The mother of Jack Nicholson’s two youngest children, his ex girlfriend Rebecca Broussard, was arrested for DUI on August 26 after causing a four car crash near the LA airport. Thankfully no one was killed, but 13 people were injured and Broussard was arrested.

Now there’s news that not only did Broussard cause a multi-car accident, she also burned down a boat she owned with her sailor husband that same night! The damage to the $400,000 boat, which is totaled like her $80,000 car, was an accident caused by some candles she left burning.

Given Broussard’s problems, Nicholson wants to take over as primary caregiver for his two children with her, Lorraine, 17, and Raymond, 15, and is prepared to if Broussard ends up going to rehab long term. It sounds like Nicholson is just considering it, and is not yet fighting for his kids in court or we would know about it.

Jack Nicholson is more determined than ever to take his two youngest children away from ex-girlfriend Rebecca Broussard after learning she was involved in the torching of a $400,000 boat the same night she crashed her car and was arrested for drunk driving.

“Jack is steaming mad,” a friend told The Enquirer.

The Enquirer reported last week that 44 year-old Rebecca was arrested Aug. 26 following a four-car crash she caused near the Los Angeles International Airport. Thirteen people were injured in the accident, and Rebecca - who has a history of alcohol abuse - was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony DUI. After being held overnight in jail, she posted bail and was released the next morning.

Now, more incredibly details have surfaced from the horrific night - increasing Jack’s resolve to gain full custody of Lorraine, 17, and Raymond, 15, his children with Rebecca.

The Enquirer has uncovered that Rebecca may have been partially responsible for burning down a 57-foot wooden sailboat the same night she caused the car crash…

Rebecca and Dennis [her husband] left candles burning [on the boat] when they left. When they were out, Rebecca crashed the car, ended up in jail and Dennis had to go to the hospital…

“Jack knows that Rebecca might avoid jail time by agreeing to a long-term alcohol rehab - but he’s prepared to step in and take care of the kids.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, September 24, 2007]

That’s good of him to want to take care of his teenagers, even though the new husband of his ex could probably do it if she needs to go to rehab. Hopefully she will clean up her act and get her life straightened up for her family’s sake.

Jack Nicholson has five acknowledged children by four different women and was married once, according to Wikipedia. He is also said to have slept with 2,000 women, which I’ve already mentioned but couldn’t resist slipping in there.

Praise Jeebus, one of the many lawsuits against Lindsay Lohan is going forward! This one is over the October 2005 crash in which Lohan hit a van that was making an illegal u-turn. Lohan was looking behind and over her shoulder at the time, but it was still ruled to be the van driver’s fault, since he was making an illegal turn. He’s sued Lohan for upwards of $200,000, and his lawyer has alleged that Lohan was drunk at the time of the crash. The lawyer’s logic is essentially that Lohan is drunk a lot, so she was likely drunk then. I’m not oversimplifying too much, that’s pretty much what the guy is saying, just in legalese. It didn’t seem like there was a good chance that the lawsuit would proceed to trial, given that it’s hard to prove Lohan was drunk at that specific time. Yeah we all know the burden of proof is much lower in a civil trial, but there’s still no evidence that Lohan had been drinking. She had just left the Ivy, and there are no witnesses that she drank during lunch there, and the California Highway Patrol said alcohol was not a factor in the crash. Still, Lindsay is a reckless person in general, both with her own body and with others. It seems likely that her own negligence had something to do with the crash – yeah the guy shouldn’t have been making an illegal u-turn, but Lohan shouldn’t have been driving forwards while looking backwards.

A lot of “accidents” have happened to Lindsay in the last couple years. Enough that it starts to look suspicious even before the DUIs and rehab and all that. Here’s a little timeline I put together of Lindsay’s last three years from Wikipedia, Hollywood.com, People, and Yahoo. Let’s recap, shall we?

2004
Car Crash – August 3. Studio City, CA. Lohan later sued.

Hospitalization – October 25th. “High fever” in Los Angeles, CA.

2005
Hospitalization – February. “Chest pains.”

Hospitalization – March 17th. Sprained ankle.

Car Crash - May 31. Fender bender.

Car Crash – June 1. “Innocent victim.” Led to a California law meant to control crazed paparazzi - holding them liable for triple damages whenever they cause a crash.

Car Crash – October 5. “Innocent victim.” Leaves the Ivy, slams into a truck that’s making an illegal u-turn. Lohan admitted she was looking behind her shoulder at the time. Lohan later sued.

2006
Hospitalization - January. Slipped on a staircase, broke a teacup and cut her leg in London.

Hospitalization - January. Asthma attack in Miami. 4 days in the hospital.

Hospitalization – July 25. Overheating and dehydration on the set of “Georgia Rule.”

Hospitalization – September. Broken wrist in New York City.

Car Crash – November 7. “Bumped” a paparazzo with her car in Los Angeles at 2am after leaving Hyde.

Car Crash – November 17 (approx). Vehicle rams into a police car in London with then-boyfriend Calum Best.

2007
Hospitalization - January 4. World’s briefest appendectomy. Seen partying until morning the day after alleged surgery.

Rehab - January 18. Checks into Wonderland Center.

Car Crash – March. Strikes a photographer with her BMW in Los Angeles.

Car Crash – March 13. Strikes a photographer in New York.

Car Crash - May 26. Loses control of her Mercedes and strikes a curb.

Hospitalization – May 26. Minor injuries related to car crash.

Arrest – DUI – alcohol. “Usable” amount of cocaine found in vehicle.

Rehab – May 28. Checks into Promises.

Car Chase - July 24. Commandeers white GMC and chases former assistant’s mother through Santa Monica. Fails field sobriety tests. Blood alcohol level tested at between 0.12 and 0.13 percent. Small amount of cocaine found in pocket of pants.

Arrest – July 24th. Arrested on felony charges of possession of cocaine, transportation of a narcotic, and misdemeanor DUI and driving with a suspended license.

Rehab – August. Checks into Cirque Lodge.

So that’s nine car crashes in three years. Three trips to rehab in less than one year. Nine trips to the hospital, all under rather dubious circumstances. At some point you realize she’s either the unluckiest girl in the world, or she has a lot to do with all these things that “happen” to her. It’s more that she’s happening to them. She’s not just some girl who accidentally has 9 trips to the hospital. Unless she has a serious and chronic disease we don’t know about, nine trips in three years is not normal. I’m guessing Lohan has probably been drunk since about 1995 onwards, and all the falling down the stairs, heat exhaustion, and broken teacups attacking her are the logical result of all the drunkenness.

On the upside, it appears that Lohan’s community service for said drunk driving, cocaine, and chasing people will include a few little activities we didn’t know about. According to MSNBC, Lohan “must complete a three-day county coroner program in which she’ll visit a morgue and talk to victims of drunken drivers.” I doubt the victims of drunken drivers will impact Lohan in the least, because that’s about other people. But maybe the morgue will give her a better idea of what’ll happen to her if she doesn’t shape up, and let’s face it, it’s all about Lindsay.

The classiness that is Fergie thinks we should go easy on Britney and Lindsay. She says they need time alone to deal with their issues and get better – and that’s completely true. But they’re not doing that. Well I guess Lindsay is a little bit, only because she’s at the point where it’s rehab far away or jail. Though she’s still been out and about, supposedly even stopping by a convenience store to buy beer while in rehab. Britney has been out partying pretty much every night for the last year or so. It’s ridiculous. If they want some privacy and to get better, stay home! Go to rehab! The problem with Britney is she’s given no indication that she wants to get better or that she even realizes anything is wrong with her or her life. So it’s good advice in theory, but the change has to start with the famous person, not with the general public for watching the famous person.

“Fergie – no stranger to tabloid attention – says she can relate to what Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan are going through. And what the 20-something stars need, says the 32-year-old Black Eye Peas singer, is some breathing room so they can help themselves. ‘They’re young,’ Fergie (real name: Stacy Ferguson) said at a Fashion Rocks event in New York. ‘I was young when I went through my stuff. Leave them alone. If they want to get better, they’re going to get better on their own.’

Spears, 25, has returned to Los Angeles to rejoin her sons, Jayden, Sean Preston, who are respectively turning 1 and 2 this week, after a disappointing comeback performance Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas. Earlier this year, she spent a month in rehab. Lohan, 21, is in her third rehab program, this one in Utah, following her DUI arrest last month, for which she was sentenced to a day in jail. In a statement, she said she was addicted to alcohol and drugs and had relapsed.

Fergie, whose own time in rehab was for a crystal meth addiction, says that Spears and Lohan should ignore the media attention and focus on their problems. ‘If somebody is going to change, they have to want to do it themselves,’ she says. ‘I think it is really unfair to them when they are trying to get help. We’re all watching as a nation and commenting day by day on their rehabilitation. It’s not fair. You’re supposed to have a sanctuary, a place where you can go and not be pressured every day.’”

[From People]

If Britney and Lindsay want sanctuary, they need to go find one. It’s not everyone else’s job to make one for them. I don’t give her credit for much, but at least Lindsay Lohan has been laying low in rehab. She’s gone out a bit, but nothing like before, and she (or one of her handlers) was smart enough to go to a rehab away from Hollywood. These girls have major problems, and neither of them seem to really understand that. They don’t like the consequences – jail, bad headlines, crappy performances – but don’t seem to realize that in order to get those things to stop, they have to stop. Go somewhere far away and get your head and your life together. Most people can’t afford to do that, but both Lindsay and Britney are uniquely lucky that they can. Take advantage.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Fergie - looking like a hot mess as usual - promoting her new line of handbags at Macy’s last Wednesday. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Remember a few weeks ago, when Bill Murray was given a DUI citation for driving a golf cart drunk? Well he’s finally spoken out and explained himself, and it turns out it’s all because he’s a good samaritan bus driver type who just can’t let friends walk home or call a cab – so logically, why NOT borrow your hotel’s “for display only” golf cart and drive all over Stockholm?

“Bill Murray says he was just dropping people after a party when he was stopped in downtown Stockholm driving a golf cart. The police ‘asked me to come over and they assumed that I was drunk and I explained to them that I was a golfer,’ Murray told reporters Monday at the Venice Film Festival, where he appeared before the premiere of his new film The Darjeeling Limited, which also stars Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson.

The star of 1980’s Caddyshack said he was in Stockholm last month to play in a pro-am golf tournament, and hitched a ride to a post-event party in a golf cart. When no one wanted to drive home, he volunteered. ‘I ended up stopping and dropping people off on the way like a bus. I had about six people in the thing and I dropped them off one at a time.’ He said police called him over as he was dropping the last couple off at a 7-Eleven, adding ‘I didn’t know they had 7-Elevens in Stockholm.’ Swedish police took a blood test after the actor refused a breath test. He could face drunken driving charges.

It’s not illegal to drive a golf cart through downtown Stockholm, just unsual [sic].”

Apparently he’d had one or two drinks – though driving with much of anything in your system is illegal in Sweden. They have a zero-tolerance approach, which appears to apply to golf carts as well. Murray’s blood alcohol results from the blood test haven’t been released yet, so we’ll see if he ends up getting in trouble or not. I don’t know how I know this, but I’m pretty sure that gopher from “Caddyshack” was behind this somehow.

Picture note by JayBird: Header image of Bill Murray at the 2004 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Morton’s in Beverly Hills. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Months after your DUI arrest, can you turn your back on it, and get on with your career? Well, probably, although it’s harder if you make anti-Semitic remarks whilst driving under the influence.

Oscar-winning actor and director Mel Gibson has met the conditions set by a court as punishment for his drink-driving arrest last year, his attorney has told a judge.

Gibson, 51, famously made anti-Semitic slurs when arrested in Malibu, California, in July 2006. He has since apologised publicly.

He pleaded no contest to drink-driving charges, was ordered to serve three years probation, pay $US1,400 ($1,700) in fines and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Gibson’s attorney Blair Berk appeared at the hearing in Malibu and presented a judge with documents showing the actor paid his fines, attended AA meetings and complied with his probation.

The judge told Mr Berk that Gibson must be present for his next hearing, which is scheduled for February 15, 2008.

abc.net.au

For those of you bored of the DUI scandals around Lindsay, Paris and Nicole, get used to this kind of report. Somehow I can’t see them doing what Mel Gibson did, going home and keeping his mouth shut.

Of course, many are saying Mel’s career is over. Maybe it is, but I’m not sure about the career’s of Paris/Lindsay/Nicole? Is Mel’s career over because of his anti-Semitic comments, or his drunkeness?

The recent run of DUI’s has led to a potential law change in California.

The proposed legislation — which was requested by controversial Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, whose staff dealt with Gibson and Hilton — has outraged the Californian media.

California Newspaper Publishers Association lawyer Tom Newton said the measure would whittle away press freedoms for the convenience of celebrities.

“It’s the Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson Protection Act,” he told The Los Angeles Times.

“Fundamentally, it attempts to regulate news gathering and criminalise it.”

But proponents say outlawing celebrity leaks and punishing public employees who take cash from the media is a necessary move to restore faith in the state’s justice system after allegations of law enforcement officials providing prohibited information for cash.

Californian politician Julia Brownley, who introduced the Bill at Sheriff Baca’s request, said the digital media age and obsession with celebrity news made the law a necessity.

news.com.au

Maybe you could just factor in an ‘embarassment factor’ to their sentence? Or ‘cost of career earnings’ factor? Then again, everyone has these factors in their court appearances. Also, when an exclusive interview is given about the incident, do celebrities get paid for it? I imagine that would take away some of the pain.

There’s stars you hope get a second chance, and stars you hope get locked away forever, and for most people, Lindsay Lohan is the latter. The self-centered actress might actually get off without being charged for possessing cocaine. Apparently that whole, “I was holding it for a friend” and “these aren’t even my pants, I don’t know whose pants they are!” lines actually worked. Somehow that’s created enough uncertainty that the district attorney is considering dropping those charges. Yeah that doesn’t make sense to me either. It’s not like the DUI cases hinge on the cocaine, so if it doesn’t stick, what have they lost? Apparently this is a huge boon to Lindsay. Having three charges would pretty much guarantee she’d spend some time in prison if found guilty. Having two supposedly would mean several days in jail instead.

“The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office is disinclined to charge Lindsay Lohan with three drug-related felonies, a decision that could spare the troubled actress from a prison sentence, celebrity news outlet TMZ.com reported on Tuesday. The charges are connected with Lohan’s two recent arrests for drunken driving, first in May when she crashed her car on Beverly Hills, and then in July when she was involved in a late-night car chase in Santa Monica.

“TMZ, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, said the 21-year-old actress would likely face misdemeanor drunk-driving charges for both incidents. If found guilty of both, she would serve a minimum of four days in jail, TMZ.com said. Legal experts have said Lohan could face up to three years behind bars if confronted with the full weight of the law.

“Asked about the TMZ.com report, district attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the office has not yet received the Santa Monica case and the Beverly Hills case remains under review. ‘A public discussion of potential charges prior to a case being filed would be inappropriate and potentially unethical,’ she said.”

[From the Washington Post]

I can think of few things that would make me happier than Lindsay Lohan being faced with the “full weight of the law.” Well aside from being faced with the “full weight” of a steamroller. That girl should just not get any more chances. It’s one thing when you mess up your own life (not that it’s great, I’m just saying), but when you recklessly chase people down the highway because something makes you mad, that’s unacceptable. I’m hoping this is all bull, or exposing it creates such an outrage that they decide to charge Lohan with everything they possibly can. She really needs to learn a lesson, and learn that following her whims isn’t the most important thing in the world. She also has some serious rage issues that need to be dealt with. Ahh, if only I had my steamroller.

Picture note by JayBird: Header image of the infamous, but appropriate, wax prisoner Lohan at Madame Tussaud’s, which looks much prettier than the real one. Image thanks to PR Photos.

So Bill Murray’s been kind of quiet lately. That’s not really news in and of itself, supposedly he’s a recluse and not exactly on the list of hot young celebrities. But he’s really smart and talented and once in a while puts out a really great movie, so he certainly deserves to get a mention when he joins the hot young destructive celebrity set, and gets his very own DUI. Yes, at the age of 57, Bill Murray finally has what it takes to be young and powerful in Hollywood these days. If only he’d have a pantyless crotch shot, he’d be made.

Murray was taking part in the Scandinavian Masters golf tournament in Stockholm this weekend. He had a bit to drink. Not so much that he was slurring or tipsy or falling over or anything. But enough that driving a golf cart through the streets of Stockholm seemed like a good idea. Driving a golf cart on the streets isn’t illegal in and of itself, but driving much of anything after imbibing any drink more potent than a dose of Nyquil is quite illegal. Europeans are famously more tolerant towards alcohol, but much less tolerant towards DUI/DWIs. Which is how it should be. A first infraction can often mean significant jail time and a loss of a person’s drivers license for the rest of their life. Apparently that won’t be the case for Mr. Murray, as he wasn’t ridiculously drunk and likely returned to the States.

“Bill Murray could face a drunken driving charge after cruising through downtown Stockholm in a golf cart and refusing to take a breath test, citing U.S. law. Police officers spotted the “Caddyshack” star early Monday in the slow-moving vehicle and noticed he smelled of alcohol when they pulled him over, said Detective-Inspector Christer Holmlund of the Stockholm police.

“‘He refused to blow in the (breath test) instrument, citing American legislation,’ Holmlund told The Associated Press on Wednesday. ‘So we applied the old method — a blood test. It will take 14 days before the results are in.’ Murray, who had been at a golf tournament in Sweden, signed a document admitting that he was driving under the influence, and agreed to let a police officer plead guilty for him if the case goes to court, Holmlund said.

“‘Then he was let go. My guess is he went back to America,’ Holmlund said. He said the 56-year-old actor-comedian would only be charged if tests show his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit, which is quite low in Sweden. A very high alcohol level could lead to a prison sentence, but Holmlund said fines were more likely.

“‘There were no obvious signs, like when someone is really tipsy,’ he said.”

[From Yahoo News]

The things unknown untalented actresses will do to get attention these days. Oops, I mean Bill Murray. Apparently the golf cart had been outside of the hotel Murray was staying in, on display for the past week. I guess temptation became a bit too much to take, and Murray absconded with it, driving the cart to the Cafe Opera nightclub. The nightclub was less than a mile away, but I’m guessing that was one long, slow mile. I wonder what role that crazy Caddyshack gopher played in this whole debacle, and if he was cited too?

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Bill at the The Lost City Los Angeles Premiere in April 2006. Image thanks to PR Photos.

TMZ is on top of the Nicole Richie DUI trial. There were plenty of reporters and paparazzi outside the hearing, but in the videos of her entering the courthouse they seem to leave her relatively alone. She strolled into the courtroom arm in arm with her boyfriend, Joel Madden, and was wearing a loose black sleeveless dress and big ‘ol sunglasses. At first TMZ says she doesn’t look pregnant, but it’s hard to tell from the camera angles and pictures available. In their next article TMZ is calling her pregnant, and says she received five days in jail and will serve four days as she received credit for six hours served, in exchange for a guilty plea in her DUI case.

She received a $2,048 fine and will get three years probation. She was also ordered to take a 21 day alcohol education course. Richie was said to be calm and non-emotional during the sentencing.

Richie made a wise decision in light of the media circus and harsh sentence that were likely to result from a full blown trial. Given the latest details in the Lohan incident, driving the wrong way on the freeway while under the influence of Vicodin and pot seems minor when compared to stealing a car, kidnapping three people, chasing multiple other people, and refusing to pull over despite passengers’ pleas for their life. Richie’s transgression has been overshadowed by the severity and deliberate nature of Lohan’s DUI, and she’s likely to be grateful for that.

Richie has to report for jail by September 28. Her baby is thought to be due in January.

Thanks to Splash News for these photos and TMZ for the story.

“What, so early?” you ask. (At least that’s what to sprung to mind when I read the headline.)

It turns out Nicole is going to cop a plea in her DUI case from December when she was found driving the wrong way on the freeway. She has an earlier DUI conviction from 2002, and under California law she faces a mandatory 5 days in jail. On Friday she will appear in court, and the judge will sentence her on the spot.

On June 20, Nicole was ordered to stand trial for her DUI on July 11, or within 10 days of that date. Friday will be past the ten day deadline, and I wonder how she worked that out.

I bet Nicole wants to avoid a media circus trial and is scared she’ll be made an example of given the recent high-profile arrest of Lindsay following Paris’ stint in prison. She’s undoubtedly pregnant at this point, and has been lying low amid rumors that she’s having trouble with her probable baby-daddy, Joel Madden. She has been touring with him, and has popped up in the upstate NY city of Rochester and in other out of the way locations while he makes promotional appearances for his band, Good Charlotte. The two were seen fighting in public recently, but it may have just been a minor incident over what size bra Nicole wears. (Follow the link, I’m not making this up.)

Nicole will break her silence with ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an interview to air next week. It will be shown on Good Morning America on August 2 and 3, and on 20/20 on August 3. I wonder if she’ll already be in jail at that point.

How crazy is it that Nicole, Paris and/or Lindsay might end up doing jail time this year? Add Britney Spears to the mix and I’ll be in gossip heaven.

The images here are older ones. The header is from late May and the one below is from mid June. Also, I have not gloated for this yet, but I believe we were the first to call Richie pregnant.