Ryan Phillippe became a paparazzi go-to when rumors of his marital woes with Reese Witherspoon bubbled up. Now, he's a mainstay, but at least he's learning some lessons: If he's going to be photographed and put in the tabloids, then the least he can do is wear T-shirts with the web addresses of charities to generate some free advertising.
But what effect does the paparazzi's hounding have on his kids, daughter Ava and son Deacon?
"She’s aware and it creates in her a lot of anxiety, which is partly my fault. When Ava was very young, I was young too. And brash. I’d get… I wouldn’t like to say violent, but visibly angry at the paparazzi back then. She was my first child, and my instinct was to protect her. I remember one time that I’m not at all proud of, I was holding my daughter and handed her to Reese and ran off to chase this one guy down and hit him. I would never do that now. I think the attitude I had at the time did create in her a lot of the fearfulness she has today. [...] It breaks my heart to think about it, hearing her say, ‘My friends at school saw a picture of me in a magazine and they made fun ’cos I was carrying a blanket.’ A little girl having to consider how she looks before leaving the house? I have a privileged life and hate to complain but there’s something vile about that." [London Times]
Aww, the poor thing! No, really, we feel bad for the little tyke. But when Ryan speaks about his relationship with celebrity so openly, what's the natural course of action? For the gossip blogs to pounce. CONTINUED »
Ryan Phillippe popped over to Ellen this morning for a good old chat. The handsome and somewhat hapless actor, whose movie Stop Loss coincidentally opens this weekend, gabbed about his high school fashion sense, getting into the business and, yes, playing gay on One Life To Live, which cast him as the first openly homo teen in sudster history.
Unfortunately for Ryan Phillippe, he's got the movie Stop-Loss to promote, which means he has to speak to the press. Thus, his telling USA Today that "it's bizarre" seeing ex-wife Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal together in magazine photos.
So just think how Reese Witherspoon feels about this Details magazine spread of Abbie Cornish — which manages to mention Phillippe's name only once, and only as her co-star. Publicists have all the power.
Above: Fox 411 gossip Roger Friedman's item that ran this morning about Stop Loss actor Ryan Phillippe and homewrecker Abbie Cornish.
Below: A sneaky edit made to the item after it was published. [HP]
Blind Items are like the James Joyce of gossip. They’re challenging, but with hard work comes great rewards.
From Gatecrasher:
Which Oscars golden girl made her celebrity ex-boyfriend pretend to still be in a relationship with her months after they broke up, because she was afraid a split would look bad for her Academy Award campaign? It worked, and they discreetly separated months later.
You're thinking Reese and Ryan, right? Well, remember they were married and the split wasn't discreet in the least. Retro couple Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck don't work either; their dating time line doesn't line up with her Oscar. So who was the Oscar golden girl?
• Tyra Banks takes off her pants. That's so fierce.
• As these pictures prove, Heather Graham is still alive and still interested in being famous. CONTINUED »
• From the video above, Tyra Banks thinks she's too fierce for pants.
• Pictures of Heather Graham shows she's still alive, interested in being famous. CONTINUED »
• Only days after finding God, Paris Hilton is already looking forward to her spiritual reawakening/out of jail Vegas bash.
• Ryan Phillippe's little girl is growing up so fast. In fact, she already looks just like that gorgeous actress he cheated on.
• Bobby Brown is still convinced that deranged Whitney fan Osama Bin Laden is out to get him.
• Meanwhile, the Butterscotch Stallion rides his mountain bike all the way Scores.
• Also, when Anne Heche isn't flirting with every girl in sight, she's draping herself over Ethan Hawke.
• Dermot Mulroney is officially done being married to actress Catherine Keener. But he still plans to watch her edgy indy flicks religiously on DVD.
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]
• Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston have one moment of public affection — though quickly recognize this mistake and go right back to staying at least ten feet apart the rest of the day. [TMZ]
• Overheard at College launches today, with dreams of inspiring J students everywhere to keep their little ears perked. Hey, nobody says they want to be a gossip when they grow up. [Overheard at College]
• Does it get any better than Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillippe getting all hot and sweaty together? [Just Jared]
• Maybe Entertainment Weekly has just been in New York too long. Or they have so many gay staffers, they've forgotten homosexuality is still a controversial topic in this country? [Queerty]
• Fashion Week Daily spawns a mini monthly pub. And unlike the Ocean Drive party, the Tins showed up to this launch. [NYO]
• Fabulous! PETA now has even more reasons to dump flour on Paris Hilton? [Muckraked]
Editorial Director
