Mike Sitrick – the crisis caretaker most recently in the news as Seventeen editor Atoosa Rubenstein's PR pick – lasted only a few hours as Ryan Phillippe's divorcing spinmeister. It all started when Baker Winokur & Ryder, which reps both Ryan and Reese Witherspoon, decided to bring on Sitrick to avoid any conflict of interest for the splitting twosome.
Quickly after his hire, Sitrick put in a call to Bauer's In Touch, offering it an exclusive from Ryan's side. So like any publicist, Sitrick cherry picked some quotes out of the air and said they were from Ryan's mouth; In Touch ran with it as an exclusive. Only problem, as Page Six reports, was that BWR was already talking to People about giving the Time Inc. tabloid Ryan's exclusive. Pissing match ensues, and Sitrick is let go. But always the kings of spin, both BWR and Sitrick are claiming his wax wasn't not due to making up quotes, but that they realized "smaller is better" when it comes to handling PR nightmares.
Just ask Britney Spears — see how well things are going for her without any publicist at all?
• There's no prenup to muck things up in the Ryan Phillippe-Reese Witherspoon divorce. Which means Ryan gets 50 percent of Reese's upcoming $29 million pic, while Reese gets one half of Ryan's waning machismo. [TMZ]
• NPR's new obmudsman Bill Marimow insists he's up for the challenge of everyone hating him. [NPR]
• God, Matt Lauer is queer. [BWE]
• New Jersey, Staten Island remain bastion of New York City commuters. Connecticut reigns supreme. [NYO]
• DealBreaker loses bet with itself, forced to endure minutes, perhaps hours, of ridicule. [Gawker]
• Katie Holmes and Brooke Shields aren't just cordial to each other. They're fawning. [People]
It's Ryan Phillppe's fault — at least according to the National Enquirer, which claims the soon-to-be ex-husband of $29-million-per-picture Reese Witherspoon was caught carrying on an affair. From romancing his mistress (said to be Stop Loss co-star Abbie Cornish) at dinner to emailing her on his BlackBerry, Ryan's antics caught up with him at the Flags of Our Fathers premiere, when Reese discovered the BlackBerry emails. How else to explain their barely-there smiles from the red carpet coverage (seen here)?
Next week, look for a copy of fellow American Media Inc. tabloid Star — where they're certain to continue their corporate cousin confusion and blame Reese for the split.
• In a surprising twist of fate, it was Whitney Houston who wowed at Barbara Davis' annual Carousel of Hope ball, while Ivana Trump had to be removed for being a wee bit too intoxicated. [R&M]
• X17 leads the paparazzi and tabloid charges in a possible lawsuit against blogger Perez Hilton. [Radar]
• Angelina Jolie readies the legal clan to sue the director of a Cambodian charity she's accusing of stealing funds. [Reuters]
• Madonna's adopted baby hopeful David is already joining the Kabbalah cult. [Scoop]
• Scientologists can aim their thetan meters at Paula Redstone, who planted the sour seed on Tom Cruise that eventually brought Sumner's distaste. [Page Six]
• Roger Friedman claims he had the Reese Witherspoon-Ryan Phillippe breakup scoop weeks ago — but decided not to run it. [Fox 411]
Was it the Oscar? The pressure of parenthood? One too many incidents where he was caught staring longingly at Lance Armstrong while plotting the death of Matthew McConaughey so he could be the third with Jake Gyllenhaal? Perhaps we'll never know what drove Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipee apart, but after a seven-year marriage and two children together, the chances of Sweet Home Alabama 2 with a cameo by Crash's Tom Hansen seem slim. TMZ, which is the first to report the split, is slim on the details, though Reese is said to have retained famed divorce attorney Robert Kaufman. That's Robert Kaufman, as in Jennifer Aniston's courtroom poobah. Or, as he's known to friends, "You're fucked, Charlie Brown."
Oh no! Reese and Ryan Split! Pout. [MollyGood]
Surprise, surprise, Ben Affleck is bitching about the invasion into his private life again. Even though the paparazzi haven't snapped his pic in months (hello, there's Firecrotching going on all over the place!) he is frustrated.
Because his fans are so concerned with his personal life, they get bored with his movies. And inversly, his movies suck so bad, his "fans" are forced to care about the only interesting thing he's done in years: get married and have a baby.
"Nowadays … people pay attention more and more to actors' private lives or personal lives or even the most mundane aspects of their every day lives in a kind of parallel track alongside their movies," said popular tabloid target Affleck.
"Even the movies sometimes become incidental pit stops or commercial breaks in the soap opera of their life. I think that is bad for the actors, definitely, because it makes it difficult to suspend disbelief when you go and see their movie."
Well, maybe Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston should learn how to be better actors.
Because somehow Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, and (dare we say?) Lindsay Lohan manage to engage our belief when we see their movies.
• Katie Couric has her doubts about Rosie O'Donnell's sucess on The View. [Forbes]
• The Daily News photog roughed up by Jessica Simpson's security cartel will have his torn pants replaced — but not his memory card. [NYDN]
• Calling Reese Witherspoon "bloated" instead of pregnant is one way for Star to say sorry. [Gawker]
• Just because it's a holiday doesn't mean the Washington Post should be easing up any on Condi Rice. [CJR]
• Screw the First Amendment. 2006 is all about the Fifth. Or not. [Slate, Romenesko]
• You shouldn't need data analysis to reveal your ass has been priced out of New York. [NYDN]
Notorious tabloid and paparazzi hater Reese Witherspoon is suing Star magazine for publishing a story claiming the actress is pregnant with her third kid.
The suit was filed yesterday (Wednesday) in Los Angeles. Witherspoon's claim is that the magazine published the story "in a callous effort to boost the tabloid's sagging sales."
"Contrary to the fabricated Cover Story," the lawsuit says, "the true facts are that [Reese] is not pregnant, does not have a 'baby bump' and has not otherwise gained weight such that she has had to resort to wearing 'Empire-waist dresses,' 'baggy clothing,' or an 'old-fashioned 1920's bathing suit.'"
AMI is, of course, claiming that the suit has no merit, and that because the article calls her fat and asks if she is pregnant (they do the same thing when they report somebody looks pregnant) there is not case for libel. Where Reese may have a case, however, is against the magazine's claim that she is hiding her fake pregnancy from producers.
Why would Star do that? Don't they realize that everyone in the world loves Reese Witherspoon? It's fine if they say Britney Spears lives in marsh or Hilary Duff suffers from extreme bitch disorder, because nobody likes them. But we said it before, and we'll say it again: seriously, don't phunk with our Reese.
• Everyone, please start referring to Raffaello Follieri as Ann Hathaway’s boyfriend. [NYT]
• Heeel no! Whitney Houston prego? Um, can y'all say crack baby? [The Scoop]
• Since paying off the kids didn't really work out, Gary Glitter is back in Vietnam, and pleading innocent to charges of child molestation. Because, when you pay people to shut their mouths, it's usually because you did nothing wrong, right? [MSNBC]
• Lli' Kim just thought of the best get out of jail free card. Her boobs are going to explode. [Lowdown]
• Is Kimora Lee Simmons for real? No, seriously. A Louis Vuitton car — where's Oprah when you need her? [A Socialite's Life]
• Reese Witherspoon walks the line of $29 million, right up to the ATM. [NYDN]
The Today Show was all about the breaking news today. After pausing in memoriam of Coretta Scott King, Katie Couric and crew swung by Hollywood to get the Oscar Nominees.
Sid Ganis, Acadamy President and Oscar winner Mira Sorvino announced the nominees live, and there were a few surprises, but mostly an all-around great crew. The best part? This is one awards show Jake Gyllenhaal won't be skipping — he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his hotness in Brokeback Mountain.
Lots of noms for George Clooney, and of course our Reese WItherspoon gets a shout out — but nothing for raging Russell Crowe. The Academy does not condone breaking up Aiden Quinn's marriage, throwing phones, or being annoying.
The other nominees, including Best Picture picks, after the jump. Good luck to all the contestants — because you know winning an Oscar is so much better than just meeting one.
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Even though fewer people seem to watch them, the Screen Actors Guild Awards are a really big deal. After all, a guild of screen actors seem to be a little more prestigious than a bunch of foreigners in Hollywood. Yes … no? Whatever, we unfortunately were unable (didn't want to) actually watch the SAGs but our Reese Witherspoon won another best actress, so we are psyched.
It's always fun when movie and TV people get thrown together for awards ceremonies — TV people always feel really cool for sitting next to George Clooney, and Hollywood movie stars going "why do I have look at this no-name sitcom person?"
Well, we did see our Reese in her non-ripped-off-non-Chanel-non-vintage dress (gorge) and some other people looked OK, too. The semi-complete list of winners, after the jump.
CONTINUED »
Witness, Chloe Sevigny at HBO's Golden Globes after party.
Finally, Reese Witherspoon has someone else to feel sorry for.
(Oh, it's Friday, we'll post whatever we want!)
Related: Chanel totally punks our Reese
• Fabrizio Moretti can't catch a break. Alls he was doin' was trying to hook it up with Drew Barrymore in that bathroom at the opera. That damn little old lady with bladder conditions just had to come in and ruin the mood. [Page Six]
• Who needs Nick Lachey (or talent, for that matter) when you've got the best friends a girl could have: perfect ta-tas. [The Sun]
• Ryan Phillipe is not about to let Fabrizio Moretti upstage him on the crazy sex stories. We just can't decide what's hotter: Peeing old ladies, or ripping off that non-vintage dress? [The Sun]
• Adding to the legacies of Lenin, Stalin, and Hussein … Colonel Sanders. If Pam Anderson gets her way. [Page Six]
• Even though her ex-husband is having a baby, Jennifer Aniston is still going out in public. Amazing. [Extra]
While us nerdy media bloggers were reading Memo Pad, the boys over at Queerty were actually paying attention to the fashion coverage in Women's Wear Daily (what would we do without them?) And what is this we hear?
Chanel is punking Reese Witherspoon on her (may we say, fabu) Golden Globes dress. Jossip is not too happy, folks. While we may take a different stance on the lovability of that Kirsten Dunst, we totally agree with their analysis of this atrocity.
… those sneaky French beeotches over at Chanel tricked our dear Reese Witherspoon into wearing a three year old dress they claimed was vintage to the Golden Globes! Every fashion queen knows that three years does not equal vintage.
Of course, Reese's rep stood up:
Nancy Ryder, is said to be so angry at Chanel for giving her a recently recycled gown that she's vowing not to accept anything from Chanel again - or let her other clients, including Jennifer Lopez and Renée Zellweger, wear anything from the French couture house.
We said it before, and we'll say it again. Don't phunk with our Reese, or we'll stop buying knock-off Chanel change purses from Chinatown. Ha!
No No Chanel [Queerty]
REESE'S CHANEL HAD WORN LOOK [Page Six]
Last night's Golden Globes were relatively … well, boring. There were few shockers and no surprise couples, but still, the winners and outcomes were not disappointing. Favorites were: Walk the Line, Brokeback Mountain, Lost, and Desperate Housewives, with Joaquin Pheonix and Reese Witherspoon cleaning house in the best comedy or musical category.
Thank god for the likes of Mariah Carey, Sandra Oh, Ang Lee, Jaime Foxx, and Eva Longoria. There were just too many damn white people at this award ceremony. Ok, white people can be funny, too. Our favorite highlights, plus links to the coverage, after the jump.
CONTINUED »
• Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes get jiggy with Will and Jada Pinkette Smith in Miami. (Not too sure if Floridians really do welcome crazy scientologists and their wive's alien wombs, so we resisted the "Welcome to Miami" joke). [People]
• The lack of car ownership in New York forces the city to come up with new ways for guys to make up for their shortcomings. [NYT]
• And the paparazzi continue to prove their tendencies towards grace and class by making Reese Witherspoon's kiddies cry. This is one incident in which we don't find the suffering of children very funny at all. [The Scoop]
• Today is a day for celebrating the less anorexic version of Lindsay Lohan. [NYP]
• Tommy Mattola doesn't even try to deny that Mariah Carey is a crazy bitch. [Page Six]
• You can almost feel the discomfort in Lloyd Grove's "cowboy on cowboy" coverage. Maybe that's what's keeping Hudson Morgan in the closet? [Lowdown]
• Lindsay Lohan says the reason she dates those older "bad boys" (think Christian Slater, Colin Farrell and Jared Leto) is because she has "issues" with her jailbird daddy, Michael Lohan. And all this time we thought it was for the publicity.
• Finally, some good news in Kate Moss Watch™. The sinking supermodel has been offered a five-year, $5 million spokesmodel contract with online gaming site Nine.com, though she's required to complete rehab and a two month "corporate retreat" (i.e., surveillance) or she's outta there. Or if she relapses, whichever comes first.
• Gotham magazine released its list of "Hundred Hunkiest" NYC bachelors. Included on the tally: Mark Birnbaum, Jonathan Cheban, Gary Mantoosh, Eugene Remm and Hudson Morgan. Just because they wrote "bachelor" doesn't mean hetero, kids.
• Jamie Foxx is revisiting his Ray-sized ego on the set of Michael Mann's big screen remake of Miami Vice. With his contract signed before he won his Oscar, Foxx whined until his paycheck was raised to match that of Colin Farrell.
• Reese Witherspoon's paparazzo-from-hell Todd Wallace has quite the rap sheet. Among his other misdeeds: threatening a pregnant store manager, plus convictions on battery, burglary and grand theft charges. Wallace served more than four years in a California prison and (fingers crossed!) might just extend that record.
• Anna Nicole Smith is taking her divorce settlement all the way to the Supreme Court — and they're holding open the door for her. The justices agreed to hear her argument for the $474 million she claims was illegally kept from her after her 90-year-old husband died.
• Kimberly Stewart and Mischa Barton are about to go all Tyra and Karrine, thanks to The O.C.'s starlet's romance with Cisco Adler, otherwise known as Kimberly's ex-fiance.
• Gigi Goyette has no idea why David Pecker's American Media wrote her a check for $20,000, since "nothing happened' between her and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her confusion, of course, didn't stop her from cashing the check.
• Jessica Simpson is chained to OK! magazine, in print and in real life. Not only is she still tied down to her $200,000 contract with the celeb rag that forbids her from giving exclusives to other glossies but she was kept roped off in a corner at OK!'s launch party at Hotel Gansevoort Tuesday night.
• Tom Cruise's church is reaching out to Kate Moss, hoping their no-drugs philosophy will sound more appealing than regular rehab.
• Dreamworks is laying the blame thick on Reese Witherspoon for her dismal Just Like Heaven opening weekend results, which saw just $16.5 million in ticket sales. Not that the plot or promotions had anything to do with is.
Unfortunately, Reese Witherspoon doesn't have the same luck with the tabloids as Cameron Diaz. While Justin Timberlake's girlfriend cleaned up with a pair of court victories (read: The Sun, John Rutter), Reese finds her claim against the paparazzi being dismissed.
Back in April she filed a complaint after being swarmed by photos as she left the gym, but investigators in the LAPD's newly launch probe into the pap malpractice couldn't substantiate claims of any wrongdoing. Even with a videotape provided by the gym, officials couldn't lock down any charges of false imprisonment
So next time you see Reese acting "Just Like Us," be a little more sensitive, okay?
Editorial Director
