Yasmin Shiraz

Lady Gaga

I love People Magazine. I’ve been a subscriber for YEARS!!!! I love the lists that they do and since its the end of 2009, they put out a list of the Top Ten most googled celebrities. I like Top Ten lists because it lets me know if I’m out the loop or not. A couple of these people I would not have thought were most googled of ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE in the world.

1. Michael Jackson (of course, the King of Pop died this year. We’re still  saddened by it.)
2. Lady Gaga (Really? She’s THAT popular. I must admit I googled her a couple of times to check out her outfits, but dag apparently I wasn’t alone.)
3. Robert Pattinson (I’m a Twilight fan so I get it. But if Rob’s on here, Taylor Lautner aka Jacob should be on this list too and he’s not. What’s up with team Jacob?)
4. Taylor Swift (Everyone who didn’t love Taylor at least knows who she is. She’s a sweet girl and a talented artist.)
5. Miley Cyrus (Really? People are still checking for Miley like that? I had no clue. I don’t hear anybody hardly talking about her.)
6. Kim Kardashian (Seriously? I had no idea. I have never googled Kim Kardashian for anything. I don’t see the point.)
7. Susan Boyle (I guess I get it. This lady can sing and she doesn’t look like your average pop star.)
8. Rihanna( Of course, she has Top Ten singles, had a hot but abusive boyfriend, takes topless magazine photos and bottomless cd artwork. People are going to google her.)
9. Lil’ Wayne (I’m scratching my head a lil. I guess I thought I was the only one who REALLY was intrigued by Lil’ Wayne. I guess more people love him than I thought.)
10. Adam Lambert (He must have gotten on this list AFTER the AMA performance. Otherwise, how did he make this list? I have no idea)

SOME PEOPLE WHO I THINK SHOULD HAVE MADE THE LIST:

Amber Rose & boyfriend, Kanye West

1. Tiger Woods – I know the scandal came at the end of 2009 – but dag on everyone who didn’t know a thing about him knows more than they want to now!
2. Elin Woods – Same as above and plus we know she has a twin sister now.
3. Shaquille O’Neal - His sexual exploits are making a lot of headlines where I live, plus he’s getting divorced. Maybe he’s 11 and google hasn’t told us.
4. Chris Brown – I mean come on, Are people googling Rihanna but not Chris Brown? Apparently, they are.
5. Katherine Jackson - I think she’s an awesome lady and I’d like to know how she’s handling the grandkids and Michael’s estate. She got paid. Am I alone in my wonderment?
6. Barack Obama – He’s the President of the United States. Shouldn’t we google him?
7. Beyonce’ – How could Kim K. be on a googled top 10 and not Beyonce’? If I have to explain to you why Beyonce’ should be on this list, you’ve been living under a rock!
8. Kanye West – Hey, same as #7.
9. Amber Rose - If Kim K can be on the top ten, so should Amber Rose! Kanye is wayyyyy more popular than Reggie Bush!

Anyway, if you think anyone else should be added to the top ten Googled people of 2009, let me know. I’d love your feedback.

Chris Brown Talks to Larry King About Rihannagate

The blogosphere has been buzzing with Chris Brown and his recent comments rating women in the entertainment business courtesy of a radio interview with FunkMaster Flex. Why would Chris “Has Lost So Many Female Fans” Brown be willing to put himself out there like that? He should have refused to rank any female celebrity. Does he think that rating women is gonna get him some record sales? I’m not even gonna go through the entire list of who and what he rated, but he gave Lil’ Kim and Kim Kardashian 7’s. Ranking lower than those two? Amerie who he gave a 6.

Cassie and Keri Hilson, however, he both gave 9’s. Now somebody tell me how the talent of Cassie and the talent of Keri both equate to the same figure. Somebody needs to tell him to sit down and shut up.

I’ve tried to be tolerant of Chris since I understand that he grew up in a household where he witnessed domestic violence, but how does he figure that rating “celebrity” chicks endears him to anybody? It turns me off. And since I bought the first album and practically had front row seats to his first headlining concert, I am the audience. I am also the person who has screamed loudly, “He’s young, so give him a chance.” But maybe he doesn’t have the respect for women that he should have. Maybe he’s more of a perpetrator than I was willing to admit.

He is in no position to rate women since many of his fans still can’t figure out why he beat Rihanna. He says he’s sorry, he says he wants to be forgiven, but when you go on radio and basically degrade women to a set of numbers that are less than 10, we don’t believe you.

Chris Brown’s camp needs to hire someone who can teach him about women because he clearly doesn’t have a clue. And I’m willing to bet its gonna affect his record sales. I know for a fact that there will be two less albums purchased in this household!

The clip is below of Chris Brown opening his mouth and inserting his foot!  Gee whiz!

I’m as tired as everyone else on the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident. Let’s learn and move on. But, when I saw this video, I had to share it. This young person has some talent. I had to give her credit.

C. Breezy talks Rihanna and Domestic Violence tomorrow night, Friday, December 4 on 20/20 with Robin Roberts. Watch it and tell me what you think.

Rihanna and Chris Brown in happier times...

Yesterday, I was a  radio guest on The Flow radio program with Marc Collins. The topic of the evening was Healthy Relationships for Our Daughters. Me and another guest, Ernestine Heldring of Scenarios USA talked about what was necessary for young people to develop healthy relationships.  I think the most important thing that people can do is talk to young people about relationships. So many youth never get the opportunity to discuss relationships with an adult in their lives. Its beyond time to have that discussion.

The Rihanna/Chris Brown scenario gave the perfect opportunity to discuss teen dating violence. It brought a closeted issue to the dinner table. How many parents or teens talked about this issue with their parents?

There are many times in our lives when opportunities present themselves for our discussion. Let’s try to take advantage of them and make an impression on a young person’s life. In the discussion, I realized that parents may need some tips on how to discuss healthy relationships with their children, so here is a list below:

Tips for a Healthy Relationship Discussion:

1)Mention current tv show relationships (ie Gossip Girl) How do you or your teen feel about them?

2) Mention current images/storylines of relationships in the media (ie Chris Brown/Rihanna) How do you or your teen feel about them?

3)Mention current reality tv show dating experiences (ie For the Love of Ray J, The Bachelor) How do you or your teen feel about them?

4)Pull an example from your past–a relationship issue– and share it with your teen. How do you or your teen feel you should have acted/reacted?

5) Pull an example from your present relationship and share it with your teen. How does your teen feel that you’re handling the situation?

Parents be encouraged in sharing your personal testimonies. Your stories are seen as triumphant and make you seem as a warrior that has made it through some kind of struggle. We make a mistake when we try to hide our past from our children. Be encouraged. Be open. Communicate.

Below is a video in which I discuss with teens how they deal with two girls liking the same guy… These discussions need to be held…

Rihanna's R - rated alright!

I recently viewed Rihanna’s Russian Roulette video (its below) and I have a few comments.

1. As a filmmaker, I liked the cinematic view of it. It looked sorta like a movie. It clearly had some Basic Instinct, James Bond influences in the way that it was shot. Its clear to me that the writer/director put some time into how the video was going to be filmed.
2. As a woman who used to volunteer at a domestic violence shelter, I found some of the tinges of violence a little disturbing–the bullets through the water that nicked her neck, standing in the middle of the road preparing to be run over, and handing the guy a gun in the end–all somewhat troubling images being projected by someone who was recently a victim of dating violence.
3. Art imitating life: It seems that the video was coyly making suggestions to the dating violence situation between Chris and Rihanna. I hope I’m not leaping, but the scenes in which she and the actor appeared to be in a room–similar to what you would find in a police station, then Rihanna being outside of a double glass… It seemed that she was showing us what she wished could have happened to Chris.

And in the end, you see her pushing the gun toward the actor, and then you hear a gun shot. Disturbing. Is Rihanna saying Chris Brown should have killed himself? If so, that is socially irresponsible – artist or not. That’s not the way to end dating violence. Furthermore, if this is Rihanna’s attempt to send a message, I think someone should give her the message that she can also enroll in therapy. Therapy is good for the perpetrator as well as the victim.

If you’ve seen the video, let me know what you think. Did Rihanna go too hard? Or am I just making leaps? Here’s the video below.

In case you missed it, Chris Brown talks about his image and that faithful night…

Your Comments…

Rihanna with Diane Sawyer

Rihanna was on Diane Sawyer this morning at 7am. In case you missed it, I’ll be adding clips to the site throughout the day as they become available.

In the first 5 minute Rihanna interview that aired today, Rihanna admits to getting back with Chris Brown after the incident. She told Sawyer,  “It’s pretty natural for that to be the first reaction.” “The moment the physical wounds go away, you want the memories to go away.” She, like many other women, was blinded by love.

The best part of the segment was when Rihanna told Sawyer that she ended things with Brown after thinking about her fans who may have been in abusive relationships of their own.

“When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that.”

Rihanna admitted that she was ashamed that she had been in a relationship with someone who did what Brown did to her: “I fell in love with that person. That’s embarassing.”

That’s pretty brutal. I appreciate Rihanna’s comments. What do you think?

Here’s a promo clip that you can see some of what she’s talking about. The second segment will be airing on Good Morning America on Friday and then there’s an interview on 20/20 on Friday night. Be there or be square.

Rihanna on the cover of Glamour Mag

As she readies the release of her new album, pop star, Rihanna is finally speaking out about the Chris Brown incident. She has an appearance with Diane Sawyer on Thursday morning. But she already gave lots of juicy details to Glamour magazine as shared by the peeps at Blogxilla.com. Here are some details from the interview:

Rihanna: “But at some point you are there alone. It’s a lonely place to be—no one can understand. That’s when you get close to God.”

Are you referring to the [Chris Brown] incident?

Rihanna: I am talking about starting with the night [before] the Grammys and then on. That was not the only thing that occurred this year. The picture leaking…it was one thing after another.

You’re talking about the photo [reportedly of Rihanna’s injured face taken by police after Brown assaulted her] that was allegedly leaked by cops. You handled that so well; you kept silent in the press.

Rihanna: It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it’s my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was [supposedly leaked by] two women.

How has this event changed you as a person, as a woman?

Rihanna: I’m stronger, wiser and more aware. You don’t realize how much your decisions affect people you don’t even know, like fans.

Do you feel that this experience has laid the groundwork for coping with anything so public again?

Rihanna: It has taught me so much. I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears. That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can’t go back home?

If you could offer a message to the millions of young women who look up to you, what would you tell someone who found herself in a similar situation?

Rihanna: Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can’t tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don’t dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It’s one of the things we [women] will hide, because it’s embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn’t heard. Now I can help speak for those women.“

What do you think about Rihanna finally speaking out? Do you think it will help others? Do you think she shouldn’t talk about the incident?

Chris Brown Talks to Larry King About Rihannagate

I wanna react and respond to Chris Brown on Larry King last night. I felt he seemed genuinely sorry for his actions. I also thought it was important that his mother stated REPEATEDLY that he had never had any prior incidents of violence in his entire life. Not having prior incidents was extremely important because it shows that he doesn’t have a history as a violent abuser. Many comments scrolled along the bottom of the TV screen during the show. Many people seemed to think he got off easy, some people think he’ll beat other women, etc. There were a few comments that mentioned forgiveness and giving him the opportunity to redeem himself. During the interview Chris Brown mentioned that people feed on “negativity.” I think that is absolutely true. I think many people are happy that this has happened to him. In their minds and hearts they say, “See you didn’t deserve to be a superstar. And so now, I’m not gonna forgive you or allow you to get pass it.”

I think people’s past histories should go a long way to determining if they are capable of being forgiven or moving forward. Many people have written Chris Brown off for an act he committed when he was 19 years old, that there is no prior incidents from school or other relationships. I think that is wrong. Chris grew up in a household in which he saw his mother abused and unfortunately in the interview, his mother didn’t take ANY RESPONSIBILITY of how that negative situation must have impacted him. Growing up in a household where people are physically abused does not give you the right to become an abuser, but it does explain a propensity for violence and/or one’s need to resolve conflict through violent means. Violence can be a learned behavior.

The sadness that I pulled from the interview is that Chris, like other kids, was obviously negatively impacted by violence in his life and the one person that he should have been able to go to for understanding to help him grow is clearly in denial. If I am his mother and I deny the impact that seeing me be beaten has had on him, how can I help him to nurture himself so that he does not violently abuse again? Denial helps no one.

As a final note I’d like to say 5 years of probation and hard labor for one incident of beating your girlfriend is not getting off easy. There are men out there who have beat their wives REPEATEDLY and had to stay in jail one night and cool off. Those one night offenders often went on to kill their wives. The fact that Chris Brown has to be watched and do hard labor for 5 years is no joke. If he even steps out the line, one time, he’ll be in jail. Look at Domestic Violence cases for first time offenders and you’ll see that he did not get off easy.

Furthermore, since this case has so many people riled up, I encourage you to donate your time as I have at Battered Women shelters throughout the country and learn something about domestic violence. In addition, talk to your congressmen about domestic violence laws and make sure that NOBODY gets off easy.