Sept. 24, 2007

A Rosier View

Many wondered if 'The View' would be of interest to the show's audience without last season's resident trouble-starter Rosie O'Donnell. There was tremendous excitement about the addition of Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd to the ABC daytime talk show and the ratings are now in. Goldberg's debut garnered 'The View's' second-best premiere ratings ever with 3.4 million viewers-just shy of O'Donnell's premiere ratings of 3.6. Shepherd followed a week later with a premiere rating of 3.9 million total viewers -- up an astonishing 810,000 viewers from the year-ago weekly average.

"When I saw the numbers, I screamed," Shepherd said. " This show is something that is outside of my comfort zone. I do movies. I do sitcoms. I have never done a talk show before. I've only been a guest. It was with a lot of fear and trembling that I took this position. To see how God moved was just so awesome to me. He was saying to me, 'If you just make the move, I'll do the rest.' There were some Web sites on the Internet that said if Sherri does 'The View' I'm going to jump off a bridge. So today I say to them, just do the doggie paddle people. Try not to drown," Shepherd told me last week while sitting in the first-class lounge at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

Shepherd, who was headed back to Los Angeles for an appearance on the 'Tonight Show with Jay Leno,' kept getting approached in the United Airlines lounge during our interview by fans who wanted to praise her on 'The View' gig. "Ah, thank you so much," Shepherd told a Black airline employee who congratulated her.

"I love United," Shepherd said. "I know Mo'Nique had her issue with United, but I have to say that there are 'sistas' and 'brothas' who are flight attendants on United. It seems like every flight I am on there are some and they are so wonderful and make sure I am taken care of. I am going to keep going where the love is!"

In the spirit of 'The View,' I couldn't let Shepherd board her flight without getting her take on some "hot topics" and celebrity associations:

O.J. Simpson: "Thank goodness his flavor is vanilla and not chocolate. At least black girls around America ain't got nothing to worry about. Us black girls can breathe a collective sigh of relief. I think O.J. thinks he just finished 'The Naked Gun' movie and just won his Heisman Trophy. He thinks he still popular with Americans! He's still in those days when he was loved by America. Back then, he probably could have gone into a hotel and taken all of his stuff and we would have still loved him."

Whoopi Goldberg: "Can I just breathe? Can I just let out air of love? She's like jazz to me. She's just cool! She doesn't let drama reign. It's so cool to deal with her because she's like, let's sit down as girlfriends and talk. She's taken me under her wing and I am learning a great deal from Whoopi. And she's very generous!"

Britney Spears: "Seeing that MTV VMA performance, I was just so surprised to see that she and I share the same stomach. But on a serious note, I would love to come in and help her parent her children. She and the kids could move into my new place in New York City. I can sit her down and open up a Bible for her to read."

Star Jones Reynolds: "Star reached out to congratulate me and it meant a lot to me. So many people think that we, as black women, don't get along. That call from Star just reinforced that we can support each other and cheer for each other. We each know what our destiny is. So we can uplift each other! I really appreciate that from the bottom of my heart that Star reached out to me. And she wants to take me out to eat so that's a fast friend right there!"

Rosie O'Donnell: "Rosie was the one who told me that I should take the job on 'The View.' She reached out and she's supposed to take me to dinner. I like Rosie because Rosie was just very supportive. And even though her tenure there didn't last, she was still encouraging me to take the seat."

Oprah Winfrey: "I was on 'Oprah' back in 1993 back in the time when Oprah Winfrey had trashy TV. Her show was just like 'The Jerry Springer Show.' I was in Chicago one time and Oprah used to advertise. 'If you found that your boyfriend was cheating, call this number.' So I called because I had found a condom in my boyfriend's car. They put me on the show, but I didn't get to sit on stage because I got bumped for a woman who was an expert. So I sat in the audience and Oprah asked me my question and I was hollering and snapping and going off. I remember that my fingernail snapped off my hand and fell into the lady's lap behind me. This was all back when she had trashy TV."

Beyonce Backlash

So many of you e-mailed me last week about my 'Dear Beyonce' letter in the BV Buzz that I had to share the feedback.

"I am so glad you wrote that commentary about Beyoncé. Although I used to enjoy her music and acting, I am so sick of seeing her face. Every time I turn on the TV, there she is. It would be so nice if she could take a break so we can actually miss her! I hope she reads your comments and considers taking a break." -- Angela B.

"Your article on Beyoncé is so stupid man. I'm not a crazy fan but I'm tired of reading stupid people saying bull%#% about Beyoncé. I want a new album now, and I don't want her to take a break and it seems like she doesn't want to. She puts great music out there, good performances, good videos and nobody in the industry can do that. So why should she stop?" -- Pharrell

"I respect your view on her career being that you are an industry professional. However, I think that we, as African-American supporters of this multi-talented individual, need to be more concerned that she has openly said that she wishes she was Latin born. At first I was shocked, but then when I thought about her image…" -- A. B. Hubbard

"I loved it. It was so truthful. The unfortunate thing is Beyoncé fans have their head up their a**** and can't see what's really happening with Kelly." -- George O.

"I think if she wants to drop an album every day that is her business. As for her dropping her album before Kelly's, that is ridiculous. Do you really think that it's Beyoncé's fault that Kelly's album didn't sell? Jawn, is Beyoncé responsible for the fall out in the mortgage industry also? Did she cause gas prices to go through the roof, too? Of course, people are entitled to their opinions but I am so tired of all the Beyoncé bashing." -- Esos

"I thought I was the only one that felt like that. Beyoncé is a beautiful and talented young woman, but come on already! It's like going to a strip club and seeing the same one stripper every time...." -- Coloda

Still got an opinion? Send your views to JawnMurray07@aol.com.

Buzzworthy

Actress Tia Mowry is readying for her upcoming wedding to actor Cory Hardrict, who joined the second season of ABC Family's hit drama 'Lincoln Heights.' The couple plans to wed on April 12 in Malibu, shortly after the second season of Mowry's CW sitcom 'The Game' goes on hiatus. Speaking of 'The Game,' the series premieres on Oct. 1 and in the spirit of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, the CW is promoting the show with t-shirts that read "Team Melanie" (Mowry's character) and "Team Derwin" (actor Pooch Hall's character).

Former LaBelle singer Nona Hendryx and Charles Randolph-Wright will bring a concert version of 'SkinDiver,' a multimedia rock musical, to New York City's popular Joe's Pub starting on Oct. 1. 'SkinDiver' combines music with elements from films such as 'The Matrix,' 'Blade Runner' and 'The DaVinci Code.' Hendryx produced and wrote all of the music and lyrics for 'SkinDiver,' and her partner, Randolph-Wright co-wrote the book with Hendryx and directs the cyber-musical.

'American Idol' alum Anwar Robinson is joining the national touring show of the Broadway musical 'Rent.' Robinson, a season-four finalist on the hit Fox reality competition, will play Tom Collins in the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical when it hits the road on Oct. 15. in York, Penn.

Can't Say Names ...

A member of an R&B singing group is sitting in jail after months of dodging the police finally caught up with him. Said singer, who mostly played the backseat in his music collective, attempted to run and hide after causing a fender bender in Los Angeles last week. The chiseled-chest crooner feared it would be discovered that he had nearly $100,000 in warrants against him. When authorities convinced the singer, who already has two strikes against him that a hit-and-run is a felony charge and it would better to return to the scene of the crime, he did and was arrested.