One of the top stories coming out of last night’s Super Bowl wasn’t the Green Bay Packers win [I'm still trying to plot to cut Matthews' nasty hair], it wasn’t the lackluster commercials [though I totally want a VW thanks to the little Darth Vader kiddo] and it wasn’t the horrendous excuse of a half time show with the Black Eyed Peas. Seriously…why are they still relevant?!
Most likely, you’re going to hear about Christina Aguilera‘s debacle as she fumbled her way through the Star Spangled Banner [see video].
Sadly, Christina isn’t the first celebrity to turn our nation’s proud anthem into a train wreck. And she certainly won’t be the last.
Here’s a look at some of the company that Christina now keeps, as a result of this memorable flub.
1. Roseanne
It was July 26, 1990 at the Padres game. Not only did she sound like a dying cat trying to escape the bowels of a grand piano, she grabbed her crotch and spit after being boo’ed by thousands of baseball fans. Way to keep it classy.
2. Michael Bolton
After singing the line “O’er the ramparts we watched” Michael Bolton completely blanks out and freezes. After a quick glance to the cheat sheet in his hand and an awkward silence, he gets the anthem back on track with a slight grin from the Coast Guard standing behind him. Perhaps Mr. Bolton should stick to Time, Love and Tenderness?
3. Keri Hilson
The R&B artist was invited to sing the anthem at an Atlanta Hawks game where she proceeded to chop off part of a verse here and there to create her own version of the Star Spangled Banner. Way to take your creative license a little too far, darlin’.
4. R. Kelly
Yet another artist who felt that the anthem was open to creative interpretation. Now, I’m all for adding your own personal flair to our nation’s anthem, but his R&B remix trying to get the audience to clap along was taking it a bit too far.
5. Hillary Clinton
When Hillary’s campaign trail led her to Iowa she failed to realize her mic was on during the Star Spangled Banner. What was recorded was a lazy, off-key, half-hearted performance that left the public mocking her for weeks.
6. Anita Baker
Last year, legendary jazz singer Anita Baker hit a bad note with the national anthem during game 4 of the NBA Finals. If you listen closely, you can hear Randy Jackson in the background saying “Aww dawg, that’s so pitchy.” The Twitterverse had a field day with Ms. Baker throughout the rest of the series.
7. Jesse McCartney
When the teen pop singer performed our anthem at a NASCAR race in 2009, he goofed by singing “…by the dawn’s early light, whose brought stripes and white stars…” skipping an entire line. The announcer actually said “If he wasn’t so cute, I’d be angry.” REALLY?!
8. Mike Eli
In December 2010, Mike Eli of the Eli Young Band completely blanked on the lyrics while singing the anthem at a Kansas City Chiefs game. He quickly went on the record profusely apologizing for the brain fart, citing it as an embarrassment and hopes that the next time he can blow everyone away. Yeah. Something tells me there will be no next time, kiddo.
9. Tyrese Gibson
In 2009, the singer/actor/model/rapper/Mtv VJ/anthem butcherer reworded the anthem’s lyrics to sing “that our Lakers were still there” instead of “that our flag was still there.” Sadly, the crowd at the Staples Center went on to cheer the rendition. Disrespectful all around. Why do people find this necessary?!
10. Carl Lewis
Oh the performance we all want to forget…but can’t. Not only did Carl Lewis forget the lyrics and sing horrendously off-key…he actually had the audacity to stop mid-anthem and talk for a moment stating “Uh oh, I’ll make up for it now!” before delivering the final line. Stick to the track, Carl.
The Firsky have come up with a list of 10 celebrity couples who stupidly never had a prenup and because of that have lost money to each other.
Kelsey Grammer and Camille, his wife of 13 years, are getting a divorce and, like so many who’ve eschewed Kanye‘s advice, there was no prenuptial agreement. This is kind of a big deal for Grammer, who was the highest paid actor on television during “Frasier”‘s 11-year run, making $1.6 million an episode towards the end. Grammer is requesting that some of his earnings be declared separate property, but that will only cover the first four years of the show, leaving the last seven years up for a 50/50 split. Plus, Camille is Kelsey’s third wife, so with the history and that psychology degree (just kidding), you’d think he would’ve known better!
Screaming mad Mel Gibson and his ex-wife Robyn got divorced last year, after 28 years of marriage, about three of them separated. And since there was no prenup, Robyn was eligible for 50 percent of Mel’s estimated $900 million that he earned by the time of their separation. Which is probably what she deserves for putting up with him.
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe seemed like a dream couple, but when they got divorced in 2005, the lack of a prenup became a problem for Reese. The actress was pulling in $20 million a movie by that point while Ryan was making around $2.5 million. Under California law, their earnings were split 50/50. On the plus side, their kids are super cute.
It’s kind of shocking that Madonna and Guy Ritchie didn’t have a prenup, considering Madonna’s worth an estimated $500 million. She ended up paying Ritchie between $76 and $92 million in the divorce. Who needs jobs when we can just get divorces?
Ellen Degeneresand Portia de Rossi are the only couple in this slideshow who haven’t gotten divorced! They got married in 2008, and though Ellen is worth around $63 million, it’s been said that she thinks prenups are “unromantic.” I hope they’re always married—they’re super cute together and make me feel warm and fuzzy about marriage.
The Dream and Christina Milian were married for about a year when they announced their separation. They’ve got a baby together now and though Milian is a self-made millionaire, The Dream has a small fortune and sans prenup, Christina is entitled to part of it.
Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold were totally in love in 1990, and Roseanne fired her attorney for suggesting a prenup. But four years later, Arnold walked away from their divorce with $50 million … and a Roseanne tattoo on his chest!
Even though it was Larry King‘s eighth marriage this time around, he didn’t get a prenup with Shawn Southwick. So when he allegedly cheated on her with her sister, his estimated $144 million could have been split 50/50. Thank goodness they’ve reunited—for now.
When Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey got married in 2002, it probably seemed like they had equal earning potential. But when they got divorced three years later, Jessica offered Nick $1.5 million, which he rejected, and ended up forking over “far less” than half of her estimated $36 million income during the time they were married, but “significantly” more than her original offer. Who knew 98 Degrees wasn’t going to last forever?
Everyone urged Paul McCartney to get a prenup when he married Heather Mills, but when they got divorced five years in, she made about $35 million. Plus, McCartney has to pay for their daughter’s nanny and education until she’s 18-years-old which costs $70,000 a year. Maybe Mills and Guy Ritchie should get together and make a Scrooge McDuck money swimming pool?
source: 10 Celebrity Couples Who Didn’t Have Prenups [The Frisky]
Last week we got the nominations for the 2009 Emmy Awards, but now we get an even better list – the 25 biggest Emmy snubs ever.
25. SPORTS NIGHT
Aaron Sorkin’s dramedy about a struggling cable sports program had it all: a swoon-inducing central romance (between Peter Krause’s sly anchor and Felicity Huffman’s brainy producer); a stunning supporting cast (including the awesome Robert Guillaume); and lightning-quick dialogue that ranged from heartbreaking to hilarious. And funny enough, we reacted to Sports Night’s lack of Emmy recognition much the same way we would to a typical episode — by laughing out loud and reaching for the Kleenex.
24. WALTON GOGGINS The Shield
Michael Chiklis garnered most of the award attention for his bulldog-on-steroids performance as Vic Mackey, the head of a stop-at-nothing L.A. police squad. But as his onetime right-hand man and best friend Shane Vendrell, Goggins also proved he’s an acting force to be reckoned with. A loose cannon whose messes kept getting bigger and stickier and more dangerous each season, Shane spun out of control in season 6, playing all sides against each other and becoming hell-bent on self-destruction after dropping a hand grenade in the lap of his squad mate at the end of season 5.
23. MY SO-CALLED LIFE
Okay, so it only lasted one season. And while ”the Academy” didn’t know it then, this critically acclaimed ratings bust has since become one of the most beloved cult-classics to ever hit the tube. It not only captured teen angst in a way few have been able to replicate, but it also showed the softer side of trying to figure out who you are. Although I may never forgive Claire Danes (she admitted to EW in 2004 that she had a hand in the show not returning for a second season) at least they didn’t go with their first rumored pick — Alicia Silverstone. Cher pining over brooding Jordan Catalano? Whatever!
22. SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Can you believe it!? I guess it’s not too surprising that SMG was never nominated. The closest this classic ever got to a major nomination was a writing nod for the genius Joss Whedon (and the poor guy didn’t even win). But if there was one person that deserved that little golden angel it was Gellar (duh), who played Buffy Summers as a high school girl all high school kids could relate to. Sure, the goths may have claimed her, but Buffy blurred the lines of cliques and social circles and played into a fantasy any high schooler would envy: superpowers + important mission in life.
21. HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET
When it premiered in January 1993, Homicide was a meticulously bleak show — morose, cynical, and allusive in a way nothing else on prime time was even trying to be. Critical raves poured in for these tales of the Baltimore homicide division; viewers, correctly suspecting a downer, stayed away in droves. Sadly, the Academy didn’t bestow the Best Dramatic Series love either. And that’s a crime.
20. AN AMERICAN FAMILY
Twelve episodes. One family. A 20-year-old gay man. And more than 10 million viewers. Long before The Real World, The Osbournes, and Wife Swap, filmmakers Susan and Alan Raymond gave America a peek inside the lives of a normal clan, the Louds, in An American Family. PBS’ documentary series was so ahead of its time that no Emmy category existed in 1973 to accommodate it. (Sure, it might have qualified for Outstanding Documentary, but that category was filled with news-division shows on such topics as Watergate.) Among the first ”ordinary people” to become ”celebrities,” the Loud family appeared on the cover of Newsweek and son Lance became something of a gay icon. Little did they know what they had wrought.
19. KATEY SAGAL Married…With Children
With a cigarette dangling from one hand and the remote control from the other, Sagal’s sex-obsessed Peggy ruled the suburban middle-class wasteland that was the Bundy household. It was the actress’ own idea to outfit her character in ’60s- and ’70s-style TV-housewife garb — a hilarious move, as it further highlighted the divide between those women’s devotion to homemaking and Peg’s refusal to ever lift a fake nail…unless it was to eat a bonbon.
18. RON HOWARD The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days
Don’t you wish there was a ”Best Narration” category? Because Ron Howard would’ve cleaned up for Arrested Development. Sticking to his on-screen appearances, the Academy dissed Howard in his six seasons as Howdy Doody look-alike Richie Cunningham on Happy Days. But how could little Ronny not have scored a nod for the episode ”Opie the Birdman” from The Andy Griffith Show? Not many child stars can communicate a dawning youngster’s awareness of the value of life, the importance of parenting, and the pain of separation as he did in this episode, a performance mature in its innocence.
17. AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
Just how crazy a weave must Tyra don before Emmy takes notice of ANTM? The supermodel’s modeling competition may not score the ratings of some other reality juggernauts, but when it comes to entertainment value, the show never disappoints (see: every cycle’s makeover episode). And unlike some other reality shows, ANTM actually does produce some success stories (e.g. Eva Pigford, Danielle Evans, Adrianne Curry…kinda). C’mon Emmy, you know that ANTM deserves to still be in the running to become Best. Reality. Competition. Show.
16. KRISTIN DAVIS Sex and the City
From home, we all followed Kristin Davis’ Park Avenue princess Charlotte York as she went through the same big-girl realizations as the rest of us. Discarding Prince Charming fantasies and big-city illusions, Charlotte developed throughout the series into the sweet but strong woman we later saw on the big screen
15. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
The most likely reason Ronald D. Moore’s magnum opus hasn’t been nominated is that it’s ”too genre,” which is ironic given that Battlestar Galactica is a self-conscious break from the genre conventions that have clogged much of TV sci-fi (I’m looking at you, Star Trek: Enterprise). BSG is great drama that just happens to be set in a sci-fi context.
14. CHLOË SEVIGNY Big Love
While it’s slightly shocking to see indie fashionista Chloë Sevigny so comfortable in the conservative skin of Mormon Nicki on HBO’s Big Love, the actress’ portrayal of the second wife is believable far beyond her single braid/turtleneck/long skirt ensembles. She gives an honest glimpse into the struggles facing a fundamentalist polygamist gal trying to survive in a world where her belief system is illegal.
13. DESI ARNAZ I Love Lucy
Sure, we all know that the real star of I Love Lucy was comedy legend Lucille Ball, but Lucy wouldn’t have been half as funny without her heavy-accented, bongo-banging, disciplinarian foil/husband Ricky Ricardo, played by real-life spouse Arnaz. In fact, out of the show’s four regular cast members — Ball, Arnaz, William Frawley, and Vivian Vance — Arnaz was the only one never recognized during its six-year run. Emmy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do.
12. CONNIE BRITTON AND KYLE CHANDLER Friday Night Lights
Eric and Tami Taylor, TV’s most realistic couple (and yes, that includes reality shows), are just too divine. Why? They — he, the obsessive coach; she, the doting mom and school counselor — are believable: They fight, make up, talk, parent, and work together with the harmony and grace of a pair that’s been together in real life for years.
11. THE WIRE
We can almost convince ourselves that there were too many fantastic actors on David Simon’s Baltimore threnody for Emmy to get around to them all (though how one overlooks Dominic West or Michael K. Williams, we’ll never know). But that a series routinely hailed as one of the best shows ever on television — if not the best — never even garnered a dramatic series nod? Shameful.
10. COURTENEY COX Friends
How was Cox — who aced her half of the Chandler-Monica affair — the only Friend ignored?
9. BOB NEWHART The Bob Newhart Show
Three noms for Newhart’s next sitcom didn’t make up for earlier snubs.
8. HEATHER LOCKLEAR Melrose Place
Her hilariously bitchy stroll on Melrose turned a snooze into a must-watch.
7. NORMAN FELL
Three’s Company
The only thing lovable about wife-hating homophobe Mr. Roper? Fell’s perfect timing.
6. MICHAEL LANDON
Ignoring the beloved star for his two seminal series, Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie, is like never sending your dad a Father’s Day card.
5. THE HONEYMOONERS
One of the best sitcoms on TV, and prototype for the rest of the best. Pity Emmy voters never noticed.
4. LAUREN GRAHAM Gilmore Girls
Put those hyperliterate scripts in a lesser actress’ hands — see what hash they make of them.
3. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Believe it or not, kids, before Lost, Emmy didn’t always understand shows with fanciful premises.
2. ANDY GRIFFITH
The Andy Griffith Show
Don Knotts nabbed four trophies, but not one nod for the sheriff? A crime!
1. ROSEANNE
Emmy loved the sitcom’s actors but never acknowledged the show or its writers. So the stars did an amazing job saying…nothing worthwhile?
I think this is one of the few lists that I agree with everything on it, yes including America’s Next Top Model. I am a huge fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and always thought it was robbed every year.
Roseanne’s originalBecky Conner, Alicia Goranson, was spotted reading tarot cards at the Gowanus Yacht Club in Brooklyn last Saturday. This is what life has come to!
I don’t know if she’s doing this for money or if it’s a regular thing, but rest assured that people will be camping at the Gowanus Yacht Club, hoping to run into her.
What others said:
TMZ says, “Somewhere on the “Scrubs” set, Sarah Chalke is laughing.”
