King of letdown
First, he teases us with mysterious visits to the Eastern Shore. And now, he teases us with “visits” to D.C.
Yes, much of Washington (at least those in the know) was abuzz Friday and Saturday with the surprise visit planned by the King of Pop himself — Michael Jackson — to the BET Honors, held Saturday night at the Warner Theatre.
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But Jacko was a no-show.
| Carrie Devorah/For The Examiner |
Cedric the Entertainer, who hosted the Honors, disappointed the crowd at the conclusion of the taped program (it airs on BET Feb. 22) by tellingit that “for reasons we can’t go into,” the surprise visit by Jackson (timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s classic “Thriller” album) was canceled by the Gloved One himself. Clearly peeved by Jackson’s last-minute pullout, Cedric couldn’t help but get some pokes in at Jackson’s expense.
“Maybe he couldn’t get a camel from Dubai,” said Cedric. “Or maybe his monkey couldn’t get his tux in time.”
And what a shame: So many people were anticipating Jackson’s arrival. The presidential suite at the Mandarin Oriental was all ready to go for Jackson. There were Jackson impersonators outside the hotel. R&B artist Ne-Yo had worked on a special performance of Jackson’s “Lady in My Life” to be performed in front of MJ (Ne-Yo ended up performing it anyway). And Cedric had even skipped a pre-event dinner Friday night in order to work on “a Michael Jackson intro.”
Still, the show went on. Performers including John Legend (who let a few local kids sing backup for him during rehearsal), Gladys Knight, Brian McKnight, Jill Scott, Wyclef Jean and Stevie Wonder (audience members were treated to two monster performances of Wonder’s hit “As,” as technical difficulties messed up the first take, Alicia Keys, Maxine Waters, Tyra Banks (who made sure to get a facial, manicure, pedicure and her hair washed at Salon Christophe on Saturday afternoon), Janice Bryant Howroyd, Richard Parsons and Cornel West were honored.
The night before, some of these stars made it to Georgetown’s Halcyon House night for a dinner hosted by BET President Debra Lee. McKnight, Scott, Legend and Knight joined Adrian and Michelle Fenty, Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., and BET founder Bob Johnson, with many of the luminaries heading to an after-party at the Park at 14th.
All these stars might explain all the cordoned-off blocks around the Warner Theatre, as well as the inevitable protesters: Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md., claimed that BET negatively portrays women and black people.
