Scarlett Johansson Takes On Tabloids; Phil Spector Found Guilty Of Murder

By Margaret Hartmann | April 13, 2009 | 10:20pm

Scarlett Johansson blogged about tabloid accusations that she’s losing weight in preparation for Iron Man 2. She writes: “If I were to lose 14 pounds, I’d have to part with both arms. And a foot.”
She says that while she is working out to fit into her superhero catsuit, reports that she’s crash dieting are untrue. “I’m frustrated with the irresponsibility of tabloid media who sell the public ideas about what we should look like and how we should get there,” she writes. “I would be absolutely mortified to discover that some 15-year-old girl in Kansas City read one of these ‘articles’ and decided she wasn’t going to eat for a couple of weeks so she too could ‘crash diet’ and look like Scarlett Johansson.” [The Huffington Post]
Phil Spector was found guilty today of second-degree murder in his retrial for the death of actress Lana Clarkson. He faces a minimum of 18 years in prison. [Rolling Stone]
After Easter services, Mel Gibson confirmed to a fellow parishioner that his wife of 28 years, Robyn Gibson has filed for divorce. Sources say they’ve actually been separated for the past three years. She is seeking joint custody of their 9-year-old son. [People]
Mel Gibson has filed his response, and it only took a matter of hours. In documents available at the link, he says he and Robyn separated less than a month after his DUI arrest. He says the reason for divorce is “irreconcilable differences.” [TMZ]
Madonna emailed The Nation, a Malawian newspaper and said: “I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and health care possible … It’s my hope that she, like David, will one day return to Malawi and help the people of their country.” [CNN]
Madonna has also released this photo of her cradling a sleeping Mercy in her arms. [The Daily Mail]
Someone broke into Tila Tequila‘s house this morning and posted on her Twitter: “I just broke into her house, killed her and her dog. Logged onto Twitter to tell you guys. She was signed on already. Tila Tequila is dead.” The real Tila then wrote that she’s OK, but someone broke in, locked her dog in her trunk, and posted on her Twitter. [MSNBC, ONTD]
Jon Eardley, the lawyer tried to free Britney Spears from her conservatorship, supposedly at her request, has asked a judge to require Brit to take time out of her Circus tour to testify in court. The conservatorship is currently trying to file a restraining order against Eardley. [E!]
Lindsay Lohan‘s new post-breakup tattoo ion her inner wrist is of a quote from Marilyn Monroe. It says: “Everyone’s a star and deserves the right to twinkle,” and is surrounded by stars.[People]
Miley Cyrus went to lunch with her ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas and her current boyfriend Justin Gaston was nowhere to be found. [TMZ]
Simon Cowell may leave American Idol when his contract runs out next year because he can’t handle filming the show, as well as two reality shows in Britain. “I don’t want to come over as whiney because I am very grateful that I have got these jobs,” he said. “But there is a point where I am not sure we can keep this schedule up.” [Access Hollywood]
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon were photographed leaving an IVF clinic in San Diego. [Perez Hilton]
Artist Mark McGowan is putting on a show in which he’ll reenacting the final hours of Jade Goody‘s life. [The Mirror]
Here’s video of Paul Rudd singing and dancing on Sesame Street while wearing a giant planet Earth costume. [Video Gum]
Lo Bosworth says even though Lauren Conrad has left The Hills she thinks Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag could carry the show themselves. She adds: “[Lauren] hasn’t filmed in weeks and she’s really excited about that… I think she’ll come back for special occasions and stuff, but we just don’t know how many episodes she’ll return for or if there will be another season. It’s really just all up in the air.” [Perez Hilton]
Watch this preview clip of Spencer from tonight’s episode and decide for yourself. [People]
And here’s another clip featuring Heidi telling Spencer that they need couple’s therapy. [Perez Hilton]
Lauren Conrad is going to guest star on Family Guy. The episode will air on May 3 and she will date Brian. [People]
Mark Wahlberg and James Franco have joined the cast of the Tina Fey–Steve Carell film Date Night. [Variety]
A New Moon insider says, “I hear that Kristen [Stewart] and Rob [Pattinson]‘s ‘teams’ are having an emergency meeting,” which apparently means that they are dating. [E!]
Top Chef‘s Padma Lakshmi posed naked in Allure and exposed a scar on her arm that she got when she was 14. “I love it because it makes me a person who has an interesting past, and it reminds me that I can survive any pain,” she says. [People]
Jason Priestley and his wife Naomi Lowde are expecting their second child. [Us]
Ralph Fiennes will star in “The Men at the Pru, which is co-written and co-directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. [UPI]
“I feel like a tranny a lot of the time … I don’t know, I’m … large? They put me in six-inch heels, and I tower over every man. I’ve got this long hair and lots of clothes and makeup on. I just feel really big a lot of the time, and I’m surrounded by a lot of tiny people. I feel like a man sometimes.” – Blake Lively. [ONTD]
Drew Barrymore says it took four to six hours to apply the aging makeup to play Little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens. Drew said: “My face suffered as a result. We ended up with skin issues I’d never had before because I developed an allergy to chemicals in isopropyl, the alcohol used in removing cosmetics. A constancy of prosthetics also created a sensitivity to adhesives, and our makeup people had to find alternatives.” [The Daily Express]
The executor of Dee Dee Ramone‘s estate has gone to court to stop publication of the book Poisoned Heart: I Married Dee Dee Ramone by the late bassist’s first wife. [AP]
Elisabeth Hasselbeck has written book on eating gleuten free called The G Free Diet. She says: “My grandmother was giving me her meatball-and-sauce recipe … When she got to the part about adding breadcrumbs, she looked up at me and said, ‘Elisabeth, you can add whatever you want here.’ I thought, if my Italian grandmother can understand being G-free, anyone can.” [People]
Annie Lennox had surgery to surgery to release a trapped nerve in her back six months ago and says she may never be able to perform again. “When I had the surgery, I didn’t even know if I would be able to walk again properly. My foot is still not right — it is kind of permanently numb. And it is a strange thing to live with, really,” said Lennox. “I have been doing physical therapy and I still don’t know if it will ever be back to normal again. … I don’t think I could do a normal concert any more at this point in time.” [UPI]
Kanye West was a good sport about the South Park episode mocking him at first, but the joke may be getting old. He blogged: “SOUTH PARK pt. 3 I WAS AT CHEESECAKE FACTORY YESTERDAY AND THE MANAGER BROUGHT ME A PLATE OF FISH STICKS… (in a sarcastic tone) uuuuuuum, GREAT! : /” [The Atlantic]