JULY 30, 2002 FEATURED NEWS ITEMS:
1. RECORDING ARTIST TAKES ON BIN LADEN
2. SHARON TAKES IT IN STRIDE; OZZY SHAKEN
3. MYSTIKAL IN A MESS
4. LENNY'S PINK POOLS
RECORDING ARTIST TAKES ON BIN LADEN
LOS ANGELES, California-
Osama bin Laden is upset at Americans...again. Apparently, not every American this
time, just one. And it's not Dubya. His name is Johnny Virgil and he's an independent
recording artist. Huh? That's what we said.
Virgil, who just released his solo debut CD through Los Angeles-based indie record
label enTerTainTmenT, inc., recently received some surprisingly polite E-mail
complaints from people claiming to be "representatives of Islam, bin Laden, and his
Al-Qa'edah organization," as well as from a few bin Laden sympathizers. In all, the
label received a total of five transmissions thus far. What are they complaining
about? It seems they don't approve of humorous Internet banner ads Virgil's label used
to promote his new CD, which feature a photo of bin Laden in two and a photo of an
unknown Afghani man in another.
Said one enTerTainTmenT, inc. label executive who asked to remain anonymous, "The ads
were done in fun, and obviously not at all in support of bin Laden if you saw them.
Anyone who is truly American or who despises the man would find the ads funny and
entertaining, and that's who we're marketing the CD to. Our target demographic does
not include Muslim extremists or members of (bin Laden's) family. We're not entirely
sure the E-mails are legit, but they could be."
The two main ads in question feature bin Laden's face next to the captions, "'If you
buy Johnny Virgil CD, I would be very most upset, so please don't buy. Thank you.'
-Osama bin Laden" and "�Do not buy Johnny Virgil CD. He sing better than me,
and...he's American. Thank you.' -Osama Bin Laden." The third ad shows an unknown
Afghani man (who looks a little like George W. Bush) saying, "Listen, in my country,
people KILL for Johnny Virgil CD...and I mean KILL! We don't have luxury like mice
that make clicking sound." And if your mouse happened to click on the ads, you would
then be taken directly to CD Street, Virgil's Internet music vendor.
Paid to run on eight websites, along with four other similarly clever ads to promote
the artist's CD, only these three brought any kind of "negative" feedback. Virgil's
label exec added, "We actually received a ton of complimentary mail regarding the ads."
One Internet analyst made a distinction between these ads and the massive amount of
humorous anti-bin Laden material easily accessible on the Internet since 9/11. "The
difference between all that straightforward �I hate bin Laden' material out there and
the Virgil thing is that bin Laden's image is actually being used to promote something
here, but not as an endorsement. I think it's hysterical and a brilliant way to flash
bin Laden the middle finger. Artists like Eminem use Osama bin Laden look-alikes in
videos to heighten the appeal of the music by tapping into the anti-bin Laden
sentiment that's so universal today. It helps people get out their frustrations about
events like September 11 through laughter. In this case, it may help to sell more
records."
Sell, indeed. Every controversy or headline inevitably seems to help sales, and this
is not Virgil's first. Just last week, Internet and obscenity watchgroups placed their
complaints with enTerTainTmenT, inc., regarding what they considered to be "racy"
artwork in Virgil's new CD, "Fade." The label ended up slightly altering the artwork,
but didn't do a recall of any product already distributed. Prior to that, the headline
"Virgin does Virgil?" appeared in gossip magazines, linking him to Britney Spears, as
well as Carmen Electra, which apparently fueled a short but thorny exchange of words
between Electra and the Virgin Britney at an industry function earlier this year. Last
year, another magazine connected him to Alanis Morrisette, and it goes on.
All this publicity is definitely a good thing, as Virgil was reportedly contacted to
write and produce tracks for Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, David
Bowie, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Aerosmith, and Lenny Kravitz shortly after his debut
CD "Fade" started circulating last month. Around the same time, Virgil entered a
partnership with file-sharing mega network KaZaa, making ripples in the industry by
becoming one of the most downloaded and sought after musical artists on the Internet
this month. And if that weren't enough, his new album has already been named one of
2002's best independently-released CDs so far, probably by people who wouldn't have
even heard of Virgil had it not been for all the ruckus. Not bad for the son of a
fashion model and an absentee pilot father who has created a sound described by one
music critic as "U2 meets Bowie meets The Stones with Marvin Gaye on vocals and Van
Halen on guitar."
Now that word has started to get around about the singer who has taken on bin Laden,
the eight websites paid by Virgil's label to advertise his CD have been getting a lot
more traffic than usual. Although we can't mention them here, all of Virgil's ads have
just been posted on his website for viewing at, http://www.johnnyvirgil.com.
His label adds that their web promotion contracts have just been extended indefinitely
for no extra charge by these eight websites, as they seem to benefit more than the
label from the relationship, receiving thousands of hits per day above average ever
since the ads first appeared. Other websites are now jumping on the bandwagon and
requesting the ads.
Said the Internet analyst, "Supporting (Virgil) and making him successful would be one
way of �getting back' at bin Laden. In a way, it's really just using brains over
barbarianism. Obviously, the Americans possess the brains."
In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Virgil revealed that he's planning to donate
part of his CD revenues to aid the families of the September 11th victims, as well as
to specific cancer-related charities. "I have to use this opportunity to do some good.
I lost a friend on 9/11, and another separately to cancer last year, so I'm making
these donations in their memory."
Virgil's CD is currently only available through his website,
http://www.johnnyvirgil.com.
SHARON TAKES IT IN STRIDE; OZZY SHAKEN
LOS ANGELES , California-
Sharon Osbourne's cancer has spread beyond her colon and the wife of the anarchic
British rock star Ozzy Osbourne will start a three-month course of chemotherapy at the
end of July, she told People magazine in a recent interview. Osbourne, 49, who has
become a TV star with most of the rest of the family thanks to the hit MTV reality
series "The Osbournes", said her prognosis was "very, very good" but that Ozzy
Osbourne was "hysterical" when first told the news.
Sharon Osbourne, credited with reviving her husband's career after he was fired from
heavy metal band Black Sabbath in 1979, underwent colon cancer surgery on July 3 and
her publicist said at the time she was expected to make a full recovery. However,
Osbourne told People that one of two nearby lymph nodes removed during the procedure
had since tested positive for cancerous cells, indicating the cancer had spread beyond
her colon.
"It was not the best news," she told People. "You think nothing will ever happen to
you. You're invincible. Then after you get over the shock and panic you realize how
lucky you are to be alive. That's where I am right now. I simply have to take care of
this thing," she said.
Osbourne said she would start three months of chemotherapy on July 29, and that she
planned to allow MTV to film the treatment when shooting resumes for the second season
of "The Osbournes"-the show that follows the chaotic daily exploits of the
foul-mouthed family.
"People will see me having chemo. It'll be interesting," she said. "We need to get a
different vibe going. I think I'll bring some music, introduce myself, maybe we can
sing some songs and cheer the place up."
Osbourne said Ozzy, her husband of 20 years, "was hysterical, just terrified," when
she told him the news, adding, "The doctor had to come over and sedate him." Ozzy told
People the couple planned to renew their marriage vows on Sharon's 50th birthday on
October 9. "I've always had a plan that I'd get sick before she did, that I'd die
before she did. But my plan didn't work out." he said.
MYSTIKAL IN A MESS
BATON ROUGE, Lousiana-
As Mystikal's lawyers declared his innocence on charges of rape and extortion on July
19, authorities revealed they confiscated a video of the alleged sexual assaults from
the rapper's Baton Rouge home. The tape, which has been placed into evidence,
allegedly shows Mystikal and two other men, Leland Ellis and Vercy Carter, threatening
the rapper's 40-year-old hair stylist and forcing her to have sex with them, according
to Cpl. Mary Ann Godawa, a spokesperson for the Baton Rouge Police Department.
The men allegedly told the woman they would turn her in to authorities for cashing
unauthorized checks from the rapper's bank account if she did not have sex with them.
According to a copy of the arrest warrant obtained on Friday, the woman visited
Mystikal's house on July 3 to braid his hair. Afterwards, he confronted her about the
checks and ordered her to "get into the bedroom and take your clothes off."
The warrant states that Mystikal called his associates to come to his residence while
he was engaged in oral sex with the victim. When they arrived, the rapper allegedly
ordered Ellis to get his video camera and film him having sex with the woman. After
the camera was turned off, Mystikal allegedly sodomized her. The warrant claims that
the camera was turned back on to film the woman having sex with both Carter and Ellis,
after which she was ordered to leave.
After the woman contacted authorities on July 4, police searched Mystikal's apartment
and detained a video camera and a safe. On July 9, authorities opened the safe and
found the videotape.
That same day, detectives were forwarded an affidavit signed by the victim from
Mystikal's attorney, Gary Harvey. In it, the woman stated that she had consensual
intercourse with the three men.
On July 10, however, the woman met with detectives and said Harvey misled her to
believe "the case had been jeopardized, therefore making her feel compelled to sign
the affidavit," the arrest warrant states. She said she was confused when she signed
the affidavit and still wished to pursue the case.
On Friday, Harvey's co-counsel Michael Guy issued a statement reading, "I am extremely
confident that [Mystikal] will be exonerated of all charges that are currently pending
against him." He added that all of the rapper's scheduled appearances for July and
August would go on as planned.
A spokesperson for Jive Records, the rapper's label, said they would not be issuing a
statement with regard to the arrest. Mystikal, whose real name is Michael Tyler, was
released Thursday afternoon on $250,000 bond. If convicted on the rape charge, he
would face a mandatory life sentence. Extortion carries a prison term of one to 15
years.
Bond has not been set for Ellis or Carter. The Baton Rouge District Attorney's office
said the rapper's arraignment will be scheduled in four to six weeks.
LENNY'S PINK POOLS?
Virgin recording artist, Lenny Kravitz is wowing audiences across North America in
support of his latest album,"Lenny." Opening for Kravitz are sexy party girl Pink and
the new synth-based smash, Abandoned Pools, the brainchild of former Eels bassist,
Tommy Walter. Inside sources report the Pink entourage is quite the wild bunch on the
road and after the shows. We heard someone on that tour has a video camera...
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