Columbus Short Fired From Scandal

Now we know what happens to Harrison in the season cliff hanger of Scandal.  Columbus Short confirms he will not be returning to the blockbuster series.  In a statement to the media Columbus explains,

“At this time I must confirm my exit from a show I’ve called home for 3 years, with what is the most talented ensemble on television today. I would like to first thank Shonda Rhimes for the opportunity to work with such an amazing cast. Thank you GLADIATORS, who have supported me throughout my entire career and of course to ABC and Shondaland for allowing me to play such a pivotal role in the Scandal series. I have enjoyed every single minute of it. Everything must come to an end and unfortunately the time has come for Harrison Wright to exit the canvas. I wish nothing but the best for Shonda, Kerry and the rest of the cast, who have become like a second family to me in such a short amount of time. For this, I will forever be grateful.”

Over the past few weeks Columbus Short has been involved in a series of violent and bizarre incidents including sucker punching a bar patron, threatening to kill his wife and calling Tom Joyner a nigga live on the radio for asking him about his recent legal issues.

Fantasia Advises Women to Run Away From Married Men (Video)

Fantasia guest hosted on The View yesterday and the subject of dating married men came up.  The ladies were discussing the episode of Being Mary Jane where Mary, portrayed by Gabrielle Union, is confronted by her lover’s wife.

Speaking of cheating spouses Fantasia advised,

“If you’re going to go into a new situation, there’s no need to take the old baggage with you regardless of what they had going on. But if that is the situation, run, run, fast as you can, can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

Saturday Night Live Handles its Diversity Issue

Back in October legendary comedy sketch show Saturday Nigh Live got called out for not hiring any Black female cast members since Maya Rudolph left the show in 2007.  Saturday Night live just added Sasheer Zamata to the cast. Sasheer graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in drama.  Sasheer debuts on SNL on Jan. 18.

Monique Hosting Love and Hip Hop NY Reunion Show

Mona Scott-Young is handing over the reigns of the Love and Hip Hop NY reunion show to Academy Award winning actress Monique.
The Love and Hip Hop NY reunion show taped this week with Monique in the hosting seat.  Meanwhile LHHNY fans noticed the show was preempted last week by T.I. and Tiny’s family Christmas special  and it won’t be returning until December 30th.

T.I. Coming to A TV Set Near You

Rapper T.I. snags a role opposite Don Cheadle on Showtime’s House of Lies.

From Deadline:

Singer/actor T.I. will do a multiple-episodes arc on the third season of the Showtime comedy series House Of Lies as Lukas, a clothing company co-owner with childhood friend “Dre” (guest star Mekhi Phifer), who enlist Marty (Don Cheadle) to help expand their empire.

Gabrielle Union Opens up on Losing ‘Scandal’ Lead to Kerry Washington

Gabrielle Union poses in the press room during the 2013 BET Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on June 30, 2013 in Los Angeles

Gabrielle Union mentioned on “Oprah’s Next Chapter” that she auditioned for the role of Olivia Pope on ABC’s “Scandal,” which of course went to Kerry Washington.

While promoting tonight’s premiere of her BET series “Being Mary Jane,” the actress spoke to the Associated Press about losing the role, and how the Olivia Pope character gave her hope that more strong, likeable black female TV leads were being written.

“I said to myself, ‘Oh my God, these roles are out there,’” Union said. “It showed me that you don’t have to settle. Luckily, the success of her and the show bred more work. Just from the audition process, I knew that I couldn’t go backward.”

“Being Mary Jane” premiered last night as a two-hour movie and will return in January for an eight-episode run. Union stars as Mary Jane, a TV news anchor who struggles to balance work, her love life and her family, and represents a very different direction from, as she puts it, her usual “good girl who meets the bad guy from the other side of the tracks” characters.

“If you loved me for one thing and may not have liked me in something else, this role gives the audience a chance to see that I can do more than one thing,” said Union.

“I didn’t get Scandal, but I got something better — which is my own show,” Union said. “It’s all about building a legacy. This new opportunity is something I feel that can grow.”

Law and Order SUV Episode Based on Chris and Rihanna (Preview)

Rihanna is not going to like this.

The episode airs Wednesday at 9pm and is described as: “A promising singer is brutally attacked by her boyfriend, a popular hip hop star. ADA Barba (guest star Raul Esparza) works to build a case, but the victim refuses to aid the prosecution and, despite Detective Benson’s (Mariska Hargitay) best efforts, continues to put herself in danger. The case quickly spirals into a media circus, perpetrated by both the defendant and his uncompromising attorney (guest star Jeffrey Tambor) … Special appearances by Perez Hilton, Dave Navarro and Wendy Williams.”

Phaedra Parks is Knocked Up

Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Pheadra Parks and husband Apollo Nida are expecting baby number 2..!

 

From People

The reality star couple tell PEOPLE exclusively they’re expecting a second child together next year.

Parks showed off her growing baby bump while on the beach in the Bahamas, where she’s vacationing with her family and friends.