Sept. 26, 2005

'Las Vegas' star James Lesure is not only looking for a new love on his hit NBC drama -- last season's love interest Marsha Thomason left the series -- but the Hollywood bachelor is looking for romance in his personal life as well.

Lesure told BV Buzz that he has his sights set on one of Hollywood's rising starlets, actress Taraji P. Henson ('Hustle & Flow'), but his good friend actor J. August ('Angel') isn't trying to hook up his pal.

"Her and J. are tight. J. is sort of blocking, but it's all good. You know how brothers do. But I still love him," Lesure told us.

But the former 'For Your Love' actor has a message he wants to send to Henson. "I'm open to it Taraji, if you're reading this, I'm open to it, just call," he said, smiling.

Tabloid Talk

Former Spice Girl singer Melanie Brown said if you plan to be in entertainment, you have to have tough skin to deal with the tabloids.

It was reported last year in the National Enquirer that Brown, formerly known as Scary Spice, had begun a romance with an unidentified female blonde from Los Angeles.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Brown laughed when we asked her about the rumored lesbian fling.

The British-bred singer, who stars opposite Duane Martin ('All of Us') and Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland in 'The Seat Filler,' confessed she ignores tabloid reports about herself.

"Do you know how many stories I've had? If I was to even take one bit of them and slightly get boiled up and believe it, I would be a wreck," she explained. "I'd be some lesbian, horrible, bitchy, aggressive psychopath, party animal, sex and drugs maniac. I don't really know. I could be, but I'm not!"

Point taken!

Blond Ambition

'All of Us' star Tony Rock told BV Buzz that he would have a one-night stand with former Guess model Anna Nicole Smith if he could keep the affair a secret.

"I wish I could sleep with Anna Nicole Smith without black girls getting mad," offered Rock.

Smith, the one-time E! Entertainment personality turned TrimSpa shill, will be among the many guest stars on 'All of Us' this season. The UPN sitcom, which lost cast members Elise Neal and Terri J. Vaughn, returned last week with an impressive 2.9 rating. It's a vast improvement from the dismal numbers the series earned last season.

Naughty Boy

Rapper Kanye West had some explaining to do when his manager-mom Donda discovered the amount of money her son spent on pornography. West was embarrassed recently when his mother phoned to ask whether a $500 charge at an adult video store was legitimate.

"Now she is my manager and that can be tricky sometimes," West said in an interview. "She's like, 'Kanye, did you spend $500 at the porn store?' Come on; get out of here! I'm 28 years old, and I have to explain to my mother?"

Can't Say Names

What veteran soul crooner reeked of alcohol and smelled as if he hadn't bathed at a recent concert performance? Said singer arrived at an early afternoon sound check for his concert with a stench that had bystanders fleeing. "Though it was early in the day, he smelled like he'd been drinking for three days," said a source. By show time that evening, the singer apparently "just stunk" and his aroma of booze and musk "was simply unbearable!"

Buzzworthy

Gospel star Natalie Wilson celebrated her birthday last week at New York's S.O.B's nightclub with an all-star musical lineup. Wilson was serenaded by singers Carl Thomas, Melonie Daniels and Ron Grant, while Rodney Jerkins, Kirk Franklin and her ex-husband, musician Joe Wilson, and others looked on. Jazz great Frank McComb, who was joined onstage by Musiq and Eric Roberson, and soul newcomer P.J. Morton, also performed at the party.

Fox Network sportscaster and 'America's Black Forum' host James Brown received the Sam Lacy Award at the Greater Washington Urban League's seventh annual celebrity tournament and banquet last week. Lacy, the late Baseball Hall of Fame sportswriter, was a columnist for Afro-American newspapers. Mr. Lacy used his role as a journalist to push for the integration of Major League Baseball, and equal opportunities for minorities in sports. Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth ('The Surreal Life,' 'The Apprentice') was on hand for the ceremony.

Speaking of Omarosa, don't expect anyone like her on Martha Stewart's version of 'The Apprentice.' Stewart doesn't have any African-American contestants on her NBC reality series. Maybe she's afraid that an African-American contestant can give her a run for her money like domestic maven B. Smith has.

Congratulations to New York Times writer Lola Ogunnaike. The sought-after writer, who pens the most captivating Vibe cover stories, got engaged on her 30th birthday to investment banker Dean Solebo. Many don't know that Ogunnaike was my high school mentor and previously worked with the New York Daily News team that I work with now.

Congratulations also go out to entertainment writer Brenda You. It was announced last week that You inked a deal with top literary agent Peter Miller for her debut novel, Blood Red Carpet. A former Playboy model, You was my editor at Star magazine and left the celebrity publication last November to enroll in medical school.