MBP of the Week: Los Angeles Times

Wow. Has it really been two months since my last Misidentified Black Person post?

I must say... now that the newspaper industry seems to be breathing its last breaths, I don’t find this concept to be so cute anymore. I’m willing to forgive a lot... if only papers would stop going out of business.

Anyway, as is often the case, I have Craig Silverman (at Regret the Error) to thank for this latest MBP. The Los Angeles Times posted the following correction online this week:

“In Sports on Monday, a photo accompanying articles about Sunday’s Lakers-Clippers game pictured Laker Lamar Odom trying to shoot over the Clippers’ Fred Jones. The caption misidentified Odom as Laker Kobe Bryant.”

Yes. The L.A. Times. Kobe frickin’ Bryant. Unbelievable.

But like I said... we have to forgive.

MBP of the Week: WTSP-TV (Tampa)

Rarely is a Misidentified Black Person misidentified to his face... on live television.

This one you must see to believe. Follow this link and sit through the commercial. (Hat-tip: Eric Deggans.)

MBP of the Week: Charlotte Observer

Announcing the first Misidentified Black Person of 2009! The following correction was posted online by the Charlotte Observer on Monday:

“A photo of Toni Morrison accompanying the Winter Arts Preview in Sunday’s Carolina Living section was incorrectly identified as being of Terry McMillan, the author, who will be appearing at Lenoir-Rhyne University. ...”

Oh MBPs, how I have missed you. (Hat-tip: Regret the Error.)

MBP of the Week: Internet Movie Database

A Misidentified Black Person on IMDb? Say it ain’t so!

As you can plainly see, that picture above is not Tristan Wilds, the young actor who got his big break on “The Wire” and now co-stars in “90210.”

It’s Tyler James Williams, the star of “Everybody Hates Chris.”

To make matters worse, check out the photo below. That is Tristan Wilds... at the L.A. premiere of “The Secret Life of Bees.” But IMDb says it’s Nate Parker (who also co-stars in the movie).

Yo Tristan, don’t let it get you down, young’un. Just get used to being misidentified in the media... because it will happen again.

(Thanks for the tip, Mani.)

MBP of the Week: Newsweek.com

My sincerest intercontinental thanks go out to Geneva Girl for catching this Misidentified Black Person at Newsweek.com.

That picture, of course, is not U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay. It’s Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

Belated MBP: Time magazine

A correction from the September 8 edition of Time:

(Thanks, RP. You are a treasured friend to the Misidentified Black Persons project.)

MBP of the Week: Time.com

Thanks to commenter “maria” for pointing out this Misidentified Black Person, which can be found in the Paul Newman memorial photo gallery at Time.com.

Double-click the image above for a larger look, if you have trouble reading the caption.

Now, I don’t know who “Charles Welhan” is supposed to be. But the gentleman on Mr. Newman’s right in this photo is, of course, U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young.

MBP of the Week: New York Times

I failed to mention last week the death of Pervis Jackson, a founding member of the Spinners. He was 70 years old, and he’d performed with the group as recently as last month.

I regret now the need to mention Mr. Jackson in the context of Misidentified Black People.

The New York Times will print a correction in tomorrow’s paper. The correction is already up online. Here’s what it says:

“Because of an editing error, a picture caption on Friday with an obituary about Pervis Jackson, a founding member of the singing group the Spinners, misidentified Mr. Jackson in some copies. In the photograph showing the five Spinners, he was second from the right, not second from the left. (That was Bobby Smith.)”

Here is the photograph in question:

R.I.P., Mr. Jackson.

MBP of the Week: Philadelphia Daily News

Call this one “Misidentified Black Olympian.” Yep, the Philadelphia Daily News published the following correction today:

“A photo caption in Saturday’s paper accompanying a story on the Olympic Games’ Opening Day ceremonies misidentified a member of the U.S. men’s basketball team. Standing next to Kobe Bryant was teammate Carmelo Anthony, not Allen Iverson.”

Allen Iverson ain’t even on this Olympic team!

I couldn’t find the original Daily News photograph. But I pulled one off the Web, just so you know what Carmelo Anthony looks like.

(Hat-tip: Philadelphia Weekly. With thanks to Adam.)

MBP of the Week: Washington Post

A week ago, the Washington Post ran a business story about BET founder Robert L. Johnson and his plans to build a luxury hotel in Liberia, West Africa.

An accompanying photograph showed a black man sitting next to a hotel bed. The caption said it was Robert Johnson. It wasn’t.

The man in the photo, according to the Post’s correction, was Corey Printup... one of Mr. Johnson’s employees.

And the Misidentified Black Person phenomenon claims its first billionaire victim!

(Thanks to Calvin for the tip.)

MBP of the Week: The Times (Trenton, N.J.)

According to Regret the Error, the following correction was published in the Times of Trenton:

“The picture of Tupac Shakur in People in the News was misidentified as Snoop Dogg.”

I have no further information, like a date. But I would love to see a print copy of the original mistake, because this is a classic Misidentified Black Person. Proving that even in death, you are not safe.

(Thanks, Rich.)

Bonus MBP: Washington Post

The Washington Post published the following correction last Friday:

“A photo caption with a June 25 Sports article incorrectly identified a North Carolina State basketball player as J.J. Hickson. The photo was of his teammate Courtney Fells.”

Hickson is pictured below on the left; Fells is on the right.

(Hat-tip: Regret the Error.)

MBP of the Week: Star magazine

The latest issue of Star has a cover feature called “Stars Without Makeup.” So if you wanna see a few zits on Katherine Heigl’s forehead or satchels under Gwyneth Paltrow’s eyes, have at it.

Me? Just give me a good ol’ Misidentified Black Person and I’m satisfied.

Begorra... here’s one on page 66!

The copy says it’s Joy Bryant, who co-starred with 50 Cent in “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” But that’s not Joy Bryant in the picture.

That’s Miss Dominican Hotness herself, Zoe Saldana.

Here’s Joy Bryant in the photo to the right. (Wow. Gorgeous. I guess I have to go rent “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ” now.)

I suppose Zoe Saldana won’t complain about the error. If you’re gonna be held up to ridicule in the pages of Star magazine... better they call you by some other chick’s name.

(Thanks for the tip, Donna.)

MBP of the Week: NBC News

Been missing the Misidentified Black Peoples? Yeah, me too.

According to the blog TVNewser, NBC’s “Today Show” yesterday mentioned that Barack Obama is a fan of the rapper Jay-Z.

But NBC didn’t show a picture of Jay-Z; it showed a picture of the rapper Joe Budden.

TVNewser reports that this “editing snafu” was corrected in time for the West Coast feed.

(Thanks, RP.)

MBP of the Week: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

For this Misidentified Black Person, I’ll need help from my readers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area... or anyone who can lay hands on a hard copy of Sunday’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Here’s a correction that ran on Monday:

“Bishop Eddie Long of Georgia... is one of six televangelists being investigated by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. An incorrect photo was published with a Sunday report.”

But the correction doesn’t mention who was in the incorrect photograph.

And the incorrect photo isn’t online.

I’m dying to know who it was! I bet it was Bishop T.D. Jakes. If someone could please find out, I would be most grateful.

(Hat-tip: Regret the Error.)

MBP of the Week: Los Angeles Times

Speaking of Prince... the L.A. Times pop-music critic Ann Powers embarrassed herself this week with her review of Prince’s show at the Coachella music festival.

To be honest, I don’t know Ledisi from Shelby J. either. (Ledisi is pictured on the right.) But if Ms. Powers can’t tell Sheena Easton from Chaka Khan, she needs to see an ophthalmologist.

Here’s the correction published by the L.A. Times on Tuesday:

“A review in Monday’s Calendar section of Prince’s performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival said that Sheena Easton performed with him on ‘I Feel for You.’ It was Chaka Khan who sang with him. The review also said that Shelby J sang a cover version of Sarah McLachlan’s ‘Angel.’ That performance was by Ledisi.”

Misidentified Black People... the genital herpes of American journalism.

(Hat-tip: Regret the Error.)

MBP of the Week: NBC Universal

Well, this is something different: a Misidentified Black Person on an official webpage of a big-time television studio. To wit, NBC Universal... which makes the Tina Fey sitcom “30 Rock.”

See this screencap? The black guy there? He’s not “Kevin Brown as Dot Com.” He’s Keith Powell as Toofer.

(“Dot Com” is one of Tracy Morgan’s big beefy bodyguards. “Toofer” is a comedy writer.)

See now, this is why we need Obama in the White House. Put a stop to this all-black-people-look-alike shit.

Bonus MBP: Los Angeles Times (again)

The following correction appeared in the L.A. Times yesterday (April 1):

“College basketball: A photo caption on the cover of Monday’s Sports section incorrectly identified the Memphis Tigers player pictured as Chris Douglas-Roberts. The player was Memphis sophomore Shawn Taggart.”

Welcome to the Final Four, young’uns!

MBP of the Week: Getty Images/MTV.ca

My sympathies are with the Levert family on the death of singer Sean Levert Sunday night.

And I wish the Canadian website MTV.ca hadn’t misidentified Sean in this photo caption. (The incorrect caption came from Getty Images, the news-photo service.)

The man on the left is Sean Levert, not Gerald Levert. Gerald Levert (Sean’s brother) died in 2006. This photo was taken in February 2008.

(Thanks, Craig.)

MBP of the Week: Daily Variety

The show-biz newspaper Daily Variety reported today that Vinnie Jones, Michael Madsen, Armand Assante and rapper DMX will star in a horror movie called “The Bleeding.”

But the folks at Variety didn’t publish a photo of DMX. They published a photo of DMC... as in Run-DMC... as in Darryl McDaniels.

And that’s our Misidentified Black Person of the Week.

Dang.

(Thanks for the heads-up, RP.)