Aoki Lee Simmons, Russell Simmons and Ming Lee Simmons
Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys
Anthony Anderson and John Legend
Jul 152010
R & B singer Mashonda demanded a meeting with Swizz Beatz’s new girlfriend Alicia Keys in March – in a bid to put aside their differences for the sake of her son with the producer.
Mashonda split from the hip-hop star, father of her three-year-old son Kasseem, Jr., in 2008 and filed for divorce in February the following year.
Subsequent reports alleged Beatz had already moved on to date the Empire State of Mind hitmaker, prompting an enraged Mashonda to accuse Keys of wrecking her marriage.
She took to her Twitter.com page in September to publish an open letter directed at Keys, reaching out in an attempt to “confront” their “issues”.
The two women eventually came face-to-face for the discussion in March – just two months before Keys announced she was pregnant and engaged to marry Beatz.
Mashonda tells Vibe.com, “When I wrote her that Twitter letter everybody wanted to say things like, ‘Oh, what do you need to meet her for? It’s not her problem, it’s Swizz’s.’ I’m like, ‘You have a kid, go through what I went through and then talk to me.’ I’m not having my son around anybody I don’t know. I don’t give a f**k who you are and how much money you have and what management he’s going to be under when he visits you. I need to see you and I need you to see how serious I am about him. We had to sit down, and I told her how I felt. I didn’t mention anything else, it was all about my son and it was fine after that. I’m not going sit and talk to (Keys and Beatz) about what happened between the three of us. This is about my son.
“She (Keys) just listened… It wasn’t awkward; I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t ready. I said what I had to say as a mum. It was a whole sit down dinner. So you know how intimate that is. There are certain things we have to do as women in order to move forward.”
And Mashonda is glad to have worked out their problems, adding, “I believe she deserves privacy. I hate hearing people wish bad stuff on her and the baby. I wish her the most successful, healthy pregnancy in the world. That child is going to be my son’s brother or sister and that’s the only way to look at it.”
Mar 162010
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz
Busta Rhymes and CEO and founder of Niche Media Jason Binn
Yung Joc
Ryan Leslie and model Nicole Trunfio
Russell Simmons and Jason Binn
Alicia is the Ms. in the Swizz Beatz split
Alicia Keys
Comments Off
Sep 152008
Alicia Keys could be named as “the other woman” in the divorce of hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz and R&B singer Mashonda, sources tell us.
Swizz has been brushing off rumors that Grammy-winner Alicia had anything to do with his split from Mashonda, his wife of almost five years and mother of his 1-year-old son, Kasseem Dean Jr.
But Mashonda isn’t buying it. Last week, she was incensed when she heard about the birthday party Alicia threw for Swizz at midtown’s Louis Vuitton store, where guests included Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Robin Thicke.
“Alicia introduced Swizz as ‘The man of the hour and my boo,’” says an insider. “Mashonda has had enough. She put her career on hold to be a wife and mother. She’s tired of pretending she’s deaf, dumb and blind to what’s going on. She can’t believe how disrespectful Alicia is being.”
Word that Swizz and Mashonda were separating came in April in a statement issued by a rep for the couple.
A friend of Mashonda argues, “That was his announcement. She got sucked into it. She thought they were trying to put their marriage back together. Meanwhile, he’s apparently been telling Alicia that his marriage was over.”
Though he accompanied Alicia on her European tour last summer, Swizz has continued to live, off and on, with Mashonda and Kasseem Jr. at their Westchester mansion, says a friend.
Mashonda is said to have exploded when she found a flirty e-mail from Alicia on Swizz’s BlackBerry. According to sources, she fired back a reply, reminding the singer he was still her husband.
Mashonda has now hired powerhouse matrimonial lawyer Bernard Clair.
“This could have been handled quietly,” said a friend. “But now Mashonda has taken the gloves off.”
Clair declined to comment. Keys’ rep didn’t return a call.
A friend of Swizz said, “His relationship with Alicia began after their separation. He hasn’t kept it a secret. He still has great love for Mashonda and has promised to take care of her and their son and support her career.”
(source)
