Britney Spears: Pop singer has been all over the headlines for her divorce from hubby K-Federline, hard partying with best buddy Paris Hilton and for her pantyless appearance.
Michael Richards: He was in controversy for the use of n-word explosion on a comedy stage which ignited great debate about the proper and improper use of the n-word.
Mel Gibson: he was arrested for the use of Anti-Semitic remarks and was arrested for drunken driving.
Nicole Richie: Was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Madonna: Pop queen was in limelight for the adoption of a Malwian child David Banda.
Naomi Campbell: Was accused for throwing a cell phone at her maid over a pair of missing jeans.
Heather Mills and Sir Paul McCartney: In court credentials filed by Heather Mills, she claims that estranged husband Paul McCartney was physically violent towards her.
Lindsay Lohan: Teen queen hits the headlines on the issue of Vanity Fair. The magazine reported that Lohan admitted being bulimic back in January 2006but Lohan expressed that she was misquoted.
Jessica Simpson: She drew unwanted attention earlier this month when she flubbed the words to Parton’s ‘9 to 5’ during a taping of the annual show, felt disturbed and fled the stage. Producers gave her a second chance at the song.
Hilary Duff is to be immortalised in plastic with her very own Barbie doll.
The Red Carpet Glam Hilary Duff Doll - wearing a polka-dot dress and red satin sash - will be on sale next month.
Jamie Wood, Mattel's vice president of Barbie marketing, said: "Hilary is a great role model to girls. Not only is she a stylish entertainer, actor and fashion designer, but she also shows girls that there are no limits to what they can do."
Teen idol Hilary - who is best known for starring in TV show Lizzie McGuire - has also designed clothes for the plastic figures.
The 19-year-old singer-and-actress will be following in the footsteps of Beyonc?nowles and Reese Witherspoon, who have also had Barbie dolls made in their likeness.
Meanwhile, Hilary is reportedly furious that her ex-boyfriend Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden has started dating Nicole Richie, who she has branded a "skank".
A source told Us Weekly magazine: "Hilary doesn't want to talk to Joel. She can't believe he is dating Nicole. She thinks she is a skank."
And when Hilary heard about Nicole's recent arrest for driving under the influence, she allegedly flew into a rage.
The source added: "Hilary kept asking if Nicole had been coming from Joel's house when she was arrested. She kept saying she feels like she never knew Joel at all."
Hilary and Joel, who split up in November, dated for two-and-a-half years.
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe
Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson
Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney
Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong
As 2006 comes to an end, the stars gave PEOPLE their picks for the year's best books, movies, music and TV shows:
TV SHOWS
Ashlee Simpson: Desperate Housewives – "It's one of those shows like Sex and the City – every girl likes it."
Monique Coleman: Grey's Anatomy – "Even though there's huge issues, at the end of the day we're still concerned about the characters – that's good TV."
Macy Gray: Nip/Tuck – "It's over-the-top- drama. It's crazy. I don't know who thinks of that stuff."
John Stamos: South Park – "The show is so timely. If something happens, in like two weeks it's parodied on there."
Nicky Hilton: The Girls Next Door – "I just think they're so funny."
MOVIES
Josh Groban: The Prestige – "Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are awesome. And I've loved magic since I was a kid. That it's a murder mystery with twists based on magic makes it amazing."
Jaime Pressly: The Departed – "It was amazing. It's a brilliant film. Everyone in it was great."
Anjelica Huston: Borat – "I don't know if it's the best movie, but it's the funniest. I have never laughed so hard in a movie. I've never laughed so hard, period.�
Mike Myers: The Fountain – "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. All the performances were great. It was transformative."
Clay Aiken: The Queen – "Helen Mirren looks just like Queen Elizabeth. Acted like her! I thought it was very good."
MUSIC
Anne Hathaway: Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat – "You can just listen to it start to finish and it tells a story. It's beautiful, funny and very subversive. I really love it."
Chris Cornell: Bob Dylan, Modern Times – "I think it's fantastic. There's a lightness to it that doesn't normally come from him. When I say lightness, like a happiness."
Zach Braff: Joshua Radin, We Were Here – "It's just the greatest music. He's a really talented guy. He's like the new Paul Simon."
Katharine McPhee: Christina Aguilera, Back to Basics – "I really like her record. I think she brought some cool old-school stuff to it, and amazing vocals."
BOOKS
Terrence Howard: Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho –"It teaches you to enjoy each moment."
Ben Affleck: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond – "I'm reading a lot of nonfiction. . . .This is really good right now."
Jennifer Connelly: In the Land of Magic Soldiers by Daniel Bergner – "That was the last one I read – it was actually about Sierra Leone, where Blood Diamond takes place. It was really fantastic."
Queen Latifah: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith – "I love it. It's a whole series."
Patricia Heaton: The Tiny One by Eliza Minot – "It's about a girl who loses her mother, and she chronicles the whole day before she finds out her mother died. She's exactly the age I was when my mother died. I'd read a few pages and then start sobbing."
Britney Spears has moved into a new house – a $7.2 million Mediterranean style home in an exclusive gated community off Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills, according to real estate sources.
Spears, 25, has already left the Malibu mansion where she lived with her estranged husband, Kevin Federline, and their two children.
"She's moved in," said one nearby homeowner who asked not to be identified. "She's a neighbor."
The new 7,453-sq. foot house has five-bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms, a pool, media room, library and a terrace with a view of Los Angeles, sources say.
Although the property is officially listed as being in escrow, Spears liked the house so much that she has taken possession of the dwelling and the previous owner's contents.
And the pop star isn't the only celebrity in the community. Ed McMahon lives nearby, and Gwen Stefani recently bought a house once owned by Jennifer Lopez for more than $13 million, that's just around the corner.
Given all the high-profile neighbors, the new community will afford more privacy for Spears and her two sons, Sean Preston, 1, and Jayden James, who was born in September.
"It's a great gated community where the tour buses won't be stopping at your front door or lookiloos driving by," said Kurt Rappaport, president of Westside Real Estate Agency. "She got good value for the property."
Actress unhappy with second version of Dolly Parton's ‘9 to 5’
Unhappy with her second try at paying tribute to Dolly Parton for the “Kennedy Center Honors,” Jessica Simpson has pulled out of the show.
Simpson drew unwanted attention earlier this month when she flubbed the words to Parton’s “9 to 5” during a taping of the annual show, grew flustered and fled the stage. Producers gave her a second chance at the song.
But after Simpson saw a tape, she requested the second attempt be pulled from the show, which airs Dec. 26 on CBS.
“She really wasn’t happy with her performance and she did want it to be perfect for Dolly, who she idolizes,” said Cindi Berger, a spokeswoman for Simpson.
Besides Parton, the Washington, D.C., tribute honors Andrew Lloyd Webber, Zubin Mehta, Smokey Robinson and Steven Spielberg. Caroline Kennedy is the host.
“We appreciate the time and energy Ms. Simpson put into this event and respect the high standards she has for herself and that of the Kennedy Center Honors,” said George Stevens Jr., show producer.
Duff joins other famous faces such as Reese Witherspoon and Beyonce
Hilary Duff is a real doll. A real Barbie doll.
Duff is the latest Hollywood star to take on 12-inch proportions as the world’s most popular fashion doll. She joins other famous (doll) faces such as Reese Witherspoon, Beyonce Knowles and Lucille Ball.
The Red Carpet Glam Hilary Duff Doll, which shows the 19-year-old’s likeness in a polka-dot dress with a red satin sash, hits stores this month.
Duff, a singer, actress and fashion designer best known for playing TV’s “Lizzie McGuire,” has also designed clothes for Barbie.
The iconic blonde doll and the young Hollywood beauty are “great role models to girls and the perfect design duo,” Jamie Wood, Mattel’s vice president of Barbie marketing, said in a statement.
“Not only are they two of the most stylish entertainers, actors and fashion designers, but they also show girls there are no limits to what they can do.”
Hip-hop mogul arrives from Canada just in time for birth of girls
Sean “Diddy” Combs and girlfriend Kim Porter became the parents of twin girls Thursday morning, with the hip-hop impresario flying in from a movie set in Canada for the birth at a Manhattan hospital, said Combs spokesman Robert Zimmerman.
“Diddy received an early Christmas gift,” said Zimmerman. “Both Kim and the girls are doing great.”
The first arrived at 7:56 a.m., weighing in at 5 pounds, while the second girl was delivered two minutes later and weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces. The older twin was named D’Lila Star after Porter’s grandmother, while the younger was named Jessie James after Combs’ grandmother, Zimmerman said.
Combs flew in from Toronto, where he is filming “Raisin in the Sun,” and made it “just in the nick of time for the delivery,” Zimmerman said.
Combs, 37, already has a son, Christian, with Porter. He’s also the father of a son, Justin, with ex-girlfriend Misa Hylton-Brim.
Treasurer Peter Costello has criticised US pop star Pink for joining a campaign against Australian sheep farmers, questioning her knowledge of the industry.
Pink today joined the US animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in calling for a consumer boycott of Australian wool products.
"I don't know if Pink is an expert on the sheep industry," an amused Mr Costello told reporters in Canberra.
"Pink is entitled to her views, but at the end of the day, would Australia's farmers take advice from Pink?"
Pink is the latest in a list of entertainers to be recruited by PETA for its campaign against Australian sheep farmers over the practice of mulesing, which protects sheep from the painful and often deadly condition known as flystrike.
Mr Costello said mulesing, which involves cutting skin away from a sheep's backside, is a better option than a sheep dying from flystrike.
"Sheep are at risk of being flyblown and dying ... it's not a pretty sight.
"Mulesing is not a pretty sight either, but it's a damn sight more humane than letting a sheep die flyblown in a paddock."
Pink describes mulesing as the "cheapest, cruelest and crudest way" to combat flystrike
Gruesome campaign
The PETA campaign, accompanied with images of sheep having their throats cut and undergoing the controversial mulesing technique, was strategically launched in the important Christmas gift-giving season.
If successful, it could have a devastating impact on the Australian wool industry.
Pink has called for consumers around the world to check labels on clothing before purchasing the item.
If the label lists "merino wool" or "made in Australia", the pop star asks that the consumer not buy it because of Australia's treatment of sheep.
"I am calling on consumers to check labels on sweaters before buying them, and if they're merino wool or made in Australia, to leave them on the racks," Pink says in the video released around the world today by PETA.
The launch of the video was preceded by a press conference Pink held today in the fashion capital of the world, Paris, France.
The 27-year-old pop star also calls on Australia and other countries to ban the live export of sheep to the Middle East. The video shows footage of sheep being beaten, having their throats slit and in one scene it is alleged a sheep has its leg cut off while alive.
"If you're like most people, you already refuse to wear fur because of the obvious cruelty involved, and like me, you may even look for the stylish alternatives to leather," Pink says in the video.
"But what about wool? Most of us have never thought about it.
"Sadly, like any other industry that uses animals, the wool trade uses methods so sadistic that it makes you consider clearing your closet of any animal products."
PETA has been waged in a public relations war with the Australian wool industry for three years over mulesing and live export.
Mr Costello invited Pink, whose real name is Alecia Moore, to visit Australia and speak with sheep farmers.
The pop star will have a chance to do that when she tours Australia in April.
Actress Angelina Jolie believes that adoptive parents prove better when it comes to raising a child than biological ones, because they have to pass through several stringent tests before qualifying to bring a child into their home.
Jolie's background and personality was thoroughly scrutinised before being granted permission to adopt Maddox, five, and Zahara,one.
But when she gave birth to baby girl Shiloh Nouvel earlier this year (06), she didn't have to prove her suitability as a mother to anyone.
"It should be hard to be a parent period. I go through many things to adopt. I'm finger-printed, I'm checked, I go through home studies. I have to prove I'm a decent citizen; a good human being," Contactmusic quoted her, as saying.
"That didn't happen to me when I gave birth, so it's interesting that there's no background check when you bring a child into your home in that way," she added.
Jolie shares the custody of her two adopted kids with actor Brad Pitt, who is also the father of her infant daughter Shiloh.
Meanwhile, the Girl Interrupted actress has laughed off rumours that she's pregnant again, telling Good Morning America that she's on the pill because she and partner Brad Pitt intend to adopt more children in the future.
Sharon Stone and Christian Slater have confirmed rumours they're dating and now plan to spend Christmas together.
The starry couple, who co-star in new movie Bobby, sparked romance rumours when they attended a string of events together, but refused to confirm their relationship.
Now 48-year-old Stone and her 37-year-old beau aren't hiding their affections for each other - they recently attended a party for fashion label Dolce & Gabbana at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles arm-in-arm and made sure everyone knew they were a couple.
A source close to Stone says: "They're both really happy - but they don't have long-term expectations.
"It's a fun fling for the holidays and Sharon is a good influence. She rarely drinks and has three kids. It's a good match for now."
Rap megastar Eminem and his high school sweetheart divorced for a second time Tuesday, less than a year after they remarried.
Eminem and Kim Mathers agreed to divide property under terms of a private settlement and to share custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade Scott. They told a judge they understood the divorce was final.
The couple “conducted themselves with dignity and respect,” Circuit Judge Antonio P. Viviano said. “All in all, they are a very fine couple to deal with.”
Eminem, 34, declined to comment after the brief hearing as two men whisked him into a black Cadillac Escalade. Mathers, 31, did not speak to reporters.
Eminem and Mathers remarried Jan. 14. He filed for divorce April 5. They first married in 1999 in a secret ceremony in Missouri, and divorced in 2001.
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, has won nine Grammy Awards, including best rap album, for “The Slim Shady LP,” “The Marshall Mathers LP” and “The Eminem Show.” He won an Oscar for the song “Lose Yourself” from “8 Mile,” the semi-autobiographical 2002 film in which he starred.
Tara Connor Facts
Height ain't Might?
Standing 5'5,Tara is one of the "shortest" Miss Usa titleholders.
5'4 tall Kimberly Pressler who represented USA in Miss Uiverse
1999 held in Trinidad & Tobago failed to make the cut.
BiographyThe union of John Conner and Brenda Johnson, Tara is the first
woman from Kentucky to win the Miss USA title in the 55-year
history of the pageant. She hails from Russell Springs. She expects
people in her hometown from the south, with a population around
2,500, to be pretty excited about her win. This 20 year-old stunner
has blonde hair and brown eyes.
Education
Tara is a graduate of Russell County High School. She is taking up
Business Administration at Somerset Community College in
south-central Kentucky. Her part-time jobs include being a model
and a waitress.
Did you know?
Tara has been competing in pageants since age 4, when she was
third runner-up in the Casey County Apple Festival pageant. By
age 13, she won the title of Young Miss Russell County at the
county fair.Her dad would describe her as"a ponytail girl, a
pajama-wearing, sweat girl whom she often nagged to put makeup
on "or at least sunglasses & lipstick"before she goes out.
Miss Kentucky USA
On Sunday November 27th 2005, Tara beat thirty-seven women
from across Kentucky to take the prestigious crown of MISS
KENTUCKY USA®,earning her the right to represent her state in
Miss USA 2006. Her court includes, in order from fourth to first
were: Amanda Nunnelley of Louisville, Michelle Banzer of Louisville,
Aimee Smith of Lexington, and Lara Wilson of Ashland.
Miss Teen – Miss USA
Tara represented Kentucky in Miss Teen USA 2002 won by
Wisconsin's Vanessa Marie Semrow on August 28, 2002. Tara
topped the swimsuit competition and took the Bluepoint fitness
and swimsuit award. She finished as 2nd runner-up. It is interesting
to note that she is the 8th former Miss Teen USA participant in 11
years to be crowned Miss USA
1995 Shanna Moakler, Miss Teen USA'92 (Top 12)
1996 Ali Landry, Miss Teen USA'90 (Top 12)
1997 Brandi Sherwood, Miss Teen USA'89 (winner)
1999 Kimberly Pressler, Miss Teen USA'94 (45th)
2000 Lynette Cole, Miss Teen USA'95 (Top 6)
2003 Susie Castillo, Miss Teen USA'98 (13th)
2005 Chelsea Cooley, Miss Teen USA'00 (11th)
2006 Tara Conner, Miss Teen USA'02 (2nd RU)
* Shanna Moakler & Brandi Sherwood inherited the Miss USA title
from eventual Miss Universe winners Chelsi Smith & Brook Lee.
MISS USA 2006
Tara Elizabeth Connor won the Miss USA 2006 pageant in the 1st
Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD on Friday, April 21. She will
compete as Miss USA July 23 in the Miss Universe competition
in Los Angeles. Her court includes 1st Runner-up Tamiko Nash
of California, 2nd Runner-up Lisa Wilson of Georgia, 3rd Runner-up
Stacy Offenberger of Ohio and 4th Runner-up Cristin Duren of Florida.
The 55th annual Miss USA competition was broadcasted live in NBC.
The panel of judges who chose her includes Chad Hendrick, Nicole Linkletter,
James Hyde, Gina Drosos, Conner, Steve Madden, Hines Ward, Jillian Barberie,
and Donald Trump Jr. Nancy O'Dell, Carson Kressley & Drew Lachey hosted the event.
Drew Lachey hosted the event.
TMZ reported yesterday that officials from the Miss USA pageant would strip 20-year-old Tara Connor of her Miss USA crown because of inappropriate behavior like underage drinking. But the organization tells the AP that isn't true, although they are evaluating her behavior and trying to figure out the next step.
"I can't really talk about it now," Donald Trump told the AP. "But we have to make a decision. There is no question about that." After evaluating Conner, the organization and Trump will "see what we can do to work with her and what we will do about her reign going forward," the organization's president, Paula M. Shugart, said in a statement, adding: "Mr. Trump will make a determination and announcement within the coming week."
If mail order videos have taught me anything it's that when girls want to go wild you let them go wild. And Tae Bo. They've also taught me Tae Bo. Pretty much everything I know is learned from mail order videos. That and fortune cookies.
One more of Miss USA looking average in a bikini after the jump.
Star Magazine is reporting that Britney Spears hooked up with J.R. Rotem BEFORE she officially filed her divorce papers. Does that mean that Kevin Federline stands to make more money from the divorce if it’s true? Is it true? We only saw them together once. I think it was just a random hook up. Since then, JR has been spotted with Paris, Hayden and Bai. I say JR has one heck of a PR team working on making him the next greatest thing since sliced bread. But who knows!?
On December 10, J.R. Rotem, 31-year old South Africa-born music producer, was spotted smoothing with a cute blonde at L.A.’s 3rd spot restaurant around 11 p.m., and the mysterious blonde was none other than Britney Spears, who he’s currently working with for her comeback album. On December 12, Star spoke exclusively with J.R. Rotem, head over heals for Brit raving, “Everything she does is amazing.” The two may not be an official couple, but J.R. did say the “girl he is dating”.
A source tells Star that the two were hooking up before Brit filed for her divorce papers, and another source reveals, “there were rumors circulating for a couple of months regarding Britney and J.R….they shared definite chemistry.” This source did confirm that Brit and J.R. waited before pursing anything until after Kevin was out of the picture. J.R and Brit haven’t been spotted together recently; J.R.’s homebody style doesn’t really fit with Brit’s crazy partying. Brit’s not the first party girl for J.R.; he also had a fling with Paris Hilton while working on her debut CD. A Star insider reveals “it was nothing serious, just a few hookups…I bet a million dollars that J.R. tied to keep that a secret from Britney… (she) would probably flip out if she knew that he’d romanced Paris first.”
Britney Spears is the pits; Oprah Winfrey is tops, according to online vote
“Britney was the overwhelming choice” for worst celebrity dog owner for 2006, Hilary O’Hagan, editor of The New York Dog and The Hollywood Dog magazines, said in a statement.
“She once had three Chihuahuas ... and never left home without at least one of them on her arm,” O’Hagan said. “As soon as she met K-Fed and had kids they (the dogs) disappeared.”
Spears has filed for divorce from aspiring rapper Kevin Federline. The 25-year-old pop singer and Federline, 28, have a 1-year-old son, Sean Preston, and a 3-month-old son, Jayden James.
Paris Hilton, 2005’s “worst” winner, placed second for “treating her dogs like accessories,” the magazines said.
Winfrey, who owns five dogs, was voted this year’s best celebrity dog owner. The talk-show host replaced 2005 winner Joss Stone, and beat off competition from Tori Spelling, Nicollette Sheridan and Beth Ostrosky, Howard Stern’s girlfriend.
Voting took place online over a three-month period. Results weren’t scientifically representative of the magazines’ readers, and the total number of votes won’t be released, O’Hagan said Monday.
LONDON - The public’s appetite for those “Oops! ... I Did It Again!” moments involving pop princess Britney Spears shows no sign of waning as she scooped the number one celebrity viral video this year.
A clip of Spears burping and talking incoherently about her belief in time travel was viewed over 3 million times to take top spot comfortably, said ViralVideoChart.com on Monday.
Live TV footage of Spears’ estranged husband Kevin Federline apparently getting a text message informing him the pop singer had filed for divorce was second with nearly 2 million hits.
Viral video is the term used to describe clips that gain huge popularity after being posted on the Internet, spreading like viruses through emails, blogs and instant messages.
ViralVideoChart.com says it scans several million blogs a day to see which clips are being talked about most and compiles a daily list of the 20 most-viewed videos.
Seinfeld co-star Michael Richards’ racist outburst was third in the 2006 chart with over a million hits just four weeks after it was first posted online.
Richards sparked a public outcry for spewing a torrent of racial slurs at hecklers during his stand-up act at the Laugh Factor comedy club in Hollywood on Nov. 17.
The incident was captured in digital camera video footage that was widely circulated on the Internet and was broadcast on TV newscasts three days later.
Actress Lindsay Lohan talking less than generously about socialite Paris Hilton was fourth, while a video of Hilton crashing a Bentley claimed fifth place.
Actress Keira Knightley’s rendition of “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head,” played on her teeth, featured on the syndicated American series “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was No. 6 just ahead of model Katie Price and husband Peter Andre’s video for their debut single “A Whole New World.”
One of South Africa's best known theatre personalities, Taliep Petersen, has been shot and killed during a robbery at his home.
Armed men broke into his home in the Cape Town suburb of Athlone, tied him up and shot him in the neck.
Mr Petersen, 56, directed and produced many musicals, including District Six, Kat and the Kings, and Ghoema.
South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with more than 18,000 killings a year.
Armed men shot Mr Petersen at his home after robbing six other family members of mobile phones and locking them in their bedrooms, the South African Press Association (Sapa) said.
The assailants then took Mr Petersen to the living room where they shot him and escaped with his phone, cash and electronic equipment, Sapa said.
The murder will prompt calls for the South African government to do more to fight crime, says the BBC's Will Ross, in Johannesburg.
Earlier this year, Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu warned that South Africa was losing its "moral direction" and sense of respect for human lives.
Olivier awards
Together with his artistic partner David Kramer, Mr Petersen produced a string of hit productions, some of which have been staged internationally in New York, Los Angeles and London.
One of the pair's most successful musicals, District Six, tells the story of a once-vibrant multicultural neighbourhood in pre-apartheid Cape Town.
It was declared a white-only area in 1965 and razed to the ground, forcing more than 60,000 people to leave their homes.
Mr Petersen also won two Olivier awards for Kat and the Kings.
Set in 1957, also in District Six, the show tells the story of a Cape Town vocal harmony group.
Hard work
The high-profile murder was greeted with shock around South Africa.
Ebrahim Rasool, premier of Mr Petersen's native Western Cape province, paid tribute to the director, calling him "one of the great gifts of our community to the nation".
"He was able to capture our entire history, express our deepest pain, articulate our joy, and demonstrate our humanity through music and drama," Mr Rasool said in a statement.
He was still working when he was murdered, appearing as a judge on the Afrikaans version of the TV talent show Idols.
"I'm a workaholic, involved in a zillion things. I come from a hard space in time, remember - I'm a proud child of District Six," Mr Petersen said in a 2005 interview with a South African newspaper.
"I played in white clubs and had to enter through the back door, and I wasn't allowed to mingle with the crowd."
source
US pop star Michael Jackson has postponed an appearance at a Christmas party in Japan, where tickets cost up to 400,000 yen (£1,787).
Jackson was due to attend the party in Tokyo on Tuesday, although he was not planning to perform.
The event has been put back to 8 March, with a fan appreciation event being held the following day.
Last month Jackson carried out his first public engagement in London since being cleared of child molestation.
Special area
The event was marred by disappointment when Jackson sang just a few lines, when the audience had been led to believe he would perform a medley of his songs.
Organisers of the Tokyo event said Jackson wanted to postpone his appearance to add an extra date to his schedule.
Jackson's role at the party is to simply sit down to dinner with guests while listening to his recorded music. Gospel singers and dancers are expected to perform.
For those buying the top-priced tickets there is the chance to meet Jackson and have a photograph taken with him. Those paying 200,000 yen (£895) will get a signed portrait of the star.
Tickets for the fan appreciation day will cost 15,000 yen (£65), which allows people to watch dancers perform to Jackson songs, while the singer himself watches from a separate area.
Beyonce's not creating the supposed catfight with "Dreamgirls" costar Jennifer Hudson – her daddy Matthew is. 
As E!'s Marc Malkin reports, during the filming of "Dreamgirls," the ever-overbearing Matthew tried to sign Hudson as a management client, only to rebuffed by the former "American Idol" contestant. Despite her rejection, Matthew went around telling people he'd been representing the breakout star.
What's more, after an early screening, both Matthew and B's mom (Tina) flipped over Hudson's screen time, arguing with writer/director Bill Condon that the flick needed to be recut and include more B and less J -- Condon refused.
Of course it's not the first time Matthew has gone ballistic over Beyonce. Back in June, when TMZ posted video of PETA confronting Beyonce over her fondness for fur, Matthew tried just about everything in his quiver to get it taken down. It didn't work.
Beyonce Knowles says she becomes someone else when she's onstage, an alter ego she's even given a name to: Sasha. "I wouldn't like Sasha if I met her offstage," the 25-year-old singer-actress tells Parade magazine in its Dec. 17 issue.
"Oh, no. She's too aggressive, too strong, too sassy, too sexy! I'm not her in real life at all. I'm not flirtatious and super-confident and fearless like her."
"I created my stage persona to protect myself," she says, "so that when I go home, I don't have to think about what it is I do. Sasha isn't me. The people around me know who I really am."
One of those close confidantes is her boyfriend, music mogul Jay-Z . "When I'm in love, I'm there 100 percent," she says. "But if I don't trust someone, if I'm not totally there because of it, then I'm not going to waste my time."
Knowles, who started out in the girl group Destiny's Child , plays singer Deena Jones opposite Jamie Foxx , Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson in the movie musical "Dreamgirls," opening Friday.
She's also nominated for four Grammy awards, including best contemporary R&B album ("B'Day") and best female R&B vocal performance ("Ring the Alarm").
Life wasn't always so good, though. In 2000, two members left Destiny's Child and sued her manager-father Mathew Knowles, claiming conflict of interest in his management. The case was settled out of court.
"It was tough," she recalls. "Before that, the media didn't pay attention to me personally. It was just our music. After that, I felt attacked. The way people reacted was different. My privacy was over.
"I went through depression. I didn't eat," she continues. "I stayed in my room. I was in a really bad place in life, going through that lonely period: `Who am I? Who are my friends?' My life changed."
She knows there are changes ahead, too.
"I think about the future, about what my life will be like when people are tired of my songs and movies," she says. "I'll still want a life then, beyond the music. Maybe I'll teach or mentor at a Boys & Girls Club. I want to have a family. I want to be happy."
Britney Spears prepared for the holidays today at a store near her new Beverly Hills home but all Brit really wants some exercise.
That pics are photoshopped or she has a little tummy?
Cameron Diaz says she's fine with lesbians making passes at her.
The newly brunette star of The Holiday spoke to gay mag The Advocate about her adoration for females.
"I love women," Justin Timberlake's sexy girlfriend said. "I think they're amazing and beautiful."
And Cam even revealed that Baywatch bombshell Pamela Anderson was her first "major girl-crush".
In fact, Cameron added, she still fancies Pam a bit, since she's "as hot as ever".
And even though she's been dating SexyBack hunk Justin for about four years now, Cameron said some people might not even be surprised if she had to tell them now that she was actually a lesbian.
One of her best gal pals, Charlie's Angels co-star Drew Barrymore, won't be taken aback by Cam coming out of the closet. Cam expects her to simply say, "Duh!"
The sensual actress isn't one to
