Outside of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys (sorry Mashonda, it is what it is), Rihanna and Matt Kemp are one of my favorite celebrity couples, so I was taken by surprise the other day when I read on a few Web sites that Rih-Rih had “walked out” on the Los Angeles Dodger. Although all of the research I’ve done on the state of the couple’s relationship negates that story, I was still a little disappointed at even the remote possibility there is trouble in paradise. Someone else bothered by the story was hip-hop trailblazer Russell Simmons, but for a totally different reason. Before I get into why, check out how it was originally reported by SandraSays on the Def Jam co-founder’s GlobalGrind.com site:

“Did Rihanna walk out on Matt Kemp? Well, instead of staying at the lovely home she shares with Matt Kemp, Rihanna spent the night at a hotel last night. The couple hardly spends time together and after a week of some QT (quality time), Rihanna is already walking out!”

“Last night she checked into the Bevelry [sic] Hills Hilton, mind you, it is a mere FIVE minutes away from the lovely mansion they share….who would have ever thought the couple would ever be splitting up so soon. We know Rihanna said there was not going to be a wedding yet, we did not think they were REALLY slowing this down like this! Who knows, it might be a rough patch in their relationship!”

Russell was aghast when he spotted the story and didn’t waste any time expressing his disappointment in his writing staff in a series of tweets on his Twitter page:

“Leave globalgrind.com staff alone 1minute and they report dirt on rhianna [sic] that’s not what we do be creative but don’t sell untrue dirt.”

“We don’t print dirt. If its [sic] sad and true we will tell the truth but we don’t create dirt !!!!!!!!!!”

Russell was further incensed when he learned an almost identical story had run on Mediatakeout.com. He later spoke to Page Six about the situation and related it back to one of the most painful examples of media irresponsibility:

“The way 2 Pac [sic] and Biggie [Notorious B.I.G.] died was from irresponsible journalism. And we are aware of that.”

As an avid reader of newspapers and magazines even as a teen during the height of the whole East Coast vs. West Coast fiasco, I can’t say I totally disagree with him, but I truly believe the media as a whole learned from the tragic deaths of Pac and Biggie, and would treat any other situation of that magnitude with the caution it deserves. At the same time, this isn’t a situation of that magnitude, but I see where he’s going with the idea.

Although Russell didn’t fire anyone, he had his staff change the headline to “Rihanna Checks Into A Beverly Hills Hotel Alone,” and told Page Six:

“People work in other environments where it’s easy to play in the cheap seats. But we’ve become the biggest urban site, and we don’t have to do any dirt.”

I guess that’s his way of saying there’s no room for me on the GlobalGrind staff since my hands tend to get a little dirty every now and then.

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