I have to admit that when I first heard about Hayden Panettiere and her whole saving whales from Japanese fisherman thing, I wasn’t really all that impressed. Hayden and a group called Save the Whales used a surfboard to paddle into a cove in southwestern Japan near Taiji where dolphins were being corralled to be slaughtered and eaten. The group was blocked by a fishing boat and had to turn back. Unusual publicity stunt, right? Especially after those pictures of her crying were plastered all over the news. But hearing Panettiere talk about it over time, it because pretty clear to me that she not only cared about saving whales, but was incredibly passionate about it. As a result of her activities, a warrant was issued for her arrest in Japan. Hayden hasn’t backed down, and this past weekend joined a protest in Washington DC to stop whale hunting.

The 18-year-old Heroes star, speaking without notes, told the crowd, “Not only are these animals being cruelly slaughtered, the meat is contaminated by huge levels of mercury,” reports The Washington Post’s Reliable Source column, which likened the Heroes star to a latter-day Jane Fonda – though less politically controversial. Continued Panettiere at the rally: “And we’re not taking a stand because Japan is one of our biggest allies in the war on terror, but Australia is an ally and they’ve told Japan what they think, and good on them!”

As for her confronting Japanese fisherman last fall, to protest the killing of dolphins – the incident let to a warrant for her arrest – Panettiere told the crowd at the rally: “I was wearing a wetsuit and shoes. I was like if I’m going to jail I ain’t going to jail in a bikini.” Panettiere, spokesperson for the Save the Whales Again! Campaign, added: “At one point this baby [dolphin] popped its head up and looked at me. To know what was going to happen and to know that I couldn’t stop it is just such a helpless feeling.

[From People]

Today Hayden Panettiere and Save the Whales will take their campaign to the Norwegian, Japanese, and Icelandic embassies. Hayden also created a charity, Panettiere’s Closet, where she sells her clothing and accessories Heroes. The money is donated to the Whaleman Foundation. I’ve been waiting for Hayden Panettiere to turn into Lindsay Lohan. It just seemed like an inevitability, and she has a stage mom who’s supposedly worse than Dina Lohan. As soon as Panettiere turned 18 she was out and about with much older Heroes costar Milo Ventimiglia. I figured it was a matter of weeks before she was in rehab. But instead she and Milo seem to have a pretty stable, sane relationships, and she’s risked her life to help save helpless animals. It seems like she’s proving you can be an actress, have fun and be popular with the tabloids, but still be a decent person who cares about things bigger than photo ops. Good for her.

Picture note by Jaybird: Hayden Panettiere arrives at the ‘Save the Whales Again’ rally in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., and signs autographs on her way to make a speech on Sunday. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

What do you do when you’re the host of a late-night faux news show and you’ve got no writers? Well you could sit on your ass, you could mumble at random, or you could do something great with your time and support a charitable cause. But what if your show is all mockery? How do you do something that’s actually good, while poking fun at the same time? Well if you’re Stephen Colbert, and you happen to have broken your wrist a few months back, you do everything you can to “raise wrist injury awareness” – and donate the money to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, which supports injured U.S. soldiers . How do you raise the money? By selling red WristStrong bracelets of course.

“The only thing worse than the pain has been the agony,” the bespectacled funnyman said. “Hollywood has been glamorizing wrist violence for years…and I am fighting back with the most powerful tool known to man—the silicone bracelet! It is go time. Just to put it on requires a wrist—that’s one level of awareness,” Colbert continued. “Every time you look down, it will remind you that you have a wrist. And if you ever forget what the area connecting the hands to the arm is called, you can just look down and it says ‘wrist,’ right there on the bracelet.”

On Wednesday, he encouraged fans to purchase more bracelets and send them to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who may or may not have been sporting a boot on his foot when he was photographed leaving girlfriend Gisele Bündchen’s Manhattan apartment this week. “Now, I know that he injured his ankle, but I have said many times, the ankle is just the wrist of the foot,” Colbert said.

[From E! News]

Colbert raised $17,000 just from auctioning off his wrist cast. Awesome… and kind of gross. He got New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Brian Williams, Tim Russert, Bill O’Reilly, Tony Snow, Katie Couric, and Nancy Pelosi to sign the cast before the auction by asking them to “board the “WristStrong” express.” Between all his fundraising efforts, Colbert was able to hand over a check for $171,525 to the Yellow Ribbon Fund. The charity helps injured U.S. service members who are recovering at the National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and provides housing and transportation for them and their families. They also provide job mentoring and internships, and give tickets to sporting and cultural events.

It’s interesting to hear what different actors decide to do with their time off during the writer’s guild strike. I have a feeling there’s a lot of kicking back and vacationing going on. But some of the more civic-minded celebs have been volunteering or championing social causes. Desperate Housewives actress Marcia Cross has jumped on board the women’s advocacy bandwagon and joined several prominent congresswomen (and a few men) to lobby for the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007. The bill mandates that women have the right to spend at least 48 hours in the hospital after having a mastectomy. Currently many women are forced by their insurance providers to be sent home the very same day. The bill has been languishing in congress for almost a dozen years.

One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime,” Cross said. “I’ve seen it up close and personally. I’m sorry to say I don’t have a friend, but friends who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, and when I first heard about drive-by mastectomies I was shocked.”

Cross said for her part, she would like Hollywood to get more involved with the issue. She said roughly 20 million people a week watch ABC’s Desperate Housewives, the same number who signed the petition, and television can be a powerful medium. Her show already has a character with a different kind of cancer, but she said she’d suggest other shows, such as Grey’s Anatomy, dedicate an episode to drive-by mastectomies.

“I don’t want this to be a one-hit day,” she said after the news conference. “I really want to raise awareness and get this done after 12 years. I don’t want it to go another five or 10.”

[From the Baltimore Sun]

The Lifetime network has been pushing the bill for quite some time, and has a petition you can sign on their website. Marcia Cross is one of those actresses that always seems to have her act together. She has a master’s degree in psychology – not something a whole lot of celebrities can claim. It’s great that she’s using her celebrity to bring attention to important issues.

Picture note by Jaybird: Marcia Cross at a news conference to raise awareness of the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act. Cross delivered 20 million signatures collected online that urge Congress to pass legislation to stop “drive-through” mastectomies yesterday. Images thanks to WENN.

Hayden Panettiere is selling her clothes. She’s offering up some dresses, a pair of shoes, a few hoodies, a watch or two and even some iPod covers. Why? To help save the whales.

Hayden last year was involved in trying to help save a pod of dolphins, when she went to Japan with a group of Australian surfers and tried to prevent the animals from being blocked into a cove and killed. Unfortunately the attempt failed and Hayden left in tears. The dolphins are also caught and sold off for placement in captivity and television shows, as well as being a food delicacy in Japan.

Now we need to save the whales, just like in the eighties, as they are still being killed for ‘scientific purposes’. Which is code for ‘dinner’.

The Heroes starlet’s website explains her fundraising plan, which allows fans to shop online and purchase her clothes.

It states: “Can you look good and help a worthwhile cause at the same time? Yes, you can!”

“Many have hailed Hayden Panettiere for her impeccable taste in fashion. Now you can wear what the celebrities wear at a fraction of the cost–WHILE supporting a worthy cause! Looking good never felt so good!”

Daily Telegraph

She has some really cute looking hoodies, and some cute shoes. She actually includes size charts and other information, because the clothes are meant to be worn again, they aren’t just fan merchandise. How awesome is that? Of course, not many of us have a figure like Hayden…

The clothes are mostly in a ladies size small, but apparently more styles and sizes are going to become available. You can also donate money.

According to reports, Hayden is considering another cheerleader role, in which she shows a class nerd the night of his life after he declares his love for her during his valedictorian speech. Has this ever happened in real life?

Note by Celebitchy: You can buy Hayden’s clothes at PanettiereCloset.com. Many of the items are sold so hurry if you’re interested. Thanks to PanettiereCloset for the photos below. Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia are shown on 12/15/07 at The Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival. A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Stan Lee and the cast of “Heroes” was there. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Apparently David Beckham is quite the humanitarian. Though he’s most famous for being married to Posh… and something about football… he’s actually been a UNICEF ambassador for seven years. Who knew? He and Posh also have their own charity, but supposedly they don’t do it for publicity, which is why the rest of us haven’t heard much about it. Beckham hasn’t done a lot of UNICEF stuff lately, so he decided to go to Sierra Leone to draw attention to the impoverished country, which has the highest rate of child deaths in the world.

“We can’t turn a blind eye to the tens of thousands of young children who die every day in the developing world mostly from causes that are preventable,” added the father-of-three. “In Sierra Leone, one in four children dies before reaching their fifth birthday — it’s shocking and tragic especially when the solutions are simple,” said Beckham.

Measures that could be taken to tackle the problem include vaccinating against measles or using a mosquito net to reduce the chances of getting malaria. “Saving these children’s lives is a top priority for UNICEF and as an ambassador I hope I can help to draw attention to this issue across the world,” said the LA Galaxy star, who spent four days in Sierra Leone.

[From the Agence France-Presse]

Though I’m always a little skeptical when celebrities suddenly become do-gooders, it appears David Beckham has being one for quite some time. He’s just been fairly quiet about it, and actually focuses on the cause, and not attaching his name to it. Beckham said the only reason he’s doing so much publicity for UNICEF and Sierra Leone is because his role for the agency is to bring attention and publicity to the problem.

In absolutely ridiculous David Beckham gossip, supposedly he will be joining good friend Snoop Dogg and rapping on one of Snoop’s upcoming tracks. David Beckham might be rapping with Snoop Dogg on a new track if rumours are anything to go by. The BFFs have so far designed a slipper together. So the next logical step is rap.

The source says: “Snoop thought it’d be a laugh and David is going to give it a real go. They are huge names so the song’s bound to be a hit - even if it’s no good.”

[From Angry Ape]

Even if it’s no good? Well at least they’re keeping their expectations low. Expect an update with a complete denial by one of their reps in the next three hours.

Picture note by Jaybird: David Beckham is shown at his youth soccer clinic on 8/17/07. Images thanks to PR Photos.

It’s nice when you get to temper all the “naughty celebrity” news with famous people doing good things. And George Clooney is often on that list. The BBC reports that George has been named one of the United Nation’s “messenger of peace.” He will support the U.N.’s worldwide peacekeeping activities, and bring attention to various needy causes.

The Hollywood star has campaigned to stop the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hailed his “dedication to raising awareness and mobilizing action on Darfur”. Clooney pledged to build support for the UN’s “critically important work in some of the most difficult, dangerous and dire places in the world. I am deeply honored to receive this appointment,” he said.

In 2006, Clooney delivered an impassioned speech to the UN Security Council, telling its members that genocide was taking place “on your watch”. Last April, the Ocean’s 11 and Syriana star set up a charity, Not On Our Watch, with fellow actors Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon to raise funds for Darfur. The charity has so far gathered more than $9.3 million for humanitarian work in the area. Mr. Ban told Clooney, who has been to Darfur: “You have seen first-hand the pain experienced by the victims of war and made it your personal mission to help end violence and human suffering.”

[From the BBC]

I’m guessing this will likely result in a battle of the celebrity do-gooders between George and BFF Brad Pitt. Pitt seems to have a better shot: he’s got longtime UN fangirl Angelina Jolie on his side, who adopts babies from around the world and visits war torn countries. Clooney’s just got girlfriend Sarah Larson, and last time I checked, her biggest accomplishment was, well, dating George Clooney. And winning Fear Factor. Girlfriend jokes aside, George Clooney seems very passionate about Darfur, and definitely has the star power to bring a lot of attention to incredibly needy causes. Only good can come from it.

Picture note by Jaybird: George Clooney and girlfriend Sarah Larson at the 33rd Annual Deauville American Film Festival . Images thanks to PR Photos.

Heartthrob Orlando Bloom is the latest celebrity to lend support to UNICEF. Bloom visited the mountainous nation of Nepal to help draw attention to the UN’s efforts to fight poverty and infant mortality there. He spent four days in Nepal and toured schools and villages as well as met with blind and disabled children that are being assisted through UN programs:

Accompanying Mr. Bloom on the trip were UNICEF Regional Director Dan Toole and UNICEF Representative in Nepal Gillian Mellsop. Besides touring UNICEF programmes, he visited Chitwan National Park and Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

In Kalika village, Mr. Bloom’s forehead was smeared red with the ‘tika’ with which local women had welcomed him, and he wore garlands of flowers they had given him upon his arrival with the guests from UNICEF.

“There was a time when we could not walk alone on that hillside, where the villagers used to throw their dead babies,” one resident told the visitors. “They said their spirits used to haunt the hills. Not any more. Over the years, with improved health, there are no dead babies being thrown over the ridge and no more spirits wandering these hillsides.”

“Look at the comparative indicators of the last six years,” added village facilitator Chali Subedi. “Things have taken a turn for the better since the men and women got organized.”

Mr. Subedi directed the guests’ attention to a chart on the wall of a village home. “Six years ago only 84 per cent of school-going age children were enrolled in schools,” he said. “Now every boy and girl goes to school. Previously only 25 per cent of the households were taking iodized salt [to prevent iodine deficiency disorders]. The figure now has increased to 38 per cent. Similarly women’s workload has decreased from 17 hours per day to 14 hours a day.”

The members of a children’s club at a local school in the hills of Pumdi Bhumdi had a different success story to narrate to Mr. Bloom. As the children explained, they have been instrumental in promoting safe hygiene and sanitation practices in their village.

In Pokhara village, Mr. Bloom mingled with over three dozen blind girls and boys. He also played a small role in a mini-drama the children were recording that day for the UNICEF-supported radio programme ‘Saathi Sanga Manka Kura’ (Chatting with My Best Friend).

The drama dealt with the plight faced by girls in a hostel without a female warden. Mr. Bloom played the role of a guest who tries to offer the girls advice. “Talk about your problems,” he said, consulting the script provided by the children. “There’s no need to feel shy. It’s always good to talk about issues that concern you.”

[From Unicef.org]

We haven’t heard much about Bloom since his minor car accident that injured a friend who was a passenger in his car in October of last year. That’s great that he’s getting involved with the UN and lending a hand.

Bloom is also an active environmentalist and took a trip to Antarctica last year with his cousin to document the effects of global warming. His cousin, Sebastian Copeland, has a new book out with photos from their trip titled Antarctica: The Global Warning.

Bloom starred in the play “In Celebration” in the West End of London this summer. It was met with mixed by mostly good reviews. Most say that Bloom was very good in it, but that the play, which was about a dysfunctional family, left a lot of unanswered questions and was either frustrating or heart-breaking depending on your perspective. According to IMDB, Bloom has no movies lined up at this point and due to the writer’s strike he may be waiting some time for a new role. It seems like a very good time for him to see the world and lend his support to some worthy causes.

Thanks to the Huffington Post for the photos and story.

For several years people have been arguing over just how much Paris Hilton is actually worth. I would say not much, but that’s more from a moral perspective. There have been reports that the famous heiress would get anywhere from nothing to upwards of $100 million when Barron Hilton, her 80-year-old grandfather passes. There were also reports that Barron had cut Paris (and sometimes her parents and Nicky depending on the article) out of the family inheritance since they were so materialistic and embarrassing. But then another story would come along reassuring us all that the Hiltons are in fact legitimately, unfairly, wealthy. But now People is reporting that Barron Hilton has chosen to give the majority of his fortune to charity.

Paris Hilton’s future bank account has just taken an enormous hit – on account of her grandfather. Barron Hilton, the 80-year-old son of the founder of the worldwide hotel chain that carries the family name, has earmarked 97 percent of his vast fortune – nearly $2.3 billion – to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, to help the homeless with housing, find safe water in developing countries and assist other good causes around the world, it has been announced.

To Barron’s heirs – who include Paris – will go the remaining three percent: some $69 million, which is said to be taxable. According to calculations by New York’s Daily News, Paris, who once foresaw a $100 million inheritance, is now likely looking at $5 million.

In a statement, Barron Hilton said that his father, Conrad, had set the example and bequeathed 97 percent of his money to the charitable foundation, which the elder Hilton founded in 1944, “and I am proud to follow my father’s example.”

[From People]

Yay! There are good Hiltons after all! That’s amazing that Barron Hilton is following in his father’s footsteps and giving away so much of his money. Warren Buffet did the same thing a few years ago – giving away 85% of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation – angering some of his relatives quite a bit.

Paris will certainly be set, either way. Not only is $5 million nothing to sniff at, but the actress is quite the savvy businesswoman herself. Much as we mock her, she’s constantly working, promoting various products and sticking her name on nearly every perfume and dog collar she possibly can. While it may not be upper crust classy in the traditional “old money” way, Paris has made a good deal of money on her own, and certainly doesn’t need to rely solely on her inheritance. No word yet on whether Barron Hilton donated his money because he was embarrassed by his family’s younger generation, as suggested by previous articles. We’re going to assume he’s just an awesome guy, who knows no one needs $100 million less than Paris Hilton.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header Paris and Nicky Hilton having lunch with the always attractive Brandon Davis at the Four Seasons yesterday in Maui. And here’s Brandon Davis chewing, just because I’m mean like that. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

I don’t want to widely broadcast my naïveté, but I’m starting to be really impressed by Nicole Richie and Joel Madden. I have loudly proclaimed that she’s mean, immature, and likely incapable of any meaningful amount of change. And while I’m not ready to totally take that back yet, I have to say that Nicole (at least when combined with Joel) has consistently impressed me lately. I’m not sure if the two are employing an expert team of PR folk (and if so, give that team’s card to Britney Spears ASAP) or if Joel is just a really good person who wields a surprisingly large amount of influence of Richie. Perhaps he’s her much-needed Svengali. First they donated all of the presents from their baby shower to a local women’s clinic, then they served turkey dinners on Thanksgiving. Now the couple has thrown a Christmas party for L.A.-area homeless kids and their families. The two established a charity in their future baby’s honor called the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation, and the party was their second big outreach (after donating the baby shower gifts) through the foundation.

More than 200 children and their family members enjoyed a “winter wonderland” on the Paramount Studios lot featuring teddy bears, cookies, cupcakes, face-painting, clowns, holiday music, Santa Claus and his elves. Children, selected from the L.A. homeless program Beyond Shelter, were able to choose from a teddy bear mountain of 500 “Cuddle Cub” stuffed bears.

“It was a no-brainer for us to pull this party together for them for the holidays,” Richie, who is pregnant with her first child, said.

“We want to do much more to address the homeless issue, especially where it puts children at risk. But for now, we can at least try to help them have a merry Christmas by giving them teddy bears and getting them fitted for shoes. That’s something we can do right now, today.”

[From US Weekly]

It might be PR spin. Probably. But it’s still really nice, so I’m going to assume it comes from a place of good. It’s not like it matters if Nicole has a good public image or anything. What’s the worst that could happen, it could hurt her career? What career? What does she do? She kind of half-ass participates in “The Simple Life” a few weeks a year, and that show isn’t based on her being a wholesome do-gooder. I’m guessing those maternal/pregnancy hormones have kicked in full-time. I wonder what her friends think of the “new” Nicole. Do you think Paris Hilton was by Nicole’s side, holding one of those metal foot measuring devices and plopping toddler’s feet on it, eyeballing for an exact fit? Well maybe if she could do it drunk. While getting paid to promote a product. Whatever the reasoning, it’s great to see a celebrity that started a charity and is actually doing something with it.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header of Joel and Nicole at the launch of the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation at Los Angeles Free Clinic in Hollywood on December 3rd. Images thanks to WENN.

Sometimes you read a story that just really, really makes sense. And pretty much any story that mentions both Paris Hilton and Oompa-Loompas is going to fall under that heading. We all know that Paris is one of those people that just likes to help others. She’s just the type that has to save everyone and everything. Whether donating her time and money to charitable causes or rescuing kittens that have fallen down wells, Paris is there when you need her. And thank God for that, because it turns out an Oompa-Loompa in need is a friend indeed. And Paris being a good friend, was there for her Oompa-Loompa.

Paris Hilton was at the center of a bizarre nightclub incident when she comforted an entertainer in an Oompa-Loompa costume injured when the crowd rushed the stage. The heiress was among those at Cameo nightclub in Miami early Saturday morning at an event sponsored by Ariva smokeless tobacco, featuring a performance of Jeff Beacher’s Madhouse with three Oompa-Loompa characters in orange makeup and green hair.

Suddenly, people rushed the stage, injuring Oompa-Loompa performer Robin Sherwood, whose leg was badly cut. Hilton, coincidentally, is friends with Sherwood and had visited him earlier in the day during rehearsals. Sherwood is in dire need a kidney transplant and Hilton, her sister Nicky Hilton and her boyfriend David Katzenberg have supported a foundation to facilitate the operation.

“I was with Paris,” says lawyer Mike Heller of Talent Resources, who booked the event. “Paris stayed back at the event when she heard that he was injured, to make sure he was okay. She was very concerned with his health. She didn’t leave until she knew that he was okay.” A Cameo source adds: “Yes, Paris Hilton stayed with him until an ambulance came to take care of him. … Paris was great, she was there until he was turned over to the medical technicians.” Sherwood received stitches at the hospital and was released.

[From People]

What they didn’t tell you was that Paris sewed the stitches herself – from locks of her own golden hair! It sounds over-dramatic, but it’s a well-known fact that Paris Hilton will lay down her life for anyone with an orange face. Why do you think her real friends are all tanorexics? The best part of this story is that Paris wasn’t too humbled and/or embarrassed to phone her publicist, who I’m guessing has People on speed-dial. Her charitable nature took a bit of a hit when everyone found out she wasn’t going to Africa to feed starving orphans after all… but if this can’t patch her image right up, nothing can.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Paris Hilton is shown out to dinner to Miami on 12/10/07, thanks to Splash News. The header image is of course a bad Photoshop cut ‘n paste. Don’t mock my skills because it’s not like I have a lot of time to work on these masterpieces.