We’ve heard for some time that Demi Moore is dragging out her divorce from Ashton Kutcher over money issues, as in she feels she’s entitled to more than he’s offering her. Back in March, Radar reported that Demi Moore thought it was “only fair that she be compensated for the nearly 10 years she was with Ashton. They claimed that she was still hurt and humiliated by their breakup, and was striking back “the only way she knows how.” Demi’s career has cooled considerably since she hooked up with Ashton in 2003, and she wants a chunk of his money. The NY Post has details of her monetary demands in the divorce, and they say she’s going after stock Ashton owns in an Internet investment fund he co-founded. Ashton’s share is worth $20 million and Demi wants half.

Ashton Kutcher’s contentious divorce with Demi Moore has now spiraled into a $10 million battle over his venture capital fund with Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary and billionaire Ron Burkle, Page Six can exclusively reveal.

Kutcher and Oseary earlier this month announced their fund A-Grade investments, set up to invest in tech start-ups, was valued at $100 million and they were raising money from outside investors.

But a source familiar with the proceedings between Kutcher and Moore, who split in November 2011, told us, “Ashton and Demi are still not divorced, and no settlement has been agreed, even though they have been in negotiations for over a year. Ashton made a lot of money after they married, but he doesn’t believe he owes her as much as she is asking for.”

Our source continued, “Ashton set up A-Grade with Oseary and Burkle in 2010, when he and Demi were still together, but he recently told her lawyers the fund had not made substantial money. In fact, he claimed he had only put about $1 million into it.

“Now it seems Ashton and Oseary were working towards a private offering based on a valuation of $100 million. Ashton owns 20 percent of the fund, under California law, Demi should be entitled to half of his share — $10 million.”

Kutcher and Oseary made their announcement at Techcrunch’s Disrupt NY conference in early May, a move that sources close to Demi describe as “audacious and narcissistic.” Companies their fund has invested in include Airbnb, Shazam, Path, Flipboard, Foursquare, Uber, Spotify, Fab.com and Soundcloud.

Kutcher, 35, is TV’s highest-paid actor for “Two and a Half Men,” which netted him $24 million between May 2011 and May 2012. The last major payday for Moore, 50, was $2 million for 2003’s “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” Kutcher is now dating Mila Kunis.

Kutcher’s rep didn’t get back to us. Moore’s lawyer William Beslow wouldn’t comment.

[From The NY Post]

So I guess the Post is saying that Ashton claimed the fund was worth the $1 million he put into it, but he tried to hide the fact that the company was valued at $100 million. The company probably makes only a fraction of that, but she wants a percent of what Ashton and his partner claim it’s worth.

Many of you will say that Demi should just stop going after Ashton’s money and should try and live off whatever she has and is making – which should still be considerable by normal standards. It’s hard to feel sorry for a woman who made millions during her career and still does an occasional movie. I get why she’s doing this though, she’s used to living the high life and she doesn’t want to have to cut back at this point. Plus you can’t say that she didn’t raise Ashton’s profile considerably. He was the kid from Punk’d, That 70s Show and Dude Where’s My Car? before he got with Demi. I don’t think he’d be as big of a star without her. So I understand Demi’s stance and I won’t condemn her for trying to get a chunk of Ashton’s money. Whether she’s due some of his Internet investment company is up for debate though.

Demi is too stuck in this old relationship. She’s been bedding random young guys to console herself but she still seems hung up on Ashton. She should focus on her professional career and try to get something going. She would be great on television and it would do wonders for her image. Whether she gets what she’s asking for in the divorce or not, she needs to switch things up. Maybe that’s what she’s doing with her yoga practice and that young Sikh guy she’s boning. Things may already be looking up for her.

Ashton is shown at a Laker’s game in February and out alone in April. Demi is shown earlier this month. Photo credit: WENN.com

Here are some photos of Khloe Kardashian last Friday, wearing what looks like a child’s smock. She seems to have repurposed the smock as a minidress, but it barely covered her up. So when there was a light breeze, the dress blew up and the paparazzi got photos of her Spanx. This is the Kardashian Circle of Life. This is in the Kardashian Handbook. Also in the handbook? Oh, just the typical financial shenanigans that will probably warrant an IRS audit. Apparently, Khloe and her husband have some kind of charity called “Cathy’s Kids” and they’ve been raising money for the charity for “cancer research” or something like that. Except the charity barely does anything. It’s like a shell company that does nothing of value. Ugh.

Lamar Odom and his wife, Khloe Kardashian, are being accused of the lowest-of-lows: running a questionable cancer charity called Cathy’s Kids, yet not giving ONE DIME to help children in need, according to a new report – and furthermore, when the LA Clippers star was asked about the shocking allegations, he reportedly said, “It’s my money.”

ESPN conducted its “Outside The Lines” investigation of more than a hundred charities attached to top athletes, including Odom. It uncovered 115 of these high-profile charities were not passing out raised profits effectively or properly, with more than 74 percent not operating under standards upheld by the Better Business Bureau and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.

According to ESPN, in the case of Odom, 33, eight years of tax records revealed that his charity, Cathy’s Kids – named in honor his late mother who died of stomach cancer – has not given any money to cancer-related causes since its creation in 2004, despite raising an estimated a whopping $2.2 million.

In addition, the investigation says it found the charity primarily existed to finance two elite youth basketball travel teams. Of the $2.2 million raised by the charity, ESPN reports that at least 60 percent — $1.3 million — went to those AAU teams.

Shockingly, the charity paid only one executive — Jerry DeGregorio, Odom’s high school coach and best man in his wedding to Kardashian, says the report. DeGregorio — now an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors — was secretary of Cathy’s Kids from 2004 through 2011, for which he was paid a median annual salary of about $72,000, while the charity operated at a loss since its creation.

ESPN reports that its 2011 tax returns show Cathy’s Kids is $256,000 in debt, mostly due to a loan Odom made to the charity, according to his business manager Lester Knispel, who is also the charity’s treasurer.

When approached in a locker room by “Outside the Lines,” Odom responded to the charity’s spending habits by saying, “It’s my money.”

Khloe has been involved in raising funds for the controversial charity as well. Khloe and Lamar set up an eBay account together, selling items from their “personal collection” to benefit the charity, according to their own description.

ESPN notes in its story that if a charity spends money — including paying someone a salary as in the case of DeGregorio — on activities not consistent with its stated mission, that could be a violation of tax law that could draw the ire of the IRS or a state attorney general’s office. If fraud was found, prosecutors could file charges.

In 2010, Kardashian, 28, blogged about her and Odom’s passion for the cancer charity on her official website, which, ESPN notes, the couple has also used to promote multiple eBay auctions of the reality star’s clothes to also raise money for the charity.

“Every time I see him working with Cathy Kids. “I fall more and more in love with him,” Kardashian wrote. “He’s made me a better person and has taught me that anyone can make a difference if you have the desire and passion to do so,” she said.

Neither Odom or Kardashian have yet to publicly comment on the ESPN investigation.

[From Radar]

What I would like to know is how many outside people donated money to Cathy’s Kids, or whether the overwhelming bulk of that $2.2 million figure came from Lamar and Khloe. My guess is that the bulk of the money did come from Khloe and Lamar, but that some outside people did donate money, and if that’s the case, I hope they get reimbursed. As for the fact that this charity doesn’t do anything besides give a fancy paycheck to Lamar’s old coach and finance some traveling for some teams… well, that sounds like the Kardashian way, doesn’t it? Ugh. Anyway, last night Lamar’s reps issued an oddly worded statement:

“It is unfortunate that Lamar Odom has been the target of an attack on athletes’ charities, although he has personally contributed approximately $2.2 million to his foundation. The millions of dollars personally contributed by Lamar constituted more than 90% of the money raised by the foundation. All of the funds donated by Lamar and the other contributions to Cathy’s Kids were used for one of the foundation’s intended charitable purposes. Not one penny went to help Lamar personally or any member of his family.”

[From the NYDN]

Well, that answers my question about how much of the money was Lamar’s to begin with – 90% of $2.2 million, or about $1.98 million. That leaves $200,000-plus funds which were raised by people donating to the charity or buying crap from Khloe and Lamar’s eBay page. I’m including an image of Khloe and Lamar’s “eBay store” page where they brag about all of the good work Cathy’s Kids does below. And from what I can see… Lamar’s reps are trying to deny an accusation that wasn’t even leveled at them – ESPN didn’t say Lamar was blowing the money on himself, ESPN said the money wasn’t being used for its intended purpose. Whatever, this is such an awful story. Khloe and Lamar should know better.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

For about two weeks straight, media outlets were obsessed with the idea that George Clooney was about to dump Stacy Keibler. The timing seemed right – the Oscars are over, the summer season at Lake Como has not begun, and this is Clooney’s traditional “Dump the Old Piece and Find A New Piece” season. But Stacy is still living “the dream”. She and Clooney are still together! She flew to Berlin a week ago and she’s been spotted around town with George, and she even went solo at an Escada event with what I’m sure was a nice paid appearance.

But the question still looms: is Stacy on her way out? Is George just staying with her out of spite at this point, because he doesn’t want to be too obvious or have his breakup confirmed by The Sun? Veteran Clooney-watchers claim that George is kind of over it – mostly because George is showering Stacy with expensive gifts and that’s some kind of Clooney Harbinger of Doom.

Is Stacy Keibler about to be added to the long list of George Clooney’s ex-girlfriends? An insider says it could be the beginning of the end – because he’s starting to shower her with gifts!

“When he starts buying you things, it’s his way of letting you down easy,” says a source. Just ask his most recent ex, Elisabetta Canalis, who had her one-year lease paid by George after the two split. Lately George has bought Stacy several pieces of pricey jewelry and increased her monthly allowance to $25,000. The couple have also been dating for about a year and a half, which is known to be George’s ultimate time limit.

“Just when the girl thinks she’ll be the one he finally marries, he says goodbye,” our source says.

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

I know this is terribly anti-feminist of me, but I would totally take that deal. I actually find George Clooney attractive these days (more so with his full beard than just the mustache), and I wouldn’t mind going to bed with him and giving him the ol’ stroke and choke (or whatever he likes, no judgment). And if I had to do that with a monthly allowance of $25,000 plus jewelry plus a nondisclosure agreement plus he would buy me an apartment once we split 18 months later… yeah, I’d be into it. Go ahead and call me a hooker! IDGAF. The one sticking point – and perhaps this is revealing of my selective morality – is that no matter what our agreement and my monetary compensation, I would NEVER EVER wear Marchesa. Ever. That’s the dealbreaker.

Photos courtesy of .

Here are some photos of Justin Timberlake and Mrs. Timberlake earlier this month which I never got around to publishing. They’ve been doing more stuff together since they got married last fall. And by that I mean that JT is more open to having Jessica Biel as his official “plus-one” for all of his events, which is good news for her, I guess. Surprisingly enough, I haven’t given that much thought to JT and Mrs. Timberlake since they got married. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t drama with them – I think they’re just trying to tighten it up a little bit, especially since Justin has to promote his album and he doesn’t want anything getting in the way of his new image of a loving husband (eye-roll). But how is Jessica “getting hers”? What does she get out of this marriage? Perhaps she’s getting the same thing Katie Holmes got when she was married to Tom Cruise – a no-limit credit card!

Since saying ‘I Do’ to Justin Timberlake, self-proclaimed sporty girl Jessica Biel has morphed into a fashionista with very expensive taste – all on Justin’s dime! Jessica has been spending $20,000 per week on designer shoes and bags from Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys NY.

“She can’t resist anything from Chanel, Prada or Valentino,” says a source, noting that Jess’s closet was so overstuffed, she had to rent a storage unit to house her new goodies!

“Justin can afford it, but he’s still a little taken aback by how voraciously she’s spending.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

For what it’s worth, Gossip Cop has an unnamed source who claims that Jessica is not a “frivolous spender” and that this report is “ridiculous.” I don’t doubt that Jessica has her own money and that she spends her own money on her clothes and such. It would surprise me if Jessica and Justin combined their assets at all or if Justin even put his wife on any kind of budget. I just don’t think they have that kind of relationship or marriage. That being said, Jessica has been trying to remake herself into some kind of major “Fashion Girl” for years now, and I do think that Justin views his wife as his model/muse and she has to represent his vision for how women should dress. When you look at it that way… yeah, Justin could be financing her new married-woman wardrobe. But he wouldn’t let her go shopping by herself. Please! He would go and pick out all of the clothes he wanted her to wear now.

Speaking of Justin’s “vision” as a designer/stylist/bon vivant/jack of all trades, did you hear the rumor that he’s quietly pulling out of his label, William Rast? He and his BFF Trace Ayala started the label in 2005 and while JT is still barely involved, sources claim he’s “all but abandoned” the line and “by the end of the year, he won’t be [involved] anymore.” The label has had a sharp decline in sales over the past few years and one source told Page Six, “Not a lot of retailers wanted it… Because the perception is [Justin’s] not involved, so why would anyone want to wear it?” Wait… you mean… Justin Timberlake does NOT have a Midas Touch? You mean that every single thing Justin does isn’t successful?!!? MIND BLOWN.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

This story has been everywhere this week, but I didn’t even think to cover it until today (because it’s super-dead, gossip-wise). Tiger Woods’ ex-wife Elin Nordegren has a new boyfriend! The dude is named Chris Cline, and he’s her neighbor down in North Palm Beach (which is where Elin has been living since the divorce). Guess what? He’s a billionaire. Because Elin doesn’t date poor dudes. EVER.

Tiger Woods’ ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, is quietly dating her older Florida neighbor, billionaire coal magnate Chris Cline, sources exclusively tell us. Nordegren, 33, the Swedish former model, and Cline, 53, both have mansions in the exclusive North Palm Beach oceanfront community of Seminole Landing, where Nordegren had her home bulldozed and rebuilt after splitting with Woods.

“Elin and Chris have been dating since the holidays,” a source tells Page Six. Cline, a West Virginia native worth a reported $1.2 billion, stays far from the spotlight, but he did make headlines last year when he was the victim of a bizarre attempted extortion plot by an aspiring actor against targets including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky and Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula. The plot allegedly involved a letter sent to Cline that threatened the coal tycoon’s family unless he gave over $13 million.

A father of four, Cline’s been married twice, and his most recent marriage ended in divorce in 2000. Cline, who owns a luxury yacht called Mine Games, reportedly hosted a Mitt Romney fund-raising reception at his home in September. Nordegren had the Seminole Landing house she shared with Woods leveled so she could erect a brand-new home on the site.

Last weekend, however, the beautiful blonde seemed to be Woods’ lucky charm at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Weeks after they were photographed together, Woods won the tournament amid talk of his best play in years. Meanwhile, reports have said that Woods’ relationship has been heating up with Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. But sources tell us the pair are not dating exclusively. A rep for Cline had no comment.

[From Page Six]

I think it’s funny that Tiger only plays well when Elin is being nice to him. That’s hilarious to me. As for this new guy, he’s worth a reported $1.2 billion (get it, Elin), he made his money in the coal industry. His first wife died of breast cancer and his second marriage ended in divorce. He owns extensive property in West Virginia and he’s a Republican. I say that she should lock this down. He seems like a keeper (for her). Yeah, there’s a 20-year age difference, but $1.2 billion eases a lot of qualms, right?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Here are some photos of Brad Pitt in France, heading out at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and arriving at LAX yesterday. We so rarely get new photos of Brangelina these days, so any time we get anything in, I’m going to publish them. Doesn’t it feel like it’s been YEARS since Brad and Angelina have been on a red carpet together? I think the last time was… last year’s Oscars? Is that right? Brad promoted Killing Them Softly last fall without Angelina at his side, and Angelina did some events solo last year too. Hmm.

Meanwhile, in last weekend’s Parade Magazine, we found out how much Brad made in 2012, compared to other huge moneymaking acts. Not surprisingly, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift made more money than Brad. Surprisingly, Mark Harmon (executive producer/actor on NCIS, the #1 show in America) made more money than Brad. Brad made $35.5 million last year, which probably includes a lot of producing and acting salaries, plus his $7 million Chanel contract, plus his side project as a furniture designer, and God knows what else. Mark Harmon made $38 million last year! Damn. Hello, Mr. Harmon! You can see Parade’s celebrity-salary slideshow here.

We’ll next see Brad in World War Z, which comes out June 21. Considering WWZ needed like MONTHS of reshoots over the course of a year, that film is either going to be awesome or a total trainwreck. My gut is telling me that Brad Pitt + Zombies = huge box office, but we’ll see.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

A couple of days ago, we heard that Demi Moore was frustrated that talks had stalled with Ashton in their divorce negotiations, and that Demi was planning on filing her own divorce papers. This would be over two months after Ashton filed over the holidays late last year. Apparently Demi felt that Ashton wasn’t being fair with her in the financial settlement and she wanted a larger cut of his earnings during their six year marriage.

TMZ has a follow-up with details of Demi’s demands, and it sounds straight from Ashton’s camp. (Which is understandable since the last story we heard was probably leaked by her people.) According to TMZ, Demi wants spousal support from Ashton and a she also wants him to foot the bill for all her legal fees. They report that she is worth more than Ashton, though, and has millions socked away. Ashton is the highest paid actor on television, so I’m not sure I believe that Demi is worth more and has more saved. It’s all incredibly relative when we’re talking about such sick amounts of wealth though, isn’t it? Here’s more:

Demi Moore has filed legal docs responding to Ashton Kutcher’s divorce petition … and get this — she wants spousal support and she’s worth WAAAAY more than him.

Sources connected with Demi tell TMZ … “She’s got money up the wazoo” and has untold millions more than Ashton. He’s not asking her for spousal support, so it’s surprising she’s going for it.

What’s more … she wants Ashton to pay HER attorney’s fees.

Although there are reports that settlement negotiations have broken down, we’re told it’s not true — both sides are negotiating and they expect a quick resolution.

It’s almost out of the question Ashton will have to pay Demi spousal support — a judge certainly would never order it.

One thing they both agree on — they both checked the box citing irreconcilable differences.

[From TMZ]

I’m of two minds about this story. The first is that Demi should STFU, grant Ashton the divorce and go on her way. You get the impression that she’s doing this because she’s pissed that he cheated on her and so quickly moved on to another serious, high-profile relationship. A lot of outlets are pointing out that the date of separation she cites in her divorce papers is after he cheated with that Sara Leal chick. (And told her he was separated.) She wants to make him pay, I get that, but if she doesn’t need the money what’s the point except to be vindictive?

Just to play devil’s advocate though, a lot of women get screwed in divorce settlements. Sometimes they played pivotal roles in boosting their husband’s careers and supporting them at home and they’re treated like their contributions were worthless. (I’m thinking of Steve Harvey’s wife in particular, she was left with almost nothing after all she did for him.) Consider this: would Ashton be as famous and popular as he is if he hadn’t married Demi? He was the dude from “Punk’d” and Dude Where’s My Car when he met her. Really though this is Demi Moore we’re talking about. She has enough money to never work another day in her life. She wants to make Ashton as miserable as she’s made herself.

Demi is shown out in Hollywood on 1-21-13. Ashton is shown on 2-28-13 at a Laker’s game. Credit: WENN.com

A couple of weeks ago we covered the story that former 90s heartthrob, Brendan Fraser, was trying to have the $900,000 a year he pays his ex wife in alimony and child support reduced, claiming he can no longer afford it. Fraser divorced his wife in 2009. They have three sons together aged 6, 8, and 10.

Many of us had no problem believing that Fraser can’t afford nearly a million a year in support to his ex, considering how his career has been going lately. He does have a lot of movies lined up for the next couple of years, but he hasn’t done much lately and he’s no longer a leading man.

Well TMZ has the details of the financials from Fraser’s court filing and it’s bad. He makes a whopping $251,504 a month, or nearly $2.8 million a year, but almost half of that goes toward “professional fees,” which TMZ interprets as agent fees, among other things. (He’s represented by Creative Artists Agency.) Then he has a mortgage, taxes, insurance, gardening fees, etc. that add up to about $87,000 more a month than he’s making. Here’s their breakdown:

Fraser filed docs in Connecticut recently as part of an ongoing battle with his ex-wife to lower his alimony payments, which currently sit at $50,000/month. To prove his financial situation ain’t what it used to be, Fraser listed his monthly income and expenses …. and it’s not pretty.

According to Fraser, he makes about $205,704.04/month, but $112,803.25 goes to professional expenses — DAMN YOU, AGENTS!!! — leaving him with $92,900.79.

Fraser says he makes another $25,800.28 from interest and other financial things rich people get … and then the expenses kick in, including …

Alimony — $50,000
Mortgages — $5,000+
Property tax — $6,000+
Income tax — $34,132.52
Child support — $25,000
Gardening — $5,200
Various insurances — $5,000+
Family support and gifts — $5,000+
Staffing — $3,000
Pet care — $7.77 (Does he have a goldfish?)
And it goes on and on …

All told, Fraser’s expenses have him losing $87,320.01/month. But Fraser’s assets reportedly total just a shade under $25 million … so we think he’ll be fine.

[From TMZ]

So maybe Fraser is overstating how broke he is in order to get his alimony and child support reduced. That’s his goal here so he’s not going to make it look like he’s in the black. Still this surprises me. I’m always kind of shocked when millionaires go broke, but I guess it’s easy to just spend wildly when the money is flowing and then have trouble cutting back when it slows to a trickle. Dude needs to move to somewhere with a cheaper mortgage and where he can tend his own garden. He pays $62g a year just for landscaping! He needs to talk to Suze Orman too. She’d be all “denied!”

Brendan is shown in 2012. Credit: WENN.com

One of my new favorite things is lining up Duchess Kate and Kim Kardashian and doing a side-by-side comparison. They’re the same age. They both love to shop. They both had “royal weddings” (LOL). They’re both pregnant, they’re both due in July. They both have pushy, famewhore families. They both did very little to become famous (you could even argue that Kim “works” more than Kate). And now here’s another similarity: both the Kardashian and the Middleton families profit from sweatshops! A few years ago, legit and tabloid media widely reported that many of the Kardashian-branded items were actually being made in Chinese sweatshops, often by child laborers. And now this incredible piece of news: the Middleton family’s business, Party Pieces, might be using Mexican sweatshop labor too.

Party Pieces, the website owned by Carole and Michael Middleton, has been accused of selling items which were made in Mexican ghettos by families on meagre incomes. The company, estimated to be worth more than £30 million, sells a range of party goods, including more than 40 types of pinatas. The colourful cardboard figures filled with sweets which cascade out when the casing is broken have become increasingly popular at children’s parties.

An investigation by The Daily Mail reported that the same goods were being produced in hillside ghettoes surrounding the Mexican border city of Tijuana, by families who say they are providing “slave labour” to produce items sold in Britain for around £12.99. The items are among thousands shipped to Britain via a chain of distributors and sold to retailers including Party Pieces, which stocks the products in a range of designs, including lions and castles to Minnie Mouse. A spokesman for the company said that as a responsible retailer, it took the allegations “very seriously and we will work with our suppliers to carry out investigations into these claims”.

Party Pieces was founded in 1987 by Carole Middleton, after she gave up work as a British Airways stewardess. She built up the firm with her husband, Michael, and it now employs more than 30 people, including their daughter Pippa. Families in Mexico who work in their own homes are not subject to minimum wage laws, which would require pay of at least 49 pence an hour. Earnings are further reduced because they pay for the craft materials themselves.

The operation in Tijuana is run by Javier Perez Quintero, who said he is an Amscan executive and uses the company’s email address — but the hundreds of craftsmen and women are supplied with materials by a firm he runs, called Baja Pacific Paper. It is not clear whether this is an Amscan subsidiary or an independent company. Maria Villegas, who lives with eight family members in Tijuana, said she and relatives worked for 12 hours a day last week to make pinata rockets, receiving less than 19 pence an hour between them.

While the Middletons’ firm sells their pinatas for £12.99 each, other workers in the same city said they earn as little as 10p an hour for producing some of the items. The craft workers said they took the work because there was little else available. There have been increasing concerns in recent years that complex supply chains mean that customers do not know where the the products they buy come from.

In 2011 police files disclosed that Swedish retail giant Ikea had used political prisoners in East Germany as “slave labour” to make furniture. Many of the items sold by Party Pieces were supplied by the giant American party goods company Amscan, which also produces goods made cheaply in China.

The pinatas are also sold to other British firms, including supermarkets such as Tesco, and arrive via the American company’s depot in Milton Keynes. Joseph Zepf, Amscan vice-president, said the company “endeavours to comply with all laws and regulations, especially those relating to wage requirements and working conditions, and categorically denies any inference or allegation to the contrary”.

In its annual report in 2011, the company acknowledged that many of its products were made outside America, “which may increase the risk that the labour, manufacturing, safety and other practices followed by the manufacturers of these products may differ from those generally accepted in the U.S.”

[From The Telegraph]

Yeah, the paper trail is sketchy and it will be difficult to really make anything stick legally, but the point is that people are starting to dig up some dirt about the Middletons, and rumors are as good as facts. Would it surprise any of you if most of the items sold in the Party Pieces catalog were made in Chinese or Mexican sweatshops? It wouldn’t surprise me. The Middletons are just employing the same kind of business sense used by WalMart. And THAT is the problem. The Middletons don’t want to be compared to WalMart. They want to be seen as upwardly mobile middle-class-turned-aristocratic-by-marriage. Comparisons to WalMart damage the Middleton brand.

Incidentally, I would love it the UK tabloids would do more digging into the Middleton financials. I seriously doubt Party Pieces is worth £30 million (puh-lease), and I’ve always believed the rumor that Kate’s dodgy uncle Gary Goldsmith (a cocaine-and-hooker-loving bon vivant who may be some kind of “enabler/fixer/pimp” to the rich and powerful) has significantly helped the Middletons financially, and that (conspiracy theory alert!) Party Pieces might even be some kind of money-laundering scheme for Uncle Gary.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Last week, The Enquirer’s gossip guy Mike Walker claimed that Lindsay Lohan was $150 million in debt. Many of you took issue with that, as you should. I think we can all agree that Lindsay is a crackhead with no sense of fiscal responsibility, and while I could believe that she’s $10 million in debt, I can’t get on board with the $150 million figure. Lindsay has probably racked up a few million in credit card debt, a few million in back-taxes, a few million in real estate schemes, and a few million in legal bills. As for the legal bill situation – many think that Lindsay dumped Shawn Holley initially because LL owed Shawn so much money and maybe, in LL’s crack-addled mind, she thought she wouldn’t have to pay Shawn if she fired her. Now that Lindsay has a new lawyer who she hates, LL will do anything to get Shawn back – even paying her bills!

Lindsay Lohan is telling friends she was clueless until a few days ago that she owed Shawn Holley a small fortune in attorney’s fees, but we’re told now that she knows she’s putting Shawn at the top of her creditor’s list.

It’s hard to swallow … that Lindsay didn’t know how much she owed Shawn. We’ve been reporting for weeks it’s in the 6 figures. Sources quite familiar with the situation tell TMZ, Lindsay owes Shawn $150,000.

It’s interesting … although Lindsay fired Shawn … our sources tell us she’s been making a full-court press for more than a week to get her back, but Shawn isn’t having it.

We’re told Lindsay has instructed her business manager to pay the tab ASAP. Lindsay is making money from appearances, endorsements and some acting gigs, but she’s been spending like an insane woman — first class plane tickets, expensive hotels, restaurants, clothes, etc. Lindsay says she’ll cut back so Shawn gets paid.

One thing that won’t go away … Lindsay still owes $130,000 in back taxes … and now she has a new lawyer — one she doesn’t even want — who will undoubtedly be racking up his own bill.

[From TMZ]

I thought the whole reason Lindsay hired Mark Heller was because he wasn’t going to charge her? Or maybe he just takes payment in beejs. In any case, Lindsay is looking to dump Heller and no other lawyer will take her, so this is basically her only option – pay Shawn and suck it up (and not in the normal way she pays her bills). Also: I bet she owes Shawn WAY more than $150,000.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.