Heigl Is High Maintenance; Stars Speak Out On Prop 8

By Dodai Stewart | May 27, 2009 | 1:00pm

New day, same rumor: The “doc” is a diva. So. Did Katherine Heigl get dropped from the cast of cringe-inducing flick Valentine’s Day because she wanted too much cash? Her rep says:

“The story is ludicrous.” And: “Katherine walked away from this project for multiple reasons.” Hmm. Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Shirley MacLaine and Bradley Cooper are still in. [Page Six]

Celebrities are speaking out about the gay marriage ban in California: Melissa Etheridge says: “So, will anyone be sleeping better tonight? Those full of hate and fear will surely be disappointed that 18,000 same sex couples will be living in wedded bliss, kissing their spouses goodnight, checking off those little ‘married’ boxes on all those forms we fill out nowadays. That’s really going to drive them crazy.” Lance Bass says: “The decision to uphold Prop 8 is deeply disappointing. I can only hope to one day live in a country that grants equal rights, opportunity, and freedom to all citizens.” [Radar Online]
George Clooney says of the ruling on Prop 8: “This just should invigorate people to get it back on the ballot in 2010 and 2012 and every two years until all people are allowed a basic civil right.” [E!]
Twitterholics Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are threatening to quit Tweeting if Twitter goes forward with its plans to launch a TV show. [NY Mag]
More Demi Moore: She will make the trip to the UK to watch Susan Boyle in the Britain’s Got Talent finale. Simon Cowell offered her (and hubs Ashton) first-class plane tickets. [The Sun]
This video clip may or may not be footage from the new Amy Winehouse documentary Saving Amy. One thing is for sure: It’s boring. If you want to see Amy’s dad talk about the villa in St. Lucia for 10 seconds and then see Amy say something unintelligible for about 2 seconds, then go ahead and click. [ONTD]
News you cannot use: Someone somewhere says of Jesus Luz: “Leave it to Madonna to find the only Jew who’s a hot Latino with an uncut penis.” Brazilians aren’t Latino, though, right? [Village Voice]
Speaking of Madonna: Artist Peter Howson has created an oil painting of her Madgesty in the nude with her ex, Guy Ritchie, touching her thigh. Honestly? It doesn’t exactly look like her. But it’s up for auction this week, if you have £22, 000. [Mirror]
Oh! Jesus Luz speaks! He and Madonna bought jewelry together, but it’s not because they’re getting married: “I received these pieces of jewellery because they are inspired by Kabbalah,” he says. “If I want to present them to somebody, it could be my mother or a friend of mine. I don’t have any marriage plans or any wedding present.” [Mirror]
Hugh Jackman‘s nine-year-old son uttered the following: “Hey dad, 2 o’clock, hot chicks.” And, apparently, the kid, Oscar, went up to the girls and said: “Hey, you know that my dad’s Wolverine?” [Mirror]
Michael Lohan was arrested last month when he threatened to kill his fiancée and himself when she tried to dump him. Not good. [Page Six]
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are moving to a bigger house in preparation for the twins. [Daily Mail]
It’s not a Mariah Carey gossip item without hairdresser drama and diamonds! [Page Six]
Robert Pattinson may or may not have hooked up with a blonde chick when he was in the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival. Star spoke to the lady in question, who says: “We had a great time together! Rob’s very sweet.” Scintillating. [Star]
If you see a “parade of rats,” follow them! You might find Gisele Bundchen, Michael Cera, Rupert Everett and NBC news anchor Lester Holt, who are all experiencing a serious rat problem on their street in the West Village in NYC. [Page Six]
Russell Brand, who hosted the MTV Awards last year, has advice for Andy Samberg, who’s hosting the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday: “Do not jokingly criticise the Jonas Brothers — you will receive less-threatening death threats. There’s nothing worse than opening a letter and then seeing in it a death threat. You think, ‘Hold on a minute. I wasn’t looking forward to the letter particularly. Now I fear death. Ruins a perfectly good read.'” [Mirror]
Hey, Page Six: This item is called “Kelis & Nas Celebrate Their Baby,” yet they’re in the middle of a bitter divorce! [Page Six]
Kevin Kreider, brother of Kate of Jon & Kate Plus 8, says the kids are being exploited and viewed as commodities. Sigh. [CBS News]
Kirsten Dunst is selling her L.A. home on Nichols Canyon Road; it’s got 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, exposed beams in the living room and cute outdoor spaces. Kiki is accepting offers starting at $1,700,000. Go! [Real Estalker]
Kim Kardashian is not engaged. She doesn’t know when she will get engaged. And yet. She is picking out rings. “It’s just easier,” she explains. “Isn’t it easy if someone’s like, ‘This is exactly what I want.’ It’ll make your life so easy.” [Yahoo News via E!]
Breaking news from Lady GaGa: “I like boys that look like girls.” [Fox News]
Gavin Rossdale is on the road touring to support his new album, and little Kingston is with him! “Sometimes we’ll go to museums of modern art so he can see a big splash of color on the walls… I found a way to kill some time in New York by asking him to look out the window and tell me every time he saw a yellow taxi,” says Gavin. “He was so into it. We had a really good time.” [People]
Kelly Osbourne‘s fiancé saved her dog’s life! Little Goldie was bitten by a rattlesnke and Luke rushed the pup to the vet. Kelly Twittered: “Thanks to Luke we got her there just in time. Luke was amazing, if he was not there I don’t know what would have happened!” [The Sun]
“Lifetime Movie Network Tuesday announced plans to air two fashion-themed murder mysteries this summer.” LOL. Maggie Lawson stars as Lacey Smithsonian, a Washington, D.C., fashion reporter whose beat turns deadly. LOL! Mark Consuelos, Mario Cantone, Finola Hughes, Mary McDonnell and Victor Webster will be cast in the flicks, titled Killer Hair and Hostile Makeover. LOL. [UPI]
Jodie Sweetin — aka Stephanie Tanner — has penned a book, UnSweetined, which details her past as a meth, coke, ecstasy and booze abuser who finally straightened out after she discovered she was pregnant. [Page Six]
James Gandolfini, Will Ferrell, Nicole Kidman, Anne Hathaway and Kevin Spacey will be presenting at the Tony awards. Fingers crossed that they’ll all do a musical number together! [Variety]
James Brown died Christmas 2006, but legal battles over his estate have lived on. Yesterday a judge ruled that half of his assets will go to his charitable trust; a quarter to his wife and young son, and the rest to Brown’s adult children. [USA Today]
Ed McMahon‘s lawsuit — regarding slipping on a ramp-like staircase at a mansion and hurting his neck — has been settled. [TMZ]
The promoter who sold tickets to see a fake Toni Braxton sing says that the Braxton impersonator was unaware of his scheme; she thought that everyone knew that she was an impersonator, and didn’t find out until later that people purchased tickets expecting to see the real Toni Braxton. [Yahoo News via AP]
Starting today, fans who visit Graceland get to go in the stables. [USA Today]
Blind item! “Which beauty now going through a divorce told a pal over lunch four years ago, ‘I’ve had several abortions. If my husband ever found out, he’d throw me out of the house?’ Looks like he found out.” [Page Six]
“It’s all about history. What we as mothers are doing is creating history with our kids that we can look back on. When they’re adults I want my kids to say ‘Mom worked so hard, but she was always there for us.'” — Britney Spears, who says she was encouraged by Madonna to take her kids on tour. [The Sun]
“Playing a bad guy is always a freeing experience – because you don’t have the same envelope of restrictions that you have playing a good guy.” — John Travolta, who plays a bad guy in The Taking Of Pelham 123. [Mirror]
“You want people to talk about you, because once they stop talking about you that’s when you’re really in trouble! I’m happy to have people talk about all the craziness they want to talk about, whether it’s things like every year we’re getting divorced or we’re an open family or Will’s gay, or I’m gay.” — Jada Pinkett Smith, who graces the new cover of Ebony. [Just Jared]
“I was on my way to a festival [in Chicago], I was on the street and he (a police officer) stopped me. He said ‘put your ass up against the fence,’ there were kids around so I guess he wanted me to cover up my butt — quite a bit was showing. But it was quite an epic moment for me, I was up against the fence going ‘it’s fashion, I’m an artist!’ I signed his ridiculous piece of paper and left. I was being wildly disrespectful to him, he looked like some park ranger on a bike.” — Lady GaGa. [Fox News]
“I had a gentleman turn up on my doorstep all the way from Peru. He said he’d seen my clip on YouTube and had to come congratulate me. That was pretty weird.” —Susan Boyle. [MSNBC Scoop]
“I met Randy Jackson, and he asked me to sing on American Idol. I was like, ‘Um, I’ll stick to dancing.'” —Shawn Johnson. [MSNBC Scoop]
“I’ve always approached this from the place where I don’t compete with other girls. I don’t compete with other people in the industry, I compete with myself. If I looked at every other girl in the entertainment industry as competition, my life would be really lonely. I wouldn’t have some of the coolest friends that I’m so glad I’ve gotten to know over the last couple of years. … It’s really awesome to get to hang out with those girls [Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez] and to call them friends.” — Taylor Swift. [Yahoo News via AP]
“I’m home from the hospital and feeling great. Thanks for all the love and support!” — Elizabeth Taylor, via Twitter. [Reuters, Liz Taylor’s Twitter]
“I couldn’t marry John Mayer, it’d be so intense. I’d definitely shag the shit out of him though. I’ll go on record saying that.” — Katy Perry. [The Sun via Complex]