THERE'S GRATITUDE

Vibe magazine gave Mary J Blige an award and a front cover. And what did Mary J give them? Hell. Lost in the original reports of Blige's VLegend acceptance (which focused on her "I'm a bloody phoenix, me" remarks) was her use of the platform to moan about how she looked on the cover:

"For so many years, Vibe has given me great, great, great covers, but I must say, I'm very, very disappointed at the cover this time, so Mimi, me and you really need to talk, as women. No disrespect, but I really hated the way you guys shaved off my head, pushed my forehead way back behind my ears. I'm just insulted."

Vibe editor Mimi Valdes has now returned the fire, denying that Vibe did anything with Blige's face, and fuming:

"Dissing Vibe while accepting our VLegend Award was extremely disappointing. I'm sorry you find your most recent cover insulting. It was definitely not our intention.

"Besides your desire to make a private conversation public, your accusations are untrue. How your hair looks on that cover is between you and your hairstylist. I swear, your hairline is no different than the Polaroids you saw at the shoot or the snapshots we printed in my What's Good column.

"I'd be lying not to admit how hurt we were by the negativity you brought to our celebration, especially since you were being honored."

... and especially since nobody else is going to give her a front cover these days.

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