Jennifer Hudson of “American Idol” fame is generating Oscar buzz with her amazing upcoming role in “Dreamgirls.” Beyonce plays a backup character in the film adaptation of the musical and is second fiddle to Hudson. Beyonce denied that there’s any rivalry between her and Hudson, but people are saying that her comments show otherwise. She told reporters that she wanted to play Hudson’s central role of Effie, of course, and wish she could of gained the 20 pounds required for for the role:

“I knew that the character that I played wasn’t the star,” Knowles, 25, told reporters on Saturday about knowing full well that her Diana Ross-esque role of Deena Jones was less meaty than Hudson’s part as Effie White – a part that is already getting Hudson Oscar buzz. “She wasn’t the underdog. She didn’t have the struggle and the pain and the dramatic scenes that Effie had, and I was fine with that.” Taking the role was about proving herself as an actress. “I’m already a star. I already have nine Grammys. Everyone knows I can sing,” Knowles said. “I did this because I wanted people to know that I can act and I can play someone so different from myself.” “Because I’m a star they just automatically assume that I’m not humble enough to sit down and take a back seat, which I am.” But the R&B star did admit that she would have liked to have sung Effie’s song, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” a showstopper that, in large part, helped get Jennifer Holliday a Tony Award for best actress for the original 1981 Broadway version of Dreamgirls. “I mean,” said Knowles, “I wish I could’ve gained 20 pounds and played Effie.” Asked if she’d really have packed on the weight for the part, Knowles said, “Yes. I absolutely would have, but Bill (Condon, the movie’s writer-director) didn’t even believe that I could be Deena. So imagine if I would’ve said, ‘Bill, I want to be Effie.’ “ And Knowles has high praise for Hudson’s portrayal of Effie. “Jennifer Hudson had such a pressure, first of all, never being in a film and never have done an album and still having to live up to those expectations,” said Knowles. “She did incredible.”

It does sound like Beyonce is calling Hudson fat, and is suggesting that Hudson got the role because she’s heavier. Hudson did actually gain 20 pounds for that film according to Wikipedia, so Beyonce might not have meant it as harshly as it came off.

Commentor kailie2 notes that Beyonce’s rumored wedding to Jay-Z next weekend may be her attempt to gain back the spotlight dominated by newcomer Hudson’s sheer talent.

That’s a pretty good theory considering how much praise and publicity Hudson is getting:

Hudson, taking over the role of Effie played on stage by Jennifer Holliday, is in charge of “Dreamgirls” from her opening scene, blowing away Grammy-winner Beyoncé Knowles, Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx and anyone else who gets in her way.

When she sings “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” - one of the most heartfelt cries of pain ever written for a musical - Hudson inscribes her name on an Oscar.

“Dreamgirls” is out in the states tomorrow, 12/6. Here’s the trailer:

Header image found at Bossip.

Word is that Paris Hilton wants her own convenient accessory children to tote around for the paparazzi that follow her. That way, she can mix it up and won’t have to keep switching friends to get coverage.

The partying heiress says that hanging around with her new best friend, Britney Spears, and Spears’ two tykes has made her want to reproduce.

“It’s been my dream to have four babies by 30,” the 25-year-old heiress announced, reports Life & Style Weekly. And Hilton thinks she’s highly qualified for motherhood, explaining: “I look after animals, so I’d have a lot to give my kids.”

In fact, looking after kiddies has become so appealing to Hilton that she recently cut short a night out with Spears, announcing to friends, “We’re going home to the babies. We miss them.”

Since when is Paris a competent pet owner? She complained about having to take a limo with her many pets for a six hour drive when an airplane barred her from bringing her goat on a plane. In news that was likely fabricated, she was also said to want a baby kangaroo too, but was discouraged from buying one when she was told they can grow up to be violent animals. She even had a monkey taken away from her after it bit her repeatedly.

She would make a fabulous parent. She should call up Madonna and ask for tips on how to fast-track an adoption of the cutest kid available by mail order. With Britney as her role model for motherhood, is it any wonder she thinks it’s a good idea?

Media Take Out, an African-American entertainment site that has a lot of exclusives saying celebrities are gay, cheating, and/or involved in various scandals, claims to have official evidence proving that Beyonce is 32 years old. (Their current cover story involves a risque photo of what looks like Eve getting oral from another woman. It was supposedly taken qhile she was an exotic dancer. The picture is covered in the right places, but is still NSFW.)

Two months ago I ran an old video by Destiny’s Child in which Beyonce was supposedly 16. She didn’t look 16 to me, although commentors were kind of split as to whether she was older. Some people said it was the makeup that made her look more mature but others claimed it was a common practice in the entertainment industry and would not surprise them.

The evidence from Media Take Out is a blurry list of births from the Texas Department of Health dated 1974, which would make Beyonce 32, not 25. They say it’s an official birth record sent to them by a government worker in Texas. It’s labeled a statistics list and isn’t a birth certificate, but it could still be accurate:

December 5. Over the past few weeks, MediaTakeOut.com has received hundreds of emails from people asking us to confirm Beyonce’s true age. In an attempt to find the truth, we spoke with dozens of insiders - all of whom believed that Beyonce was being truthful about her age.

But yesterday MediaTakeOut.com received a tip that proved to be explosive. The tipster, who claimed to work for the Texas Department of Health, faxed over what appears to be Beyonce’s official birth records. The document (a portion of which is below) shows that a Beyonce Giselle Knowles was born to a Mathew Knowles and Celestine Ann Beyonce on September 4th, 1974. If this document is accurate, that would mean that Beyonce is actually 32 years old.

Beyonce’s official biography claims that she was born on September 4th, 1981. It also claims that her mothers maiden name is “Beyince”, and not “Beyonce” as the below document shows.

Beyonce’s parents are named Matthew and Tina Knowles, so if this is real it could be the proof that she’s older than 25.

Update: Thanks to commentor Betsy for pointing out that these documents are Photoshopped:

The Texas birth index also lists that Benjamin Wade knowles…the name above beyonce’s…was born in 1981, so the commenter above is correct that the year 1974 has been altered. everyone on that list…including the not famous ones, was born in 1981. nice try by MediaTakeOut. I assume their sounrce altered the document, but shame on them for not checking in out using the free resources easily available to anyone.

Star magazine claims that not only were Vince and Jen still together up until Thanksgiving, but that Vince cheated on Jen with a 20 year-old Texas college student he met a Budapest restaurant. I know it sounds weird, but go with it - Star even has evidence of an edited blog entry and an supposed e-mail this woman wrote her friends bragging about how she bagged Vaughn.

Star says that they told Jen’s reps this story was about to come out, and that’s when they announced the split. That doesn’t convince me that they were still together, just that Vince got with a college chick:

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn had not split up before Thanksgiving. In fact, the former Friend tried to convince her on-again, off-again boyfriend to make the 12-hour flight from London (where he’s been filming the comedy Fred Claus) to L.A., to join Jen for the holiday. When he turned her down, she ended up alone joining best friend Courteney Cox-Arquette and hubby David Arquette.

As for Vince, he hopped a three-and-a-half-hour flight to Budapest. On Nov. 25, while dining in a local restaurant with two pals, Vince befriended three female students at a nearby table — including Laura Mallory Lane, 20, a junior at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, who was on holiday while studying abroad in Rome.

HOTEL-BOUND
The group proceeded to have a cocktail-fueled evening that ended with Vaughn and Lane (who goes by her middle name of Mallory) in bed together — all of it documented in an e-mail entitled, “I shacked with Vince Vaughn” that Lane sent to 22 of her Gamma sorority sisters two days later, says a source!

When the bars had closed at 2 a.m., Mallory wrote that the group ventured back to Vaughn’s hotel and Vaughn asked her to stay for another drink — which she did. “I did not feel pressured at all,” Mallory wrote.

“We talked some more (and yes, we talked about Jen), and one thing led to another and obviously we were messing around before too long. We didn’t have sex, but it was just as good :)…”

Nevertheless, it wasn’t a good thing for Jen. Star alerted Jen’s reps to our story and lo and behold the couple announced their final breakup!

I tried to google specific phrases in that woman’s blog post, and I looked for her blog using different keywords in her name and location and couldn’t find anything. It’s possible she took it down or it’s just too hard to locate. (Update: reader Jess has better google skills, here’s her blog.)

This e-mail is also kind of hackneyed and suspect. Ooh, they hung out all night and made out but didn’t have sex. Isn’t that a cliche? I mean, I know I had a few of those encounters in college but it doesn’t sound really legitimate to me.

Here’s the blog entry. All of these images are from Star and I cannot find the actual blog here’s a link to her blog
12/4 original entry mentioning Vaughn:

12/6 edited entry deleting Vaughn. It seems a little strange that there’s a double line break where that text would be, but she could have put it in there when she erased the other text:

So either:
1. This story is bogus, there is no college woman and someone made this up to make it seem like Vince and Jen were still together and to make Vince look bad
2. Vince and Jen were really together and keeping under the radar and he did cheat OR
3. Vince and Jen were not together for months as everyone suspected and Vince just hooked up with this random chick with a big mouth.

I’m voting for 3.

Update: Thanks to reader Jess’ excellent googling, we have a link to the blog in question. Here’s the post from this Monday where she deleted the line about Vince, and there is one newer post with a cute picture of her posing with her friends in Prague. (I was only there once, it was beautiful.) There are currently four comments on the Vince Vaughn post asking about her encounter with him. I’m betting she’ll take the blog down within a few days.

- An insider who passed a lie detector test claims that Lindsay Lohan mixes hillbilly heroin, Oxycontin, with vodka and that she stays up until all hours and has to take an Ambien to get to sleep. [Socialite’s Life]
- Is Lindsay Lohan going to Iraq today? [Hollywood Tuna]
- Did Victoria Beckham buy Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress for 800k? [Hollyscoop]
- Green Celebrity gift list. Give environmentally-friendly gifts that your favorite stars love. [ecorazzi]
- Victoria Beckham eyes that “Little Miss Sunshine” shirt that Britney wore for a week [ICYDK]
- Reese Witherspoon looked gorgeous at the Kennedy Center Honors [yeeeah]
- Gorgeous pregnant Marcia Cross [I’m Not Obsessed]
- Is Colin Farrell a ManWhore or a Pimp? [Bastardly]
- Courtney Love says she didn’t leave her daughter’s side for her first year, so what’s wrong with Britney? [Mollygood]
- A plastic surgeon who’s seen Britney’s poon shots says she needs a tummy tuck and he’s just the one to give it to her [Gossip or Truth]
- Gorgeous holiday party dresses [Lady Licorice]
- “The Holiday” UK Premiere with Jude Law, Kate Winslet, and Cameron Diaz [Gabsmash]
- Mario Lopez kisses Karina Smirnoff’s butt in a bikini like in that Ben and J.Lo video [DListed]
- New Danity Kane video [Cake and Ice Cream]
- Volkswagon tries to screw low-income customers over the holidays [Shallow and Tacky]
- If you buy a Volkswagon Jetta you will get in a car accident, according to this annoying commercial [Sadly, No!]
- Gwen Stefani in Russian radiation scare after British Airways flight. [Suicide Girls]
- Scarlet Johansson says she’ll strip on film, but she better get Oscar buzz for it [Agent Bedhead]
- Scarlett Johannson and Natalie Portman piss off Christina Aguilera at the after party for her gig [Fatback and Collards]
- No one likes Sienna Miller [PopSugar]
- Teri Hatcher bathes in red wine and Jennifer Aniston uses Neutrogena soap. I think that stuff is crap and is so drying. [Chic Mommy]
- There’s another TomKat wedding party this Saturday [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]
- Are Beyonce and Jay-Z breaking up or getting married? [Celebslam]

It’s nice to hear a positive story about the Brangelinas. Life & Style reports that their security team is being kept in line and they’re behaving graciously while they’re in New Orleans for Brad to shoot his new film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons.

Angelina is said to have told her security brutes to step off when they tried to bar a hotel worker from entering an elevator with her. She said hi to a surprised shopper at Saks, and she’s visiting Brad on set with the kids between takes. Brad also went to a bar and happily posed for pictures with the locals. That’s not really sensational news, and maybe that’s why none of the other gossip rags are carrying it:

An insider at the 4-star InterContinental Hotel, where Brad and Angie are occupying the entire 14th floor, tells Life & Style, “One night, I was about to step into the elevator when a big, surly man said nastily, ‘You can’t come in here!’ Then I heard a woman’s voice say, ‘For goodness sake, let her do her job!’ I entered the elevator and it was Angelina Jolie! She grabbed both my hands and said she was so sorry for the way her security guy had treated me!”

The down-to-earth family begins its busy days with a healthy meal of spinach omelets for Brad and Angie and cereal for the kids, says another hotel insider.

And even though Brad works long hours — some days from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. — Angie makes sure the kids get to see their doting dad.

“One day she stayed in a building opposite the set, feeding the kids while Brad was shooting,” says an on-set insider. “He would go across in between takes to check on them. It was moving to see how close they all are.”

Locals have another reason to be impressed with Hollywood’s reigning royalty: Brad and Angie are determined to help the city recover from Hurricane Katrina.

“Brad told us he’s really committed to helping rebuild the city,” says one local insider, who met Brad when he went to a neighborhood bar to watch the New Orleans Saints play the Atlanta Falcons.

“He was really kind and posed for tons of photos,” says the insider. “People loved it – especially because he was rooting for the Saints!”

Angie impressed the locals just as much when she was spotted shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue with the kids.

“She’s so normal – and so damn beautiful,” said one shopper. “She was really sweet and said hi to me. I couldn’t believe how pleasant she was.”

If all that is true it seems like Brad and Angelina are taking a page from Johnny Depp, who is known to be the nicest most fan-friendly celebrity. Depp, on the other hand, has insisted on having the biggest trailer on the set of his new movie in London, Sweeney Todd, and wants it decorated to look like a Moroccan harem at a cost of $50k. Brangelina is approachable and Depp is a diva. I’m all confused now.

Don’t their kids look annoyed in that header photo?

Thanks to Just Jared for these pictures of Brad Pitt bald on set, and We Smirch for the story. Header image from Life & Style.

Adam Brody was flirting up a storm with Ashlee Simpson at a recent event. Adam is newly single and has been hitting the LA hot spots with his friends after splitting with gorgeous O.C. costar Rachel Bilson. This news from Star makes it seem like he was being flirty with Ashlee, and they were probably just talking, but maybe these two will hook up at some point:

Adam Brody, 27, and Rachel Bilson, 25, are officially over. Adam was spotted with Ashlee Simpson at the Volkswagen Tiguan Concept party in L.A. on November 28. A source tells Star, “Ashlee was giggling up a storm, like she really loved all the attention.” The two seemed infatuated with one another; Brody couldn’t keep his eyes off of her!

[from the Star Magazine e-mail newsletter.]

I might call these two the new couple of Adam couldn’t keep his hands off Ashlee, but maybe he was just staring at her because he was amazed at how much her face has changed recently.

Meanwhile Star also says that Ashlee and Lindsay have made up after their public spat over scumbag Wilmer Valderrama. Lindsay was said to have made sure Ashlee and sister Jessica didn’t get into an MTV party she was hosting. Ashlee later said on The Charlotte Church show that she has a song called “I didn’t steal your boyfriend” which is dedicated to Lindsay. (Part is 2:30 minutes into video clip on the linked post.) Now Ashlee and Lindsay were seen arm and arm on November 9th and Star calls them the latest frenemies. (That’s such a popular word lately although it seems like I just learned it last week.)

Here is Ashlee getting takeout. Thanks to I’m Not Obsessed for these pics.

In true Pamela Anderson form, she reconnected with two of her exes right after splitting with her husband of four months, Kid Rock. Of course Rock was also one of Pamela’s old loves that she just couldn’t let go of and hastily married after a summer fling.

Is newly single Pam Anderson torn between two exes? On Nov. 27, within minutes of filing for divorce from hubby of four months Kid Rock, 35, she was on the phone reconnecting with her “forever flame,” ex husband Tommy Lee, 44! “He asked me is it true you are getting divorced, and if it is true, what are you doing later?” Pam told the TV show Extra. Five days later, Pam and Tommy spent the day watching their sons Brandon and Dylan play football and basketball. “They were kissing and hugging most of the afternoon,” an eyewitness tells Star. Tommy may have some competition. On November 26- the night before she filed for divorce – a wedding ring –free Pam was in San Diego’s Stingaree nightclub attending a party for her ex boyfriend, San Diego Chargers footballer David Binn, 34. “They looked very comfortable and seemed to be tuning out the other partygoers,” an eyewitness tells Star. “It was clear that she was there for David.”

[From the Star Magazine e-mail newsletter]

Kid Rock has also turned back to an ex. He was seen out with Conchita Leeflang, who he dated after his first breakup with Pamela Anderson in 2003. Word is that he never lost touch with Conchita and Pam suspected him of cheating with her during their brief marriage.

The GQ Interview that came out right after Pam and Kid split may offer clues as to why their marriage was doomed. They fought in front of the journalist, with Pam scolding Kid for his
love of hunting and use of the word “gay”

Recalling their 29 July (06) marriage in the current December 2006 issue of the publication, rap rocker Rock growled the guests were made up of “whoever could afford to come,” adding, “None of my friends were there”. He later claims, “I’m not in charge of this relationship”.

When his new wife attempted to correct him, stating, “They’re all your friends, baby..”. Rock snapped, “None of my friends were there”.

Then, in a further exchange, the couple disputed the use of the word ‘gay’ when tough guy Rock, real name Robert Ritchie, insisted, “That just takes the gay metre right to the end” when asked to confirm he sang U2’s With Or Without You to his new bride on their wedding day.
Anderson attempted to correct him by saying, “That’s enough with the gay word. That’s not nice,” but her husband glibly jokes, “It’s a new word. All the kids are using it”.

The actress/model even threatened divorce, which she filed for last week (ends01Dec06), when her husband jokes about her animal rights work.

Asked by the magazine if his wife’s love for animals is making an impact, Rock jokes, “Now I shoot the deer and she saves it,” which prompts angry Anderson to retort, “That’s divorce right there. You shoot anything, it’s over.

Nice to know these two are able to learn from their mistakes.

Images from Splash News Online and Conchita Leeflang’s myspace.

Jennifer Hudson might be getting a lot of positive press for her kick ass role in Dreamgirls, but her recent statements are sure to cast a ashadow over all the positive buzz. She says that being gay is a sin, but it’s - you know, not any worse than other sin. She means like stealing and cheating on your wife, right? What bothers me is her opinion of course, which is antiquated and bigoted, but also that she talks about herself in the third person and uses the tired “I have gay friends” excuse. That’s so fucking stupid:

As a Baptist who’s singing at circuit party, has Hudson reconciled her spiritual beliefs and her gay fan base? Does she support same-sex marriage?
“Nobody has ever asked me these questions,” she says.
“Everybody sins,” Hudson continues. “No sin is greater or different than the other. To each his own. If it don’t bother Jennifer, then Jennifer don’t mind. I don’t really even think about it because I don’t believe in judging people for what they do.”

When referencing themselves, lots of divas probably do that schizophrenic thing where they toggle between first and third person. But did Hudson just say that being gay is a sin?

“According to the way we’re taught, and what it says in the Bible — it is,” Hudson says.

If her answers didn’t already sound like fundamentalist clichés, Hudson then added, “I have plenty of gay friends.”

Her answers were surprising.

I had a hunch that Hudson was religious. But when it came to questions about the gay community, I had hoped she might emerge with a thoughtful response.

Because she’s a relatively new star, some may say it’s unfair that Hudson should be asked to comment on social issues. But another reporter at the roundtable pointed out that Hudson is a zaftig, dark-skinned woman. He asked Hudson if she feels a responsibility to represent young African-American women in a positive light.

“I do think it’s important to be a good role model,” she says. “It just occurred to me a few days ago that I might be a role model. I’m sure that’s a part that comes with the territory. And I want to make sure I represent them well. And give all females — no matter what age, what race — something to look up to.”
Part of “Dreamgirls” chronicles the rise of the Civil Rights movement. I tell Hudson that gay audiences might feel a connection because they’re still fighting for equal rights. And when it comes to same-sex issues, all sorts of people might look to Hudson to shed positive light.

“I feel we should all have our rights,” she says. “It shouldn’t concern everybody else what somebody’s personal life has going on.”

Hudson has said this before, so it’s not new news, but now that she’s getting so much press she should realize it’s time to stop talking about it.

It seems like she answered this question because she’s not media-savvy enough to know that she should keep her mouth shut and change the subject. She has a right to an opinion no matter how much it makes me shake my head and hope that her career will tank, but she should realize that it’s going to hurt her in Hollywood if she continues to talk about it openly.

She also says she “thinks the world of the gay community” and “if they love me, I must be fierce, honey.”

Do you think the gay community is going to overlook the fact that she says they’re all a bunch of sinners?

I was all “go Hudson,” yesterday, because even though I’ve heard this about her before I completely forgot about it. Now it’s not so easy to see her as this up and coming star that has earned her success.

Pictures and story from Faded Youth and ONTD.

Update: Maybe you guys are right that I’m just as bad as Hudson for condemning her for an opinion. It’s an emotional topic and I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut about it. I have gay family members though and it really annoys me when people say it’s somehow a sinful “lifestyle.”

Jennifer Aniston’s rep sent a pretty thoughtful letter to Perez Hilton about his attacks on Jen for acting like she was still with Vince for all this time. (Word is they were just friends with benefits and split up months ago.) He said he gets that Perez is mean like that, but doesn’t understand why he goes after Aniston and babycorn-mouth Dunst when they’re such nice people. (Dunst is kind of growing on me after she hosted an art benefit for children and didn’t get a lot of publicity for it.)

The most telling thing about the letter to Perez is that Aniston’s rep says that he never claimed that Aniston and Vaughn were together all this time - he just said that they weren’t engaged. In fact he kind of admits that they’ve been apart for a while and is careful to say he never claimed otherwise:

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton posted an item accusing Aniston and her rep Stephen Huvane of lying about the split for months (Huvane called reports of a break-up “rubbish,” while Aniston appeared on the cover of People magazine under the headline “Defending Their Love” and went on The Oprah Winfrey Show to insist she and Vaughn were still going strong).

Within hours, Huvane emailed Perez in response and asked for him to lighten up on Aniston, and even brought his other client Kirsten Dunst into the mix. He wrote:

Hey there.

Just saw your item and wanted to correct you. I understand that being mean is your thing and honestly I am not trying to convince you to be any other way. If that’s what makes you happy then by all means go ahead and be mean. It’s just that if you are going to be mean then try being right. We never told People magazine that Jennifer and Vince were still together. Just do a little research and you will find that we told People.com that Jennifer was not engaged, had not been proposed to, and had no ring.

Your venom towards Jennifer and Kirsten [Dunst] is something I will never quite understand because if you actually knew these two ladies you would really like them.

I hope you will fix your item but my expectations are really low.

Stephen Huvane

Perez then vehemently points out that Aniston and her rep did lie to People and that Aniston told Oprah in October she was still with Vince. Her half-whispered “yeah” response wasn’t that convincing though and no one bought it. He notes that Aniston’s rep also called reports of their split “rubbish,” but it’s possible the publicist is splitting hairs and that it was rubbish that they broke up at that time. Guess it depends on what your definition of a breakup is, since a couple can’t split up if they’re never together.

Header image from Flynet online.