TMZ

TMZ

TMZ

TMZ

TMZ

TMZ

‘Maybe [Penn] ain’t see me in Haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine,’ ‘Clef sings in concert.
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Wyclef Jean and Sean Penn


Photo: Getty Images

Wyclef Jean may not be president but he’s got some high-profile critics.

When the singer and musician launched a highly-publicized bid for president of Haiti in August he had a lot of support, but also some very vocal detractors — namely actor and fellow activist Sean Penn and Jean’s former Fugees bandmate Pras. Both stars publicly questioned ‘Clef’s political credentials and at a New York City on Friday, Jean lashed out against the critics.

“I got a message for Sean Penn: Maybe he ain’t see me in Haiti because he was too busy sniffing cocaine,” Jean sang at Hot 97′s On The Reggae Tip concert, switching up the lyrics to his 2004 song “President.” “I got a message for Praswell, even though you don’t want to support me, I got love for you, even though you only kicked 8 bars in the Fugees.” A few weeks after announcing his plans for the presidency, Jean was declared ineligible to run by Haitian electoral officials.

Wyclef’s lyrics are the latest swipes in a series of public comments between the musician and Penn and Pras. When Jean spoke about his plans to run for Haiti’s head of state on CNN, Penn, who was also a guest on the show, expressed his concerns about the singer’s motivations for seeking political office.

“Right now, I worry that this is a campaign that is more about a vision of flying around the world, talking to people. It’s certainly not one of the youth drafting him. I would be quite sure that this is an influence of corporations here in the United States and private individuals that may well have capitalized on his will to see himself flying around the world,” Penn said. The actor also wrote in a Huffington Post column that despite Jean’s public support for the island nation, the MC wasn’t around during critical moments after Haiti’s devastating January earthquake.

“I was there for those six months after the earthquake and so many of us on the ground wondered where he was when that kind of attention was so necessary and absent, and why he was NOT helping to keep this desperate situation in the news,” he wrote. “None among us felt or expressed anger toward it, but rather a universal sadness for his silence, as he is America’s most admired cultural link to Haiti.”

Pras questioned ‘Clef proposed strategy — or lack thereof — for revitalizing the country after the distaster.

“He talks about health care, he talks about education, he talks about infrastructure,” Pras told MTV News last month. “But that’s in any society. That’s right here in America, we need that. But how are you gonna get to that point? There’s a short-term goal that needs to be addressed and there’s a long-term goal. To be honest with you, the short term is probably more important than the long term. And he didn’t even mention the short term.”

What do you think about Wyclef Jean’s comments about Sean Penn and Pras? Let us know!

Related Artists

• Wyclef Jean
• Pras

MTV News

TMZ

The George Clooney thriller breaks away from the pack on the holiday weekend.
By Mawuse Ziegbe

George Clooney in “The American”


Photo: Focus Features

The Box-Office Top Five

#1 “The American” ($12.9 million)

#2 “Takers” ($11.4 million)

#3“Machete” ($11.3 million)
#4 “The Last Exorcism” ($7.5 million)
#5 “Going the Distance” ($6.9 million)

“The American” staged a last-minute takeover of the weekend box office after sliding into second place on Friday. According to The Hollywood Reporter, George Clooney’s turn as a hitman dodging danger in Italy to carry out one last mission, raked in an estimated $12.9 million, besting “Machete” at the close of its first weekend in theaters.

After landing in third place on the Friday kickoff of Labor Day weekend, last week’s #1 movie, “Takers” also toppled Robert Rodriguez’s graphic Mexploitation pic. Featuring hip-hop and Hollywood names like Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and T.I., the action flick about a smash-and-grab job by suave crew of thieves, snatched up $11.4 million in ticket sales for second place.

After barely edging past “The American” on Friday, “Machete” will wrap up its debut weekend right behind “Takers” with a third-place finish. Featuring Jessica Alba and Danny Trejo, and boasting a much-hyped appearance from Lindsay Lohan, the film pulled in $11.3 million.

“The Last Exorcism” held steady in the top five with $7.5 million. The fourth-place picture, which follows a film crew charged with documenting the creepy developments at a rural exorcism, has made a total of $32.3 million since hitting theaters last week.

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long’s date-night pic, “Going the Distance,” lagged behind stronger debuts like “The American” and “Machete.” The rom-com, featuring the two real-life, off-and-on lovers playing a couple working to keep a long-distance romance afloat, rang up $6.9 million in ticket sales to land in fifth place during its opening weekend.

Check out everything we’ve got on “The American” and “Machete”

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

• ‘Machete’ Clips
• Movie Clips: The American
• Takers

MTV News

Armed with multiple dressing rooms and costume changes, Gaga makes a memorable debut.
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Lady Gaga performs at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards


Photo: Getty Images

After the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga was no longer just another face in the pantheon of rising pop stars who occasionally hit the red carpet in a zany getup. She became, undeniably, a star.

In an evening packed with an all-star tribute to Michael Jackson, an elaborate Taylor Swift performance in a New York City subway station and headline-hogging stage-crashing moments, Gaga still stood out. It wasn’t just her blood-smeared rendition of “Paparazzi” that scored fans’ attention; it was her eye-popping, show-topping, OMG-inducing style. In the MTV special “The VMAs: Revealed – Presented by New 5 React Gum,” VMA insiders broke down exactly how her inventive fashion made for one of the most legendary debuts in the show’s history.

Ultimately, five game-changing Gaga looks were broadcast to viewers that evening, but the pop star and her team came ready to rock a bunch of outfits. “She showed up with racks and racks of clothes,” dressing room production assistant Katie Meath said. “We had five P.A.s carry everything up and we went back for another round.”

“I remember one thing. It looked like a black dominatrix outfit but there were spikes. There was a lot going on,” dressing room production assistant Anthony Deleo added.

Dealing with a gaggle of style choices, Gaga didn’t have the time to get tripped up by the backstage mayhem, and show organizers had to figure out a way for the star to hop in and out of her complex outfits with ease.

“The day before the show we had rehearsals. We actually had a stopwatch just timing ourselves. We really didn’t have enough time to take her to her second-floor dressing room,” said Ernesto Elias of MTV Music & Talent. “We created a quick-change room right off the side of the stage.”

Gaga took home the Moonman for Best New Artist but by wriggling in and out of her fashion-forward costumes within minutes and hustling back to her seat in time to make a series of unforgettable cutaways, she also nabbed the honor of staging one of the most memorable VMA debuts ever.

“We’ve seen it all, we’ve done it all,” VMA director Hamish Hamilton said. “There we all were … kind of mesmerized in Gaga-dom.”

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners from now through September 12.

Related Videos

• Revealed: MTV Video Music Awards

Related Photos

• VMA 2009: Performers
• VMA 2009: Full Fashion Recap
• Lady Gaga’s 2009 VMA Looks

Related Artists

• Lady Gaga

MTV News