Melanie B and her new boyfriend film producer Stephen Belafonte

In one of the more moving paternal addresses we’ve seen in a while, Eddie Murphy has acknowledged his daughter Angel Iris Murphy Brown. He also made sure to counter Melanie Brown’s statement that “she was planned and wanted by both of us.” Heaven forbid the he let the kid think she was wanted when she wasn’t. His publicist, Arnold Robinson, released a statement.

“‘Mr. Murphy and Ms. Brown dated very briefly and never made any plans of ANY sort,’ the statement said. ‘He acknowledges paternity of the child Angel, and has paid child support to Ms. Brown as well as covering the expenses of her pregnancy.’”

[From the Associated Press]

Well if it’s in ALL CAPS, it must be really really true. Poor kid. I’m sure she’ll always be treated as an obligation. Gloria Allred, Scary Spice’s lawyer, responded by noting that Eddie seems to think of Angel as a financial obligation instead of his daughter.

“’He has not indicated in his statement or to us that he plans to visit the baby.’” Brown’s primary concern is that Murphy ‘see his child, spend time with her, hold her, love her and bond with his daughter,’ Allred said.

[From the Washington Post]

Gloria Allred actually sounds pretty fair to me. Most psychologists agree that a girl who is treated well by her father will have better self esteem. There’s obviously a lot of exceptions. But having your father treat you like you’re nothing more than a financial burden can’t be good for a little girl. Mel B had a much publicized lunch with Nicole Mitchell, (who Murphy was married to for twelve years) this past weekend. The two met, with Nicole bringing along her five children with Eddie and Mel bringing Angel Iris. There were really cute pictures of them all embracing, and a picture taken through a window of Nicole holding Angel and playing with her. I’m sure it was a well-orchestrated photo op, but it sends a very clear message to Eddie: the women you’ve screwed over are forming a united front. Somehow it bugs me that he’s left such a trail of little children in his wake. He’s moving on happily with his life, buying his new doe-eyed fiancé an eight carat engagement ring, while ignoring at least one of his kids. If he doesn’t get his act together, pretty soon they’ll be adults, writing “Daddy Dearest” memoirs.

Images thanks to PRPhotos.

Melanie Brown and her lawyer, the (in)famous Gloria Allred, announced that Brown has filed a paternity suit against Eddie Murphy. Apparently Eddie hasn’t stepped up to the plate yet. Shocking. In her statement, Brown said that she wanted her daughter, 4-month-old Angel Iris Murphy Brown, to know that she was planned and wanted by both of her parents. Somehow I doubt that’s entirely true, but it’s nice to do what you can to get the kid to believe it. Brown told reporters:

“‘I am here for one reason and one reason only – her name is Angel. Angel is my baby and Eddie’s. She will always know that she was planned and wanted by both of us, but I want her to know that she has two parents who desire to be responsible for her during her life and who love her so much that they want to be a part of it.’”

[From the Associated Press]

Gloria Allred was a little tougher than Brown… but that’s what she’s paid for. She told reporters that Murphy “’has not paid one penny of child support’ for the former couple’s daughter, said she plans to ask the court to award child support and ‘to decide what is reasonable.’” Allred also mentioned that although they have proved through DNA that Murphy is Angel’s father, he has yet to acknowledge her legally. “’We’ve had communication with his attorney, and now we’re moving forward,’” she said, adding that the papers are sealed because they concern a child.” She got a few good jabs at Murphy in her speech.

“’Murphy was promising to do the right thing, but to date he has not done the right thing,’ said Allred. ‘Mr. Murphy can have all the babies he chooses to have, but his responsibility needs to be to his own children. [Brown] is seeking sole physical and legal custody.’”

“Still, Allred said Brown would be happy to arrange for Murphy to see his daughter regularly ‘like millions of parents do.’”

“’He bought a big diamond ring for his new fianceé,’ added Allred, referring to Murphy’s recent engagement to girlfriend Tracey Edmonds. ‘It is nice to be generous to others, but what about his own baby?’”

[From People]

Eddie Murphy, you got served! Literally this time. I like Gloria Allred. She’s so tough with just a tiny hint of crazy. Unlike Nancy Grace who is crazy with a tiny hint of tough. I also love anyone who wears clothes to coordinate with their last name. Really though, how hard is it for Eddie Murphy to step up and support his child? There’s so much bitterness here that it’s doubtful he’ll ever be in his daughter’s life, but at least take some responsibility for your actions. Poor Angel Iris Murphy Brown. Not only does she have two kinda wacky parents, but her last name is Murphy Brown. I really hope kids today won’t get the reference.

Pictures from Splash News.

Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds got engaged this past weekend. No articles are bothering to mention how he asked her, just that her ring is really, really big. Eight carats big. Why is old lady sized jewelry trendy again? I looked it up, and it turns out that’s about the size of a rib eye steak. Sexy.

“ET has learned that EDDIE MURPHY and his girlfriend of 10 months, TRACEY EDMONDS, are engaged!

According to OK! magazine, the 46-year-old ‘Dreamgirls’ and ‘Shrek the Third’ star proposed on July 25 with a “massive,” roughly 8-carat CARTIER yellow diamond engagement ring.

A friend of the couple says, “They’re very adorable together, very happy,” adding that they plan to tie the knot before the end of the year with a private wedding: “something low-key and romantic.””

[From Entertainment Tonight Online]

TMZ pointed out that Eddie Murphy’s first wedding to Nicole Mitchell in 1993 was on Forbes top ten most expensive celebrity weddings, clocking in at $1.5 million. They obviously have something a little more understated planned the second time around, which I think is classy. Ironic, since I wouldn’t call an 8 carat ring understated, but whatever.

Murphy and Edmonds are going to have quite the bustling house. Eddie has five kids from his twelve year marriage, and one new daughter with Scary Spice Melanie Brown. Tracey has two sons from her thirteen year marriage to Babyface. Eight kids are a lot of little feet running around the house. I’ve always heard that Eddie is a control freak. I kind of imagine that his kids live in his house kind of like the Von Trapp children in the “Sound of Music” – responding to whistles and marching around in concentric circles. And something tells me Tracey wouldn’t really object. She just has that passive doe-eyed expression too often.

Victoria Beckham was recently interviewed by Contact Music as part of her massive “We’ve Moved” press tour, which the Beckhams are doing instead of sending out change of address cards to their friends and family. Victoria’s new reality special is called “Victoria Beckham: Coming To America” – a play on Eddie Murphy’s movie, “Coming to America.” The same Eddie Murphy who knocked up fellow spice girl Melanie Brown, and then claimed on television that he wasn’t sure the baby was his. That’s also how/when he broke up with Melanie. Also the same Eddie Murphy who picks up transsexual prostitutes to make sure they get home okay. When Murphy was brought up, Victoria had a few choice words for him.

I’d spit on his food definitely. “I’d chop his d**k off too.’”

[From Contact Music]

As far as I’m concerned, this is absolutely the definition of true friendship. And this time I’m not being sarcastic. True friends hate people that screw over their friends, and if necessary, they tell the press about it. Last week Melanie Bromley, West Coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine said that for Victoria Beckham to become a star in America, she would have to “get some personality. At the moment, she’s a slightly two-dimensional character for Americans.’” Calling Eddie Murphy “’Beverly Hills C**k’” is a pretty great start in my book.

Oh man I’m so excited! I was pretty ambivalent about the Beckhams moving to the U.S., but if this is the kind of stuff that pops out of Victoria Beckham’s mouth in her first four days here, I hope she becomes my neighbor. The odds are kind of slim since I live in the middle of Brooklyn, but I have a lovely half bath that she could fit into perfectly, and probably have room for a couple of her cleavage-baring tops too. Either way, now I’m rooting for her. I hope it comes to blows with Eddie Murphy. Someone needs to take him down a peg. Although “Norbit” didn’t do it, so I’m guessing that nothing will.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Here are some screencaps of Victoria Beckham on the Tonight Show on 07/13/07. Yes, she’s actually smiling. Photos via Gossip Rocks.

Eddie Murphy never broke up with four-months pregnant Melanie B. He didn’t even bother to phone or text message her the news, and she had to find out from her friends, who heard it after he told a Dutch television station that he wasn’t with her and didn’t know if the baby with his. That’s harsh:

MEL B learnt she had been dumped by Eddie Murphy – when friends phoned to tell her.

The ex-Spice Girl was on a US-bound jet when he told the world on a TV show.

Mel only found out when she landed and checked messages from worried friends.

She bravely smiled through her torment but a pal admitted yesterday: “Mel’s beyond gutted. She was set to marry this guy and now he’s knocked the wind out of her.”

The mum-to-be, 31, left her Los Angeles home last week for a wedding in Britain, hoping that one day she too would walk down the aisle with the comic.

But Eddie, 45, was secretly seeing new love Tracey Edmonds. He later told a Dutch TV station he had ditched Mel and wanted a DNA test to prove the baby was his.

Tracy Edmonds recently claimed to be dating Murphy for six weeks. That means he’s been cheating on his pregnant girlfriend with her all that time.

The Sun reports that Melanie is floored that Eddie wants a paternity test, and that she had no idea the split was coming. She just thought they were fighting a little.

Word is that Melanie just didn’t get along with Eddie’s mother while they were all trying to live together in his mansion. Staff are said to have found her demanding, and everyone questioned her motives when she became pregnant just a few months after meeting Murphy.

Now that she’s been dumped without a word from the cheating tranny-loving comic, he’s going to come off as the bad guy no matter what she did while they were together.

Jennifer Hudson of “American Idol” fame is generating Oscar buzz with her amazing upcoming role in “Dreamgirls.” Beyonce plays a backup character in the film adaptation of the musical and is second fiddle to Hudson. Beyonce denied that there’s any rivalry between her and Hudson, but people are saying that her comments show otherwise. She told reporters that she wanted to play Hudson’s central role of Effie, of course, and wish she could of gained the 20 pounds required for for the role:

“I knew that the character that I played wasn’t the star,” Knowles, 25, told reporters on Saturday about knowing full well that her Diana Ross-esque role of Deena Jones was less meaty than Hudson’s part as Effie White – a part that is already getting Hudson Oscar buzz. “She wasn’t the underdog. She didn’t have the struggle and the pain and the dramatic scenes that Effie had, and I was fine with that.” Taking the role was about proving herself as an actress. “I’m already a star. I already have nine Grammys. Everyone knows I can sing,” Knowles said. “I did this because I wanted people to know that I can act and I can play someone so different from myself.” “Because I’m a star they just automatically assume that I’m not humble enough to sit down and take a back seat, which I am.” But the R&B star did admit that she would have liked to have sung Effie’s song, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” a showstopper that, in large part, helped get Jennifer Holliday a Tony Award for best actress for the original 1981 Broadway version of Dreamgirls. “I mean,” said Knowles, “I wish I could’ve gained 20 pounds and played Effie.” Asked if she’d really have packed on the weight for the part, Knowles said, “Yes. I absolutely would have, but Bill (Condon, the movie’s writer-director) didn’t even believe that I could be Deena. So imagine if I would’ve said, ‘Bill, I want to be Effie.’ “ And Knowles has high praise for Hudson’s portrayal of Effie. “Jennifer Hudson had such a pressure, first of all, never being in a film and never have done an album and still having to live up to those expectations,” said Knowles. “She did incredible.”

It does sound like Beyonce is calling Hudson fat, and is suggesting that Hudson got the role because she’s heavier. Hudson did actually gain 20 pounds for that film according to Wikipedia, so Beyonce might not have meant it as harshly as it came off.

Commentor kailie2 notes that Beyonce’s rumored wedding to Jay-Z next weekend may be her attempt to gain back the spotlight dominated by newcomer Hudson’s sheer talent.

That’s a pretty good theory considering how much praise and publicity Hudson is getting:

Hudson, taking over the role of Effie played on stage by Jennifer Holliday, is in charge of “Dreamgirls” from her opening scene, blowing away Grammy-winner Beyoncé Knowles, Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx and anyone else who gets in her way.

When she sings “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” – one of the most heartfelt cries of pain ever written for a musical – Hudson inscribes her name on an Oscar.

“Dreamgirls” is out in the states tomorrow, 12/6. Here’s the trailer:

Header image found at Bossip.

Eddie Murphy and Melanie B., aka Scary Spice, have broken up less than six months after they started dating. They should have plenty to remember each other by, though. They got tattooed with each others names a few days after they met, and Scary is almost five months pregnant. Murphy said during a Dutch interview that only DNA would tell if the baby was really his, and there’s also news that he’s already moved on to another girlfriend. Maybe he couldn’t stand the fact that Mel couldn’t pass for a tranny when she was knocked up:

Sources say Murphy was asked on a Dutch TV show this weekend if he was happy with the pregnant Melanie, to which he reportedly responded, “You’re being presumptuous, because we’re not together anymore. And I don’t know whose child that is, until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions, sir.” Okay then!

The couple started dating in June, just two months after the “Daddy Day Care” star’s divorce became final. Murphy already has six children, while Melanie, aka Scary Spice, has a daughter from a previous relationship. Now who’s your daddy?

Eddie’s rep told TMZ, “Mr. Murphy does not discuss his personal life publicly, so whatever is being reported is a fabrication and did not occur.”

Now Murphy is dating Babyface’s ex wife Tracy Edmunds, and she confirms that she’s been with him for a month and a half. The last time Murphy and Scary Spice seem to have been photographed together was September 26, and they were looking pretty pissed. If he’s been dating Edmunds for a month and a half they must have broken up right after that.

Maybe the baby’s paternity was questionable or maybe Scary and Eddie were fighting all the time and he’s saying he doesn’t know if the baby is his because he can’t stand her anymore. Regardless Scary can’t pass for a pretty man if she’s got a big baby bump – or can she?

- Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears will be starring in a remake of “The Witches of Eastwick.” Who is going to be the Jack Nicholson character - Brandon Davis? Didn’t he sleep with all of them anyway? [The Independent via Fark]

- There’s going to be yet another “Beverly Hills Cop” movie, it will be number four, and yes Eddie Murphy is in talks to star in it. [Ain't it Cool News]

- And there’s news of a sequel that might actually be good. George Clooney is set to star in a movie based on the final novel in the “LA Confidential” crime book series. He’s to play a corrupt police lieutenant in “Jazz.” [Hollywood Reporter]

New details about Eddie Murphy’s past may come out in the divorce proceedings with his wife of 13 years, Nicole. Page 6 speculates that she may fight the prenup, citing Murphy’s infidelity with various street trannies.

In 1997, Murphy was caught by West Hollywood police with a transvestite hooker in his car. He told his wife that he “stopped to help a person crying.” Several other hookers sold tales of Murphy’s solicitation to the tabloids, and all of them were convinced to recant, with one exception:

Atisone Suiuli was the tranny found in Murphy’s car in 1997. After being caught by police, she had proof that she was with Murphy and wouldn’t change her story. How convenient for him that she died soon afterwards.