Of course, Prince has to add his own flair to the art of the selfie. The Grammy Award-winning singer posed for his very first selfie in front of a mirror using an “old school camera” with the caption “KNOWTHYSELFIE.” Prince couldn’t take the traditional cellphone snapshot of himself because he doesn’t actually own a phone. “We ban their usage anywhere around Us because We’re allergic 2 lithium and ‘Everybodyelsies,'” he said jokingly in a statement to ESSENCE. In fact, Prince and his band 3RDEYEGIRL usually ask concert goers to refrain from using their cell phones during performances. They prefer that you enjoy their music in real time and live in the moment.
The season premiere of The Real Housewives of Atlanta brought new drama and new ratings for Bravo. It was the highest-rated season premiere in Bravo history with over 3.8 million viewers. The Real Housewives franchise has always been a big winner for Bravo. The last record debut was in 2011 with the season 3 premiere of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. [Deadline]
Yesterday, we told you that the president will honor 19 people with the Medal of Freedom later this month. Among those 19 are three Civil Rights workers who gained notoriety after they went missing during the Freedom Summer in 1964. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were killed by the Ku Klux Klan on June 21, 1964 in Mississippi while working to register southern Black voters. “These men paid the ultimate sacrifice to bring justice and equality to every American,” said U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. “Their courageous actions in the face of danger helped turn the course of history in the United States.” [USA Today]
American Idol is saying goodbye to it’s top “dawg” Randy Jackson. After 13 years, Jackson is leaving the hit singing contest show. Jackson started on the show as a judge with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. He left his judges chair last season to take on a mentoring role. Producers from Idol released a statement naming Jackson as “a key part of the singing contest” and they say he’s welcome back anytime as a visitor. Looks like Ryan Seacrest will have to hold down the fort as the only original cast member left on the show. [Access Hollywood]
Rihanna’s alleged stalker Kevin McGlynn has been court-ordered to never contact her by phone, computer, or mail. “He appears to be a ticking time bomb who is wholly fixated on her and poses a direct threat of serious physical harm or death to her and anyone around her,” said New York City judge Orlando Marrazo. Judge Marrazo compared McGlynn to the man who killed John Lennon of The Beatles. McGlynn, 54, was arrested in July after video footage showed him leaving several notes at the singer’s home in which he called her a “b-tich” and threatened to “bum rush” her apartment. [Clutch]
The Banks family is back and they even brought along their faithful butler! Everyone’s favorite family from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunited on Monday night’s Dancing With The Stars. Karyn Parsons, Tatyana Ali, and Joseph Marcell showed up to support Alfonso Ribeiro as he competes on the dance show. Ribeiro told Us Weekly it was “really cool” to reunite with his on-screen siblings again. “Just having them here was wonderful. They’re family to me. They’ll always be family,” he said. They even posed for a partial family portrait. [Us Weekly]