To what extent is ex-Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland's career floundering? We can't be exactly sure about how deep it's sunk, but we do know it's gotten low enough for her PR people to start sending out offensively transparent press releases disguised as SECRET TIPS. This arrived in our inbox yesterday, sent by a subtly named MrMusicHollywood, who says he has a "great relationship with the Sony/BMG International offices":

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Even after attending Thrillist/Showtime's house party last night at 23 Gramercy Park South, I'm still not sure what prompted those guys to take a $25 million mansion and convert each of the rooms into a set from one of the station's premiere shows (except Secret Diary of a Call Girl, which already hit splitsville, and was replaced by a room promoting Toni Collete's new show, The United States of Tara). But it was so well-executed that you couldn't fault the half-baked idea: most of the rooms didn't seem like straight set-pieces from the shows so much as a prop master's wet dream.

Also: all of the bathrooms were for decoration only? Which was weird. And you weren't allowed to sit on the chairs in the rooms, except when you could, and it was decided arbitrarily by the giant security guards standing in the narrow hallway. Just like on a real studio lot!

The highlight was the Dexter dining room, complete with vials of blood on the table the approrpiate forensic webbing done by Mr. Morgan on the show.

Mad props to the interior design team for the evening, one of whom was apparently seen getting lucky out on the back patio later that evening. Awww, they deserve it for such a swell job!

More pics after the jump:

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Intern Memo is the thrice-weekly email blast from Will and Theodore Bressman (the former is a LX.tv staffer, which means he's met Lance Bass' boyfriend). Supposedly the Memo helps the rank and file of free labor that keeps this city chugging along — keeping their spirits up with witty anecdotes about how bad other interns have it. Or, as they call it, "vignettes and career advice."

It's also a way to get people to lose their internships, like the way Rachel Berman is about to.

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Though it is about a week old, this gossip is the type of juice we just can't pass up. We hear that last Wednesday, Tinsley Mortimer held a chic "intimate post-dinner show" for designer and member of the New York elite Peter Som at the swanky Frederick's Lounge in Midtown. (We're sure you can imagine the scene — and yes, gagging is a completely natural reaction.)

Anways, at this event, where designer Amanda Ross and uber stylist Ann Caruso were trying to dink their Moet in peace, a ridiculously pushy PR agent, who obviously didn't know her place was with the regular people, tried to push into the private party.

An industry insider who attended the event dishes that a publicist named Amanda* from Captivante PR crashed the party. While the private event was strictly for guests of Peter Som — and this little "you can't fucking come in" policy was kindly explained to her — Amanda waited for staff to look away before entering the member's room with her crew of clients. From which she was promptly booted.

Staffers at Frederick's felt kind of terrible for the "tacky publicist" and, reportedly, proceeded to throw two bottles of champagne at her, setting her crew up in a room where "the public" is allowed to chill. Fredericks even picked up the tab. But Miss Amanda apparently doesn't stop being a bitch when loaded with free bubbly.

After being presented with a comped bill for over 500 dollars, she and her guests left a fistful of crumpled singles amounting to 17 dollars. The manager on duty was so dismayed he paid cash out of his own pocket to his waitstaff to make up for the pr person's gaff.

See, we don't care about pissing off the Tins (in fact, we were a little impressed at first). But throwing a crumpled $17 bucks at the waitstaff? That's just disgusting.

*A Google local search points to Amanda Moore, but the contact info for Captivante is less easy to pin down. Have insider info? Send to tips@jossip.com.

We just read in Mediaweek that there's a scene from an upcoming Desperate Housewives episode that ABC "doesn't want you to see." And the scene is on YouTube.

A racy sex scene from an upcoming episode of ABC's monster hit Desperate Housewives is one of several clips from the show circulating on YouTube, and ABC isn't happy.

"This is an unauthorized clip and we are having YouTube take it down," said an ABC spokesperson.

And we're so sure it's faster for them to issue a statement and make a huge fuss saying they're contacting YouTube than, well, actually pulling it.

See, you think it's fun to watch because ABC wants you to think you're not supposed to be seeing it. You ask us? It feels a bit like a PR campaign to get people to watch another season of old ladies in lingerie.

ABC Demands Removal of YouTube's Desperate Sex Scene [Mike Shields, Mediaweek]

Update: While watching our ABC soaps, we saw a commerical for Desperate Housewives, in which they plug the scene you see above. Well, actually we closed our eyes, because we know how much ABC doesn't want us to see it.

Normally, we're not in the habit of running press releases for products … but this really is just sick. Just, like, flippin' crazy. As though it weren't bad enough that a museum full of wax celebrities exists in the first place, now they are actually promoting the products that are in this gross place.

This one is from KMC PR, who apparently reps the Stokke™ Sleepi™ bassinet that little baby Shiloh Pitt-Jolie sleeps in. And yes, little wax baby Shiloh sleeps in one too. (We're cooing and puking at the same time.)

It's bad enough that her parents whore her out, but does Shiloh really need these well-heeled PR princesses making commission off her baby powdered ass? Plus, what kind of crappy campaign totes: "a wax doll sleeps on our crib and she rests so peacefully. Go see for yourself." We'll do you a favor. Spare the wax museum trip, and just read the press release. We promise it's much more entertaining.

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Remember when Lloyd Grove published that juicy article about little "socialite" who couldn't really hack it Melissa Berkelhammer? Basically, it revealed that she paid a ton of money to R. Couri Hay so that he could try to get her to parties nobody wanted her at and set up dinners with people who obviously didn't care to talk to her. He probably had to beg the kids at the Observer to follow her around, with the promise that she would act like a fucking idiot and give them something to write about.

Well, New York Social Diary is defending her. They say, "everyone needs PR to move up in social status," and "whose life and whose business is it anyway?"

Good point. (Or, at least it was a better point than the part where they compare modern day tramps to the Rockefellers.) Why should we be paying attention to any of these socialites anyways. It's not like their coughing up thousands of dollars a month to be on the scene or at parties or with people that are being talked about or anything pathetically crazy like that.

Society's darlings … [New York Social Diary]
Earlier: 'Socialite' Melissa Berkelhammer Cries, Pays Her Way Into Parties

Normally, unless Janet Jackson's name is followed by "Us Weekly's best selling issue published while Janice Min was on maternity leave," we don't pay much attention to weight-fluctuating, breast-baring , B-List celeb.

But we're a little bored today, and decided maybe we should actually read an entire blurb in Page Six (instead of just scanning the boldface for Lohan and Hilton mentions. So, we did. And we found this:

JANET Jackson has been banned from fancy Paris restaurant Arpege, sources say. The pop star was only able to get a reservation at the small, expensive place because of her fame. The owners had to move fashion designer Christian Lacroix to a dining room downstairs to free up a table for Jackson. "But she bailed out and didn't bother to call to cancel," said a witness. A rep for Jackson claims she never had a reservation there.

Hmm. Interesting. Socialite-y. Even a bit juicy. We wonder: who could have tipped Page Six off on this scoop, and what could they have possibly asked for in exchange?

Look for the full story in "Everybody Eats There," an upcoming book by Mara Gibbs and William Stadiem about 80 legendary restaurants around the world.

Oh, there you go. The ever apparent Page Six plug. Hey, desperate gossip times call for desperate gossip in exchange for desperate publicity.

TABLES TURNED [Page Six]

Oh, we have gone far, far too long without some semi-decent MySpace gossip. Today's features a PR agents who won't to admit her age attacking her ex-husband's current wife (who just happens to be Lizzie Grubman) via Grubman's ex-employees MySpace comments.

We know, it's a complicated world out there. Especially with all these 30-somethings who are perpetually trapped in highschool.

I was on myspace and found myself on Jonathan Cheban's page. He used to work with Lizzie Grubman, right? Looks as if he's a traitor!

Lizzie's Husband's ex wife — Joyce Sevilla (formerly Stern)– is on Cheban's myspace page.

Looks like she is badmouthing the Power Girls, calling them SOUR GIRLS on Chebans page.

LOLOLOL! Waitzzzz. What does 'munt' mean?

We were just forwarded this press which outlines Jeffry Rackover's birthday party in Bridge Hampton. Who the fuck is that you ask? Oh, he's a "jeweler to the stars." Like you care.

Anyways, what we love absolutely most about this press release is not that it was sent instead of an invitation (we're assuming — the release wasn't actually sent to us!), nor the fact that it actual admits to having Britney Gastineu at the party.

What we love most about this press release, sent from Grubman PR (who else?) is the loving description is bestows on Hamptons queen and PR mogul, Lizzie Grubman herself.

At his birthday party on Saturday night he drew many Hampton socials and celebrities at his private residence in Bridge Hampton despite the horrible monsoon going on outside. Notable guests included, Lisa & Britney Gastineau, Rosanna Scotto, Loraine Bracco & Jason Cippola, supper model Samantha Tannehill, society dame Jane Pontarelli, and glowingly pregnant Lizzie Grubman & husband Chris Stern.

For more glowing Lizzie, go here — for rest of the nauseating information about the party you weren't invited to, read on after the jump.

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A reader, recently jolted by coverage of Lizzie Grubman's hunt for a new intern, decided to check out Grub's site for other job opportunities with the PoweR Girl.

It seems there is an opening for an account executive with Grubman PR, and the benefits are exceptional:

In addition to the high profile celebrities and being part of the "in crowd" party scene, Lizzie Grubman Public Relations offers tangible benefits as well …

They also list a bunch of other crap like medical and paid vacay (complete list after the jump).

Of course there was a time when a young aspiring PR guru could think of nothing better than to be christened "in with the in crowd" by Grubman herself. But now that there's no longer a Boldface column, seriously, what's the point?

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The PR flacks are taking news and press into their own hands, crying down on journalists "You're not God anymore." (Yeah, we're familiar. This is the same source of beef the mainstream news media has with those obnoxious bloggers.)

At this year's PR Week magazine awards, flacks claim that they, too, are the gatekeepers of news journalism when it comes to great products. The fact that they make money off product placement is in no way biased to their judgement or brand preference, right?

“In a world where we don’t have a belief in a single source, you don’t have a Walter Cronkite anymore. P.R. is the discipline on the rise,” said Richard W. Edelman, president and chief executive of the public-relations firm Edelman.

“P.R.,” he said, “plays much better in a world that lacks trust.”

Edleman no longer has to schmooze his way into the Washington Post; now he can just post his own press on a blog. And while we agree that pampering a WaPo is a pretty futile effort, the lifespan for PR via blogging is surely brief. Once every flack and pubbie gets their own blog they'll all be filtered out like Viagra spam. Our advice? Keep the gift baskets comin'.

Especially over at mags like Allure and Cosmopolitan, the real PR goldmines, there is still tons of shmoozing to be done. Beauty editors expect at least 500 free products a week for a mere photo credit in the well.

And, of course, this whole theory will go kabosh once Katie Couric is over at CBS, once again restoring the public's faith and trust in the news media.

Publicists Lauded for Flackery; P.R. Gods Get Freedom From Press [Jason Horowitz, New York Observer]