HOLLYWOOD DIRT OVERFLOW (7-01-09)

MARIAH CAREY DRESSED UP LIKE A MAN FOR A MUSIC VIDEO . . . AND SOME PEOPLE THINK SHE'S TAKING A SHOT AT EMINEM:

MARIAH CAREY has been shooting a music video for her new single, "Obsessed", this week . . . and in some of the scenes, Mariah is made up like a MAN. Some pictures from the shoot have been released . . . and Mariah looks pretty convincing as a guy. (--See the pictures for yourself, below. . .)

Now, because Mariah is wearing a gray hoodie and a baseball hat in some of the pics, people think she's trying to take a dig at EMINEM. Never mind the fact that she also has dark hair and a thick goatee.

When "Obsessed" was released, some people thought it was her answer to Em's track, "Bagpipes from Baghdad" . . . where he raps about wanting to take Mariah "back" from her husband, NICK CANNON.

But Mariah is NOT copping to taking a shot at anyone. She says, quote, "It was weird, but I wasn't playing anyone in particular . . . we were actually inspired by 'The King of Comedy' starring JERRY LEWIS and ROBERT DENIRO." - She adds that she was trying to look like, quote, "your regular everyday stalker."

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DID JAY-Z AND AL SHARPTON BLOCK CHRIS BROWN FROM PERFORMING AT (AND ATTENDING) THE "BET AWARDS"???

At one point, there was some talk that both CHRIS BROWN and RIHANNA would be attending last Sunday's BET Awards . . . (--less than a week after Chris pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna back in February) . . . but both of them were no-shows.

The "New York Daily News" claims that Chris WAS booked to attend AND perform at the ceremony . . . but at the last minute, his invite was revoked. Supposedly because both JAY-Z and REVEREND AL SHARPTON said they didn't want him there. A "source" says, quote, "Al made such a fuss to the BET executives that they pulled Chris. [And] Jay is a big name in the BET community, and he was very vocal about his displeasure with Chris attending the ceremony. --"He didn't want Chris anywhere near the awards so close to the court's ruling."

Sharpton's beef with Chris was that his attendance would take away from the Michael Jackson tribute aspect of the show. Jay-Z has his own issues with Chris . . . being Rihanna's mentor and all. And word has it, Chris isn't happy about all this. A so-called "pal" of Chris' says, "He's furious. BET asked him to perform and waited until the last minute to tell him it was off. He's pretty shocked and outraged right now."

But all of this could very well be BOGUS. Reps for both BET and Chris say that Chris was never confirmed for the show. Someone from BET told MTV, quote, "The rumors are false." And Al Sharpton has also denied his part in it. -As for Rihanna, her rep says, quote, "Rihanna was never meant to attend [the BET Awards]."

For what it's worth, the "Daily News" claims that Rihanna was hanging out with RASHARD LEWIS . . . (--of the Orlando Magic) . . . on Sunday night. They're insinuating that she's got a thing for Rashard, but who knows.

(--The Michael Jackson tribute turned out to be a ratings bonanza. According to Nielsen, the BET Awards broadcast averaged 10.7 million viewers. Hey, that's even bigger than the season premiere of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight"!!!)