By Molly Lambert at
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Is Kanye Gay and Secretly Dating Fashion Designer Riccardo Tisci? Kim Kardashian was humiliated after Vogue editors cropped her floral print bowling ball dress out of every shot of Kanye at the Met Ball. "But Kim's humiliation ran much deeper than jabs about a gown. Some online commenters speculated Kanye, 35, is in a romantic relationship with the man who designed her controversial dress, Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci." AIRHORN! "Kim freaked out. If it turns out Kanye is involved with Riccardo, she will be utterly embarrassed, more so than she's ever been in her life." But she's done so many embarrassing things! "There are some facts Kim can't deny. Kanye has spent her entire pregnancy living close to Riccardo in the French capital — 5,600 miles away from his girlfriend. And Riccardo recently purchased an apartment less than half a mile from Kanye's in NYC's Soho neighborhood." A source says, "Kanye is obsessed with Riccardo. They have a very deep bond." HOW DEEP? "The whispers got even louder when Bryan Boy, one of the most popular and respected fashion bloggers in the world, linked Kanye to Riccardo in January." Bryan Boy tweeted, "Wait so Kanye West is gay? He and Riccardo Tisci were…lovers? And Kim Kardashian is a beard? Why am I the last to know?"
Mr. John Legend! Not just a silky-smooth crooner of the finest of piano-pop ballads and rap hooks anymore! Now he's out here making TV shows too. Why, just last night, HBO picked up a series coproduced by Legend and Tony Krantz, called Down Lo, for development. It's about Miami, and it's got music and money and gay rappers.
The Golden Globes are the one night a year when Hollywood stars are allowed to break free from the joyless, sweat-streaked struggle of their lives and really let loose. So it stands to reason that some of that celebrity good cheer should trickle down to the Hollywood Prospectus podcast, no? After a spirited discussion of Sunday night's surprisingly entertaining ceremony — including talk of the winners (Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, anyone at home watching Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain), losers (Steven Spielberg, Hillary Clinton's husband), and WTFs (Jodie Foster's ménage-à-hamster with BFFs Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson) — Chris and I welcomed a star of our own in the form of Adam Pally, co-star of TV's funniest sitcom, Happy Endings. Adam called in on his cell phone during a lunch break (he was presumably eating Greek yogurt, not wearing it) to explain why getting two new episodes of HE per week (on Tuesdays and Sundays) isn't necessarily a bad thing. While we had him on the line, we also asked him about the dirty things the writers slip past the censors, how he'd behave in the E! hospitality tent, and what's really going on with the Knicks.
Mystikal went to prison for a long time, on some very horrible charges, and so the question, as always, is: How much should we allow ourselves to separate the person from the product? It'd be easier, of course, if the dude had fallen off since his '00s heyday but, somehow, in his fourth decade, he seems to be getting stronger. On "Hit Me" — "even the white people sittingupinthismotherfucka can'tdonothingbutsay WOW" — he channels James Brown shamelessly, and with great might, and cooks up a marvel.
Anita Baker covers Tyrese's hit from 1999 and makes it very much her own. I really hoped this would be a cover of Massive Attack's "Lately," because Ms. Baker would absolutely kill it doing Shara Nelson's part. Anita Baker is a national treasure, a Detroit Lions fan, and one of my favorite celebrities on Twitter. The first label she was ever on was called Ariola Records, which makes me laugh because I am an idiot. Last night she simultaneously live-tweeted the debate and the Lions-Bears game and it was glorious. She makes use of caps lock when appropriate, loves to drink cups of coffee, and always ends with her initials, "ab." A sample tweet from Anita: "FREE GIFT!! Limited Time offer! Get it NOW. While it lasts!! His GIFT...of This Brand New Day!! :) ab"
Grade: A
Best YouTube Comment: "The Queen of Quiet Storm —AnneBoleynMarquess
Now that our nation’s dueling, mediocre, pop-detecting machines, American Idol and The Voice, have come to positively underwhelming conclusions, ABC is filling the summer gap with Duets. Featuring four superstar performers — the word “superstar” is used loosely and often on this show — Duets hopes to discover the world’s best duet partner (we think?) by having Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, and Robin Thicke perform their biggest hits (and “biggest” “hits”) alongside relative unknowns. Other pertinent facts: This show is hosted by former MTV VJ and ghost of your youth Quddus; the tagline is “Will you duet with me?”; it is nearly impossible to understand how one is meant to win the show at the conclusion of its nine episodes. In other words, your Thursdays nights are all set for the rest of the summer. Sad singing-show addicts Juliet Litman and Sean Fennessey watched last night’s inaugural episode in search of rhyme, reason, an easily understood voting system, and some answers about Jennifer Nettles’s face.
Five days into the new year, and the first big celebrity trend has reared its shockingly cute head: being engaged. We as a culture are used to becoming emotionally invested in one or two celebrity engagements at a time, but seven is a bit much. Yes, seven men decided to put rings on it over the past two weeks, giving us seven celebrity engagements to juggle. Life is hard.
Anyway, figuring out which ones to spend time obsessing over is a tough task. Luckily for you, I have developed a highly complex formula for determining which couples are worth your time.
John Legend will executive-produce a NBC single camera comedy called Mixed Blessings, about a Philadelphia street rapper who finds out he has a teenage son growing up with a white suburban family with whom he attempts to reconnect. Until they book Freeway to play the Philadelphia street rapper, we will remain skeptical. Grade: B [Deadline]
Universal has announced plans to remake Scarface, with the new version again focusing on the rise and fall of a gangster, but (like how Al Pacino’s version updated the 1932 original) adjusted to reflect modern day criminal activities. Rappers have announced plans to buy the DVD, and then prominently display it in their homes. Grade: B+ [HR]
