By Antracia Moorings

Woman of the Year: Rihanna has just been named Vogue Italia’s 2012 Woman of the Year for the second year in a row. “Independent, energetic, the jewel in the crown of Jay-Z’s stable who helped her become such a huge success, the young

Robyn Rihanna Fenty is our woman of the year and not just by virtue of numbers and figures but also, and foremost, for her kind and fighting spirit,” Vogue Italia writes. The magazine also praises her for her involvement in numerous charity projects and her “nonconformity.” “Constantly growing from an artistic point of view, Rihanna is our woman of the year because of what she does. But most of all because of who she is,” they write.

In other news, the 24-year-old singer has sued her former money managers, claiming they took poor care of her finances and have ultimately cost her tens of millions of dollars since she hired them in 2005. And now, her lawsuit alleges, their faulty bookkeeping has resulted in her being audited by the IRS. According to the federal complaint filed in Manhattan Rihanna was never informed that her 2009 Last Girl on Earth tour was bleeding money and her team never took measures to cut expenses, resulting in “significant net losses.”

Hendrix Songs Nixed: Andre 3000, currently starring in a biopic about the guitar legend’ life, will cover lots of  songs by fellow 60s acts – like the Beatles, Muddy Waters and Elvis Presley – but he won’ be performing any Hendrix songs in the film, after producers couldn’ get permission from his estate to use them. Producers, however, say the film, titled “All is By My Side,” is not about Hendrix after he became famous. “This is the story of Jimi being discovered as a backup musician and how he went to London and became Jimi Hendrix,” producer Sean McKittrick clarified to Rolling Stone, adding that the film would be focusing on early stories about the late star, such as his jam sessions with Cream and when he met Eric Clapton. A real life story, he claimed “would be like making a movie about Kurt Cobain – we all know how that story ends.” Experience Hendrix, LLC, released a statement expressing their disproval, saying they have “made it known many times in the past that no such film, were it to include original music or copyrights created by Jimi Hendrix, can be undertaken without [the company’s] full participation.”

Briefly: Condolences to Laila Ali and her husband, Curtis Conway. The couple had to say goodbye to their beloved 10-year-old cane corso Italian mastiff Smokey. Ali Tweeted the news Friday morning: "Sadly, I had to put my dog Smokey down last night … I will miss him! This [triathalon] is for him!"  The athlete, who is “Mombassador” for the July 8 Aquaphor New York City Triathlon, tells People she plans to dedicate her day to Smokey, whom she’s had since he was 10 weeks old ... Dancing with the Stars alum and Miami Dolphins football star Chad Ochocinco spent his patriotic holiday getting married to Evelyn Lozada. (The two wed in St. Martin, not Miami, as initially reported.) He tweeted throughout the ceremony to Basketball Wives star Evelyn Lozada (who was previously engaged to NBA star Antoine Walker) …  According to TMZ, Jonathan Arthur “Chico” DeBarge has filed for divorce. DeBarge, 45, filed the papers in L.A. County Superior Court against his wife Andrea DeBarge, citing “irreconcilable differences.” According to the docs, the couple was married in 1996 and separated in 2005.

Finally: OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, announced the premiere of a two-part original primetime special, Oprah Builds a Network, offering a look at Oprah’s first year as CEO, airing Sunday and July 15 from 9 to 10 ET/PT both nights.