Thurgood Marshall graduation 2012
Badin vs. Versailles
Law Enforcement Memorial Day
Home > Blogs > Celebrity Worship > Archives > 2008 > December
December 2008
Bristol’s baby-granny charged in drug raid
Sherry Johnston, the mother of Levi Johnston — the 18-year-old who is the father of Bristol Palin’s soon-to-be-born baby (due Dec. 20!!) — was charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance, Alaska’s Anchorage Daily News reported Friday, Dec. 19.
Johnston, 42, was arrested Thursday at her home with a search warrant as part of an undercover drug investigation by Alaska State troopers. Troopers said they charged Johnston with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance — typically manufacturing or delivering drugs — as well as fourth-degree misconduct involving controlled substances, or possession, said the newspaper.
A rep for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, mother of Bristol, said Thursday: “This is not a state government matter. Therefore the governor’s communications staff will not be providing comment or scheduling interview opportunities.”
Troopers released no other information, including the kind or amount of drugs, because details could jeopardize an ongoing investigation.
Permalink | Comments (28) | Post your comment |
Fergie, Josh Duhamel set wedding date
Fergie and Josh Duhamel have made a special New Year’s resolution: a Los Angeles-area wedding on Jan. 10. The pop star, 33, and the actor, 36, got engaged a little more than a year ago and were recently spotted checking out kitchen items at Crate and Barrel.
On the wedding guest list? Most of Fergie’s costars in Nine — the movie adaptation of the musical which Fergie (real name: Stacy Ferguson) just finished filming in Europe — including Kate Hudson and Nicole Kidman. The Black-Eyed Peas singer plays a prostitute in the film, along with Hudson, Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Sophia Loren and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Duhamel, star of the box-office giant, Transformers and the NBC drama, Las Vegas, recently wrapped the romantic comedy, When In Rome with Kristen Bell, Jon Heder and Dax Shepard.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Angie Harmon has third daughter
Angie Harmon and husband Jason Sehorn welcomed their third daughter Thursday, Dec. 18. Emery Hope Sehorn joins sisters Finley Faith, 5, and Avery Grace, 3.
Former NFL player Sehorn, 37, told People magazine in September, “Our two girls are very excited. If it’s a girl, God bless her, [they] will beat her down out of love.”
If Harmon’s description of their household before Emery’s arrival was any indication, the Sehorn family is gearing up for a wild winter. “Our house sounds like a Justin Timberlake concert,” the actress, 36, told People. “From the time they get up to the moment they go to bed, there is screaming and squealing.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
J.Lo’s marriage reportedly on the rocks
Will fire follow this smoke? The new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands Friday (12/19), reveals the behind-the-scenes crisis going on in Jennifer Lopez’s third marriage to Marc Anthony.
Rumors swirled that Lopez’s marriage was on the rocks after she showed up to the premiere of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last week without her 8-carat diamond engagement ring, wedding band, or ever present husband, Marc Anthony (who was spotted in Las Vegas sans wedding band the weekend before). Multiple sources confirm to to Us Weekly their marriage is at a breaking point.
“They both didn’t wear their rings on purpose,” a mutual pal of the married couple of four years (who renewed their vows in October) tells Us. “Nothing Jennifer does is without purpose.”
While Anthony’s rep insists to Us, “They are doing great,” a source tells Us deep trouble has been brewing. “He’s very, very controlling of her,” a close Anthony pal tells Us. “The skirts aren’t as short. You don’t see so much of that booty anymore.” The new Us Weekly also reports that Anthony also picks out Lopez’s clothes and keeps tabs on her phone calls.
But Lopez — who once claimed she “loved getting his opinions” — has become less interested in his approval since the birth of their 10-month-old twins, Max and Emme.
“She walks in from work, washes her hands and grabs the babies,” a longtime friend tells Us. “With him, it’s almost like, ‘Ugh, they’re crying again?’”
Another problem: Lopez — who once commanded $15 million per film — “blames Marc for her career going down the tubes,” says a mutual pal, adding that she’s bitter about the failure of their 2006 drama, El Cantante, which only grossed $7.5 million. (Her 2002 flick Maid in Manhattan earned over $94 million.)
“Jennifer looked around and said, ‘This is my life now? I’m a Long Island housewife?’” a pal says. “She hates that everything she worked for went down the tubes.”
Lopez isn’t the only one with growing resentment toward her husband. Her best friend, Leah Remini, also can’t stand him. “It if was up to her, Leah would just break them up today,” a pal says.
Anthony has also been badmouthing his wife. One night after their tense family Thanksgiving in which the couple “didn’t sit together,” Anthony hit NYC hotspots Bungalow 8 and Marquee, where he was spotted with his hand on a woman’s thigh and overheard complaining about his wife to a group of women, “telling them, ‘She’s making me miserable,’” a source says.
His club spree didn’t stop there: The next night, he was photographed by TMZ.com partying sans wedding band with pal Eva Longoria Parker and Russell Crowe in Las Vegas. (A source says, “According to Jennifer, he didn’t cheat.”)
The pair, who hadn’t been spotted together since Oct. 23 — and the very public removal of their wedding bands — had dinner Tuesday at Beverly Hills restaurant Luau, which they left holding hands.
(Lopez is no stranger to shows of strength, though: after she and Ben Affleck called off their first wedding, they had dinner at the paparazzi-laden Ivy restaurant in L.A.)
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Cowell weighs in on fan’s suicide
Simon Cowell has faced plenty of controversies during his eight years as the most cantankerous judge on American Idol. But dealing with the death of Idol hopeful Paula Goodspeed, the fan who allegedly killed herself in front of Paula Abdul’s house, has been by far the most difficult.
“You’re talking about a human tragedy,” Cowell said during a conference call with the press on Wednesday afternoon. “It hit us like an express train. It upset me a lot.”
Cowell added that he didn’t remember who Goodspeed was until he saw news footage of her infamous audition after the news broke last month. “I don’t remember to be honest with you. We’ve seen a lot of people. [But] when I saw the clips back on the news I remembered it.”
While he didn’t recall if Paula Abdul had asked producers not to let Goodspeed into the audition room — as she claimed in a recent radio interview — he said Abdul could have stopped the audition at any time. “All you’ve got to say is ‘Stop filming, I need to speak with the producers.’ That didn’t happen. But I only remember from what I saw [in news clips],” he said.
He also said Abdul would not have been in any immediate danger during the audition: “There are a minimum of seven security guards in the room. You don’t see them, but they’re everywhere.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Jodie Sweetin under investigation
Jodie Sweetin recently underwent an emergency investigation by an Orange County, Calif., family court for allegations of substance abuse raised by her estranged husband.
“It’s primarily alcohol [abuse] but there’s also concern regarding methamphetamines,” Robert Benavente, the lawyer for her ex Cody Herpin, said. Sweetin’s lawyer strongly denies the claims. “Jodie absolutely has not relapsed into using meth,” Wilma Presley said. “She merely confessed to having several glasses of wine over dinner recently and felt guilty about that. She is currently in a 12-step program and is working hard on her sobriety. She wants to be clean and sober from everything.”
A judge made a temporary ruling Wednesday that Sweetin’s custody over daughter, Zoie, 8 months, must only be in her parents’ home (where she currently lives) or in her parents’ presence. The court also ruled that the estranged couple share custody 50-50 for now. A court psychologist testified that she doesn’t believe Sweetin poses a threat to the child. The next hearing in the matter is set for Feb. 9.
Sweetin is a recovering alcoholic and meth addict, having publicly acknowledged her two-year battle with the drug.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Carrey no fan of longtime Prozac use
Tom Cruise isn’t the only actor who frowns upon the use of anti-depressant drugs.
On Monday’s Larry King Live, Jim Carrey — who has battled depression since he was a child — warned people about using Prozac for a long period of time.
“At the risk of like opening up the whole Tom Cruise Prozac argument, you know, I don’t disagree in many ways,” Carrey said. “I think Prozac and things like that are very valuable to people for short periods of time. But I believe if you’re on them for an extended period of time, you never get to the problem.
“You never get to see what the problem is, because everything is just kind of OK,” he said. “And so, you don’t deal. And people deal when they get desperate.”
Carrey’s solution: “Supplements,” he said.
“It is vitamins. But it’s also certain elements of the brain like Tyrosine and hydroxytryptophan that they’re treating depression with now,” he said. “It is a natural substance that’s in your brain. Instead of being a Serotonin inhibitor, which just uses the serotonin you have and Prozac and things like that — it just uses the Serotonin you have and it doesn’t allow it go back into the receptor. It metabolizes your serotonin after a while and you have to keep taking more and more to feel good. This actually creates dopamine and creates serotonin,” Carrey continued. “It’s a wonderful thing. It’s amazing. I’m going to talk a lot about it in the near future.”
Carrey said his girlfriend Jenny McCarthy also helps him.
He recalled meeting her years ago at David Spade’s birthday party.
“She looked at me, and she said, ‘You just looked so peaceful that I had to come and talk to you,” he told King. “I mean, I’d seen her a bunch of times, never in person. But I just thought — well, she’s nothing like the persona, like the Singled Out person that I met — or that I knew, that I had seen.”
He said they have no plans to wed.
“I love Jenny very much, and we have a great relationship. And we’ve both been married a couple times,” he said. “I like it the way it is, and I think she likes it the way it is.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
SNL under fire for mocking blind NY gov
Live from New York, it’s time to mock the disabled!
With Sarah Palin out of the national eye, “Saturday Night Live” turned its guns on New York’s governor, David Paterson. The laughs weren’t quite as hearty — the guy’s legally blind, and that’s not a punchline. Not if you have any class.
Paterson took over for the disgraced Eliot Spitzer earlier this year. In Saturday night’s skit, Fred Armisen portrayed Paterson as a bumbling man who is completely unqualified for the position, and though it got live laughs, some people are ticked.
The National Federation of the Blind issued a statement calling the characterization “absolutely wrong” and criticized the show for playing up the stereotype that blind people are “incapable of simple tasks.” Meanwhile, Governor Paterson’s office issued a statement that the show should be able to “find a way to be funny without being offensive.”
Still, nothing like controversy to heat up the keyboards. Searches for “snl david paterson” and “armisen david paterson” both surged on Sunday and continue to stay hot. We’ll save you the time.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |
Madonna’s divorce is quite costly freedom
Madonna reached a divorce settlement with Guy Ritchie, paying her ex between $76 million and $92 million, her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg says the figure includes the value of their country home Ashcombe, in western England, as well as the couple’s London pub, the Punchbowl. The couple were reportedly worth some $525 million, the vast majority of which belonged to Madonna. Ritchie had an estimated $35 million fortune.
“I’d assume it’s one of the largest payouts ever in a divorce settlement,” Rosenberg said. She’d be right. Their multimillion pound (dollar) settlement is about twice the size paid out in Britain’s latest high-profile celebrity divorce, that of former Beatle Paul McCartney and model Heather Mills.
While the financial details of the settlement have been ironed out, Madonna, 50, and Ritchie, 40, are still finalizing custodial arrangements for their children.
Madonna filed for divorce citing Ritchie’s “unreasonable behavior” as a cause. As for reports that the couple plan to spend Christmas together, Madonna’s rep tells People that’s not true, and we’re not surprised.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Tara Reid (finally) enters rehab
Tara Reid has entered rehab, and all we have to say is it’s about time. “Tara Reid has checked herself into Promises Treatment Center,” her rep told US magazine. “We appreciate your respect to her and her family’s privacy at this time.”
In 2006, Reid, now 33, opened up to Us Weekly about her party girl image. “I’m not always drunk. My picture is taken only when I have a cup in my hand,” she said. “Trust me, my body is tired. I partied hard. But I think it was that the people I partied with were not the best people.”
She called her short-lived E! series, Taradise, “probably the stupidest thing I ever did. It was a mess,” said Reid, who underwent a botched breast augmentation and stomach liposuction that left her disfigured in 2004. “I didn’t know it was going to ruin my career. People forget I’ve done, like, 20 movies. I’m not just a party girl.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber have Boy #2
Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber welcomed their second child, born Saturday, Dec. 13. A couple since 2005, Watts, 40, and Schreiber, 41, already have a baby boy, Alexander Pete Schreiber, born July 26, 2007.
Earlier this year, Watts boasted of her first-born, “He’s turning pages in the book. He’s crawling and standing up. He can wave. I read Goodnight Moon to him every night.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Hugh Jackman to host Oscar show. Honest.
Hugh Jackman. Yup, that’s right, People’s latest Sexiest Man Alive has been choisen to host the 81st annual Academy Awards ceremony, taking place Feb. 22.
He’s Australian. Maybe that’s why. He’s 40, too, but whatever. Jackman was selected “because we want the ceremony to be fun,” says Laurence Mark, producer of the telecast. “He can hold the screen and he can hold a stage. It doesn’t hurt that he looks amazing in a tuxedo and he’s the Sexiest Man Alive.”
Jackman won an Emmy in 2005 for hosting the 59th annual Tony Awards in 2004. He was also nominated as host of the Tonys in 2005.
Kind of the antithesis of Jon Stewart, who hosted last year, eh? Ah, no worries. OK, a few.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Miley gets old, used Porsche for Sweet 16
Miley Cyrus she didn’t get the car she wanted for her 16th birthday, but she’s not really complaining. Not much, at least.
“I do have a car. I took my mom’s old car,” she told Extra. “I got the old car, which wasn’t so bad because it was a Porsche … It was a pretty good hand me down.” Cyrus has another reason to celebrate: She nabbed for Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song for her Bolt tune “I Thought I’d Lost You.”
Who will be on her arm come award night?
“I’m so cool, I get two dates,” she says. “I’m going to have one, which is going to be John Travolta,” she says. “That’s a big date. Two is Jeffrey Steele because we wrote it (the song) together.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Raymond family “ushers” in Baby Boy #2
Get it? Usher and his wife Tameka have a new addition to the family: a baby boy.
“Usher and Tameka Raymond welcomed their second son, Naviyd Ely Raymond, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2:33 a.m. weighing 5 lbs., 13 oz.,” says the singer’s rep. “Tameka and the baby are doing fine.”
Naviyd joins older brother Usher Raymond V, who turned 1 on Nov. 26. The parents married in 2007. Tameka, 37, also has three sons from a previous relationship.
“I’m so proud to be a father by the time I’m 30,” Usher (who hit the big 3-0 in October) sad back in August. “I’d hate to be 80 years old and not be able to run with my kids. I need to still be able to do flips when they’re in high school!”
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment |
Britney’s (burpy) holiday wishes
Kids say the strangest things. This was posted on Brit’s Web site — it’s actually a nice moment, for a change.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Jennifer poses naked, bashes Angelina again
Jennifer Aniston continues trash-talking Angelina Jolie in January’s GQ.com, where she refers to herself, ex Brad Pitt and Jolie as “the insane Bermuda Triangle.”
(The interview comes out Dec. 23 — this, after Aniston told USA Today that her personal life is none of people’s “(expletive) business.” She also recently attacked Vogue for being a tabloid for running her Jolie “uncool” remark on its December cover.)
Four years after she split with Pitt, GQ editor Mark Kirby asks her why she thinks people are still interested in the story.
“The funny thing is that people don’t realize we all go away to the Hamptons on the weekends,” she snipes. “No. But can you imagine? That’d be hysterical: I’ve got Zahara on my hip, and Knox….”
Asked if she speaks with Jolie, Aniston immediately replies, “No. Nuh-uh,” with — as Kirby notes — “a forced little tongue-biting grin.” The actress, who previously told Vogue that it was “uncool” of Jolie to say she fell in love with the then-married Pitt on the set of 2005’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, says she wasn’t shocked by Jolie’s comments.
“Well, you know, that was definitely a confirmation for me of something that wasn’t quite confirmed at the time,” Aniston says.
“But listen… You sit there and you… No. No daggers through the heart. I laugh. Am I surprised? Well, how do I say this? Considering the source, nothing surprises me.”
She also says she’d never sell her baby photos to a magazine, unlike Jolie, who fetched $14 million for shots of twins Knox and Viv. “That just doesn’t feel right to me….” Aniston says.
(To further end any questions about what Aniston thinks of Jolie, the GQ editor writes simply: “How Jen feels about Angelina is pretty much exactly how you’d think she’d feel.”)
Aniston’s remarks about Jolie aren’t the only thing to raise eyebrows: The actress, 39, poses naked, wearing only a tie, on the cover.
“It felt really good to be that comfortable with myself — and to lie on men as furniture,” she says. As she approaches her 40th birthday in February, she says, “I still can’t wrap my head around how old I’m going to be.”
Still, she says, “I feel more comfortable today than I ever did in my twenties or early thirties. I am more at peace in my mind and with my body.”
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment |
Ricky Martin shows off 4-month-old twins
Ricky Martin unveiled his 4-month-old twin boys, Matteo and Valentino, for the upcoming People magazine — on newsstands Friday. The boys were born via surrogate in early August.
A joyful Martin, 36, spoke candidly with the magazine from his home in Puerto Rico about his desire to be a parent, the decision to seek the help of a surrogate and juggling caring for twins — he has no nanny! Follow the jump for the crux of the interview, if you’re so inclined.
PEOPLE: Describe this time in your life.
MARTIN: I’m so happy! Everything they do, from smiling to crying, feels like a blessing. Being a father feels amazing. This has been the most spiritual moment in my life.
PEOPLE: How hands-on are you as a father?
MARTIN: I don’t have a nanny. I’m doing this on my own because I don’t want to miss a moment. I have a personal assistant who helps me, someone who takes care of me while I’m taking care of them, but I’m the one who changes the diapers, the one that feeds them, the one that bathes them, the one that puts them to sleep. For any parent, the first couple of months tend to get a little bit intense.
PEOPLE: Why did you choose to become a parent via surrogate?
MARTIN: Adoption was one option, but it’s complicated and can take a long time. Surrogacy was an intriguing and faster option. I thought, ‘I’m going to jump into this with no fear.’
PEOPLE: Tell us about Valetino’s and Matteo’s personalities.
MARTIN: Valentino loves to sleep. I call him ‘Mr. Peace and Love’ because he’s so chill and serene. Matteo is more alert and active. He was up at 3 a.m. the other night and just hanging!
PEOPLE: What is your philosophy on raising your sons?
MARTIN: I love to read books to my sons and tell them stories. I play music for them so they develop their own personalities. I want to give them information and raise them with honesty and love, and give them self-esteem and a lot of acceptance.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Oprah says she’s at 200 pounds — again
In the January’s O magazine, Oprah Winfrey confesses that she now weighs 200 pounds and has “fallen off the wagon.”
“I’m mad at myself,” writes Winfrey, 54. “I’m embarrassed. I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, ‘How did I let this happen again?’”
In the article (obtained by The Associated Press), Winfrey says she has struggled with an out-of-balance thyroid and the condition made her develop “a fear of working out.” She confessed that she’s packed on 40 pounds since she weighed 160 pounds in 2006.
“Yes, you’re adding correctly; that means the dreaded 2-0-0,” Winfrey says. “I was so frustrated I started eating whatever I wanted - and that’s never good.”
She says she hit rock bottom earlier this year when she wanted to skip an April 26 taping with Cher and Tina Turner in Las Vegas because she felt like “a fat cow.
“I wanted to disappear,” says Winfrey, who has famously yo-yoed over the years (she once weighed as much as 237).
She goes on to say that her goal now isn’t to be thin; she just wants to be healthy.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
ABC sitcom kicks off with stars in catfight
Here’s a good one from Fox News, fair and balanced and full of interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits:
Word is that the set of ABC’s midseason replacement sitcom, “In the Motherhood,” was a nasty place to be recently. Stars Megan Mullally (of “Will & Grace” fame) and Cheryl Hines are at war, says the report. Sources say that at a table reading the other day, Mullally pretty much had a meltdown. She didn’t like the script and didn’t mind saying so.
“She was circling other people’s lines and redistributing them to other characters,” says a source close to the production.
More importantly, Mullally apparently already doesn’t like Hines, who’s carrying over her popularity from HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Mullally apparently announced at the reading: “There’s no talent here.”
If that wasn’t enough, she told Hines: “Nobody watches HBO.” She may have been employing her trademark sarcasm. If so, insiders didn’t quite get it.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Date with Anne Hathaway goes for $12,000
Wanna go out with Anne Hathaway? Fine — got $12,000? That’s the price three fans paid for drinks with the Rachel Getting Married actress at the Cracked X-mas Fundraiser in Los Angeles Sunday night.
“I’m not usually very forward, but I thought if there was ever a crowd for me to do something like this, this is my crowd so I would like to auction myself off,” Hathaway announced, “for drinks somewhere fabulous and basically get you totally s—- faced. Tell me what I’m worth.”
The proceeds for the night went to benefit the Trevor Project, a crisis helpline for LGBT youth. Hathaway, 26, was embarrassed when her price kept going up. “I’m blushing,” Hathaway said during the bidding process. “Wow, I feel really good right now.”
No doubt.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment |
Jessica Alba airbrushed skinny for calendar
This is seriously ridiculous. If Jessica Alba’s real figure isn’t good enough for print, whose is?
Leaked photos, posted on various internet blogs, show an original shot of Jessica Alba posing for Campari, in an image that was obviously later airbrushed. She’s seen posing in a white strapless short suit with a black belt on the limited edition calender, snapped by celebrity-photographer Mario Testino.
In the original picture, Jessica looks softer and more natural — and fabulous, we’ll all agree.
Check out the Daily Mail story here.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment |
Ginnifer Goodwin, Chris Klein split up
Ginnifer Goodwin and Chris Klein have called it quits after two years of dating. A Goodwin pal told People magazine that the split was mutual and amicable. “They realized they wanted different things,” says the friend. “In the long run, the relationship wasn’t going to work.”
With a busy winter ahead for Goodwin, 30, who returns to HBO’s Big Love in January and stars in He’s Just Not That Into You, opening in February, the actress plans to enjoy the single life for the time being, says her friend: “She’s not interested in dating anyone just yet.”
Klein, 29, is also busy with work, returning to big screen in Street Fighter in February.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Details emerge in Jodie Sweetin divorce
New court papers shed light on the deteriorating marriage of former Full House actress Jodie Sweetin to husband Cody Herpin.
“Our house is in foreclosure, our water has been shut off twice. Currently, all of our other utilities are overdue,” the actress says in papers filed Nov. 19 in an Orange County, Calif., court, describing the 16-month union as “rocky.”
Herpin, a driver and transportation coordinator in the film industry, stopped working after they got married, Sweetin alleges. “[He] kept finding one excuse after another for his failure to even attempt to find employment,” she says.
Sweetin, 26, claims the couple were kept afloat financially with Full House residuals and help from their parents.
The actress filed for legal separation from Herpin, 31, last month. The latest documents are a request for a court order allowing her to retrieve her belongings, as well as clothing and toys for their 7-month-old daughter, Zoie, in the event Herpin “prevents [her] from peacefully taking these items.” Sweetin claims she worries Herpin “will become very emotional and possibly erratic.”
Reached for comment, Herpin tells People magazine that Sweetin has returned home four times since the above filing, but “she won’t talk to me,” he says, and his emails to her have gone unanswered. “I still have no idea what this is about. None of this makes sense.”
As for his lack of employment, “I was the stay-at-home dad, my job was taking care of Zoie,” due to Sweetin’s busy schedule, Herpin says. He is seeking sole legal and physical custody of the couple’s daughter and spousal support from Sweetin.
“My client has cooperated with Ms. Sweetin in the several times she’s returned to the family residence,” says Herpin’s lawyer, Robert Benavente. “As for her other claims, some of which are false, we will address those in court documents.”
In her filing, Sweetin describes a heated moment Nov. 17 when she says she told Herpin she no longer wanted to be married to him and that she was moving in with her parents.
“He told me I could not take Zoie with me. He said he would call the police and report that she was abducted by me and seek sole custody. He grabbed Zoie from the floor where she was playing … but put Zoie down and later went for a walk.” Sweetin says she then took their daughter and their dog and went to her parents’ home.
Herpin called her claims “ridiculous.”
The actress has filed for joint legal and physical custody: “I would never deprive [Herpin] of seeing our daughter … However, I believe he is going to try to prevent me from seeing [her],” she says in the recent court papers.
A hearing in the case, which includes a mediation session, has been scheduled for Feb. 9.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Victoria’s Secret, Wal-Mart got Palin’s RNC cash
Salons and spas, including $350 at Escape Skin Care and Day Spa in New York, were the latest unusual expenses to appear in the Republican National Committee’s coordinated expenses account with the McCain-Palin campaign, according to November reports released late Thursday.
Overall, the RNC has reported spending a total of about $180,000 for clothes and various accessories for the family of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Federal Election Commission records show.
As Politico first reported in October, the bulk of that spending, about $150,000, was spent in early September on clothes for the Alaska governor and her family. The RNC’s post-Election Day report documented another $30,000 at outlets that read like a suburban shopping directory.
Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Limited, Foot Locker, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Victoria’s Secret are all listed in between the expected payments for media buys, direct mail and polling.
Major payments to big department stores and boutique clothing outlets also continued. Thousands of dollars in payments to Macy’s, Nieman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue — all major recipients of RNC cash in early September as Palin upgraded her wardrobe for the campaign — were made in October, too. In addition, hundreds of dollars were also spent at Brooks Brothers, the Gap, Express and J.C. Penney on clothes and accessories, apparently for other members of the vice presidential nominee’s family.
Republican donors reacted with anger when news of the spending broke in October. Typically, such coordinated campaign accounts are used to supplement a party nominee’s advertising and voter turnout operations.
The November report, which is the first post-election accounting, shows that the RNC spent heavily — more than $19 million — on both of those political activities from its coordinated expenses account. The party also spent more than $34 million on independent expenditures in the final weeks of the campaign to help nominee John McCain’s presidential bid.
As for the clothes, RNC spokesman Alex Conant said: “The accessories have been returned, inventoried and will be appropriately dispersed to various charities.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
LifeStyles condoms auctions artsy boxes
To commemorate World AIDS Day and AIDS Awareness Month, the makers of LifeStyles® Condoms are dressing up their undeniably recognizable condom boxes in an effort to raise both money and awareness for the worldwide AIDS epidemic. LifeStyles has enlisted some celebrities to create exclusively designed condom boxes for the LifeStyles Celebrity Pop Art Auction. This auction will be live until tomorrow, Dec. 5, on www.lifestyles.com/popart, with all proceeds being donated to YouthAIDS.
Some of today’s big names, from movie stars to fashion moguls, jumped at the chance to transform the signature LifeStyles condom carriers into works of art for this cause. Participants include Ashley Judd, Ethan Hawke, Margaret Cho and Dita Von Teese (that’s Dita’s, pictured above).
Some of the designs may make it into retail stores, said a LifeStyles marketing guru. The LifeStyles Celebrity Pop Art Auction was designed to harness the power of celebrities to raise money and increase awareness about AIDS, which takes the life of one child every minute. For additional information on YouthAIDS visit www.youthaids.org.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Sean Avery apologizes for vulgar comment
Hockey star Sean Avery, suspended by the NHL for making an offensive statement apparently referring to ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert, apologized Wednesday.
“I should not have made those comments and I recognize that they were inappropriate,” he says in a statement to People magazine. “It was a bad attempt to build excitement for the game, but I am now acutely aware of how hurtful my actions were.”
The hockey league’s commissioner summoned Avery, 28, who plays for the Dallas Stars, for a hearing today on his indefinite suspension for making what the commissioner called “inappropriate public comments, not pertaining to the game.”
Avery’s vulgar comment came Wednesday morning, when he told reporters, “it’s a common thing for NHL guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds.” Although he didn’t mention her by name, his ex, 24 actress Cuthbert, 26, now dates Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf and was previously linked to a player for the Montreal Canadiens. (Avery also dated “Stacey’s Mom” star Rachel Hunter, who now dates Los Angeles Kings star Jarret Stoll.)
“I caused unnecessary embarrassment to my peers as well as people I have been close with in the past,” Avery says. “As many of you know, I like to mix it up on and off the ice from time to time, but understand that this time I took it too far.”
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
Anne Heche announces pregnancy
Anne Heche and her beau, actor James Tupper, are expecting their first child together. The two first met in 2006 on the set of their short-lived ABC drama Men In Trees while Heche was still wed to husband Coley Laffoon.
“In that friendship, we kind of discovered we saw the world in a somewhat similar way,” Tupper, who was also married at the time, told the Vancouver Sun last year. “I think we both made decisions that were based on the relationships we were in.”
Shortly after Heche announced her split from Laffoon (with whom she has a 6-year-old son, Homer), the two stepped out publicly.
“I wish people could meet her in person,” Tupper told the Sun of Heche, with whom he shares a home in Vancouver. “She has such a sparkle and such a love for people, and she works so hard. She is so dedicated to all the good things.”
Heche told Extra last year that she was relieved that they can finally be open about their relationship. “We’re so much more comfortable now that our feelings are exposed and everybody knows about them,” said Heche, who will be appearing with Tupper on an upcoming episode of Samantha Who? this season.
Asked whether she’ll expand her family, Heche said, “Gotta leave it open, ya know what I’m sayin’?”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Hockey star suspended for tacky comment
Sean Avery has never been a classy kind of guy, but this is something new, even for him. Still, suspended indefinitely? You be the judge:
Avery was punished indefinitely by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for using a crude term about his former girlfriends now dating other hockey players. Bettman acted within hours, in time to keep Avery out of the Dallas Stars’ game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
Avery’s not-so-cute comment came following a morning skate in Calgary, Alberta. Reporters were waiting to speak with Avery about disparaging remarks he’d made last month about Flames star Jarome Iginla when Avery walked over to the group and asked if there was a camera present. When told there was, he said, “I’m just going to say one thing.”
“I’m really happy to be back in Calgary; I love Canada,” he said. “I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my (former girlfriends). I don’t know what that’s about, but enjoy the game tonight.” He then walked out of the locker room. Word is that he called his former girlfriends his “sloppy seconds.” Yeah, yuck.
Avery’s ex-girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert of the television show “24” and the movie “Old School,” is dating Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf; she had been romantically linked to Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens. Avery also dated Rachel Hunter, the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model and actress who is now the girlfriend of Los Angeles Kings center Jarrett Stoll.
Bettman said Avery made “inappropriate public comments, not pertaining to the game.” The two will meet before the length of the suspension is determined. That get-together is likely to happen soon.
“I completely support the league’s decision to suspend Sean Avery,” Stars owner Tom Hicks said in a statement. “Had the league not have suspended him, the Dallas Stars would have. This organization will not tolerate such behavior, especially from a member of our hockey team. We hold our team to a higher standard and will continue to do so.”
Avery is the kind of player who delights in doing or saying something to get under the skin of opponents and their fans. He’s led the league in penalty minutes twice, and was doing so again going into Tuesday. He’s not only often called the most hated player in the NHL, he loves hearing it.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment |
Patrick Swayze refutes tabloid rumors
People magazine is helping Patrick Swayze set the record straight, publishing a statement in which the actor strikes back at tabloid rumors about his health — he’s battling pancreatic cancer.
“I’m very proud of the work I’ve done on my new series The Beast, and I am happy to be back home for the holidays. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to say you’re gonna do something and do it,” says the actor, 56. “The only thorn in my side being that many tabloids have been consistently reporting lies and false information about me and those close to me. And latest, they’re reporting that I’m on my last legs and saying goodbye to my tearful family!
“Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease and from the moment I was diagnosed, I knew I was in for the fight of my life. It’s a battle, and so far, I’ve been winning. I’m one of the lucky few that responds well to treatment.
“It’s upsetting that the shoddy and reckless reporting from these publications cast a negative shadow on the positive and good fight I’m fighting. For me, my family, and those close to me, it amounts to downright emotional cruelty. That makes me angry when hope is so precious.”
He concludes, “As always, I appreciate all the love and support people have sent and continue to send my way. I thank you.”
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment |
Lindsay denies Sam Ronson breakup rumors
When the rumors begin, can the truth be far behind? We shall see … Lindsay Lohan has taken to the Web to announce that she and Samantha Ronson are still very much a couple.
Writes Lohan, 22, on her MySpace celebrity blog, after exclaiming (in a very New York-like manner), “oy vey! rumors”:
“just to clear this up.. because i have been getting a lot of emails asking me this one question […] samantha ronson and lindsay lohan (me) are NOT breaking up.”
Lohan then added a smile and signed-off with, “take care xxLL.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Marg Helgenberger, husband separate
CSI star Marg Helgenberger has separated from her husband of nearly 20 years, actor Alan Rosenberg.
“After 19 years of marriage, Marg and Alan have decided to take some time apart,” the actress’s rep said in a statement. “They love and respect each other and remain committed to their family.” Helgenberger, 50, and Rosenberg, 57, have an 18-year-old son.
Rosenberg is also president of the 120,000-member Screen Actors Guild, which is at an impasse in contract negotiations with the studios, with the possibility of a strike looming.
Hi CHUCK! Hi LINDA!
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment |
Finally! Here’s the scoop on Tina Fey’s scar
Tina Fey never liked to talk about her facial scar, which made it all anybody ever wanted to talk about. In her new Vanity Fair cover story, her husband decided it was time to come clean — let’s hope he got her permission. For the record, Mr. Fey is named Jeff Richmond, and he does the music for “30 Rock,” much like he did for “Saturday Night Live” when Tina was there. Here’s the VF excerpt:
Liz Lemon favors her right side. That’s because a faint scar runs across Tina Fey’s left cheek, the result of a violent cutting attack by a stranger when Fey was five. Her husband says, “It was in, like, the front yard of her house, and somebody who just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen.”
“That scar was fascinating to me,” Richmond recalls. “This is somebody who, no matter what it was, has gone through something. And I think it really informs the way she thinks about her life. When you have that kind of thing happen to you, that makes you scared of certain things, that makes you frightened of different things, your comedy comes out in a different kind of way, and it also makes you feel for people.”
Fey herself rarely mentions the episode. “It’s impossible to talk about it without somehow seemingly exploiting it and glorifying it,” she says. Did she feel less attractive growing up because of it? “I don’t think so,” she says. “Because I proceeded unaware of it. I was a very confident little kid. It’s really almost like I’m kind of able to forget about it, until I was on-camera, and it became a thing of ‘Oh, I guess we should use this side’ or whatever. Everybody’s got a better side.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Ivana Trump, fourth husband separate
Ivana Trump has separated from her fourth husband, Rossano Rubicondi. Trump, 59, issued a statement announcing her split from her 36-year-old Italian entrepreneur husband, whom she married in April.
According to her statement, Trump filed for legal separation three months ago but never went public because she did not want it to interfere with Rubicondi’s participation on the Italian edition of Survivor.
“Rossano wants to live in Miami and work in Milan,” Trump says. “But, I am a New Yorker and my family, friends and businesses are here. As the beautiful song says, `Que sera sera!’”
The two were married in Palm Beach, Fla., at Donald Trump’s estate after dating for six years.
