Comedian Aries Spears was arrested after a woman accused him of fondling her at Comix Comedy Club in Manhattan.
Spears headlined two shows that Friday night, one at 8:30 p.m. and another at 10:45 p.m. Shortly after Spears finished his second performance at the popular Manhattan comedy club, the NYPD arrived, responding to a 911 call made around midnight by a woman who claims Spears groped her. Spears was arrested and booked for “forcible touching” around 1 a.m. Saturday morning.
A source who attended the show told HHNLive, “Just so no one gets the wrong story: I was there. As part of his act, he was making light of the people closest to the stage. A rather large girl happened to be one of them. He did his thing, and then “high-fived” her chest – literally. He did not honk, he did not squeeze, he did not go pedophile or rapist.”
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Spears received a desk appearance ticket, which requires him to appear in court at a later date for arraignment. After being released on his own recognizance, Spears, who was initially scheduled to perform both Friday and Saturday night at the Manhattan comedy club, decided to take the evening off.
Spears, 32, is widely known for his performances on MADtv, impersonating the likes of Jay-Z, 50 Cent, P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg. Spears is currently working on two projects, one of them based loosely on a character he created on MADtv, as well as a feature about a young, Black man affected by hip hop culture.
Alex Melamid, one half of the world famous Komar and Melamid Russian graphic artist team, and founder of the Soviet Realist Pop Art movement, embarks on his first ever solo exhibition, “Holy Hip Hop!” opening February 8.
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Both Melamid and his partner Vitaly Komar, also from Moscow, were considered outspoken, revolutionary, non-conformists and were expelled from the Artists’ Union by their government for distortion of Soviet reality. Melamid and Komar worked together for 30 years before separating in 2003.
“Holy Hip-Hop!” shows off 12 oil on canvas life size portraits of hip hop icons including Common, Russell Simmons, Reverend Run, Marc Ecko, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. The portraits are rendered with the quality of Old Master style paintings, portraying these icons as Melamid sees them in real life: powerful, compelling and ambitious.
Melamid was introduced to the idea by his son, Dan “Dan the Man” Melamid, a hip hop music video directory. Between 2003 when he separated from Komar, to 2005, Melamid spent time with each of the 12 icons, got to know them, photographed them, and then drafted the beginning of what would be his first ever solo show.
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“Art is the key that unlocked a door that would not have opened for me,” said Melamid. “I thought it would be interesting to paint the men of hip hop using the traditional European style I have been perfecting for 40 years.”
“Holy Hip Hop!” will be on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit from Feburary 8 – April 20.
Following the premier exhibit at The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Melamid‘s “Holy Hip Hop!” series is scheduled to be shown in London in addition with his newest project of 12 Roman Catholic Priests.
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According to Page Six, singers Ray J and Brandy‘s mom and manager Sonja Norwood is suing Ray J‘s former girlfriend and sex-tape partner Kim Kardashian for allegedly charging over $120,000 in unauthorized purchases to her credit card in 2004.
In court documents, Sonja claims that Kim, who was Brandy‘s stylist back in 2004, “was authorized to make one (and only one) purchase on behalf of [Sonja],” using her American Express card. Sonja now alleges that Kim unlawfully shared her credit card number with siblings Khloe, Kourtney and Robert Jr., which resulted in a lavish shopping spree.
Page Six cites that the alleged charges included $62,793.83 and $57,841.82, for a total of $120,635.82 dollars. The suit claims that thousands were even spent at the Kardashian‘s own Calabasas, CA stores, Dash and Smooch.
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Reported By: Krysten Hughes & Aliya Ewing
