Here are some more photos from last night’s VH1 Divas concert (which airs tonight). I already covered the Jennifer Hudson tragedy here. This is just a post for the other divas and their fashion. First up: Mary J. Blige in Michael Kors. I like the dress, Mary looks fit and lovely, and my only real complaint is about the blonde wig. I hate it. I think Mary is so pretty, and she looks so much better when she looks more natural, and this wig does nothing for her.

OMG, Dolly! Dolly is so amazing. Do not say one bad thing about her.

Here’s Florence Welch in Antonio Berardi… sigh. Look, I like Florence Welch, I adore Florence + the Machine, but I’m still not buying Florence as a fashion girl. Everyone is pushing that on her, though. Meh.

50 Cent and Chaka Khan? Um, that’s kind of awesome.

Common, just because he’s hot.

Here’s Jessie J, who I don’t really know anything about. That Falguni dress is epic in its awfulness, though. Completely sheer and then a heavy dust ruffle at the bottom? Just do like Gaga and wear your underwear on the red carpet.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Kaiser covered the bigger names at last night’s American Music Awards, but here we have some more fashion for you. To start there’s Jenny McCarthy in purple Victoria Beckham. I would like this dress with some sexy strappy heels, but those booties are too informal for the red carpet. I really like her hair, that sideswept look is so pretty. Jenny’s makeup is a little severe, but it’s not terrible.

Audrina Patridge still working it like it’s 2006. She has a killer body but that’s a dress for Vegas, not an awards show. Look at her ridiculous stripper heels!

Here’s Julie Bowen getting it wrong again in a sparkly stripe tube dress. Her legs look great, I’ll give her that, but she’s looking gaunt otherwise, and that hair! It’s too messy looking.

Mary J. Blige was bizarre in animal print Cavalli. The print on that dress is way too realistic and it has a weird effect on the eye. It’s like she’s wearing a Halloween costume, not a dress. Plus she’s got on huge earrings that don’t really go with the look. Fug.

Katherine Heigl was also in Cavalli, in slightly more flattering plunging chiffon. I swear I can see her implant scar in one of these photos, and that dress just emphasizes how fake her boobs look. Her hair is not cute at all like that, but it’s short now so she probably didn’t know what to do with it. Katherine and her husband, singer Josh Kelley, presented the award for best Favorite Country Album, which went to Taylor Swift.

And Nicki Minaj wore an Oscar de La Renta gown with a lace bodice and lime green bubble skirt. It’s like she’s channeling Lady Gaga with her fashion and Katy Perry with her hair. Minaj took home awards for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album, for “Pink Friday.” I do like her shoes, she picked some nice strappy heels that didn’t overwhelm her already overwhelming outfit. For her, this look is pretty decent.

Thanks to JustJared and RedCarpet-Fashion Awards for the designer IDs. Photos are credit: Apega/WENN.com and Juan Rico/Fame Pictures

Halle Berry was at the Fifi fragrance awards awards last night in a draped black dress with an asymmetric angular cutout around the side of her stomach. Apart from the bizarre middle of the dress she otherwise looked flawless. I love her stacked gold hoop earrings that match the gold detailing on the dress. Her other accessories, a chunky black ring and clutch, are minimal and just serve to highlight how gorgeous she is. She wore very understated strappy heels and overall she worked that look. If she would have just picked a dress that covered her stomach she would have knocked it out of the park. As it is, I keep staring at her paler stomach and noticing that it doesn’t match the rest of her skin tone. Cutout dresses are all the rage now, but usually the panels aren’t as wide and showy as this one.

Fergie was also there in a jarring yellow flowing gown with a single sequin strap running from the bustline to the neck. It wasn’t her worst outfit, but the color had green undertones that didn’t flatter her. Plus it looks too dressy for this event. Her makeup was pretty and neutral, but her hair looked limp and messy, like it was just air dried.

Kate Walsh wore a burgundy strapless cocktail dress accented with a skinny black belt. She looks really hot here and like she put some thought into it and didn’t try too hard.

Mary J. Blige was in a fitted floor length white sequin gown. I think she overdid it with the accessories, but it’s a pretty dress and I see what she was going for.

Padma Laksmi had on a busy strapless fuschia number with a sweetheart neckline. I don’t like it from far away but when you zoom in it’s actually quite striking.

Photo credit: Fame Pictures

I know Mary J. Blige has her fair share of issues, but I love her anyway. I think she’s done a lot of growing up the past five or six years, and her interviews reflect that she’s a strikingly different, more mature, classier woman than the drama-filled diva a decade ago. Mary was honored at a charity event in New York last night, and she spoke to People Magazine about her life with her husband of six years, Martin Kendu Isaacs, and his three children from previous relationships. Mary says that she’s not really interested in adopting or fostering kids (the event was for children’s issues), and that she’s got “her own” kids, meaning her stepchildren.

Don’t expect Mary J. Blige to join the ranks of celebrities adopting – she’s already got her hands full.

“I don’t think I’ll do foster care or adopt, to be quite honest,” the singer, 38, said at the Cipriani 42nd Street for New Yorkers for Children event where she was honored. “I barely have time for my own children. To adopt more children and not have time for them, that [would be] poor parenting on my [part].”

Blige is stepmother to two children, Jordan, 11, and Nas, 10, with husband Kendu Isaacs, who also has a grown daughter, Brianna, 23.

“I wouldn’t adopt, but what I will do is give my time and go and try to be there for people,” she said.

As for her own brood, she caught PEOPLE up on their goals: “One [Jordan] is a film director already – she’s working on it. That’s her goal. And the other [Nas] is a philosopher, a public speaker. He speaks very well already.”

[From People]

This interview reminded me of Sandra Bullock’s previous statements about her ambivalence with having biological kids. Sandy’s a step-mom to her husband’s three kids, and she’s very involved in their lives. I get the feeling Mary J. is the same way, which is really cool. By the way, I don’t really care for Mary’s dress for the event, but I am in love with those earrings – they look like big diamond feathers. So. Cool.

The list of celebrities that Carrie Underwood doesn’t respect must be getting pretty long. Yesterday she told website Just Jared that she thinks celebs should keep their politics to themselves, and she doesn’t respect them if they publicly support a candidate.

Carrie Underwood has a message for Oprah, Diddy, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and even Heidi and Spencer: Don’t publicly back candidates for office.

“There is someone I do support, but I don’t support publicly,” she tells TV Guide, as excerpted by Just Jared. “I lose all respect for celebrities when they back a candidate.

“It’s saying that the American public isn’t smart enough to make their own decisions,” she goes on. “I would never want anybody to vote for anything or anybody just because I told them to.

“Music is where you go to get away from all the BS,” adds Underwood, who recently apologized for saying ex Tony Romo still calls her. “Whether it’s from politics or just the world around you, music should be an escape.”

[From Us Weekly]

I think it’s fine to keep your political opinions to yourself, but it is just as okay to shout them from the roof. Music is no one thing. It shouldn’t just be an escape. That’s one of many things it can be. It can also be about a cause, about a change, and moving people towards action. That’s pretty much the opposite of an escape.

Underwood would probably have a big problem with Beyonce, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, and Diddy. All of them have shown up in Philadelphia encouraging people to vote for Obama.

“Everyone is excited and it’s time,” the singer tells PopEater. “I feel like we have grown so much as a nation and we will continue to grow because of Mr. Obama.”

Beyoncé’s admiration goes beyond just the Democratic candidate himself, and extends to his entire family. “I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Obama, his wife and his children, and they are the American dream,” she says. “They are so elegant, so classy, so intelligent and everything that I want to be. They make me really proud of my country.”

The Grammy winner’s husband Jay-Z has already been a strong supporter of the campaign, performing at Obama benefits and rallies across the country.

[From OK! Magazine]

Jay-Z and Diddy both talked about how important Pennsylvania is to Obama, and encouraged everyone to get out and vote today.

“John McCain desperately needs Philadelphia, but you can tell him ‘You cannot have Pennsylvania,’” said Jay-Z.

But McCain does have a chance to win Pennsylvania’s 21 electoral votes, if voter turnout is low in urban centers like Philadelphia.

The star-studded cast of this block rally is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen.

They’re working hard to get new voters to the polls.

“It’s about the youth vote, it’s about the long lines and getting them prepared. The youth vote will decide the next president of the United States,” said Sean “Diddy” Combs. “They said we wouldn’t come out, they said we wouldn’t vote, but we’re going to shock the world tomorrow.”

[From ABC Local]

I remember actress Patricia Heaton complaining several years ago about how hard it is to be a conservative in Hollywood. Certainly they are in the minority, and I understand why a lot of people there would simply prefer to avoid political discussions completely. But I think Underwood’s assertion that celebs speaking about political issues that matter to them somehow makes them unworthy of respect is rather extreme. I seriously doubt many people who were going to vote for McCain will switch their vote around because Jay-Z and Beyonce like Obama.

Here’s Carrie at The American Idol Grand Finale 2008 in LA in May. Images thanks to Fame.

Professional and non-professional sports have been rocked by steroid scandals in the last few years. On Friday we told you about Marion Jones getting six months in prison for lying to a federal grand jury about her steroid use. It’s now becoming clear that the use of steroids and human growth hormones spreads much further than the sports world. In an ongoing inquiry, the Albany County district attorney has found thousands of people that have illegally obtained prescriptions for steroids or HGH, including rappers 50 Cent, Timbaland, and Wyclef Jean, along with singer Mary J. Blige and writer/producer/actor/morality comedian Tyler Perry.

It’s obviously pretty unlikely that any of these celebrities were taking steroids to increase their home runs. The more likely motivation is bulking up and anti-aging.

A spokeswoman for Ms. Blige, Karynne Tencer, said: “Mary J. Blige has never taken any performance-enhancing illegal steroids.” Ms. Tencer added that Ms. Blige had not taken any antiaging steroids either.

Representatives for the others were not immediately available for comment.

None of the celebrities was accused of violating the law. Instead, the investigation has focused on stopping the flow of the drugs by cracking down on doctors who illegally prescribe them without seeing patients, and on the so-called anti-aging clinics, pharmacies and other distributors that supply the drugs.

[From the New York Times]

I was looking at pictures of the above mentioned celebrities, speculating about what they might have taken steroids or HGH for. With Mary J. Blige, I’d assume it’s about anti-aging, as it’s pretty rare (though obviously not unheard of) for a woman to try to bulk up. Tyler Perry is also very youthful looking – when I first saw him perform a few years ago, I assumed he was in his late twenties, but he’s actually 38. Wyclef Jean is 35, and looking pretty good in recent photos on Splash’s website. 50 Cent, 32, has always had a bit of a baby face, and Timbaland, 36, I would say looks about his age. It’s really hard to guess what people might have been using steroids or HGH for. Lighting, makeup, and genetics all play a big part in how celebrities look in photographs. Unless someone’s quickly gotten huge, it’s pretty hard to speculate about steroids. But something tells me at least half of the people mentioned were probably worried more about anti-aging than they are about looking beefy.

It’s important to note that none of these celebs have been accused of breaking the law, but rather of patronizing doctors, clinics, and pharmacies that are prescribing the drugs illegally.

Steroids are regulated as controlled substances, but growth hormone is not. Proposed legislation would reclassify growth hormone and more tightly restrict its use… drugs were shipped to celebrities, sometimes under pseudonyms, at their homes, studios and hotels and through the Clay Fitness Club and Spa on West 14th Street in Manhattan and the director of its antiaging and longevity program, Dr. Michael Diamond, a chiropractor from Long Island. He declined to comment because of patient confidentiality, the newspaper said.

According to The Times Union, records showed that prescriptions for Ms. Blige and other performers were signed by Dr. Gary Brandwein, an osteopath from Florida. He has been charged with felony drug violations in the Albany investigation and has pleaded not guilty.

[From the New York Times]

The point of the investigation (supposedly) is not to catch/arrest people for using steroids or human growth hormone, but rather to curb the flow of illegal prescriptions of steroids and soon regulate HGH. But this information is obviously a little embarrassing to Wyclef Jean, Timbaland, 50 Cent, and Mary J Blige. I think it probably has the biggest chance of hurting Tyler Perry. He’s certainly one of the least famous of the bunch, but his reputation is built on writing/producing/acting in modern day morality plays. He holds himself up as a pretty straight-laced, upstanding citizen. It’s clear he’s not accused of breaking the law, but being associated with any type of steroid “scandal” is definitely bad for business.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Tyler Perry at the premiere of “The Great Debaters” in Los Angeles on December 11th. Header image of Mary J. Blige at the 40/40 Club Grand Opening in Las Vegas on December 30th. Images thanks to PR Photos.