Actresses Gabrielle Union, Sanaa Lathan and Nia Long will all be featured in Essence magazine's December 2007 issue. In this issue the women opened up and then some on several topics such as the trials and tribulations that go along with being a Black woman in Hollywood, seeking meaningful acting roles, staying true themselves and last, but definitely not least: dealing with the negativity on the Internet, specifically, the rants, rumors and just plain lies that are posted on various urban entertainment blogs written by Black woman, who as Gabrielle says are quick to 'rip us to shreds every two seconds from our nose to the weave to the clothes to the shoes to the ashy ankles.'Well, I for one, am glad she isn't referring to me and mine. Let the records....and the blog post (peep the 'Hollywood Hottest Honeys...' or something like that further down on this page) show that I made a feeble attempt to post a blurb (although it was small, but at least I tried *folds arms on top of chest*) regarding Gabby's rumored shady ways with several men in the entertainment, music and sports industry.
Now, that I have said my piece, check out the excerpt of Gabby, Sanaa and Nia voicing their opinions as well as concern (and I can truly understand where they are coming from...cause Lord knows I be bout---yeah, I said 'I be bout'--to go off a la Benita Buttrell when someone says something off the wall about a couple of my favorite celebs) as they explain their utter disbelief on how it's Black women in the media (i.e., bloggers, magazine reporters, etc)...not the White media, who slander and scandalize their names the most...
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ON GOSSIP
Essence: How do you deal with the 24-hours-a-day gossip that comes out on the Internet?
Gabrielle: Just last week somebody gave me a baby. This isn’t Perez Hilton or the White gossip people, these are women of color, specifically Black women who, for whatever reason, don’t like the company I keep.
Sanaa: She’s talking about the gossip sites.
Essence: The blogs.
Sanaa: That are run by Black women.
Gabrielle: And now because everyone is clamoring for celebrity tidbits, the bigger gossip sites and even mainstream entities are picking up on it. No fact-checking, no nothing. And in one week’s time, there were like five different dudes, a baby—I’m a homewrecker. In literally seven days. I can’t point the finger at the White media. They don’t care about us. Paparazzi are not staked out in front of any of our houses. They are not going through our garbage because they don’t care about us in that way. So when you hear crap about us, it is coming from our own community, which hurts.
Nia: We are some of the few Black actresses whose passions are rooted in our community.
Gabrielle: There is this idea that there is integrity in journalism; if it’s written it has to be true. But that’s not the case. When blogs or any of the magazines get it wrong, there’s no accountability. In the next breath, they’ll complain on the blogs that we don’t have enough Black stars. Well, you rip us to shreds every two seconds from our nose to the weave to the clothes to the shoes to the ashy ankles.
READ MORE WHEN THE DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE HITS NEWSTANDS NOVEMBER 19th.
And here is the rest of it.
Essence: How do you deal with the 24-hours-a-day gossip that comes out on the Internet?
Gabrielle: Just last week somebody gave me a baby. This isn’t Perez Hilton or the White gossip people, these are women of color, specifically Black women who, for whatever reason, don’t like the company I keep.
Sanaa: She’s talking about the gossip sites.
Essence: The blogs.
Sanaa: That are run by Black women.
Gabrielle: And now because everyone is clamoring for celebrity tidbits, the bigger gossip sites and even mainstream entities are picking up on it. No fact-checking, no nothing. And in one week’s time, there were like five different dudes, a baby—I’m a homewrecker. In literally seven days. I can’t point the finger at the White media. They don’t care about us. Paparazzi are not staked out in front of any of our houses. They are not going through our garbage because they don’t care about us in that way. So when you hear crap about us, it is coming from our own community, which hurts.Nia: We are some of the few Black actresses whose passions are rooted in our community.
Gabrielle: There is this idea that there is integrity in journalism; if it’s written it has to be true. But that’s not the case. When blogs or any of the magazines get it wrong, there’s no accountability. In the next breath, they’ll complain on the blogs that we don’t have enough Black stars. Well, you rip us to shreds every two seconds from our nose to the weave to the clothes to the shoes to the ashy ankles.
READ MORE WHEN THE DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE HITS NEWSTANDS NOVEMBER 19th.
And here is the rest of it.
