Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Cele|bitchy

Cele|bitchy


Twihard Meltdown 2012: Were the Kristen Stewart pics Photoshopped?

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 08:20 AM PDT

I'm not sure why we're even pretending there's any other story out there besides this Kristen Stewart thing. For the younger, Twihard-y set, this story is bigger than Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. This thing is EPIC. Did Kristen Stewart cheat on Robert Pattinson with her SWATH director Rupert Sanders? Did Rupert go down on Kristen in the back of a car? Did Rob already know before now and he'd already forgiven her? Are Us Weekly's exclusive pics Photoshopped? What does it mean for Kristen's career if she gets branded as a 22-year-old homewrecker who slept with a married director (with children)? Celebitchy, Bedhead and I have been analyzing this all morning, and I've developed some theories. Plus, there's some additional information. Let's get to it. God, I love bullet points!

*First, you can see Us Weekly's exclusive pics here. Check them out before the Tumblr site gets a take-down notice!

*The Telegraph has a piece about Us Weekly's photos and how they're totally Photoshopped. Their evidence seems to be that "the offending [Us Weekly] article has now been removed from the magazine’s website following accusations – mainly from die-hard Kristen fans on Twitter – of Photoshop trickery, thus suggesting their claims are entirely false." Except that Us Weekly took the article down for a little while, and then put it back up, and it's still up now.

*Other "Photoshop evidence" includes the theory that the photo used on Us Weekly's cover – allegedly of Sanders embracing Kristen from behind – is actually an older photo of Kristen and Rob. I swear, I HAVE seen a photo that looks a lot like that of Kristen and Rob, so there is a chance that the inset image is Photoshopped. Although I'm looking at the larger image inside the magazine, and maybe not.

They claim that Kristen’s face has been digitally imposed onto Ross’ body, pointing out that the shoulder in the picture is extremely bony, unlike Kristen’s, but very much like Sander’s model wife’s, and also that the hairline matches Ross’. Some Kristen fans have even posted the photo from which Kristen’s face appears to have been lifted – ironically it’s a picture in which she is seen with boyfriend Robert Pattinson. Another theory is that the inset photo is of Rupert and his wife, and Kristen's face was 'Shopped in.

*Everyone is now talking about Rupert's wife, Liberty Ross. She's a model and actress (she appeared in SWATH and Madonna's W.E.), and she's mom to Skyla and Tennyson. There were some reports that she called into an Aussie radio show this morning to "confirm" that she was the one in the photos, not Kristen – but the radio station says it wasn't her and they haven't been in contact with her. Liberty did have a Twitter account, but she took it down yesterday after her last tweet: "Wow". Incidentally, Liberty played Kristen's mother in the film. Ouch.

*POOR SPARKLES. That's what everyone is saying now. Poor, poor Sparkles who just got his heart broken by a mean, Chuck-Taylor-wearing-lesbian who cheated on him with a dude!!!! Twihards are in full-on meltdown, obviously. Sparkles might be crying about it too. Interestingly enough, in a Vanity Fair Italia interview a few months ago, Rob did discuss infidelity in general terms, saying: "There is one thing I’ve never understood, why people cheat. My parents met when my mom was 17 and my father 25, they are still together and seem very happy. I grew up believing that you can be together all of your life. I understand the impulse, but not how you can maintain two relationships for long. And though I understand that cheating can happen to those who have children, because the stress can make people stray, I can’t really understand how someone free of any commitment could possible choose to have four women at the same time. It must be like hell for a man. There is the idea of the saving love, I believe it. I’m not mushy but I have a romantic soul. Having grown up with two older sisters I have a deep respect for women. Sex and feeling for me go hand in hand. I’m not interested in casual relationships, I need to know people.” WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Does that mean he'll forgive her?! GAH!!!

*A lot of people seem to think that we should give Kristen the benefit of the doubt because she has not issued any direct statements thus far. I think the photos speak volumes (if you believe the photos are real), but beyond that, I think it's interesting that People Magazine got the confirmation from a "source" close to Kristen – the source told People, "Kristen is absolutely devastated. It was a mistake and a complete lapse in judgment. She wasn’t having an affair with Rupert. It was just a fleeting moment that shouldn’t have happened. She never meant to hurt anyone. She’s a good person who just made a bad choice.” That sounds like the first step of Kristen's rehabilitation tour, although I think it was a bad PR move. Basically, People Mag got the go-ahead from someone close to Kristen to confirm the photos in some kind of "context" which would half-heartedly justify her actions.

In closing, I think I should just say… I'm not going to take any victory laps on this one. We got a bunch of emails last night from anti-Kristen people telling me that I had Kristen's number all along. While I do think my take on Kristen was right – an unprofessional, try-hard poseur, too "affected" and too concerned with her own image, and a player of the boys in her life – I'm not happy about being right. Kristen just f—ked up this dude's marriage, she cheated on a dude who (I believe) adores her, she severely damaged the Twilight brand (the studio is going to be PISSED), and she's going to be blasted in the press for a long, long time. It sucks for everyone involved.

Oh, and Kristen really is Angelina Jolie's tabloid heir, isn't she? I've been saying that for a while. Now Kristen is going to be called a homewrecker for the next decade too.

Photos courtesy of WENN.
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Brangelina “always knew they’d be together forever, right from the start”

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 08:10 AM PDT

Perhaps I was too harsh to the poor Twihards in my previous post. I get all Twihard-y about Brangelina, and if some major cheating scandal came to light about Brad or Angelina, I would be in full meltdown mode too. It helps to put yourself in their shoes. For a wise man said, "He who walks in a Twihard's Chuck Taylors will know the true meaning of life." So, what's up with Brangelina lately? Obviously, Brad is having some professional struggles right now as World War Z looks like an epic disaster on the scale of Waterworld or Battlefield Earth. Angelina is working on Maleficent, and she and the kids will probably be hunkered down in the UK for the next three or four months. But is there any problem with Brad and Angelina's personal life together? Not so much. At least, according to the dude who made Angelina's engagement ring:

Looking for proof that Brangelina are the real deal? Just ask their longtime friend Robert Procop — the jeweler responsible for designing Angelina Jolie’s engagement ring from Brad Pitt.

“Brad and Angelina are a very romantic couple,” Procop, who met Jolie after dressing her for the Oscars years ago, told Us Weekly at a fete celebrating his Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels pop-up at the Grand in the South of France. (Procop is currently collaborating with Jolie on a jewelry collection, Style of Jolie, whose proceeds will go to Jolie’s foundation, Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.) “They always knew they’d be together forever and get married one day, right from the start,” he adds.

As Jolie and Pitt — who met on the 2004 set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith — have matured, so has their relationship, says Procop.

“The relationship may have been all flying planes and riding motorcycles at the start, but any new relationship is exciting that way,” he says. “Now though, they’ve settled into this wonderfully strong family unit and it’s beautiful how in love they are.”
Adds the designer, “They’re both lovely, very talented people that compliment each other . . . when you’re with them, you can see how strongly in love they are.”

Over the years, Procop says both Jolie, 37, and Pitt, 48, have sought his help custom-making gifts for one another.

“Angelina came to me six years ago to create a pendant for Brad as a present,” he reveals. “She’s very clever and had this idea that it would be like an ancient tablet, and she researched it looking at old Chinese and Egyptian scripts . . . [it] has a love letter from him to her inscribed on it.”

So naturally, when it came time to pop the question to the mother of his six children, Pitt turned to Procop for help designing a ring for his bride-to-be. (The final result is a piece of jewelry boasting an estimated 16-carat, emerald-cut diamond and worth approximately $500,000.)

As for their wedding bands?

“Over the years, I have been entrusted with some wonderful secrets,” Procop teases. “I’d never share something that should be between two people and that is very romantic and special and something for them.”

[From Us Weekly]

Eh. I mean, this was very sweet and this is how I'd like to think of them too, but I think there's some revisionist history in there: “They always knew they’d be together forever and get married one day, right from the start." Really? I think it was sexual attraction, fascination, followed by trying to make a relationship happen very quickly, followed by genuine love and building a family. But it's nice to think they're so solid. Angelina needed someone to take over the "wild child" role in the tabloids – and I guess Kristen Stewart is what we've got.

Photos courtesy of WENN.
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Ashley Greene on the paparazzi & fame: “Just let me do my damn job!”

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 08:03 AM PDT

Ashley Greene

Perhaps this morning’s news of Kristen Stewart getting it on with her SWATH director has breathed a little bit of fresh life into the Twilight franchise — of course, that’s a terrible thing for me to say, but it true. While there’s going to be plenty of backlash (as there should be) for KStew, getting it on with his could be the perfect PR coup to pull the Kristen-Rob Pattinson romance into the final stretch of the Breaking Dawn: Part Two promotion.

Meanwhile, Ashley Greene is still puttering around Hollywood in search of her big breakout, post-franchise role. (Dare I say that she’d love to be in the midst of KStew’s current scandal? Of course she would.) Greene covers the August issue of Nylon to promote her upcoming role in The Apparition, and I have to say that I do like this photoshoot much more than her usual pose-hard routine. The clothes are casual, and Ashley looks young and funky just like she should, but she’s still pretty full of herself in the interview. Here are some excerpts:

Ashley Greene

She’s an actress, not a celebrity: “I got [to my casting], and there were cameras all around me. Everyone’s so obsessed with celebrity, I think more than ever before. It’s the instant gratification of it — the tabloids an the Internet and the camera phones. We’re just so infatuated with it that basically everyone is a stalker. I was like, ‘Just let me do my damn job!’”

She’s a method actress too: On believing in ghosts (or not): “That was one of the more difficult aspects [while filming haunted house thriller The Apparition], because I try to make everything as realistic as possible; I want to experience what the character is experiencing. So to make myself believe there was something after me…it was a dark time.”

On her own life experience: “Growing up, I didn’t have a hard life. Luckily, people are not the greatest in L.A., so once I got here and my heart was broken and people stabbed me in the back, I could use that to feel vulnerable.”

She kept her waitress gig after booking Twilight: “I was working at the Belmont Cafe in L.A., got the call, and two weeks later was rehearsing. Right when I was cast, my IMDb STARmeter went through the roof — all of ours did, and we hadn’t even done anything yet!. I asked my boss if I could have my job back after the shoot. He was like, “I don’t think you’ll need it but OK.”

On being typecast: “It’s not like, ‘Oh, you’re the quirky best friend-slash-sister.’ There’s no stereotype with Alice. And she doesn’t really look anything like me, with the pixie cut and the white makeup. So to be put in a box, I’d kind of have to do it myself. And I’m not going to do that.”

[From Nylon Mag

Eh. I don't really think there's a danger in the supporting Twilight cast getting typecast (unlike with Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner) after the franchise meets its inevitable end, and I think it's going to be more of a case of their largely limited talent hitting a wall. Primarily Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, and (to a degree) Jackson Rathbone will all have issues in the struggle not to fade away unnoticed. And yes, Greene too will fall by the wayside as well and be replaced with another attractive up-and-coming actress. Even if she does look great in this magazine photoshoot!

Ashley Greene

Ashley Greene

Ashley Greene

Photos courtesy of Nylon Mag

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Demi Moore dating 37 yo actor Martin Henderson, makes sure we know about it

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 06:08 AM PDT


Oh Demi. The celebrity press has been dominated with news about Demi’s daughters cutting her out of their lives because she’s been annoying them with needy incessant messages. We’ve heard that Demi is in deep despair and “heartbroken” over her estranged husband Ashton Kutcher’s new romance with Mila Kunis, and that Demi was holding out hope for a reunion. We’ve seen multiple paparazzi photos of Ashton and Mila together, including some recent ones in which they were making out. So what does Demi do? She goes and gets herself a new piece, an out-of-work actor who no doubt needs the publicity, and makes sure there are photos of the two of them together along with a narrative about their breezy, romantic getaway. This is Demi’s playbook, and it’s getting as stale as her plastic surgery denials. Here’s more, including exclusive photos, thanks to Life & Style, which has more in their upcoming issue.

Life & Style can exclusively reveal that Demi Moore, 49, has been secretly dating New Zealand–born actor Martin Henderson, who is 12 years her junior.

Life & Style has obtained exclusive photos of the couple on a romantic Connecticut getaway. On July 19, Demi and Martin went to lunch at Nine Main Bakery and Deli in New Preston, Conn. "She was in line and a Colbie Caillat song came on — she started singing along and dancing in a playful, flirty way," shares a fellow diner. After lunch, the two went grocery shopping together, then drove back to the house where they stayed on their vacation.

"They were very comfortable with each other," notes a fellow diner.

Three days earlier, they'd enjoyed a lobster dinner at a friend's house, followed by a two-hour hike at Steep Rock Preserve the next morning. Later that night, Demi and Martin, 37, joined pals for a casual outdoor barbecue. "They just kept chatting and laughing," reports a guest.

Notes another insider who saw the actress on her romantic getaway, "She looked great — chatty, healthy and happy."
Martin, an Australian TV star, appeared in Britney Spears’ steamy "Toxic" video in 2004. He previously dated Phone Booth star Radha Mitchell, with whom he starred in 1999′s Kick.

For more on Demi and her new man, pick up this week's issue of Life & Style, on newsstands now.

[From Life & Style]

Kaiser remembers this guy from The Ring, and I barely do now that she’s reminded me. That movie was so creepy that I tried not to pay attention and fast forwarded through a lot of it. I don’t think this relationship is real. I mean, I would like it if Demi moved on and wasn’t the sad sack popping ADHD drugs that she’s been made out to be following her overdose. To me that means focusing on herself and feeling better, not finding a new guy and burying her sorrows in a new relationship. I’ve been rooting for Demi, but it seems so predictable the way she’s rolling out some new guy in the press. Demi’s tired PR narrative has her as sexy, desirable, and so carefree she’s jamming out to music spontaneously. We’ve heard this before, but the reality is not as rosy.

Note that Demi didn’t score the cover of Life & Style, even when the mag got exclusive photos and details straight from her PR people. That honor went to Kourtney Kardashian’s ongoing relationship drama. Does she think that this is going to make Ashton so jealous he dumps Mila and comes crawling back to her? I do think that’s her plan. Demi needs a few hobbies.

Kim Kardashian thinks she’s more famous than Jolie, Aniston & Paltrow

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 05:25 AM PDT

I think we may have found the one thing that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie can agree on. Wouldn't it be funny if, after all of these years, Aniston and Jolie united to take down Kim Kardashian? Radar claims that Kim told a friend (so, these are not her words directly) that she thinks she's "more famous" than Aniston, Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow combined. Because why not?

Kim Kardashian is living in a celebrity fantasy world! Kim's climb to fame began with her infamous sex tape, and now the reality star believes she is more famous than several of Hollywood’s hottest A-listers combined, a source tells RadarOnline.com exclusively.

"I'm more famous than Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow combined," Kim boasted to a friend recently. "She just doesn't seem to understand that she is not a movie star, and she is famous for all the wrong reasons.”

The Keeping up with The Kardashians star kept her fame soaring after her 2007 sex tape, by exposing every detail of her private life but did a 360 turn in a recent interview on the TODAY show when she played coy after being asked about her romance with Kanye West.

She was criticized by Howard Stern who described her behavior as 'insane'. “This is a girl who got famous revealing everything about her personal life, now… she thinks she’s Jennifer Aniston, she’s on there, ‘I don’t want to talk about Kanye, I don’t want to speak about it, I don’t read the tabloids, everybody back off.’ ”

But friends say the 31-year-old's new found privacy is all part of her goal to marry Kanye. After her failed marriage to Kris Humphries, who she feels wasn't famous enough for her, she has big plans to settle down with the 34-year-old rapper.

"Kim thinks she made a huge mistake and wasted her time marrying Kris because he is a no name. She is obsessed with the fact she married someone less famous then herself and has plans to fix that by marrying Kanye," her friend revealed. "She feels if Angelina can marry an A-lister then so can she!"

[From Radar]

I would say that I don't even believe that Kim is this stupid, but I would be wrong. She's totally this stupid. This reminded me of the whole drama between Kim and Jon Hamm, where he merely mentioned that he thinks Kim is a dumb famewhore, and Kim's BFF Jonathan Cheban came out to attack Hamm by saying, "Put Jon Hamm in a mall, and more people will go up to the people working at the Burger King than they will to him. Bring Kim to a mall and there will be a riot. They're in two different businesses. Kim's pop culture and what people like. It's a lot of work, and she's here to stay. Let's see where he is after Mad Men." That is how Kim and her Klan think. They don't realize that their form of celebrity is much, much different than Jennifer Aniston's or Angelina Jolie's. As for Goop… well, obviously, Goop totally think Kim is a peasant. But Goop may have to hang out with Kim at some point because of Beyonce. Which is just hilarious.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
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Kristen Stewart cheated on Sparkles with her SWATH director, Rupert Sanders

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 04:40 AM PDT

Kristen Stewart

Hell hath no fury like a Twihard scorned — is that how the saying goes? Well get ready for some furious fans (of Robert Pattinson), for Us Weekly has revealed its latest cover story, which states in no uncertain terms that Kristen Stewart cheated on Pattinson with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, who is married to British model Liberty Ross. From the cover itself, it’s obvious that Us even has photos of the duo’s very indiscreet public displays of affection. This is going to get very ugly. Poor Sparkles! Here’s Kristen and Rupert (along with Sam Claflin) at the industry premiere of SWATH and the scoop on the Us cover story:

Kristen Stewart Rupert Sanders

Robert Pattinson’s biggest fear has been realized.

On July 17, the 26-year-old actor’s girlfriend and Twilight costar, Kristen Stewart, 22, was caught in a series of steamy rendezvous with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, 41 — and only Us Weekly has the photographic evidence.

Sanders — married to British Vogue model Liberty Ross, 33 — has two children, ages 7 and 5. During his marathon makeout session with Stewart, “it seemed like they couldn’t get enough,” according to one photographer.

Reps for both Stewart and Sanders had no comment.

[From Us Weekly]

Meanwhile, People adds to the story with details that the affair was a one-time thing that happened quite recently, which I guess means that Kristen and Rupert weren’t getting it on during production. Not that it matters to Liberty Ross how frequently or recently her husband was cheating with a lip-biting eye-roller:

Rupert Sanders Liberty Ross

The relationship between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson has been rocked by the revelation that the actress had a brief fling with a married director, sources tell PEOPLE.

“Kristen is absolutely devastated,” says one source. “It was a mistake and a complete lapse in judgment.”

The hookup with Stewart’s Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders occurred recently, the source says.

“She wasn’t having an affair with Rupert. It was just a fleeting moment that shouldn’t have happened,” says the source. “She never meant to hurt anyone. She’s a good person who just made a bad choice.”

A rep for Sanders, who is married and has two children, could not be reached for comment. A rep for Stewart had no comment.

Stewart, 22, and Pattinson, 26, were all laughs just days ago at Comic-Con, even joking about their on-camera smooching scenes.

[From People]

Yuck. It’s such a cliché to think of a married director sleeping with his young starlet, and it’s just plain disgusting as well. Let’s assume that the blame shall be equally placed on both parties, for both Rupert’s wife and Sparkles have every right to be upset at what went down from their respective errant lovers. Naturally, Kristen will probably be the subject of much more ire than Rupert as a result of their fling, which isn’t right at all. The guy is married (and has kids), for god’s sake, and he can’t bother to keep it in his pants. Just gross all around.

Kristen Stewart Rupert Sanders

Rupert Sanders

Photos courtesy of Us Weekly and Fame/Flynet

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Janet Jackson called niece Paris a spoiled bitch; Jackson family divided (update)

Posted: 25 Jul 2012 04:36 AM PDT


Yesterday we heard about a confrontation at the home where Michael Jackson’s children were staying. Michael’s three children: Paris, Prince, and Blanket, were confronted by their aunt Janet and uncles Jermaine and Randy, who had arrived by private plane and had attempted, unsuccessfully, to get the children to come with them to Arizona. The police were called, the children’s security force stepped in, and it all sounded pretty serious.

This incident came after the children’s court-appointed caregiver, their 82 year-old grandmother Katherine Jackson, was taken to Arizona, (seemingly without the children’s knowledge although reports vary) for over a week. Katherine’s grandchildren were unable to contact her during that time and she did not phone or text them. Randy later issued a statement that claimed Katherine was cut off from technology on doctor’s orders. It was all shady as hell, and pointed to a money grab by Michael Jackson’s siblings, who were cut out of his will in favor of Michael’s mother, and his children.

There are a lot of new developments in this story, most notably allegations of violence during that confrontation with the children along with a surveillance video that has been released. I’ll just cover the highlights and link these stories below. The gist is that some of Michael’s siblings are doing whatever they can to get their hands on his fortune, and his kids are fighting back.

Note that Michael has three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. Jermaine, Randy, Janet and Rebbie are behind the plot to overthrow the executors of MJ’s estate and signed a letter to that effect on July 17th. Tito previously supported the letter, but has since recanted. Marlon and Jackie have also come out against the letter, and LaToya has not yet made a statement.

  • The showdown Monday was more violent than thought
    TMZ reports that Janet Jackson confronted her niece Paris, 14, during that showdown on Monday and went to grab Paris’ cell phone. Paris has been tweeting about the forced estrangement from her grandmother and I would guess that Janet wants that to stop. Paris held on to her cell phone, with Janet slapping her and calling her a “a spoiled little bitch!” Paris slapped Janet back and allegedly told her “This is our house. Not the Jackson family house. Get the f**k out!

    Surveillance footage has come out of the incident, available here, and while you can see Janet confronting Paris and reaching for her phone (at about 1:45) I couldn’t see much else.

    What’s more is that Trent Jackson, Tito’s son 34 year-old son who lives there, reportedly attempted to protect his cousins. Trent “put Randy in a headlock and punched Jermaine in the mouth.”

    Update: Some of you have commented that Paris denied on Twitter that Janet slapped her. She supposedly tweeted “nope” as a response to the question “did Janet slap you?” If this is the case she may have deleted it already, as I signed in and followed her and I don’t see where she tweeted that.

  • It’s a money grab by some of Michael’s siblings
    Let’s call this what it is. There’s plenty of evidence, and common sense, to suggest it’s all about the money. Katherine has been essentially “kidnapped” by some of her kids, and is allegedly being pressured to question the will and its current executors. Randy has denied that’s what it’s about, but please. They’re about to try and overthrow the executors, and we’ve heard that Randy, Jermaine and even Janet are broke. They’re trying to claim the will is a fraud because Michael allegedly wasn’t in the place he’s said to have been when it was signed, but apparently that’s a flimsy excuse that won’t hold up.

  • Michael’s brothers who aren’t in on the scheme are very upset
    Marlon, Tito and Jackie did an interview recently in which they said they did not agree with what the rest of their family is doing. “There are some things that we do not concur with which have been said by the executors of the estate. And we’ve been told that our mother is safe, that she’s doing well, but we have not spoken with her… and I do not know where my mother is. Whatever doctor is saying you can’t talk to my mother, you call me!.” All three of the men were wearing sunglasses and Marlon broke down crying at that point! He said “I’m going to see my mother and I’m going to bring her home.” It was really hard to watch.

  • Michael’s kids fight for their rights, try to get new guardianship
    An attorney for Michael’s children has issued a statement about what happened Monday at the home when Janet, Jermaine and Randy tried to leave with them and were blocked. Their attorney issued a chilling statement about it:

    Yesterday afternoon certain Jackson family members ambushed Katherine Jackson’s home after their vehicle tore through security gates on the tails of the SUV containing Michael Jackson’s children. After exiting their vehicles, Jackson family members ran up to Michael’s children as they yelled and began to aggressively grab at the cell phones in their hands. Out of concern for the wellbeing [sic] of Prince, Paris, and Blanket Jackson, the children were forced to temporarily leave their home and taken to a safe location. An altercation ensued shortly thereafter and law enforcement arrived at the scene. Following the incident, it was learned that one of the family members who was part of the ambush admitted that a plan has been in place for the last three years to remove Katherine Jackson from her home and her beloved grandchildren. Prince, Paris, and Blanket Jackson have not heard from their grandmother since she left their home nine days ago to attend a series of her sons’ concerts on their Unity Tour. She never made the shows. Despite efforts to interview Katherine Jackson at her current location in Arizona yesterday, Los Angeles County Sheriffs confirmed that they were denied access to Mrs. Jackson by security for one of her children.

    [via Radar Online]

    The Michael Jackson Estate released a brief statement as well. “We are acutely concerned about the welfare of Mrs. Jackson, and most particularly with Michael’s minor children.”

    It looks like the lawyer for the children is going to work to appoint a temporary guardian to care for them in Katherine’s absence, rumored to be their cousin, Trent.

    Meanwhile Paris has tweeted that her grandmother has been missing “9 days and counting… so help me god i will make whoever did this pay.” She later added that “a lot of ppl have been saying that i “changed” …i wanna apologize for the attitude… there’s just a lot going on… i promise: the ego = gone(:” It’s not Paris’ ego that people are concerned about.

    Janet Jackson at the Amfar Gala benefiting the fight for cancer at the Cannes Film Festival wenn3703654 wenn5785684 wenn3907590 wenn3654011 wenn3703654 wenn5785713 wenn3907438

    These photos of Janet are from an Amfar gala on 5-24-12. She looks like a cat. Credit: PCNPhotos and Apega/WENN.com Paris and her brothers are shown with Katherine on 1-26-12. Credit: WENN.com

  • Christian Bale flew to Colorado to spend time with the mass-shooting victims

    Posted: 25 Jul 2012 04:35 AM PDT

    After Warner Bros. canceled the European promotion for The Dark Knight Rises, it seems like Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Anne Hathaway were brought back to LA via Warner's private jet. All three of those actors issued personal statements of condolence to the victims of the Colorado mass-shooting, and everyone involved with the film seems genuinely devastated by what happened. Batman himself, Christian Bale, even decided to make a personal, non-studio-endorsed trip to Colorado to meet with some of the survivors of the massacre:

    Christian Bale is making a quiet trip to Aurora, Colorado to visit with the victims of last week’s movie theater massacre.

    With free time thanks to the cancellations of premieres and press appearances for The Dark Knight Rises in Mexico and Japan, Bale took it upon himself to visit, a rep for Warner Bros. told The Denver Post.

    On Friday, the Oscar-winner issued a brief statement expressing his sympathies to those impacted by the mass shooting, allegedly carried out by James Holmes, at the midnight screening of Bale’s final Batman film.

    "Words cannot express the horror that I feel," he said at the time. “I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them.”

    Last week, a petition urging Bale to visit the victims in Colorado emerged online.

    [From THR]

    I was fine until I read the part about the petition. Really? That makes me feel queasy – while I think it's a really nice thing that Bale would take it upon himself to fly to Colorado and meet with these people, I hate the idea that some people were like, "Yeah, he SHOULD do that. Start a petition." It negates Bale's good intentions and makes it seem like he was giving into external pressure, or that it's a PR move – which I doubt it was, honestly. Mostly I don't think it's a PR move because Bale doesn't seem to give a sh-t about good PR. He probably just wanted to spend time with the injured kids, and I bet most of those kids just wanted to shake his hand and have their photos taken with Batman. Maybe we should start a petition to have Christian Bale scream at and berate the POS shooter for the next 40 years too. That should be a petition.

    Speaking of good PR moves mixed with good intentions, Warner Bros. has also made some large donations to the charities working with the victims of the Colorado shooting. Considering TDKR made $160 million-plus in its opening weekend, and it's in line to make a billion (or more), Warner can definitely afford it. Still, they don't NEED to do it – it's just a really nice gesture:

    The studio behind ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ has been in contact with the state governor’s office and will make a lump sum contribution. Warner Bros., the studio behind The Dark Knight Rises, is making a donation to charities supporting victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting rampage.

    Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the studio has been in contact with Colorado governor John Hickenlooper’s office and will contribute to a fund identified by the governor on the website givingfirst.org, which is a program of Colorado’s Community First Foundation. The fund distributes monies across several charities that will support victims of the July 20 killing spree that left at least 12 dead and dozens injured.

    The studio will not release publically the amount of the lump sum donation but sources say it is “substantial.”

    Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer also is set to send a companywide email on Monday evening advising employees of the donation and explaining how they can donate personally to the victims.

    Warner Bros. has reacted swiftly in the wake of the July 20 killing spree at a midnight screening of the latest Batman movie. The studio quickly released a statement saying that Warners “and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”

    The studio then canceled a planned Paris premiere and other press events and declined to release box office figures for Dark Knight Rises over the weekend out of respect for the families of the victims. The Christopher Nolan-directed film grossed a robust $160.9 million in three days, the best opening ever for a 2D film.

    Warners is the first of the Hollywood organizations to make a charitable gift. Cinemark, which owns the Century Aurora 16 theater where the shooting took place, has yet to announce any donation, nor has the MPAA or the National Association of Theatre Owners.

    [From THR]

    I have to say, I think Warner Bros. hasn't made a false step thus far. It was very smart for them to go through the governor's office and existing charities instead of trying to reinvent the wheel and create their own, separate victims' foundation or something. They've treated the victims of the tragedy with respect, they avoided being drawn into the debates about violence and guns, and what could have been a huge PR disaster for Warner ended up becoming an example of a Hollywood studio managing a crisis with timely, respectful efficiency. Someone at Warner Bros, knows what the hell they're doing, you know?

    PS… If you want to have a good cry, you should read this story about how three of the young men died protecting their girlfriends.

    UPDATE: Here are some photos of Bale in Colorado, meeting with some of the victims.

    Photos courtesy of WENN.
    wenn5880737 FFN_GGFF_DarkKnightRises_071612_50835352 wenn3996589 FFN_GGFF_DarkKnightRises_071612_50835271 20120724_032812_Bale-in-hospitalx 20120724__christian_bale_swedish_medical_aurora_theater_shooting~p1

    Did Katie Holmes really divorce Tom as a scheme to get her career back?

    Posted: 25 Jul 2012 04:30 AM PDT

    Katie Holmes Suri Cruise

    Over the past several days, there has been a dearth of new Katie Holmes and Suri “out-and-about in New York City” photos, but there’s a good reason for the girls’ brief sabbatical. That is, both of them paid a visit to Katie’s hometown, Toledo, Ohio, where they were spotted at the mall and swimming in a country club pool. We don’t have access to the photos of them at the airport, so we’re making do with some photos from last week of Katie and Suri with their umbrellas in the New York City rain. The knowledge that both of them are present and accounted for is something that has become a comfort for those of us on TomKat divorce watch because, as Kaiser has already pointed out, these photos not only help sell Katie’s newfound freedom from Tom but also serve as protection for as well. Protection from the CO$, of course.

    Now a new (and lengthy column) from Vulture suggests that Katie orchestrated the entire divorce (and possibly the marriage to Tom as well) as a means to volley her own career into the stratosphere. The evidence? Katie’s near daily pap walks, which the author (whose cousin is one of Katie’s neighbors) insists are completely unnecessary because there are other exits in the apartment building. Somehow, these pap walks also lead to the bizarre conclusion that Katie is totally jealous of the acting career of her former “Dawson’s Creek” co-star, Michelle Williams. The author further assumes that Katie is making sh-t up about Scientology and is only using the cult’s bad rep as a convenient excuse for leaving her marriage. Never mind that Katie really has blown the CO$ wide open and left because of legitimate fears involving Suri’s indoctrination and because CO$ handlers wouldn’t let her discipline her own child. Or that Katie herself lived in such fear of Tom that she felt the need to use burner phones to contact a divorce lawyer in the first place.

    CB and I were talking about this, and we agree that while this Vulture article is quite engrossing and builds an interesting narrative, Katie simply doesn’t seem savvy enough to set up this whole divorce from the perspective that it would do great things for her career. We both also think she was truly miserable in her marriage, just wanted out, and was fortunate enough to get help from her dad and lawyers. If Katie had really wanted out of her marriage to save her career, don’t you think she would have left before making Jack and Jill, The Kennedys, and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark? Seriously. The full Vulture article is definitely worth a read for the curious, but here are the relevant excerpts:

    Katie Holmes Suri Cruise

    The building has a privacy-friendly underground garage, but so do dozens of other buildings in the city, and Holmes hasn’t even been taking advantage of it. If she wanted, she could exit the garage in a car with dark windows, and paparazzi would never catch a glimpse of her or Suri. Instead, every day, when she’s left the building for errands or meetings, she has promenaded out to a waiting car, in full view of photographers. Nor, when on foot, has she used the side entrance on 25th Street: She’s been stepping out right into the paparazzi maw for the sake of trivial grocery shopping. How about FreshDirect? One night, cousin George and I rode the elevator to the penthouse, to what George was certain was her apartment–its previous tenants included Marc Jacobs and Nick Jonas. I expected bodyguards, but George scoffed: “This building is a sanctuary.” We stood in front of the door for a minute, wondering how creepy it would be to knock, before we went back downstairs–and as it happened, Jonas still lives in the apartment; Holmes is on the eleventh floor.

    “I'm convinced that she’s the most fame-hungry person the world has ever seen,” says someone who’s worked with Holmes. Holmes’s entire divorce M.O. suggests an alternative gloss on her great escape. It’s implausible that Cruise’s workaholic lifestyle, or the rigors of Scientology, came as any surprise to her. To embrace the portrayal of her as a victim is to deny her agency.

    At the same time, unfavorable comparisons between her and fellow Dawson's Creek alumna Michelle Williams became painfully inescapable. As Williams became a figure of sympathy because of her partner (the late Heath Ledger), Holmes became a joke because of hers. Holmes is said (scout’s honor!) to have been enraged by Williams’s success. While Holmes was playing Jackie O. in a mini-series that ended up airing on Reelz–that’s Channel 238 in the Time Warner NY cable system, if you’re wondering–Williams was playing JFK’s sometime-mistress Marilyn Monroe, in a feature film, en route to a third Oscar nomination.

    But Scientology, or rather its terrible reputation, offered a way out. Holmes, unable to get the kinds of roles she wanted, realized she could cast herself in the part of a lifetime. Like Truman in The Truman Show, she finally grasped her ontological status as a character in a fiction, and that self-awareness propelled her out of the story and crashing through the fourth wall. She knew a good third-act twist when she saw one.

    “It’s not like she ever had a huge career to begin with. She was a rising star. Now she will have a huge career,” says an editor at a leading celebrity magazine. Holmes, emerging from a seven-year, one-on-one apprenticeship with the world’s most famous action hero, simply rewrote the script.

    [From Vulture]

    Like I mentioned above, it’s an interesting story but just doesn’t hold much water. Ever since Katie filed for divorce from Tom, there have been casual (and largely positive) comments in the vein of Katie being a better actress during the last moments of her marriage to Tom than everyone figured her to be. But honestly, I think most of these comments are meant hyperbolically and in a “You go, girl!” sort of fashion. Nobody really believes that Katie is an Oscar-caliber actress who’s been keeping her talent cloaked for five years just so she could orchestrate some tabloid shenanigans and volley herself to rightful, A-list actress. I think Katie will stay busy and get some new work — she’s already getting back into Broadway plays, but she’s not going to set the acting world on fire or anything.

    I also definitely don’t think that Katie intentionally went into this marriage with her eyes wide open (remember her brainwashed W mag interview?) and with the well-mapped out plan of dumping Tom at a certain point as a means to a “good third-act twist.” Obviously and in (at least) the last year of her marriage, Katie was miserable, and misery like this simply cannot be faked. What’s important is that Katie’s got her freedom now, and she’s away from both Tom and Scientology. And hopefully, Katie will succeed in keepng Suri away from the CO$ as well. For Vulture to suggest that Katie purposely set herself (and Suri) up in an abusive environment just for the sake of an acting career is, well, ridiculous.

    Katie Holmes Suri Cruise

    Katie Holmes Suri Cruise

    Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and Pacific Coast News

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    Casper Smart went to a peep show the day before Jennifer Lopez’s birthday

    Posted: 25 Jul 2012 04:24 AM PDT

    There are 20 million new photos of Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart, who were out and about in New York all day yesterday, celebrating J.Lo's 43rd birthday with their true friends, the paparazzi. Jennifer even did two looks for her birthday – the daytime look was a beige-y and white maxi dress, and the evening look was a rather sexy red Tom Ford (that's a Ford dress, right?) with back zippers. Poor Casper had to let his mom dress him up! That was his birthday gift to her – he let J.Lo dress him. And that's all she got for her birthday! There is no engagement. At least, not yet.

    Oh, but Casper also gave J.Lo the gift that keeps on giving – embarrassment. The day before Jennifer's birthday, Casper was photographed entering a sex shop – you can see the photos here. Sure, Casper could have been shopping for toys to improve his sex life with J.Lo… except the paparazzi waited for him outside of the shop and Casper came out empty-handed, adjusting his pants. You know why? Because the shop has a 24-hour peep show in back. Because Casper is so in love with his hot girlfriend, he had to check out a peep show the day before her 43rd birthday. It's like Ben Affleck all over again!! Still, Us Weekly reminds all of us, "She’s telling friends she wants to marry Casper. She’s certain she wants to be with Casper forever.” Because she's an idiot.

    Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
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