For reasons which may never be fully understood, Kelly Clarkson took to her Facebook wall earlier today to express her love for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. She pledged her vote to him if he wins the nomination, though she lamented, “Too bad he probably won’t.”
It’s not that strange that she’s a Republican (though she supposedly voted for Obama in 2008), but it is very weird that she either forgot or did not know that Ron Paul is a known hater of gay people and pretty much all other people. She probably should have realized that endorsing such an uncool dude wouldn’t sit well with her fans. And, predictably, it did not. They apparently were not shy about letting loose a torrent of scorn in her general direction, and she responded to the hate with this:
I am really sorry if I have offended anyone. Obviously that was not my intent. I do not support racism. I support gay rights, straight rights, women’s rights, men’s rights, white/black/purple/orange rights. I like Ron Paul because he believes in less government and letting the people (all of us) make the decisions and mold our country. That is all. Out of all of the Republican nominees, he’s my favorite.
We’ll just have to wait and see what the coveted Kelly Clarkson endorsement does for Ron Paul’s chances in the Iowa caucus. [E! Online]
Oh, shiiiiiit. Here we thought we could finish up the year on a romantic high note, with all these celebrities getting engaged. But then this photographic proof that Russell Brand has been walking around in London not wearing his wedding band shows up, and now we’ve got to spend the rest of 2011 worrying that his marriage to pop star Katy Perry (who, btw, is all the way in Hawaii) is officially donezo. Quelle horreur! [ONTD]
As rumors continue to fly that Beyonce is currently in labor with the second coming of JayZus Christ (see what I did there?!), daddy-to-be Jay-Z is being sued by the government for failure to pay workers’ compensation insurance for his domestic employees for three months in 2009. Hope this legal business doesn’t ruin what could be—or maybe already is?—his daughter’s birthday. In any event, we probably shouldn’t keep holding our breath in anticipation of this baby because given that her parents are known privacy-fiends, the child could be three by the time they chose to tell us all that she’s here. [TMZ]
Sinead O’Connor has finally explained why her marriage to Barry Herridge only lasted 16 days. Well, it’s an explanation only in the loosest sense of the term:
It felt like I was living in a coffin. It was going to be a coffin for both of us, and I saw him crushed. The whole reason I ended it was out of respect and love for the man. I don’t think I will even date anyone.
Why exactly did she feel like she was in a coffin? Maybe this tale of what happened after she went on the hunt for some weed on their wedding night will clear things up:
We ended up in a cab in some place that was quite dangerous. I wasn’t scared—but he’s a drugs counselor. What was I thinking? … Then I was handed a load of crack. Barry was very frightened—that kind of messed everything up a bit, really.
Whoa, girl, you lost me somewhere around “he’s a drug counselor.” [Extra]
- Here’s a little belated Hanukkah gift for all of you Ryan Gosling lovers out there: he went to a mixed martial arts class yesterday, and he left in his bare feet, which are obviously just as beautiful as the rest of him. [Just Jared]
- George Clooney is hanging out in Cabo San Lucas with his special lady, Stacy Keibler, and the pair was seen having lunch with pals Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber, and Alex Rodriguez. Apparently, they’re all spending New Year’s Eve there together too. So they’ll have plenty of time to catch up on whatever it is super rich people catch up on. Their stock portfolios? Their car collections? Their plans to mix their genes together and engineer a race of perfect people? [E! Online]
- If there’s one thing we know about Oprah, it’s that she’s not a quitter. And she’s definitely not abandoning her sinking ship of network, OWN. In a recent interview, she said, “I am a determined and committed woman. I don’t give up. I’m just getting started.” [HuffPo]
- If you thought U2 was fading slowly into the sunset of the musical landscape, think again. Bono, the Edge, and the other two guys in the band whose names nobody remembers had the highest-grossing tour in North America for 2011. They raked in $156 million in ticket sales in North America alone and a whopping $230 million worldwide. [MTV]
- Turns out Pete Wentz is not expecting a baby with his girlfriend Megan Camper after all, but that didn’t stop E! from making a six paragraph article out of the non-story. [E! Online]
- If you can muster even the slightest bit of emotion about the following sentence, you should win some sort of prize: Khloe Kardashian wants to dye her hair blond, but Kris Jenner won’t let her. [Radar]
- Amber Portwood, troubled star of MTV’s Teen Mom, wants off the show. Today during a hearing in an Indiana court, she told the judge she felt MTV was exploiting her and said, “I want to quit, and I will.” Of course, sadly, even if she leaves the show, she’ll still probably be followed by cameras everywhere she goes. [HuffPo]
- Rumors were circulating ealier than Real Housewife of Beverly Hills Kim Richards had left rehab, but we can all breathe a sigh of relief because, in fact, she’s still there. [People]
- Actor Jeremy London is going to be charged with domestic violence for attacking the mother of his child last month in Palm Springs. [TMZ]
- In closing, I would like to draw your attention to the saddest gossip correction of all time:
- In a Dec. 26 story about an annual Christmas party held by singer Aretha Franklin, The Associated Press erroneously reported that she exchanged gifts with family and friends. Franklin exchanged greetings.
- Thanks for clearing that up, AP! We wouldn’t want anyone under the impression that Aretha Franklin got so caught up in the holiday spirit that she gave actual gifts to people instead of just hellos. [Yahoo!]