Wyclef Jean is speaking out about a few accusations against his Yele charity organization, which was able to raise a couple of million dollars in donations during a text message program for Haiti earthquake relief fueled largely by social media sites like Twitter.

The Smoking Gun uncovered a few documents that show some shady business practices by Wyclef and his organization, which prompted Wyclef to post the video above to defend his charity.

My favorite quote from Wyclef? “You can donate to which ever charity you want to.” If any charity sounds suspicious to you, don’t donate to it. I’m pretty sure that Wyclef is doing great things in Haiti, but if you don’t feel comfortable donating to his Yele organization but want to help with earthquake relief, send a text over to 90999 with the word “Haiti.” A charge of $10 will be added to your phone bill, and that money will be sent immediately to help the Red Cross’s relief efforts in Haiti.

News of a major, devastating earthquake in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation, inspired many people to do whatever they can to help. But unfortunately, a few people take tragedy and disaster as prime opportunities to create scams and prey on those who want to lend a helping hand.

The FBI is warning everyone to watch out for disaster relief scams. If you are directly contacted by someone asking for money to go to relief efforts, whether via email, letter, or on Twitter or Facebook, it’s best not to respond. Most legit charities and relief organizations will not contact you directly to solicit donations. Also, the FBI says it’s never a good idea to donate cash, especially to individuals.

Basically, if you think it’s suspicious, more than likely it is. Your best bet would be to check out the Better Business Bureau to find legitimate charity programs.

Two hoaxes circulated via Twitter this morning, one stating that American Airlines is flying doctors and nurses to Haiti who are looking to help. The other stated that UPS would ship packages under 50 pounds to Haiti for no charge. Both are completely false.

It’s really sad that people use situations like this for personal financial gain, but it’s a reality. If you really want to help, I personally suggest donating to the Red Cross. If you text “Haiti” to 90999, a $10 charge will be added to your monthly phone bill and that money will immediately be sent to the Red Cross for Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

BTW, the Red Cross has been able to raise $3 million so far through text message donations. How awesome is that?

Iconic 1970s soul singer Teddy Pendergrass died late Wednesday at a hospital in Philadelphia, Penn. Official details about the cause of death have not been released, but many news outlets have suggested that his death may have been due to colon cancer.

Teddy was involved in a car accident in 1982 which left him paralyzed from the waist down, but he continued to record new music just a couple of years later.

I would like to send out condolences to his family and friends, and if you aren’t familiar with some of Teddy’s music, take a listen to one of his biggest hits “Turn Off the Lights” below.

The city council of Washington, D.C., has voted to legalize same-sex marriage in our nation’s capital.

According to the New York Times, the city’s mayor now has to sign the bill, then Congress will vote on it. In case you didn’t know, Congress has the last word on laws in D.C. Same-sex couples could walking down the aisle in D.C. by March, if the mayor and Congress also approve.

I’m sure the gays are somewhere rejoicing. Congrats to yall! I most definitely support equality!

Tyler Perry’s mom has died at the age of 64, the film director announced via his website yesterday.

My condolences go out to him and his family.

Here’s the full video from Janet Jackson’s exclusive interview on ABC’s “20/20″. Commentary coming soon.

Here’s Diane Sawyer’s full, exclusive interview with Rihanna from last night’s episode of 20/20 on ABC.

I personally thought that Rihanna came across as extremely honest. I was really surprised at how candid she was, considering that Chris Brown has released numerous statements and done several interviews without really addressing anything, and she comes in and answers everything in one interview, sans mother, sans lawyer.

During and after the interview, I was checking some of the reactions on Twitter and I was really disappointed and disturbed at how so many WOMEN were going in on Rihanna, still accusing her of ‘provoking it’ and many said that she ‘probably deserved it.’ Rihanna clearly said that she did not hit him. I’m sure some don’t but I do believe her statement, and even if she was lying and did hit Chris, it in no way should have resulted in the severe beating she received.

Guys can be provoked, but that doesn’t matter. As a man, you are supposed to control your rage and your anger. We are bigger than females, and if they do hit us or whatever, you should be able to restrain them or just walk away from the relationship. But never is it cool to beat the hell out of a woman.

I believe what she said about Chris blacking out during the beating. She said there was ‘no soul in his eyes’ and that it was not the person she fell in love with. Chris obviously snapped and made a huge mistake, but he will have to suffer the consequences.

I truly think Chris Brown is sorry and regrets what happens, that’s why I’m not the person who will try to put down his career and wish him failure. He messed up big time, he’s suffering some backlash, but that’s OK. He’ll learn a lot from this experience, and I’m sure going through this has made both Chris and Rihanna grow up a lot in these past nine months.

I wish them both the best.

Parts 2 through 5 of Rihanna’s exclusive interview are after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Looks like an out-of-nowhere settlement between homophobic, ousted pageant contestant Carrie Prejean and the Miss California USA organization may have been reached so quickly due to a very racy video of Prejean being brought to the table by lawyers for the pageant.

CNN has the drama:

Wait a minute, they paid for her implants????

ESPN commentator Bob Griese now faces a one week suspension after he made a racially insensitive remark about Colombian NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

The remark was made as several ESPN broadcasters took a break from college football coverage to discuss NASCAR news. One of the broadcasters asked “Where’s Juan Pablo Montoya?” to which Griese responded “He’s out getting a taco!” Que ridículo y racista!

Griese apologized after the game, but clearly that wasn’t enough to cover his ass. Montoya didn’t make a big deal about the comment and said that he’d never even heard of Bob Griese. Womp womp.

Watch the video above to hear Griese’s comment and apology.

In his new autobiography, Hulk Hogan admits that he almost committed suicide after his wife filed for divorce and his son’s horrific accident, both of which occurred in 2007.

The Hulk reveals in My Life Outside the Ring that one night he popped a series of Xanax pills and rum — with a gun in his hand.

“I could feel the life draining out of me,” he said. “It had me curling my index finger on the trigger of a loaded handgun and putting it in my mouth.”

But thankfully, he received a life-saving call from Laila Ali that made him reconsider everything and led him to rediscover his faith.

Glad to see that he pulled through. I always felt for the Hulk because you can’t deny that all the stuff he went through that year was just too much. And don’t EVEN get me started on Linda. I see why Brooke Hogan just can’t get along with her mom these days.

(SOURCE)

This 25-year-old cheerleader suffered a very serious neurological disorder, which caused her to only be able to walk backwards, after receiving a flu shot this past August. Doctors say that it is a one-in-a-million disorder, but still, I think I’m going to pass on the flu shot again this year. Watch the video!

Calle 13 at Los Premios MTV 2009

A Colombian mayor has canceled a scheduled performance by Puerto Rican rap duo Calle 13 after the group’s lead rapper, René Pérez “El Residente”, wore a controversial t-shirt (shown above) at the recent Los Premios MTV.

The t-shirt calls Colombian president Álvaro Uribe “paramilitary,” most likely referring to the president’s recent deal to allow United States military bases in Colombia.

Juan Manuel Llano, mayor of Manizales, Colombia, banned the duo from performing at an upcoming festival there, saying that Rene’s shirt was an “insult to Colombians.”

Just last Saturday, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, canceled a Halloween concert that was to be headlined by Calle 13 after Rene called out the governor of Puerto Rico for a recent increase in state worker layoffs.

Whether you agree or disagree with Rene’s beliefs, you have to give him his props. I think it’s excellent for a rapper — someone with such an influence on youth — to be politically active and very honest and open about his beliefs. I can’t help but admire that.