I guess Britney Spears had all the Kentwood, Louisiana she could take. Or maybe it was all the Spears’ family she could handle. Spears boarded a plane on Wednesday to go to her hometown and be present for the birth of younger sister Jamie Lynn’s daughter. But after one full day in the joint, she’s ready for the pampered life of a starlet again. The pop star was seen boarding a plane with her dad today to head back to her home in Beverly Hills. Because I’m sure she has a lot more important things to do than bond with her new niece or help her teenage sister take care of an infant. That’s Mommy Lynne’s job anyway, right?

Britney Spears has a tearful goodbye with her family as she left her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana the day after younger sister Jamie Lynn gives birth to a daughter, Maddie Briann.

Spears, 26, is likely on her way back to her home in Beverly Hills. (The singer is currently at work on a new album, her vocal producer and co-writer Jim Beanz confirmed exclusively to Usmagazine.com.)

Maddie Briann was born Thursday weighing 7 lbs., 11 ounces. She is the first child for Jamie Lynn, 17, and fiance Casey Aldridge.

“I’m sure the baby’s beautiful, and I’m so glad everybody’s healthy and doing well,” cousin Alli Sims told Us an after-party for Wanted in Los Angeles on Thursday.

“I just wish them all the happiness in the world,” she said. “I know they’re going to have so much fun.”

[From Us Weekly]

Ah, yes. Cousin Alli. Like anyone in the Spears family talks to that dumb waste of space anymore. Anyway, I’m sure Britney needed to get back to see her two little boys, but I can’t help think that it’s going to be a long time before she sets foot in Kentwood again, even if her mom told a judge that she’s eventually going to move back there. And I suppose she doesn’t have a whole lot of parenting wisdom to impart to her little sister anyway.

Update by Celebitchy: Here is Britney arriving at LAX yesterday with her father and assistant. Britney was surrounded by 30 paparazzi and TMZ reports that there was a fight between one of her bodyguards and a photographer. The cops were called, but the two made up afterwards and no one was arrested. Thanks to WENN for these photos.

Heath Ledger’s family will reportedly travel from Australia to represent the late actor at the opening of his film, “The Dark Knight,” in which he portrayed notorious comic book villain The Joker. The film is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer blockbuster season and many believe would have catapulted Ledger to Tom Cruise/Will Smith heights of fame had he lived.

Word is that Heath Ledger’s family will travel from Australia to attend the world premiere of “The Dark Knight,” the late actor’s final completed film, in New York in late June. (Update: buzz is the NY premiere will be on July 15) The film has been dedicated to Ledger by the director, Christopher Nolan, and will have a memoriam to the actor at the end.

In this latest installment of “Batman,” Ledger plays the Joker with a terrifyingly psychotic performance that, to me, surpasses Jack Nicholsen’s in large part because Jack was basically doing Jack wearing clown makeup (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

But Heath’s creepy performance (with garish melted makeup like that of “The Crow,” played by Brandon Lee, who also died needlessly young) seems to have summoned up demons no one could have imagined accessible to him, particularly after his seeemingly effortless Oscar-nominated role as Ennis del Mar, the emotionally repressed, painfully shy and inarticulate cowboy in “Brokeback Mountain.” There’s already rumors floating around Hollywood that his “Dark Knight” role will earn Ledger some posthumous supporting actor nods at the 2009 Oscar, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards.

[From the LA Times]

Personally, I cannot wait to see this film. The teasers look amazing, and the first film in this new franchise was great. I’d feel that way about the film whether or not Ledger had survived. This must be a very bittersweet occasion for his family, however. I can understand why they’d want to come out and support his film, but at the same time, they must get sick of all the questions and cameras pointing at them.

Kim Ledger is shown making a statement to the press before Heath’s memorial service on 2/8/08, thanks to Splash.

Benji and Joel Madden haven’t spoken to their father for more than ten years, after the (now recovering) alcoholic walked out on the family. Father Roger Combs (the boys changed their name to Madden after their mother’s maiden name) says that while he had some contact with them over the last three years, it is baby Harlow that has created a common bond. he talks to In Touch magazine about their reunion.

“My kids were mad at me, and I don’t blame them,” says Roger, who also has a daughter, Sarah, 27, and a son, Josh, 30, with Benji and Joel’s mom. Though Joel did start mending fences with Roger three years ago, it was Harlow who really reunited them. “We are good today, and that’s all that matters,” Roger says.

[From In Touch]

Roger Combs doesn’t say whether he has a relationship with his older children. He does add that holding his granddaughter was very special.

“It was a wonderful moment,” Roger exclusively tells In Touch. “She’s such a beautiful girl. I felt very proud.”

In Touch also reports that Nicole reassessed her relationship with her parents, saying that she ‘put them through a lot.’ Nicole has been to jail, and also rehab, as well as being best friends with Paris Hilton, which would make any parent nervous.

I’m not sure if Roger Combs sold his story to In Touch magazine, or if the Madden twins sold it, or if Roger was just sought out for comment. He might not understand the tabloid scrutiny the Madden brothers are under, and was just being a proud grandparent. He doesn’t talk at all about Paris Hilton, or Nicole Richie, who are most likely to result in inflammatory headlines. Hopefully his comments appearing in the press won’t create a misunderstanding like Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie’s relationship.

Joel and Benji Madden are shown at “Hornitos Tequila celebrates the ultimate ‘Cinco de Mayo’ experience at Crown Bar” on 5/5/08, thanks to WENN.

Last week, Marc Anthony called into a radio show and talked about how he and his mega rich wife, Jennifer Lopez, are caring for their three-month-old twins, Max and Emme, without the help of nannies, butlers, or even anyone else. He said “It’s just us… we’re figuring it out and having a great time.” He also talked about how he was assigned overnight duty with the twins and that his shift is from 10pm to 8am. Maybe by “us,” Anthony meant his mother-in-law too, because she’s been staying in the couple’s mansion on Long Island and helping out:

Jennifer Lopez’s mother, Guadalupe, is such a doting grandmother to babies Emme and Max that she’s now livin in her daughter’s Long Island estate. “Jennifer has been having her mom stay at their home to help out with the kids. She likes having her around, even if it’s just to ask her advice,” says an insider…

J.Lo, 38, and Marc, 39… are hands-on parents, too, but they still listen to Guadalupe

[From In Touch, print edition, June 9, 2008]

The In Touch article came out late last week, and was published ahead of Marc’s interview, so if it’s accurate his mother in law was already living with them at that point.

Grandmothers love taking care of their grandchildren and it’s not like it’s a hardship for Guadalupe to live in luxury and watch her daughter’s adorable babies. Anthony wasn’t being entirely truthful when he said “it’s just us,” though. They surely have a maid along with J.Lo’s mom to care for their children and allow them time to go out alone. Many families have that arrangement, but they also acknowledge it by telling friends that their mother is living with them. They don’t have a public image to consider, though.

Lopez and Anthony were recently spotted at Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ housewarming party in Beverly Hills. I wonder if they brought the babies with them or left them with grandma.

Guadaulpe Lopez is shown below at the NY premiere of El Cantante on 7/26/07. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are shown at the Costume Institute Gala on 5/5/08. Thanks to WENN.

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz were due to have their shotgun wedding last weekend when Ashlee decided she didn’t want her dad, a former Baptist minister, officiating. She got it in mind that she was going to have a Buddhist minister instead, despite never having previously expressed an interest in Buddhism that I could find. The argument between Ashlee and her dad got so heated that she said she would cancel the wedding if he wouldn’t let her have a Buddhist priest preside. Ashlee’s fiancé Pete Wentz stepped in and was able to save the wedding by convincing Ashlee to give in to her dad:

“In the 11th hour, Ashlee clashed with her father over the ceremony, and when he would not cave, she actually decided to cancel,” said a family friend.

The dispute… was because Ashlee… decided at the last minute to have a Buddhist priest perform the ceremony instead of her father.

“Joe completely lost it!” the source said.

“They were down to the wire. Every last detail was in place and he could not believe his daughter came up with this last-second Buddhist idea after everything was set.”

Joe Simpson, a former Baptist minister, “dug in his heels,” according to the source, and told Ashlee there was no way he’d host a Buddhist wedding.

In the end, it was… Pete who saved the day.

“He ran after Ashlee, sat her down and told her there was too much at stake now to cancel the ceremony,” said the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, June 2, 2008]

Maybe Joe was pissed because the wedding was all planned out already, but if Ashlee had an available Buddhist minister in mind, and it’s not clear from this article that she did, it seems like a simple change to have a different person officiate. It’s her wedding and she should be the one to decide who is marrying her. Instead Joe Simpson almost let her cancel the whole thing because he was too stubborn to step down and concede his daughter’s wishes! That’s ridiculous. You can understand him being hurt, but it’s his daughter’s special day and he should care enough about her to step down. Instead Joe showed that his ego is more important than his daughter’s feelings.

The National Enquirer has details of Ashlee’s wedding that we’ve partially already heard. She had an “Alice in Wonderland” theme “decorated with a top hat, teapot and pocket watch with a pot of flowers on top…. Tables were laden with black beauty roses… and tents were decked out with black chandeliers, black rugs and white couches with red pillows.” Guests dined on a dinner of “crab cakes, shrimp tacos, sushi, roast organic chicken, Kobe beef and baked Alaska.”

Just Jared has pictures of Ashlee and Pete’s wedding invitation, complete with Alice in Wonderland “eat me” cookie, and their chocolate table settings with guests names.

Ashlee and Pete are shown at LaGuardia airport in New York last night after returning from their honeymoon. They’re in the same pose as on their People cover. Thanks to Splash News.

The more I hear about this story, the sicker it gets. Dadager Joe Simpson just can’t stop meddling with his daughters’ relationships, and now that football star Tony Romo has broken it off with older daughter Jessica, he still can’t mind his own business. With younger daughter Ashlee getting married to emo poster boy Pete Wentz this weekend, Papa Joe is imploring Romo to show up to the wedding. But is it because he has his daughter’s best interest at heart, or is he hoping that if Tony shows, the media might actually give a crap about this stupid wedding?

Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson may be done, but her dad still wants the quarterback to “support the family” at Ashlee’s weekend wedding.

“Joe has called Tony and asked him to come to show support for the wedding,” a source tells Usmagzine.com.

It’s unclear if Romo accepted Joe’s request, but he’s scheduled to fly into L.A. over the weekend.

Romo wasn’t present at a bachelor party Joe threw for Pete and a few of his pals at Mr. Chow’s on Thursday night. E! reports a steady supply of beer and wine was brought to their table. After the celebration, Joe picked up the $1,000 tab!

(Back at Ashlee’s parents’ Encino, California, home, Jessica and mom Tina threw a bachelorette party for Ashlee that E! reports was a “mellow affair.” About a dozen of Ashlee’s closest family members and friends attended the backyard event, decorated with balloons.)

Ashlee (who is pregnant) and her fiancé Pete Wentz are tying the knot on Saturday. Big white tents were being set up at her parents’ home on Thursday. For more exclusive wedding details, click here.

“Proper invites have not been sent out but instead guests have been given a save the date notice,” a source told Us.

The rehearsal dinner – described by the source as “an intimate affair” for “family and close friends only” – will take place on Friday.

[From Us Weekly]

Oh, sure - like the Simpson family EVER hosts a party for family only. I’m convinced that Jessica, Ashlee and their parents would probably cease to exist of they stopped being photographed and interviewed. Papa Joe has orchestrated both of these “relationships” for his desperate fame whore daughters, and you can bet he will orchestrate their break-ups as well. If I were Tony Romo, I would change my name and start playing for the Canadian Football League.

Here at Celebitchy, we laughed our asses off at Dina Lohan being named a Top Mom by some Long Island housewife association. Apparently, Michael Lohan doesn’t share our sense of humor- in fact, the whole thing has him pissed off and ranting to the media, talking trash about his ex-wife and her mothering skills. Oh yeah, he went there.

Michael fumed, “Are you kidding! Top celebrity mom? Look at her off-screen antics, her lack of morals and how she conducts herself. I guess they forgot to mention how this top super-mom leaves her kids alone at night and even parties in their presence. Just wait until we go back to court.

“She comes stumbling out of Butter at 3:15 a.m. with bloodshot eyes and a red runny nose, yelling ‘Oh, [bleep],’ when she saw the paparazzi,” Michael raged to Page Six.

He also ranted that his ex missed their weekly family therapy appointment in order to attend the award ceremony Tuesday night in Bethpage, LI.

But Dina responded to Michael’s remarks by calling him “infantile.”

“He’s a loose cannon,” she declared. “We speak to a therapist once a week and I’m not required to be there. My kids want me there, so I go. Obviously with our [TV] show and the event, [daughter] Ali and I reschedule.

“I’ve allowed him visitation once a week, so I don’t understand why he’s doing this. He’s jealous that I got the award. He even called the organizers and tried to talk them out of giving it to me.”

[From Page Six]

In typical Dina Lohan fashion, she goes on to say that the last time their rapidly aging starlet daughter Lindsay was in town, she had to hire extra security to keep her father at arm’s length, and that she believes Michael will violate the restraining order she has on him. Notice that she never directly addresses his claims about her bad parenting- instead, she deflects that and paints herself as a victim. You see where Blohan learned that shit? As for Michael, everyone knows he’s just seething with jealousy over the media attention his ex-wife gets. From the accounts I’ve read, his parenting is just as questionable. If ANY of the Lohan kids make it to adulthood without a criminal record, a sex tape, or an addiction of some kind, it will be a miracle.

Note by Celebitchy: Michael Lohan is shown with his girlfriend, who looks a little like his daughter when she was pretty, outside the Waverly Inn on 3/10/08. Thanks to WENN.

I’ve always been really surprised that there wasn’t more drama between twin sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I can’t imagine any sisters that don’t argue - I can only wonder how hard it would be to run a multi-million dollar business empire with your twin. The 21-year-olds have spent more time apart in the last few years and have been photographed actually hanging out with people besides each other. However their business interests have remained almost entirely intertwined. While it seems like the two have been nearly joined at the hip, apparently there’s been some trouble between them, and they’ve been fighting over business and real estate decisions.

“They’ve finally had enough of each other,” says a friend. “They just don’t see eye-to-eye anymore and are tired of constantly butting heads.” Now friends say the rift between the twins seems to be growing bigger by the day. “Ashley isn’t an angel, but she’s tired of having to take care of Mary-Kate,” says the friend. “One second Mary-Kate is maniacally happy, and the next she’s sobbing. Her mood swings are dragging Mary-Kate down, and finally, Ashley’s decided she doesn’t want to go down with her.”

But no matter how they feel, the twins can’t simply ignore each other, sources say. At stake is their $100 million personal fortune - also a bone of contention between the squabbling sisters, say the insider. “Ashley’s been considering separating their assets and trusts and getting her own business manger,” the insider says.

[From Star, April 7 2008, print edition]

The Enquirer also has a similar story, saying the pair are fighting over the company and have deep-seated resentments towards one another. Apparently Mary-Kate feels Ashley manipulated her into making bad business decisions, and regrets the twins’ choice to cut their parents out of their company Dualstar.

And one of the biggest rifts between the sisters centers on their decision to “fire” their parents - David and Jarnette, who are divorced - when they took charge [of Dualstar]. Although they both agreed to the move at the time, Mary-Kate now blames Ashley for pushing her into it, says a family insider.

Mary-Kate went along with the firing in part because she was angry that her family forced her into Utah’s Cirque Lodge rehab in June of 2004 to get treatment for an eating disorder. “Mary-Kate had some real issues with the family after they put her in rehab. But now she feels like that may have colored her decision to cut them out of Dualstar. Mary-Kate now regrets her decision — on the other hand, Ashley thinks it was the right move. That’s what Mary-Kate and Ashley mainly fight about.”

[From the National Enquirer, April 7 2008, print edition]

Neither magazine says if the girls’ parents are still speaking with them, though the Enquirer notes that their dad and stepmom have publicly criticized the way they’ve run Dualstar since firing their parents. Both articles are a great example of exactly why it’s not a good idea to mix business and family. Some manage to pull it off with amazing success, but it sounds like the Olsens are starting to unravel a bit. They also bickered about the sale of their Manhattan apartment – whether to sell it, and then for how much. Their identities have always been so wrapped up in each other – at least publicly – that it seems inevitable that they’d eventually want to carve out their own niche in the world. The fighting seems sort of unavoidable to me. It seems like Ashley’s idea to separate their finances could be a really good thing, and then they could try just being sisters instead of business partners.

Here are Mary-Kate and Ashley with Karl Lagerfeld and with Mario Testino and Claudia Schiffer at the Chanel Fashion show, during Paris Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2008-2009 ready to wear collection, at the Grand Palais in Paris on March 8th. Images thanks to Splash.

15 year-old sensation Miley Cyrus and her dad, country singer Billy Ray, were interviewed on Access Hollywood by former “Brady Bunch” star Maureen McCormick. Billy Ray talked about how he tries to keep the paparazzi in line around his teen daughter by asking to see their faces and having chats with them. Miley also told a cute story about how she took her dad to get a little tattoo on his hand she designed and took him to a salon afterwards to get highlights in his hair. Billy Ray, 46, said it was Miley’s day when that happened and that he willingly submitted to the makeover.

On the paparazzi
Billy Ray: “When I see people taking pictures of my little girl, I usually try to get them to roll down the window and get a picture of them, because I just want to know who’s stalking my family.”

“I’ll go knock on the window and say ‘I just wanted to see your face because you’re taking pictures of my little girl’… just in case.”

Miley: “‘If I have to hunt you down and kill you,’ then he knows what they look like.’”

Miley told a story about how her dad intimidated a photographer. She said “He was like ‘Dude. Not cool’ [making mean face] The other guy was like ‘Sorry Mr. Cyrus’” [holding hands up]

On the heart tattoo and highlights Miley got her dad
Billy Ray: “We were sitting in church, uh…”

Miley: “You never start a tattoo story off with ‘I was sitting in church,’ that sounds so terrible.”

Billy Ray: “This is the truth… we were sitting beside each other and I noticed that she picked up my hand and drew this little heart on there, and I had already declared that day was Miley’s day. I said ‘Anything that you want to do, today is your day’”

“She said, ‘Daddy, I know what I want to do… take you to the tattoo parlor.’ The next thing I know we’re driving out there, heading for Pasadena on a Sunday afternoon.”

Miley: “And then I took him and got him highlights.”

Billy Ray: “We come across a place called ‘Wackos,’ open on a Sunday afternoon.”

Miley: “It was $20 for a whole head.”

Billy Ray: “It was Miley’s day, she took me to the tattoo parlor and to Wackos for a hairdo.”

Miley: “So I get my dad a makeover”

15 year-old Miley is the new paparazzi target after Britney’s return to sanity. It’s nice to know that she has a protective family and that they do fun activities together. Still, it’s can be a nasty business and I hope she can get through her teen years with her childhood relatively intact. It’s got to be crazy to be swarmed by photographers like that wherever you go and it’s nice that her dad is looking out for her. Maybe a move to the country might be in order soon.

Here’s the video of the interview, thanks to rockers94 on redlasso. Photos are of Miley out shopping yesterday at the Beverly Center, thanks to Splash News.

Heath Ledger’s uncles have gone public with their concerns over Heath’s father Kim Ledger’s spotty track record of managing financial estates. After Heath’s death, it was revealed that the actor left his assets to his parents and sisters, because he hadn’t updated his will since before his relationship with actress Michelle Williams and the birth of their daughter Matilda. Now, Kim Ledger’s brothers are expressing worry that Kim’s lack of asset management skills could jeopardize the estate.

Heath Ledger’s uncles are speaking out against his father Kim’s handling of the actor’s assets, saying Kim has a bad track record of estate management.

Ledger’s father so mishandled the management of their grandfather’s estate 15 years ago in Australia that Kim was removed as executor, the uncles claim.

“It plunged into enormous debt,” Mike Ledger, one of Kim’s brothers, tells PEOPLE.

Heath died in January at age 28 of an accidental mixture of prescription drugs – leaving behind a daughter, Matilda, by his ex, actress Michelle Williams. His will, written before his relationship with Williams, leaves everything to his parents and sisters.

Ledger’s uncle Mike insists the family has nothing to gain by removing Kim: “Our only vested interest is to assure that Matilda is well looked after.”

Mike added that Kim’s recent statement that Matilda “will be taken care of” was not enough assurance. “When you are talking about large sums of money like this,” he says, “it should be an independent executor, but Kim hasn’t chosen that way.”

Williams’s Father Raises Questions
Another of Kim’s brothers, Hayden, tells PEOPLE that Williams’s father, Larry, asked him if Kim was capable of managing the actor’s estate. “I just said, ‘No, not if he handles it like ours,’ ” he says.

The bitter dispute among the brothers dates back more than 15 years, when Kim became an executor of their grandfather Sir Frank Ledger’s estate, which they estimate was worth about $2 million in the mid 1980s. The family patriarch was a respected engineer in Perth.

According to the newspaper The Australian, Frank’s daughters filed a motion in Supreme Court asking to have Kim removed as the executor. The submission to the court stated that Kim’s handling of his grandfather’s estate “placed the assets at risk.” A report in Australia’s The Sunday Times says that a Supreme Court judge eventually removed Kim from overseeing the estate.

[From People]

Quite frankly, it’s none of the uncles’ business how Kim Ledger chooses to manage his son’s estate. But this does illustrate how important it is for people to update their wills and make sure their financial assets are in order, even when they’re only in their 20s. You just never know what will happen, and it’s really a strain on the surviving family who has to figure all of that out after you’re gone. I’m sure little Matilda is going to be provided for, no matter what. Heath’s family and Michelle Williams will see to that.

Kim Ledger is shown in the header image outside his son’s funeral on 2/10/08, thanks to Splash News. (We said we would post no funeral photos, but this one is a little different.) Heath is shown below in London taking his daughter out in her stroller.