Posts Tagged ‘Interview’

Mo’Kelly last interviewed Imani Showalter from Basketball Wives: LA…let’s just say the

Boris Kodjoe

men were quite appreciative!

Ladies…it’s now YOUR TURN!

Next week (after Mr. Kodjoe and Mr. Mo’Kelly iron out some scheduling details) Mo’Kelly will have a one-on-one conversation with film and television star Boris Kodjoe!

Of course we’ll get his thoughts on the direction of the industry, his career up until now, the influx of family and find out what he has in store for fans in the coming months.

Boris Kodjoe, in The Mo’Kelly Report…be sure to check back next week for all the details.

Did you know the Brotha is fluent in like four languages?  Is that even fair?  I’m trying to just handle Spanish and he’s doubling my language proficiency.  But I’m not jealous…not a lot…I think…

Always love it when the Brothas come into The Mo’Kelly Report knocking down stereotypes!

The Mo’Kelly Report is a syndicated politics and entertainment journal.  Visit http://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo’Kelly.  Contact him at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

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The last conversation between Mo’Kelly and Mr.  Jheri Lacefront was so popular

Bishop Eddie Long (Mr. Jheri Lacefront on top)

with readers, we knew that we’d eventually have to talk to him again.  Last week, New Birth ministries gave Mr. Lacefront his walking papers and thus provided the impetus for Mo’Kelly to reach out to Jheri and get an update on the Bishop and New Birth.

Another exclusive in The Mo’Kelly Report.

_______________________

Mo’K: When we last sat down, you were happily employed, reluctant to talk about the specifics of the case against Bishop Eddie Long and generally supportive of him and his ministry. What has changed?

JL: Well, first and foremost…I got laid off. Even before the settlement was reached, folks were getting laid off. It wasn’t too much of a surprise that my number might be called after the settlement.

Mo’K: But he’s still preaching, he still has public appearances…doesn’t he still need you, so folks won’t see his glistening head?”

JL: Nobody said he didn’t have “someone” to do the job, I’m just saying that it’s not me anymore. I don’t know the new hairpiece personally. I know of him…young guy. We obviously are members of the same union. He’s probably getting half of what I made.

Mo’K: So how did you find out, when did you find out and did you have any final conversation with the Bishop before you left?

JL: It was last Friday, I had just finished work. Bishop Long had gone to work out…you know, he wears his Kangols while working out. He left me on a stand in the bathroom. You know, where he takes all of his pictures he sends to his “male friends.” THAT bathroom. Well, HR called me and said to come by. I knew what was up. They gave me a severance relative to years served, made me sign a non-disclosure agreement and had security escort me out the building inside of 30 minutes.

Mo’K: Non-disclosure agreement…but you’re talking to The Mo’Kelly Report?

JL: Yes, I’ll let you know when I can or can’t answer. Do yo’ thang.

Mo’K: Well alrighty then. What did you make of Jamal Parris and Spencer LeGrande saying publicly they’re writing a book, in return risking their settlement money?

JL: I was confused at first, not sure why . They could’ve written the book in the first place and not gone through all of this. But then I realized, there’s probably more weighing on their decisions than just money. (Sigh – Pause) Let me put it like this. Some pain can’t be erased by money alone. Sometimes you don’t figure that out until after you actually get some money and emotionally you are no better off than before the money.

Mo’K: I hear you. True dat.

JL: There are things I’ve seen and experienced that I’ll never forget. I’m not calling anyone guilty, but I am glad that I’m free. Virtually everything Bishop Long saw…I saw. I’ll put it like that. Everything he did…I witnessed. I was his hairpiece. Every trip, every hotel room, everything. If he was to be seen by people other than his wife, I most definitely was there if he wasn’t wearing a hat. I say that to say…there’s just some stuff that you can’t “un-see”…you can’t un-ring those bells. I’ll leave it at that.

Mo’K: Jheri Lacefont…did Bishop Eddie Long engage in sexual relationships with those young men?

JL: You know I can’t answer that.

Mo’K: Will you admit whether you know the answer?

JL: Yes, I can say I do know the answer…(chuckles)

Mo’K: Mr. Jheri Lacefront, I HAVE to ask you this. Having nothing to do with the case; is Bishop Long gay?

JL: (Pauses)…Define “gay.”

Mo’K: WOW! I think you just answered Mo’Kelly’s question. Were you ever deposed as a witness during mediation?

JL: Yes I was, I submitted a statement.

Mo’K: This is just Mo’Kelly talking. You submitted a statement during the deposition. Either you backed the Bishop’s story and he sold you out now by firing you or you told a story other than the Bishop’s and now he’s getting back at you. Either way, seems to Mo’Kelly you got the short end of the stick.

JL: I guess you could look at it that way, but honestly I wasn’t interested in fighting for my own deck chair on the Titanic. There’s nothing wrong with being escorted to your life raft when you see the iceberg on the horizon. It’s all about perspective. Just because you lose a job, it doesn’t mean it’s a negative.

Mo’K: Centino Kemp, the fifth man linked to Eddie Long has all but said Long’s name in regards to an alleged rape upon meeting him. Did you hear any of his interviews and if so what did you make of them.

JL: All I can say is this. I met Centino a number of times prior to his name popping up in the media. I’ve seen him and I’ve talked to him…often. I didn’t hear the interviews and really didn’t need to hear them. There are some things like I said, you just can’t “un-see.”

Centino Kemp

Mo’K: What does that mean, you’ve seen him? How did you know him?

JL: I’m just saying…I know who Centino is. I can’t say how I met him. But I can say we do know people in common. One in particular.

Mo’K: Understood. So what does a former jheri curl lacefront hairpiece do now that he no longer works for Bishop Eddie Long.

JL: You act as if Brothas have stopped going bald! And I’m not a former anything. I’m still a FLY jheri curl lacefront toupee! My ends haven’t completely dried out yet! I’m just a hairpiece who no longer works for Bishop Eddie Long. In fact, I just got signed to work as Samel L. Jackson’s hairpiece in the upcoming remake of The Last Dragon.

Mo’K: That’s right! He’s playing “Sho’Nuff!”

JL: Yessiree…and I sho’ nuff have a job! (Laughs)  I originally interviewed with him when he was filming Pulp Fiction.  He needed a Jheri Curl for the part but I  didn’t get the job then.  It all worked out it seems, just years later.

Mo’K: How’s your sister doing, is she still a weave in the business?

JL: Absolutely. She’s on tour with Beyoncé, doing the sandy blond weave thing in promotion of the new CD.

Mo’K: A hair weave’s work never ends…

JL: You got that right!

Mo’K: Back to Bishop Long for a moment. When you left New Birth, what was the mood like, what were the services like?

JL: The service…singular, was empty mostly. We stopped filming the balcony because nobody was there and Bishop didn’t want the empty seats viewable to the online audience. Those who are still there are the true believers. If they haven’t left now, they’re never going to leave. But they’re not enough in number to keep New Birth in business. They have to turn it around or they’ll have to pack it in.

Mo’K: How long are we talking about?

JL: A year, maybe less, depending on how much more bad publicity comes their way between now and then. They were talking about downsizing Bishop Long to just a TV show, no congregation. Just minister to the masses via television and ask for donations. It cuts the overhead and keeps his name out there. I don’t wish ill on the man but it doesn’t look good for him.

Mo’K: Let me backtrack. What do you think his “five rocks” were, if this case didn’t go to mediation?

JL: Hmm…I would say that Bishop never really thought it would get this far or last as long as it did in the media. I think that was a surprise to us all. The “five rocks”…just preacher rhetoric for a desired response from that audience on that day. It did its job in that respect. It was a soundbite, never meant to be a full-blown strategy. To this day it still is the most-played soundbite from all of this.

Mo’K: Are you and the Bishop still friends?

JL: He was my employer. He fired me without so much as a “thank you.” You can’t really be “friends” with your boss…he’s your boss. Now he is my former boss. I thank him for the opportunity given me but we knew this was a good time for both of us to move on. He has other boys to do…I mean he has other business to do and I have other foreheads to stick to…that’s how it works.

Mo’K: If you could tell Bishop Long anything in private right now, what would it be?

JL: I would…I would suggest to him that the sooner he humbles himself publicly, the sooner he will see a change in how the media and people in general treat him; the sooner people will become sympathetic. His haughty spirit to me is blocking his blessing and delaying the rebirth of his ministry.

Mo’K: You’d say that…to his face?

JL: Yes I would. I don’t work for him now. It’s different. I’d give him what he needs to know, not what an employee thinks his boss wants to hear.

Mo’K: And there you have it. Another exclusive in The Mo’Kelly Report.  Not once, but TWICE…Mo’Kelly was able to sit and talk with the long-time Jheri Curl Lacefront Toupeé; Mr. Jheri Lacefront. Jheri, always a pleasure to talk to you and we wish you well.

JL: Thank you Mo’Kelly.

Click HERE for Mo’Kelly’s first conversation with Mr. Jheri Lacefront.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

Free Subscription to The Mo’Kelly Report HERE

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Twitter – @mrmokelly

Listen HERE!

Sharon Song Byrd

Sharon Song Byrd is still very much uncomfortable discussing the details behind what led up to her successful lawsuit against Tony Wafford of the National Action Network. In close to three hours of conversation, Song Byrd recounted at length and great detail her fear of Wafford showing up at her house at all hours of the night, throwing rocks at her window and an overall inability to accept the fact that his advances were unwanted.

In fact, Song Byrd is still skittish about letting any man know where she lives and requested our conversation be on neutral ground.

I obliged.

So please excuse the sounds of the passing traffic and cooling fans. This was not a typical studio conversation and Song Byrd’s story is anything but typical. Although a similar request was made to Tony Wafford to hear his side on these issues, the request went unanswered.

From evidence concerning questionable accounting and employment practices designed to avoid paying payroll taxes, to extensive police reports and a book’s worth of instant messages printed as proof of a rapport…Song Byrd’s record keeping is exceptional. It would take the average person weeks to effectively comb through and digest all of her material, despite its neat and orderly presentation.

It is voluminous, precise and formidable.

Today in The Mo’Kelly Report, I am pleased to present Part One of a two-part conversation with Song Byrd. In Part One, Song Byrd details the nature of her employment relationship with Tony Wafford, the abuse she endured and the .357 magnum that Wafford illegally carried with him daily as an unstated reminder.

Friday in Part Two, Song Byrd in her own words responds to Reverend Al Sharpton’s recent open letter, offering behind the scenes information which may shed a different light on these issues; whether she ever intended to sue the National Action Network, and in closing offer advice to other women who may find themselves in similar straits.

The story thus far has centered around Song Byrd, Wafford and Sharpton, but it is also worthy of mention that it should also include Wafford friend and confidante Democratic California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who went so far as taking then Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to Wafford’s home, even though Wafford was in the midst of a sexual harassment and battery lawsuit.

Let’s not be naïve, Waters would likely claim ignorance (as does Sharpton) concerning these issues as they were transpiring, but unlike Sharpton she has had offered nothing publicly on these issues since the story broke.

Let’s not be naïve but let’s also be clear.

Congresswoman Waters having nothing to say in the wake of the mistreatment and abuse of an African-American woman in her own backyard says volumes. For all the talk of Sharpton, there should be some concerning Waters too.  Mo’Kelly will hit more on that in the coming days.

But I digress…

With no further ado…Sharon Song Byrd, in her own words Part One…another exclusive from The Mo’Kelly Report.

Listen HERE!

WARNING: This conversation contains objectionable language and imagery; wholly unsuitable for children. Please use discretion when listening in the presence of young people.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit http://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

Free Subscription to The Mo’Kelly Report HERE

Follow The Mo’Kelly Report on Facebook  HERE

Twitter – @mrmokelly 

Mo’Kelly talked politics, President Obama and pro football today, (Wednesday) on The Right Side with Shelley Wynter.

Here is the audio…

Shelley Wynter 12.29.2010

For more on Shelley Wynter click HERE.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

Free Subscription to The Mo’Kelly Report HERE

Follow The Mo’Kelly Report on Facebook Network Blogs HERE.

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As we prepare to celebrate (or for some not celebrate) the Thanksgiving holiday, Mo’Kelly took to the streets to hear from some listeners about their favorite memories of the holiday and some of the culinary traditions that have been passed down through the years.

Maybe you too have some time-honored traditions that come to mind.  In any event, as Thanksgiving approaches, here is just a little piece and slice of how many of us in our communities usually choose to celebrate.  And Mo’Kelly is sure you will find yourself, your own family and the associated memories somewhere within these vignettes.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Montage

Kanye West never met a teleprompter he DID like.  It was the remark that by most accounts made West a mainstream/household name.

George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.

If you were watching the Live NBC telethon to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina, a baffled and bewildered Mike Myers looked on and NBC immediately cut to Chris Tucker…who seemed equally as confused as to the quick switch.

What’s less often discussed is that West warmed up to the moment, offering almost incoherent rant on “Black suffering”…or something like that.  Check out the video below…

Today in The Mo’Kelly Report, I feature a conversation with the Director of African-American Studies for Princeton University,  Dr. Eddie Glaude and we discuss the recent resurgence of the moment, thanks to the release of President George W. Bush’s memoir, Decision Points; in which he characterizes West’s remarks as the “low” point of his presidency.

(Ahem…yes, he said that.)

But before you side with Kanye (or even President Bush for that matter), listen to what Dr. Glaude has to say.  Don’t leave The Mo’Kelly Report with a “truncated” view of race and racism.  Listen and you’ll see what I mean.

After you listen to the discussion, you’ll again understand why The Mo’Kelly Report is unlike any other online media source around.  This conversation is not for the lightweights.  Eddie Glaude is about to bring it!

Dr. Eddie Glaude

Dr. Eddie Glaude

Iyanla Vanzant once stood in the bedroom of her then recently deceased daughter with a pink, pearl-handled pistol in one hand and prescription pills in the other; mulling over the decision of the “best” way to finally end the pain.

Nevertheless, Iyanla Vanzant is still alive and has a testimony to share.

From leaving The Oprah Winfrey Show to the cancellation of her own television program; the downward spiral didn’t crater with the subsequent death of her daughter at the age of 31 to a rare form of colon cancer…on Christmas Day no less.  In an off-air conversation Iyanla said that “watching them put my daughter in a box and throw dirt on her let me know I could deal with anything.”  The reality though was that things were to get worse for far longer before they would get better.  There was still an unexpected divorce (by way of email), loss of her house and tremendous trouble with the IRS still on the way.  The fact that neither the pink, pearl-handled pistol nor the prescription pills won out is nothing short of amazing.

It’s one thing to read the book of Job; it’s another to live it.

Iyanla Vanzant is alive and sho ‘nuff has a testimony to share.

In her new book Peace from Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You’re Going Through, Vanzant displays the scars of her life with an authoritative honesty, in the hopes of helping someone who might travel a path similar to hers, hurting unceasingly and hoping for help seemingly never on its way.

Iyanla Vanzant is alive and well…and today her testimony might bring tears to your eyes, while forcing you to question the depth and resolve of your own faith and relationship with the Lord.  At the same time, she offers neither an excuse nor appeal for pity on her behalf.  Iyanla in her book tells the truth about the moments of her life leading up until now, from the death of her mother, being raped by her uncle and the pathologies set in motion by both.

Today in The Mo’Kelly Report, Iyanla and I discuss her journey from the elation of first stepping into Harpo Studios, to this moment in 2010 and the many life-changing moments in the intervening years…and why Eminem is presently her ringtone.

Yes, Eminem.

The Iyanla Vanzant Interview

Other Interviews:

Mo’Kelly Interviews Carlos Santana

Mo’Kelly Interviews Sherri Shepherd of The View

To my childhood friend, Kim Schneider-Decker and the rest of my 4-H

Carlos Santana

friends…this is for you.  You were all on my mind as I put this together.  Thanks for all the wonderful memories.

Those who really KNOW Mo’Kelly knows that he grew up LOVING rock music.  Maybe Mo’Kelly was just a product of his environment.  Either way, Mo’Kelly loves classic rock music.  So imagine the joy of interviewing music legend Carlos Santana as he takes listeners to “Guitar Heaven?!”

Some days it’s just good to be the king.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my honor to present to you Mr. Mo’Kelly’s interview with the one and only Carlos Santana on the occasion of his new CD, Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time.  If you feel the need to get up and dance…do that.  Bang your head…do that too.

This CD is off the chains!  Enjoy.  This is for the rock lovers!

CarlosSantana9232010.mp3

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.