• Janet Jackson's future-husband refuses to forgive Justin Timberlake for leaving JJ high and dry in the aftermath of that whole totally spontaneous "wardrobe malfunction."
• Random House is voted the best publishing house to work for, which must be extremely reassuring for those first-year editorial assistants who are (barely) subsiding on ramen noodles, raw ambition and under $25K/year.
• Always on the frontlines of rising social trends, Sunday Styles reveals that going to weddings solo can be either incredibly lonely or a great place to pick up men.
• Raging wildfires blaze towards the coast in Southern California. Fortunately, the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park has been closed and animals are being moved. Still in danger: Everybody else.
• Do not hang out with Dori Cooperman unless you want to end up with a botched lypo job, coke in your pants or a Range Rover that runs people over.
• Angelina Jolie is reportedly depressed that her black-facey impression of Mariane Pearl was a box office flop.
• Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow are getting back together…for some boring political drama that you probably won't bother to go see.
• There's something kind of awesome about the Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons family reunions. Typically, it's the "I'm too old to pretend I ever loved this giant, giraffe of a woman" expression on Russell's face.
• Sumner Redstone is being sued by his son, Michael and is currently feuding with his daughter, Shari, but his brother Edward is totally not crazy at all.
• Congratulations to Kelly Rowland, who has finally learned to begrudgingly accept the color of her skin.
• Apparently, naming your kid "Jermajesty" isn't normal even if your name is Jermaine Jackson. [via Us]
• Professional Jackass Johnny Knoxville didn't take out a billboard with Luke Wilson's private, unlisted phone number on it or anything. He just hired a plane to hover around some B-list party in Malibu with a flier.
• Did you hear? Lindsay is innocent of all charges and she was totally framed by the police! Like O.J.! Also, she has the excuse-making abilities of a thirteen year-old girl caught smoking ciggies in the girls' lavatory.
• Next time, Paris feels like drugging Tyler Atkins, she may want to go with something more potent.
• Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri went from rapping together on "Money Ain't A Thing" to facing off in some bizarre mogul-to-mogul standoff over (you guessed it) money.
No sooner do we get done passing along rumors of massive upheaval at Def Jam – executives fleeing, 40 people laid off – than Jermaine Dupri, who runs the Island label under Def, announces he's signing girlfriend Janet Jackson away from rival Virgin. Certainly that'll help squash rumors that the label has become a playground for its executives who are throwing cash around. (Janet's latest, 20 Y.O, has moved just 650,000 copies domestically and is widely considered a bomb.)
And of course, over at Warner Music, they're laying off 400. Good! Times!
Today's Fox 411 column from Roger Friedman included with it a little update about Jermaine Dupri's split from Virgin Records' Urban Division following the sales slump of girlfriend Janet Jackson. Also included? A reference to a previous column that, supposedly, broke the news "exclusively." And all it takes is one mention of "exclusive" to get our Scoop Wars synapse firing.
From today's Fox 411:
We told you exclusively on Saturday [Oct 21st], but it has since then been confirmed that producer Jermaine Dupri, boyfriend of Janet Jackson, has left Virgin Records, and the complete flop of Janet’s new album is the reason.
Oh, but wait, what's that? You say that even if Friedman has the story on Oct. 21, the tag team Rush & Molloy had that story .. the day before? From R&M on Friday, Oct. 20:
We told you on Monday that Jermaine Dupri had threatened to quit his job as president of Virgin Record's urban music division because he blamed his colleagues for badly marketing the CD of his girlfriend, Janet Jackson. Yesterday, sources said Dupri was in fact out of there. A rep for Virgin CEO Jason Flom had no comment by deadline.
And, to be sure, the Monday mentioned was Oct. 16, giving George and Joanna a full five-day lead on Friedman's column. And the obvious winner in this round of Scoop Wars is: Rush & Molloy.
• Jermaine Dupri makes good on his promise to whine his way out of Virgin's Urban Music division after grumblings over girlfriend Janet Jackson's lackluster album sales. [R&M]
• NBC pulls the plug on Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. Well, for next week at least, where the equally low-rated Friday Night Lights gets a try. [NYP]
• Anna Nicole Smith yesterday buried her son Daniel in the Bahamas. News of the funeral was delivered via press release, from TrimSpa. [R&Mtm]
• Haley Joel Osment pleads no contest to misdemeanor charges of DUI and drug possession. Judge orders him to three years probation and no more "cute" films. [AP]
• Claudia Schiffer on models: "Too thin." Claudia Schiffer on Claudia Schiffer: "I wish I still had that body." [AP]
• Simon Cowell is producing a new reality show, where celebs learn to sing. We pray it's more Reese Witherspoon a'la Walk the Line than Bai Ling on VH1. [Billboard]
• Jermaine Dupri wants to publish a memoir about his life in the music industry, including his relationship with Janet Jackson. The book, titled Young, Rich, and Dangerous will most likely be boring, self-indulgent, and arrogant. [Page Six]
• The Black Eyed Peas continue their sell-out by headlining the Honda Civic Tour. We guess their other corporate affiliates (Apple, Dr. Pepper … the NBA) won't mind. [MTV]
• Creed's Scott Stapp is engaged to Miss New York 2004. Everyone else still considers him a total freakin loser. [CNN]
• Hey all you RENT fans — get your super secret bootleg recordings of rough drafts of songs from the musical here [The Modern Age]
• Sheryl Crow says that she doesn't need fertility drugs • she's going to exercise herself preggers. (Doesn't Lance Armstrong have like one ball or something anyway?) [People]
• Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein is the one to blame for the breakup with Nicole Richie. The celebrity spinner couldn't take her obsession with her weight, or lack thereof. [Perez Hilton]
• Lloyd Grove's interest in Tucker Carlson and Billy Bush's teenage romances gets him called a "turkey" by MSNBC chief Rick Kaplan. [Lowdown]
• How did nobody actor Brandon Routh score the lead in Bryan Singer's Superman? By sleeping with the director, of course. [Radar]
• A judge has banned the sale of Jennifer Aniston's topless photos, causing sales of GQ's Man of the Year issue to spike. [TMZ]
• Jay-Z is being sued over .. his hand symbol. Copyright infringement, claims a wrestler. [Page Six]
• Ever since she gave birth, Heidi Klum just doesn't do it for Donald Trump anymore. [Page Six]
• "Hard-partying" and numerically inclined Timessa Jenny 8. Lee will reveal why there are more Chinese restaurants in the U.S. than McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's combined. [Page Six]
• Michael Jackson has until Dec. 20 to make good on $270 million in debt. But don't worry: If he can't pay we're sure brother Randy will come up with something. [NYDN]
• Now that Leo DiCaprio is a free agent, he's moving in on Sienna Miller. At this point, who hasn't? [The Scoop]
• Jermaine Dupri publicly prefers Imperia Vodka, despite being an investor in 3 Vodka. [Lowdown]
• Jennifer Lopez has been telling her camp that all she wants now is an Oscar, but her handlers say the only way that's going to happen is if she becomes a "serious" actress, which requires giving up her mass market business ventures. No more Glo by J. Lo? [The Insider]
• Al Reynolds was busted yesterday morning for driving with a suspended license, which might mean he's learned his lesson about taking a comp'd limo ride around town to gay clubs. He used his one phone call to ring wifey Star Jones, who made no effort to join him at the police station. [NYDN]
• Joe Francis has taken on a new project, but it's not involving college girls, liquor and a video camera. At least not yet. He's taken Laguna Beach's Talan Torriero under his wing, teaching him about the birds, the bees and how to break into an industry that Francis isn't even a part of. [Lowdown]
• Britney Spears believes she's somehow qualified to judge the singing ability of others, namely husband Kevin Federline. His efforts at a rock demo got laughed at by the pop tart, which is funny because that's how critics approach her music. [The Scoop]
• What's more fun than two fashion houses' public feuding? The daughters of two fashion houses' public feuding. Margherita Missoni and Francesca Versace are in separate corners as they fight over Ernst August, son of Germany's Prince Ernst of Hanover. As if they need something else to not eat over. [Page Six
• Just because Michael Moore barely employs any black people, invested in Halliburton and HMOs and lives in a community where no blacks live doesn't make him a hypocrite. [Page Six
• Why is Janet Jackson so vehemently denying that she's a mother of an 18 year old girl? Because she may have a little Wacko Jacko on the way, courtesy of Jermaine Dupri. [R&M]
• Oh look, it's Michael Jackson blaming someone else for his financial woes. [AP]
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