Cele|bitchy

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• Hugh Hefner: “The Lindsay Lohan Double Issue is breaking sales records”
• Tom Cruise strategically paps himself with Katie and Suri all weekend
• Jennifer Hudson at the VH1 Divas Concert: super-skinny & looking tired?
• Paula Patton in GQ: Is she too sexy for a Tom Cruise movie?
• Mary J. Blige in Michael Kors at the VH1 Divas event: lovely or busted?
• Kevin Federline makes a classy statement about Britney’s engagement
• Star: Sandra Bullock’s $20 million defamation lawsuit against Jesse James
• Brad Pitt spent his 48th birthday in Las Vegas with Angelina & the kids
• J.Lo and her boy toy go jewelry shopping in the new Bentley she lent him
• Colin Firth is trying to help Gary Oldman get his first Oscar nomination

Hugh Hefner: “The Lindsay Lohan Double Issue is breaking sales records” Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:59 AM PST Sigh… so much for my belief in crack justice, and my faith in the intelligence of consumers. A few days ago, Fox News had a hilarious story about Lindsay Lohan's Playboy cover, and how the issue (the December/January issue) wasn't selling very well. The article, which I covered yesterday, seemed to be based on anecdotal information from Fox News affiliates waiting by newsstands, seeing if anyone was buying the Cracken issue. Shortly after I printed my coverage, TMZ reported that LL's issue was "selling out all across the country" and that "newsstands in major cities like New York and Los Angeles have had to re-order the issue multiple times… Playboy is even getting re-orders from cities that usually never order more issues. Our sources say Lindsay’s appearance in the mag has also had an effect online as well … where the mag has seen a huge increase in subscription sales to their online service, iPlayboy.com." Many people (correctly) assumed that this report was likely the crack delusions of Dina Lohan, who will shill anything for anyone if you give her a cell phone and a bottle of tequila. But now Hugh Hefner is backing up TMZ's report, sort of: Lindsay Lohan’s nude photo spread for Playboy is helping the men’s magazine break sales records, according to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. CNN calls to a dozen newsstands in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Atlanta Sunday found just one that is sold out of the issue, and that store expected more to arrive Monday. Lohan, 25, was reportedly paid close to $1 million to pose for the photos taken in a style reminiscent of the nude photograph of Marilyn Monroe that graced the debut issue of Playboy in 1953. Unlike Lohan, Monroe was reportedly paid just $50 for the 1949 photo shoot that produced the image that was bought by Hefner after she became a star. “The Lindsay Lohan January-February Double Issue is breaking sales records,” Hefner said in a message posted on his Twitter account Sunday. A Playboy spokesman would not give sales numbers, but the official did say it was selling “very well.” The Playboy gig was a rare moneymaking opportunity for Lohan, whose acting career has been hampered in the past two years by frequent trips to court, probation restrictions, extended drug rehab stints and several visits to jail. Her legal woes stem from two drunken-driving convictions in 2007, a necklace theft conviction in 2011 and several probation violations. [From CNN] So, it was only sold out in one city, and that TMZ story probably was overblown, probably with some help from Dina. But Hef claims the issue is not a huge embarrassment for the Playboy brand, and I believe him. Which means that there are enough people out there who wanted a hard copy of LL's Photoshopped T&A… which is just pathetic. I'm losing faith in humanity. Photos courtesy of Fame, WENN, Playboy.

Tom Cruise strategically paps himself with Katie and Suri all weekend Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:57 AM PST Well, I suppose that these several new batches of photos are what we get for wondering where Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise have been hiding out, right? Here’s Tom Cruise dragging his unwilling daughter (seriously, she is not enjoying the act of getting papped) out in the brisk Manhattan weather on Friday. As you can see, Suri’s wearing what looks to be a spring-summer dress, no tights, and strappy kitten heels even though, as of late, NYC has been enjoying highs in the mid-30s and lows. Also, Tom is carrying Suri’s coat instead of making her wear it. Naturally. Later on, Tom was snapped picking up Suri from gymnastics class. He carried her while wrapping her up in a blanket but was still conspicuously carrying that damn coat: This was only the beginning of a frenzy of appearances by the Tom and his two ladies. Over the past few weeks, Cruise has been showing off his excellent plastic surgery work while doing international promotion for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. There was the big question of where he’d stashed Katie during this entire extravaganza, but then last Thursday, Katie and Suri returned to public view after a month of absence. Then we heard about how Tom had been “lovebombing” his amazing wife while he was away, and suddenly, he returned to their side as if by synchronized dance. Now the trio has commenced a publicity blitz in New York City, which I can only assume will eventually culminate in the NYC premiere of MI4. See this side-eye that Tom’s giving the camera? It’s the “Not only am I a sexy and botoxed-up, good little dancer who is both manly and sensitive, but I’m also a loving family man too. Now go see my movie!” look: But the fun didn’t stop there. Here are Tom, Katie, and Suri on Friday evening as they headed out to watch The Nutcracker, and at least Suri was wearing a coat: Then on Saturday, Tom and Katie stepped out for some alone time and headed towards a dance class together. You know he loved that. I bet he wore some tap-dancing shoes with lifts too. On Saturday evening, the loving, perfectly normal family headed out for the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. Oddly enough, a very sad-looking clown was photographed Sunday outside the Cruise-Holmes abode and was thought to be headed for the celebration party of Katie’s 33rd birthday. Introducing Sciento-clown: Finally, Tom took his girls out to celebrate Katie’s birthday with dinner at Buddakan restaurant on Sunday evening. Yes, that’s three consecutive late evenings out for poor Suri in a row. But hey, Tom’s got a movie to promote! On a side note, how bad must those faux-work boots smell by now? Tom probably needs to air those things out for a good few weeks, you know, unless he just never takes them off. Ever. Photos courtesy of Fame

Jennifer Hudson at the VH1 Divas Concert: super-skinny & looking tired? Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:55 AM PST OMG, Jennifer Hudson looks so skinny in these photos. J-Hud was at the VHI Divas show last night (I believe it airs tonight on VH1), and she wore this little mini-dress and thigh-high boots. From a distance, I hated the boots, but in the close-up, I love them. Yes, they're kind of tacky, but still… LOVE. They're crazy and sort of delicious. Still hate the minidress, though. THAT is tacky. About a month ago, I praised J-Hud for "gaining some weight back" because she was at an event and she looked less "deflated" than she used to. But looking at these photos… she still looks kind of deflated. I like J-Hud, I really do, and I wish that she would realize that her face needs some extra weight. Another 10-20 pounds would make her look younger and less drawn. There were some rumors that J-Hud and her fiancé David Otunga were splitting up, but that doesn't seem to be the case. They're been photographed together recently, and Jennifer talked about how David "saved her life" in her recent Ebony cover story: Jennifer Hudson may not be alive today if it wasn't for her fiancé, David Otunga's wrestling career. The Dreamgirls star reveals in the December/January issue of Ebony magazine, that Otunga's spontaneous decision to join the World Wrestling Foundation, may have saved her from being present when the tragic murder of her mother, brother and nephew took place in 2008. "That's one of the things that saved my life, because I could have been home with my mom then," she explains about going to Florida to support her fiancé's new career. "He wanted me to come out to Florida instead of going to Chicago. I flew out to see him; that's why I'm still here." "I've never said that before, and I can't believe I just said that now. But I didn't know. He was just like, 'I'm going to this wrestling thing, and it's in Tampa. I'm going out there now, so you can come out there and see me versus going home.'" She also opens up about why the couple, who got engaged in August 2008 and postponed their original wedding date after the family tragedy, has yet to walk down the aisle and say their I do's. "After that happened, I was like, 'I don't know what I want,'" she admits. "A lot of things have happened in my life. There are a lot of things that I need to get adjusted to before I do anything else. That's how I feel about it." [From Radar] There are also reports that Jennifer might have to testify against her former brother-in-law, William Balfour, the man who murdered her family, in Balfour's retrial. Which just shows you that there is still a lot of bad stuff to deal with. I don't think it's weird at all that she and David haven't set a date yet – she's got other stuff on her plate. Photos courtesy of WENN.

Paula Patton in GQ: Is she too sexy for a Tom Cruise movie? Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:49 AM PST Paula Patton is featured in the January issue of GQ as part of the promotion for Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, and I finally now have an opportunity to say something that’s been on my mind for quite some time. I honestly think that Paula is far too alluring to play the romantic love interest of Tom Cruise. Sure, he’s good looking in a very anticeptic, plastic sort of way, but Tom is so not sexy, and he hasn’t been for quite some time (and I’m talking about the pre-couch jumping era too). So putting him up onscreen next to a woman with such obvious sensual allure is almost comical. Really: On Her MI4 Role: Paula joins Tom Cruise’s gang as a sexy lady-spy-as if there were any other kind—who vamps it up and gets dirty in equal measure, per the international lady-spy handbook Vamping It Up and Getting Dirty in Equal Measure: A Primer. “I was doing physical stunts,” says Patton excitedly, “feet in the mud, fingernails full of dirt, shooting and fighting for my life.” On Her Husband: Sadly for you, she is married to singer Robin Thicke-son of Growing Pains patriarch and proud Canadian Alan. Somehow she has figured out how to bridge the vast cultural divide between her and her in-laws: Canadians are a lot like us, actually,” Patton jokes. “I’ve figured out how to blend in.” Spoken like a true lady-spy. [From GQ] There’s really not much of an interview available as of yet, but the photoshoot is just phenomenal and makes me giggle at how inadequate Tom must feel next to Paula. Don’t get me wrong — I know that she signed onto MI4 because it’s a great opportunity to get the kind of exposure that the Tom Cruise circus would necessarily promise. Still, most of his recent leading ladies have been somewhat lacking in the sex appeal department — his last cinematic love interest was Cameron Diaz, who is pretty (I guess) in her own unusual way but certainly not a knockout like Paula. To provide a point of reference, here’s Paula with Tom in a still from MI4. Awkward, much? In addition, I’m also rather conflicted over Paula’s strange fashion choices for the MI4 international red carpet tour. Here she is in a not-so-bad Georgio Armani dress in Dubai: Also just okay was Paula’s Naeem Khan minidress in London: Things took a turn for the worse with this Kardashian-esque Dolce & Gabbana dress in Madrid: And here’s Paula wearing Dolce & Gabbana once more at the Rio premiere. This terrible tent dress does nothing for her figure: Photos courtesy of GQ, Fame, WENN & AllMoviePhoto

Mary J. Blige in Michael Kors at the VH1 Divas event: lovely or busted? Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:00 AM PST Here are some more photos from last night's VH1 Divas concert (which airs tonight). I already covered the Jennifer Hudson tragedy here. This is just a post for the other divas and their fashion. First up: Mary J. Blige in Michael Kors. I like the dress, Mary looks fit and lovely, and my only real complaint is about the blonde wig. I hate it. I think Mary is so pretty, and she looks so much better when she looks more natural, and this wig does nothing for her. OMG, Dolly! Dolly is so amazing. Do not say one bad thing about her. Here's Florence Welch in Antonio Berardi… sigh. Look, I like Florence Welch, I adore Florence + the Machine, but I'm still not buying Florence as a fashion girl. Everyone is pushing that on her, though. Meh. 50 Cent and Chaka Khan? Um, that's kind of awesome. Common, just because he's hot. Here's Jessie J, who I don't really know anything about. That Falguni dress is epic in its awfulness, though. Completely sheer and then a heavy dust ruffle at the bottom? Just do like Gaga and wear your underwear on the red carpet. Photos courtesy of WENN.

Kevin Federline makes a classy statement about Britney’s engagement Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:32 AM PST Many of you may disagree with me, but at the end of the day, I've grown to respect Kevin Federline a great deal. I'm not saying K-Fed wasn't a golddigger or a d-bag when he married Britney Spears, BUT K-Fed stepped up when Britney was in full-on meltdown mode, and I believe that K-Fed is an overwhelmingly positive and stable force in his kids' lives. K-Fed has never said a negative word about Britney, and I believe he honestly wants her to be healthy and happy, especially for their sons. Anyway, Kevin is down in Australia, filming yet another weight-loss reality show, and he was asked for his reaction to Britney's engagement to Jason Trawick. Kevin was incredibly nice: Britney Spears and her hubby-to-be Jason Trawick have Kevin Federline’s whole-hearted blessing! Following a famously bitter 2007 split and subsequent custody battle over sons Sean, 6, and Jayden, 5, the pop star, 30, and her second husband, 33, have mended fences — and now that Spears is ready to ready beau of two years Trawick, Federline is thrilled. “I’m really happy for her,” the former rapper told Australia’s TV Week magazine (as excerpted by the Daily Mail). “I think he’s a great guy,” he added of Trawick, 40, Spears’ former manager. Down Under to film reality show Excess Baggage (Australia’s version of Celebrity Fit Club), he gave a great progress report on Spears, who battled dark times following the end of their marriage. “She’s happy; she’s doing really well. I want to say she’s in a good place,” he explained. “I haven’t spoken to her much since I’ve been over here, both of us have been busy with her being on tour, but I do know from talking to the kids and talking to the kids’ teachers that they’re doing really good.” Federline has also moved on with his own love life: His girlfriend Victoria Prince welcomed daughter Jordan Key in August — his fifth child overall. (Federline also has daughter Kori, 9, and son Kaleb, 7, with ex-girlfriend Shar Jackson.) “It’s really good once you’re able to move on with life,” he said. “I mean, Victoria’s the best person in the world. It took me going through the things that I went through to find a person like her,” he gushed of his love. “She’s more than I could ever have hoped for. Hopefully Britney feels the same way.” And Federline added of Sean and Jayden’s stepdad Trawick: “He’s a really good guy, I’ve heard a lot about him. . . I’ve spoken to him quite a few times as of now. He seems like a really good guy. The kids speak highly of him [and] her family loves him.” [From Us Weekly] I like that Kevin kept bringing it back to the kids – and I think that Kevin probably has the same hopes that Britney's management team has: that Jason Trawick will be a further stabilizing force on Britney, and that Britney's next steps into controlling her own life will be taken slowly and gently. Well done, K-Fed. Photos courtesy of WENN.

Star: Sandra Bullock’s $20 million defamation lawsuit against Jesse James Posted: 19 Dec 2011 07:07 AM PST Star Magazine has an inset story on their cover this week all about Sandra Bullock’s $20 million defamation lawsuit against her scumbag ex, Jesse James, for talking smack about her publicly. However, the story just says that Sandra could file a suit against Jesse if she were so inclined and that she could make it for around $20 million, according to some expert Star found. They only go so far as to quote a vague “source” who claims Sandra is considering it. My favorite part of this story is where Star speculates that Sandra won’t sue Jesse, also as they’ve speculated, because Jesse could potentially have some awesome dirt on her that he would bring out during a lawsuit. Isn’t this what we’ve heard all along? Like how can Sandy, “America’s Sweetheart,” have married a douchey neo-Nazi and still have kept her pristine public image? However, I think that Jesse was so butt hurt by getting rejected after cheating on Sandra that he would have already spilled Sandra’s secrets if he had any. Here’s more of Star’s story: One month after shocking accounts of her husband’s wild cheating drove Sandra Bullock to file for divorce in April 2010, an emotional and repentant Jesse James appeared on Nightline and claimed, “I still have hopes of saving some sort of relationship with Sandy.” Now it seems those sentiments were hollow, because the words Jesse has used over the last year to publicly describe his life with Sandra have been dipped in venom. And his latest thinly veiled broad-side against her — when he sneeringly referred to how he had “married some Hollywood actress… I’m not what I became,” during a recent appearance on the reality series American Chopper: The Build-Off — could end up hurting him where it hurts the most: in his wallet! An insider tells Star magazine that while Sandra, 47, “has consistently taken the high road by never talking about Jesse since their split, I don’t expect her to play the shrinking violet forever if his jabs have secretly been causing her emotional distress.” And she has a powerful weapon at her disposal to strike back. Sources tell Star she could hit Jesse, 42, with a defamation suit, with one legal expert telling Star that “asking for $20 million in damages would not be out of the realm of possibility…” Sandra “has every right to initiate a defamation lawsuit against her ex husband if she believes that any of the public statements he’s made about her have been defamatory,” noted NYC defamation lawyer Richard Ancowitz tells Star… “I imagine that even the prospect of legal action would lead his lawyer to counsel Mr. James to keep his thoughts about Ms. Bullock to himself…” “If Jesse keeps revealing personal information about Sandra, she could also stop him by suing for invasion of privacy,” Aaron Morris, a defamation attorney… tells Star… Though Sandra’s rep denies that she is considering legal action, the legal source adds that she could also “go after Jesse for breach of contract if they had signed confidentiality agreements as part of their divorce.” There is a possible consequence that could keep Sandra from taking action, the legal source tells Star. “It could open the door the defendant to disclose more embarrassing personal information as a defense against the claims. That information would then become public in the court record.” [From Star Magazine, print edition, December 26, 2011 and via OK!] This “lawsuit” is as much a figment of Star’s imagination as Jennifer Aniston’s pregnancy with twins, but it’s still fun to speculate about. You know that Sandra is just actively ignoring this guy and he keeps throwing jabs at her hoping to get some kind of response. She’s not going to say a thing about him and that hurts his widdle ego more than anything. Sandra has been doing the press rounds for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, in which she plays the widow of a 9-11 victim. She’s only in the film for about 20 minutes, and the lead is the young boy who plays her son, Thomas Horn. She has a new interview on The Today Show in which she talks about her personal experience with the September 11 attacks (sad) and about hearing the last messages that victims left their families (double sad). Families shared the messages from their loved ones to help with research for the film, and Sandra called those “an incredible gift.” She does have a fun rapport with Matt Lauer and gives him crap throughout the interview, but it’s not enough to lighten the mood. Watching the press for this film just gives me the impression that it’s not going to do well at the box office given the subject matter. It may get some nods at awards time, though, especially for Horn. These photos are from the 12-15 premiere of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and also feature Thomas Horn and Tom Hanks. Credit: WENN.com

Brad Pitt spent his 48th birthday in Las Vegas with Angelina & the kids Posted: 19 Dec 2011 05:37 AM PST Brad Pitt got to celebrate his 48th birthday with his family this weekend, in Las Vegas. That's a thing for him, isn't it? I feel like Brad and Angelina go to Vegas for his birthday often. One year, wasn't it a boxing match? Anyway, for this year's festivities, Brad didn't get a date night with his girl, he got family-friendly entertainment by way of the Cirque Du Soleil. Yes, Brad, Angelina and the kids all went to see Michael Jackson The Immortal. We don't have the blurry photos of the Jolie-Pitts in Vegas – you can see them here. Brad Pitt's birthday weekend was quite a “thriller”! The Moneyball star, who turns 48 on Sunday, was joined by longtime love Angelina Jolie and their six children in Las Vegas Saturday night to experience the Michael Jackson The Immortal, the Cirque Du Soleil touring show. “They had great seats, sitting right beside the stage,” a source said. “They really seemed to enjoy the show. The performers didn’t know they were there and a few of them recognized them while they were on stage, so it was pretty exciting.” After giving a standing ovation, Pitt, donning round glasses, Jolie, wearing a light grey dress, and the children left just as the cast gave final bows. The family spent the night at the lavish Four Seasons. [From People] What's with Brad the glasses? I've seen him in reading glasses before, but it seems like in the past month or so, Brad has been wearing proper glasses full-time. Now, I like a man in glasses, but Brad makes it seem like he's the "dorky-hot guy in high school that you don't realize is going to be good-looking and then he takes off his glasses." Or is that just with chicks? Whatever. Us Weekly's source (inside the Cirque Du Soleil?) said that the "artists were pleasantly surprised by this unannounced visit.” Anyway, happy 48th birthday to Brad – his official birthday was yesterday, and throughout last week, Brad received some early birthday presents in the form of major Best Actor nominations for Moneyball. He's been nominated for a Golden Globe, a SAG, a Critics Choice, and I feel comfortable saying that he's one the shoo-ins for an Oscar nomination. I'm very happy that this awards season will be full of Brangelina. Photos courtesy of WENN & Pacific Coast News.

J.Lo and her boy toy go jewelry shopping in the new Bentley she lent him Posted: 19 Dec 2011 05:07 AM PST We’ve seen J.Lo and her 24 year-old backup dancer boyfriend on vacation with her kids in Hawaii and we’ve seen them kissing in “candid” photos. Each of those photo ops were captured by just one photo agency, so now comes the big rollout. Lopez and Baby Doucheface were seen visiting a jewelry store in Calabasas, CA yesterday. It’s unknown what they purchased inside, but they exited separate and staged some evasive maneuvers while leaving in order to make it seem like they didn’t call the paps. It looks like Lopez just picked the perfect Christmas gifts for herself: a young piece of ass, a nice piece of jewelry and another public “f you” to her ex. Do you think this trip involves any sort of engagement ring? I’m hoping not. She already has a huge rock on her right hand that she wore into the store. Look, she’s holding it up for us. At first I thought that Lopez had gifted this tricked-out white Bentley convertible to Smart, but a careful read of this TMZ article reveals that she’s just been letting him drive it without her. This of course pisses off her ex, Marc Anthony, who has told Lopez that Smart can’t drive with their three year-old twins in the car. Anthony is understandably protective of his children, especially since Smart has a criminal record after being arrested for speeding and driving on a suspended license. That doesn’t seem to bother Lopez, though, she’s thinking with her ego and making sure the public sees that she’s desirable to one of her young employees. As Bedhead mentioned on Friday, Lopez allegedly got mistaken for Smart’s mother while ordering at McDonalds, which caused her to storm off without her Filet o’ Fish. The kid looks about 16 years old, it’s an honest mistake. Speaking of kids, Lopez is part of the “Big Stars, Big Giving” special on CNN. She started a foundation in 2009 with her sister to provide medical services for needy children. It’s called the Maribel Foundation, and is named after of Marc Anthony’s sister who died at the age of 8 from brain cancer. Lopez told CNN that she was inspired to start the charity after experiencing a medical scare with her daughter Emmme. When Emme was a few days old, Lopez found a lump on the baby’s head. Everything turned out fine, but Lopez explains that freaked out about it and thought “What if I didn't have access to great health care? What if I was a mom just sitting there and there was something wrong with my baby and there was nothing I could do about it?” That’s nice of her to start a charity, although the cynic in me thinks it’s for tax purposes. I’m honestly surprised this is the first I’m hearing of this charity. I tried to look it up on a few different charity review sites like Charity Navigator, The Better Business Bureau Charity Reviews and Give Well, and it’s not yet rated. Given the track record of other celebrity charities, I think it’s safe to take a wait and see approach. Photo credit: Fame

Colin Firth is trying to help Gary Oldman get his first Oscar nomination Posted: 19 Dec 2011 04:29 AM PST These are some new photos of Colin Firth and Gary Oldman out to dinner at Babbo in London over the weekend. It's odd (to me) that these two are friendly enough to dine together – seemingly without their wives? Just two Englishman, out for dinner, discussing…? What, exactly? Granted, they're both in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and both have gotten critical acclaim for their respective roles. Tinker is in limited release currently, so perhaps these photos are just a way to promote the film? Or perhaps Colin and Gary just had dinner as an excuse to bitch about the promotion of the film? You see, the film is a critical favorite. But it's being released concurrently with all of the other, bigger awards favorites, and it's being overlooked. A month ago, everyone thought Gary was a lock for a Best Actor Oscar nomination, but as the awards nominations have come out, Gary has been ignored, and so has the film. Is it possible that our reigning Best Actor winner (Colin Firth) is trying to drum up some support and love for an actor he thinks should be getting Academy love? I've read this a few different times, but I'm not sure if it's true – I think Colin Firth was the one who really made Tinker happen, and Colin really wanted to be part of an old-fashioned spy film, and an ensemble, and he pushed for Gary to take the lead. I don't know if that's what went down, but it might make sense. It is weird to me that Gary Oldman has never even been NOMINATED for an Oscar, and I will love Colin Firth even more if he's trying to make it happen for his colleague. PS… A few weeks ago, Vanity Fair had a lovely interview with Gary – go here to read it. He used to be such a temperamental hellraiser, it's nice to see him as "the establishment" these days. Plus, he name-checks Michael Fassbender! Photos courtesy of Fame.

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