Slumdog Star's Dad Didn't Try To Sell Her; Madonna Still Caring For Mercy
- Indian police say they have not found any evidence to support allegations that Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali‘s dad tried to sell her. [The Guardian, People]
- Three-year-old Mercy James is currently under the care of a nanny provided by Madonna. The director of the orphanage where the girl was staying says, “As Mercy’s legal guardian, I authorize where she goes. She is staying with Madonna’s people as a visitor. There is nothing wrong with that.” [The Daily Express]
- As mentioned in Midweek Madness, British singer Marilyn is confirming long-standing rumors that he had a relationship with Gavin Rossdale in the ’90s. “We were together five years, but it felt like 40,” said Marilyn. [Perez Hilton]
- Beyonce‘s dad, Mathew Knowles is responding to the alleged (and now debunked) recording of his daughter singing off-key on The Today Show saying, “If no one took the time to listen to Beyonce sing ‘America the Beautiful’ and ‘At Last’ at the Neighborhood Ball for the first dance of President Obama and the First Lady, and they question Beyonce’s vocal ability, they’ve gotta be an idiot. At 12 years into her career, the last thing someone should be questioning is her vocal ability. That would be like questioning if Kobe Bryant could shoot a jump shot. The vocals were obviously altered.” [TMZ]
- Miss California Carrie Prejean‘s grandmother, Jeanette Coppola, says of Perez Hilton, “I don’t know why that gay guy Perez was even judging a contest with a bunch of girls. That doesn’t make any sense. He should be judging a Chippendale’s contest.” Perez responded: “Dear Jeanette, I was judging that contest because I am an American. I am a gay American. I am a Latino American. And I am an American who knows a thing or two about women in the spotlight.” [The L.A. Times]
- Amy Winehouse‘s mother, Janis, says that Amy’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil is trying to get a bigger divorce settlement. “It sounds like his hands are outstretched not only for him, but for this person he’s made pregnant. To me it seems like a case of ‘lets get our hands out for the money’,” says Janis. [The Daily Express]
- Is it a coincidence that Audrey Tautou is starring in a new film about Coco Chanel and is also taking over for Nicole Kidman as spokeswoman for Chanel No. 5? [Yahoo]
- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may have a cameo in Terminator Salvation. [CNN]
- John Mayer is dating model/aspiring actress Scheana Marie Jancan, who is 23. [Star]
- This week’s SNL host Justin Timberlake says he loves the show so much, “I would go as far to say if I didn’t have a career that I felt so extremely lucky to have, I would see if I could get cast on the show.” [USA Today]
- Denise Richards made a video for FunnyOrDie about how much everyone loves her “fun bags.” It’s like the Lindsay Lohan FOD video, with an extra dash of desperation. [Funny Or Die]
- OMG, Twilight fans: Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson went to the grocery store and a fellow shopper says they were holding hands. [E!]
- Chris Cornell says he likes Twitter because, “It’s actually created an environment where I can answer simple questions that someone’s probably had forever. And I don’t mind answering them. And I can actually have conversations with fans that are quick, but still more meaningful than the typical situations you’re put into. I’ve really liked it.” [CNN]
- Shots were fired at Duane Chapman, better known as Dog the Bounty Hunter and a bail bondsmen when they tried to apprehend a Colorado man charged with attempted murder. No one was injured. [AP]
- A literary agency is suing Prince because he allegedly backed out of a book deal at the last minute and went behind their backs with another agency. [TMZ]
- Vanessa Hudgens will star in the film Beastly, an update of Beauty and the Beast. [Entertainment Tonight]
- Officials in Urbana, Ill. have decided to honor film critic Roger Ebert by putting a bronze plaque on the sidewalk in front of his childhood home. [AP]
- The website TheDirty.com posted pictures of Real Housewives star Gretchen Rossi riding topless in the passenger seat of a car. Previously, they posted compromising bathroom pictures. Now she’s getting the police involved. [TMZ]
- Simon Cowell may quit American Idol when his contract runs out next year to start a U.S. version of the U.K. show The X Factor. [The Sun]
- Vivica A. Fox, host of The Cougar says she is currently single. “I am single right now,” she says. “I am a different breed of chick. I like to go by the beat of my own drum. I haven’t found a man that I want to answer to.” [People]
- Salma Hayek and her husband François-Henri Pinault are holding a wedding celebration this weekend in Venice and guest including Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz have already arrived in Italy. [E!]
- Jennifer Love Hewitt says of dating co-star and long-time friend Jamie Kennedy, “I’ve heard about it – about being friends with somebody and it turns into something else and I’ve never really done that before and it’s been great. He’s hilarious and when you’re with somebody funny, they’re always funny and it’s just great.” [People]
- Billy Corgan, the only remaining member of The Smashing Pumpkins, is planning to charge subscribers $40 for 12 weekly 25-minute videos of him working in the studio. [The Guardian]
- Hugh Jackman says of the persistent rumors that he is gay, “I’d be happy to go and deny it, because I’m not. But by denying it, I’m saying there is something shameful about it, and there isn’t anything shameful.” [Parade]
- The Jonas Brothers will host Fox’s Teen Choice 2009 Awards on August 11. [E!]
- Mariska Hartigay says she’s feeling “Sooooo much better,” since being hospitalized with a collapsed lung. “I’ve turned the corner and I’m feeling great. Really great,” she said. [E!]
- Oh no! Mickey Rourke says he’s going to slap Joel McHale, host of The Soup, in the face for making a joke about his late dog Loki. Hopefully Lou the chihuahua will help them work this out. [E!]
- Debra Messing said she met Robert De Niro at an audition. “My first film callback was for Casino, for the Sharon Stone role. I was 24 and had no money and was in school,” she explained. “And so I went to an uptown hair place and said, ‘Make me look like Ivana Trump.’ And I wore this very fancy – what I thought was a very fancy – black jumpsuit, and I was all ready to go, and I walked in and [De Niro] looked at me, and he’s like, ‘What? You goin’ to a prom?'” [NY Magazine]
- British singer Billy Bragg is criticizing a proposed EU law to double music copyright to 95 years saying, “This legislation offers the multinational record corporations a potential windfall of the size of the invention of the CD.” [Yahoo]
- Kieran Culkin says he threw himself into work to try to deal with the death of his sister Dakota in December. “It’s been a rough couple of months. I won’t speak for anyone else, but I’m doing okay,” he said. “That’s the point of doing this interview and stuff. For a little while there, I wasn’t going to do any press. I wasn’t going to do Sundance. This was all a sort of getting-out-of-bed-and-start-walking thing.” [The Daily Express]
- In a very lengthy interview Rosie O’Donnell talks about her children attending a Waldorf School, which involves signing a contract that they won’t watch TV or use the computer. “I do it because I didn’t have parents – my mother died and my father wasn’t home. I had no one to talk to,” she says. “I would much rather play rummy with my parent than sit in front of a video game, and when you don’t have the TV as an option, you’d be surprised at how much you can interact with your own kids.” [Just Jared]
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