Wrestler Diamond Dallas Page has filed a lawsuit against
Jay-Z for unlawful use of his "Diamond Cutter" hand signal.
Page, born Page Falkinburg, filed the lawsuit in Los
Angeles Federal Court, claiming he trademarked the rights to the diamond-shaped
symbol in 1996 and has used it for wrestling and other entertainment
ventures on multiple occasions.
Page contends that Jay-Z started using the diamond
symbol years after on various commercial products, including the cover
of Dynasty: Roc La Familia 2000 and Fade to Black.
Hip-hop fans are aware that the Def Jam President has
used the diamond sign to signify his Roc-A-Fella Records dynasty.
According to Page, he introduced the "Diamond
Cutter" symbol in 1996 on WCW's weekly Nitro and Thunder programs.
The wrestler, who uses the sign on the cover of his
new book "Yoga for Regular Guys," also says he used the symbol
on monthly PPV events, WCW live events, and media appearances, including
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Representatives for Jay-Z or Roc-A-Fella were not immediately
available for comment
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Young Buck reportedly reached a plea agreement in assault
with a deadly weapon case stemming from an incident at the Vibe Awards
last November in Santa Monica, California.
Buck, born David Darnell Brown, stood accused of stabbing
Los Angeles parolee Jimmy James Johnson after Johnson allegedly punched
Aftermath Records CEO Dr. Dre, as was accepting Vibe’s Living
Legend Award.
Dre was preparing to go on stage to receive a lifetime
achievement award when Johnson requested an autograph from the infamous
rapper/producer, then punched him when Dre refused, according to reports.
On Friday, Darnell's attorney told Nashville’s
News 2 that the agreement reached was "favorable,” but no
further details will be provided until the rapper's December 12 court
appearance.
The assault on Dr. Dre resulted in a melee in a hangar
at the Santa Monica Airport, where the awards show was being taped.
Johnson suffered a collapsed lung in the attack and
was formally charged with a felony assault charge for striking Dre in
the face.
Buck faces up to eight years in prison if convicted
of the charges.
For this and all of the latest news updates, visit
http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5127http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5127
CULVER CITY, California — Saturday's VH1 Big
in '05 Awards lasted a whole 15 seconds before someone made a Jessica
Simpson/ Nick Lachey divorce joke.
The pop culture extravaganza was Simpson's first public
outing since the split was announced nine days earlier, and the former
"Newlyweds" star not only stole the spotlight on the red carpet
and won the night's first award, she provided plenty of fodder for the
comedians in the house.
"I can get you a ticket. Jessica Simpson has an
extra one," host D.L. Hughley said in the show's opening seconds,
following a few minutes later with, "Don't worry, the breakup is
amicable. They gonna split everything 50/50: He gets the house, she
gets the career" (see "It's Official: Jessica Simpson And
Nick Lachey Split").
Simpson, who brought mother Tina as her date, bypassed
reporters, but did yell out that it was ladies night. She also avoided
the topic when accepting her award, for Big Stylin', instead letting
her bubbly personality shine.
"Is it kinda weird I'm getting a little bit emotionable
— emotionable? — emotional about winning a style icon award?"
Simpson said with a laugh. "[I want to thank] my mother. She taught
me how to match my scrunchies with my socks when I was a kid. Ha ha.
I laugh at myself, sorry."
Also laughing at Simpson was Jeremy Piven, who took
a shot at her when accepting his Big Breakthrough award a few minutes
later. "My mom didn't teach me how to match my scrunchies with
my socks, but she did teach me to act," quipped the "Entourage"
star, whose mother is an acting coach.
Piven, like most of the winners, also joked about the
Big in '05 trophy, which Piven likened to the National Hockey League's
Stanley Cup. "This is a very large item that I'm going to fill
with adult beverages tonight," he said.
"This is heavy," said Lindsay Lohan, who
beat Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Kristin Cavalerri for Big It Girl.
"If I lost that much weight [as the tabloids reported] I don't
know how I could hold it."
Lohan then dedicated the award to the paparazzi, "
'Cause being big in '05 means getting in three car crashes," she
said.
The night's only multiple winner was Kanye West, who
won the coveted Big Entertainer, as well as Big Quote, for his notorious
Hurricane Katrina telethon comment, "George Bush doesn't care about
black people" (see "Jay-Z, Diddy, Others Reach Out To Disaster
Victims; Kanye West Attacks Bush During Telethon"). West, accepting
Big Entertainer from across Los Angeles at the Gibson Amphitheatre where
he was performing on tour, thanked NBC and Mike Meyers, who was standing
next to him when he made the comment on that network. He also thanked
Time magazine, who put him on a recent cover, and then took a dig at
another magazine.
"I've never been on the cover of Entertainment
Weekly, 'cause I'm entertainment yearly," West said with a grin.
Other musicians who took home trophies included Gwen
Stefani for Big Download with "Hollaback Girl" and Green Day,
who won Big Music Artist. "Holy pop culture," frontman Billie
Joe Armstrong said, pretty much summing up the night, which was packed
with references to TomKat and Brangelina, not to mention Kate Moss,
Jude Law and George W. Bush.
Bo Bice won Big Reality Star, but feared leaving with
the trophy. "I think I know who is in the most trouble tonight,"
he said. "I [beat out] a bounty hunter [Dog from the A&E series),
Danny Bonaduce, Tommy Lee — please don't kick my ass when I leave
here tonight." (Bonaduce, the show's announcer, then appeared onstage
to jokingly threaten Bice.)
Dozens of other reality stars also got to take the
stage in a mock "We Are the World" tribute called "We
Are Reality Stars," performed by former castmembers from shows
including "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and "The
Bachelor" under the name Artists United for Reality. "A wise
man once said truth is stranger than fiction" "American Idol"
contestant Anthony Fedorov sang in the opening line.
Other, more serious performances came from INXS, whose
own reality star, J.D. Fortune, led the band through "Pretty Vegas"
and "New Sensation"; Fall Out Boy, who performed "Sugar,
We're Going Down;" Def Leppard, who played the fan-voted "Pour
Some Sugar on Me," and surprise guests Audioslave (sans guitarist
Tom Morello), who performed an acoustic rendition of "Doesn't Remind
Me."
Winners who unsurprisingly did not make the ceremony
to collect their awards included Michael Jackson (Big Shocker for getting
acquitted on child-molestation charges), Jennifer Aniston and Angelina
Jolie (Big Feud) and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (Big Hook Up).
On the red carpet before the show at Sony Studios,
Jessica was the talk of the night, even though she was the last to arrive.
"I really want to meet Jessica Simpson, so hopefully
I'll get to," "Laguna Beach" star Kristin Cavalerri said.
"I want to talk to Jessica," said comedian
Ant, who hosted the pre-show. "I have a pregnancy test I want her
to take."
Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, meanwhile, claimed
to have the bigger story of the night. "I left my underwear behind,"
he said, pulling down the front of his pants to prove it.
Read full story online:
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