John Kerry picks Lindsay Lohan for next US President!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Lindsay Lohan might be getting into trouble with the law, but former Presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry still believes that she could one day be the leader of USA.

The Senator was speaking to a packed audience of graduates and guests at the University of Massachusetts campus in Dartmouth, Mass, when he made his comment.

"A lot can happen in 10 years. In 10 years, we will have a real people's President: President Lindsay Lohan," New York Daily News quoted him, as saying.

However, Kerry's timing was a bit off in endorsing Lohan for President, for just hours later she made front page news for her party meltdown in which cops found a "usable amount of cocaine" in her car.

Lohan has since checked herself back into rehab, and is at the Promises clinic in Malibu.

Kerry also took a swipe Paris Hilton's parent Rick and Kathy, when he contrasted her folks with the "proud" parents who were in the audience.

Labels: Lindsay Lohan

Poor Lindsay Lohan

The dominoes are falling…. Lindsay Lohan has entered intensive medical rehab. Now, people are wondering how the 20 year old is getting served alcohol in the clubs in the first place. California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is one particular group wondering about the scenario.

According to TMZ, the agency has contacted the Beverly Hills Police Department to see if there is any evidence of Lindsay Lohan being served the night of the crash.

Lohan was throwing down at Les Deux before the incident. John Carr, a spokesperson from Alcohol Control, told TMZ that they will “review witness reports and other evidence to determine if a formal investigation is warranted. Carr says his agency also wants to know if Lohan or others may have been served after hours.”

Calls from TMZ have not been returned from Les Deux. Of course not. They are like, Oh hell, TMZ is calling…we’re so screwed!

Labels: Lindsay Lohan

Father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby sued

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Larry Birkhead's former attorney filed a lawsuit against him Tuesday, claiming he didn't pay his legal bills during a paternity dispute involving his and
Anna Nicole Smith's baby.

Debra Opri wants to force binding arbitration under the terms of a contract in which she agreed to represent Birkhead in September, according to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court.

Opri said her work on Birkhead's behalf was "extensive, entailed hundreds of hours of work" and required her to travel to multiple states and outside the country. The lawsuit did not specify a dollar amount.

After-hours phone messages left for Opri's attorney, David Owen, and Birkhead's lawyer, Michael Whalen, were not immediately returned.

Birkhead sued Smith in October seeking a paternity test of her daughter, Dannielynn Hope, to determine who was the baby's father.

Howard Stern, Smith's attorney and longtime companion, had also claimed to be the father and was listed on the baby's birth certificate.

A Los Angeles judge ruled in Birkhead's favor in December but the DNA testing was not performed until months later. Smith died in Florida on Feb. 8 of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

After a highly publicized court dispute, paternity tests released last month showed Birkhead was the baby's father.

Opri was Birkhead's attorney during most of the dispute but later withdrew from the case without explaining why.

Labels: Anna Nicole Smith

Angelina Jolie's secret wedding

Angelina Jolie is secretly planning a lavish wedding for her and her lover Brad Pitt, it has been reported

The actress - who has been married twice before - is said to have secretly accepted Brad's marriage proposal, and is now organising a ceremony which will dwarf the actor's 2000 $1 million wedding to Jennifer Aniston.

Grazia magazine: "Angelina has been reluctant to get married for a third time, for obvious reasons. "Brad has been persistent and has now given in, but she wants the day to be really memorable. While she doesn't want it to be unnecessarily lavish, that's not her style, it will still be an event Hollywood will never forget. "She also wants their children to see it as a huge celebration of her and Brad's love for them. The daytime part of the celebration will be for the kids, with clowns and balloons and fire-eaters. But then the real party will begin in the evening."

Angelina - who has three adopted children, Maddox, five, Pax Thien, three and Zahara, two, and a biological daughter with Brad, one-year-old Shiloh - is to start looking at dates and venues in the autumn.

While Brad and Jennifer served lobster at their nuptials seven years ago, Angelina is said to be keen on hiring a celebrity chef to specially create a dish for the event.

The source added: "The wedding could end up being twice the size of the one Brad had with Jennifer."

Brad, 43, was still married to Jennifer when he met Angelina on the set of their action movie 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'.

Angelina was previously married to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton

Labels: Angelina jolie

Lindsay Lohan Pulls a Britney Spears

Lindsay Lohan is following in Britney Spears' footsteps.

The 20-year-old actress reportedly checked into the Promises treatment center in Malibu Tuesday after she was arrested over the weekend for driving under the influence.

Lohan was driven to the center by her attorney, Blair Berk. A spokesperson for the lawyer declined to comment, saying only that Berk "does not disclose who her clients are."

When asked Tuesday how her daughter was doing, Dina Lohan told senior editor Marc Malkin: "We're still figuring it all out. We're all just figuring it out."

Lohan's run-in with the law occurred at around 5:30 a.m. Saturday, when the actress crashed her Mercedes convertible over a curb and into some trees. Police said they discovered a "usable amount" of a substance believed to be cocaine on the scene.

The Actress' troubles could cause problems for her latest project, the upcoming comedy Poor Things. Shooting on the film, which also features Rosario Dawson,
Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis, was due to begin Wednesday, according to Daily Variety.

Though the producers said they were confident Lohan's arrest would not affect the production schedule, a 30-day stint in rehab could prove to be a different story.

When Lohan last entered rehab at the posh Wonderland Center in Los Angeles in January, production on the thriller I Know Who Killed Me was shut down for over a week.

Developing story. More to come.

Labels: Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan heads back to rehab

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is reportedly heading back to rehab just days after police discovered cocaine in a car she crashed in Hollywood.

America's In Touch magazine reported Lohan checked into the Promises Treatment Centre in Malibu today.

"Lindsay Lohan finally realizes it's the right thing to do," a friend of the 20-year-old actress told In Touch.

"Lindsay Lohan is going willingly."

Lohan was arrested, but not charged, by Beverly Hills police after losing control of her Mercedes convertible while alledgedly under the influence of drugs and alochol.

During the investigation of the crash police revealed they discovered a small amount of cocaine in the car.

A day after the incident, Lohan was seen partying at Teddy's nightclub in Los Angeles, and was said to be shrugging off the arrest.

Lohan previously completed a 30-day course in the Wonderland rehab facility in LA on February 16.

Labels: Lindsay Lohan

America's Next Top Model Winner Jaslene Gonzalez Reveals Abusive Past

Monday, May 28, 2007

America's Next Top Model winner Jaslene Gonzalez

"Before I got into that relationship, I had a good head on my shoulders and walked with my head up high," Gonzalez, 21, says in the July issue of Seventeen.

"But during that relationship, things went down little by little. It was such a dark moment in my life. It was horrible!"

Because of her situation, "I wasn't having my rest or eating the food I wanted to eat. So I mentally gave up, but I still did what I had to do. I think perseverance is the key to success. There were so many roadblocks for me, but I overcame them all."

Gonzalez appears on the cover and in a six-page fashion and beauty layout in the magazine – part of her winnings, which also included a contract with Elite modeling agency and a $100,000 deal with CoverGirl.

Should others find themselves in an abusive relationship, she says, "I can give so much advice, but it starts within yourself. You need to get help. Talk to somebody, because once you talk about it, you hear it, and then you understand what you're going through. That's what it took for me to let go."

Gonzalez, who last week attended The CW's upfronts in New York City, says she gained self-worth from her sometimes challenging experience on Top Model: "I couldn't believe how mature, strong, and confident I've grown. I definitely broke down along the way though." impressed the judges with her spirit – but an abusive relationship nearly crushed her confidence, she reveals in a new interview.

Labels: Jaslene Gonzalez

Britney Spears goes cruising

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Singer Britney Spears donned a cheeky sailor hat, took to the high seas and went cruising - all in her lunch break!

The pop princess found her sea legs and rented a private yacht for an hour's break from her daily dance rehearsals.

Ahoy landlubbers: Britney whips off her sundress to reveal her stunning figure in a pink and green polka dot bikini. The singer enjoyed a 60 minute cruise aboard a yacht with sons Sean Preston and Jayden James

With sons Sean Preston and Jayden James in tow, Britney, dressed in a pink sundress, boarded the yacht in California's Marina Del Rey and soon stripped off to reveal a sexy pink and green polka dot bikini.

The recently divorced star, who was reported to have handed $1million in a divorce settlement to ex-husband Kevin Federline, seemed relaxed as she enjoyed the one hour cruise, drinking cocktails and sunbathing as the yacht cruised in Marina Del Rey, California.

Chilling out: Britney and her entourage relax aboard the private yacht they hired in Marina Del Rey, California

Twenty-five year old Britney has had a troubled few months, including a stint in rehab, following the bizarre spectacle of her being filmed shaving off her hair.

Labels: Britney Spears

Lindsay Lohan arrested on DUI suspicion after her car hits Beverly Hills curb

Lindsay Lohan was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on Saturday after her convertible struck a curb, and investigators found what they believe is cocaine at the scene, police said.

Lohan, 20, and two other people were in her 2005 Mercedes SL-65 when it crashed on Sunset Boulevard around 5:30 a.m., Sgt. Mike Foxen said. It appeared Lohan was speeding, Lt. Mitch McCann said at an afternoon news conference.

Officers at the scene found a "usable amount" of a drug tentatively identified as cocaine, McCann said. He declined to say where the drug was found other than to say Lohan was not carrying it.

Lohan, who spent time at a rehabilitation centre earlier this year, was driven in another car to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, McCann said. The two other people in her car were not hurt.

Officers received a 911 call about the accident and arrested Lohan at the hospital for investigation of misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, McCann said.

She was released from custody because she was admitted to the hospital, police said.

Lohan will have to appear in court to answer the citation, first reported on the website of X17 Inc., a celebrity photo agency.

The crash was Lohan's third accident in about two years. In October Lohan and a passenger received minor injuries when her convertible hit a van in West Hollywood. Authorities said the van driver, who also received minor injuries, was at fault.

Months earlier, Lohan collided with a minivan when she made a U-turn as the van, carrying paparazzi, followed her from a Los Angeles restaurant. A photographer was arrested for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon but prosecutors declined to charge him.

That crash was credited with prompting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a law that set steep financial penalties for paparazzi who commit assaults while trying to obtain celebrity photos.

Lohan publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnik did not immediately return an e- mail requesting comment.

Lohan said in January that she had checked into a rehabilitation centre for substance abuse treatment. Her publicist confirmed in December that the actress was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Lohan told Allure magazine during an interview for its May issue that she decided to enter the secluded Wonderland Center at the suggestion of her therapist.

"It's so weird that I went to rehab. I always said I would die before I went to rehab," Lohan told the publication.

Lohan's latest movie, "Georgia Rule," is in theatres now. The actress's other screen credits include "Mean Girls," "Bobby," "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Freaky Friday."

Labels: Lindsay Lohan

Fox Can Sing a Happier Tune Thanks to 'Idol' Numbers

Saturday, May 26, 2007

About 31 million people watched Wednesday as Jordin Sparks was crowned the youngest, and least Southern, "American Idol" ever.

While that's about 5.4 million viewers shy of last year's finale -- "Idol's" best coronation ratings ever -- it's a better performance than the show enjoyed on the final Wednesday in '05, '04 and '02.

It's also something of a relief for Fox, which the night before suffered an ignominious ratings defeat when ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" season finale gave that network an average audience of 23 million viewers for two hours, while Fox aired just one hour of "Idol," with its average of 25 million, followed by a one-hour preview of the new reality series "On the Lot," which held just 8.5 million of those viewers.

Fox finished the night with fewer than 17 million viewers, ABC with nearly 18 million. It's the first time ever that Fox has not won an "American Idol" Tuesday.

Fox decided to forgo the traditional airing of the "House" season finale in the hour following the last "Idol" performance night. Instead, it unveiled the let's-make-a-movie competition series there, because ooooh, it's from Steven Spielberg! Last year, on the comparable Tuesday, the season finale of "House" logged 25.5 million.

This year, the season finale of "House" is airing next week, when the official TV season, and the May sweeps ratings derby, are over.

As a result of Fox's "House" delay, ABC finished the May sweeps ranked No. 1 across all female demographic groups, including a tie with Fox for No. 1 among chicks aged 18 to 34. This most likely would not have been the case had the "House" finale aired Tuesday night.

Funny how things turn out.

Labels: Jordin Spark

Paul Newman Says He's Too Old for Acting

Paul Newman says he's given up acting. "I'm not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to," Newman, 82, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me."

Newman, star of films such as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," added: "I've been doing it for 50 years. That's enough."

He has other plates spinning. Newman plans to focus on the Dressing Room, his new organic restaurant in Westport, Conn., and his Hole in the Wall Gang camps for critically ill children.

His Newman's Own brand of dressings, pasta sauces, popcorn and salsa has raised more than $200 million for charities.

Newman, who won an Oscar for his leading role in 1986's "The Color of Money," was last seen _ or heard, rather _ as the voice of Doc Hudson in the 2006 animated feature "Cars."

Labels: Paul Newman

Paris Hilton Nipple Pokies

Paris Hilton tries to get right with Jesus before her 23-day jail stint. Paris Hilton has to report to Los Angeles’ Century Regional Detention Center by June 5 to start serving her sentence for violating her probation following her 2006 drunk-driving arrest.

Paris Hilton’s Lawyers have told her she needs to “live like a nun” if she has any chance of evading jail.

A friend of Paris told reporters, “They have ordered her to show a judge she has some humility and social responsibility if she is going to have her sentence reduced on appeal. That means no booze, no parading round in skimpy outfits, no partying

We love to see celebrity nip slips and pokies ,thank you Paris!

Labels: Paris hilton

Knightley wins damages over weight slur

Friday, May 25, 2007

Keira Knightley, star of the Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, won £3000 ($NZ8188) in libel damages over a newspaper slur that suggested she was excessively thin.

The Daily Mail had run a story with a picture of her in a bikini, headlined: "If Pictures Like This One of Keira Carried a Health Warning, My Darling Daughter Might Have Lived".

"The article could be interpreted to have asserted that the claimant bore personal responsibility for causing the tragic death of Sophie Mazurek, a 19-year-old, who battled with anorexia," Knightley's lawyer Simon Smith told the High Court.

The 22-year-old actress had been embarrassed by the "entirely false" and "deeply offensive" suggestions.

He added the story could be taken to mean that the actress had set out to lose an excessive amount of weight by failing to eat properly and by over-exercising inappropriately because she wanted to become unnaturally thin.

Three days earlier the paper had published an article under the headline "It's Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Keira Knightley" in which it referred to her denial that she suffered from anorexia.

Smith told the judge, Justice David Eady, that Knightley accepted that she had undergone weight training for roles in action films and that this had involved muscle toning which did alter physical appearance.

However, he said her weight had never fluctuated more than a few pounds through her adult life, and remained at an acceptable level which took into account age, gender and height.

"The claimant is not a fitness fanatic, as she considers it more important and has spoken of her opinion of the need to be healthy and happy," he said.

"The claimant found the suggestions all the more offensive as she has freely admitted publicly in the past that a member of her family suffered from anorexia and she is well aware of the devastating effects eating disorders can have."

Kate Wilson, lawyer for the paper's publishers Associated Newspapers, said they apologised for the distress and embarrassment caused by the article and accepted that the actress bore no responsibility for Mazurek's death.

Knightley's mother, Sharman Macdonald, who was in court, said afterwards that her daughter was adding another 3,000 pounds to the award and donating the money to a charity called BEAT which helps people with eating and mental disorders.

Labels: Keira Knightley

Lindsay Lohan's 21st birthday to be sponsored by vodka

Thursday, May 24, 2007

It's the kind of headline that almost sounds like it should be a joke, something from The Onion, but it's a fact that Lindsay Lohan is lining up a vodka sponsorship for her 21st birthday. Lindsay Lohan has given enough money to the vodka industry over the years, you would think they could give something back to celebrate the fact that the Mean Girls star is finally legal. The lawyer for Lindsay Lohan, Mike Heller, confirmed that Svedka Vodka would be one of the sponsors of the birthday bash coming up this summer.

Mike Heller spoke to showbiz sky about the vodka-fueled birthday bash for Lindsay Lohan, saying "This should be one of the best parties ever." Lindsay Lohan has been notorious for booze and drugs stories throughout the party scene and has been in and out of rehab. Is it any surprise when her attorney is claiming her 21st birthday bash is going to be one of the best parties ever and is sponsored by alcohol?

The representative for Lindsay Lohan wouldn't confirm that Svedka was sponsoring her birthday party, saying, "I am unaware of who is sponsoring Lindsay's birthday, as I am not the one planning it." The rep was quoted by Bang Media International.

Lindsay Lohan is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, even though she's not legally old enough to drink yet. That date will come on July 2nd. After the most recent Golden Globe Awards, Lindsay Lohan went on a drinking binge and ended up in the Wonderland rehab centre. And now Svedka is sponsoring her birthday party. AA and Wonderland might have a thing or two to say about that. Dina Lohan recently confirmed that Lindsay Lohan is still attending AA.

Other sponsors for the birthday party for Lindsay Lohan include Las Vegas party spots that Lohan has made famous, including Pure, Social House, and Caesar's Palace. It's unsure where, but the party for Lindsay Lohan will take place somewhere in Vegas.

Lindsay Lohan will next be seen I Know Who Killed Me and Chapter 27 and, for now, you can still catch Georgia Rule in theaters. The 20-year-old Lohan, most recently named the hottest woman in the world by Maxim, can also be caught on DVD in The Parent Trap, Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Mean Girls, Herbie Fully Loaded, A Prairie Home Companion, Just My Luck, and Bobby.

Labels: Lindsay Lohan

Paula Abdul trips over dog and breaks nose

American Idol judge Paula Abdul lost her balance while trying to avoid stepping on her pet chihuahua at home and fell, breaking her nose and toe.

Abdul, 44, known for her sometimes odd behaviour on the smash hit TV show, was left bruised and sore by Saturday's accident, but she will appear as scheduled on the final two episodes of this season's singing talent contest, spokesman David Brokaw said.

In a string of interviews to promote the Fox network's upcoming Idol finale, Abdul's injuries were hardly noticeable, thanks to Make-up.

"If you didn't know better, you wouldn't know she had gone through anything," Brokaw said. "She's uncomfortable, but she looked great."

Abdul, a onetime professional cheerleader who gained fame in the late 1980s as a pop singer of such hits as Straight Up, talked about her weekend mishap during an appearance on the syndicated celebrity TV show Extra.

"I took a nasty fall ... trying not to hurt my dog. I bruised myself on my arm ... my chest, my waist, all the way down to my hip. All for my little chubby Tulip," she said. "The dog, I saw her ... I just remember saying, 'Oh my God, I'm going to do a face plant.'"

The pain was so bad, "I screamed like a little baby would scream," she recounted.

Tulip was unscathed in the accident, Brokaw said.

Abdul, who has raised eyebrows for her periodically quirky, emotional demeanour on American Idol, made headlines in January when a video surfaced of her slurring and gesticulating her way through a promotional TV appearance.

But her sunny disposition has proved the perfect counterpoint to the acerbic style of fellow judge Simon Cowell, and Fox executives credit her with much of the show's success.

Idol ranks as the most watched series on US television.

Labels: Paula Abdul

Hilton to be alarmed in prison for protection

Paris Hilton is to be tagged with an alarm to protect her from fellow prison inmates.

The hotel heiress will be provided with a panic device giving her a 24-hour link to prison guards in case she encounters trouble when she begins her prison sentence next month, according to Britain's The Sun newspaper.

Hilton must report to Century Regional Detention Centre in Los Angeles by June 5 after she was found guilty of driving with a suspended licence.

As well as being tagged with an alarm The Simple Life star will be kept in the prison's 'special needs' unit, which is reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates.

The 26-year-old has made it known she is "really scared" by the prospect of going to jail.

Her sentence has already been cut from 45 to 23 days for "good behaviour", despite the fact that she has yet to begin serving it.

Hilton's mother Kathy called her daughter's imprisonment "horrendous" but added: "Hopefully young people who look up to Paris will learn from this."

The socialite's representatives last week announced that she was dropping plans to appeal against her sentence.

Labels: Paris hilton

No pre-nup as soul singer Winehouse marries

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Amy Winehouse has married her on-off boyfriend, Blake Fielder-Civil, in Florida, her representatives have confirmed, but the soul singer refused to make her new husband sign a pre-nup agreement.

"Amy did indeed get married to fiance Blake Fielder-Civil on Friday, May 18, in Miami, Florida," her spokeswoman Tamara Lamb said in an email.

Last week the singer denied any wedding plans and said her trip to Florida with six friends was just a holiday. She got engaged in April.

Winehouse, 23, won the best female solo artist award this year at the Brit Awards, where she performed her hit single Rehab, about her refusal to get treatment for alcohol dependency.

The London-born singer has earned herself a reputation for her drunken antics on and off stage but recently was quoted as telling reporters that she had vowed to her boyfriend's mother that she would clean up her act.

The singer burst on the scene with her first album, Frank, in 2003 and won an Ivor Novello Award in 2004 for her debut single Stronger than Me.

Her second album, Back to Black, was released last year and went to No. 1 on the British charts.

Meanwhile, news agency Bang! Showbiz reported Amy Winehouse did not make her new husband sign a pre-nuptial agreement.

She reportedly ignored advice to draw up a deal to protect her fortune should the couple split. Now friends claim Blake has been boasting about his refusal to sign any agreement.

A source told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "Blake has been singing, 'They tried to make me sign a pre-nup, but I said no, no, no', to the tune of her hit Rehab. Some people worry he is only after her money."

Amy previously revealed: "He proposed at home and I took a day to finally agree. Obviously we are both young and it is frightening. But it is the right thing to do. That is why I agreed."

Labels: Amy Winehouse

Keira Knightley wants bigger breasts

Pirates of the Caribbean star Keira Knightley isn't happy with her modest bust and wishes she had an ample cleavage like The Matrix Reloaded actress Monica Bellucci.

She told television show GMTV: "I would love to have tits! I would love to have Monica Bellucci's figure. But I'm never going to get it. I'm naturally who I am."

Despite wanting bigger breasts, Keira, 22, has ruled out having plastic surgery to boost her assets.

She added: "Surgery is far too frightening. I couldn't."

Although she yearns for a larger chest, Keira insists she is happy with her slim figure and admits she regularly exercises and eats healthily to keep fit.

The actress also hit out at society's current obsession with weight and insists women should be happy about themselves whatever their shape or size.

She explained: "I do like to keep fit, only because I like to be able to run around and do things. But I think it would be great if we saw a wider range of women of all ages, of all shapes and sizes in the media."

Labels: Keira Knightley

Miss Jamaica's a Rasta role model

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

With dreadlocks down to below her buttocks, the first Rastafarian to compete for the Miss Universe title is out to smash the stereotype that Rastas are only interested in reggae and marijuana.

Zahra Redwood, 25 and the first Miss Jamaica to be crowned from the country's minority Rastafarian faith, is also shaking up a years-old view among many Rastas that beauty pageants should be shunned as degrading to women.

"Not all Rastafarians smoke" marijuana, Redwood, a classically beautiful Jamaican with a degree in biotechnology and zoology, told Reuters.

"People criticise what they don't know or understand and develop preconceptions, and so given that, I have gone against what they've developed as a stereotype," said Redwood, who is in Mexico for the Miss Universe final on May 28 in Mexico City.

Rastafarians - who worship the late Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie as a God they call "Jah" - stress peace, love, spiritual goals and natural living, Redwood said, denying a clash between Rasta culture and being a beauty queen.

"The Rastafarian culture and beauty pageants have a great deal in common because they both promote decorum in the attitude of the female and the female as a role model in society. You're looking at beauty of the mind, body and soul," she said.

Rather than discrimination, the main reason for a dearth of Rasta beauty queens on the international circuit is the movement's rejection of the more corrupt or gaudy facets of modern society, which they call Babylon, Redwood said.

Made famous around the world by Bob Marley's reggae songs, the Rasta culture emphasises human dignity and self-respect.

"Rastafarians have been a very conservative group so modelling and pageants have been considered Babylonian to some extent," Redwood said.

But the reaction from fellow Rastafarians to her competing to be Miss Universe against women from some 75 other countries has been overwhelmingly positive, partly because black women with dreadlocks are so rarely seen in beauty contests, she said.

"They've been very, very happy for what they consider a psychological breakthrough. For them it's a huge thing," Redwood said.

The Rastafari movement was born in Jamaica in the 1930s after Selassie's coronation in Ethiopia. Followers started to worship Selassie, who died in 1975, as a type of messiah, in light of a 1920 prophecy by Jamaican civil rights leader Marcus Garvey that a black man would be crowned king in Africa.

Roughly a 10th of Jamaicans are Rastafarians, many of whom also take literally a biblical verse in the book of Leviticus that instructs against taking a razor to one's head.

In the Miss Universe 2007 line-ups, Redwood's twisty black dreadlocks, often massed into a huge bun, stand out from the lacquered manes of the other contestants.

"For the final I'm still not sure what style I will go with. But of course the locks have to show," she said.

Smoking marijuana, known in Jamaica as ganja, is a sacred rite for many Rastas, but Redwood said she does not smoke it.

Labels: Zahra Redwood

McCartneys call a truce

Monday, May 21, 2007

Sir Paul McCartney and wife Heather Mills are said to have called a truce in their tabloid divorce battle.

London's Daily Mail has reported that the separated couple had "buried the hatchet" after they were photographed on Friday "at a North London restaurant, talking amicably while their daughter played".

Sir Paul is said to have agreed to a £100 million ($NZ270 million) divorce deal to be settled early next year.

And he is reorted to be including Heather in his 65th birthday celebration plans - something unthinkable just weeks ago.

For her part, Mills is reported to have given assurances that she will not use her recent success on Dancing with the Stars to springboard her into a US career, taking their daughter with her.

The paper says the sudden step forward was made possible by a mood-change on McCartney's part.

It quotes him as saying last week that "There is a tunnel and there is a light and I will get there, and meantime I really enjoy my work and my family."

Labels: Heather Mills

Nicole Richie splits with rocker

Nicole Richie has reportedly split with her boyfriend Joel Madden after the couple's trip to Australia and New Zealand.

Sources claim the pair, who began dating last November, ended their relationship during a recent trip to Australia, where they attended the MTV Australia Video Music Awards.

Richie was also believed to have followed Madden to New Zealand for a performance by Madden's band, Good Charlotte.

A source told Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper: "Joel was acting like a single man at the awards after party and the couple openly argued in front of the crowd."

"Nicole was in tears at one stage, but no one really knows why."

Madden reportedly dumped Nicole for being "too clingy" during the trip, which included stops in Byron Bay and the Gold Coast.

US gossip website www.PerezHilton.com also claims the pair have split because they have not been seen together since their return.

Blogger Perez wrote: "Word is spreading fast that Joel and Nicole broke up right after their trip to Australia."

Earlier this year, it was reported Nicole and Joel were engaged.

The pair almost tied the knot in Las Vegas on February 17, but decided to get Nicole's adoptive dad Lionel Richie's blessing first.

A source said at the time: "They picked out matching silver and diamond rings at a jewellery boutique in Caesar's Palace and then headed to the Little White Wedding Chapel where the hovered outside for ages.

"But Nicole wanted her dad's blessing so they went straight to see him when they got back to Los Angeles."

The couple were then said to be planning to marry in front of their close family and friends at Mexico's Las Ventanas resort in Cabo San Lucas.

Labels: Nicole Richie

Lindsay escapes jail

Lindsay Lohan was facing possible charges for stealing around $10,000 worth of clothes from a friend´s house, but they can´t prove she did it. "The bottom line is that Lohan can´t be shown to have been seen either taking or to have been later in possession of missing items and items she can be shown to have possessed were with (the housesitter´s) permission." Said the rejection notice which means that Lindsay will not be facing felony grand theft charges.

According to sources (ie Lindsay´s ´friends´ who are constantly selling her out) Lindsay was bragging about all the clothes she stole, but unfortunately, due to the fact that the housekeeper let her in and let her leave with the clothes, the woman who is missing a hell of a lot of clothes can´t do anything about it.

One more unclothed woman in Los Angles I guess.

Labels: Lindsay Lohan

Jessica Simpson Says She's 'Very Happy' Post-Split

Sunday, May 20, 2007

The same day that news broke of her split from John Mayer, Jessica Simpson says she's "very happy."

Asked by PEOPLE about the split at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, Simpson replied: "I am very happy, but I don't really want to talk about my personal life tonight because it's not what it's about. But I am very happy. I will let you know that."

The singer-actress officially announced her newest film project, Major Movie Star, at the festival Friday.

Simpson, wearing an off-the-shoulder sequined dress, arrived at the Budweiser Select yacht at 10:15 p.m. in Cannes to help promote her new role in the upcoming military caper, which starts shooting in July in Louisiana.

Earlier this month Simpson's rep confirmed to PEOPLE that the singer had signed on for the title role in the comedy, about a down-on-her-luck actress who enlists in the Marines.

Earlier Friday, sources close to both Simpson and Mayer confirmed that the couple had parted ways – but not necessarily for good.

"They have broken up," a source tells PEOPLE. "But they have broken up and gotten back together at least 10 times before."

Another source said the pair have "been e-mailing and talking to each other" since Simpson arrived in Cannes on Wednesday.

Labels: Jessica Simpson

Paparazzi Boo Pamela Anderson at Cannes

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Photographers at the Cannes Film Festival booed Pamela Anderson after she showed up late for a photo session Friday and only stuck around to pose for a few minutes.

Anderson was in town to promote her new movie, "Blonde and Blonder." Earlier in the day, she had complained to AP Television News about the paparazzi, saying that Cannes was "a frenzy, it's crazy, it's silly."

"Even watching it on television this morning, seeing these people, it's like the actors are prodded through like cattle, `turn this way, turn that way,'" she said, adding that Cannes was nonetheless "quite glamorous."

The 39-year-old former "Baywatch" star had said previously that she would not attend Cannes, where her movie is screening on the sidelines of the official lineup, but later changed her mind.

"My kids come first even in my schedule," said Anderson, who has two young sons with former husband Tommy Lee. "When I schedule anything that I do, it's around their baseball games or their soccer matches or their ... everything."

In "Blonde and Blonder," Anderson co-stars with Denise Richards in what is being promoted as "Dumb & Dumber" meets "Legally Blonde."

Labels: Pamela Anderson

Madonna Releases New Song for Charity

Madonna Releases `Hey You' for Charity; Will Sing It at July's Live Earth Concert in London

Madonna performs during her first ever concert in Russia at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, late Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006. For tens of thousands of Muscovites, the show is one of the most exciting events of the year's cultural calendar, a sold-out blowout to end the summer.

Madonna, one of the headliners at this summer's "Live Earth" concerts, has released a new digital song for the musical event.

The global concert series, taking place July 7, is designed to raise awareness about climate issues. "Hey You," which Madonna produced with Pharrell Williams, doesn't specifically talk about Earth issues, but the ballad's lyrics refer to loving and saving each other.

Madonna is scheduled to perform the song during the show at Wembley Stadium in London. Other shows will take place in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; Tokyo; Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Hamburg, Germany; and Istanbul, Turkey.

"Hey You" is available on MSN.com. The first million downloads are free, and Microsoft is pledging to donate 25 cents per download to the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Besides Madonna, other headliners slated for the London concert include the Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis and the Beastie Boys.

Labels: Madonna

Shilpa Shetty can travel abroad

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty can now travel abroad. The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the ‘look out’ notice issued against her by the Superintendent of Police, Mundawar (Alwar) in Rajasthan in connection with the controversial kiss by Hollywood actor Richard Gere during an AIIDS awareness function in the capital.

A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan stayed the ‘look out notice’ after her counsel Anand Grover submitted that it has become difficult for her to go abroad for her assignments as the notice directed the airport and police authorities to apprehend and restrain her from leaving India.

The order comes as a major reprieve for the actress of Big Brother fame, who frequently travels abroad for her professional assignments.

The April 15 kissing incident during an AIDS awareness programme at the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar here had sparked off strong protests in several cities.

In fact, a Rajasthan court had issued a warrant against Shilpa and Richard and a court in Ghaziabad had summoned both of them on criminal complaints filed against them for alleged obscenity and indecent public behaviour.

The apex court on May 15 stayed the criminal proceedings in all these cases. Grover contended that the notice has become illegal and infructuous in view of the stay order.

The court has already issued notices to various complainants on her petition seeking transfer of all the cases related to the controversy to Mumbai.

Seeking quashing of criminal cases registered against her in various courts at Jaipur, Ghaziabad and Mundawar (Alwar), Shetty claimed that wrong projection of the incident in the public by the media resulted in the filing of private criminal complaints.

Shilpa, a resident of Mumbai, requested the apex court to transfer all the cases to the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in the western metropolis.

Labels: Shilpa Shetty

Hilton 'good behaviour' cuts term

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Paris Hilton will serve just half of her 45-day jail sentence and be separated from most other inmates, authorities in California have said.

The celebrity heiress will spend about 23 days in a "special needs housing unit" in a suburb of Los Angeles.

Her sentence was shortened after being given credit for good behaviour.

The 26-year-old socialite was sentenced after violating her probation for a drink-driving conviction. She has been ordered to report to jail by 5 June.

Officials said several factors were considered in granting her the shorter jail term, including the fact that she had appeared at her latest court hearing.

High profile

Hilton will stay in a block that contains 12 cells, each holding two people.

It is reserved for celebrities, public officials, police officers and other high-profile inmates.

The unit is part of the Century Regional Detention Centre in Lynwood, California, which holds over 2,000 prisoners.

Los Angeles County sheriff spokesman Steve Whitmore said Hilton would have the same privileges as all other prisoners, including at least an hour out of her cell each day to shower, watch TV, take part in outdoor recreation or use the phone.

Hilton's lawyer and publicist were not immediately available for comment.

Labels: Paris hilton

Hot text messages spice up Carmen's Sex Life!

Former 'Baywatch' babe Carmen Electra like nothing better than to send, and receive, naughty text messages.

The actress, who is releasing a new book 'How To Be Sexy', says in it that she loves to indulge in a racy phone message conversation every now and then.

"I am a texter, I love to text. There is nothing wrong with getting a hot text," The Sun quoted her, as saying.

However, she does warn faithful fans that while they should definitely go ahead and express how they are feeling, they should also be 'subtle'.

"I say go for it - but be subtle. Express how you are feeling but don't do anything too crazy," she writes.

Her most important piece of advice however, is that you should double check to see whether the message is being sent to the right person.

And despite the fact that she is considered one of the sexiest women in Hollywood, Carmen insists that even she has flaws. The only difference is that she doesn't delve on them.

"There are problem areas. You look in the mirror and pick apart the things that you don't like about your body," she writes.

"But what I have tried to do is not obsess over what I don't like about myself," she added.

Labels: Carmen Electra