Ciara Is a Cheap Date (Who Should've Paid?)

When I heard that Ciara’s new album, Fantasy Ride, was coming out today I was reminded of my first and only date with the pop diva. Technically, it was a chaperoned interview over dinner, but I'm calling it a date damn it. This is my fantasy ride so let me be. LOL.

Anyway, I was on assignment for King (R.I.P.-Rest In Print) and doing Ciara's first interview for the Illest Men’s Magazine Ever. Her Goodies album had been out for about a month and King wanted to shoot her earlier but they had strict guidelines about shooting girls 18 and under so they had to wait until Cici was of age. If memory serves me correctly, the photo shoot took place two days after her 19th birthday. King's founder Datwon Thomas even had birthday cupcakes delivered to commemorate Ciara reaching legal eye candy age.

When I arrived to the downtown Manhattan photo studio sometime in the early afternoon, Ciara was seated in a director's chair off in a corner getting her hair and makeup done. Anyone that’s been to a photo shoot before knows it's basically a bunch of standing around and twiddling your thumbs—especially for the writer who usually doesn't know any of the two dozen people in attendance. Luckily, I was chummy with Terrence, Ciara’s publicist at the time and we shot the breeze about album releases, upcoming singles and other industry chatter.

Finally, Terrence got to the purpose of the day. "Did you meet Ciara yet," he asked.

"Nah, not yet."

"Oh, okay, she's super cool. I'll see if she's free just so she can know who you are."

Terrence proceeded to walk over to Ciara, who was just finishing up her hair and makeup, and chatted with her for a few. A short while later, he escorted her to my nook of the studio in the makeshift lounge area. "Ciara, this is Anslem, the writer from King."

I stood up to greet her and extended my hand, but Ciara stopped me. "Oh, we don't shake hands around here," she said with a smile.

Totally befuddled I stared at her blankly like, "Huh?"

"I give hugs instead," she continued while extending her arms wide.

"Oh, word," I beamed before collapsing into Ciara's warm embrace. I was in heaven and at that exact moment I remembered why I loved my job.

After pleasantries were exchanged, Ciara went through a wardrobe discussion with Datwon. He wanted her in a bathing suit; she wanted to wear jeans and a blazer. Keep in mind, Ciara was only 19 and her label was very adamant about keeping her clean-cut image intact. (This of course was four years before THIS infamous partially nude Vibe cover). Eventually they reached a shaky compromise where Ciara wore a bathing suit under jeans and a blazer. Don't ask. The blazer eventually came off, though, as she got more comfortable and the King design team just cropped out the jeans later to give the allusion that she was just wearing a bathing suit. I think her team was mad at that, but the King readers don’t want to see a chick in jeans or overalls so waist up was what was up.

Once the shoot was over I had to tail Ciara and her entourage, which included her manager and two dancers, to her hotel in midtown before going to a sound check for her show later that night. As a reporter on assignment you’re like a fly on the wall trying to blend in without invading your subject’s personal space. Basically, I feel them out from a distance or just wait for the rep to tell me it’s cool to start my interview. Ciara, though, was super cool. She was warm and welcoming and had a real good head on her shoulders for a 19-year-old. Her media training was on point, too, a little too on point, because she was very calculated in her answers and loved saying “I take that back,” which to me means, “you can’t print that or I’ll sue your ass.” LOL.

Not to sound like a pervert because of her age, but Ciara is a very attractive woman in person. In fact, when I saw her, my first thought was, “That’s what Beyoncé’s sister should have looked like.” Now before any angry Solange fans come at my neck, remember this was five years ago when the junior Knowles was rocking braids and hippie clothes. Solange has definitely come a long way since then and has grown into herself as a woman that’s as equally attractive as Beyoncé or Ciara. But I feel like I’ve gone off track, so let me refocus…

After grabbing brief moments of interview time en route to the sound check, Ciara had the driver drop her dancers (I think one was giving me rhythm but I was on the clock) off at the hotel and we headed to a nearby Houston’s—with her manager in tow—to finish our conversation. We got a seat rather quickly in a small booth near the back and once we placed our orders I placed my recorder on the table and tried to pull teeth get some juicy tidbits for my King story. It was hard enough morally being a grown ass man asking a teenager about sex and relationships, but what made it harder was Ciara’s guarded nature.

So do you consider yourself a romantic?
Ciara: I enjoy spending quality time with a special someone.
I’ll take that as you’re not romantic.
Ciara: I didn’t say I’m not.
“Spending quality time,” sounds like what you do with your grandma.
Ciara: Well, there’s more to it. I just can’t say.
Oh, you can’t punk out on me now.
Ciara: I know, but I’m shy when you talk about relationships and all that.

Still, I managed to get one scandalous (not really) detail about her dating twins—when she was like 6-years old. “It wasn’t serious. I just had a boyfriend that was a twin, but the other one liked me too. That was my little secret when I was a kid.” Yawn!

I will say this, though, after the interview, I had a lot of respect for Ciara. Like I said before, she was a very smart kid and extremely goal oriented, which was remarkable for someone that young. So while I only had “Goodies” to go off of before, actually talking made me look at her in a different light. The only problem was when the check came.

Now I’m sure my fellow scribes will support me on this one, but along with getting to hang around with stars on occasion, another perk of the job is free meals. It’s just standard industry protocol that the publicist or label picks up the tab when entertaining a journalist on assignment to interview your client. It’s no big deal, it just gets written off in the promotions budget.

Anyway, after the interview and meal are done, the waitress drops off the bill and I notice both Ciara and her manager digging for their wallets. It’s not like they’re fighting to see who pays, but it looks like they’re putting in their individual portion of the bill. After an awkward second or two I reach for the bill as well to see how much I owe, I guess. I mean, I figured one of them would have stopped me and been like, “Oh, don’t worry about it, I got it.” But no such luck, I guess the simple offer to pay courtesy I appreciate from my dates didn’t apply in the reverse. So I calculated what I owed, plus tip and threw it into the pot.

It wasn’t like I didn’t have the 30 bucks to contribute for my salad, appetizer and drink, but I was a freelancer (key word free) and I was sitting with a then up-and-coming yet signed artist and her manager, who probably pulled in more than me on a bad day. That’s no knock to Ciara or her team, because they treated me graciously the entire day, but I guess I had gotten spoiled. At least I didn’t O.D. and order the $30 center-cut steak filet (I don’t eat red meat anyway). So for a split second I guess I felt what it was like to be one of the ladies who’ve commented on here about expecting a man to pay for dinner and being let down. The only difference is a warm hug from Ciara when she said goodbye was worth it, I promise.

To my fellow journalists, have you ever been caught in an awkward moment with a celebrity and a bill? Do you always expect the famous person or their camp to pay? Do you ever O.D. and order stuff you never would if you were paying with your own money? Ladies, have you ever ordered stuff with no regard for how much it cost because you knew/assumed you weren’t paying? Would you look at a man differently if he pulled out a coupon to pay for dinner? Fellas, have you ever been out with a girl that knew you were paying and ordered the most expensive things on the menu or mad courses? Did it change your perception of her? Have you ever been out on a date with a cheapskate? Should Ciara have paid for my dinner?

Speak your piece…