Celebrity’s baby photos are fun to look at, and, if said celebrity has undergone extensive plastic surgery, incredibly illuminating. Here’s part one in a series of celebrity kids — see if you can guess who’s who.
Ed McMahon could lose his Beverly Hills mansion if he doesn’t make good on $4.8 million in mortgage loans. Evander Holyfield’s 54,000-square-foot home in Georgia could be repossessed if he doesn’t meet his $10 million loan obligation. (He’s not broke, he insists, just not liquid.) The housing market and the recession aren’t just affecting normal people like non-New Yorkers; they’re affecting celebrities too. But a quick trip down memory lane reveals that, uh, celebrities go broke all the time. Especially athletes! CONTINUED »
When staffers at UCLA’s Medical Center were fired in March for snooping on Britney Spears’ medical records, and then selling tidbits about the pop star, like details of her giving birth so Sean Preston in 2005, one teensy weensy other revelation floated to the surface: The practice was nothing new.
Plenty of other celebs had their privacy violated, including Maria Shriver, George Clooney, and Farah Fawcett.
Now, tapes of conversations between tabloid The Globe and a score of hospital employees, from 1992-93, show how editors there regularly paid off sources inside various hospitals’ walls for dirt on Tom Cruise, Liz Taylor, Billy Crystal, Kelsey Grammer, Magic Johnson, Roseanne Barr, Al Pacino, Paula Abdul, Frank Zappa, and Vanna White. From plastic surgery procedures to eating disorder treatment, every tidbit was available for the right price. CONTINUED »
You know how it can be fun to call a bunch of top restaurants around the city and see which pricey establishment actually has availability for a party of 2 at 8pm, making them officially “over”? No, well. How about if instead of calling eateries, you called publishing houses and tried to see if you could shop them a book deal for Madonna’s daughter Lourdes? Yeah, much more interesting, we know. [Radar]
• Justin Timberlake is apparently “in love” with Jessica Biel. Probably because she has an inordinately large ass heart.
• Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and his wife give birth to future douche, Bryce Thadeus Ulrich-Nielsen.
• A year ago in gossip, everything was…exactly the same.
• Lindsay Lohan has announced plans to start working on new urban crap pop album.
• Model Petra Nemcova has gone from surviving a tsunami to shagging singer James Blunt and accidentally exposing her left nipple.
With so much reporting on Web 2.0, it would’ve been easy for BusinessWeek editor John Byrne to forget that his magazine should get in what’s arguably the future of his business model. Especially since, you know, BW isn’t doing so well in the ad pages department.
So, good news: John is getting excited about the Internet! He’s got a great idea to bring the brand online is an awesome new way. So awesome, in fact, that his idea is already an old one. CONTINUED »
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony got furious when the National Enquirer accused them in being involved in a herion smuggling ring; they’re now in the middle of filing a legal claim. Anthrax mailer suspect Steven Hatfill got back at Vanity Fair and Reader’s Digest for printing claims about his alleged wrong-doings; he sued (and won in a settlement). Vince Vaughn threatened London’s The Sun and Daily Mirror and the New York Post for alleging he cheated on Jennifer Aniston; he let that lawsuit fade away.
Those are three of the various stages a celebrity libel lawsuit might be in.
And then there’s Keira Knightley, who just joined the ranks of Roman Polanskis. CONTINUED »
• Rose McGowan confuses “Cinema for AIDS” benefit with her “Slutty Mermaids Anonymous” meeting.
• Howard Stern admits to having twice contemplated suicide. Experts say his unequivocally annoying girlfriend, Beth Ostrosky, is to blame.
• Sarah Jessica Parker launches her new affordable clothing line, Bitten. Carrie Bradshaw would never have approved.
• Nicole Richie is surprisingly funny, surprisingly knowledgeable when it comes to the male erogenous zones.
• Matthew McConaughey shirtless, and rolling around in the sand. This time, it’s for a movie!
So, the chubby girl with the solid voice won American Idol last night. Her name is Jordin Sparks (perhaps you heard?) and not only is she the next multi-platinum artist for 19 Entertainment, but she’s also the next mannequin for fashion outlets looking to broaden their reach beyond the borders of the couture elite. CONTINUED »
• Only days after turning to the Bible for comfort, Paris Hilton does what any other future jailbird would do: she consoles herself with Happy Feet. Related: Rich heiresses shop at Blockbuster; eschew pricey Netflicks membership fee.
• Anna Nicole Smith’s 40-something ugly duckling of a sister vows to keep the Smith tradition of giant fake boobies alive.
• George Clooney selflessly agrees to make out with a beautiful, impeccably dressed woman. For charity’s sake!
• The Hills‘ Heidi Montag to marry some Pratt.
• Emma Thompson pisses off Waverly Inn devotees (and Scientologist Will Smith) by lighting up a ciggy at the center table.
• Remember Ari Emanuel (the real-life super agent/schmuck who inspired Ari Gold’s character on Entourage)? Apparently, he’s mellowed out somewhat, “since America found out he’s a douche.”
Wondering what we thought about the Observer’s treatment this week of Page Six’s relationship with the Clintons? Get in line. Or not, because there probably isn’t one forming anytime soon. But after prancing around in Michael Calderone’s copy, we did reach one conclusion. CONTINUED »
We had mixed emotions about Bud.TV, the enterprising enterprise from Anheuser-Busch that hoped – with video content up the waxx – to makes its beer as appetizing for the eyes and ears as it is for the tastebuds. Turns out, our mixed pallet of emotions was for naught: the whole thing was a big failure. CONTINUED »
Tuesday afternoons are always good for one thing: staring out the window and wishing it was already Friday. And while we can’t bring you an early weekend, we can offer you another entertaining round of Cable Quotables, and explain why Intern Wendy has been walking around all week calling Rosie O’Donnell a “triple threat.”
• “You’ve never watched this show, have you?” Glenn Beck, realizing even Larry King has good taste, Glenn Beck, May 17
• “Have you ever seen a shank, Ray Giudice? How do I know she’s not going to show up with one of these.” Nancy Grace, anticipating Paris Hilton’s full body cavity search, Nancy Grace, May 17
• “She has triple coverage as a minority. She‘s a woman; she‘s a lesbian; and she‘s fat. We can‘t do anything with her. She‘s like a spotted owl. She‘s an endangered species. She‘s protected by the government.” Adam Carolla, on why Rosie O’Donnell is a national treasure, Scarborough Country, May 17
• “If cavemen had microwaves everything would have moved along faster” Willie Geist, wondering what the Paleolithic Era would have been like with “Hot Pockets,” Tucker, May 18
• “Well, is he Raymond Burr, Marlon Brando, or what—or more recognizably just a little heavy?” Chris Matthews, judging Al Gore’s weight on a sliding scale, Hardball, May 18
• 50 Cent announces he’ll be leaving the music biz to focus his energies entirely towards his one true passion: getting shot.
• Orlando Bloom is ready to fall in love, still hoping against hope that he’ll find Mr. Right an awesome new girlfriend.
• Kanye West: “I’ve known my mom since I was zero years old. She is quite dope.” Fortunately for Mrs. West, her son is kind of a “dope” as well.
• Oprah Winfrey learns her father is writing a tell-all about his famous progeny; the book is said to be less fictitious than James Frey, and almost as boring as “The Secret.”
• Check out all the accomplished politicians, Pulitzer Prize winning authors and billionaires who were once rejected by Harvard admissions! It’s all kind of empowering, until you remember that your parents are still paying your cell phone bill.
• Meanwhile, Britney Spears naively hopes a B-12 shot will put the “zap” back into those lip-syncing routines.
• Those zany Wilson brothers are at it again! Their latest hijinks? Firing their own mother! Oh, the tomfoolery…
“Price-cutting and other marketing strategies widely used by the tobacco and alcoholic beverage industries are highly effective in encouraging children and teenagers to smoke and drink,” declares today’s New York Times.
And while experts advocate decreasing the number of alcohol and cigarette ads geared towards adolescents, they also acknowledge peer pressure, hormones and “that incredibly nicotine high” as other risk factors, concluding that teen drinking will likely prevail so long as “the ‘popular’ kids keep throwing those raging keggers.”
If you had a life threatening medical emergency and had your choice between a white and a black doctor, which would you choose? Or, how about your house was burning down, would you want your FDNY rescuer to have skin that needs to be loaded with SPF to keep from burning, or skin touched by the sun?
Wait, don’t answer! According to a federal compliant filed against the city by the U.S. Department of Justice – they’re not messing around – you, the average house fire victim, won’t have much opportunity to make that choice, since just 3 percent (335 of the city’s 11,000 firefighters) are black. As Stereohyped informed us, allegedly, this little statistic is a result of institutionalized racism among our city’s finest, which is accused of illegally using written tests to qualify entry-level applicants.
Turns out, the ability to complete analogies isn’t required for putting out a blaze.
After the jump, test your race-based firefighting knowledge! CONTINUED »
• Turns out when Al Gore’s not being boring, he’s busy laughing at Diane Sawyer.
• Not only is the NYO “New York City’s newest real estate read,” it’s also a disconcertingly metrosexual shade of salmon.
• Take a tip from Conrad Black and charge that pricey Park Ave mansion on your corporate card. Then fill the guest quarters with gold coins (bought with company cash, of course) and swim in it until Scrooge McDuck sues you for copyright infringement.
• Some XM radio subscribers are not getting their daily fill of Howard Stern.
• CBS Responds to Jericho Fans: We’ll Let You Know How It Would Have Ended. Related: MacGyver fans petition to find out how the handy outdoorsman would have fared post-mullet.
According to today’s Page Six, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are in uproar over a case of identity theft…with a twist.
A blond-haired, blue-eyed fashion student, who claims to be a virgin, has changed her name to Katee Holmes and is launching a porn career in which she’ll be deflowered in her first movie…
Holmes’ camp is weighing her possible recourse. A friend of Katie told us, “It’s really kind of sleazy, using her name like that.”
A spokeswoman for Cruise said, “Obviously, Tom would support Katie in anything she decides to do about it.”
Naturally, the real Katie Holmes is said to be extremely offended by this unsolicited “tribute.”
When reached for comment, a disgusted Holmes reportedly branded her namesake an “opportunistic hussy,” then waved to the paparazzi and marched into her brand new mansion to simulate sexual relations with her famous movie star husband.
May 8, 2007 (Memo from Bill Keller to NYT staff: Jill Abramson was in an accident)
Jill Abramson was involved in a traffic accident this morning, and is in the emergency ward at Bellevue Hospital. She is conscious (in fact, she managed to be both funny and stoic through her morphine haze, so the essential Jill seems to be intact) but she has a badly broken leg and is being checked for other injuries…Will keep you posted.
May 9, 2007: (NYP: Page Six update, “no one did anything illegal“)
These are trying times for New York Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson. The highest-ranking woman in the Times’ newsroom, she was rushed to Bellevue Hospital after a private sanitation truck ran over her foot in Midtown yesterday morning. She was crossing at the intersection of West 54th Street and Seventh Avenue just as the garbage hauler was making a right turn. Cops tell us no one did anything illegal and the driver won’t be charged.
May 22, 2007: (NY Sun: “Times Editor Sues Truck Driver Over Broken Foot“)
• Drew Carey tips the bartender at STK $100 for every Amstel Light. Not because she was hot, but because she was “really, really good” at opening the bottles.
• Lindsay Lohan confuses vodka with Poland Spring. Again.
• Kid Rock refuses to be in the same room as Pam Anderson, for fear of catching hepatitis chlamydia.
• Newly single Jennifer Esposito and her “Eurotrash boy-toy” forget to pay the bill at Alta. Or else they did pay, but someone else stole it really, really fast. Either way, ex-fiance Bradley Cooper’s gloating.
• “Method Man getting arrested for possessing 28 grams of marijuana is kind of like Diddy getting caught leaving Sienna Miller’s hotel room. Not surprising at all.”
Editorial Director
