TD3 said:

Who got the popcorn?

TD3 said:

I agree. She thinks there's a possibility she can outmaneuver him (and garner public sympathy in the process), but I see no other option but full disclosure in relation to royalty income.

Update: Baker Reaches Agreement With Ex-Husband's Attorney

February 28, 2010



Anita Baker's Friday began with the threat of jail hanging over her.
It ended with the Grammy-winning R&B singer exiting a Detroit courtroom, smiling and excited to get her weekend started.

What made the 52-year-old Grosse Pointe resident so happy was that she and her lawyers were able to reach an agreement with her ex-husband's attorney to create a process that eventually will decide how much Walter Bridgforth is owed in music royalties as part of the couple's divorce settlement.

"I'm so happy. ... I have never been in such a position before," Baker said in the hallway outside court. "And we don't intend to ever be in such a position ever again. I just wanna go home, and I'm happy to go home. ... As horrific as it could have been, it was lovely to feel supported, though, on the other end."

Baker, best-known for hits such as Giving You the Best That I Got, faced a deadline of this past Wednesday to sign documents to empower court-appointed music contract expert Howard Hertz to seek information from the record companies on the amount owed to Bridgforth.

But when that deadline passed and Baker again didn't sign Thursday, Wayne County Chief Family Court Judge Lita Masini Popke ordered the singer back to court Friday to sign or be jailed.

On Thursday, Popke said Baker had been uncooperative, and the singer complained of being "muzzled."

At Friday's hearing, Baker rose to speak under oath, telling the judge it was a "very stressful situation" to have to review the documents under the threat of jail.

After a recess, Popke relented, saying: "I'm not going to hold you in contempt or send you to jail today."

The judge then instructed Baker, her lawyers, Bridgforth's attorney Hanley Gurwin and Hertz to work out language acceptable to all parties.

The sides retreated to the jury room and returned later to inform Popke that they had reached a deal.

The agreement calls for Hertz to report back to the court by late April on his dealings with the record companies.

Everyone seemed pleased with the outcome, even the judge.

"Miss Baker, I thank you for your cooperation," Popke said. "I apologize for the stress that this obviously put on you, but I think we've reached a very successful conclusion and can move forward."

The royalties in question would come from two albums released during Baker's marriage to Bridgforth, who wasn't in court Friday.

His lawyer, though, was relieved to have the matter behind him for now.

"It wasn't easy," Gurwin said. "Obviously, it took us two days to get this done. But we did get it done."



http://www.usatoday.com/l...aker_N.htm

Well, that was all very vague, mostly rehashing what we already knew. But it sounds like a resolve.

Rick James in his autobiography said Anita Baker was the biggest bitch he'd ever dealt with in the industry, or words to that effect.

Timmy84 said:

Yeah because Anita is a true DIVA she's know for that in the industry as well.

Cinnie said:

Hopefully his percentage is a crumb since she did the actual laboring
for her career. She has dealt with tragedy and such since the breakup
from her husband. I know emotionally she doesn't want to go through
this. Why can't Walter Jokeforth get back to work in Real Estate and
quit hassling Anita Baker for her royalty checks?

phunkdaddy said:

Word.

carlcranshaw said:

I'm not sure about the story, but I know for a fact that Gwen was involved with Anita Baker in some form or fashion

TD3 said:

You know what I been hearing alot of women's (both online and offline) reaction to this situation with Anita, and its funny that women do this to men all the time when it comes to divores and getting half. But the tables are turned and its the other way around, they wanna scream "foul". LOL!! Thats why Oprah got married - she wanted to keep all of her money.

thatruth said:

Ah I see...I did wanna guess and say Gwen but I wasn't too sure.

Prospect said:

Well yes, we ladies can be a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to this subject.

Timmy84 said:

form or fashion???


Meaning they were once an item??

Prospect said:

PREACH THAT SHIT!!!!

HALF! should work both ways.

seriousfunk said:

Rick's not the only one who said that about her.

daPrettyman said:

I went to Madison Square Garden in 1988 to see Luther & Anita in concert. Anita was a no-show because of 'illness'. I didn't know until later there was serious drama between the two of them. Two divas

uPtoWnNY said:

Luther(Or 'Lucifer' as En Vogue called him) wasn't exactly a walk to the park either

But Slick Rick was throwing shade left & right at everybody in that book, didn't he? I was through when he said that JoJo(from MJG) and Anita were fuckin', and that it came easily for them, what with them being "snooty bitches and all" - HIS words not mine

Okay, so did everyone know about Anita's bisexuality but me?

sosgemini said:

Me too


I swear I didn't know
[Edited 3/2/10 17:43pm]

funkpill said:

That doesn't sound right. The woman can't be bi-sexual AND evil, can she?

I never knew that if that's true. I just figured she was an unruly lady who maybe went to a Peruvian enhanced charm school.

I will give her props on this. She once said that every vocalist should know their EQ settings and frequencies when singing in the studio or live performance.

We used to set mics for vocalists whose mics were "cloudy" when they should have said: "I need a little less 500Hz and a little more 2k.
[Edited 3/2/10 19:24pm]

I wish a Ni**a would come and try to take my momma's money. He wouldn't make it to court. Anita Baker should be somewhere chillin, enjoying the fruits of her labor. Instead of fighting some punk ass dude in court. Where his balls at? Can't he get a job? Walmarts always hiring.

funkpill said:

What? No.

TD3 said:

I think in all cases, everyone should leave with what they came with. I also think Walter is a punk bitch for this.

Timmy84 said:

I guess allot more was going on than just the rent...

phunkdaddy said:

I've said it b4 and I'll say it again. Regardless of what people think of Anita, that crackheaded joker she's divorcing is not entitled 2 her music royalties, much less half. I can see if he was on her album covers with her, or if he was her producer, songwriter, musician, or he was her close confidant during the lean years when she was struggling 2 get noticed. Granted a pre-nup should have been put in2 place. But it's just like Heather who was juicing Sir Paul McCartney for his money and she wasn't even born when he wrote "Hey Jude." Yet she argued she should get his royalties anyway. HELL 2 THA NAW! Anita was already a big R&B/jazz,pop superstar w/ money in the bank long b4 she met that dude. The lesson I get out of this is there's GREEDY crackheads of all colors, male, female, shapes, and sizes looking 2 seize on their prey. Unfortunately, Anita and Sir Paul were the gullable 1s. Peace!
[Edited 3/3/10 7:04am]
[Edited 3/3/10 7:06am]

Smittyrock70 said:

I don't think anyone is disagreeing with u, but when someone is married, the finances are part of the marriage. Therefore, any of the songs written during the marriage, he is entitled to part ownership of them. Anita should have gotten a pre-nup before she said "I-do". If she had handled her business before she got married, she wouldn't be in this situation.

A lot of entertainers have been in this same boat. Janet was the perfect example. She had 2 pay Rene out of the marriage because of a similar situation.

I think David Foster has been through this also.

daPrettyman said:

I remember that, and I didn't know she was married until she got a divorce.

daPrettyman said:

Exactly.