Cele|bitchy

Victoria Beckham’s Comme des Garçons caped trench: absolutely fabulous?
LeAnn Rimes tweets “old app” photo: funny or genuinely frightening?
Willow Smith, 11, got her tongue pierced: no biggie or grounded for life? (update)
Duchess Kate is now a “lesser royal” than Princesses Beatrice & Eugenie
Bullied bus monitor Karen Klein on the apologies: “they can do better”
Is Robert Pattinson’s career in danger after a couple of box-office “flops”?
Hot Guy ‘Magic Mike’ premiere: who would you rather?
Madonna has a “DNA sterilization team” cleaning up after her on tour. Seriously.
LeAnn Rimes says her step-sons “always want me to sing for their class”
Beyonce & Kim Kardashian don’t hate each other after all, shock

Victoria Beckham’s Comme des Garçons caped trench: absolutely fabulous?

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 08:24 AM PDT

CB and I were checking out Victoria Beckham’s oddly magnificent caped trench earlier today, and CB asked, “Burberry?” That was my assumption too – either Burberry or Victoria Beckham-copying-Burberry. But it’s neither – the trench is from Japanese label Comme des Garçons, by designer Junya Watanabe. Isn’t the trench rather magical and awesome? I like that the “cape” effect is removable too – check out the shoulder buttons. You can totally take that off, and what would you have then? A weirdly sleeveless trench dress? Which is kind of cool.

Victoria was photographed at LAX, heading to London. She was tweeting about her trip too, asking her Twitter followers what the weather was like in London, and what she should wear for the trip. I should follow Posh on Twitter – she’s a devout tweeter, and she puts up interesting photos and stuff. Posh is in London for the launch of the Spice Girls musical, Viva Forever, in London’s West End. Posh will allegedly be joining all of the Spice Girls – Geri Halliwell, Mel B, Emma Bunton and Mel C, and according to sources, there were some fears that Posh wouldn’t show: “There’s been rumours knocking about that Victoria wasn’t going to show – but she always made it a priority. She was never going to miss the launch and is looking forward to seeing the rest of the girls. The musical is a proud moment for them all. It will be emotional.” Guess who wrote the musical? Absolutely Fabulous’s creator and star Jennifer Saunders. Which… I mean, I would totally want to see that. SWEETIE DARLING LET ME IN SWEETIE DARLING LET ME IN.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

LeAnn Rimes tweets “old app” photo: funny or genuinely frightening?

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 07:52 AM PDT

MOTHER OF GOD.

LeAnn Rimes tweeted the header photo yesterday with the message, “My new look…..gotta love the old app!!!!!” So… there’s an app that turns people into duck-faced brunette psychos? Because she’s channeling Stephen King’s Carrie in this photo. Like, she totally has dirty pillows. Her dirty pillows are wonky and lop-sided, and they’re bolted-on to her bony chestplate. But still, dirty pillows. What’s with the lips? I don’t even know. I will say this… I don’t think the lips are the product of an “app”. I think she got lip injections. LeAnn was tweeting photos all of last night, and this is the one that makes me think she got some recent lip work done:

See? Between the wonky dirty pillows and the lip injections, LeAnn is really hellbent on making herself over into the rather typical-looking Hollywood blonde. It’s kind of sad.

Anyway, as I mentioned in the other LeAnn post, LeAnn was out last night to sing with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. She brought Eddie along because, per her Tweet, “My baby is off of wrk today and gets to see the show w/ the @GMCLA I’m sure all these boys are happy he’s here too HA”. Oh, Eddie was “off work”? WTF? Whatever, LeAnn.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, LeAnn’s Twitter.

Willow Smith, 11, got her tongue pierced: no biggie or grounded for life? (update)

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 07:43 AM PDT

I often think about how lucky I am that my only kid is a boy. I see little 12 year-old girls in booty shorts and makeup, and I feel a sense of gratitude that I’m not the one trying to hold that child down, wipe off the makeup and put her in some long pants. Maybe I would not have the authority as a mom to get my daughter to actually listen to me, and that scares me as much as the prospect of having a child who would try to leave the house like that.

So I have some sympathy for mothers of daughters, since I know I was a pain in the ass and I have no idea what that was like to deal with. For instance, I pierced my own nose when I was 18. My parents just kind of shrugged and figured I was old enough. What would I do if my 11 year old pierced her nose, her bellybutton or her tongue, like Willow Smith appears to have done? As a mom, I get the same urge to take this out of that girl’s mouth and tell she’s grounded if she even thinks about wearing metal in her mouth that isn’t from the orthodontist. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe kids need to do dumb stuff like this in order to learn. Maybe you need to pick your battles with kids. To me, this seems like one worth fighting.

My questions are: Did Willow really pierce her tongue or is she just clutching a necklace in her mouth or something? And, do her parents know about it and did they approve it before she did it? Willow dresses creatively, and we know she has the ok from her parents for that. We also know they regularly treat her like an adult. The Smiths claim they’re not Scientologists, but they sure act like they are. (And Scientologists believe kids are just little grown ups and should make their own decisions.) So do they think it’s fine that Willow pierced her tongue? If she really did this, she would presumably have to get their permission since she’s under 18. She’s a little pop star, I guess she gets free reign to do what she wants. She seems to want more of a childhood though, judging by some of the things she said lately about fame. I can see letting your kid shave their hair or dye it a bright color, but a piercing goes too far for me.

Update: as many of you have pointed out, there are fake magnetic tongue rings available. Hopefully this is what Willow is wearing and this isn’t permanent.

This image seems to have originated on this tumblr account. I can’t figure out any other source for it. It’s being run by Media Take Out and we first saw it on Evil Beet. Other photos are credit: WENN.com

Photo credit: WENN.com

Duchess Kate is now a “lesser royal” than Princesses Beatrice & Eugenie

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 06:10 AM PDT

This is something I’ve been wondering about for a while, and I’m glad there’s a story about it and details about the Queen approving of new “royal protocols”. Many of us have wondered: who does Duchess Kate really “outrank” in the royal family? It’s generally thought that “blood princesses” (born into the family, born with a royal title) are superior to those princesses/duchesses who simply marry into the family. Like, obviously, Princess Anne (The Princess Royal) far outranks Duchess Kate. But how about Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie? Are they equal to Kate? Are they lesser? Although Kate wasn’t “born” with a royal title, she will be Queen one day – does that affect the situation? Well, The Mail has all of the answers. And it’s not what I was expecting:

Despite the ease with which she has taken to her role, it seems the Duchess of Cambridge has not yet conquered the House of Windsor. Newly updated 'protocols' approved by the Queen place Kate firmly down the royal pecking order, it was reported yesterday.

A document is said to have been circulated privately in the royal household, clarifying Kate's status. Although she is the future Queen, as a former commoner Kate must show reverence to the 'blood princesses'. This means she is expected to curtsey to those born royal, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – both in public and in private. The rule only applies when her husband, Prince William, is not present.

In his absence, she must also curtsey to other blue-blooded women in the royal household, including Princess Anne and Princess Alexandra, the Queen's cousin. She must always curtsey to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, whether William is present or not.

However, in the case of the Countess of Wessex, it is she who has to curtsey to Kate. The Earl of Wessex’s wife was once the second-highest ranking woman in the Royal Family because neither of the Queen’s other sons, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, were married. This is effectively Sophie’s second ‘demotion’, having been pushed down the list in 2005 after Charles married Camilla, and finding she was expected to curtsey to the Duchess of Cornwall.

The complex new rules come in a little-known edict entitled the Order Of Precedence Of The Royal Family To Be Observed At Court, which the Queen has updated to take into account the Duke of Cambridge’s wife.

The Princess Royal is said to have refused to ever curtsey to Princess Diana or to Camilla, on the basis they were outsiders whereas she had given her whole adult life to royal service. In an effort to avoid conflicts, the Queen drew up the first Order of Precedence in 2005, after Charles married Camilla. Its effect was to change the order along ‘blood lines’ so that Princesses Anne, Beatrice, Eugenie and Alexandra – the granddaughter of George V – were all ahead of Camilla.

The etiquette, though arcane to some, is taken very seriously by the royals, who bow and curtsey to each other in public and behind closed doors. The Order of Precedence affects other aspects of royal protocol too, such as who arrives first at an event. For example, Camilla was forced to wait in the drizzle outside the Guards Chapel, Windsor, for the arrival of Princess Anne at a memorial service in 2006, because Charles had not accompanied her.

Royal historian Brian Hoey, an expert on court protocol, predicted when William married Kate that: ‘Kate will take the rank of her husband, which means that when she’s at court, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie should curtsey to her. But I don’t think there’s a chance they will. While William feels warmly towards his cousins, Beatrice and Eugenie, he’s conscious of the fact that they are lesser royals. As future King, he will wish to see them behaving correctly towards their future Queen – but their attitude is likely to be, “Why should I? I was born royal – Kate wasn’t”.’

Yesterday a Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment. Royal observers suspect Kate will not mind the new rules as she is keen to please everybody, but William may be less happy. However, it seems getting to grips with life in the royal household does have its benefits.

The increasingly glamorous Duchess is thought to have spent more than £35,000 on couture and high-end outfits since the start of the year – and the bill is being met by her father-in-law. Prince Charles has agreed to pay for any dresses the Duchess wears for 'work-related' functions and engagements through his official household budget. He will open up his accounts to the public this week for the first time since Kate, 30, joined the family.

[From The Mail]

So, basically, the Queen let it be known that Kate and Camilla should always courtesy to the blood princesses, but in reality, it probably won’t happen because William wants to make sure that his cousins respect Kate’s position. ??? I guess. Basically, the rule should be “Everyone needs to courtesy to Princess Anne, and beyond that you’re all on your own.”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Bullied bus monitor Karen Klein on the apologies: “they can do better”

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 04:27 AM PDT

Karen explains how she tried to ignore the bullying

I’m sure you’ve seen the video by now of bus monitor Karen Klein being relentlessly bullied and taunted as she tried to do her job. I’ll be honest, it was so mean I couldn’t watch all of it. The kids said some awful, horrible things to this poor lady, including telling her that her kids should commit suicide, as she sat there crying. She didn’t get mad, she didn’t yell at the brats, and she just took it. Part of the reason that this video resonated with so many people was because Klein’s son did commit suicide ten years ago, which made it even harder to watch with that background information. It was just staggering to listen to these kids say such terrible things. People have taken up a collection for Karen, started by a Canadian guy who was touched by her story. It’s currently at $644,669, well exceeding the $5,000 goal to send Karen on a nice vacation.

Radar has an interview with Karen’s daughter about what she intends to do with the money. To me, this interview reveals what a hard life Klein has had. One of her grandchildren has autism and she has another grandchild with Downs syndrome. She has a lot of bills to catch up on and this money will go a long way toward helping her retire. Karen says she’s not sure if she’s going to retire or not, but in an interview on CNN she sounded like she was considering it. Here’s more:

“She is definitely surprised and overwhelmed and certainly thankful for everyone’s support, and it is nice knowing she is not alone,” Klein’s daughter, Amanda Romig, tells RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview on Friday.

“We never thought it was going to be that much, she didn’t think that much – then wow!” says Romig, who explained that she didn’t think her widowed mom was going to return to her job after the verbal torture by the seventh graders from the Athena Middle School.
“I don't think she is going to go back, I think she is pretty much done.”

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the four boys in the Greece Central School District near Rochester, New York videoed their torment and then posted the shocking clip — which had more than 1.2 million YouTube hits in less than two days — showing a sobbing Klein being bombarded with insults about her weight, graphic sexual comments, threats, called poor, and then physically assaulted with a book.

The shocking video sparked the launch of a fundraising website on IndieGogo.com, which aimed to raise $5000 so she could go on a much-deserved vacation, but it was has already raked in 100 times that amount.

Along with overcoming her emotional distress, what is forefront on Karen’s mind is what she is going to do with the half-a-million dollars.

“Right now, she has got to call her accountant and go from there, she's talking about paying her bills and getting caught up and then whatever she feels she wants to do, she is going to do,” Romig tells Radar.

“She has a lot of ideas including making a donation here and there. My nephew has autism and my niece has Down syndrome, and with those types of disabilities the kids are going to get picked on too, so she wants to help both causes,” she explained.

As for the vacation the fundraising was originally launched for, Klein has already been bombarded with free trips!

“Anderson Cooper gave her 10 tickets to Disneyland, and Disney World is letting her take a cruise of her choice,” says Amanda. “She's going to Boston to be the honorary duck monitor next week.

“There are a few things in the works, the TODAY show wants her back – but she’s not going to do a reality show yet!” she laughs.

[From Radar]

Karen told Matt Lauer on the Today Show that the bullying “Made me feel terrible, but I will get over it. I’ve gotten over everything else.” In a local interview, she said that she feels sorry for the boys, who are seventh graders, and revealed that she’s not going to press criminal charges against them. Some of her tormentors have received death threats.

A few of the boys have since written to apologize to Karen, and she did receive a personal apology and a hug from one of their fathers. She told TMZ that she didn’t really accept the apologies, and that “they can do better than they did.” As for how she thinks the kids should be punished, she now has some definite ideas. She thinks they should be banned from riding the bus, and that they should not be allowed to participate in sports.

You know what I’m wondering, who leaked that video*? That person is an unsung hero in this story. I’m picturing a quiet student who knew that it wouldn’t have made a difference to speak out at the time, and realized it would have made him or her a target. This story has really put a focus on how scary and mean bullying can be, and how it affects so many people. It’s hard to see kids acting like this and to consider that this type of behavior really goes on in schools.

*Update: thanks to those of you who pointed out that the video was posted on Facebook by one of the kids who bullied Klein. Unbelievable.

Is Robert Pattinson’s career in danger after a couple of box-office “flops”?

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 04:26 AM PDT

Over the weekend, Cosmopolis opened in six foreign markets (which, to be entirely fair, are not huge movie markets) to $2.8 million in box-office receipts, and certain publications are claiming that this “flop” is all due to leading actor Robert Pattinson. Never mind that director David Cronenberg, despite all of his talent, is much more of a filmmaker with a cult following than one who can necessarily demand a large, commercial audience for his movies. Last year’s A Dangerous Method finally eeked out $27.4 million after 23 weeks of being open in 30+ markets, and many of his films have made very little (such as $2 million for Crash) and certainly much less than Cosmopolis will eventually pull in.

So it’s kind of unfair to pick on Sparkles for this one movie that hasn’t even fully been released as of yet. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happening, and it’s sure to kill Sparkles, who just can’t stop reading his own press. I hope he’s not going to read this article from The Mail, which gleefully dances on the (alleged) grave of Sparkles’ career after this weekend, and they’re comparing his movies to that of Kristen Stewart. It’s a pretty ugly stance to take, but The Mail does that sometimes:

Robert Pattinson is seeking to break out of the phenomenally successful film franchise Twilight and graduate from a boy vampire into a leading man.

Despite boasting a fine cast (Pattinson romances Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci) and literary pedigree (the film was adapted from Guy de Maupassant’s classic 1885 novel), Bel Ami has been an embarrassing flop in the US.

“In the UK, Bel Ami underperformed but in America, it’s been a commercial catastrophe,” a Hollywood source revealed exclusively to Mail Online. Magnolia Pictures simultaneously released it on Video on Demand but they were hopeful that the film would take off in big cities and get a nationwide cinema release. Yet it has made just over $72,000 which is staggeringly low, little more than one screen’s average for the Twilight movies.”

In London, things don’t appear to be much better. Cosmopolis, in which Pattinson stars as a billionaire who loses his wealth, failed to make the Top 10, making just a measly £s;117,000. So far, the film – which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and is directed by acclaimed filmmaker David Cronenberg – is proving to be another epic flop for Pattinson.

Daily Mail Film Critic Chris Tookey wrote of Cosmopolis: “Devoid of meaning, dialogue that rings true or plausible drama, this film is the antithesis of entertainment.”

The US source added: “Hollywood is taking notice that outside the Twilight movies, Pattinson has the bankability of Greece. Breaking Dawn: Part 2 will be huge when it is released in November but outside Twilight, it’s just not happening for Robert. Pattinson is finding out that LA can be a cruel town. Increasingly Rob is being referred to as RIP-Patz instead of his nickname R-Patz.”

Apparently he is unfazed by the hiccup as he currently soaks up the party lifestyle in LA with girlfriend Kristen Stewart, claiming they were edgy films that were never going to attract large audiences.

The insider continued: “But his agents at William Morris Endeavor are not so carefree about the situation. Rob has not been terrible in the films but apart from Twilight, he keeps misjudging material. Bel Ami didn’t suit him, Cosmopolis doesn’t appeal to anyone who is not interested in sprawling examinations of time and nobody remembers Remember Me.”

The source added that Pattinson’s career post-Twilight, which exploded him into the limelight in 2008, does not inspire confidence in Tinseltown.

“Rob wants to make a small Australian crime movie called The Rover and team up with Cronenberg again to make a drama about the dirty side of Hollywood entitled Map To The Stars. But both these projects have been thrown into jeopardy as a result of his underwhelming time at the box office. Robert needs to emulate Andrew Garfield and Daniel Radcliffe [who Pattinson starred with in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire] who are examples of young British actors that crossed over to become leading men or risk being out of the game by the time he’s 30.”

In contrast Kristen, 22, was recently named top of Forbes’ annual list of highest paid actresses and new film Snow White and the Huntsman has made over $250,000,000 worldwide.

The source added: “If only Kristen could sprinkle some of her non-Twilight spray over her boyfriend.”

[From Daily Mail]

Okay, so they sort of have a point about Bel Ami, which was pretty awful movie and should have never been made in the first place — with or without Sparkles. Still, he (or his agent) should have known better than to sign onto that mess in the first place, but The Mail is really needlessly bashing Sparkles when, in reality, he’s been making very small-budget movies in an effort to prove his credibility as an actor beyond blockbuster movies. In a way, he’s been successful thus far — both Water for Elephants and Remember Me turned a profit, and Cosmopolis could very well recoup its budget as well.

Also, pitting Sparkles against his girlfriend’s successes is rather unfair. Until the very recent blockbuster success of Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen’s non-Twilight fare has pretty much been a commercial disaster. In just the past few years, Welcome to the Rileys, The Runaways, and The Yellow Handkerchief all lost money in theaters. Sure, the takeoff of SWATH makes her look very good to producers, but most of the people who watched that movie went to see Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, and some cool-looking special effects, right? Let’s not take one lucky movie on K-Stew’s behalf and say it makes Sparkles look bad in comparison.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

Hot Guy ‘Magic Mike’ premiere: who would you rather?

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 04:25 AM PDT

I already covered some of the photos from last night’s Magic Mike premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival – Joe Manganiello wore a tight, shiny grey suit, in case you missed it. Well, considering today is kind of dead already (ugh, Mondays), let’s talk about some of the other photos from the premiere. Surprisingly, all of the hot dudes in the film came out for this premiere. I’m including photos of Channing Tatum (with wife Jenna Dewan), Matthew McConaughey, Adam Rodriguez, Matt Bomer and Alex Pettyfer.

This is a question I haven’t asked yet, surprisingly enough – which one of these dudes is your favorite? Like, if all of them wanted to buy you a drink and take you home, who would you go with? You can add Joe Manganiello into the mix if you want, although… I mean, he’s man-candy. I get that. He’s big and dumb and he’s got an excellent body, and sometimes that’s all a lady wants and needs. But in an ideal world, if you had your pick?

My pick… uhhhhh… probably Channing. I like Channing. I think he’s funny and he seems sweet and cool and like he’d be a fun guy to hang out with. I love Southern boys, though – they’re a weakness of mine. Matt Bomer is a Southern boy too. And he’s impossibly beautiful (and gay). Even if Bomer was straight, his beauty would probably make me too nervous to hit it. So… my #2 choice is Alex Pettyfer – a smug d-bag who is awfully pretty too. I wouldn’t even bother with McConaughey, and I don’t really know anything about Rodriguez.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Madonna has a “DNA sterilization team” cleaning up after her on tour. Seriously.

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 04:20 AM PDT

These are some newish photos of Madonna in Florence, Italy last week, where she was filming a new music video or commercial or something. Yes, I’m including a photo of her leather-clad grundle. You’re welcome. Anyway, Madge is still on her Magical MDNA tour, and she’s still making outlandish, crazy demands. Sure, she’s Madonna – insane riders come with the package. She makes a crazy amount of money and she IS crazy. Of course she’s going to have fresh flowers and 20 international phone lines. But did you know that she’s also got a team of cleaners to come in after her so that her DNA can be completely scrubbed from every surface? Um.

If Madonna fans had any crazy notion of nicking some of her DNA from her dressing room, bad luck. The paranoid star, 53, has ordered aides to leave no trace of her after she leaves gigs on her latest world tour.

In true diva style she set up a "sterilisation team" to wipe away any DNA that may have been dropped in her room on hairs, skin or saliva.

Hygiene freak Madge, whose MDNA tour arrives in Coimbra City, Portugal, tomorrow has also told organisers only her and her entourage are allowed backstage passes. Concert promoter Álvaro Ramos, overseeing the Portuguese leg of the spectacle, said: "We have to take extreme care, like I have never seen for any other artist.

"We cannot even look at the dressing room, after it is ready, or even open the door. We can only enter after her sterilisation team has left the room. There will not be any of Madonna's DNA, any hair, or anything. They will clean up everything. In the end it is all to protect her and make her feel comfortable. I do understand it, but it is taken to extremes."

Her DNA destruction certainly beats Madonna's many other precious concert demands in the past, such as ordering a new loo seat at every venue.

The singer will play at the Coimbra City Stadium, where the dressing rooms will be converted by her own staff to stop snoopers.

Álvaro added: "Her team will build everything for her, including fake ceilings and fake walls, so they can ensure that no one has hidden a camera somewhere."

Last night, a source close to Madonna said: "She is a perfectionist, and expects the best. But then, at her age and with her status, why shouldn't she?"

[From The Daily Mirror]

I don’t understand the paranoia about this if you’re A) a woman or B) Not wanted for any crimes in which comparative DNA evidence can be used in a court of law. The woman thing – like, if it was a dude who was paranoid about paternity tests or DNA evidence being used to frame him of assault or something, maybe I could understand. MAYBE. But it’s Madonna. Do people really care if you touched the same Kleenex that Madonna touched? Eh.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

LeAnn Rimes says her step-sons “always want me to sing for their class”

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 04:16 AM PDT

This ^^ is a photo LeAnn Rimes tweeted with the message, “Getting ready for the @GMCLA boys”. I had to look it up – GMCLA stands for Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. I guess she was invited to the awards show or something. And since most of the photo agencies were ignoring the event, LeAnn decided to tweet a photo for us. Because she’s the gift the keeps on giving. Incidentally, I glanced through LeAnn’s Twitter feed, and she’s still bitching about bullying. Yesterday she tweeted, “I love all my fans and friends dearly and it hurts to see any bullying or negativity going on amongst you guys. I’m saddened. All I will say”. So… she’s not playing the victim right now? She says that there’s bullying amongst her fans – fan-on-fan bullying? What does that look like?

LeAnn also has a new interview with a radio station (via Taste of Country). She talked a lot about her music, and how her next album is her last with Curb Records – there’s a lot of subtext in here, I think, especially since her music career is in the toilet right now. But of course, LeAnn pivots to her role as mother. Step-mother. Mother.

More than 15 years into her career, LeAnn Rimes has seemingly come into her own as artist, wife and step-mother of two, striking an important balance between her work and personal life. In an interview with radio station 1130 the Tiger, the Grammy Award-winning singer spoke candidly about the importance of the quality relationships in her life.

"We had our ups and downs for sure," says Rimes, speaking about her longtime label home, Curb Records. "I always had an open relationship with the head of the label. It's definitely been a great ride."

Despite the self-professed functioning business relationship, the singer is quick to divulge that her next studio album is the last contractually-obligated project with the Nashville-based label. With that information in mind, Rimes assures listeners the new album is anything but a rushed project to fulfill a business contract.

"I'm working on a new record … we're finishing up. I love it," she confesses. "I've written two-thirds of it. It's super fun and heartbreaking and all the emotions in between. It's called 'Spitfire.'"

As she wraps recording in the upcoming summer months, the Texas native will also stay busy traveling the country. Even with her legion of loyal fans, Rimes admits that her favorite place to perform may be a more personal, intimate venue.

The singer spilled that her two young stepsons are fascinated by her career. "I always — at least once a year — have them ask to sing or their class," she spills. "They want me to sing for their class. It's fun to be able to do that."

When she and her husband Eddie Cibrian — who just celebrated their one-year anniversary — are not visiting the local elementary schools, the happy family can be found on the road together. "They come on tour sometimes," Rimes shares on bringing the kid on tour. "They love the tour bus. It's like a jungle gym for them."

But what can fans expect for the string of shows leading up to the release of Rimes' next project? "We've broken things down into an intimate setting," says the 'Crazy Women' singer. "I encourage people to talk to me — open dialogue with my fans."

"It's more of a singer-songwriter 'Storytellers' situation, where I play stuff off 'Lady & Gentleman,' stuff off the new album and some the hits," says Rimes. "It's a wide variety of things."

[Via Taste of Country]

The boys ask her to come and sing to their class? The boys come on tour with her? I won’t get into it. I just provide the quotes. I guess it’s nice that Mason and Jake Cibrian are growing up in a household where their stepmother would do anything for them. Anything involving a bikini and a spotlight.

Incidentally, I received a tip about Eddie Cibrian’s latest acting gig. Did you know he’s still “acting”? He is! He had a guest spot on Rizzoli & Isles, and apparently the fans of the show weren’t into it at all. He played a veteran with PTSD, and he had a thing for Isles. He wants to “sculpt” her. Or something. I didn’t watch it (I hate that show and how the policework and forensics are represented), but you can read a funny summary here. I’m including some rare photos of Eddie solo from Friday. LeAnn let him off the leash for the day! Happy birthday, Eddie.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and LeAnn’s Twitter.

Beyonce & Kim Kardashian don’t hate each other after all, shock

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 04:14 AM PDT

There were rumors going around that Kim Kardashian and Beyonce didn’t get along at all. In Touch Weekly claimed that Kim was being “abandoned” by her celebrity friends, and that Gwyneth Paltrow and Beyonce were Mean-Girling Kim because they thought Kim was super-cheesy and budget. But… when Beyonce did her Memorial Weekend concerts, Kim went to one of them and sources claimed Kim was really trying to be tight with Bey, because Bey’s husband and Kim’s boyfriend are so close. Well… it’s happening. Bey and Kim went to a Watch the Throne concert over the weekend, and they looked friendly and tight.

Kim Kardashian and Beyonce Knowles are becoming fast friends! At the Watch the Throne concert in Birmingham, England June 22, the E! reality star, 31, and the 16-time Grammy Award winner, 30, stood side-by-side as their respective loves Kanye West, 35, and Jay-Z, 42, performed on stage.

“Kim and Beyonce were dancing all night! They even went into the mosh pit!” a source tells Us Weekly. “It was the most hectic thing ever!”

Kardashian (in a demure black top) and Knowles (in a white tee and leather leggings) did their best to keep a low-profile amidst the sea of fans.

The outing marked the first time the two stars have been photographed in public together. Despite rumors to the contrary, “Kim and Beyonce have always been cool,” the source explains. “Beyonce and Jay love Kim and think she’s a good match for Kanye.”

Kardashian certainly seems so. In a pre-taped interview for Oprah’s Next Chapter airing Sunday, she explains how she fell for West after years of friendship. “It’s very comforting to have someone who knows everything about you, who respects you, understands you, has gone through similar things,” she says. “I feel like I’m at a really happy, good space.”

The savvy star and West are on the fast track, an insider recently told Us. “They’re seriously talking marriage. And yes, she would [accept his proposal].”

[From Us Weekly]

So… Beyonce has given Kim the side-eye of approval. And Jay-Z seems fine with Kim too – Kim, Jay and Kanye hung out together about a month ago too. So… no drama? Well, we’ll see what Gwyneth has to say about this mess. Gwyneth thinks she’s down with Jay-Z and Kanye, but Goop also thinks she’s Beyonce’s big sister. Will Goop lay down the “No Kardashians” Law?

I’m also including a photo of Beyonce from her Tumblr. I don’t even know.