Christina Applegate recently told the sad story about how she was in an abusive relationship for three years as a young woman. When she had success in her early career as the ditsy blond Kelly Bundy on Married with Children, she was facing unbearable personal pain at home. She lived in fear of her first boyfriend, who would beat her in ways that left her personally shattered, but wouldn’t leave marks for others to see. She said she was “brainwashed” and desperate for help:

“I met what I thought was the most dynamic and sexy and wonderful, charming man that I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Christina told members of the Women’s Progress Alliance, a group headed by Nicole Simpson’s sister Denise brown.

“And from that moment on, for three years, I lived in fear for my life from the time that I woke up to the time I went to sleep.

“He had such a way of beating me that it wouldn’t leave any marks, because he knew everyone would know.”

Christina also told the women’s domestic violence group that she would hurt herself in a desperate cry for help, so people would notice her injuries. But then she wouldn’t have the courage to come forward with the truth.

“He basically brainwashed me,” she explained. “I almost lost my life.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, December 3, 2007]

When celebrities speak out about their personal problems, they literally help tens of thousands of people who are faced with similar difficult circumstances. Good for Applegate for getting out of that terrible situation and not continuing the cycle of abuse in her next relationship, and it’s very brave of her to talk about it. Applegate was later married to actor Johnathon Schaech, but they were separated in 2005 after about four years, and divorced two years later. They remain friends, with a recent story that they were making out at a club after they met there unexpectedly.

If you’re trapped in an abusive relationship, tell someone and get help. I realize it’s not that simple when you have kids and/or a lack of resources, but you owe it yourself and your kids to figure out a way to get out. Here are the signs of an abusive relationship.

Vegetarian Christina Applegate is the spokesperson in a sexy PETA campaign against fur titled “Fur: Get Me Not.” In an interview on the PETA website about her new ad she explains when she became a vegetarian, saying that she saw blood on a plate when she was eating on the Married with Children set. She said “I looked down and there was blood on my plate, and it was that realization, that I can’t eat something that has been alive, I just can’t do it. So I stopped, and that was it. That was the last time.” Maybe that same kind of realization helped her get out of that relationship around the same time. If you are in an abusive relationship, you can do it too.

Christina Applegate is shown on 11/18/07 at the American Music Awards, thanks to PRPhotos.

TMZ has documents from David Copperfield’s act that include detailed, asanine instructions to his staff on how to pull women from the audience that he hand picked for his act backstage afterwards so they can be profiled. Women he wants to use for his own sick ego fulfillment are called “Scorpions” and the paperwork even has instructions as to how boyfriends and husbands should be placated and delayed while the women are targeted for Copperfield’s later use.

What’s particularly sad about this is how deceptive and systematic it is. The National Enquirer has quotes from friends and family of the young woman who accused Copperfield of raping her in the Bahamas. While some people may say that she should have known better than to go unaccompanied, Copperfield set the stage for the alleged attack by inviting the woman, her family and boyfriend out to dinner with him when he was in her home city of Seattle.

The victim was just 21 and aspired for a career in modeling. Copperfield told her that she was coming to the Bahamas to go to a big industry party he was having where she would make contacts. He also told her that his villa was full when she asked if her boyfriend could come along. The details of how Copperfield targeted the woman are consistent with the documents that instruct his staff on how to handle the volunteers he picks out of the audience:

The woman first met Copperfield when she and her family attended his show in the state of Washington.

“A member of his staff zeroed in on her,” disclosed a family friend. “She was put in special seats, and David called her on stage as part of his act. Afterwards, he spoke with her backstage, took down her name and e-mail address…

Copperfield began to e-mail her almost immediately,” the family friend revealed. “He invited her and her family, along with her boyfriend, out to dinner in Seattle and talked about how he could help her modeling career.”

The master illusionist invited the woman to attend a party at his Bahamas retreat in late July, where she could network with people in the entertainment industry, say sources.

The friend added more details that have been relayed to the FBI: “She asked if her boyfriend could come along (to the Bahamas), but was told his private enclave is restricted to 24 guests and it was already going to be full.”

She arrive on July 28 and was shocked there were no other guests. “From the moment she entered his house, she got the eerie feeling that hidden cameras were following her,” disclosed the friend.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 12, 2007]

The woman then says she was brutally raped, and that she was punched and held down by Copperfield and told that she “really wanted [it].”

And, contrary to earlier reports, the woman did get a rape kit done. She took photos of the scene with her cellphone camera and she didn’t shower before she returned to Seattle the following day. She had the rape kit performed at a hospital in Seattle, so it does sound like there’s enough evidence for a trial. She also was wired by the FBI two months afterwards in a sting to get Copperfield, and it’s not clear what information they obtained, but I hope they got enough to nail the bastard:

Her story of the alleged attack is the centerpiece of the FBI’s investigative file, and it is dramatic and haunting. Her friend revealed the details exclusively to The Enquirer: “She says she tried to fight him off, but he ripped off her dress. She remembers Copperfield telling her: ‘Don’t play coy with me, you know you really wanted this! You wouldn’t have flown all the way down here if you didn’t!”

“He pinned her arms on the bed, but she tried her best to fight back and was left with bruises after he struck her. She thinks it was all captured on video.”

But the victim did not see video camera and cannot be sure videos exist.

Her stepbrother confirmed the brutal details of the alleged attack to The Enquirer. “He punched her and ripped off her clothes. She tried to fight him off but couldn’t”

The woman says that she used her cell phone camera to take pictures of the scene after she was attacked. She did not shower, and when she returned to Seattle the next day, she was taken by her mother to Harborview Medical Center where staff used a “rape kid” to gather possible evidence.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 12, 2007]

I read a comment either here or on another blog, I can’t find it again at this point, that Copperfield is now headed for a career at county fairs and small venues, if he’s even allowed to continue working his magic act. I hope he also goes to jail for an extended period of time. There seems to be enough evidence to prove that he committed this crime and that it was brutal and premeditated. If there are more victims as expected, they will hopefully speak out about what happened to them, as hard as it is to come forward.

When the story came out about Kid Rock getting caught up in a fight between members of his entourage and a guy harassing them at a Waffle House in Atlanta, it sounded like he was just at the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time or something. Despite Rock’s history of being an abusive bully who is all too willing to come to blows over any perceived argument, I honestly thought he wasn’t that involved in the fight. It turns out that I was wrong, according to at least one witness who says that Rock started the fight when a guy annoyed him off by talking smack to a woman he was with. Just like with Tommy Lee at the VMAs, it was Rock who threw the first punch:

After a performance at a club called The Tabernacle, Kid and his buddies strolled into the breakfast eatery in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood at 5 a.m. on Oct. 21, when restaurant patron Harlen DeJon Akins made a comment to a female member of the group.

Kid, 36, argued with Akins, 39, and before long the rocker was throwing punches. But Kid was on the losing end of the brawl - and he would have been pummeled if his buddies hadn’t jumped in to save him, say eyewitnesses.

“Kid started the whole thing,” one witness told The Enquirer. “He threw the first punch and kept swinging, but Akins was whipping him bad until Rock’s buddies piled in.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, November 5, 2007]

It sounded like the witness may have been biased toward the other side, though, as they are quoted as saying that he was a “wussy” and “a little punk” and that “if his buddies hadn’t saved him, Akins would have wiped the floor with him.”

It’s true that Rock did start the fight, no matter how biased the Enquirer’s source may be. They say that a police spokeswoman confirmed that Rock threw the first punch. The guy Rock was fighting with may be charged with second degree criminal damage, which is a felony, for breaking the window of the restaurant during the fight.

Meanwhile Kid Rock has caught a break for his fight with Tommy Lee at the VMAs. Cops have decided not to charge him with battery, and Tommy Lee may have had something to do with it. He requested that no charges were brought against Rock. TMZ notes that he could still be charged with misdemeanor battery for the Waffle House beat-down.

Kid Rock is shown performing on 10/18/07. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Yet again the glamazon has thrown a tantrum that would make a 3 year old embarrassed. The break down and fury of Naomi included: foot stomping, plenty of yelling, whining and abuse. Of course reps for Crazy Campbell denies the outburst. And reps for the airline are, wisely, keeping their mouths shut.

“Witnesses report that she pleaded with staff to let her fly, saying “you have to let me on, come on” but then got annoyed when staff offered a compromise of letting her fly and send her bags on the next flight. A spokesperson for the airline denies the incident but the source added: “Naomi is one of our best customers so everyone is trying to keep hush-hush about her tirade.”

[Fametastic]

In trying to get back to New York Naomi tried to walk onto the plane just 11 minutes before take off. The staff of BA tried to explain that she was just too late to board. You know Ms. Campbell….tell her no and drama ensues.

“You are joking. You are always losing bags and I don’t trust you with mine in a million years. I can’t believe you won’t allow ME on your flight. What is this? Who must I speak to?” When BA staff explained she was too late, she exploded and stamped her foot. There was a tirade of abuse.”

Egads! Remind me to wear a helmet and bring a cattle prod if I am in the region of Naomi. I am just glad no one was injured in a mortal combat to get on that plane.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Naomi Campbell is shown below leaving Swimming with Sharks on 10/17/07 and in the header at Paris Fashion Week. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Screenshot from MeetJoeFrancis.com

Joe Francis, the head of the The Girls Gone Wild franchise, has been in jail since February of this year on multiple charges including sexual performance with a minor in Florida and contempt of court. He started out in a Florida prison, where he was said to be experiencing anxiety attacks and weeping uncontrollably. He was transfered to a Reno, Nevada county jail on federal tax evasion charges where he is more comfortable and is said to be enjoying privileges including using the phone whenever he wants.

It looks like Francis has been able to use a laptop with high speed Internet in jail, because he’s launched a massive website touting what a nice guy he is and how much he has done for charity. He tells the story of how he was jailed and blames it entirely on circumstances and other people, saying that if it happened to him, it could happen to you, an average person who isn’t exploiting women for immense profit. Joe is trying to counter articles like this one, in which a journalist details how he assaulted and harassed her and raped an underage girl, which is currently the fifth Google result for his name.

The site is ridiculously detailed, and includes 18 pages of a thorough biography in which Francis expounds on his background, including being sent to boarding school at an early age and getting kicked out of military school in five days, something he brags about.

There is a certain kind of kid who actually enjoys military school. I hope I never meet that kid. For me, the academy was a preposterous and intolerable collection of arbitrary rules and silly, quasi-military posturing. I couldn’t take it seriously for a second. When we were rudely awakened at 4 a.m. and ordered out of our bunks, I turned over and said, “Forget it.” When a dorm sergeant took a brass belt buckle I’d just polished, spit on it, handed it back to me and said, “Do it again,” I tossed the buckle back to him and said, “ I already polished it. You want it polished again, do it yourself.” I was grabbed by the neck and marched to the school “commandant” for a disciplinary meeting. The commandant ordered me to stand at attention. I didn’t hear him; I was staring at the ribbons on his chest. “Something wrong, boy?” He asked. I shrugged. “I’m just wondering what all those little ribbons are for. You’ve never been in the actual military, so what are those? Pretend ribbons?”

The commandant stared at me for a long beat. I smiled back. He turned in his chair and picked up the phone. He dialed my parents. Without taking his eyes off me, he told them that their son had just set a new school record. “No one had ever been kicked out of this academy in just five days,” he said, scowling in my direction. My response was to slip my hands into my pockets, slouch even further, and give him back the biggest shit-eating grin I could muster.

[From MeetJoeFrancis.com]

In the 10 page FAQ section, he talks about his private jet, says he wants to have children someday and gives slick answers that reveal that he plays the game well but doesn’t really give a shit about anyone other than himself:

Q: Do you really have a private jet?
A: Yes. I took my first ride in a private jet about six years ago, and found the freedom of the whole experience so amazing that I bought a Falcon jet three weeks later. The first trip I took on my plane was to Lake Tahoe. I was 27, and my buddy Mark and I laughed the whole way like a couple of giddy frat guys. It truly is the only way to fly. Nine months later, I upgraded to a Gulfstream.

Q: What part of the country has the hottest girls?
A: My experience has been that anytime you go south of the Mason Dixon line, the girls seem to get more attractive. But I don’t think it really matters where you go because how many 19-year-old girls are ugly?

Q: Have you ever had your heart broken?
A: Sure, but it helps ease the pain when you get as much as I’ve gotten in my life.

Q: What’s next? Do you have any major goals?
A: My primary goal is to have a family. I see that as my next big challenge. I will always have business goals - it’s part of the game - but there isn’t one overriding accomplishment I am aiming for. In my view, a man who raises a happy and healthy family is far more successful than a man who has only managed to acquire wealth. So, in that sense, I hope my greatest legacy will be my family.

[From MeetJoeFrancis.com]

Amid all his verbal posturing he makes some very good points in the legal section as to why he should not be in jail and how he was unfairly targeted and made an example of by the judge. The most telling thing is the judge who sent him to jail for contempt of court used to be a partner of one of the lawyers suing him for millions:

It just so happens that Judge Smoak is the ex-law partner of Ross McCloy, one of the lawyers seeking millions of dollars from Francis for the women in the case. They were both partners in a law firm called Harrison, Sale, Smoak and McCloy. Interestingly, Judge Smoak’s other law partner was Franklin Harrison, who was the attorney that represented the sheriff’s department when Francis successfully sued the sheriff’s department and won his jet back.

The thing is, this revelation is on the fifth page of a ten page legal section after a lengthy introduction. He had a good idea to launch a PR campaign, but most of his message is lost amid all those excuses and words. He should have hired an editor as good as his web designer and provided bullet points to go along with those long ass stories.

Overall Francis comes off as a pompous, narcissistic self-absorbed jerk who thinks that he can talk his way out of anything. Being in jail for over six months has only strengthened the guy’s resolve to come out and make more money. He does have one fatal flaw, though - he really wants people to like him. He thinks that if we hear enough excuses come out of his mouth we’ll all come around to his side and realize that he’s just this likable entrepreneur who got where he is through hard work. Joe can talk all he wants because he’s just wasting his breath. It’s easy enough to see through the veneer to the slimeball underneath.

He may have been targeted by a vindictive judge, but he still didn’t pay his taxes and there are plenty of other allegations of rape and predatory behavior by the guy. He is in jail by his own arrogance and carelessness, and this time he’s not going to get out of it by talking a lot of shit.

Jude Law was arrested for what was said to have been an attack on a paparazzo outside his home in West London. The photographer claims he was just waiting at the bus stop nearby, all innocent like, when Law recognized him and went up to him, trying to grab the camera from him, even though he was not taking pictures at the time.

According to the photographer, Law called him a pedophile and said that he was trying to get pictures of his children. He then tried to grab the camera, and the man is said to have “minor injuries” as a result.

The guy called the cops, who came and arrested Law. He was bailed out of jail and must appear in court in October.

This is very similar to an incident last year in which Law went off on a paparazzo and called him a pedophile for trying to take pictures of Law’s kids, who were there with him at the time.

The photographer said: “I was at a bus stop near Jude’s house but I wasn’t taking pictures of him. My camera was still in the bag.

“He was by himself when he recognised me and started accusing me of being a paedophile and that all I wanted to do was take pictures of his children. I was shocked at his behaviour.”

A police spokesman confirmed that officers attended the incident. “Police were called out in the Maida Vale area after reports of a disturbance and inquiries are being made.”

Law was taken to Marylebone police station on suspicion of causing bodily harm and bailed to return next month.

Law has spoken in the past about his attempts to protect his children, Rafferty, 10, Iris, seven, and Rudy, four, from the public glare.

[Daily Mail]

The article goes on to recount when a director helped Law channel his anger for a scene in which he was supposed to hit a windshield. He was told to imagine the windshield as the paparazzi, and he hit it the windshield so hard it cracked.

You can understand the guy trying to protect his children’s privacy and flipping out about it but it doesn’t sound like the kids were even around. Maybe we’re not getting the full story and the photographer was taking pictures of Law’s children 10 minutes before he came out and tried to get his camera. The must be a lot more to it if he was just coincidentally outside of Law’s house at a bus stop, toting his camera.

Ex trashy lovers Jude Law and Sienna Miller do have a lot in common. Sienna called photographers “f’ing rapists” while she was at the launch of her new clothing store and could have used some good publicity. It’s clear that Law and Miller share the same regard for the paparazzi despite the fact that they helped make them famous.

Sienna Miller lit into photographers, calling them “rapists,” and dropping F-Bombs all over the place while she was being hounded by photographers during the launch of her new fashion store, “Twenty8Twelve,” in London’s Notting Hill area.

She shouted: “F*** off, you f***ing ****s.”

“See you in court, you f***ing rapists.”

One photographer who was at the launch said he was shocked at the outburst:

“I was quite flabbergasted. We were just doing our jobs, all we were trying to do was get some quotes on how the opening of the shop went and she called us all rapists. It’s an outrageous term to use for such a petty little thing as being at a party and being photographed. It was completely the wrong context to use that word.”

A commenter who posted on the Sun website, said they were one of the photographers who were in attentance as the spectacle went down and what respect the photographer had previous to the tirade is all but gone:

“I was one of the photographers who witnessed Sienna & Rhys’s outburst and any respect I had for either of them has gone now. Sienna in particular is absolutely vile, a nasty piece of work who doesn’t deserve to be placed on a pedestal by anyone. If it weren’t for the fact that she was blessed with good looks, she would have no career because she can’t act to save her life!”

[The Sun]

The Sun has also posted a video, which can be viewed by clicking here.

I know she was drunk, especially since photographs have surfaced which show her being escorted on the arms of friends has she tries to walk out, but I think this is a bit much - all this name calling and disrespect for those who really make her famous in the first place. I often wonder what celebs would do if all the photographers just went away. What irks me is they spend years doing whatever it takes to to get people to notice them and then when they finally get what they want, they spend the remainder of their careers telling everyone they just want their “privacy.”

Picture note by Celebitchy: Sienna Miller is shown out wasted last night with her new boyfriend, actor Rhys Ifans. They were leaving Davina Taylor’s house in London where Kate Moss is staying. Thanks to WENN for these pictures.

Sometimes, you have a perception of people that you’ve never met, that you just can’t shake. I’ve seen Quentin Tarantino interviewed. He seems normal enough, but I still kind of imagine him as a – balding - kid sitting in an attic plotting ways to kill people. Which I guess he kind of is, except in my mind he’s really killing them, not just faking for film.

So for the stewards on a recent flight from the Phillipines to LAX who were faced with his air rage, I hope they didn’t recognise him in the same way I do.

“Tiffany (Limos, actress) was pushing Quentin in a wheelchair,” the flier told us. “Apparently, Tarantino injured his back to the point where he couldn’t walk . . . Quentin made one of the stewardesses cry because he didn’t want to sit in his first-class seat. He wanted to sit on the floor or in one of the flight attendant’s seats.” A Philippine politician who happened to be on board had to come from his seat in business class to break up the fight. Meanwhile, cranky Tarantino “was telling Tiffany Limos how much he loved her . . . He called her ‘the wife’ on the flight.” Reps for Tarantino and Limos didn’t return calls.

New York Post

Was actress Tiffany employed just to push the director in the wheelchair, or was she travelling with him for a reason?

Tarantino and “the wife” were returning from the Cinemanila film festival, where he was honoured, I can only assume for his ‘contribution to directing’. On the way to picking up his Lifetime Achievement Award, he was stuck in a traffic jam in his limousine, so he decided to catch a rickshaw to the venue. This isn’t how he injured his back, no word on how that happened. Maybe he fell down the attic steps while pursuing a particularly grisly plot idea. Or maybe he did it while feeding the cat.

Paris is shown after having dinner with Zeta Graff, who is in the passenger’s seat, at Mr. Chows in March, 2006
Paris Hilton was just about to have to go to court for a $10 million defamation case against her by a woman named Zeta Graff, one of two defamation suits against the heiress. Paris told Page Six a whopper of a lie back in July of 2005, claiming that Graff attacked her in a London nightclub and ripped her necklace off, causing staff to throw Graff out. In a November, 2005 deposition Paris hilariously dismissed the fact that she leaked the false news to Page Six. She called the article in The Post “genius” and said “whatever I write in email, it doesn’t mean anything. It is just words I write.” She also didn’t recognize that London was in the U.K. during questioning.

Right before the jury was about to be selected for the trial, Paris settled with Graff for at least $2 million, the exact amount is unknown:

Paris Hilton finally blinked. Just a day before jury selection was scheduled to begin in diamond diva Zeta Graff’s much-anticipated defamation suit against the hotel heiress, Paris forked up enough cash to settle the case. Sources pegged the damage at north of $2 million. In the suit, Graff alleged that Hilton planted a story on Page Six two years ago which falsely claimed a jealous Graff - the ex-girlfriend of Paris Latsis - had ripped a necklace off Hilton’s neck and been thrown out of London nightclub Kabaret, while Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana” played mockingly in the background. Graff’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said, “Both parties are glad the matter could be resolved without the time and expense of a trial.”

[From Page Six]

Maybe Paris will think twice about “words she writes” hastily on her Blackberry, considering how expensive these few sentences were to her.

There is another defamation case pending against Paris by party planner Brian Quintana. He was granted a three year restraining order against her after she made threatening phone calls to him, famously calling him a “lazy Mexican.” Quintana was friends with Paris, until he is said to have told Paris’ then-boyfriend, Stavros Niarchos III, to dump her to get back with Mary-Kate Olsen. [Excerpted from a previous article we wrote on Celebitchy]

It’s doubtful that much will come of that other case unfortunately. Back in April, 2006 Quintana offered to drop the case against Paris if she would only attend the opening of the nightclub he was managing, Teddy’s. It’s unknown if she took him up on the offer, but considering how much her appearance fee is worth, he probably figures it would be worth it. Paris said she wouldn’t charge a 1/2 million for a New Year’s appearance, as was recently reported, but a night with Paris is probably worth 6 figures. Still, that’s much less than she paid Graff for talking smack about her to the press. She was said to have made harassing phone calls to Quintana and she used a racial slur against him. If he’s smart he’ll keep the screws to Paris and get some decent cash out of her too.

First of all, who drug tests a pet? Is it normal to run a full tox screen on an animal if they’re sick? I once thought my cat was acting weird and asked for a lead test as she used to drink out of the tub. I should have had the water tested instead as it would have been about $150 cheaper, but you can never be too safe with your pets. Still, this was something I specifically requested and I didn’t think that veterinarians would drug test pets like that.

Supposedly Pete Doherty brought one of his kittens, Dinger, in to a veterinary office because she was sick. The cat tested positive for cocaine! This actually happened to someone’s poor cat, as the RSPCA, or Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, have supposedly confirmed that such an incident took place. They wouldn’t say whether it was Doherty, though.

Pete Doherty’s pet cat has been found to have traces of cocaine in its blood stream after being taken in for observation by vets, say reports.

The Babyshambles star owns a cat named Dinger, a slang word for syringe, which recently gave birth to a litter of five kittens.

One of the litter became ill and the singer was forced to take the kitten into the vet for tests, where the drug revelation was discovered.

An RSPCA spokesman told the Daily Star: “It is a police matter, so we cannot deny or confirm the identity of the man who had this kitten removed. But it is very important to protect animals from substances that can do them serious harm.”

[From Digital Spy via WeSmirch]

I can see Pete Doherty doing this to a defenseless kitten. He was photographed throwing a joint into the penguin pen at the zoo, so he probably thinks it’s ok to feed his cats whatever crap he’s taking. In his addled mind he must think he’s just helping them join the party.

Also, this isn’t just one cat this guy is taking care of. It was one of a litter of kittens. Please, have Pete Doherty and his cats fixed so that no one else is harmed.

I hope this is a fake story, though. I can’t see a veterinarian thinking to test a cat for drugs, but when it’s Pete Doherty’s sick cat you can see how it would occur to them.