Ever since Judge Marsha Revel recused herself from Lindsay Lohan’s ongoing legal drama, the word on the street is that Lindsay will be getting out of UCLA’s rehab facility much earlier than her sentence of 90 days. Dina Lohan took to the Today Show airwaves to make the initial pronouncement (something about “propaganda” and “hardball”), and then TMZ and Radar’s sources pretty much verified it. Now sources are saying that Lindsay’s new judge, Judge Elden Fox, is going to issue a “mystery ruling” today. If he’s just going to let Lindsay out of rehab early, how is that a mystery? A real surprise would be if Judge Fox actually gave Lindsay the “apology” and “compensation” she’s seeking. A real surprise would be if Judge Elden’s ruling was “Psych! You have to stay in rehab for a year, bitch.”

A mystery ruling in the ongoing court proceedings of troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan will be issued by Judge Elden Fox Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles Superior Court officials said Monday.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Lohan’s attorney Shawn Chapman Holley is slated to attend a probation modification hearing Wednesday, along with prosecutors in the case, in hopes of getting the Mean Girls star out of rehab early, as her doctors at UCLA Medical Center believe she does not need more than 30 days of treatment.

Lohan, 24, was sentenced by the first presiding judge in the case, Judge Marsha Revel, to serve 90 days in jail, followed by 90 days of rehab for probation violations stemming from her 2007 DUI conviction.

Lohan began serving her sentence July 20 at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, California. After two weeks in custody, Lohan on August 2 was discharged from the CRDC early for good behavior and overcrowding, and taken directly to UCLA Medical Center to begin the rehabilitation stage of her sentence.

[From Radar]

We’ll bring the “mystery” to you whenever it comes in. I hope it’s a good one! I’m still racking my brain trying to figure out what new and intense punishments could be in store for Lindsay – what else could a new judge do to her? Make it a condition of her probation that she cannot give any interviews? That would mean Lindsay would be out $1 million for her Crackhead Diaries! Also: Donald Trump now wants Lindsay… for Celebrity Apprentice. I hate to say it, but I would watch that sh-t. You know Lindsay would be a crackhead mess.

Radar Online reports that Bones star David Boreanaz will be sued for sexual harassment today in a lawsuit that will be filed by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred. Boreanaz has had at least two affairs that we know of – one with Tiger mistress and current Celebrity Rehab contestant Rachel Uchitel and another with a porn star named Demi Delia.

Now normally I would take sexual harassment allegations very seriously. But let’s consider the fact that Back in May, Boreanaz admitted cheating on his wife and said that he was the victim of a mistress trying to extort money from him. TMZ reported that the woman was represented by Gloria Allred but that it wasn’t Rachel Uchitel.

There’s a new stripper/porn star tour featuring mistresses of Tiger Woods, Jesse James and David Boreanaz and two out of the six strippers are currently represented by Gloria Allred. The tour also includes named Boreanaz mistress Demi Delia, and she may just be the “actress” that Allred is representing. This is a delicate subject because in no way would I say that a woman is not entitled to make a sexual harassment claim due to a career in adult entertainment. On the other hand, you have to consider the history of this case and some of the ridiculous antics that Allred has pulled with her clients. Allred’s credibility is questionable, and she’ll go to great lengths to get publicity. I wouldn’t put it past her to twist an affair into a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Here’s some of Radar’s report:

Bones star David Boreanaz, who has been caught in two extramarital affairs, is now being sued for sexual harassment by an actress, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

The lawsuit will be filed at 11 am PT Thursday in downtown Los Angeles by powerhouse attorney Gloria Allred. The actress will be with Allred when the papers are filed.

As RadarOnline.com revealed, Boreanaz had an affair with Tiger Woods’ mistress Rachel Uchitel. Earlier this year, Boreanaz admitted to a different affair and said the unnamed woman was trying to extort money from him.

That woman hired Allred. It is not known if she is the woman filing the lawsuit Thursday.

[From Radar Online]

If Allred’s new client has a legitimate claim and is not this Demi Delia mistress, (whose real name is Gina Rodriguez), first of all I would be surprised and secondly the woman is doing herself a disservice by hiring Allred. Allred adds the taint of “pitt bull on a one-sided mission” to everything she does, and has been involved in several cases in which it looked like her clients were trying to squeeze money out of someone. So is it this Gina Rodriguez/Demi Delia character and is Allred just taking the “sexual harassment” angle hoping for a settlement? If this report from Radar is correct, we’ll see at 11:00 am PST.

TMZ is reporting that Lindsay Lohan has officially hired super-lawyer Robert Shapiro, who I thought was already dead, honestly. Was I thinking of Johnny Cochran? Perhaps. But I digress. After playing around with the idea of hiring Beef Jerky, Esquire, Lindsay has broken our hearts with Shapiro. But our hearts won’t be broken for long – allegedly, Shapiro has “no plans” to file a last-minute appeal:

TMZ has learned famed lawyer Robert Shapiro will represent Lindsay Lohan in her jail saga, but we’re told Shapiro’s plan is not to appeal Lindsay’s 90-day jail sentence.

Sources say Shapiro, who was part of the team that successfully repped O.J. Simpson, will try to convince Judge Marsha Revel to put Lindsay in a rehab facility and either eliminate or minimize jail.

Shapiro, whose son died of a drug overdose in 2005, has a lot of experience with rehab facilities and we’re told he has a specific plan for Lindsay, and a specific place in mind — a live-in rehab facility in which Shapiro is involved. Shapiro created a foundation to help people deal with drug and alcohol problems, named after his son — The Brent Shapiro Foundation.

Shapiro was hired in a nick of time. Lindsay is supposed to turn herself in on Tuesday.

[From TMZ]

Meanwhile, Radar has an interesting interview with Lindsay’s prosecutor, Danette Meyers, who got on her high horse about the alleged appeal (I guess she doesn’t read TMZ): “It’s a really a moot point to ask Judge Revel to send Ms. Lohan to rehab only as Judge Revel has already sentenced her…Ms. Lohan is going to jail… Judge Revel could have sentenced her to more time behind bars, but she didn’t. The only issue to be decided is what rehabilitation facility Ms. Lohan will be sent to after she serves her jail time.”

Can you just imagine the gigantic margarita Shawn Chapman Holley is drinking right now? She doesn’t have to deal with that crackhead anymore! Hurray! Oh, and it’s sounding more and more like someone has talked some sense into Lindsay and told her that going to jail could be her best (and most profitable) career move ever. However, the countdown has already begun – Lindsay turns herself in on Tuesday… what kind of crack drama will there be?

Oooh, look at Shapiro’s eyebrows! That’s some Sam Waterson sh-t.

Lindsay on July 2, 2010. Credit: Fame.

Crackhead drama queens don’t take the weekend off, especially when they only have a few weeks of crack drama left before going to jail, so there is a ton of new Lindsay Lohan info today. First off, Lindsay Lohan does not believe she is going to go to jail. She’s hatched a crack scheme to ensure that doesn’t do the 90 days in jail. Lindsay’s plan? She’s going to appeal, appeal, appeal, hoping to draw this thing out for a year or longer. Is this all because she doesn’t want to kick her pack-a-day habit? No smoking in jail, poor Raspy LiLo.

Lindsay Lohan has figured out how to work the legal system and possibly stay out of jail for six months to a year, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively. A source close to the situation tells RadarOnline.com that by appealing her 90-day jail sentence for a probation violation, Lindsay will buy herself some time.

“Lindsay’s lawyer only has to file a notice of appeal with Judge (Marsha) Revel, and under terms of California law–particularly misdemeanor probation appeals–the defendant must be granted bail,” the source said, “Judge Revel will be forced to give Lohan bail pending the appeal, and Lilo wouldn’t even have to appear in front of Judge Revel again.”

The insider goes on to say, “the appeal will take six months to a year to be heard. It’s highly unlikely that Lohan’s appeal will be successful. However, it will keep her out of jail for at least the next six months to a year.”

While Judge Revel is required to legally grant her bail, the source added: “Judge Revel could order Lohan into the 90 day in-patient rehab program immediately.”

RadarOnline.com first reported Lindsay’s attorney Shawn Chapman Holley quit on Thursday after finding out that Lindsay was lawyer shopping. A source close to Lohan says, “Lindsay met with two prominent criminal defense attorneys on Wednesday, but both refused to take the case because of her bad attitude. Lohan blames everyone around her for her circumstances, and she is absolutely unaccountable. She is an attorney’s worst nightmare because she simply refuses to follow any advice that she disagrees with.”

If she isn’t given a reprieve, Lohan will begin serving her 90 day jail sentence on July 20.

[From Radar]

Yes, Lindsay has been doing some lawyer-shopping, looking for someone crazy enough to think that her ass should NOT go to jail. One of those lawyers is a Chicago-based attorney named Stuart Goldberg. He’s as big of a famewhore drama queen as Lindsay, and has already started making statements to the press about Lindsay (TMZ video here). However, Radar is claiming that Mr. Goldberg has not officially been hired (photo of Mr. Goldberg’s beef jerky self is below):

Despite rumors to the contrary, Chicago lawyer Stuart V. Goldberg has not been hired to represent Lindsay Lohan, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report.

“Stuart Goldberg is not Lindsay’s new attorney,” Lohan’s New York legal rep Stephanie Ovadia tells us.

Ovadia, a highly-regarded New York attorney who is representing Lindsay in her lawsuit against E*Trade, adds that “no attorney has been chosen as of now.

“The family is still in the process of interviewing.”

The news may come as a surprise to Goldberg, whose rep sent RadarOnline.com a statement that Lindsay and her mother “hired Stuart V. Goldberg as her new attorney” after a meeting Friday night.

Goldberg, who is also a screenwriter and fiction-writer, is not a member of the California Bar Association, according to a search of the organization’s website.

Lindsay has been sentenced in 90 days in jail followed by 90 days in rehab for violations to the conditions of her DUI probation. She’s complained that her “human rights” have been violated and has vowed to appeal the sentence.

Her search for a new attorney follows the decision of Lohan’s respected previous attorney Shawn Chapman Holley to quit representing the troubled starlet.

[From Radar]

And lastly, we have Lindsay’s renewed friendship with Samantha Ronson. Sam came to visit Lindsay over the weekend. I’m sure that was a great time, for real. Do you think Sam is trying to just be kind? Trying to be nice to someone with a lot of problems? Or is there something else going on? In any case, Sam got her high horse and defended Lindsay against some rather dumb jokes made by Joan Rivers. Joan is on Twitter, and she was throwing out one-liners like “Lindsay Lohan is so dumb. Her idea of being sworn in is cursing at the judge.” My favorite: “Lindsay Lohan had ‘F-ck You’ painted on her nails. What people don’t know is that the judge had ‘Eat me you party skank,’ painted on hers.” That one is actually half-decent, so props to Joan. So Sam tweeted to Joan: “”Hey Joan Rivers. You have collagen older than Lindsay, pick on someone your own age, oh wait I guess people that old can’t hear”. Wait, is Sam saying that Lindsay’s collagen is newer than Joan’s? Ha.

UPDATE: Oh, I missed this! Page Six is reporting that my girlfriend Judge Marsha Revel has ordered Shawn Chapman Holley (Lindsay’s lawyer, who quit her ass this past week) to stay on as Lindsay’s lawyer of record, at least until Lindsay finds a new one. Page Six’s source says: “The judge told Holley she can’t quit and leave Lindsay without representation. She has to stay on the case until Lindsay has a substitution of attorney filed with the court.” Apparently, Shawn quit because Lindsay “won’t take or follow advice. She is not returning calls, and so they haven’t been able to set up meetings with her and a psychologist for her court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.” Do you think Lindsay can get it together in time for an appeal? I have my doubts. So, Shawn Chapman = Still defending a crackhead.

Lindsay Lohan on July 9 & 10, 2010. Credit: Fame.

I was ready to call it a day (CB said it was my Easter holiday!) when I saw this new statement that Jesse James’ lawyer has just given to People Magazine. What probably started out as the lawyer simply confirming that Jesse James is back in rehab (after maybe leaving rehab over the weekend), the lawyer then went off the reservation, big time. First off, the lawyer’s name is Joe Yanny. My guess is that his law partner is Joe Mamma? Yes, that makes no sense, and yet I’m still giggling. Second point: Joe Yanny is a whiner. He really feels like his client is the most maligned douche in the world, and Joe Yanny is going to throw him the biggest pity party EVER:

As he continues undergoing treatment for personal issues, Jesse James has one overriding hope.

“When all is said and done, he wants the same people who were living in his house before all this happened to still be living there,” his attorney Joe Yanny tells PEOPLE. “And he wants to save his marriage with the woman he loves more than anything in his life.”

James, who checked into the treatment facility last month after allegations of infidelity against wife Sandra Bullock, “is doing as well as he can be,” says Yanny. “He’s focusing on what he’s doing and trying to make himself better.”

His lawyer also believes the media has gone too far with constant coverage and by naming the treatment facility.

“The First Amendment was not meant to cover the sexual lives of people who are not in office,” says Yanny. “This is sheer voyeurism and bullying, pure and simple. It’s disgusting.”

[From People]

“Sheer voyeurism and bullying, pure and simple. It’s disgusting.” Tut tut. Well excuse us! I mean, we only read about all of the dumb, skanky ladies his client was banging because they sold their stories to whoever would buy them. It’s not like we ran over to Jesse’s house and forced his wang into every piece with a forehead tattoo. Oh, and this bit: “And he wants to save his marriage with the woman he loves more than anything in his life.” Delusion McPipeDream, Esquire. Sandra should be leaving Jesse simply for the fact that Jesse hired this moron for his lawyer.

So, tell me if you think this is fair: a man cheats on his wife, fools her and the rest of the world into thinking he’s an upstanding, devoted husband, only to have his scorned, sleazy mistress prove otherwise. Out of the three people in this scenario, the one who goes into hiding is…the wife?

Sadly enough, that’s what is happening with Sandra Bullock, Jesse James and his hideous slam hound, Michelle McGee. While James seems to be carrying on with life as usual, and McGee is plastered across every tabloid in the country – which I’m sure she loves – Sandra Bullock has canceled all her appearances to promote her Oscar-winning movie, “The Blind Side,” and has pretty much disappeared from the public eye.

It wasn’t just London that lost a premiere of The Blind Side.

Sandra Bullock had originally planned also to travel to Berlin to promote the film, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress on March 7, before taking a break from making movies.

But when a San Diego tattoo model alleged she had an affair with Bullock’s husband, Jesse James, the actress abruptly suspended her promotional plans and left the home she shared with James in Seal Beach, Calif.

Like the London premiere, the German event – originally set for Monday night – also got called off.

“Warner Bros. issued a statement on Tuesday, March 16 stating that Sandra Bullock would not be traveling abroad due to unforeseen personal reasons,” says the star’s spokesperson. “Obviously that included everything that was scheduled for the European tour which included press and two premieres.”

[From People]

This should be the best time in Sandra’s life – she just won the Oscar and has had an amazing year. But instead, she is in seclusion because her husband couldn’t say NO to some whorish Nazi wannabe with tattoos on her forehead and a bad boob job. Meanwhile, sources are saying that both Sandra and Jesse are looking into hiring legal counsel as they prepare for possible divorce. I really hope Sandra has a prenup!

Multiple sources tell TMZ reps for both Sandra Bullock and Jesse James have been interviewing divorce lawyers.

We’re told Sandra’s reps have been in touch with several high-end divorce lawyers. Our sources say Lance Spiegel, who handled divorces for Charlie Sheen, Heather Locklear and Michael Jackson, is the frontrunner.

As for Jesse, we’re told his business people have contacted several lawyers as well, but he will not be initiating the divorce. We’re told his reps are asking the attorneys “if they’d be interested in taking the case” if Sandra files.

As for whether a divorce petition will be filed, one source simply said, “Something’s happening.”

[From TMZ]

This Michelle McGee is one evil, disturbed bitch. How about the fact that she deliberately went to the tabloids as an act of revenge after seeing Jesse and Sandra looking happy at the Oscars together? Well, it looks like she’s getting a little karma after all: she was recently fired as a spokesmodel for Angry White Girl clothing line, and her ex-husband is using those Nazi photos of her as evidence against her in their ongoing custody battle over their 5-year-old son. Sometimes, what comes around goes around. I love when that happens.

On Monday, March 15, Charlie Sheen pleaded not guilty to the one felony charge and two misdemeanor charges leveled against him by the Aspen, Colorado district attorney’s office. The charges stem, of course, from the alleged, alcohol-soaked Christmas beating he gave wife Brooke Mueller. Officially, it was Charlie’s lawyer Richard Cummins who entered the not guilty plea on Charlie’s behalf. The trial won’t be until July.

In addition to that, Radar has word that Charlie has hired a new lawyer to represent him for this case. This guy, Steve Cochran, has a reputation as a celebrity heavy-hitter, and his other clients have included Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and Forest Whitaker, amongst others. Here’s more, from Radar:

With his freedom hanging in the balance, Charlie Sheen has hired a new, high-powered Los Angeles lawyer to help defend him in his domestic violence case, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

Sheen hired Steve Cochran, a well-known L.A. criminal defense lawyer who has worked on many high-profile cases including defending Michael Jackson. RadarOnline.com learned that Sheen wanted more firepower in the courtroom. Richard Cummins has been Sheen’s lead attorney until now.

Cochran will be admitted pro hac vice to assist in Sheen’s defense Monday. Pro hac vice is a term used “for the moment” that allows a lawyer to practice in another jurisdiction.
It is unclear if Cummins will remain as the lead attorney but sources tell RadarOnline.com that Team Sheen believed they needed a “more high powered” attorney on the case for the Two and a Half Men actor.

Cochran left Jackson’s defense team in 2004 for unspecified reasons. Thomas Mesereau Jr. continued to represent Michael, who was acquitted. Cochran represented Jackson on many matters, including in 1993 when the singer was accused of child molestation. He has also represented Sheen previously, Britney Spears, Forest Whitaker and other tops stars.

Colorado has been cracking down on domestic violence cases and as RadarOnline.com reported Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin will not accept a plea bargain from Sheen that does not include a felony charge. Sheen will not plead to a felony but would be willing to make a deal pleading to misdemeanors in exchange for no jail time, sources told RadarOnline.com.

But with both sides at a stalemate the court action gets underway on Monday with Sheen’s arraignment. The actor will face jail time if convicted. RadarOnline.com learned exclusively he will contend that the violence and threats never occurred and that his wife’s drug problems make her words unbelievable.

Sheen, who has returned to work on his TV series, had been in rehab for several weeks because he had started drinking alcohol again and using cocaine.

Brooke Mueller recently went into rehab, is addicted to crack and is an alcoholic. She has been in rehab more than five times over the years, RadarOnline.com learned. Mueller does not want to cooperate with prosecutors. Her 911 call will be a key piece of the the prosecution case but the defense will counter by saying she was drunk at 8:30 in the morning and also on crack.

[From Radar]

To me it seems like Charlie is really serious about not going to jail and not being forced into some kind of alcohol or domestic violence program. And you know what? If he’s got the money for these big-time lawyers, chances are the lawyers will drown the local, civil servant district attorney’s office in paperwork. I don’t think Charlie is going to jail. I don’t think Charlie is going to be forced into going into any kind of program. I think Charlie is back to drinking, doing coke, and bangin’ hookers, and that’s what he intends to keep doing. Just my theory!

Charlie in Aspen on March 15, 2010. Credit: INFphoto.com

CB sent me this story yesterday, but after the E-Trade debacle (which has a new chapter that I’ll to in a moment), I was slightly Lohan-ed out. Which brings me to a conversation point: the banning of Lindsay on this site. CB and I have talked about it, and the truth is, Lindsay is still totally gossip-worthy, as evidenced by how many hits we consistently get on Lohan posts. She’s a hot mess, yes, but she’s also crazy and arrogant and delusional, and even though it might make me a bad person, I find that I enjoy writing about her shenanigans. She doesn’t have the sheer tragedy of Britney Spears – Lindsay’s downfall isn’t about some chemical imbalance or anything, Lindsay’s problem is The Cult of Entitlement, you know? No one telling her “no”, no one telling her “you can’t pull this sh-t and still have a career.” Except people did say that to Lindsay, and she was too coked up to listen.

Anyway, the first story is that Lindsay was on a UK talk show with Alan Carr, and Carr asked her a bunch of “uncomfortable questions”. Like, “Are you Arthur or you Martha now? Are you back on the c-ck?” I’ll give Lindsay credit for looking genuinely embarrassed:

Meanwhile, in Lindsay’s-only-problem-is-her-childhood-milkaholism news, Lawyers for both “sides” are speaking out. Mostly, it’s Lindsay’s sketchy lawyer doing the talking, but E-Trade did release a short statement to Esquire: “While E*TRADE doesn’t typically comment on pending litigation, we felt it appropriate given the high level of interest in the E*TRADE Baby. With the E*TRADE Baby, our advertising campaign is meant to be witty and memorable, while effectively communicating the powerful investing tools and services offered by E*TRADE. We believe the claims are without merit and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this case.” Lindsay’s lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, had much more to say:

Lindsay Lohan’s case against E*Trade is heating up, with both sides trading barbs, denials and accusations over a TV ad about a “milk-a-holic” baby named Lindsay. Since being filed in New York on Monday, the lawsuit has raised more than a few eyebrows. Stephanie Ovadia, Lohan’s lawyer at the forefront of the lawsuit, tells PopEater that skeptics need to look at the “totality of the commercial, taking into account name and characterization.”

If you really want to know when E*Trade (or its ad agency, Grey Group) turned the corner and decided to model the boyfriend-stealing baby after Lohan, Ovadia asserts, all you need to do is look at the ad’s script. “This script is a very important piece,” she tells us. “Because, slowly, all of the pieces are fitting together to make one complete picture.”

That “piece” of the puzzle emerged this week via Esquire magazine, which happened to be embedded with Grey while they were crafting the baby ads. In the original script, dated Aug. 11 of last year, the “other woman/baby” character was named Deborah. In an updated draft six weeks later, the “bimbus” (which was eventually changed to “milk-a-holic”) was changed to Lindsay. Adding confusion to the mix, the name Deborah was still referred to later in the script, but scratched out for the new name.

As we previously reported, Lohan is suing the company for $100 million, insisting they modeled the baby after her. Ovadia insists that because of her stardom, Lohan now has single-name recognition among the general public.

Lohan believes that under New York state law, E*Trade was supposed to ask for her approval before using the name. They want the TV spot off the air and want $50 million in exemplary damages and another $50 million in compensatory damages.

[From PopEater]

Ugh. This lawyer sounds as bad as Lindsay, doesn’t she?

Lindsay in Paris on March 9 & 11, 2010. Credit: ANG/Fame Pictures.

Two weekends ago, the News of the World published a scandalous story about Brad and Angelina “consulting a divorce lawyer” to split up their assets and work on a custody agreement ahead of their big breakup. This story jumped internationally very quickly, and many, many, many people freaked out, both the Brangelina lovers and haters. It was a weird situation, because the report didn’t seem to have any more merit than all of the random Star Magazine and In Touch Weekly stories that have Brad and Angelina breaking up every single week. Still, it touched off a big media war, one that Brad and Angelina are still doing some damage control on. And now it’s not just some friendly photo-ops to let everyone know they’re fine – it was just announced that Brad and Angelina are suing! This is seriously the first time they’ve ever sued, so it’s a big deal:

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are suing a London tabloid for claiming that they were planning to split.

The couple’s lawyer Keith Schillings tells BBC News that Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, have begun legal proceedings against the News of The World tabloid, which reported Jan. 24 that the two had agreed to divide their assets and made arrangements for the custody of their six children, Maddox, 8, Pax, 6, Zahara, 5, Shiloh, 3, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 18 months.

Schillings tells the BBC that the tabloid report contained “false and intrusive allegations” and that the paper failed to meet a demand for a retraction and apology for the article which was “widely republished by mainstream news outlets.”

Schillings says Sorrell Trope, a Los Angeles divorce lawyer identified by some publications as advising the two, denied claims that he had been in contact with the couple. “I have had no contact from… Angelina Jolie and / or Brad Pitt,” Trope said in a statement. “I have never met… your clients or had any involvement with either of them. The foregoing is true with respect to all other members of this firm.”

A spokesperson for the News Of The World has yet to comment.

Pitt and Jolie, who are not married, packed on the PDA Sunday during an appearance at the Super Bowl in Miami. They took their eldest son, Maddox, to the big game.

[From Us Weekly]

I’m going to put all of my cards on the table: I like Brad and Angelina, together and separately. I think they’re good people, I think they put up with a lot of crap from the media, and I think they’re generally pretty smart about how they handle their public personas. All that being said, one of their dumbest moves as a couple was to have no publicist together or separately, and to have no media consultant or anyone like that. They should have had someone on their staff dealing with the media fulltime ever since 2006, when Brad let go of his long-time publicist. Having someone on permanent standby would have helped a lot throughout the trials and tribulations the tabloids seem to have Brangelina going through every week. And now that they’re taken on lawyers and are actually suing one publication for one story, it just strikes me as too little too late. Why this story and not the others? I don’t get it.

Oh, and why not sue Ian Halperin while they’re at it? That guy needs to be taken down.

Brad and Angelina at the LA premiere of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ on August 10, 2009.

This whole thing seems to have been started by Britain’s The News of the World, which has gotten some things right, but not so much on others. So, you know, it could be total bullsh-t, or it could be a big scoop. The News of the World is claiming that Brad and Angelina have split for good, that they’ve been in contact with a divorce lawyer to work out the child custody and financial arrangements, and that they will be announcing their split any day now. Here’s part of the report (full report is here):

HOLLYWOOD golden pair Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have seen DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split deal, we can reveal.

The world’s most famous couple legally agreed how to divide their fortune and who gets custody of their six kids. The megastars have agreed to equally divide their vast fortune – and to SHARE their six children.

Dynamite legal papers secretly signed by the couple this month detail how all their homes and assets will be carved up. The agreement gives them joint custody of the kids – but all six will actually live full-time with their mum.

Preparations for a split began in early December when “Brangelina” visited a top Los Angeles divorce firm to begin thrashing out the deal. An announcement of their separation is expected to be made soon – ending months of speculation that the five-year relationship is on the rocks.

A source told the News of the World: “The document was signed in early January. Both Brad and Angelina had signed it. The contract was like a tailor-made version of a pre-nuptial agreement except for an unmarried couple’s split. It seemed clear they want the world to know they’ll both play a part in the upbringing of the children. But Angelina will actually be the one who lives with them full-time.”

The divorce lawyer they consulted is based in Beverly Hills and has worked on a string of celeb divorces and splits. He is widely regarded as “the best in the business”.

Our source added: “There’s no date for when the contract would come into effect. But the paperwork is already organised for a break- up – and for it to be as unmessy for them as possible. It is clear it’s a case of when they break up rather than if.”

The troubled couple have not been photographed together in public in recent days. On Friday night, Brad, 46, was snapped backstage at the Hope For Haiti concert in Los Angeles without Angelina, 34. His ex-wife Jennifer Aniston was there – although not with him.

Her joint fortune with Brad of $322 million (£205 million) includes mansions in France, California and New Orleans. But rumours have been circulating for months that the couple’s relationship is doomed.

Last week they failed to show at the Golden Globe Awards even though Brad’s film Inglourious Basterds was up for a several gongs. Instead he went to watch the American football team New Orleans Saints, while Changeling star Angelina stayed in California. Also last week, Pitt bought the mansion next door to the family’s LA home for £800,000.

His pals Guy Ritchie and wife Madonna famously bought their next-door pad in London before their split so they could share living space with their kids but keep away from each another.

Earlier this month, Angelina was snapped looking tense with an unsmiling Brad in New York. And last month she said fidelity was over-rated – and if she or Brad had an affair it would not be a problem.

She told German magazine Das Neue: “Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other. I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It’s worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards.”

We asked Brad, Angelina and the legal firm for their comments but they did not respond.

[From News of the World]

Reasons this could be bullsh-t: they quote that dumb fake interview Angelina did not do with Das Neue, which does not do much for anyone’s credibility; even the American weeklies haven’t picked the report up, as of Sunday morning – People Magazine and Us Weekly don’t have anything, and they would report it if they could confirm it independently. Other reasons: the tabloids have had them splitting every week for five years, and isn’t everyone tired of this crap? Oh, and apparently Brangelina’s reps have denied it, according to Perez. (I know, I know.)

Reasons this might be true: many media outlets are picking this story up, even the more legitimate newspapers like The Telegraph; News of the World does get some stuff right; if Brad and Angelina do split, I would imagine they would come up with some custodial and financial arrangement just like this; Brad’s horrible goaty beard (which is a legitimate reason).

Brad and Angelina on August 10, 2009 in LA, in Cannes on May 20, 2009, at the Oscars on February 22, 2009, at the 2009 BAFTAs, and out in New York on January 6, 2010. Credit: Fame Pictures & WENN.