Rap producer, co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records, Suge Knight, likes to flex his muscles and pick fights with people. When I say “flex his muscles,” I really mean that he gets to stand there flexing his muscles while his bodyguards to do all his fighting for him- which was the case this weekend. Knight is probably famous for dangling Vanilla Ice off a 20-foot balcony to persuade him to surrender royalty rights to Suge for his hit “Ice Ice Baby.” Knight likes to pass himself off as a tough guy, but it turns out he can’t take a punch- even after his bodyguards have beaten on the guy first.

Suge was at Shag nightclub when he began arguing with a man he had been talking with. Our spy overheard Suge say, “I want my money!” Suge and his peeps beat the guy to the ground, but the man landed a right hook on Suge’s face, knocking him out for around three minutes.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ after Suge Knight was knocked out at a club last night, he refused to deal with cops.

We’re told after Suge was taken into a nearby SUV, a woman got in the driver’s seat, pulled forward and hit a car, then put it in reverse and hit another car. She was taken from the car by security, and someone else drove Suge away from the scene.

Suge was taken to a hospital, and LAPD officers arrived shortly thereafter, but Suge was uncooperative and refused to file a police report.

Wonder if it had to do with the “money deal” that apparently triggered the fight.

[From TMZ]

TMZ has photos of Suge in the moments after the punch landed. He does not look well - he is disoriented and his head is bleeding. It must have been some punch! And then, to make matters worse, the woman driving him to the hospital hits another car. If Suge Knight wasn’t such a jerk, I might feel a little sorry for him on that one. But since he’s a macho shithead, I have one thing to say: HA!

Note by Celebitchy: Knight filed for bankruptcy protection in May, 2006, claiming he had only $11 to his name. That might explain why he’s getting into fights over money.

One thing that bothers me in the comments for the DMX post is that people are using the word “rapper” as a derogatory term. While I don’t think anyone’s comments or our post about that animal abuser were racist as one commenter charged, it is not fair to use “rapper” as something negative. There are incredibly talented rap artists who aren’t getting into trouble and it’s not fair to paint everyone with a wide brush because some people are idiots. That’s like using “actress” as a negative term because of Lindsay Lohan’s behavior.

Suge Knight is shown on 12/11/07 after the Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton boxing match, thanks to Splash News.

There are a lot of things Beyonce Knowles is known for. Awesome voice. Catchy songs. Gorgeous. Diva. But I’ve never heard anyone mention her fabulous sense of humor – and generally divas aren’t known for being able to laugh at themselves. It seems to be a lack of humor that’s gotten Jay-Z into some trouble with his new wife. According to the Mirror, Jay-Z poked a little fun at Beyonce at his concert at the Hollywood Bowl – and Beyonce , being Beyonce, didn’t really care for it.

Flicking through his box of oldies, the DJ slapped on one of Beyonce’s biggest hits, Crazy In Love. But as the fans grooved, Jay-Z growled. Storming to the mic, he yelled: “F*** that. Sorry Bey but f*** that - let’s play something else.” Furious, Bey stalked off… before laying into her man later away from prying eyes. “Beyonce had been side stage for most of the night, dancing and singing along,” says a fellow reveller. But when Jay-Z got the song pulled, her mood soured. He meant it as a joke, but Beyonce didn’t take it that way.

“After he came off stage, she confronted him, demanding to know what the hell his comments had been about. She was gesturing wildly and not looking happy. Like any good husband would, Jay-Z grovelled and tried to get out of it with compliments. It’s a shame because earlier the pair had been flashing their tattooed wedding ring fingers. Both have ‘IV’ - the date of their wedding’ - inked on.

[From the Mirror]

The tattoos are actually old and appeared after the couple took a trip to Paris this past Christmas – which of course spouted a slew of “are they married” gossip. According to the source, the couple later made amends and were seen holding hands again. It seems pretty clear Jay-Z meant the song playing as a joke – clearly he wasn’t trying to publicly humiliate his wife. But I could see something like that bothering a lot of people, because it does seem like a dis. And it’s very public. It seems that the couple have no plans to officially confirm their marriage in the near future – certainly an unusual choice, but their right.
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Here’s Jay Z in concert on April 8th. Images thanks to Splash.

59 year old Ivana trump married her fourth husband, Italian actor/model Rossano Rubicondi, 35, in an over-the-top ceremony at her second husband Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach on Saturday. They held their reception in the same ballroom where Trump married his third wife Melania in 2005.

Among the 500 guests were Kathy and Rick Hilton, Robin Leach, George Hamilton, and Brigitte Nielsen. The theme from Rocky played as the young groom entered the ceremony, and Neil Sedaka sang at the reception.

People promises to have the exclusive photos in their next issue, but OK! reminds us that Trump and her much younger husband don’t have the calm and romantic relationship their garish nuptials might lead you to believe.

Ivana and Rossano both called 911 on each other on March 17 after an argument. Rossano called first, and police came to Ivana’s Palm Beach home, searched and left. Ivana called 911 again two hours later, saying “What’s going on is that I have a boyfriend which [sic] I want to leave my home and he called the police before and he’s abusive.”

No one was arrested, and Rossano was cuffed and released. The NY Post reported this story at the end of March, and quoted a source as saying that “They’ve been fighting ever since they met each other, and the only reason anyone can imagine for why they are getting married is for the publicity.” The Post also noted at the time that OK! Magazine had brokered an exclusive $1 million deal for the wedding photos, but obviously that fell through and People must have outbid them.

Now we know why OK! is so quick to remind us that this marriage is probably doomed.

Ivana and Rossano are shown out to dinner on Valentine’s Day in NY, thanks to Splash News.

This week’s National Enquirer reports that Jamie Lynn’s fiance, Casey Aldridge, 18, was drinking heavily at a party and that pregnant Jamie Lynn stepped in to try and stop a fight between two of his friends. Fists were flying and Jamie Lynn got elbowed hard in the mouth. She was crying and screaming, and the way Casey responded was to try and get her to shut up:

According to a new report from The National Enquirer, Jamie Lynn was injured when she attempted to break up a fight between two of Casey’s friends:

“Jamie Lynn decided she could break it up, but got elbowed hard in the mouth by one of the boy,” says an eyewitness. “She went crazy, screaming at everyone….crying, screaming, and covering her mouth.”

“Casey was so drunk, he just kept trying to hush her up.”

[From popcrunch]

Jamie Lynn just turned 17, and she’s pregnant, but it’s not like she was said to be drinking at the party. She probably thought she could stop the fight since she was one of the only sober people there and assumed that the guys would respect a pregnant woman. Either they didn’t see her or she just got in the way, because she ended up hurt.

Why she was even at a party were teens were drinking is up to question, and given the way the night unfolded it clearly wasn’t a good place for a pregnant girl to be hanging out. At least she’s been trying to lead a quiet life in Louisiana, but she’s still getting into some trouble there. Her fiance was even said to have threatened photographers with a gun he had in his four wheeler. I hope Jamie Lynn makes better choices in life soon, because she’s about to have a baby who depends on her. As it is, she’s hanging out with a young crowd that’s acting their age, which is much too young to be responsible for a child.

Jamie Lynn Spears is shown leaving Connie’s Jewelry and Gifts in Kentwood, LA on 4/9/08, where she was said to have had her engagement ring resized to fit her swelling fingers. I think it was the National Enquirer that reported a few weeks back that she was good friends with a girl who worked there and liked to stop and chat with her during the day. Thanks to Splash News for this photo.

Anyone who thought shock jock Howard Stern’s radio show would lose steam once it made the leap to satellite radio hasn’t been listening lately. If you have been listening to his Sirius show, you have been witnessing the slow, uncomfortable breakdown of comedian/on-air sidekick Artie Lange. Lange, a portly stand-up comedian who replaced longtime sidekick Jackie Martling and has become a beloved figure on the show, has been gaining even more weight, blackout drinking and dabbling in drugs over the last year, to the point that his co-workers have expressed concern on-air. Lange’s downward spiral finally came to a head yesterday on the air, when he physically attacked his assistant and hurled various epithets at him, and then quit the show.

Stern was finally left speechless yesterday after a brawl erupted inside his Sirius Satellite studio between his hard-partying sidekick Artie Lange and Lange’s assistant, Teddy, which ended with Lange’s quitting the show.

The bickering started off air in the morning, in the hallway adjacent to Stern’s studio. Show staffers overheard Lange screaming at Teddy because Teddy asked him for his passport for the fourth time as he planned their flight to Amsterdam, which was set to take off last night. Lange told Teddy he should have photocopied the passport the first time.

Stern was told they had been bickering and brought it up on air. When Teddy came in to defend himself, Lange snapped.

“He’s a loser,” yelled Lange. “He’s the most unorganized assistant. I want to fire him, but he has no money. I hope he dies of AIDS.”

Lange, who pays Teddy $24,000 a year for part-time work, then accused Teddy of embarrassing him in front of friends last week in LA when he called Bloomingdale’s department store by its nickname, Bloomie’s, and announced the store didn’t have something in Lange’s size.

“I think I hired a fag,” said Lange. “I wanted to throw him out the window.”

Lange then threw a cup of water at Teddy and lunged at him, throwing a punch that didn’t land. Show writer Benjy Bronk jumped on Lange and held him back, while Ronnie “The Limo Driver” Mund burst in to get Teddy out of the studio.

Lange blamed Stern for the fight, saying that Stern “pushed” him to the breaking point and that he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t snap again in the future. He then told Stern he loved him and resigned.

“Don’t ever mention Bloomie’s around the guy,” Stern sighed.

One show insider says that the staff loves Lange and is “extremely upset” but that it’s out of Stern’s hands and that Sirius management will soon decide Lange’s fate. The show is on a break next week.

Both Lange and Teddy failed to return calls for comment. Lange was last spotted by a fan at the Brooklyn Diner on West 57th, drowning his sorrows in a plate of food.

[From Page Six]

It’s a shame that Lange is at such a low point that he feels the need to lash out both physically and verbally at someone “smaller” than him. The poor kid is making what equates to less than minimum wage and doesn’t deserve to be called names and attacked. Hopefully, Lange will check himself into rehab, look back on this and realize that this was his “rock bottom” moment. Stern, for his part, was extremely upset at the end of the broadcast and tried to defuse the situation, asking Artie to go cool off and then come back to work tomorrow, but it was too late.

Update by Celebitchy: Here’s the audio clip, which was initially blocked by Sirius through a cease and desist they sent out. Sirius has since issued the OK to publish it. Thanks to Rowdy on Redlasso for this clip.

Artie Lang is shown at “Artie Lang’s Beer League” premiere on 9/16/06, thanks to PRPhotos.

Clash of the divas! MSNBC is reporting that Tyra Banks and her “America’s Next Top Model” co-star, makeup artist and art director Jay Manuel, are not speaking to each other, making the taping of the show extremely uncomfortable for the rest of the cast and crew. Insiders are reporting that Tyra is totally phoning in her duties on the newest cycle of the hit reality show, and may even abandon it after this season in favor of her talk show and other projects.

There’s been no shortage of tales about Tyra Banks’ personality conflicts on the set of “America’s Next Top Model,” but the latest might be the most interesting since it could have a lasting impact on the show. OK! magazine reports that Banks isn’t getting along with photo shoot creative director Jay Manuel, and her days on the show could be numbered.

“It’s gotten so bad that Tyra and Jay aren’t speaking,” an insider told OK! magazine. The selective silent treatment isn’t limited to Manuel, either. “Tyra barely interacts with the contestants and only wants to show up on judging day,” the source told the magazine.

Net result? Banks (who wouldn’t comment on the rumors) might be looking for a new supermodel to helm ANTM. “She’s really throwing all her weight behind her talk show,” according to a source familiar with “The Tyra Banks Show.” “She’s putting lots of pressure on her staff to keep her show on the map. She had Barack Obama on, she had Hilary Clinton on — she got a taste of playing with the big boys and now ‘Top Model’ seems to detract from her big plans.”

[From MSNBC.com]

My assessment: there could be a feud going on with Jay and Tyra. Tyra and Jay have known each other for a decade- Jay has been working with Banks since she was an up-and-coming runway model, and the two have always appeared to be close. They are both opinionated and have big personalities, and two people like that are bound to have disagreements. It’s no secret that Tyra and former supermodel Janice Dickinson had personality issues on set, but Janice is a crazy bitch. Who wouldn’t want her to shut up after five minutes?

And what about the idea of Tyra leaving “Top Model,” the show she created? I highly doubt it 0 the show put Tyra on the map and it’s her baby. There’s no way she’d leave the show and let Jay stay on! In a recent Entertainment Weekly interview, Tyra admitted that her presence on the show, now in its tenth “cycle,” has somewhat diminished, but she still attends every production meeting and is just as involved behind the scenes as ever.

Though Kevin Federline used to monopolize the headlines in terms of the “Biggest Douche” category, former “Desperate Housewives” actor Jesse Metcalfe has firmly replaced him for several months. It was neck and neck for a while, but then K-Fed backed down. Which says something about the level of Metcalfe’s douche baggery. Last night Metcalfe got into a fight with the boyfriend of actress Taryn Manning at Los Angeles club Social. Not once, but twice, both inside and outside. And luckily, TMZ caught the first fight on tape.

At around 10 p.m. Metcalfe approached Manning and her boyfriend outside the club. Manning and Metcalfe are pals, a source says, but Manning’s beau didn’t know that. Metcalfe and the boyfriend exchanged words. The boyfriend then said, “Hey, buddy,” and tapped Metcalfe on the face. Metcalfe then punched him back. The boyfriend punched Metcalfe in the face and knocked him to the ground.

[From Us Weekly]

Both parties did the intelligent thing… and went into the club despite the fight. No, nothing was resolved, and they didn’t make amends. Probably not the very best time to go to a place that specializes in drinking and tempers. They were there for designer Nicole Khristine’s jewelry party. After a few minutes, things heated up again.

Moments later, after Metcalfe spotted Manning, he came flying at the boyfriend, putting him in a choke hold. Metcalfe seemed intoxicated.

As the punching and yelling continued — Metcalfe kept Manning’s boyfriend in a chokehold — Manning tried to run to the side of the club. (In the midst of the scuttle, Manning’s boyfriend’s shoe flew off.)

[From Us Weekly]

TMZ is clearly really enjoying this. Probably to an unhealthy degree. Metcalfe isn’t exactly a favorite with the paparazzi… or the blogs… or the press as a whole. He hasn’t done anything noteworthy since “Desperate Housewives” and is generally known for showing up at places uninvited and drunk. He was escorted out of the club, and fervently denied to Us Weekly that he’d been in a fight, even though the magazine was covering the event and there were tons of photographers there. Smart move. Metcalfe was later overheard saying he was glad a person could still get into a fight in L.A. without getting into any trouble. Ladies, Jesse Metcalfe is single. And he sounds swell. Any takers?

When I first saw the headline for this story on The Huffington Post, which reads “Lance Armstrong Throws A Hissy Fit At Texas Bar,” I assumed it was a clearcut case of a celebrity acting like an ass and thinking that the world should bend over backwards for them. Other examples of celebrities getting shot down when they demanded special treatment at drinking establishments include Sienna Miller’s “Don’t You Know Who I Am?” shriek in Pittsburgh when she was denied for lack of ID, and Woody Harrelson’s drunken bloody fight with two bouncers after he was told not to leave with wineglasses in hand.

The story is that Armstrong was sternly told by the bouncer at a sold-out Austin show at a bar not to leave with a drink. He then got all up in the bouncer’s face with the old “I’ll have you fired” line. In this version of events, Armstrong comes off as an asshole with a sense of entitlement, but at least he wasn’t physically abusive.

Backstage door man Sean Higgins, obviously not concerned with the celebrity of the person who was breaking the law, quickly ran over to Armstrong and his pal and rather forcefully made it clear that the guys could not walk off with drinks. Armstrong at first seemed surprised and briefly cordial, but that soon gave way to fierce indignation. Having taken the drinks from Armstrong and friend, Higgins returned to his post at the door. But, possibly due to being called out in front of a few dozen people, Armstrong, apparently having taken exception to the manner in which Higgins was performing his job, would not go quietly into that good night.

He returned to the door, full of sound and fury. Higgins, who has worked at the Backstage Bar for four-and-a-half years, made it quite clear that he had no interest in Armstrong’s celebrity or defense of his actions. Armstrong, not willing to drop the issue, flailingly tried to retake whatever sense of pride he apparently felt was taken from him, by berating Higgins while his friends stood at his side. With a finger that came inches from Higgins’ face, Armstrong, according to Higgins, let loose a series of threats that concluded with the time-worn threat of “You’ll never work at this bar again.” Higgins, who apparently didn’t get the memo that nobody puts Lance in the corner, scoffed at the irate Armstrong, who then left to a series of under-breath cat calls and one patron labeling Armstrong as overrated (the cleanest of the insults softly launched his way.) Bizarre end to an excellent night. I’m sure Higgins is on Career Builder as I type. (Not really.)

[From Austin360.com]

It sounds like Armstrong was provoked but that he didn’t handle it well. What he did handle with grace was a follow-up statement. Armstrong called the author of the original blog article on Austin 360, which is the Entertainment section of Austin newspaper The Austin American Statesman, and owed up to the incident and apologized. He also gave his side of the story, saying he was manhandled but that he overreacted. He could have had his publicist fax in a statement to US Weekly, but he personally called the author and it comes off as much more sincere:

“Listen, I was totally out of line,” Armstrong said.

Although Armstrong says he was in the wrong, he felt that the door man in question could have handled the situation better, as well. “You know, give us a warning. He walked over and nearly tackled us as if he had warned us four or five times. He was so aggressive without any warning. Believe me, man, if somebody says, ‘You can not take these beers out of here,’ I’ll just throw them away or go back inside. I’ve got no problem with that. I wasn’t looking for any special rules or treatment.”

Armstrong confessed that despite feeling he wasn’t given any warning before being confronted, he should have responded differently. “I don’t need to do that (respond the way he did), though. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

[From Austin360.com]

The Huffington Post didn’t link directly to the source, they linked to another reporting site, Austinist, which has not yet updated with Armstrong’s statement of contrition, so it’s likely that this story might get picked up by other outlets and reported with only one side. It was a minor incident at a crowded bar with an overzealous bouncer, but since a celebrity is involved it’s big news. At least Armstrong responded well afterwards and it never came to blows.

Armstrong is shown below running the 2007 NY Marathon, which he finished in under three hours. It was his second marathon after running the same course in 2006, and he finished 13 minutes faster after a lot of training. 36 year-old Armstrong is arguably the worlds most celebrated cyclist, having won the Tour De France seven years in a row, from 1999 to 2005. He has repeatedly been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, but only tested positive once in 1999 for traces of corticosteroids. He had a medical certificate showing that he used a topical steroid cream that was authorized to treat saddle sores.

Armstrong is now retired from cycling and trained for the marathon in order to keep up his physical condition. He called the 2006 marathon “the hardest physical thing I have ever done.” He is a cancer survivor after undergoing successful treatment for testicular cancer in 1996, and went on to found the Lance Armstrong Foundation to benefit cancer patients.

Armstrong is shown in the header at Stand Up For Skateparks on 10/7/07. Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.

It’s hard to follow what’s going on with Britney lately, and part of me really doesn’t want to bother, but the main thing is that she was photographed crying and sitting on the curb after her friend Sam Lufti was seen publicly berating her, presumably over her relationship with Adnan. She called Adnan and left a message asking him to come by and help her out, but he could not reach her, presumably because Lufti had turned off her handful of phones. Then Adnan tried to get into Britney’s estate, but the security guard wouldn’t let him in on Lufti’s orders. Cops were called because some of the photographers were rushing the gates. Britney eventually hung out with another photographer instead, and both her parents came over to help her out.

Here’s a good breakdown of what happened, thanks to jughood on ONTD:

-Brit and her manager Sam had a huge fight in a car outside her gated community.
-Brit got out the car, crying, and pleads with the photogs to leave her along. Video can be found on TMZ and x17’s websites. It’s very upsetting footage.
-Flipie, the photog, picks up Brit and drives her to her home, then leaves. Brit calls Adnan saying “Baby, can you come get me?”
-Police show up after photogs try to enter the gated community, and leave a short time later.
-Most surprising news, BRITNEY’S PARENTS SHOW UP. “The scene inside Britney’s home right now is not pretty. Apparently Britney is very emotional and cannot stop crying. Both of her parents — mom Lynne and father Jamie — are with her now.” It was reported earlier today that she had begun communicating with them a little bit.
-Adnan shows up, but gets denied access to her gated community.
-Brit heads off towards Beverly Hills with photog Filipe, goes to Ralph’s grocery store, then meets up with Adnan, and speeds down the freeway….

Updates: Sam Lutfi, Britney’s manager, started an argument with her and the two ended up in a screaming fight. Sam continued to verbally abuse Britney as she sat barefoot on the curb at her Summit home crying holding her dog London.

Britney called Adnan for help and he heard the distress in her voice and drove to the Summit immediately. While outside the gates he was denied access as Sam Lutfi had informed the guards that he was not allowed entry. When Adnan then tried to call Britney it seems that Sam had turned all of her cell phones off…

When Jamie Spears turned up, the guards would not let him in, as Sam Lutfi would not let anyone get near Britney’s house. It was only after photographers standing outside explained the situation and who he was that Jamie was allowed access to The Summit home. He looked extremely distressed.

More details about what went down tonight: Sam screamed “Go fuck your Paparazzi boyfriend!” before speeding off. A teary eyed Spears sat on the curb holding her Yorkshire terrier ‘London’ and sporting what looked like a red mark on her face. Minutes after, Spears had driven down to her house, paparazzo boyfriend Adnan turned up at the gates of The Summit only to be denied access. The security at the Summit have been ordered by Sam not to let Ghalib in through the gates. Hoards of police arrived, and helicopters circled overhead…

Finalpixx, Adnan’s photog company, just posted “Britney is spending her evening in the company of her parents and Adnan.”

[From ONTD]

The news recently came out that Britney’s hanger-on Sam has three restraining orders against him and a long history of making threats of violence against people. One of his ex friends said that Lufti manipulated him emotionally and made threats against his family. It’s interesting that Sam’s relationship with Britney came to a head right after his was published:

There are at least two other outstanding restraining orders against Lutfi. Documents for both cases demonstrate his violent temper. This third case, however, raises deeper and more chilling questions about Lutfi’s character, and about his relationship with Britney….

Haines says their relationship was not romantic or sexual but that Lutfi was more jealous than a lover. He could be supportive one day and vicious the next, leaving voicemails tracing extremes from “You’re a worthless motherfucker” to “I love you, man. I love you to death.” He says that although Lutfi also made some feckless gestures toward an old-fashioned con job—Haines claims Lutfi borrowed about $18,000 that he did not pay back, though Lutfi’s mother finally settled much of the debt—Lutfi reserved most of his energy for emotional blackmail and extortion. “Everybody hates you,” he wrote to Haines, suggesting that Haines should just kill himself: “Seriously, sleeping pills, LOTS of them … ” (Lutfi declined to comment for this story.)

When Haines finally cut the cord, Lutfi humiliated him. He ­e-mailed naked photographs of Haines to his family, friends, colleagues and employer. Then he texted and called incessantly, telling Haines he hoped his sister would be “raped to death,” according to the restraining order. In an e-mail about Haines’s mother (“that Mormon bitch”), Lufti wrote, “I hope Satan devours her flesh and bones,” and said he looked forward to the day when he would “piss on [her] burial.”

[From Blender.com]

TMZ has video of Britney walking around aimlessly and crying as photographers shout questions at her, and it’s disturbing. She looks like she has a welt on the left side of her face but that could be due to crying as it doesn’t appear in other photos later that night.

ONTD has text messages that Lufti supposedly sent Adnan telling him to stay away from her, and given his history you would assume that he’s being controlling, not helpful. US Weekly reports that the fight with Sam was over the fact that he wanted her to see a psychologist and that he was telling her to talk to her mother. That all sounds supportive, but who knows if it went down that way.

One more thing happened last night - it looks like Britney and Adnan had a flat tire after they were finally reunited, as WENN has photos of it and it seems to have taken place later that night, but I could be mistaken. Do you want to start ignoring Britney again until her next major incident? I’m sorry to phrase it like it’s inevitable, and with Britney it’s expected. It’s also hard to tell what warrants reporting as she seems to top herself every day. Maybe she’ll accept her family’s help after this.

We’ve heard plenty of embarrassing stories about what went down in the bizarre pseudo-wedding ceremony between Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds. There have been several reports that their families bickered like crazy. The stories ranged from everything from their mothers going at each other to their kids bickering fiercely. According to the National Enquirer, Tracey and her family all thought they were better than the Murphy’s, and Tracey accused the entire family of being “too ghetto.”

“The families hated each other from the beginning,” a close family friend told The Enquirer. “There were actual screaming matches between relatives.” And it didn’t take long before both Eddie and Tracey were knee-deep in the fray. “Eddie told Tracey that she and her family should stop with the superior attitude, and she fired back criticizing his kin for being too ‘ghetto,’” continued the friend. “Eddie bit his lip thought the entire ceremony - he was steaming about the low blow.

[From the National Enquirer, print edition Feb. 4, 2008]

The Enquirer also says the real problem was Tracey’s money-grubbing family.

“The entire wedding was a fiasco, and it brought to light just how incompatible Tracey and Eddie really are.” Things went from bad to worse after the ceremony, when Tracey and her family members seemed more interested in striking business deals than the wedding, says an insider. “Her mother was pressuring Eddie to buy a new multimillion-dollar Malibu mansion with her as the Realtor - so she’d get the whopping commission. “Then her brother, who’s [sic] a rep for a watch company, put on a full-court press to get Eddie to serve as spokesman for his line.”

[From the National Enquirer, print edition Feb. 4, 2008]

Apparently the biggest problem was Tracey’s brother Michael. According to the anonymous insider, Michael brokered some deal with Jimmy Choo that required getting a bunch of pictures of the bridesmaids in Choo’s shoes, and Michael turned into a bit of a diva in his attempt to make sure the Choos got enough photos.

“Everyone in Tracey’s family, including Tracey, seemed to be trying to work a deal around the wedding and Eddie’s celebrity. And he saw greed instead of love,” said the insider, and eyewitness. “Tracey’s brother Michael was by far the worst of the group. He’d obviously cut a bunch of deals on the side. For instance, the bridesmaids were a walking advertisement for Jimmy Choo shoes. Michael was ordering the wedding photographer to make sure he got all the trademark clothing in the shots. And he was coaching the guests on how to pose in photos. Michael was saying: ‘The Choos! Remember to get the Jimmy Choos in the pictures or else we won’t get our free shopping spree!’” That was the final straw for Eddie.

[From the National Enquirer, print edition Feb. 4, 2008]

That sounds like a pretty contrived quote. “Remember to get the Jimmy Choos in the pictures or else we won’t get our free shopping spree!’” Who talks like that? I’m going to assume it’s paraphrased. Unless Michael was saying it in jest. Seriously, if that’s true it’s super tacky. The story is pretty biased towards Eddie Murphy, so it should all be taken with a gain of salt. Murphy has long been reported to be a domineering control freak, so I find it kind of hard to believe that he’s the innocent victim in all this. It sounds like he and Tracey were definitely a bad match. In the scheme of things, it sounds like they really narrowly avoided a big disaster. How much closer can you get than marrying the wrong person but not making it legal? According to E! News, Tracey’s been all over Sundance having a wonderful time. So it looks like everyone managed to escape unscathed.