January 2011 Archives

Can they? Probably not. Would they? Heck no.

By now just about everyone assumes that Charlie Sheen has, well let's say, vices. For example, drugs and "escorts." And as long as he remains unchecked he will continue to pursue these vices, which may cause him to continue to get in trouble. But somewhat miraculously he continues to show up on the set of Two and a Half Men on time and delievers his lines well enough for the show to maintain it's No. 1 rating and make CBS millions of dollars.

Well, that is until now. Charlie Sheen has checked into rehab and the hit show has gone on hiatus.

Paris Hilton has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. According to a lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court, the Paris Hilton sex tape refuses to fade away either. It has now been 7 years since "One Night in Paris" debuted, but it continues to get around on the internet. Like an endless record.

Not that many people are paying for it.

They're illegally downloading the video on the cyber-porn black market, TMZ reports. And that doesn't sit well with the owners of the tape, Jim Salomon and XPays Inc. Salomon is the brother of sex tape co-star Rick Salomon.

Have you seen the movie, The Fighter? If so, you might remember the song "How You Like Me Now?" which was featured throughout the movie. Who would have guessed that the song would begin a legal frenzy over music sampling?

But that is just what has happened. The song "How You Like Me Now?" is the work of British band The Heavy and was featured in a Kia Super Bowl advertisement last year.

He did say "I'll be back," didn't he?

Now that California's most famous governor has handed the baton over to Jerry Brown, the star of the Terminator movies has some free time on his hands. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that he will be making a return to the silver screen soon, the Toronto Sun reports. The famous actor took a break from making movies back in 2003 in order to serve as California governor until the beginning of January 2011.

Being California governor is a demanding political role. Some of the responsibilities that Arnold Schwarzenegger had as governor of California were:

Could a popular MTV program be on the verge of breaking child pornography laws? MTV viewers are loving the new show, "Skins," about teens doing drugs and having sex. 

However, they just might be having a little too much fun, which has the Parents Television Council upset and the cable channel concerned that some upcoming scenes from the show could expose the company to the long arm of the law. The PTC has called "Skins" television's "most dangerous show," which really makes me want to watch it.

Mel Gibson is a name that pops up frequently on our Celebrity Justice blog. Ever since Gibson went all crazy a few years back, he's a fairly safe bet to provide for good legal fodder, particularly for his DUI tirade and other screaming fits recorded by his ex-wife.

Today he's back in the headlines after his attorney met with Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley to discuss the ongoing criminal investigation of Gibson. The famous actor is accused of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. According to RadarOnline, prosecutors are ready to file felony domestic abuse charges and the visit by Gibson's attorneys is a last ditch effort.

Guess who's in the news yet again? It's those crazy kids from Jersey Shore, America's favorite family. This time it is Jwoww, who is fighting her ex-boyfriend and manager, Thomas Lippolis.

JWoww, whose given name is Jenni Farley, argues that her ex is in possession of several naked photos of her that he does not have the right to distribute. Lippolis snapped the photos on his cell phone, the New York Daily News reports.

It seems like Montel Williams has a lot more to talk about other than war stories from his long running talk show.

The TV personality and former talk show host has been slammed with a $1 million tax lien. Montel Williams' tax bill is related to his 2008 and 2009 individual tax returns, the Smoking Gun reports. Montel Williams' tax lien, which was filed by the IRS in New York, shows that Montel Williams and his wife Tara owe $1,039,609.41 over those two years.

While Gabrielle Solis may never have had money troubles, Eva Longoria, star of the ABC hit show Desperate Housewives, certainly does.

Eva Longoria is being sued by an investor in her nightclub Beso for violating California usury law, according to ABC News. Mali Nachum, a former partner of Beso, claims that the terms of Eva Longoria's repayment for her $1 million investment violate California usury law. 

50 Cent is known in the industry as not only a talent musician, but also as a shrewd businessman. He is said to have made over $100 million in his partnership with Vitamin Water.

But now the rapper may be under fire for using his Twitter account to hype up the stock price of H&H Imports. "HNHI is the stock symbol for TVG there launching 15 different products. they are no joke get in now," one tweet read. Another read, "one of the 15 products this year. If you get in technically I work for you. BIG MONEY."

Green Hornet star Eddie Furlong was arrested and released on $75,000 bail for allegedly violating a court order to stay at least 100 yards away from his estranged wife Rachael Kneeland, People Magazine reports. The couple is in the middle of a hostile divorce that is replete with allegations of drug use and suicide threats by Eddie Furlong.

Last Sept. 23, Rachael Kneeland claimed that Eddie Furlong "grabbed me, bruised me, pushed me ... left messages saying he would hire people to come and beat me with chains and bats. He is smoking cocaine and doing other various drugs. He is very unpredictable." As a result, the judge issued a three-year restraining order against Eddie Furlong along with a requirement for the actor to undergo counseling.

Typically, orders of protection can help victims of domestic violence by:

Those nice kids from New Jersey are in trouble again. This time, it's Jersey Shore's Angelina Pivarnick, who is being sued over an alleged assault on a woman before a celebrity boxing match in New Jersey at the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino.

According to the alleged victim, Melissa Mayne, she was leaving the Trump Taj Mahal when she encountered Angelina Pivarnick who was on her way to box in the celebrity match. Mayne alleges that Angelina "suddenly grabbed her, struck her in the face, threw a glass in her face and grabbed her cell phone and threw it to the ground," TMZ reports.

It seems that the Kardashian card drama continues even after the Kardashian sisters cut ties with the Dash card. In fact, it is because the sisters cut ties with the Kardashian card that they are now facing a $75 million lawsuit, according to CBS News. The "Kardashian Kard" was called predatory because it "carried unreasonable fees and unfairly targeted unsophisticated young adults," FindLaw's Common Law reported.

The Kardashians chose to sever ties with the product three weeks after its launch. Now, the company that launched the "Kardashian Kard" is suing the sisters for breach of contract.

Judge Robert J. Perry dismissed two criminal charges against Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend Howard K. Stern saying that there was "insufficient evidence," Reuters reports. This is even though a jury convicted Howard K. Stern in Oct, 2010. Judge Perry also dismissed 3 of 4 charges against Anna Nicole Smith's former psychiatrist Dr. Khristine Eroshevich; she was also convicted on her charges.

The case involved both Howard K. Stern's and Dr. Eroshevich's involvement in the former Playboy Playmate's drug overdose in Feb. 2007. The pair were found guilty of 2 out of 9 felony counts for giving false names and acting by fraud in order to get prescriptions for Anna Nicole Smith, according to US Weekly. Prosecutors tried to depict doctors who were overprescribing medication to a known drug addict and a boyfriend who did everything he could to make sure she was given her drugs.

A group of wannabe reality television stars locked up in a house for several days. A host appearing via television monitor throughout the house. A naked man knocking on the door. And last but not least, a lawsuit.

"Dr. Phil" McGraw, and the producers of his CBS television show, "The Dr. Phil House," have been sued by former show participants who were part of a 2007 episode. Dr. Phil's nude man lawsuit includes claims of false imprisonment and fraud. A lower court had originally ruled against the women, but the 2nd District Court of Appeals has now put the case back on track for trial. However the court did deny the women's claims for negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims, the City News Service reports. The court allowed the case to proceed because it found that the women had a likelihood of prevailing at trial.

Do You Smell What the Rock is Cooking?

It was a popular catch phrase used by "The Rock," former wrestler Dwayne Johnson. But at the moment, a lawsuit is being cooked by 18-year-old Ronald Basham III, of Clarksville, Indiana. He claims that when he was seven, he was injured when The Rock and "Triple H" (wrestler Paul Levesque) fought outside the ring and caused Basham injury.

What is it about police station cameras that make celebrities look so bad? Or are we just seeing what they really look like, without all the makeup and lighting?

For an example, look no further than the Jaime Pressly DUI. The actress was arrested and booked early Thursday for DUI. The star of "My Name Is Earl" was arrested after a traffic stop in Santa Monica, L.A. Now reports. She was charged with DUI after reportedly failing a field sobriety test. (However, it's worth noting that field sobriety tests are optional in California, and if one chooses to participate, they are not "pass or fail.")

Ah the conjugal visit, always a favorite prison topic. Yes, they do exist, but that doesn't mean that every visit by a spouse is a conjugal visit. Most visits are simply standard visits, during which no funny business is allowed. But that doesn't mean that some people don't give it the old college try, just the same.

Rapper T.I. is in trouble after Arkansas prison guards caught him getting "frisky" with his wife during her prison visit, TMZ reports. According to prison guidelines, kissing, hand-holding and embracing are allowed during prison visits, but "the inmate's hands must remain in plain view of visiting room staff at all times." However, crossing those lines got T.I. punished as he got frisky with wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle.

And they seemed like such a nice young couple.

Joe Francis, famous for getting young girls to take their clothes off on video tape, and wife Christina McLarty, have separated after seven weeks of matrimonial bliss. Allow me to correct that, Girls Gone Wild CEO Francis is famous for more than getting girls to go wild, he is also famous for not paying taxes, not paying gambling debts, never ending lawsuits and "hold[ing] the all-time record for cuckoo."

"Things completely changed in the relationship and it just became painful," an unidentified source told gossip source US Magazine. "They are not sure if they are going to divorce yet. They're just taking some time apart."

Earl Simmons, better known as the rapper DMX, is serving time in an Arizona prison for cocaine-related probation violation. DMX has been moved to the mental health unit of the prison over concerns of a potential mental health condition, which the judge that ruled on his felony probation violation believes is causing his law-breaking behavior.

More specifically, the judge felt that DMX had an "undiagnosed mental condition." While in the mental health unit, DMX will be detoxing and will not be able to see any outside visitors for thirty days, according to MTV News. The extent of mental testing or evaluation is not public knowledge at this point.

Lindsay Lohan may have already violated her probation. In fact, it likely occurred while she was still in her fifth stint in rehab. According to the Palm Desert Police Department, Lohan committed battery against a Betty Ford employee in a December 12 dispute. The police say they plan to hand the case over to local prosecutors for review. Battery is an intentional touching of another in an offensive manner without consent. Both assault and battery are charges that can carry criminal and civil consequences.

The alleged Lindsay Lohan battery occurred after Lohan pushed Betty Ford Center staff member Dawn Holland, who had been called to perform an alcohol breath test on the actress, Reuters reports. Holland initially complained to police and wanted to press charges but later changed her mind. However, regardless of Holland's desires, the prosecution still has the authority to press charges.

Wild Thing rapper Tone-Loc was arrested for a DUI on Dec. 13, but this is no ordinary rapper gone wild case. Tone-Loc asserts that he was not overindulging in the funky cold Medina before he was pulled over by police, 411mania.com reports. Tone-Loc claims that he was not driving drunk; he was having a seizure.

Tone-Loc was pulled over by the LAPD at approximately 3:00 a.m. because of his erratic driving. Tone-Loc's manager claims that the reason for the erratic driving is that the rapper suffered from a seizure that may have been caused by "bad food he had earlier that day," TMZ reports. His manager also claims that Tone-Loc has an extensive history of seizures and has not drank alcohol in years.

Hey Batman, meet the tax man.

Val Kilmer, star of "Batman Forever" and "Top Gun," owes half a million dollars in federal taxes. The IRS has now placed a lien on his property, including his New Mexico ranch which is currently on the market.

Michael Jackson never did anything like the average citizen. It makes sense then that the doctor charged in his death would also get unique treatment in court.

Dr. Conrad Murray served as Jackson's personal physician to the hefty price tag of $150,000 a month. His court hearing scheduled for tomorrow, which normally lasts 1 day with 2 witnesses, could feature as many as 35 witnesses and last 2 weeks. No real surprise there.

Charged with involuntary manslaughter, Conrad Murray's initial hearing concerns whether the prosecution has enough evidence to present a viable case against the doctor. Many observers believe the doctor's most likely defense will be that Michael Jackson committed suicide by injecting himself with a large (and ultimately fatal) amount of a drug.

The alleged David Beckham affair with a prostitute is finding the gossip magazine that first broke the story in the middle of a large lawsuit. Calling the allegations that he had a threesome with the prostitute back in 2007 "unequivocally false," David Beckham is suing In Touch magazine for a cool $25 million.

Under oath the British soccer star went after the David Beckham prostitute story, claiming that he never engaged in any inappropriate conduct with a prostitute named Irma Nic. In fact, he also swore he has never met the woman, according to The Daily Telegraph. The suit should not come as any great surprise. Beckham spoke out against the story when it came out and has been threatening a suit ever since.

Some headlines speak for themselves. This story happens to be one of them as there is no better way to explain the latest antics of a reality show contestant than this: Rock of Love Finalist Jailed for Attacking Woman With a Pimp Cup.

That's right, we've got "Rock of Love" and Pimp Cup in the same phrase.

For those of you that may not know some of the items mentioned, here is a break down. "Rock of Love" is a reality-based VH1 show that pits female contestants against each other as they compete for the affections of former Poison frontman Bret Michaels. A pimp cup is a diamond- (or otherwise) encrusted challis used to hold pimp juice. Popularized by rapper Lil' Jon, a pimp cup has become a staple in music videos and rap music.