On Monday, Barbara Walters announced on her show “The View” that she’ll be retiring from television in 2014. During the 83-year-old’s remarkable broadcast career, which began in 1976, she has interviewed numerous high profile figures. From political leaders to pop culture phenomenons, here’s a look back at five of her most controversial interviews.

5. Hugo Chavez

In 2007, Barbara Walters became the first American to interview Hugo Chavez following his statement that President George W. Bush was “the devil.”

Walters asked Chavez about the poor opinion the U.S. has of him and why he called the American president, among many names, a “coward” a “donkey,” and a “murderer.”

Chavez (via a translator) asked if his name calling could possibly be more damaging than the actions undertaken by President Bush. He also called the President a “political corpse” and said that he would “never” invite him to Venezuela.

Surprisingly, she was able to get Chavez to open up about his personal life.

4. Bashar al-Assad

In 2011, Walters sat down with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and remarkably, no topic was off-limits.

At the time, the leader had reportedly ordered a brutal crackdown against those that believed he should resign. During the interview, Walters showed footage of civilians being viciously gunned down, including children. Al-Assad pleaded ignorance to the killings, asking for “evidence,” which existed in the form of countless videos and photos taken by citizens.

When Walters brought this up, he claimed that those outside of Syria, couldn’t possibly know what has going on within the country’s borders. He also brushed off the UN’s report that accused him of “crimes against humanity.”

3. Fidel Castro

In 1977, Walters conducted the first American TV interview with Cuban President Fidel Castro. Remarkably, the five-hour interview was shown on Cuban TV, with only minor alterations.

The two sparred over issues such as Freedom of the press and 25 years later, they resumed their discussion about the Cuban media, much to Castro’s dismay. The interview became quite heated when they discussed the dismissal of The Varela Project in the country and whether or not socialism is an effective economic system.

2. Monica Lewinsky

In 1999, Walters conducted an emotional interview with Monica Lewinsky for “20/20.” Viewed by 74 million, it remains the most watched interviews in TV history.

The two addressed the questionable conduct of her lawyer Bill Ginsberg, her feelings towards Linda Tripp, the “blue dress” and the moment she “fell out of love” with Bill Clinton.

Walters also played footage of Clinton’s infamous denial that his relationship with Lewinsky was of a sexual nature. “I think he could have taken a higher road in his denial,” Lewinsky said.

1. Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin

Another 1977 milestone involving Walters included her interview with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Sadat was the first Arab leader to visit Israel officially and the journalist conducted an unprecedented discussion with the two leaders.

Unfortunately, the historic moment is nowhere to be found on the web but Walters told the fascinating story behind the interview for the “Archive of American Television.”

Forget deadly cab drivers, crazy people on the subway, and falling cranes. The Big Apple now has horrifying fish! As if New Yorkers didn’t already have to face 1,000 possible ways to be freaked out during any given day.

NBC NY is reporting that environmental officials will search a Central Park lake this week because it is believed that the snakehead fish, native to China, North Korea and Russia, may be lurking in a man-made marsh.

Signs around the Harlem Meer warn that anyone who sees the fish, nicknamed Fishzilla, should “secure” it and “keep it in a secure container until it is picked up by officials.”

Sorry, but only a crazy person would “secure” one of these things and put it into a giant container. Honestly, the best thing to do would be to KILL IT WITH FIRE. IMMEDIATELY.

But anyway, here are five reasons to avoid what seems like something out of a B horror movie.

1. They can survive on land for days (DAYS!) because they BREATHE FREAKIN’ AIR (LIKE LAND ANIMALS!)

Thought that fish only lived under water? Well apparently you’ve been misled your whole life, and you should hold every science teacher that has been in  your life accountable. The snakehead fish can live out of water for up to four days. Can you say “yikes?”

2. Their slimy little fish bodies can crawl

That’s right, these creepy creatures — who can grow up to three feet long — can use their fins to slither on land and get to water. Oh yeah, and they climb trees too. Are you scared yet? No? Well, you should be.

3. They look like this

4. This National Geographic video of them exists

5. And, did we mention that they LOOK LIKE THIS?!?

Anything that has been dubbed “Frankenfish” simply can’t be good. But in all fairness, there have been no ACTUAL sightings of this thing … yet (at least from people who aren’t looking for them).

Honestly, this could be one of the many ways the media scares the hell out of people. Still, these things are pretty damn freaky!

I love Ciara‘s “Body Party.” So much so that I made a $1.29 donation to her “Keep Me Relevant” fund on iTunes. I want this girl to win even if she continues to express her own reservations with such an outcome. I don’t love the “Body Party” video, though, or at least, not as much as others seem to.

For one, she’s not dancing enough. Not to mention, I’ve seen this sex kitten bit from her. Don’t get me wrong. God bless the sex kittens, but at what point do you get the ones who offer the same purr the exact same way every single time spayed?

That aside, anyone working to bring back the butterfly has my full support on such endeavor. Beyoncé did her part by including it as an old school dance in the “Get Me Bodied” video, but I’ve got to give it CiCi just doing it because it felt right. You better believe the first thing I did when I was able to crawl out of bed from illness late last week was to do the butterfly.

So yes, gon’ Ciara, and might I add, I also enjoy the reference to Janet’s video for “That’s The Way Love Goes.” At the same time, I think that’s why I don’t completely love this video and why I can’t completely commit myself to the band of misfits known as the C-Squad. Well, I think that’s what they’re called. Whatever, you get it.

How many Janet Jackson videos is Ciara going to recreate exactly? Okay, so it wasn’t a direct rip like those other two drawn from Damita Jo’s “You Want This” visual, but once I found out Ciara’s album change, I began to frown.

The fact that Ciara has switched her album title from One Woman Army to simply Ciara and the motivation behind it is not lost on me, he who has been a long time attendant of the Church of Janet Jackson and Butterflying Saints. Like the janet. album, Ciara marks Ciara’s fifth studio offering. Coincidentally, it’s the 20th anniversary of the janet. album.

All that plus the single cover for “Body Party” mimicking Janet’s single covers for “You Want This” and “All For You.” I’m not sure Janet Jackson knows what a Ciara is, and even if she did, she’s too busy swimming in her husband’s money fault as armed guards block brother Jermaine access into hers. Still, I’m irked for her.

Meanwhile, earlier someone asked me, “Do we believe this relationship?” referring to her and Future.

My response was, “I believe part of Ciara’s attraction is the idea that it’ll boost her celebrity.” That’s not to say her feelings aren’t more genuine than that horrible valley girl tone she now speaks in, but I do think Ciara and Future want us to know they’re a thing. You can tell because they keep force-feeding it to the press blogs.

I wish someone would tell her that being a Kardashian is not a ticket to the musical promised land.

But because I’m such a good and modest person, I’m hoping Ciara’s fifth album is good and she can at least get her a gold plaque out of the deal. No matter what happens, however, I find Ciara creatively lazy. She is not an artist. She just wants to be famous. That’s fine, but riding Janet Jackson’s jock alone won’t get you there.

The other day another friend was lamenting how Ciara continues to let her potential to evolve as a dancer and performer go by the wayside. I used to share those frustrations, which is why my criticism of her could be a wee bit on the harsh side. Okay, my ass was mean as hell. I’m over it, though.

Just gimme an album I can twirk, too, Ciara. I don’t trust you on much else — including Janet level performances and videos. Hell, not even Mya terms of artistry (refer to the Moodring album). If you want to see an act take choreography seriously, go look up the “Grown Woman” performance. Or hell, the OMG Girlz…and the gays, of course.

You won’t ever be Janet, Ciara, but maybe you can become the music star La Toya never was. But, I do hope some other young woman steps up and gives us the kind of music Janet did years ago. Something socially conscious, self-affirming, and sexual. Ugh, dammit, I miss you so much, Janet. You can’t take off that burka for a few minutes and give me one more album (a good one).

By the way, I want Ciara to stop acting as if she’s consumed with “positivity” when it comes to Rihanna — so much so that she won’t be bothered with their rift. Girl, look above. You started that. Don’t be cunty if you don’t want to deal with the consequences.

The wait for new music from Queen Beyonce is killing the Beyhive. When the hell are we gonna get some answers and a clear date for the new album?

When Beyonce was first announced as the Super Bowl Halftime performer, many assumed that like Madonna, she would use the platform to launch her next album. But lo and behold, the Super Bowl Halftime show came and went without a note of new material from the “Single Ladies” singer.

Surely she’d follow up with a new single in the weeks after the Super Bowl, right?

Beyonce lined up a flurry of media after the Super Bowl, including magazine interviews, photo shoots and an HBO documentary.

The anticipation reached a fever pitch and we were all desperately awaiting some kind of release from Bey’s team. A trickle of relief came in the form of “Bow Down/I Been On,” but that was clearly an intro of sorts and not a new single.

Womp.

The next great hope was pinned on Beyonce’s Pepsi commercial: “#BeyHereNow 4.4.13!” her social media channels bleated.

And the fans scrambled to watch the new Pepsi commercial which featured a portion of what was supposed to be her new single, “Grown Woman.”

The tribal, aggressive feminist anthem was traditional Beyonce and fans were eager to get the track in full. Surely the song would make its way to iTunes now that the commercial had been released, right?

Naw. Instead, Beyonce’s camp told Billboard that not only would the song not be hitting iTunes but that the song wasn’t even her first single.

WTF?

So now Beyonce has started her world tour, the “Mrs. Carter Show,” overseas in Serbia and Croatia and she’s not playing a single new song. This is not the way it was supposed to go down.

When is the new Beyonce album coming? MTV reported that the album would see daylight sometime within the next eight months.

…Beyoncé will also release a new album at some point in the next eight months, but hasn’t confirmed her release date.

Jesus. All this set up and no payoff is giving us a serious case of musical blue balls.

“Grown Woman” was clearly being positioned as the album’s first single but now it appears she’s having a change of heart. Reports say that she might be having cold feet as she’s searching for a lead single that will be as iconic as “Single Ladies.”

“Beyoncé is a perfectionist and her biggest competition is herself,” a source told The Sun. “She won’t put anything out as her first single until she’s 100% sure it will be a classic.

“She’s putting pressure on herself for it to be a hit of ‘Single Ladies’ caliber, and to make sure she’s on top of the game.”

OK. Good things come to those who wait. Whatever. But all of these delays and push-backs are still a little concerning. Mathew, where are you now?

On Monday a fake post emerged on the web that was supposedly written by famous Texas pastor Joel Osteen.

In the message, Osteen “wrote” that he was leaving the church because he had come to the realization that there is a lack of evidence that God exists.

The message read:

As many of you may know, and may have heard in the news recently, many of my sermons have deviated from traditional Christian doctrine. I have been accused of altering the ‘message’ to fit my own doctrine and dogma. Others have accused me of preaching ‘feel good Christianity’. I have also been accused of profiting greatly from my ministry, with my books and television deals. Many of their criticisms are legitimate. [...]

No God worth believing in is going to send you to Hell for not believing in him. Not even the worst sinner and scum of the Earth deserves eternal torment in Hell. In fact, God is more likely to congratulate you upon entering Heaven for doubting, questioning and not believing the religionists and their flimsy facts, demands of blind faith and lack of hard evidence.

Even without knowing it wasn’t posted on his official site, it’s pretty obvious this statement isn’t legit.

First off, when has a career Christian ever just suddenly snapped out of it?

I’ll answer that one for you … Never.

Of course the media has sensationalized this as the latest monstrous internet hoax when really it’s a total bore.

Yes, it was “elaborate” (complete with a fake website, fake Twitter account and a fake YouTube video showing fake headlines from credible news sources) and yes, it fooled many many people … but it was moderately amusing at best, and it’s certainly no Manti Teo scandal. (That one was nuts!)

According to ABC news, Osteen has shrugged off the incident.

“You know, I’m really not angry. I don’t feel like a victim,” Osteen said. “I feel too blessed, that life is too short to let things like this get you down.”

The whole thing will likely be forgotten about by next week when the next Twitter death hoax roles around. That is, if it doesn’t start an intricate debate about the way religious figures carry themselves and the messages they choose to promote.

Beyonce teased fans Wednesday morning when she debuted a six-second video telling them to tune in Thursday morning for a big announcement. The video featured Beyonce clad in a black see-through shirt and black shorts simply directing fans to #beyherenow on 04/04/2013.

Buzz surrounding the video hit a fever pitch with fans wondering if the announcement was about new music, her new album or her tour. Well, Gossip On This has your exclusive scoop as we were invited to preview Beyonce’s new Pepsi commercial and song, ‘Grown Woman!’

Ten years ago, Beyonce began her relationship with Pepsi and over time it has grown into a “friendship,” as described at the commercial debut in New York City Wednesday night.

“It’s completely different [this time around working with her], because Beyonce has become an international icon,” Pepsi spokeswoman Isabel Quinteros told GOT at the event. ”When we first got with her she was just leaving Destiny’s Child and she was embarking on this journey.”

Last year Beyonce inked a $50 million deal with Pepsi that will take Beyonce and Pepsi’s friendship global with a multi-faceted branding deal.

“Pepsi embraces creativity and understands that artists evolve,” Beyonce said in  a statement at the time. “As a businesswoman, this allows me to work with a lifestyle brand  with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity.”

Part of the deal is commercials; and GOT was invited to preview Beyonce’s fifth Pepsi commercial!

In the commercial titled “Mirrors,” Beyonce takes a trip down memory lane with her many looks including Crazy in Love B, Bootylicious B, Foxy Cleopatra B, Sasha Fierce B, Single Ladies B and her newest look, all while dancing in the mirror. There’s probably about 10, 20, maybe even 30 different Beyonce’s!

At the end Beyonce says to, “embrace your past, but live for now,” the latter part being Pepsi’s newest slogan.

“I think the ad, it represents her journey, not only throughout her career, but us with her,” Quinteros told us. “She’s taking us through all these different stages of her life.”

Mirrors features a new song, ‘Grown Woman,’ from Beyonce’s newest untitled album.

Without further ado … check out Beyonce’s BRAND NEW Pepsi “Mirrors” commercial right here!!

With a headline like that, I could really take this a thousand different places. You nervous? Don’t be.

Dennis Rodman is back in the headlines, and this time, it isn’t for a marriage, divorce, or even for wearing a wedding dress –  but the former basketball phenom IS in the news for a new relationship he’s formed with none other than North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Now before you check out on me, because this is the part where that’d be easy, hang with me.

If you hadn’t heard, to make a long story short, Dennis Rodman just got back to the States after traveling abroad to hang out with the dictator of North Korea. At first, I thought this was about as profound as Kim Kardashian meeting Ahmadinejad. But then after a little more thought, I realized: this is kind of epic, kind of annoying, and then kind of epic all over again.

KIND OF EPIC:

It’s kind of epic on a number of levels. How did Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un become besties in the first place?

North Korea is notoriously insulated. North Koreans aren’t tweeting from their iPhones, updating their statuses and tagging Facebook photos on their iPads, and probably didn’t really catch on to the South Korean-native Psy’s Gangam Style craze.

It’s not likely Lil Kim (nickname for Kim Jong Un, after rising to power when his father Kim Jong Il passed away in 2011) was following Dennis on Twitter, Dennis followed back and they started DM-ing.

It’s also rather unlikely that the pierced and tatted Rodman just stumbled upon KJU and they just clicked. KJU reportedly speaks broken-English and I doubt they sat next to each other on a flight.

Some people believe Rodman was paid to make the trip, seemingly to cause a media frenzy… like… it… has… and to bring more attention to North Korea.

You may remember it was barely a month ago the country made headlines when they reportedly tested a nuclear weapon that was aimed toward the United States. The United States has (seemingly) had very little success getting some of the most official communications into North Korea, and then comes Dennis Rodman.

It’s epic simply because they were in contact.

KIND OF ANNOYING:

Of all the celebrities to invite to North Korea and spark headlines, conversations, and cause me to have to message my dad at late hours to get his opinion, why Dennis Rodman? There are a host of other people that are basketball players, and washed-up former stars of not only Celebrity Apprentice, but also Celebrity Rehab.

The choosing of Dennis Rodman leads me to believe that this stunt was just that, a publicity stunt. It’s not really a secret that reports of Rodman’s financial woes are abundant. He’s also supposedly in exceedingly poor health. The scent of this story to me reeks of “cut me a check and I’ll put on a show.”

It’s annoying because it causes us to have to discuss, and look at, Dennis Rodman yet again.

KIND OF EPIC ALL OVER AGAIN:

Finally, it’s kind of epic all over again because I’m reminded of Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential debates.

When questioned about whether or not he’d be willing to take meetings and converse with our enemies, he caught a lot of flack and was called naive for saying he would, from just about everyone, the right, the left, and even Hillary Clinton.

It was ground-breaking at the time because, at that time, our current president had us in two wars, and always seemed like he had his cowboy boots on and his gun on his holster ready for the next fight. This was a radically different perspective for a prospective new White House tenant.

But this week, the Obama administration has made indication that it will not be taking Rodman’s only real coherent piece of advice from his trip, to “call him” … ‘him,’ being Kim Jong Un.

When Rodman was interviewed on Sunday morning political chat show This Week with George Stephanopolous, he said that KJU wanted Obama to just “call him,” citing that he did “not want to do war.”

Now honestly, if there’s anything that Dennis Rodman said in his interview that helped him, it was discussing the less-than-olive-branch-extending request. While it seems this would be in line with President Obama’s views on taking calls from anyone, today it seems that policy has been suspended.

You won’t find many bigger fans of our great Commander-in-Chief than you will in me, but it does beg the question: “Why not just ‘call him,’ Mr. President?”

It’s kind of epic all over again, because it’s Dennis Rodman putting the president into quite the predicament.

As Secretary of State, and arguably one of the best we’ve ever had, Hillary Clinton wanted to but never got to Kim Jong Un … but Dennis Rodman did. Will the president accept the opportunity, pick up the phone and talk to one of the world’s most violent and hated leaders? Only time will tell.

As for Dennis Rodman’s future itineraries in the East, he says he wants to go back to “find out more.” Great. Dennis Rodman wants to be a diplomat. I think need a tall glass of iced bleach.

But then again, what do I know?

PHOTOS FROM DENNIS RODMAN’S TRIP TO NORTH KOREA ARE BELOW:

For Chris Brown and Rihanna fans that also tune into “Law & Order SVU,” last night’s episode was an odd mix of Déjà vu and “That’s So Raven.”

Last night’s episode featured (SPOILER ALERT!!!) fictional hip hop/pop star couple Caleb Bryant and Micha Green. The two were as popular as musicians can seemingly get.

One night while in the studio recording a duet, the couple finds themselves under the microscope after Caleb got violent with Micha. Soon after the police have arrested Caleb, pictures of Micha’s battered face are splashed across the news and even a tabloid magazine cover.

I’m sure there are a lot of feelings from the RiRi and Breezy stans. If I were Chris’s publicist, I’d be working overtime on damage control, but I think a lot of people will feel like it’s not an outrageous story.

I think this episode kind of says what we all assumed (or have heard) about what has already happened in the case — Rihanna trying to cover up for Chris, them sneaking around against the protective order, Chris not being 100 with what was going down — but then, about two thirds of the way through, it makes a right hand turn away from reality and begins to tell the story of what many likely speculate is a possible ending to the story.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE:

Caleb shows up at a release party for their new song together, in clear violation of Micha’s court ordered protective order. When the detective on the case (Ice T, no less) learn that he’s in attendance at the event, they swarm the party. By the time they arrive, Micha’s mentor is lying on the ground shot dead, and just feet away Micha lies unconscious.

Soon after the altercation, police eventually get the truth out of Micha, that Caleb was not only in attendance, but fired the fatal shot to Brass, her “industry father.”

After Micha takes the stand and lies about her confession to police the night before, she and Caleb escape on vacation, but not before tweeting pictures of them on the beach, almost as if to taunt the police. When authorities see there’s nothing they can do, they imply that their hands are tied until “…the inevitable” happens.

When Micha unwittingly triggers Caleb’s rage … cut to Micha’s funeral. Well damn. (No really, you see his angry face coming toward a scared looking Riha…err, Micha, and then the camera cuts right to fans memorializing the singer with flowers and pictures after she’s been murdered. No lie. That’s exactly how the episode plays out.)

I’m on both sides of the fence with this one. Part of me says it’s really inappropriate to take this story that we are all more than aware of beyond the realm of what we’ve heard, and moves to what we “talk about around our kitchen tables,” as the episode’s guest star Wendy Williams would say.

The part of me that’s not comfortable says that it shines Chris and Rihanna in the most unfavorable of lights and starts the real life discussion’s advancement. The part of me that feels like it’s fair game says “we’re all thinking it,” And by “we’re all” I mean “I, along with many others.”

Listen. Whether we like it or not, Chris Brown and Rihanna are living a hybrid of “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and a Bobby and Whitney movie that is yet unwritten.

We ALL have an opinion about them. From the initial instance of domestic violence, to all the legal shenanigans that followed, to their seeming recent reunion — whether or not you care, you have an opinion.

But at the end of the day, what we think, what we feel, and all of the other things we create around them to make ourselves feel involved don’t matter to them. What Law & Order has done here was what they do best – they got us all talking. And watching. And doing that dunn-dunn sound.

The 2013 Oscars ceremony closed out a year of great movies and even better performances. While some people people found host Seth MacFarlane over the top and offensive, others found the show refreshing and well put together.

Here are some of the best moments from the 2013 Oscars:

Seth MacFarlane’s Opening Monologue

Critics have said that some of Seth MacFarlane’s jokes were offensive or over the top, but we found them to be pretty funny. Bringing in William Shatner to show off some of his dry humor, was the perfect touch.

With the “Boob Song,” MacFarlane was able to combine his comedic chops, with his musical ability and give us a pretty memorable song. Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron were great additions, and Theron showed that she is not only a great actress, but a pretty good dancer too.

Last night’s Oscar host Seth MacFarlane left no stone un-turned, tackling everything from Chris Brown and Rihanna and the assassination of Lincoln. He also reenacted Denzel Washington in “Flight” with sock puppets, and made out with Sally Field.

While some have praised the “Family Guy” creator’s bits during the musical themed ceremony others have lambasted him for going to far.

That’s probably because being offended and calling for PC behavior has become the norm. Instead of appreciating the old Hollywood meets cartoonish humor feel, a number of viewers have branded MacFarlane’s jokes as “sexist” and “hostile.”

Apparently, they’ve never watched an episode of “Family Guy.”

While a few jokes bombed — it’s didn’t help that many of the presenters were flat and most the speeches were dull — there were a number of moments in which MacFarlane hit it out of the park.

Here are his 10 best jokes from Sunday’s Academy Awards.

1. The one that made Tommy Lee Jones laugh:

“Welcome to the Oscars, the quest to make Tommy Lee Jones laugh starts now.”

2. The one about “Argo”:

“The story was so top secret, the film’s director was unknown to the Academy.”

3. On “Django Unchained”:

“This is the story of a man fighting to get back to his woman, who has been subjected to unthinkable violence … or as Chris Brown and Rihanna called it, a ‘date movie.’” – Editor’s note: Not cool, but Seth MacFarlane will be Seth MacFarlane)

“A lot of controversy over the multiple uses of N-word in the film. I’m told, apparently, the screenplay is loosely based on Mel Gibson’s voicemail?” – Makes up for the crass Chris Brown/Rihanna joke

4.

“Denzel Washington has a great sense of humor. He did all those “Nutty Professor” movies.”

5.

“The actor who really got inside Lincoln’s head was John Wilkes Booth….What? 150 years and it’s still too soon?”

6. On Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas:

“They remember when this town was cocaine trees as far as the eye could see.”

7. On Ben Affleck in “Argo”:

“First time I saw him with all that dark facial hair I thought, my god, the Kardashians have finally made the jump to film.”

8. On 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis:

“To give you an idea of how young she is, it’ll be 16 years before she’s too young for Clooney.”

9. On Jodie Foster’s craziness:

“Tonight’s ceremony is being watched by over a billion people worldwide. Which is why Jodie Foster will be up here later to ask for her privacy.”

10. Introducing presenter Meryl Streep:

“Ladies and gentlemen, our next presenter needs no introduction.” (walks away)

WATCH SETH MACFARLANE’S FULL OSCARS 2013 OPENING MONOLOGUE HERE:

While the best things in life go together like peanut butter and jelly, there are far too many things that are like oil and water; vinegar and milk; Lindsay Lohan and a clean record. In other words, they don’t mix.

Twitter, being the amateur comedy platform that it is, latched onto the trending topic #2ThingsThatDontMix Wednesday (Feb 20) and let it rip with all the opposites that might attract, but shouldn’t.

Here’s a look at 21 of the funniest tweets on #2ThingsThatDontMix:

1.

#2ThingsThatDontMix alcohol and cell phones. Bad things happen

— Life As A Party (@LifeAsParty) February 21, 2013

2.

#2ThingsThatDontMix Weed and stress.

— High Ideas (@ReallyHighIdeas) February 21, 2013

3.

#2ThingsThatDontMix Success & negativity. Focus on the good, and you win.Focus on the bad, and you hurt yourself most. P.S. I like pizza.

— Dan Schneider (@DanWarp) February 21, 2013

4.

#2ThingsThatDontMix black girls & blonde weaves, lookin’ like duracell batteries! — She Ratchet™ (@SheeeRatchet) February 20, 2013

5.

#2ThingsThatDontMix Deaf and Blind. — Helen Keller (@The_HelenKeller) February 21, 2013

6.

#2ThingsThatDontMix A pocket full of tots and a foot. — Napoleon Dynamite (@DangitNapoleon) February 21, 2013

7.

#2ThingsThatDontMix me and exercise twitter.com/ZACHARYDUPUIS/… — za?h ? (@ZACHARYDUPUIS) February 21, 2013

8.

#2ThingsThatDontMix…Tim Tebow & playing time. — Tom Tebow (@IamEvilTebow) February 21, 2013

9.

#2ThingsThatDontMix twitter.com/JakarM/status/… — Jimi Hendrix ? (@JakarM) February 21, 2013

10.

#2ThingsThatDontMix vodka and decisions. — Tumblr (@SincerelyTumblr) February 21, 2013

11.

#2thingsthatdontmix @justinbieber and glass doors lol

— TJ Prodigy =] (@Tjprodigy10) February 21, 2013

12.

#2ThingsThatDontMix taylor swift and relationships

— za?h ? (@ZACHARYDUPUIS) February 20, 2013

13.

#2ThingsThatDontMix fat girls and leggings

— In God I trust (@josh60z) February 20, 2013

14.

#2ThingsThatDontMix Cereal and Water…

— Naruto Uzumaki (@I_LoveAuburn) February 20, 2013

15.

#2ThingsThatDontMix Taylor Swift and Boyfriends

— MidwestGent (@midwest_gent) February 20, 2013

16.

#2ThingsThatDontMix. Water and Grease. I learned the hard way as a youngn. Call myself puttin frozen beef patties in grease. BURNT MY AZZ UP

— Cutty(@LilCutty) February 20, 2013

17.

#2ThingsThatDontMix Crocs and everything.

— Miserable Madge (@MiserableMadge) February 20, 2013

18.

#2ThingsThatDontMix Lebron and a hairline

— Not Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayliss) February 20, 2013

19.

#2ThingsThatDontMix: Loving dogs & eating pigs. Both like to cuddle, learn tricks, & neither wants to die for someone’s meal.

— PETA (@peta) February 20, 2013

PETA just being PETA…

20.

#2ThingsThatDontMix: me and mornings.

— Funny Tweets (@FunnyOrTruth) February 20, 2013

21.

#2ThingsThatDontMix A million dollar body and a food stamp face.

— Top Tweets ? (@HumorOrTruth) February 20, 2013

Jamie Foxx was photographed handing over a huge wad of cash to two men in Los Angeles Saturday afternoon (Feb 16) straight from the ATM machine, prompting us to wonder … is Jamie Foxx just giving out free money? And if so, when will he be doing it again so that we can make sure we’re around to take part in the festivities???

It isn’t exactly clear why the “Django Unchained” star was spotted giving cash money to two random men, so all we can do is speculate. Does he owe some off-camera loan shark a ton of money and he’s agreed to pay him back in installments?

Or was he simply paying off an invoice in cash to a couple of handymen? Or was he just in a really good mood that day, saw those two guys and said, “Hey! I’m Jamie Foxx. I’m rich. Would you like some FREE money?” And they were like, “Hell yeah!”

Or did he just buy some really expensive drugs and we just witnessed a big drug transaction, which makes us all accessories to the crime if we don’t report it? There are many possibilities for different scenarios.

Why do you think Jamie Foxx was pictured giving people money straight from the ATM machine?

Four years ago, around this time in 2009, Rihanna and Chris Brown‘s puppy love relationship turned violent. Chris Brown beat and then abandoned Rihanna in the streets of L.A. just hours before the two were set to attend the 2009 Grammys.

But here we are in 2013 and Rihanna and Chris Brown are seated in the front row at the Grammys beaming, with their arms locked together.

Most people have very strong, visceral opinions when it comes to these two. Many Rihanna fans aligned themselves with feminists and domestic violence advocates in vehemently condemning Chris and his actions.

But the Rihanna Navy was put in a pickle when their heroine decided that it didn’t matter that Chris beat the hell out of her. She decided that love could overcome and heal the pain. The same hands that bruised her could also protect and nurture her.

So fans have been forced to either accept Rihanna’s decision to embrace Chris again or stay silent on the matter and pretend like they don’t notice Chris.

Choosing to ignore Chris, however, becomes a mission impossible with Rihanna inviting him more and more into her career and everyday life. He’s been featuring in her single artwork and now that they’re attending awards shows together, there’s no separating Chrianna.

Many people who supported Chris throughout the ordeal are happy to see Chris and Rihanna back together. Having his victim publicly pardon him makes Chris look lovable again.

It won’t work on everyone, but it’ll work on enough people. Already, you hear many claiming that the domestic violence assault was merely an “obstacle” that the couple had to overcome in their quest for “true love.”

So which camp do you fall in when you see these pictures of Chris and Rihanna together again? Is this true love or a twisted nightmare?

While audiences may be familiar with Kristina Anapau as the fairy Maurella on the hit HBO series “True Blood” and various TV guest spots, the stunning actress has wowed on the big screen as well.

A classically trained ballet dancer, Anapau appeared in the harrowing 2010 drama “Black Swan” and will soon be seen in the action film “BlackJacks.”

Gossip On This had the chance to ask the 33-year-old about her “True Blood” role and upcoming projects.

GOT: When Alan Ball first cast you as Maurella on season four of “True Blood,” the role was quite small. Were you aware that your you’d have a more crucial role in season five and (rumor has it) season six? 

Kristina: There were a few hints during the filming of my first scene in season four that it was just the beginning of more to come for Maurella, but I did not know for sure. I was thrilled when I learned that I would be coming back.

GOT: So, on that topic, what can you tell us? Do you have any dirt on season 6 yet?

Kristina: I think you already know the answer to that one. Nothing I can share publicly yet.

GOT: Scoops aside, Ball is known for creating strong female characters. As an actress, was it invigorating to embody one of them? 

Kristina: Alan Ball is incredible at shaping strong female characters, but does so in a way that people can still relate to them.  It is truly a privilege to embody one of his creations. Mauella is quite multifaceted and exudes so much regality amidst her sensuality.  It’s a pleasure to help bring her to life.

GOT: How do you think that show’s like “True Blood” can change the way in which women are portrayed in film and television to for the better? 

Kristina: An abundance of strong female characters in film and on television can only be beneficial to the industry and to the world. There are a lot of very strong women out there who want to watch characters that they can relate to without feeling like they have to dumb themselves down.  And obviously, a greater presence of strong females in the media are a crucial component for the healthy development of the younger generations of women in the world today.

GOT: Prior to becoming an actress, you were pursuing a career as a ballet dancer. When did you discover that you wanted to become an actress? 

Kristina: I had no plans of becoming an actress until it happened. I was cast at age 16 in the lead role of a movie that Universal was filming in Hawaii called “Escape From Atlantis.” I am very grateful for that wonderfully smooth welcome into the business, but have had to work very hard since to get to where I am today.

GOT: You were able to utilize you ballet training in Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan,” are you actively looking for roles that will allow you to showcase your skills as a dancer?

Kristina: Being able to call upon my training as a dancer for Black Swan was an incredible experience. I would love to do another dance film.

GOT: Has it been difficult to balance the demands of being a busy actress and maintaining your dance skills?    

Kristina: I do still go to dance class on a somewhat regular basis, but yes, dance class gets pushed aside, more often than not.  That is one of the things that  was so wonderful about training for Black Swan– It was part of the job to be in class every day.  My dance abilities improved tremendously during the training for that film.

GOT: What roles do you have in the pipeline?

Kristina: I have two great films coming out this year, “Sighting” and “BlackJacks.” In both, I was fortunate to play very strong, interesting women.  It’s such a pleasure when a you are given a role that allows you to expand within it rather than having to shrink to fit into it.  Both Theresa (“Sighting”) and Lisa Westbrook (“BlackJacks”) allowed for a lot of expansion.

*********

Right now, there is no set premiere date for the next season of “True Blood,” however based on the show’s production schedule and past history and production schedule, Season 6 will likely kick off sometime in mid-June or early July.

As for Kristina Anapau’s upcoming movie projects, both “Sighting” and “BlackJacks” are set to be released sometime this year.

Beyonce BLEW THE ROOF off the Mercedes Benz Super Dome when she headlined the Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl 47 Halftime Show Sunday night (Feb 3).

In fact, her performance was so electrifying that minutes after she exited the stage, half of the power in the stadium went off, prompting many to wonder whether or not Beyonce had anything to do with it. #BeyonceBrokeTheSuperBowl, y’all!!!

After Beyonce’s thrilling performance, the general consensus from Twitter — especially among celebs — was that Beyonce killed it.

Here are 33 celebrity reactions to Beyonce’s Super Bowl Halftime show performance:

1. First Lady Michelle Obama

Watching the #SuperBowl with family & friends. @beyonce was phenomenal! I am so proud of her! -mo

— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) February 4, 2013

2. Oprah Winfrey

BEYONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) February 4, 2013

@bionca haven’t seen a lot of them.. But absolutely that was best I’ve ever seen. She met the moment. #BEYONCEatSuperBowl

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) February 4, 2013

3. Piers Morgan

That was sensational. Madonna, you are officially retired, luv. #Beyonce

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 4, 2013

4. Wendy Williams

Yes!!!! B you killed it girl!!!!! #SuperBowl47

— Wendy Williams (@WendyWilliams) February 4, 2013

5. Diddy

King B is my fuckin Hero!!! #KillinIt

— iamdiddy (@iamdiddy) February 4, 2013

6. Bruno Mars

Beyonce got some stamina ! I’d be coughing blood by now

— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) February 4, 2013

7. Frank Ocean

bey bodied dat.

— frank ocean (@frank_ocean) February 4, 2013

8. Trey Songz

Ain’t nobody sangin (or performing) like B…she’s phenomenal. The best to do it, ever.

— Trey Songz (@TreySongz) February 4, 2013

9. Kelly Clarkson

The force and power that is Beyonce just shut the Super Bowl down ha! Too funny!

— Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) February 4, 2013

10. Keyshia Cole

Fuck that shit up then Beyonce! Bad bitch central #AllGirlEverything

— Keyshia Cole Gibson (@KeyshiaCole) February 4, 2013

11. Carrie Underwood

…and @beyonce just made all the rest of us singers look stupid! In the most awesome way possible! Way to work it! #BestEverHalftimeShow

— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) February 4, 2013

12. Justin Timberlake

Yes, B. Yes. Roasted that… #KINGBEY

— Justin Timberlake(@jtimberlake) February 4, 2013

13. Solange

No. One. Better.

— solange knowles (@solangeknowles) February 4, 2013

14. Jamie Foxx

Thrilled 2 C @beyonce + @destinyschild doing their thing again! You feel me?

— Jamie Foxx (@iamjamiefoxx) February 4, 2013

15. Alicia Keys

3 sista’s at the superbowl! ;-) Me, @beyonce & @iamjhud ! Cheers!! What an unforgettable day!! #SB47

— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) February 4, 2013

It’s 4 a.m. on the East Coast, and guess what’s trending on Twitter? Waffle House and Taco Bell!

For some reason, it has become a recent tradition for either Taco Bell or Waffle House (or both) to trend on Twitter around this time on weekends, most likely because everyone’s leaving the club, and those are the only places guaranteed to be open at this time of the night. Well, those and “legs,” if you listen to your grandma.

While perusing through the Twittersphere’s trending topics, we came across some hilarious tweets about Waffle House and Taco Bell, and here they are:

1. This person had a really good point about Waffle House workers:

This waffle house waitress is talking about how highschool is a waste of time after 9th grade. That’s probably why you work at waffle house.

— Billy Banks (@SoMuchBanks) February 2, 2013

2. This person was excited to meet Ed Sheeran at Waffle House:

IM AT WAFFLE HOUSE I MET ED SHEERAN HALF AN HOUR AGO

— cassidy (@hrarry) February 2, 2013

3. This person can’t be serious about this Waffle House employee:

Me: “Mam, do u have gluten free waffles.” Waffle House employee: “Don’t know where u from but waffles ain’t free here.” twitter.com/byrnes22/statu…

— Eric James Byrnes (@byrnes22) February 1, 2013

4. This person was about to get his ass kicked at Waffle House:

Hey everybody come to Waffle House so y’all can see my ass get kicked by this 40 year old.

— Sir James Holladay™ (@TheJHolladay) February 2, 2013

5. This person (understandably) hates getting burnt waffles at Waffle House:

Waffle house be pissin me off burnin waffles and them try to give them to you. Bitch ion want that crispy shit!!

— -*Thugnificent* (@All_inkedUp) February 2, 2013

6. This person is optimistic about Waffle House’s future:

Hoping for the best for Waffle House someday

— Denny I ? (@dennyvillatoro) February 2, 2013

7. This person doesn’t understand why Waffle House is trending:

oh my god why is waffle house trending. waffle house owns, but why at 2am on saturday morning

— Prince Cabbage-Head (@PrinceRoan) February 2, 2013

8. This person campaigned for a campus-wide trip to Waffle House:

So since everyone on campus is awake and I KNOW y’all hungry, who wanna make this move to Waffle House?

— Charles Smith(@CDotSmittyy) January 30, 2013

9. This person is sorry, but also not sorry, about calling the girls behind her at Waffle House whores:

These girls behind me at Waffle House are whores! Sorry not sorry! ????

— Kameron Hope(@KameronPuckett) February 2, 2013

10. This person got the lady at Waffle House to twerk:

We got the lady at Waffle House to twerk so I’ve now seen everything.

— J0SH (@heyj0shua) February 2, 2013

11. This was just hilarious:

Found out today you’re suppose to urinate on a jellyfish sting, not a jelly stain. Sorry lady at waffle house… just trying to help.

— Stoned Jokester (@StonedJokester) January 31, 2013

12. Also hilarious:

Waffle House is what would happen if a dog struggling with depression opened a restaurant.

— sammy rhodes (@prodigalsam) January 30, 2013

13. This person has a very valid point about Taco Bell:

Taco Bell turns into a 5 star restaurant after midnight

— She Ratchet™ (@SheeeRatchet) February 2, 2013

14. So does this person:

Taco Bell should have its own seperate food group. — Daniel Tosh(@_DannyTosh_) February 1, 2013

15. This person will twerk for Taco Bell:

Will twerk for Taco Bell — Acacia Brinley (@KshaClark) February 2, 2013

16. !!!!!

@kshaclark Twerk it, Acacia.

— TACO BELL (@TacoBell) February 2, 2013

Will attempt to learn to twerk for Taco Bell*******

— Acacia Brinley (@KshaClark) February 2, 2013

17. This person can’t resist Taco Bell:

i will not go to taco bell, i will not go to taco bell, i will not…….hi, can i get three cheesy gordita crunches ? — DJK (@DJKoulianos) February 2, 2013

18. This person loves Taco Bell. Maybe a little too much:

I want to lay in bed all day;And eat so much Taco Bell? — ?Jason Kelly? (@_JasonKelly) February 2, 2013

19. So does this person:

guess who my valentine is? Taco Bell and my bed.

— dallas gomez ? (@dally_boy23) February 2, 2013

20. This person should do business with Taco Bell.

Taco Bell…please deliver

— Cliff Paul© (@Boy1duh) February 2, 2013

Seriously. This needs to happen.

21.   :(   :*(   :**(

@boy1duh That’s not possible. — TACO BELL (@TacoBell) February 2, 2013

22. This person deserves a free taco from Taco Bell:

Hey @tacobell, thanks for the taco with NOTHING in it! WTF! twitter.com/GIRLSGONEGAMER… — Raya (@GIRLSGONEGAMER) February 2, 2013

23. ????

Taco Bell, now that we’re moving forward with the “Cool Ranch Loco Taco”, can we add a “Loco McRib Taco”? Mull it over please! #locoRIB

— John O’Callaghan (@johnmaine) February 1, 2013

Uhm. Gross?

24. LMAO!:

Chipotle is just a Taco Bell that’s been to Sundance.

— sammy rhodes (@prodigalsam) February 1, 2013

Alicia Keys performed at President Barack Obama‘s Inaugural Ball Monday night (Jan 21) and switched up the lyrics to her song “Girl On Fire” in a special tribute to honor the president on his special day.

A longtime supporter of President Obama, Keys began by telling the audience, “today is an incredible day. And you can feel the energy everywhere that you go. Every day is a new day and a new chance to be our best. To serve our highest purpose.”

She intorduced the new lyrics, “He’s president and he’s on fire…he’s living in a world and it’s on fire” and paused for a few seconds to cheers from the crowd before belting “Obama’s on fire!”

While it was nice and quite thoughtful of Alicia to change up the lyrics to her song just for the President … we think she may have missed the boat with that whole “Obama’s on Fire” thing, which if taken literally, sounds really really bad.

L.A. Times Pop Music Critic Randall Roberts seems to think so too, referring to the R&B singer’s ode to Obama as “ill-advised casualness gone wrong” and calling it “awkward,” “mediocre,” “confusing” and an outright “mistake.”

Roberts even offered his own interpretation of Keys’ updated lyrics:

“He’s president and he’s on fire/Hotter than a fantasy, longer like a highway,” she sang, turning the autobiographical song of determination into an increasingly awkward presidential ode. “He’s living in a world and it’s on fire/Filled with catastrophe but he knows he can fly away,” she went on to sing, and to my ears the suggestion here is that the president just may cut and run when the going gets tough.

“He’s got both feet on the ground,” she continued, “and he’s burning it down/Got his head in the clouds/As he’s not backing down.” Did anyone else interpret that to mean he’s out of touch and stubborn? And how can anyone burn down the ground? She then went into a recast version of the song’s chorus: “Obama’s on fire! Obama’s on fire! He’s walking on fire! Obama’s on fire!”

Perhaps he’s the devil? No? Then, why in the following line did Keys sing, “Everyone stands as he goes by/They can see the flames that’s in his eyes/Watch him as he’s lighting up the night.” OK, maybe I misread it. She was just saying he’s a charismatic guy.

Then Keys acknowledged that the president, hot though he may be, is taken — “Everyone knows Michelle is his girl/And together they run the world — and we’re gonna let it burn, let it burn,” and in these lyrics she seemingly confirmed the fear of many right-wing conspiracy theorists.

“Obama’s on fire,” concluded Keys. Good to know. Maybe Hank Williams Jr. could cover the song next.

We know Alicia meant well and all, but when she was rehearsing this over and over … did it not sound strange to her (at all) that she was using her lyrics to set our President on fire?

Not cool Alicia. Not cool.

The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards aired live from Beverly Hills, California Sunday night (Jan 13), and just in case you missed it — or even if you saw it, and want to relive it — in no particular order, here are the 10 most hilarious moments from the 2013 Golden Globes:

1. Anytime Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Were On Stage

This year’s Oscars were hosted by comediennes Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and every moment they were on stage together, pure hilarity ensued. Their opening monologue duologue was especially hilarious. “Only at the Golden Globes do the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people of television,” Poehler joked before she and her co-host unleashed a series of wisecracks and one-liners on Golden Globe nominees.

2. Taylor Swift Not Being Happy About Fellow Nominee Adele Winning the Award for “Best Original Song”

Taylor Swift and Adele — both America’s sweethearts — were both nominated in the category for “Best Original” Song, and when Adele won the award, Ms. Swift was none too pleased, and you could see it all in her face when the cameras cut to her as Adele said her acceptance speech up on stage.

3. Tommy Lee Jones’ Grumpy Face

Everyone laughed their asses off when Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig were up on stage cracking jokes while presenting the award for “Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.” That is, Everyone except Tommy Lee Jones, who was clearly NOT amused. And now, Tommy Lee Jones’ “Grumpy Face” is now a glorified Internet Meme that will be enjoyed for years to come!

4. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger presenting the award for “Best Foreign Language Film”

Who better to present the award for “Best Foreign Language Film” than two people who never sound like they’re speaking English whenever they open their mouths to make sound come out? Granted, Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t originally from America, so he almost gets a pass. But Sylvester Stallone was born in New York City, so what is his excuse? “English is for both of us a foreign language,” said Arnold, to which Stallone quipped back, “I can’t be as bad as you, really. You’re horrible!”

5. Glenn Close Acting All “White Girl Wasted”

One of the funniest moments of the show came when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, clutching glasses filled with liquor, were acting like (were they acting?) drunk women up on stage, and pointed to the crowd and said, “The show has really taken a turn … Look how drunk Glenn Close is!” And Glenn Close, apparently in on the gag, played the part quite well.

6. Jodie Foster’s Rambling Speech

Probably the most memorable moment of the 2013 Golden Globes was when Mel Gibson’s only friend Jodie Foster used her time on stage while accepting her Lifetime Achievement Award to act like a crazy lady. She rambled on for what seemed like forever about a bunch of random things, like coming out as a lesbian, privacy issues, making out with Marion Cotillard, spanking Daniel Craig’s bottom and how she is NOT Honey Boo Boo Child. “You know, you guys might be surprised, but I am not Honey Boo Boo Child. No, I’m sorry, that’s just not me. It never was and it never will be,” she said. (Click here for the full transcript)

7. Salma Hayek & Paul Rudd’s Awkward Broken Teleprompter Moment

Salma Hayek and Paul Rudd were victims to an incredibly awkward moment when the teleprompter broke right before they were about to introduce the nominees for “Best Television Drama.” For about 20 straight seconds, the pair awkwardly stared into the camera and tried to make do with a couple of badly improvised jokes. “Hello … How’s everybody going? Good? All right, great,” Rudd said. “Okay, something about the best, uh …” Hayek added, right before a video of the nominees started playing.

8. Amy Poehler Canoodling with George Clooney & Tina Fey Nervously Holding Hands with Jennifer Lopez

Before the Golden Globe award for “Best Actress in a Comedy” was presented to Lena Dunham, hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey had quick appearances during the montage announcing the nominees. The camera panned to one shot of Poehler sitting on George Clooney’s lap, canoodling with him (as his girlfriend Stacey Keibler cracks up right beside them), and then to Tina Fey “nervously” holding hands with Jennifer Lopez, and everyone just loved it.

9. Daniel Day Lewis doing the E.T. “finger thing”

Golden Globes Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were responsible for yet another hilarious moment during the show when they got world-renown method actor Daniel Day-Lewis, winner of the night’s award for “Best Actor in a Drama” to do the E.T. “finger thing.” Poehler said, “But enough silliness, Daniel Day-Lewis is here. His performance in Lincoln — amazing!” Fey: “He also played E.T. Yes, young Daniel Day-Lewis was ET. Do the finger thing!”

10. Amy Poehler as “Darcy St. Fudge” & Tina Fey as “Damien Francisco”

“Dog President” stars Darcy St. Fudge and Damien Francisco were SO robbed at the Golden Globes. But don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of them. Darcy and Damien were really just hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey sitting in the crowd wearing goofy (but also hilarious) disguises and pretending to be nominees for a fake TV movie. And that’s what made the whole thing hilarious. St. Fudge starred as “a psychic who solves her own murder,” while Francisco played “a professional volleyball player battling Restless Leg Syndrome.” Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are so awesome, and they should host ALL awards shows!

Some people have a face that’s unforgettable while others have names that are so unique that you can’t help but memorize it instantly. Mendeecees is definitely one of those names that gets up and slaps you in the face the first time you hear it. So when Yandy Smith‘s baby daddy made his debut on the third season of “Love & Hip Hop,” people immediately began to talk.

We perused Mendeecees’ Twitter feed to find out a little more about him, so everyone can get up to speed on a few good facts about Mendeecees.

1. Mendeecees Is Panamanian

iam panamanian RT @dojopowerson: @mandeecees Hey Mandeecees, how are you? What’s your ethnicity? I know Omere is an Nigerian name lol

— mendeecees (@mandeecees) January 8, 2013

With a name like Mendeecees, we couldn’t even begin to guess his ethnic background so it’s good that he cleared up this question early. Seriously, though. Panamanian was a surprise. Is his Spanish any good?

2. But His Name Is African

It is! RT @sandralabelle19: Mendeecees sounds like an African name

— mendeecees (@mandeecees) January 8, 2013

Uh, what country? Sidenote: Omere, the name of his son with Yandy, also has an African name. It’s Nigerian.

3. It’s Spelled Mendeecees but Pronounced Mandeecees

The name is spelled with an “e,” but his Instagram and Twitter accounts are both @mandeecees, which is exactly how his baby mama Yandy pronounces it.

4. Mendeecees Doesn’t Have a Speech Problem

Nah that how I talk RT @rockabyebaby420: ????????RT @msjennajacobs: Mendeecees got a speech problem

— mendeecees (@mandeecees) January 8, 2013

Some people thought Mendeecees might suffer from a speech impediment because of how he pronounced certain words like “fawver” instead of “father.” But nah, he was just born that way.

5. Mendeecees Would Ditch His Baby Mama for Jay-Z Any Day

Nah but 4 jayz hell yea Lol RT @patron_n_lime: @nancieem @mandeecees but he gon leave you at yo baby shower for a … m.tmi.me/FP5zA

— mendeecees (@mandeecees) January 9, 2013

Mr. Reliable and Dependable he is not. At least not when the ROC is in the building.

6. Mendeecees Is Cool with the “Chicken Noodle Soup” Guy

RT @therealwebstar: Its a family affair only the fams here @vado_mh @deeone129instagr.am/p/NPCPKZJd1h/

— mendeecees (@mandeecees) July 18, 2012

Good to know DJ Webstar can still find work.

7. Mendeecees Wants a Better Body in 2013

He must be tired of Yandy oogling Trey Songz’s hard body. But hey, it’s a new year. Who ISN’T on a fitness and diet regimen right now?

8. Mendeecees Has a Thing for Women with Light Eyes and Long Hair

The good news is that he doesn’t have a requirement that said eye color or long hair actually be real. If you bought it, it’s yours, as seen by his Yaki-sporting baby mama above.

Apparently, a few million hits on YouTube, a catchy hook and a ridiculous sense of fashion is all you need to score a recording contract with a major record label. Just ask Atlanta rapper Trinidad James!

Speculation that James — storming the country with his viral debut single “All Gold Everything” — had signed a $2 million record deal with Def Jam ran rampant this week.

And while that has yet to be confirmed, Def Jam president Joie Manda did confirm that rap’s newest “thing” is now a part of the label’s roster, which also includes artists like Rihanna, Kanye West, 2 Chainz and many others.

“We’re excited to welcome a young talent like Trinidad James to the Def Jam family,” Joie Manda told Billboard. “Def Jam prides itself as both a cornerstone of hip-hop’s rich tradition, and as a vital, forward-thinking label dedicated to breaking and nurturing emerging artists. Trinidad James represents the cutting-edge of what’s happening in the culture today. We are thrilled to have him at the label, and look forward to growing his already massive buzz.”

Though 25-year-old Trinidad James hails from Atlanta, the rapper, who admits that he has been rapping for only 10 months, was originally born in the islands of Trinidad and Tobago — which is where he gets his name from.

James has been the talk of the music industry since his hit, “All Gold Everything,” arrived just a few short months ago, following the release of his first mixtape titled “Don’t Be S.A.F.E.” — which stands for “Sensitive As Fuck Everyday.”

The video for “All Gold Everything” — which is literally covered in gold (Trinidad loves his gold!) — has received close to 3 million views since it was uploaded in October. James also performed in front of major record label execs earlier this month in New York City.

Not bad for someone who’s been rapping for less than a year.

We don’t know where it all went wrong for Ms. XXLtina Aguilera, but judging by the photos of Christina at the 2012 American Music Awards, it’s safe to say that this girl could stand to ease up on the Twinkies, french fries, fruit snacks, greasy pupusas and anything else she’s been stuffing her face with recently.

The candid shots of Christina from the award show make the young singer look like someone with 99 culinary problems.

Her plump physique and the unflattering dress made out of purple Tang whirlwinds were enough to ring the alarm, but how about the fact that Christina Aguilera has now grown so fat that she makes Nicki Minaj look trim and skinny?

If Christina doesn’t want people to to assume she’s about to go on maternity leave, she better hit the treadmill quick.

We know that she’s repeatedly said that she embraces her new fat girl look, but this bloated wombat thing is really not the business. It must come to an end.

More pics of XXLtina at the 2012 AMAs are below:

When Frank Ocean admitted to falling in love with a man, we knew it would only be a matter of time before people started speculating about his same-sex love life.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have our first bite.

The kids over at ATRL have rounded up some photographic evidence of Frank and a model named Willy Cartier (real name: Willy Leservot) and openly wondered if the two are dating.

Now there is a common connection: Director and photographer Nabil works with both of them, so they could just be friends.

But one of the pictures that Frank took and posted on his Instagram is of Willy’s arms and delicate hands. It’s a very detail-focused shot that doesn’t seem like something platonic friends would just snap. And the shot of Frank gazing lovingly at Willy at the GQ party looks like puppy love. But hey, you be the judge!

What do you think? Lovers or friends? Sound off in the comments below!

For most, President Barack Obama‘s second election victory this past Tuesday night (Nov 6) was a happy and momentous occasion. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for everyone. Especially for white people.

We hate to generalize an entire race, because there were plenty of white people who voted for President Obama … but the ones who didn’t, and voted for that loser Mitt Romney were saddened when the electoral college chose Obama as the winner of the 2012 election.

In comes “White People Mourning Romney“ — a hilarious Tumblr blog showcasing the heartbreak and devastation among our Caucasian friends. It’s truly a sad time for white people, y’all.

Check out 60 moving images of white people mourning Mitt Romney below:

After President Obama trounced Mitt Romney in the polls, many in the Republican party have spent the day after sounding like Michael Jackson in “Human Nature”: WHY? WHY? DID THEY DO MITT THAT WAY?

The straightforward answer is something along the lines of this: the coalition of old, white, anti-abortion, anti-immigration men isn’t gonna cut it anymore.

But let’s take a look back at some of the wonderful blunders and goofs that helped seal Mitt Romney’s fate.

Mitt Romney Refused to Release His Tax Returns

While President Obama didn’t hesitate to release his tax returns for the past 5 years, Mitt Romney held off from releasing any of his tax returns beyond 2010. Why? Because he didn’t want everyone to see how rich of a bitch he is. Which is silly.

How can you run on your success as a reason to elect you to the White House and at the same time run away from revealing the specifics about your wealth? Something’s fishy in Mitt’s bank accounts.

Mitt Romney Outsourced His Spanish-Language Outreach to His Son

One of the recurring themes most pundits have agreed upon in their post-mortems of Mitt Romney’s failed bid for the presidency is his abysmal performance with Hispanic voters. Say what you will about Mayor Bloomberg’s awkward Spanish, but at least it comes from his heart.

Mitt Romney outsourced his Latino outreach to his youngest son, Craig Romney, as seen above in a video from the primary battles in January. To be fair to the Romney clan, Craig’s Spanish IS pretty damn good. But still, he’s not the one running for president, his dad is.

Mitt Romney Is Easily Tied to Shit

People really had a field day comparing Mitt Romney to, well, shit. His opponents had a field day with it, as the AFSCME ran a campaign that read “Without Unions, Mitt Happens.”

Here’s the kicker though. Mitt Happens was actually a campaign slogan Romney used in his race for the Massachusetts governor seat back in 2002. So he pretty much shot himself in the foot long before the presidential election.

Mitt Romney Tried to Brownface His Way to Latino Voters’ Hearts

Romney gravely miscalculated how effective a browning up would be in the election this year. He appeared for a Univision event looking bronzed and caramelized, but it didn’t move Latino voters an inch. So Romney pretty much went and got all dolled up for nothing.

Mitt Romney’s Laugh Sounds Forced and Fake

When Barack Obama gets in a good laugh, it comes from the gut. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, uses his laughter to patronize, intimidate and dodge questions, as we can see in this megaclip of Romney laughing.

Mitt Romney Doesn’t Know How to Act Around Black People

Mitt Romney is by nature, a very awkward man. But throw him into a crowd of black folks and watch his awkwardness levels triple.

Exhibit A, this clip from his 2008 presidential run when he ran into a crowd of black youngin’s and proceeded to reference Baha Men’s 2000 hit “Who Let the Dogs Out?” which was clearly an odd choice. Is Mitt Romney not familiar with any Lil’ Wayne songs or something?

If you missed out on the season premiere of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” then you missed out on some quality reality television programming.

Miss Kenya Moore made a fabulous debut in the episode but she didn’t leave such a great impression on Cynthia Bailey when she started acting all ratchet in response to the less-than-professional models who turned out for the JET Beauty of the Week casting call.

Cynthia took to her Bravo blog to issue a thorough reading of Miss Kenya Moore, and we have to admit, she shut that shit all the way down.

But in all fairness to Kenya, Cynthia’s event was kind of shitty. So here’s our response to Cynthia’s response.

Kenya: “Is that a man? I was looking for the Adam’s Apple.”

Cynthia: And who’s not trying to be the mean girl again?

Gossip On This: Yes, because taking Kenya’s words apart line by line for a bitchsmack blog post is so Mother Theresa of you, Cynthia.

Kenya: “Why is Cynthia so comfortable, this is her agency, people are coming off the street looking a hot ass mess?”

Cynthia: Why are you so comfortable to come into my place of business and act a hot ass mess?

GOT: Because she’s on reality TV, the place where hot messes are celebrated and worshipped. Now can you answer Kenya’s original question? Because we were really disturbed by some of the people who made it through the Bailey Agency’s doors too.

Kenya: “Ass crack and couchie crack is inappropriate at an audition, and I am offended.”

Cynthia: Calling people bitches, disrespecting me, my school, and my staff, being nasty to the girls trying out, embarrassing me in front of my client, JET, and showing me no appreciation for including your “couchie crack” in the first place is offensive to me, so I guess we are even.

GOT: Uh, but Kenya didn’t do anything that Nene hasn’t done 50,000 times on the show and you consider her your best frand, Cynthia. When Nene acts up, you chalk it up to her “personality,” but let a new chick come in and you’re already trying to cut her down for expressing herself.

Kenya: “Who are you and why are you talking to me?”

Cynthia: Who are you and where is your dermatologist?

GOT: Who are you and what happened to your hairline? That joint is pushed farther back than Susan Taylor’s fivehead.

Kenya: “My criticism is meant to help” blah, blah, blah.

Cynthia: Help who, you? Putting people down to make you feel superior is very sad.

GOT: Uh, pot meet kettle. Isn’t the point of this whole blog post to bring Kenya down and put her in her place?

When it was finally announced that Barack Obama had been reelected as President of the United States late Tuesday night (Nov 6), celebrities immediately flocked to Twitter to give their reactions, including the likes of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Cher, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, LeBron James and many, many more.

If you thought you were excited about Obama’s win … wait until you check out these 38 celebrity reactions!

1. Lady Gaga

I JUST GOT OFF STAGE IN COLUMBIA!! CONGRATULATIONS MR. PRESIDENT @barackobama We are so proud to be American tonight! YES!!! YES! YES!!

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) November 7, 2012

2. Cher

OMG OMG HE DID IT ! HE DID IT ! IM CRYING !!!! THANK GOD HE DID IT !!!!!!

— Cher (@cher) November 7, 2012

3. LL Cool J

Don’t call it a comeback he’s been here 4 years. twitter.com/llcoolj/status… — LL COOL J (@llcoolj) November 7, 2012

4. Katy Perry

The people have the power! Proud to stand by you for 4 more years. RT @barackobama This happened because of you. Thank you. — Katy Perry (@katyperry) November 7, 2012

5. Kerry Washington

Wow! Wow! Wow! #Obama2012 YOU DID IT AMERICA! YOU DID IT!

— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) November 7, 2012

6. Solange Knowles

Yes. We. Can. Yes. We. Did.Obama 2012.

— solange knowles (@solangeknowles) November 7, 2012

7. Steve Martin

To commemorate Obama’s victory, I’m having a tea party. — Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) November 7, 2012

8. Eva Longoria

We did it!!! Obama re-elected!!!!! Yes!! Yes We Can! — Eva Longoria (@EvaLongoria) November 7, 2012

9. Adam Levine

That’s what happens when you fuck with Sesame Street.

— Adam Levine (@adamlevine) November 7, 2012

10. Snoop Dogg

My president is black

— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) November 7, 2012

11. Bow Wow

A message from the youth @realdonaldtrump sit yo old ass down!!!! #OBAMA

— BOW WOW(@YMCMB_BW) November 7, 2012

12. Waka Flocka Flame

Like my #WhiteBoysSay Dude I’m Stoked #Obama just won

— Waka Flocka Flame (@WakaFlockaBSM) November 7, 2012

Mitt Romney deserves one bit of kudos. After essentially sabotaging his campaign with those dreadful 47 percent remarks, he managed to claw back a comeback when President Obama failed to really show up in that first presidential debate.

But thankfully, Obama has since come roaring back, going toe to toe with Romney and hitting the Mittster right where it hurts several times during the debates.

According to the most recent poll data, if you’re black, you’re already likely to vote for President Obama. In fact, pretty much every minority group is throwing their weight behind Obama.

The only group that’s staunchly in the trenches for Mitt Romney are white males.

HA! And people complain about blacks voting for Obama because of identity politics….

White men overwhelmingly support Mitt Romney’s candidacy with one poll finding that 65 percent of white men are rooting for Romney over Obama. But dudes, here are a few good reasons to NOT VOTE for Mitt Romney.

1. Mitt Romney Looks Like Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker’s Boss

Spider-Man is pretty much every little boy’s hero and Jonah Jameson, the boss of his human alter ego Peter Parker, is nothing but a chain-smoking, pompous, arrogrant prick who tries to tear Spider-Man down with the might of his platform, The Daily Bugle. And Mitt Romney looks just like him. Don’t vote for the man who’d try to stamp out Spider-Man, if given the chance!

2. Mitt Romney Makes Babies Cry

Babies know how to sense corporate greed and evil when they’re around it, and many people don’t want another whiff of that load of horseshit. It’s funny that despite his pro-abortion stance, Mitt Romney = the anti-baby candidate.

3. Mitt Romney Farts on the Kids

We know Romney is full of hot air, but that’s no excuse for passing gas in front of innocent children. He’s a lil’ McNasty, as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air would say.

4. Mitt Romney Kisses with His Eyes Open

When Mitt Romney wants to lay a lil’ lovin’ on his Stepford wife, Ann, he can’t even be bothered to get into it and close his eyes. He probably has sex with the lights on too. If he can’t even trust his wife while getting intimate, do we really want to trust Mitt Romney with the most intimate secrets of America? Perhaps not.

5. Mitt Romney Is Not Opposed to Child Labor

So we complain about China and its child labor abuse, but here Mitt Romney is, putting small children to work for his campaign. Mitt made it clear that he wants to shut down Sesame Street and now we know why: He wants to put America’s children to work.

White men of America, please don’t make the mistake of jumping on board the Romney bandwagon. Trust us, the Obama train has better finger foods, free coffee and better celebrities.

Romney is riding dirty with that bumbling old fool Clint Eastwood, while Obama is pulling in sexy white bitches like Katy Perry.

Seriously, bro. Which election party would YOU rather be at on Tuesday night? Make the right call.

Like Puff the Magic Dragon, Barney and Free Willy, Honey Boo Boo is one of those rare and incredible pop culture icons who come along and effortlessly change the world.

This toddler pageant queen from Georgia has been able to razzle and dazzle the world with her pudgy tummy, rude body functions and rough-around-the-edges hick sense of humor. And her style is so infectious that people can’t help but imitate Honey Boo Boo’s swagu. From South Park to SNL, everyone’s taking a hilarious stab at emulating Honey Boo Boo and her empire.

So grab your “sketti” and “go-go juice” and take a look at these gut-busting parodies of Honey Boo Boo!

While most of us were enjoying a quiet Sunday with family and friends, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner was busy making history.

The skydiver teamed up with RedBull to jump from 128,000 in the sky. The edge of space. And he fell faster than the speed of sound — which is really, really fast for those of you non-scientific geeks.

FOX 8 reports on the epic RedBull jump achievement:

After an initial free fall, he opened his parachute and glided down to the ground, where he fell to his knees with his fists raised, then stood up, smiling and hugging members of his team.

It may not have been the longest-lasting free fall. Mission Control said during the jump that Baumgartner did not “break the record for time elapsed” before pulling the parachute.

His highest estimated speed on the way down was 729 mph.

“Guardian angels will take care of you,” said Mission Control just before he jumped.

“The whole world is watching now,” Baumgartner said, before giving a salute and jumping.

Applause broke out in Mission Control when he touched down.

With nothing but a space suit, helmet and parachute, Baumgartner hoped to be the first person to break the sound barrier without the protection of a vehicle.

Even before jumping, he set a record for floating higher in a balloon — about 24 miles — than anyone else before.

At that height, more than three times the cruising altitude of an average airliner, the thin air provides so little resistance that after just 40 seconds, he was expected to be free-falling faster than 690 miles per hour.

As amazing as all of that stuff is, you would never, ever catch a black person trying to pull that kind of stunt. We won’t even bungee jump so you can forget about ever seeing anyone of negro heritage following in Mr. Baumgartner’s footsteps.

This is the halftime performance of the Ohio State University Marching Band — nicknamed “TBDBITL (The Best Damn Band In The Land)” — at last Saturday’s (Oct 6) football game against Nebraska.

The theme was video games, and included several mind-blowing formations from popular titles like Space Invaders, Pokemon, Mario, Halo, Zelda, Tetris, Pacman and many others.

Here are 10 Reasons Why Ohio State’s Marching Band Is Amazing (via BuzzFeed):

1. Space Invaders!

2. Pokémon!

3. Mario!

4. Halo!

5. Zelda!

6. Link’s horse from Zelda!

7. Tetris!

8. One of Bowser’s castles having a Michigan flag taken down and an Ohio State flag raised!

9. Pac-Man!

10. Oh also, they’re great at playing music.

[BuzzFeed]

Baby, we swear it’s deja vu.

Beyonce fans are keeping a close eye on their Queen Bey and some fans have begun to wonder openly if the “Love On Top” singer is expecting a new baby.

Using candid photos from two recent events as evidence, fans expressed concern that Beyonce’s “break” from music might be a bit more extended than they’d hoped.

ATRL was abuzz with discussion over the R&B star’s noticeable “pudge”

TheAqua asked:

Baby bump or cycle bloating?

Comedor said:

I’m worried now. Where’s my new alberm?

Rainbows said:

She looks fabulous, but it does look like she has a baby bump.

EUR Web reported earlier this month on rumors floating around that Bey and Jay were ready for number 2 whenever, wherever, so to speak. The “source,” who spoke to the gossip rags (so take this with a grain of salt), said:

”Beyonce definitely wants more kids. Jay wants a boy next so they can have one of each,” a source told Us Weekly magazine. “They’re ready for a baby whenever it happens.”

So either Jay-Z and Beyonce hit the jackpot early, or Beyonce just has a little more to do before she rids herself completely of baby weight left over from carrying Blue Ivy. Either way, we’ll find out the truth in a few months.

Just when you think Mitt Romney can’t possibly find a way to embarrass himself in public any more than he already has during the 2012 presidential election, he surprises you with another jaw-dropping gaffe.

Democratic blogs and message boards lit up with the release of a photo that showed very Snooki-colored Mitt Romney chatting it up during a televised debate for Univision.

The Democratic Underground spotted the difference in tones and they did a double take at the suddenly golden-hued Romney.

This was the Republican presidential candidate at the end of August at the Republican National Convention accepting the nomination from his party:

And this is what he looked like Wednesday (Sep 19) at the Juntos Con Romney Rally at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exhibition:

So, unless Mitt Romney somehow spent the last 24 hours in the Nevada desert working on his tan, it’s probably safe to say that Mitt is wearing a fake tanner.

The question is: WHY?

Does he really think that he can win Latino voters over if he’s not as pale? Does he not realize that Latinos come in every hue, from pale like talk show host Cristina Saralegui, to chocolate brown like the late Celia Cruz?

Latino is a culture, not a race, so he’s not winning any brownie points for looking like a cooked gringo.

Que estupido.

When Laura Govan showed up in the season 2 premiere of “Basketball Wives L.A.”, most viewers probably had to do a double take. That’s because the girl with the big mouth and even bigger attitude was suddenly sauntering around on camera in a thin, waif-like body.

As Laura conversed with her little sister Gloria during the first episode of season 2, we couldn’t help but notice how prominent her collar bone was with her new body. In fact, all of her features have now become rather harsh and angular.

Don’t get us wrong, Laura DEFINITELY needed to shed a few pounds during the first season. She was shaped like a Tasmanian devil and she looked bloated and swollen in every scene. But maybe she should put about 10 lbs. back on? Just to soften up her features a little bit.

Laura’s weight loss, which happened completely off-camera, is apparently something she’s not too keen on being specific about. But she did admit that she lost a jaw-dropping 90 lbs.

In an interview with Uptown magazine, Laura says she’s a natural-born athlete and that the weight fell off once she resumed physical activity and made changes in her diet. No quick fixes here!

Here are Laura’s own words on her weight loss from the interview:

Well, naturally I was 117 pounds. Within three months of delivering my first child, I was back to my natural size. As I’ve had more and more children the weight stayed on. I had to change my mind first. I had to make up my mind that I wanted to lose weight, but I still ate like I was pregnant.

Once I finally made up my mind, I took those goals and I ran with them. I am an athlete. I play basketball and trained at every level. I had to learn to work out with my children. I changed my diet. I changed who I was and it just came off. You really have to change your mind and attitude and everything else will follow. I enjoy working out.

It’s good that Laura was able to motivate herself to get off her lazy butt and do something about her oversized figure. Too many women spend more time making excuses than putting in that work on the treadmill.

So a round of applause for Laura. But still, pick up a Big Mac every now and again too.

Sasha and Malia Obama are two very fortunate, and extraordinary girls … which is not a total surprise, since they are the progeny of the very accomplished First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama.

On Thursday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Democratic National Convention, Sasha and Malia got to witness their father, President Barack Obama, accept the Democratic nomination for president for a second time.

Four years ago, in Denver, Colorado, the two girls witnessed history as their father won the Democratic primaries and became the party’s first black presidential candidate.

While President Obama has been busy working day and night to save the U.S. economy, secure its borders, liberate the people of Libya, pass the healthcare reform bill and kill Osama Bin Laden, he’s also been a devoted and attentive father.

After his wife, Michelle, introduced him as he walked on stage to accept the party’s nomination, President Obama took a moment to acknowledge his daughters, telling Sasha and Malia how proud he was of both of them. But he couldn’t turn his Daddy mode off as he warned the girls that they’d still have to go to school in the morning though.

“Malia and Sasha, we are so proud of you, and yes, you have to go to school in the morning,” President Obama deadpanned.

But as the two elegant young women in the audience laughed at their daddy’s joke, it was hard not to notice how much they’d grown since his first run in 2008.

Here’s a quick snapshot comparison of Sasha and Malia Obama from then and now:

Back in 2008, Malia and Sasha were 10 and 7 years old. Today, in 2012, the girls are 14 and 11, respectively. By the time their father leaves the Oval Office, they’ll be 18 and 15.

Which means we have a lot of time to admire the girls as they grow and blossom through puberty into womanhood. Thankfully, they’ll have the love and support of their father, President Obama, along the way.

Do you feel old yet?

2008 seems like yesterday, but look at how much the girls have already grown.

As we approach the 2012 Video Music Awards this September 7th at 8 pm on MTV, it’s time to look back on one of the biggest and most spectacular music events of the year.

The no-holds barred event is one where stars are born. It’s where Britney Spears cemented her pop icon status year after year. It’s where Courtney Love and Madonna squared off when the drunken Hole singer threw her footwear at the snobby pop star from afar.

It’s also where Michael Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley shared perhaps the most awkward nationally televised kiss ever.

So let’s go back and remember some of the best moments in VMA history.

Who runs the world? Olympians do.

Imagine training for one event so hard that it’s your full-time job for nearly four years and multiple that pressure by the fact that the entire world is focused on your every move for that brief moment. Those who rise to the occasion and avoid cracking under pressure can walk away from the Olympic Games as immortals.

Some of the athletic gods at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London were familiar. Michael Phelps, for example, blazed his trail of glory in 2008 at the Games in Beijing.

But there were some new faces and pleasant surprises along the way as well. Today is the last day of events and activities in London, so it’s time to reflect on some of the biggest winners 30th Olympic Games.

Join us as we look at 10 athletes who are definitely having the Best Olympics Ever.

#1 – Michael Phelps: Greatest Olympian Ever

Call him the Michael Jordan of the pool because at this point, Michael Phelps is in a league of his own. When Phelps won the 4×200-meter-freestyle relay, he made history as the most decorated Olympian ever, with 19 medals under his belt. But he ended the Games with 3 more medals added to his tally, making his grand total 22 medals.

Forget 50 Cent, T-Pain, Lil’ Wayne and all them other cats in hip-hop who think they’ve got bling. Can’t nobody see Michael Phelps’ chain game.

But swim fans will have to take Phelps’ London Games in for all it’s worth because he’s vowed he won’t return as a competitor for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Guess even Olympic gods have to call it quits at some point.

Usain Bolt is a lot of things. Fast, talented, successful and gifted. But one thing he is not, is humble.

Just like Kanye West, Usain Bolt knows that he’s great and he won’t let you forget it.

Usain’s cockiness has been a source of contention for many spectators for years. His exaggerated poses and dancing on the track are seen as tasteless and unnecessarily cocky by some. And now, Usain has proclaimed himself “the greatest athlete who ever lived.” (EVER lived?)

“I’m now a legend. I’m also the greatest athlete to live.”

You might have argued for his case if he said “greatest athlete at these Olympic Games,” but Usain wants to reach all the way back in time and put himself above every man in history. Something tells us Hercules would have something to say about that.

There’s no doubt that Usain is definitely the fastest man alive, but greatest athlete is such a ridiculous statement that it’s a title no one person can credibly lay claim to. It’s like someone saying they’re the greatest human being who ever lived. Where do you even begin to measure that?

But hey, if we had a rack of gold medals hanging around neck and a bevy of white girls in our bed, we’d probably talk reckless too. And pose like this:

After clinching the gold medal in the womens’ gymnastics all-around event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Gabby Douglas has become an overnight sensation.

The cute-as-a-button, humble 16-year-old from Virginia won the hearts and minds of seemingly everyone with her conquest over Russian gymnast Viktoria Komova. Everyone, that is, except the media.

There have been more than a few eyebrow-raising moments surrounding coverage of Gabby’s achievements in London in the past few days. It starts with Express, a metro publication published by The Washington Post.

The paper caught flack for running a photo of the gold medal winning womens’ gymnastics with Gabby facing away from the camera in the background, instead of a shot featuring all five women prominently.

SheSoMajor.com encapsulated some of the outrage people expressed on Twitter from the publication’s decision:

“Hey @ExpressNightOut….Care to explain why you chose to use a picture of the Women’s Team that OMITTED GABBY DOUGLAS? Someone is missing. There isn’t even a mention of Gabby Douglas’ name in the article,” wrote @TheJazzyBelle

This is how Express responded:

Here’s the cover the paper is referring to:

Did you catch that “prominent feature” they were talking about?

There’s Gabby, in the top right, upside down with her face covered and her name not mentioned anywhere. Yes, that’s totally giving Gabby the spotlight she deserves!

Meanwhile, on the official London 2012 site, check out which athlete’s face is missing from the right column:

And here’s a photo that ESPN ran of Gabby on its Facebook page:

Can somebody put a flash on Gabby’s face so we can actually see her? Why is she bathed in shadow like that? Did these photographers not learn a thing about lighting black people?

The last and final insult came last night from NBC itself.

After Gabby emerged victorious from the womens’ all-around event, NBC cut to commercial break. The commercial they aired was for its new show Animal Practice and it featured a monkey goofily doing a gymnastics routine.

You can’t make this kind of fail and shade up.

Check out NBC’s offensive monkey ad below:

Compare Gabby’s treatment to the practically sanctified treatment Saint Michael Phelps is getting. Don’t our black Olympians deserve the same respect and prominence?

Media, we’ve got our eyes on you.

Check yourselves before you wreck yourselves.

The talented and gifted people who are sent to the Olympic Games to compete for their countries often become synonymous with the one sporting event they gain fame for. Soon, it almost becomes a part of the person’s name. Example: Michael Phelps, the Swimmer. (See?)

But just like us normal folks, these Olympic Gods actually have a wealth of hidden or lesser known skills, talents, hobbies and even professions.

Get to know a different side of 15 Olympians.

1. John Orozco: From Gymnast to Singer

Before he failed to medal at all in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, John Orozco was the great Bronx hope for the mens’ gymnastics team. But that all went up in smoke on Wednesday when Orozco finished 8th in the mens’ all-around final after a less-than-perfect performance on the pommel horse.

There’s a bright side, however. John Orozco is actually a bit of a singer as well. Orozco professed his hopes of breaking into the entertainment industry in several interviews, and he actually has a few videos of himself singing uploaded to his YouTube channel.

Check out John Orozco singing a cover of Adele’s “Hometown Glory”

2. Ryan Lochte: From Swimmer to Artist

Ryan Lochte, the Kelly Rowland to Michael Phelps’ Beyonce has had an uneven run at the London Olympic Games. He beat Phelps in the 400m at the beginning of the Games, making people wonder if Phelps still had it.

But Phelps wrapped that talk up real quick by snagging his 19th gold medal, making him the most decorated Olympian ever. Then last night, Phelps knocked it out the park again, by scoring a gold medal in the 200m while Lochte had to settle for silver.

But there’s one area where Lochte doesn’t have to worry about competing with Michael: Art.

Yes, Ryan Lochte is an artist. He draws to be exact. Before you get too excited though, it should be said that he’s no Leonardo Da Vinci. Lochte describes his artwork as abstract, but others frankly might call it nightmarish.

Check out this sketch of a mushroom with an eyeball that Lochte drew:

3. Tervel Dlagnev: From Wrestler to Hip-Hop Dancer

As a member of the USA wrestling team, Tervel Dlagnev‘s job is to knock people off their feet. But you’d be surprised to learn that Tervel actually has some pretty good footwork of his own.

In an interview with Parade magazine, Dlagnev confesses that he’s an avid hip-hop dancer. And he then proceeds to show off some of his moves. Everyday he shufflin’.

Check out Dlagnev’s moves like Jagger:

If there’s one Cinderella story to watch from the 2012 Summer Olympics, it’s the story of 19-year-old gymnast John Orozco.

Growing up poor, black and underprivileged in the Bronx, John faced an uphill battle to pursue his love of gymnastics, a mostly white sport that usually only children of privilege have the luxury of practicing.

But it was his parents, Will and Damaris Orozco, who were his biggest supporters throughout his gymnast career.

By now, you’ve heard Orozco’s tale. His father worked as a sanitation worker for New York City; and his mother made the sacrifice to drive John to and from his gym practices daily, a 90-minute trip that she endured while battling lupus and arthritis, according to a profile in the New York Times.

John’s parents claim Puerto Rican heritage, and while the island nation is certainly populated by people of varying mixed races, you can’t help but notice that John is noticeably darker and bearing more African-looking features than his light, white-looking parents.

So the big question on many viewers’ minds remains:

Is John Orozco adopted?

None of the interviews that feature John or his parents has mentioned this, but gymnastics community ChalkBucket posed the question, and a few commenters claim that John is in fact adopted and it’s not a secret.

“Yes. he’s Dominican,” says ChalkBucket user dunno. “I recall that there are 1 or 2 other siblings that might me be adopted also.”

Looking at this photo (below) of a young John Orozco and his siblings, it would indeed appear that at least one of his siblings, (the young boy in the black t-shirt to the left of John) also looks blacker than the rest of the family and may be adopted as well.

Another commenter, gym law mom, claims that her friend who is a gymnast knows that John is adopted:

“My gymmie knew he was adopted so it doesn’t seem to be a secret. May just be the family doesn’t talk about it much. My gymmie thought it was pretty cool since she’s adopted.”

Perhaps we’ll learn more about John’s biological family tree once the Olympics are over, though it is odd that the parents aren’t being forthcoming about the obvious racial disparities between them and their son.

It’s kind of like how Michael Jackson just showed up with three white children and called them his sons and daughters, expecting no one to raise an eyebrow to the “fact” that a black man biologically fathered three lily white children of the corn.

But whatever John’s real roots are, he has a tough road ahead of him in London at the Olympic games.

He flubbed things pretty badly with the men’s team on Monday, but he has a chance to redeem himself today in the all-arounds.

All eyes will be on John and his family as he strives for the gold medal and Olympic glory.

For a little inspiration and hope, check out John’s story as he relives his struggles in the video for Gym Class Heroes‘ song “Fighter” below. It’s proof that dreams can come true, even when they seem totally beyond reach.

MTV and BET may not play music videos as much as they used to, but music videos are bigger than ever, thanks to online video sites like YouTube and VEVO.

When done correctly, a music video can inspire and entertain in ways that the song alone couldn’t. As fantastic as Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies” was, would the song really have turned into the worldwide phenomenon that it did without that iconic music video? Nope.

Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” is an example of what happens when a good song is paired with a great video. But what happens when a good song is stuck with a wack music video? Disappointment, that’s what. Severe, debilitating disappointment.

When a bad song gets a bad video, no one cares. That’s like throwing a dirty diaper on top of a pile trash. But when a crappy music video suffocates an otherwise good song, we can’t help but mourn the loss of opportunity.

Let’s take a look at 10 songs that got hosed by really bad music videos, shall we?

10. Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z — “Monster”

When this song hit the Internet during one of Kanye West‘s now-discontinued G.O.O.D. Fridays, it set the web on fire.

Nicki Minaj‘s verse actually made a lot of hip-hop heads respect her. That hook was infectious. And having three big names like Ye, Jay and Nicki on one track was just an iconic music video moment waiting to happen.

So how the hell did we end up with this bootleg Nightmare on Elm Street knock-off instead? Talk about totally missing the mark. Kanye went way too literal with this video in what he probably thought was going to be the 2011 version of “Thriller.”

Naw, not even close, Yeezy.

The media has been using the term “Zombie Apocalypse” a lot this week, following multiple incidents — in different places — where people have reportedly eaten other people’s body parts.

But what exactly is a “zombie apocalypse,” why is it one of Google’s most searched terms (it’s been a Top 10 trending topic all week) … and do us non-zombies really have anything to worry about?

The Urban Dictionary defines a so-called zombie apocalypse as:

“The End of the World … when people who have died rise again in rotten corpses searching for blood and brains to strengthen them. The Apocalypse is when all Zombies rise and destroy the world.”

While we are almost positive that the dead are not rising, in the past week, there have been multiple reports of cannibalistic activities.

And in one of the incidents, an actual brain was eaten … so we can understand where the widespread panic would come from.

Rudy Eugene (Left) and Ronald Poppo (Right)

Last Saturday (May 26), 31-year-old Rudy Eugene stripped completely naked, pounced on top of another man, 65-year-old Ronald Poppo, and chewed off large chunks of flesh from Poppo’s face and head near a busy freeway in Miami.

READ: Naked Man Shot and Killed After Chewing Another Man’s Face Off

Eugene was shot dead by police, and Poppo remains in critical condition with at least 80% of his face completely gone. Police believe Eugene may have been on “bath salts” when he viciously attacked Poppo. His girlfriend thinks he was either drugged, or under a voo-doo spell.

Alexander Kinyua (Left) and Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie (Right)

Then, just a few days after the Miami incident comes reports from Maryland, detailing an incident in which a 21-year-old Morgan University student named Alexander Kinyua admitted to killing his roommate (37-year-old Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie), and using a knife to chop up his body parts before eating his heart and pieces of his brain.

READ: Maryland Cannibal Admits to Eating Roommate’s Heart and Part of His Brain

Kodie — who lived with Kinyua and his family for about six weeks at their townhouse in a Baltimore suburb — had been missing since last Friday (May 25) after he left home for an early morning jog, and never came back.

The following Tuesday (May 29) was when Kinyua admitted his monstrous crime to police, after his father and brother called to report that they had discovered a set of human remains — a head and two hands — in a metal tin in their basement, which Kinyua originally tried to hide from them when they questioned him about it.

“He admitted to killing our missing person, Mr. Kodie, and cutting him up with a knife,” Hartford County Sheriff Jesse Bane told reporters Thursday. “He further stated that he consumed Mr. Kodie’s internal organs — specifically his heart and portions of his brain.”

In New Jersey, police say a man stabbed himself repeatedly in front of them, ripped his torso open, and then threw his skin and intestines at them.

43-year-old Wayne Carter underwent emergency surgery and remains in critical condition at a local hospital. Hackensack, New Jersey Police Lt. John Heinemann says Carter has a history of disorderly conduct, and has spent some time in a psychiatric hospital.

Then there’s the 26-year-old mixed martial arts fighter from California who is accused of ripping out the heart of his 21-year-old training partner while he was still alive, after becoming convinced that he was possessed by the devil.

Jarrod Wyatt mugshot

Police say Jarrod Wyatt also cut out Taylor Powell‘s tongue, and ripped off most of his face in a brutal assault that they said looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie.

Wyatt was found naked, and covered in dried blood, standing over his dead friend with body parts — including an eyeball — scattered around the blood-splattered room.

According to an officer at the scene, Wyatt cooked Powell’s heart, tongue and parts of his face in a wood stove at his Klamath, California home, because he thought that Powell was still alive, and that he needed to “stop the devil.”

Police believe that Wyatt and Powell had both taken mushrooms before the horrific incident.

And that’s just here in the United States. As of Thursday (May 31), our friendly neighbors up in Canada are on an international manhunt for a man who is suspected of murdering and dismembering a friend, and mailing his body parts — a head, torso and a foot — to political party headquarters.

Canadian authorities say 29-year-old Luke Rocco Magnotta, who was born as Eric Clinton Newman, and also uses the alias Vladimir Romanov, posted a video of the killing and dismemberment online.

“We believe he filmed himself,” said Montreal police Commander Ian Lafreniere. “It’s gross.”

The victim has yet to be identified because the headless body that they discovered at Magnotta’s apartment — which was covered in blood — was too mutilated to make any immediate identification.

“I’ve been a police officer for more than 20 years now, and I met officers that were doing an investigation for more than 30 years, and they said they never saw a scene like that,” Lafreniere said.

Authorities believe Magnotta has fled the country, and may have gone to eastern Europe, though it is possible that he could have re-entered Canada under another name, because they say he’s really good at disguising himself.

With all of these gruesome, cannibalistic, inhumane incidents happening all in the same week, we can understand why everyone is in a frenzy … but officials at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) say that the incidents shouldn’t be attributed to a “Zombie Apocalypse.”

BECAUSE ZOMBIES AREN’T FREAKING REAL, PEOPLE!!!!

“CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms),” agency spokesman David Daigle told The Huffington Post.

So to answer your questions … NO, there is NOT a Zombie Apocalypse … and NO, you should NOT be worried.

Just — with the exception of a little marijuana here and there — STAY AWAY FROM DRUGS and people who do them.

While zombies aren’t out to get you and eat your brain, if you know anyone who messes with “bath salts,” LSD, PCP, or even mushrooms (apparently), keep your distance.

“Basketball Wives” is a VH1 show that features eight women, not one of which is actually in a successful marriage to a basketball player. (However, to be fair, a few of them are in the middle of divorcing players, or former players).

The show features an episodic formula that, if narrated, always include something like this:

“Soo… we’re getting all the girls back together tonight because the last time we all had dinner, it got kind of out of hand.”

Cut to a scene of women, predominantly black women, yelling at each other, getting out of their seats, and eventually getting violent with one another.

“I don’t know what happened, but one second we were all eating dinner and someone said something about Tami, and before I could figure out what was going on, Tami was getting carried out by security.”

Tami. Tami Roman.

I generally don’t make a habit of singling out a person and putting the weight of the world’s issues squarely on their shoulders. Well, with the exception of Sarah Palin, but that’s a different story for a different person who shouldn’t be allowed in front of a camera.

But Tami, I’m putting the weight of what’s wrong with reality television on you. And Shaunie O’Neal. And VH1. (What can I say? I’m feeling generous.)

WATCH: Basketball Wives Season 4 Episode 13

For those of you that don’t know, Tami Roman is a former MTV Real World-er from back when the show mattered.

According to her bio on VH1.com, “Roman left The Real World and started living in it.”

They refer to her has “an impact player,” which is a slight of hand way of referencing last season’s cat fight where Roman’s wrath was unleashed on cast member, Meeka Claxton.

Meeka is no longer on the show, probably because she was uncomfortable returning to a show that allowed her to be violently assaulted on camera, by none other than Banshee Tami (her new name).

While Roman is credited with having an acting career, heading a foundation for girls, and being a financial executive, the most interesting of her credits is probably her biggest responsibility… Roman is a parent.

In the most recent installment of the program, Banjee Tami is upset with fellow “basketball wife” (BBW) Kesha Nichols.

Nichols said something about Banshee Tami to someone else in the circle. Banshee Tami didn’t like that and decided to confront Kesha.

When she didn’t get the same level of angry response from Kesha, Tami escalates the situation by taking Kesha’s belongings, telling her that if she wanted them back she’d have to come get them from her.

Like a high school child, Roman goes on to rifle through the purse, read through the enclosed cell phone, and the like. She continues bullying Kesha until she eventually returns her things, only after having been reported to the authorities.

It baffles me… no, enrages… no, no… it bafflerages me that VH1 and Shaunie O’Neal can put this on television with a clear conscience.

Maybe they don’t have a clear conscience, but they definitely put this on TV. But I’m more extra-super curious how Tami watches her own show with her two daughters and discusses with them about their her behavior and decisions.

What does she say to them that would make them not want to go bully the other school kids, and treat them the way she’s treated other women on the show?

Here’s my problem: Women like Roman continue to perpetuate the image of black women as angry, violent, and altogether mean.

Even removing the black factor, Roman is the perfect example of a woman who, unfortunately, is a role model to young women, NOT by the virtue of her celebrity status on a television show, but because of the work she does in her private life with young girls.

Roman is the portrait of someone who needs professional help, much more than we’re aware that she’d received at the time of this episode’s airing. She has a voice and a platform that reaches millions every week and every week somehow displays like Monday night’s are the way she decides to use it.

I stopped watching the show before the premiere of the current season when I saw the promos for the return of the show for season four. It featured women yelling, arguing, climbing over tables and physically fighting with each other and I said I just wouldn’t watch.

I wasn’t alone, public figures and peers alike also had a similar response. Even reality television junkie, and friend in our heads, Wendy Williams said “no more.”

Tonight, at a friend’s house, the show happened to be on and before we could get 20 minutes in I had to get up leave the room because I was so irritated with what I was seeing and hearing. I couldn’t believe it was really playing out in front of me in high definition (and really well saturated color).

When will we stop allowing people like Tami and shows like Basketball Wives to depict the images and tell the stories of hate, anger, and violence as somehow being “real?” What is it going to take for us to say “enough is enough?”

VH1: shame. Shaunie O’Neal: shame. Tami Roman: double scoop of shame.

If you’re watching the show, stop. If you haven’t, don’t. If you’d never heard of it before, count your blessings.

But then again, what do I know?

PS: After the airing of the above mentioned episode Tami Roman posted an apology (below), Additionally, the victim of Roman’s wrath, Kesha Nichols decided to post a blog on bullying (also below, with a link to read the full thing).

Roman’s Apology: “I don’t apologize for it 2b accepted — that is ultimately the other person’s right to accept or deny it. My only responsibility is to acknowledge a mistake was made and own up to it. I apologize to my family, my REAL friends, my business colleagues, and my Project Girl ladies 4my recent behavior on BBW. I am NOT a bully as depicted on the show, but I did make poor decisions in handling my differences with my cast mate. I sincerely apologize to all of us, as well as to my castmate who was on the receiving end of my wrath.”

Nichols’ Post: “As a person who prides myself on turning lemons in lemonade, I had no idea how to turn the negative display of human behavior seen in Episode 12 into something positive, until now. Instead of knit picking, pointing fingers and calling names, I decided to educate myself on the issue at hand. I would like to share some of this information with you now, because when we know better, we do better.” To read Nichols’ complete comments click here.

Written By: Jarrett Hill
Contributing Editor for Gossip On This
Follow Jarrett on Twitter: @JarrettHill

My best friend called me the other day and we chatted for a good while; and just as we were getting off the phone he freaked that he’d not remembered to tell me about something.

“Oh my God, Jarrett. I’m pulling a yellow friend card, you have to stop what you’re doing and go watch this commercial right now.”

The pulling of a yellow friend card, the second only to a red friend card, told me that this must be serious. You only pull a card when it’s big, and you must warn the friend ahead of time. It’s the rule.

He told me to look up “Mary J. Blige Burger King commercial.” My skepticism now had a first name.

I stopped washing dishes, popped open my laptop and found Mary and Burger King’s slap in the face to the black community and the years of progress we’ve made in this country.

By the time the BK logo had surfaced I was an amalgam of enraged, offended, and maybe just a little bit hungry to try the new BK Snack Wrap.

Well… when I say “enraged,” I really mean “indifferent.” And when I say “offended” I mean, “I didn’t give two broke and busted f-words.”

The commercial, at it’s VERY BEST, is mildly entertaining. Mildly. But offensive? Are we (black people) kidding? This commercial is about as offensive as… I don’t know… something not-so offensive.

I was then taken aback by the coverage of ruffled feathers from the black community: Burger King pulling the ad from the airwaves, even Mary J. Blige having to come out and say something.

To be honest, I still am taken by it. Some will undoubtedly call my perspective on this pure naiveté, which is fine with me, but I’m still missing the issue.

Mary J Blige asks, "What's in the new chicken wrap!?" I ask "why is it a big deal!?"

If she were singing in black face, tap dancing in a bow tie, with a greasy grin and wearing a red polka-dotted head scarf, in her best Louis Armstrong voice … then MAYBE I could see some people having something to say.

But being enraged over MJB singing about “crispy chicken, fresh lettuce, three cheeses, fresh dressing, wrapped up in a tasty flour tortilla!?”

Girl. Get your money.

To be clear, I’m completely aware of the racial climate we live in. In a day where a black 17 year-old male can be shot and killed, and his attacker be more than a month removed from the incident and not near being brought to justice. With things like that in mind, there are definitely conversations about race that we need to be having.

When candidates for the highest office in the land talk about a “welfare president” and not wanting to give black people money, but give them jobs, as if black people are the exclusive beneficiaries of the assistance, there are some things that we need to be called into question.

When BET… never-mind.

Yes. We should be honest with ourselves that there are people with ideals that are not consistent with progress for everyone, us included.

Yes, we should own that as black people (or as women, or as members of the LGBT community, or any other underserved minority group) there are odds that are not always stacked in our favor; but focusing the bulk of our energy right there is not healthy.

Focusing just a little bit more on what makes us great, what deems us credible, what has always made us worthy, and moving forward with life seems to me a far more prudent avenue to travel.

We’ve all got to get over our comfortable attachment to our oppression. I’m sorry, we are all far to settled into being the underdog, preaching about our inopportune lineage, our history of being held back, up, and down; our skin tone’s inherent smack down of judgment and doom.

Many of us just recently heard Iyanla Vanzant on Oprah’s Lifeclass: the Tour on OWN talk about stopping our pain and, more importantly, getting rid of our addiction to our stories.

We so love to talk about how oppressed we are, that we will find any opportunity to feel put down by “the man.”

We’re like emotional cutters in that way. We begin to rely on our story of how we haven’t gotten over to justify our complacence with the status quo in our lives.

As black people, we were once property, then niggers, colored, negroes, black, now African-American.

Today one of us calls the world’s most well-known address his home.

The residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is occupied by a black man and his beautiful family. He is President.

And while his occupation of the office doesn’t mean that race is no longer an issue in this country – many of us argue it’s actually brought it to the surface more than ever – it is a glimmer of hope for what one of us can do, liberating us to aspire to greater heights for ourselves.

Obviously the president is an outlier, an exception to the common rule and I’m not asking us to go become president but I am asking us to observe what was possible for him and begin changing the way we look at and think about ourselves, and our propensity to prosper.

HOW I GOT HERE, TO THIS FEELING

Years ago I was in a discussion group with peers and the discussion turned to interviewing for jobs. Someone said something that struck me, having never heard the perspective before:

“When I walk into an interview, I already know I’m not going to get the job because I’m black.”

Call me sheltered, naïve, or simply ignorant, but until that moment I had never heard a perspective such as his.

I was so troubled, but I’d not anticipated that many other young black men in the group that would concur with the sentiment of the aforementioned gentlemen.

I’ve never, not a single time, walked into an interview or audition and anticipated not getting the job. Especially not because I was black.

I’m certainly not a person that comes from a privileged background. I wasn’t raised with a whole lot of anything.

God knows there were many people that lived far “better” and easier. But somehow our lives had shown us such starkly different opportunities to be treated one way or another.

Now, I’ve always walked into an interview pretty eager. I’m always confident in my capabilities, my resume, my ability to interview.

I don’t think I can ever recall a single time that I walked into an interview and even thought about the fact that I was black and that it would be a detrimental factor that I’d no real opportunity to influence.

Even today, years later, I still don’t walk into an interview worried that my skin will be my downfall.

I have, in recent years, taken more note of my standing out in a room where I may be one of very few people of color, if not the sole representative for the community.

But I don’t think “Damn, I guess I’m screwed,” I tend to think “I need to represent myself the very best I can.”

But for many of my brothers (and sisters, for that matter) in the community they’ve been mistreated, conditioned, and or beaten down by their skin’s hue, seemingly much more than I have.

I’m sure that experience influences one’s outlook when it comes to advancement, be it professionally, socially, or in many other paths of life.

Wiki defines the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy as: “…a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.”

After contemplating my generally positive disposition and some of my peers’ outlooks, I have to start to think about what responsibility we have for our success versus external oppression-based failure?

I get it. “The Man” has been busy at work trying to make sure that we (in whatever instance “we” is apropos) can’t make it in this country or the world, has oppressed us since before we had a chance to do anything about it. But how do WE contribute? What do WE do to perpetuate self-oppression?

There has to be some correlation between our relationship with our oppression and the comfortability and complacence in mediocrity that would allow us to say “I don’t have to work hard to do anything if I can stay held down & keep talking about being oppressed. I can sit here and amount to anything, because it’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Going forward, if the intention of something we see is laced with malice, hate, and ignorance, let’s rise up; pull our red friend cards, and take our pitchforks to the light-up menus of our local fast-food chains.

Let’s be outraged, enraged, downright free-range mad.

But when the intention is Mary J. Blige and Burger King hoping to get you to bob your head, enjoy a commercial, and go buy something McDonald’s came up with three years ago, please, just take it in stride, have a breath, and move forward.

Hey, but what do I know…?

Written By: Jarrett Hill
Contributing Editor for Gossip On This
Follow Jarrett on Twitter: @JarrettHill

Party rockers LMFAO are about to hit the road, and Gossip On This has teamed up with Live Nation to offer one lucky reader a pair of tickets to ANY one of their upcoming concert tour dates!

SORRY … THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED AND NO MORE ENTRIES ARE BEING ACCEPTED!

The “Redfoo and Cherrytree Present: Sorry for Party Rocking Tour” — Featuring LMFAO and the Party Rock Crew and Special Guests Far East Movement and Others — officially kicks off on May 22nd at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH and will continue through 26 tour dates, making stops in Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, Washington, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Dallas, North Carolina, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Virginia, New York and more.

We are fortunate enough to have received a pair of “wild card” tickets, meaning that whoever we choose as the winner for this giveaway will get to choose ANY one of the 26 tour dates! [*]

All you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment below telling us which tour date you would like to attend, and which recent LMFAO music video is your favorite, between “Party Rock Anthem,” “Sexy and I Know It,” “and their latest video “Sorry for Party Rocking”

2. Click the “Post as…” button to sign in with your Twitter or Facebook account (or simply use your name and e-mail address if you don’t have a Twitter or Facebook)

The giveaway ends Sunday, March 25th 2012 at midnight/EST. The lucky winner will be announced the following day on the site and contacted via e-mail and/or through their Twitter/Facebook account!

Tip: Make sure you are following us on Twitter and/or “Like” us on Facebook, as it will increase your chances of winning by 1,000 percent!!!

Check out the videos and a full list of the tour dates below:

MAY:
5/22 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
5/23 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
5/25 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
5/26 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
5/28 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
5/30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Maverik Center

JUNE:
6/1 – Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
6/2 – Seattle, WA @ KeyArena
6/5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
6/6 – Sacramento, CA @ Power Balance Pavilion
6/8 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
6/9 – San Diego, CA @ Valley View Casino Center
6/12 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
6/13 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
6/15 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
6/19 – Charlotte, NC @ Bojangles’ Coliseum
6/20 – Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
6/22 – Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
6/23 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
6/25 – Washington, DC @ Patriot Center
6/26 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
6/28 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
6/29 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
6/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center

JULY:
7/1 – Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
7/4 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

[*] IMPORTANT NOTE: Winner will be chosen at random and must live in the United States. Winner will be expected to arrange for travel on their own, and your tickets will be waiting for you at the venue’s will call. In the event that the date you choose is sold out, you must either pick another tour date to attend or forfeit your tickets.

Tickets are currently on sale at Live Nation

GOOD LUCK!!

Every year, near the end of February, the world — or at least some of it — turns to Hollywood for its biggest night: The Academy Awards.

This year was no exception, with a show that’s controversy started months before the red carpet was laid, when the producer and host were abruptly pulled from the show, shocking insiders and fans alike.

Eddie Murphy’s title as host of the 84th presentation of the Oscars was short lived, as Billy Crystal became the new host after Murphy decided against going forward without his producing partner, Brett Ratner, who’d been ousted because of offensive comments made on a radio show.

This year’s show will undoubtedly be critiqued with as many disparaging words as positive ones. There were many moments to remember, from award winners accepting their gold Oscar, to moments on the red carpet that are memorable for reasons of fashion or just plain shock.

Here’s my take on the highlights of the show:

A Rhode Island native who shook up the teen-rap scene in 2008, Young Jinsu earned his nickname at the age of five.

It was his godfather who noticed the young Jah-Youth Lopez was dressing sharp as a knife, but as the aspiring rapper grew older, he preferred to think it was a reference to his lyrics.

After opening shows for Method Man, Wu-Tang Clan and even Diddy, 19-year-old Young Jinsu heated the internet up with his debut single, a teen-rap tale of heartbreak called “Me & You.”

Young Jinsu is currently working on what All Music Guide’s David Jeffries said will be “Drake’s ‘So Far Gone’ of 2012.”

Check out “Tim Tebow” (produced by Jeremy Jay), the 1st single off Jinsu’s new project “It’s Been Said,” exclusively on Gossip On This below!

Check out Jinsu at youngjinsu.tv, youtube.com/youngjinsutv and twitter.com/sqjinsu.