Michael Phelps celebrates his history-making 8 gold medal performance at the Beijing Olympics by gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands tomorrow. The cover shows him standing with the 8 medals he won hanging on his neck, an update of the iconic Mark Spitz image with his 7 medals. Sunday (in Beijing time), Phelps beat Mark's record of most medals in one year. 
Cheryl Cole, of the UK's pop group Girls Aloud, has put on a brave face after her husband Ashley's humiliating affair derailed their marriage. It turns out that behind closed doors, Cheryl dealt with loads of pain.
In a interview with the Daily Mirror as Girls Aloud launched their "Tangled Up" tour in Belfast, Ireland this past week, she revealed:
I felt like cracking up at times. But its made me realize there are people out there a million times worse off than me. People see me as a role model, but I want them to see I'm human and I make mistakes. I'm not perfect. I want the young girls to learn from my mistakes.
The pop star has yet to put her wedding ring on after she agreed to reunite with her cheating soccer player husband. She has instead focused on her career.
As much as I love seeing men who cheat on hot women squirm, I hope they can work things out. Go Cheryl!
Congrats to Mariah Carey and Wild'n'Out star Nick Cannon on their impending nuptials!
Access Hollywood revealed today that Mariah and Nick are definitely getting married, and that ring she has been wearing lately IS an engagement ring!
Mariah was last married to Sony head Tommy Mottola.
Congrats again!!
It was THE television event of 2005.It was also the moment people knew for sure Tom Cruise officially lost his goddamn mind!
He's BACK!
Three years after the infamous couch-jumping incident, crazy ass Scientologist actor Tom Cruise will be appearing on Oprah next month to celebrate his 25 year anniversary in films. The episode will air on May 5th, and will reportedly be taped at Tom Cruise's compound home in Colorado next Friday. Considering May is a sweeps month, this will surely provide a ratings boost. Who knows? Maybe Tom will swing from the chandeliers and throw Baby Suri (who has been seen publicly in months, BTW) up in the air!
I actually am (kinda) a fan of Tom Cruise, but I seriously think he has some problems. Regardless, it will definitely be some must-see TV!
Talk about a coincidence!
Nanny-turned-victim Jessica Gibson has a boyfriend who needs $1 million to start up an eco-friendly pest control product. And guess who just filed lawsuit against their rich celebrity employer for that same amount (plus change)?
TMZ uncovered internet documents where Jason Lesh, the nanny's BF, has been asking around for a cool million to bankroll bug-killing company last summer, while the nanny was still working with the Lowes.
According to friends, Jessica claimed that Lowe owed her $30-50,000 in back wages. Now, she's asking for $1.5 million.
Isn't it a bit odd that Jessica, who originally only wanted the 50G she was owed, is now suing for a fortune?
The waters are becoming more and more cloudy, Jessica....
Clive Davis, the legendary music producer who helped bring names like Whitney, Alicia, and now Leona into the forefront has been demoted from his job as CEO of the BMG Label Group.
Davis, who is 74, is now the chief creative officer (I know, sounds like BS, right) of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. According to execs at Sony BMG, he will continue to work with top artists, presumably Whitney, Leona, and the American Idol finalists, but is no longer in control of the company's direction. That job now belongs to Barry Weiss. Weiss is responsible for many teen sensations, including Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.
The news will definitely shake up the music industry, which has been in a rather steep decline since the beginning of the decade. This wouldn't be the first time Clive and Sony BMG had issues. To much shock and anger, Sony BMG fired Clive from his CEO position at Arista Records, a record label he founded. After forming the successful J Records, Sony BMG brought him back into their fold, giving him control of their major labels.
The news is even more of a shock considering his latest signing, international superstar Leona Lewis, just topped both the US singles and albums charts this week. Her single, "Bleeding Love" and her album Spirit, both sold over 200,000 copies this week, a large number for a new artist. It is unknown how his ouster will affect her career and the countless others who he helped.
The wedding of Jay-Z and Beyonce was probably the most talked-about event of the year so far. Everyone wanted to know, were they or weren't they?
Everyone except the celebrity magazines apparently.
Save for People Magazine and US Weekly, the celeb rags including OK! pushed the megastar wedding to the sidebar, deciding to report about other celebrities including Britney and Jennifer Aniston's relationship with Orlando Bloom.
You would think that the tabloids would go crazy about this, filling the magazine with every down-to-the-minute detail about the not-so-secret nuptials. I was expecting at least 4 covers about the wedding. Instead, most of the magazines would rather reheat old news or overanalyze a couple's friendship instead of write about Beyonce's big day.
It begs the question, why?
A tabloid editor speaking to the New York Daily News sums up the answer rather bluntly: "African-Americans don't sell covers." According to the New York newspaper, which heavily reported about the wedding, another reason why Beyonce and Jay-Z didn't receive top billing is because of the lack of photos of the event. Speaking to another insider, they report that "none of the magazines landed an exclusive on wedding pictures, which would have made the story bigger". Even still, another tabloid editor revealed that "Eva Longoria can get $1 million for wedding photos, but without the expectation of cover sales, Beyoncé might have gotten as little as $250,000 if she had sold hers".
It really is unsettling that racism could still exist in such a large form of media. Beyonce is easily one of the biggest pop stars on the globe, and if even she can't generate more than a cover, what does that say about the journalism media as a whole?
Another argument is that the Beyonce/Jay-Z nuptials were left alone on purpose; obviously they didn't want anyone to know, so the tabloids respected that wish.
Then again, this is the same media who developed the infamous "Wacko Jacko" moniker for embattled Michael Jackson and hired photographers that chased Princess Diana to her death.
The media has never been known for being nice or considerate to its famous subjects; apparently they aren't equal either.
Note: Mediatakeout.com contributed to the creation of this post.
A year and a half ago, she was CBS's big ticket to revive the dying Evening News format.
Now, she's a $75 million thorn in their side.
Katie Couric made his history September 2006 when she became the first woman anchor of the CBS Evening News, leaving behind her home of over a decade on The Today Show. Despite promising first day ratings, the audience quickly left in droves, which left the CBS Evening News dead last in the battle with ABC and NBC.
CBS believed that the perky morning co-host would make a fantastic, or at least adequate, news anchor. Obviously, they never watched Today. Katie Couric's strength, and which made her "America's Sweetheart", was connecting with the people, all kinds of people. Whether it was outside of Rockefeller Center with the masses, or interviewing celebrities and public figures, she was able to reach the public on a meaningful level. It is pretty hard to do that behind a desk in a stuffy studio reporting hard-hitting news that many viewers tend to avoid anyway. The 13 million viewers who watched her first night were expecting the perky Katie from the Today couch. What they got a standoffish news anchor. They quickly changed the channel.
You would think that CBS would be careful of making mistakes after the Dan Rather fiasco, but lo and behold, they pretty much shot themselves in the foot. Instead of bleeding red, they are bleeding green, to the tune of $15 million a year.
Now, CBS wasn't wrong for hiring Katie completely, they just ignored her strengths and plopped her in the anchor chair. She should've been placed in a program where her interviewing expertise and her connection to the public could have been put to good use. If there wasn't one, make one up! They are spending 75 million bucks, for heaven's sake. If anything, she would have been a great host for 60 Minutes.
If CBS actually examined what they were spending so much money on, they would have never placed her on the CBS Evening News. If they had done their research, CBS would have gotten their money's worth and Katie would have still reached her goal of anchoring her own program. Instead, both parties come off looking incredibly and embarrassingly foolish. Katie, for being in over her head, and CBS for, once again, not getting their facts straight.
The verdict is in.
After four days of deliberations, the inquest jury has declared Princess Diana's death an "unlawful killing", placing the blame on both the paparazzi and the "grossly negligent" driving of chauffeur Henri Paul.
Henri Paul was driving drunk, contributing heavily to the car losing control and smashing into a pillar in the Pont D'Alma Tunnel in Paris, France. The photographers who were chasing the car also bore heavy blame. On top of chasing the car, they prevented proper medical attention by taking pictures of a fatally injured Diana in the mangled car wreck and did not call 911 immediately. Finally, the fact that neither Dodi or Diana wore seatbelts also contributed to their untimely deaths.
Princes William and Harry of Wales, Diana's two children, thanked the inquest jury for their thorough work and agreed with the verdict delivered.
The $20 million inquest lasted 6 months will over 200 testimonies from many people close to both Diana and her lover Dodi al Fayed, including butler Paul Burrell and Dodi's father Mohammed Al Fayed. The coroner decided before the jury deliberations that there was not enough sufficient evidence to support al Fayed's theory that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had worked with MI5 in a plot to assassinate the princess to prevent her from marrying a Muslim man.
Al Fayed expressed disappointment at the verdict, claiming it was a blow to the millions who supported his theory. He also expressed anger that members of the Royal Family were not brought in to testify.
In closing remarks, Coroner Lord Scott Baker expressed hope that the verdict would bring closure to the case once and for all.
Apparently a disastrous reality show and tons of jail time wasn't enough.
R&B singer Bobby Brown is further humiliating himself by releasing a tell-all book about his destructive marriage to megastar Whitney Houston. In the must-read book, due next month, he accuses the diva of getting HIM hooked on crack! Can you believe this crap? HE is the victim?! According to the New York Post, here is what he wrote in the book:
"I never used cocaine until after I met Whitney. Before then, I had experimented with other drugs, but marijuana was my drug of choice.At one point in my life, I used drugs uncontrollably. I was using everything I could get my hands on, from cocaine to heroin, weed and cooked cocaine."
Whitney at Clive Davis' Grammy Party in February.
The allegations don't end there! He also goes on to basically say his marriage was a sham, brought about to fight gay rumors surfacing about Whitney at the time:
"I think we got married for all the wrong reasons. Now, I realize Whitney had a different agenda than I did when we got married . . . I believe her agenda was to clean up her image, while mine was to be loved and have children. The media was accusing her of having a bisexual relationship with her assistant, Robin Crawford. Since she was the American Sweetheart and all, that didn't go too well with her image . . . In Whitney's situation, the only solution was to get married and have kids. That would kill all speculation, whether it was true or not. In the short, I think I got caught up in the politics and ended up marrying one of the biggest stars in the world."
He does take some responsibility for their marriage collapsing, though. He admitted to having many affairs as well, including with the infamous video girl Karrine Stefans:
"I am guilty of sleeping with other women . . . Women are always throwing themselves at you. I'm only human, so I would make the mistake and bite the hook sometimes . . . I let the testosterone take over."
"Yes, I've slept with [Karrine Steffans]," he confesses. "Yes, I've spent several nights at her house. But she was only good for what her nickname [Superhead] stood for."
There is so much to work with here, and these are only excerpts! I think that Bobby Brown is full of it and desperate for some cash that he's no longer getting from Whitney. Either way, I am definitely checking this book out.
I am so glad Whitney is finally free from that trainwreck of a bastard!
BEFORE (1990)
NOW (2008)
After 14 years apart, boy band New Kids On The Block are back, and here is their first official reunion photo!
If they are your thing, don't forget to catch them on the Today Show on Friday!
As one strike winds down, another potentially begins...
In a really bad sign, the two actor unions have decided to split instead of unite in time for their contract negotiations with Hollywood producers. The American Federation for Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild have forgone an alliance and bitterly split over the weekend, potentially damaging the actors' chances of scoring a new contract the easy way. Their contract is up on June 30th.
An overstep of boundaries have reportedly caused the split. AFTRA was infuriated when SAG attempted to represent actors from daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The power play led to AFTRA president Roberta Reardon calling SAG an untrustworthy group who have attempted to undermine AFTRA for a long time in trade magazine Variety. Alan Rosenberg, the president of SAG, rebutted by say he was tired to AFTRA's trust lectures.
Many actors including George Clooney and Meryl Streep asked for negotiations to begin back in February to avoid another Hollywood strike. However, this latest news may significantly damage the chances of a peaceful resolution.
The Screen Actors Guild consists of 120,000 members, while the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists holds 70,000 members
http://jcole77.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/payola-chart-rigging-or-both-you-be-the-judge/
This blog post is about how Mariah Carey's record label "bought" next week's potential #1 "Touch My Body". I love Mariah, but John makes some good points.
I suggest reading it.
Tonight, on CBS, singer and tabloid trainwreck Britney Spears will return to the proper spotlight on the comedy "How I Met Your Mother". The troubled pop princess plays a receptionist in a dentist's office who has a crush on one of the main characters. This will be her first TV appearance since her disastrous MTV VMA performance back in September.
From the previews I saw on YouTube, I can actually say that this may be VERY promising. She looks and sounds healthier than she has in months. Hell, even her hair looks better (although it's obviously still a weave). She is also quite funny in the clips I saw. Call this premature but it is definitely better than her flop movie Crossroads. Plus, she seems to be actually having fun! Her time in the mental ward has definitely worked its wonders.
Now, all she has to do is return to the musical stage!
How I Met Your Mother comes on CBS at 8:30pm EST.
This has to be one of the sickest things I have EVER heard of!
Kimora Lee Simmons just showed she has lost her goddamn mind when she revealed her plans for her dead dog. She plans to turn him into JEWELLRY! Yes, people. J-E-W-E-L-L-R-Y! She is turning her precious dog into freakin' necklaces and bracelets and earrings!
Here are HER words:
There is a company that makes diamonds out of your loved ones. [They] make diamonds from a little of the carbon from the ash, so I might do that. I might turn her into a diamond.
She is INSANE! I mean, I guess Harry Winston is bit overrated, but really? You want to wear your incinerated dog on you, Kimora?
Russell, you better your ex-wife some therapy, STAT! Oh, and take the kids with you!
