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Brown’s rep says station did not pay bail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pop star Bobby Brown’s Atlanta attorney Phaedra C. Parks contacted Buzz Central on Tuesday to set the record straight concerning her client and that alleged one-week guest spot on Hot 99.5 FM in Washington, D.C. The station’s morning man Kane went on air and claimed that the station put up Brown’s $19,000 child support payment to secure his release from a Massachusetts jail in exchange for a contracted one-week guest stint with Brown.
Not so fast, says Brown’s lawyer. Parks told Buzz: “[Washington radio station] 99.5 did not pay a penny towards Bobby’s bail. Bobby was released from jail on Wednesday night as I was en route to Boston. Furthermore, the monies promised by 99.5 were not received by my office until late Friday afternoon via a wire transfer. The money was promptly returned upon receipt.” Hot 99.5 FM rep Jessica Ritch confirmed that the station got its money back. She added: “We were told that we were bailing him out of jail. The money had been up-fronted, and our money would be used to pay back the person who originally fronted the money. On Friday we learned that he was already out of jail.”
Parks said: “There was never a signed contract or any formally executed agreement regarding Bobby’s appearance on 99.5. This appears to be a publicity stunt by 99.5 at Bobby Brown’s expense.”
Parks and Brown will appear on the Tom Joyner show at 8:30 Thursday morning to discuss the matter. An appearance with V103’s Ryan Cameron is also in the works.
WHAT DID ‘DIDDY’ DO ON OSCAR NIGHT?
Atlanta restaurateur Sean “Diddy” Combs has a lingering souvenir from Oscars weekend in Hollywood — a lawsuit, alleging that the music mogul punched and pushed a man and his girlfriend at a Left Coast nightclub.
Gerard Rechnitzer is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the suit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
An attorney for Combs called the suit “completely baseless.” Police are investigating the alleged incident.
Rechnitzer, 27, claims he and his girlfriend ran into Combs at the club, Teddy’s, in the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, in the early morning hours after the Oscars telecast on Feb. 25.
According to the lawsuit, Combs was talking to Rechnitzer’s girlfriend when Rechnitzer approached. Combs, 37, yelled at Rechnitzer “in a threatening and ominous matter,” the suit claims.
The rap star and clothing designer then “intentionally, willfully, knowingly and unlawfully attacked, assaulted and battered” Rechnitzer, according to court documents, causing him to “fly backward several feet” and hit a parked car. The suit further alleges that Combs pushed Rechnitzer’s girlfriend and “attempted to spit on another female member” of Rechnitzer’s group. Rechnitzer then called police, the lawsuit says.
According to celebrity Web site Tmz.com, the suit also claims that Combs told the plaintiff, “What the [expletive] you looking at, dude?” before following up with the classic line (not to mention Buzz Central’s fave new instant catchphrase): “I’ll smack flames out of your [posterior]!”
Benjamin Brafman, an attorney for Combs, said the case would be “vigorously defended.”
“It’s just another example of an opportunist seeking to fabricate a lawsuit based on a flat-out lie to try to take advantage of Mr. Combs’ celebrity status,” Brafman said in a statement. “Mr. Combs did not hit anyone, and Mr. Rechnitzer suffered no injuries or damages whatsoever. There is no case. It is that simple.”
No court date has yet been set.
MEALS VIA THE MAYOR
It’s a good thing she favors sensible shoes. We’re told that Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin has been signed up as a volunteer for March 21 as part of the national Mayors for Meals Day festivities. Franklin will join more than 400 hizz- and herrzoners across the country as she delivers food for the Meals on Wheels Atlanta program of Senior Citizen Services of Metro Atlanta. The service brings fresh food and a friendly face to elderly folks in need. SCS representative Steve Hargrove told Buzz on Tuesday that Franklin’s route has yet to be finalized, but it could include the 30316 ZIP code in southeast Atlanta. There was no immediate word if Franklin’s meals would come complete with a festive spring silk flower.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
TV personality Willard Scott is 73. Actor Bryan Cranston (“Malcolm in the Middle”) is 51. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 43. Singer Taylor Dayne is 42. Actress Rachel Weisz (“Constantine,” “The Mummy”) is 36. Singer Sebastien Izambard of Il Divo is 34. Actress Laura Prepon (“That ’70s Show”) is 27.
BY THE NUMBERS
Text messaging
60%
Surveyed have texted to request a first date
10%
Surveyed said
“I love you” the first time via text
8%
Surveyed have broken up via text
30%
Admitted to “drunk texting”
Source: Virgin Mobile USA survey conducted by International Communications Research
Contributing: news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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