Whoopi Goldberg, the cooler head from The View braintrust was absent from the show last week. Turns out she was being tested for H1N1 (Swine flu to you and me). Goldberg went through a very public treatment for her fear of flying in a flight simulator capsule on a recent episode.

Sounds like she might have taken a call from Joe Biden.

Robin Thicke is the current king of soul music??

That’s the noise coming from his camp behind the release of his new CD, “Something Else.” Don’t his handlers know a reckless proclamation like that is the quickest way to land him in the remainders bin? To his credit, Thicke doesn’t make the proclamation himself, stating in a Newsday interview, “…Depending on [the] room I walk into I could catch a lot of hater energy or I could catch a lot of ‘You’re the real thing…’ It depends which corner I turn.”

On the heels of the Congressional apology issued to Black Americans for slavery, Jossip ran a hilarious excerpt from whiny CNN Headline host Glenn Beck who didn’t understand the need to recognize the atrocity because, well, that was such a long time ago, and, we didn’t personally own any slaves, and hey, isn’t that a Black guy campaigning for the office of President? Watch his impassioned argument for ignoring the whole thing… (more…)

Omarosa, the diva America loves to hate, reportedly acted up at a recent awards show. Reports have her Apprentice-sized ego snapping after an inquiry about her love life. “I am dating a few people. It’s summer. I’m young, I’m hot, I’m famous and I’m rich.”

Well..it is summer.

The law is rolling up on Shaq and it ain’t pretty. Phoenix Suns’ center Shaquille O’Neal lost his second deputy dog badge last weekend over his, um, impolite rap about former Lakers teammate Koby Bryant (and we thought that beef had a fork in it — DONE!). Shaq’s second badge was revoked by Bedford County, Virginia sheriff, who cited the diss-delivering video (posted on TMZ.com) as the reason for revoking the badge, awarded to Shaq for his work tracking Internet predators.

Despite Shaq’s statement that the rap was “all done in fun,” the two sheriff’s departments weren’t laughing. Arizona sheriff Joe Arpio said of the incident, “…If any one of my deputies did something like this, they’re fired.” 

Wonder if Kobe was yucking it up after hearing Shaq’s inquiry about his taste buds.

Naomi Campbell has been bounced from the presenters line-up for the birthday benefit honoring Nelson Mandela and his “46664″ charity. Campbell, who is very active in the former president’s charity and calls him her “grandfather,” was D-listed following an incident at Heathrow Airport where she kicked and spit at police officers after one of her bags went missing.

The Times Online UK reported a source as saying it was “fair to say that Mandela was behind the decision.” Campbell, who has been counseled by Mandela before about her tantrums, pleaded guilty last Friday to assault and disorderly conduct. She has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service.

If anyone is in need of some grandfatherly advice, it’s this girl.

The June 27 concert will be hosted by Will Smith, and features Annie Lennox, Leona Lewis, Amy Winehouse, Queen and others.

Al Reynolds is looking to get a better return on his divorce settlement. The New York Daily News reports that Reynolds is selling himself, er, um, his story about what it was like being married to Star Jones. Old boy is looking for a six-figure deal for a television interview dishing dirt on all things Star. Maybe he’ll land a spot on “a very special” Barbara Walters segment.

The same mouth that got her kicked off “America’s Next Top Model” has super-nutty supermodel Janice Dickinson claiming Tyra Banks is tampering with her intellectual property. The New York Post reports that Dickinson is running around town with a page ripped from a popular tabloid that shows Tyra carrying a copy of Dickinson’s book, “No Lifeguard on Duty,” an “according to me” tell-all about Dickinson’s life of excess and abuse. Janice calls Tyra “pathetic” for using her book in her mentoring sessions with young girls. “The thing looks so work, it’s like she’s been reading it on the toilet. Where’s her originality?” Where is her originality?  Um, which came first: AMNTM or the Oxygen clone “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency”? 

  Kanye is at it again — this time going off on Entertainment Weekly for their “B+” review of his “Glow in the Dark” show in Seattle: “What’s a B+ mean? I’m an extremist. It’s either A+ or F-. You know what? f*** you and the whole f-ing staff!!!” This guy is a genius but what’s up with that? How surreal would it be to have him in your class, knowing you could look forward to his rant every time you got back a quiz. 

Despite his attempt to make nice with the feds by writing a “good faith” check, Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in the big house for a $13 million tax evasion charge.The judge in the case disagreed with the defense assessment of Wes’ transgressions as “garden variety tax offenses,” citing his decade long maneuvers of depositing money off-shore and his refusal to file income tax returns from 1999 through 2004.

Snipes attorneys plan to appeal. Though the 600-page document he sent to the IRS (after his indictment in 2006) warning them of “increased collateral damage” if they continued to pursue his case won’t score many points for the home team.