The restaurant, which opened in May, was as part of Danielle’s tour on Famous Food and the prize she received for out-cunning her competition, like: Jake Pavelka, Ashley Dupre, and Heidi Montag, and walking away the co-winner along with DJ Paul.
Apparently despite the exposure from the show and Danielle’s tremendous celebrity, “the restaurant just never took on, and partners Mike Malin and Lonnie Moore of The Dolce Group were forced to throw in the towel,” Eater LA reports. “We gave it a shot but it just never picked up traction,” Lonnie Moore explains of the closing.
The restaurant received lukewarm reviews, and despite heavy promotion (and even a Groupon offer), never seemed to improve from there. Then in September the restaurant was forced to temporarily close after a reported cockroach infestation! One month later they shut down their doors “indefinitely.”
Danielle hasn’t released a statement yet about the fate of Lemon Basket, though she did Tweet the following to fans wishing her well: “I appreciate the well wishes.” Now that she’s no longer in the restaurant business, I guess Danielle could always return to her former career of stripping reality TV villainess.
Do you think the tragic name had anything to do with it? Or that diners were afraid of actually running into Danielle while eating there?
Photo Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com
Are you surprised the restaurant closed after only 5 months? Would you (or did you) ever eat there?
Tough Love is back! Matchmaking experts and mother-son duo, Steve and JoAnn Ward, are heading to Miami to assist eight unlucky in love single ladies in finding a man!
Over the course of 10-weeks the ladies will be put through rigorous training as part of Steve’s infamous “boot camp,” which includes intense group therapy sessions to figure out why they are still single and practice dates with eligible bachelors.
The ladies will live together in a house (where the drama is sure to get as hot as the Miami sun) and attend Dating 101. Some will graduate and some will have a difficult time breaking their old habits, but Steve promises if they follow his rules they’ll be ready to fall in love!
Tough Love:Miami premiers on VH1, Sunday, October 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. A one-hour docu-special about Steve and JoAnn Ward: “Tough Love: The Wards Get Real” will air Sunday, October 9 at 9 PM ET/PT
A trailer of the new series is below!
Will you be watching? Thoughts on the show and the cast?
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According to a new report by TMZ, the only real basketball wifeMeeka Claxton will not be returning to Basketball Wives.
Sources close to the show reveal Meeka is getting the boot from the producers, and that they have yet to contact her since the reunion show filming.
The reason? Apparently it all has to do with the lawsuit Meeka filed against her costar Tami Roman for assault. Tami punched Meeka in the face during an outing in Italy.
Right after Meeka filed the lawsuit, Tami stated she would not return to the show unless Meeka was fired. It appears she got her wish.
TMZ adds that the lawsuit was also the final straw with producers of the show. Meeka has yet to comment on the report.
TELL US – THOUGHTS ON MEEKA GETTING FIRED? FAIR OR UNFAIR? WILL YOU MISS HER ON THE SHOW?
Oh, Kim Kardashian, you never cease to amaze appall me with your famewhoring antics! The latest is no exception!
Apparently Kimmie’s “sexy, superprivate” honeymoon to new hubby, Kris Humphries-Kardashian was anything but, as she invited the paparazzi to photograph every moment the couple spent in the $3,300-per-night five-star Hotel Santa Caterina along Italy’s Amalfi Coast! Kim, who I guess was in the mood to make another sex tape make some money during the romantic vacation, Kris (husband, not mother) supposedly planned last minute, decided to offer the mag exclusive photos!
Although Kim claims: “We were planning on waiting til next summer to take [a honeymoon], but Kris surprised me last minute!” The couple likely went on the vacation because US Weekly offered to pay for the trip in exchange for the rights to capture Kim & Kris snuggling while Kim donned a series of skimpy outfits and itty-bitty, practically non-existent bikinis.
Revealing just how much K&K’s newlywed moments are worth, gossip maven Rob Shuter Tweeted the following: “I love @KimKardashian! She sold exclusive pics from her honeymoon to @usweekly for $200,000 #Genuis. What will a baby exclusive be worth”
And speaking of babies; that was apparently the theme of the Kardashumphries honeymoon! Apparently, Kimmie is ready for a baby and already preparing the tabloids for her delivery room exclusives! According to a source: “Kim is the kind of bride who’d be thrilled if she had gotten pregnant on her honeymoon.” Another source, who is close to the Kardashian family, confirms: “She wants a baby nine months to the day of getting married.”
Well, her wish may be coming true as an eyewitness supposedly spotted Kim purchasing pregnancy tests on her honeymoon! “She came on her own and bought two pregnancy tests,” the source reveals. “She didn’t speak any Italian and looked a bit embarrassed.” So, that would mean, Kimmie was pregnant before walking down the aisle, right?
Despite all the speculation, Kim herself, played coy when questioned about the possibility of a baby being on the way: “Am I having a baby? … I just got married! Who knows? It’s no secret that I can’t wait to be a mom. Of course I hope it happens soon. I don’t know if I am right now.”
“I would be a mom right now for sure [if I wasn't famous],” Kim continues. “I love kids. I would have probably done this a lot sooner.” Well Kim, no time like the present- there’s money to be made off the next Kardashian venture!
And speaking of money to be made, owner of the infamous Kim K sex tape, Steve Hirsch of Vivid Entertainment is confirming he would be willing to sell the rights to the adult film, for a very hefty fee. $30 Million dollars hefty! And apparently a private party (last name Dardashian), has contacted Mr. Hirsch through their lawyer with interest in making just such a deal! Steve discloses: “I have no idea who is behind this offer … but If it’s Kim, I have a tremendous amount of respect for her. She has my number and can call me any time.”
Well, if it is Kim – ironically, that explains why she needs to sell her honeymoon photos to US Weekly. Someone needs the money to get their sexy times away from the viewing public!
Can you believe Kim spent her honeymoon with her own paparazzi?! Are you as appalled by that as I am? Thoughts on Kim possibly being prego and planning for a baby? Should Kim buy the rights to her sex tape back or just move on?
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer is the motto of Mob Wives stars Drita D’avanzo and Karen Gravano who have decided to be civil to each other for the sake of their reality show daughters.
Although both ladies agree they can never “be friends” again, they have decided to be polite to each other to avoid public and embarrassing roof-top brawls, because frankly it doesn’t look good. And when your friends have to flash their Spanx breaking up your fight – that doesn’t look good either!
In an exclusive interview with Hollywood Life, Drita and Karen speak out about their decision to get along after signing on for a second season of Mob Wives. Drita explains her decision to apologize after the reunion was because her daughters could see she felt awkward around Karen, prompting her to make amends: “I went up to Karen and I said, ‘Look, it is what it is, but I feel bad how it ended because we have kids,’” recalls Drita. “If we didn’t have kids, I don’t think I’d feel this way, but I do being a mother.”
Karen agrees that since her daughter and Drita’s daughters have become friends and see each other through filming and she and Drita are contractually obligated to be in scenes together everyone should get along: “I don’t want the kids to feel uncomfortable. I feel like the kids have nothing to do with it. I’m mature enough to act accordingly because I don’t want to have to feel uncomfortable in any situation that has to do with me and her.”
Although she does state her and Drita will only be co-workers and nothing more: “My relationship with her is just we’ll never be friends. I’m over the Drita/Lee thing. I don’t want to give them anymore of my breath.” Umm… FINALLY!
Drita reiterates that although she has apologized to Karen and plans to file for divorce from Lee, that doesn’t mean she’ll be grabbing cocktails with Karen anytime soon: “Saying sorry and being friends are two different things. I can’t see being friends with her. I just want to be cordial with her. We’ve got to work together to be smart.” She also states she wants to move past the season finale fight claiming: “I have too many things going on and I am so done with that conversation, it’s not funny.”
Karen also declares that she is too busy focusing on her own side projects: “I have more important things to focus on than Drita D’avanzo. I’m focused on my daughter, my book, a movie deal on the table and my skin care line.” Say, what? Skin Care Line? Movie Deal? I can’t wait to hear the details on that one!
So do you think Drita and Karen will be able to get along next season or do you anticipate more fights? Or do you think they will end up being friends again?
Season One of Vh1’s Mob Wives might be over but the drama sure isn’t! In a post-season, pre-reunion interview for Complex the cast of Mob Wives give their opinions of all the fights, drama, and friendship destruction and reveal what’s next for the ladies.
As for how the cast reacted to having cameras follow their every move, resident badgirl, Drita D’avanzo describes it as “stressful”, describing herself as a private person who kept her identity as the wife of a gangster secret for years: “I worked in [Saks Fifth Avenue] for seven years and no one ever knew anything about me. They probably, honestly, would be shocked. I mean, seven years in the same place, 55 hours a week with 55 women, and you never tell anyone that your husband was in jail or that you’re a single mom—they’re gonna be shocked. I never used profanity!”
Renee Graziano, on the other hand, called the experience “therapeutic,” proclaiming: “I got to learn a lot about myself.” As for how the editing process portrayed her, surprisingly Renee is ok with it: “At first, I was a little uptight because people weren’t seeing the side of me… I’m very funny. I’m very, very loving. I came off extremely hard and, I think, cold. But as the show has unraveled, you get to see who I really am and I love it.”
Karen Gravano gives the status of her book Shadow of the Bull, which we can expect to find in clearance racks bookstores this fall! Karen explains she is meeting with her ghost writer and using the book to establish her own identity outside of being Sammy The Bull’s daughter: “Not by any means am I saying that I don’t love my father, but you want to have your own identity, you don’t always want to be your mother’s child or your father’s child.”
As you could expect, she and Drita are still not speaking following their explosive season-ending blow-up, but Drita admits she is sorry for the way things escalated: “Physical violence isn’t going to solve anything, and I think it’ll make it worse, so I’m mad at myself that I allowed that. That’s me, that’s my temper, but I want to change that about me and I’m not happy it happened. Karen and I don’t really talk right now,” but Drita is still friends with Renee and Carla Facciolo, of course.
The ladies also divulge they were picked up for a Season Two and will begin filming very soon. As for what to expect, according to Carla even the cast doesn’t know: “You know what, I don’t even know what to expect yet, but I am excited about it. It’s weird because when we ended off, that [fight] happened with Drita and Karen, and I just want everything to try and like get back to normal in Season Two so everybody can just hang out and be happy again and be friends and have a good time!” Well, don’t hope for that too much or you definitely won’t be doing a Season Three!
Drita has some news though for Season Two – something major is on the horizon: “For me, you can expect a huge life change, an event. It’s going to be shocking, probably.” All my bets are on D-I-V-O-R-C-E based on some interesting posts via her Facebook page. If you recall, Drita discovered on the finale episode that her husband Lee D’avanzo had cheated on her.
Drita posted the following on July 2, “I just wrote Lee a letter~ sayn now your ho can send packages and visit you…hope she can keep her legs closed while your away too. Good Luck Asshole.” And on June 29, she hinted about a possible break up. “I think breakups ae like a broken mirror. You’ll probably hurt yourself more by trying to put it back together. Get a new mirror!” Season 2 should be interesting!
And speaking of Drita, she will doing something new for reality stars – hawking her own product: “I have a cosmetics line coming out. I’ve always been in the field of make-up [and] I’ve modeled, so all these things now I can do.”
The Mob Wives Reunion will air July 10th on Vh1 at 8pm.
Photo credit: Splash.
So will watch Season Two of Mob Wives? Do you think Drita will divorce Lee while he’s in prison?
After taking heat for the portrayal of black women on Vh1’s Basketball Wives, Executive drama starter Producer, Shanunie O’Neal is speaking out in an article she wrote for, of all places, CNN.
Explaining her motivation for creating Basketball Wives, Shaunie describes: “I wanted to show what life is really like when you are with a professional athlete — and that sometimes all that glitters isn’t gold…” Of course, what came with that was non-stop drama off the court that totally eclipsed anything happening on it!
Of course, Shaunie defends her money making venture show and all the screaming and backstabbing that goes with it (because otherwise who would watch): “As you see on the show, I’m not a big supporter of the bickering, drink throwing and fighting, but when you put a group of strong, independent and vocal women who are going through or just came out of a bad relationship together, there’s bound to be a little drama…”
As for criticism of how black women are depicted on Basketball Wives, according to Shaunie she is well aware: “I certainly understand the opinion that the shows portrayal of black women is beginning to look somewhat negative. ” Shaunie goes onto describe: “The problem for me is when black women are portrayed as only being that way and labeled different than their non-black counterparts for the same type of behavior. That’s when it becomes negative and damaging to our image.” Good point – I think some recent episodes of Real Housewives of Orange County demonstrate that!
Shaunie better have her defenses up for the upcoming Basketball Wives: Los Angeles because the dramz has already started! NBA star Gilbert Arenas is claiming castmember Laura Govan who is the baby mama of his three children with another on the way, is illegally exploiting him by participating in the show so, according to TMZ, he is suing to prevent the show from airing!
According to the lawsuit, even though he will not be mentioned by name on the show, his name was already used in the press release to describe Govan’s relationship to professional basketball and “the very presence of defendant Govan and the title of the show is an obvious reference to [Arenas].” In addition to asking the judge to issue an injunction banning the show from airing, Arenas also wants cold hard cash.
Arenas also asserts Govan isn’t a Basketball Wife (true, but are ANY of them?!) but signed up for the show because she wants her 15 minutes of fame on the Tee Vee. Laura who was with Arenas for years but never married, also allegedly had an affair with Shaunie’s ex husband Shaquille O’Neal! Yikes! A picture of Arenas is below.
Laura photo credit – Jonavennci Divad.
So, what do you think of Shaunie’s explaination of how Basketball Wives portrays black women? Will you be watching Basketball Wives: Los Angeles?
Things start off with Suzie meeting up with Meeka to discuss the argument at the Polo Match. Suzie is taking Meeka’s side, probably thinking that is the side Evelyn will be on so she can impress the mean girls with her ability to quickly ditch Royce. Meeka admits she probably should not have gotten involved in all the dramz and that her and Tami do not mesh. Taking an Evelyn like attitude about people not mattering if she doesn’t want them to, Meeka advises Tami to keep a move on. She also advises Suzie to stay out of things! Um, pot meet kettle!
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