Singer El DeBarge and his daughters are being accused his by his ex, but he reached out to me to say don’t believe the hype. The legendary Motown singer/songwriter of the group DeBarge has a restraining order against him from a woman told cops the singer chased her down the highway with a shotgun. Huh?!!!! The woman also claims DeBarge’s daughters threatened her as well. Reportedly, the woman is an ex.Well, El reached out to me and he said to pray for the woman and that the accusations aren’t true. Stay tuned the restraining order is still in effect.
Singer/Songwriter/Actor John Legend is coming to TV as…..Jesus Christ. The Oscar winner will star in NBC’s revival of the legendary Broadway smash Jesus Christ Superstar. Legend is no stranger to Broadway works as he won a Tony for producing the revival of August Wilson’s Jitney. This project is the latest in the live revivals of movies and plays by network television. Rock Legend Alice Cooper will also be in the cast. Jesus Christ Superstar will air live on NBC Easter Sunday,April 1st.
Could Activist and Blackballed Quarterback Colin Kaepernick be back in the NFL with an assist from Diddy?!!! Published reports say Sean P Diddy Combs has expressed an interest in buying the Carolina Panthers and bringing in Kaepernick. Could Kaepernick be both quarterback and co-owner. The two men have had a serious conversation about forming an ownership group and NBA Champ Steph Curry could be the third principal. After Kaepernick spent last season kneeling during the national anthem protesting police brutality during NFL games, he was effectively blackballed and is not currently playing. Ironically,this opportunity came about because current Panthers Majority Owner Jerry Richardson announced selling off the team amid allegations he’s facing for sexual and racial harassment at the workplace.
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees have been released. The class of 2018 will include The High Priestess Of Soul Nina Simone, who studied music in Philly’s Curtis Center, Bon Jovi, which includes former Philadelphia Soul arena football owner Jon Bon Jovi, The Cars,Dire Straits, The Moody Blues, and Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter/Gospel Artist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The official induction ceremony will take place April 14th and HBO will announce an air date early next year.
Nelly will not face rape charges. The lawyer for his accuser says she believes the system will fail her so she's refusing to cooperate. Now authorities have announced without cooperation their investigation must stop. The 42-year old was arrested in October, released but not charged in the state of Washington. A woman alleged to police she was assaulted on board Nelly's tour bus after his concert performance.After the Hot In Herre rapper was released, he took to twitter to deny all wrong doing and assured his fans he'd never be involved in something so stupid. Nelly is scheduled to be a part of The All Stars of Hip Hop coming to the Liacouras Center January 14th.
Terry Crews says Hollywood is attacking his family by hacking and tracking them. Crews accuses the supporters of the powerful William Morris Agency of hacking his son’s computer and tracking his family’s whereabouts in retaliation for his bringing charges against one of their most powerful agents. After filing sexual assault charges against Adam Venit and announcing his plans to sue civilly, Crews fired his agency William Morris, where Venit is a high ranking executive. Crews took to social media and says being open about all these details and threats is his best protection. The actor earlier exposed Russell Simmons for trying to influence Crews to drop all charges and give the agent a pass.
Speaking of Uncle Russell, the number of sexual harassment and/or rape accusers he has at press time has reached 12, and now he seems to have stepped away from social media. The co-founder of Def Jam Records and Hip Hop Impresario stepped down from his companies after two accusers went public. At first, he denied the encounters not being consensual but still apologized to the women. When the numbers began to increase, Simmons declared he’d fight back and prove his innocence. He began by going to social media and creating the hashtag #notme and claimed it wasn’t a slight against #metoo. The public reacted so negatively that Simmons deactivated his twitter account and wiped comments from his instagram. Meanwhile Professor Griff of Public Enemy says when it comes to Simmons, it’s not just women and girls but check for young boys too. Published reports say the NYPD is conducting an investigation on these accusations.
Also still facing accusations of sexual misconduct is Tavis Smiley. He’s been making the media rounds to protest the accusations and PBS’suspension of his show. Smiley did confirm that he has had relations with past employees but never showed them favoritism or contempt.Smiley says while he owns the show and the company, other people run the personnel aspects. Meanwhile, his Death Of A King: A Theatrical Experience, which was to be a live multi-media presentation based on Smiley’s book at the Merriam Theater has been cancelled.
Debra Lee is stepping down from her day to day responsibilities at BET, but remains Chairman and CEO. Scott M. Mills will step in as President and take over the day to day. Lee’s new responsibilities are dealing with shareholders and external communities. Original reports had the 20 plus year veteran of the company leaving all together. The network, rated number one among African Americans, put out a statement that Lee will continue on with the network. Under her leadership, the onetime sole black-owned cable station grew from a small niche following to a global giant in 60 countries and more than 125 million households. Original Founder Bob Johnson sold BET to conglomerate Viacom, but Lee remained after the sale and guided BET to original programming including Being Mary Jane, The Game, a new deal with Tyler Perry, Real Husbands Of Hollywood and, of course, The BET Awards show.
The concert scene is ready to roll. First, there’s the Philly Spring Jam starring Ginuwine, Tank, Brandy, Teddy Riley & Guy at the Liacouras Center on Monday, April 9th. More information is at liacourascenter.com/events. Next up is Mother’s Day Weekend as Platinum Shows celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Mother’s Day Music Festival in Atlantic City.Singers Joe and Stokley (from Mint Condition) kick things off Friday,May 11th at Caesar’s Palace. Then Saturday, May 12th,it’s Maxwell, Gladys Knight and Vivian Green at the Boardwalk Hall.Finally, The Whispers and L.J. Reynolds & The Dramatics close out at The Tropicana Sunday, May 13th.More information to come at ppshows.com
Ocean’s 8 has just dropped its official trailer, and you can see it on my Patty TV page on wdasfm.com. The movie is a spinoff of the recent George Clooney/Brad Pitt/Julia Roberts update of the Frank Sinatra Rat Pack movie Ocean’s Eleven. Clooney produced and starred in a trilogy of the Oceans movies from 2001 to 2007. Now, the ladies takeover with an all female reboot of the famous comedy/adventure/ heist film. The all stars include Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Rapper/Comedienne Awkwafina, Anne Hathaway and Sandra Bullock. Ocean’s 8 is set to hit theaters June 8th.
The Mighty O is on the cover of Time magazine. She shares the cover with actresses Storm Reid, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling as the foursome join forces for Director Ava DuVernay’s $100 million epic A Wrinkle In Time. The 1962 novel is coming to the big screen through Disney as a big budget sci-fi adventure. Winfrey calls this film the new Wizard Of Oz. A Wrinkle In Time hits theaters March 9th.
In more Oprah news, she will be the first African American woman to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards.The DeMille, named after the co-founder of Paramount Pictures and the famed director of The Ten Commandments, is given to an incredibly impactful talent in the world of entertainment. Meanwhile, The Golden Globe nominations are out. In film there’s Get Out (Best Picture), Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out),Mary J. Blige (Netflix’s Mudbound) and Octavia Spencer (The Shape Of Water). For TV there’s Black-ish (Best Comedy), Sterling K.Brown (This Is Us), Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Aziz Ansari (Master Of None) and Issa Rae (Insecure). There were some big snubs. In film,the blockbuster thriller Get Out’s nominations are for comedy.What?!!! The summer blockbuster Girls Trip and its entire cast (Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish, were overlooked. In TV, last year’s Best Actress Tracee Ellis Ross was not nominated and the entire cast and series Empire was overlooked. The 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards air Sunday, January 7th at 8pm on NBC.
Christmas Everyday is the legendary Smokey Robinson's new holiday album.There's a mix of originals like The Night The Baby Was Born and classic songs such as Donny Hathaway's This Christmas. Christmas Everyday is available in stores and online now. Robinson also joins Yolanda Adams and Patti LaBelle for Gladys Knight’s TV special Christmas Under The Stars airing on this Friday, December 15th and Friday, December 22nd on the BYU TV Channel.
The critically acclaimed ABC sitcom Black-ish has a spinoff coming in January called Grown-ish. It was 30 years ago when Bill Cosby spun TV daughter Lisa Bonet into her own show A Different World by sending her off to college. Now TV dad Anthony Anderson is doing the same with TV daughter Yara Shahidi. Grown-ish will follow Shahidi’s character, “Zoey Johnson,” in college and how she adjusts to life on her own.Grown-ish will air on ABC’s cable network Free Form and will premiere Wednesday, January 3rd at 8pm.
Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a.The Rock, is on the cover of Ebony magazine. It’s the power issue for December/January, and Johnson talks fame, fortune and fatherhood.He’s also on the cover of InStyle magazine. And of course, he and Kevin Hart in Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle in theaters now.
Also at the movies, Actress'Singer/Activist Zendaya hits the circus by way of the big screen.The actress/social activist goes on the adventure side with her new movie The Greatest Showman. Co-starring Hugh Jackman, Zach Efron, Michelle Williams and Rebecca Ferguson, the bio pic is the story of how Barnum & Bailey Circus was begun by P.T. Barnum.
Actress/Comedienne Tiffany Haddish has a new book called The Last Black Unicorn.She details her abusive childhood because of her schizophrenic mom who had more problems after a car accident. Haddish talks about her abusive ex-husband who even attacked her at a comedy festival. Haddish also talks about her journey through the world of comedy. The Last Black Unicorn is available now online and in bookstores.
Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong’o returns to the cover of Vogue for the January issue. For her cover and photo shoot, Nyong’o talks about her fashion prowess, her exercise regiment and becoming the next great superhero. That’s because her next feature is the big screen adaption of Marvel Comics’Black Panther. Co-starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan,Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya and Forest Whitaker,Marvel Comics’ Black Panther hits the big screen February 16th,2018. Nyong’o appearance on Vogue’s January cover is available now.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Actor Kofi Siriboe (Girls Trip; Queen Sugar) aresharing the December/January cover of Essence magazine’s Year in Review: Everyone Who Gave Us Life.
Mrs.Russell Wilson will co-host the 46th Annual Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Singer Ciara will take the Los Angeles portion of the show while Ryan Seacrest and Jenny McCarthy will be live from Times Square in New York City. As of press time, Ciara will also be performing, but her fellow performers haven’t been announced yet.
WDAS Morning Man Steve Harvey will ring in 2018 on TV.Harvey will host FOX’s New Year’s Eve broadcast. Harvey will be in Times Square, but FOX hasn’t announced his lineup of guest and performers yet.
Oscar winner Angela Bassett, Peter Krause (Sports Night; Parenthood) and Connie Britton (Spin City; Friday Night Lights) will head up the show 911. The new medical drama will revolve around ambulance driving rescue workers. 911 is scheduled for Wednesday, January 3rd premiere on FOX. Meanwhile, look for Bassett in Marvel Comics big screen adaption of Black Panther, with Chadwick Boseman, to be released February 16th.
Although Tyler Perry has signed a new deal with Viacom, he still has programming for Oprah’s OWN coming in 2018.Perry is rebooting The House Of Payne into The Paynes. This new reboot won’t have Allen Payne, Demetria McKinney, Lance Gross or Keshia Knight Pulliam as regulars. No word yet on whether they’ll be guest stars. Emmy Winner Jackee Harry will join original castmembers LaVan Davis and Cassie Davis. The Paynes premieres Tuesday, January 16th with back to back episodes at 10pm. Perry’s nighttime dramas The Haves & The Have Nots, premiering Tuesday, January 9th at 9pm, and If Loving You Is Wrong, premiering Wednesday, January 10th at 10pm, will also be back on the OWN schedule for 2018.
Idris Elba returns to the big screen! He co-stars with Jessica Chastain and Kevin Costner in Molly’s Game.It’s the true story of the Olympic class skier who ran one of the most notorious high stakes poker games for nearly a decade. The games included top sports stars, business leaders and entertainment’s top elite performers and executives before it was taken down by the F.B.I. Molly’s Game opens on Christmas Day.
The 49th Annual NAACP Image Awards will air on The Martin Luther King Day holiday. The two-hour show will air live and be a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. Among the leading nominees are Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z with five nominations. Issa Rae(Insecure), Bruno Mars and Sza have four. Charlie Wilson, Ledisi and Idris Elba have three nominations. Netflix and OWN lead in the TV categories. The NAACP Image Awards with Host and Nominee Anthony Anderson air 9pm, Monday, January 15th on TV One.
The 2018 Grammy nominations have been announced. Sza is among the standouts with nominations for her songs The Weekend and Love Galore and for herself as Best New Artist. Other nominees include Jay-Z with eight, Kendrick Lamar with seven nominations,Bruno Mars with six and Khalid (Location) with five nominations. The Grammys air Sunday, January 28th on CBS.
ABC’s reboot of American Idol with judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie Luke Bryan and Host Ryan Seacrest airs Sunday, March 11th on ABC.
FOX’s self-proclaimed successor to American Idol, The Four: Battle For Stardom premieres in January.What’s the difference between this and the other singing reality shows? The Four won’t just be making competition winners, but making stars. The judges are Fergie, DJ Khaled, Meghan Trainor, Record Executive Charlie Walk and P Diddy. The Four: Battle For Stardom premieres 8pm, Thursday, January 4th on FOX.
Taraji P. Henson will star in the action-thriller Proud Mary, which will reunite Color Purple Co-stars Danny Glover and Margaret Avery, and opens January 12th.Then there's the Tyler Perry psychological thriller Acrimony, co-starring Tika Sumpter (The Haves & Have Nots; Ride Along), opening March 30th.
Larenz Tate (Love Jones; Dead Presidents) and Erica Ash (The Real Husbands Of Hollywood) will host The 2018 Trumpet Awards, the celebration of African American achievement and history in society, airing Sunday,February 11th at 9pm on Bounce TV.
Checkout who’s coming to town:
Thursday,December 30th– Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly in concert at The Tower Theater,Upper Darby, Pa. For tickets and informationvenue.thetowerphilly.com.
Saturday,January 13th– Babyface at The Tropicana in Atlantic City. For tickets or for more information log onto Tropicana.net
Sunday,January 14th– The All-Stars Of Hip Hop starring Nelly, Ja Rule, KRS 1, Redman &Method Man, Fatman Scoop and Three Times Dope at The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.For tickets and information log onto ppshows.com.
Saturday,January 27th– The O’Jays at The Sugar House Casino, 1001 Delaware Avenue. For tickets or for more information log onto sugarhousecasino.com
February,Friday, the 16th and Saturday, 17th– Mary J. Blige in concert at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Tickets and more information at WWW.THEBORGATA.COM!
Saturday, February 10th– Chris Tucker comedy show at The Sugar House Casino, 1001 Delaware Avenue. For tickets or for more information log ontosugarhousecasino.com
Saturday,February 17th– Kem/Fantasia/Avant in concert at The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.For tickets and information log onto ticketmaster.com.
Sunday,February 18th– The Soul Jam starring The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Blue Magic and Bloodstone At The Tropicana in Atlantic City. Tickets and more information log onto Tropicana.net
Saturday,February 24th– Katt Williams in concert at The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.For tickets and information log onto boardwalkhall.com/events.
Friday,March 9th– Keith Sweat in concert at The Liacouras Center, Broad &Montgomery. Tix are on sale Friday, October 13th 2017 and for more information log onto Liacourascenter.com/events.
Thursday,April 5th– Patti LaBelle in concert at The Academy Of Music, 240 South Broad Street, between Locust and Manning Streets. For tickets and information log onto kimmelcenter.org
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.