We were doing our hourly gossip-trolling procrastination rounds on the Web,
and came upon Perez Hilton's gallery of white-scrawl-defaced celebrities.
Reading through his posts' comments, we noticed they seemed extra-virulent
these days. Is that our imagination? Or does it reflect the aftereffects of his
Black Eyed Peas kerfuffle? In other words, is PerezHilton.com so 3008, or is he merely 2000 and late? Take our poll below, then sound off in the comments section!
The blogosphere is already oscillating between whether Palin's planning a run for president in 2012 or whether she's just written her political epitaph. Me, I'm just wondering whether her next act will be, say, going head-to-head against Rachel Maddow with her talk show Sarah Barracuda on Fox News. Or filling the recent Jon & Kate media blackout vacuum with Sarah & Todd Plus Six on TLC. (For those bothering to count: Track + Willow + Piper + Trig + Bristol + Bristol's son Tripp = six.) While Palin may make for a dubious elected official to some, I think we can all agree the woman makes for -- and inspires -- some ridiculously entertaining TV. (Below, I've embedded just two examples.)
So tell me, PopWatchers, do you hope to see more of Sarah Palin once she moves out of the governor's mansion, or less?
Poor Annie Duke. All season the momentum's been building to a Joan Rivers victory, and Annie surely saw it coming. Or maybe not: Just take a look at the chart Jim Cramer provided us with last night. Annie had more victories (7 to Joan's 6), more wins as project manager (2 to Joan's 1 win/1 loss), and she raised the most money for charity. She's ''a brilliant strategist'' and ''all about business,'' but apparently that's not enough to compete with Joan, who's ''all heart.'' When it comes to numbers and playing the game, Annie won. But she must've missed the day when the competition went from ''finding the best businessperson'' to ''finding the most loyal friend.''
Last night on Donald Trump's My New BFF, the final challenge was to throw a silent auction combining the branding power of Kodak's EasyShare digital picture frame, Cirque du Soleil's Wintuk show, and the contestants' charities of choice. Annie picked Brande, Dennis, and Tom to be her helpers, and Joan picked Herschel, Clint (really?), and Melissa. The teams were charged with ''doing silent auctions of THINGS. You're gonna get people to donate THINGS.'' No further explanation on what these THINGS were, other than the fact that the Donald's inflection really emphasized them. (Each team correctly assumed ''THINGS'' meant ''fun celebrity-driven packages for people to bid on.'') They'd be graded on five criteria: the amount of money raised, the Kodak product integration, the charity integration, the celebrities in attendance, and the overall guest experience.
Prone-to-perhaps-slight-exaggeration author James Frey's new paperback version of his latest book, Bright Shiny Morning,
contains two scenes cut from the hardcover -- including one in which a sorta-like-Frey character obtains embarrassing audio tapes of his Oprah-ish nemesis, Fox News reports with conviction. The other excised passage involves some seriously X-rated escapades, but everyone's finding the Oprah-ish stuff far sexier. Makes sense, given the flogging-heard-round-the-world that the Queen of Daytime gave Frey when it emerged that some of his addiction/recovery memoir, A Million Little Pieces, was made up. In this salivated-over bit in the authors'-cut version of the new book, a guy embroiled in scandal is preparing to go on a TV show. When he feels "people turning on him," he starts taping his phone calls with the producers and host of the show. After the appearance, the host calls him to make sure he isn't "going to hurt himself" and makes some surprising confessions of her own while his tape recorder is rolling. Page Six, incidentally, asked Frey for comment, prompting him to laugh and say, "The book is fiction. Interpret it however you want."
Nonetheless, news outlets are wondering whether Frey has bombshell tapes in his possession. So, to recap: The guy lied when writing supposed nonfiction, and we excoriated him for that. He then wrote fiction, which we are now presuming to be true, as opposed to, say, a dude with some penchant for blowing things out of proportion working out his own anger issues -- in, I should mention, a relatively peaceful fashion. It's a long, grand tradition in fiction, authors rewriting history to suit themselves, to process things that happened to them but give them better outcomes. It is, in some ways, the reason people become writers. We're neurotic like that.
So what do you think, PopWatchers? Does James Frey really have secret, end-of-Oprah-as-we-know-her tapes? Or does he just know how to whip up a book-selling controversy?
Celebrity Apprentice finalist Annie Duke visited Ellen today to discuss last week's epic Rivers rant, in which Joan compared Annie to Hitler, Melissa coined the term ''whore pit vipers,'' and everybody else wondered what the hell was going on. Annie mentioned how she stayed pretty classy throughout the tirade, defended poker players as being ''awesome people'' (hands down my favorite lame comeback ever), and how she, just like the rest of us, is now attempting to work ''whore pit vipers'' into her daily vocabulary.
She also had this little tidbit of wisdom about the entire Celebrity Apprentice machine: ''It's a fake job and you get fake fired.'' Too true, Annie. Too true. What do you think about Duke's appearance? Did she really keep it classy, or is her hatred of the Rivers clan just way more toned-down and passive-aggressive? Who are you rooting for during Sunday's three-hour Apprentice finale -- Annie or Joan?
Singer-songwriter Jewel has issued an ultimatum to ailing Dancing With the Stars contestant Melissa "Boneless Ribs" Rycroft: "Ride hurt or don't get a score." She wrote this on her husband Ty Murray's MySpace blog. I think Jewel, whose knee injury forced her to back out of the season before it even began, might be under the impression that she's still on the show. How else to explain this hilariously catty comment, not to mention Monday night's tie-dyed/zebra print frock? (Little girl beside her is not impressed!)
Melissa, who suffered a hairline fracture in her ribcage, isn't the only ailing Star. Much like the Tasty Chilean Sea Bass of a Man (Cristian de la Fuente) before him, Gilles Marini is putting off surgery for his separated shoulder until the end of the season. Now, I love Zheeeeeeeeel, and enjoy watching a healthy Melissa dance. They're both -- "in no particular order" -- talented and very pretty. But I may have finally hit my "watching hurt people do the same thing that made them hurt" limit this season. When Steve-O ruined his back after voluntarily executing a front flip while wearing a mic pack, I could barely sit still as he attempted to rehearse and perform anyway, because I was suddenly hyper-aware of my own back. Has anyone else felt a body part become the "proxy" for an injured contestant? This week, Melissa said she had trouble breathing after receiving treatment for her rib. DOES DANCING WITH THE STARS WANT ME TO NOT BREATHE? This show is so much more twisted than you think.
What about you, DANCMSTR P-Dubs? Is Jewel right? Are you sick of watching sick people dance?
Keith Olbermann wants to torture Sean Hannity. Or is it enhanced-interrogate him?
Last week, Charles Grodin was on Hannity, and the conversation turned, as so many do, to simulated drowning. Grodin says waterboarding is torture; Hannity says it's not, and then Grodin asked, "We can waterboard you?" Hannity replied, "Sure...I'll do it for charity. I'll let you do it." And then Keith Olbermann became obsessed with the statement, offering to give $1,000 to military families for every second of waterboarding Hannity could withstand. "And I'll double it, when you admit you feared for your life," he said on the air.
I'd like to think that Olbermann doesn't actually want Hannity to go through with this -- especially given that Olbermann devoted an entire segment to the legal definitions of torture, and said "the only thing in question is how human are those who condone it?" So, you know, too harsh to inflict on the enemies of our country, probs too harsh to inflict on Sean Hannity.
My guess is that Hannity won't ever acknowledge Olbermann, and the MSNBC anchor will have to just drop it -- and that's the best-case scenario. Otherwise, if Hannity (insanely) agrees to be waterboarded, there are two other possibilities: He says it's horrible, in which case we have tortured someone just to settle a TV wiener-wagging contest, or he says it's no big deal, which isn't going to change anyone's mind about anything ("See, I knew it: Not torture!" or "We can't recreate potentially-torturous conditions with a consenting participant who doesn't actually fear for his safety, so of course it didn't feel like torture to him."). Oh, and we'll have turned waterboarding into a sideshow. Another proud day!
Anyone actually think Hannity will respond to Olbermann's challenge? If he consented to be waterboarded on-air, would you watch?
How freakin' dare anyone out there make fun of Lindsay -- after all she's been through?! (Yes, I'm talking to you, Stevie Nicks and Tyson Beckford.) She's had problems with drugs, a public break-up, trouble nabbing (*sniff*) any role outside cheesy Jem-like Fornarina commercial spots. And all you celebrities seem to want to do is insult her left and right. She's a human! Leave her alone! [Sobbing] Sure, Stevie, Lindsay playing you in a biopic is a bit like Gary Busey portraying Paul McCartney on the big screen. But you're lucky someone young and beautiful is willing to appreciate your musical genius! Rather than scoff at her through reporters (*sniff*), why not deny the young actress with a "Thanks, but no thanks" professionalism? Why is it okay to publicly bash someone who's going through a hard time? LEAVE LINDSAY ALONE! Right now! Puh-leeeeease... [Sobbing] I mean it! Anyone who has a problem with her, you deal with me. She's not well right now.
(Okay, Chris Crocker impressions aside, in all seriousness, Stevie Nicks, (ahem, EW) et. al., why must we kick Lindsay while she's down?
What insight did we learn from Candy Spelling's appearance on 20/20 last night? Well, other than the fact that she's promoting a book, Stories from Candyland? Let’s see…she never felt like her "own person" as Aaron Spelling's wife. She's a hoarder. (Check out that self-beheading doll! "A little macabre," she said. Um, ya think?) And my personal favorite: She's buying a lot of toilet paper for all those bathrooms inside Spelling Manor.
Of course, she also talked about her strained relationship with her daughter Tori which, let's face it, was the only reason most of us tuned in. According to conventional wisdom, the two have been feuding since Aaron Spelling's death in 2006, when Candy decided to give Tori just $800,000 of the TV mogul's estimated $500 million fortune. On 20/20, Candy didn’t do much to quell speculation about the row or, failing that, advance the debate. As my colleague Kate Ward noted in her preview of Candy's book, Tori's mama is a master at speaking out of both sides of her mouth when discussing the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star. She couldn't help sneaking in a dig at her daughter's supposed gold-digging: When Tori's son Liam was born, "She certainly gave me the social security number." Oh, snap! But then, with a "who, me?" guise of innocence, Candy quickly added that it's not for her to divulge to the world what financial help she has or hasn’t given her daughter and grandchildren. (But, you know, since 20/20 was asking and all, yes, she has coughed up the dough. Or so she maintained last night.) She also went on to add that she has yet to meet Tori's 9-month old daughter Stella; she can't get Tori to pick up the phone when she calls; and she doesn’t even know where Tori lives. This last tidbit elicited a big ole dramatic "Candy. My goodness!" from 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas.
What do you think? Are you tired of these ladies airing their dirty laundry in public? Did anything Candy say last night change how you feel about the Spelling feud? And are we honestly to believe that Candy does not have the wherewithal to track down her daughter's address?
And the broken-relationship saga between Tori and Candy Spelling continues: Tonight at 10 p.m., the Hollywood matriarch speaks to Elizabeth Vargas on ABC's 20/20 about her rocky relationship with her Beverly Hills, 90210-star daughter. In the interview, Candy apparently says that she still doesn't know why things are so amiss with her daughter. Really, ladies, are we still doing this?
A preview story on ABC.com reveals that, supposedly, Candy has yet to meet her 9-month-old granddaughter Stella. Yet, it was very well reported that when Tori's first child, son Liam, was born in March 2007, grandmother Candy, intent on reconciling, was present in the delivery room. What happened since then? I'm sure the answer is nothing. But you can be sure some tale will be spun describing it all tonight.
The pair have very publicly feuded over the years, watermarked by the
report that when daddy and hubby, Hollywood power TV producer Aaron
Spelling, died in June 2006, Tori was set to inherit just $800,000 of
his estimated $500 million fortune. Candy, natch, was the executor of
his estate, but her other child, son Randy, also reportedly only
received $800,000.
But let's break it down now: Candy is promoting her new book, Stories from Candy-land, a tome about how she was a Hollywood trophy wife, or "an arm piece," as she tells 20/20. It comes out Tuesday. This interview airs just four days before. Which makes the whole renewed fracas between the pair seem like a cheap publicity stunt to sell more books (or, on the 20/20 front, to get people to tune in tonight). My EW colleague Kate Ward's assassination about the general ridiculousness of Stories from Candy-land is a must read (not the book, mind you) on the topic -- apparently, Candy has no problem with dinging Tori at every turn.
But, PopWatchers, what do you think? Is the renewed drama between the Spelling women a bunch of baloney? Do you even have the energy to muster a drop of care about this anymore? Will you even pick up Candy's book -- or watch her on 20/20?
Poor Annie Duke. All season the momentum's been building to a Joan Rivers victory, and Annie surely saw it coming. Or maybe not: Just take a look at the chart Jim Cramer provided us with last night. Annie had more victories (7 to Joan's 6), more wins as project manager (2 to Joan's 1 win/1 loss), and she raised the most money for charity. She's ''a brilliant strategist'' and ''all about business,'' but apparently that's not enough to compete with Joan, who's ''all heart.'' When it comes to numbers and playing the game, Annie won. But she must've missed the day when the competition went from ''finding the best businessperson'' to ''finding the most loyal friend.'' 
Prone-to-perhaps-slight-exaggeration author James Frey's new paperback version of his latest book, Bright Shiny Morning,
contains two scenes cut from the hardcover -- including one in which a sorta-like-Frey character obtains embarrassing audio tapes of his Oprah-ish nemesis, 
Singer-songwriter Jewel has issued an ultimatum to ailing Dancing With the Stars contestant Melissa "Boneless Ribs" Rycroft: 
How freakin' dare anyone out there make fun of Lindsay -- after all she's been through?! (Yes, I'm talking to you, 
And the broken-relationship saga between Tori and Candy Spelling continues: Tonight at 10 p.m., the Hollywood matriarch speaks to Elizabeth Vargas on ABC's 20/20 about her rocky relationship with her Beverly Hills, 90210-star daughter. In the interview, Candy apparently says that she still doesn't know why things are so amiss with her daughter. Really, ladies, are we still doing this?
