All the rumors and speculation can end. The Spice Mommies have announced their reunion. The former all-female pop group attended a photo session at the The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London this morning to announce their intent to cash in on their former fame with a world tour to start this December. (Since they’re at an observatory, I’ll give them a pass for standing in front of a giant globe, which is so 1997, and kind of apropos for them I guess.)

Their poorly-designed website has more details:

We’ve come together for an exclusive World Tour and this is the only place to register your details online! Just click the link below, choose which city you want to see us in, and fill in your information. Who knows if this will ever happen again, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity! To make it fair, we will randomly pick who gets to buy tickets. This is a chance for you, our real fans to come and see us — the last chance to dance!

And here are the tour dates, thanks to Wikipedia:

December 7, 2007 Los Angeles USA
December 8, 2007 Las Vegas USA
December 11, 2007 New York City USA
December 15, 2007 London United Kingdom
December 20, 2007 Köln Germany
December 23, 2007 Madrid Spain
January 10, 2008 Beijing China
January 12, 2008 Hong Kong Hong Kong
January 17, 2008 Sydney Australia
January 20, 2008 Cape Town South Africa
January 24, 2008 Buenos Aires Argentina

A reunion has been rumored to be in the works for a while, with Sport Spice, Melanie C, rumored to be the sole holdout. She spoke favorably of a reunion in a recent interview and I heard that they’re going to receive a whopping $20 million each for the tour. I never really thought it would happen, although I’m looking forward to it now. There’s bound to be a lot of good gossip to come out of this one.

Thanks to WENN for these photos.

When I saw the first part of Paris’ interview on Larry King I was kind of immune to her bland pleas that she was upset or hurt by jail. I wasn’t even convinced that she was glad to be out. She has such a flat affect and her voice is always so even that it all seemed like an act to me.

Then she read this passage from a note she wrote in jail, and as simple and common as the message is you can tell she really means it.

The say when you reach a crossroad or turning point in life it really doesn’t matter how we got there, but what we do next after we get there. We usually arrive there by adversity, and it is then, only then, that we find out who we truly are and what we’re truly made of. It’s a process, a gift and a journey [sighs] and if we can travel it alone, although the road may be rough at the beginning, and find the ability to walk it, a way to start fresh again. It’s neither a downfall nor a failure, but a new beginning.

- I just felt like this a new beginning for me, just being in jail, and I just used it as a journey to figure out myself and who I am and what I want to do, and there’s just so much more to me than what people think.

[Transcribed from the video available on YouTube.]

I am super tired and am going through a lot right now. This kind of touched me despite the fact that Paris wrote it, and I can actually relate to what she’s saying.

At that point after reading her note the whole interview changed and Paris started to seem more open and geniune. You can see that she’s vulnerable and is capable of being more than just a brand name. That only lasted a few minutes until she switched back to public Paris and got boring again.

It’s not like we shouldn’t take US Weekly’s lead and stop paying attention to her because she has a brief moment where she seems like a regular person. People go through much worse shit every day and don’t get 5 seconds of media coverage. Still, I think she deserves a break. Now if only we could get a break from her, too.

If she really did have a life-changing experience in jail maybe she’ll do some charity work behind the scenes without letting everyone know about it. It’s possible has no control over the amount of press she gets now, though.

Thanks to Splash News for the header image of Paris leaving the Larry King interview.

In a CNN segment aired on Anderson Cooper’s show analyzing Paris Hilton’s appearance on The Larry King show, Matthew Miller from Forbes Magazine says there’s no doubt Paris Hilton makes enough money to live on and isn’t living off her family’s wealth. He says she commands tens to hundreds of thousands just to show up, and that her business ventures include perfume, purses, cellphone video games, and her reality show “The Simple Life.”

She earned at least $7 million last year, with about $1 million coming from “The Simple Life.”

Paris is a savvy businesswoman, he says, but is also extremely lucky to have been born into such a wealthy family. By even talking about her, the Forbes journalists say, she stands to make more coin for future appearances.

Here’s the video, thanks to ONTD:

We’ll cover more of the Anderson Cooper analysis of Paris shortly. It’s pretty interesting.

In an Anderson Cooper segment on CNN about Paris Hilton’s interview with Larry King, the hot talk show host says he doesn’t understand Paris’ appeal and that she’s squandered her fame. Most of the guests support Paris and said she did a good job in the interview. Cooper still doesn’t like her and doesn’t mince words when it comes to telling what he thinks about the bland heiress.

Cooper says he doesn’t get Paris’ appeal
While discussing Paris’ persona, one of the guests on Cooper’s show, Jess Cagle from People Magazine says, “She seems… rather immature, but also really sophisticated and shrewd, in her way.”

“How much of it is an act? That whole… appearing like a moron?” Cooper asks

“I think it’s really an act… She comes by it honestly, this is a young woman who grew up in Beverly Hills and we know who some of her friends are, so she knows how to put it on… This kind of cartoon character she plays is not really her. It’s not that far off. There’s not a huge disconnect between the person you see on the red carpet and the person you talk to, except that when you talk to her… you do actually like her. I think everybody here tonight among us actually sort of did like her during this interview except for you.”

“Well that, you know. I just don’t understand her. I don’t understand the appeal. I don’t understand what she has done,” Cooper explains.

Cooper says Paris has squandered her privileged life
Cooper is not a Paris fan at all and tells it like it is, saying a little later in the show “For me, the big question is that someone who is born into such privilege and given so many opportunities not to make the most of that and try to use that in a way… You know, rather than spend 26 years of your life trying to walk a red carpet and get more attention on yourself, why not try to use some of that attention for something good?

So she’s saying now that she wants to do that. Giving her the benefit of the doubt where should she go from here?”

Guest Marc Lamont Hill from Temple University says that Paris should go to Mothers Against Drunk Driving to help with their cause. He says he just wants to see her doing something that’s good.

Anderson talks about how Paris sounded genuine about helping with charity, and guest panelist Lisa Bloom from Court TV says she sounds like she’s still grasping around about what she wants to do and is not there yet.

Larry King says Paris is in denial that she’s at fault
Larry King is interviewed by Cooper briefly and he says he “doesn’t understand the phenomenon that is Paris Hilton,” but that he likes her and that she did just 23 days, not 5 years or 10 years, and is in denial about what she did wrong. He says it’s conflicting because Paris continues to say she did nothing wrong. She had one drink before her DUI, was told she could drive on a suspended license so that wasn’t her fault, and of course said she never did drugs and has never been drunk.

Then King says she claims she’s better now, but why did she have to get better if she denies she did anything wrong?

Cooper brings up the fact that there are tons of videos of Paris partying, using the N word, etc., but she continues to say it’s everyone else’s fault that they just don’t see the real her.

King then tries to explain why he softballed the interview, saying he could have gotten into that but there wasn’t time.

They play the clip where Paris can’t name her favorite Bible passage, and Cooper asks King “Did you get the sense that she had sort of prepared talking points that somebody had given her, and that seemed to be a situation she didn’t really know any passage from the bible.”

“That could very well be, I couldn’t really make a judgment like that. Yes, someone should have worked with her… she had two days to prepare.”

King said he couldn’t question her on it, because he didn’t have the prescriptions in front of him to challenge her.

Paris says she’s never taken drugs
The segment of Paris denying ever having taken drugs is played and Cooper points out that The Smoking Gun has pictures of her getting high in Amsterdam.

Anderson asks guest Ken Sunshine, a public relations consultant, if it matters from a PR standpoint that Paris lied so blatantly. He says “No, because I don’t think anybody believed that she told the truth there.”

“Why not just tell the truth?”

“It’s crazy, does anyone really believe that she’s never taken any drugs ever? Virtually every Presidential candidate admitting it, leaders of industry… it’s not credible,” said Sunshine.

Paris could have done so much with her life so far and has only promoted herself, says Cooper
A little later Lisa Bloom from Court TV says there aren’t a lot of roles for women in society, that Paris has done well with what she has and there’s no reason to have hostility toward her.

Cooper brings up her complete lack of adding anything valuable to society:
“I would argue that for someone… who has the privilege of being born into a wealthy family and opportunities of great schooling and world knowledge and travelling around the world and seeing the plight of people around the world, for her then to spend a good bulk of her life going to parties and promoting herself”

“But she’s promoting herself as a model, it would have been nice if she would have done that, and she’s only 26 and maybe she’s still young…”

“But 26, I got to tell you, there’s a lot of soldiers in Iraq who are 18 years old, and taking on greater responsibility,” adds Anderson.

“You have to give her credit that she has earned a legal living as a model.”

The guy really has a point about Paris squandering her opportunities but you know here I am gossiping about celebrities all day when I could be adding more to society too. There’s a place in society for mindless entertainment and vapid manufactured beauties like Paris fill it perfectly, especially when they’re up no good.

Thanks to ONTD for linking these videos. Here are the YouTube video segments from which this article was written.

Anderson Cooper on Paris Hilton videos:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5 (this is just a segment on Sheriff Lee Baca)

Update thanks to commentor petite for pointing out that Anderson is the son of a Vanderbilt and comes from a privileged background that’s been marred by tragedy, which may explain his disdain for Paris.

Header image is from Anderson Cooper’s book Dispatches from the Edge and I cut out the blurred picture of the person crouching in the background because it’s kind of disturbing and I didn’t think it should be included on a post about Paris. That is probably Cooper’s point.

Ah summer. The days of celebs in teeny weeny bikinis (even some that should be less teeny) and weddings. We all know about Eva Longoria’s wedding-to-be, but should we add another wedding to our list of summer gossip? Perhaps the wedding of Hugh Grant?

Hugh Grant you say! That’s what the folks over at Splash News are saying. Hugh has been dating Jemima Khan for about three years, but they broke up back in Feb. Now, rumors are swirling that they are back together, after they were spotted together at the Ritz Carlton in Paris. Splash News reports:

“The time they spent apart made Hugh realize just what he was missing without Jemima,” a pal was reported as saying. “It was a bit of a shock to him because he’s always liked to think he’s a bit of a playboy and bachelor boy at heart. Everyone’s really pleased because they make a great couple.”

Splash News is saying that Hugh popped the question and Jemima said yes. Jemima is perhaps best known as a socialite and UNICEF Ambassador, or as the former wife to Imran Khan.

I think it would be lovely if they got married. It’s time for Hugh to settle down. I’m still not over the fact that he was caught with a prostitute while dating Liz Hurley. I mean, really, a prostitute? LIZ HURLEY? If I was dating her you would see me no where near anyone that wasn’t her. But perhaps I’m a bit biased, as I always have held a special place for Liz in my heart, especially in her Estee Lauder days. Here’s hoping that Hugh found a lady who doesn’t make him want to wander.

Photos from SplashNews.

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While doing my daily gossip searching I came upon this disturbing article on PerezHilton. Here is the quote he had posted from this original source:

George Michael is refusing to take an HIV test because he fears the result could come back as positive.
The gay singer revealed he has not had a test in over three years while filming for comedian Stephen Fry’s new television show HIV and Me.
The producer of the show, Ross Wilson said: “George says he does not believe in tests. He says he finds the wait for results too harrowing and hasn’t had a test since at least 2004 due to his fears it might be positive.”

This. Makes. Me. Sick. I don’t care how scared, stupid, or stunned you are. This is downright repulsive and irresponsible. HIV is a serious disease that affects millions of people worldwide and cannot be avoided just by refusing to take a test. A test may not only save your life, but the lives of those who may have relationships with you. Last November, I lost a dear friend to AIDS. Before that, AIDS had always been something scary but foreign to me. To lose someone, who was a beautiful, wonderful man, to this terrible disease broke my heart, and I will never be the same again. To think someone of such huge influence could be so crass and irresponsible not only makes my blood curdle. I’m simmering with rage over here, and I hope you guys feel as strongly as I do. George Michael is completely unacceptable.

Picture note by Celebitchy: George Michael is shown below at his 44th birthday party last week and in the header image after being sentenced to community service at the beginning of the month. Pictures by PRPhotos.

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Yesterday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped down from his role as Prime Minister and was named as the special envoy of the four major powers mediating Middle East peace. His former finance minister, Gordon Brown, has now stepped up to the role of Prime Minister. One of things Blair is allowed to do as he steps down is give a list of recommended resignation honors bestowed as knighthoods and ladyships. The Queen takes this list and makes the final decision.

So who did Blair name? Everyone’s favorite Spice Girl…Victoria Beckham! It seems it’s all about the Spice Girls these days, with the official announcement of their reunion tour, the parenthood of Scary Spice’s baby, and of course, the paparazzi delight that is Victoria, David, and the clan’s big move to LA.

I’m a little surprised at this. While I do like Victoria, I don’t know if I think she’s ladyship worthy…I mean, yes, she brings a very public eye to Britain, but without David Beckham, would she still be all that popular? She tried her hand at being a solo singer, and had a little bit of success in the UK, but over here in Canada I never heard anything about it at the time, though I do recall her (lip) singing on American Idol at one point, many moons ago. Her sense of fashion has always made her stand out in my mind, but there are a lot of fashionable ladies. She just had her new fashion line of jeans and sunglasses released recently in New York. Victoria has also wrote/co-wrote two books, one autobiography called Learning to Fly, and one fashion book called That Extra Half Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between.

I just don’t know if I see it. Wonder what the Queen will think. What do you think?

Picture note by Celebitchy: Here are photos from the arrivals at the Spice Girls press conference today. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Pretty on the Outside
- From the Sketchbook of Paris Hilton [Pretty on the Outside]
- The uninteresting blob of flesh [Gallery of the Absurd]
- Plenty of evidence that Paris Hilton does drugs [CityRag]
- Paris is moving to Malibu for the summer. That graffiti on her front entrance must have driven her away. [Socialite’s Life]
- Daisy Fuentes bikini pictures (site NSFW) [Drunken Stepfather]
- Posh spent half a million on a machine that catalogues your clothes and also shows you how you look from the back. I swear the Beckhams are going to go broke soon [DListed]
- Nicole Richie says she’s not anorexic or a good role model [I’m Not Obsessed]
- Ratatouille is quite a good film [Pajiba]
- The Kim Kardashian over-exposure campaign continues [Bastardly]
- Kim Kardashian gained weight [The Skinny Website]
- Lindsay Lohan had cocaine in her system when she crashed her car [ICYDK]
- Really expensive nipple stimulators, but they also come with lip plumper [Make Her Up]
- Alicia Silverstone has bad skin [IDLYITW]
- John Stamos: Drunk, High or Jetlagged? [Evil Beet]
- Eva Mendes banned her dad from watching her sex scene [The Blemish]
- David Duchovny why don’t you love me? Because you’re into nuns and married women. Hey, I qualify. [Agent Bedhead]
- Buy Paris Hilton’s trash [Hollywood Rag]
- Heidi Klum and Seal share a kiss while their kids are minded by three different nannies [Crazy Days and Nights]
- Coco and Ice T are going to get their own reality show soon [Bossip]
- Britney Spears is busting out all over [Celebslam]
- Britney Spears is scared to perform live [PopSugar]
- Oprah to open a store in Chicago because there’s not enough crap with her name on it [Gabsmash]
- When dumb people do stupid stunts [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]
- Britanny Murphy thinks someone kidnapped her con man boyfriend when he was actually in jail [Derek Hail]
- Brooke Burke in a pink bikini [The Grumpiest]
- Benecio Del Toro, mountain man [CelebWarship]

I need to take some time off today, although hopefully Helen and/or Rose will be around. Thanks for understanding and if I’m not around later have a great weekend!
Here are some other excellent blogs where you can get your gossip fix:

DListed
I’m Not Obsessed
In Case You Didn’t Know
Socialite’s Life
Bastardly
Celebslam
The Blemish
Just Jared
Bossip
ONTD
Evil Beet
Agent Bedhead
Derek Hail
Celebrity Baby Scoop
Hollywood Rag
PopSugar
Mollygood

An anchor on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show, Mika Brzezinski, said she would not cover Paris Hilton as the lead story on Tuesday and that the story that the Senate and House are calling for downsizing in the war in Iraq should be the lead. Her opposition to covering the story seemed believable until she whipped out a lighter and tried to burn the script, which no news reporter at that level would ever do if they wanted to keep their job. Of course her co-anchor stopped her before she could burn it, and she overacted by ripping it up.

Maybe the MSNBC people got wind of the fact that US Weekly isn’t covering Paris this week, and figured if a gossip rag put a moratorium on Paris stories they better make it seem like a least one of their reporters disagrees with giving her so much airtime.

Rawstory reports that anchor Brzezinski pulled this same stunt an hour later, and took the next script to the shredder.

A lot of commentors here have noted Paris overload, and we’re a gossip blog. US Weekly says that if Paris gets pregnant she could possibly get a cover story. Maybe she’ll follow her frenemy Nicole Richie’s lead and get knocked up soon. After all, it’s a good PR strategy.

Thanks to Raw Story for this story.