iTrashTV.com - ET. -Gossip, Entertainment News & Videos: April 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Hugh Grant "Bean Rage" Against Paparazzo
Police are investigating reports that actor Hugh Grant was involved in "Bean Rage" incident in which he allegedly lashed out at a paparazzo with a tub of baked beans.
Grant and photographer Ian Whittaker reportedly clashed near the actor's west London home on Tuesday morning.
Whittaker told a tabloid newspaper Grant abused and kicked him before picking up a tub of beans and throwing them.
The newspaper published photographs apparently showing the alleged incident.
Whittaker was in the area to get pictures of Liz Hurley, Grant's former partner, who lives nearby.
The Metropolitan Police did not confirm the names of those involved in a statement, but said they were investigating an incident in west London.
Rosie O’Donnell’s turns down new contract on “The View” just like Star Jones did. ABC was unable to agree on a contract with the opinionated host, and she’ll leave the show in June.
O’Donnell said in a statement that “my needs for the future just didn’t dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me.”
“This has been an amazing experience,” she said, “and one I wouldn’t have traded for the world.”
O’Donnell has helped raise the ratings for the daytime chat show invented by Barbara Walters. But her outspokenness has caused constant controversy, including a nasty name calling feud with Donald Trump that placed Walters squarely in the middle.
In the Trump war of words, O’Donnell was reportedly mad that Walters did not come more swiftly to her defense, while Trump said Walters told him she didn’t want O’Donnell on the show, a claim Walters denied.
Despite controversy, or maybe because of it, O’Donnell was money for ABC, owned by the Walt Disney Co. Ratings for “The View” during February sweeps were up 15% in key women demographics over the same time in 2006.
Bill Carroll, an expert in the syndication market for Katz Television, was quoted as saying, "he’d be surprised if ABC didn’t try hard to keep O’Donnell, given the attention she brought to the long-running show."
The divorced couple's bitter six-year custody battle over their only daughter, Ireland, went public last week when the website TMZ posted a recorded phone message by Baldwin in which he called her a "rude, thoughtless little pig."
The 49-year-old actor said on the tape that he was furious at not being able to reach his daughter for a prearranged telephone conversation.
He also threatened to fly out from New York "to straighten your ass out."
Baldwin later apologised for his temper with a statement on his website and accused his ex-wife of leaking the voice mail tape to the media in defiance of a court order sealing material related to their custody proceedings.
But Basinger's spokeswoman, Annett Wolf, issued a statement denying the actress released the voicemail and said the recording was "not sealed under a court order."
Obviously they need to hire security for their weekly garbage they put to the curb.
Wolf said: "Kim did hire security in response to the media attention on her daughter in order to allow Ireland to maintain her regular routine and activities uninterrupted."
The couple married in 1993, and she filed for divorce in 2001. The divorce was granted the following year, but they have continued to fight in court over custody and other issues.
More Charges For Joe Francis Founder "Girls Gone Wild"
The millionaire founder of the Girls Gone Wild video empire was charged with bribing a jail guard for a bottle of water and having prescription sleeping pills in his cell, authorities said.
When he learned of the new charges, Joe Francis waived his right to a bond hearing for the contempt of court charge that had led to his being jailed. Francis cried as his mother blew him a kiss while he was led from a federal court room back to his cell.
Francis, 34, was charged with bribing a public servant, three counts of possessing a controlled substance and five counts of introducing contraband, cash and drugs into a detention facility. The charges are third-degree felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.
Francis offered a jail guard $100 for a bottled water Wednesday evening, court records said. When the guard refused, Francis showed him $500, investigators said. Inmates are not allowed to have cash in the jail.
When supervisors searched Francis' cell, they found 16 prescription pills, including the sleeping medication Lunesta and the anti-anxiety pill lorazepam, according to court records.
The president of Mantra Films Inc., which produces the "Girls Gone Wild" videos, was arrested for supplying Francis with the pills and cash, Bay County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ruth Sasser said. Scott Barbour was charged with introduction of contraband into a detention facility.
The president of Mantra Films Inc. has been released on bail after being charged with giving prohibited items to his jailed boss, authorities said.
Scott Barbour was freed on $25,000 bail, a jail official said. He was arrested after allegedly supplying the jailed founder of the Girls Gone Wild video empire, Joe Francis, with pills and cash, Bay County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ruth Sasser said. Barbour was charged with introduction of contraband into a detention facility.
Francis, owner and CEO of Mantra Films, drew the contempt citation last month during negotiations in a federal civil lawsuit brought by the seven underaged women filmed by his company in 2003.
Lauren Conrad, the star of reality television shows Laguna Beach and The Hills, is trying to stop a sex tape allegedly made with boyfriend Jason Wahler from being released on the internet, it has been reported.
Gossip blog site Perezhilton.com reports Conrad, whose nickname on her shows is "LC", believed she owned the only copy of the sex tape but Wahler also has a copy.
A source told the website that Wahler, who has been arrested three times in the past 12 months and was recently sentenced to serve time in prison, is trying to cash in with the sex tape.
"Jason is trying to sell the video before he goes to jail," the source said. "LC will lose her mind when she finds out."
Wahler could release the tape for free if he can't find a buyer, Perezhilton.com reported.
The website reported Conrad was so desperate to get the tape back she attempted to break into Wahler's house.
Laguna Beach and The Hills both screen on MTV in New Zealand
Girls Gone Wild Founder Faces 10 Years In Jail Tax Evasion
Joe Francis, the "Girls Gone Wild" founder, was indicted today on federal tax evasion charges for illegally deducting more than $20 million in phony business expenses from his 2002 and 2003 corporate tax returns.
According to a two count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Reno, Nevada, Francis, 34, sought to conceal income through the use of offshore companies and nominees.
At one point, he transferred $15 million from one offshore bank account to a California brokerage account in the name of a Cayman Islands corporation he controlled.
Joe Francis, who is pictured in the mug shot at right. If convicted of the federal charges, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.
Francis was arrested yesterday on an unrelated federal warrant stemming from a civil lawsuit brought against him by seven underage women who were filmed by "Girls Gone Wild" cameramen in Florida in 2003. The contempt citation was issued after Francis rebuffed a judge's order to settle the case with the aid of a mediator.
Play Video Girls Gone Wild in Clay County The crews of "Girls Gone Wild" were in Clay County Friday night, looking for the wildest bar in the nation. Matt Saffer reports.(Jan 19, Archive)
Don Imus' racist remarks got him fired by CBS on Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation's most prominent broadcasters.
Imus was initially suspended for two weeks after he called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" on the air last week. But outrage kept growing and advertisers kept bolting from his CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast, which was canceled Wednesday.
"There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. "That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision."
Imus had a long history of inflammatory remarks. But something struck a raw nerve when he targeted the Rutgers team which includes a class valedictorian, a future lawyer and a musical prodigy after they lost in the NCAA championship game.
A spokeswoman for the team said it did not have an immediate comment on Imus' firing. But Imus was scheduled to meet with the team Thursday evening, according to the Rev. DeForest Soaries, the pastor of coach Vivian Stringer, who had been helping negotiate terms of the meeting.
The cantankerous Imus, once named one of the 25 Most Influential People in America by Time magazine and a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, issued repeated apologies as protests intensified. But it wasn't enough as everyone from
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to Oprah Winfrey joined the criticism.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson met with Moonves on Thursday to demand Imus' removal, promising a rally outside CBS headquarters Saturday and an effort to persuade more advertisers to defect.
MSNBC-TV announced Wednesday that it will no longer simulcast “Imus in the Morning.” The radio talk show host has been flooded with criticism for his racial slur last week.
While on his show, he called the Rutgers University women's basketball team “nappy-haired hos.” A swarm of angry voices is asking for Imus to be dismissed or to resign, including the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.
CBS Radio and MSNBC announced that they would suspend Imus for two weeks. Now it looks like the suspension might last, forever. In a statement, NBC News said the decision, effective immediately, resulted from an “ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension.”
The statement further said: “What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible.”
The statement apologized to the Rutgers women's basketball team and to MSNBC viewers. “We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused,” it said.
“Imus in the Morning” has also lost some of its advertising. Office-supply chain Staples and Miralus Healthcare, a pharmaceutical firm that makes a HeadOn headache medication, said Tuesday they asked MSNBC to remove advertising from the television simulcast of Imus' radio program and run their commercials elsewhere, The New York Times said Wednesday.
Other advertisers are even more upset. Procter & Gamble has announced it would withdraw all advertising from MSNBC's daytime schedule. “We have to think first about our consumers,” said Jeannie Tharrington, a P&G spokeswoman, “so anyplace where our advertising appears that is offensive to our consumers is not acceptable to us.”
During a televised news conference yesterday, the members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team expressed their own opinions and feelings on the whole situation, giving new depth to the issue.
“It kind of scars us. We grew up in a world where racism exists, and there's nothing we can do to change that,” said Matee Ajavon, a junior guard. “I think that this has scarred me for life.”
The women have agreed though to meet with Imus privately next week and hear his explanation. They held back from saying whether they'd accept Imus' apologies or passing judgment on whether a two-week suspension imposed by CBS Radio and MSNBC was sufficient.
Bruce Gordon, a CBS director and former president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, said Wednesday that Imus should be fired for his racial slur. “As an African-American, I believe that Imus has crossed the line, a very bright line that divides our country. His remarks are so significant that I believe that the right outcome is for him to be terminated.”
The Rev, Sharpton has been very clear what his stand on the situation is. When Imus was on his radio show this Monday to apologize, Sharpton said: “I'm going to say what you said was racist and you should be fired. It's not about whether you're a good man; this is about setting a precedent that allows racist language to be used in mainstream, federally regulated television and radio.”
DNA tests prove it: Larry Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's million-dollar baby.
"I told you so!" the late Playboy Playmate's former boyfriend said Tuesday upon emerging from a closed court hearing. He added: "My baby's going to be coming home pretty soon."
Birkhead, a 34-year-old California photographer, then hugged his rival, Howard K. Stern, who has been caring for baby Dannielynn since Smith's sudden death in February.
The hearing was a pivotal moment in the battle over who gets custody of the girl, who could inherit a fortune from the estate of Smith's late husband, J. Howard Marshall II. Although Birkhead is the father, Stern's name is on the birth certificate. Another custody hearing was scheduled for Friday.
Stern, who was Smith's lawyer and later became her companion, said he wouldn't fight for custody, but a lawyer for Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, indicated she might. The judge scheduled another hearing for Friday in the pink colonial courthouse to discuss who will raise the girl, who could inherit hundreds of millions of dollars.
Stern said he loved the baby despite the DNA results and would support Birkhead.
Birkhead had been fighting for custody of Dannielynn even before Smith's death.
A crowd of about 250 people, many of them tourists, cheered from behind police barricades when Birkhead, clutching a piece of paper, announced the DNA test results. The court's DNA expert, Dr. Michael Baird, confirmed it.
This tropical capital has been transfixed by the Anna Nicole saga since she moved here last year. Smith gave birth to Dannielynn in September, only to see her 20-year-old son Daniel die days later at her bedside from a lethal combination of drugs. Smith died in February at age 39 in Florida.
Many in the crowd took pictures of the impromptu news conference with cameras and cell phones. One man in the crowd wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the handwritten message: "I'm the baby's daddy."
Arthur, who had been estranged from Smith for years, said she wanted to be present in her granddaughter's life, but seemed appeased by the DNA results.
The baby, whose full name is Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, could inherit millions from Marshall's estate. Smith, a former model, had been fighting the Texas oil tycoon's family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.
Police are investigating reports that actor Hugh Grant was involved in "Bean Rage" incident in which he allegedly lashed out at a paparazzo with a tub of baked beans.
