Skip to main content

Singer CeeLo Green attends a preliminary hearing for an ecstasy possession charge at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, February 3, 2014.MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters

FORGET YOU

By his own admission, CeeLo Green has declared his recent remarks about rape were "idiotic."

As reported by BBC News, the Forget You singer and former judge on The Voice has gone into full damage-control mode following his Twitter comments earlier this week implying that women who are unconscious during a sexual assault cannot rightfully call it rape.

Green tweeted the contentious comments shortly after the conclusion of a high-profile court case in which he pleaded no contest to giving a woman ecstasy without her knowledge in July, 2012.

Although the victim claimed she blacked out and woke up naked in the singer's bed, prosecutors in the case declined to charge Green (real name Thomas DeCarlo Callaway) with any sexual offence. An initial charge of rape against the five-time Grammy winner was dropped due to insufficient evidence.

Green, 39, has steadfastly denied the allegations since his arrest, claiming he only had consensual sex with the woman. The judge sentenced Green to three years of formal probation and 45 days of community service on drug charges.

But it's unlikely Green did himself – or his career – any favours with his offensive rash of tweets last Friday, which began with him tweeting, "women who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!"

When several of Green's two-million Twitter followers took note of the statement, he responded by tweeting, "if someone is passed out they're not even WITH you consciously! So WITH implies consent."

And perhaps most egregiously, Green suggested that his no-contest plea in the drugging case wasn't an admittance of guilt by tweeting, "So if I TRIED but did NOT succeed but the person said I DID then what really happened?"

Green's shocking comments fuelled immediate Twitter backlash and prompted him to delete the tweets and deactivate his Twitter account.

But by late Monday night, his account (@CeeLoGreen) was up and running again and Green was suddenly the picture of contrition with his tweet stating, "I truly and deeply apologize for the comments attributed to me on Twitter. Those comments were idiotic, untrue and not what I believe."

It appears, however, that Green's apology was a case of too little, too late.

Yesterday, the U.S. cable channel TBS cancelled Green's reality show The Good Life after one six-episode season, reportedly due to weak ratings.

The series, which documents the singer's reunion with his 1990s hip-hop group The Goodie Mob, was averaging close to 700,000 U.S. viewers during its first run on TBS earlier this summer.

So was The Good Life cancelled due to low ratings or the fact that the women's advocacy group Ultraviolet launched a petition calling for TBS and corporate owner Time Warner to dump the show in light of Green's most recent comments?

As they say, perception usually veers pretty close to reality.

HONOURING RENE

Celine Dion fans have sent a touching show of support for the singer's husband René Angélil in his ongoing cancer battle. On Monday, members of the Canadian chanteuse's international fan group posted a 10-minute tribute to YouTube titled "Dear René…Love, the fans." In the video, individual fan members hold up written signs to relate the message, "Thank you for everything you have accomplished. We have always known that Celine has never been alone on stage, that you two were and have always been a team." Dion, who announced two weeks ago that she was putting her career on hold to care for Angélil, responded to the message on her website by saying, "Thank you to Ashley Berner from the United States and all the wonderful fans from around the world for creating this beautiful video honouring René. It is a very touching way to show your love and support."

Source: CBC

BOUNCING BACK

The daughter of the late Robin Williams has returned to social media. Zelda Williams, 25, had deleted her Twitter and Tumblr accounts on Aug. 13 following negative online feedback in the wake of her father's death on Aug. 11. On Tuesday, Williams reactivated her accounts and tweeted the message: "Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."

Source: Us Weekly

TOP COPS

Better sit down: There really will be a CHiPS movie. Parenthood star Dax Shepard has signed a deal with Warner Bros to write, direct and star in a big-screen remake of the crime-drama series that originally aired on NBC from 1977 to 1983. In the remake, Shepard will assume the central role of motorcycle cop Jon Baker (played by Larry Wilcox in the TV series). Actor Michael Pena is reportedly set to play Baker's patrol partner Frank (Ponch) Poncharello, who was portrayed by Erik Estrada in the original series.

Source: Deadline

RATINGS BOMB

Don't hold your breath for a sequel to Lifetime's The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story. Based on the memoirs of former Saved by the Bell star Dustin Diamond (who played nerdy Screech in the original TV series), the TV-movie delivered dismal ratings when broadcast on Labour Day, with only 1.6-million total U.S. viewers. By comparison, the Lifetime biopic Liz & Dick – starring Lindsay Lohan as the late Elizabeth Taylor –garnered 3.5-million U.S. viewers when first broadcast in November, 2012.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

FROZEN REDUX

Get ready to be re-Frozen in the near future. Disney has announced it will release the short film titled Frozen Fever to theatres in the spring of 2015. The film will be created by original Frozen co-directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck and will include a new song penned by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who previously wrote the Oscar-winning anthem Let It Go. Since its theatrical release in November, 2013, Frozen has become the most successful animated film of all time with box office of $1.274-billion (U.S.) worldwide. No word on whether the original Frozen voice cast will reprise their roles in the short film.

Source: Huffington Post

Interact with The Globe