Category Archives: Rumor Has It…

The Other Side Of Myriam Faris

This 29 year old Lebanese diva dubbed by fans as “The Queen Of Stage” (don’t ask) is best known for that hard-to-miss junk in her trunk and she’s not afraid to flaunt it. Although she stems from a background in classic ballet there ain’t nothing classic about her moves. She’s been accused of ruthlessly imitating international pop star Shakira and then accusing Shakira herself of copying her, (ummm, yeah, right…) but if you ask me, she’s got more of a JLo look going for her and here’s how I came to that conclusion.

Haifa and Elissa BFFs

Spotted! Lebanon’s favourite songbirds dancing the night away at a lavish wedding party in the French Riviera last summer. Haifa takes home the best dressed title for this one, hands down.

Which leads me to the following question, isn’t it a big NO NO to wear white to a wedding unless you plan on intentionally upstaging the bride? *Cough Cough*

Men Rejoice: It’s Maya Diab and Her Mom

There’s a new trend in town, it’s called bring your mommy to the photo shoot. Hey… if Miss Lebanon can do it so can Lebanon’s self-proclaimed super host Maya Diab. Mind you, she did with triple the budget . I have to say, Mommy Maya still looks like she’s got it!  She’s making Maya look rather prude, except for that shot where Maya’s sticking her booty out- that’s just unnecessary when your mom’s in the same shot.  Really now Maya, have you any manners? Check out these pics posted recently by Maya’s on her Facebook fan page.

Maya is telling her mom about the time she _________________

Miss Lebanon Has A Momager!

I came across a very bizarre article in an Arabic gossip rag yesterday featuring Miss Lebanon Yara Khoury-Mikhael and get this- her Mother/ Momager. Yup, it was a joint interview with mother and daughter on how Yara is such a beautiful girl and great daughter blah blah blah thanks to the hard work and dedication of her fabulous mother ( who looks great for her age I have to say).

Momma Yara was quick to take the opportunity to share the limelight with her 19 year old daughter. I mean come on, posing with your beauty pageant daughter for some much wanted attention- I smell a cougar! Dina Lohan would be proud.

Check out some of the snaps below

It’s seems Yara and Miss USA’s Rima Fakih have some beef going on as well.

Separated At Birth

She’s currently the Middle East’s most anticipated news anchor, Diana Fakhoury, appearing at 8 pm on MTV at least 4 days a week and the one on the right is one of the most adorned international supermodels of the 80’s and 90’s Cindy Crawford. Cindy put that trademark mole above her lips on the map and now Diana is bringing it back. They may be worlds (and years) apart but put these two beautiful women in the same room and they may be mistaken for long-lost sisters. Don’t you think?

I was lucky enought to share this post with the always lovely Diana Fakhoury on Twitter @diana_fakhoury and here’s what she thinks of this post

Check out more Celebs Separated At Birth, here, here and here

Lebanese Singer Pirates Gwen Stefani

I think it’s safe to assume that we all very much remember Gwen Stefani’s hit “Rich Girl” featuring Eve and her Harajuku Girls as they danced and pranced around a pirate ship.  World famous director David LaChapelle would be interested to learn that his video and concepts were so ludicrously stolen by a Lebanese singer that goes by the name of Nelly Makdessi in her video for a song called Ya Dada. The Lebanese music industry has been notorious for directly ripping off internationally renowned artist’s video without the slightest attempt to conceal them, some of you may still recall how this Lebanese artist who stole direct scenes from Britney Spears’ Toxic Video.  This growing “borrowing” trend makes one wonder how stupid these artists must consider their audiences to either assume that a) the audience has never been exposed to international pop videos or b) the audience simply wouldn’t notice.

Having made that point and if you have some time to kill, check out the audacity of this video and screen shots and compare them to Gwen Stefani’s (posted below) and decide for yourself, coincidence or yet another case of downright theft?

p.s. keep a lookout for an arab Johnny Depp who also makes an appearance

And now for the full-videos

Lana Del Rey & Nicole Saba: Separated At Birth

Or they may share the same plastic surgeon. Now before we accuse Nicole of stealing new IT girl Lana Del Rey’s look, we gotta be fair- Nicole had this look way before Lana appeared on the international scene. But the resemblance between the two is striking! What do you think, could these two be long lost sisters?

Check out more  Super Star Sisters Separated at Birth:

Lady GaGa and Fairuz

Mona Abu Hamzeh and How I Met Your Mother’s Robin Scherbatsky

The Lebanese Celebrities Wedding Album

Nothing says happily ever after like an over-the-top-wedding dress and ceremony extravaganza. And that’s exactly what these celebrities did on their big days. Some look like puff-pastries others look like little girls playing dress up at second hand bridal stores. One can’t help what wonder what the hell were they thinking but hey, if the Lebanese Politicians get to do it, why can’t these divas give it a go?

Nicole Saba, 38

Nancy Ajram, 28

Haifa Wehbe, 36

Annabella Hilal, 26

Cyrine Abdelnour, 40

Maya Nasri

Dana Halabi, 25

Christina Sawaya, 31

In Lebanon- Sex Sells Chicken

I’ve never before been to “al Saniour” located in Antelias but I’ve heard many stories about how that restaurant is THE pick-up spot for many ready-to-mingle people in Lebanon, both men and women.

The strategy? Bluetooth. Just switch on your Bluetooth and before you know it you’ll get flooded with messages, pics or in some cases, cheesy songs. Of course I did not believe that for one second until I stepped in to the immensely condensed place yesterday (a friend of mine was in town and she just loves that place) and not-to-my-surprise almost every single lady and man had attached themselves to two very peculiar objects, their cells, that were placed right in front of their faces, and their arghilehs ( hubbly bubblies)  that went into their mouths. As customers walked in those  people would put down their cells,  bluntly assess what they see and begin typing vigorously on their smart phones. It was though a network was put in place and we were mere contestants amongst a panel of judges who would soon provide us with their verdict.  Only after twenty minutes of being seated did the crowd-with-a-staring-problem finally get used to our presence and accept us as part of the herd. i.e. they stopped staring us down so hard.

No,we did not turn on our Bluetooth, we were way too busy AWE-ing over the menu that did not seem to hold back on the sexual innuendos.  If you thought strawberries and whipped cream are sexy you obviously  haven’t been exposed to some taouk and garlic. Take a look…

And in case you were in the mood for something light, how about..

Your Speeding Ticket- Delivered!

That’s right! I was getting my nails done this afternoon and my “aesthetician” lady tells me that she received a call today from a police station branch to inform her that she has a 50,000LL  “zabet” for speeding. Better yet, the cop was calling to inquire about her home address. In fact, he sent another cop from the station to deliver the ticket  right to her door. Convenient or downright strange? Either way if you thought you’d be procrastinating on that pending ticket you got because you thought the radars stopped working, think again!