I live in Europe, so I don’t watch American television yet, (although I’m trying to get JayBird to install one of those Slingbox devices so I can.) Right now I’m on “vacation” in the states, though, and my mother loves Dancing with the Stars and we watched a couple of episodes, fast forwarding through the results episode because they just drag that shit out as long as possible.

The show is quite entertaining, and it’s easy to see how people get hooked. When excellent dancer and Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan was eliminated in an upset last week, I suspected that she was involved with her partner, because of the way he was clinging to her and she called him “baby” all romantic-like. Sabrina and her partner, Mark Ballas, are indeed dating, with Sabrina confirming their romance to TVGuide, saying that “I always call him ‘Baby Marky.’ I absolutely love and adore him.” She also said they were going out on a date the next day. Sabrina and Mark were spotted out at Hollywood hotspot Hyde, and TMZ has video of a photographer asking them when they’re getting married, with Sabrina answering “August of 08.”

With all the attention and fame that comes with competing on the dance show, many c and d-listers are vying for a place. Tori Spelling is said to be anxious to appear next season, and to follow her 90210 cast mates, Jennie Garth and Ian Ziering’s, lead. The thing is, she’s also gunning for her husband, Dean McDermott, to be on the show, and since he’s only known as Mr. Tori Spelling, producers don’t want to take him on:

[Tori Spelling] is campaigning to be on next season’s Dancing with the Stars after seeing how it helped Beverly Hills 90210 pals Jennie Garth and Ian Ziering. “She is hoping it will open doors,” says an insider. “At the very least, she can earn some money from touring with the dancers after the show. She’s the breadwinner in her family and needs to keep her career alive.” There’s just one hitch - Tori has hinted that she wants her husband, Dean McDermott, on the show. The show’s producers “don’t want Dean at all,” adds the source.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, November 12, 2007]

I can see Tori appearing on the show, but she seems so gawky to me that you wouldn’t expect her to get the hang of it. Maybe it’s just her um, features, that give you that impression and she could be a surprisingly good dancer.

Jane Seymour and her partner were eliminated from last night’s Dancing with The Stars, with Jennie Garth also in the bottom two. Four couples remain on the show, Melanie B and Makshim, Helio Castroneves and Julianne, Jennie Garth and Derek, Marie Osmond and Jonathan, and Cameron Mathison and Edyta. Marie Osmond was absent from last night’s results show due to the death of her father. Jane Seymour also missed a results show in week two due to her mother’s death that day.

Nearly 50 million people watched the premiere of Dancing With The Stars this season, so you can see how the show appeals to minor celebrities like Tori.

Tori and Dean are shown on 9/28/07 in Vegas before Tori’s appearance with The Pussycat Dolls.

Paul McCartney isn’t sitting at home brooding over his high-profile divorce with batshit crazy Heather Mills. Heather is trying to ratchet up the crazy, squawking new allegations that Paul hasn’t defended her to the press and claiming to have a tape of Paul admitting to have hit his former beloved wife, Linda. Paul is sending Heather the message that he’s above all that and won’t let what people say about him interfere with his life. He has been spotted on all sorts of romantic dates and outings with his married American neighbor from the Hamptons, Nancy Shevell, 47:

In new photos published this week in Britain (and splashed across the New York papers Wednesday morning), McCartney, 65, is pictured kissing Nancy Shevell, an American whom the papers described as a new love interest. The photos show the couple walking along a windswept beach, sharing a coffee break and deep in discussion on a sidewalk in the Hamptons, where both Shevell and McCartney have mansions.

A source tells PEOPLE: “They have known each other for a while. They are just friends.”

Shevell, who’s separated from her husband, is a 47-year-old mother of one and a vice president at the New England Motor Freight, Inc. Earlier in the week, The Sun published a photo of McCartney leaving Top Drawer Lingerie shop in East Hampton last Saturday, with his hood up and clutching a bag.

[From People.com]

Belying the “just friends” statement, Paul was photographed kissing Shevell and the two were shacked up in a London hotel together for two days while he was attending a divorce hearing. Her lawyer husband has also gone to the trouble of releasing a statement to let everyone know that they’re legally separated and that his wife isn’t officially cheating:

Nancy, 47, confirmed the separation from her wealthy lawyer husband Bruce Blakeman, 52, following the emergence of reports of her dates with the former Beatle including one liaison at a London hotel on the day of his High Court divorce hearing.

Previously known as Nancy Shevell Blakeman, she recently dropped her husband’s name and both have been seen without wedding rings.

Nancy, who is vice president of her wealthy family’s firm and a top New York City transport official, wed Mr Blakeman in 1984. The pair have a teenage son Arlen.
Mr Blakeman — a commissioner of the New York Port Authority and a partner in a top Big Apple law firm — also yesterday confirmed that he and Nancy had split.
He said: “My wife and I are legally separated at the moment.” He added in a statement: “The separation is amicable and mutual.”

[From The Daily Mail via Gossip Rocks]

Paul was most recently briefly linked to Renee Zellweger and was said to be in a relationship post-divorce with Guinness beer heiress Sabrina Guinness. Paul’s ex, Heather Mills, was said to be banging her much-younger personal trainer, but considering how off the rails she’s been she probably hasn’t taken her medication or been laid in quite a while. Not that getting laid is necessary for your sanity, just that no one wants to get with a woman who seems capable of pulling a Lorena Bobbitt for a minor perceived offense.

Here are pictures of new paparazzi target Nancy Shevell. She has probably been followed and photographed more in the past two days than she has her entire life, because just about all the photo agencies have pictures of her. She is shown out yesterday in NY, thanks to Splash News. Paul and Nancy are also shown on 7/4/07 outside a photography exhibit, so it seems like they’ve been enjoying each other’s company all summer. Thanks to PRPhotos for those images. Thanks to reader Alison for letting me know that those pictures were of Paul with his daughter, Mary. They have been removed.

Extreme mullet-wearing Dog The Bounty Hunter Chapman went on Hannity and Colmes on the Fox Channel last night to beg in his idiotic drug-addled logic for forgiveness for his racist tirade over the phone. It sounds like he saysh e was using the “n” word as “a brother to brother” despite the fact that he was using it to tell his son not to date a black woman.

This tearful confession made me lol several times, particularly when Chapman said that he thought he was able to “refer to them truly as a brother from a different mother”

I thought that I was cool enough in the black world to be able to use that word, as a brother to a brother. I’m not… I never realized that that’s like stabbing a black person in the heart. I would never do that to any kind of person. I’ve always taken pride to be the white guy that can talk to the black people, that can refer to them truly as a brother from a different mother (voice breaks)…

and I used to say ‘I’m Black Too,” my whole life I’ve been called a half breed, a convict, king of the trailer trash, this and that, I take that stand so when I stood there and said, ‘I kind of know what you feel like, cause I’ve been there too, that I felt like that I could embrace and as brothers, even as black women say the word…”

This is one of the hardest lessons ever I’ve learned in my life, even facing death. If I could kill myself and people would forgive me, I would do that. There’s no excuse. I’m guilty and I will take my punishment, but the end of what I said is that I will do everything that is in my power to make sure people have forgiven me.

Hannity: How old is this conversation?

This conversation was done in March, so eight months old.

Hannity: And how much did they pay your son for this

Well, I think they gave him $15,000 that the alleged rumor.

[Transcribed from the highlight video available on TMZ of Chapman's appearance on Hannity and Combs last night on Fox]

While it’s not funny that the guy says he would kill himself for forgiveness, you can tell by the way he’s wording his statements that he’s not going to shed his coat of slimy racism unless he undergoes serious therapy. He said “I would never do that to any kind of person” and he calls black people “them.” He also seems to gloss over the pain he caused others and to focus on how he’s feeling and how he wants forgiveness.

Here’s the video, thanks to TMZ:

And in case there was even a glimmer of hope for Dog’s career as a reality show star, The Enquirer has a story with quotes from many of his friends, family and past wives attesting to what a racist bastard he is. Plus there could be an upcoming story in the November 20th issue of the Enquirer stating that Dog is a current crack addict who is spending 2k a month on drugs. A commentor on TMZ posted the story, so I can’t yet verify it, but they supposedly interviewed his former dealer, who passed a lie detector test. I will have to verify if the story exists and update this post once more is known. The comment also contains a link to a site declaring Andrew Luster, the guy Chapman was arrested for capturing in Mexico, innocent, so it’s up to question, although the wording does sound exactly like The Enquirer.

Before this scandal came to light we posted a story from the Enquirer about Dog’s stepdaughter claiming that she used to get cocaine and hookers for him and that he pimped her out to pay a drug debt in the 90s. It could be true that someone is claiming he’s still doing crack, and it certainly seems plausible.

Thanks to reader Shawn for the tip.

Update: The story about Dog the Bounty Hunter currently being addicted to crack did not appear in the National Enquirer, and was a fabrication.

Good guy dad Mark Walhberg is said to have popped the question to the mother of his two children, model Rhea Durham. He bought her a huge 5-carat diamond ring and it sounds like he’s ready to make it official:

Mark Wahlberg… has decided to ask his longtime girlfriend, Rhea Durham - the mother of his two children, Ella 4, and Michael, 19 months - to marry him. According to a pal of the 36-year-old actor, he bought a $150,000, 5-carat diamond ring for Rhea, 29, on October 15. “He thinks it’s the right time,” says the pal. “They’ve been together for a long time, they have these great kids, and at heart, he’s a family man.”

[From In Touch, print edition, November 12, 2007]

Wahlberg has replaced Ryan Gosling as the greiving father in The Lovely Bones, (not because Gosling was too plump as I reported earlier, but because he had creative differences with Peter Jackson and was possibly too young) and serves as executive producer for several television series and films. He will appear in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, due out next summer, and is announced in two other films, the follow up to The Italian Job, The Brazilian Job, and as boxer “Irish” Micky Ward in The Fighter.

As Wahlberg’s career is taking off, it seems like he’s happy at home. He spoke proudly in an interview this spring about changing his son’s poopy diaper and playing horsie with his three year-old daughter. Walhberg is a devout Catholic with a rosary tattoo on his neck, and considering his faith it only seems likely that he would marry the mother of his children.

Mark and Rhea are shown at the Oscars and in photos you may have already seen at the pumpkin patch on 10/14/07. Thanks to WENN.

George Clooney was out to dinner with his new cocktail waitress girlfriend and Fear Factor winner, Sarah Larson, in L.A. last Friday. 48 year Italian model Fabio was at the next table with a group of women, and one of them started taking pictures. Clooney got all upset thinking they were taking pictures of him, and Fabio told him not to be a diva. The two started arguing, then Clooney got up, said the F word and started pushing Fabio. Since Fabio is 6′3″ tall and Clooney is 5′11″ it could have ended badly for George:

According to numerous eyewitnesses, Clooney, assuming the woman was taking snaps of him, asked her to stop - prompting Fabio to explain that the shots were of his group, not Clooney, and to tell the superstar, “Stop being a diva.” Clooney started arguing back, and he and Fabio then got into a shoving match. “The waiters broke it up before it got out of hand,” a witness told In Touch. Clooney then paid his check and left before finishing his meal. According to another In Touch witness, Ron Marotto, “George looked annoyed when Fabio went to his table. George stood up, dropped the F-bomb and then went to push him . . . George was drinking . . . He wasn’t drunk, but he certainly wasn’t stone sober, either.” Fabio’s manager told the magazine, “George is lucky he didn’t end up in the ER.” Clooney’s rep declined to comment to Page Six.

[From PageSix via WeSmirch]

I love how Fabio’s rep says Clooney could have ended up in the ER, har har. In Touch sheds more light onto why Clooney may have been suspicious of the woman taking pictures - she was a professional photographer and Clooney probably recognized her high end equipment. Fabio is also an AV enthusiast, and Wikipedia quotes him as telling Stuff Magazine this year that he’s into gadgets.

As for Fabio’s career, he hasn’t really become the action hero he was hoping and has had to settle for dabbling in different fields. He was wildly successful with a line of women’s outerwear he designed for Sam’s Clubs in 2003, and has done plenty of TV talkshow and magazine interviews. Maybe this amusing fight with Clooney will help raise his profile a bit. Fabio certainly comes off as the less aggressive party in reports of the incident.

Fabio is shown on 9/4/07, thanks to WENN. Clooney is shown on 10/31/07 filming Burn After Reading, thanks to Splash News. 48 year-old Fabio still looks hot to me. Clooney is 46, and although he’s at a disadvantage in this photo because he’s sporting that beard and outfit for a role, I have to declare Fabio the winner in the looks department.

Nick Hogan, the spoiled/brat/jerk/self-centered/all-around-terrible-person/son of Hulk Hogan has finally been arrested and charged after causing a serious accident while drag racing in Florida. The accident left his passenger, 22-year-old John Graziano, in a coma. Doctors said the best recovery Graziano can expect is to someday be able to blink his eyes. Hogan walked away from the accident with relatively minor injuries, including a broken arm and a few broken ribs. He crashed his Toyota Supra into a palm tree. Hogan also has a long history of pretty extreme speeding tickets – even though he’s only 17.

The 17-year-old Hogan Knows Best star, who appeared on the reality show with his wrestling superstar father, Hulk Hogan, has been arrested on several criminal charges, including third-degree felony reckless driving involving serious bodily injury, stemming from an August car crash that left his passenger in critical condition.

Police also cited the younger Hogan, whose real name is Nick Bollea, for use of a motor vehicle in commission of a felony, being under the age of 21 and operating a vehicle with a breath-alcohol level of 0.02 percent or higher and illegal window tint.

Hogan turned himself in to authorities at 9:48 a.m. Wednesday, hours after police in Clearwater issued a warrant for his arrest upon the completion of an “extensive investigation” into the wreck by a team of four officers. He is currently being booked on the charges at the Pinellas County Jail.

[From E! News]

Is it weird that I whooped, hollered, and did that stupid “raise the roof” dance move when I read all those charges? I personally take a lot of credit for the arrests. Okay not really. But we stayed on Nick Hogan because of the giant, irresponsible douche bag that he is. And the investigation did take so long that we were starting to wonder if anything would happen. Without being privy to all the details, it does seem like they charged Hogan with everything they could. I mean they charged him with overly-tinted windows. Hopefully they’ll find a pair of fuzzy dice that were likely obstructing his view, and he’ll get in trouble for that, too.

The Hogans released a statement that puts to rest any doubt we had about whether or not they feel Nick did anything wrong or should be held accountable for his (criminal) actions.

“Nick and the entire ‘Hogan’ Bollea family are saddened that criminal charges have been filed in regards to the tragic single car accident on August 26, 2007,” the family said in a statement. “Nick will meet and answer these charges in the appropriate arena—a court of law.”

“The family’s primary focus and concern still remains for the continued recovery of Nick’s longtime friend John Graziano,” they said. “The Bolleas will also continue to stand by the Graziano family and help them in any way they can.”

“There has been much speculation as to the wet road conditions surrounding this accident. Although the evidence has not been evaluated, preliminary reports from the experts indicate that this was not, in fact, a high-speed accident.”

“The tragedy to both families is compounded by the fact that unfortunately John was not wearing his seatbelt. Thankfully, Nick was wearing his. Because of what happened to John, the entire Bollea family will make it a priority to increase public awareness about the importance of always wearing your seatbelt.”

[From E! News]

Wow. So to sum up paragraph one, the Hogans are sad that their son committed a crime and will have to face consequences for it. Apparently because he was in a single car accident, that somehow makes it less important to them – even though another person – John Graziano - will likely no longer have a quality life, and possibly live in constant pain. Paragraph two lets us know that all the Hogans care about is the Grazianos, and helping them, even though they’ve never made any public statement about John until today. I’m guessing the families have come to a private financial agreement, since no lawsuits have been filed. Paragraph three gives us a new box of bull and tells us that it was not their son’s drag racing that caused the crash, but the wet roads. You know what the rule is about wet roads? You slow down. Because they might lead to an crash, and it’s still your fault. And paragraph four wraps up by letting us know it was ultimately Graziano’s fault for not wearing a seatbelt. Not their son’s fault for speeding, racing, or driving like a moron. If there were a paragraph five, it would involve a narration of me finding the Hogans and hitting each of them over the head with a very large mallet.

Hopefully Nick Hogan will do some jail/prison time, and will have his driver’s license suspended indefinitely.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s a picture of John Graziano, a US Marine who returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq last October. Header image of Hogan’s crash in August.

Paris Hilton Is A Painkiller… probably from all the vicodin she eats for breakfast [Dlisted]
Akon a polygamist? [Bossip]
“Samantha Who?” is Better Than a Kick in the Teeth! [Pajiba]
Rihanna feels up a girl… but who amongst us can honestly say they don’t do that now and then? [Celebslam]
Britney Spears Ordered to Pay K-Fed’s Bills [Yeeeah!]
Carrie Underwood At The CMA Awards [I'm Not Obsessed]
Eva Mendes Campari 2008 Calendar Photoshoot [The Bastardly]
Would you like to own Neverland Ranch!? [In Case You Didn't Know]
Heidi Klum Reliving The Past (Site NSFW) [Drunken Stepfather]
Britney Spears is Mentally Disturbed… yeah because we needed an expert to tell us that [Hollywood Rag]
Jordan is not afraid to die anymore [Seriously? OMG! WTF?]
Songs That You Never Want Stuck In Your Head [Agent Bedhead]
Jessica Biel fights back [The Blemish]
Celebrity Nip Slips and the Flash Effect [CityRag]
Random Celeb Photos [Crazy Days and Nights]
Fergie Belongs to Armani for One Night Only [Popsugar]
Gemma Atkinson Models Ultimo Lingerie [The Grumpiest]
Guy’s Lap Enjoys Hilary’s Duff [CelebNewsWire]
Steve Carrell Refuses to Cross Picket Lines! [Evil Beet]
Josh Duhamel is still really, really hot [Gabsmash]
Avril Lavigne fans: the princess is hitting the road for a world tour [CelebWarship]
Britney Spears Cried Uncontrollably [I Don't Like You In That Way]
Love In The Time Of Cholera Supports Barefoot Children [Glitterati Gossip]
Jack Nicholson, Daughter Lorraine & Bruce Willis At The Lakers Game [Celebrity Baby Scoop]
Is Angelina too close to her bodyguard? [Popbytes]
Jane Seymour Kicked Off “Dancing with the Stars” [A Socialite's Life]
Angelina Jolie’s Cup of Joe [Just Jared]
Beyonce’s Ass is Under Control [Egotastic!]
Michael Jackson’s back [Lifeline Live]
Striking Writers From The Office Make Protest Hilarious [Best Week Ever]

Rosie O’Donnell’s last gig at “The View” didn’t exactly last a long time – nine months was about all she could take. Though as many who worked with her reported, it was about all anyone else could take of her, too. The opinionated comedian/actress/TV host clashed both on and off screen with many people she worked with – and supposedly not just over her political opinions. She was generally considered to be a bit of a self-righteous diva, and clashed with Barbara Walters over her behavior on several occasions. Current rumblings have O’Donnell considering signing a deal with prestigious MSNBC for her own show, which would go head to head with CNN’s “Larry King Live” and Fox’s “Hannity & Colmes.” That’s some pretty serious competition.

Even though much is being made of MSNBC’s ”left-leaning” slant in its nighttime programming, thanks to the constant President Bush-bashing from Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews and Dan Abrams, a few network insiders say the expected signing of Rosie O’Donnell by the cable network has even some staunch liberals at MSNBC a bit worried.

O’Donnell’s ”loose cannon” reputation, reinforced during her nine-month stint on ”The View,” apparently is a key stumbling block as the comedian-turned-TV talker negotiates with the network. Showcasing alternative political viewpoints to the conservative opinions espoused by Fox News has helped boost MSNBC’s recent ratings, ”but we still get nervous when we think about Rosie,” an MSNBC source told me Tuesday.

Yet, given the big ratings boost O’Donnell gave to ”The View” during her tenure there, MSNBC is definitely interested in snaring her, the source said, ”as long as we have certain controls in place.” As for O’Donnell, a source close to her says the outspoken personality thinks it’s all pretty moot. ”Everyone in America knows where I stand as a liberal Democrat who can’t stand the fact George Bush is president,” the O’Donnell friend quotes her as saying about the MSNBC gig.

[From the Chicago Sun Times]

There’s no official word on what kind of show O’Donnell would have; mostly news, interview, celebrity, political, etc. I’d think a mix, though much is being made of her celebrity connections. Certainly she could beat Larry King, who’s been out of the game for years. His show is generally good for humor’s sake, though that’s not what he presumably intended. O’Donnell would likely be good for ratings, and she’s certainly been known to stir up a controversy or two. I would hope that she’d be able to rise above some of the petty squabbles of the past if she wants to be taken seriously and have a show that will make a real impact.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Rosie at the 207 Book Expo in New York City. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Christina Aguilera confirmed her pregnancy after it was painfully obvious, and now Jennifer Lopez has done the same. In Miami on the last night of her tour Wednesday night she told the crowd “we’re expecting.” She didn’t say when or how many, but she did explain why it took her so long to come out with the news. Lopez says she didn’t want fans worry about her while she was on tour:

”Marc and I are expecting,” she said as the crowd of 10,000 erupted.

Anthony then bent over and kissed his wife’s belly.

”I didn’t know she was going to talk,” Anthony said.

The 39-year-old star went on to say she had waited until the end of the couple’s concert tour in order to make the announcement because she didn’t want their fans to worry about her.

Throughout Wednesday night’s show, JLo joked with the crowd.

”You don’t mind if I catch my breath for a minute,” she said at one point, holding her belly.

[From the Miami Herald via WeSmirch]

Of course Lopez’s clothing designer, Roberto Cavalli, spilled the beans last week, saying that designing for Lopez was different from his everyday work because “she requests something very special because she is waiting for the baby.”

Like an excellent hairdresser, you’re not going to dump a clothing designer you depend on for talking a little smack and she surely forgave him.

Lopez and Anthony let the crowd know that they might stay out of the spotlight for once as Lopez completes her pregnancy. Lopez added “We’re going away for a while.” These two aren’t as overexposed as some, but that sounds like a very good idea. Stay tuned for the tabloids to run “J.Lo’s twins in danger!” headlines next week. They’ve already started speculating in earnest.

Thanks to Splash News for these photos of Lopez in concert last night.

Lindsay Lohan is negotiating a role on Ugly Betty that would have her befriending America Ferrera’s character. Lohan starts out working as an assistant manager at the fast food restaurant where Betty’s father is employed, and America tries to get her a job at Mode, the fashion magazine where she works.

“Everyone’s very excited,” the source said. “Of course it brings a lot of attention to the show, and it’s a great part for Lindsay.”

The role is apparently part of a three-episode arc during which Betty befriends Ms. Lohan’s character, who has fallen on tough times since high school. The ravishing redhead has had a difficult year herself, recently completing her latest stint in rehab at Utah’s Cirque Lodge after racking up two consecutive DUI’s this summer.

“It sounds really cute,” our spy burbled of the new opportunity, which of course might be jeopardized by the ongoing Writers Guild strike. “Betty tries to help Lindsay’s character by getting her a job at Mode, the fashion magazine where she works on the show.”

[From NYObserver.com]

There was a lot of hype over another celebrity’s scheduled appearance on the award-winning ABC comedy. Victoria Beckham has an upcoming cameo on Ugly Betty as herself. The episode will air tonight in the US.

Along with this possible role on Ugly Betty, Lohan has two movies coming up that you’ve already heard of. She’s working on Dare to Love Me now, and is set to film Poor Things. The film is in pre-production and is likely to be delayed by the writer’s strike.

Lindsay Lohan new boyfriend, Riley Giles, is being labeled a money-grubbing K-Fed type. A story came out earlier in the week that he posted an arrogant message on his myspace saying that Lohan’s mom had approached them to appear on her new reality show for the E! Network and that they wouldn’t consider it. Giles denies writing that blog post, and says he doesn’t even have a myspace:

It read, “ADVICE OF THE WEEK: if your (sic) a mom, with four kids, the best thing u can do for them right now is have a reality show. WE. DO. NOT. WANT. She had the nerve to ask us to be on. No thanks!”

But snowboarder Giles tells In Touch Weekly magazine, “I don’t even have MySpace. Someone is obviously pretending they are me.”

[From SFGate.com]

Myspace is such a pain in the ass, I barely check mine anymore. Facebook is the way to go and has no spam that I’ve experienced. I don’t blame the guy for not having a myspace.

Here’s Lohan out shopping yesterday looking particularly orange. Thanks to WENN for these photos.