Scoop: Are Chris Brown and Rihanna Broken Up?

Are Chris Brown and Rihanna broken up, or aren't they?

At issue are a flurry of text messages that reportedly were exchanged between the two after Brown was photographed in a West Hollywood tattoo parlor with Girlicious singer Natalie Meji on April 13.

“When Ri saw the pictures, she sent Chris a text message, and Chris said, ‘It’s none of your business,’ ” reported Us Weekly.

Brown’s rep denies that the two are dating, and told People magazine that the singer was at the parlor with “a woman named Dean,” but Mejia seems to think differently.

“Things are going well between us. ... (Brown) has treated me like a gentleman at all times,” she told RadarOnline.com on April 13.

Brown and Rihanna have yet to confirm that they’ve parted ways. Rihanna recently announced she will give her first live performance since the alleged assault with a May 28 concert in Dubai.

You Twitter, I deliver: Kathie Lee
Before Kathie Lee Gifford’s April 16 appearance on msnbc.com's “Morning Joe,” many of you lobbed questions about her thoughts on “Saturday Night Live” and the status of her charity, “Cassidy’s Place.”

The show touched lightly on “SNL” cast member Kristen Wiig’s impersonation of her, but before the cameras were rolling, Gifford said that she thinks “it’s all in good fun, I find it hilarious.”

No word on whether she’d ever go face-to-face with Wiig on the show, a la Sarah Palin and Tina Fey, but Gifford says she is up for lunch with the comedian.

As for Cassidy’s Place, the children’s advocacy charity named after her daughter, Gifford realizes the economic climate is not good for donations.

“It’s definitely hard now, but we do everything we can to raise money where we can for Cassidy’s place," Gifford said. “Part of the proceeds from the book (“Just When I Thought I’d Dropped My Last Egg,”) go to Cassidy’s Place.”

Weekend box office predictions
It’s an important weekend for Zac Efron.

The teen heartthrob has approximately three days and a little more than 3,000 theaters to prove he can bridge the gap between Disney phenom and legitimate box office draw via his new film, “17 Again.”

Matthew Perry co-stars, but since he’s been off the radar for so long, don’t expect Perry to be much of a draw for the adult crowd.

Also opening: “State of Play,” which should have a respectable weekend. For starters, it’s the clear-and-away winner among Scoop text responders — 47% replied to the box office poll saying they’d see the Russell Crowe/Ben Affleck film. The spy film opens in more than 2,700 theaters and has a family-friendly PG-13 rating, which means it should do well among the father/son crowd.

I don’t anticipate “Crank: High Voltage” doing big numbers, so although “Hannah Montana” will chip away “17’s” bottom line thanks to an overlap in the female audience, Efron should come out on top this weekend.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.

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