Diddy was on Ellen today and she set up a taste test for the mogul in honor of Cinco de Mayo. (Video below) Diddy has developed his own vodka for Cîroc and receives half of the profits. He said in a press conference that his partnership with Cîroc came after a year of negotiations and that he “wanted to build a brand that represents the art of celebration.” He said vodka is his drink of choice and that he wants to stand behind his brands.

Diddy explained to Ellen that he wants a smooth drink and you want to “preserve your sexy” and that’s why he’s a vodka fan. Ellen put out a taste test with four shots of vodka for each of them with the bottles covered by boxes. Only one of the four was Diddy’s vodka. He realized quickly that his vodka wasn’t the first one, because he made a face when he did the shot. The second two vodkas were hard to tell apart, and he faked like he was getting drunker after each shot. Ellen played it cool and looked amused. He joked with Ellen that her shots must contain water. When he got to the last shot he spit out the vodka, and quickly realized it wasn’t his. It came down to picking which of the middle two shots was his brand and he got it right! He picked his own brand over Ketel One, which he said was also pretty smooth. The first vodka was Absolut and the last was Popov or another cheap brand.

The whole exchange was pretty fun and although Diddy is known for being arrogant, combative and a player he definitely is talented at representing a product.

Cîroc vodka is superior according to Diddy and is not more expensive than its competitors. Cîroc runs at around $30 per 750 ml bottle while Ketel One is only slightly cheaper. Flavored versions of Absolut are similarly priced. I would buy Diddy’s vodka at least once after seeing this video. The man does his job well.

Here’s the video, thanks to rockers94 on Redlasso:

Diddy is also starting a chauffeur service for drunken celebrities, and it sounds like he wants to get them coming and going if he has a vodka brand too.

Here’s Diddy getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Friday. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Once in a while, some celebrity comes up with some really great but really obvious idea. Okay rarely does that actually happen. But there certainly are a few exceptionally entrepreneurial celebs out there – and Sean “Puffy” Combs is one of the biggest. Puffy was on Jimmy Kimmel’s show the night, and said he’s starting a chauffeur service for drunken celebrities, to keep them off the road. It’s hard to tell if he’s joking or not – Kimmel seems to think he’s teasing, but Puffy seems to be talking seriously. He stole my idea, but whatever. If it keeps Lindsay Lohan off the streets, I’m fine with it.

As he mentioned in the clip, P-whatever-name-he’s-calling-himself got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday, and told people that he’s ready to make his way into acting.

“I think that it’s important for me to mature and evolve as an artist,” Combs tells PEOPLE at the From Harlem to Hollywood! ceremony honoring his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “I’m trying to get my Black Bruce Willis on.”

Despite being accustomed to A-list treatment, he’s looking forward to starting at the bottom of the acting totem pole. “I’m trying to get Michael Bay to shoot me, have a hot soundtrack,” Combs said, “But I also realize I have a lot of work to do as an actor and I gotta prove myself.”

[From People]

I think “I’m trying to get my Black Bruce Willis on” is one of the single greatest quotes I’ve heard in months. Say what you want about the guy, he’s the personification of the entrepreneurial spirit. And pretty soon, he may be saving lives – and dozens of celebrities from jail time. Except for Screech. But I think we’re all okay with that.

Gwyneth Paltrow wore a bizarre 70s purple vest suit with bell bottoms to the premiere of Ironman in LA. It looked like something Heather Mills would wear to divorce court. It’s the second time Paltrow has worn a low cut vest recently. She donned a similar vest for her appearance on The Late Show earlier this week. At least she’s not wearing another micro miniskirt, but the super wide bell bottoms leave something to be desired. It’s a one piece outfit and is cut almost to the top of her butt in back. Can’t she dress sexy without showing so much skin?

A lot of you called my post critiquing her her super short dress ageist because a younger woman might have been able to get away with it, but the issue was with her fashion not her age. She’s got a gorgeous body, but she doesn’t need to wear a skirt that barely covers her crotch to show off her legs.

As it is, she’s slowing growing on me. She gave a great interview to David Letterman earlier in the week and I found her both likable and surprisingly down to earth. I’m baffled by her outfit choices, but at least she cut her hair and is taking chances again. People are talking about her, and that’s undoubtedly what she’s going for with her wild shoes and outfits while promoting Ironman. It’s not like she’s done much recently and she may as well get as much publicity as possible.

Also shown at the premiere are Robert Downey, Jr., Vince Vaughn, Jeff Bridges and his family, Jon Favreau, Jack Black, Terrence Howard, Beau Bridges, Diddy, Pete Wentz surprisingly without Ashlee, and Jenna Dewan.

The Smoking Gun has uncovered a conspiracy that falsely implicated Diddy in an attack on rap legend Tupac Shakur. The LA Times claimed last week to have unearthed official FBI documents that tied Diddy to a planned shooting of Shakur in 1994, two years before his death. While the LA Times did not state that Diddy had any direct connection to Shakur’s murder, the implication was clear - he had a hand in intimidating him because he would not join Diddy’s growing record label.

I totally believed that story, because you can see Diddy planning a hit on someone like the mafia. He’s an arrogant asshole and just seems like the type. Diddy of course denied any involvement.

The documents tying Diddy to the crime against Shakur weren’t real, though. They were forged by a prison inmate with too much time on his hands. The guy is a con man who wants to be famous and has access to a typewriter.

Here are the highlights, paraphrased from the story on The Smoking Gun:

• The LA Times was given supposed FBI filings or “302s,” tying Diddy to the crime. The FBI never investigated the Tupac case, it was investigated by Secret Services.

• There is no record of any of those 302 documents in the FBI database.

• The inmate, James Sabatino, 31, also filed a civil suit against Diddy for supposedly not paying him $175,000 for 1994 recordings he made of Notorious B.I.G.

• The spelling, grammatical errors, and typewriter font used for both Sabatino’s civil case and the FBI documents are the same.

• The faked FBI documents include abbreviations and awkward phrasing that are not used in regular FBI filings and are full of obvious errors.

• In the documents, Sabatino tried to paint himself as a tough guy with ties to rap luminaries. His role in the rap underworld was completely fabricated. He was just a teen when some of the events occurred.

• Sabatino’s rap sheet includes a long history of impersonating executives to get free goods, and get comped at hotels and sports events. While in jail he defrauded Nextel into sending him over 1,000 cell phones by pretending to be an entertainment executive and having the phones shipped to his friends on the outside.

The Smoking Gun notes how easily the LA Times was duped by the faked FBI documents, which they even included as PDF downloads on their website. They say the errors made it obvious that the documents were fabricated.

The LA Times has issued an apology and is conducting an internal investigation to try and figure out how they were duped. The author, Chuck Philips, is a Pulitzer prize winner and has also apologized for relying on falsified documents for his article. Tupac’s murder has never been solved.

JayBird reported earlier today that Ashton Kutcher has a new reality show in which he pulls pranks on the paparazzi and gossip media. Paris Hilton’s whole outing with the Swami guy was really just a staged prank that she was in on for Ashton’s upcoming show, in which he punks the paps and the gossip rags by planting fake stories. (You have to give props to JayBird because she thought that it was Paris who was being Punk’d by Ashton when she saw those pictures, and it turns out that the truth wasn’t far off.)

Kutcher’s new show is a great idea. He says he’s doing it because the gossip press is “a feeding frenzy,” and that the way they spread conjecture is damaging not just to the celebrities, but that it’s also “at the expense of the population, because they’re being sucked into it, too.”

It’s going to be called Pop Fiction and will cover the way that Ashton manipulated the media to report specific stories. In fact they’re trying to keep it under wraps because there are stories already out there that are completely made up by Ashton and his celebrity friends. We’re excited by this concept and it’s great to see someone expose how the gossip press works as well as show how we’re regularly fooled by fabricated stories.

So I was wondering which recent gossip tidbits were planted by Ashton and his friends, and I tried to figure out who he might have conspired with.

Cameron Diaz was the first one who came to mind, and she definitely knows Ashton because they just finished shooting What Happens In Vegas together. Today there’s a story that Cameron and Diddy are a new item. This sounds totally suspect to us, and I hope it’s one of Ashton’s fake stories:

According to a witness, the pair arrived and left separately through the kitchen to avoid being photographed, but once safely inside the restaurant, they shared a booth and appeared to be on a date. “They could just be friends, but it looked like more.” the onlooker says. “They sat very close to each other.”

[In Touch as reported on MediaTakeOut]

Here are the other stories I think Ashton planted as part of his show
Rumer Willis and Orlando Bloom
Rumer is Ashton’s step-daughter, and I bet he arranged for her to get all kissy-face with Orlando at Prince’s Oscar party so that all the tabloids would report that they were together.

Orlando Bloom Smells
This story was too funny, and it sounds completely made up, but it’s not the typical fabricated story you would find in a gossip rag. Orlando’s friend supposedly said that his new girlfriend Miranda Kerr is grossed out by him because “he’ll wear the same jeans for a week,” sleeps with his dog, and rarely showers. You can see Orlando and Ashton making this one up.

Paris Hilton’s “find a friend” reality show
This one sounds too good to be true, and I bet it was. Since Ashton admits a collaboration with Paris on the guru story, I bet he helped her cook up this reality show concept too. Only it’s never going to happen.

Paris Hilton and Benji Madden
Please let these two be the product of Ashton Kutcher’s imagination. A lot of people wondered why they were showing up all over town together holding hands, and maybe it’s because they’re trying to Punk us. They seem to be overdoing it, though. It could be true publicity-whore love.

In related news, Wilmer Valderrama said at the beginning of February that he was done womanizing and that “You want the media to focus on what you are creating.”

Let us know which other recent stories you think might be the product of Ashton and crew. This could get interesting.

Update: Many of you are pointing out in the comments that the Kate Hudson pregnancy rumor could be one of the stories planted for Ashton’s show. Kate is a friend of Ashton’s and recently went to his 30th birthday party. If they orchestrated that rumor by having Kate wear loose outfits for weeks, I have to give them a lot of credit because that was genius. My personal feeling is that they didn’t set that up, but if they did they really pulled it off.

Sean “Puffy” Combs got into a “physical altercation” (that’s PR fancy speak for a fight) with an old friend on October 13. Though it was widely reported at the time that the fight was over a girl (who wasn’t present) Puffy is now denying that claim. He’s saying it was just a fight – and he’s human, so he’s bound to get into them, and can he really help it? No. Apparently normal people get into fights all the time. According to Puffy. To be fair, we probably do, we just don’t punch people out in fancy NYC nightclubs. Or maybe that’s me.

Sean “Diddy” Combs wants to set the record straight on claims he assaulted a man at a New York City nightclub earlier this month. “It was something that was just totally overblown … I don’t fight over girls!” Combs said Wednesday, referring to a altercation Oct. 13 in a downtown Manhattan club, where Steven Acevedo, 31, accused Combs, 37, of punching him twice in the face. “I got into an argument, I am a human being. I am going to get into an argument,” Combs told Access Hollywood. “I am making no denial about that, but I did not punch anybody.”

Earlier this month, a source told PEOPLE that Combs and Acevedo have known each other for more than 10 years, and said reports that the disagreement was over a woman were not true. “I’m staying focused on being a role model and you know, being somebody that all my grandmas and aunties out there can be proud of and tell their kids to look up to you, know what I’m saying,” he added. “I mean it is a part of celebrity … but it just wasn’t true.”

[From People]

So his argument is that it’s not a big deal because he doesn’t get into fights over girls? I mean that’s a good thing and all, but to me the issue is that you knocked out another guy. Who you’d known for 10 years. That doesn’t exactly reek of classiness my friend.

Puff Doodle was on “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” last night, and came off as remarkably humble. I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s a good businessman and in show business, so he knows how to act. He’s never struck me that way before. He seemed relatively mild and soft-spoken. I was almost suckered in… and then he actually reached through the television and sucker punched me in the face. That’s when I remembered the golden rule: never trust Puffy not to punch you.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Puffy and his entourage promoting his Sean John clothing line at Ibiza Nightclub DC the night before the fight. Images thanks to WENN.

God I wish I were famous. Why aren’t entertainment bloggers more famous? If we were, we could get great promotion deals like Puffy, who just signed a deal to promote Ciroc Vodka that could be worth as much as $100 million over the next several years. They could do that for bloggers. I could promote… thinking hard… pens? Computers? Us Weekly? That’s got to be worth a good $45 right there. Damn you Puffy. Like you didn’t have enough money, you had to add another freaking hundred million to the pot? That means he can father at least four more illegitimate kids and still pay for them. That’s not right.

Just five years ago, Sean “Diddy” Combs asked Busta Rhymes to “pass the Courvoisier.” These days, it’s all about the vodka. The 37-year-old hip-hop mogul has inked a multiyear deal to develop the Ciroc vodka brand - one of Diageo PLC’s superpremium lines - for a 50-50 share in the profits. It’s the latest agreement in which a celebrity is going beyond the typical endorser role to share in a brand’s rise and fall, such as Jay-Z with Budweiser and 50 Cent with Vitamin Water.

Diageo said the agreement could be worth more than $100 million for Combs over the course of the deal, depending on how well the brand performs. “It is not an endorsement deal,” Combs told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. “This is something that will have my daily attention.” Combs said he wanted to work with Diageo because the company understood that “I’m not just a celebrity endorser, I’m a brand builder. I’m a luxury brand builder.” Combs said he will be responsible for everything from marketing the brand to deciding where to sell it, and will focus on attracting “movers and shakers” to the line. “They’re looking for something that tastes like their lifestyle,” he said. “It’s that trendsetter, that hipster, someone who’s looking for luxury and looking for something better. I can’t overhype someone into loving vodka,” he said. But once consumers actually taste Ciroc, “I think we can convert a lot of people.”

[From the Associated Press]

You know what P-Diddle or whatever your name is, you can suck it. $100 million for that? I would do that for $1.25. I’m not saying it’d work out as well, but it would be more fair. Really, as much as I joke, P-Diddle is nothing if not a phenomenal businessman. He knows how to turn himself into a brand and how to really market himself, his lifestyle, and his products. His Sean Jean label is doing incredibly well, and the guy really does control and participate in his businesses – he doesn’t just slap his name on something some company did all the work for. It sounds like this deal will obviously be a little more traditional, in that this is another company’s product, and not P-Diddle’s. But for that amount of money, most people would promote just about anything. So congrats, I guess. Jerk.

Did I hide my jealousy well?

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Puffy at the Sean John Womens Line Launch Party on October 19th in New York City. Image thanks to PR Photos.

Trouble and P Diddy go together like peanut butter and chocolate. It seems like every other day he’s getting sued for beating someone up, fathering a random child, or screwing someone in a business deal. If nothing else, I think it’s well acknowledged that Diddy has a pretty big ego that he has a hard time checking. Puffy supposedly got into a fight with a guy at Kiosk nightclub in Manhattan. Around 3:30 in the morning on Saturday, Diddy argued with a man named Steven Acevedo over an unidentified woman who wasn’t even at the club. Apparently the two had both dated her, and for some reason there’s some bad blood between them as a result. MTV news phrased the fight as an “intense discussion” that eventually escalated when Puffy “aggressively marched” over to Acevedo’s table, at which point he punched the guy twice in the face, resulting in a bloody nose and broken lip.

“Shortly after the New York Police Department confirmed that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was the subject of an investigation into an alleged assault at a SoHo club Saturday night, the rap mogul came forward to portray the incident as nothing more than a mild dustup between friends. ‘What is being reported in the media is inaccurate,’ Diddy’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said of reports that his client was due to surrender at precinct house Tuesday morning.

“‘Mr. Combs is not going to be arrested today. We are hopeful that this matter will be resolved without the filing of any criminal charges, as this was a disagreement among acquaintances, not a criminal assault.’ The Post says that one of Diddy’s ever-present bodyguards stepped between the men to prevent any further fisticuffs. Acevedo, 31, reportedly suffered a bloody nose and fat lip, per the newspaper.

“Police are reportedly trying to determine whether the club, which is a store by day, has any security footage of the fracas. While no charges have yet been filed, should the allegations pan out, Diddy could be facing a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault.”

[From E! News]

Yeah I’m sure it’s erroneous reporting and Diddy is just a poor, helpless victim like always. He just seems like that defenseless puppy that’s always getting kicked, don’t you think? That must be the real reason he has all the bodyguards. Not, you know, to beat other people up or join him in brawls or anything. How old is this guy? He’s acting like he’s in junior high, but he’s 38. Way to show some class dude. He strikes me as one of those people you don’t even hope will get better or learn to control his anger, because he’s got so much money that he can always get out of whatever trouble he gets into. So instead I’ll just suggest you get a really great lawyer. And a paid whipping boy. At least that way someone’s getting a little something for their trouble. Though I’m guessing Steven Acevedo will too.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Puffy and his entourage promoting his Sean John clothing line at Ibiza Nightclub DC the night before the fight. Images thanks to WENN.

Boy, Puffy is a busy man. He produces, he sings, he designs clothes, and he knocks up women… and pretty much does them all in equal amounts. Puffy - or whatever the hell you want to call him – has taken responsibility for another kid, who he fathered about three months before his twin daughters with ex-girlfriend Kim Porter. Surprisingly, Puffy can’t keep it in his pants. And I have no idea how, but apparently he finds a lot of ladies to get with. Who would have imagined? But at least in print, it sounds like he’s stepping up to the plate and planning on being a good father. I’m assuming in his case that means child support and a never-ending supply of Danity Kane CDs.

“Sean Combs is stepping up to the plate and taking legal responsibility for his sixth child. The rap mogul tells us exclusively that he’s ‘committed to being a good father’ to his 15-month-old daughter, Chance – even though the little girl was a factor in his break-up with longtime girlfriend, Kim Porter.

“Over the past year, Combs’ reps repeatedly denied to us that he’d fathered the child with Atlanta beauty Sarah Chapman. Combs now tells us he’d been holding off on acknowledging Chance as his blood until DNA tests had been completed. ‘At first, I wasn’t sure if this was my child,’ he said. ‘Now that it has become clear she is, I will take care of her for the rest of her life.’

“Combs, 37, and Porter, 36, welcomed daughters Jessie James and D’Lila Star last December. They also have a son, Christian, 8. Combs has a 13-year-old son, Justin, with ex-girlfriend Misa Hylton-Brim. He’s also been a father to Porter’s son, Quincy. Combs wants to be part of Chance’s life and has worked out visitation and support terms with Chapman, according to sources. Combs has also been trying to repair his relationship with Porter, they add. Certainly, she’s been down this road before, having taken him back after he left her for Jennifer Lopez.”

[From the New York Daily News]

Well at least he’s being decent about it, at least on the surface. I’m not really clear on what kind of dad Puffy is – one could certainly argue that he’s not the best, considering all the philandering and popping out babies with random ladies. But really, those are just my own morals, and who I am to tell the great P Diddy to keep his pecker in his pants? So Diddy, as long as you’ve got money in the bank, you have my blessing to just whore it up with as many ladies as you like.

Picture Note by Jaybird: Here’s Puffy at the Sean John Underwear And Loungewear Spring 2008 Collection Launch Party on August 27th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Naomi Campbell has for once been praised for something she’s done – apart from the ability to look sulky and tall in a designer dress. She’s appeared on the Italian version of Dancing With The Stars and actually impressed the judges.

The 37-year-old — who has been much-maligned for a spate of temper tantrums — received an impressive 33 out of 40 for her opening turn on the show.

Campbell took to the floor in a sparkling two-piece gold outfit and energetically danced the salsa to Zucchero’s Baila Morena.

The London-based model showed no discomfort from a neck injury sustained earlier in the week while rehearsing with partner Alessandro Camerotto.

Campbell was reportedly paid nearly $115,000 to join the series.

ninemsn

Naomi is lucky she can remember the dance moves though – since she seems to have forgotten her modelling career, claiming that fashion magazines discriminate against her because she’s black.

The British beauty made the blunder after she claimed to have never appeared on the cover of the style bible at New York’s Blacks in Fashion event recently.

She says, “I’ve never been on the cover of British Vogue and I’ve asked a million times and they’ve always refused me. They’ll put the same white model for half the year - I swear like six times - but wouldn’t put me on once in my own country.”

Post Chronicle

Naomi, you’ve been on the cover of British Vogue eight times. Eight. That might have not been eight consecutive months, and three times you shared the cover with others, but that is a lot of Vogue covers to forget. Once it was with P. Diddy, and he’s not a man who likes to be forgotten. I’m sure you’ve hurt his ego terribly.

Note by Celebitchy: Here’s the video of Naomi on the show, called Ballando Con Le Stelle. Thanks to ONTD for the photos, originally from the Daily Mail.