Oprah took a hint from Ellen DeGeneres on Sunday and tearfully apologized to the parents at her South African girls school, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Accusations came to light a few weeks ago that one of the dorm matrons had abused several of the girls – at least one by fondling her. The matron is also accused of screaming at the girls and grabbing one by the throat. One of the girls reported the matron to the CEO of the school, John Samuel, who chose to ignore the allegations. It all came to light when one of the girls (it’s not clear if it was the same girl or a different one) ran away from the school because the abuse had gotten so bad. She reported the incidents to her family, which brought it to authorities – and Oprah’s – attention.

She wanted only to give underprivileged African girls a chance at a better life. But a tearful Oprah Winfrey begged for forgiveness Sunday from students’ parents at her all-girls academy, currently reeling from allegations of abuse.

“I’ve disappointed you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” the talk-show queen told families in an emergency meeting at the South African school in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, the South African news site News24.com reported.

Oprah had canceled all appointments and flew to South Africa twice in the past few weeks after allegations of abuse.

Winfrey, who has spoken openly about being abused as a child, gave the girls her personal telephone number, her e-mail address and her mailing address so that they could contact her around the clock, according to local media.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy opened in January to provide quality education to underprivileged girls.

Surrounded by high-profile guests including Nelson Mandela, Oprah described the day the $46 million school opened as “the proudest, greatest day of my life and a dream come true.”

[From People]

I would guess that Oprah feels especially terrible since she’s an abuse survivor. From a previous article, it seems this past trip to South Africa is actually Oprah’s third – not her second – in recent weeks. It seems like she’s taking the whole thing very seriously, and has suspended the CEO (and the matron of course). It’s hard to be completely hands-on when the school is on the other side of the world, but hopefully Oprah will figure out a way to make sure employees are monitored much closer. I would assume any boarding school would need to be extra careful about that, since children don’t see their families as often and employees have much greater access to innocent kids.

One of the downsides of celebrity is everyone not just noticing but also commenting on your every little pound. Add a few and you’re pregnant or fat (sometimes both depending on the article). Drop a few and you’re anorexic. It seems Catherine Zeta-Jones has dropped a few from her normally slightly curvy frame, and everyone’s making a thing out of it. I say “slightly curvy” meaning she wasn’t one of those pin-thin-without-boobs-or-ass actresses, not as a euphemism for fat.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is brushing off questions about her recent weight loss, saying she’s merely exercising and eating well to keep her svelte figure.

The actress told PEOPLE she laughed when her husband, Michael Douglas, informed her that reports had surfaced suggesting she had an eating disorder. “Michael was laughing at me. He told me what [people had] said – that stories say I’m anorexic. Do I look anorexic?” she told PEOPLE Saturday at the Savannah Film Festival. “How could I ever, ever be anorexic?”

The actress, who joined her husband and their two children, Dylan, 7, and Carys, 4, at the Savannah College of Art and Design’s 10th Annual Savannah Film Festival where Douglas was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for acting, said that her eating habits have simply changed a little.

In the past she was a “bread girl,” she said, adding, “I looooove bread.”
 But these days, “I’m just working out and not chomping down what I usually chomp down.”

Zeta-Jones, wearing a black strapless dress at a festival afterparty, said she’s concerned about the attention on women’s weight. “There are many women [who are] maybe a little fragile, and it becomes a huge issue.”

[From People]

Catherine Zeta-Jones has an amazing body and she definitely doesn’t look anorexic to me. Though Nicole Richie could have said that halfway through her weight loss and I would have believed her too. Losing weight certainly doesn’t indicate an eating disorder in and of itself, especially if that weight loss is due to healthier eating habits. It just gives us something to speculate about. Now if the bones of her back are all visible in a few months, then there’s something to talk about. I feel badly though – women always feel like they’re under the microscope in terms of their weight – I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to try to be healthier, and then have papers writing that you’re sick.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Catherine at the “No Reservations” New York Movie Premiere on July 25th. Images thanks to PR Photos. Header image from the third annual ‘A Fine Romance’ benefit on October 10th. She’s definitely lost a little weight, but nothing dramatic.

Heather Mills is the grownup version of that loser kid in high school that would do anything to be popular, but couldn’t quite pull it off. You know the one you’d smile and nod at whatever she said (she was normally yammering on about horses or something) and then you’d go back to making out with your boyfriend in the janitor’s closet while she talked about her equestrian-themed birthday party. Well that girl grew into Heather Mills. Yeah she’s got (or is getting) some money, so you’ve got to give her props for doing well for herself, everything considered. But she’s still so painfully, obviously insecure that it’s almost uncomfortable to be around her for more than two minutes. So she gives out horses and champagne and tries to buy your respect.

The Disney bash saw Cinderella, Tinker Bell and Snow White actors entertaining 60 kids. A cinema, fountains, trampolines and bouncy castles were erected at Mucca’s [Paul McCartney’s] £3.2million pad in Robertsbridge, East Sussex. Sir Paul McCartney, 65, paid a fleeting visit on Saturday. But he left after 20 minutes – as he can’t stand Heather’s family. A source said: “Beatrice is Paul’s world and there was no way he wasn’t going to be there. But he doesn’t get on with Heather’s family.”

Beatrice also got a pony, but the day was not entirely hers. Heather, 39, who has rejected a £50million [$100 million] divorce settlement from Sir Paul, threw a black tie and champagne evening party for more than 100 guests. But all mobile phones were confiscated – to stop pictures leaking out. The evening was topped off with a £10,000 fireworks display. The source said: “It was one hell of a party and cost a fortune. To Heather that amount is small change. Some guests took home champagne and wine but it’s peanuts to her. She just wants to be popular.”

[From The Sun]

I wish I were rich or famous or at least incredibly awesome so Heather Mills would try to buy my love and loyalty with fancy parties and expensive gifts. I never really wanted a pony – I didn’t get anything beyond a hedgehog and a goldfish, so a pony seemed like pushing it – but I can totally be bribed with one now. Can you imagine all the guests wandering home from Heather Mills’ party on their drunk ponies? Wait, the champagne was for the guests? Oops. Now there’s 100 drunk ponies wandering around the English countryside. PETA is going to be pissed.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Heather at the 2007 Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation Gala. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Ryan Gosling seems to be having a rough month. After his recent break up with Rachel McAdams he was reportedly fired from the set of “Lovely Bones.” Rumors began to fly as to the reason behind Peter Jackson’s replacement of Ryan.Weight issues and Peter’s reported dislike of Gosling began to run through the rumor mill. However, the truth according to Ryan is that he was simply too young for the part.

“The 26-year-old said his young age was behind the decision to replace him in the film, which is based on the book by Alice Sebold. [He told] Parade magazine: “The age of the character versus my real age was always a concern of mine. Peter and I tried to make it work and ultimately it just didn’t. I think the film is much better off with Mark Wahlberg in that role. Peter Jackson is an incredible filmmaker and I’m here to tell you that he has things up his sleeve that are going to blow people’s minds. I’m going to be the first person in line to buy tickets.”

[Digital Spy]

Mark Wahlberg has taken the reigns of the role. The premise is that the character a grieving father, Jack Salmon, who is dealing with the emotional trauma after his daughter is raped and murdered. Ryan insists that he and Peter Jackson are still on good terms.

Ryan was recently seen at West 14^th Street Urban Outfitters buying flannel shirts in bulk.

“He had the biggest shopping bag” and a “huge backpack” that kept setting off the store’s security alarm. When Gosling was finally let loose, a flirty shopper asked, “Trying to steal stuff?” - to which Gosling joked, “Yeah, a necklace.” A fellow shopper recounted.

Oh please say he isn’t running off into the mountains to become a hermit. He would be one sexy hermit though.

It looks like Nicole Richie is having trouble being true to her word and fighting her addictions. I know, I’ll wait while you pick up your jaw from the floor. Nicole vowed to Diane Sawyer that she had cleaned up her act due to her pregnancy. And we all know telling Diane Sawyer is pretty much the same thing as swearing on a revered, holy book. People expect you to stick with it.

Sounding neither defensive nor particularly alarmed, Richie, 25, said, “Just like any mother, you know, you want to take the best care of yourself, especially while you’re pregnant. And I’m definitely eating healthier now, and I’m really playing by the rules.”

By that, Richie said, “I do not drink caffeine at all, cut out sushi” – and, in response to questions from Sawyer, who had also mentioned Richie’s cocaine and heroin use – “No alcohol … No marijuana … No pills … Nothing … No smoking around me.”

[From People]

So that all sounds good. Sounds like Nicole Richie is thinking about someone besides herself and being relatively nice, normal and sane about the whole thing. Except that it was all bull.

MOMMY-to-be Nicole Richie. 3:30 p.m. Pony tail, black jeans, waistcoat. Exits DaSilvano with one young girl, one middle-age lady. On the sidewalk, after checking who’s at which outdoor tables, she lights up. They jump into a waiting black Caddy Escalade, Nicole into the front seat. Still smoking.

Three days later, 7:30 p.m., Nobu. For somebody who doesn’t eat, she sure frequents lots of restaurants. She’s there with the baby in the bun’s father. They leave. Outside she lights up again

[From the New York Post]

I’m sure it sucks to quit smoking, and I would bet it’s a lot harder when you’re pregnant and having a ton of cravings and/or mood swings to deal with. But I can’t imagine anytime where it would be more imperative to slap on a Nicoderm patch and do your best. I guess it’s possible Nicole was doing her best and just couldn’t quit, but from most reports about her personality, she’s not exactly the most mature, kind, or nice individual. The kind of rude and inappropriate comments she says to people make Paris Hilton look like Miss Manners. Something tells me that she hasn’t suddenly matured like she wants everyone to think. I’m kinda worried that in about a year everyone will be comparing her parenting to Whitney Bears. Except Nicole’s kids will probably already be able to give the paps the middle finger while lighting up a Newport Light.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header image of Nicole arriving to a surprise baby shower for her at Katsuya restaurant in Hollywood yesterday. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

My favorite Gap sweat-shirt was probably made by a child working endlessly to sew and stitch. It makes me sick to think that child labor still exists, but the truth of the matter is that it does and probably always will. So the question remains as to why Gap appears to still be using children to crank out clothing….again.

“Exposed by an undercover Observer investigation in the back streets of New Delhi, reveal a tragic consequence of the West’s demand for cheap clothing. It exposes how, despite Gap’s rigorous social audit systems launched in 2004 to weed out child labour in its production processes, the system is being abused by unscrupulous subcontractors. The result is that children, in this case working in conditions close to slavery, appear to still be making some of its clothes.”

[Observer]

While a Gap policy forbids children to work - if a child is found working they are to be removed, put in school, paid and guaranteed a job at reaching the legal working age. However, The Observer has found that kids are still being sold into bonded labor by their families. The kids reportedly work at least 16 hours a day. The sweatshop was discovered and Gap immediately promised to remove all clothing that may have been made by children in sweat shops and an investigation is being done. Gap’s ties to the Indian industry are cited as a possible source of the labor violation. India is estimated to be responsible for cranking out 20% off their gross national product at the hand of children aged 5 to 14.

Many celebs have lent their good name to the brand. Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker and Claire Danes have all been a part of the Gap ads. Last year Gap teamed up with U2 singer Bono to create “Product Red.” Fellow star powered celebs like Don Cheadle, Lenny Kravitz and Mary J Blige, Steven Spielberg and Penelope Cruz all lent their name to fight AIDS and poverty in third world areas. It is a possibility that the line was made by children being hidden in “sacks and in carefully concealed mezzanine floors designed to dodge raids.”

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Claire Danes and Patrick Wilson for Gap’s “Boyfriend Trouser” ad. Header image of Sarah Jessica Parker in the Gap “How Do You Wear It?” ad campaign.

Neither Christina or Jennifer Lopez has actually confirmed their pregnancy rumors. It is painfully obvious that they both are packing some fierce baby bumps. Privacy is hot commodity in Hollywood and runs in short supply. But the rumor mill spares no one. The latest on Baby-Watch ‘07 is that they are both carrying twins.

“Damien Fahey told Us that her condition was obvious. “I’ve been around a lot of pregnant women. She walked around like a pregnant woman, sat like a pregnant woman and stood like a pregnant woman,” he says. “If I were a betting man, I’d definitely bet she was pregnant.” Indeed, Us has confirmed from multiple sources that Lopez is about four months pregnant with her first child. Or children – a source tells Us Lopez’s mother, Guadalupe, 61, “is proudly telling people she’s having twins.”

[US Magazine]

I hardly believe any of the twin theory. Being that we have no idea how far along they are it is difficult to make a judgment when it comes to the size of the bump in relation to carrying twins. It is also unlikely that J.Lo’s momma would be dim enough to go around announcing the pregnancy status.

The NY Daily News made a brief blurb stating that:

“Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman could be doubling their family. A reliable source says she’s expecting twins.”

It is one of those things that appear to be coaxing the stars to clear up the confusion. Or maybe they are taking a shot in the dark and hoping it is true. Then again, I could state that I was a size 4 with a killer rack and I can spit gold, but it doesn’t make it true.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Christina Aguilera out shopping at ‘Design Within Reach’ with her very prominent baby bump accentuated by her horizontal striped dress on October 17th. Image thanks to WENN. Header with Jennifer Lopez at MTV’s TRL on October 8th. Image thanks to PR Photos.

I’m pretty much convinced that Brad Pitt can pull of any movie role and still look sexy. The guy from Legends of the Fall? Sexy. Thelma & Louise? Sexy. Unabomber Ted Kaczynski? Still sexy. I mean a little less so – what with the aviator shades and the hood – but hot, nonetheless. Brad’s production company “Plan B” is currently considering a script about the Unabomber. And though they point out that the company makes films in which Brad does not star, let’s be honest here: he’d be the Unabomber. Because no one could bring sex appeal to sweats and scruff like Brad Pitt.

Would Brad Pitt be a convincing Unabomber? His production company, Plan B, is considering a biopic about Ted Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated, manifesto-scribbling, beard-sporting, imprisoned-for-life terrorist who killed three and wounded 23 with his letter bombs. The manhunt for Kaczynski was one of the most expensive in FBI history. There’s also a family angle to a potential film: It was Ted’s brother, David Kaczynski, an anti-death-penalty activist, who ultimately turned him in to the authorities. Pitt’s publicist, Cindy Guagenti, confirms that Plan B is “looking at” a Unabomber script, but stresses that the production company is not yet involved in a formal way. “It’s not a project they’ve taken on yet,” she says. “It’s something they’re looking at.” She adds that Plan B’s execs get “a million scripts thrown at them” and not always for Pitt. “He doesn’t star in everything they produce, clearly.” If it does happen, it won’t be soon. “He’s got so many movies lined up,” she says.

[From New York Magazine]

Plan B is the company that Brad and Jennifer Aniston started together when they were married, and they both still have a stake in it – though it doesn’t appear they ever work together on the same projects in front of or behind the camera. I think a Unabomber film could be pretty interesting. Enough time has passed where it’s no longer quite the sensitive issue that it once was. But there’s a lot the general public doesn’t know about Ted Kaczynski, and it could make for a good film. Plus Brad Pitt trudging around a mountain all scruffy, pounding out angry letters on his old typewriter with the funky “i” key? That’s hot.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Brad and Angie at the “Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford” - New York City Movie Premiere. Image thanks to PR Photos.

Surly Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger seemed like a paparazzi-hating match made in heaven, but their three year relationship was over by the end of this summer. They have a two year old daughter, Matilda, and it seems like they are sharing custody as Heath has been seen out with her since their split.

There’s been news that Heath has been trying to score all over NY, and now Michelle Williams is said to be in a new relationship with Junebug director Phil Morrison:

Michelle Williams has found comfort in the arms of Junebug director Phil Morrison. The longtime friends “are being cautious. because they know Michelle is just coming off a serious relationship - but it’s hard to take things slow when you’re having so much fun,” says a friend of the couple.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, November 5, 2007]

The NY Post reports today and Michelle is looking to move out of the brownstone in Brooklyn that she shared with Heath and their daughter. It is said to be too big for just her and the two year-old:

FAMED Brooklyn resident Michelle Williams may be leaving her outer-borough followers in the dust. Williams was recently overheard telling friends she was considering a move to Manhattan, now that her cad of an ex, Heath Ledger, the father of her daughter, Matilda, has shipped off to SoHo. “The Brooklyn brownstone is too big for just her and the baby,” our tipster said of the actress’ Cobble Hill place.

[From NYPost.com]

At least she’s not moving in with the guy already, or maybe she is and that’s why she wants to get rid of her old place.

27 year-old Williams has four movies coming out in the next year, according to IMDB. She will next appear in the thriller The Tourist with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackson. I was thinking that she might have hooked up with Morrison to get some choice parts, but unlike Rose McGowan’s relationship with Robert Rodriguez, their relationship might be driven more by genuine feeling rather than lusty ambition. While Williams’ career is doing well, Morrison only has a few films to his credit. His last two projects were 2005’s Junebug and Perfect Partner.

Michelle Williams is shown at the NY Film Festival on 10/4/07, thanks to PRPhotos. Picture of Phil Morrison below thanks to Jim Emerson’s blog.

Those young royals are always getting themselves into trouble. Whether it’s Prince Harry snorting alcohol, feeling up random girls’ boobs (alright I guess I should correct that based on the picture: feeling up random girls’ implants), or injecting the blood of kittens directly into his veins, there’s always something raunchy going on. Okay I’m not sure you can inject the blood of kittens into your veins – or that it would do anything if you did – but I also didn’t know you could snort alcohol, and Prince Harry definitely did that. So he’s probably up on some other things I don’t know about too.

The latest royal debacle takes it up a notch: one of the younger royals has been blackmailed over a sex tape. Well, a tape that discusses sex. But the press is calling it a sex tape because that’s more sensational, so I’m going to follow their blatantly irresponsible lead. The tape involves an aid to one of the young royals, who discusses having sex with said royal, and then does a line of coke. The coke was supposedly supplied by the royal. The police won’t say which kid it is, though the coke makes one think of Prince Harry. However an article mentions both the princes and their cousin, Zara Phillips as well as Lord Frederick Windsor. Then it goes on to say it’s definitely not either of the princes. I don’t really buy that, but I’m not going to piss off the royal family by claiming otherwise.

Two men, were arrested and charged with blackmail over the incident. Socialite Ian Strachan and Sean McGuigan were charged at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Strachan claims to be somewhat connected to the royal family.

On September 11, the two men arranged to meet their source at London’s Hilton Hotel to negotiate the sale of the material, but were instead met by undercover police who promptly arrested them. A police source said: “We were contacted by the staff of a member of the royal family who said they were being targeted by extortionists. “After discussions with the royal and staff we began a covert operation. Phone calls involving the alleged blackmailers were recorded. It culminated last month in the alleged extortionists attending a meeting at a Mayfair hotel with an undercover officer. The meeting was recorded on audio tape and film.

“After a discussion between the police officer and the men, a pre-arranged signal was given and other officers moved in to arrest them. A mobile phone containing images was seized. Several addresses in west London were searched.” Strachan told his lawyers he has met Princes William and Harry twice, as well as Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Phillips and Lord Frederick Windsor.

Stachan’s lawyer denies his client has ever blackmailed a royal family member. He said: “At no time did my client call the royal household. He in fact called the private business office of the individual concerned. My client denies that he asked for any money and that it was in fact the office of the individual concerned who first offered money.” The alleged royal is not a senior member of the family, is yet to perform royal duties and is definitely not William or Harry.

[From Monsters & Critics]

My money’s still on Harry, regardless of the denials. Though I don’t know a thing about the characters of Zara Phillips or Lord Frederick Windsor. Zara Phillips is Princess Anne’s (Prince Charles’s sister) daughter, an acclaimed equestrian, and involved with multiple charities. According to Wikipedia, Frederick Windsor is an “English financial analyst who is the only son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. In 1999, Lord Frederick admitted experimenting with cocaine. ‘I admit it is true,’ he said. ‘It is very difficult to avoid getting into this sort of thing when you move in these circles, but I don’t blame anyone else for the incident.’” So that makes him a likely candidate, but I’m still putting my money on Harry. If it were Lord Frederick, I really doubt it would have gotten so much attention. But I guess time will tell.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Zara Phillips at the 2012 Olympic Site in East London on September 25th. Image thanks to PR Photos.