Earlier this week, we excerpted an interview Elle Macpherson did with the Times Online, in which she was asked about eating the horns of endangered rhinos. Her reply? “A little bit like crushed bone and fungus in a capsule. Does the job though. Put it this way, works for me.” Yeah. She’s awful. A lot of sites covered the story too, and the reaction was pretty much universal: Elle is a bitch. Not only that, but she’s the kind of bitch who will eat part of an endangered animal just to look younger. Ugh. So, Elle might have been feeling the heat, because she decided to issue an apology. Scratch that – she had a non-apology (apology-ish) issued on her behalf by her publicist:

Supermodel Elle Macpherson said today that she regrets ”banter” in which she appeared to admit using a banned product made from rhino horn.

Her comments, made in an interview, upset wildlife charities for her apparent use of the Chinese medicine made from an endangered species. But today the model-turned-businesswoman said she had not ”knowingly consumed” anything made from threatened animals.

The claim originally appeared in an interview with The Sunday Times at the weekend during an interview conducted via Twitter.

She was asked what powdered rhino horn tasted like, and responded: ”A little bit like crushed bone and fungus in a capsule. Does the job though.”

However, a statement issued on her behalf today said: ”Following comments made in a newspaper article, Elle Macpherson would like to clarify that, whilst she has great respect for Chinese medicine, she is also fundamentally opposed to any activity which is detrimental to the protection of endangered species. Ms Macpherson has never knowingly consumed or encouraged the use or consumption of any products which contain material derived from endangered species and regrets any distress or offence that her banter with an interviewer might have caused when repeated out of context.”

[From Telegraph]

Ah, that tricky wording, “knowingly consumed” endangered animals. So I guess it’s alright then? Because Elle didn’t know that she was taking crushed rhino horn even though when asked what it was like to eat crushed rhino horn, she described it without confusion or regret. She also “regrets any distress or offence that her banter with an interviewer might have caused when repeated out of context.” “Banter” – right. “out of context” – sure. Doesn’t sound like Elle is sorry about anything. No, that’s not true – she’s sorry that we’re so upset about her need to punch kittens so that she look younger. I expect her non-denial statement on that issue shortly.

Here’s Elle on the cover of the new Tatler. Orange much?

Header: Elle on July 8, 2010, also June 3, 2010. Credit: WENN. Also, Tatler cover courtesy of The Fashion Spot.

Elle Macpherson is getting slammed by international animal-rights groups for a recent interview she gave to the Times Online. She was asked about her interest in Chinese medicine, and she described the taste and effect of powdered/crushed rhino horn. Rhinos are on the verge of extinction, mind you – mainly because they are being poached for their horns, which are extremely valuable in Asia and to select, ignorant rich bitches:

Witter: You’re said to be a great fan of Chinese medicine. What does powdered rhino horn taste like?
E MacP: A little bit like crushed bone and fungus in a capsule. Does the job though.

Witter: How do you know that it works? A lot of people say Chinese medicine is quackery.
E MacP: Put it this way, works for me.

Witter: Did you find your nickname “The Body” offensive? Sexist?
E MacP: Brilliant name. I trademarked it and built a business out of it. What part of that is sexist?

Witter: What’s the secret of running a successful business?
E MacP: I reckon the secret is passion. We’ve become a global brand, 300 doors in 11 countries during a recession.

Witter: Are you tired of the press? Is it anyone’s business whether you wear a cycling helmet?
E MacP: I’m sure I’ll be slammed again this summer for riding my bike around Notting Hill with a child perched on the handlebars.

Witter: We’ve also been treated to pictures of your cellulite.
E MacP: Thank you! What cellulite?

Witter: What would you have done for a living if you’d been born plug-ugly?
E MacP: Probably just the same thing. Right, little boy waiting at school gate without Mummy. Not a good look.

[From The Times Online]

The envirnomentalist site Mongabay details what’s wrong with thinking that Elle’s “it works for me” attitude is deluded and nasty. On the site, they also include a graphic, disturbing photo of a rhino slowly dying after his horn has been cut off (WARNING – photo here).

The consumption of rhino horn, which financially underpins illegal poaching, is both the historic and current driver behind rhino decline worldwide, and in the cases of four subspecies: complete extinction.

As well, currently four of the world’s five rhino species are threatened with extinction, three of these species are considered Critically Endangered. There are less than 50 adult Java rhinos in the world and less than 250 adult Sumatran rhinos.

Poaching hit a 15-year-high last year to keep up with demand for rhino horn. Poachers usually shoot or tranquilize the animal before sawing off its horn. Rhinos often die from bleeding to death.

However poaching doesn’t only impact rhinos, rangers who protect them are sometimes in the line of fire: last month a ranger in India was kidnapped by a group of poachers and murdered with two bullets in his stomach.

Powdered rhino horn, such as Elle MacPherson uses, is not cheap: last year one kilo was worth approximately $60,000, nearly $20,000 more than a kilo of gold.

While there have been discussions of legalizing the trade in order to draw down the price of rhino horn and use the proceeds for conservation, for now the sale or purchase of rhino horn products is banned worldwide by the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

[From Mongabay]

So basically, Elle probably takes it because it’s expensive and she thinks it’s awesome to kill off an endangered species so she won’t have laugh lines. I guess she never heard of face cream? Seriously, why? Why go out of your way to buy crushed rhino horn powder to increase your health?

Elle on June 30, 2010. Credit: WENN.

I’ve been saying this a lot, but in my defense, whenever I see a woman in really super-tight leather or rubber or pleather, my immediate reaction is “yeast infection”. Wear fabric that breathes, ladies. So once I got past my gut “yeasty” reaction, I started to wonder how Elle Macpherson can even breath in these pants. This is how Elle showed up for the launch party of Britain’s Next Top Model in London yesterday. The pants are pretty kick-ass, I have to admit. And they are rubber – or “PVC” if you want. No animal was skinned, unless there is some shiny, rubbery animal out there missing his skin. And you know Elle squeaked when she walked.

Here’s a question though – I’ll grant her that she looks great in these pants head on, but is the profile good? I don’t think it is, at all. Sure, she’s still a supermodel with a bangin’ body, but these pants give her an artificial gut, I think.

Holy crap, I just read that Elle is 47 years old! What the hell? When did that happen? Damn, she looks like she’s in her early 30s, if not younger. Oh, and she was braless too. There are photos of her nips everywhere (but those motherf-ckers still don’t have Angelina!).

Elle on June 30, 2010. Credit: WENN.

The Daily Mail ran a story over the weekend about 45-year-old Elle MacPherson’s recent appearance at an event for Jaguar in London. The article was called “Is that cellulite on Elle Macpherson’s thighs? Even ‘The Body’ can’t escape the ageing process at Jaguar launch”. They featured these photos – only they had enlarged one of them to show Elle’s “cellulite”. If you look really, really closely at one of the photos, it seems Elle has a little loose skin above her knee, and she was photographed at a bad angle. If you go to read the article, you’ll find several plastic surgeons who claim that it’s not really cellulite, but something called “creping”:

So extraordinary and enviable is her physique, that Elle Macpherson is known as The Body. Yet at the grand old age of 45, positively ancient in supermodel terms, she appears to be showing the first signs of wear and tear.

Photographed as she attended a glamorous party to launch a new Jaguar car at the Saatchi Gallery in West London, Miss Macpherson wore a short gold dress which showed off her legs fabulously.

On closer inspection, the knee and thigh on the model’s right leg appear to be suffering from the dreaded appearance of sagging loose skin. The condition, often called ‘creping’ by cosmetic surgeons, is the result of nothing more than the aging of the skin making it less firm and taut.

The effect is particularly prevalent on people who have little fat on their bodies and who have spent much of their lives in sunnier climes, which happens to be the case with Miss Macpherson.

Unfortunately, the fact that the light source is coming from the side rather than from a camera flashbulb in front of her in this picture only appears to exaggerate the effect.

Surgeons who analysed this picture added that the effect is also apparently made worse since the photograph captures the exact moment when the skin on her right thigh is moving over the leg muscle as the weight is transferred from her left to her right leg.

Miss Macpherson, who has two children, is one of the most successful supermodels of her generation and among the very few who have been able to sustain a career while others have fallen by the wayside.

Cosmetic surgeon Alex Karidis said: ‘It’s an unfortunate picture in that it appears to have captured the exact moment during her walking towards camera when the weight is transferring onto the right leg. It is the moment of impact when the skin is travelling over the leg muscle. You probably would not notice the effect on a very young individual but only because the skin quality would be much better.’

‘Elle is 45 and has presumably had a lot of sun over the years. She has a lot of freckles and the skin quality has obviously reduced with age. It just goes to show that age gets the better of everyone. The effect – which you can call creping – does happen with age and especially when someone has lived in the sun a lot in California and Australia. Women’s skin also tends to age a little earlier than men’s skin.’

‘Creping is also more common in skinnier people. Fat tends to pad out the skin and supports it more. If you have a very low body mass index like Elle does then basically you have skin travelling over muscle with no fat in between. Whereas if she was slightly plumper, she would not have the creping phenomenon as much.’

Cosmetic surgeon Riccardo Frati suggested such a phenomenon was usually associated with dramatic weight loss in patients who has had too much liposuction but that it could have also been the result of sun damage. There is no suggestion that Miss Macpherson, who has never been overweight, has had liposuction on her legs.

The unfortunate picture was taken last night as the supermodel helped to launch the latest Jaguar. She wore a glittering £6,560 Herve Leger bandage dress teamed with a pair of vertiginous Christian Louboutin heels.

While the ensemble was undoubtedly a stunning combination the micro mini and gold sequins could be seen as a rather mutton-dressed-as-lamb look for the forty-five year old.

[From Daily Mail]

Oh, for goodness sake. I’m not any kind of Elle MacPherson fan, but enough is enough. She looks gorgeous! She could pass for a woman in her early thirties. Her skin looks fine, her body looks fine. It was just a screwed up picture. She has lovely legs. Enough. The only small, teeny-tiny criticism is that the dress is simply too short. There, I’m done. That’s my only complaint – and I would have said it even if some twenty-something girl was wearing the same dress. I wasn’t even going to write this because I found it so offensive – but now other sites are picking up the story that Elle has “cellulite”. All because of the Daily Mail, a newspaper that has run articles about the attractiveness of celebrity knees, for the love of God.

Here’s Elle Macpherson at the launch of the new Jaguar XJ in London on Thursday. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Rupert Murdoch-owned British gossip papers News of The World and The Sun have been implicated in a massive scandal involving paying private detectives to tap into the phones of thousands of celebrities and public figures including Gwyneth Paltrow, George Michael, Elle Macpherson, and now-deceased Jade Goody. Those are just some of the names which have been released. News of The World went to great lengths to conceal this illegal activity, paying off three victims and ensuring that all the evidence in the cases were sealed. Journalists are said to have hired a private investigator who, along with illegal wiretapping, regularly conducted searches of police databases and paid off employees of various companies and groups for information. What’s more is that The Daily Mail is involved too even though they’re owed by another company, because they hired that same investigator to get information illegally.

Murdoch owns News Corp, the parent company to Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall St. Journal. He denies knowing anything about this illegal activity. The editor mentioned, Andrew Coulson, worked for News of The World from 2003 to January, 2007, when he resigned over the royal phone tapping scandal. (In August, 2006, journalist Clive Goodman was caught intercepting some of the royals’ phone calls, for which he spent four months in jail. That obviously wasn’t an isolated incident.) Coulson also worked at The Sun, as editor of The “Bizarre” column, from 1998 to 2003, which is possibly why The Sun is involved too. [Note that while this report claims a "thousand" public figures were targeted, the originating story in The Guardian says that "several thousand public figures were targeted."]

Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World and Sun newspapers face separate investigations by London police and U.K. lawmakers over claims they obtained personal information through illegal means.

The Metropolitan Police will look into the allegations, Commissioner Paul Stephenson said in a statement today. Thirty- one journalists working for the tabloid newspapers acquired private information through “blagging,” or underhand means, the U.K.’s Information Commission said.

The Guardian reported yesterday that Murdoch’s News Corp. paid more than 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) to settle lawsuits claiming journalists used private investigators who illegally hacked into mobile phones of politicians, sports stars and entertainers. The report throws a spotlight on the news- gathering methods of the competitive U.K. newspaper industry.

“If things came to a head and there was enough political interest in this,” the newspapers and individual journalists could face criminal charges for breaching data privacy laws, said Nick Graham, the head of the information and privacy practice at Denton Wilde Sapte LLP in London.

Cameron Twist

In Parliament, Home Office minister David Hanson told lawmakers the government first learned of the Guardian’s allegations last night. He said he couldn’t answer questions on why the victims, which the report said included former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, hadn’t been told by the police.

The report has taken on a political twist, drawing in Andy Coulson, the communications chief of David Cameron, leader of the U.K.’s opposition Conservative Party. Coulson was formerly deputy editor and then editor of the News of the World.

The scoop by the Guardian, a pro-Labour party newspaper, is an attempt to go after the opposition Conservative party, said Lorna Tilbian, a media analyst at Numis Securities in London.

Coulson resigned as editor of News of the World in 2007 after reporter Clive Goodman was jailed along with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire for intercepting phone messages left for members of Prince Charles’ staff and of Gordon Taylor, chief executive officer of the Professional Footballers Association. Coulson at the time denied any knowledge of Goodman’s actions, which the newspaper portrayed as an isolated incident.

John Whittingdale, chairman of the House of Commons Media Committee, said today he will re-open an inquiry into the case.

“If there were more than 1,000 phone taps, it beggars belief that this was just one journalist and that senior executives didn’t know,” Liberal Democrat lawmaker Chris Huhne said in Parliament today.

Murdoch Unaware

The Information Commission said in an e-mailed statement today that it had documented “widespread media involvement in illegally obtaining personal information.”

“Following a court order in 2008 we made available a copy of some information from our investigation into the buying and selling of personal information, to lawyers acting on behalf of Gordon Taylor,” Mick Gorrill, assistant information commissioner at the Information Commission, said in the statement. “This included material that showed that 31 journalists working for The News of the World and The Sun had acquired people’s personal information through blagging.”

News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch said yesterday that he wasn’t aware of any payments made to settle legal cases in which the company’s newspaper reporters may have been involved in criminal activity. “If that had happened, I would know about it,” Murdoch said in an interview at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.

News International had no immediate comment, spokeswoman Daisy Dunlop said, but may release a statement later today.

Hacking Mobile Phones

According to the Guardian, Murdoch’s newspapers made out- of-court settlements that secured secrecy about three cases that may have shown evidence of journalists using investigators who hacked into the mobile-phone messages of public figures to access confidential personal data.

The newspaper said the conning of government agencies, phone companies and others into divulging information, before the mobile phone-hacking activity, occurred when Coulson was deputy and Rebekah Wade was the editor.

[From Bloomberg.com]

Celebrities and public figures in the UK are said to be talking to their lawyers and considering taking legal action against News of The World. Many people who were targeted don’t know about it, though, because the police have taken the controversial stance of not yet informing all the victims. Considering that one journalist got four months for tapping a single royal home this could turn into a huge series of trial with severe consequences for some of the journalists. If Coulson was the mastermind, he should pay the most though.

Gwyneth is shown on 5/15/08. George Michael is shown on 6/17/08./ Credit: WENN.com

What’s a man to do when his famous gristly ex-wife moves her 22-year-old plaything into her apartment? Go out on a date with a supermodel of course. And that’s exactly what Guy Ritchie did on Monday night. According to the Daily Mail, Ritchie took Elle Macpherson to Notting Hill Brasserie – and the pair didn’t leave the restaurant until 12:30 in the morning. You know Madonna would never have stayed in a restaurant so long – she’d need to schedule at least one weight lifting routine in there.

Guy Ritchie might not have been overly happy about the news that Madonna is now living with her toyboy lover – but he hit back in spectacular fashion last night.

Not to be outdone, the Sherlock Holmes director hit the town last night with Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson.

He took the 44-year-old bachelorette – known in her heyday as The Body – for dinner at the Notting hill Brasserie.

Guy and Elle must have had a lot to talk about, as the pair stayed in each other’s company until 12.30am – leaving separately to avoid being photographed together.

And judging by the smirks on their faces, the night went rather well.

[From the Daily Mail]

Elle Macpherson? Not too shabby. Definitely a classier date that Jesus Luz… or Alex Rodriguez, for that matter. The Daily Mail points out that Guy has also been linked to British heiress/socialite Jemima Khan. I was afraid he had a thing for overly-muscled, ball-busting women, but it appears Madonna wasn’t really his type. No surprise. An she wasn’t quite so gristly when they first got together, but definitely grew more obsessive about her gym time as their marriage progressed.

I like the idea of Guy and Elle. They just look good together. And after someone as overly-complex/issue-ridden as Madonna, I bet Guy would prefer a woman who’s capable of being light-hearted and fun. And she’s not exactly hard on the eyes, I’ll give her that.

Here’s Guy Ritchie and Ell Macpherson entering the Notting Hill Brasserie on Monday night. Images thanks to WENN.com.

Remember how everyone was getting those terrible helmet bangs about a year and a half ago and how Janet Jackson popularized it? My hairdresser had a big poster up from Jose Eber featuring that style, and when I asked him about it he just shook his head and said he hoped it would pass.

The severe bangs were flipped to the side until they slowly grew out to make way for more classic hair trends, but now they’re back again in all their forehead-blocking glory. I blame Katie Holmes for bringing back this questionable style. She manages to pull off a severe interpretation of her daughter’s bowl cut, but only because she has either naturally thin straight hair or enough volume has been taken out of her hair to make it flat and sleek. In my opinion this style just doesn’t work with thicker hair and looks silly.

Here are some celebrities who work it, and others who just should flip it to the side and wait for the trend to pass. Rather than group them according to my opinion, I’ll just post the photos and let you discuss. I don’t think this style works with hair that isn’t straight and thin, but you may disagree.

It’s just hair. It will grow out eventually and can be styled to compensate, but unlike a bad outfit you can’t just switch it for something else the next day without some effort.

Shown are Katie Holmes, Heidi Klum, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci, Elle Macpherson, Selma Blair, Kylie Minogue, Kelis, Paula Abdul in a messy interpretation of the style, Rihanna, Myleene Klass, and Janet Jackson.

Paul McCartney is one of England’s most eligible bachelors, and just about anyone could have a crush on him. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Renee Zellweger has a crush on the newly single Beatle.

Renee, 38, said: “I do have a big crush on Paul McCartney. I feel quite embarrassed saying it because I haven’t even told him yet.

“I’ve told my friends and I think they might have told him. Well I guess if he doesn’t know he will find out now.”

The Sun

Unfortunately for Renee, Paul denied the recent reports the two are dating, saying, “We’re not dating. We’re in the same group of friends and that’s it.”

We’ve all heard the ‘just good friends’ line a few times, maybe there will be no official announcement of romance until, say, Paul is actually divorced from his previous wife Heather Mills!

Of course, Paul is hot property, and even though he’s almost twice Renee’s age, she’s not without competition. Australian papers are trying to link Paul with supermodel Elle Macpherson, after they were photographed together at the GQ Man of the Year Awards.

At the Man of the Year event, where Paul was the Man of the Year, he was also photographed flirting with Natalie Imbruglia, an Australian pop star. She’s probably not linked to the Beatle as she’s married to equally attractive Australian rock star Daniel Johns. No one wants Aussie pop royalty to split up, we’re still grieving the loss of Tom Cruise as Australia’s favourite son-in-law.

Anyway, even at 65, I’m beginning to suspect that Macca may have plenty of women on hand to help him recover from his divorce.

There’s this doubtful story that Elle Macpherson was almost mugged across the street from an event. She was said to have felled the mugger with her skill in, uh, Tai Chi. I took Tai Chi for a while and found it kind of mentally taxing but boring overall. It’s a meditative martial art and goes really slow. How anyone could use Tai Chi to kick someone’s ass is beyond me. It seems more likely that Macpherson distracted the guy with her great boobs, which were on full display that night.

Our suitably impressed source said: “Elle’s car stopped across the road from the party as there was a snarl-up outside Koko, so she jogged across to get into it.

“Everyone was watching her – well it’s hard not to – and we all just looked on in horror as we saw a figure in a hoody come out of the shadows.

“It looked like a man, about 6ft 2in and stocky. We were all panicked but the traffic was in full flow so everyone just ended up gawping in horror.

“It turned out that he didn’t stand a chance, though. As soon as he grabbed for Elle’s bag she swung around quite calmly, just went for his arm and got her bag… it looked so simple.

“The mugger reacted like he’d been floored and staggered back, then ran for it. The lights changed and we tried to follow but he managed to get away.”

And according to friends of the super supermodel, her swift reaction to the nasty ne’er-do-well is all down to the hours of body work she puts in.

A mole told us: “Elle practises T’ai Chi which is one of the softer martial arts but a martial art nevertheless. It’s primarily used for meditation and for toning the body.

“But it does, after a certain level, ensure that the pupil is proficient in self-defence. It’s also brilliant at developing core strength.

If that’s true then Elle deserves a lot of credit for fending off a mugger with her bare hands. It sounds like something out of a movie – a half-dressed former supermodel uses slow-mo martial arts on a street thug.