THE BALLOON MAN

 

SRB miffed that Pinkett Smith hasn't returned city's calls
By Jill Rosen
The Baltimore Sun
March 8, 2012
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakewants to teach Jada Pinkett Smith a lesson in that old, scratch my back, I'll scratch yours thing.

Earlier this week the actress sent the mayor a letter, asking her to make sure the elephants are well treated when the Ringling Bros. circus comes to town later this month. She feared the circus would be jabbing the animals with pointy sticks.


But the mayor is something less than moved to act. Particularly after the actress didn't exactly help her out.

“We’ve reached out about homelessness, about school issues,” Rawlings-Blake told WJZ. “I would have loved to gotten some feedback, support or concern about those issues that are very pressing to the city.”

And that's not all. The mayor, a known fan of the circus, who's accepted free tickets to the show and even a ceremonial role in the event, said she's still looking forward to it this year.

“I appreciate the fact they continue to come to Baltimore," she told the TV station. "I’ve enjoyed the circus in March since I was a child. I take my daughter."

This comes just after the actress was slammed by the circus spokesman for being "completely misguided" about the elephant issue.

"She doesn't know the first thing about elephants or about how to take care of them," Stephen Payne, the spokesperson for Ringling Bros., told Baltimore Insider Wednesday. "She's completely misguided."