Eva Longoria didn’t look too happy to be photographed out smoking in Puerto Rico over the weekend. Longoria was attending the wedding of her friend, actress Rosalyn Sanchez, on the Caribbean island.

In Touch points out this week that Eva has lost what little weight she gained for her Desperate Housewives character over the summer. Her trainer says she’s on a high protein diet with only fish and no meat. Maybe smoking helps her cut cravings too. It can help you lose weight, but it comes at a huge cost to your health.

The NY Daily News has an article about smoking celebrities who try and hide it from the public. Katherine Heigl, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan are regularly photographed taking drags, but there are other celebrities who are smokers that we don’t know about. Lauren Conrad is one, and Ashlee Simpson used to smoke before she got pregnant. Famous people are aware that there’s a well deserved stigma associated with smoking and many don’t want to set a bad example for fans and young people.

Smoking is a lot more acceptable in Europe and I have a slightly less negative opinion of the bad habit after living here a few years. It’s definitely something that’s socially influenced, and through legislation the US has helped curb smoking while changing attitudes and saving many people years of their lives. Celebrities know that they’re only looking foolish by lighting up. Eva Longoria generally accomplishes that just by opening her mouth.

Photo Credit: Fame Pictures

Amy Winehouse checked out of the London Clinic today and actually looked a good deal better. She either put on some weight or is bloating, but it still looks healthier than her usually gaunt face. Amy was being treated for a chest infection at the clinic, though there were rumors she was also there to rehab. Either way, she looks a bit better than usual.

THE AMY WINEHOUSE look is sure to be one of the most popular Halloween outfits this year.
Hardly surprising. The singer’s spooky appearance, combined with her twilight jaunts, have seen her take a starring role in A Nightmare On Camden High Street.

So when I clocked this picture of Amy leaving hospital yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised.

The singer has been in the London Clinic for the past week being treated for a lung condition – and the stint seems to have been a great tonic.

She looks better than she has done for a long time, if a little bit podgier around the face.

I’ll raise my glass to Amy getting better.

[From the Sun]

In other Amy drug news, the couple that sold Amy her many vices has pleaded guilty today. They’re also the same pair that filmed her smoking crack and sent it to The Sun.

Amy Winehouse is back home after a brief hospital stint and “doing fine.” The same can’t be said for her dealers.

A British couple pleaded guilty Friday to supplying drugs to a slew of celebrities, most notably Winehouse, and then selling a video of the Grammy-winning singer smoking crack to a U.K. tabloid. Johnny Blagrove, 34, and Cara Burton, 22, confessed to supplying cocaine and Ecstasy to the 25-year-old Grammy winner and then secretly filming her getting high and selling the footage to The Sun. The newspaper published images of the “Rehab” star’s binge in January.

The video sparked a police raid on the pair’s east London home. There, investigators turned up a purported “hit list” of stars, including the troubled R&B belter, for whom they regularly furnished the illicit substances.

As for Winehouse, her rep Tracey Miller told E! News Friday that the singer is now home from a London hospital, where she was being treated since last weekend for a chest infection.
“All has been completed and she is fine,” said Miller.

[From E! News]

Amy was never charged in any crimes related to Blagrove and Burton. I’d love to think that with her dealers in jail Amy stands a better chance of getting better, but clearly she has access to drugs through all sorts of people. The combination of her laying a bit low this last month and looking a bit healthier is cause for hope, nonetheless.

Here’s Amy leaving the London Clinic accompanied by her good friend Blake Wood and her father Mitch yesterday. Images thanks to Bauer-Griffin.

Beloved director Kevin Smith has decided it’s time to drop some weight. He’s been complaining on his blog for months about how fat he thinks he is, and his desire to be alone, away from the press, and drop some serious poundage. In fact Smith recently admitted to the L.A. Times that he broke a toilet due to his girth.

After his new movie “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” reaches theaters Friday, Kevin Smith plans to start counting his calories. Since his doctor called him morbidly obese, he’s giving up the all-you-can-eat lifestyle and taking a “health sabbatical” intended to shed extra pounds he packed on while filming the raunchy, Seth Rogen-starring romantic comedy in Pittsburgh last year.

“I’m going away for a while,” Smith said, puffing a menthol cigarette on the patio of his Hollywood Hills home, “to concentrate on myself. To save my life.”

At a time when Smith has been heavily promoting “Zack and Miri” — perhaps the most commercially viable movie in his 15-year career as a multi-hyphenate actor-writer-director of crude comedies and art-house bromances — the issue of his weight has remained front of mind. The director has been complaining about being fat in radio interviews and fretting about it on his blog much to the chagrin of Weinstein Co. publicists for the film, who have openly wished the director would “talk about something else.” Like, for instance, how closely in tone and casting the movie resembles something conjured up by comedy rainmaker Judd Apatow?

Adding insult to injury, Smith’s girth contributed to an embarrassing incident last week. “I broke a toilet. That’s how heavy I am,” said Smith. “I can’t take all the credit — that was an old toilet and a very waterlogged wall — but my size took that toilet down. I cannot cognitively reframe it and be like, ‘It wasn’t me — it was the toilet.’ It was definitely me. And that’s a wake-up call!”

[From the L.A. Times]

I checked out Smith’s website “My Boring Ass Life” and he does indeed fret, complain, and obsess about his weight a great deal on there. The most recent entry made me sorta sad.

F*&#, I wish I was still that thin. I’ve porked the f#&$ out, man. I’m really, really fat right now. Fattest I’ve ever been. But as soon as this flick’s out, I’m taking my life back; gonna drop out of sight and drop a bunch of pounds. It’s the deal I’ve made with myself. Just gotta make it through the next two and half weeks of press and running around.

[From My Boring Ass Life]

In other entries Smith comments about his weight and Page Six’s article about it. He sounds quasi-obsessive about pounds, and like he’s not necessarily coming from the best frame of mind. You can sense a panic and desperation, but also this feeling like he’s deeply depressed about it. Maybe I’m reading too much into things, it just made me think that if someone I knew were talking that way, I’d be stressed about them.

Kevin obviously has a lot of weight to lose but it’s not an impossible amount. Once you find a diet that works for you and you can live with, you get in the habit of making certain choices and it really isn’t as hard as it seems. The first month is the toughest, and then it just becomes something you do automatically. If nothing else it sounds like he’s seriously committed to making some much needed changes for the sake of his health. We wish him success.

Kevin Smith and his family at the Los Angeles Premiere of ‘Zack and Miri Make A Porno’ on October 20th. Images thanks to WENN .

Fashion Group International held their style awards last night – the Night of the Stars awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. Just about every style making celebrity was there, with stars like Kate Bosworth and J-Lo drawing rave reviews for their outfits. And while they did indeed look amazing, I was stunned by Allegra Versace’s appearance. Allegra has been battling anorexia for a long time, yet it appears that she’s not getting any better.

To say that she looks skeletal is an understatement. What I find oddest of all is that supposedly anorexics hide their bodies because they feel they still look fat or unsightly. Yet Allegra is in a sleeveless dress with a short hemline. Her outfit is beautiful and very appropriate for the event, but it’s definitely not some quiet little number that’s meant to leave her unnoticed.

Hopefully someone in her life is doing something to get her some help. It seems like she’s been dealing with anorexia for a very long time, and even though she’s young her body can only take so much of it.

Here’s Allegra Versace, Donatella Versace and Balthazar Getty at the awards last night in Manhattan. Also pictured are Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, Kate Bosworth, Karl Lagerfeld, Lindsay Price, Christian Louboutin, Ashley Olsen, Debra Messing, Georgina Chapman, Marcia Gay Harden, Penn Badgley, Isaac Mizrahi and Mamie Gummer, Blake Lively, and Julianna Margulies. Images thanks to WENN.

It’s been over a week since Janet Jackson suddenly canceled several of her concerts, blaming the rapid onset of a still-unexplained mystery illness. Since then she’s supposedly shown up for several of her sound checks but had to cancel every time because she still wasn’t better. Everyone’s got the right to keep their medical issues private, but when thousands of people are repeatedly put out like that, it’s natural to wonder what’s going on. As yet, Jackson hasn’t bothered to give any explanation more specific than the celebrity version of “the dog ate my homework.”

However ABC’s Luchina Fisher has a pretty good theory exactly what malady is plaguing Jackson. “Mid-life career slump” as she puts it.

Is it vertigo, as her brother Randy reportedly said last week, or is Janet suffering from an ailment more common to aging ’90s pop stars: a mid-life career slump? At 42, Jackson is certainly not the only middle-age female pop star rocking the concert circuit. Just look at Madonna, 50, whose “Sticky and Sweet” tour is virtually sold out and getting rave reviews. Or Tina Turner, who is about to embark on another tour at nearly age 69.

Why does Jackson, seemingly the most stable of the Jackson clan, appear to be losing her footing? “Her music hasn’t really evolved as she has aged as a person, said Jonathan Cohen, a senior editor at Billboard magazine. “She’s still doing the sex kitten thing, which, at 42, really isn’t believable.”

[Jackson family friend known only as Phoenix says] “They are pulling out due to bad ticket sales. Janet might have been one of the greatest pop icons in her time. But Janet Jackson, at 42 years old, does not have the same appeal as in ’89 with ‘Rhythm Nation.’ Other artists took that throne — Ashanti and Beyonce. This is what you call a publicity stunt.”

Janet’s latest album “Discipline” – which was supposed to be her big comeback – hasn’t even sold 500,000 copies.

[From ABC News]

I think Jonathan Cohen hit the nail on the head when he said, “Her music hasn’t really evolved as she has aged as a person.” That is absolutely correct. Even the look of the clothes Jackson is wearing screams 1989. She looks like one of the backup singers from Jem and the Holograms. A stale look combined with a stale sound is a bad combination. It’s such a cliché and I get so tired of hearing it, but it’s correct: Madonna stays relevant because she is constantly reinventing herself. Janet hasn’t done anything new since “janet.” which was in 1993. Everything she did afterward sounded like she was pulling from the discards of various old CDs.

I’m guessing Janet is suffering some anxiety attacks or something of that nature. She might be canceling as a power play but that seems so petty and unprofessional that I’m sure it would do more harm than good. She needs to come out with a fresh look and a killer, unusual show – to remind everyone exactly why they should give her a shot again.

Note by Celebitchy: While I understand the skepticism, I think people should give Jackson the benefit of the doubt. She may indeed be having medical problems and, as often happens, doctors might not know what’s wrong yet and that’s why she hasn’t issued a statement. It’s unfair to speculate that she’s having some sort of psychological problem. Vertigo can happen for a lot of reasons and it’s very disabling. It’s also frustrating to go to doctors when you’re sick like that and it usually takes a while to get a diagnosis. I feel for her and hope she pulls through this. Now is not the time to criticize her career and I doubt she would pull out of so many concerts without a legitimate reason.

Janet Jackson is shown performing in Rosemont, IL on 9/25/08. Credit: Adam Bielawski / PR Photos

DJ AM is one hell of a lucky guy. Though he was reported to have severe facial burns after escaping a plane crash two weeks ago, his representative says he’s doing really well – and is getting better every day. He hasn’t said a thing directly to the press, and this is the first official comment we’ve really had. His rep seems to think it’s a non-story, which I find kind of surprising. But the man must really want his privacy, and that I certainly understand.

Don’t let the bandages fool you—DJ AM is on the road to recovery.

The music man, real name Adam Goldstein, was photographed Thursday with new bandages on his body—prompting some concern he may have had a recent infection or setback since earlier this week, when he appeared bandageless at Chris Baker’s memorial service.

But AM’s rep Jenni Weinman tells E! News: “There is no story here. He’s home resting and healing.”

After all, nothing says speedy recovery like being well enough to take out the trash.

[From E! News]

E’s last little quip there is because they used a recent photograph of Goldstein taking out the trash. I’ve got to say, as mundane and boring as the picture is, it does show that AM must really be okay if he’s out and about and doing things like that.

I wonder if the initial reports were exaggerated or if AM made an exceptionally good recovery. Considering it seemed like his life was in danger, I’m pretty surprised he’s up and about. Either way, it’s a miracle he lived and is getting better so quickly.

Here’s an older image of AM having lunch with a friend in January. Images thanks to Fame.

It seems that Hollywood is agreeing with Victoria Beckham. According to The Sun, Posh is improving in nearly every aspect of her life. She’s eating better (eating at all was an improvement), exercising, shopping less and smiling more. I’m not going to agree with the “eating more” part, but the others seem to be true, to an extent.

Victoria says: “You know, I could just go shopping every day and sit on my bum. I could do what half these people do in here — sit and have lunch and go shopping — but I’d be so bored. I don’t even go shopping any more.”

Victoria’s life has changed dramatically in the past year. Before moving to LA, she infamously never set foot in a gym and went hungry pretty much every day in a bid to stay slim. But now the former SPICE GIRL is pounding the treadmill, running four miles every day, and has built up such a healthy appetite she even allows herself carbohydrate-loaded toast for breakfast.

“I run four miles, seven days a week,” she explains. “I feel energised and healthy — there are really nice gyms here and I just enjoy it. I need that self-discipline to get up in the morning, drop the kids off at school then go to the gym. I can think properly then go home and do some work. But I do feel so much better. David puts music on my iPod and Gordon Ramsay bought me trainers where you have a little chip so you can clock how far you’re running.”

And does she have a bigger appetite?

“Yes, I am eating more. I think you do eat more when you’re working out. And you want to eat healthily, so it’s good all round.” For the record, lunch when we met was grilled fish, salad with balsamic dressing (on the side) and water, followed by peppermint tea.

vi
[From the Sun]

Aside from being kind enough to justify her eating and exercising habits to The Sun, Victoria also said she’s cut back her spending – and that David spends more than she does. I’m imagining it’s all relative; hypothetically he spends $20,000 a month on a new watch while she spends $16,000. I doubt it’s what any of us would call a sizeable difference.

She explains: “I was on the dole once and I remember what it’s like to watch how you spend your money.

“I know everything that goes in and out of our accounts. I’d like to think I’m a good businesswoman, I’m learning a lot along the way. David definitely spends much more money than I do.

“I don’t really go shopping any more — apart from the flea market I go to every Sunday. You can get some amazing vintage stuff there.

“That’s often where I get inspiration for my designs.”

[From the Sun]

So the theme of the whole article is pretty much, “Everything’s totally fine since we moved to America.” It’s kind of hard to imagine Posh Spice at a flea market. But then again that’s probably the one place she can find interesting stuff. When you can afford to buy everything, I’d think the fancier stuff could lose some of its appeal. Not that I’d complain, mind you.

It sounds like, all in all, things are better for the Beckhams this last year. But Posh is still very much Posh – it’s not like she’s ebullient or bursting with enthusiasm. Obviously I’m reading the words, not hearing them, but it still feels like there’s a lack of excitement. Her words say one thing, but they don’t necessarily convey the intended sentiment.

Victoria Beckham is shown at fashion week on 9/8/08 with Jennifer Lopez. Credit: MLM/Fame Pictures

Amy Winehouse drinking on stage on 7/4/08. Credit: WENN

Not surprisingly, all of Amy Winehouse’s various medical issues are due to her severe drug addiction. While her family has openly acknowledged some of her overdoses, other hospitalizations have been blamed on vague things like issues allergic reactions and medications. Now one of Amy’s friends says she has brain damage that is so severe it’s brought on symptoms normally associated with schizophrenia.

[Amy had] such bad convulsions that they were “like a scene from The Exorcist”. And her body is so frail from drug use that doctors were scared she would break bones during a fit. A close pal of Amy’s laid bare the truth – warning medics said one more overdose will probably kill her. AMY’S first overdose in August last year was from cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, ketamine and crystal meth. She was advised to see a psychiatrist after displaying “multiple personality traits” that made her a suicide risk.

Her second overdose was in July – when she inhaled an “inhuman” amount of hash that left her vomiting uncontrollably and hallucinating. At the time devoted dad Mitch, 54, said it was a “bad reaction to her medication”. Medics are worried Amy’s brain was damaged by the cannabis overdose – she displayed symptoms normally associated with schizophrenia.

The pal yesterday said: “The future is bleak, bleak, bleak… She had smoked an inhuman amount of hash which resulted in acute cannabis poisoning. You have to take a s***load of pot to suffer that severe a reaction… Amy’s fits were as bad as the convulsions she had during her overdose in August last year. No one has mentioned her meth use before – but that stuff is truly nasty… She is in need of years of psychiatry and medical treatment if she has a hope.”

[From the Sun]

It’s not exactly surprising to hear that Amy is suffering severe physiological and psychological repercussions from such extensive drug use. I had a friend in high school that started out using pot and quickly moved on to harder drugs. Two years later he was in a mental hospital after suffering a severe acid trip and nearly dying. And he was truly the nicest, sweetest kid, and a good example of how addiction can be a struggle no matter your background.

Amy’s case is obviously super serious, and in a way it’s made worse by her financial independence. Most addicts would be struggling to support their addiction and stay afloat financially, but Amy has a while to go before she’ll be in that place. It makes it a lot easier to ignore everyone around you when you think you don’t need them. Unfortunately I don’t see any reason to think her behavior will change, and her friend is probably right about her next overdose.

Here’s Winehouse drinking on stage in July.

Christina Applegate is set to share some fabulous news this morning. According to E!, Applegate filmed an interview with Robin Roberts on Monday morning in which she says that she is now completely free of cancer – a true testament to the importance of early detection.

Christina Applegate has great news. “They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer,” the Samantha Who? star says in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday on Good Morning America. The 36-year-old actress, whose mom also battled—and survived—the disease, revealed earlier this month that she had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and was undergoing treatment.

Applegate, said that she has been getting regular mammograms since she turned 30. A second MRI, part of the follow-up from a biopsy she had last year, revealed the cancer. “I was so mad and I—I just remember I was—I was just shaking,” she told GMA cohost Robin Roberts, herself a breast-cancer survivor, on Monday. “And then also immediately, I had to go into…’take-care-of-business mode,’ which was…I asked them, ‘What do I do now? What—what is it that I do? I get a doctor, I get a surgeon, I get an oncologist? What do I do?’”

Apparently she did what was right for her, which included penciling in all the help she needed and switching to a macrobiotic diet. “I’m clear,” Applegate said. “Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean. It did not spread. They got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer.”

[From E! News]

E! doesn’t say if Applegate discusses what course of treatment she chose. I’m also curious when she found out she had cancer, and if she waited a bit to get a clearer prognosis before releasing a statement. No matter what this sounds like great news, and really serves as a reminder about the importance of diligent checkups from an early age.

Here’s Christina at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January. Images thanks to PR Photos.

According to the Daily Mail, Britney Spears has spent (what most people would consider) a fortune to get her physique back in shape. Brit packed on the pounds over the last two years. Not only did she give birth to two babies in rapid succession, but she also stopped her vigorous concert touring, which involved a ton of dancing.

On top of that she was on a lot of heavy duty medication for what a lot of outlets claim is bipolar disorder – and the vast majority of those meds can lead to serious weight gain, especially in the belly and upper half of the body.

The mother-of-two, who eagerly showed off her slimmed down bikini body during a trip to Mexico over the weekend, is back to 9st [126 lbs] after the stress of her custody battle saw her tip the scales at 10st 4lbs [144 lbs]. Her expensive heath make-over included £5,000-a-month on a nutritionist and diet supplements, £4,000 on a personal trainer and £2,000 on a private dance choreographer.

A source was quoted in Closer magazine as saying: ‘She limits herself to 1400 calories a day with one ‘cheat day’ where she’ll treat herself. She also changed the way she eats, trying to have only two thirds of what is on her plate. It’s all about portion control and fresh food now. And lots of water in place of Red Bull.’

She has also taken on some of Victoria Beckham’s diet tips, eating plenty of steamed fish and snacking on edamame beans… Now, says the insider: ‘Britney is so proud of herself because her ab muscles are back’. She’s feeling better than she has in ages.’

[From the Daily Mail]

Britney has clearly made a serious commitment to changing her life. Most of us would never be able to afford such help. But since she’s got the money, I can think of few better things to spend it on than improving her health. It seems like her self esteem has risen considerably, and that benefits her mental health, which is good not just for Britney but for her sons. Perhaps the last few years will give her some perspective on life, and make her really appreciate what’s she’s got. She’s worked pretty damn hard for it.

Here’s Britney Spears poolside in Mexico on Sunday. Images thanks to Splash.