Backtracking is often the unfortunate side effect of being a professional gossip. Sometimes you get things wrong. Sometimes your sources lead you askew. Sometimes you're so self-sure of your own version of events that you put blinders up against the common thinking that everybody else subscribes to, ignoring tell-tale signs and well-sourced reports so you can do the Slate-y thing and zag where others zig.
It explains how Fox News gossip Roger Friedman went from denying any possibility of Madonna romancing with Alex Rodriguez to plotting out how the duo might've maintained their secret affair. Get on the bus! CONTINUED »
Chaunce Hayden, the Steppin' Out editor whose name regularly appeared in Page Six until he found himself embroiled in a false report about a Bam Margera and Lynsi Smigo sex tape, is the center of this Radar profile, which lists his various past careers: male stripper, car washer, failed punk rocker, bartender, swimming pool digger. Hayden acknowledges that nobody actually reads his publication, which is littered around New York and New Jersey, which might be a growing concern because until lately, it's been his single entry into getting his gossip items, and his name, in the press. Then the Post banned him (Smigo has since filed a $10 million defamation suit against him and the paper); MSNBC blacklisted him after a he caused a commotion on Joe Scarborough's show; he's persona non grata at ABC, when he went on-air to report Diane Sawyer had just shushed him; and Howard Stern would like to see him dead after Hayden said, on ABC, that Stern should be looked at for insider trading for allegedly leaking details of his then-impending move to Sirius. Interesting, though, that Radar is reporting all of this. Not because the gossip industry isn't the pub's territory — it is — but because paragraphs like this: CONTINUED »
That People magazine has a nicey-nice relationship with Madonna, as Gawker relayed today, has been an ill-kept secret in the tabloid biz. Some veteran tabloid editors said they weren't surprised managing editor Peter Castro is rumored to be accepting free tickets to the pop star's concerts — but comp'd tickets, though worth thousands of dollars combined, isn't enough to guarantee her protection from the biggest circ celeb weekly. Rather, Madonna relies on the magazine's "straight and narrow" approach to celebrity news (though, to be sure, fairness is a relative concept in the industry).
While Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg isn't known to play well with others — which makes her awesome to us — we're told she has a soft spot for People, because they're always willing to run her statements and spin, and not the rumors others traffic in, as the real news. (i.e. "Madonna 'Over the Moon' About Finalized Adoption" sounds a lot different than, say, "Madonna Finally Nabs African Baby After Adoption Scandal.")
But what are the consequences of Madonna having such a lovey-dovey relationship with the Time Inc. tabloid? For one, the other kids on the playground won't be so nice. CONTINUED »
It's too bad the tabloids' sources on Angelina Jolie aren't as strong as the leak-y doormen at Madonna's New York City apartment building — this whole "Did she give birth? Is she giving birth? What's up with those heroin rumors?" mystery could finally be put to rest. But it hasn't been! So we find it to be our civic duty to bring you up to speed on where we are in The Longest Pregnancy In The History of Humanity: CONTINUED »
That's what Washington City Paper Angela Valdez is asking to mostly deaf ears. The National Enquirer ran with a story about CBS star Lara Logan having Baghdad romances with CNN's Michael Ware and U.S. State Department contractor Joe Burkett, and the New York Post picked it up from there. The story even made it to Howard Kurtz's CNN show Reliable Sources (video here), where he played Jossip's favorite game: Cover the gossip by reporting on the coverage of the gossip, and asking whether we should be reporting on this at all. Well, perhaps somebody like Kurtz shouldn't be wasting air time with it, but the Enquirer has a history of reporting on our news men and women; it just so happens that Logan's story involves sex, with multiple partners, and she's a pretty lady. So should we be upset by it? Maybe — it's likely Logan got heavier treatment because she's a woman, while plenty of male on-air sex trysts go unreported. But also: She's a high-paid attractive public figure who brought together the words "sex" and "Iraq" for the first time since this war began, and shouldn't the gossip industry be celebrated for that?
In the July issue of Portfolio, now-former American Media editorial director Bonnie Fuller took over the back page to do two things: Wrap her arms around an issue of Star, and reveal almost nothing about where she's headed from here.
Then, in the Times's Sunday Business section, she did something similar: She posed in the same position (sans tabloid) and said, well, almost nothing about where she's headed from here.
Despite what one errant blogger may claim, Ms. Fuller is the Queen of All Media.
From YM and Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan to Us Weekly and Star, Fuller has earned – some might argue rightfully – a reputation as a ball-busting, no-nonsense editor who routinely brought her staff for a visit to the brink of sanity all in the name of a close. And now that she's heading off on her own, with a venture aptly titled Bonnie Fuller Media, and funding from former Viacom interactive chief Russ Pillar's 5850 Group, perhaps it's time to stop counting all of Fuller's flaws, sand your bedpost smooth, and begin notching her successes. CONTINUED »
And heeeeeere we go. Yesterday we forecasted that In Touch's photos of Angelina Jolie looking very pregnant in France while playing with Zahara and Shiloh would be met with the requisite skepticism, especially since Entertainment Tonight reported Ms. Jolie already gave birth, and they're standing by their story. And it's happening. "Some remain unconvinced," reports Rush & Molloy, that Jolie is still carrying the twins inside her. That photo of her with the belly? "Prosthetic tummy!" So where are the babies? If they were born, they were premature, which means they are "being secretly cared for in a French hospital" until they're strong enough for People or OK! to pay eight-figures to take their photo.
By now it's already well-known Madonna and Guy Ritchie are on their way to divorce, with the question a matter of when, not if. The two are leading separate lives! She wants more kids, he doesn't! She still think she's a sex pot, him not so much! The reasons are endless for their going separate ways. The only matter that really remains is what to do with her $600 million fortune, especially since the pair reportedly didn't sign a prenup. Not that Madonna is leaving it up to chance: She's said to have hired divorce attorney Fiona Shackleton, who helped Paul McCartney walk away with most of his fortune and made Heather Mills look like a crazy person (though, Mills helped).
And while those close to Ritchie can be heard saying he won't wage a public legal battle, maybe $500,000 a month in alimony would help things along?
But none of that is the most interesting part of all of this.
Rather, it's who's reporting the news. While we all expect the British and American tabloids to run wild with this story, it was this morning's Today show report — based on pure speculation and carrying a "no comment" from Madonna's rep — that has us curious. CONTINUED »
This week In Touch made Los Angeles Times blogger Liz Snead — who's been calling on Angelina Jolie to SHOW YOURSELF!!! – a very happy woman: At last, since Entertainment Tonight first falsely reported the superstar mom had given birth to her twins, there's photo evidence that … she hasn't. CONTINUED »
You know what you get when you're a celebrity and you sign an exclusive deal with a tabloid? Bad karma from the rest of the magazines.
Jamie Lynn Spears, who signed a $1 million exclusive deal with OK! for her pregnancy story and pics, is getting stabbed by Star with a dramatic cover story exclaiming, "Delivery Room Drama!" Since Spears is prohibited from playing ball with the other celeb weeklies, there's only one thing Star can do: deliver one piece of bad news after another. If only Spears hadn't signed with OK!, she could've scored some protection. CONTINUED »
"We usually don't comment on stuff like this. But you should know sources are liars. If you guys want to do the right thing, you won't post that item. It's all BS." That was the response from Ben Affleck's camp when E! gossip Ted Casablanca ran past them rumors he was on the way to splitting with wife Jennifer Garner. The only reason we know? Because he posted the item. CONTINUED »
It's coverage like this that the Times was talking about over the weekend when it came to mega-celebrity and uber-brand Lance Armstrong: The man may be able to campaign for cancer research and attach his name to a new health website, but where the paid-for marketing goes, so too does the gossip chronicling. Which means every time he shows up to a late night talk show, the gossip blogs will caption his photos entering and exiting the set with "homewrecker," thanks to him "stealing" Kate Hudson away from mentally fragile Owen Wilson; his name won't be boldfaced without the mentions of his various liaisons with Sheryl Crow (a couple years), Tory Burch (a couple months), and Ashley Olsen (a couple minutes). But this really isn't a case of Mr. Armstrong "tolerating" or "dealing with" this type of coverage. CONTINUED »
And such is the life of celebrity DJs: Like the nightspots they spin at, their buzzworthiness has a short shelf life. Take DJ AM, who rocketed on the scene in 2003 when he was dating Nicole Richie. Since their split, he's entertained himself with celebrity trysts that include Mandy Moore, but without a starlet on his arm, his demand has plummeted. Gone are the five-figure fees from clubs in NYC, LA, the Hamptons, and international destinations; instead, corporate gigs, like this week's Palm Centro smartphone launch in out in Beverly Hills, are what's paying the bills. But AM, real name Adam Goldstein, isn't the outlier. CONTINUED »
Is Good Morning America going easy on its celebrity guests? The morning shows have always been the place for creampuff interviews where talent can plug their latest TV and film projects while their publicists stand by ready to pull rank if an anchor so much dares as violate their "Do Not Ask About X" agreement. But perhaps ABC's morning show is all too eager to please A-list (and below) stars. CONTINUED »
That harshly criticized issue of The Atlantic, featuring Britney Spears on the cover and a paparazzi expose inside, that had the magazine's loyalists aghast at how owner David Bradley could bring his well-respected title to such a low, was a newsstand disaster. It moved just 24,000 copies at the newsstand, or less than half what it moved in previous months. Lesson learned? Leave the celebrity shlock to the tabloids. Thankfully editor Justin Smith denied that the story had anything to do with an attempt to boost circulation, make the magazine profitable, and increase newsstand sales, because that defense is going to come in handy right about now.
JOSSIP REPORTS
Ellen DeGeneres does some things conventionally (launch a mega-hit daytime talk show) and some things unconventionally (announce she's gay on her own sitcom). Thanks to California's OK-ing of gay marriage, she's about to do something else quite conventional: get married, to partner Portia de Rossi.
But here's the unconventional part: She won't be selling the pics, Jossip hears.
While plenty of magazines would love to get their hands on the exclusive pics of her big day – since it'll really be the first celebrity wedding of its kind, with that whole gay thing – most of them will find themselves in another situation: with pics, but without exclusivity. That's because the talk show host plans to distribute multiple sets of pics a single photo to scores of media outlets, we're told, while avoiding certain places she's at odds with (among them, American Media's titles) (a well-placed insider says the photo will be available to everyone who asks).
DeGeneres is said to be one of very few celebs who refuses to accept payouts from the media in exchange for access. And especially with the wedding, she wants to get as much exposure for it as possible, which would help normalize the idea of gay marriage, which she's spoken endlessly about on her show. The more press with the photos, the more blanket the coverage. (Though without giving any magazine exclusive shots, she may lose out on major play on the covers.)
But one fear remains: 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 »
As the mystery behind Entertainment Tonight reporting Angelina Jolie had given birth reaches its climactic buzzkill, new questions emerge!
Namely: Where are Brad Pitt and Angelina now? They haven't been seen in days, which is like, forevs in paparazzi years.
Oh, and this: Jolie's assistant, Holly Goline, is said to have never had a BlackBerry email address, according to AP reports. But here she is with Jolie (that's her in the back, wearing sunglasses, and also pregnant), at the Cannes photo call for Kung Fu Panda, on May 15th, with a BlackBerry in hand.
So maybe ET's claims that they were emailing with the real Goline, at holly@tmo.blackberry.net, have some foundation? Or, more importantly, how did Goline score the first-name BlackBerry email? Because we'd love david@tmo.blackberry.net, please.
Los Angeles Times blogger Elizabeth Snead has a simple solution to ending all this madness about whether Angelina Jolie actually gave birth: Show yourself!
"So where is Angelina? It's her 33rd birthday today," Snead wrote yesterday. "If she would only show her face — and her bump — all these birth rumors would be instantly put to rest, without having to waste money paying expensive lawyers to write threatening letters to news organizations."
Yes, Angelina, feed the beast. That's some brilliant advice, Snead. This, from the same supposed Hollywood expert who thinks it's coincidental that Jolie and Gina Gershon, along with every other Hollywood talent, hired the big-mouthed law firm Lavely & Singer.
JOSSIP REPORTS
So how did the "ANGELINA GAVE BIRTH!!!" rumor – that got Entertainment Tonight in a giant cauldron of boiling shit for its fake world exclusive – even get started?
As all terrible things in life do: On a blog.
It all started May 26, four days before ET's since de-bunked report, when someone, identified only as "Jenah" and supposed from New York City, posted to famousbabesblog.blogspot.com (since disappeared from the web) claiming to be "the best friend to one of Brad & Angelina's nannies, I believe I can report this before any other news outlet: THEY HAD THEIR TWINS!"
And as these things are wont to do, the item got circulated all over celebrity message boards, before winding up on the French website PurePeople, which noted the report came from a blog, and thus shouldn't be treated as fact. (BLOGS LIE!!, after all.) That item got picked up by JustJared, which cited "media outlets in France" but noted, "This rumor has not been confirmed by any reps of the Jolie-Pitt clan."
From there, Entertainment Tonight got wind, claimed the exclusive as their own (and even copying the babies' names given in the original report). Then the tabloid magazines posted the news on their blog, until word arrived that the report was false, everyone backtracked and debunked the rumor, while ET remained its source was reliable. Cue Jolie's attorneys at Lavely & Singer to begin circulating letters explaining how somebody was impersonating Jolie's assistant Holly Goline, all the while ET has sat idly by pretending the whole thing never happened, even though they knew their source was bad.
All of which brings up two big questions: CONTINUED »
Editorial Director
