Wyclef Jean | Entertainment News, Photos, and Videos

Wyclef Jean‘s bid for Haiti’s presidency officially ended as Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council disqualified the musician from running in this year’s election.

The 40-year-old former Fugees frontman officially announced that he was running for the position in early August to help the earthquake ravaged country.

“It is with a heavy heart that I tell you today that the board of elections in Haiti has disqualified me from my run for the presidency of the country,” Wyclef said in a statement. “Though I disagree with the ruling, I respectfully accept the committee’s final decision, and I urge my supporters to do the same.”

Although the council hasn’t disclosed the reasons for the disqualification, it is speculated that it may be related to the requirement that a candidate must live in Haiti for the past 5 years.

Sean Penn has spoken out about Wyclef Jean‘s intention to run for President of Haiti.

“This is somebody who’s going to receive an enormous amount of support from the United States, and I have to say I’m very suspicious of it, simply because he, as an ambassador at large, has been virtually silent. For those of us in Haiti, he has been a non-presence,” Sean told CNN (via USA Today).

“I’m not accusing Wyclef Jean of being an opportunist; I don’t know the man,” Sean added. “One of the reasons I don’t know very much about Wyclef Jean is that I haven’t seen or heard anything of him in these last six months that I’ve been in Haiti.”

Wyclef responded on The Gayle King Show today, saying, “He hasn’t seen me for six months – I have been going to Haiti for more than five years. When the hurricane toppled Haiti, I was the first one there….if I did not create Yele Haiti to start stopping the violence, even him coming to Haiti would not have been possible today.”

Wyclef Jean has announced his intentions to run for the Haitian presidency.

The 37-year-old musician and social activist confirmed the news to Time, saying, “If not for the earthquake, I probably would have waited another 10 years before doing this….If I can’t take five years out to serve my country as President, then everything I’ve been singing about, like equal rights, doesn’t mean anything.”

“I want to be part of a different kind of celebrity,” Wyclef concluded, “one that thinks not just about charity but policy.”

Wyclef was born in Haiti and left with his family at the age of 9 to go to New York City.

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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie expressed their deep sorrow on Tuesday night (January 12) over the widespread loss of life that occurred in the Haiti earthquake earlier in the day.

“We are devastated by the news from Haiti,” the couple said in a statement to JustJared.com. “We will work closely with our good friend Wyclef Jean to support the humanitarian efforts on the island and help those who have been injured and left without homes and shelter.”

Wyclef released his own statement on how YOU can help: “Haiti today faced a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake – and several very strong aftershocks – struck only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince.

“I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.

“President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands ‘ready to assist’ the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible.

“Many people have already reached out to see what they can do right now. We are asking those interested to please do one of two things: Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can visit Yele.org and click on DONATE.”

Zoe Kravitz and I had a chance to talk last week at the Bon Appetit Supper Club during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival at Skylodge in Park City, Utah.

She dined with a few friends including actor Chris Lemke (pictured below) and Danny Masterson (not pictured).

Here’s what the 20-year-old daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet had to say:

JJ: Have you met Nakoa-Wolf yet?

ZK: Yes, I have met him! He’s adorable.

JJ: Who are some of your favorite designers?

ZK: Alexander Wang, he’s amazing. Chanel, I love Chanel. I don’t know. I’m kind of a vintage-y girl. I kind of just like what I like. I shop at flea markets.

JJ: Who are you style icons?

ZK: Carrie Bradshaw. Sex and the City. Jimi Hendrix.

Click inside to read the rest of Zoe‘s interview…More Here! »