Has Queen O Been Dethroned?

A recent NYTimes article is reporting that the reign of Oprah as talk show Queen may be coming to a close as The Ellen Degeneres Show moves up in the ratings.

The average audience for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” has fallen nearly 7 percent this year, according to Nielsen Media Research — its third straight year of decline. “Oprah’s Big Give,” an ABC philanthropic reality show, beat every program on television except “American Idol” in its premiere week this winter, but steadily lost nearly one-third of its audience during the rest of its eight-week run, according to Nielsen.

Oprah's empire may be faltering off screen as well.

The circulation of O, The Oprah Magazine, has fallen by more than 10 percent in the last three years, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and the magazine is now seeking a new editor in chief after the announced retirement of its longtime steward, Amy Gross.

Critics note that Mama O's highly unusual endorsement of Barack Obama may have alienated many of her viewers who are likely Hillary supporters.

angry criticism of her political stance became a regular feature of the message boards on Oprah.com, Ms. Peck said. “There are a lot of her fans who are not Democrats or who support Hillary Clinton who feel betrayed,” she added.

Could it be that the name Oprah Winfrey is no longer synonomous with complete domination of the entertainment world? Though the stats seem less than promising, If anyone can rebound from a stumble like this it's Oprah.

read the entire article here

R. Kelly's Lawyer Tries the 'Little Man' Defense

Oh really?

R. Kelly's lawyer Sam Adam Jr. has suggested that an alleged sex tape featuring the R&B star could have been created using the special effects technology from the film Little Man.

Kelly - currently standing trial on child pornography charges - saw his lawyer argue to the court that a video showing him allegedly engaging in a sex act with an underage girl may have been tampered with using computer graphics.

During the defence's cross examination of the victim's friend Simha Johnson, Adam asked the witness if she had seen the film Little Man.

He said: "They put the head of Marlon Wayans on a midget and it looked real, didn't it?"

Jamison replied "Not really!", causing the courtroom to erupt into laughter.

In 2002, Kelly was charged with 21 counts relating to child pornography and released on $750,000 (£380,000) bail. Seven of the charges have since been dropped.

If found guilty the singer could face a maximum of 15 years in prison.

source

Slick Rick Pardoned by NY Governor

The new Governor of New York David Paterson has pardoned Ricky Walters aka "Slick Rick" 11 years after his release from prison.

Governor David A. Paterson announced today that he has granted Ricky Walters a full and unconditional pardon of his 1991 attempted murder and weapon convictions, in order to allow Walters to seek relief from deportation from the federal immigration courts. Mr. Walters, who was born in the United Kingdom, was lawfully admitted to the United States at age 11, and he was raised in the Bronx. At the time of his crimes, Mr. Walters was a newly-famous hip-hop artist known as “Slick Rick,” who has since been credited with being a pioneer in the development of hip-hop as a mainstream musical genre. Walters was incarcerated for six years, and was released from prison in 1997.

“Mr. Walters has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his convictions, had an exemplary disciplinary record while in prison and on parole, and has been living without incident in the community for more than 10 years,” said Governor Paterson. “In that time, he has volunteered at youth outreach programs to counsel youth against violence, and has become a symbol of rehabilitation for many young people. Given these demonstrated rehabilitative efforts, I urge federal immigration officials to once again grant Mr. Walters relief from deportation, so that he is not separated from his many family members who are United States citizens, including his two teenage children.”