Hoax Museum Archives
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Bogus Projects-to-PhD Tale
A story that was too good to be true: Roxanne Shante was an up-and-coming rap star in the 80s, but her career subsequently fizzed out, and her record company abandoned her. But, according to the New York Daily News, she managed to get her own back by noticing an obscure clause in her recording contract that obligated Warner Music to fund her education for life. Thanks to this, she was able to earn a Ph.D in psychology from Cornell.As Ben Sheffner of slate.com notes, "The story was endlessly blogged and tweeted, heralded as an example of a heroic triumph by a girl from the projects over her evil record label." But when he investigated it more closely, he discovered "Virtually everything about the Daily News' heartwarming 'projects-to-Ph.D.' story appears to be false":
• According to Warner, neither it nor any of its subsidiary record labels ever had a contract with Shanté, and it was not obligated to pay for her education. Indeed, there's no evidence that it ever did.
• Shanté—real name Lolita Shanté Gooden—doesn't have a Ph.D. from Cornell or anywhere else. Indeed, she admitted it in an interview with Slate. And Cornell has no record of Gooden (or "Shanté") ever attending or receiving a degree.
• According to Marymount Manhattan College records, Shanté enrolled there but dropped out less than four months later without ever earning a degree.
• New York state records indicate that no one named Lolita Gooden or Roxanne Shanté is licensed to practice psychology or any related field.
• Shanté—real name Lolita Shanté Gooden—doesn't have a Ph.D. from Cornell or anywhere else. Indeed, she admitted it in an interview with Slate. And Cornell has no record of Gooden (or "Shanté") ever attending or receiving a degree.
• According to Marymount Manhattan College records, Shanté enrolled there but dropped out less than four months later without ever earning a degree.
• New York state records indicate that no one named Lolita Gooden or Roxanne Shanté is licensed to practice psychology or any related field.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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. . . One does have to wonder about parents who name their little girl 'Lolita'. . .
They probably thought it sounded pretty.
Posted by Robin Bobcat in Californian Wierdo on Thu Sep 03, 2009 at 01:31 PM
They probably thought it sounded pretty.
I wonder if this is another case of poor fact checking...then again the daily news has never been in my list of respectable news papers. Maybe it was a case of "research" to see how people react to this story 
.
Posted by mario in new joysey on Thu Sep 03, 2009 at 06:14 PM
.You should know that Ph.D. is shorthand for Phony Doctor.
The lie lives up to its title.
Posted by KDP in Madill, OK on Fri Sep 04, 2009 at 06:19 AM
The lie lives up to its title.
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