July 24, 2006

Rock Solid

Forget those rumors that you've heard about Star Jones Reynolds and husband Al Scales Reynolds being headed for divorce court. Not true, I am told. A friend of the couple told me last week that the latest reports, which originated on the online blog Media Take Out, are "completely fabricated works of fiction because face it, Star is hot right now."

The Media Take Out report claimed Jones Reynolds' banker husband "visited the offices of the divorce law firm Blank Rome LLP in New York's Chrysler Building." The report went on to say that her husband had a two-hour meeting in the building and then attempted to "quietly sneak out of the building. But before he could leave, [a] witness tells MediaTakeOut.com, 'I walked up to him and said, 'Al, is that you', and Al ran out of the building-almost knocking over a pregnant woman."

Blank Rome attorney Stanford Lotwin issued the following statement to me regarding Media Take Out's claims. "The recent media reports are categorically false. I have not met with Al Reynolds nor has any attorney in my office. Any reports to the contrary are unsubstantiated," said Lotwin.

When I spoke to Jones Reynolds back in June about her departure from 'The View,' I asked her then about the constant rumors regarding her marriage. The former Payless spokeswoman said that the media scrutiny and negative reports have certainly taken a toll on the two.

"The media speculation has been just as trying on [Al] as it has been on me. We're partners in life, and what affects me affects him. What makes us grow stronger each day is that we deal with the obstacles that come with life in the public eye hand in hand like we deal with everything else in our lives. So that man is my confident. And I'd be lying to you Jawn if I said the speculation and the tabloid gossip had not gotten to us and doesn't affect us. It's not easy being under such intense scrutiny by the media. All we're trying to do is live our lives as Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. But, be very clear, in carrying yourself with grace and dignity, throughout all of the speculation and innuendo and all of that. We choose to do it that way," so told me, moments before boarding a Los Angeles-based plane in New York City for her highly-rated appearance on CNN's 'Larry King Live.'

It was her husband who boarded a plane himself on April 21, and flew to Phoenix, where his wife was speaking, to tell her that her contract with 'The View' would not be renewed. The 44-year-old former prosecutor said it was her husband's support over the last several months that made it possibly to cope with the fallout from 'The View.'

"My husband is the strongest most wonderful man I could have ever asked for. I can't emphasize enough that I could not have done any of this or withstood any of the last two months, if you think about it; this has been a very tough couple of months on me. I love my husband, and he loves and respects me-period! People can say what they want, but Al and I share what I like to call an unbreakable bond. We have always been deeply committed to one another and our marriage," said Jones Reynolds.

In other Jones Reynolds news, the hoopla surrounding her exit from 'The View' had viewers tuning in to see what would happen next on the daytime chat fest. The days following the exit, while rotating celebrities sat in as guest hosts, the show broke the top five in the demographic for women ages 18 to 49 for the first time since January 2004. The show also enjoyed a five percent jump in total viewers from the week before Jones Reynolds exit.

'The View' wasn't the only show to benefit from the controversy. Jones Reynolds' appearance on 'Larry King Live' scored nearly three million viewers, which is triple the show's normal viewership. Her hosting run on the HGTV series 'House Hunters' lifted the shows ratings 36 percent more than it had averaged the year prior, according to Nielsen Media Research. The network said they'd be interested in working with the TV talent again.

In the meantime, Jones Reynolds was spotted in Los Angeles last week where she was apparently meeting with executives about potential television ventures. It's expected that an announcement about her forthcoming television project will be made after Labor Day.

Crazy Love

Okay, I tried my best to ignore this story. I promise I did. But I can't resist. For anyone who has never visited Los Angeles, The Grove is a converted farmer's market turned popular outdoor shopping center with lots of ambiance and trendy Hollywood flavor. Not exactly the place you'd expect a working Hollywood actress and her man to act, for a lack of a better word, "niggerish."

Now Black Voices sister company TMZ.com broke the news that Nia Long had her new unnamed boyfriend beat up her baby's daddy, Massai Z. Dorsey, when they ran into each other at The Grove. Apparently the encounter at The Grove was accidental, but nonetheless, sources told TMZ that Dorsey got his butt kicked, and was left lying on the street while Long and her new beau took off running. Like the screeching victim in most horror flicks, Long even lost her shoe and never stopped to pick it up.

I guess she doesn't care that her five-year-old son, who is named after his father, is going to one day learn of how his daddy caught, in the words of The Rock, "a can of whupass" courtesy of mommy's new man. But get this, calls to both parties' reps were not returned! Now that to me is more shocking than the actual ghetto shenanigans at The Grove. Because as I've pointed out before, Long loves to have her reps scream lies, oops, I mean denials at people on the phone.

All I have to say is that you can dress her up, but I guess you can't take her out. Maybe John Singleton should have her star in 'Girlz From the Hood,' since she actually got her start in his film 'Boyz N the Hood.'

Buzzworthy

Got a Ruben Studdard update for all of you who keep emailing to inquire about the season two 'American Idol' winner. The Birmingham, Ala.-bred singer is gearing up for the fall release of his junior CD, appropriately titled 'The Return.' The album will be led by the single "Change Me,' slated to be serviced to radio outlets by the end of the month. Additionally, Studdard skipped this year's 'American Idol' finals because he was at Duke Diet & Fitness Center in Durham, N.C. While at the weight loss facility, Studdard lost 40 pounds. The crooner also has closure with the lawsuit over the alleged theft of $246,000 from him by his godfather and manager. Last month, an Alabama judge awarded Studdard $2 million in losses and punitive damages for the case.

Former 'Moesha' star Shar Jackson-she is best known now as Britney Spears' husband Kevin Federline's other babies' mamma-was spotted at the Hollywood & Highland Center recently. A reader pointed out to Jackson that her newly svelte figure "really looked good" and the actress replied, "Thank you! I've really been trying." Jackson, who said she's been working out often, was in line ordering a pretzel and a fruit drink from Auntie Anne's Pretzels. The reader asked if "eating pretzels and having a fruit drink" is some new Hollywood diet. Jackson laughed and then answered, "Yeah, that's it!"

If making films, executive producing television series such as MTV's 'Wild 'N Out,' and making rap records wasn't enough, Nick Cannon has now ventured into fashion. The young renaissance man recently bought the hip-hop clothing line PNB Nation. The 25-year-old Cannon will open a boutique in Hollywood on Melrose Avenue for the line in August. In addition, his sophomore CD 'Stages' drops August on Motown Records via Cannons' own imprint, Can I Ball Records.

Why didn't comedienne Wanda Sykes' scripted improvisational series 'Wanda Does It' fail on Comedy Central? For Sykes, the answer is simple! "They were looking for a show to pair with 'Chappelle's Show.' They figured, 'Hey he's black, you're black…come on…y'all should be getting the same audience,'" the pint-sized funnywoman told us.

Now that her blog Young Black & Fabulous has crossed the 2.5 million readers mark and is a staple for black Internet dwellers, Natasha Eubanks is becoming one of online's go-to girls. The YBF blog was recently mentioned in an article in Newsweek magazine as a "blog to watch." Eubanks, a Hurricane Katrina survivor, is now working double duty, manning the YBF blog and penning the Ya Heard blog for SOHH.com as well. And she's doing all of this while still in law school at Loyola University in New Orleans. "I'm just a chick with goals of becoming a lobbyist," she told me.

Actress Stacey Dash's Playboy spread should be on newsstands now. Many of the images from the shoot have already been floating around online. Additionally, Dash stars in the straight-to-DVD release 'Getting Played' opposite Vivica A. Fox, Carmen Electra and Bill Bellamy. She'll also play the lead character in a remake of 1959's 'Anna Lucasta,' which originally starred Eartha Kitt. Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth will play her sister in the film.

Frankly Speaking

"Everybody in the South is born with three characteristics. You are born sexiest, homophobic and racist. Homophobia was a huge aspect of my reality. Then someone very near and dear to my heart came and told me they were gay, and it was something that I felt, for me to keep that relationship alive, I needed to deal with." - Anthony Mackie ('She Hate Me') in the Spring '06 issue of Twelve magazine on why he requested to star as the gay lead in 'Brother to Brother.'

Can't Say Names…

Sources tell BV Buzz that a certain producer-singer is headed for divorce after a short, two-month marriage. Said entertainer is ready to tell his new wifey "goodbye love," accusing his significantly younger bride of being an "opportunist" and a "gold digger," a source tattled. Maybe this should serve as a warning to anyone else in the music business, who may meet and marry a woman on MySpace. Oh yeah, I didn't mean to leave that part out.

BV Scene

That was comic Sinbad holding court in the baggage claim area of United Airlines at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The funnyman signed autographs and posed for pictures with a swarm of fans, who were also waiting for their luggage… Leanne "LeLee" Lyons of SWV having a birthday dinner with an unidentified male at the soul food restaurant Croaker Spot on Leigh Street in Richmond, VA... Singer Me'Shell NdegeOcello jamming to the Brand New Heavies, who performed to a packed house at the Warsaw in Brooklyn, N.Y.… Lionel Richie entering the Johnson Publishing Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago… Tyrese Gibson, Karrine Steffans and model Datari Turner on hand at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for the '90s Reunited Concert with Bobby Brown, SWV, New Edition and En Vogue.