Thursday, July 14, 2011

Cele|bitchy

Cele|bitchy


Linnocent finds “work” as a music video girl: so much for community service?

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:55 AM PDT

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Here is our Linnocent (she is "ours" - we created this mess) filming a music video in LA yesterday/last night. The video isn't for her own liquor-soaked music, though. It's for The Miggs, a band I've never heard of. Is it wrong to say that the band probably sucks if they've got Linnocent in their music video? According to Celebuzz, Linnocent played herself in the video, which is funny because her costume looks really, really tacky (cheetah print?!?), her makeup was applied via shovel, and her "character" is some famewhore club chick.

What's funny is that this is "work" for Linnocent. Have you seen her working at the women's shelter? Nope. That was just the excuse she used when she wanted to get out of her house arrest - and now that she's out and she can party again, guess who isn't fulfilling her community service hours? You know that will be the next legal shenanigan for Linnocent - much like all of those hours of court-appointed alcohol classes. Linnocent doesn't think long-term. Her crack-brain doesn't comprehend that if she doesn't complete her community service, there will be consequences. But maybe I have it wrong - Linnocent has barely had to face any consequences, EVER, so maybe she thinks she can skip her service hours and everyone will just shrug.

Here's another funny story about consequences: did you know that Linnocent is supposed to complete a Shoplifters Alternative program? Hahahaha. Her progress report is due on July 21.

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Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.

Ryan Gosling says Peter O’Toole got overly friendly with his sister

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:21 AM PDT

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When I first glanced at this photo (^above^), I thought the photo agency had chanced upon an actual photo shoot of Ryan Gosling. But it's a candid photo - that's how hot he is. He makes a sweaty appearance outside of The Late Show look like a photo shoot! This is why he is The Gosdong. But seriously, can this boy wear the hell out of a Gucci suit or what? He's like the second coming of Ocean's Eleven. No wonder George Clooney likes him so much.

Here's a clip of Gosling appearance last night on The Late Show - this is fantastic Peter O'Toole story!

Ryan also talked about his short-lived tenure on The Mickey Mouse Club. I give him credit for not being too important or too full of himself here - he talks about it openly, which I wouldn't be able to do. When asked how he got on, Gosling told Letterman, "I auditioned… All the girls in my class were auditioning so I did too and somehow I got on and then when they hired me they realized that I couldn’t really dance or sing and I wasn’t talented so they stopped using me on the show." He also talked about New York women, saying: "Some of the prettiest women I have ever seen in my life live here, also because it’s so hot they appear to you like some kind of mirage and they are all screaming into their cell phones… I passed by a girl the other day and she was saying ‘I know, I know, I should have just given him a cigarette for a banana and I could be in Dubai right now’." SO cute.

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Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

Kris Jenner probably got another facelift for Kim Kardashian’s August wedding

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:42 AM PDT

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Page Six reports this morning that Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries wedding is scheduled for August 20. My parents got married in the middle of August too (and they're divorced), so I always associate mid-August weddings with DOOM. It's too hot to get married! Plus, everybody is on vacation. Why not just wait a bit and be an autumn bride? Anyway, I do think the wedding is going down very soon - Kim and Kris just had their engagement party last night at Khloe's LA house - and they invited Life & Style too. Of course.

OK! Magazine has a lengthy article this week about the "bride wars" amongst Kim and Jessica Simpson. I don't think Jessica is getting married this summer, though, and… I don't know, it just feels like this is trying to create controversy where none exists. There are these quotes from "sources" though: "The wedding of Prince William and Duchess Kate got Kim excited about her marriage to Kris [Humphries]. She considers herself a princess and feels she deserves the wedding of the century. It's Kim's chance to have the wedding she always wanted." Oh, and both Jessica and Kim want Vera Wang wedding gowns? I know Kim's gown will be Wang, but is Jessica going Wang too?

But the pièce de résistance of the Kardashian Wedding Katastrophe is definitely this story - Kris JENNER, the mother of the bride, has gotten a new facelift for her daughter's wedding.

Kim Kardashian isn’t the only one primping for a picture-perfect wedding. A source close to the booty-licious reality TV star tells us Kim’s 55-year-old “mom-ager,” Kris Jenner - who’s planning the lavish spectacle - recently got a face-lift. The goal was to ensure she looks her best for her daughter’s televised nuptials with New Jersey Net Kris Humphries.

Although the source told us the procedure was supposed to be a closely guarded secret, Kim’s younger sister Khloe Kardashian confirmed mom’s nip-and-tuck at the Dream Downtown hotel on Tuesday.

“She looks amazing,” the 27-year-old Kardashian gushed to us at the launch party for Hpnotiq Harmonie liqueur. “They say you are supposed to have a lot of swelling for a week or so after, but I didn’t notice.”

Apparently no one else has, either. Khloe said her mother has been “out and about” since going under the knife “about a month ago.”

She’s not the only Kris sprucing up for the wedding. Another source close to the couple says Humphries has agreed to get dental veneers to ensure his smile is super-telegenic.
But not everything is picture-perfect in Kardashian World. Our first source tells us Kim and her mom have been butting carefully coiffed heads in planning Royal Wedding 2.0.

According to the source, Jenner is focusing on how the family can “monetize” the milestone, while Kim just wants to make sure “it’s the most lavish event possible - no matter what it costs.”

Jenner is “very business-minded,” says the source. The wedding is becoming “such a lavish extravaganza,” says the insider, that Jenner “is worried that all the money that’s going to be made from the wedding [via the sale of photo rights and sponsorships] will have to go right back into it.”

“Kim really does want it to be America’s version of the royal wedding,” says the source.

As far as Khloe is concerned, mom should win that argument. At the Dream Downtown, she reminded us that her mom planned Khloe’s September 2009 wedding to Lamar Odom, which was televised on E!, in just nine days.

“My mom loves being involved, but Kim needs it,” Khloe told us when we asked how her sister and mother were getting along. “I’ve seen how much my mom has been doing. Kim should be kissing the ground [Kris] walks on.”

A spokeswoman for the Kardashians did not comment by deadline.

[From NYDN]

Some days, I feel really bad for Kris Humphries. I think he must be really, really dumb, right? You would have to be to deal with this junk. Cray-cray Kardashian bitches. Oh well… at least Kris will be mostly healed up for the wedding, right? What is this, her FOURTH facelift?

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

2011 Emmy nominations released: Hamm Dong, Olyphant & lots more!

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:06 AM PDT

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The 2011 Emma nominations have been announced! Let's see… surprises, snubs and also-rans: Friday Night Lights got a lot of love for its final season, with nominations for the series, plus Best Actor and Actress (Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler). Lots of love for Justified (Whoop!), with nominations for Timothy Olyphant and Walter Goggins. Mad Men scored the most noms, with a series nomination, and nominations in every acting category (WHOOP!). Surprisingly, The Killing even scored some noms - but only for the women. My beloved Joel Kinnaman was snubbed! Even though I'm not going to watch The Killing anymore after that terrible asshattery of a finale, I still wanted to see Joel in a tux. Also: The Good Wife and Boardwalk Empire continue to thrive, nomination-wise. Margulies is probably a shoo-in for the Emmy this year. For the full list, go here. Here are most of them:

Outstanding Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, Good Wife, Mad Men

Outstanding Comedy Series: Big Bang Theory, Glee, Modern Family, The Office, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock

Outstanding Actress in a Drama
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Mariska Harigtay, Law and Order: SVU
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama
Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Margo Martindale, Justified
Michelle Forbes, The Killing
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Outstanding Actor in a Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
John Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Walton Goggins, Justified
John Slattery, Mad Men
Andrew Braugher, Men of a Certain Age

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laurie Linney, The Big C
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy
Jane Lynch, Glee
Betty White, Hot In Cleveland
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Louis C.K., Louie
Steve Carrell, The Office
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy
Chris Colfer, Glee
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ed O'Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

[From HuffPo]

So no Charlie Sheen, but Jon Cryer got nominated, and there's still a lot of love for Glee too, but I feel like it's probably waning (hopefully). And Ed O'Neill finally got nominated for his work in Modern Family! Good. He was snubbed last year, to everyone's shock - Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet get so much attention (well-deserved) for Modern Family, but Ed is a friggin' veteran of television, and he's doing an amazing job on that show. He's my favorite character, joint with Sofia Vergara (Whoop!).

Oh CRAP! I just realized that The Closer was snubbed. Goddamn it. Kyra Sedgwick rules! The Closer is awesome!!!

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

Giuliana Rancic claims “I eat whatever I want,” plans to open restaurant

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 06:53 AM PDT

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E! correspondent Giuliana Rancic’s issues with food are well documented. She said on The View last year that her doctor told her to gain 10 pounds in order to potentially increase her chances at conceiving, but that she’d gained 5 pounds and considered it enough. When Whoopi later commented that Giuliana should follow her doctor’s advice, she hit back that Whoopi’s comment was “ridiculous” and added that she “lost a lot of respect for her.” Then Giuliana told everyone that other very skinny famous women like Victoria Beckham, Gisele Bundchen and Rachel Zoe have children and that “uninformed ignorant people” were trying to tie her issues with conception to her low body weight. Nevermind that Giuliana had already admitted that her doctor told her to gain ten pounds and she couldn’t bring herself to do it, since appearance mattered in her career.

Anyway Giuliana has been in Italy tweeting about her gustatory experiences, and she recently told Celebuzz that “I eat whatever I want.” Maybe that’s the case now or during her vacation briefly, but this was the diet she followed recently. (It used to be on her website but has since been removed.) She’s incredibly regimented and controlled about what she eats to the point where some might consider it disordered. She detailed the lengths she goes through to avoid all oil, butter and sugar which sounds ok on the surface but she’s very picky about it. So you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe this for a second.

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Celebuzz chatted with Giuliana who candidly discussed their latest trip to Italy (and all that pasta she ate!), explained how she stays thin and gushed about why she's madly in love with her husband.

You just got back from your vacation in Italy. How was it?
It was incredible. It was the best two weeks of my entire life.

Lots of people are talking about the picture you posted online of you eating a big plate of pasta in Italy.
Yeah. I went to Italy, and I consumed way too many calories a day, but I didn't care. Bill and I made a deal on the plane over that we can't say "no" to anything, including food. Like if Bill says, "Let's have a crepe," I can't say no — even though I just had a gelato, and I'm full. We indulged like crazy for two weeks, but we took really long walks in the vineyards, and we stayed active. And when we got back to Los Angeles, we were back at Equinox the next day on the treadmill.

If you could say anything to those weight critics, what would it be?
I eat whatever I want. I never starve myself. I eat five times a day — if not more. I workout every day and bust my butt to stay in shape, which can be six to seven days a week.

[From Celebuzz]

One of the last things Guiliana put on her Tumblr was a photo of an empty dessert plate with the caption “Farewell to dessert twice a day. Vacation ends now. Back to eating like a human again. Sad.” So she may have eaten whatever she wanted on vacation, but you don’t go from this to exercising a lot and eating whatever you want. She knows what she’s putting in her mouth, but maybe it’s true that she’s not starving herself now. It’s clear she’s hyper aware of food. I don’t care if she diets and counts calories, that’s her business, but she seems to be fibbing about this for whatever reason.

Meanwhile E! reports that Giuliana is opening a restaurant with her mother. She told them that it will be a key part of the new season on her reality show. “My mom’s a great cook, and everyone always says she should open up a restaurant. So that’s also a part of the new season, opening a restaurant. The great debate is, is it going to be in L.A. or Chicago? I, of course, want L.A. and Bill is convinced that people in L.A. will only eat sushi and tofu and they don’t eat pasta.”

Up until recently, Giuliana herself barely ate pasta and detailed her whole plan for dealing with pasta cravings. She wrote “if i just MUST have pasta, I will let my husband order it and have some bites of his. Or I will order a healthy dish and ask for a half order of the pasta (no cream, ever!) on the side. I will eat half of the side of pasta and pass the rest around the table so my friends can try it to. That way you are impressing the table with your generosity and cutting lots of calories.” But now she wants to open a pasta restaurant since she’s eating whatever she wants at all times. She’s just like Goop, right? She even has her own lifestyle blog.

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Giuliana is shown on 3/13 and 5/20/11. Credit: WENN.com

Nicole Kidman in red Elie Saab, for Wendi Murdoch: gorgeous or too matchy?

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 06:26 AM PDT

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Last night, in New York, Wendi Murdoch (above) hosted a screening of a film she has produced called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It's a film about two women in 19th century China, and it actually seems like it will be an interesting movie. If you don't know by now, Wendi Murdoch is the current wife of Rupert Murdoch. Rupert very publicly dumped his second wife, Anna, and took up with Wendi. Anna got a divorce settlement rumored to be in the BILLIONS of dollars, which always made me think that Wendi must really be quite a woman, if Rupert was prepared to give away so many of his assets to marry her. Anyway, Rupert is in the center of one of the biggest scandals to ever hit the UK (and we're importing it in America too), so it's very interesting to me that Wendi called all of her celebrity friends and they all came running to support her film.

… Like Nicole Kidman, who is reportedly the godmother to Rupert and Wendi's two daughters, Chloe and Grace. Nicole's dress is Elie Saab, and that's quite a lot of red, isn't it? Red hair, red dress, red lips. I kind of like it, though! And Nicole has officially gained some "happiness and I don't care anymore" weight. And it looks AMAZING on her. Chica's got back.

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Courtney Love in whatever (I can't find who made the dress). I feel like her nipples are two seconds away from assaulting me. That being said, the face looks pretty decent. Must be the chanting.

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Olivia Munn in an ill-fitting Walmart dress. How budget does she look? Even C-Love looks more pulled together.

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Ivanka Trump looks GREAT. She looks really healthy and beautiful. Love this dress on her too.

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Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

Linnocent “was indignant that she was not considered for Black Swan”

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 05:55 AM PDT

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Yesterday, we reviewed The Portrait of a Crackhead Catastrophe, otherwise known as Linnocent's Plum Miami cover shoot and article. Radar had a great preview of the piece, which basically made it sound like Linnocent is too much of a cracked-out mess to even function enough to answer a handful of interview questions (#truth). Now, I get that at this point, the only thing we're doing is rubber-necking the train wreck and feeding her delusional, cracked-out narcissism, but that doesn't mean Linnocent doesn't still know how to bring the LOLs. Take this, for instance: Linnocent was "indignant" that she wasn't considered for a part in Black Swan.

Lindsay Lohan is definitely not the swan queen. Though she participated in a ritzy photo shoot for Plum Miami Magazine, the 25-year-old actress backed out the accompanying interview at the last minute. As a result, writer Jacquelynn Powers chose to focus on Lohan’s diva behavior on set.

“As we pulled up to the Fontainebleau, a bright-orange parking cone was blocking the entrance. Not accustomed to waiting, apparently, she lowered the car’s window and shouted, ‘Move that cone. I’m Lindsay Lohan,’” Powers recalls. “And it was done.”

Noting that Lohan drank wine while discussing her sobriety, Powers says the Mean Girls star was “constantly looking for drama, whether it was picking a fight with her younger sister…or freaking out over a lost pair of Zanotti heels.”

Frustrated with the state of her career, Lohan said she “took ballet until she was 19 and was indignant that she was not considered for the movie Black Swan,” Powers adds.

Though Lohan abruptly canceled the interview, that didn’t stop her from making the most out of her time in Miami. “Monday morning was supposed to be check-out time, but Lindsay and her posse refused to leave,” Powers writes. “It was like watching the lights come on at a nightclub after-hours — not pretty.”

The most annoying part, Powers tells Gawker, is that “Plum covered all Lindsay’s expenses, including airfare for her and her family/entourage, lodging at the iconic Raleigh hotel in the penthouse suite and all transportation costs.”

[From Us Weekly & Gawker]

Now, I didn't care for Black Swan, just because I find Natalie Portman's constipated face completely annoying - and that's what the movie was, just her little "I have to poop, but I can't" face, in close-up, over and over and over again. Would Linnocent have been an improvement? Maybe, maybe not. Even if Linnocent had gotten in the door for an audition, she wouldn't have landed the part. And even if she had landed the part, bitch would have been pink-slipped the second she turned up late and high as a kite (the first day). So we shouldn't really play the "What if…" game with Linnocent and Black Swan. But this is just further evidence that in Linnocent's own mind, she should be getting parts like Black Swan, while in reality, Hollywood types are telling her, "Uh… maybe you just start doing porn."

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Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

Duchess Kate is underweight & being “pressured” into pregnancy

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 05:52 AM PDT

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As you can see, Duchess Kate's shrinking figure is now the focus of the American tabloid media. Is it the same in the UK? I only really read The Mail on a regular basis, and they're not all over Kate's weight, so that's my reason for asking. While I think Kate could definitely stand to put the diet away and put on some weight, I do think the tabloids seem to bullying her about it.

Kate Middleton has “gone from fit and toned to gaunt and bony.” People are worried she is anorexic, and it’s a “horrifying” situation.

Dr. Fred Pescatore, who has never treated Kate, says: “Kate looks to weigh from 95 to 100 lbs. That makes her seriously underweight for her height.”

Kate wanted to lose weight in the beginning of June, and was eating meals of watercress soup and bowls of blueberries.”

Poor Kate Middleton! The gorgeous duchess is reportedly down to 95 lbs, causing friends to worry that she won't be fit enough to carry a healthy baby with hubby Prince William – and she definitely wants to be a mother soon.

One friend tells Star that "when the conversation turns to babies, [William] gives her a knowing look while she smiles back." But at 5'8, doctors say Kate, 29, is "dangerously underweight," and in no shape to have a baby right now.

Friends of Kate say the Royal Family is also pressuring her into having a baby as soon as possible.

"On Prince Philip's 90th birthday, he said the best present Kate could give him would be a great-grandchild before the end of the year," another friend of Kate's reveals.

Some people in the royal circle are even afraid that Kate might be anorexic, following in Princess Diana's tragic footsteps.

[From Jezebel & Hollywood Life]

This Dr. Pescatore person went to In Touch Weekly to lament Kate's slender frame as well, telling the tabloid that in his opinion, Kate is only 95 pounds but she should be around 140. He also says, "If she wants to get pregnant, good luck with no body fat on her.”

Life & Style resorts to anecdotal evidence that Kate has some kind of eating disorder - when Kate arrived in California, “some people saw her and turned to each other and whispered, ’she’s too skinny.’” Sources note that while she used to look healthy and eat healthy just a few years ago, she now only eats a little bit of her three course meals, and that “she’s the skinniest she’s ever been.” Well… Kate isn't going to be doing anything for a while, so maybe she'll find the time to eat. Regarding the whole "pressure to get pregnant" thing… that's kind of meh. Kate is not in this to make some kind of feminist point about choosing a "career" over babies. She married a prince, and her first royal duty is to provide an heir. It's in the handbook. She waited nine years for this. It's basically the only thing expected of her in the first year.

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Photos courtesy of Fame.

Lady Gaga’s full-length latex gown as airport daywear: thoughts?

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 05:19 AM PDT

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I think we've established at this point that Lady Gaga A) Tries way too hard and B) Is committed to these dumb costumes-as-daily-wear for the foreseeable future. We can mutter "dumb famewhore" and "unoriginal" and "Madonna did that" until we're blue in the face, because at the end of the day, Gaga isn't going to stop with this junk until… I don't even know. Until she goes to rehab, maybe. Until the costumes stop working, I guess. So these are photos of Lady Gaga at the Sydney airport earlier (later?) today. Yes, her dress is latex. And that's some kind of high-fashion beekeeper's hat, I believe, or perhaps it's just a floppy straw hat with a cutout? Can you imagine her security pat-down? Cheers, Gaga.

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Other Gaga news… she's just announced that she's going to be "interning" with British hat designer Philip Treacy, who is perhaps best known, at this point, for Princess Beatrice's toilet bowl hat at the wedding of Will & Kate. Treacy said, "She plans to [do an internship with me]. She’s already visited me. This is what happened: one Monday morning, four burly bodyguards arrived — Lady Gaga’s security team — to check out the security of the building. I looked at them as if to say, ‘What?! Who is going to take a pot shot at Lady Gaga?’ Anyway, she is young, talented and peculiar — which I like.” LMAO at "young, talented and peculiar" - wonderful description.

By the way, in case you wanted to read excerpts from Ian Halperin's "biography" of Lady Gaga, go here. You know what sucks? I actually believe some of the horrible things about Gaga (like, she's a cokehead and she has an eating disorder), but because Halperin is claiming them as his own, I now doubt those theories. If Halperin told me the sky was blue, I would KNOW the sky was red.

PS… the photos of Gaga in her veiled pseudo-wedding gear are from her visit to a Sydney nightclub a few nights ago.

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Photos courtesy of WENN & Pacific Coast News.

Hugh Grant on the phone tapping scandal: Americans should be concerned

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 05:17 AM PDT

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hugh Grant and his grumpy hotness were on the Today Show yesterday to discuss the massive News Corp phone tapping scandal that rocked England and led to the voluntary shutdown of tabloid News of The World. Hugh was one of the first celebrities to draw attention to the issue when he caught a paparazzo on tape bragging about how NOTW had regularly hacked into famous people’s phones to gain leads for stories. Minor details of the scandal were known for some time, and there wasn’t much public outcry about it as people don’t tend to have a lot of sympathy for politicians or the rich and famous. Then the news came out that the scandal went much deeper, and that journalists and private investigators hired by the paper had violated the phones of crime victims, including a missing 13 year-old teenager, families of fallen soldiers and terrorist bombing victims. It was despicable, and the eventual result was a government inquiry and now the arrest of several key executives at News of the World.

In his interview with The Today Show, Matt Lauer asked Hugh why Americans should be concerned about this scandal. He reminded him that News Corp head Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News, 20th Century Fox movie studio and newspapers like the NY Post and The Wall St. Journal. What’s more is that there’s suspicion that victims of the 9/11 tragedy had their phones tapped too.

Wednesday morning on TODAY, Grant spoke with Matt Lauer about the culture of the tabloid press in the U.K., telling Lauer that until the peak of the scandal, when it was revealed the phone of a 13-year-old murder victim was hacked, people believed the paper's methods were business as usual, and perhaps a justifiable means to an end, so long as the story sold.

“Yeah, that was the culture and still is to a certain extent within the tabloid press in this country. It's terrifying and if you want to question why didn't we do anything about it before, the answers are now emerging,” Grant said.

“The police unfortunately deliberately dragged their feet … and the government were equally terrified of him (Murdoch),” Grant said. “He had the power through his papers to get them elected, and his paper knew dirty details about individual MPs (Members of Parliament) and so they were unwilling ever to take him on. Only three weeks ago, all our major politicians were sucking up to Rupert Murdoch and drinking champagne on his lawn at his summer party. It's almost comic that today they're almost competing to say terrible words about him.”

Grant did tread more lightly when Lauer asked how concerned those of us in the United States should be about the scandal. However, the actor did say that there’s good reason to question Murdoch here as well.

“I don't know the answer to that,” he told Lauer. However, “Rupert Murdoch does own an enormous amount of your media, with Fox news and stations, and 20th Century Fox, and some of your newspapers. I think people need to ask themselves, ‘Who is this man who owns such a large part of our media?’”

Ultimately, this story will come down to the issue of blame. In addition to those directly involved at News of the World, should we, the consumers of the news gathered by whatever means possible, shoulder the blame as well? Grant thinks so.
“I think we have to, yeah. It's a strange business, isn't it? The speciality of tabloids like that is to find the most common denominator and work out sort of, our worst instincts, and purvey for them and unfortunately they do it extremely well and we are all guilty of falling for that.”

[From The Today Show]

Maybe I’m alone, but Grant still does it for me. He’s older sure but he’s owning it and isn’t getting all jacked to hell like his ex’s latest boytoy. You could tell that Grant got a kick out of recounting how the MPs were partying and drinking with Murdoch up until the latest news broke about how NOTW tapped victims’ phones. He’s had plenty of issues with paparazzi and the tabloid press and he’s having his day now.

As for how this affects the US, Senators are calling for an investigation as to whether 9/11 victims had their phone tapped too. Families of victims are outraged and upset over this potential breach, which brings up so many bad memories for them.

Also, bribes given by News Corp employees to British law enforcement sources may violate US laws prohibiting US employees from paying bribes abroad. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NY) asked the Securities and Exchange commission and Department of Justice to launch an investigation as to whether this was the case. The parent organization of NOTW, News Corp, is a US company.

Maybe this will put a big dent into Murdoch’s media empire. One can only hope.

Update: Thanks to Gloaming for this video of Hugh Grant on BBC News along with the journalist from NOTW he exposed a few months ago. Hugh is awesome.

Hugh Grant is shown on 7/4/11. The dude looks a lot happier lately. Credit: WENN.com

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