THE FACTS:
• Usmagazine.com reports that Alicia Keys may already be engaged to boyfriend and producer, Swizz Beats.

THE SPIN:
This week Alicia Keys was spotted in Hawaii celebrating her birthday with Swizz Beats and folks noticed Alicia had a new friend on her finger.

Now another friend of hers is telling the press that she and Swizz may be headed to the altar.
Via Us:

A pal tells UsMagazine.com that Beatz, 31 (who is currently divorcing wife Mashonda), proposed with a 7-carat sparkler right before her big day; the happy couple were photographed strolling on a Hawaii beach the day of the proposal, Jan. 24.

Keys’ rep denies she is engaged, but another friend reveals, “They are currently in Hawaii celebrating the engagement and her birthday. She feels blessed.”

Adds the pal: “She is thrilled. She is with the man who has inspired so much of her music and her new album [The Element of Freedom].”

Well if Swizz inspired that new album I now know who to hit up to get my $3.99 back (FYI: I got it via Amazon, not the bootleg man).

In any event, I’ll wait for Mashonda to blog about it before I believe anything.

But if these two are getting married I wonder will a wedding announcement help subside some of the backlash Keys has received in recent months over being branded a “home wrecker.”

Image Courtesy of vibesource.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

THE FACTS:
• Tyson Beckford says he wants to break from modeling to pursue acting full-time.

THE SPIN:
Tyson Beckford says he’s retiring from modeling to concentrate on acting full-time. The supermodel and host of Make Me A Super Model says there’s no money in modeling anymore.

He told the New York Post: “I’m done with fashion. No one is getting those $1 million contracts right now. I want to concentrate on movies and other projects.”

Now when Tyra quit modeling at the time I think her work was starting to slow down. What are the chances of the same thing happening to this 39-year-old male model?

Wait, am I being too cynical? Tyson’s been doing pretty well over the years. He’s the only male model whose name I can remember, but is he that great an actor? I can’t remember anything he’s been in, but I guess with the straight-to-DVD game out there there are plenty of steady chicks to be made.

Can’t wait to see him in, “Mama, I Wanna Model.”

Good luck, Tyson.

Image Courtesy of hotlantabuzzonline.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

THE FACTS:
• An attorney for Winnie Mandela has released a letter outlining her discomfort with her biographical film to star Jennifer Hudson.

THE SPIN:
So it’s no longer just South Africans upset with producers the film based on the life of Winnie Mandela. Winnie herself is now said to be “extremely concerned” about the film, saying “she has never been approached for consent or at all.”

Some of the letter is as follows:
“It is difficult to understand how a production bearing the name of an individual who has not been consulted at all could ever be appropriate or tell the full story of that individual’s life as media reports suggest this production is intended to.

This is certainly the case here, where our client has not responded to allegations and comment which have been made about her, precisely because she has sought to protect her sphere of personal privacy as best she can in extremely difficult and turbulent times.”

Her attorneys add that they are reserving their legal rights.

The would be film is based on the independent biography Winnie Mandela: A Life, by journalist Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob.

Producers of the film say they have tried to meet with Mandela’s attorneys and have said:
“The position of the producers is that if a screenplay has to be approved by Ms Madikizela-Mandela, then the film based on that screenplay could possibly be jeopardized as the world may question the credibility of the film.”

They also note that they were advised that they do not legally need her consent to make the film.
Here’s how I see this happening: The movie will be made whether she likes it or not. Should Jennifer Hudson manage to do a solid job, she might score another an Oscar nod, and thus, giving Winnie Mandela a reason to smile.

The other way this can go is the movie will suck so bad that Winnie might try to windmill Jennifer Hudson upon sight. I’m going to route for the former scenario, though because it sounds nicer.

Image Courtesy of sistagirlfriend.wordpress.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)