Remember Suzanne Paul and the Blue Monkey song? Suzanne "I was born ready" - what's with her saying that every five seconds? - goes to a disco and shows us how to groove, giving Miss Prozac a whole new respect for Stefano Olivieri’s talents as a dance teacher.
Repeat after me
Get down
Get funky
Everyone do the blue monkey
She missed her April deadline but says she’s now back on track proudly proclaiming I’m very pleased with the result. I don’t think there’s another book quite like it on the market and writing it stirred up a lot of memories, some good, some bad. The problem with writing an auto –biography is that you have to re-live all the experiences in your head in order to write about them. So I would be sitting upstairs typing away and crying my eyes out at some remembered time in my life and I would be feeling the pain of it all again.
Sometimes it’s best to deal with things then forget about them and move on.Instead of, say, mentioning them every time you're on television or chatting to the gossip mags?
Dancing with the Stars 2007 winner Suzanne Paul and NZ Idol winner and Pop's Ultimate Star contender, Ben Lummis are to be judges in this year’s Miss World New Zealand contest.
Miss Prozac is still hanging out for her invite to judge the Bachelor of the Year contest…
A couple of weeks ago the Sunday Star Times jumped the gun, reporting that the new and improved Natural Glow being promoted by Suzanne Paul is being investigated by the Commerce Commission.
We discovered that the Commission had yet to make a decision as to whether the complaint justified an investigation.
The latest word is that Suzanne Paul Beauty Limited does not face a Commerce Commission investigation. A spokesperson told us the complaint didn't come under their remit.
The Commission will be taking no further action at this time. It was considered the matter was contractual and hence more appropriate for private action, if the parties wish to go down that route.
We contacted the Commerce Commission with regard to the alleged investigation into Suzanne Paul’s Natural Glow beauty product.
The Commission confirm they have received a complaint but are not investigating at this stage. The Sunday Star Times got this wrong and will be printing a correction this weekend.
However, this may not be the end of the matter. The Commission will make a decision in the next week or so as to whether the complaint warrants an investigation.
We'll keep you posted.
Suzanne Paul denies any wrongdoing and asks to be left alone to run her business
Once again my competitors are using the news paper to try and discredit me and ruin my business. I invented Natural Glow, not the factories that made it, it doesn’t take a genius to work that out.
If they’ve done some back room deal on some outdated recipes, that’s their problem. I do things legitimately.
What I can’t understand is why Esther Harwood is receiving information that I haven’t even seen and why is she assisting my competition in promoting these negative tactics? Surely she’s intelligent enough to know when someone else is pulling her strings.
I lost a contract with a national retailer at the end of last year because of one article, that contract would have given me money to pay back to my creditors. She knows this and still continues with a crusade, in trying to knock me down.
But I will keep getting up and maybe eventually there will be some other honest business person for her to pursue.
Come on, lets have some fair play, it feels as though there’s some sort of personal issue, although I realise a reputable paper wouldn’t do such a thing. I refuse to give up I’ve worked too hard for too long to let her destroy me.
I’m just trying to do the right thing, to work hard and make an honest living, like everyone else. Please, just leave me alone and let me do it. I’m starting to feel as though I’m damned if I do, or damned if I don’t.
A Director of Suzanne Paul’s company has responded to the Sunday Star Times article alleging that Natural Glow is being investigated by the Commerce Commission.
The crux of the letter is that there has been a complaint to the Commerce Commission, but no official investigation, and that the formula is different to the original Natural Glow. The company doesn't believe that buyers have been misled in any way.
They point out that the complaint was from a competitor, however, that's not unusual. A large volume of Commerce Commission complaints are received from competitors who believe competing products are being misrepresented.
For those of you that may have read the story about Natural Glow that was printed in the Sunday Star Times on 30th March 2008, here's our response to the newspaper:
1st April 2008
The Sunday Star Times
PO Box 1409
Auckland
Attention: The Editor
Thanks for your story promoting Natural Glow that was published on Sunday 30th March.
We agree entirely that Natural Glow is better than ever, and it is back! We also agree that one of our competitors’ sales is being threatened because we are being so successful with our new product.
However, there are a number of inaccuracies in your article:
1. Suzanne Paul is not facing an investigation from the Commerce Commission. In fact, we have been advised by the Commerce Commission that they have written to you stating that your story starts with a factual error and to claim that an individual or company "faces a Commerce Commission investigation" purely on the basis that someone has told your reporter that they've complained to the Commission is sloppy journalism.
2. You state that we have the rights to use the trademark Natural Glow – this is not correct. Natural Glow is a registered trademark owned by Suzanne Paul Beauty Limited, who has legally acquired the trademark.
3. We have never made the assertion that the original Natural Glow is back. We are using our own original formula and innovative brush design to give a more natural, no make-up look to meet the demands of today’s ever changing market.
It would appear that your newspaper has acted on the comments of a disgruntled competitor who is seeing their market share being eroded and is feeling threatened by our presence in the market place, without a thorough investigation of the facts.
Please be advised that this is an open letter available in the public domain. Furthermore, we reserve the right to take legal action over the incorrect statements made in your article.
Yours faithfully
Chap Lo
Director
Suzanne Paul Beauty Limited
Last year’s Dancing with the Stars champion Suzanne Paul is alleged to be in more legal hot water.
Sunday Star Times seems to have a hard-on for Suzie, and Miss Prozac loves them for it. Suzie isn’t so happy. After last week’s revelations about unpaid creditors she said
It’s been a funny old week. On Friday we had word that there was going to be another crappy article written about me in the Sunday Papers. I was absolutely beside myself, as the last pile of rubbish they wrote, cost me dearly. Not only did I lose several large investors because of it, I also lost a big contract that was worth a lot of money. As you can imagine I was devastated especially as it was all a pack of lies, but people tend to believe what they read in the newspapers even if it is nonsense.
It seems the company I used to work for, don’t want to be in competition against me and are trying all sorts of tactics to try and close me down. No Chance!
Every time they knock me down I just get up again (like the Chumba Wumba song!).
I’ve worked too hard to get back on my feet and re-launch Natural Glow to let people like them stop me. I expect there may be a story in the papers this week, but I’ll just have to stay strong and keep smiling, you can’t let people like that get the better of you or else they’ve won.
Q: Is it the same formula as the first/original Natural Glow?
A: It's based on Suzanne's original Natural Glow formula, but it's much finer, so now the Luminous sphere's have a soft natural radiance.
Richard Coumbias said Paul's bronzer "bore no resemblance" to the original Natural Glow and had different ingredients.
Someone has created fake Bebo accounts for Suzanne Paul and Anthony Ray Parker, who used to appear together in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?.
Check out Anthony Ray's Bebo page where he is described as the bumboy for Suzanne, and of course his pick up line. Brilliant!
Hi there everyone!
I’m Anthony Ray Parker, you may remember me from that top rated show "Guess who’s coming to dinner?".
I was the big black man (bumboy for Suzzani;; Love ya suze!) who drove the limo & cleaned peoples houses etc
I also got a 2 dollar part in Matrix because the big black guy from White Chicks wasn't available
Pickup Lines
I know Suzanne Paul
Boo hoo. Poor Suzanne Paul continues to get a hard time from her creditors.
This Eating Media Lunch video is priceless! We just wish we'd found it during her run last year on Dancing with the Stars. Paul Holmes interviews her about her fall from grace. Tears abound.
The broken promises continue. Sunday Star Times reports that about 110 creditors owed $600,000 from Suzanne Paul's failed Rawaka venture are still waiting for money despite her pledges to repay them. This includes 22 employees, and you've got to feel sorry for them.Rawaka liquidator Jeff Meltzer said he got about 30 phone calls each time Paul repeated her promise in public.Suzanne's agent, Karen Kay, insists that Suzanne will keep her promises, but for the creditors it's a long time coming.
"I'm quite frankly getting rather embarrassed that I can't get anything," he said.
Last year's Dancing with the Stars winners, Suzanne Paul and Stefano Olivieri will be back on the opening episode of DWTS to perform their jive. Suzanne also goes on to say that she snapped up a couple of her costumes from last year's show for her own wardrobe. Nothing like a few freebies, is there?
Suzanne got to keep this little number from her Jive, plus a couple of other costumes. Maybe, she could auction them off and repay her creditors...
Wonder if Stefano got to keep the PVC Paso Doble outfit he was so fond of? We liked it so much it got a mention in our Best & Worst of 2007 Dancing with the Stars Awards.
Here's a short video of Suzanne and Stefano performing at Starship Hospital. Not one of Suzanne's best efforts, the whole thing looks poorly executed, but the camera work could be contributing to the jerky performance. For a better video check out their dance highlights.
Suzanne also says she put on a few kilos
Now I’ve only got to look at a ginger nut and I get another roll of fat around
the middle! So I’m really watching what I eat at the moment, otherwise I’m going
to look like a sausage in a skin, and Stefano is going to do himself a mischief
when he try’s to throw me about!
Miss Prozac was feeling lazy over the long weekend, so she figured why waste her precious time on a lovely sunny day trying to think of something original to write when she can borrow some gems from last year’s Dancing With The Stars champion Suzanne Paul.
These funny quotes are from her book Suzanne Sez.
Bowling should be right up your alley.
Creative people are a pain in the arts.
He’s a bit of a sex object - Every time he mentions sex to a girl they object.
She’s always showing next week’s washing.
He’s my knight in shining Armani
"I have an expression, `Fake it till you make it' - which is one of the steps in my book and something I've always followed."
Stefano Olivieri has put together a dance highlights video of his partnership with Suzanne Paul from last year's Dancing With The Stars competition. Great video!
Stefano is confirmed for DWTS 2008 and I am really looking forward to seeing him back on the dance floor. He is a beautiful dancer and choreographer.
Click here to see the full list of professional dancers for 2008, and click here to see the confirmed list of celebrity contestants.
Suzanne Paul's Natural Glow has returned, with the relaunch of the product that made her a household name. In television advertisements and her own personal website Suzanne is promoting the makeup "With Thousands of Luminous Spheres" which she swears is better than ever! She has plans to add three new products to the Natural Glow range in the New Year. Interestingly the company named on her website is Channelwise Limited, which is owned 100% by William Gosnell of Swanson, Auckland so it appears she finally has a backer to help her get back into business.
There is no mention of the lawsuit from her former employers As Seen On TV (ASOTV) although she does say:
There were times over the last couple of years when I thought it was never going to happen, just when I thought it was all going right it would all go wrong. But that’s life, and as they say, “ When you’re going through hell, keep going”, I’ve always found that life can turn on a sixpence, and if things don’t turn out as you’d planned, then just pick yourself up, make a new plan, and have another go.
Apart from Dancing With the Stars, Natural Glow is pretty much all I’ve thought about since I was made bankrupt
Wolverhampton Kiwi battler Suzanne Paul talks to TV One's Close Up about her latest financial troubles.
The gist of the interview:
Non repayment of creditors & broken promises
Suzanne Paul promised in June last year to repay her creditors. So far this hasn't happened.
Naturally this isn't her fault.
She says she was promised money for fronting infomercials and hawking Natural Glow-type product Radiessence.
Lawsuit
She is now being sued by Radiessence marketers As Seen on TV (ASOTV) for repayment of approximately $330,000 advanced to her. As Seen on TV claim that this money was an advance against royalties and an hourly wage. Suzanne appears to believe that it was in addition to her hourly rate and royalties, however she has no contract to support this.
Naturally this isn't her fault.
She puts the blame on ASOTV for not keeping their word, and the sad state of affairs in New Zealand business that she should not be able to rely on a handshake. Miss Prozac is still shaking her head in wonder that any business person would be so naive as to make an agreement of this magnitude without getting the details in writing.
Suzanne will be defending the lawsuit and also plans a counterclaim.
New business on hold
Suzanne Paul has mentioned on several occasions her plan to launch her own range of products, however there have been considerabe delays. We speculated that this may be because banks were cautious about loaning her money. Suzanne confirms that her backers have pulled out after learning that she was to be sued.
Naturally this isn't her fault. So the creditors will need to continue to be patient. They're probably hoping she'll get a job and give up on launching yet another business...
As for ASOTV? Alex Perkins raises some questions about his business dealings with Raj Ranchhod. We noticed that Alex's website Adman As Seen on TV has suspended trading
Dear CustomerAlex and Sarah Perkins's company Plan of Attack Productions was in business with ASOTV Wholesalers. Alex says that they have invested a lot of money and got nowhere... There's sure to be more on this case in coming months. Stay tuned.
The ownership of this domain name is currently in dispute.
A claim has been brought by a third party alleging rights and claims of ownership that are contrary to the ownership rights of the registered owner.
During the pendency of those proceedings, we have chosen to suspend active marketing and trading on this website.
Suzanne Paul is a mum at last, or so screams the cover of this week's New Idea. But fear not people, after 8 failed IVF treatments the 50 year old former bankrupt is not with child.
Nooooo, it turns out that Suzanne is "mum" to hubby Duncan Wilsons's three sprogs (Hamish, Rachel and Zoe) for the school holidays. Are you kidding? Sales Supremo Suzanne is putting up with loud music and dirty laundry for two weeks over the school holidays and this is front cover news?
Also in the story...
Suzanne and Duncan are concentrating on starting up a new business so she can pay back all the creditors who lost money when she went bankrupt.
Suzanne Paul, who doubles as NZ Woman's Weekly's 'Debt Doctor' is now in the embarrassing position of being sued for non-performance of her contractual obligations by As Seen on TV. This has reawakened claims that Suzanne Paul has not made good on her promises to repay creditors.
In today's Sunday Star Times it is revealed that As Seen on TV (ASOTV), paid Suzanne Paul, her lawyers and creditors, $331,000 to endorse its products. However, Suzanne Paul pulled out of the deal nearly 12 months ago (November 2006) stating that she no longer wanted her image associated with the product. Although no reason has been given we presume it is because Suzanne Paul has plans to launch her own range of infomercial based products.
ASOTV are now suing Suzanne Paul for recovery of the $331,000 that they paid on her behalf plus interest and legal costs. This could bring the total claim to more than $400,000. In addition Suzanne's own legal bill is likely to be substantial, if this claim isn't settled out of court.
Suzanne Paul refutes the claim, however on the facts presented it does appear that she is liable to repay ASOTV at least part of the money she has received from them.
The statement says ASOTV gave Paul several cash advances of $10,000, paid $46,000 to the lawyers representing her during her bankruptcy and paid for a $3500 holiday and a $9000 trip to the UK to visit her sick father. It says in April last year it also paid $233,000 to pay creditors 25 cents in the dollar.
ASOTV's lawyer Ben Langdon says the company had a good faith agreement with Paul which she had not honoured.
In 1996 Paul pocketed $39m from the sale of Prestige Marketing, a company that owed its success to her tireless promotion of Natural Glow make-up and other products in TV infomercials.
"It's just crap. Everyone thinks she's paid everything but she hasn't."This might put a crimp in Suzanne's plans to be NZ's richest woman within five years.
Shelley Keene, credit manager at Southern Hospitality, says she does not expect any more money from Paul after receiving 25% of $54,000 owed. "Basically we have written it off, and lesson learned. She's made her good intentions known but she still hasn't followed through."
The latest NBR Rich List is out, revealing that New Zealand's richest woman is Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron with net worth of $300 million. I mention this wee nugget of trivia, because sales supremo Suzanne Paul, currently featuring in this week's NZ Woman's Weekly as one of New Zealand's most loved women (presumably her creditors weren't canvassed for an opinion) aspires to be NZ's richest woman.
Ambitious Suzanne, plans to repay her creditors in full, having already repaid more than a quarter of a million dollars. She told Mark Sainsbury on TV One's Close Up that she held off plans to launch new products and infomercials, knowing that Dancing with the Stars was "too good to miss" and that the raised profile could increase her sales and wealth. Hardly surprising given that Suzanne has begged the producers of reality show DWTS to include her in each of the past three competitions.
In a separate Close Up interview Suzanne Paul told Close Up of her plans to be NZ's richest woman within five years. I've got to say $300 million is a lot of dosh to accumulate over five years. We'll be watching with interest.
Related Stories:
Insecure Suzanne Paul
Suzanne Paul Facts & Myths
Suzanne Paul repayment plans questioned
Photo: TVNZ
An extract from dancing star Stefano Olivieri's interview on GLBT television show The Outlook including behind the scenes footage of Suzanne Paul and Dancing with the Stars.
This week’s New Idea leads with a ‘candid’ interview with Suzanne Paul
Turns out Suzanne Paul gets a visit f
