Nicole Richie, adopted daughter of legendary R&B crooner Lionel Richie, has found herself back in the headlines.
Of course there’s more important things happening in the world; apparently we’re in a “war on terror;” Barack Obama making a very strong case as to why he should become the nation’s first Black president; and attempts by national leaders to end the 4-year conflict that has devastated the western region of Sudan, Darfur.
But… Nicole Richie, the 25 year-old starlet and star of “reality TV” just might be pregnant. This is the same Nicole who, according to pictures of her in magazines, was supposedly anorexic.
Nichie's the one that was admitted into rehab for her drug addictions, and arrested for entering a California freeway on the exit ramp. Everyone knows her notoriously infamous friend, Paris Hilton who... well, let's not go there.
Paparazzi flood the streets just to get another picture of the actress and the rest of America looks to see what outfit she’s wearing and whether or not she ate dinner last night. Now that pregnancy and a possible wedding is something new to speculate about, I continue to wonder what her extremely talented father thinks about this Maybe I don’t read enough or pay enough attention to her dress size, but the name Lionel Richie definitely doesn’t come up very often considering his less accomplished daughter is in our face each week.
Lionel Richie, the whole reason for her recognizable name is rarely seen or heard. Most might think that this is a textbook for bad parenting, that this is why she ended up another celebrity youth wrapped up in drugs and alcohol, or doesn’t he see her cries for help and attention?
Maybe his dedication to his music career is what he’s been nurturing over the years instead. (The way he sang to that blind woman in the song “Hello” made her sculpt a bust of him perfectly, so he must know what he’s doing!)
Considering that parents are the primary influence on our lives, this definitely seems to be the case. But if you think a little deeper, it’s amazing, maybe even planned that he has been able to continue his illustrious career with no attachments to his daughter’s monthly screw ups, break-downs, and speculations. Whether we see it or not, he seems to be there for her, according to one of the interviews that he gave regarding his relationship with Nicole.
When asked by Access Hollywood about the possible wedding this summer Lionel said, “"Nicole is probably one of those wonderful people that will not tell her father until I keep going, 'Come on Nic. I'm your father. What's going on? [She'll say] 'Nothing dad, nothing.' So right now, she's in nothing mode. I don't know. She'll let me know about it at the very last minute."
"I'm just hoping that it doesn't cost me a fortune," he smiled.
We’re left thinking, “they’re pretty close, he talks to her personally about her life instead of reading it in gossip magazines. He hasn’t always let her run all over him like weak parents of celebrities.” There’s nothing our strong Black mothers dislike more than a child telling their parents to ‘shut up and leave me alone.’ There’s no way Lionel plays that game!
But at the same time, how is she probably one of those people? Does he know or not? It’s so confusing that it’s ingenious, so I simply throw my hands in the air, disconnect from the fact that he’s been her father through all of her mishaps that could also land her in jail, and get distracted thinking, “How did that girl in the ‘Hello’ video know how to sculpt his face that well? Damn, Lionel can sing! Whoever that Richie girl’s father is needs to tell her to get a hamburger and stop hanging out with the sex tape girl.”
--“Keep talking, it’s the only way they’ll ever hear you.”--JJJ