “reduced to a cliche where Black women attack one another for publicity’s sake.” Judging by last night’s premiere, Star was there to win, not make friends. Will you be watching this season? [PEOPLE]
- It looks like Mashonda, Swizz Beatz’s ex-wife, is ready to turn a new page with regard to him and his new wife, Alicia Keys. In an open letter to fans, the star of VH1’s upcoming reality show “Love and Hip Hop” says, “It took some time, but I now realize that even my former husband and his new wife are my partners in this wonderful journey.” Thatta girl, Mashonda, take the high road. [Nicole Bitchie]
- Idris Elba cannot believe all the chatter about his new role as a Nordic god in the upcoming movie, “Thor.” In a new Hollywood Reporter article, Elba dismisses the controversy over whether a Black man can play the role and calls it, “ridiculous.” “We have a man [Thor] who has a flying hammer and wears horns on his head,” he said to a group of students at Rutgers University. “And yet me being an actor of African descent playing a Norse god is unbelievable? I mean, Cleopatra was played by Elizabeth Taylor, and Gandhi was played by Ben Kingsley.” [The Hollywood Reporter]
- Oprah is great for tourism, just ask Australia. Now a representative has shot down rumors that the Queen of Daytime Talk was about to take her show to Tahrir Square in Egypt from Harpo Studios. “Reports about The Oprah Winfrey Show taping a future episode in Egypt are untrue,” said the rep. So there you have it, audience, no trips to Egypt this time. [Musicroom]
- Laila Ali may come from a family of boxers, but that’s not to say she wants her children to follow in her footsteps like she did with her father, boxing champ Muhammad Ali. Laila, who is expecting her second child in April, told the ladies at “The Talk” that she wants “no more boxers” in her family, and that includes her 2-year-old son and her unborn daughter. We hear you Laila. [Celebrity Baby Scoop]