Monday, March 30, 2015

#ProviderNoMore, Should Men Be Okay With Living Off of Women?

Maybe men aren't expected to be the financial providers of the household anymore. 

Not too long ago the rumor mills were spinning with the messiness between actress Tasha Smith and her ex husband Keith Douglas. Now that the dust has settled on their dysfunctional relationship and Keith has already received $50,000 in their divorce settlement, a judge has awarded him more. Since Tasha Smith makes way more money, she has to pay $7,000 a month in spousal support. 

This means that Keith is living off of her. He will not have to provide for a new household because his ex-wife has to legally take care of it all. He won't be seen as a provider because many people that are actually providing make less than what he will be receiving each month. 

I know quite a few men who wouldn't mind living this lifestyle. They would live off of their parents, wife, ex-wife, or girlfriends without ever wondering what others expect of them. They prefer women pay for dates and they have issues with women not wanting to be more dominant in relationships. Is this type of thinking okay? 

As a woman who is single and trying my best to provide for myself, this question comes in mind often. I've had many men express interest, but they never made the motion to plan a date. I've had men interested in me, but complained about the idea of paying for a date. There were a few times, two to be exact, that I paid for men when we went out. I didn't feel bad those times, but should I be planning to be the provider for a significant other one day? 

The Disney movies always portray the woman as giving emotional support. If the woman being the financial provider is the direction the future is going in, then maybe art needs to start reflecting the reality. 

Photo via Twitter. 


Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Art of Working Hard & Trying To Date

While trying to have careers, celebrities often indulge in having a love life too. Sometimes their relationships turn into decades of marriage, such as in Jada and Will Smith's case. However, sometimes relationships and breakups turn into a huge public mess, such as in Chris Brown and Karrueche Tran's case.

On March 28th, 2015 we were able to get a little peek into the affect that dating Chris Brown has had on Karrueche. She gladly accepted an interview with Iyanla Vanzant, who wasted no time getting straight to the point. Before meeting him, she was an aspiring actress and model. After meeting and starting a relationship with Chris, Karrueche became famous by association. Throughout their relationship she has faced public humiliation by him leaving her for a second chance with Rihanna, him cheating, more humiliation via social media, and as of recently him having a baby with another woman. The baby was too much for Karrueche to handle, so she finally called it quits.

One major factor stood out in the interview. Everyone knows who she is and how her love life has gone. Even when looking for job opportunities, her name has been recognized. If you pay attention to social media, then it's widely known that people don't like her. They don't like her for being the woman that came after Rihanna and they don't like her because she didn't leave Chris after he embarrassed her the first 50 million times. As a celebrity in Hollywood, this is only a tiny setback for Karrueche, but what about those of us working regular jobs that take up a lot of our time? What if we (well me) used the work office as an another avenue to find love?

Recently I asked a question in a Facebook group about having a crush on a co-worker and if I should speak to him. The majority of the people who replied said no. Only one person said to go for it. Most said that it would make the work environment awkward if things didn't work out. Another person threw in the part where most young people don't have longterm relationships and that would be risky too. There was also the part about some jobs having policies about co-workers dating.

From Karrueche to the regular work environment it's clear that trying to combine your personal needs with people that can potentially affect your money is not a good idea. However, then how exactly does a busy working woman meet and gain and intimate relationship with a man? All of the hang-out places that pop up in your head are also bad ideas for trying to meet men because most aren't meeting women in those places for potential longterm relationships.

That would only leave trying to date through social media for a woman like me. Social media is a scary place to meet a man.


Thursday, March 26, 2015

Cam B~ Love Is You (Music)

Love Is You is one of the perfect songs to make us want the love of a significant other.

For Cameron Brooks, known as Cam B, asking his soon-to-be wife to marry him has done more than assured his love for her in front of the world. Because of the proposal video that went viral a year ago, he's now signed to Block Entertainment Music Group.

Cam B also has a beautiful song out called Love is You. You can purchase Love Is You on iTunes. Listen below.


This is the video that started his career. 

20 Lessons In Your 20's


Ring Around The Rosie (Music)

There's a rap song call Ring Around The Rosie. This is real life.

Remember that cute nursery rhyme all of us girls used to sing when we were little? It went, "Ring around the rosie, pocket full of posies, ashes ashes, we all fall down." This new song has nothing to do with that rhyme. The name is the only thing that is the name.

Ring Around The Rosie is by Sauce Walka, Shy Glizzy, and Sosamann. There are a few things that stand out in the song. They don't like police, they like white women, and it's always obvious when an artist is from Houston.

Rico Love Loves The Strip Club (Music)

Rico Love loves the strip club. In his song Strip Club Pt. 2, he gives props to all the dancers in the strip club that are trying to make it in life. At the end he even goes down memory lane and talks about a certain stripper he thought was his woman.

Does that mean all of us women in the corporate world are doing it wrong? It all depends on what kind of man we want. Listen to the song and original version below.


Video By Singersroom.com

Monday, March 23, 2015

Bethenny Frankel Calls Herself A Professional Reality Star

Over the years reality television has become more popular than fiction shows. Many actors and actresses have also put their talents aside to benefit from the reality television money. However, is being a reality star a career? Bethenny Frankel thinks so.

Bethenny is known from the television show Real Housewives of New York and always a failed attempt at hosting a talk show in the middle of the day. While she didn't feel comfortable as a host, she told Andy Cohen (Watch What Happens Live) that she's very comfortable on reality television.


Mo'Nique Talks To Roland Martin On #NewsOneNow


TV One has officially gotten everyone's attention. Years ago Mo'Nique was at her highest level of success with a pretty good late night talk show and a huge role in the successful movie Precious. After the success, she seemed to fade away from the spotlight and our televisions. Well, Roland Martin was able to get Mo'Nique to talk about everything from Lee Daniels to her upcoming HBO movie on News One Now. The interview was juicy. Below is a little of what we learned from it.

She Was Never Blackballed
Mo'Nique was never blackballed in the industry. Lee Daniels said it and she was forced to respond.

Name Dropping
Mo'Nique has no problem name dropping. She really let out her feelings toward Lee Daniels and soon ended it with admitting she deleted his number. There is no reunion in the near future for her and the successful movie producer. She also talked about being offered roles that we saw Oprah and Taraji P. Henson in. While we don't know if any of it is true, we do know after watching The Butler and the first season of Empire, the right women were perfectly casted.

Oscars
According to Mo'Nique ,Tyler Perry told her that winning an Oscar meant offers for millions of dollars for future movie roles. She has not been offered anything close to a million yet. Also, she was more proud of receiving an NAACP award then an Oscar. It is interesting since there is a huge controversy about the Oscars being racist and not wanting to give Black people the recognition we deserve.

Mo'Nique Put Family Over Her Career For The First Time
This is her third marriage. It might not mean anything to someone else. However, Mo'Nique has put in far more effort to being married to her current husband. Her husband is also her manager, which means she has invested herself in him emotionally and financially.

HBO & Blackbird
I've always thought of HBO channels as a series of channels that I couldn't afford. Currently I do not have that cable package. However, according to Mo'Nique maybe I should be investing money in the network. She will be in a movie on that network soon and HBO called her. According to her HBO stands for "Helping Blacks Out."

Blackbird, a more than likely great movie, is Mo'Nique's first step back into Hollywood since Precious. She says the roles never stopped coming, but this is her special project. It stars Isaiah Washington and a new actor by the name of Julian Walker.

Similar to all the ratchet stuff, I think we should get together as a family and watch Blackbird whenever it comes on.  Thank you Roland Martin for such an excellent interview.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Michel'le Talks More Of Her Story On The Breakfast Club, Gotta Love Her

While everyone else was afraid of Suge Knight, Michel'le didn't see the big scary man. In fact since he is practically an old man now, she thinks no one should be afraid of him.

Michel'le is the most liked cast-member on TV One's hit show R&B Divas, but she also has stories upon stories to tell about her life. In the previous season of the show she was able to express her feelings of being depressed and attempting to commit suicide. In the last reunion show Michel'le also spoke on dating Dr. Dre and Suge Knight.

However, a television show that caters to several women cannot successfully hi-light one woman. Recently we saw Lil Mo attempt to make her look like a bad guy on the show, but the innocent and sweet "Something In My Heart" singer had the chance of telling her story on The Breakfast Club.

Am I the only person that is mad at TV One for giving her the spotlight to tell her suicide attempt story and then letting someone attempt to make her look bad in this current season of the show? Depression is not a joke. 

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Dress Up (Poem)

When I’m feeling myself
And my body oozes to be free
My figure screams to be seen
Even if it's only by me
Playing dress up becomes my game
Maybe I’ll wear something that is skin-tight
Like a pretty dress that’s just the right size
Or some short shorts that hug me just right
And as long as I’m skinny belly shirts never go out of style
Or even if I’m going nowhere, maybe I wear nothing at all
See my mind begs for me to reveal myself in the most intimate way
Touch, Tease, Please
Empty out my heart’s desires in case the right man is paying attention
It’s about more than friendship
Sooner or later he has to recognize my sexual desires
He has to see that I’m sexy and I’m wild
And in the perfect setting I’m uninhibited and ready to explore



Everyone Starts Somewhere #Success #Passion #WomensHistoryMonth


Everyone starts somewhere. Where there is a business mogul and a brand, there was once a person who struggled to get that brand off the ground. There are also some CEO's who struggled to figure out what they wanted to do before they started building that brand. Those people struggled to get money, be known, and stay relevant.

However, when we hear them speak in public now, they usually speak with arrogance and have trouble understanding that there are those of us that need help knowing where to start. Very few successful people take us back to the days when they were trying to figure out how to follow through with their passions. However, one thing we know about everyone that is doing better than us is they started somewhere. Everyone starts somewhere and everyone has help to get them started. No one does it entirely on their own.

In honor of Women's History Month, below are a few clips from Girlfriends where the women were either talking business or following a new passion. The scene where Lynn decides to become a part of the paparazzi is my favorite.


A video posted by Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus) on
A video posted by Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus) on



A video posted by Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus) on

Monday, March 16, 2015

#Empire Terrance Howard Talks The N Word and Empire

Terrance Howard says it's okay for white people to say the "N" word. 

You know that word nigga that we forever have a love/hate relationship with? We hate it because of the negative history behind it, but we love it because we've worked so hard to turn the word into something positive. Terrance Howard says he's cool with using the word around his white friends and vice versa.

However, the interview was about the growing love for the show Empire and how Terrance and Taraji  P. Henson play their roles so perfectly. Empire is also one of those shows that people have a love/hate relationship with. Empire is arguably the best new show on television and it can only get better from here. It has a father who rules the entertainment industry, but he's also so strict on his children they don't even believe he loves them. There's the mother, who spent 17 years in prison because she did what she felt was best to take care of her family. Now that she's free she is coming in where she left off. Then there are the kids who are climbing the walls of success, dealing with their own pain, and trying to compete with each other for their father's empire once he's gone. It is deep. 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Kathy Griffin Has Quit Fashion Police

Kathy Griffin is a woman who doesn't hold her tongue. She says what she says and means what she means. That's the main reason I've also been a fan. However, because of the drama surrounding Fashion Police this year, she has decided to quit the show.

However, Kathy is not leaving the show for the same reasons as Kelly Osbourne. Kelly quit to separate herself from the negativity. Kathy is quitting because she can't express herself the way she wants to. She's not in the game of apologizing for a harmless joke.


#MaryMary Erica & Tina Have Gone Through The Most Struggles In Two Episodes

Are you watching WE TV's hit show Mary Mary? Here's what the ladies have been going through.

Both Erica and Tina Had To Deal With Seeing Mitchell Solarek Again. Although Mitchell has looked terrible as a manager if you go by reality television, he did revamp the career of Mary Mary. It had been a while since these two beautiful gospel singers' names were uttered in households around the nation, but getting their own show put them back across the map. For the current season they pulled 1.3 million viewers on the first episode. Upon finding out that Tina crashed and shot up cars when she was in a dark place with her marriage, the ratings are probably much higher for this second episode.

Tina Wasn't Totally Out of The Dark. There's a scene where her husband's car is getting towed. She tore the car all the way up for fear he would have another woman in it. That scene from Waiting To Exhale where the car is set on fire can be replaced with a picture of her.

Erica Became Her Own Manager. Erica finally  joined the club of artists promoting their own work without managers. Usually it's the unknown and fairly new artists without real management behind them. However, Erica and her husband Warren decided to take a risk and handle it all by themselves. However, when Erica panics she really panics and sometimes there is no one to immediately comfort her.

Tina Decides To Write A Book and Make Her Own Solo Album To Go Along With The Book. No one controls Tina except herself. The only problem is when you're signed to Sony Music Entertainment, you can't just decide to go independent without a battle. Erica went independent, but her music was through the label. Tina didn't want to work with the label and upon hearing that she was ready to sing again, they wanted a new Mary Mary album. The music entertainment is a beast, but that's why you have to love it.

Tina Is Renewing Vows And Meeting New Family Members. Who knew that Tina had never met her father-in-law? Tina also throws a party for her child. She's as stressed as her sister Erica is.





Wednesday, March 11, 2015

KeKe Wyatt Gives Birth To Ke'Yoshi Bella

Upon getting bit by the baby bug, it's been hard to ignore pictures of cute babies and pregnant women. The latest of the women that has been showing off her pregnant belly is KeKe Wyatt, but she finally gave birth to her new daughter Ke'Yoshi Bella. Awe :)

#KanyeIsFashion In Case You Need To Laugh (Pictures)


Via this Facebook group, I discovered this hilarious Instagram page, Kanye Is Fashion, dedicated to Yeezy's fashion sense. All of the photos are photoshopped, but they are hilarious. These two are my favorite.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

@AngieStone Why You Should Not Live With Parents After Age 25

You've probably heard by now that Soul Singer Angie Stone was arrested for domestic abuse. She wasn't beating up on a cheating current lover though. Instead the police were called because she got in a terrible fight with her daughter. We were all introduced to her daughter, Diamond Stone, on the hit show R&B Divas Atlanta and from the show we know Diamond has a smart mouth. Well, Diamond argued back and got her two front teeth (physically) broken. 

While Angie was charged and can now be added to the list of celebrities with mugshots, this particular story is a lesson for all adults past a certain age. Although Diamond is 30, I'll set the age at 25. This story has several points as to why after the age of 25 you should no longer be living in your parents house. Read the list and share with your own friends, families, and fans if you agree. 

Your Room Does Not Belong To You
In Diamond's story she claims Angie told her to clean her room. When you're under the age of 18 and a parent tells you to clean your room, you have to do it. It is their house and you are obligated to listen to them. When you are grown person, it is still their house but your mindset of them telling you what to do is different. No one wants to be bossed around as an adult, so the best move is to get out of another adults house, especially is that person is your parent. 

You Are A Mother
Angie is not the only mother in the house. Diamond has kids of her own. Maybe Angie doesn't want to raise new children, even though she revealed on the show that her relationship with her daughter was strained because she put her music career first. Diamond needs to focus on her own children and get out of the house of a mother who probably doesn't see her as the adult she is. 

It's A Thin Line Between Love & Abuse
Parents believe that since they bought you into this world, they can take you out. Actually taking you out of this world would lead to prison time for them. No one wants their parents to end up in prison. Angie already now has a mugshot and Diamond has to get her teeth fixed. Its time to get out of there. 

Actually if you don't have the significant other of your dreams lined up, leaving the comfort of your parents can seem very hard. You will feel poor and be on a tight budget if your job doesn't pay six figures. You will feel poor and be on a tight budget if your job doesn't pay a high five figures. If you don't make a lot of money, a lot of your dreams will get put on hold and you might actually lose hope on accomplishing some things. However, the road to independence is so much better than having someone put you down for a less-than clean room, spending all their money, or getting yelled at because they don't like how your own children are acting. 

(Music Video) Ciara~ I Bet

"I love you, but I won't be a fool for you."
Ciara has officially moved on from the rapper Future and gotten her fabulosity back. Her new song I Bet now has visuals to prove just how good she is. Check the video out below.

#LHHNY That Moment When Diamond Smashed The Homie...

Via Vh1
A lot happened on this week's Love & Hip Hop New York, but none of it was as bad as watching Diamond Strawberry seduce Rich Dollaz. 

During the course of this season Diamond was in a (pretend) relationship with Cisco. For some reason she thought Cisco was madly in love with her and moved to New York City to be with him. He didn't even know about her daughter, which she had left with her family back in California. Cisco had his own issues, so it was hard to see how crazy Diamond was in the beginning. However, after completely cutting him off, getting her mother to finish what she started, and moving on to a new man, she decided she wanted Cisco again. 

Cisco saw Diamond for the crazy woman she was, but she wasn't giving up that easily. She wrote him a (four page) letter before deciding she would seduce Rich Dollaz in order to make him jealous. Cisco didn't want Rich smashing, but Rich is man that has trouble controlling where his penis goes. Somehow Diamond went from wanting to use Rich to wanting to be in an actual relationship with Rich. Knowing that she wasn't making sense, he sexed her in a public restroom at some restaurant. Do men bring condoms to the restaurant in hopes of having sex there with the woman they are on a date with? Rich thought it was just sex, but Diamond started calling him her man. Damn her psychotic mind moves fast. 
Get More: 
Now my problem is this show is going too far. Sometimes we fight, drink too much, curse too much, and fall in and out of relationships too much. BUT we should never be seen smashing the homies. 

One more thing: Shout-out to the people writing the scripts for this show. There is no way it is still real life. 

Monday, March 9, 2015

#BlackInkCrew What Not To Do When Owning A Business

If I was to ever get a tattoo and I was in New York City when the temptation came along, it would definitely be at Black Ink. Black Ink Crew is a popular Vh1 show where we can learn about running a business and the bad habits of the employees at the business. This time we focus on the etiquette behind running a business and having employees. The next few tips are things you probably shouldn't do if you are the boss.

Don't Get Arrested While On Vacation From The Business You Own and Not Inform Anyone. At the beginning of the show all the remaining employees in Black Ink were panicking because no one had heard from Ceasar and Dutchess. The need to get in touch with them was very important for Donna, the receptionist. A woman from Chicago had traveled to get a tattoo and she was only in her hotel for so many days. Donna tried saying all that she could, but since she couldn't get in touch with the people who do tattoos that woman could not get a tattoo.

The crew did not find out about the arrests until it hit the news. They are semi-famous now so everything the people on this show does will make some blog if not an actual newspaper.

As A Boss, Don't Take Your Irresponsibilities Out On Your Employees. Donna did all that she could to ease the anger coming from the Chicago woman. Caesar was driving with a suspended license and some weed in the car. It was all his fault. However, he was mad at the police and then mad at his receptionist for telling him what happened while he was away.

Don't Try To Ruin Another Man Just Because You Two Are Not Friends Anymore. The scene where Caesar talks to Puma's boss has to be the worst of all. Caesar has spent most of the episode up until that point yelling, but then he gets really humble. He became humble to this white man because he wanted the white man to help him make Puma jobless.

There was so much other stuff that happened. Maybe this is all for cameras and even the people on the show know not to act like that.

#SecretsAndLies Who Killed Tom?

Almost as soon as Resurrection ended its second season, ABC already had a new show to slide in its place on Sunday nights. The show is called Secrets and Lies.

Secrets and Lies starts off with a murder. A child is murdered and the jogger, Ben, that finds the body becomes the primary suspect in the case. In the very first episode Ben goes from being seen as a possible suspect to finding out the dead child was his son. He cheated on his wife years before and the other woman never informed him that the child another man had been raising was really his. In order to prove his innocence, he involves himself deep into the case. He takes a lie detector test, but the results are inconclusive. The only way to clear himself is to find a new suspect. After all, the detective in charge of the case only sees Ben as the killer.

Ben tries to verify his innocence by blaming the man who was being a father to little tom. That is Scott, but by the second episode Scott turns out to be innocent. Scott was cheating on his wife with her sister, which makes for more drama. However, since Scott isn't the killer Ben is still the only suspect in the case.

Ben also finds out that the flashlight he owns might have been the same flashlight that was used to kill little Tom. The mystery is getting good, but the show is moving slowly.

Now, my problem is the show is moving way too slow. With every episode, more questions are being raised and nothing is getting answered. There are only a few real questions I want answered anyway. Who killed Tom? Did Ben do it and not remember? Was the killing an accident or very intentional? If this show is only about finding out if one man killed a dead child, then it might not make it to another season.  There are 10 episodes in this season of Secrets and Lies. Will we know who the killer is by the end? This means I have to keep watching to see.

Iggy Azalea & Her Rap Skills Get Spoofed On SNL

If you thought the reign of Iggy Azalea was over, guess again. Saturday Night Live just boosted her career to new levels by doing a spoof of her. In the spoof someone also represents T.I. and Azalea Banks. They nailed the Australian accent and the bad rapping. Watch below.

#ThingsYourManWontDo A Je'Caryous Johnson Play

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Je'caryous Johnson's play Things Your Man Won't Do

It was absolutely amazing. Both Leon Robinson and Brian White effortlessly reminded us of their sex appeal, Wendy Racquel Robinson was hilarious as usual, and Tichina Arnold sang her heart out. I forgot how good of a singer Tichina Arnold was, but she was amazing. Tony Grant, from Tyler Perry's Love Thy Neighbor, was also a part of the cast and he was funny. The play was excellent too. It made me miss those Sundays where BET used to cater to the plays and low-budget films made by Black people. 

If one of Je'caryous Johnson's plays comes to your city, I advise you to go see it. You won't be disappointed. 




Saturday, March 7, 2015

Women's History Month, Follow The @MrsStarStatus Celebration

It's the month to celebrate the women all around you. It all started with International Women's Day, which is March 8th. It went from being one day to a week long holiday, focused around March 8th, and as the importance of women became more recognizable the celebration became a month long. March of every year is officially Women's History Month

This year as time permits a few women will be recognized on the @mrsstarstatus Instagram page each week. As the week ends all of the women will be hi-lighted in a blog post here. For the first week the chosen women were Singer Betty Wright, actress Olga James, and Author V.C. (Virginia) Andrews.

Betty Wright 
Betty Wright was picked because before there was Beyonce, Keyshia Cole, and Mary J. Blige, and even Janet Jackson there was her. Through music Betty Wright revealed to us how she lost her virginity, informed us of the roles of side chicks before side chicks became cool, taught us how to hold onto our men, and even taught us that we're all the clean-up woman. Any time I want to get in my emotions and really learn a lesson on love her music is what I go to. 

Olga James 
Olga James was picked because she is one of the underrated representations of what Black History is.  She was a very passionate singer and also an actress. While everyone knows all about the beauty of Dorothy Dandridge, Olga James was her co-star in the movie Carmen Jones. Olga's character Cindy Lou got her man taken away by Carmen, who was played by Dorothy. Carmen Jones currently sits in the National Film Registry because it is viewed as culturally and historically significant. While she is a part of Black history, her history seems to stop at the death of her husband Cannonball Adderley in 1975. Unfortunately this happens when a person's history is not preserved. What happened to this beautiful actress? 

V.C. Andrews
Author Virginia Andrews was born in 1923 and died of breast cancer in 1986. According to her biography at a young age she suffered from arthritis and a spinal injury problem which would be with her for the rest of her life. Her writing career began in 1972 as she wrote under a pen name, but her first official book Flowers In The Attic was published in 1979 and stayed at the top of the best sellers list for a couple of weeks. After this V.C. Andrews published severals books until her death in 1986. However, if you're a fan you've probably noticed how the books under her never are still being published today. Her ghostwriter since 1987 has been Author Andrew Neiderman. To have a man ghostwriting for a woman who created her own legacy with her intriguing novels is definitely a representation of the power of a woman. 

Until next time, celebrate the history of women. 

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Come And Talk To Me (Poem)

Come and talk to me
Cause I’ve been noticing you for a while
Anxiously waiting for the moment to say something
Maybe start an intellectual conversation about success
Or jump straight to how you and me could have a fiery romance
But nothing ever feels quite right
“Hi” seems to be as far as I can go
You don’t know my name
And asking yours might be too much for me to say
Can I talk to you?
I don’t want to scare you away with my forwardness
Sex is always on my mind
And your physical features are the first thing I notice
I want to caress your brown skin
Combine yours with mines
See if we make a perfect fit
Do you feel the same?
Maybe we can start with sex and then work on the rest
No reading each other’s Facebook first
Or stalking each other’s twitter to get to know each other
See I suck at love
And trying to dominate might mess it up too quickly

So will you be the gentleman and make the first move?

Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus)

Lashuntrice

Lashuntrice