Recently, singer Erykah Badu had an interview where she talked about her life. The interview included references to her three kids (the fathers are around), mention of her predominantly matriarchal upbringing, and her inability to understand men (join the club). But seriously, I would imagine it would be difficult to understand men when you were raised by women. I’ve always said that children need exposure to the female and the male side. Not only to have a model on how to act but to better understand how they are to be treated.

Are men that complicated?

I’ve noticed that when entertainers spend time between albums and touring they tend to put on a few pounds, especially the women. For some, it’s not that obvious; for others, it is. Pictures have surfaced of singer Mariah Carey out with husband Nick Cannon and it looks like she may have put on a few. To be honest, Mariah hasn’t been really thin in a loooonng time. By the time she shot the “Honey” video, she’d started filling out. So, I’m not surprised to see her a little healthier than usual. In fact, I think she prefers herself this way.

Should celebrities work harder to keep the weight off, even when they’re not on tour?

Recently, actress Lauren London talked about her baby with rapper Lil Wayne. She discussed the scrutiny she faced during her pregnancy, admitting that the constant talk about her hurt her feelings. She and Wayne have a 6 month-old son. By all accounts, he’s a great father.

I can see London’s point. Sometimes we, the public, are so busy giving our two cents that we forget that entertainers have feelings, too. I think most people were just surprised at the situation but all’s well that ends well.

Should we be more careful when we talk about entertainers?

Former Destiny’s Child Kelly Rowland is scheduled to come out with her new single, Commander, soon. She’s promoting it through show performances and appearing in magazines (i.e. South African Cosmopolitan). You know, I’ve always heard that Kelly is very popular overseas. I genuinely hope that this project works out for her.

Will Kelly Rowland hit a breakthrough in her career with her new project?

As you may have heard, author Kitty Kelley wrote an unauthorized book about mogul Oprah Winfrey. From what I’ve heard, the book only rehashes old rumors and issues that Oprah has already addressed, i.e. her troubled youth and her past relationships. I personally would have preferred to hear more about how she built her empire. To me, that would be far more interesting than reading about events she’s already discussed. It’s repetitive and kind of a waste.

Is the unauthorized book about Oprah worth reading?

Ebony Magazine published a feature story about actress Paula Patton. They talk about her career, as well as her new baby and her R&B singer husband, Robin Thicke. In the story, they included quotes from Thicke about his wife and how they met, in which the singer professed that he loves black women and always have. Now, I’m not surprised (obviously) but I couldn’t help but chuckle at his admission. It’s a stark contrast from singer John Mayer’s February interview, where he admitted to being unattracted to black women.

So, this got me to thinking. How is it that some people are open to dating other races almost instantly, while others or not? I used to think it was environment. Certainly, the white people that attended my predominantly black high school usually ended up dating black people but is there more to it than that?

This week, the Internet was a buzz about singer Ginuwine’s interview with VIBE.com. The singer told VIBE that he and producer/former Super Friend Timbaland used to be close but are not anymore. He also said that he had to beg the producer to work with him and he’s pissed off at him for producing a song on his last album but not promoting.

It’s ironic that I’m writing this as I watch Bride Wars but back to the subject. I can speak from personal experience when I say it is never easy to lose a friend. However, people do grow apart. Over the past ten years or so, Timbaland has changed the type of music that he produces. No longer is he strictly hip hop and R&B influenced-he works with more pop and rock artists, such as Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry.

I don’t know for sure but I take it Timbaland doesn’t really want to do R&B anymore. Since Ginuwine is as bout as R&B as you can get, Timbaland probably doesn’t want to work with him now. I do think (if that’s the case) he should have communicated that to Ginuwine. It’s unfortunate that the singer pleaded with him to reunite only to receive half-assed effort from him.

Ginwuine: In the future, don’t beg anybody to work with you, not even an old friend.

Should Ginuwine take Timbaland’s treatment to heart?

Whooo! Chilli wants a lot. On her reality show, she brought along a self-help author to help her find a man, which is going to be tough because Chilli has a long list. For the first episode, the author talks to her mother, bandmate T-Boz and even her son’s father/producer Dallas Austin. They agree that she’s hard to please. They also show her having dinner with boxer Floyd Mayweather. It’s too bad they’re afraid of messing up their friendship. I say they should give it a shot. You only live once!

Does Chilli need to compromise more?

I’m watching their new reality show on VH1. Basically, the premise is that their mother, Sonja Norwood, is ready to back up from the management role and wants Ray J and Brandy to take the reins. The question is are they ready? It seems like they should be but they have a few issues (i.e. the towing of the charity van). It should be interesting to see if they actually take over but I think they’ll still need help with management.

Isn’t it hard or impossible to manage yourself?

Rapper DMX’s has more bad news coming. Not only has he temporarily lost his freedom, he’s also about to lose his wife of 20 years. Tasheera Simmons is writing a book about her life with him and planning to file for divorce from the rapper. Meanwhile, DMX’s lawyer is trying to get him help from Dr. Drew Pinksy, the doctor from VH1’s Celebrity Rehab.

I’ve read about his life and it’s unfortunate to see DMX go through so many trials. It’s also unfortunate to see his marriage go under.

Can DMX turn his life around?

Who knew cheaters would have such a strong showing in 2010? This week brought on two more stories of infidelity. One came from former NFL player Tiki Barber, who is leaving his pregnant wife for a TV network intern. The other one was news that Gabrielle Beauvais-Nilon sent out a mass company email about her husband’s infidelities. She even compared him to Sandra Bullock’s husband, Jesse James and golfer Tiger Woods! Ouch. Hell hath no fury like Gabrielle scorned.

I get that people are amazed at the number of men getting caught cheating but it’s not like this is new. Entertainers are human just like everybody else. They have to endure the same problems as everybody else. I think it just feels worse when everybody knows about it.

Is cheating getting out of control?

I was reading The Huffington Post a little earlier and saw an article where singer Jessica Simpson was giving advice to women. She says, “If you're ever with anyone who says you should change something about yourself then they should never fall in love with you in the first place."

Putting her personal relationship history aside, I think this is interesting advice. It’s good advice but not just for women. I would give this advice to men, too. Yes, there is a time when you must put childish games aside but if someone wants to completely take away the light from your eyes, I think you have some hard decisions to make.

Is Jessica’s advice on point?

Actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have a problem and his name is bodyguard “Bill.” Mr. Bill has burned up the Internet with reports about Angie and Brad’s life together to garner enough interest for his tell-all book about the two. (You knew there had to be an angle.) He insists that Angelina is a controlling, self-centered woman with borderline abusive behaviors. He says that the mother of six laughs at her children when they cry. She also yells and then gives them the silent treatment. Her treatment of Brad isn’t much better; he claims that the two don’t even sleep in the same bed anymore and that Angelina nitpicks him.

I think it’s unfortunate that someone would seek to make money off other people’s lives. There are just too many other ways to get rich. However, I have to say that I don’t think “Bill” is lying about everything. Many of his claims sound totally believable. Case in point, the nitpicking. How many women do you know that don’t nitpick their mates? That’s what I thought. Second point, many people are already familiar with Angelina’s quirky behavior, i.e. wearing a vial of Billy Bob Thornton’s blood around her neck or cutting herself. It’s really not that hard to believe that she would laugh at her children when they cry.

Is “Bill” right for talking about Brad and Angelina’s life together?

It takes quite a bit to surprise me these days but surprised I was when I went to the movies to see Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married, Too? While watching the scene involving “Angela” (Tasha Smith) and “Marcus” (Michael Jai White) on the set of his sports casting job, I saw an NFL player whom I went to high school with. His part was brief but I was glad to see him venture out into something new. As for my opinion on the movie as a whole, visit www.etwireonline.com for the movie review.

Did you see Tyler Perry’s new movie?