Despite reports that Disney planned to keep 15 year-old superstar Miley Cyrus out of the spotlight after her controversial backless photo in Vanity Fair, she will go ahead with a planned concert at Walt Disney World on Sunday. E! Online reports that Miley has been in Nashville working on the Hannah Montana movie and that she’ll play the show at Disney World as scheduled. Paparazzi caught up with Miley outside a Target in Nashville, Tennessee and she was friendly and said “no comment” when asked about the Vanity Fair photos.

I checked the Disney World website and it was hard to navigate so I can’t be sure, but I couldn’t find the concert listed under the Live Events section or the park’s calendar.

There’s a story that’s hopefully misquoted, because Miley definitely doesn’t need the bad publicity, but she supposedly said she wants her show Hannah Montana to be more like Sex and The City - like, the friends part not the sex part. Disney producers are going to love this:

Despite the young impressionable market she is selling to, Cyrus wants her show to go in a direction more akin to the adult themes of New York based Sex And The City.

However, she denies wanting to make Hannah Montana’s situations raunchy like Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. She explains via Wenn: “Obviously not the scenarios.

“But, if you watch Sex and the City, like the way the friends are, the way that it’s dry and they all have distinct characters - that’s a thing we try to do on our show. It’s my favourite show! I love it!”

[From Entertainmentwise]

It’s unclear if this quote is in Vanity Fair or if it’s from another interview, but it’s a pretty dumb thing to say given all the issues she’s having with the sort-of racy photos. Hopefully she said this before the photo controversy, but even so it’s foolish to say you want to make a kids’ show more like an adult one with sexual themes. She clarified that she wanted to have those kind of female friendships on her show, but she shouldn’t have used a cable show some consider raunchy as an example. Maybe Miley is deliberately testing the boundaries of her wholesome image and isn’t as much of a pawn in all this as some people would like to believe.

Update: People reports that Miley did say this in Vanity Fair, but that she watches the edited version on TBS. They also clarify that she will be playing at the 2008 Disney Channel games.

Miley Cyrus is shown at “Idol Gives Back” on 4/8/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the vulnerable sexy photo of Miley Cyrus posed with just a sheet and a bare back that’s set to hit newstands today in the June issue of Vanity Fair. Miley’s reps claim that famed photographer Annie Leibovitz tricked the 15 year-old superstar into removing her top for what would be an “artistic” photo once her parents left the photo shoot and she was more easily influenced. Miley’s father Billy Ray is said to be outraged and Disney claims she was manipulated into posing for the photo that potentially threatens her billion dollar wholesome brand.

The Huffington Post has compiled a list of celebrity quotes, and many people think that this controversy is overblown and that it’s not that big of a deal. A few blame Miley’s parents for leaving early, not watching out for her, and not insisting on final approval for all photos. Hillary Duff, who is now a pop singer after a similar career on Disney television, seems to understand why Miley’s photo is causing such a stir and while she’s supportive she says it’s not a choice she would have made:

Sally Field: “I love Miley Cyrus. My granddaughters are completely and utterly over the moon. I watch Hannah Montana….I think, ‘Let it go for God’s sake’…It’s a beautiful picture.”

Hilary Duff: “It’s a lot of pressure. I don’t know how I would even begin to give her advice because I feel she has a huge career and she’ll learn how to deal with it. Everyone goes through things and takes their own path. Who am I to judge decisions that she made? It’s not what I would choose to do, but if she did then that’s fine. That’s her choice.”

Lauren Conrad [The Hills]: “I found it a bit silly. I thought she looked beautiful in the pictures. I didn’t find it that inappropriate. I think it’s difficult. It s a lot of pressure on her since she is a role model, but I think she’s doing a good job.”

Heidi Montag [The Hills]: I think she’s a young girl in Hollywood and she’s just having fun. Exploring herself.”

Spencer Pratt [The Hills]: “I didn’t think it was that bad. Supposedly, she’s wearing a top underneath. It’s artistic.”

Tila Tequila [VH1’s A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila]: “I think it’s hot. When I was 15, I was doing the same thing except I bared it all….She’s just showing her back. She’s growing up. I don’t think she’s doing anything harmful. If the media keeps pushing her, pressuring her, she might end up messed up. But right now, I think everyone should just let her have fun. She’s not doing anything scandalous. I think she’s hot!”

Emmy Rossum: “I think she’s a role model for kids, but I think she looks beautiful.”

Rosie O’Donnell spoke out about the so-called scandal on her blog saying, “I had two photo shoots with her [Annie Leibovitz]. It’s intimidating. Annie Leibovitz. I also didn’t think it was a pornographic photo in any capacity. I thought it was kind of a beautiful portrait, you know. I like the one of her and her dad too. It’s Annie Leibovitz people. Leave Miley alone!”

Jamie Lee Curtis: “She is a young girl. She shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. I don’t feel that she was duped. I know the integrity of Ms. Liebovitz and the magazine and I know there were people present at the shoot that should have been looking out to make sure that this didn’t happen.”

Bill O’Reilly: “[Billy Ray Cyrus] puts her into a situation where she becomes, at 15, a sex symbol. Middle America… they don’t like this. Miley is a nice girl,” she made “a bad decision.
“She should do Oprah and say, ‘We made a mistake, here’s why and it won’t happen again.”

Bonnie Fuller [Star Magazine editor]: “Is it OK to sexualize a fifteen-year-old if it is in the pages of a high falutin’ magazine and her parents seem OK with it? Or is this really not much different from parents in a cult acquiescing to having their teen daughters wedded and bedded?

I’m not sure that it is all that different.”

[Quotes compiled by The Huffington Post, except where linked]

As someone who sees a lot of sexy images of celebrities it’s hard for me to understand all the hoopla over this photo, but I’m starting to get it. I was reading an article in Star this week about how to get Miley’s style and it features really cutesy star-print clothes, sneakers, and polka dot purses. That really brought it home to me that she’s only 15. She’s a kid who makes videos about how she loves Jesus and is going to stay pure until marriage. On the other hand she’s had very suggestive photos leaked that are meant to be private but suggest that she’s exploring her sexuality, and she was maybe half-coerced into a back-baring picture that makes her seem older and more experienced than you hope she is.

In a way Miley is bringing to light the very important issue of kids growing up and what’s too much too soon. When you’re a media darling, it seems inevitable that you’ll be pushed into some of the sex-filled sensationalism that helps keep the public interested and talking.

More details are emerging about the way that Miley Cyrus was persuaded to pose backless and covered in a sheet for famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz in a series of photos to be published in the June issue of Vanity Fair, which is out tomorrow and features Robert F Kennedy on the cover. A spokesperson for the magazine claimed that Miley’s “parents and/or minders were on the set all day” and implied that they approved all the photos before they were published, but both Disney and Miley’s people claim that’s not how it happened.

Disney says Miley was manipulated; her dad says he wasn’t on the set at that point and didn’t see those photos
When the Disney Channel issued a statement that “a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines,” I assumed they were overstating their case in an attempt to do damage control, but new details make it seem as if that’s exactly what happened.

Miley’s reps say that her parents weren’t on the set at the time that the controversial backless photos were taken. Her grandmother and teacher were there and were convinced that it would be ok.

“Miley’s parents did leave the shoot and were not present for the final shot, nor did they see any digital images of the shot in question,” a Miley spokeswoman told The Post yesterday.

Her grandmother and her teacher were left to supervise, according to People magazine.

“Annie convinced them it was going to be artistic,” a source told People. “Her parents are mortified.”

[From The NY Post]

Leibovitz convinced Miley to take those photos after her parents left
Leibovitz explained how the photos came about, saying “Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together, and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.”

In the article accompanying the pictures, Miley says that it was hard to refuse the photographer’s request. She called the photo “really artsy,” but not “in a skanky way,” and said “You can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look, and you’re like, OK.” [NY Post]

Given the news that Miley’s parents had left at that point, you can’t help but think that Liebovitz knew exactly what she was doing. I personally don’t find the photos all that revealing or sexy, but Miley’s target audience are young kids and a lot of people say she’s sending the wrong message with those pictures. Her whole image as a wholesome Christian teen star is threatened by this mini-scandal, and rumor has it that Disney plans to keep her out of the spotlight for a while until the story dies down. Meanwhile Miley’s dad Billy Ray is said to be “furious” that the photos were taken and never shown to him or his wife before they were published. He is said to have left early on the day of the shoot due to “a prior commitment.”

Here’s a behind the scenes video from Vanity Fair’s website:

Some friends of Silda Spitzer are talking to the press about her. Isn’t that nice of them? Most of them are saying that the former first lady of New York is deeply wounded by the prostitution scandal that brought down her husband’s governorship, but that she is not the kind of woman to make a quick decision about something as serious as divorce.

As she remains out of the public eye following her husband Eliot Spitzer’s sex scandal, friends believe that wife Silda Spitzer is a woman who takes the phrase “for better or worse” seriously.

“Maybe she wanted to kick the guy out of the house but she’s in the public eye and a person who takes responsibility,” David Patrick Columbia, a friend of Silda’s and editor of NewYorkSocialDiary.com tells PEOPLE. “I think she’s a woman who was there because that’s the vow: ‘For better or for worse.’ She’s a woman who lives those words.”

Friends of the former first lady of New York, who told PEOPLE in 2004, “The most jarring thing for me is to read these negative things about [my husband] in the papers and try to reconcile that with the person that we know and love,” are giving her space.

No ‘Hasty Decisions’
“She’s in a state of shock right now and she’s not going to make any hasty decisions,” adds high school friend Lina Gibson of Concord, N.C. “She’s not going to throw 20 years of marriage away based on one week of reports. She has to wait until this does down and decide what she wants to do, not what the media decides she should do.”

Her friends “have been very concerned about not making it anymore difficult on her than it already is,” says Columbia. “I feel very bad for her to go through a crisis with her relationship in public. She is such a nice woman who doesn’t deserve this embarrassment.”

It certainly has not been easy. With photographers camped outside the family’s Fifth Avenue high-rise in the wake of Spitzer’s apology and then resignation Wednesday, the couple remained in their apartment last week as their three daughters, Elyssa, Sarabeth and Jenna continued to attend classes at an elite private school in New York City.

Retreated to Country House
On Saturday, the New York Daily News reported that the family had retreated to their country house in Gallatin, New York. (The girls are off for Spring Break this week.) And Eliot and Silda, who told PEOPLE in 2004, “We don’t disagree about much,” continue to work out their issues behind closed doors.

“She’s quietly a woman of principle,” says Columbia. “People criticize her for standing by her husband, but she’s the type of person who takes responsibility for things no matter what. She is his partner. I feel she is the type of person who honors that obligation no matter what.”

[From People]

Well, it’s wonderful that Mrs. Spitzer is the “type of person who honors obligations no matter what,” because her rat-faced shitbag of a husband sure doesn’t. Maybe she should have run for governor instead. I wouldn’t dream of judging this poor woman, but I do have some advice for her. If he dishonors you, dishonors the family you built together, and disrespects all the sacrifices you have made for his career, he ain’t worth it, honey. It’s as simple as that.

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert joked about the major story of the day and at first said it was John Gibson leaving Fox New’s “The Big Story” and then Tucker Carlson’s MSNBC cancellation, but then finally talked about Spitzer. He covered how the media followed the governor’s SUV through traffic for 20 minutes hoping he would stop and pick up a prostitute. They showed a close up of the car and it had a bumper sticker that said “My other ride is a hooker.”

Colbert pointed out to much applause that Spitzer appeared on his show on the night after he arranged for the hooker to come meet him, which was one day before he committed the deed that led to his resignation. He said he was “The meat in the Spitzer sandwich” and that “a lot of people consider an interview on my show a form of foreplay.”

Jimmy Kimmel monologue

Kimmel’s monologue wasn’t that great. He said that if you do the math of $80,000 spent on hookers over the last ten years, that’s only $22 a day. He also said that Spitzer didn’t seem contrite in his speech, then they showed a fake clip of the end of Spitzer’s speech that had a hooker getting up from underneath the podium afterwards.

Kimmel showed the picture of Spitzer’s hooker in a bikini and said that he should have held it up and said “Look at her. What are you going to do?” Then he brought on his security team as the “worst political team on tv” to talk about the scandal.

David Letterman’s monologue

Letterman said Spitzer left his resignation on the nightstand with a $300 tip. He also said it’s a somber mood in NY and the hookers in Times Square were wearing black armbands. Letterman quipped that Spitzer will now have to pay women to call him Governor. He said Spitzer was on Hillary Clinton’s shortlist for a possible Vice President and “boy she can pick ‘em can’t she?”

The Daily Show

Stewart’s was easily the funniest commentary on the scandal.

“The answer: ‘A day and a half.’ The question: ‘What is the amount of extra time you get to stay in power after the revelation of a sex scandal if you are a non-gay governor.’”

“And so, Elliot Spitzer headed to his midtown office to make the announcement while receiving what the networks now refer to as ‘The Full OJ’” [cameras following his SUV]

“As you can see, the trip gave commentators ample time for analysis.” [Cut to boring comments by news reporters about traffic.]

“If you’re in the car with your wife, on the way to resign from the state’s highest office after facing prostitution charges. I’d run that light…”

As for the fact that the Governor’s wife accompanied him to the second press conference, Stewart said “Calgon take her away! There’s got to be a chaise lounge in Bermuda with that lady’s name on it…”

Stewart pointed out the irony in Spitzer’s remarks that “From those to whom much is given much is expected.”

He answered: “Which is why I gave over $80,000 to hookers. I expected a lot from them. And then of course the big news.”

Stewart jokes that the day Spitzer has chosen for the “orderly transition is St. Patrick’s Day” and shows a picture of a shirtless guy drinking a beer wearing giant green sunglasses and a green top hat. “I’m beginning to wonder about this guy’s judgment.”

The NY Times has an interview and a link to the MySpace page of the woman at the heart of the Elliott Spitzer scandal. Her name was Kristen on the Emperor’s Club Website, but her real name is Ashley Youmans and she’s an aspiring singer who goes by the name Ashley Alexandra Dupré. She’s just 22 years old, and on her myspace she writes about moving all over and leaving an abusive family, being homeless at one point and addicted to drugs. She says music saved her, but it probably wasn’t enough to pay the bills if she was working as an escort:

When I was 17, I left home. It was my decision and I’ve never looked back. Left my hometown. Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Left and learned what it was like to have everything, and lose it, again and again. Learned what it was like to wake up one day and have the people you care about most gone. I have been alone. I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own. I am here, in NY because of my music.

[From Ashley Alexandra Dupré’s MySpace]

In his resignation speech, Spitzer repeatedly referred to the fact that he was busted hiring prostitutes as a “private matter,” but no matter what you think about the morality of his actions or whether it’s grounds for him to leave public office, it’s clear that he had a real problem. The guy had teenage daughters and he was paying thousands of dollars to sleep with young prostitutes. He makes $179,000 a year as governor of New York and was said to have spent $80,000, nearly half his salary, on hookers in the last 10 years. last year.

Actress Julianne Moore, who lives in New York city, talked to People Magazine at an event yesterday, and she summed up a lot of people’s opinions on this matter:

“A f—ing embarrassment” is how Julianne Moore, once a fan of the former attorney general, termed the politico’s involvement in a prostitution ring – for which it is anticipated he will resign on Wednesday.

“I’m really pissed,” the fiery New Yorker, 47, told PEOPLE during Tuesday’s TSE flagship SoHo store opening. “I honestly don’t care where or how people have sex, or with whom, but prostitution is illegal. For someone whose got such a reputation for having a real attitude towards crime, you have to walk the walk. I’m sorry.”

[From People.com]

Many of you are mentioning President Clinton’s impeachment in 1998 as similar to this story, and it has some common themes of infidelity and betrayal of public trust by a high-ranking government official. Clinton lied under oath in his deposition for the Paula Jones case about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. It’s not analogous to Spitzer’s use of prostitutes in that Clinton’s “crime” was stretching the truth, saying that he thought “sexual relations” meant the strict definition of the term, not oral sex. (Which I know is ridiculous, but let’s just say the President lied in a case that many pundits thought should not have been brought against him while he was in office in the first place.)

Spitzer broke the law multiple times, spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes. While Clinton may have been a sex addict who couldn’t keep it in his pants, and who by some accounts sexually harassed women, he was never convicted of that and for all we know he didn’t pay for sex.

There is definitely one detail that Spitzer and President Clinton’s indiscretions have in common - Monica Lewinsky was also just 22 when she had an affair with a then 49 year-old President Clinton. Elliot Spitzer will be 49 in June.

The sad thing is that both Spitzer and President Clinton are incredible politicians who were renowned for fighting for the common good. Now their accomplishments will always be overshadowed by their sex lives, and their obituaries will even include a mention of the scandals that marred their political careers.

Lewis Black made an appearance on “The Daily Show” last night to do a monologue on NY governor Elliot Spitzer’s prostitution scandal. He first showed clips of tv pundits wondering how Spitzer paid for the hookers, and said “Please, like you don’t know? Guys pay women for sex? No!”

He said that Spitzer paid $4,300 for two hours with a hooker and for that much money you could buy a used Honda and f’ck it. Black noted that the service Spitzer used was the “Emperor’s Club” and that they used a diamond rating, which he said referred to the level of difficulty, like a ski slope. “I tried a five diamond once, now I have a fake knee!”

Lewis Blacks new show “The Root of All Evil” premieres on Comedy Central tonight at 10:30 EST. It features Lewis Black presiding over a “court of pop culture” in which comedians debate which of two subjects is worse: for instance the Catholic Church vs. Oprah. Comedy Central has a clip on its website and the show looks hysterical.

In terms of Elliot Spitzer, the latest news is that NY’s formerly-esteemed governor spent at least $80 freaking thousand on prostitutes. If only he had cheaper taste and didn’t transport them across state lines, he might have been able to keep his little problem secret for some time. Spitzer is expected to resign, according to a source, but no statement has been made yet.

NY Governor Eliott Spitzer was caught up in a federal investigation of a prostitution ring, and made a statement to the media today acknowledging his involvement without getting into specifics. The NY Times broke the explosive story this morning that a wiretap from a federal investigation revealed that the Governor had arranged for a high-paid prostitute to travel from NY to Washington to meet him at a hotel.

Spitzer owned up to his actions in a public statement, his wife standing by his side. His eyes were welling up but he did not cry. He refused to answer any questions, including whether he would resign his post:

Mr. Spitzer today made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a “private matter.”

“I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong,” said Mr. Spitzer, who appeared with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better.”

“I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”

Before speaking, Mr. Spitzer stood with his arm around his wife; the two nodded and then strode forward together to face more than 100 reporters. Both had glassy, tear-filled eyes, but they did not cry.

The governor spoke for perhaps a minute and did not address his political future.

He declined to take questions and promised to report back soon. As he went to leave, three reporters screamed out, “Are you resigning? Are you resigning?”, and Mr. Spitzer charged out of the room, slamming the door.

[From the NY Times]

According to the NY Times, Spitzer can be charged with a crime under the Mann Act, which is meant to deter human trafficking and “makes it a crime to transport someone between states for the purpose of prostitution.”

Ironically, Spitzer has gone after prostitution rings in his role as Attorney General of NY from 1998-2006. As Attorney General he was known for his high profile lawsuits against major corporations and was widely lauded as a man who could change fraudulent corporate practices. He sued the NY Stock Exchange for paying its director $187 million. He sued GlaxoSmithKlein for withholding damaging information about Paxil. He sued the top investment banks and was instrumental in exposing fraud on Wall Street. He collected multi-million dollar settlements from ten of the top investment banks including Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Warburg. Spitzer even sued a major spam network along with Microsoft and collected a $7 million settlement.

Spitzer has been Governor of NY since January 1, 2007 and has not yet addressed whether he will resign his post.

Huffington Post has screengrabs from the website of the prostitution ring that Spitzer may have used. Their rates start at $1,000 an hour and go up from there, depending on their “diamond” level.

Spitzer has been married for 20 years and has three teenage daughters. His wife is also a graduate of Harvard Law School and runs the nonprofit agency Children for Children.

Header image from the NY Times.

Katie Holmes’ recorded times crossing various markers on the NY Marathon route were identical down to the second at nearly every point in the middle of the race to one of the guys seen jogging with her, sparking theories that she had one of the other joggers wear her chip. Her composed appearance, lack of sweat, and seemingly completely inappropriate and probably uncomfortable attire had many people claiming that she didn’t run or even walk the whole 26 and a half miles.

Fox News has an interview with the mother of the unregistered and previously-unnamed runner, Wesley Okerson, and his mom says that both he and Paul Vincent, whose times mirrored Katie’s down to the second, are her trainers, and “yes, she really ran the marathon.” Case solved then I guess.

Katie and her two trainers. Okerson is on the right. He is wearing a tracking chip despite not being registered for the race.

Defamer notes that Okerson is an aspiring actor and that he was a personal guest of the Holmes-Cruises that night at the premiere of Tom’s movie Lions for Lambs. Katie wore peep-toe heels that night and her feet looked perfectly fine. No swelling or abrasions that are common among marathon runners.

Commentors on Gossip Rocks, where we get a lot of stories, note how naturally and repeatedly Katie Holmes lied on her Punk’d episode (link leads to video) when she was led to believe that director JJ Abrams was cheating on his fiancé. She didn’t seem to have any ethical issues and instead of telling the truth or refusing to answer the fiancé about whether there was another woman in the room she said “no” over and over again when it wasn’t true. She was put in a bad position and was just trying to get out of there, but when asked “Do you always tell the truth? About everything?” she easily said “yes.”

Katie Holmes’ trainer, who was seen finishing the race with her, wearing a tracking chip despite not being registered and a bib from 2003. Katie Holmes was nowhere to be found in three different photos at this point.

Update: Thanks to Calimoonchild on Gossip Rocks for the link to this photo on sawzy’s Flickr of Wesley Okerson, who was not registered in the NY City Marathon and wore a bib from 2003, wearing a tracking chip despite the fact that he wouldn’t need one or presumably get one if he wasn’t registered. Katie Holmes is nowhere to be found, although she finished the race alongside both Okerson and Paul Vincent as seen in the photo above. Okerson is obviously behind the smiling old guy. There are three photos of just Okerson with no Katie in sight on sawzy’s Flickr. Commentor sc on our other post about this curious issue said he was a volunteer for seven hours on the course at the same spot and that the celebrities were easily spotted, but that he never saw Holmes pass.

Katie Holmes is shown outside the Late Show on 1/14/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

As if the industry wasn’t hard hit enough from the writer’s strike, one of the largest Hollywood payroll companies just declared bankruptcy yesterday after shutting their offices on Monday and telling all their employees to pack up and leave. Axium handled payroll services for the Directors Guild of America and studios such as Warner Brothers. They had over $100,000 in assets from the Director’s Guild according to Defamer, and a commentor on Defamer says it’s likely they required a month’s worth of payroll ahead of time from production companies. That means that many entertainment workers could be stiffed out of their pay at a very difficult time. All of Axium’s assets have been frozen:

Axium Intl., the entertainment industry’s third-largest provider of payroll and accounting services, has closed unexpectedly and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Axium shuttered operations Tuesday, a day after its lenders froze the company’s bank accounts. Immediate impact was unclear, but some of the frozen funds included paychecks for film projects.

Director Charlie Matthau told Daily Variety that much of the money he was owed on the recently completed indie drama “Baby O” was frozen Tuesday.

“I was supposed to go pick up a $75,000 check from the DGA, until they told me there was this problem, that Axium had gone out of business and all the accounts were frozen, ” said the helmer, son of the late Walter Matthau. “I feel totally violated, and I’m hoping that the Guild will be able to help me.”

Matthau said Axium notified him recently that the money had been wired into his account.

“In fact, they’d done no such thing, and they were hiding this 400-pound gorilla of bankruptcy,” he added. “Because of that memo, I hope that the City Attorney or District Attorney looks into this. It has affected me and likely a whole lot of other people.”

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is designed to govern the liquidation of company assets. Axium reps were not available for comment Tuesday, and the headquarters offices on Wilshire Boulevard were shuttered.

Axium president Ruben Rodriguez had left the firm. Axium employees were told Monday not to come to work until further notice, and if in contact with their clients, to tell them that Axium could no longer process their business.

[From Variety.com]

Another commentor on Defamer notes that she hasn’t been paid by Axium at her entertainment-related job since December 14th. LAist says that there are a lot of unanswered questions in this case and that many people are worried where their next paycheck will come from, if Axium correctly gave their withholdings to the IRS, and how they will handle taxes this year. This affects all people with paychecks issued from Axium and Avalon.

It is thought that Axium went bankrupt due to greedy executives, similar to the Enron scandal. They have filed Chapter 7, not Chapter 11, which means that Axium employees won’t receive whatever pay was owed to them.

People are saying this is somehow due to the writer’s strike, but it sounds more to me like this company didn’t manage their assets and that someone was cooking the books. Axium’s website, which features a huge globe and a spinning glowing X, is still available, but their offices are shut and not taking calls.