Amber Riley Should Win DWTS...But Probably Won't

*DISCLAIMER: Don't let the title fool you...I want her to win and have been voting for her but based on DWTS history, my argument as follows is why I don't think she will win...

Glee star Amber Riley has made a BIG impression on Dancing With The Stars season 17 and has become a front-runner in the competition. Despite her size, she moves well and has been able to master the steps of dances like the cha-cha, tango and jive, as well as bringing in her bubbly personality which viewers seem to love. 

However, DWTS seems to be biased against the black female celebrities that have been on it. To me, it seems that the judges (Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli) are way more critical of black female celebrities' technique and precision than others. Maybe it's because they think all black people are supposed to have rhythm...

Most athletes like football players and figure skaters have done well on the show, plus comeback stories, sob stories, and injuries have all helped contestants get votes and survive eliminations. 

An element that should be good but might work against her is her partner, Derek Hough. In the season after a professional wins, they usually get partnered with a bad dancer to give other contestants a chance. Derek, who is the best choreographer in my opinion, just won last season with Kelly Pickler and has won 4 DWTS titles total. I don't think that the producers expected Amber to do as well as she's doing so they paired her with him thinking that she wouldn't last long and be eliminated early. 

However, she started off strong with an energetic cha-cha that blew everyone in the ballroom away and earned three 9's in the first week. Male celebrities have it easier because the female professional dancers just dance around them most of the time, or it's their name or personality that brings them votes each week. The female celebrities have to compete not only against the male celebrities but the female pros too.

The other black female celebrity, Christina Milian, was voted off this week despite receiving one of the first 10's of the season and an overall 28-out-of-30 for her cha-cha-cha. This elimination is already being viewed as "shocking" by many media outlets. 

Many of the black female celebrities have done well on the show but been voted off early or come short of the Mirrorball Trophy. Vivica A. Fox was eliminated 4th in season 3 back in 2006, despite never receiving an overall score less than 22 out of 30. Laila Ali never received less than a 7 on any of her dances during the entire season 4 but came in 3rd. Mel B came in 2nd during season 5 despite having the highest average score during the entire season. Toni Braxton never received less than a 7 during season 7 but was eliminated 5th. Lil' Kim never received lower than a 7 on any of her dances during season 8 but only came in 5th.

The biggest example of this was season 11, when front-runner Brandy came in 4th and was eliminated instead of Bristol Palin, daughter of former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. I didn't get why she was even on the show considering that she wasn't a good dancer or in the entertainment industry but her appearance on the show brought drama and controversy regarding viewer votes. I remember trying to vote for Brandy by calling her designated number but the line would say "Thanks for voting for Bristol and Mark" (Ballas, Palin's partner). What made it even worse was that Brandy finally received her much-deserved perfect score of 30 only the night before and was also chosen for the encore performance minutes before being eliminated.

No black female celebrities were chosen for seasons 1, 2, 6, 12, and 13 nor were any selected for the All-Stars season 14. Here is a breakdown of all the black female celebrities that have been contestants on DWTS and their respective finishes: 

• Amber Riley (TBA; season 17)
• Christina Milian (eliminated 4th, season 17)
• Zendaya (runner-up, season 16)
• Gladys Knight (eliminated 5th, season 14)
• Sherri Shepherd (eliminated 3rd, season 14)
• Wendy Williams (eliminated 2nd, season 12)
• Brandy (4th place, season 11)
• Niecy Nash (eliminated 7th, season 10)
• Mya (runner-up, season 9)
• Lil' Kim (5th place, season 8)
• Toni Braxton (eliminated 5th, season 7)
• Mel B (runner-up, season 5)
• Laila Ali (3rd place, season 4)
• Monique Coleman (4th place; season 3)
• Vivica A. Fox (eliminated 4th, season 3)

Good luck to Amber because I truly hope that she can break the curse against black female celebrities on DWTS. Check out her breakout performance of the cha-cha during week 1 where she got a 27 out of 30: 

Olivia Pope is a "Side Chick"...In Name ONLY

I recently came across a funny picture on Instagram about my favorite TV show, Scandal:

Chicks be like "I can't stand infidelity" but on Thursdays be like "Awwwww"

I am 100% guilty of this!!!!! There's NO denying that President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III is married and that his affair with Olivia Pope technically makes her the "side chick". However, if you watch the show faithfully (like me) then you KNOW that's just a technicality.

Fitz does not love his wife, Mellie, and is only with her because he didn't meet Olivia first. He is the President which means that he has been in the middle of a successful political career for some time so he knows what political moves play...and having a black girlfriend does not (let's be frank).

A lot of people say that Olivia Pope does nothing but give side chicks everywhere some hope. However, TRUE "Gladiators" like myself know that there is WAY more to the story than Olivia just being a "side chick". Fitz does not confide in the First Lady the way that he does with Olivia, he doesn't talk to her, have fun with her...NOTHING!

I came up with 5 reasons and included 5 scenes that show Olivia is more than just "the other woman" and I purposefully didn't include any of their steamy love scenes because it's more to it than that. You can't hear my argument by just watching one episode and jumping to conclusions...I need you to see BEYOND the obvious & look deeper.

5) Olivia was pursued by Fitz
Olivia hit Fitz and he NEVER saw it coming. In this scene, you see his immediate and undeniable attraction to her, and it's not just on the surface. She basically told him about himself in front of his entire staff, which prompted him to fire her, only to try to get close to her.



4) They can't deny it, no matter how hard they try...OR move on 
They know it's wrong for them to be together (for now) but it's UNDENIABLE. She tried to move on with Edison but he still calls her late at night from the Oval Office. He even used his Presidential power to spy on her and had the Secret Service kidnap her to bring her to him in the middle of nowhere for goodness sake! He wouldn't have gone through all that trouble for a side chick.




3) Fitz does NOT love his wife
If you've been watching the show since day 1, you know that Fitz and Mellie don't like each other...they don't get along...they rarely speak or talk to each other. Everything between them is a political move. Mellie is so caught up in her own agenda that she doesn't really care that Fitz is having an affair. She is playing her own game and is more worried about being First Lady that being Fitz's wife. He even ponders this in front of Olivia (what man NOT in love would put himself down or insult himself for a "side piece):

"Why didn't I meet you sooner? What kind of a coward was I to marry her and not wait for you to show up?" 

2) They really know each other
Fitz knows that Olivia paces in circles when something is wrong...Olivia knows that Fitz loves the outdoors...These little details in the relationship are how I know that it's more than a fling. In this scene, Fitz asks for "one minute" because he knows that's all they have but it's just what they both need. They can't be together right now so they take what they can get.



1) They belong to each other!!!!! 
They have REAL LOVE and PASSION for each other...If you don't believe me then just watch the clip below:

Nicki Minaj Says She's Not Your Child's Parent

I have a morning TV routine that includes Live with Kelly and Michael, ESPN's First Take and The View. Today as I was watching the latter, I had no idea that Nicki Minaj would be on the show so I inadvertently stayed tuned for her entire interview.

She was a guest on the same day that gold-medal gymnast Gabrielle Douglas was co-host for the day, so I was eager to see how she would conduct herself in the presence of one of her young fans.

I'm not a fan of Nicki Minaj but she was surprisingly dressed down and not in her usual outrageous wardrobe. She wore a military-style hat, blazer and midriff-bearing top. When asked about her outfit and whether she should cover up for her young fans (as young as five and six years old), she said that she wouldn't because:

"Five and six year olds need to be parented by their parents. I'm not their parent."

I was glad that she said this because I always wanted to ask her about having young fans but being a rapper that has to also appeal to the core rap demographic; black men. I wanted her to take a stance and put how she felt about the topic out there. While I agree with her in principle, I still think that, whether she wants to or not, she has a responsibility to be a role model because she does have a lot of young fans.

SIDENOTE: I don't think she is the best role model for young girls because her songs go from inspirational ("Fly" and "Moment for Life") to RATCHET ("Stupid Hoe"). 

One of my BIGGEST criticisms of Nicki Minaj has been that I felt she didn't acknowledge the fact that  she has a HUGE influence on young girls. From her hair to the way she dresses to her songs, she has a lot of fans who adore her (she calls her "Barbz") and so she should take a little responsibility for the fans that hang on her every word.

Below is a clip of the interview:

 

~Elle Shanice~ APPROVED ✔: ABC's Scandal

It's May & you know what that means...A POST A DAY IN MAY!!!!! I will have a blog post for you EVERY DAY this month so STAY TUNED...


I have a new favorite TV show that has me on the edge of my seat every Thursday night: ABC's Scandal. 


Not only is it a compelling show that is full of twists & turns but it is also AMAZING to see a powerful yet still vulnerable black woman in charge on TV. 


The show stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, the former White House Communications Coordinator, who now runs her own crisis management firm. She is quick, witty, sharp & doesn't take crap from anyone.

She has a team that will do anything for her & she goes to great lengths to preserve the reputations of her clients. However, Olivia is met head-on by a conflict of her own, that clashes her personal & professional lives together. 


The next episode airs TONIGHT at 10/9c. For more information or to catch up on previous episodes, go to: http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/scandal. Check out the preview for tonight's episode below:

Jaleel White Eliminated From DWTS

It's May & you know what that means...A POST A DAY IN MAY!!!!! I will have a blog post for you EVERY DAY this month so STAY TUNED...

Last night, I said that I was DONE watching Dancing With The Stars because another one of my favorites & a should-be contender Jaleel White was eliminated last night in a dance duel with Roshon Fegan from Disney Channel's Shake It Up.


The dance duel is one of those unexpected twists that they bring on the show to get ratings. They always come up with something crazy to get people watching, from the theme nights to the crazy costumes & elaborate props. 


Jaleel's breakthrough performance in Week 1 made him an instant leader of the pack but I guess the expectations were too high from the judges after that. He was never able to get those high scores consistently & bounced up & down the leader board.  


I've sworn off DWTS several times, especially after Brandy was "voted off" a week before the finale last season. However, every season they find somebody that I want to cheer for & I latched onto "Urkel" from day 1. I also wanted Sherri Shepherd & Gladys Night to do well (which they did), but they were kicked off early too. 


Here is Jaleel's best dance of the season, the Cha Cha during "Mowtown Week" that got him a 29 out of 30 last week. I hoped that this would be the turning point on his road to the Mirrorball Trophy, but unfortunately not.