Greedy

MARY J BLIGE: CHARITABLE OR GREEDY?

Call us pessimistic, but we’re starting to think that most celebrity namesake charities are all about stashing money to avoid paying taxes while living high on the hog. The recent Mary J Blige scandal is a prime example. Dedicated to “women’s empowerment,” the charity promised four year scholarships to 24 aspiring female students but couldn’t manage to cover tuitions OR pay their own bills, despite raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. Are these charities just used to finance first class travel and lavish expenses for the celebrities and friends, plus generous salaries for relatives hired to run the “business?” What percentage of donations actually HELPED anyone? Certainly Blige enjoyed her “charitable image” and is embarrassed that she was caught. Why did Gucci donate both to Blige and Madonna’s highly questionable charities? Smells like a tax write-off for everyone involved.

YOU BE THE JUDGE: IS TRACY MORGAN A MONSTER?

According to the New York Daily News, Tracy Morgan’s mother Alicia Warden, 61, is in ill health and about to lose her home in Ohio on which she owes less than $25,000. She lost her job in February and unemployment has run out. Utilities are about to be turned off and she may lose her car as well. Tracy’s younger sister Asia says that her mother has done everything that she could for her family. When Tracy’s mother asked for help, Tracy offered her a “one-shot deal” of $2000. Keep in mind Forbes claims the “30 Rock” star is worth 18 million. Sister Asia is disgusted and said “He’s never been a nice person and money just made it worse.” Do you think this is some kind of family feud or is Tracy really a selfish guy?

HILARY SWANK: TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS!

This Hilary Swank scandal is leaving a bad taste in our mouths for many reasons. As you know, she is under fire for accepting a bundle of money to participate in the birthday celebration of bloodthirsty tyrant Ramzan Kadyrov, the President of Chechnya. Granted, resisting the generous hospitality of Russian billionaires is not easy, but this guy is rotten to the core. Keep in mind, Seal and Jean Claude Van Damme enjoyed the same circumstances as Hilary and THEY should be every bit as ashamed. If Hilary HAD researched Kadyrov, as she claimed, she would know that kidnapping, torture, and murder are his specialties, and that includes killing female journalists who write about him. Kadyrov is a Muslim with contempt for women, who believes that “women are the property of their husbands” and he approves of “honor killings.” What’s more, he forces the women of his country to wear SCARVES. That makes Hilary’s support of Kadyrov a crime against women’s rights. What’s most disappointing is the fact that Hilary parted with her management team rather than take responsibility for her own actions.

U2’S THE EDGE IS NOT THE ENVIRONMENTALIST HE CLAIMS TO BE

U2 guitarist the Edge is the most hated man in Santa Monica, California, these days. He plans to build FIVE multilevel mansions on precious undeveloped coastal habitat land in the Santa Monica mountains, overlooking Malibu. Experts and neighbors are concerned about the visual and biological impact because the homes will break up a large block of treasured and nearly pristine wild life. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy board objected loudly UNTIL Edge changed their mind. How? He donated a million dollars to the conservancy and now they don’t object. The really nauseating part is that the Edge insists his houses will be “environmentally sensitive.” That is supposed to make everything all right.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR WAS A GREAT MOVIE STAR, NOT A GREAT PERSON

We’ve had it up to HERE with the tributes to Elizabeth Taylor. Let’s get real about Liz. Sorry, but she simply wasn’t worthy of all that admiration. She had a pretty face but other positive qualities were rare and far between. When she was a teenager Liz started stealing other women’s husbands. (We still admire Debbie Reynolds for forgiving her.) The acquisitive actress married seven men and finagled as many diamonds out of them as she could manage. And bragged about it. She loved her pets but never bothered to house break them – they messed her carpets – and OTHER people had to clean up. She had health problems but casually checked into a hospital whenever she wanted a rest. Of course her health would have been much better if she had controlled her urges to overeat, drink, smoke, and take drugs – and she never exercised a day in her life. Self-control was not Elizabeth’s strong factor. In 1983, she admitted to being hooked on painkillers and sleeping pills for 35 years. While filming, she expected to find a “gift” in her dressing room every morning or she might not be in the mood to work. We mean jewelry, not flowers. She kept people waiting for hours with no apology. Liz expected her friend Michael Jackson to shower her with diamonds and jewelry stores are still suing his estate for money he owed for her gifts. Granted, she WAS a dear friend to Rock Hudson when he needed one, but her involvement with AIDS charities brought her a grand lifestyle and prestige – private jets and five star hotel suites around the world for her and her entourage, incredible gifts, paid for by the charity. Style icon? Only if you like turbans and caftans. When Edith Head stopped dressing her, she lost her glamour. Let’s celebrate her film career- not her private life.

LINDSAY LOHAN CAN’T GET ENOUGH FREE STUFF

Lindsay Lohan makes it a habit to visit as many gifting suites as possible at this time of year. We just wonder if it’s a good idea for someone who admits she is a HOARDER. You’ll remember Lindsay did an interview with Niecy Nash for The Insider last year and showed off her apartment jampacked with boxes, shoes, racks of clothing, and garments and bags strewn everywhere. Undoubtedly, somewhere in that mess were bags of stuff from various gifting suites through the years. Some people just can’t get enough….

PARIS HILTON TOOK ROBERT REDFORD’S HINT TO GET LOST

On the first day of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford singled out Paris Hilton and her “ilk” as a destructive force for the event. He admitted the film festival had been “sliding” for the past few years and he blamed the marketeers who took over houses and spaces on Main Street at absurdly inflated rental prices to hand out their swag. He said “You end up with people like Paris Hilton here who have nothing to do with us.” Unfortunately, that year, Paris was already THERE when he made these remarks, and she had tons of empty suitcases ready to be greedily filled up with free stuff. THIS year, for the first time in memory, Paris didn’t embarrass herself by showing up at the 2011 festival and loading up on freebies. Maybe Robert Redford got through to her.

IS SEX & THE CITY’S SARAH JESSICA PARKER THE NEW GIMME GIMME GIRL?

Sarah Jessica Parker must have gone into SHOCK when she woke up this morning to the NY Post headline: “SJP – THE GREEDIEST WOMAN IN SHOWBIZ!” They went on to say “She wants movie millions, freebies, and more of your money!” Besides being paid fifteen million dollars for her recent SATC movie, she stuffed her closet with thousands of dollars worth of clothes, shoes, and jewelry used in the movie. (Not to mention two dozen crystal glasses worth $200 each that were used in a wedding scene.) The paper pointed out that everything used in the film was product placement – for example, Hewlett Packard provided laptops and Sarah will be doing ads for the company.) Parker has launched six fragrances – the recent one timed to the release of the new movie. Her sources of income DO seem limitless. However, we like Jessica and prefer to think of her as a “mogul” rather than a “scrooge” as the Post refers to her.