Joan Rivers interviews Randy Taraborrelli "Call Me Miss Ross" author
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf5ZGj-Q3ZA
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Joan Rivers interviews Randy Taraborrelli "Call Me Miss Ross" author
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf5ZGj-Q3ZA
This interview, also from the 80s provides a nice contrast to the Mary Wilson interview from "American Black Journal" in my opinion.
Does anyone know whatever happened to him? Is he still writing?
Actually Berry Gordy sued J. Randy Taraborrelli for libel and invasion of privacy following the release of the book on...
...Michael Jackson.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/ed...i-j-randy-1956
True, Diana did not like how she was portrayed in Call Me Miss Ross [[and Smokey Robinson was pretty blunt against it in public a few times) but she never sued him. And has never sued Mary Wilson, nor Mark Bego, nor Mark Ribowsky, nor Tony Turner, for their books on her and the Supremes.
I mean if we're gonna keep it 100, let's get the facts straight.
Randy updated Call Her Miss Ross, deleted what was questionable and turned it into the definitive Diana Ross book. - and it really was a work obviously admiring someone he was writing about
And of course he wrote many other books and is on Facebook
His writing was a notch above Mary’s and a light year above Mark Bego
Interesting, last night at her Q&A portion of her show, she said she avoids gossip, focuses on being positive, meditates and loves her family. From what Andy and George have said about her feedback on the Expanded Editions, she’s always been pleased, and nice. It’s working for her.
She came across as very humble and sincere when she thanked the audience for attending. You could tell she loves what she does.
I mean maybe she didn't think it was worth it. Aretha Franklin also didn't sue [[though she threatened to) David Ritz for his book on her [[which is what he originally wanted to work with her on but she refused to delve into her personal life to anyone she thought was a stranger). Marvin Gaye's estate didn't sue for some of the fables told in the books on him [[in particularly how MG III was born). Some folks just decided lawsuits are not necessary. Even MARY and Florence's estate could've sued for what Tony Turner wrote about them [[and Tony wasn't particularly nice about Mary so why didn't Mary sue? She would've had every right to do so).
That's what I'm saying. Oh in regards to Mary not suing Tony. Didn't his book come out around the time her second book came out? Didn't she fire him? Wasn't it Berry Gordy that threaten to sue him which prevented him from releasing his 3rd book? Makes me wonder if Mary didn't have to get at him to make him leave "the scene" LOL! Any way. I don't like to, but I have sued people before. Sometimes they leave you no choice. Miss Ross, if she felt all these people lied on her in all of these books [[including those by Martha Reeves, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Bettye LaVette and on and on and on....) she should have sued them to clear her name........that's if none of it were true.
Roberta, I do not post much but may I ask you why you are always so nasty to Marv?
JRTs book was loaded with footnotes and highly researched. He spent much of the introduction of the updated edition extending an olive branch to Mary Wilson and expressing his respect for her.
I actually like Diana's approach, which is the way most famous folks do it. Unless you claim something extraordinarily horrible, like Tony Turner did with his proposed third book claiming that Berry Gordy molested him as a youth, and of which Gordy promptly went into legal attack mode, as he should've [[assuming it was false), you let people say whatever they want and you pay them no mind. The things that have been claimed against Diana Ross have been nothing of the sort that should've made her run to her lawyers about anything. Only a few people like yourself who seem overly invested in the goings on in the life of a 75 year old woman who was in her twenties when most of the gossip usually takes place seem to really care about what is said about her. For everything a few people say negatively about her, she keeps pressing on. The proof is in the fruit that she bore, and that would be her children and grandchildren. If you wanna gauge the happiness of a woman of Diana's age, check out the relationship to the children. I've seen it in the women I know personally my whole life. The elderly women who were shitty mothers, you can tell. The good ones? You can tell that too. I suspect that as long Diana Ross has a family that love and respects her and doesn't care what anyone has to say about her, she give you and everyone else nothing as the books are written and the Soulful Detroit posts are created. Never underestimate the love of family. It will outweigh all even when the whole world is against you.
Ralph isnt telling you diddly squat so grow up.
Not too many stars think of suing, most rather move on. It could state that what these people said was true or they might not bother because it's a private thing. Bettye LaVette also could've been sued for saying she and Aretha for instance smoked weed and drank liquor together and that Ted White was a pimp but either she shrugged it off or didn't know. You just never know how celebrities, especially ones who rise to the top, feel when a lot of stuff is said about them, true or not.
Well Diana is far from the only superstar celebrity who didn't sue against an author for a supposedly defaming book on her [[which I don't think it was). So I guess if we're to believe the stories in books about Diana, we have to believe the stories about Aretha, about Michael Jackson, about Smokey Robinson, about any artist that has had issues over the years and put into a book or two. Whitney Houston didn't sue Kevin Ammons for his Good Girl, Bad Girl book [[which claimed Whitney's alleged girlfriend Robyn Crawford was also fooling with Whitney's brother Michael) or Faith Evans, who alleged Whitney had an affair with 2Pac [[Bobby Brown alluded to the same thing in his book). I mean if the stuff about Diana is true and I tend to believe a good chunk of it [[because we're not all saints of course), we have to believe everything else, right? Just going on the theory that if a celebrity doesn't sue on a book about them, that means the stories are factual.
Interesting interview but I like Randy. However, I am always suspicious when there are only two people involved like his story about Michael and Diana sitting on the couch talking and Diana leaves for a moment to find Michael at her makeup mirror. I would love to know who told him that story........... Michael or Diana since they were the only two in the room. I read things like this when there are only two or sometimes just one individual present but obviously someone is able to write about because there was a GHOST in the room.
My first observation from the Turner book after reading it and then trashing it was "Why are there no pictures of him and Flo" ? Surly, they had cameras back then right ? I could have wrote the same book and talked about meeting Flo and then Diana and then Mary. The whole thing was odd and felt dirty.
What would she be suing about though? Do you really think it's worth her time to sue someone who writes in a book about how she copied someone's dress and then wore it before they had a chance? Or how about suing because someone said she hit him upside the head with a hat box with a dog hidden inside? Or maybe she should've sued because someone wrote that she wasn't always nice to Mary Wilson?
The law appears to be [[and you legal scholars please feel free to step in and confirm or correct me) fairly strict on what constitutes a person being able to sue an author for libel or defamation. Diana would have to prove that her reputation has truly suffered as a result of these books, and I don't believe she can do that. I know a few Mary fans like to believe that Dreamgirl somehow kept Diana from scoring another hit, but that's a fantasy, not reality. The truth is that by the time Dreamgirl hit the street, Diana hadn't had a hit over here in two years. And then three or so years after Dreamgirl, Diana hit the top 5 r&b. She was still in demand as a concert draw. Still being approached to take part in major television appearances. Mary's book didn't steal her shine, nor did JRandyT's book, Tony Turner, or anyone else since. Music wise, what killed Diana's career was stinky music which nobody wanted to bother with, and when she did record good stuff, she was considered "past it" by the business who was more interested in the Toni Braxton and Mary J Blige's of the industry.
Diana is the rule for celebrities, not the exception, when it comes to allowing negative depictions in books to go without pursuing legal options, if any exists for her particular case. You almost never hear of celebrities suing authors.
Uh yeah, you're pretty nasty to him Roberta, even when he's not being nasty himself. I get it when he's being a dick. Give him what he gives you. But if not, let him be, please. It'll go a long way to achieving what little peace can be achieved in a forum allowed to run amok.
Exactly. These folks would spend a lot of money in legal fees fighting every single thing alleged about them, and they mostly wouldn't be able to prove that someone is lying. Could you imagine Diana trying to prove that something is a lie from 1965? Nearly impossible. It's usually one person's word against another.
It would probably be hearsay. JRandyT would just assert that a source told him that Diana told the source what happened. Let's say the story is real. I can imagine Diana maybe having to tell somebody what she walked in on. She may have thought that story was too wild to sit on, even for her.:D