New Galpal Says Chris Brown's a 'Gentleman'

Singer tweets, then deletes, response to controversy

(NEWSER) - Chris Brown—who really needs to learn to step away from the Twitter—lashed out at his critics in a rant on the social networking site that was predictably and quickly deleted. Brown, apparently upset with all the controversy over his Grammys appearance , tweeted a series of messages yesterday that culminated in this classiness: "HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now! That's the ultimate FUCK OFF!" More»

Grammy Awards also go to Chris Brown, Bon Iver, and more

(NEWSER) - The Grammys got started with—what else?—a performance. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band did a rousing rendition of "We Take Care of Our Own" before host LL Cool J even made an appearance. The host brought up Whitney Houston's death first thing after thanking the band (click for more on that ). Then:

• Nope, it's still not time for an award: Bruno Mars takes the stage, then the first presenters appear—20 minutes into the ceremony. But Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt first perform a tribute to Etta James before presenting Best Pop Solo Performance to Adele for "Someone Like You."
• Next up: Another performance, this time the controversial first Grammys performance by Chris Brown since he beat Rihanna before the ceremony three years ago.

Singer took stage at pre-Grammy party

(NEWSER) - In her last public performance, Whitney Houston sang an impromptu tribute to young singer Kelly Price as fans went wild. Two nights later she was dead. Houston sang a few bars of "Yes, Jesus Loves Me" in a soulful, husky voice as fans screamed at a pre-Grammy party featuring Price and friends. Houston, who was at the Tru-Hollywood club with her daughter , appeared disheveled later that night, and had a cut on her wrist and what seemed to be blood on her leg, reports the New York Daily News . She reportedly clashed with former X-Factor star Stacy Francis after finding her chatting up Houston's boyfriend, Ray J. More»

Sasha Pasulka asks: Is this really the message we want to send to women?

(NEWSER) - Chris Brown is performing tonight at the Grammys, three years after beating Rihanna the night before the very same awards show, and Sasha Pasulka thinks it's disgraceful. The story is being covered as if it's "an exiled prince’s return to a former glory," when in fact it's actually "an enormous 'f**k you' to every woman who has been, is, or will be on the receiving end of domestic violence," she writes on Hello Giggles . Worse, even during the immediate aftermath of Rihanna's beating, Hollywood failed to roundly condemn Brown. Instead, it "teetered on the brink of defending" him. The public response "was a full-blown tearing-down of female self-worth, an assault on any progress women have made in this country in the past 200 years." More»

As are footballs; just try to use a little common sense

(NEWSER) - After a media flurry, the LA county supervisor would like to clarify: It's fine to toss around a Frisbee or a football on local beaches—"as long as you do it responsibly." Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky writes at his blog that county officials were "baffled" that an overhaul of beach rules was "widely misinterpreted" to mean that anyone caught with a Frisbee would be fined $1,000. Sample confusion: A TV station's report is headlined "LA County OKs Hefty Fine For Throwing Football, Frisbee on Beaches," while a Los Angeles Times headline says, "Ball playing, Frisbee tossing now allowed on L.A. County beaches." More»