In the Big Fat Rumor of the Day, the “National Enquirer” is reporting that Usher wants a paternity test done on his youngest child, 6-month-old Naviyd, because he and his soon-to-be ex-wife Tameka were having little to no sexual relations at the time she conceived. “The first thing Usher said was, ‘How did this happen?’ because he was gone a lot, and their sex life was very, very limited,” a friend of Usher told the tabloid. “People have been telling him that around the time the little boy was conceived, Tameka got together with another man.” Tameka, however, claims Naviyd is Usher’s child and says it was Usher who was being unfaithful at the time. “She says that although they weren’t spending much time together, they did get together for one night of passion. And that’s when she got pregnant,” the source said. Meanwhile, E! is reporting that Tameka’s new court filing states she and Ursh have not been separated since July 2008 and, in fact, were “intimately together” less than a week before he started divorce proceedings. She had “every reason to believe her marriage was intact,” her attorney stated in documents filed Monday in Atlanta. Tameka’s filing seeks to ensure that her estranged husband takes care of all of her legal fees pertaining to the split and continues to support his family financially, according to E! Online. Usher filed for divorce June 12, checking off “irretrievably broken” as his reason to end the marriage and requesting joint custody of the couple’s two sons.

We don’t have many details yet, but the “National Enquirer” claims that R. Kelly could be facing yet another underage sex scandal. Supposedly, police investigators showed up at Kelly’s Chicago-area home to investigate a tip that an underage girl was living with him. They found that there was indeed a 17-year-old girl living with Kelly, but 17 is the legal age of consent in Illinois. So that in itself isn’t a crime. The investigation isn’t necessarily over, though. Police are now trying to determine the nature of Kelly’s relationship with the girl, and how long it’s been going on. Kelly, who’s 42 years old, is currently on tour in South Africa, and will be questioned when he returns. R. Kelly’s people are flat-out denying this entire story. Kelly’s rep says, “A wildly exaggerated and inaccurate report has been circulating on the Internet that Olympia Fields police showed up at R. Kelly’s house with a search warrant and searched the place looking for a missing 17-year-old girl. This is completely false. No police ever showed up at Kelly’s house with a search warrant nor was his house ever searched. It is also not true, as the unsubstantiated report claimed, that any such girl ever stayed overnight in Kelly’s house or that she had been there but left shortly before some mythical police search.” Last year, Kelly was acquitted of various charges for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with a girl who may have been as young as 13 or 14. Back in 1994, Kelly married Aaliyah. She was only 15 at the time. The marriage was annulled within a year. Kelly has also settled out of court with three women who sued him, claiming he had sex with them when they were underage.

Kevin Jonas is engaged! Yesterday morning, Kevin showed up at the doorstep of his girlfriend, Danielle Deleasa, in New Jersey and popped the question.  And yes, he did indeed get down on one knee. Kevin says, “She said ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ like 500 times super fast in a row.” Kevin actually flew to New Jersey from Vancouver, where the Jonas Brothers had just performed the previous night. Kevin says, “It was tough performing knowing that I was going to ask the biggest question in my life to the most amazing girl in the world.” Kevin and Danielle met in May of 2007, while vacationing with their respective families in the Bahamas. At the time, Danielle claims she didn’t even know who the Jonas Brothers were. Kevin is 21, Danielle is 22.  There’s no word yet on a wedding date.

Hilary Duff will guest star on a few episodes of “Gossip Girl” this fall. According to “Entertainment Weekly”, she’ll be playing Olivia, a movie star who enrolls at New York University to enjoy a “normal” college experience. She’ll be rooming with Jessica Szohr’s character, Vanessa. If you’re a “Gossip Girl” nut, it sounds like she may hook-up with Dan, Penn Badgley’s character. Supposedly, he’s into her, but doesn’t know she’s famous. Word has it she’ll be doing a “multi-episode arc” on the show, but it’s unclear exactly how many episodes that run will include. She’ll first appear in the fourth episode of the season, which is scheduled to air on October 5th. Earlier this year, Hilary was developing a series called “Barely Legal” for NBC. It was described as a legal version of “Doogie Howser, M.D.”. But NBC eventually passed on it.

Simon Cowell is currently in negotiations with Fox for his next “American Idol” contract and if the Big Fat Rumor of the Day is true, he’s in for an enormous bump. This past year, Simon reportedly made $36 million for doing “Idol” and according to Britain’s “The Guardian” newspaper, Fox has offered Simon, “three or four times that amount” to stay on the show. That means his next contract could pay him between $100 million and $144 million per year. Not surprisingly, Fox won’t comment on any of this. And Simon’s people haven’t, either. As ridiculous as those numbers sound, “Idol” is a huge moneymaker. It’s the highest-rated show on TV and it generates an estimated $900 million a year for Fox. Just to be clear, Simon is signed through next season. His contract is up after that in May of next year.

Mariah Carey has been shooting a music video for her new single, “Obsessed”, this week and in some of the scenes, Mariah is made up like a man. Some pictures from the shoot have been released and Mariah looks pretty convincing as a guy. Now, because Mariah is wearing a gray hoodie and a baseball hat in some of the pics, people think she’s trying to take a dig at Eminem. Never mind the fact that she also has dark hair and a thick goatee. When “Obsessed” was released, some people thought it was her answer to Em’s track, “Bagpipes from Baghdad” where he raps about wanting to take Mariah “back” from her husband, Nick Cannon. But Mariah is not copping to taking a shot at anyone. She says, “It was weird, but I wasn’t playing anyone in particular we were actually inspired by “The King of Comedy” starring Jerry Lewis and Robert DeNiro.” She adds that she was trying to look like, “your regular everyday stalker.”

Hayden Panettiere is ok with getting naked for the whole world to see. In fact, she bares her body in her new flick, “I love You, Beth Cooper”. Hayden plays Beth, a high school cheerleader. Cooper is the object of affection for a nerdy character played by Denis Cooverman. During a steamy locker room scene in the film, she drops her towel. But, according to Hayden, she’s fine with the decision. She reveals, “If I can’t flaunt it at 20, come on! I mean I might as well show it now.”

It looks like Michael Jackson is not the biological father of his three kids. But, here’s another wrinkle: There’s talk that Debbie Rowe isn’t the biological mother of the two eldest children. Yes, Debbie carried both 12-year-old Prince Michael and 11-year-old Paris in her womb. But this new rumor claims they were created in vitro, and supposedly, she didn’t supply the egg. Debbie’s attorney is strongly denying this. She says, “We refuse to be drawn into addressing the various rumors and speculation swirling in the media. The vast majority of what is out there is untrue. Particularly hurtful and insidious is the most recent rumor which is entirely false concerning the maternity of the children. Ms. Rowe is the biological mother of the two oldest children.” Meanwhile, “Us Weekly” claims that the real father of Prince and Paris is Debbie’s former boss and Michael’s former dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein. A “Jackson insider” says, “Dr. Klein is the dad.  He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth.” As for the youngest child, Prince Michael, II, he was also conceived in vitro, and born to a surrogate mother who was, presumably, the biological parent. But Michael, once again, allegedly, was not the sperm donor. If Michael isn’t the biological father of any of these children, that brings up an interesting issue. According to TMZ, Michael never filed papers to adopt any of these kids. Which means that the actual biological parents, whomever they may be, could conceivably have a stronger claim to them. It’s not clear if the mother of Prince Michael, II knew she was carrying a baby for Michael Jackson. Supposedly, the kid was scooped up from the hospital by an attorney just a few days after he was born.
There will be some kind of memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Neverland Ranch this weekend. The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department is already coordinating with the California Highway Patrol on issues like traffic and crowd control. Michael’s body is expected to be transported from L.A. to the ranch tomorrow. Details haven’t been released yet, but sources say a public service, with Michael’s body “lying in state”, may take place on Friday, followed by a private service on Sunday. The Jackson Family has already denied that Michael will be buried at Neverland. But we saw that a cement truck arrived there yesterday.

In the Big Fat Rumor of the Day, we were supposed to see Chris Brown perform in a dedication to Michael Jackson at the BET Awards. Well, that rumor was supposedly a reality until the last minute. All because of Jay-Z. Due to his relationship with Rihanna, he wouldn’t permit Chris in the theater. Not even for Michael Jackson. But Jigga put the stop to Chris Brown doing anything at the BET Awards because he didn’t want him anywhere near his close friend and his label mate. Now, I don’t know if Jay-Z truly has that sort of power over BET. Another theory seems a little more realistic. BET just didn’t want the controversy of Chris Brown, who just plead out to felony assault, to be the hallmark of their event. I think it’s the future that BET had to look out for. The final word on this rumor really seems to be that Covergirl, the show’s most involved sponsor was about to withdraw their support if Breezy was involved. As you know, Rihanna is a spokes person.

Drea De Matteo, who played Adriana on “The Sopranos,” has joined the cast of “Desperate Housewives”. She’ll be a regular cast member next season, playing the mother of an Italian family that moves to Wisteria Lane. Her character is being described as a “vixen” so it’s probably safe to assume she was brought in to replace Nicolette Sherian. She arrives from New York with a husband and 19-year-old son in tow. Season 6 premieres September 24th.

Melissa Rycroft is finally headed down the aisle. She’s engaged to Dallas insurance agent Tye Strickland. They dated on and off for more than 2 years. No wedding date has been set. He was in the audience while she competed on “Dancing With the Stars.” The “off” time must have been while she was hunting for a ring from Jason on “The Bachelor.”

“Dancing with the Stars” judge Len Goodman has announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in March, but fortunately, he says it was caught early and he’s now feeling, “right as rain.”  Even though the cancer was discovered months ago, Len decided to postpone surgery until he finished this past season of “Dancing with the Stars”. He says, “I could have said ’sorry’ and not done the show, but the doctors felt I wasn’t riddled with it and it wasn’t so far advanced that it was a life-or-death scenario. It takes a few weeks to get everything set up for the operation anyway, so I went ahead and did the show. I had the surgery done as soon as I got back from America.”

Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine was granted temporary custody of Michael’s three children, 12-year-old Prince Michael, 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine and 7-year-old Prince Michael, II. They’ve been staying at the Jackson Family home since Michael died on Thursday. There will be a hearing on August 3rd to determine whether or not she gets permanent custody. Katherine and her husband Joe also filed a separate petition yesterday, seeking control of Michael’s estate. She was named a, “temporary special administrator” of the estate, meaning that she’ll have power to control at least some aspects of it for the time being. In their petition, Katherine and Joe expressed concern about unnamed “third parties” that had control of certain aspects of Michael’s estate, and could potentially mishandle them. As for custody, we still don’t know the intentions of Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of the two eldest kids. Especially since that interview of hers that we heard about yesterday turned out to be bogus. In the interview, conducted by Britain’s “News of the World” tabloid, Debbie supposedly said she had no interest in the kids, and that she was basically just a womb to them, and nothing more. Well, Debbie’s attorney, Marta Almli, now says, “The interview did not occur. The article is a complete fabrication.” But Almli wouldn’t speak about Debbie’s actual intentions. She said, “Ms. Rowe’s only thoughts at this time have been regarding the devastating loss Michael’s family has suffered. Ms. Rowe requests that Michael’s family, and particularly the children, be spared such harmful, sensationalist speculation and that they be able to say goodbye to their loved one in peace.” The big question that everyone is pondering in terms of custody is whether or not Debbie will come after the kids if it looks like she might benefit financially from having custody of them. A team from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office went to Michael Jackson’s rented home yesterday and confiscated various prescription drugs.
There’s no word what those drugs were, but investigators reportedly left Michael’s house with, “two large plastic bags” full of stuff. You may have heard about this. They claimed that Michael was almost completely bald, had nothing but pills in his stomach, had broken ribs from CPR, and had needle marks all over his body, including four right near his heart. Well, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office says that report is bogus, and, “It is not accurate. Some of it is totally false.”

An autopsy has been performed on Michael Jackson but, as usual, the results are inconclusive at this time. A spokesman for the L.A. County Coroner’s Office said they’ll know more when results from the toxicology tests come back, which will take four to six weeks. But there are no signs of foul play or, “external trauma.” The spokesman added that Jackson was taking unspecified prescription medications at the time of his death. But the Jackson Family is having a second autopsy done because they want to know what really happened the day Michael died.

The Jacson Family issued their official statement over the weekend.  Here it is, “In one of the darkest moments of our lives we find it hard to find the words appropriate to this sudden tragedy we all had to encounter. Our beloved son, brother and father of three children has gone so unexpectedly, in such a tragic way and much too soon. It leaves us, his family, speechless and devastated to a point, where communication with the outside world seems almost impossible at times. We miss Michael endlessly, our pain cannot be described in words.  But Michael would not want us to give up now. So we want to thank all of his faithful supporters and loyal fans worldwide, you who Michael loved so much. Please do not despair, because Michael will continue to live on in each and every one of you. Continue to spread his message, because that is what he would want you to do. Carry on, so his legacy will live forever. In addition, Joseph Jackson wishes to personally convey: ‘My grandchildren are deeply moved by all the love and support you have shown for them and their father, Michael Jackson.’”

There’s still no word on a memorial service for Michael, but there’s some talk going around that it’ll happen Wednesday at the Neverland Ranch. Supposedly, there’s at least one proposal on the table to have Michael buried at Neverland and to turn the place into another Graceland. Michael last updated his will in 2002, after his youngest son was born. There’s no word what provisions are in it or if the family has even seen it yet.

Everyone’s been under the impression that Debbie Rowe signed away her parental rights for the children she bore Michael Jackson. And that’s true. But as it turns out, she still has those rights. During their custody battle in 2005, Debbie agreed to give up her rights. And the judge who presided over their hearing agreed to let that happen. But he later changed his mind and restored Debbie’s parental rights. What that means is that Debbie could battle the Jackson Family for custody of Michael’s two oldest kids, 12-year-old Prince Michael and 11-year-old Paris. 7-year-old Prince Michael, II a.k.a. “Blanket” was born to a surrogate mother after Michael and Debbie divorced. It is believed that Michael’s parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson, plan on raising all three kids. We understand that that Joe and Katherine would not refuse Debbie access to the kids. But it’s not clear whether Debbie wants custody or even a relationship with the children. Britain’s “News of the World” tabloid has a pretty extensive interview with Debbie, in which she claims she wants nothing to do with her kids. Keep in mind, however, that this particular tabloid is a rag and they’ve printed more than their share of bogus “stories” and “quotes”. With that in mind, here’s what Debbie Rowe allegedly told them. First of all, she said the kids aren’t even Michael’s. She was artificially inseminated using anonymous donors. She said, “I offered him my womb, it was a gift. It was something I did to keep him happy.” Debbie says she and Michael never had sex, but she doesn’t believe that he was gay or a child molester. As for the custody issue, Debbie said, “I was never a good mother, I never felt any attachment to them. It was a better feeling giving them to him than it was keeping them as my own. I know I will never see them again. I was never cut out to be a mother. I was no good. I don’t want these children in my life. My children are my animals now.” “People” magazine says that Michael Jackson’s family tried to stage an intervention for him in Las Vegas three years ago to get him to stop using prescription drugs.

Siblings Randy, Jackie and Rebbie confronted Michael in person, and Janet participated by phone. But a so-called “source” says, “Michael got pissed off.  He said he wasn’t on drugs. But they didn’t believe him.”

When Lisa Marie Presley was married to Michael Jackson in the mid-1990s, Michael used to tell her he was worried he’d end up like her father, Elvis Presley. Elvis succumbed to a painkiller addiction at the age of 42. On her MySpace blog, Lisa Marie says, “I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that.” Lisa Marie also defends their marriage which more than a few people questioned. She says, “Our relationship was not ‘a sham’ as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a ‘Normal life’ found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much.”

Organizers of last night’s “BET Awards” spent the weekend re-tooling the show, in order to turn it into a tribute to Michael Jackson. Host Jamie Foxx opened the show with some Michael Jackson dance moves and pretty much everybody who took the stage to present or receive an award gave props to Michael and sent their love out to his family. Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, was seated in the front row and at the end of the show, Janet Jackson made a surprise appearance and issued a brief statement.

“Time” magazine busted some butt to get a Michael Jackson tribute issue onto the newsstands today.  Check out the cover!

You know that whole “Death comes in threes” theory? We thought there would be a break after the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Wrong. Professional TV pitchman Billy Mays died yesterday. He was only 50 years old. You know Billy Mays. He’s that burly, bearded guy who sold all manner of products including Oxi Clean and Kaboom. He started most of his commercials by saying, “Hi, Billy Mays here.” Well, Billy went to bed Saturday night at his home in Tampa, Florida and never woke up. His wife found him unresponsive at 7:45am. There’s no word yet on a cause of death, but foul play is not suspected. On Saturday, however, Billy apparently suffered a blow to the head while on a flight from Philadelphia where he’d just shot a new Oxi Clean commercial. The plane had a rough landing, because the two front tires blew as it hit the runway. Billy told a local TV station, “All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head.” Right after the incident, Billy Tweeted, “Just had a close call landing in Tampa. The tires blew out upon landing. Stuck in the plane on the runway. You can always count on US Air.” Billy wasn’t feeling well when he went to bed Saturday night at around 10:00pm. Obviously, people are speculating that Billy died from a subdural hematoma which is bleeding in the brain, often caused by head trauma. That’s what killed actress Natasha Richardson after she bumped her head in a skiing accident. It’s all speculation, though, until an autopsy is performed and the findings are released. Billy’s wife Deborah issued the following statement, “Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times.”

Kendra Wilkinson married Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett at the Playboy Mansion on Saturday. Kendra’s fellow “Girls Next Door” Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt acted as bridesmaids. Hugh Hefner was there too, obviously. Both Kendra and Hank wore white while Kendra accentuated her dress with more than $100,000 in platinum jewelry. Cameras were rolling, of course, and the wedding was recorded for an upcoming episode of the E! reality show, “Kendra”.

Vanessa Minnillo isn’t wasting any time finding a replacement for Nick Lachey. Vanessa and former “That ’70s Show” actor Topher Grace hit the dance floor together at a party on Saturday night. Witnesses say they started making out during the Jackson 5’s “ABC”. They left together at around 1:30am.

Last week, Chris Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault and as part of the deal he got, he was ordered to stay 50 yards from Rihanna. Supposedly, that’s making it difficult for them to work on their “friendship.” A so-called “mutual pal” of Chris and Rihanna tells the “New York Daily News”, “They think the order is unnecessary and ridiculous. After the proceeding, Ri and Chris talked on the phone for almost an hour and really worked at becoming friends. They’re solid now.” But not “solid” enough to rebuild their romantic relationship. The source says, “That’s 100% done. They aren’t looking to hook back up again. They’re both moving on and going their separate ways.”

Michael Jackson died yesterday, after suffering an apparent heart attack at his home. He was 50 years old. Michael collapsed at the rented mansion where he was living in Holmby Hills, California. Paramedics were called at about 12:30pm. They arrived within minutes and found him unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed. Efforts to resuscitate him continued both en route to UCLA Medical Center and after the arrival at 1:14pm. Michael remained in a coma and was pronounced dead at 2:26pm local Pacific time. An autopsy will be performed today and results and will likely take weeks to return.

MICHAEL JACKSON:  THE TRIBUTES: 
QUINCY JONES:  “I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news.  For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. He had it all . . . talent, grace, professionalism and dedication.  He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever.  I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”
ELIZABETH TAYLOR’S rep issued this statement:  “Dame Elizabeth Taylor is too devastated by the passing of her dear friend Michael Jackson to issue a statement at this time.  We will direct her words to you once we receive them.”
LISA MARIE PRESLEY: “I’m completely shocked and saddened.  My heart goes out to his children and his family.”
MADONNA:  “I can’t stop crying over the sad news.  I have always admired Michael Jackson.  The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever!  My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family.  God bless.”
BEYONCÉ:  “The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music.  He was magic.  He was what we all strive to be.  He will always be the King of Pop! . . . I love you Michael.”
EDDIE VAN HALEN:  “I am really shocked;  as I’m sure the world is, to hear the news.  I had the pleasure of working with Michael on ‘Beat It’ back in ‘83 . . . one of my fondest memories in my career.”  (Eddie played the guitar solo on “Beat It”)
USHER:  “I would not be the artist, performer, and philanthropist I am today without the influence of Michael. He broke barriers, he changed radio formats!  With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world.  His legacy is unparalleled. Michael Jackson will never be forgotten.”
PUFF DIDDLY POOH:  “Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat.  He made the music come to life!!  He made me believe in magic.  I will miss him!”
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE:  “I can’t find the words right now to express how deeply saddened I am by Michael’s passing.  We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only pop music, but of all music. I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together.  My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.”
LUDACRIS:  “If it were not for Michael Jackson I would not be where or who I am today.  His Music and Legacy will live on Forever.  Prayers to the fam.  R.I.P.”
MC HAMMER:  “I have no words.  I loved Michael Jackson.  RIP.”
JOHN MAYER:  “Dazed in the studio.  A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us.  RIP MJ.  I think we’ll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to ‘Thriller’ on the record player.”
SHERYL CROW:  “His was a rare talent that we witness once in a lifetime . . . I had the great privilege of watching him every night doing what he did best - entertain. I am grateful to have known him for the 2 years I worked for him and will mourn his loss with his many millions of fans across the world.” (She was a backup singer on Michael’s “Bad” tour)
BRITNEY SPEARS:  “I was so excited to see his show in London.  We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him.  He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!”
MILEY CYRUS:  “Michael Jackson was my inspiration. Love and blessings.”
AL SHARPTON:  “I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown. I have known him at his high moments and his low moments and I know he would want us to pray for his family.”
COREY FELDMAN: “I am trembling and shaking at the moment and it is very hard to type.  I am filled with tremendous sadness and remorse. All I choose to remember from this point is the good times we shared and what an inspiration he was to me and the rest of the world.  Nobody will ever be able to do what Michael Jackson has done in this industry, and he was so close to doing it all again. I am truly, and deeply sorry for all of the heartbroken fans and supporters worldwide.  I think I am still in shock.  So I must end this now.”

Farrah Fawcett lost her battled with cancer yesterday. She was 62 years old. Her longtime boyfriend, Ryan O’Neal, and close friend Alana Stewart were with her when she died. Ryan released the following statement, “After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away. Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”

In-between all the reports on Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett’s death, a false rumor began making the rounds online that Jeff Goldblum had died, too. According to the fake story, Jeff fell to his death while filming a movie in New Zealand. Not long after the word began getting around, Jeff’s publicist shot it down. The rep, one Lisa Kasteler, said, “Reports that Jeff Goldblum has passed away are completely untrue. He is fine and in Los Angeles.”

Close friends of Michelle Obama say she appears to be drinking more than she should in the Big Fat Rumor of the Day. They believe the responsibilities of being The First Lady may be catching up with her. The “National Enquirer” reports President Barack Obama is stepping in as the husband to help control the alcohol consumption.

Kodak was offering $5,000 to anyone who could track down the boy with the rose who Megan Fox snubbed at the London premiere of “Transformers:  Revenge of the Fallen”. Megan was leaving the theater when the kid tried to give her a rose, but she just walked past. She’s since apologized, explaining that she was swarmed by paparazzi and didn’t even see him. Well, on Wednesday night, an email came thru from a woman in Montreal named Kim who’s friends with the kid on Facebook. Apparently, his name is Harvey  (or, as he spells it on Facebook, “Harvii”) and he’s an 11-year-old from southwest London. Anyway, it looks like being publicly humiliated might just be the best thing that ever happened to Harvey because Kodak has offered to fly him and his entire family to Los Angeles so he can give Megan his rose in person. 

 “Transformers:  Revenge of the Fallen” took in an insane $60.6 million on its first day in theaters. It is second largest single-day box office ever, behind only “The Dark Knight”, which opened on a Thursday at midnight with $67.2 million. Just for comparison, here are the top five best opening days of all time:
1.)  “The Dark Knight”  $67.2 million
2.)  “Transformers:  Rise of the Fallen”  $60.6 million
3.)  “Spider-Man 3″  $59.8 million
4.)  “Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man’s Chest”  $55.8 million
5.)  “Star Wars:  Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith”  $50 million
Estimates have “Transformers” taking in somewhere between $150 million and $170 million by Sunday, which means it also has a pretty good shot at beating the current five-day record of $152.4 million set by “Spider-Man 2″ in 2004.

PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO ANNOUNCING DEATH

(CNN) — He was lauded and ridiculed. He broke down barriers and built them around himself. He soared to heights unimaginable with his music, and he made the ignominious front page of gutter tabloids worldwide.

Michael Jackson broke down musical and cultural barriers his entire life.

For Michael Jackson, the spotlight was always present, and the rest of the world followed.

With “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” — the latter with Eddie Van Halen’s scorching guitar solo — he was almost single-handedly responsible for getting videos by African-American artists on MTV and helped revitalize the moribund Top 40 format in the early 1980s.

“Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a friend. “Michael did with music what they later did in sports, and in politics and in television. No controversy will erase the historic impact.”

“Thriller,” a 14-minute video extravaganza directed by John Landis, paved the way for the elaborate music videos to follow — including Jackson’s “Scream,” recorded with sister Janet in 1995, which cost a reported $7 million and may be the most expensive video ever.

His incredible dance talent, a modern twist on the Motown moves he witnessed as a child, led to a heightened focus on choreography in pop music videos and stage shows.

His 1982 album “Thriller” smashed records. It was No. 1 for 37 weeks and, at its peak, sold a million copies a week. To date, it has sold nearly 50 million copies worldwide. The achievement set a high bar for Jackson; when his 1995 greatest-hits CD, “HIStory,” sold 7 million copies, it was considered a relative failure.

Jackson was also a fashion icon, his heavily zippered leather jackets a de rigueur 1980s fashion accessory, his single, spangled glove beyond compare.

On the down side, Jackson also led in making pop stars the subject of the paparazzi and tabloids in a way, perhaps, equaled only by such icons as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the pre-”Sgt. Pepper” Beatles. Rumors abounded, from his pets to his sleeping habits to his cosmetic surgery, all fodder for the press. After stories arose of possible child molestation, he never got back in the media’s good graces; he was treated as a traveling circus.

From the time he was a child, it was obvious Michael Jackson was something special. In 1966, when he was 8, he joined his brothers in the band his father put together and started singing lead with brother Jermaine.

Though Motown Records was the top label of the 1960s, inventing what it called “the Sound of Young America,” by 1969 — when Jackson and his brothers in the Jackson 5 first hit the charts — the label was finding itself out of step with the psychedelic and hard-soul sounds of the times. 

Enter the quintet from Gary, Indiana.

Motown signed the group in 1968 and poured its all into the Jackson 5’s first single, “I Want You Back” — the writing and production team were credited as “The Corporation” — and Jackson’s imploring, dramatic vocal rocked America. The song hit No. 1 in January 1970, and was followed by three more No. 1s in quick succession.

Thanks to their squeaky-clean image, the Jackson 5 became teen idols, unusual for a group of African-American youngsters. Michael Jackson’s face appeared on the covers of teen magazines; the band even became the subject of an animated Saturday-morning TV show, another first for an African-American group.

But it was in the 1980s, when Jackson became a worldwide phenomenon, that his impact really began to be felt.

He was much imitated, from his hair to his clothes to his dance moves. The music was superbly crafted pop, produced by Quincy Jones and often written by Jackson himself. Even rock critics approved; the album “Thriller” earned an A from the picky Robert Christgau, among others. 

There came a moment, around that time, when pop music went into a Jackson era. “Thriller” had nine songs; seven of them became singles. Jackson teamed with Lionel Richie to write the fundraising song “We Are the World”; it was his presence, as much as that of Richie, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, that propelled the song to No. 1.

Jackson reteamed with his brothers for an album, “Destiny,” and accompanying tour. It was the hottest tour of the year, despite complaints about sales practices. (Partly because of the controversy, Jackson announced publicly he was donating all his money from the tour to charity.)

He was a role model. At the peak of his fame, there were reports of a humbly dressed Jackson ringing doorbells as part of his Jehovah’s Witness faith.

Though Jackson’s image eventually became sullied by the molestation allegations and stories of eccentricity, there was never any doubt about his entertainment legacy. “Thriller” and “Bad” are still among the top sellers of all time. His fluid dance moves and stage presence set standards that rising stars — often compared to Jackson — struggle to equal.

“Of all the thousands of entertainers I have worked with, Michael was the most outstanding. Many have tried and will try to copy him, but his talent will never be matched. He was truly one-of-a-kind,” said Dick Clark, who would know.

And then there’s the music, from the early, explosive joy of the Jackson 5 hits to the elegant ballads, down-and-dirty grooves and ecstatic dance hits of his solo years. “The Love You Save,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Bad” — they are pop music boiled down to its best essence, with a good beat, an engrossing melody and even, sometimes, a message of love and fellowship.

It’s enough to take a listener to the moon.

Here are some update links:

Click here to read article on TMZ

Click here to read article on MTV.com

I guess Cassie started a trend… Here is Carmen Electra with half of her head shaved off! What in the world? Oh well, Nicodemus thinks it’s sexy… but what do YOU think?

 

And now I just got a text from Kemia from Hampton - She gave me the scoop that LaLa - Carmello Anthony’s wife - shaved her head last week too! Sheesh!

There are a couple of Chris Brown songs floating around with the unfortunate titles, “Not My Fault” and “Smash”.  Some people are claiming that these are new songs that were leaked. But it turns out that these are old demos, recorded before Chris’s altercation with Rihanna.  His rep says,  “There are no ‘new’ songs from Chris Brown currently being promoted by Chris or his record label.”

Kate Gosselin is on the cover of this week’s “People” magazine. Obviously, the topic of conversation is her divorce. She said, “I don’t hate Jon. He’s lost, he’s confused. I don’t look at him 100% of the time with horrible anger and animosity. I was operating under the belief that marriage is forever. So I exhausted myself trying to do everything and make everything be okay, when maybe it just couldn’t.” By the way, after peeking at the divorce papers, it sounds like this won’t be an amicable split.  It reads, “The plaintiff and defendant have been unable to agree as to the equitable distribution” of their marital property. And then finally, TLC says they are not planning on including Jon’s alleged mistress, Deanna Hummel, on any future episodes like the Big Fat Rumor of the Day speculated. The network says, “There are no plans to use her. We are in hiatus and all future episodes haven’t even been planned.”

Britney Spears just announced the opening acts for the second leg of her North American tour. The lucky ladies are Ciara and Kristinia DeBarge! Both singers are thrilled to join the 20-city tour beginning in August. “Joining Britney Spears for her “Circus” tour will be an amazing and surreal experience for me. I have been dreaming of an opportunity like this forever, and can’t wait,” said Kristina.

Here’s the photographic evidence that shows Perez Hilton getting pounded by the Black Eyed Peas’ manager, Polo Molina. Look closely, it’s not the bald guy on the left of Perez, you can see the contact of the fist on the side of Perez’s head!

Not surprisingly, very few celebrities seem terribly distraught that Perez Hilton got clocked by the Black Eyed Peas’ manager Polo Molina on Sunday night. No one had any issue with Will.I.am but they let Perez have it. Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes said, “You got Boom Boom Pow’d! The fact is, not everyone is going to take being called a vulgar expletive lightly.” Pete Wentz said, “Sometimes it’s funny when people get what they deserve.” Here’s what Fergie’s husband, Josh Duhamel, had to say, “When you get rich saying hateful things sometimes you ask for it. It’s an unfortunate incident, and I hope it goes away.” Meanwhile, John Mayer actually had a back-and-forth with Perez himself on Twitter. And even though he’s generally cool with Perez, John did actually kind of let him have it. He told Perez, “What you experienced these last 24 hours is a profound lack of control. You can’t blog the world, my friend.” Then he suggested that Perez would have handled the situation better if he’d been versed in the Israeli martial art Krav Maga and added, “I also want to train you in an old martial art called “Never Call A Black Dude a (Gay slur) Jitsu.” And here’s an absolute classic from Mayer, “Perez Hilton’s video statement is so long that by the end of it his cut healed.” However, there is at least one supporter. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are on his side. Spencer tweeted, “Speidi is never buying anything black eyed pees related! Not that I did in the past but now I really won’t! What a coward!” But Kelly Clarkson is my favorite. In an interview, the whole Perez thing comes up and she actually starts laughing while discussing the incident with a reporter!

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have two new kids. Their surrogate mother gave birth Monday night to twin girls. They named them Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge. Elwell and Hodge are family names on Sarah’s side.

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo have broken up. Minnillo’s rep issued the standard celebrity breakup statement, which claims that the split was amicable, and that Nick and Vanessa remain great friends, etc. They were together for about three years. 

A Chicago waiter received a $4,000 tip from Johnny Depp. Mohammed Sekhani said Johhn Depp and his party arrived after 11:30pm. They were served clams baked with garlic, pepper and cheese and $500 bottles of wine. He said Depp was a gentleman the whole evening. Wow. I guess 20% doesn’t cut it after all these days. That’s awesome! Good for Mohammed!

There were no fireworks at Chris Brown’s preliminary hearing yesterday. In fact, there was no preliminary hearing. Chris copped a plea yesterday that will spare him any jail time for beating up Rihanna. Chris pleaded guilty to felony assault and was given five years probation. He was also ordered to enroll in an anti-domestic violence program and perform 180 days of community service. Also, any traveling he does will have to be approved by his probation officer. Perhaps most importantly, Chris was ordered to stay 50 yards from Rihanna, except at industry functions where the distance is shortened to 10 yards. Chris was originally charged with two felonies the second being criminal threats. If he violates any of these terms, he’s looking at four years in prison. Chris and Rihanna were never in the room together. After Chris entered his plea, received his sentence and left, Rihanna was called in and informed of the terms of the sentence. After the proceedings, Chris’ attorney issued the following statement, “He’s very thankful to all the people who’ve been very supportive. This is a kid who’s never been in trouble before, who wants to move past this and make sure that the message gets out that these kinds of things, of domestic violence, are not acceptable. And that he has accepted responsibility and continues to do so and embraces this as an opportunity for him to get his life back on track and his career back on track.” Rihanna’s attorney also spoke outside the courthouse. He said Rihanna didn’t want the judge to order Chris to stay away from her because it prevents Chris and Rihanna from having even a, “distant, cordial relationship.”

It’s happening: Jon and Kate Gosselin are divorcing. They made it official on last night’s episode of “Jon and Kate Plus 8.” On the season premiere, Jon and Kate admitted that their marriage was in trouble and last week, a promo clip for the episode aired, where Kate said they’d made “life-changing decisions that we hope will bring each of us some peace.” Last night, both Jon and Kate said that they were, “separating” but at the end of the episode, an onscreen graphic announced, “Legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the ten-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin.” As for the future of the show, Jon said, “I’m still on the show, but we’ll interview separately. We’ll film different things, me and the kids, her and the kids.” Kate said she’s planning on living at their home in Pennsylvania with their eight kids, but it’s unclear what Jon will do. There’s speculation about him possibly moving to New York. TLC has not commented on the state of the show but for now, there’s no reason to think that it won’t continue as it has been going so far this season. Jon said, “Kate and I have decided to separate.  It’s just not good for us to be arguing in front of our kids. We can’t be cordial with one another.” Kate said she was, “not fond of the idea,” but knows it is, “necessary.” Here’s a video of Jon and Kate announcing their separation. Kate also said she didn’t believe that being on a reality show had anything to do with the split. She said, “It’s the next chapter. It was not brought on by our show or caused by our career choices at all. “We’ve always done the show for the kids, to be able to provide for them, to collect the memories for ourselves.” Jon said, “I do have feelings as well and I’m hurt by all of this. I’m excited and hurt at the same time.  I have a new chapter in my life. I’m only 32 years old.” Officially, it was Kate who filed for divorce. In a statement earlier yesterday, she said, “Over the course of this weekend, Jon’s activities have left me no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect myself and our children. While there are reasons why it was appropriate and necessary for me to initiate this proceeding, I do not wish to discuss those reasons at this time, in the hope that all issues will be resolved amicably between Jon and myself. As always, my first priority remains our children.” 

After Twittering incessantly early Monday morning about how Will.I.am beat him up, Perez Hilton admits that it wasn’t Will.I.Am who clocked him. Instead, he says it was the Black Eyed Peas’ manager, Polo Molina. Polo turned himself in and was booked on an assault charge. Both Perez and Will.I.Am have put together their own video messages to explain their sides of the story. And it appears that their stories are kind of in sync. Except for who it was that hit Perez. Here it is in a nutshell:  Both Fergie and Will approached Perez at a club after the MuchMusic Awards in Toronto, and called him out on some of the negative and disrespectful things he’s said about them and the Peas. Much arguing ensued, and Perez who’s openly gay called Will a very gay slur. Well now Perez has two beefs: One with WILL.I.AM and the Black Eyed Peas and another with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD is upset that Perez called Will that other F-word, if you will. GLAAD issued the following statement, “These are vulgar antigay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community. For someone in our own community to use it to attack another person by saying that it is ‘The worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear,’ is incredibly dangerous. It legitimizes use of a slur that is often linked to violence against our community. And it sends a message that it is OK to attempt to dehumanize people by exploiting antigay attitudes.” Perez was pretty vocal about giving Miss California the boot because of her attitude toward gay marriage. Just imagine what he would have done if she’d ever used that word.

On Saturday night, Plies performed at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, and during the show he “made it rain” with a few dollars. But not just a couple of hundred dollars here and there. Plies threw out $50,000 worth of real money! For real, Plies pulled 50-grand out of a duffel bag, and showered the crowd with it. There were 22,000 people at the arena that night, meaning that he gave away more than $2 for each person there. Of course, it wasn’t dispersed evenly and he probably wasn’t tossing $1 bills out there. That has never been done before! Crazy!

There is a Leighton Meester sex video being sold online in the Big Fat Rumor of the Day. Leighton plays Blair Waldorf on “Gossip Girl”. One website said Friday that it was “negotiating” for the tape and now they’re actually selling it. The video was reportedly shot a few years ago, and most of it is just Leighton nude.  But there are a few scenes involving her boyfriend. In one of those scenes, Leighton is, shall we say, creating a pleasurable experience for him with her feet! We don’t know who the “boyfriend” in the video is, or if he’s still in the picture.  There’s no word how the video got leaked. And there’s been no word from Leighton or her people.

The Nick Jonas / Miley Cyrus reunion was basically confirmed the other night on “Larry King Live”. Larry was trying to get the Jonas Brothers to talk about their love lives. He asked Joe if his girlfriend, Camille Belle, is more famous than Nick’s girlfriend. To which Joe replied, “I don’t think anybody is as famous as Miley Cyrus.” Aha!! 

Ryan Seacrest has been meeting with Lindsay Lohan recently about starring in a new reality show about second chances. The premise is that they’d give a million bucks to people who are down and out, and looking to turn things around. Lindsay would be on a panel that decides who should get the money. Lindsay even mentioned it on her Twitter page on Friday. She said, “Working on a really great project for television I am excited!  Something meaningful like ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ on ABC  :)” Thursday night, Lindsay and Ryan were conferencing at some clubs in L.A. and ended up back at Ryan’s place at around four in the morning. She left a few hours later.

“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert is currently working on his debut album with “Idol’s” record label, 19 Recordings. But it might not be the first Adam Lambert album to hit stores. That’s because some indie record label called Hi-Fi Recordings is releasing an album of old tracks that Adam recorded in 2007 and 2008, before he auditioned for “Idol”. It’s titled “On with the Show” and Hi-Fi says they’ll release the disc sometime this summer, before Adam’s official, post-”Idol” album drops later this fall. Adam doesn’t sound too thrilled about the album, obviously, although he’s stopping short of completely bashing it. He says, “The work I did back then in no way reflects the music I am currently in the studio working on. Back in 2005 when I was a struggling artist, I was hired as a studio singer to lend my vocals to tracks written by someone else. I was broke at the time and this was my chance to make a few bucks, so I jumped at the opportunity to record for my first time in a professional studio. But now, I’m thrilled to be working with some of today’s hottest songwriters and producers and can’t wait for people to hear what my music really sounds like.” But Hi-Fi CEO John Hecker says, “The music is amazing. It’s a real album that’s coming out, not just a conglomerate of a bunch of songs. This is all original material, as a matter of fact, Adam wrote a lot of it.” “Idol” and 19 Recordings have yet to comment on this, but they can’t be happy about it. Regardless, Hecker says he’s not expecting any legal action. He says, “We would never put anything out that wasn’t fully owned by the parties involved with all the rights secured. We were really careful. And Hecker adds, “I’m working Adam’s brand with as much care as anybody could. I do not want to hurt this guy, I want this guy to be as huge as he should be, and I think this music is only going to help.” The first single called “Want” is already making the rounds online.

Both “People” magazine and “Us Weekly” are reporting that Gisele Bundchen is pregnant and “People” claims she’s due early next year. Of course, both magazines are still relying on anonymous sources so the truth is anyone’s guess. If this is true, it’ll be Gisele’s first child, but the second for her husband, Tom Brady. He also has a son with actress Bridget Moynahan. They broke up while she was pregnant, but before she actually knew.

Also congratulations to Matthew McConaughey and his girlfriend Camile Alves. They are expecting a second baby. Big-brother Levi is 11-months old. Matthew said fatherhood is “a wild, wonderful adventure.”