BYP NEWSFLASH
October 6th, 2011

 

Forbes unleashed their list of the highest-earning women in Showbiz, and – surprise, surprise – Oprah Winfrey topped the list, making a staggering $290 million from May 2010-May 2011.

This is actually kind of surprising though, since The Big O’s new television network OWN has been doing less-than-stellar since it premiered earlier this year.

Still, Winfrey led the pack by a mile, besting the likes of Lady Gaga ($90 million), Bethenney Frankel ($55 million), Gisele Bundchen ($45 milion) and Ellen DeGeneres ($45 million).

 

Right on the heels of the shocking deaths of Fred Shuttlesworth and Steve Jobs, famed legal scholar and writer Derrick Bell passed away yesterday of carcinoid cancer. He was 80 years-old.

The Root writes:

“Bell distinguished himself early in his law career through his work for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund during the civil rights era. Recruited by Thurgood Marshall, Bell oversaw 300 school-desegregation cases, according to The HistoryMakers. He also served as deputy director of the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He was known as a pioneer of the study of “critical race theory,” which explores racism in laws and legal institutions.”

October has truly been a tragic month.

Rest in peace, Dr. Bell.

 

Rihanna can add yet another accolade to her growing list of accomplishments. At just 23 years-old, RiRi has officially beaten Madonna’s record for a solo artist amassing 20 Top 10 singles in the shortest amount of time, according to MTV.com.

Her latest hit, the infectious “We Found Love,” has already reached the number 9 spot on the Hot 100 singles chart, making it her 20th single to do so in just six years. She beats Madonna’s record by 5 months.

All of this comes just a few months after another Pop newbie, Katy Perry, tied Michael Jackson’s seemingly insurmountable record of achieving the most number 1 hits from just one album (a whopping 5 in a row).

As MTV puts it, “…Pop icons better watch their backs…”

Congrats, Rihanna!