MTV News Round-Up 17/03/2004

*** 50 Cent has been invited to a gay and lesbian ball, following recent comments that he was uncomfortable around homosexual men. "We applaud 50 Cent's honesty in talking about the murder of his bisexual mother and appreciate his acknowledgement that he is not comfortable with gay people," said a spokesperson for Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defemation. "We know that confronting homophobia can indeed be uncomfortable."

*** The Libertines were joined onstage by The Clash's Mick Jones last night (March 16), during their triumphant set at the Love Music Hate Racism gig at London Astoria. Jones played four tracks with the band including the Clash classic 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go'. The event raised thousands to fund anti-racism events in BNP strongholds in the run up to next year's General Election.

*** The Tribal Gathering event scheduled for May Bank Holiday weekend has been cancelled. The Manchester event, which was to be headlined by the likes of Armand Van Helden, Stanton Warriors, Todd Terry and Jazzy Jeff has been pulled due to circumstances outside the organisers' control. All tickets will be refunded, and purchasers will also be compensated with a free night at Sankeys.

*** Courtney Love has made her presence felt in court with lots of chattering and crying. The solo star arrived two hours late at her drugs charges hearing and on arrival was given a tongue lashing from the judge for talking. Love pleaded innocent to charges of illegal possession in the short hearing on whether to send her for a full trial. The Judge delayed the hearing to April 15 in the end, to allow her lawyers more time to prepare.

*** Mel C has reportedly vetoed a Spice Girls reunion. Apparently, Mel has turned down a 10 million deal to promote a Spice Girls 'Greatest Hits' album. The Mirror quotes her as saying "No amount of money is more important than my integrity," in relation to the deal, while Mel's friend Carrie Grant said, "Even though Mel hasn't got a record deal at the moment, she told me there was no way she'd want anything to do with it."

DL