Not So Full Or Fabulous
Hooray, Star Jones news! I always miss writing about her when nothing is happening. But there’s a new controversy between Star Jones and a group called Full & Fabulous. Here’s the first part of the story:
Full & Fabulous, a non-profit organization that helps plus-size women and girls cope with peer pressures, is upset at Star Jones after they invited Star to speak at their “Health, Beauty and Self-Esteem Expo” during the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit. Jones reportedly didn’t show up to the gig – – which normally wouldn’t be newsworthy. However, according to TMZ.com, Jones demanded first class airfare, a suite at a five-star hotel and $30,000 to show up… As a former full girl, you would think she wouldn’t treat her thick sistas like that.
This raises two questions right off the bat: if this happened in 2006, why is this coming out now? And why would a group named Full & Fabulous want Star Jones to speak to them in the first place, when she isn’t fat, had surgery and pretended it was “Pilates” that caused her to lose weight, and hasn’t been particularly fat positive? (Wait, was she still fat in 2006? We need a Star Jones timeline.) At any rate, it gets better: TMZ has a video of Star Jones storming out on a reporter asking her about the controversy.
Oh, Star Jones. Welcome back.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Celebrities, Cold Hard Cash, Star Jones, Video
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You are right. I’m not really sure why they would ask her in the first place, but geez. Diva much?
She didn’t like getting caught with her hand in the till. She stole the money, plane tickets, and hotel accommodations when she took them, used them for her own purposes, and didn’t show up for the expo. I never cared much for her before this, now that she’s proved to be a thief and a liar, I really have no use for her at all.
Well, they may be “full and Fabulous”, but they weren’t too smart when they invited her in the first place. And then waited nearly a year to complain.
It does seem kind of strange. I wonder if there was some legal reason it was kept quiet for awhile, or if it just took that long to really look at the receipts, etc.
They probably tried to resolve this without going public. I’ve been on the board of a nonprofit and the last thing you want is negative publicity so you go to extreme lengths to solve issues before going public with them.
I like how she smiles & says “You can stop.” As though she’s giving him permission not to ask her a question she doesn’t want to answer.
And yeah, was she still “full & fab” at the time? I don’t get why she would have been an invitee in the first place. I can name a dozen other full & fab role models who would have been smarter choices.
Although, how obnoxious that that guy just totally cornered her, then said, “Star, you’re pushing me…?” As though he were surprised when he was blocking her way.
What a bizarre world we live in.
Honestly I am just sick of Star Jones! The more I hear about her dishonesty, the more I hate her! It’s just ridiculous, it all seems like the woman has no scruples at all, and that pisses me off. I like scruples. I really do. And if you don’t have them, I don’t like you.
Y’know?
I have to say that I think that Star Jones was way more fabulous when she was full.
Page 6 in the New York Daily News? Or whatever publication, along with the Steve Harvey morning show today, which featured Miss Jones herself, has refuted the story. Star did in fact request her “regular” fee of $25,000, which she never received. She went to Detroit where the event was to be held and waited for her deposit (yes, in her swanky hotel, another “regular” feature of her travels and appearances), didn’t get it, and went to the expo anyway, which wasn’t for kids at all. The owner/promoter of Full and Fabulous just filed for banktrupcy (sp?) which may have prompted her to come out with this stale and altered (sp? – yo, it’s early) story.
Ain’t no fan of Star myself, but I thought I’d share what I heard, just a couple of hours ago.
Chunky PB, I was wondering if it was something along the line. I’m not a fan of Ms. Jones myself, but the airfare, hotel, and fee did sound like it was probably part of her usual fee for an appearance. Yes, it sounds insane to many of us, for whom such a payday may represent an entire annual salary, but probably not unusual for someone like her. That, and I very much doubt that she showed up and THEN demanded the 30K. The F&F people would have had a contract with all fees, deposits, etc., outlined well in advance. That’s just the way that stuff works.
For comparison, if you go to allamericanspeakers.com and go to “select by fee range,” you’ll discover that Al Franken lands in the $30,001-$50,000 price range. On keynotespeakers.com, Maya Angelou starts at $40,001.
Now, as to the question of whether Ms. Jones is worth such a fee… I’d say no, but that’s me.
Thanks for the update, CPB, and good points, MizShrew. I would like it to be known that I am Full & Fabulous, and I would be happy to speak for the very reasonable fee of $3,000 plus expenses. That’s only a fraction of what Star Jones charges! Call me, F&F people!
It’s not about the money. If she was mentoring as long as they paid for the hotel and accomodations she should have done it for free. I mean a celebrity cannot afford to lose $10,000 for some kids??? Not much of a celebrity huh?
I believe we must get to the root of any situation and start with the facts. Contracts are used for a purpose to protect both parties in the event of integrity issues arising. I find it interesting that people’s opinions about Mrs. Renolds are out weighing the facts of a contract which F&F did not live up to in it’s entirety. You must count the cost in any situation and when they initially approached the Renold’s camp they knew what her demands were and signed a contract to get her. If her demands where out of their budget, they should have said so and renegotiate the contract. Not let Renolds get to Detroit and only have a portion of her payment. Had they been up front with her the outcome could have been different. Opinions aside, the facts will hold up in court and Ms. Dumas will pay with her reputation and possible loss of her organization. Both on serious eggshells right now!
I agree, Nicole. Whether or not anyone thinks Star Jones is worth her fee, or whether she “should” have donated her time, or whether she was a good or bad choice for the F&F organization isn’t really the point. The F&F people arranged to have her speak under certain contract guidelines; if they failed to hold up her end of the contract, then that’s on them, not Star Jones. If they held up their end and then she either didn’t show up or made *additional* demands not stipulated in the contract, or if she was horrible to work with, etc., then certainly they would have every right to complain. But I’m not getting the sense that the later is the case; it sounds more like they didn’t ante up the deposit, Jones didn’t show up because they hadn’t held up their end, and now they’re pissed off.
With that said, seems that Ms. Jones is an attention-seeking, egotistical pain in the ass, and I think there are dozens of other women who would have been a more inspirational choice for a conference aimed at size positivity for women. But again, that’s bad judgement on the part of F&F, not Jones, really. It’s not like she approached them.
Thank you MizShrew! The unfortunate part in this whole situation is the young women who seemed to be used as the wounded lambs in this cat-fight. They are very impressionable and the sad part is they are being fed very distructive concepts that produces a ‘victims mentality, it’s everyone’s fault but mine.” all the courts are going to do is look at the contract and go from there!