Oscar winner and former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson has been outspoken about the fact that she has a longterm boyfriend who is an average guy she can depend on. She thanked her boyfriend back home in Chicago during her Oscar acceptance speech. She also said in an interview with Giant Magazine this February that James Peyton, her boyfriend of eight years, was “her rock” and that he “supports her dreams” and that “she couldn’t ask for anything more.”

There was a story this spring that Jennifer promised to marry James if she won an Oscar, and that, true to her word, they were going to tie the knot by New Year’s of this year. James’ career was listed as “maintenance engineer,” but the fact that he was of meager means didn’t seem to bother Jennifer. She went on about him, saying that “it makes more sense for me to date somebody outside of show biz.” and that he’s a “patient, understanding man who’s there for me when I get home. He’s home to me.”

It looks like Hudson is ready to leave home. She’s dumped James in favor of NY Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, who can provide a mansion instead of third floor walkup. He is “outside of show biz,” technically, although he has graced the covers of several entertainment-related magazines, has a publicist, and will appear in two upcoming films. The National Enquirer reports this like Jennifer and James parted amicably, and they could have, but it sounds to me like she didn’t have any time for him once she got famous. It could be true that she’s dating Rhodes as they were photographed out together:

[Jennifer Hudson] traded the Chicago maintenance engineer for New York Jets football player Kerry Rhodes.

“It’s bittersweet for Jennifer because the last thing she wanted to do was break up with James,” revealed a family insider.

“They dated since they were teenagers, but then she got her big break. All of a sudden she was gone a lot, their interests changed and everyone was after her for interviews and work…”

“They both hoped one day she would be famous, but they didn’t realize how difficult the lifestyle would be. So he wished her well and went back to his quiet life in Chicago…”

“Jennifer and James still love one another.”

“With Jennifer’s new schedule, they were barely together anyway. Instead of trying to maintain a long-distance relationship, they decided to end it.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 19, 2007]

This story is also corroborated by In Touch, which says they’re dating. They quote a “source” which says “A friend introduced Jen and Kerry about a month ago. It’s really sweet right now.” [From In Touch, print edition, November 19, 2007]

Kerry Rhodes does seem like a decent guy. The main reason the football hunk was featured on the cover of Essence magazine this August was because of his charitable Rhodes Foundation, which “supports the educational and financial advancement of young people in underserved high schools nationwide.”

Maybe Hudson will learn to keep her feelings close to her ample chest this time so her words don’t come back to bite her.

Here’s Hudson not looking like a stuck up diva or anything on 11/9/07 at the Out 100 Awards. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Update: Hudson and her longterm boyfriend are back together and were seen together shortly after this. They may have either separated briefly or never parted. Many people pointed out that I was unnecessarily harsh to Hudson and that it was unfair to blame the breakup on any selfishness on her part because people split for all sorts of reasons. I do have a poor opinion of her based on her comments about gay people, and think that she’s full of herself. This post was unfair, though, and I’m sorry for that.

MediaTakeOut, a completely unreliable and often incorrect source, is reporting that Beyonce was the first actress considered for the role of Carrie Bradshaw’s assistant in the upcoming Sex and the City Movie. Beyonce made so many demands, including only being willing to wear fur-laden outfits from her mother’s poorly-designed House of Dereon label, that producers decided not to work with her.

According to our insider, Beyonce was all but assured the role. The source tells MediaTakeOut.com, “[Beyonce} read for the role and everyone loved her. She was perfect.”

But once they began negotiating Beyonce’s contract, the trouble began. Our source explained, “Beyonce’s management was pushing [producers] to have her wardrobe consist solely of [House Of Dereon] outfits. We told [them] that we couldn’t do that, but [they] just kept pressing us.”

Then, our insider claims, Beyonce’s team threatened to walk away from the deal. The insider told MediaTakeOut.com, “I think it was just some kind of negotiating strategy [to act like] they weren’t interested, but it backfired. As soon as we started feeling that Beyonce was getting cold feet, we called in other actresses.”

And that’s when Jennifer Hudson came into the picture. Our insider tells, “We knew that Jennifer [Hudson] was interested so we had her read for the part. She was fantastic. She may not be as big a star as Beyonce but she has a strong following and she’s a talented actress … and most importantly, she didn’t have any crazy demands.”

[From MediaTakeOut]

It could be true, especially considering how well known it is that Beyonce is a diva. Still, if Beyonce was about to have a feature role in the film, you think the news would have been out that she was in talks. There were no google results that indicate that there’s a source for this story other than MediaTakeOut, so I doubt it’s true.

Jennifer Hudson was photographed on set yesterday looking silly in a black trenchcoat, Burberry boots and a Chanel tweed flap purse. I thought that purse was super ugly, and the purse afficionados over at The Purse Page agree with me:

She’s looking good as usual, save for…well, most of that outfit. I’m trying to divert my attention from the foul boots, but then I’m drawn to that purse. And that purse ain’t pretty. Usually Chanel can be relied on to save the day in a disastrous moment, but that doesn’t seem to apply to the line’s new Tweed Flap Bag, which features a clearly disastrous combination of fringe and embroidered pearl piping. Fortunately this isn’t real life - Jennifer doesn’t need any more fashion faux pas after the python bolero incident at the Oscars, does she?

[From The Purse Page]

A lot of the fashion on the Sex and the City movie will involve risky pieces that don’t necessarily work, and that’s an integral part of the plot and Carrie’s character. If MediaTakeOut is right about Beyonce getting passed over for insisting on using her own wardrobe choices, that means that producers wanted to make their own choices about which overpriced bad fashion to feature. Maybe House of Dereon stuff just isn’t hideous enough.

Thanks to WENN for these pictures.

Valentino celebrated his 45th anniversary as a top designer with a star-studded three day affair in Rome this weekend to the tune of over $10 million. Celebrities including Uma Thurman, Claire Danes, Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Hudson, Liz Hurley, Eva Mendes, Claudia Schiffer, Joan Collins, Rupert Everett, and Guan Yin attended a fashion show, exhibition, dinner, and gala ball in honor of the famed designer.

The bash kicked off on Friday with a gala dinner in the 2nd century Temple of Venus in the shadow of the Colosseum.

Valentino, 75, spent a reported £135,000 restoring the ancient monument built by the Emperor Hadrian and flew in royal florist Rob Van Helden from London to bedeck columns with garlands of flowers.

He also launched an exhibition of his creations in the city’s Ara Pacis museum with examples of his coveted designs showcased behind bulletproof glass.

Visitors were greeted by a giant red glass cube encasing one of his earlier dresses, then led along a walkway featuring 300 of his designs in red, black and white on mannequins.

The collection included sequined and ruffled gowns worn by the likes of Audrey Hepburn after Valentino opened his first boutique in Rome in the 1960s.

On Saturday a 1,000-strong audience watched him unveil his latest collection of 61 outfits in the medieval Santo Spirito in Sassia church near the Vatican.

The opulent bash continued with a lavish party in the grounds of historic Villa Borghese and the launch of his new perfume, Rock’n'Rose Couture.

[From The Daily Mail]

While the 74 year-old Valentino has not mentioned that he’s retiring, his fashion house was taken over by a private equity group in May, with the handover to be finished sometime this summer. His partner said that everything would continue as usual under the new owners, but the equity group that has acquired the firm is known for cost-cutting and are expected to reign in Valentino’s excessive spending. At least he’ll always have Rome.

Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.

Jennifer Hudson says she’s not a diva and she’s upset at the media twisting her words and making her seem like she’s ungrateful for her newfound fame. Both TMZ and Page Six have been making it seem like she’s too haughty for her own good after she called American Idol “abusive” and a “stepping stone.” Simon Cowell was pissed that she seemed to dismiss the role of Idol in making her famous, but her words may have been misconstrued and we reported that she was more than gracious and realistic about Idol in an interview with Diane Sawyer before the Oscars. TMZ even offered up some video of Simon Cowell praising Hudson, but was careful to cut out a rude comment he made about her weight right afterwards.

Hudson recently told Radio host Jawn Murray of the Tom Joyner morning show that all the negative press has hurt her feelings and that it’s not true that she tried to ditch the Soul Train awards at the last minute:

In an exclusive interview, she tells Jawn Murray of “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” that she’s been “hurt” by the backlash since her Oscar triumph, especially allegations that she tried to ditch the “Soul Train Music Awards” and that she demeaned “American Idol” as a mere “stepping stone.” Page Six reported last week that Hudson tried to back out of the “Soul Train ” show, where she received an award. “Why would they dog me out after I was one of the only people to show up on the show?” asks Hudson.

And as for her calling “Idol” a stepping stone — to which Simon Cowell made a pointed and sneering reference on a recent episode — Hudson acknowledges that she did, but says, “I didn’t mean it in a bad way … ‘American Idol’ is a stepping stone because had it not been for them, no one would have known of a Jennifer Hudson to call to audition for ‘Dreamgirls.’” Hudson adds that she’s actually met this year’s “Idol” contenders and taped a segment with them — all at her own request.

Hudson is clearly learning that getting famous as meteorically as she has ain’t no dream, girl: “It’s like everything I say referring to the show gets twisted around and makes me look like I’m being arrogant and a diva.”

Hudson’s Golden Globe acceptance speech seemed kind of haughty to me, but she came off better in her tearful Oscar speech (links leads to video.) I do think she’s not entirely down to earth and she’s got a kind of holier-than-thou personality, but she also speaks her mind and seems to be getting a bad rap she doesn’t deserve.

Hudson is rumored to be planning to marry her long term boyfriend, a maintenance engineer, by the end of the year. She calls him her “childhood sweetheart,” and he was the first person she thanked in her Oscar acceptance speech.

25 year-old Jennifer Hudson has a boyfriend from her hometown who has patiently stood by her throughout her skyrocketing career. She calls James or “Jamie” Payton her “childhood sweetheart” and says “He’s seen it all and been through it all with me. I’m the dreamer, and he supports my dreams - always has. He’s happy to be my rock and let me fly and I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”

Hudson is said to have promised Payton that she would marry him if she won an Oscar, and now these two may tie the knot by the end of the year.

The Academy Award winner made a vow to James Payton - her boyfriend of eight years - that she would marry him if she captured the Oscar for best supporting actress.

The down-to-earth star has agreed to walk down the aisle with the Chicago maintenance engineer by New Year’s.

[From The National Enquirer print edition, March 12, 2007]

I bet she will marry him. Most young women would move on to Hollywood types after hitting it big, but Hudson tries to remain true to the people she loves and to herself. She recently turned down a movie role paying $3 million because the film featured nudity - but not from her character!

Someone is out to get Hudson. People are up in arms over TMZ’s negative portrayal of Hudson. Some say they’re trying to smear her by continually reporting that she’s ungrateful to idol and by only showing Simon treating her well on the show when he in fact criticized her weight in a clip they cut off to just show the positive parts. Hudson is also said to have praised American Idol in a Diane Sawyer interview, and to have credited her career to Idol despite Simon dissing her for supposedly downplaying it. [via Oh No They Didn’t]

Now there’s a doubtful quote from Hudson saying she didn’t thank Burger King for her career, so why should she thank American Idol? Since there was just a story about how Hudson chatted with Burger King workers and told them she used to work there, too, I think someone made up that quote. It doesn’t sound like her at all: “If I’d been any better at my job when I was at Burger King in my middle teens I wouldn’t be here either, so should I thank them too?”

Here’s Hudson at the Soul Train Awards on 3/10. [via]

Simon Cowell is pissed that Jennifer Hudson called American Idol a “stepping stone” to her fabulous career. He thinks she’s downplaying the role of his show in making her famous, and that without Idol she’d be nothing. He also thinks Taylor Hicks sucks and says he doesn’t have what it takes to sell records despite winning last season.

Cowell did all this trash-talking at a discussion panel for the Museum of Radio and Television:

“Jennifer Hudson said American Idol was a ’stepping stone’ for her. Stepping stone? It was her big opportunity to become noticed and she got noticed and she got Dreamgirls,” Cowell said, noting that other past contestants “deliberately turn against the show that made them successful. The reason (people) come on the show is because all the doors had been slammed in their face.”

As for Taylor Hicks, who won season 5’s competition, “They (Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson) loved him. I couldn’t stand him. I didn’t get it,” Cowell snapped, adding that “at the end of the day you have to find a bona fide recording artist. Just because you win the show doesn’t mean you will sell a lot of records. Chris (Daughtry) is the one who sold the albums, not Taylor.”

This isn’t surprising coming from Cowell as he always talks smack. Hudson should have called American Idol her big break, but maybe she mischaracterized it or wants to downplay it as she moves on to other things.

It doesn’t seem like it matters how far finalists get in the competition as long as they’re given other opportunities. People has a nice gallery of Idol runners up on their website. Diana Degarmo, who was runner-up in Season Three to Fantasia Barrino, is performing on Broadway but until I read about it I had completely forgotten her. I found her rather annoying on Idol and although she could belt out the tunes and did a wide range of numbers I was surprised she made it so far.

Hudson finished Season Three in seventh place, and it was a shocker when she was voted off so early. Elton John called the voting “incredibly racist” after he noticed Hudson’s talent and she was voted off. It looks like it really didn’t matter and she was spared a lot of stress in the finals as she moved on to better things. Since she was voted off the show realitively early, maybe that’s why she’s calling it a stepping stone instead of a milestone.

Here are pictures of Jennifer Hudson when she was on American Idol from AmericanIdolJenniferHudson.com.

Despite two nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio was bested in the best actor in a drama category by Forrest Wittaker for his performance as evil Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.

Babel won best drama at last night’s Golden Globes, while Dreamgirls was crowned in the best comedy or musical category.

Dreamgirls garnered the most awards, with supporting actor and actress awards going to Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson.

Everyone’s favorite faux Kazakh, Sacha Baron Cohen, won best actor in a comedy for his portrayal of Borat in Cultural Learnings of America.

Here’s the full list of movie winners:

Picture, Drama: “Babel”

Actress, Drama: Helen Mirren, “The Queen”

Actor, Drama: Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”

Picture, Musical or Comedy: “Dreamgirls”

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”

Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy, “Dreamgirls”

Director: Martin Scorsese, “The Departed”

Movie Screenplay: Peter Morgan, “The Queen”

Foreign Language: “Letters From Iwo Jima,” USA/Japan

Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, “The Painted Veil”

Original Song: “The Song of the Heart” from “Happy Feet”

Animated Film: “Cars”

I have to agree that “Cars” was the best animated film. I’ve seen it about ten times since my son loves it so much, and it hasn’t annoyed me yet.

Images found at Yahoo! News.

Jennifer Hudson might be getting a lot of positive press for her kick ass role in Dreamgirls, but her recent statements are sure to cast a ashadow over all the positive buzz. She says that being gay is a sin, but it’s - you know, not any worse than other sin. She means like stealing and cheating on your wife, right? What bothers me is her opinion of course, which is antiquated and bigoted, but also that she talks about herself in the third person and uses the tired “I have gay friends” excuse. That’s so fucking stupid:

As a Baptist who’s singing at circuit party, has Hudson reconciled her spiritual beliefs and her gay fan base? Does she support same-sex marriage?
“Nobody has ever asked me these questions,” she says.
“Everybody sins,” Hudson continues. “No sin is greater or different than the other. To each his own. If it don’t bother Jennifer, then Jennifer don’t mind. I don’t really even think about it because I don’t believe in judging people for what they do.”

When referencing themselves, lots of divas probably do that schizophrenic thing where they toggle between first and third person. But did Hudson just say that being gay is a sin?

“According to the way we’re taught, and what it says in the Bible — it is,” Hudson says.

If her answers didn’t already sound like fundamentalist clichés, Hudson then added, “I have plenty of gay friends.”

Her answers were surprising.

I had a hunch that Hudson was religious. But when it came to questions about the gay community, I had hoped she might emerge with a thoughtful response.

Because she’s a relatively new star, some may say it’s unfair that Hudson should be asked to comment on social issues. But another reporter at the roundtable pointed out that Hudson is a zaftig, dark-skinned woman. He asked Hudson if she feels a responsibility to represent young African-American women in a positive light.

“I do think it’s important to be a good role model,” she says. “It just occurred to me a few days ago that I might be a role model. I’m sure that’s a part that comes with the territory. And I want to make sure I represent them well. And give all females — no matter what age, what race — something to look up to.”
Part of “Dreamgirls” chronicles the rise of the Civil Rights movement. I tell Hudson that gay audiences might feel a connection because they’re still fighting for equal rights. And when it comes to same-sex issues, all sorts of people might look to Hudson to shed positive light.

“I feel we should all have our rights,” she says. “It shouldn’t concern everybody else what somebody’s personal life has going on.”

Hudson has said this before, so it’s not new news, but now that she’s getting so much press she should realize it’s time to stop talking about it.

It seems like she answered this question because she’s not media-savvy enough to know that she should keep her mouth shut and change the subject. She has a right to an opinion no matter how much it makes me shake my head and hope that her career will tank, but she should realize that it’s going to hurt her in Hollywood if she continues to talk about it openly.

She also says she “thinks the world of the gay community” and “if they love me, I must be fierce, honey.”

Do you think the gay community is going to overlook the fact that she says they’re all a bunch of sinners?

I was all “go Hudson,” yesterday, because even though I’ve heard this about her before I completely forgot about it. Now it’s not so easy to see her as this up and coming star that has earned her success.

Pictures and story from Faded Youth and ONTD.

Update: Maybe you guys are right that I’m just as bad as Hudson for condemning her for an opinion. It’s an emotional topic and I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut about it. I have gay family members though and it really annoys me when people say it’s somehow a sinful “lifestyle.”

Jennifer Hudson of “American Idol” fame is generating Oscar buzz with her amazing upcoming role in “Dreamgirls.” Beyonce plays a backup character in the film adaptation of the musical and is second fiddle to Hudson. Beyonce denied that there’s any rivalry between her and Hudson, but people are saying that her comments show otherwise. She told reporters that she wanted to play Hudson’s central role of Effie, of course, and wish she could of gained the 20 pounds required for for the role:

“I knew that the character that I played wasn’t the star,” Knowles, 25, told reporters on Saturday about knowing full well that her Diana Ross-esque role of Deena Jones was less meaty than Hudson’s part as Effie White – a part that is already getting Hudson Oscar buzz. “She wasn’t the underdog. She didn’t have the struggle and the pain and the dramatic scenes that Effie had, and I was fine with that.” Taking the role was about proving herself as an actress. “I’m already a star. I already have nine Grammys. Everyone knows I can sing,” Knowles said. “I did this because I wanted people to know that I can act and I can play someone so different from myself.” “Because I’m a star they just automatically assume that I’m not humble enough to sit down and take a back seat, which I am.” But the R&B star did admit that she would have liked to have sung Effie’s song, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” a showstopper that, in large part, helped get Jennifer Holliday a Tony Award for best actress for the original 1981 Broadway version of Dreamgirls. “I mean,” said Knowles, “I wish I could’ve gained 20 pounds and played Effie.” Asked if she’d really have packed on the weight for the part, Knowles said, “Yes. I absolutely would have, but Bill (Condon, the movie’s writer-director) didn’t even believe that I could be Deena. So imagine if I would’ve said, ‘Bill, I want to be Effie.’ “ And Knowles has high praise for Hudson’s portrayal of Effie. “Jennifer Hudson had such a pressure, first of all, never being in a film and never have done an album and still having to live up to those expectations,” said Knowles. “She did incredible.”

It does sound like Beyonce is calling Hudson fat, and is suggesting that Hudson got the role because she’s heavier. Hudson did actually gain 20 pounds for that film according to Wikipedia, so Beyonce might not have meant it as harshly as it came off.

Commentor kailie2 notes that Beyonce’s rumored wedding to Jay-Z next weekend may be her attempt to gain back the spotlight dominated by newcomer Hudson’s sheer talent.

That’s a pretty good theory considering how much praise and publicity Hudson is getting:

Hudson, taking over the role of Effie played on stage by Jennifer Holliday, is in charge of “Dreamgirls” from her opening scene, blowing away Grammy-winner Beyoncé Knowles, Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx and anyone else who gets in her way.

When she sings “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” - one of the most heartfelt cries of pain ever written for a musical - Hudson inscribes her name on an Oscar.

“Dreamgirls” is out in the states tomorrow, 12/6. Here’s the trailer:

Header image found at Bossip.