Madonna is set to play 10 European dates starting in August on her “Sticky and Sweet” tour, which will last just under a month. She knows that in order to remain relevant she’s got to pull out all the stops, which may include bringing in a younger tabloid target in a blatant attempt to get press. For her last tour Madonna rehashed some of her tired old blasphemy, and that worked slightly, but this time she’s ready to really get people talking.

The Sun reports that Madonna will record a video with Britney tomorrow that will be shown as a background during her upcoming show. Madonna has also reportedly asked Britney to join her as a walk-on guest on the tour. There’s some analysis that this will help Britney’s stagnant career, but unless she can pull it together in less than a month that’s doubtful.

MADONNA has asked troubled BRITNEY SPEARS to join her on tour — and pals hope she will give guidance to the young star.

The Queen Of Pop, 49, is set to record a video with Britney, 26, in New York tomorrow.

The footage will be broadcast on huge screens as part of Madge’s Sticky and Sweet tour, which kicks off on August 23.

Madonna has also invited Britney to appear in person on some of the world tour dates.

A source close to Britney revealed: “They are recording a video together on Sunday that will provide the backdrop for part of Madonna’s show.

“And they are talking about Britney taking the stage on a few of the dates too.

“There’s no doubt that her [sic] and Britney together will spell fireworks again.

[From The Sun]

This is all about Madonna, and no matter how Britney performs she’ll bring attention to Madge and her show. This woman likes to rub her crotch all over the Catholic church and staged a mock crucifixion while wearing a crown of thorns for her last tour. She even invited the pope to come see it. Madonna doesn’t give a shit if Britney is mentally or physically prepared to go on stage with her. She’d prop her up on a platform and wheel her around if she could get away with it. Madonna puts on an amazing show, there’s no doubt about that, but she also does whatever she has to do to stay famous, and it sure has worked for her so far.

Madonna and Britney are shown in the inset in Britney’s “Me Against The Music” video in 2003. The header is undated but is probably from around that same time. (Who wants to see that photo of them kissing at the VMAs again?) Here are Madonna and Guy going to - you guessed it, Kabbalah, yesterday. Madonna supposedly got caught in the rain, but she’s looked like a wet rat in quite a few candids recently. She is shown leaving in the one where her hair is all fluffy.

Alex Rodriguez’s wife Cynthia is blaming Madonna – and Kabbalah – for the demise of her marriage. Cynthia has said she thinks Madonna is using the religion to convince Alex that they are soul mates, and has some sort of “mind control” over him. And while I’d normally laugh at stuff like that, it would absolutely not surprise me at all if Madonna were using Kabbalah for evil instead of good.

Pop icon Madonna is using kabbalah to brainwash Yankee star Alex Rodriguez into believing they are “soulmates,” the ballplayer’s estranged wife is telling friends. While Madonna’s flack has vehemently denied any hanky-panky, insisting the slugger and the singer “are just friends,” Cynthia Rodriguez is convinced otherwise. She has privately insisted to pals that the “Hard Candy” singer beguiled A-Rod by introducing him to the mystical Jewish teachings of kabbalah.

“I feel like Madonna is using mind control over him,” Cynthia Rodriguez told the friend. “I don’t recognize the man he’s become. He was a sweet, beautiful, loving husband and father. Today he’s very cold and calculating.”

“This all started with kabbalah,” said the friend. “Alex told Cynthia that he’d discovered that he’d been looking for his soul mate. And now, he said, he’d found her.”

Three weeks after the birth of their daughter Ella, A-Rod dropped a knee-wobbling bomb on his wife, the friend said. Alex “came to Cynthia and claimed their marriage was over,” the friend said. “That was news to her. She’d had no clue. She said, ‘I was devastated,’” the friend said. “I’ve been with him for 13 years,” she told her friend. “I stood beside him through all his struggles.”

[From the Daily News]

This isn’t the first time A-Rod’s been accused of philandering. He’s often been seen at strip clubs in New York and Vegas. In May 2007 the New York Post published a front page photo of Rodriguez with a Las Vegas stripper at a hotel in Toronto. A month later, Cynthia got a bit of bad publicity for wearing a tank top that said “Fuck You” to a Yankees game. Many thought the shirt was a public response to what was already going on in her marriage.

While I would never, ever defend Madonna, it sounds like the biggest problem is Alex Rodriguez’s attitude towards his marriage. And probably some private things within that marriage. I doubt Madonna has figured out some evil spell to cast on the guy – it sounds like he was looking for an affair, and he probably got one. I met A-Rod a few times when I was a teenager through a relative that had a business relationship with him. This was back when he was playing for the Mariners. He already had a “I’m better than everyone else” attitude about him, which I figured was kind of expected.

In other news related to this debacle, it sounds like Lenny Kravitz really has been a good guy who got a lot of crap for doing a decent thing. The Daily News reports that Cynthia went to Paris on A-Rod’s suggestion - along with the godparents of one of her children - who is also Alex’s trainer - and his wife and their daughter. Kravitz has been out of the country, and played a gig in Belgium last night. He loaned his place to Cynthia as an act of kindness. Many think A-Rod or one of his friends planted the idea in the press - after his suggestion that Cynthia go to Paris to get away from the paparazzi, photographers were already waiting for her at Kravitz’s place when she arrived.

Here’s Alex Rodriguez leaving his Manhattan apartment on his way to the New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers game on Wednesday. Photographer: A. Miller. Header of A Rod, Cynthia, and their daughter Natasha at FAO Schwarz in NYC for a reading of his book ‘Out of the Ballpark’ on July 20, 2007. Images thanks to WENN.

An older photo of Alex Rodriguez out with his wife, Cynthia
Yesterday Maddona and her husband of seven years, Guy Ritchie, made a strained public outing in light of rumors that each of them has consulted divorce attorneys. There’s also a story in the upcoming issue of US Magazine that claims that Madonna, 49, has been carrying on an affair with NY Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, 32.

Madonna’s rep has of course denied that there’s any infidelity or plans for divorce. Madonna and Guy followed their standard operating procedure whenever there are rumors questioning the fitness of their marriage - they went out together and invited the paparazzi to document it. If they’re willing to do that they’re probably willing to work out whatever issues they have that boiled over to the press. They might just stay together.

The NY Daily News adds some credence to the story that Madonna and Alex Rodriguez were having an affair. They report that Rodriguez and his wife of five years, Cynthia, are separated. Cynthia and Alex have two daughters together, aged three and half and two months. There’s a questionable rumor that Cynthia is now having an affair with rocker Lenny Kravitz, and has joined him in Paris for a few days while he’s on tour. Her mother denies that’s true, and I can’t see the mother of a two month old jetting off to Paris for a new guy, but it’s possible. To make this story more complicated, Madonna dated Lenny Kravitz back in 1990.

Yankee star Alex Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, have split after about three months of problems in their marriage, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Daily News Wednesday…

“It’s true,” the source said of A-Rod’s separation from his wife of five years. “They’ve been having problems for about three months.”

Word of the couple’s marital strife comes less than three months after they expressed how “thrilled” they were with the April 21 birth of their daughter, Ella Alexander.

Rodriguez, 32, didn’t join his wife in Miami until 10 minutes after she gave birth, and spent only a day with her and their newborn before rejoining the Yankees.

Revelations of the couple’s not-so-great-nuptials came as new rumors surfaced on the Internet that Cynthia Rodriguez, 34, was having a fling with rocker Lenny Kravitz.

The gossip item on PerezHilton.com quoted a “family friend” claiming C-Rod had gone on a romantic getaway in Paris with Kravitz.

“She is not! I know that,” Cynthia Rodriguez’s mother, Evangeline Scurtis, told The News yesterday. Scurtis refused to discuss the status of her daughter’s relationship with Rodriguez, repeatedly saying, “No comment.”

Kravitz, 44, is in the middle of his “Love Revolution Tour” in Europe.

Coincidentally, A-Rod, Madonna and Kravitz all share the same manager, Guy Oseary.

[From NY Daily News]

If A-Rod has been visiting Madonna’s apartment late at night at least he’s not doing it while his wife waits at home thinking he’s out with the guys. There is speculation that Madonna and Guy have an open marriage, or maybe Madonna had a fling and is ready to go back to work on her marriage with the same focused zeal she approaches every other area of her life. She’ll whip it into shape just like she molds her body into a tiny powerhouse. I have a feeling this whole story will die down and it will soon be back to Madonna gyrating to her throbbing music, making us pay attention to her upturned crotch and astounding athletic ability instead of her troubled personal life.

Header image thanks to Lawrence Schwartzwald for Splash News.

It seems like every time there’s a big story that Guy and Madonna are having trouble, they go out to dinner together and invite the paparazzi. It’s not a bad strategy and tends to quell the rumors for a while. Last night these two were seen out to dinner in New York. Guy had flown to NY from London to be with his wife of seven years, Madonna, on the heels of rumors that not only have they each visited divorce attorneys but that Madonna, 49, is carrying on an affair with married 32 year-old NY Yankees baseball player, Alex Rodriguez.

Madonna’s rep said that Guy and Madonna aren’t having trouble, that there are no plans for a divorce and that Guy just came to NY to be with Madonna and their kids. The two came in holding hands, spent an hour having dinner, and left holding hands:

Diners at New York City’s ‘Cesca, an Italian eatery on the Upper West Side, got a surprise Tuesday night when Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie walked in, holding hands.

They looked “like a normal couple that just wanted to have a nice dinner out,” says an onlooker. “They looked very unassuming. Not like they were looking for attention…

“Everyone was whispering and saying, ‘Wow, that was Madonna. She is supposed to be separating from her husband. I can’t believe she is here,’” the observer adds.

But Madonna and Ritchie didn’t flinch. The couple, who’ve been plagued by breakup rumors, continued with their cozy, hour-long dinner before leaving – also hand-in-hand.

“Madonna’s husband Guy arrived in New York last night to be with his wife and family (not in a last-ditch attempt to save his marriage which does not need saving),” the singer’s rep Liz Rosenberg told PEOPLE Tuesday. “There are no plans for Madonna and Guy to divorce.”

[From People.com]

Does that mean that Madonna and Guy are doing fine and that Madonna is not getting some on the side from A-Rod? That’s what they want us to think. If they keep hanging out and acting like everything is normal then we can only assume it is. These two may be in the process of weathering yet another storm in their marriage - one that seems to have more merit than multiple other tabloid stories that they’re having trouble. They do look miserable but that doesn’t mean they’re not giving it another try. Please let those stories about Guy ditching Kabbalah be true, though. I don’t see a red bracelet on his wrist.

The Madonna and Guy Ritchie divorce saga just got a hell of a lot more interesting. Madonna is said to have been visited late at night at her NY apartment by NY Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, 32, also known as A-Rod. US Weekly is set to detail their covert relationship in their upcoming issue. They have plenty of circumstantial evidence that seems to suggest that 49 year-old Madonna is getting some on the side, and that it may have contributed to the demise of her marriage. What’s more is that A-Rod is married himself with two daughters, aged three and a half and two months, and this is not the first allegation that he’s cheated on his wife.

Us Weekly reports in its new issue, on newsstands tomorrow, that Madonna’s seven-year marriage to Guy Ritchie has stalled out – and the singer has been hosting late-night visits from New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez at her Central Park West apartment in New York City.

A ringless and grim-faced Ritchie, 39, arrived in New York City from London yesterday after several weeks apart from his family. A source tells Us that the $28-million-a-year Rodriguez, 32, has made numerous solo nighttime visits to Madonna, 49, at her spacious home and would sneak out “as late as midnight.” Says the source, “All the doormen are talking.”

Rodriguez attended Madonna’s April 30 NYC concert; the singer sat in his seats at a Yankees game on June 22 (it was the first time she ever was photographed at a Yankees game). Her son Rocco, 7, also sported Yankees gear on June 25 while playing in Central Park.

Rodriguez, married with two young daughters, has already faced speculation about cheating: In 2007, he and a stripper were reportedly spied in Toronto, Miami and Dallas.

[From US Weekly]

Guy Ritchie is now in NY and it’s not known if he’s met with Madonna or what their plans are. Neither of them is wearing their wedding band, but Madonna’s rep says she rarely wears hers anyway.

Cheating is wrong, but part of me is smiling and shaking my head that Madonna is hooking up with a hot baseball player 17 years her junior. He’s a married dad and should be off limits, no matter the state of their respective marriages. The rules for average people don’t apply to the mighty Madonna obviously. She’s done with her husband and she’s ready to get a taste of her old life again.

Madonna has a new video from “Hard Candy” out called “Give It 2 Me.” She struts around in flattering lighting wearing next to nothing. It was co-produced and co-written by Pharrel and I would much rather see that guy dancing around in his underwear, but unfortunately he keeps his shirt on the whole time. Can Madonna ever make a video that’s not about her? It seems like she should vary the formula she’s used for making videos since the beginning of her career in the 80s.

The music is pretty decent. Madonna knows what she’s doing by hooking up with younger talented music makers.

A-Rod is shown at the Raising Malawai fundraiser on 2/6/08. Madonna is shown leaving the gym on 6/4/08. Thanks to WENN.

Guy Ritchie’s apparently anguished mother, Lady Amber Leighton, has felt the need to address all the tabloid reports that her son’s marriage to Madonna is essentially over. Lady Leighton says that the pair are not divorcing, and go through the normal ups and downs every marriage goes through. And she throws in some absolutely delightful British verbiage that I’m going to steal.

Maybe mother does know best. Despite persistent rumors that Madonna and Guy Ritchie are on the brink of divorce, Guy’s mother, Lady Amber Leighton, says there’s no divorce happening. “It is absolute rubbish, worse than that,” she tells the U.K.’s Daily Mail. “Guy will be furious at me for talking to you, but I feel I can’t just let these reports go unanswered, as they make me so angry and they are hurtful intrusions into their private lives.”

Lady Leighton goes on to say that Madonna and Guy are like every other married couple out there. “Like other couples, they work at keeping their relationship happy and fresh and they are a close and loving couple who have a family to bring up.” Guy and Madonna have been leading what appear to be separate lives, with Madonna planning her world tour in New York and Guy staying back in London, but his mother insists, “That is not a couple splitting up. I’ll say it one more time, they are not getting divorced; the speculation is TT — that’s total tosh.”

[From In Touch]

I was half expecting Lady Leighton to break out with some “Pish posh applesauce” or something. I can’t blame her for being upset – it’s natural that a mother wouldn’t want the whole world speculating about her son.

The Sun reports that Guy has been holed up at singer Sting’s country estate. He was introduced to Madonna by Sting’s wife Trudie Styler. Guy and Trudie have been spotted at a few local pubs, with Guy apparently looking quite somber.

Guy was spotted boarding a flight from London to New York City – where Madonna and the couple’s three children currently are staying – without his wedding ring. There’s been some speculation that he’s going to make one last-ditch attempt to save the marriage – though Madonna’s still not wearing her ring either. Sad as it may be, something tells me there will probably be some sort of announcement in the next couple days.

Here’s Guy Ritchie – sans wedding ring - flying out from London to New York today; and Madonna (equally ringless) looking very sullen outside the Kabbalah center in New York yesterday. Images thanks to Splash.

This weekend it’s all about chronicling attention whore Madonna’s every move as she goes for some extra brainwashing to convince herself that leaving her husband is a good idea. The muscled-up pop star has been swamped by paparazzi and mildly interested bystanders as she predictably pops in and out of the Kabbalah center in New York, her children in tow and her husband of seven years back in London.

The Sun is reporting that Guy will soon join Madonna in New York and that he’s going to try one last feeble attempt to save their marriage. Madonna has consulted with both of the attorneys who represented Paul McCartney in his high profile divorce from Heather Mills, and Guy has lawyered-up too. It is thought that Madonna will approach her divorce with the ambitious precision with which she handles her business ventures. She is said to be striving to keep the specifics quiet and to get it over quickly.

Madonna and Guy do have a prenup, claims The Sun, and that should help speed up their divorce with minimal details leaked to the public. They’re not entirely committed to calling it off, though and may try to give their relationship one last shot:

GUY RITCHIE is flying to New York this weekend in a last-ditch bid to save his marriage to MADONNA.

The couple hope to get their relationship back on track for the sake of their children.

A source close to them said: “It is make or break time for Guy and Madonna.

“She is completely focused on rehearsals for her tour in America and can’t come back to London. They want to make the marriage work, but they are at a stalemate…

“But at the moment they are both trying to rescue the situation. Em has shown a willingness to patch things up. But because almost all rehearsals for the tour are in New York rather than in London Guy thinks she’s not sacrificing much.

“He has now decided to fly out there this weekend to try to sort things out.”

If the couple cannot patch up their differences, the split will NOT be a court circus like that of Macca and Mucca. The Ritchies are determined to remain civil.

And, despite some reports, friends say they DO have a watertight pre-nuptial deal that will make any split more amicable.

The key issue is Madonna’s desire to live in New York with her children Lourdes, 11, Rocco, seven, and adopted David, two.

[From The Sun]

Madonna is preparing for her tour, which features 10 dates in Europe during an under one month period from August to September. She probably doesn’t need to deal with a divorce along with the stress of touring, and they may put off splitting for that reason. Madonna’s unwillingness to let up on her music career, her slavish devotion to the expensive Kabbalah cult, and the fact that she recently branched out into her husband’s field of directing are some of the reasons cited for the breakdown of her marriage.

Whatever these two decide it’s not going to be kept under wraps. Madonna blatantly uses controversy and sexuality to garner the spotlight for her every career move. She can’t just turn off the press when it comes to her personal life - no matter how hard she tries not to watch.

Madonna and Guy are shown above in December, 2007 at a Revolver screening. Madonna and her kids are shown below in NY yesterday, thanks to WENN.

It’s probably technically not fair – or at least accurate – to already be speculating about what ended Madonna’s marriage to Guy Ritchie. I mean they haven’t actually announced anything yet. But it seems about as close to a done deal as you can get without actually releasing a press release. Rumors about marriage tensions have dogged the couple for… well practically since the beginning of their marriage. Not because there necessarily were problems for the start; I think it’s just that most people couldn’t fathom the man that could be married to someone like Madonna.

Most of us gossip watchers learned long ago not to give too much credibility to rumors about marriage troubles. But things have really heated up in the past month, with Madonna bringing her family to New York – and no Guy in sight. Then word came out that she had consulted several prominent divorce attorneys – and he has too.

The Sun claims that Kabbalah is what put a big strain on the power couple’s marriage.

Guy Ritchie and Madonna’s marriage has been thrown deeper into meltdown after he told her he’s quitting Kabbalah. Madge has become increasingly involved with the mystical Jewish religion, but her film director husband is a step closer to hitting the road after losing his faith. Friends say his recent revelation has widened the gap between the pair, who are leading separate lives despite officially remaining man and wife.

Now a source close to the couple has revealed: “Guy has turned his back on Kabbalah once and for all. “He has gone hot and cold on the religion in the past, but now he’s given up on it altogether. It has always been her thing and is more a part of her life than ever. Guy threw himself into it at first and even filled his movie Revolver with obscure references to the faith.

“He was genuinely into it and it helped the bond between them. But then he backtracked a little with his gestures of public backing, like wearing the bracelet, because he didn’t like being such a high-profile follower. He also became suspicious of all the Kabbalah crowd living off her money. But he always told Madonna he had kept his faith — until now.

“A few weeks ago he told her he doesn’t want anything else to do with it. It didn’t go down well.”

[From The Sun]

Of all the people I’d be afraid to piss off; Madonna’s got to be at the top of the list. I would seriously, seriously consider lying about my religion before I’d consider making those muscles angry. Ethics be damned. Frankly I’m surprised she and guy haven’t gone ahead and released a statement about their inevitable parting and how they still love each other and will remain best friends. But I’ll bet we’ll have one to write about within the next two weeks. Or a fortnight, as Madge would say.

Here’s Madonna arriving for Kabbalah in New York City without a wedding ring on last night. Images thanks to Splash.

Madonna and Guy at the Arthur and the Invisibles premiere in January, 2007
Yesterday we reported that husband and wife Guy Ritchie and pint-sized ball of ego Madonna were sleeping in separate rooms on a recent working vacation. The two have been married for seven and a half years, with years of interview snippets and gossip suggesting their marriage is on the rocks. A little over two weeks ago there was a story, which Madonna’s rep of course denied, that she had met with one of Britain’s most notorious divorce lawyers, Nicholas Mostyn. Now a very reputable British source, the Times, is reporting that Madonna just met with divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton. It makes sense that Madonna would meet with Shakleton, because she’s the other half of the high-powered legal team who represented Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills. You might remember Shakelton as the elegant lawyer who was treated to a pitcher of water over the head in the courtroom by a raving Heather Mills. Mills went away with $33 million in cash but it was much less than she was possibly entitled to.

Now Madonna hopes to recreate McCartney’s success by hiring the exact same legal team that helped him preserve so much of his fortune in his divorce:

She did it for Macca — now she can do it for Madonna. Fiona Shackleton, the divorce lawyer who ensured that Sir Paul McCartney retained all but £24.3 million of his £825 million fortune, has been lined up by the 49-year-old pop star.

Madonna, whose fortune is estimated at £300 million, is understood to be seeking legal advice on a possible divorce from her husband of seven years, the film director Guy Ritchie.

Ms Shackleton, 52, is the lawyer of choice for the rich and famous after what was regarded as the spectacularly well-handled split of Sir Paul from Heather Mills, who was pushing at one point for as much as £80 million.

Dubbed the “steel magnolia” for her tough but pragmatic negotiation tactics, Ms Shackleton instructed the top divorce silk, Nicholas Mostyn, QC. This so-called legal dream team secured such a successful result that Ms Mills, in fury and frustration, emptied a jug of water over Ms Shackleton’s head after hearing the judge’s ruling.

[From Times Online via TMZ]

As I mentioned when we covered this story a couple of weeks ago, this could turn into a media circus. We’ll have to wait and see how many details are made public. Guy seems like the quiet, calm type who is not likely to make a fool of himself in court if it comes to that. If it’s up to Madonna she’ll keep tight control over the details of her divorce. Given how interested the press is in this story, the details that get leaked could be very interesting.

Seven and a half years and many breakup rumors later and superstar Madonna and her hapless film director husband, Guy Ritchie, 39, are still together. Madonna has admitted problems with her marriage in the past, saying that it isn’t easy to stay with the same person and that “Your soulmate is the person that pushes all your buttons.” Maybe she prefers to keep her buttons covered with a thin layer of grisly muscle, because the 49 year-old cult member is said to be staying apart from her husband most of the time.

Madonna and Guy took a three day trip to romantic Milan, Italy last week without their three children. The Sun reports that they stayed in separate rooms, though, and that both of them were busy working on other projects:

The couple left the kids with a nanny and jetted to Milan, Italy, at the end of last week.

But while they were there Guy, 39, spent his time working on a new commercial with Hollywood star George Clooney.

And Madonna, 49, visited fashion designers to arrange costumes for her forthcoming tour.

The state of the couple’s marriage has been questioned since The Sun revealed in March that they were living in separate beds.

A source close to the couple said of the Milan trip: “They had completely separate rooms, schedules, everything.

“It is all very well organized but it’s not a marriage the way most people understand it.

“They have this attitude like ‘we’re not really a couple but we’re friends and we love each other and raise our kids’.
Frantic

“But the truth is they p*** each other off, don’t agree on anything, don’t see each other or live ‘together’ as they did.

“They are like ships passing in the night.”

After three days in Milan — home to the famous La Scala opera house — Madonna jetted over to New York to rejoin kids Lourdes, ten, Rocco, six, and adopted two-year-old David.

[From The Sun]

If money wasn’t an object it seems like you would just get a huge suite that took up an entire floor instead of opting for a separate room from your spouse. Unless of course you didn’t want to deal with your spouse. At least they stayed in the same hotel, that’s something.

Earlier this month there was a story that Madonna had paid a “secret” visit to one of Britain’s most notorious and hard-hitting divorce lawyers. Her rep said that wasn’t true and that “Madonna has not met with any lawyers nor are there any plans for a divorce.”

The Sun, not the most reliable of sources, claims that Madonna and Guy sleep in separate rooms when they’re at home, too.

Maybe it works for them and they don’t need to get a divorce to be apart.

Madonna and Guy are shown at the I am, Because premiere at Cannes on 5/21/08, thanks to WENN.