The WDAS Holiday Jam is back and it’s happening at the newly restored Met Philly at Broad and Poplar. The Met Philly is a legendary venue that welcomed some iconic performances to the city including the WDAS-Rev. Louise Williams Gospel shows there. Well now Live Nation has refurbished and restored the Met Philly and a host of shows are coming to town starting with Bob Dylan on Monday, December 3rd. The WDAS Holiday Jam, Starring Uncle Charlie himself, Charlie Wilson and Stokley of Mint Condition, is happening Saturday, December 22nd. Tickets and information can be found on the wdasfm.com homepage.
Les Moonves: he’s out after more than 20 years as the head of CBS. Could his wife Julie Chen be next, and did Moonves derail Janet Jackson’s career? Six more women came out in a new Ronan Farrow expose for The New Yorker charging the now former CBS C.E.O. of sexual misconduct. After that the network announced Moonves, who called the accusations false, resigned. His wife, Julie Chen, who released a supportive social media message for Moonves when the first six accusations surfaced, was a no show on her CBS show The Talk at the beginning of the week. Could she be exiting the network too? Meanwhile, during this latest Metoo moment, accusations also surfaced that Moonves used his power at CBS’ television (MTV/VH1/BET/Grammy broadcast), radio and publishing properties to take revenge on Janet Jackson by way of limiting her TV appearances, record plays and her book sales (after she signed with CBS-owned Simon & Schuster). Why? Because of the 2004 wardrobe malfunction when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s bare breast when he ripped her top off during the CBS broadcast of the Superbowl. CBS was fined half a million dollars although they made multi-millions from the broadcast. Timberlake reportedly gave a tearful apology and was fine with Moonves afterward. When Jackson didn’t grovel enough, reports say Moonves put her in his sights and tried to torpedo her career. Is this a case of what goes around comes around? Meantime, Moonves is out and the fallout has just begun.
In more CBS drama, the executive producer of 60 Minutes has been fired but not for the Metoo allegations. Former CBS 3 Reporter and now CBS Network Correspondent Jericka Duncan has been covering the Charlie Rose, Les Moonves and 60 Minutes controversies for CBS. 60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager sent Duncan a text warning her to be fair in her coverage. Afterward, Fager was fired by CBS. The network said he violated policy. Fager acknowledges he sent a harsh text and feels that’s why CBS fired him. The CBS Morning crew, who had Duncan return to the show, called Fager’s text a threat and gave Duncan their full support. CBS Evening News Anchor Jeff Glor also offered Duncan his support. Fager had also been accused of sexual harassment and of tolerating inappropriate behavior at CBS, which he denied. Either way, he out too.
Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross will return as host of 2018 The American Music Awards (AMA’s). The nominees are lead by Cardi B and Drake with eight nominations apiece. Beyonce and Jay-Z share a nomination for Tour Of The Year. Bruno Mars is also up for that award. Khalid, The Weeknd, Ella Mai and The Black Panther Soundtrack are all up for awards as well. Tracie Ellis Ross hosts The 2018 AMA’s on Tuesday, October 9th at 8pm on ABC. And, the season premiere of Ross’ sitcom Blackish is Tuesday, October 16th at 9pm on ABC.
Iyanla vs. The Braxtons and Tamar Braxton has moved on with a new man and reveals a painful secret from the past?!!! Iyanla Van Zandt attempted to sit down with the Braxton sisters who have been through all sorts of turmoil. Tamar and her sisters were to sit down with Iyanla for OWN’s Iyanla Fix My Life, which is still set to air on OWN within a month. That episode will not be short on drama as reports are the ladies walked out on the session, and Tamar publicly calling Iyanla by her real name on social media saying Rhonda Is The Devil. With the ladies unable to make peace the future of their We-TV reality show, Braxton Family Values which they reportedly walked out on, remains up in the air.
Meanwhile, Tamar tells Wendy Williams the session with Iyanla did trigger memories of her being molested as a child. Tamar claims members of both sides of her family violated her. Tamar also said she didn’t expect to bring that up with Iyanla and be sex shamed at the session. At press time, there’s no response from Iyanla on this. Meanwhile, Tamar, who is divorcing her husband/manager Vince Herbert, is in love again. The 41-year old says her new man is Nigerian, lives in L.A. and is fine. Other than confirming they’ve been dating about three months, Tamar kept the rest of the details to herself.
Dancing With The Stars is back. The ABC reality show enters its 27th season this fall. Among the stars this go round are Former NFL Player DeMarcus Ware, Actor/Singer John Schneider (The Dukes Of Hazzard; The Haves And Have Nots), Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Lou Retton, Singer/Actress Tinashe and Nancy McKeon (The Facts Of Life). Dancing With The Stars season premiere airs Monday, September 24th at 8pm on ABC.
Geoffrey Owens, the former Cosby Show actor who was job shammed then job praised, has turned lemons into lemonade. Despite Bill Cosby being re-tried and convicted on sex assault charges in 2018, The Cosby Show was widely cancelled from cable and syndication back in 2014 when the Bill Cosby sex scandal rumors re-circulated. That cancellation hit the pockets of the rest of the cast members, including Owens who played son-in-law Elvin on The Cosby Show for seven years. Owens recently took a job at Trader Joe’s as a cashier to keep things afloat. When a woman tried to embarrass Owens by putting his picture on social media, it backfired and he won rave admiration from fans and new found interest from the industry. Now, he’s headed to Atlanta by way of a Tyler Perry offer to be on OWN’s The Haves And Have Nots. Owens is scheduled for 10 episodes. And, he’s also headed to CBS’s CSI: New Orleans to play Commander Adams in an episode scheduled to air on CBS in October.
Serena Williams is having a challenging time and it’s not over yet. The Queen Of Tennis returned to the U.S. Open. She made it to the finals, but loss to Naomi Osaka, who became the first Asian woman to win the open. Osaka’s parents are Japanese and Haitian. Part of what lead to Osaka’s win was a referee penalty of Williams an entire match. The referee scolded Williams not to take coaching during her match. Williams took offence and scolded the referee challenging she doesn’t cheat. More words were exchanged and Williams ended up calling the ref a thief, and said he’ll never ref another game for her. That’s when the referee took a set from Serena. After Osaka’s victory, Serena, who had the audience on her side, had to calm the crowd and ask them to let Osaka, who was in tears, have her moment. To make matters worse an Australian newspaper that went viral with a racist cartoon of Serena at the Open that went viral and got dragged. The majority of those who picked up on this on social media supported Williams’ right to speak up and charged sexism to the referee. Many former tennis players acknowledged saying far worse to refs and never getting a penalty that severe. Serena continues the good fight.
The 2018 Creative Arts Emmys made history for diversity with It Girl Tiffany Haddish taking the lead. The Creative Arts Emmys were handed out this past weekend ahead of the big show this coming Monday on NBC. African Americans took the awards for all four guest starring roles in both drama and comedy for actor and actress. Tiffany Haddish won for hosting Saturday Night Live. Comedian Katt Williams won for his guest turn on F/X’s Atlanta. Despite the character’s death last season, Ron Cephas Jones won for reprising his role on This Is Us. And, one to watch, Samira Wiley won for guest actress on HULU’s A Handmaid’s Tale. John Legend also became a member of the EGOT club. That’s when an entertainer has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Legend won a producer’s Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special for his live NBC revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. Comedians/Saturday Night Live Headwriters/Weekend Update Anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost will host The 2018 Emmy Awards Monday, September 17th on NBC.
TV One’s UnSung Hollywood is back. Ray J and Wayne Brady will be among those profiled this season. Everything kicks off with the movie The Best Man. UnSung Hollywood returns to TV One Sunday, October 7th at 9pm.
The Predator film franchise is back. This is the fourth installment in the series of the alien lethal hunters who come to earth and must be stopped by ex-soldiers and a science teacher. The 1987 movie starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the 1990 version starred Danny Glover. This time around Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), Olivia Munn (Ride Along 2), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele) and Sterling K. Brown (All Of Us) head the cast. Predator opens this Friday.
Also in theaters is the Jennifer Garner revenge action thriller Peppermint, co-starring Method Man and Annie Ilonzeh (Charlie’s Angels; Empire).
Queen Latifah has been announced as this year’s recipient of The Marian Anderson Award. As a pioneering hip hop performer and groundbreaking female MC, Latifah evolved her career to also include $100 million blockbuster movies (Bringing Down The House; Girls Trip), television (Living Single; The Queen Latifah Show) and production (co-founder of Flava Unit Entertainment). The Marion Anderson Awards will take place at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, for its 20th anniversary Gala and Concert. Latifah joins past recipients Harry Belafonte, Jon Bon Jovi, Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones, Patti LaBelle and Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff. The festivities will take place November 20th and you can log on to KimmelCenter.org for tickets and information.
Naomi Campbell is on the cover of Essence magazine’s Fall Fashion And Beauty issue for the September edition. Essence announced their new issue with the statement This Is Not A Test, Giving Black Women Covers Since 1970.
Emmy nominated Actress/Writer/Producer Issa Rae of HBO’ Insecure covers this month Ebony magazine’s fashion issue. Part of Rae’s personal mantra is behind the cover and accompanying photo shoot inside. The 33-year old says she wants to continue to form platforms where young girls who look, think and feel like she does can see themselves. Meanwhile, Insecure airs on HBO Sundays at 10:30pm right after Ballers with Dwayne The Rock Johnson at 10pm.
Next up is Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong’o on the cover of Porter magazine for their desire issue. The 35-year old Oscar winner talks of self acceptance and the success of Black Panther, now only the third movie in history to make $700 million of its 1.3 billion gross in the United States box office alone.
Zendaya covers Marie Claire for their fall fashion issue. The soon to be 22-year old says she’s on a mission to rewrite the Hollywood narrative and show how much beauty there is in the wide spectrum of the African American community.
Queen Bey is on the cover of Vogue magazine. Beyonce speaks candidly about her marriage surviving cheating and the difficult birth of her twins, which resulted in her having a c-section. Bey not only had creative control over the cover and accompanying photo layout, but she had it done by African American photographer, 23-year old Tyler Mitchell. Mitchell shooting a Vogue cover is the first time an African American has ever done this in Vogue’s 126-year history.
Rihanna graces the cover of British Vogue for their September themed the big fashion issue. Rih Rih’s movie Ocean’s 8, the female cast-caper/heist movie, has taken in over $137 million at the summer box office.
Tiffany Haddish graces the cover of the September issue of Glamour magazine. Up next, Haddish co-stars with fellow Comedian Kevin Hart in Night School coming to theaters September 28th. After that, Haddish joins Tika Sumpter (The Haves & The Have Nots), Amber Riley (Glee), Omari Hardwick (Power) and Whoopi Goldberg for Nobody’s Fool, written and directed by Tyler Perry hitting theaters November 2nd.
Sanaa Lathan’s pet project, Nappily Ever After, is coming to Netflix. Lathan, who dons a shaved head for the role, plays Violet Jones, whose accident in a hair salon makes her realize she’s not living her life to the fullest. The romantic comedy also stars Ernie Hudson, Ricky Whittle and Lynn Whitfield. Nappily Ever After, based on the Tina Gordon Chism novel, begins streaming Friday, September 21st on Netflix.
Check out who’s coming to town:
This Saturday, September 15th – The Aubrey and The Three Amigos Tour starring Drake and Migos at the Wells Fargo Center. Log onto wellsfargocenterphilly.com for ticket information.
Wednesday & Thursday, September 19th and 20th – Bruno Mars on The 24K Magic North American Concert Tour at the Wells Fargo Center with Special Guests Boyz II Men. For tickets and information log onto wellsfargocenterphilly.com.
Thursday, September 20th – Chrisette Michele in concert at the Keswick Theatre. For tickets and information log onto keswicktheatre.com
Saturday, September 22nd – The LIT AF Tour Hosted by Martin Lawrence featuring Deray Davis/ Deon Cole/ Adele Givens/ Benji Brown at the Liacouras Center, Broad & Montgomery. For more information log onto liacourascenter.com/events.
Sunday, September 23rd– RBRM, a.k.a. Ricky/Bobby/Ronnie & Mike, a.k.a. Ricky Bell/Bobby Brown/Ronnie DeVoe/Michael Bivins at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com/event for ticket information.
Thursday, September 27th – Tamia in concert at the Keswick Theatre. For tickets and information log onto keswicktheatre.com.
Friday, September 28th – Sunday, September 30th – The 40th Anniversary of The Philly Pops featuring Philly’s own Leslie Odom, Jr. at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets. Log onto kimmelcenter.org for ticket information.
Saturday, September 29th – Maxwell at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com/event for ticket information.
Tuesday, October 2nd – Janet Jackson and her State Of The Nation Tour at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto ticketmaster.com for ticket information.
Saturday, October 6th & Sunday, October 7th- Mike Epps, Bruce Bruce, Jay Pharoah, Sheryl Underwood, Tony Rock and Gary Owen and more over the two days of The Atlantic City Comedy Festival on Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. For tickets and information log onto boardwalkhall.com/events.
Friday, November 16th – Hall & Oates at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Log onto hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com/event for ticket information.
Tuesday, November 20th - The 20th Annual Marion Anderson Awards, Gala & Concert honoring Queen Latifah at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, For more tickets and information log onto KimmelCenter.org.
Saturday, November 24th - The Irresponsible Tour starring Kevin Hart at the Wells Fargo Center. For tickets and information log onto wellsfargocenterphilly.com.
Thursday, November 29th - Michelle Obama-Becoming: An Intimate Conversation at the Wells Fargo Center. For tickets and information log onto wellsfargocenterphilly.com.
Saturday, December 8th – Maxwell at the Tower Theater on 69th Street in Upper Darby. Log onto ticketmaster.com for tickets and information.
Saturday, December 22nd – The WDAS Holiday Jam starring Charlie Wilson and Stokley The Met Philly, Broad and Poplar. Log onto the wdasfm.com homepage for tickets and information.
If you would like more info please email me at PattyJackson@iHeartMedia.com or check me out with my midday reports at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm during the day.