Fashion Darling Joy Bryant and 'Notorious' Movie Star Derek Luke Set to Host BET's Annual Fashion Special, RIP THE RUNWAY on Saturday, February 21 from NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom

Fashion Darling Joy Bryant and 'Notorious' Movie Star Derek Luke Set to Host BET's Annual Fashion Special, RIP THE RUNWAY on Saturday, February 21 from NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom

NEW YORK, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Take a glimpse into the prestigious world of fashion when BET's RIP THE RUNWAY tapes at the famed Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Saturday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. Hosted by actress and model, Joy Bryant and "Notorious" star Derek Luke, RIP THE RUNWAY showcases the latest trends in fashion, hip accessories, music and the hottest models on the runway. Returning for its fifth season, BET partners with the leading urban designers including Akoo, Protege', Korto Momolu (from Bravo's "Project Runway"), and Johnny Vincent Swimwear to bring viewers an exclusive front row seat to the finest fashion show in town.

Over the years, Joy Bryant has become a permanent staple in the fashion world and it's seldom that magazines don't feature her in their fashion pages. Bryant's acting debut began with MTV's film "Carmen: A Hip Hopera;" which was followed by her explosive breakthrough in Denzel Washington's "Antwone Fisher," which also features RIP THE RUNWAY co-host Derek Luke. Bryant has appeared in high-profile films as "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins," "The Skeleton Key," "London," "Honey" and "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."

New Jersey native, Derek Luke, had a passionate dream of becoming an actor so he took a leap of faith by booking a one way ticket to Los Angeles with what he calls having no "plan B." Luke, determined to not return void of his mission, took different jobs as a waiter and audience usher on various studio lots and awards shows. Finally he landed a job at the Sony Studio store where he was able to take auditions on his lunch breaks. There he met Antwone Fisher, a former Sony Pictures security guard, and learned that a film based on Fisher's life was in development. In the early stages of casting for the film, he decided to crash the auditions. After the film went on hiatus for over a year, he got an audition through his manager and after several call backs he landed the lead role. That was the beginning of his acting career. Since making his film debut, Luke has starred in a dozen films including "Madea Goes to Jail," "Miracle at St. Anna," "Biker Boyz," "Friday Night Lights," "Glory Road," "Lions for Lambs," "Definitely, Maybe" and most recently Luke starred as Sean "Diddy" Combs in the Fox Searchlight bio-pic "Notorious."

RIP THE RUNWAY will premiere on BET on Monday, March 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT* and will re-air on Thursday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m.* and Friday, March 6 at 10:00 p.m.*. For up-to-the-minute and archival press information including releases and photographs, visit BET's press-only Web site at www.bet.com/pr.

**All time ET/PT

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 98 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: Marcy Polanco, +1-212-975-4048, Marcy.Polanco@bet.net, or
Lyntina Townsend, +1-202-608-2745, Lyntina.Townsend@bet.net, both of BET
Networks

Web Site: http://www.bet.com/

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