“MARRIAGE TO MARIAH” IS FINE SAYS NICK CANNON AT CLUB AUDIGIER OPENING
If fans were expecting superstar singer Mariah Carey to be on the arm of her new husband, TV comedy host Nick Cannon at the opening of the new Club Audigier they were disappointed. She wasn’t anywhere to be seen. If fans were expecting the Prince of Pop, Michael Jackson to be in fashion designer’s Christian Audigier’s VIP section at his new nightclub in Treasure Island they were disappointed. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen. If fans were expecting George Clooney’s former galpal, hometown model Sarah Larson to be there as the just announced “new face” of the Audigier couture line they were also disappointed. She was out of town, and that’s set off its own stack of speculation!
Instead the singer in Christian’s celebrity contingent was Johnny Hallyday, a French pop-idol who was at the top of the charts in the 70’s and 80’s. However, sexy actresses Jaimie Pressley (with DJ hubby Eric Cubeechee) and Bai Ling did show along with comedy actor Damon Wyans, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and sports stars Jermaine O’Neal (Indiana Pacers), Patrick O’Bryant (Golden State Warriors) and Tyron Brackenridge (Kansas City Chiefs) and that was it folks! Sorry, I forgot actor Jeremy Jackson who is best remembered playing David Hasselhoff’s son on the long-ago Baywatch TV series.
The first highlight of the night was when the fashion guru made his grand entrance to the packed party on the famed Sirens pirate ship and took a VIP table on the outdoor patio where he tossed out his Christian Audigier branded hats to clubgoers.
Then the second highlight was when guest DJ and Wild ‘n’ Out host Nick Cannon was finally persuaded to come out onto the red-carpet for anxiously awaiting photographers. The invading celebrity contingent of gossip gurus pummeled him with questions about “missing” new wife Mariah Carey.
He showed his wedding ring to the curious correspondents and declared “Married life is good,” as he denied gossip reports that its already on shaky ground. “It’s amazing, the best thing that’s happened to me,” he even told my People columnist colleague Mark Grey. The couple only met six months ago and were married in the Bahamas two months ago.
Nick raced the carpet in a 60-second sprint but wound up twisting the turntables for two hours playing rock, techno and hip-hop favorites. When he played “Dey Know” by Shawty Lo, Nick shouted out the lyrics raised his hands and emphasized “Big Ups to all my haters.”
Earlier Audigier led all the celebrities upstairs in the Social House Asian-themed restaurant into a private dining room for dinner before the opening. Poker prince Phil Helmuth was there enjoying the Kobe beef with Reisling wine but he didn’t go onto the opening party. Nick worked up such a sweat at the turntables that he stopped in at Social House for a late after midnight re-fuelling.
Next night San Diego Chargers star linebackers Shaun Phillips and Stephen Cooper celebrated Cooper’s 29th birthday at the new club.