Chelsea Handler Talks Breakup with 50 Cent, Slams Mariah Carey

Chelsea Handler is used to asking the questions, but the blonde comedienne was the one in the hot seat on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show on Monday (Jan. 23). The talk show host got candid when speaking about her relationship with 50 Cent and had some choice words for Mariah Carey.

 “He’s actually a lot different than you would think. He’s really sweet,” Handler said of the hip-hop star, who she dated briefly in 2010. “I thought it was kind of amusing that I would even be with 50 Cent. I thought it was funny.”

Her Hollywood pals including Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon were fascinated by their romance. “My friends all loved him, my friends fell in love with him,” she said. “They loved that I was dating him. They were like, ‘Chelsea, come on.’ They were both laughing really hard at it… I mean, everyone was.”

But things went sour after one of 50’s ex-girlfriends, rumored to be Ciara, appeared on her show. “We dated for a couple months and then we had a falling out,” she explained. “One of his ex-girlfriends was coming onto my show.”

According to Handler, 50 warned her that his ex still had feelings for him, but she didn’t want to hear it.

“It was just so juvenile, I was at work,” said Handler before hurling insults his way. “Whatever I called him was probably the worst thing you could say to a black person, short of calling him the N-word. I said you’re like a street person, basically, something along the lines of being a gangster. It was really, really offensive and I hung up and I’ve never spoken to him again.”

50 wasn’t her only victim. Handler also lashed out at Mariah Carey. “She’s worse than Elizabeth Taylor,” she said. “She’s just so ridiculous with her body. You see her one day and she’s like 50 pounds heavier or lighter. I mean, what is she doing? I don’t even understand what hemisphere people like that operate in. There’s nothing real about her and her Hello Kitty whatever…”

Runs in the Family!! John Legend’s Younger Brother Readies New Music, Take a Listen

John Legend isn’t the only talent in the Stephens family. The younger brother of the Grammy-winning crooner, Vaughn Anthony, is readying a mixtape Life of a Player for release this March, featuring collaborations with Rick Ross, Olivia, and Prodigy. The Ohio native is no stranger to the music scene, having opened for India.Arie, Robin Thicke, Raphael Saadiq, and Estelle, and collaborated with Rick Ross (“It’s Alright”) and Ghostface Killah (“Paragraphs of Love”).

He duets with his brother on “Hold Me Down,” the first single off his self-titled debut, due in May. Listen below.

SWV to Release First Album in 15 Years

 

The ladies of SWV are making a comeback. The ’90s R&B trio, known as Sisters With Voices, will release their first studio album in nearly 15 years this spring.

I Missed Us, the follow-up to 1997’s Release Some Tension, is due April 10 via eOne Music/Mass Appeal Entertainment.

The first single, “Co-Sign” produced by Lamb (Beyoncé, Monica), is picking up spins at radio, while members Taj, Lelee, and Coko have been in the studio with Bryan-Michael Cox and Jazze Pha finishing the album.

“It’s a great feeling to be back recording together again!” said the ladies in a statement. “Something special always happens when we come together.”

SWV released its debut album It’s About Time in 1992. The album went multi-platinum and spawned R&B classics such as “I’m So Into You,” “Right Here,” “Downtown,” “Weak,” and “You’re Always on My Mind.”

Aretha Franklin Calls Off Engagement: ‘We Were Moving Too Fast’

Via Associated Press

Aretha Franklin won’t be getting fitted for a wedding gown after all: She’s called off her engagement.

A statement released Monday by her representative said Franklin’s wedding to Willie Wilkerson wasn’t going to happen.

“Will and I have decided we were moving a little too fast, and there were a number of things that had not been thought through thoroughly. There will be no wedding at this time,” Franklin said. “We will not comment on it any further because of the very personal and sensitive nature of it. We appreciate all of the many well wishes from friends.”

It’s unclear if the pair are still romantically involved.

 Franklin, 69, announced shortly after New Year’s Day that she was getting married. In an interview with The Associated Press, the jovial Queen of Soul talked about getting fitted for gowns by designers including Vera Wang and Donna Karan, and said she hoped for a summer wedding in either Miami or the Hamptons in New York state.

Franklin said the relationship was particularly strong because they had been friends first.

“We’re very compatible, and he supports me and I support him a lot, and he has given me specialized attention that I don’t think I’ve received from anyone else,” she said.

J. Cole Shoots Video for Missy Elliott Collaboration

After making major moves in 2011, J. Cole shows no signs of slowing down. According to Video Static, the breakout star has begun production on the video for “Nobody’s Perfect,” the third single off his Roc Nation debut Cole World: The Sideline Story. The North Carolina native is teaming with director Colin Tilley (Chris Brown, Diddy-Dirty Money) for the clip, which is expected to co-star his collaborator Missy Elliott.

Chris Brown Denies Cheating on Karrueche

Ever since Chris Brown and Rihanna broke up three years ago, rumors have persisted that they were secretly hooking up. Yeah well Chris Brown’s official girl, Karrueche Tran, must really know how to crack that whip because Chris, who’s taken a vow of silence with reporters for 2012  suddenly feels the need to address the speculation…

Chris’s spokesperson tells ABC News,

“He and Rihanna are just friends. He is with his girlfriend, Karrueche, and is not cheating”

As Fast as Jay-Z Opens 40/40 Club, Health Officials Shut it Back Down

Last week Jay Z re-opened the 40/40 club in New York to much fanfare. The VERY NEXT DAY it was closed down by the Health Department for health code violations…

From The NY Post

 Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club was shut down for a slew of health-code violations just a day after its celebrity-drenched $10 million relaunch — and now it faces a dreaded “C” grade, The Post has learned. An inspector found perishable food at dangerously warm temperatures inside the walk-in refrigerator and discovered “hot” food left out on the counter on Thursday, Health Department sources said. A worker was also seen mixing salsa with his bare hands.

The refrigerator was at a rancid 60 degrees instead of 41 — jeopardizing the safety of 50 pounds of raw chicken wings, five pounds of raw shrimp and 100 turkey burgers, the sources said. Five pounds of cooked mashed potatoes, meanwhile, were left out at a temperature of 89 degrees, while 10 pounds of cooked rice and 50 turkey burgers were kept at 67 degrees. All the hot foods should be at least 140 degrees, the sources said. The club’s restaurant was immediately closed, and new patrons were barred from entering. Those already inside were allowed to remain. The nightspot corrected the problem and was cleared for business the next night.

However, problems could be looming for 40/40. The inspector gave the club 69 violation points, far in excess of the 28 needed for a worst-possible “C” grade, and they’ll be adjudicated at a hearing next month. During its last inspection, in March, before the facelift, the club racked up 39 violation points for problems including improperly handled food and unsanitary conditions.

50 Cent Cashes In on Giants’ Victory

The Giants weren’t the only winners this weekend. New York’s own 50 Cent bet big on his home team and ended up collecting when they defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s playoff game to advance to the Super Bowl. The hip-hop tycoon showed off his earnings (rumored to be $500,000) on Twitter, posing with racks on racks of $100 bills. “Just watched a 500,000 dollar foot ball game get on my level,” tweeted 50, who plans to share his wealth with his grandmother. “I’m giving this money to my nana she gonna faint LMAO all she do is go to the church.”

Megaupload.com Update: Lawyer Says Swizz Beatz Is Not Company CEO

 

Contrary to recent news reports, Swizz Beatz is not the CEO of controversial file-sharing website, Megaupload.com.

Ira Rothken, an attorney for Megaupload.com, made the revelation to RollingStone.com as he explained that, to his knowledge, Beatz “was never involved in any meaningful way” with Megaupload.com, but was in talks to helm the website.

“He was negotiating to become the CEO, but it was never official,” Rothken said.

The lawyer’s comments counter previous reports that listed Beatz as a silent, executive partner for Megaupload.com, which was shut down Thursday (January 19) after massive copyright infringement and racketeering charges were brought against the company and its top executives. Four of the seven defendants named in the case were arrested in New Zealand.

Other charges leveled at the Megaupload.com include money laundering and racketeering. The website stands accused of being complicit in costing copyright holders more than $500 million in damages, while raking in more than $175 million in illegal proceeds.

In protest of the Megaupload.com shut down, a number of major websites have been shut down by Internet hackers. Among those targeted were websites for the Department of Justice, the MPAA, Universal Music, and the RIAA. The FBI’s website, www.fbi.com is reportedly the next site on the list for Anonymous, a “hacktivist” group in Sweden that claimed responsibility for shutting down the Department of Justice website.

Megaupload.com is currently trying to get back online as it fights charges and works to recover from the situation.