Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa are being sued by their former housekeeper, who claims Vanessa was incredibly abusive -- even demanding that she put her hand in a bag of dog feces to retrieve a tag from her blouse ... so Vanessa could deduct the cost of the blouse from the maid's salary!
Maria Jimenez claims Vanessa called her "lazy, slow, dumb, a f---ing liar, and f---ing sh-t."
In the lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Orange County, Jimenez claims Vanessa accused her of stealing her (mouth) retainer.
Jimenez says it got so bad -- Vanessa allegedly "badgered, harassed and humiliated Maria by yelling and screaming at Maria and criticizing her in front of Kobe, the Bryants' children, employees and other people in the household" -- she threatened to quit but Kobe talked her out of it.
The final straw: Vanessa went nuclear because Maria put an expensive blouse in the washer. Vanessa demanded that Maria put her hand in a bag of dog feces to retrieve the price tag for the blouse.
Maria says she wanted to quit and Vanessa responded that she "had to work until payday to pay for the $690 blouse, which she did."
Maria is suing for wrongful discharge, invasion of privacy and emotional distress and unpaid wages.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Kobe's Maid Sues -- It Was the Crappiest Job Ever
Celebrity Magazines 'May Never Recover'
The consumer appetite for celebrity news has exploded in recent years. But shortsighted strategies, poor management and the recession have hit traditional celebrity media hard—so hard the nine magazines covering the space is too many, consolidation is inevitable as advertising and circulation erodes, and even the market’s dominant Web sites should be “looking over their shoulders.”This, according to a new report from DeSilva + Phillips, a New York-based media banking firm, released today.
The rise of “feisty online alternatives” and the recession have sped up the decline of some celebrity media franchises, according to the report. But “timid magazine management” is also to blame.
As a result, celebrity magazines “have the most to lose” in terms of audience and revenues—“and they will certainly lose the most in the years ahead.” People, the report notes, is perhaps the only magazine to prove itself as a multi-platform leader—accounting for 24 percent of the category’s print circulation, 28 percent of its ad pages and “an eyebrow-raising” 43 percent of its revenues.
Even People, however, has “to face the same nagging issues: the segment’s dwindling readership base, the buyers’ market for advertising, and cost pressures across the board that are painfully compressing margins," the report said.
Celebrity Media M&A
The report points to the $1 sale of TV Guide, a magazine that once was acquired by Rupert Murdoch for $3 billion, as emblematic of the erosion of print’s value. “How [a] magazine is worth nominally .000000001 percent of what it was 20 years ago is a story for a B-school case study,” D+P managing director Ken Sonenclar, the author of the report, wrote. “But what’s most noteworthy now is that the sale excludes TVguide.com and the TV Guide Network cable channel, which were sold separately in January to Lions Gate Entertainment, the Vancouver-based film company, for $255 million. That’s where the seller realized growth and value.”
In terms of the future of celebrity media M&A, “select Web sites”—such as perezhilton.com—“should be acquisition targets” as they appear to resist the recession’s downward pull and continue to attract eyeballs and advertisers.”
But “few gossip sites” have built the kind of loyal audiences or barriers to entry to warrant serious M&A interest.
A bigger fear for celebrity magazine publishers now is that the recession will end much differently than those in the past. Specifically, even when the economy eventually recovers, advertisers will direct their budgets to the Internet and television—and away from magazines. “The fear is justified,” Sonenclar wrote. “Magazine publishers’ eventual recovery will be slow, painful, and partial at best.”
He added: “Long-term winners online will have roots in print, TV and the web—and so will the losers.”Original here
Rihanna will testify against Chris Brown
Rihanna will testify against Chris Brown
Rihanna’s lawyer has confirmed she will testify against her boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, if she is subpoenaed to appear in court.
The R&B singer, who is currently fighting two felony charges of assaulting the pop princess, is currently free on $50,000 (£35,700) bail after he was granted a continuance at his arraignment hearing on 5th March 2009.
Brown is due back in court on April 6th 2009 where his girlfriend may be called to testify against him by prosecutors, adamant to put the famous singer up to the full extent of the law.
Brown allegedly beat up Rihanna in a late-night row on the 8th February 2009 which left her face battered and bruised.
The attack allegedly occurred after the 21-year-old singer discovered a three-page text message from his former lover on his mobile phone.
Brown tried to push Rihanna out of the car but failed to do so as she was wearing a seatbelt. He then allegedly punched her and threatened, “I’m going to beat the s*** out of you when we get home. You wait and see!’
It was reported that Rihanna attempted to call her assistant but received her answerphone, were she pretended to tell her to call the police.
The testimony of Detective De Shon Andrews, from Los Angeles Police Department, detail that Brown threw a ‘barrage of punches’ at Rihanna’s face, bit her ear and pressed her neck until she almost passed out.
The attack was reported to have caused Rihanna’s mouth to fill with blood, which splattered all over her clothing. The papers suggest that injured Rihanna managed to free herself by kicking Brown away and gouging his eyes. A passerby called the police after they heard Rihanna’s screams and cries for help.
Recent reports have suggested Rihanna has reconciled with the singer and was in Los Angeles with him. Her lawyer Donald Etra told MTV news, “”She is planning to do everything that the law requires her to do. If she is required to testify, she will do so.” Etra was overheard telling Brown in court on Thursday 5th March that Rihanna ‘would like this to be over as quickly as possible.’
He further went on to tell Us Weekly magazine, “Rhianna desires that it (the case) be quick and expeditious. She wants to get back to her life and her career.”
Brown could face up to four years and eight months in jail if convicted.
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