Jezebel: Nelson Mandela

It's Official: The Today Show Is Making Me Crazy

Dodai — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Today was the last straw: I officially hate the Today show. I know it's in the category of "morning television," but I always tune in, hoping against hope, that I'll see, you know, the news. But after the missing women and harmed kids stories, they move right along to "When should I throw stuff in my fridge away?" and the earth-shattering suggestion that if you think your pet is sick, you should see a vet. Then there's a "concert" on the plaza. And for the last few months, a horrible feeling has been building and accumulating inside of me, and if I don't let it out, I'll burst: The absolute worst part of the show is the "reporter" known as Ann Curry.

Ann Curry is the worst. She hems, she haws, she giggles. Words come out of her mouth, but they are strung along in an order that make no sense. It's embarrassing. And on top of her incoherence, in spite of the fact that she is supposedly a journalist, she does not ask questions. Well, sometimes she asks stupid questions. Earlier this week, of Pierce Brosnan on his singing voice in Mamma Mia, she asked, "Where does it come from?" Um, out of his mouth? She asked Natasha Bedingfield the same question today: "Your music. Where does it come from?" Bedingfield was gracious enough to explain how she gets inspired to write songs (Ann was shocked: "You write your own songs?!" Did you do your research, Ann? Read the bio? Or maybe ASK?) If I'd been asked "Your music. Where does it come from?" I'd have said, "The speakers."

Today, Nelson Mandela's birthday, Curry "interviewed" Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and filmmaker David Turnley, who spent 25 years documenting the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. This is, verbatim, Curry's first question for Turnley:

"[Mandela] says in this last clip we just heard, 'It is in your hands now.' And this is the idea in your book the idea that we are now given the baton we now have this legacy."

Turnley barely knows how to respond, but basically just interviews himself and explains the point of his book. Ann follows up thusly:

And that's not all; that's not all. You took these iconic images that show us not just that courage but also… … a man who could despite what he gave up forgave. And I think that was the moment that made people around the world realize that something that we want to believe is possible in all of us."

Wait, what? As seen in the clip above, all the poor man can do is blink. Of all of the questions she could have asked him: "What was your most memorable moment of your quarter of a century in South Africa?" "Did you ever feel that Mandela's life was in danger?" "Did you ever feel that your life was in danger?" "Which, of all of the photographs you've taken, was the toughest to get?" She asks a question that is, in fact, a statement, filled with some kind of breathy faux-gravitas that we're supposed to interpret as sincerity. I wanted to throw my television out of the window. She makes journalism look bad. She makes women in journalism look bad.

And just when I was calming myself down, who should arrive but Kathie Lee and Hoda? Their cackle-filled, weight-loss centric last hour of the Today show veers between mind-numbing, inane and excruciating. And every Friday, they relive the week's exploits through a montage set to "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." These are full-grown women on a news program? Believe me, I want to stab myself (or SOMEONE) in the eyes.

Nelson Mandela Turns 90 • Amy Winehouse Gets Grabby At Glastonbury

Maria — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:15:00 EDT

Welcome back to the Monday morning edition of Snap Judgment, in which we publish the celebrity snaps that came in over the earlier part of the weekend. Inside: Kirsten Dunst, Liam Neeson, Madonna, Sandra Bernhard, Forest Whitaker, Quincy Jones, Nelson Mandela, Naomi Campbell, Marcia Cross, Christina Aguliera, Kate Moss, and Amy Winehouse performing at Glastonbury! All those — and others — in a gallery beginning below. (Click on the post headline, then a picture to begin the gallery view.)

Kimora Lee Simmons Is Not Going To Let Russell Be Another Deadbeat Dad

Moeiscaterwaulingaboutthepatriarchy — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Russell Simmons is forking over $20,000 per daughter in child support to Kimora Lee, which seems about right when you take into account that they are not just children but living ambassadors of Fabulosity. [TMZ]
Naomi Campbell was kind enough to get arrested wearing one of Nelson Mandela's signature baseball caps, thus showering millions of dollars in free publicity on his AIDS awareness campaign, and this is the thanks she gets? [MSNBC]
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ben Kingsley make out in the new movie The Wackness and now the guy we all associate with one of modern history's foremost humanist visionaires is going around talking about how making out with someone 42 years younger than him was completely cool and she was "totally in charge." [People]
Miley Cyrus admits that her latest song "7 Things" is a very angry song, because it's about an ex-boyfriend, not a specific Jonas brotherly ex-boyfriend you understand, but just like a composite character ex-boyfriend, since anyone who's been around the block a few times knows that shitty guys generally adhere to a few typical patterns of behavior and also, hello, 15-year-old Disney teen idol confections maybe do not write their own songs. Not that their quotes don't sound like they do! "[It goes] through all the different stages of what's been going on the past couple years…It was like a little therapy moment for me." [People]

Christian Bale thinks what happened after Heath Ledger's death amounted to a "hideous circus." [NY Mag]
John Mayer is one of those guys who holds out the fact that he's never cheated on anybody as proof he is a "good guy," but like, what the fuck? With some people you are committing an act of social justice by cheating on them and yes I am talking about Jessica fucking Simpson. [MSNBC]
The Christie Brinkley divorce…you know? I just can't get into it right now. How about we discuss our favorite Billy Joel songs again. If you want to get banned you will say "Still Rock N Roll To Me." [NYDN]
Demi Moore is making some appearances in Dubai but somehow her heart doesn't seem like it's in it. [Page Six]
Brad and Angie gave $1 million to a few charities helping in The Iraq. [AP]
David Beckham is doing a line of mineral water. And sure, sure, it's fine for you and the Beastie Boys to say that maybe another bottled water brand is not what the world needs now, but if you bore the responsibility of hanging onto the title of World's Biggest Carbon Footprint you might come up with some not-particularly-original ideas yourself. [Mirror]
Because Celine Dion sees your hysterical excess, and raises you a $36,343 water bill! [Palm Beach Post]
When Tim McGraw spies a male fan aggressively groping a lady fan at one of his sold-out concerts, he kneels down, drags the guy by the wifebeater onstage, maybe takes a few swings in self-defense before handing him off to his roadies in time to sing the next line of the song he was singing, which just happens to be "I'm not lookin' for trouble." See, a few years back that story would have sounded apocryphal but this is the YouTube era so even doubting Thomases such as myself can safely assure you it really happened. [CMT]
And yeah, ditto on the Verne Troyner sex tape. [TMZ]

Michael Jackson Is Doing A Fashion Line? Insert Glove Joke Here

Sadie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:30:00 EDT

Wacko Jacko is teaming up with Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigier to launch a new line this fall. The apparently delusional Frenchman says, “It’s the merging of the King of Pop with the king of fashion. Something explosive is going to happen.” Kitson, for some reason, has committed to carrying the line exclusively. Like all Michael Jackson news, this is somehow deeply depressing. [People]
Um, Michael's sister Janet is also doing a line, apparently. Starting with lingerie. Insert "wardrobe malfunction" joke here. Oh, wait, Perez Hilton already did. [Perez Hilton]
A spotlight fell on the head of a male model walking in Tom Ford's Milan show. Insert...no, don't. [Fashionista]
Nelson Mandela has personally banned serenity-challenged Naomi Campbell from the stage of his 90th birthday concert! Campbell was wearing a "46664" baseball cap at the time of her arrest (Mandela's prison number during his 27-year stint behind bars and the emblem of his current anti-AIDS initiative), which Mandela found "disappointing" given that he personally counseled her following her last brush with the law/cellphone/maid. [Daily Mail]

Perhaps Naomi will take comfort from this news: "...lawmakers are proposing to give supermodels their own category of work visa. This is especially bold because while easing the way for several hundred models to work during New York's Fashion Week, they must resolutely ignore the pleas of high-tech businesses seeking more visas for well-educated workers." [LA Times]
"Consumer confidence hits 16-year low." [WWD]
Dragon fruit is the latest snake oil. [New York Magazine]
File under 'curiously appropriate meeting of psuedo-hipster mediocrities': Agyness Deyn is dating one of the Strokes. [Perez Hilton]
Just when you thought they couldn't get any uglier: Crocs 2.0 [Blackbook]
MAC, Emanuel Ungaro team up for new makeup line. [Newser]
Expectant mother Angelina Jolie apparently has no need for the teeny-tiny black leather getup she wears in her new flick, Wanted. She's auctioning it at CharityFolks.com, where it's expected to fetch about three grand. Proceeds benefit a charity of Morgan Freeman's that helps communities prepare for natural disasters. [E!]
Tom Ford flouts recession, beating sales budget by 100%. [IHT]
"King of Bling" "Jacob the Jeweler" goes to jail for money-laundering. [WWD]
Chinese sportswear's Olympic ambitions flouted. [Wall Street Journal]
Fashionistas really, really need to stop talking politics. [Guardian]
Parisian "concept store" Colette opens pop-up store in New York! [Fashionista]
Brit It-girl and Gwen Stefani sorta-stepdaughter Daisy Lowe on her style: "Like a fairy pixie doll, but with a little bit of a vintage twist. Like a dirty fairy. I like to mix it up—old vintage fabric dresses with exotic Tibetan jewelry, flowers, headbands, that sort of thing." [Refinery29]
After rough patch, Thierry Mugler on the upswing. [WWD]

Will Amy Sing At Mandela's Birthday Bash?

Dodai — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Nelson Mandela personally called Amy Winehouse and asked her to sing at his birthday party on June 27! The former president of South Africa phoned her! Bono, Elton John and Annie Lennox are expected to perform as well. This UK paper says,"Let's hope [Amy] bee-hives herself!" Yuk, yuk. [Mirror]
Meanwhile: Does Blake Incarcerated have a secret mistress? Is he plotting with the "mystery blonde" to run away with her — and a chunk of Amy's £10 million fortune? [The Sun]
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are due in court today for a progress review. A completely uninformed opinion? She's doing better. [People]
Owen Wilson allegedly picked up some chick (not Kate Hudson) and invited her back to is boat and propositioned her to join him in a threesome with Vince Vaughn. There was a time that a Butterscotch Stallion/Money Baby sandwich would have been soooo hot, and that time was 2001. [Perez Hilton]
Britney's back at work on How I Met Your Mother. She looks cute dressed to match Neil Patrick Harris! [TMZ]

Tom Cruise's new web site is a finely crafted masterpiece of PR spin. [LA Times]
Prince! Is working on a book! Featuring poetry and photographs and elegantly sealed in a purple slipcase, of course. [Reuters]
Dina Lohan is being honored as a "Top Mom" by a Long Island-based charity, Mingling Moms Organization. Ali Lohan says: "My mom is great, she has always been there for us. She helps us follow our dreams. I love her to death." And by "to death" she means, "Sometimes I want to strangle her." [Page Six]
Pete Doherty is out of jail! He served 29 days of a 14-week sentence and now he's back on the streets. You've been warned. [People]
John Mayer on the pix of him with Jen Aniston in Miami: "Listen, this is not a scandal, this is not an issue, this is not a problem, this needs no spin control. This is me living my life and a guy with a really powerful lens and I don't fault him, I don't fault anybody, I don't fault you, I don't fault this or that. There are much worse problems in the world. Everything's cool!" Hahaha, stoner. [ET]
But! John Mayer was seen out with Maroon 5 horndog Adam Levine and John "The Player" was "all over some blond girl," according to a source. Maybe he and Jennifer Aniston haven't had "the talk" yet? [Page Six]
Maxim's Hot 100 list is a sister act: Ashlee Simpson is No. 18, Jessica Simpson is No. 53. But while Ashley Olsen is No. 47, Mary-Kate is not on the list at all... Which might be a compliment. [Page Six]
Hollywood Hills neighbors of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are pissed that paparazzi cars are parking in their hood. [Page Six]
Barbara Walters is traveling by private jet to 25 US cities to promote her memoir — and she's taking hair and makeup people from The View with her. But! She's paying for it all herself. [Rush & Molloy]
Jay-Z at a show at NYC's Madison Square Garden: "This concert isn't endorsed by Obama, but it's time for a change." [Rush & Molloy]
Jeremy Piven was seen having a "knock-down, all-out screaming match" with a brunette at a party. Ari Gold, is that you? [Rush & Molloy]
The jury may deliver a verdict in the Uma Thurman stalking case today; we'll keep you posted. [TMZ]
The bench warrant issued for Foxy Brown yesterday was due to a misunderstanding. Foxy is still free! [TMZ]
Angela Kinsey, who plays Angela on The Office, gave birth to a baby girl, Isabel Ruby, on Saturday afternoon. [People]
Mischa Barton is pissed at a photographer who snapped pictures of her sunbathing topless. She says: "He's a ridiculous human being. I've never abhorred anyone more. I was so angry, I went up to him and said how disappointed I was with his behavior. He apologized but he was very insincere." It should be noted that this photographer is the same one Nicole Kidman won a restraining order against after she testified that he tried to run her off the road. [Mirror]
Peaches Geldof, 19 (daughter of Sir Bob) is implicated in a cocaine ring, ruh-roh. [Mirror]
Nip/Tuck star Joely Richardson kind of wants an African baby. "I'd love to adopt," she says. "I was almost in tears on a hospital visit because there were two or three babies to each cot, but I told myself that crying wouldn't help." [Mirror]
Yoko Ono is suing the producers of a movie hat challenges the concept of Darwinian evolution, saying they used the song Imagine without her permission and led the blogosphere to accuse her of "selling out." [USA Today]
"I don't think of myself as an [feminist] icon, but I think of myself as interested and can get ruffled at gender inequality. I still get touchy when people say that guys are interested in sex and girls are interested in love. It's bullshit." —Liz Phair. [Rolling Stone]

Loose Lips

Jessica — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:45:00 EDT

UK tab The Sun says that Eminem will be performing at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday party. Nelson Mandela and Eminem...a match made in, well, somewhere. • Vanilla Ice wife-pushing update: after his arrest last night on domestic battery charges, a Florida judge has ordered Ice to stay away from his wife. He can only contact her via phone and he can only have contact with his kids through one of his friends, TMZ reports. • Posh n' Becks were courtside at the Lakers game last night, and a fan says they were "signing autographs for kids" and just being regular folks. Aw, that's sort of endearing. [Dlisted, TMZ, Perez]

Nicole & Joel: Not Spending Enough Time With The Baby?

Dodai — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden were seen partying Grammy weekend, so some random source says, "It's almost as if they aren't parents." Kind of a cheap shot. But yeah, the nanny is apparently working overtime. Mom and dad need to party! [Page Six]
Guess who was on the set when Lindsay Lohan posed nude for Bert Stern's Marilyn Monroe-inspired New York magazine shoot? Not momager Dina, but 14-year-old little sis, Ali. Picking up tips on how to behave? [Rush & Molloy]
Dad Jamie tells Britney's new bodyguards not to let her go to a bar or bathroom alone. Also, when she left a restaurant Saturday, she took a cup of coffee with her. [Page Six]
Britney's ongoing custody case reconvenes in court today. First order of business: Who will rep Brit? The firm of Trope and Trope bailed. [E!]
If you find Bindi Irwin vaguely terrifying, wait until you see her doll. [TMZ]

Meanwhile, Robert Irwin, 4-year-old son of Steve, was bitten by a baby boa constrictor. "He said, 'I hope it wasn't venomous,'" his mom claims. (It wasn't.) [AP]
Blind item! "The sobriety of which troubled starlet probably isn't being helped by the fact that her uncle deals weed out of the spare room in her mom's house?" [Gatecrasher]
Jessica Simpson appears in a workout video, but she doesn't want you to see it! Even though she signed a multimillion dollar contract, she changed her mind and refused to give final approval. Speedfit is suing Jess and her dadager. Hey, it can't be any worse than Blonde Ambition. [Page Six]
Do Michael Bolton's kids hate his fiancée Nicolette Sheridan? Do you care? [Rush & Molloy]
Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross's pregnancy: Life-threatening! "My eyesight started going, and I gained 12 pounds in one week," she says. "Both are symptoms of preeclampsia, a complication that is life-threatening for mother and baby. Within 12 hours of being diagnosed - at 35 weeks - I had a C-section." She now has twins, Eden and Savannah. [Rush & Molly]
The new season of Dancing With The Stars will feature tennis star Moncia Seles, actress Shannon Elizabeth, magician Penn Jillette, actress Marlee Matlin and TV "personality" Adam Carolla, among others. Click for the full list! [People]
Spencer Pratt on Heidi Montang's new album: "Madonna, eat your heart out. Britney Spears, eat your heart out. I would say we have diamond records coming - they're gonna sell 10-million plus." LOL. [People]
Scarlett Johansson: "I learned I was a sexual being through David Bowie's songs." Thanks for sharing! [Mirror]
Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson spent Valentine's evening together? Drinking at a pub? Harry + Hermione = ♥! [Mirror]
There's a Bon Jovi documentary in the works, people. Who wants to bet it will be called Livin' On A Prayer? [UPI]
"I feel at great pain when the spotlight is on the death of 4,000 American soldiers, while 600,000 Iraqi deaths are ignored. War is not a movie, it is a tragedy of dead bodies, victims, the disabled, orphans, widows and the displaced." — Sharon Stone. [AP]
The driver of The Spice Girls' tour bus saw a car driving erratically. He called 911; it turned out to be a carjacking. The Spice Girls (and their driver) save the day! [AP]
Oh! And The Spice Girls want to play Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday in June. Not that they've been asked. Yet. [Reuters]
Brooke Shields' mother tells the National Enquirer that she's disappointed in Brooke and liked ex-husband Andre Agassi better than current hubs Chris Henchy. Sigh. [MSNBC]
Pictures of Jennifer Lopez' twins will be on People in the US, but OK! internationally. [MSNBC]
Monopoly, kitchen edition! Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will acquire Emeril Lagasse's media and licensed properties. [Wall Street Journal]
Mandy Moore's always been afraid of going on vacation alone. But she did it and had a great time, so is now the chair of uPumpItUp.com, a site aimed at helping women balance their "wellness." [Reuters]
Olivia Newton-John is planning to walk along the Great Wall of China to raise money for a cancer charity. Does part of you wish she would do the walk in tight shiny black pants while singing, "You better shape up/cuz I need a man/And my heart is set on you..." ? [Reuters]