Winehouse Out of the Sick House
Amy Winehouse is out. Time will tell if behavioral changes are in.
A rep for the “Rehab” singer confirms to News that the 24-year-old was officially discharged as a patient from the London Clinic yesterday after a whirlwind stay, which included a diagnosis of early stages of emphysema and two days out to perform at various gigs around England.
“I can confirm that Amy has left the London Clinic and will be treated as an outpatient,” Tracey Miller said.
As an outpatient, Winehouse is expected to return to the hospital for regular checkups. Despite her father’s initial public diagnosis of emphysema, Winehouse’s camp later clarified the singer is suffering from early-stage symptoms of the chronic respiratory disease.
Winehouse was first admitted to the hospital last month after suffering a fainting spell at her home. She was apparently deemed well enough to be excused from the ward on two high-profile occasions, which had two rather varied rates of success.
The first saw a healthy-looking Winehouse take the stage at Nelson Mandela’s special 90th birthday concert, in which she sang two slur-free tunes before returning to the clinic.
The second was more in line with a performance fans have come to expect from the Grammy winner, and took place over the weekend at England’s famed Glastonbury festival. After her performance, a concertgoer threw a hat at her head and, after mistakenly identifying the offending chapeau tosser, Winehouse lashed out and belted a seemingly innocent fan. All of which was, in the great British tabloid tradition, caught on tape.
On the bright side, things can only get better.
Six other politicians who have had their ways paved by TV actors
Dennis Haysbert recently claimed that his role as President Palmer on 24 may have helped pave the way for a viable African American presidential candidate. He went on to claim that his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the movie Goodbye Bafana ended apartheid and that his role as Jonas Blane in The Unit cured polio. Haysbert was then wrestled to the ground by his handlers and is now “recuperating” at the Clay Aiken Home for Delusional Celebrities.
My first thought upon hearing this news was that Dennis Haysbert is obviously insane. Since I’ve been criticized in this space for not having an open mind about insane things, I decided to take Mr. Haysbert at his word. I then went even further and went to work putting together a list of other politicians who exist mainly due to the hard work done for them by TV actors. After researching Wikipedia for almost a full fifteen minutes, this is the list I’ve managed to put together…
1. Larry Dallas — Bill Clinton. Prior to 1977, polite society required a man to be married and monogamous by at least his early thirties. America’s love affair with affable next-door-neighbor Larry Dallas changed all that. Suddenly it became cool to spend the majority of one’s time trying on medallions and trying to “make it” with stewardesses. Larry’s effect on the American zeitgeist was felt long after Three’s Company went off the air when a dashing Bill Clinton rode a wave of Larry Dallas love right into the White House.
2. Mr. Snuffalufagus — Dick Cheney. At one point, it was considered appropriate for Vice Presidents to emerge from their private doomsday bunkers in order to make public appearances. Thanks to Big Bird’s “imaginary” best friend, America became used to the idea of George Bush Jr.’s “imaginary” best friend, too.
3. Felicity — Condoleezza Rice. Remember in the pilot episode of Felicity, when the superbly coiffed Keri Russell ditched med school to follow her heart’s one true crush to New York City? People laughed at the time: only on overly romantic TV shows would a woman give up so much just for a chance at love. Then Condoleezza left Chevron for Dubya’s cabinet and the rest is history.
4. Captain Planet — Al Gore. When I was growing up “The Environment” was just a place where we stored used McDLT cartons. If a crazy-eyed hippie tried to talk to us about “saving mother earth”, we beat him unconscious with an oil drum. Captain Planet came along and taught us that stiff, unentertaining animation could open our hearts and minds to the idea that the environment needs to be protected. Ten years later, Al Gore took stiff and unentertaining to new heights with his An Inconvenient Truth.
5. Barney — Barney Frank. Once upon a time, it was unthinkable that an openly gay man could be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. One really big, really purple, really really gay dinosaur showed the world that leadership comes in all shapes, sizes and sexualities.
6. Henry Blake — George W. Bush. It used to be that during times of war, a commander was expected to be a steely-eyed stoic, focused on the objective at hand with a laser-like intensity. The popularity of Henry Blake showed that America was ready for a different kind of wartime leader — being affable and goofy was even more important to Americans than being capable and intelligent. In 2004, as the country slid ever deeper into an increasingly thickening Iraqi quagmire, America remembered the lessons it had learned during M*A*S*H*’s run and decided to re-elect the most affably goofy president this country has ever seen… George W. Bush!
(By the way, experience has taught me that yes, I do need to say it: the preceding has been satire. Any truth presented in the above comparisons will, hopefully, come coated in at least a modicum of laughter. Further, any resemblance to partisan politics is completely coincidental. Three Republicans and three Democrats were chosen so that this does not become a forum to comment on how conservative or liberal the poster may or may not be.
All that being said, come on and join the fun — what other politicians have had their ways paved for them by TV actors?)
Naomi Campbell Heats Up the French Riviera
Naomi Campbell Heats Up the French Riviera
Removed from the list of celebrity presenters at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebration, model Naomi Campbell decided to take avantage of her suddenly open schedule with a trip to the French Riviera.
On Saturday morning (June 28), the fiery catwalk queen was spotted arriving at the Club 55 beach in St Tropez with boyfriend, Brazilian entrepreneur Marcus Elias.
Sporting a hot black bikini, Campbell continued her French Riviera vacation on Flavio Briatore’s boat - at one point ending up in a heated conversation on her cell phone. Fortunately enough, there wasn’t anyone nearby she could throw it at!
As for her removal from Mandela’s guest list - the blacklisting occurred following her latest arrest at Heathrow Airport, when “she was wearing a baseball hat featuring Mr Mandela’s Robben Island prison number and Aids charity moniker 46664.”
A source close to the concert told press that it was “fair to say that Mandela was behind the decision.”
Leona Lewis Sings For Nelson Mandela
Leona Lewis Sings For Nelson Mandela
Commanding the stage in a colorful floral patterned ensemble, Leona Lewis helped Nelson Mandela celebrate his 90th birthday during a big concert in London on Friday (June 27).
Offering up a solid performance at the Hyde Park venue, Lewis was there to lend her support for Mandela and his global AIDS campaign, 46664.
Proceeds from the event were funneled directly towards the 46664 charity, which is currently campaigning to raise awareness of the severity of the disease.
Also on hand for the festivities were musical acts including Amy Winehouse, Annie Lennox, Josh Groban, Joan Baez and actor Will Smith.