British rapper Lady Sovereign (née Louise Amanda Harman) is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of the British magazine Diva wherein she comes out publicly as a gay woman in her coverstory interview (well, actually, I understand she first came out as gay on the UK version of the reality TV show Big Brother — but this is her first print interview since coming out). Sovereign, who is honestly one of my fave rappers of all time, confesses to Diva that in the past she was willing to let her publicists keep her from revealing the truth about her sexuality. She has decided, it seems, that those days are over. Here is Lady Sovereign‘s coverphoto for Diva magazine and some excerpts from her revelatory interview:

Following stars like Adam Lambert and Ricky Martin, British rapper Lady Sovereign too has chosen to deal with the media on a very personal aspect of her life without the help of a publicist. Thus, the latest issue of Diva magazine brings her coming out interview, in which she not only explains how she came to this decision but also why she chose to walk down this road alone … According to the outspoken rapper, who’s made a name for herself both back home in the UK (and Europe) and in the US, in the past, she usually had people – publicists – handle all questions about her private life. There came a point, though, when she was no longer happy with how that worked: and that was the day when she decided she wanted to come out and she wanted to do it on her own terms. “Magazines would always ask about it but [their questions] would get stopped by my publicists. It was my choice, too, because I was a bit worried about it but now I don’t really give a fuck. You can’t hide away forever. It’s just stupid and now I’ve come out I feel a lot more comfortable with myself. But it was a bit scary back then because some people do have horrible opinions,” Sovereign says for Diva, out at newsstands today.

Yay!! This is yet another fantastic move forward for out and proud celebs and musicians. I am so happy that Lady Sovereign feels comfortable enough at last to be open and honest about who she is. I met her once a few years ago and she was just the coolest chick ever. The may be small in stature (at just 5′ 1″) but she is a giant in personality, wit and talent. After the jump, check out a behind the scenes video of Sovereign chatting with and posing for Diva magazine for this interview …

Yesterday we got a sneek peek at today’s episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show which features the principal cast of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse — namely Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner — promoting the release of their new film (due out on June 30) and today we get to see 3 clips from the ep which will air TODAY (check local listings):

I know The Oprah Winfrey Show has already aired in some parts of the country today but it won’t air here in NYC (where I’m at this week) until 4pm ET … so I still gotta wait to see big Twilight 3 on the show. But, some longer clips from today’s episode has made their way to the Internets for our viewing pleasure. Check ‘em out after the jump …

Christina Aguilera, who just this past weekend was in NYC with her family celebrating Mother’s Day together (and how just announced a new world tour in support of her new album Bionic), has made her way to Haiti as the new Ambassador Against Hunger for the World Food Programme organization. Xtina made her way to Port Au Prince and Leogane this past Tuesday to visit two Haitian schools — Ecole Lysee Fritz Pierre Louis and Ecole Saint Terese de Darbonne. Here is a photo of Xtina in Haiti and some deets from her visit:

WFP’s new Ambassador Against Hunger Christina Aguilera visited two schools in quake-stricken Haiti on Tuesday to meet the children receiving food aid through WFP school meals programmes. Singing Happy Birthday to a class in Leogane, she also voiced her hope for a Haitian rebirth … The world-famous singer helped serve meals of rice and beans to children at the Ecole Lysee Fritz Pierre Louis in Port-au-Prince and at the Ecole Saint Terese de Darbonne, in Leogane, a badly damaged town south of the capital. Aguilera met with WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran while in Haiti to discuss the hunger response after the earthquake. WFP’s operation in the Caribbean nation is shifting away from emergency relief to programmes such as school meals, nutrition schemes and food-for-work projects to help the national recovery effort. During her time with children of Port-au-Prince, Aguilera also sang ‘Happy Birthday Haiti’ to highlight how reconstruction efforts in the country are giving this long-suffering nation the chance of a new start. The singer’s appointment as a WFP Ambassador Against Hunger was announced last week during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. “A child dies every six seconds of hunger which is a huge statistic for me,” Aguilera told Oprah Winfrey. “After having my own child I just had to be a part of it and do something about it and help change that situation.”

Good for her!! Altho the deadly earthquake in Haiti is already “month’s old”, there is still a lot of devastation and much need in the tiny country. Just because the plight of Haiti is no longer in the news does NOT mean that all of their problems have been solved. They will be dealing with the tragic ramifications of the quake for many years. I’m so glad that Xtina‘s visit may remind US ALL that there is still much need in Haiti for relief. After the jump, check out a few more photos from Xtina‘s trip to Haiti this week …

Great news No Doubt fans … the band posted a message on their official Twitter profile yesterday along with a couple of new photos announcing that they have gotten together in the studio to record new music. At this early stage, there is no chance that they will formally announce the release of a new No Doubt album but … I think we can be pretty sure that’s where they are headed. Here are the photos and the message that they tweeted last night:

The 4 of us are 2gethr in Hllywd today- 2 start recording the first batch of new ND songs!

This is greatly encouraging. I can’t imagine how No Doubt can record songs together and not want to release them to fans … this is really great news. Even tho the band got together to tour last year, I was pretty bummed that they didn’t put out an album to coincide with the tour … I think the time has finally come for some new No Doubt tunes. You might want to follow the band on Twitter to stay up-to-date on their progress in the recording studio. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that new No Doubt music will be coming our way very soon!

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