WASHINGTON – Sometimes, congressmen just want to have fun.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said he wasn’t flirting with singer Cyndi Lauper earlier this week when he tweeted to her that he “couldn’t believe how hot” she was.
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The tweet Tuesday — and its deletion 21 minutes later — were all part of a joke designed to get publicity for a PBS documentary airing next week about the music scene in Memphis, the city Cohen represents in Congress, the lawmaker said Friday at a news conference.
Cohen tweeted to Lauper, “great night, couldn’t believe how hot u were. See you again next Tuesday. Try a little tenderness.”
Lauper, famous for ’80s hits like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time after Time” and “True Colors,” recorded her most recent album, the critically acclaimed “Memphis Blues,” in Memphis, and the singer is featured in the PBS film.
The singer, who is married, had no idea Cohen was going to tweet anything, the congressman said.
“I may write her a letter” to explain, he said.
Cohen’s tweet came after he and Lauper attended a Memphis-themed event Tuesday at the White House. Cohen said he he’d already decided to tweet something before the event, telling a couple of colleagues that he was “going to have some fun” with the media.
At a news conference Friday, he said he viewed his tweet to Lauper as good publicity for his city.
“My constituents want the world to come to Memphis and listen to our music,” Cohen said with a laugh.
Rapper will go to bat for players
NEW YORK – Jay-Z is applying to become a baseball agent.
The Major League Baseball Players Association said Friday the rapper’s application to be certified was received a day earlier.
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports and CAA Sports announced last week they were partnering in the agency business, and Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was the first client. CAA’s Brodie Van Wagenen replaced Scott Boras as Cano’s listed agent.
Jay-Z, whose given name is Shawn Carter, is in the process of selling his minority share of the Brooklyn Nets. Had he kept his share with the NBA club he might have faced potential problems in becoming certified by the MLBPA.
Star of ‘Veep,’ Biden do lunch at White House
WASHINGTON – Watch out, Joe Biden. The other vice president is in the house.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Vice President Selina Meyer on the HBO comedy “Veep,” came to the White House on Friday to have lunch with Biden.
While in the West Wing, Louis-Dreyfus took the opportunity to try out the vice president’s desk.
“I surprised him by sitting at his desk, so he thought he’d just ask my advice on various briefs he had to deal with,” Louis-Dreyfus said in an audio clip posted to the White House website. “I was happy to give him my advice, which he paid no attention to whatsoever.”
“It’s a day I’ll never forget,” she added.
After the former “Seinfeld” star won an Emmy award for her performance in the first season of “Veep,” Biden called to congratulate her.
– From news service reports
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