During happier times: Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols showed off her engagement ring as she attended an event with Richard Jefferson in New York on June 13.
It was supposed to be the best day of their lives.
Former New Jersey Nets star Richard Jefferson and onetime Nets dancer Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols were set to tie the knot at the Mandarin Oriental last Saturday, NYPost.com reports.
But in an unexpected turn of events, Jefferson bailed the night before their wedding.
The cold-footed fiancé ditched his stunning bride-to-be at such late notice that some guests had already shown up to the extravagant $2 million event that never took place.
Jefferson — who was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in June — dumped Nichols just before the weekend, according to sources.
Although Nichols, 29, immediately called her family and friends to alert them of the ill-timed news, the basketball pro waited much longer.
"He called about two hours before the wedding. It was nuts," said one Jefferson pal.
Although Jefferson never showed up to the hotel, he made sure to give his best friend his Black Amex credit card, with which the guests made good use of during the night.
A jilted Nichols, who was "not entirely caught off-guard," checked into the hotel and was upgraded to a suite on the 45th floor overlooking Central Park on what would have been her wedding night, according to a source at the hotel.
"She just wants to keep this as quiet as possible and move on," a Nichols family insider told FoxSports. "She's doing just fine."
Neither Jefferson nor Nichols have responded to requests for comment.
Source: New York Daily NewsRead more…
AllHipHop Reports
Hip-Hop legend Ice Cube has partnered with TBS to premier the TV version of Are We There Yet?
TBS secured the 10 episode contract after a bidding war with USA and BET. The network also retains the option to order 90 more episodes.
Ali LeRoi, writer of the acclaimed Everybody Hates Chris sitcom, will handle scripting duties.
Executive producer credits are split between Cube, LeRoi, and Matt Alvarez. Debmar-Mercury, which backs the Tyle Perry sitcoms (House of Payne, Meet the Browns), will distribute the series.
“When we set out to expand on the television model that Tyler Perryhas turned into a runaway success at TBS, we knew we had to be in business with Ice Cube,” explained Debmar-Mercury representative Mort Marcus.
Although Cube has confirmed that he’ll made sporadic appearances on the show, it won’t be in his movie role as Nick, the protagonist father from the films.
Replacing him will be Terry Crew, who received kudos from critics and fans for his breakout role as the father on Everybody Hates Chris.
“Terry Crews is the perfect person to replace me as Nick,” Ice Cube disclosed in a statement. “His physical comedy is undeniable. [And] no one runs a show like Ali. We are dedicated to creating a new template for family comedy.”
The first, 2005 installment of Are We There Yet? grossed $82 million in theaters.
The new show will mark the third movie to TV adaption for partners Matt Alvarez and Ice Cube, following Barbershop: The Series and the animated version of Friday.
At press time, TBS’ Are We There Yet is slated to launch in June 2010.
Additionally, Ice Cube is preparing for the release of the comedic film Janky Promoters, which also stars Mike Epps and Young Jeezy.
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AllHipHop Reports
Will Smith's son Jaden will be featured opposite Jackie Chan in the upcoming remake of the 1984 movie Karate Kid.
Chan recently signed on to play the older kung-fu master in Kung-Fu Kid.
Chan's character guides Jaden Smith's and teaches him the art of Kung-Fu to confront local bullies.
The updated version of the movie is set in China, where shooting started Saturday (July 11) in Beijing.
The film shoot was kicked off by a traditional Chinese ceremony that featured Will Smith, who is also producer of the film.
The original version of Karate Kid starred Pat Morita as "Mr. Miyagi," while Ralph Macchio played "Daniel."
Jackie Chan has starred in a number of popular movies, including Rumble in the Bronx and the hit Rush Hour franchise, which shot by Hip-Hop video director, Brett Ratner.
Will Smith's son Jaden Smith has been featured in two blockbusters.
In 2006, he starred opposite his father in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) and actor Keanu Reeves in The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008).
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TheHollywoodGossip And Bossip Report
We have all seen enough Aubrey O'Day pictures by now that these ones below should not come as a surprise. But still, there is something about a girl getting oiled up and having glitter blown on her lingerie-clad body that jumps out.
These photos of Aubrey undergoing such treatment and posing in a very suggestive manner in the process were taken during rehearsal for O'Day's stint in the Las Vegas show Peepshow, and were of course posted by Aubrey herself on Twitter.
Here is what she twitted…
“Look at how big my booty is getting. I’m so excited! Thick white girls unite!”
BallerStatus Reports
Swizz Beatz is getting more and more into art these days. Last year, he revealed some of his art collection to the New York Post, then recently he gave Eve a tattoo of a black window. Now, just Tuesday night (July 13), he created his own art piece ... of Michael Jackson.
The superproducer created a mixed-media portrait of a young Michael Jackson in memory of the late King of Pop, and posted it via Twitter.
He then titled his work "Remember the Time," thanks to a suggestion from one of his Twitter followers.
"R.I.P. MJ the great," said Swizzy. "I took some time out to do a dedication piece tonight instead of rocking in the studio."
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KVBC Reports
He partied and gambled heavily in Las Vegas. And now, another sports figure finds himself in legal "foul trouble."
Tuesday afternoon, a Las Vegas judge issued an arrest warrant for ex-NBA star Antoine Walker. He's facing felony bad check charges for allegedly not paying back some enormous casino debts.
News 3's Steve Crupi is digging deeper into the details of this case and reports that three big casinos are involved.
According to the criminal complaint, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, and the Red Rock Station gave former NBA star Antoine Walker huge amounts of gambling money.
He allegedly received $1 million in all, most of which he has not re-paid.
Walker played last year for the Minnesota Timberwolves. And before that, he was a three-time all-star with the Celtics.
And he is again racking up big numbers, but not on the scoreboard.
The criminal complaint against Walker says he received ten separate casino loans for $100,000. He has failed to pay back more than $800,000-worth of that money, lost gambling last year at Caesars, Planet Hollywood, and the Red Rock.
Walker is not the first sports figure to run up massive unpaid debts. Last year, it was former NBA star Charles Barkley who was late with his payments. He spoke about his love of blackjack back in 2007.
"I like to gamble. I'm going to gamble. I like to gamble, it's my money."
But it's not always a gambler's money: Casinos routinely "loan" players vast sums, having them sign markers that are treated like checks under Nevada law.
The Clark County District Attorney's Office sees a lot of bad check cases involving casinos.
"On a daily basis, we see large amounts of money that people don't repay," confirms prosecutor Bernie Zadrowski.
The arrest warrant for Antoine Walker comes at a time when the NBA's attention is already on Las Vegas, with its summer league in its fifth day. The event features young players, however, most of whom aren't making big money yet.
But one question people always ask is aren't the casinos just as much at fault in these cases? They hand over such big sums of money to people who may not be making the best decisions.
But this is something the casinos don't like discussing.
A court date of July 20 has been set for Antoine Walker; no word yet on whether he's made any arrangements to turn himself in.
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Mediatakeout has published a pic reported to be Michael Jackson in his casket. The pic has been slammed by many media outlets as fake. This calls into question the ethics of MediaTakeOut and other websites like it that are desperate for a big story. The picture is shown below, it may be disturbing to some.
AllHipHop
Reports
Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has opted to have some of his very prominent tattoos removed, to better accommodate his burgeoning career in Hollywood.
“I took some of the tattoos off because on the movie set, if we got a six o’clock call time, I have to be there two o’clock the night before,” 50 Cent told AllHipHop.com. “I gotta go through four hours of make up before we go ahead and play the role. So, I just took it off my arm. My right arm."
The G-Unit founder has not completely done away with his tattoo. He still bears the two on his back, the signature “50 Cent” and “Southside” tattoos.
The move may be working for 50 Cent as he stars in upcoming film Streets Of Blood.
The drama, which stars Val Kilmer, Sharon Stone and Michael Biehn, portrays the street gangs and corrupt law enforcement in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
Outside of Hollywood, 50 Cent’s current single "Ok, You're Right" from his highly anticipated album Before I Self Destruct, continues to receive heavy radio rotation.
The rapper also recently dropped his new mixtapes, War Angel and Forever King, the latter being dedicated to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
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XXL Reports
With Raekwon and Rza currently on the Rock the Bells tour, there is no hope for a full-fledged Wu-Tang tour this summer, but two of its most popular rappers Ghostface Killah and Method Man will be hitting the road together starting at the end of July.
Fellow Def Jam MC and Meth’s longtime rap partner Redman will also be joining the bill, titled as The Foot Print in Hip-Hop Tour. Set to kick off in Asheville, North Carolina on July 22, the rappers’bus will make stops in cities like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Las Vegas and L.A., before their last show in San Fransisco on August 16.
Meth and Red will be promoting the release of their latest disc, Blackout! 2, the sequel to their multi-platinum selling 1999 debut, while Ghost will be plugging both his greatest hits collection, Ghostdeini The Great released last December, as well as his upcoming R&B album,The Wizard of Poetry.
In related news, Tony Starks recently announced plans to release his first comic book. Following in Meth’s footsteps, the book entitled Cell Block Z, will be published by Hachete Book Group who put out the Iron Lung’s self-titled graphic novel last year.
For a full list of tour dates and to purhase tickets fans can visit ticketmaster.com.
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NYDailyNews Reports
Brazilian cops put the bloody purse strap and knife that killed Arturo Gatti on display Monday as his wife's lawyer insisted she's too "fragile, young and skinny" to kill a boxing champ.
Police said there's no way anyone but Gatti's 23-year-old wife, ex-stripper Amanda Rodrigues, was inside the couple's luxurious rental apartment when the former champ was killed.
"It was technically impossible for a third person to have been in the flat," lead investigator Moises Teixeira said Monday. "She did this alone."
There were no signs of forced entry. Electronic locks indicated no one else had entered the room.
Rodrigues' lawyer Celio Avelino said her client "is fragile, young and skinny. How could she kill a boxing champion?"
Police believe Rodrigues was capable of strangling her husband because he was drunk - and she stabbed him in the back of the head with a knife.
She then used her nylon purse strap to strangle the passed-out fighter, cops said.
Gatti's distraught sister Anna-Maria Gatti told CTV News Montreal that Rodrigues always provoked fights. "She always said, 'I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna kill you,'" said Gatti.
"My mother told him to leave her. The only reason that he didn't want to leave her was the boy," she added, referring to the couple's 10-month-old son.
The boxer, his wife and Arturo Jr. were to fly to Florida this week for Anna-Maria Gatti's wedding.
Rodrigues was arrested Sunday. She is being held near Porto de Galinhas, the seaside resort town where the couple went for a second honeymoon.
Rodrigues told cops she and Gatti had a fight Friday night at a bar, and that her husband pushed her, causing minor injuries to her elbow and chin.
Later on Friday night, they both made it back to the rental apartment, where they slept in separate rooms.
Rodrigues told police she slept in the bedroom with her son, while Gatti slept in the living room.
She said she awoke at 6 a.m. to feed her son and three hours later realized Gatti was dead. He had been dead for hours.
"When [Rodrigues] awoke, she presumed he had committed suicide. But she had nothing to do with it," her lawyer said.
Witnesses told a different story.
They said Gatti left his son to sleep in the apartment, then returned to the city center to find his wife.
She arrived at the apartment before he returned and waited for him, cops said, and they went upstairs together.
Gatti's brother Fabrizzio was on his way to Brazil yesterday to claim the body, the boxer's former manager said.
"They were getting divorced around a year ago, and somehow she lured him back in," Pat Lynch said.
"They were having problems from the beginning, almost from day one. I saw it, his family saw it, everyone saw it except him. It was just horrible.
"She was an evil person. She has no soul. Someone who's capable of doing this - I hope she rots in hell."
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NYDAILYNEWS Reports
His HBO character might have a taste for violence but a star of the crime show "The Wire" said he had nothing to do with gunplay that erupted outside his wife's baby shower.
One man was killed and two others wounded in a gunfight outside the Brooklyn bash hosted by actor Jamie Hector - who played drug dealer Marlo Stanfield on the former hit show.
Hector said in a statement released Monday that his " heartfelt prayers and condolences" went out to the victims' families.
"I would like to make it clear that the shooting incident [Sunday] did not take place at my home, nor did it involve me, my wife, nor any of the invited guests," the actor said.
Local residents, though said two of the young men injured in Sunday's 1:20 a.m. East Flatbush shootout had attended the baby shower.
Linton Williams, 17, and Walter Parker, 22, had just left the party, neighbors said, when a car drove up and opened fire on the men. Williams died at the scene. Parker survived with a leg wound.Alison Gendar
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XXL Reports
Jay-Z has confirmed his hopes to release a series of books, with one book describing the meaning behind some of his most disputed songs on track to hit shelves first.
During an interview on Atlanta radio station V-103, Jay told radio personality Ryan Cameron all about his literary plans. “Well it’s not done, the other two books, it hasn’t kicked in yet, I haven’t signed that deal,” he said about the rumored three book contract. “But I’ve done a deal to do a book and the name of it is called Decoded. It’s called Decoded because I’m going to decode all the lyrics from my records. I’m gonna pick the select ones, you know all the double entendres and things that people may have missed or may have gotten and want confirmation on it. That’s what the book is about.” [Listen here]
Last week The New York Observer reported that Jay was close to inking a deal with the Spiegel & Grau imprint of Random House for three books: one memoir, one business book and the other one about the meanings behind his lyrics that he revealed to Cameron.
This will be the first book written by Hov, who came close to releasing a memoir back in ’03 with MTV. Titled The Black Book, Jay famously backed out at the last minute due to privacy issues.
As of press time there is no release date for Decoded
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