May 14, 2007

Full Circle

I got a call last Wednesday that I never anticipated. At 8:40 pm EST I had two missed calls from Sonja Norwood's office. I checked my voicemail and there was Sonja Norwood and son Ray J requesting I give them a call. "Hit us back a.s.a.p.," beckoned Ray J.

I admit, I was caught completely off-guard!

Now those who have followed this column over the last year and listen to my report on the nationally syndicated 'Tom Joyner Morning Show' know that I had a feud with the Norwood family last fall. The rift was the result of my report about Brandy's actions during a Bible study at a Los Angeles church. The Norwood family publicist pretended to be an attorney and sent threatening letters to the brass at AOL and tried to cause major problems for me. Despite it all, I'm still standing!

So against my better judgment, I returned the call and Sonja explained to me that "there was a whole lot of mess going on" and that she was "pretty pissed off." She went on to tell me that she wanted to conference Ray J in so that he could explain what happened. I thought to myself, "Oh boy! Here we go again."

Ray J joined the call and told me that an interview he had conducted for an upcoming issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine had caused some problems with Karrine Steffans, who detailed her relationship with him in her bestselling book, 'Confessions of a Video Vixen.'

"Man, a lot of s@#& got blown out of proportion with the whole interview that happened with old girl and what I am doing right now is and what I want to do next week is set everything straight and just put everything out on the table. Not only was a lot of s@#& blown out of proportion with what homegirley said, but a lot of stuff was said about Whitney [Houston], about Kim, about me shooting porno tapes and directing tapes that I would never do, and stuff like that that's messing a lot stuff up right now. So I'm real upset about it," he began.

I was still in the dark about all of this, and before moving forward, I had one question myself. "Why me? I know I am not on the top of the Norwood family list? Why are you all calling me," I asked.

Ray J, a former child preacher who now stars in a sex tape with his ex-girlfriend, socialite Kim Kardashian, told me that Steffans (whom he referred to by her one-time alias Yizette throughout the conversation) had sent a specific request that he and his publicist only contact me to make the apology. "That's what was said from her spot. The most important thing was to reach out to you so we could get everything squared away so that we could make all of this go away," he enlightened. "I know that (publicist's name withheld) was supposed to call you, but I just hit you myself. When I told (publicist's name withheld) to call, he was like, 'I'm not going to call.'"

It was all too much for me to understand at once, but I starting taking it all in.

"Somebody read me a lot of the stuff that I said in the interview, and that she said that I said, and I'm really disappointed right now," he continued. "I guess this is my lesson learned. To just kind of simmer down and watch who is around and watch what is said and watch what kind of questions are asked. With this all of this s@#& being new, I can't believe a m@#%&$ would try to put a n@#% on blast like that."

Jawn: "So are you saying that you didn't say what Sister 2 Sister has you quoted as saying?"

Ray J: "It was some s@#& that was said in there that I didn't say. There was some s@#& that was said that I didn't want her to put out and all that s@#&. At the end of the day, you don't see a m@#&$ out and ask them a couple of questions on some family s@#& like, 'How's your momma been? What you doing?' and then you print that s@#&. We talked one time in the interview capacity and all of those things she printed were true. But all of the other s@#& she did about Yizette and all of this other s@#&, was s@#& that wasn't said but was mentioned in a loud environment of a party or somewhere where there's a lot of people. Or calling me on the phone asking me where my mom is at and then asking me a question. And I just say, 'I aint doing that. I don't know,' and she just print it. All of that was printed. She'll print all of that. It's like, 'What the f@#& are you doing?'"

Jawn: "And are you and Kim Kardashian cool now?"

Ray J: "Yeah, we cool."

Jawn: "Are you all cool because she sued and got a settlement or cool because you too have worked things out?"

Ray J: "I don't know what happened. I just know she settled for that amount and that helped her out with all of the pain and agony that it caused."

Jawn: "Are you doing the deal to direct four new porn videos?"

Ray J: "Nah, I didn't do that deal. Her putting it in [Sister 2 Sister] that I said, 'I might direct one and see how it goes, there's a lot of money in this business.' All of that…that was terrible dude! That aint even cool dude! I'm not even speaking like that. I'm trying to speak about wisdom and change and trying to do something new. She got me one time where we laughing and where we was drunk together and just laughing around, but I didn't go there."

Jawn: "So are you done with the porn business?"

Ray J: "I'm done with it right now. I'm done with it as of right now, yeah. They been offering a lot, a lot of money and you think about the money. But you can't do that, I got to just work on my talent."

It all became more than I bargained for! Operating in full disclosure: Ray J and I also spoke candidly about my issues with the Norwood family and came to a resolve on that matter.

I placed a call to Jamie Foster Brown, publisher of Sister 2 Sister, who conducted what I am told is a 12-page interview with Ray J. She didn't want to issue a comment on the matter, but since the Norwood's caused Brown and I to have a very public run-in several years back, I offered the gesture as a courtesy.

I also contacted Karrine Steffans about the matter, mostly curious as to why she ordered the apology had to go through me. She sent me a statement via e-mail that read: "I have known Ray J since he was a little boy and have loved him ever since, which is why I was disheartened to hear of his erroneous comments in an upcoming issue of Sister to Sister magazine. Ray and I have had a special sort of relationship over the years and I was under the impression that we would never do anything to hurt one another. I guess I was the fool. Subsequently, I was forced to make the appropriate phone calls and apply full court pressure to his neck; I'm just happy him and his mommy followed the guidelines given to him by my associates and called you. I would hate for this to have gone any further. I requested you because I know of your history with the Norwoods and thought I'd add my own tee-hee-hee to the situation. Unfortunately, my relationship with Ray has been permanently tarnished and though I will miss his company and the time we've spent together. He's now dead to me."

Frankly Speaking

"We want a woman president, we want a Black president, we want a Mormon president…get Gladys Knight. She's all three of them," said Marie Osmond, while guest-hosting 'The View' last Thursday.

Buzzworthy

It was a who's who showing of singers who showed up to audition for Aretha Franklin's musical 'From These Roots,' which is slated to launch in March of 2008 in 'The Queen of Soul's' hometown Detroit. Karen Clark-Sheard, Tanya Blount, Alyson Williams, Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Nicci Gilbert of Brownstone were among the heavyweights who tried out for the forthcoming musical. "There were so many people. It was so overwhelming. I've never seen anything like it," said powerhouse publicist Gwendolyn Quinn of GQ Media and Public Relations, who works with her majesty. Franklin could not see all of the singers who showed during the original audition date, so she's added two additional dates at the end of the moth just to see the singers who have already completed paperwork. In other Franklin news, she'll be honored at the 2008 MusiCares® Person of the Year dinner and concert on Friday, Feb. 8, 2008, in Los Angeles two days prior to the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

R&B great Stevie Wonder surprised the cast of David E. Talbert's 'Love in the Nick of Tyme' by coming onstage at the Kodak Center in Hollywood and serenading the crowd with his hit 'Ribbon in the Sky.' The play's co-star, R&B singer Avant, joined Wonder on the tune, while the sold-out crowd, that included Marlon Wayans, Loretta Devine, Terry Crews, Michael Beach, Clifton Powell and Bill Duke, looked on. 'Love in the Nick of Tyme' also stars Morris Chestnut, singer Terry Dexter, Trenyce of 'American Idol and actress Ellia English ('The Jamie Foxx Show').

Grammy-nominated song stylist Patti Austin will perform for participants in the 18th annual Komen National Race for the Cure on Saturday, June 2 in Washington, DC. Austin will hit the stage on the National Mall at 9:00 am, just as the estimated 50,000 participants in the race cross the finish line at this year's 5K event.

Can't Say Names…

Sources say a certain thirtysomething actress has become a cougar, which is the new term for older women who date younger men. Said actress is dating and living with an actor in his early 20s, who may have been the actual culprit in a notorious story surrounding the actress.