Dionne Warwick Speaks Out On Ball Juggling Failure
The Post's Reliable Source reached Dionne Warwick about the failure that was the American Music Inaugural Balls. We've been chronicling it from the beginning, noting the fallout and the prospect of a lawsuit over the balls' sudden cancellation. We reached out yesterday to the pr firm that was handling the "red carpet" pro bono and they too expressed shock that the ball was canceled saying they too were notified at the last minute.
Warwick ended up at the Purple Ball as a "reporter" for Entertainment Tonight. Reliable Source writes:
"What happened? Warwick, who announced the gala last fall, offered few answers. 'We had no sponsors, and the expense was horrendously high,' the singer told us. (She ended up at the Purple Ball as an 'Entertainment Tonight' correspondent.)
Who was in charge? 'I couldn't begin to tell you,' she said. Both the hotel and a PR agency ID'd the promoter as Guy Draper. That's the same name as Warwick's partner in earlier charitable ventures that raised questions about fiscal management, according to reports by ABC in 1993 and Entertainment Weekly last year. Draper is a former D.C resident and was a city official during Marion Barry's first mayoral term. Draper's voice mail was full yesterday; he did not reply to e-mail."
Warwick should have had more answers. She was the face of these inaugural events. On January 8, she held a press conference to promote her two events. By then, she probably should have known about the sponsorship problems and expenses.
3:13 pm
Why would anyone trust her anyway, she is washed up.
3:38 pm
It all always comes back to Marion Barry....
4:08 pm
Oh..she knew...how could she "not even begin to tell" us who was responsible when he has been her decades-long partner in charitable ventures?
Somebody is lying!
And I think it's Dionne. This Draper guy has gone into hiding...hopefully not with our money..he still seems to be unreachable.
Is this Draper person the "friend" of Dionne and Friends? If he is such a "friend" he is sure letting her take the fall for everything.
4:40 pm
And tell us, Dionne Warwick, is Whitney Houston your real baby?
8:23 pm
Dionne is a scam artist. She did the samething in the early 90's with the Aid Benefits, and considering she hasn't sold or hit a number one song in sometime, you can understand why she does these scams.
1:18 pm
Dionne Warwick is certainly NOT a scam artist she is an entertainer who is definitely not washed up. Why all the harsh and vicious gossip about Ms. Warwick I dont believe none of that homed stuff you people post on this comment board people get your facts together
10:11 pm
Um Fronunu- what the hell are you talking about??? I stood there in the FREEZING cold, with my elderly aunt - neither of us can afford the $1,317.50 taken for this event that dissappeared like your beloved Dionne - on the most important night of America's history, with no damn where to go. There was no rep from Dionne's office, or the event planners there all day. Hundreds of black folk with hopes of celebrating this event showed up from all over the nation, in tuxedos and gowns, that used mortgage money to get their hair, nails, clothes, hotels, flights, train tickets and more in line to attend DIONNE WARWICKS ball and she had the nerve to show up at another event while we stood there freezing with no where to go and our money stolen? How dare you - I got my facts together and was robbed so maybe you should shut up and stop defending a bitch that should be arrested and sent to jail! Do you have the guts to stand before the people that were in the cold on the sidewalk in wheel chairs - 80 years old or older...that marched on Washington for Dr. King that trusted this winch, spend their money and were left behind? Dionne Warwick is a disgusting, lying, low class piece of trash and I hope - no we all that were robbed hope - she is handcuffed on CNN and taken to jail for a very long time. Singed, someone that was actually there unlike your dumb ass.
1:22 pm
Well Tikagirl
Your ignorance is very shallow. I too stood in the cold and freezing weather. I too spent alot of money purchasing tickets the performers as well as Ms. Warwick herself was at the Marriott where I was residing and the ball was cancelled at last minute by the committee not Dionne Warwick. Further more did Dionne tell you to take money from your mortgage and other means to afford this event NO she did not. She will not be handcuffed nor will she be held accountable for thie event why dont you conact the committee of this event and stop sounding so dumb your words make you sound more ignorant that the words you type please get a life.
4:18 pm
You can go ahead and blindly believe the lies that Dionne Warwick is telling about how "The Committee" canceled the event Fronunu, but the fact still remains that she was the spokesperson and has had a close relationship with one of the planners, Guy Draper for many years.
If this were the only unsuccessful event Dionne had planned, then I could perhaps have some pity for her, but this woman has a LONG HISTORY of fraudulent money management and failed events AND she owes millions in back taxes.
She SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE because she attached HER NAME to this event and took on the responsibility of promoting it.
She keeps saying there is a "planning committee"...WHERE ARE THEY???
If she were so honest, then why did she hang up the phone on the Washington Post reporters? An honest person would provide information, allow people to speak with the "Committee" members and do all they could to clear their names. So far, all Ms. Warwick has done is hide from the press and make excuses.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/01/update_the_american_music_inau.html
If the Washington Post, a VERY REPUTABLE SOURCE is portraying her in this manner, then that means there are truth to everyone's allegations.
You can live in a pretend world if you want to, but everyone that is rational can see that Dionne is guilty as sin.
9:12 pm
Come on now, don't be so ridiculous! As if Dionne would want to rip anyone off. If anything it's highly embarassing that not enough tickets were sold. We should support that she is a remarkable singer, a legend if you will, and no doubt feels just as bad as everyone else that the event had to be cancelled. Tiffany, speculation and hearsay is counter productive, and do not form a solid foundation on which to slander a fantastic performer! Go Dionne!!
9:19 pm
Hahahaha! LOL :)
Wow...that is the funniest thing I have heard today..
What a good laugh...thanks Luke :)
How about speculating about when Dionne will be putting my $2700.00 dollars back in my account?
9:23 pm
Tiffany, you need to get out more hunny
4:28 am
Dionne, washed up? No way. Got stiffed on the gig with her name on the marquee; made a phone calls and same day picked up another gig. She hot. And smot.
Ticket holders wrote their checks to "Dionne and Friends Foundation" that WaPo on 1`/27 reports has not been incorporated for almost 3 years and was never registered with the IRS as a "non-profit". Which is what I judged DW to be at end of the first paragraph: Not registered non-profit.
12:40 am
Luke, it will be more difficult for Tiffany and others to "get out" when Guy Draper has suckered them "out" of their money. Why don't you provide some money for them to "get out?"
2:11 pm
Yeah right Ed, I see your logic there… OK maybe not. Its funny how you so quickly rush to put in a staunch defence for Tiffany et al, yet you so precipitously condemn Dionne and her ability in the thought making process. You seem quite concerned that Tiffany isn’t getting out enough too; maybe you could take her out for a coffee? Maybe dinner? Something tells me that both you and she have just the right combination of lunacy and idiocy to really hit it off.
6:03 pm
Luke, I accept your offer to pay for us to have dinner, but I'll risk speaking for Tiffany by saying that we'd not prefer your company.
9:00 am
http://www.tonyreddick.com/amibfiasco.htm
12:48 pm
Ed, you've just reaffirmed my initial statement of your idiocy. I think you should re-read my last reply. I was not offering you the pleasure of my company, nor was I suggesting offering to pay for the inconvenience. I suspect foolish remarks like that are a reflection on your lack of ability to gather the facts and produce the correct interpretation. In short, you're obtuse.
4:37 pm
Oh I understood your rude remarks, looks like you didn't get the dig. I hope you make some friends and have a nice life. 'nuff said; movin' on.
4:41 pm
To the other, rational folks - please search out the Jan. 29 City Desk article for an interesting thread.
Tony, I wish you good luck and success with your efforts in getting a quick, just and fair resolution.
10:20 pm
Luke,
You are a loser...anyone can see that just by how you conduct your comments...
Dionne
2:19 am
Dionne is an overblown douchebag with an ego larger than her nostrils!
1:39 am
Dionne Warwick has always been a scamming selfish woman, only out for herself. The woman has been stealing money from charities for years. Not to mention the almost 3 million dollars that she owes in back taxes and tax evasion.
Have you all forgotten about the HUGE expose’ 20/20 did on her back when she bankrupted all of those AIDS charities in all those cities because her DIVA demands outweighed the money taken in. I remember years ago she was asked to perform for a charity event with names much bigger than her. She was the only one that demanded payment for her appearance. She and her entourage billed the charity so much for first class airfare and hotels that the event ended up losing money for the charity. This woman cares about nobody but herself.
How about in January of 2009 when she canceled her “Dionne Warwick American Music Inaugural Ball” and left hundreds of ticket purchasers and volunteers without any explanation and concern for their lost money and the fate of sensitive personal information they were scammed into giving up.
Promoters claimed they needed social security numbers to clear for a potential visit from President Obama, which was a total scam.
Hundreds upon hundreds of tickets were sold at $500 per ticket and none of this money was ever returned or refunded. Not to mention the thousands of dollars these people spent on dresses and airfare and hotel rooms for this event only to find out that the event was canceled that night.
People who bought tickets have traced their purchases and canceled checks to the “Dionne and Friends Foundation which has been inactive for years nor holds any record of non-profit status with the IRS.
Dionne has claimed that she only lent her name to this event and that all guilt lies upon the lap of the promoter, whom by coincidence, has been a close friend and business associate of Dionne’s for over 20 years. (Sounds like Dionne has a long history of throwing people under the bus and letting other people take the blame)
I can guarantee if she lent her name to this event, she had full knowledge of what was going on. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of this money that was stolen from these people ended up in one of her overseas bank accounts.
I’m glad she lives in South America. As far as I’m concerned, Brazil is not far enough.