Janet Jackson, Linda Evangelista, Dita Von Teese Help to Raise $1.1 Million at Inaugural amfAR Milano Event

Kanye West, Donatella Versace, Rachel Bilson Also in Attendance - Event Presented by DSQUARED², BMW GROUP ITALIA, AND LAMBERTZ

Milan, Italy, September 29, 2009 - Janet Jackson, Linda Evangelista, Dita Von Teese, Kanye West, Rachel Bilson, Dean and Dan Caten, Cristina Lucchini, Chanel Iman, Noemie Lenoir, Anja Rubik, Donatella Versace, and Alek Wek were among those who came out to La Permanente last night in support of amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. amfAR Milano, the Foundation’s inaugural event held in conjunction with Milan Fashion Week, raised $1.1 million for amfAR’s lifesaving research programs.


Janet Jackson, longtime dedicated philanthropist and HIV/AIDS activist, chaired the event along with Asia Argento, Roberto Bolle, Dr. Hermann Bühlbecker, Andrea Castronovo, Dean and Dan Caten, Lapo Elkann, Linda Evangelista, and Cristina Lucchini.

Other guests who attended the gala included Roberta Armani, Arturo Artom, Tommaso Aquilano, Caterina Balivo, Neil Barrett, Giovanna Battaglia, Matilde Borromeo, Bianca Brandolini D’Adda, Coco Brandolini d’Adda, Maria Buccellati, Michael Burke, Ennio Capasa, Cristiana Capotondi, Beatrice Carbone, Rosita Celentano, Valentina Cervi, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Rosana Davison, Poppy Delevinge, Antonia Dell’Atte, Peter Dundas, Delfina Delettrez Fendi, Ferruccio Ferragamo, Benedetta Mazzini, Angela Missoni, Camila Missoni, Margherita Maccapani Missoni, Teresa Missoni, Martina Mondadori, Alessandra Moschillo, Saverio Moschillo, Chiara Muti, Pavlina Nemcova, Michele Norsa, Sara Nuru, Anna Piaggi, Pier Paolo Piccioli, Camila Raznovich, John Richmond, Roberto Rimondi, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, Renzo Rosso, Remo Ruffini, Peter Sartogo, Clarence Seedorf, Luca Stoppini, Simona Ventura, and Giuseppe Zanotti.

amfAR Milano was presented by DSquared², BMW Group Italia, and Lambertz, along with media partner Vanity Fair and hotel partner Westin Palace Milano. The black tie dinner and auction was followed by an after-party deejayed by Bob Sinclar.

Linda Evangelista opened the event, welcoming guests and praising the dedicated support of the fashion industry in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Evangelista recalled the desperate times of the early epidemic, praised the progress made in treatment and prevention thus far, and expressed hope for a cure through research. The supermodel introduced amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost who went on to speak about the recent headline news of an experimental AIDS vaccine that has shown promising results.

“That is the power of research,” Frost said, and “many in the field of AIDS research believe, as I do, that we have seen a flicker of light.” Frost thanked amfAR Milano chairs, sponsors, and guests and encouraged them to continue their support of the research efforts that will ultimately lead to a cure for AIDS.

DSquared² designers Dean and Dan Caten then introduced Janet Jackson. Jackson took the stage to uproarious applause and made heartfelt comments about the “5,000 lives lost to AIDS every day.” She encouraged those in the room to “please keep fighting this battle…so that we can realize our dreams of a world without AIDS.”

Burlesque artist Dita Von Teese, a longtime amfAR supporter, celebrated her birthday on the evening of the event. Von Teese closed the night by treating guests to a special performance of “Le Bain Noir.”

The live auction was a highlight of the evening and included a one-of-a-kind custom DSquared² jacket, designed especially for amfAR Milano 2009, and signed by many of the celebrities in the room, including Janet Jackson, Dita Von Teese, Kanye West, and Linda Evangelista. The jacket was modeled onstage by Chanel Iman and sold to Diesel designer Renzo Rosso for $52,683.

Dean and Dan Caten auctioned off a private DJ lesson with the acclaimed Bob Sinclar in his Paris studio. Sinclar joined the designers on stage to help with the effort and the lesson sold for $40,975.

Alek Wek and Giuseppe Zanotti auctioned off a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti boots designed exclusively by Mr. Zanotti for Michael Jackson to be worn on the opening night of his planned come-back tour. The dazzling hand-embellished boots sold for $14,634.

French model Noemie Lenoir made the impromptu decision to go out on a date with the highest bidder in the room and, in doing so, raised $16,097.



Other auction highlights included:

Bianca Brandolini D’Adda auctioned off a one-of-a-kind Fendi Selleria bicycle personalized for amfAR Milano with features including hand-cut, sewn, and assembled leather detailing, and a GPS navigator, for $23,414;

A weekend at the Goodwood Revival and private tour of the Rolls-Royce factory donated by BMW Group Italia sold for $7,317;

American Girl In Italy, 1951 by Ruth Orkin, an iconic print by the celebrated American photographer, sold to Giuseppe Zanotti for $26,341;

A chance to join the crew of the Born for Sports 140’ record-breaking sailing yacht in its attempt to beat the Trans-Mediterranean record sold for $26,341;

AC Milan footballer Clarence Seedorf and Dr. Hermann Bühlbecker helped to auction off a Milan Football package including a private meet and greet with Football great Dejan Stankovic of Inter Milano, seats at an Inter Milano match and a championship AC Milan match, a weekend at the Westin Palace Hotel, and a Quintessentially membership, for $21,951.



About amfAR

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $290 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.

amfAR recognizes American Airlines for its commitment to the fight against AIDS and its generous support of amfAR’s mission

50 Cent Defends Kanye West-Lady Gaga “Gay Tour” Comment + “Fame Kills” Tour Cancelled

During an interview with New York radio host Angie Martinez, rapper 50 Cent accused Kanye of pandering to the gay community and called his join-tour with Lady Gaga “the gay tour.”

“Kanye’s cool with the gay folk,” said 50. “I have nothing against them, but he’s cool with them. He goes, drops his video off to them. Remember 808s & Heartbreak? Where’d he premiere it? Ellen DeGeneres. He went there to premiere his video. He’s conscious of the gay community and wants them to buy his CDs.”

After receiving a bit of backlash for his comments, 50 took to his website to release the following statement: “During an interview with Angie Martinez yesterday, certain comments I made were taken entirely out of context. When I referred to the Lady Gaga tour as ‘the gay tour,’ I was basically repeating what I thought she had referred to the tour in the past. It was not my intention to offend anyone. I don’t have a problem with anyone’s lifestyle and have no issue with Lady Gaga. She makes great music.”

Hmmm. The fact Kanye’s name was left out of his apology only affirms it was 50s original intention to take a shot at Kanye and his perceived sexuality.

In more “Fame Kills” news, tour promoter Live Nation out of nowhere issued a press release yesterday (October 1) announcing the cancellation of the much-anticipated tour. There’s speculation Kanye’s recent antics - VMAs mic snatch and tantrums over chicken - was just more than Gaga wished to deal with. Damn, looks like fame killed the tour before it could even begin. Smh

Check out a video from 50's interview with Angie below..

Kanye Spazzes Out At Benefit Concert Over Chicken

Kanye West appeared over the weekend at Common’s benefit concert at the Hollywood Palladium and according to sources backstage, threw a temper tantrum over not getting a plate of chicken. No really, we couldn’t dream this up if we tried.

He supposedly became angered when he saw a man eating chicken, and yelled, “Why wasn’t I offered chicken? You want me to perform for free, [and] everyone is eating… why am I not eating?”

The waitress attempted to calm down the baby rapper and explained he never asked for food, but was interrupted by Kanye who yelled, “Well, I’m asking now.” Once he received the chicken, witnesses say he took a bite and then threw the rest in the trash. All the while, Amber Rose looked on in silence amid the other celebrities backstage who watched with jaws dropped.




Mr. Ye, I'm gonna need you to really stop acting like a coon now....

Kanye West & Lady Gaga “Fame Kills” Tour Trailer

Here’s a recently released trailer for the upcoming Kanye West and Lady Gaga “Fame Kills” Tour.


Check it out....


Fame Kills from kwest on Vimeo.

Affion’s “Hunt Chris Brown” Spoof Video

MTV’s Wild ‘n Out alum Affion Crockett spoffed Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” music video. Affion’s version, dubbed “Hunt Chris Brown,” features Affion playing multiple characters including Jay-Z, Kanye and Chris Brown.

Funny shit... Check it out below...

Kanye West Talks Gay Rumors & Acceptance

Putting the drama of the VMAs behind him, Kanye West sat down with Devi Dev to talk about Bloggers, fashion, his legacy and once again, gay rumors that have surrounded him. While he adamantly denied being gay, he also advocated acceptance of gay people in the Black community. “First of all what we need to get past… as Black people, especially, is the concept that gay people are bad,” he explained. “Because if people accept them, then the concept of someone being gay or being cool with someone gay wouldn’t even matter if you have acceptance. So the thing is…because they don’t have acceptance of gay people, that’s the reason why they try to use it as the thing to try to bring me down.”

Kanye then spoke proudly of the gay people in his life. “The gay people that I actually know…are so genius and bring such incredible gifts to the world,” he said. “The only gay people I know are like some of the most incredible people on the planet actually.”



Check out audio of the interview below.

Obama Calls Kanye A “Jackass” For VMA Stunt

It’s seems everyone has something to say about Kanye West interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the VMAs, even the President of the United States. During an interview on CNBC yeserday (September 14), President Obama called Kanye a “jackass.” This portion of the interview was off-the-record. ABC News reporter Terry Moran leaked Obama’s comment via Twitter but then deleted it.

50 Cent To Kanye: I Would Have Blacked His Eye

In an interview on MOD, rapper 50 Cent gave his two cents on the Kanye-Taylor Swift VMA moment. “I wish he would come take one of my awards, so I can black his eye in front of everybody,” said the rapper.

Kanye's tired ass apology to Taylor Swift

Kanye West Goes Shirtless For Liberation Next

Kanye West posed shirtless for the cover of french magazine Liberation Next.

Lady Gaga To Kanye: My Music Is Gay, My Show Is Gay… And It’s Going To Remain Gay

In a recent interview with Out magazine, Lady Gaga admitted that before she agreed to go on tour with Kanye West this fall, she told him, “I just want to be clear before we decide to do this together: I’m gay. My music is gay. My show is gay. And I love that it’s gay. And I love my gay fans and they’re all going to be coming out to our show. And it’s going to remain gay.”


Well, while Lady Gaga’s candor was much appreciated, it may have been an unnecessary declaration. Obviously, Lady Gaga wasn’t in attendance at Kanye’s “Glow in the Dark” show in New York City last year (August 2008). He closed out the show with a 20 minute PSA, ok, it was really like 5 minutes but it felt like 20, speaking out against homophobia and the use of homophobic slurs. Kanye’s a friend to the gays honey.

Video of Kanye speaking out against homophobia...

Kanye West Gets “Paranoid” With Rihanna

Kanye West recently shot the video for his song “Paranoid,” off his 808s & Heartbreak album. Rihanna, who recorded a remixed version of the track last fall, also appeared in the video. As for working with Rihanna in this video, Kanye said, “Yep, she’s my Paranoid girl in the video. She’s an amazing talent though. Collaborating with her is always a pleasure!”