Chris Brown Doesn't "Got Milk"; CoverGirl Stands by Rihanna

by Josh Grossberg

Los Angeles (E! Online) – A rap sheet doesn't do a body good—particularly Chris Brown.

The folks behind the popular "Got Milk?" spots have announced they're dropping the R&B star from their celeb roster, two days after Brown was busted for allegedly roughing up Rihanna.

Brown was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, but the district attorney has not formally charged him. He is free on $50,000 bail

"The Milk Mustache campaign is taking the allegations against Chris Brown very seriously," the Body by Milk Campaign said in a statement. "We are very proud and protective of the image of the Milk Mustache campaign and the responsible message it sends to teens."

The "Say Goodbye" singer began donning the mustache in spots last fall. In a case of auspicious timing (or so Body by Milk insists), the ads were due to stop running this week.

On Monday, Wrigley Chewing Gum stopped running all ads featuring Brown touting Doublemint. And the NBA announced that he would not be participating in this weekend's All-Star Game festivities in Phoenix. It's also doubtful he'll show up for Thursday's NAACP Image Awards, for which he and Rihanna are both nominated.

While Brown is losing air time, Rihanna will still be featured as part of a massive CoverGirl campaign.

The cosmetics company said it would continue running TV and print ads starring the 20-year-old "Live Your Life" chanteuse, but declined to comment on the situation.

"Out of respect for our CoverGirls, we do not share information regarding their personal lives."

The singer, whose real name Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was released from Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after being treated for bruises, cuts and what appeared to be bite marks on her body.

She is apparently still in Los Angeles and reportedly helping authorities with their ongoing investigation into the incident. She did, however, postpone her birthday party celebration scheduled for Thursday in New York, as well as a sold-out gig scheduled for Friday in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

Neither she nor Brown have publicily comment on the incident.

Wrigley suspends Chris Brown, Rihanna silent

music news

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Chewing gum makers Wrigley on Monday suspended a commercial featuring Chris Brown after the popular R&B singer was arrested on suspicion of attacking a woman widely reported to be his singer girlfriend Rihanna.

The clean-cut Brown, 19, one of the fastest-rising stars of the last two years, was free on $50,000 bail, a day after the couple hurriedly canceled separate performances at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Both the Brown and Rihanna camps were silent on Monday. Police sources told the Los Angeles Times and celebrity Web site TMZ.com that the woman who reported she had been attacked by Brown in the early hours of Sunday was 20-year-old Rihanna, singer of hits "Umbrella" and "Disturbia."

Wrigley said in a statement it was "concerned by the serious allegations" made against Brown, who was booked by police on suspicion of making a felony criminal threat.

The company said that while Brown should be afforded due legal process "we have made the decision to suspend the current advertising featuring Brown...until the matter is resolved."

Brown, who was competing against Rihanna in a Grammy category, was a spokesman for Doublemint gum and his hit song "Forever" was part of that advertising campaign.

Brown is also a pitchman for the long-running Got Milk? campaign, in which celebrities are photographed with a milk mustache. The Milk Processor Education Program said his participation was scheduled to end this week, as planned.

"The Milk Mustache campaign is taking the allegations against Chris Brown very seriously," the Washington, D.C.-based trade group said in a statement. "We are very proud and protective of the image of the Milk Mustache campaign and the responsible message it sends to teens."

The incident appeared to be out of character for Brown, who has been dating Barbados-born Rihanna for about a year and helped produce her album.

She was variously reported to have been left bruised, bleeding and even bitten in the attack, which took place shortly after she and Brown left a pre-Grammy party in Beverly Hills on Saturday night.

Police said the woman "suffered visible injuries" in the incident, which started in a car and continued as both parties got out. Los Angeles prosecutors are considering whether to formally charge Brown, who could face up to three years in prison if convicted, legal sources said.

Celebrity Web site Radaronline quoted an unidentified eyewitness who said she had seen Rihanna being treated at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday.

"Rihanna was clearly very upset by what happened and I could hear her screaming. Rihanna was trying to get her point across about something. She sounded like she was crying," the eyewitness told Radaronline.com.

Rihanna's publicist issued a brief statement on Sunday saying: "Rihanna is well. Thank you for concern and support."

Fans of both Rihanna and Brown, who made his name at age 16 with the single "Run It", were shocked by the incident.

People magazine pondered what had gone wrong, calling it a "Fairy-tale romance gone awry". One of hundreds of postings on the Us Weekly Web site said; "I just don't understand. it's so out of character of him. i really want to know the real story. i just can't believe he beat some girl. doesn't seem like him what so ever.

By Jill Serjeant -- Reuters

Prince Suits Up For Super Bowl Halftime Show

Prince will perform during the Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show, sponsored by Pepsi and airing live Feb. 4 on CBS from Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Sources tell Billboard.com the event is expected to kick off a busy year for Prince in the studio and on the road, but additional details are not yet being made public.

Of late, Prince has been busy rocking out at his new 3121 club at the Rio in Las Vegas. On Friday (Dec. 8), he offered up a two-hour-plus set featuring classics like "Kiss," "Purple Rain" and "Nothing Compares 2 U" alongside less obvious fare such as "Pass the Peas," "Elephants and Flowers" and "Forever in My Life."

Prince even made a joking reference to the classic sketch involving him on "Chappelle's Show," telling the crowd he would serve them pancakes when the evening was finished.

The artist is also up for five Grammy nominations stemming from his 2006 Universal album "3121," including best R&B album, while the title track is up for best urban/alternative performance. The single "Black Sweat" is nominated for best male R&B vocal performance and best R&B song.

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.