I read something about flo's funeral in a book and that seems planned and very rude. And other things such as she being behind Flo's depature and

Here's another story:

During a Motown rehearsal, during breaks, Diana Ross always retreated to her dressing room. She never socialized with any of her peers. Later, she would complain to Berry Gordy, "Those people hate my guts and I don't know why." She was lonely.

Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong and the Temptations sang old doo-wop standards to each other, having a blast. In a dark corner, Diana sat alone, her legs crossed and her arms folded. Whenever anyone would look her way, she would avert her eyes and act uninterested. But when she didn't think anyone was watching, her mouth would move along to the song lyrics and she would bop her head.

Later that day, Martha & The Vandellas stopped by. They joined the Tempts, Cindy and Mary for a warm reunion.

Suddenly, Diana's dressing room door swung open. "Will you please shut the hell up. I am trying to rest in here!" she exclaimed, and then she slammed the door shut.

"What's her problem?" one of the Temptations asked. "Who the hell cares" one of the Vandellas cracked. Then the reunion continued.

Paul Williams spoke up, "If it wasn't for me, Miss Ross would still be in the Detroit ghetto and now I can't even have a conversation with her unless I clear it with six people.

Oddly, Diana Ross had slapped Eddie Kendricks in front of everyone during a prior rehearsal and Kendricks never revealed what happened between the two of them.

Source: "Call Her Miss Ross," by J. Randy Taraborrelli

Then again some of it seems like jealousy , was she really that evil?

I think there's a lot of exaggerrated DR stories...

I cant speak on the stories because some things are true as well as false but it was jacked up what happened to Flo.

mjscarousal said:

I cant speak on the stories because some things are true as well as false but it was jacked up what happened to Flo.

Lots of people fucked Flo over.

Call me Ms. Ross had a HUGE ASS EGO.... who doesn't in show biz. She could be rude,overbearing, narcissistic, and cut throat. Ms. Ross has had some moments I'm sure she isn't proud of; she said as much in an interview once. Whatever she's done, she'll have to live with it, and pay any consequences. What I can be said about her, she's made some damn good music. More importantly in an industry where the kids too often become as fucked up as their parents, that woman raised those children. I firmly believe in what First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy said about rearing children, 'If you mess that up, nothing else you do in life matters.'

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[Edited 4/11/13 21:02pm]

[Edited 4/12/13 2:43am]

TD3 said:

Call me Ms. Ross had a HUGE ASS EGO.... who doesn't in show biz. She could be rude,overbearing, narcissistic, and cut throat. Ms. Ross has had some moments I'm sure she isn't proud of; she said as much in an interview once. Whatever she's done, she'll have to live with it, and pay any consequences. What I can be said about her, she's made some damn good music. More importantly in a industry where the kids to often become as fucked up as their parents, that woman raised those children. I firmly believe in what First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy said about rearing children, 'If you mess that up, nothing else you do in life matters.'

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[Edited 4/11/13 21:02pm]

mjscarousal said:

I cant speak on the stories because some things are true as well as false but it was jacked up what happened to Flo.

Yes If she would have stayed she would have been big , but is the movie dreamgirls really based off the supremes though?

SimpleSoul said:

mjscarousal said:

I cant speak on the stories because some things are true as well as false but it was jacked up what happened to Flo.

Yes If she would have stayed she would have been big , but is the movie dreamgirls really based off the supremes though?

They tried to loosely base it off of Motown and the Supremes but the real play has NOTHING to do with The Supremes. They re-wrote the script for marketing reasons. The movie is not a accurate depiction of Motown/Supremes.

I think the Supremes deserve a real thought out accurate bio depiction (no bullshit fluff or added things) but since they have marketed the play/movie Dreamgirls like it is about The Supremes I dont think that is going to happen.

What do you guys think?

mjscarousal said:

SimpleSoul said:

Yes If she would have stayed she would have been big , but is the movie dreamgirls really based off the supremes though?

They tried to loosely base it off of Motown and the Supremes but the real play has NOTHING to do with The Supremes. They re-wrote the script for marketing reasons. The movie is not a accurate depiction of Motown/Supremes.

I think the Supremes deserve a real thought out accurate bio depiction (no bullshit fluff or added things) but since they have marketed the play/movie Dreamgirls like it is about The Supremes I dont think that is going to happen.

What do you guys think?

The question is will berry gordy allow it? Also what happened to that movie about Flo called blondie? For some reason i think gordy had something to do with it , I could be wrong

Diana along with ALL the Motown Artists had the world in the palm of their hands. It's not surprising to read or hear about problems behind the scenes. We all have those same issues on our Jobs and even with our Families and Friends. I'm not saying it's a good thing but it's reality...

When it comes to Diana the ONLY hype that NEVER holds water is hear-say from Music Lovers, Diana Lovers and anybody that just wanna throw a rock at the woman just because...

Now when Diana's Peers write about or talk about things that happened behind the scenes i don't write it off as HYPE...Yes anyone can share their side of a story but the fact still remains these Artists saw things behind the scenes that we'll never know..

I think 99% of the people that become Celebs lose what we have as Regular Folk....I'm not talking about just Privacy....I feel they lose a piece of their Humanity...It takes some time Grooming a Man to Think & Feel because he's Famous he's now entitled to be self-absorbed.

I know a couple of people who have had the "pleasure" of interacting with her when she performed here in Michigan on several ocassions. They told me about some of the demands she was making and all of the orders she was barking out. She is absolutely THE Grand Diva.

kitbradley said:

I know a couple of people who have had the "pleasure" of interacting with her when she performed here in Michigan on several ocassions. They told me about some of the demands she was making and all of the orders she was barking out. She is absolutely THE Grand Diva.

And she will remain that way because people expect that from her anyway.

I don't think Diane is evil, I think she's a very strong individual who has short tolerance for bullshit. If we're gonna talk about who's evil, lets a carry conversation about her former boss but then again, he too is a very strong individual.

Harlepolis said:

kitbradley said:

I know a couple of people who have had the "pleasure" of interacting with her when she performed here in Michigan on several occasions. They told me about some of the demands she was making and all of the orders she was barking out. She is absolutely THE Grand Diva.

And she will remain that way because people expect that from her anyway.

I don't think Diane is evil, I think she's a very strong individual who has short tolerance for bullshit. If we're gonna talk about who's evil, lets a carry conversation about her former boss but then again, he too is a very strong individual.

Her former boss/lover was also a thief...

Ms. Ross knew that too; that's why she Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Day right on out of Motown to make some real money. Call me Ms. Ross wasn't evil. Ambitious, yes. Many times seeing raw ambition isn't a pretty thing to watch, especially when you are a women. Besides, it was Ms. Ross career to build and sustain, nobody else was going to do that for her. Somebody forgot to handed that memo to Ms. Mary Wilson.

I was just thinking about how so many others from the Motown family went down in flames to drugs, alcohol and violence. Many did some really bad things to themselves and to each other. And there seems to be some kind of "pass" given to these activities (d,a and v, etc.), somehow a certain forgiveness offered to that person and their legacy - as if no matter how hard they tried "they just couldn't help it."

Ms. Ross may have succumbed to her insecurities. (Even the Motown "family" was trying to tell her early on that she had a weak voice, was skinny, ugly ... and she set about letting them know that this was not the case. What a hell of a fight she put up.) She went down in her own kind of flames in that she seems to have become quite ostracized for her chosen course. She stood up against the odds, the world for that matter, and seems to have came out of it with children who are intact and that Love her, and an incredible musical legacy.

Is this a case of haters hating to some extent?

Harlepolis said:

kitbradley said:

I know a couple of people who have had the "pleasure" of interacting with her when she performed here in Michigan on several ocassions. They told me about some of the demands she was making and all of the orders she was barking out. She is absolutely THE Grand Diva.

And she will remain that way because people expect that from her anyway.

I don't think Diane is evil, I think she's a very strong individual who has short tolerance for bullshit. If we're gonna talk about who's evil, lets a carry conversation about her former boss but then again, he too is a very strong individual.

But she one-upped Berry with her push out of Motown in 1981.

What can we really say about Diana Ross, THE BOSS!!!! I mean she is one of the greatest entertainers of all-time...now we all know that for many years she has been given a bad rap, but when she is confronted about it, she makes it well-known that she likes things a certain way and she says she's not at all evil:

1. Patti LaBelle has stated that in the 60s, when she was with The BlueBelles, diana would come to their dressing room to see what they were wearing, then she went out and got the same thing..The BlueBelles would come on after The Supremes and it would look like they copied them..I think she did the same thing with Martha Reeves and The vandellas..I think Patti stretched it a little because in my opinion, diana and the supremes were much bigger than The BlueBelles, I cant see anyone from Motown going to find dresses the bluebelles had on, and then the Supremes were much bigger, why would they go on before The BlueBelles

2. diana Ross being backstage at concerts, tv tapings, movie sets, and etc, making people call her MISS ROSS, I think she did that!

3. I've also heard that when she had maids and housekeepers, when there was left over food, she would not allow them to eat not one thing, she would make them throw it all out!!!

4. My dad has a cousin in NY, he went to one of her shows with one of his guy friends and his girlfriend, and the guy asked for an autograph, she looked at him like he was crazy and she said NO!!!

5. In the early Motown Revues, she stole Smokey Robinson entire dance routine where he drops down on his knees..Smokey told Berry about it, Berry did nothing and said that Diana did it better because she added more sexual motions to it..

6. At Motown 25, everybody rehearse together, but she would not rehearse with what she called(THE GIRLS)..she said they just would have to go with the flow

7. At Soul Train 25th Anniversary Special, she demanded that she goes on first before anybody else does...mind you, she had to spots on that show

8. I read a book titled, ALL ThAt GLITTERS, and when she was very young, she would cry and have a fit to get her way

9. Slapped Berry Gordy during a taping of MAHOGANY

I Know that there are many more, but I didnt wanna add too many of The Supreme years because, we've pretty much heard them all, especially the treatment to Florence Ballard

fred12 said:

What can we really say about Diana Ross, THE BOSS!!!! I mean she is one of the greatest entertainers of all-time...now we all know that for many years she has been given a bad rap, but when she is confronted about it, she makes it well-known that she likes things a certain way and she says she's not at all evil:

1. Patti LaBelle has stated that in the 60s, when she was with The BlueBelles, diana would come to their dressing room to see what they were wearing, then she went out and got the same thing..The BlueBelles would come on after The Supremes and it would look like they copied them..I think she did the same thing with Martha Reeves and The vandellas..I think Patti stretched it a little because in my opinion, diana and the supremes were much bigger than The BlueBelles, I cant see anyone from Motown going to find dresses the bluebelles had on, and then the Supremes were much bigger, why would they go on before The BlueBelles

2. diana Ross being backstage at concerts, tv tapings, movie sets, and etc, making people call her MISS ROSS, I think she did that!

3. I've also heard that when she had maids and housekeepers, when there was left over food, she would not allow them to eat not one thing, she would make them throw it all out!!!

4. My dad has a cousin in NY, he went to one of her shows with one of his guy friends and his girlfriend, and the guy asked for an autograph, she looked at him like he was crazy and she said NO!!!

5. In the early Motown Revues, she stole Smokey Robinson entire dance routine where he drops down on his knees..Smokey told Berry about it, Berry did nothing and said that Diana did it better because she added more sexual motions to it..

6. At Motown 25, everybody rehearse together, but she would not rehearse with what she called(THE GIRLS)..she said they just would have to go with the flow

7. At Soul Train 25th Anniversary Special, she demanded that she goes on first before anybody else does...mind you, she had to spots on that show

8. I read a book titled, ALL ThAt GLITTERS, and when she was very young, she would cry and have a fit to get her way

9. Slapped Berry Gordy during a taping of MAHOGANY

I Know that there are many more, but I didnt wanna add too many of The Supreme years because, we've pretty much heard them all, especially the treatment to Florence Ballard

OK well she's a masterful human being ; But to me Motown is like a safety deposit box

Diana Ross is the ultimate "diva" and that's why we love her You don't get to the top by being the shy,retiring type.You gotta be aggressive and go for what you want.

Evil is too strong of a word IMO but Ross certainly doesn't have the reputation of being a nice woman at all

Shard said:

Evil is too strong of a word IMO but Ross certainly doesn't have the reputation of being a nice woman at all

Except to her family.

Is this an annual thread? Anyhow, I'll just repeat what I said then -- she seems to treat people according to how they can handle being treated, or according to how cutthroat she needs to be in order to get her dues. Interestingly, one common thread I've noticed in stories about her is that it seems like she's really kind to children. The excerpt I posted in the last thread is about Gil Scott-Heron and Stevie Wonder working to get the MLK holiday passed, and at one point Gil talks about a boy who won an essay contest on the holiday; the kid had trouble reading the essay to the crowd at a rally because it was copied really poorly:

After I introduced him, I walked backstage again. He started to read again, and I heard him coming to the point where he had faltered, the part on the page that was damn near invisible. He started to falter again, and I listened for some wiseass to say something. But then it started to go smoothly, and I looked over and there was Diana Ross standing next to him with her arm around his shoulder. Without being in the way, without making it her essay, she helped him over those rough spots. My man's confidence got a lift and the crowd started to appreciate what he had written. I stood there thinking: there must be 30 or 40 adults up here on this stage, and she's the only one of us who thought to go up there and help the brother!

I've always thought she's kind of feudal, yo know, treating the "help" like slaves and shit

fred12 said:

What can we really say about Diana Ross, THE BOSS!!!! I mean she is one of the greatest entertainers of all-time...now we all know that for many years she has been given a bad rap, but when she is confronted about it, she makes it well-known that she likes things a certain way and she says she's not at all evil:

1. Patti LaBelle has stated that in the 60s, when she was with The BlueBelles, diana would come to their dressing room to see what they were wearing, then she went out and got the same thing..The BlueBelles would come on after The Supremes and it would look like they copied them..I think she did the same thing with Martha Reeves and The vandellas..I think Patti stretched it a little because in my opinion, diana and the supremes were much bigger than The BlueBelles, I cant see anyone from Motown going to find dresses the bluebelles had on, and then the Supremes were much bigger, why would they go on before The BlueBelles

Fred, do you realize you are speaking about an incident that happened 1,000 years ago. All the Black Singers did the Chitlin Curcuit together. Just because Patti said what she said doesnt mean it's a lie because of who the Supremes were. I would say Patti stretched the truth if the Supremes NEVER did the Chitlin Curcuit. Patti said a Motown Scout wooed Cindi to replace Flo. I guess Patti is stretching the truth about that too?

I felt like posting this

sleek , just sleek

There's stories about her in the book KISS & SELL by Kiss' former business manager. I guess when Gene was dating Diana, the management firm did some stuff for her as well. She sounds demanding and particular and eccentric with a very high opinion of herself, maybe believing she was a bigger star than she was. She doesn't sound like the most polite person.

But evil? No.

Diana was a very ambitious person and sometimes can be very cunning but she's not unique in that regard though maybe among her Motown peers, she stood out because of that. Plus she IS a March Aries lol

mjscarousal said:

SimpleSoul said:

Yes If she would have stayed she would have been big , but is the movie dreamgirls really based off the supremes though?

They tried to loosely base it off of Motown and the Supremes but the real play has NOTHING to do with The Supremes. They re-wrote the script for marketing reasons. The movie is not a accurate depiction of Motown/Supremes.

I think the Supremes deserve a real thought out accurate bio depiction (no bullshit fluff or added things) but since they have marketed the play/movie Dreamgirls like it is about The Supremes I dont think that is going to happen.

What do you guys think?

I do remember that the time the play was on Broadway, though, there were enough similarities to the allegations of what went on behind the scenes at Motown that Miss Ross was not happy about it. At all. At the time Diana had no qualms in expressing this publicly either.

Guess that "affair with the boss" plot line sort of made her ass itch a little bit.

Dreamgirls the movie discussion starts at 3:25. She says she never saw the stage version, but she did sing "Family" at her '83 Central Park concert. listen

ETA: The concert re-airs this Saturday at 8/7c on TV One.

[Edited 4/16/13 12:22pm]

[Edited 4/16/13 12:23pm]