Today in response to pressure to donate her paycheck from a performance for Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Mariah Carey said, “I was naive and unaware of who I was booked to perform for. I feel horrible and embarrassed to have participated in this mess. Going forward, this is a lesson for all artists to learn from. We need to be more aware and take more responsibility regardless of who books our shows. Ultimately, we as artists are to be held accountable.” While Nelly Furtado and Beyonce have already given away the money they were paid by the Gadhafis, Mariah didn’t say what became of her cash. When asked about this, her rep pointed out that she’s always been generous to charities and said she plans to donate the royalties from her upcoming single to groups that deal with human rights issues. [E!]
Whitney Houston‘s daughter Bobbi Kristina has responded to the National Enquirer publishing photos of her snorting a mysteriously powdery substance. She Tweeted, “The pictures_a former very dear person to me did this. Set me up to make it look exactly what it looks like. God will smite them yes..But it’s really not what it looks like..People will do anything for money which is extremely sad, and I’m very hurt by this.” [E!]
You can listen to Britney Spears‘ new single at the link. It is not, as Perez says, one of the best songs of her career, so don’t feel inclined to click. [Perez]
Ryan Reynolds‘ rebuttal to ScarJo playing footsie with Sean Penn is pretty weak. He was photographed with an anonymous blonde chick in South Africa. [E!]
- Charlie Sheen says he’s started Tweeting because it’s a “cash cow.” He already has 1.1 million followers can can earn thousands per Tweet. [TMZ]
- Brooke Mueller wants Charlie‘s “goddesses” to submit to drug tests if they’re going to be around her children. “Brooke doesn’t want the girlfriends around her sons,” says a source. “One is a porn star, and the other is a marijuana magazine cover model. Brooke is seeking to control who is around the boys when Charlie has custodial time with them.” [Radar]
- Charlie will be in court on Monday to fight Brooke for custody of their twins and plans to introduce evidence that he says proves she’s on drugs. [Radar]
- Or maybe not. Charlie Tweeted, “not sure what all the legal noise is about… just verbally reached a deal with B. no court mon. yay……yet the opposition felt it necessary to still harass me with old gibberish…. odd? perhaps. transparent? you betcha’!” However, Brooke says they haven’t worked out a custody deal. [X17]
- Brooke will ask the judge to hold Charlie in contempt of court for publicly discussing her alleged drug use. [TMZ]
- Ha. Jimmy Fallon‘s Charlie Sheen impression is pretty incredible. [BWE]
- Here’s a shot of Eric Clapton washing his clothes in a public laundromat. Yes, the gossip news is that slow today. [TMZ]
- This story, which was undoubtedly authored by Jon Gosselin‘s rep, claims he loves his new regular job, eats healthy, and “encourages his kids to be active outdoors or do mentally stimulating things like arts and crafts or games.” There are also some digs at Kate and her fame-whorish ways. [Radar]
- Scintillating details on what it’s like to work with Brad Pitt from his Moneyball costar Chris Pratt: “Once you get past that he’s really just a kind of down-to-earth normal guy. Pretty open about talking about his life. He’s a megastar. Maybe the biggest star in the world and he’s pretty cool.” [E!]
- Camille Grammer‘s RHOBH co-star Lisa Vanderpump says that following Kelsey Grammer‘s wedding to Kayte Walsh, “She was very upset. It’s public, it’s humiliating, and she’s very vulnerable. It’s very upsetting.” [E!]
- Seth Rogen says he’s putting the weight he lost for The Green Lantern back on. “I’m slowly outgrowing all the clothes I bought last year,” says Rogen. “It’s a sad thing. I gave away all my fat clothes, thinking ‘I won’t need these anymore,’ but I do!” [Us]