No matter how bad the job hunt is going, do not, repeat, do not take a job as a staffer for Dr. Phil's show. There has been a string of bad luck on set, including an unfortunate intern death from strep throat and a broken arm for a producer. Which just goes to show you that the lowest paying jobs are still the ones most likely to succumb to an ancient mummy curse. Where is Oprah to perform a feel-good exorcism when you need her?
John Mayer needs attention, bad. The human Troll Doll has always toed that thin line between amusingly self-aware and annoyingly histrionic, but people were willing to tolerate it because TMZ convinced them he was important. So he does those clever stunts to eff with the paparazzi, but he also thinks people care about who he dates/what he eats. Former, yes, latter, not so much. Now that he's broken things off with Jennifer Aniston, the paps are getting payback by alerting Mayer to the fact that he's no longer relevant: “Pictures of him and Jen were selling for $20,000 at one point. A picture of him alone gets $200 now. Chasing him from his apartment to Nobu is hardly worth it.” Ruh-oh. Someone might actually have to start making music again to earn his keep as the lap-dog to Hollywood's more famous women.
Famous for reporting scandals about Paris Hilton and Michael Richards, TMZ.com is facing some gossip of its own. And it can be summed up like this: TMZ is in turmoil.
Publicly, you may have read the site's general manager, Alan Citron, just jumped ship to Buzznet, the music-based social network site that also runs Celebuzz, its celebrity and pop culture spin-off. (Citron and Buzznet's founder, Tyler Goldman, are friendly from their days at Movielink.) And Gillian Sheldon, TMZ's supervising producer and unofficial No.2 to chief Harvey Levin, who has been with the site since launch, has also left, for another Telepictures unit.
Are these two high profile departures pure coincidence? Time Warner would like you to think so. But you're smarter than that. CONTINUED »
One of the most annoying things about TMZ is that the Web site regularly posts the most insignificant and mundane videos of all time. Seriously, nobody cares to see Britney Spears‘ lawyer driving down the street for 30 seconds. But this video is one we did enjoy, thanks to John Mayer and his self-deprecating humor — and the fact that he makes fun of TMZ throughout the clip just makes it that much more watchable.
Kudos to Ryan Seacrest brand extension the E! channel, which is making no secret of its programming mantra: Our stars must go to prison. At PaidContent's EconCeleb conference — where the paparazzi panel bitched at each other over celebrity rights and Harvey Levin explained his moral compass — E!'s CMO Suzanne Kolb weighed in on shows like Keeping Up With the Kardashians, The Simple Life, and Living Lohan*, where it's common practice for talent to spend some time behind bars. "A lot of our talent have gone to jail and we’ve been very clear on that." And that wasn't even the most amusing line of the whole panel. That award goes to Access Hollywood executive producer Rob Silverstein: "Access Hollywood follows the same guidelines that NBC News follows when it comes to reporting any news story." Wait, so that means checkbooks are kosher, right?
Mel Gibson isn’t the only person interested in Britney Spears‘ love life as of late: TMZ has been keeping tabs on the pop star and her secret rendezvous with a mystery man. Sadly, that mystery man is all too recognizable — it’s Adnan Ghalib, former paparazzo and Spears hanger-on.
TMZ’s “sources” have reported that over the last few months Adnan has been entering the gated community where Brit and father Jamie live, but no one can say exactly what’s going on. But we can! Adnan missed the spotlight, Britney missed her enabler, and it was time for a special reunion. And yes, there are text messages involved.
When TMZ.com posted a clip of a supposed Verne "Mini Me" Troyer sex tape last Wednesday, his attorneys quickly lashed out and got a federal judge to issue an injunction against Harvey Levin's gossip site two days later, forcing TMZ to remove the tape, which Troyer says was "stolen" from his house. Except, um, TMZ has the item back online. How come?
We hear another judge just lifted the injunction, and TMZ quickly re-posted the original item. So maybe all the gossip blogs can do the same thing! (We're not lawyers, though.)
On its own site on Friday, TMZ relayed news of the legal action, which included Troyer filing a $20 million lawsuit against TMZ for violating his privacy, misappropriating his name and likeness, and infringing copyright (you know, in case he wants to profit from its sale). Reported, um, TMZ: "Calls to TMZ were not returned."
Update: Here's why: "Troyer's ex-girlfriend, Ranae Shrider, signed a declaration filed in federal court in Los Angeles stating the tape was created with her video camera. Her statement prompted a judge to allow TMZ to reinstate a post featuring snippets of the tape."
Matt Lauer wore the same bathing suit twice and all he got was this fashion criticism from TMZ. [TMZ]
Verne Troyer is now a mini litigant in a a $20 million lawsuit filed yesterday afternoon against TMZ, the often stupid but rarely wrong gossip site he claims violated his rights by publishing and airing portions of his sex tape.
… where are TMZ's cameras at Chicago’s Cook County Criminal Courthouse, where R. Kelly is finally facing his child porn wrap? Is this all we're gonna get?
Much to Harvey Levin's glee (chagrin?), the FCC has labeled his syndicated half hour of celebrities walking to and from Starbucks, the valet guy, and Kitson as a proper news program. Why is that even a big deal? Because if it weren't news, then political candidates could demand "equal access" opportunities if TMZ gave airtime to a competing hopeful. Levin's show qualified as "a bona fide newscast because it reports news of some area of current events in a manner similar to more traditional newscasts." God bless American, where Lindsay Lohan smoking a cigarette is news.
Screen grabbing TMZ, Team Arianna kinda forgot they were also exposing the identity of Billy Bob Thornton's 14-year-old son. [HuffPo Media]
Harvey Levin's TMZ.com used to be a media darling, with the blogs rushing to defend its easy jokes and celebrity pitfall chronicling. But lately, the backlash has been stirring, whether its the site's picking on aging or weight-gaining stars or its borderline racist humor. And now it's run afoul of a single media practice that's actually for the good of society: protecting the identities of sex abuse victims.
In reporting on allegations of sexual abuse against Billy Bob Thornton's son, TMZ not only named the 14-year-old boy (not that it'd be terribly hard to figure out), but also runs a photo of the boy, who, courtesy a relationship with a 22-year-old woman, is the "alleged victim of 'unlawful sex.'"
THIRTY MILE ZONE, AND THEN SOME Harvey Levin might be angling for another TMZ spin-off with People's Court Raw, where users select two videos two battle against each other in debate. That said, his D.C. gossip site never got off the ground, and TMZ sidekick sites like Star vs. Star are pretty much a waste of Internet space. [Portfolio]
In July of '07, we shared with you the rock that TMZ.com's Gillian Sheldon was wearing when she accepted partner Tim Heckendorf's proposal. Tomorrow, it'll be joined by a wedding band, when the happy couple exchange vows at a ceremony outside Los Angeles. An early congratulations to them both! And in good fashion, we'll probably bring you the wedding dress on Monday.
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