Female First is reporting that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin gave some recent interviews in which he’s said that he watches his weight. The 31 year-old singer revealed that he’s been more conscious of his weight after Primal Scream bassist Mani warned him not to get fat in advance of the release of his band’s latest CD. Martin made the comment hopefully in jest that “I couldn’t possibly write a hit record when I’ve got a beer belly”

The Coldplay frontman revealed the whole band has been forced to swap tasty “baked goods” for salads after they piled on the pounds while working on their new album ‘Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends’.
Chris said: “It happens whenever we have some downtime, usually between albums. We get very hairy and kind of morph into Bill Oddie (British TV presenter) - we have stacked on the weight.”

The singer revealed he decided to do something about his weight after receiving weight loss advice from an unusual source - Primal Scream bassist Mani.

Chris added to Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: “Mani was eating a sandwich and I asked him what was in it. He told me it was salad and that I should eat the same. Mani warned us that nobody wants a fat pop star.”

He told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “I feel like you’ve got to write as many songs as you can between the ages of 28 and 33 because those are your last few years before you get a belly.

“I couldn’t possibly write a hit record when I’ve got a beer belly, so we’re just going to try to write as many songs as possible before that D-Day, or B-Day it should be - for Belly Day.”

Chris has now banned calorific club sandwiches from their catering menu while they are on tour promoting their new album.
A source said: “They love club sandwiches and know they would be tempted to eat quite a few if they were available.”

[From Female First via Gossip Rocks]

He’s making a joke about not being able to put out good music if he gains a few pounds. That statement can be construed as insulting to about half the population in some parts of the world though. Martin’s statements remind me of Madonna saying “I would never get fat” as she works out obsessively to shave every possible millimeter of flesh from her tiny frame. It’s not the worse thing in the world, and your career won’t suffer due to weight gain in most cases.

Unfortunately these musicians and actors are probably right that gaining 15 pounds would have a negative impact on their earning potential. As a man Martin has less to worry about, but female singers have their weight scrutinized constantly, and actresses have to stay thin or they’ll often be passed up for parts. At the very least they’ll get plastered all over the tabloids in the “worst bikini bodies” issues. I would like to see more average-sized actors, actresses and musicians, and I hope that Hollywood eventually loosens their unrealistic standards of body perfection. In the mean time you have skinny musicians like Martin saying they wouldn’t be successful if they gained weight. He’s probably joking but it does have a ring of truth to it.

Chris Martin is shown performing on the Today Show on 6/27/08. Credit: Anthony Dixon / WENN.

Nicole Kidman at the Golden Compass premiere on 11/27/07. Credit: Solarpix/PRPhotos. D-Listed has the photos mentioned here.
Just two weeks after giving birth to daughter Sunday Rose, actress Nicole Kidman was photographed out with her husband, country singer Keith Urban, looking just as slim as she ever was. Nicole, who is 41, never looked all that pregnant, even in the later months. Some people wondered if she really was pregnant at all- so these latest photos probably will feed that conspiracy even more.

What belly?

Two weeks after welcoming daughter Sunday Rose, Nicole Kidman appeared to be back to her svelte self as she and husband Keith Urban made a Starbucks run Sunday in Nashville.

Kidman, 41, donned white capri pants and a midriff-baring top while grabbing coffee. (They left their daughter at home.)

The two – who just bought a new $4.7 million Beverly Hills home - can’t stop gushing over their daughter, who was born July 7 and weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

“We are in heaven,” she said in an e-mail to New York Post columnist Liz Smith. “Can’t stop staring at her in complete awe. Feeling incredibly blessed to have been given this precious little angel.”

Meanwhile, Urban, 40, recently wrote on his Web site that they were “experiencing the pure bliss of welcoming her into our lives. We’re all doing superbly well and we continue to be absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and well wishes we are receiving.”

[From Us Weekly]

It must be nice to be naturally skinny and barely look pregnant for 9 months, then get your pre-pregnancy body back after two weeks. I’m currently 10 weeks pregnant myself, and I think my belly is bigger than hers already, so I pretty much hate her guts right now. Screw you, Nicole! No, wait. I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry, that was the hormones talking. I will say that she looks very tired. So that makes me feel a little better. Congratulations, Nicole.

D-Listed has the photos mentioned in this post.

“Ordinary” is one of those words that annoys people and is totally subjective. Along with “normal” and “regular” and “average.” You know what I think of when I imagine a woman who is “ordinary”? 5’5, 150 lbs, brunette, C boobs. What I do NOT think of is 5’8 (5’4 without the heels), 94 lbs, streaky brunette, DD bolt-on boobs, with occasional trout pout. But apparently that’s what strikes Victoria Beckham as ordinary, because that’s exactly how she’s described herself.

She’s married to one of the hottest men in the world, but when Victoria Beckham thinks about her own looks, she refers to them as simply “ordinary.”

“As you can see, I’m a normal-looking girl, and I just make the best of what I have,” Posh told Allure magazine’s August issue. “I’m not out-of-the-ordinary-looking at all – I’m incredibly ordinary.”

In fact, the former Spice Girl, who claims she has hung up her microphone, said it takes her just an hour-and-a-half – dressing, hair and make up included, to get ready for an event. And as for her fabulous looks – she pieces them together on her own.

“I don’t have a stylist,” Posh revealed. “I deal with that side of things myself. If I need accessories, I’ll go get them myself.”

[From Access Hollywood]

Well it’s great that you’re so down-to-earth and everything, but what the hell? I can’t tell if Posh is trying to be humble or if she really thinks she’s ordinary. And it’s hard to tell if by ordinary she means “I look like most people,” or if she means to say that she looks plain. Neither of which would be accurate. That comment, in addition to her body issues, makes me wonder if Posh has body dysmorphic disorder. It doesn’t seem like she has a very accurate idea of her appearance. Hopefully she was just trying to come off as modest, and she’s aware that the wardrobe/thinness/boobs aren’t exactly average.

Here’s Victoria shopping with son Cruz at Marc Jacobs and heading for lunch at Pink Taco in Century City mall on May 27th. I wonder if she thinks it’s also “ordinary” to have a Birkin ostrich bag, which runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. I’m so jealous. Images thanks to WENN.

Katie Holmes outside the late show on 1/14/08. She claims she tries to hide her thighs. Credit: HRC/WENN
Katie Holmes has an interview in last week’s Hello magazine that hasn’t been widely quoted because she didn’t say much of interest. She’s been coached and prodded into perfecting the art of giving mild interviews that focus on how happy and normal her life with Tom Cruise is while containing very little information that reveals anything of substance. You read what she says and shake your head because she’s sounds so full of shit sometimes. In this latest interview she came across like she has a poor body image though and she practically said that she’s waiting for her thighs to get fat. She didn’t quite phrase it like that, but you see where she gets the motivation to be so thin if this is how she thinks:

With the paparazzi around you constantly, does it make you conscious of how you look?
“It doesn’t bother me. No matter what I look like, they are going to try and get a shot anyway, so I might as well be honest about it. I am always aware of it. I’m used to being aware of them being there, but now I find I just want to protect everyone around me.”

Is there any part of your body that bothers you?
“I try to embrace my imperfections. But I will forever wage the battle of the thighs! So I prefer not to show them off. I am pretty tall. Usually most actresses are tiny and I’m not - I’m a big one.”

Does Tom ever comment on what you wear?
“I love it when Tom tells me I look great. It gives me such confidence. Sometimes it makes me blush but i also gives me attitude. Every woman likes to be old she looks beautiful.”

[From Hello! Magazine, print edition, July 15, 2008]

About 4-5 years ago I was really fit, like at a level I don’t even remotely approach now. (I keep trying, but with a kid it’s an uphill battle.) I went to the gym six days a week and was obsessive about it, and that was basically my main hobby other than my Internet addiction. I was single and had a lot of free time. I remember talking to two of my married girlfriends who were both skinny and gorgeous but complaining about their body parts saying their arms were too flabby, they didn’t like their tiny tummies, etc., and I was like “I’m pretty happy with my body.” I didn’t mean to be conceited about it. I was honestly in a good place with my body at that time and felt like I was right where I wanted to be. I was self conscious about other stuff, like my hair and skin, but I couldn’t complain about my body.

There are thin athletic women who think they can improve I guess, but can you imagine being Katie Holmes and being conscious of your thighs? Maybe I would hate my helmet hair if I were her, but her body is so thin. When you’re friends with women like Victoria Beckham you can get completely unrealistic standards of what constitutes “perfection.” Do you think she really feels that way or did she just come up with something to say because she didn’t want to seem too happy with her body?

As for how she gets compared to Posh, Katie said her style is softer than Victoria’s and that “We are great friends and she is such a lovely woman. Yes, Victoria has a strong sense of style but I feel my style is different. She always looks great, whereas my style is very easy and laid-back.”

Katie also said that Suri picks out most of her own clothes, something she revealed in another interview late last year, and that Suri loves shoes but is not into pink clothing like other little girls. Hopefully Suri will have a better body image than her mom and won’t become prey to the self esteem issues that can plague girls. There’s something about Suri that seems kick ass to me and I have a feeling she’ll hold her own in life. We can only hope that’s true for her sake.

Here is Katie Holmes on The Late Show in January. She wore a super short dress so maybe she was lying about her thighs. She lied pretty well during her appearance on Punk’d I remember.

Star Trek icon Leonard Nimoy counts poetry and photography among his lifelong hobbies. He recently put out a coffee table photography book that features larger women without airbrushing or clothing called The Full Body Project. He’s hopes to get the message out that the images of models in the media are unrealistic and not even close to the size of average women. Some of his models are part of the “fat acceptance” movement, which promotes understanding and equal opportunity in society for people who are larger-sized. Nimoy says the use of super thin women in ads is a cheap ploy to make women feel inferior and buy unneeded products:

In his provocative new book, photographer and actor Leonard Nimoy captures images of full-bodied women, some of whom are involved in what is known as the “fat acceptance” movement. “The average American woman,” Nimoy writes, “weighs 25 percent more than the models selling the clothes. There is a huge industry built up around selling women ways to get their bodies closer to the fantasy ideal. Pills, diets, surgery, workout programs. . . . The message is You don’t look right. If you buy our product, you can get there.’”

[From Amazon.com, thanks to The National Enquirer, print edition, for the tip]

We’ve had a lot of discussion here about this issue after the recent controversy over gorgeous model Karolina Kurkova being called “fat” on the runway. I mentioned in the comments that I don’t want to see super skinny women modeling clothing because it’s not going to make me interested in a product line. Some people applauded Kurkova for not falling for pressure to be pin thin while others said it’s her job to look unrealistically skinny and she isn’t doing it by gaining some essential weight.

Entrepreneur and all around opportunist Katie Price, better known as Jordan, put out a lingerie line and featured models of all sizes wearing her bras and undies at a photo call. She had a line up of women that included thin, average-sized and one woman who could be considered obese. It was a smart move because it got her a lot of publicity along with showing that her underwear fits women who range from small to very big-breasted.

The Dove “campaign for real beauty” ads include women that are average-sized and mildly overweight and proclaim that we should feel beautiful at all sizes. By bucking the trend of showing super fit models Dove has received a lot of attention and press. Some people criticize the ads, because the woman may be larger than we’re accustomed to seeing but they’re still all gorgeous and airbrushed. Others pointed to the hypocrisy of parent company Unilever, which also has the arguably sexist Axe ad campaign featuring perfect, sex-starved beauties fawning over the men who use their body care products.

The choice to use small, average and/or large models in an ad campaign is ultimately a business decision. It seems logical, as Dr. Mr. Spock would put it, to chose women with bodies across the spectrum in order to show that your product or clothing item has wide appeal. Nothing drives frivolous purchase decisions quite like emotion, though, and that’s why they use tiny barely post-adolescent girls to sell luxury items. You may never be that thin in your life again unless you take drastic measures - and you’ll never be that young - but it’s easy enough to plop down the money if you have it.

Here’s 77 year-old Leonard Nimoy looking cute at “16th Annual Grand Slam: Sci-Fi Summit Day Three” in Burbank, CA on 4/13/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Update: This is the first I’ve heard of Nimoy’s book, and the news is in the National Enquirer this week. Many of you note that the book is old. Amazon.com has it with a publication date of December, 2007.

It’s hard to bash U.K. singer Lily Allen because the poor girl has been having a rough time of it lately. First, Allen was diagnosed with a heart condition that scared her enough to seek help in curbing her unhealthy eating and partying habits. The program of hypnosis, exercise and a healthy diet helped the star drop two dress sizes, and at the time, she said she had never been happier. When she and her boyfriend of only a few months, Chemical Brothers band member Ed Simons, announced that they were expecting, Lily was ecstatic about it but just a few weeks later, she suffered a miscarriage, which was quickly followed by a breakup with Simons. Since then, Lily has been seeking treatment for depression. As you might expect, all these life changes, along with the stress and hectic schedule of her TV show, have caused Lily to gain back most of the weight she lost last year.

The 22-year-old has blamed the stress of filming her BBC3 television show Lily Allen and Friends for her weight gain, and has vowed to resume her healthy lifestyle.

In recent times the newly blonde star has attempted to keep her curves hidden in baggy clothes and shapeless dresses.

She told Grazia: “I don’t look great at all. I’ve put on so much weight with all the stress of my TV show. I’m glad it’s over.”

“Now the show is over I am sure I will lose some weight, just naturally as well as exercising in the gym twice a week.”

“I hate fat tummies so I hope it goes by summer.”

Last year Lily shed 19lbs, saying the weight came off when she was told the “scary” news that she had the heart condition.

She said at the time: “I used to love nothing more than sitting in front of the telly with two packets of Ginger Nuts and two bags of milk bottle sweets - and I’d devour the lot.

“But this heart thing has made me cut back on all that kind of crap.

“I now find that, because I am looking after myself, I don’t feel like eating the bad stuff so much.”

Lily let her good habits slip after a miserable start to this year - she split from her Chemical Brothers boyfriend Ed Simons in January, not long after she suffered a miscarriage.

Despite opening to mixed reviews and disappointing ratings figures, Lily’s chat show has been signed on for a second series.

[From The Daily Mail]

I haven’t seen her TV show, since we don’t get it here in the U.S., but from what I understand, it’s pretty lowbrow in content. But Lily is talented and popular, so it makes sense that the show would be renewed based on her star power alone. Still, I can’t help but think that the best way for Lily to come to terms with the drama she’s faced over the past six months is to head back to the recording studio and start putting all these events into music. That might be more therapeutic for her than sessions with a shrink or emotional eating. Plus, she’d have something to show for it other than baggy clothes. Believe me- I speak from experience on this one!

Note by Celebitchy: I’ve seen a clip from Lilly’s show in which she had the Chocolate Rain guy, Tay Zonday, on along with Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. It did seem super lame:

Lilly Allen is shown on 4/9/08, thanks to WENN. She doesn’t look bad to me at all and I think the Daily Mail is just using schlumpy pictures of her. She did look better with brown hair, though.

Good Morning America viewers who have been following host Robin Roberts’ ongoing battle with breast cancer were surprised by her new look this week. The courageous news anchor, who underwent chemotherapy last year that resulted in hair loss which she covered up with a wig, showed off her regrown natural hair. It’s cropped short, to be sure, but it looks a lot better than the wig.

ABC anchor Robin Roberts has ditched the wig post chemo and she is even sexier. The “Good Morning America” anchor unveiled a new look on Monday’s broadcast and she looks fantastic. After being diagnosed with breast cancer and starting chemotherapy last fall, the “GMA” anchor shaved her head and donned a wig to look like her old self on the show each morning.

Now that is no longer necessary. “Don’t adjust your set,” she told viewers. “This is it — this is the new me — get used to it!” Is she kidding, she looks great and we love it. “I’ve worn the wig to cling to the past … but now it’s time to accept and embrace who I am now,” Roberts told colleague Diane Sawyer.

In July of last year, Roberts announced during the live broadcast of Good Morning America that she had been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer. She noticed a lump through self-examination.

So now that Roberts has retired the wig she had been wearing on the air while receiving chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer what will she do with it? ABC News reports that Roberts plans to auction it off for charity.

[From The National Ledger]

I never cared for Robin’s wig, but I can certainly understand why she wore it. She has conducted herself with a great deal of class and dignity throughout her battle with cancer, and it couldn’t have been easy to go through it so publicly. Kudos to Robin, and let’s hope her recovery and remission continue.

Trashtastic British reality star and entrepreneur Katie Price launched her line of women’s lingerie at George at ASDA today. She used regular women to model the clothing, and chose them from among her fan club, asking women to write in for a chance:

She said: “I decided that I wanted girls from my fan club to model [the range] with me in front of the press so I got them to write in and then I chose six girls.”

While the 29-year-old’s cleavage appeared more than generous in her black lace trimmed bra, she recently underwent a breast reduction during a visit to LA in December.

Still, Katie, who has three children, Harvey, 5, Junior, two, and Princess Tiaamii, nine months, plans to go back for yet another cosmetic procedure on her breasts to have them made even smaller.

[From The Daily Mail]

Everyone is saying that she chose these women to make herself look better, and that could be partially the case. She also managed to get a lot more publicity by using normal-sized and plus-sized models along with showing that her bras and panties are made for all sizes. At least one commentor on Oh No They Didn’t noted that it’s hard to find bras if you’re large-breasted. I don’t have that particular problem, but it could be an issue she’s trying to address by showing women who are stacked wearing her new bras.

It is refreshing to see regular-sized women promoting lingerie, even if it does seem slightly exploitive in the case of the very heavy model. Katie Price is all about exploiting herself for profit, and in her case she might call it empowering. If that word is even in her vocabulary.

The Daily Mail is running their typical flaw-finding piece on these photos of 51 year-old Kim Cattrall filming a beach scene for the Sex and the City movie. She looks pretty good, but they’re obligated to point out her “skin condition.” They call the article “Cellulite and the City”:

The actress’ massive bikini bottoms failed to hide the dimpled truth, as her cellulite was plainly on show while she filmed scenes on the Malibu beach.

As the blonde star strode along the beach, gold stilettos in hand, despite retaining a still enviable figure, her thighs showed the tell-tale signs of the dreaded skin condition which defeats many women.

[From The Daily Mail]

How ridiculous to say cellulite “defeats” many women, as if we’re unable to get out of bed because our asses aren’t smooth like the airbrushed 19 year-olds in magazines. Maybe they could say “afflicts,” but that sounds like a disease. How about “affects,” but it’s not like it’s affecting our ability to care for our children, do our jobs (unless we’re models or movie stars) or even to don a swimsuit. This shit is getting out of hand.

Meanwhile one of the prettiest young television actresses, Jennifer Love Hewitt, answered some questions on the red carpet of 27 Dresses about her bikini controversy. She said “It made me feel a little embarrassed to be honest. It made me a little sad. It hurt my feelings.. And I think we should let people be!”

Many people were saying that Love Hewitt claimed to be a size 2 after she was criticized for her regular sized body, but she never said that. She was simply talking about the issue of body image and when her words are read in context you can tell that she’s just criticizing the unrealistic standards that are set on women.

Just in time to promote her new movie dealing with body image, Christina Ricci has come out and spoken about her battle with anorexia.

“I was a teenager going through adolescence and at one point I had a little anorexia phase and then I kind of ballooned,” she tells Entertainment Tonight in an interview to air on Tuesday. “I feel my body now is the adult Christina and it’s what I should have come to a long time ago if I hadn’t been screwing around with my body so much.”

The 27-year-old admits she used to waste many days worrying about her projected image on the red carpet, determined to look thin and gorgeous. The obsession consumed her so much that she was no longer enjoying nights out on the town.

“I was too busy thinking about my skin or my weight or the clothes I was wearing instead of just enjoying it and saying, ‘I can’t believe I get to be here. This is awesome and I’m going to experience it.’”

OK! Magazine

I think this is timely advice, separate to the fact that Christina’s new movie Penelope deals with body image. At this time of year we’re all going out and seeing colleagues at end of year functions, worrying about what to wear and what impression we might make on our work mates. Maybe just try to be nice to everyone, that’s probably going to make a better impression than great shoes. If you can’t manage nice, then maybe get a dress to go with the shoes!

Penelope, according to IMDb, deals with a girl born with the nose of a pig, which is the result of a family curse. She must find true love to break the curse, and she goes out into the world with Reese Witherspooon’s character Annie. Since this is the exact kind of film Reese Witherspoon is made for I can’t wait to see it. Forget dull political dramas like Rendition, give me a girl with a pig’s nose fairytale any day.

Note by Celebitchy: It sounds like Ricci is downplaying her eating disorder by calling it “a little anorexia phase” and then focusing on her weight gain when she was recovering. It takes courage though to let us know she is concerned with her weight and went through a period when it consumed her. For every celebrity that talks about their personal health issues, there are countless people who are helped who are going through the same thing.

Ricci is shown on 11/7/07 at the DKNY Delicious launch party, thanks to PRPhotos.