People: She’s one happy Ne-Yo mama
When he was younger, Ne-Yo watched from afar as his friends hugged their fathers – and he wondered where his dad might be.
“A lot of aggravation was inside me,” the 28-year-old singer says. “Dad stuck around for a minute and decided it wasn’t for him.
“But I credit my mom for being so positive, putting the pin in my hand. It’s single women like her who don’t get enough recognition.”
Now Ne-Yo (real name Shaffer C. Smith) is honoring moms like his own.
On Sunday, he’ll host a brunch for 50 single and foster mothers in Atlanta to raise awareness of the need for foster care reform.
“We’re in a day and age where people care about themselves and no one else. That’s the outlook a lot of people have,” he says.
“But it is everybody’s responsibility to make sure that our future, which is these kids, are brought up the right way.”
When Ne-Yo told his mother about the event, she broke into tears.
“I got a little emotional because trying to help children is a passion of mine,” says Loraine Smith, 45. “This is the best thing so far he has done to give back to the community.”
Not cool, dawg
Turning to the seamier side of society, rapper DMX was arrested Friday on drug and animal-cruelty charges following an overnight raid at his Phoenix home.
DMX (aka Earl Simmons) initially tried to barricade himself in his bedroom but emerged when a SWAT team entered the house.
The indictment stems from an August search in which detectives seized 12 pit bulls, dug up remains of three others and found marijuana on the rural property. More drugs and weapons were found Friday, authorities said.
What’s up, docket?
Elsewhere on the celebrity legal beat:
“Rapper Foxy Brown pleaded guilty to menacing a neighbor with her cell phone, but avoided a jail sentence thanks to time already served. Brown was released last month after spending seven months behind bars for a fight with manicurists in a Manhattan nail salon.
“Jury selection began Friday in R. Kelly‘s long-delayed child pornography trial. The 41-year-old R&B singer is accused of having videotaped sex with a girl as young as 13.
“A Florida judge sentenced Nick Bollea, the 17-year-old son of wrestler Hulk Hogan, to eight months in jail for reckless driving for an accident that left his friend critically injured.
A real ‘Live’ woman
Back to mothers, a USA Today reader poll shows the most-loved celebrity mom is Kelly Ripa, followed by Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts and Jada Pinkett Smith.
She’s making us turn scarlet
Finally, we’re not sure if she’s a mom, but 77-year-old Sue Johanson airs her final “Talk Sex” show Sunday on the Oxygen channel.
“I’m going to miss writing scripts,” she says. “I’m going to miss having to read books. I’m going to miss playing with sex toys.”
The birthday bunch
Sports announcer Pat Summerall is 78. Announcer Gary Owens (“Laugh-In”) is 69. Singer Donovan is 62. Singer Bono (U2) is 48. Model Linda Evangelista is 43. Rapper Young MC is 41. Actor Erik Palladino is 40. Actor Kenan Thompson (“Kenan and Kel”) is 30.