Rihanna Returns To Tv On Jay Leno With Kanye West & Jay-z + Chris Brown Dropped By Wrigleys Loses Endorsements

Rihanna is scheduled to make her big return to late night on Jay Leno’s new primetime talk show.  This is Riri’s first tv gig since she was brutally beaten down by Chris Brown. CBreezy is still suffering some career setbacks. Chris Brown was just dropped from his lucrative Wrigley’s chewing gum deal and also lost his “Milk” endorsement.

No one in the 10 p.m. time slot’s got swagga like Jay. Leno, that is.

The usually edgeless talk-show host just managed to book Rihanna for her first public performance since the Chris Brown attack six months ago.

The singer will be joining Kanye West and Jay-Z on Jay-L’s prime-time debut Sept. 14, with the hip-hop trio set to perform their new single, “Run This Town.”

But that’s not the only major get Leno may have up his sleeve…

The host told E! News last night that he’s close to locking in Tom Cruise to participate in his new segment, “The Green Car Challenge,” wherein celebrities race each other in alternative-fuel vehicles.

“We talk cars and motorcycles all the time,” Leno said of the Days of Thunder risk taker. “A lot of celebrities like green and a lot of celebrities like cars, and here’s a chance to combine the two…We’re going to see who is the fastest green celebrity.”

Sounds like someone’s show is already off and running.

And while both Rihanna and Leno will no doubt mutually benefit from their prime-time venture next month, Brown isn’t having the same luck on the small screen.

Wrigley has confirmed to E! News that they at long last, well, wriggled out of their Doublemint sponsorship with the image-ruining singer, upgrading their mere suspension of Brown’s contract from earlier this year.

“I can confirm that we have ended our relationship with Mr. Brown,” Wrigley spokeswoman Jennifer Luth said. [source]

• Leno prime-time show to open with Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye (cbc.ca)
• Rihanna to Perform Publicly for First Time Since Beating (blippitt.com)
• Jay-Z, Kanye, Rihanna to “Run This Town” On “Leno Show” Premiere (idiomag.com)
• Rihanna To Perform On Jay Leno’s Premiere Show (justjared.buzznet.com)
• Rihanna, Kanye and Jay-Z to open new Jay Leno show (nationalpost.com)