Rihanna nearly broke the internet on Monday when she shared photos on Instagram of herself in an elaborate–but very skimpy–costume for the Crop Over Festival in her home country of Barbados. The images put the 29-year-old singer’s ample curves and one of the people who noticed was Chris Brown. He commented on the picture with the “eye ball” emoji–which caused fans to lash out. “GTFO b**ch. She ain’t wanting your abusing a**,” one wrote. Another commented, “Please keep your negative energy away from Rihanna @ChrisBrownofficial.” Meanwhile, other fans called on Rihanna’s former flame Drake to step forward and say something to Brown. Rihanna was the victim of assault at the hands of Brown back in 2009, which resulted in their split, a makeup and then a final breakup. She later told Vanity Fair of their status, “We’re not friends, but it’s not like we’re enemies. We don’t have much of a relationship now.”
Katy Perry has opened up about how she avoids going down the regrettable path of texting her former flames. “I’ve been in that cycle before in a relationship and it had kind of reignited the relationship, and there’s only so many times you can reignite the relationship or want to or should and sometimes you just need to write it and never send it,” she explains on the podcast Conversations with Delilah. The 32-year-old pop star goes on to say that her new single “Save the Draft” is about her habit of writing down her feelings in a message without hitting the send button. “I like drafting and then sleeping on it because, for me, my emotions get very heightened in the evening [and] then in the morning when I wake up I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m so glad I didn’t send that! I can get through another day without this situation,’” she notes.
Sinead O’Connor posted a disturbing 12-minute vide on Facebook last Thursday in which she revealed she was suicidal and living in a $70-a-night Travelodge motel in New Jersey. “I’m all by myself,” she says in the clip. “And there’s absolutely nobody in my life except my doctor, my psychiatrist–the sweetest man on earth, who says I’m his hero–and that’s about the only f**king thing keeping me alive at the moment. And that’s kind of pathetic.” O’Connor was diagnosed with bipolar disorder more than a decade ago and has tried to commit suicide three times in the past. A woman staying at the Travelodge for the past month tells Page Six that O’Connor was at the motel for a week and “kept to herself,” although she “left her door wide open all week except at night.” The woman added, “She would go to the Pepsi machine.” The motel guest also shared that on Friday, a man came to see O’Connor and the two left together. However, a black Chevy HHR allegedly belonging to O’Connor still remains in the motel’s parking lot .
Taylor Swift attended Monday’s jury selection for her trial against radio host David Mueller, who allegedly groped her when she was 23 years old. The Associated Press reports that the Grammy winner was present in a Denver courtroom as potential jurors were asked whether they have “listened to Taylor Swift on the radio,” “watched any Taylor Swift video,” or “read a blog, magazine, or other news reporting about Taylor Swift,” among other things. People reports that jury selection is expected to last through Tuesday, with a total of eight jurors being selected out of a group of 60. Opening statements are also scheduled to begin today, with Taylor expected to take the stand at some point throughout the nine-day trial
Blac Chyna’s lawyer said on Monday that her client is “working toward a resolution” with ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian. “If we can’t, we are ready willing and able to go forward with the hearing on September 18,” Chyna’s attorney Lisa Bloom tells Us Weekly. As previously reported, the 29-year-old model was granted a temporary restraining order against Rob on July 10 after he went on a July 5 tirade on Twitter and Instagram. The duo, who split in December after a year of dating, were originally scheduled to appear in court in Los Angeles on Tuesday for a restraining order hearing.
Mama June Shannon’s 17-year-old daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon is expecting her first child. Pumpkin made the announcement in a new promo for season 2 of the WE tv series Mama June: From Not to Hot. “I’m really excited to be a new mom, but there is some challenges that I’m going to have to face,” she says in the clip. “I’m really nervous about having a baby because it does have to come out of my hoo-ha.” She adds, “If I had to bet, because of all the girls in our family, I’m probably having a girl. Could you imagine another f**king little me running around? You guys are gonna be f**ked!” Pumpkin has since shared her child’s sonogram on Facebook and confirmed that the father is her fiance Joshua Efird. “So happy to start this new adventure with him. I am so proud, Love you baby @josh_efird,” she wrote.
•Beyoncé has written the foreword for an upcoming book featuring photographs of late pop star Prince. In an excerpt shared by Entertainment Tonight, Queen Bey writes, “Truth be told, the word ‘icon’ only scratches the surface of what Prince was and what he remains to me.” A longtime fan of a fan of The Purple One, Beyoncé performed with Prince at the 2004 Grammy Awards. Prince: A Private View is from photographer and longtime Prince collaborator Afshin Shahidi and will include a variety of never-before-seen photographs, ranging from staged to candid. It will be released via St. Martin’s Press on October 17.
Amy Schumer will make her Broadway debut when she stars in Steve Martin’s four-person comedy Meteor Shower at the Booth Theatre in November. The New York Times reports that the play is about two married couples who get together for an evening of stargazing and arguing. Martin says he approached Schumer when he attened a party at her house and and asked her to read the script. She agreed to appear in the production and her star power gave the play the boost it needed to get to Broadway. “I can’t tell you how excited I am,” Martin gushes. I’ve been working on this for over 20 years–I wrote it in the ’90s, when it is set, but I didn’t finish it, I got distracted, and then it came back to me a couple of years ago.”
Two women and one man filed a group lawsuit Monday against R&B star Usher for allegedly engaging in sexual contact with them without warning them that he has genital herpes. At a press conference today, celebrity lawyer Lisa Bloom was joined by one of the accusers, Quantasia Sharpton, who claims that Usher picked her out of the crowd when she attended one of his concerts on her 19th birthday. Sharpton says he then got her number, went to her hotel and had sex with her without telling her he has herpes, which was against the law. “I feel that my rights were violated,” she says. “I am doing this so he does not do this to anyone else.” The two other accusers in the lawsuit have yet to come forward publicly, identified in legal documents as John and Jane Doe. Bloom says that while Sharpton has tested negative for herpes, one of the other plaintiffs has tested positive. Usher has yet to confirm his health status; Bloom says she wants a court to force him to reveal whether or not he has genital herpes.