Sharm On The Scene

Can you imagine a week without any celebrity news?

Meet the new judges

Britney Spears will indeed judge the X-Factor talent competition … for US$15mil (RM45mil). That’s pocket change for the show’s producer Simon Cowell, who also signed another Disney alum, Demi Lovato, as a judge (Erm, we don’t think she got paid as much as Brit did).

They replace former X-Factor judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger (who were reportedly fired from the show).
Also in the running for the coveted spots next to Cowell and music producer LA Reid were Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Beyonce.

When asked about Cowell’s decision to sign Spears, Carey wasn’t really thrilled. She said: “You think I focus on that stuff? Have we met? I love (Britney), honestly. I think she’s a very nice person, but I don’t care who’s going on that show — as long as it’s not me.” Ouch!

Sharm says: Disney alum? Check. Attacking people? Check. Rehab? Check. So that’s what it takes to be an X-Factor judge …

No Gaga gig

Lady Gaga was scheduled to perform in Jakarta next month, but Indonesian officials have denied the concert organisers a permit for the venue.

This decision came after several religious groups in the country protested against the concert, with concerns over Gaga’s provocative antics on stage.

Local law enforcement decided that it was best not to allow Mother Monster to perform fearing that a potential protest would be unmanageable and pose a danger to the public.

Well, this is not the first time the singer has faced protests over her concerts. Just last month, several religious groups in South Korea were adamant to stop her performance there, but the show went ahead without any problems.

Sharm says: Guess people are just getting tired over Gaga’s antics. To be honest, so am I.

New BFFs?

Kim Kardashian is dying to be Beyonce’s best friend. Everyone knows that her boyfriend Kanye West is super BFFs with Beyonce and her husband Jay-Z, and this simply means that there will be many opportunities for them to hang out.

A source told New York Daily News: “Kim wants to travel everywhere with Kanye, but she’s also trying to do whatever she can to get close to Beyonce.”

However, there’s a slight problem here; Beyonce doesn’t want to have anything to do with the Kardashians.

Gossip website MediaTakeOut reported in April that Beyonce and her husband avoided Kim at a dinner honouring their friend, NBA star Carmelo Anthony.

The news story said that the power couple stayed outside the venue, refusing to enter, until Kim and Kanye had left. Yikes, how awkward!

Sharm says: Seriously, Beyonce is way to classy to be hanging out with a fame-seeker like Kim.

Bombshell businesswoman

For years people dismissed Jessica Simpson as a ditzy blond who says the stupidest things on camera. Guess what? She’s still the same, but richer.

The new mother recently unveiled her maternity line which is the 24th category of fashion products to bear the Jessica Simpson Collection name.

The singer-turned-businesswoman has already made millions off her shoe, apparel, accessory and jewelery lines and is estimated to earn US$1bil (RM3bil) by the end of the year. Ka-ching!

Sharm says: Wonder if she can differentiate chicken meat from fish by now …

Celebrities really do know how to stay in the limelight.

The graduate

Justin Bieber is a high-schooler no more! Well, not that the Canadian pop star attended high school like regular kids, but yeah, he doesn’t need to be home-schooled anymore.

The millionaire teen sensation told Australian paper The Daily Telegraph that he’s finally free – and that it was hard doing school and work everyday. However, he also revealed that finishing school wasn’t exactly his highest priority.

“(Graduating) was something my mum really wanted me to do, so I had to do it for her,” said Bieber, adding that he’s more a fan of the school of life.

“I mean, this kind of lifestyle has given me a different perspective on life. I’ve been able to travel the world. At school, usually you have to do a lot of writing and reading. I’m not really into that stuff. I like to be out there.”

Sharm says: Stay in school people. If Justin can finish his secondary education, so can you.

Smells like Pitt

Who wants to smell like Brad Pitt? Apparently, many people do, which was what prompted Chanel to invite Pitt to become the new face of it’s signature No. 5 scent.

The 48-year-old father of six is reportedly shooting his first Chanel advertisement in London sometime this week.
E! News revealed that the deal is “somewhere in the seven figures.”

Sharm says: Somebody get me that perfume. If I can’t have Brad, I want to at least smell like him.

A greasy situation

Don’t expect John Travolta to boogy down to this news. The actor has been slapped with not just one, but two sexual battery lawsuits.

Last Friday, an unidentified man filed a US$2mil (RM6mil) lawsuit against the actor and later, a second plaintiff came forward claiming that he too was harassed by the star.

According to court documents, the second man (who also chose to remain anonymous) is accusing Travolta of “improper behaviour during a massage session at an Atlanta-area resort”. Travolta and his reps are yet to respond to these outrageous claims.

Sharm says: Yikes. I wonder what his wife Kelly Preston thinks about these lawsuits?

Reviving LiLo’s career?

Lindsay Lohan getting dinner is not news. But Lindsay Lohan grabbing dinner with famed director Woody Allen? That made headlines almost everywhere.

The troubled actress was seen dining out with Allen last Friday evening in New York and since then, various news reports about Lohan’s career have popped up.

X17online.com reported that: “Woody is feeling her (Lindsay) out by taking her out to dinner to get to know her. He’s considering building a character around her for an upcoming film.”

Apparently, Allen is on the lookout for a new muse as his previous one, Scarlett Johansson, is too busy acting in mainstream movies such as The Avengers. Allen’s other muses are Mia Farrow and Diane Keaton who have both acted in eight of Allen’s movies.

Sharm says: OMG. This is exactly what Lindsay needs … a chance.

Clooney escapes The Dictator

Remember that ash-dumping trick Sacha Baron Cohen pulled on Ryan Seacrest at the Oscars earlier this year? Well guess what? It wasn’t meant for the American Idol host at all.

Cohen, who was taping an episode of Saturday Night Live which Seacrest attended, apologised to the host for the incident.

Seacrest explained on his morning radio show: “(Cohen) comes off stage and comes over to me. He breaks characters and says, ‘Sorry about the Oscars. It wasn’t personal.’”

The radio deejay also added that Cohen originally planned on pulling the prank on Oscar nominee George Clooney but decided against it eventually.

“Then they somehow spun ‘The Wheel of Tragedy’ and it ended on my name,” added Seacrest.

Sharm says: I don’t think Gorgeous George would’ve handled the situation as well as Ryan did.

He has a big ego and she has a derriere to match its size – Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are dating y’all.

OKAY world, tell the truth. Are you ready for a romantic union that is as huge in diva attitude as it is in terms of drama between reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian and egomaniac rapper Kanye West?

Wait. You know what? Don’t answer that.

Life, as everyone knew it, came to an end early this month after various gossip blogs posted photographs of Kardashian doing the walk of shame the morning after she spent a night with West.
They had a dinner-and-movie date – they watched The Hunger Games, if you must know – the night before, after which Kardashian followed the rapper to his not-so-humble abode in New York City.

So, when she stepped out of West’s apartment the next morning flanked by the rapper’s bodyguards and more importantly, wearing the same black leather pants and white and gray sleeveless T-shirt she sported the previous evening, the paparazzi went wild.

Many fans (and haters especially) hoped that it was just a one-off incident – that maybe Kardashian was simply too intoxicated to drive back home and West was just a good citizen who lent his sofa for her to crash in for the night. Yeah right.

Sorry to disappoint but that was definitely not the case. Soon after the “sleepover”, West released a track titled Theraflu (later renamed as Way Too Cold) in which the lyrics went like this:
“I admit I fell in love with Kim/‘round the same time she fell for him/Well that’s cool, baby girl do your thing/Lucky I ain’t had Jay drop him from the team.”

Yikes, so it’s true that West has a thing for Kardashian and he wants the world to know. This quickly started the speculation that the rapper would make regular appearances on Keeping Up With The Kardashians – the show that many people love to hate but end up watching anyway.

Did you know that Keeping Up has been renewed for three more seasons and that the Kardashian clan will get a US$40mil (RM122mil) paycheck for it? Yes people, that means that all of our prayers didn’t work and we’re still stuck with this shallow, ubiquitous, fame-hungry clan.

TMZ reported that this is the biggest deal in reality TV history and that amount doesn’t include the products associated with the hit show from which the family can make more money from.
Hmm, that Kris Jenner may have trouble controlling her bladder but boy, does she know how to control her family business!

The Kardashian/Jenner matriarch now has another reason to smile as there have been reports that West has agreed to appear on their reality TV show.

That just means more people will tune in to see the drama that unfolds – and yes, with West around, you better believe that we’ll be seeing some drama – around the theatrical family, and they’ll be more famous and ultimately make more money.

However, the relationship might not last long enough for people to see it being played out on television. Kardashian, as we all know, is infamous for her string of unsuccessful relationships; from professional American footballers Reggie Bush and Miles Austin to her bodyguard Shengo and finally the 72-day marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries.

Even her sister Khloe is not taking the sudden pairing too seriously.

“I don’t think it’s serious. I think it’s too soon,” said Khloe on Watch What Happens Live. “But because they’ve been friends for so long, it’s just so easy and that’s something I love seeing for Kim – the easiness and how happy she is. And it’s just more of a great friendship and friendships make the best relationships.”

Erm, okay … but seriously, can a relationship between a drama queen and king ever last? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Sharm says: Kanye, imma let you date Kim … but I think Beyonce has the best behind of all time.

There is never an end to the gossip and stories about celebrities from all over the world.

He put a ring on it

You guys must have heard the news already – Brad Pitt asked his baby mama Angelina Jolie to marry him and she said a big, fat yes! *cue angels singing*

Well, it’s not that there is any need for the couple to officially tie the knot, they have been together for over six years (that’s about 650 light years in Hollywood terms), and seem to have a pretty strong relationship going on.

Brad and Angie once declared that they would only get hitched when there’s marriage equality for everyone in the world, but obviously they’ve succumbed to their brood’s requests of making it official.

Angie said to Extra in February, “They figured out what marriage is now, they’re old enough so now they kind of like the idea of it.
“But we’re still convinced that half of them just want to party. They’ve heard there’s good cake.”

Sharm says: How do I score an invitation to this wedding? Anyone needs a kidney? An eye perhaps?

No Twitter for Minaj

Nicki Minaj is an angry woman these days. So angry that she terminated her Twitter account and left her 11 million followers hanging. The drama started when a fan site posted tracks from her album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and Nicki got wind of it.

She was extremely angry and then tweeted up a storm, starting with: “And that’s exactly why I’m paying the barbz DUST right now!” (FYI, Barbz is what she calls her fans.)

She returned to Twitter on Sunday to proclaim that she’s looking for a new set of followers. She said: “On second thought I’ll just follow a new set of barbz. The ones I follow r very mean and ratchet. *side eyes them* *looks into the sea for more.”

Sharm says: Nicki had 11 million followers? What’s wrong with people nowadays?

Jail scare

The royal sister-in-law – commonly known as Pippa Middleton – found herself in trouble after a passenger in the car she was riding in waved a gun at a photographer in Paris last weekend.

Pippa was in the City of Love for a costume party with her buddy Arthur De Soultrait, who was also seen in the car with the lot.

They were photographed smiling as one of their friends pointed the gun at a French paparazzo who was taking photos of them. The Sun obtained the said photograph, and of course, it is now available for all to see on the Internet.

While it’s still unclear whether the gun was real, Pippa and her buddies could face jail time – for seven years maximum if the gun turns out to be real, or two years if it’s fake – for the offence. Yikes.

Sharm says: Dear Pippa and friends, use cameras, not guns, to shoot back at the pesky paparazzi.

It’s Kelso and Jackie!

Ashton Kutcher is moving on from his divorce from Demi Moore, and if pictures on the Internet are to be believed, he’s getting real cosy with former castmate Mila Kunis.

The pair, who worked together on the hit TV series That 70’s Show, were seen having dinner together and were spotted being all cuddly and lovey-dovey. The couple do seem to share great chemistry together.

They were adorable on that TV series and many say that they make a cute couple in real life as well.

Mila has not been in a steady relationship since splitting up with her boyfriend of eight years, Macaulay Culkin (yup, that kid from Home Alone).

Sharm says: Can’t get over the fact that Mila dated Macaulay. For eight years.

By SHARMILA NAIR

alltherage@thestar.com.my

OKAY, let’s be honest here. How many of you squealed in excitement when you heard that Kim Kardashian had a bag of flour thrown at her? Well, I sure did.  *guilty look*

It really was an immature thing to do, but one can’t help but feel erm … gleeful that something as embarrassing as that happened to one of the annoying Kardashian sisters.

From many people’s point of view, the ubiquitous reality star had it coming for a long, long time which is why some of them are rallying behind the perpetrator and hailing her as a “brave soul”.

What they don’t know is that the so-called-brave (and in reality, silly) woman now faces criminal charges from Kardashian. She believes that the woman who threw the flour at her shouldn’t get off scot-free and that she should be accountable for her actions.

Kardashian probably wants to send a message to other “brave souls” out there that she is not one to sit around and be bullied.

Kim Kardashian loves her fur.

She is not the first celebrity ever to get “attacked” with flour. Lindsay Lohan, too, found herself covered with the white substance a few years back in Paris.

It was later revealed that Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was behind the Lohan flour-bomb incident. Right after the attack, a Peta spokesperson said, “There is nothing remotely ‘fashionable’ about the torture and death of animals killed for fur. Lindsay Lohan might be able to ignore images of bloody animals skinned alive for their pelts, but we hope a dash of flour will help her rise to the occasion and forsake fur once and for all.”

Lohan’s partner at the time, Samantha Ronson, then took to her blog to vent her frustration over Peta’s guerilla tactics in promoting the prevention of animal cruelty.

She wrote: “Peta should focus their efforts on educating people on what they believe are injustices instead of seeking press via harassing those in the limelight. I received an apology too many days late from the Peta folks (the blog removal was too little too late) and today I’m p***** at the bag of flour thrown on Lindsay last night. Not because I got powdered down, but because the girl who threw it acted like an animal herself. I take that back, it’s an insult to animals to group her in with them, my dog is FAR more civilised than that person. I would have more respect for them if they didn’t use other people to get their point across. Lindsay, Mary Kate, Ashley Olsen, Anna Wintour and the rest of the targeted celebrities aren’t the problem, I’m pretty sure they’re not the only ones wearing fur, in fact, they should be appreciated by Peta for giving them a target. If it weren’t for them, who would get them press?”

While many people were quick to blame Peta for the latest Kardashian scandal, the group however denied any involvement with the incident.

Nevertheless, in a statement released to Gossip Cop, they said: “Peta has tried everything from polite letters to public protests, but Kim Kardashian has not been moved by the news that animals are beaten, electrocuted, and even skinned alive for real fur garments.”

What is ironic is that Kim’s own sister, Khloe was once involved in Peta’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign.

There was even an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians on Khloe’s involvement, remember? The one in which Bruce Jenner called Khloe fat and she flipped.

In a statement on Peta’s website, Khloe, who posed nude for the campaign’s poster, said that she had no idea what happened to animals killed for their fur until she watched the videos by Peta.

“The videos are so graphic but they are so necessary for people to watch. I’m so grateful that I did get the opportunity to see them. I had no idea that’s how these animals are treated.”

Of course, fur-wearer Kim was not around to see the video. (Khloe has since a change of mind regarding Peta after the Kim-got-floured episode. She said on her official website, “I just received word that the woman responsible has very close ties to Peta despite Peta publicly stating otherwise. Not only has Peta lied to the public, but they have proved that they support this kind of behavior. We all need to practice what we preach. I will still continue to NOT wear fur, but I will no longer support Peta. Bullying and harassment is NEVER a solution, and I won’t be a part of any organisation that thinks otherwise.”)

There are some parties who claim that Peta often oversteps its boundaries and comes up with ridiculous accusations. Like the time when they pounced on poor, ditzy Jessica Simpson for wearing a T-shirt that said “Real Girls Eat Meat”.

Poor Simpson, she was probably just hungry and was craving for some Texas-sized steak. Peta however, came up with a really rude statement urging Simpson to become a vegetarian to increase her brain power. “The woman who thought that Buffalo ‘wings’ came from buffalos would benefit from some good veggie brain food,” the group’s spokesperson said.

Ouch!

Sharm says: People, leave them animals alone. Be comfortable in your own skin and not that of some poor animal.