The BET Awards--Top Ten Moments!

Here we are at another BET Awards and there were some hits and yes there were some misses. Kevin Hart hosting was a definite hit! Hart’s opening number stepping with youngsters (the only folks they could find who were shorter than him?) was great! And Kevin’s no-holds-barred “Nobody’s safe” humor was classic particularly when he decided to re-think his request to have Ne-Yo remove his hat!

The pre-show red carpet event was a bit sloppy. I don’t understand why Eve opened up as though yes, she hasn’t had a hit in a while, but I would still think she’s too big for that. The pre-show was filled with some random acts but also featured a standout performance by Miguel, who sang his hit, “Sure Thing”.

One thing that puzzled me throughout the evening is BET’s fascination with Chris Brown. What is it? Why was “Breezy” constantly mentioned throughout the pre-show, and featured so heavily in the awards? And how the heck did he beat Cee-Lo…at anything? (Clearly the BET Awards is not like other award shows that have committees/boards who vote on artists or base votes on record sales. And that was further evidenced by Jayden and Willow Smith both receiving the “Young Star” award.) I don’t understand why this little troubled boy keeps getting so many chances. Personally I think he needs to go away….to school.

Aside from pre-show shenanigans, showing a pre-televised Beyonce performance that’s already been circulating on the web, and the Twitterverse’s subsequent interest with Free’s backside, the BET Awards, though not as exciting as in prior years, was overall entertaining. With that said, here’s my list of the top ten moments (good or bad) of the night.

10. Tiffany Green

Okay what exactly happened with Tiffany Green? She was a contest winner who read the winner of the “Viewer’s Choice Award” from the HTC Evo View 4G tablet and got the winner’s name wrong. Reportedly the tablet said one thing and the prompter said another. But in the end, of course, Chris Brown won, sitting on a bike? as Kevin Hart explained the snafu at the end of the show in what looked like pj’s and sparkly mask, his attire for the night.

9. Steve Harvey

Steve Harvey receiving the 2011 humanitarian award is on this list as only an expression of my disgust that though Harvey may do great work in his organization, this man has pulled a major okey doke preying on the fears of single black women making us believe he’s a relationship guru. Yuck! But if in fact he does good work, we’ll give him credit for that…..

8. Kelly Rowland

Kelly Rowland’s performance of “Motivation” was a rip off of Janet Jackson’s “I Get Lonely”. Just sayin’. If you didn’t see that, you really weren’t paying attention. Janet rocked that swag, down to ripping open her blouse back in 1997!

7. After 7

The performance by After 7 of “Nights Like This” to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the film The Five Heartbeats brought back great memories!

6. Cherrelle & Alexander O’Neal

It was fantastic to see Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal again, but…I wish he would have gotten some new teeth put in! Are you serious singing on stage in front of millions of folks with no teeth? I know times have been hard since I saw the duo’s story on Unsung but gosh… And I wondered if this was a sneaky last minute move on the part of BET to capitalize on the TV One special on the singers—well played BET!

5. Mary J Blige & Anita Baker

Mary J. Blige opened up the show with some classic cuts like “All Night Long” and “Real Love”. And then introducing Anita Baker was fab! They did a rendition of “Caught up in the Rapture”. Baker obviously out sang Blige, who sounded like she was struggling vocally, but it was good to see two veterans together.

4. Jill Scott

Jill Scott’s theatrical introduction of “Rolling Hills” set in a juke joint with Idris Elba was creative and refreshing. I like that BET was willing to experiment and showcase a broader range of entertainment styles. And I also liked seeing a fine black man pushin up on a fine and juicy black woman!

3. In Memoriam

The tribute to Clarence Clemons, Nate Dogg, Gil Scott Heron and Teena Marie was on point! Queen Latifah (will we ever get to stop calling her that?) gave a strong and flawless delivery of Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not be Televised”. It was moving. Well done BET!

2. The Patti Labelle Tribute

Cee-Lo singing Patti Labelle in a “Ms. Patti” wig was amazeballs! WERK! I loved it! Cee-Lo has become so mainstream over the past few months that it was nice to see him be at “home”. Marsha Ambrosius rocked the house with her version of “If Only You Knew”. But where was Fantasia? We all know Fanny would have KILLED a Patti song. But all in all it was so grand to see Ms. Patti get her due respect! Then of course Patti took to tearing up the stage with “Love, Need, Want You.” We don’t have many legends left, so it was a majestic experience to see Ms. Patti sang! (I was waiting on her to kick off her shoes, but they looked a bit pricey so I figured she’d keep ‘em!)

1. The Real Husbands of Hollywood

The reality show parody, The Real Husbands of Hollywood featuring Bobby Brown, Nick Cannon and Hart among others was absolutely hilarious and was the number one memorable moment of the BET Awards. BET should seriously think about making this highly amusing skit,that featured a cameo by Tami Roman of VH1’s Basketball Wives part of their programming lineup. Kudos BET!

What did you think of the 2011 BET Awards?

New York Full Figured Fashion Week in Full Effect!

I got a chance to cover the New York Full Figured Fashion Week! This fabulous event took place in varied locations throughout New York from June 16-18 and featured panel discussions, events and of course, parties! I had a great time learning more about the “plus size” industry, or as it’s now often being called, “curvy”, and met some fantastic and talented people. I’d like to thank the PR team of Sonsi, who presented the event for allowing me access to such an entertaining experience! “It is time for designers, retailers, boutique owners and businesses with an interest in the plus size market to combine their resources and their talents to create a memorable event that will rival all other Fashion Weeks,” states Gwen DeVoe, Founder and Executive Producer of FFF Week.
I went to the opening reception that was held at the Sky Room of the Fairfield Inn and Suites in the Times Square area where I met several designers and gorgeous models. It was a sultry evening flowing with grand designs and good cocktails!

Cutie pie Nicole in a stunning turquoise halter dress

Three piece suit with cropped pants from La'Dan's closet

More cutie pie models featuring fashions from would you believe...KMART? the looks were really nice!

Another stunner, Lindsay who cracked me up! I finally got her to stop calling me ma'am--she's from the south : )

LANE BRYANT

Jay Dunn, Vice President of Marketing took the hits from Madeline Figueroa-Jones, Editor of Plus Model Magazine who took him to task on this topic. Dunn explained that when Lane Bryant used “authentic models” in the ads back in 2008 they experienced a “backlash”. The public didn’t respond well and sales went down. It’s inconclusive whether or not the sales drop was due to the ads, or the fact that 2008 was the beginning of the recession, but in any case, Lane Bryant went back to thinner models.

Dunn also went on to say that the models they use are very professional and can produce more shots in a shorter time. Figueroa-Jones challenged this as well and pointed out that Lane Bryant missed a grand opportunity to utilize famed plus size model, Mia Amber Davis who unexpectedly passed away this year, as she had just as much experience and talent as the “aspirational models”. It was a good debate, and Dunn handled it well and did not gloss over any of the questions. In addition to the debate, the fashion was nice. The new T3 denim jeans that feature a built-in tummy control panel and invisible elasticized waist in a dark wash and varied lengths looked super cute!

THE FASHION SHOW!

The finale runway show was really fun and featured some very sexy, sophisticated styles. One of my new favorite labels is La’Dan’s Closet! Known for their chic outerwear, they also do some cute causal looks and sexy business attire. I love the fashions and I love the girls, LaTresa Harper and Danyelle Feeland. Here they are on the runway!

What I loved about the runway show, (in addition to the dancers at the beginning who broke it down with Beyonce’s “Run the World”) was the display of varied shapes and sizes, skin tones, and looks. There was a lot of juicy sexiness coming down the runway as we saw everything from evening wear, to sportswear, lingerie and fun whimsical styles, proving that the full figured woman has options and can make nearly anything work the same way a slender woman can.

I left New York's Full Figured Fashion Week feeling even more empowered in my size 16, nearly six feet tall frame. I even flirted with a cutie pie on the train after I left the runway show! And he didn’t mind ; )

Full Figured Fashion week is a celebration of beauty, style, class and power, which comes in all sizes. Thanks to Gwen DeVoe and her team for having the vision to recognize that we are all wonderful in our own skin! I had a great time! Enjoy more pictures below!

Fashion show attendees: blogger the Curvy Canadian (Karen) and actress Kit

Me and my new pal, actress Kendra C. Johnson--recognize her from Phat Girlz and The Game?

How do you feel about full figured fashion, and body image in media in general?

Tracy Morgan's Anti-Gay Rant-Free Speech or Fire?

 

Comedian/actor Tracy Morgan recently made some very controversial anti-gay jokes in his stand-up act last week in Nashville stating that he would stab his son if were gay. He went on to say that, “Being gay is a choice,” and that gay youth who are bullied "should stop whining about it." Wow! Was he on some kind of crazed adrenaline buzz from drinking Four Loko, or just stupid? My guess is the latter. Morgan has since apologized. 

“I want to apologize to my fans and the gay and lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I'm not a hateful person and don't condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”

But are these words (obviously co-crafted by his publicist) enough? At a time when we are becoming more and more aware of the despair of young people who are being shamed for being gay, in addition to the continued discrimination against the gay community, comments like these are irresponsible. And for a black man to make such vicious comments about the idea of his black son being gay doesn’t do anything to help the ongoing issues with homophobia in the black community; more specifically the black church. 

 

This latest lapse in judgment by a comedian has again raised the question of “Does anything go when it comes to comedy?” I asked a twitter buddy of mine, Ryan J. Davis (@RyanNewYork), an openly gay theater director/producer who also writes about politics for The Huffington Post and The Hill about his thoughts. 

"Comedians certainly have the right to say anything, but they should be aware of their social responsibility. Tracy Morgan is hugely popular and his comments carry added weight with young people. More importantly, I fear his comments betray his true feelings and he needs more than a semi-serious apology to right this wrong. He needs to write a big check to GLAAD or GLSEN to begin his path toward recovery."

These are my sentiments exactly, and have been echoed by others. Wanda Sykes, a comedian and a married lesbian tweeted her response to Morgan’s jokes:

…I do believe in free speech, but for a youth in TN or any other numerous place, Tracy just yelled, ‘Fire,’ in a crowded theater.

Uh, not exactly the most succinct statement, but we get the gist. And comedian Chris Rock initially offered his support of Morgan’s right to freedom of speech in his act tweeting: 

I don’t know about you but i don’t want to live in world where Tracy Morgan can’t say foul inappropriate shit.” He later tweeted, “…when i [sic] first heard the statement i thought it was offensive but it also reminded me of my father saying ill kill you if you ever bring home a white girl but after reading everything tracy said. wow i get it that shit wasn't called for and i don't support it at all.

You can practically hear the brakes on the bike screeching to a halt from all that back peddling! Yeah Rock knows where his bread is buttered in Hollywood and was smart enough to offer a counter reaction. And though Morgan has been in the business long enough to know what will fly and what won’t, Rock may need to school this brother on the politics of going from being a relatively successful comedian to being featured on a top rated critically acclaimed network show, 30 Rock. Morgan isn’t the first comedian to cross the line and he won’t be the last, but in the digital age more and more people are getting “caught out there” and having to face consequences. (Just ask Anthony Weiner.)

We all remember in 2006 when Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld) went off and verbally attacked hecklers with a racist rant. Um, have we heard from him since? Nope. And it wasn’t that long ago that Gilbert Gottfried lost his Aflac gig after making extremely distasteful and insensitive remarks on Twitter about the tsunami/earthquake in Japan.

The difference in these situation versus Morgan’s is that Morgan was quick to offer an apology, whether he realized he should answer to his remarks on his own, or if he was in fact prompted by his PR person or possibly NBC. (I wouldn’t be surprised if it was revealed that Morgan got a call from the peacock itself!) Morgan didn’t stand behind free speech to justify his remarks or slink away from the controversy as did Richards and Gottfried. But seeing how NBC Broadcasting Chairman Robert Greenblatt is gay, and deemed Morgan’s remarks “disturbing”, Morgan would want to learn how to play this showbiz game with way more finesse. As there are those who viewed Morgan’s remarks inappropriate, there are some who defend Morgan’s right to free speech in the name of comedy, regardless of the political ramifications.

Media personality Roland Martin tweeted:

Why is comedian and “30 Rock” star Tracy Morgan issuing a mea culpa for saying nasty things during a stand-up routine? Isn’t that par for the course of a comedian?

Whoopi Goldberg, who’s built a reputation for being not only a good female comedian, but a legendary comic, consistently defends a comic’s right to free speech on The View, as does Joy Behar. But even Behar took issue with Morgan’s comments stating on the talk show, “You don’t attack the un-powerful.” I agree with co-host Sherri Shepherd, who did stand-up for many years before joining The View, and portrays Morgan's wife on 30 Rock, and maintains that one does need to adopt a certain sense of social and personal responsibility even in the vein of comedy. I mean after all, even Richard Pryor stopped using the n-word. 

I’ve definitely laughed at comedic remarks that were inappropriate, but there’s a difference between laughing because a joke rings true and cringing because it feels unnecessarily mean-spirited (unless it’s a Comedy Central celebrity roast!) What constitutes what’s funny and what’s over the top is the same type of reasoning of how to differentiate art from pornography; you know it when you see it. 

This complicated debate over a comedian’s right to a no-holds-barred performance, and more specifically free speech will continue. But I hope that there will be an elevated level of consciousness regarding what’s humorous and what’s harmful. I love a good laugh, but not when it exploits the exploited. And a good comedian shouldn’t have to resort to making unwarranted, vulgar, discriminatory and incendiary attacks on groups of people to get a laugh. 

What do you think about Tracy Morgan’s comments and a comedian’s right to free speech?