September 2011 Archives

T.I.'s halfway house stint has come to an end -- a rather boring, uneventful end. And that seems fine with T.I.

The rapper was released from the Atlanta facility early Thursday with little fanfare.

Maybe the lack of celebratory excitement is something that T.I. has learned from his past mistakes.

Remember the last time T.I. was released from jail? He got a luxury bus and entourage to pick him up from the prison facility. Guess what that got him: another two weeks behind bars.

Want to keep abreast of the Michael Jackson trial? There's an app for that. And it's creatively dubbed the "Michael Jackson Doctor Trial iPhone App."

Released by Fox News, the app lets viewers follow the happenings of the high-profile Conrad Murray trial. And it's moving like hotcakes.

It costs 99 cents to download the application onto an iPhone. But that small fee hasn't barred curious viewers and Jackson fans from downloading the application. It now tops the charts at No. 1 for pay-news applications in the Apple store. Overall, it ranks No. 75 for all pay-applications.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has vetoed reality TV show Jersey Shore's tax credit, also known as the "Snooki subsidy."

Now, you may wonder why a TV show like Jersey Shore would get a tax credit in the first place.

Are Snooki, the Situation and Pauly D just special? Is Jersey Shore a form of community service or charity? Any viewer of the show will tell you that it's not.

But, it is a TV production set in the Garden State. And New Jersey has a $10 million tax credit program for movie and TV shows that grants a 20% credit for expenditures accrued in the state. The Jersey Shore tax credit would have come in at a hefty $420,000.

It appears as though Leisha Hailey is the newest celebrity to be tossed from a Southwest Airlines flight.

The musician and L Word actress was apparently kissing her girlfriend when approached by a flight attendant. A discussion ensued and the pair was asked to leave the plane.

Hailey then took to Twitter, asking fans to boycott Southwest. She believes she was kicked off the flight for being gay.

When Lady Gaga went after fansite LadyGaga.org last month, some were confused. But the pop star continued with her fight to shutter the site, and now she has lost.

The National Arbitration Forum ruled on the LadyGaga.org complaint last week, finding in favor of webmaster Miranda. A panel of arbitrators decided that the noncommercial fansite does not violate Lady Gaga's trademark.

Can Gaga now go to court? And why didn't she file a lawsuit in the first place?

Singer Lauryn Hill is being sued by fashion consulting company Via Davia Vintage.

The fashion company was hired to outfit Hill for her 2007 European tour. As part of their services, they provided Hill with an entire wardrobe of high-fashion items.

As it turns out, Hill kept the clothes - and didn't pay up.

Robert Lyons, 39, got into a heated argument with his mother over Avril Lavigne concert tickets in 2008. Lyons was so angry at his mother, 61-year-old Linda Bolek, that he murdered her.

Bolek's body was discovered in the condo that she shared with Lyons in Carol Stream, Illinois. She had been stabbed nine times.

What exactly was the Avril Lavigne-spurred argument about? Apparently, Lyons was upset that his mother refused to call a friend to arrange for tickets to an Avril Lavigne concert that Lyons wanted to attend, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Taylor Armstrong's abuse at the hands of her late husband Russell will be the subject of two interviews set to air this week.

Speaking about Russell's August suicide, the Real Housewife of Beverly Hills revealed that she was physically abused at least 20 times during their marriage.

His attorney reminds the public that there are no medical or police reports to corroborate these allegations.

Oprah's best pal Gayle King has been sued by "Orly the Matchmaker," whose real name is Orly Hadida.

Hadida claims she set King up with a number of "attractive, fit and wealthy men" two years ago. Her fee for her professional matchmaking services normally runs for a hefty $500,000.

Hadida alleges that she waived the six-figure fee when King promised her a coveted spot on Oprah's talk show. But it never happened, and now Gayle King has been sued.

Rapper 50 Cent has been sued over an alleged assault at his Connecticut mansion in 2009.

No, the rapper isn't being sued because he assaulted anybody.

He is named in the suit because he employed a known criminal, Dwayne McKenzie.

The rapper was not present at the time of the assault, according to TMZ.

The woman who filed the suit, Vasti Ortiz, says she was invited to the rapper's home one evening in August. Upon arrival, she met McKenzie, one of 50 Cent's employees.

Christina Milian found gum in her steak salad in a Studio City, California restaurant last week.

Milian was reportedly happily munching on her Kobe beef salad when she chewed on something that did not have the right texture - namely, a giant wad of gum.

Let's try to guess what might have popped into Christina Milian's mind at this exact moment:

Rapper T.I. has been released ... again. T.I. is now safely tucked away in an Atlanta halfway house after a technical snafu sent the rapper back to jail the same day he was released in August.

T.I. was initially released from an Arkansas jail on August 31st, the New York Daily News reports.

Prison officials let the Atlanta-based rapper have a few sweet hours of freedom before he was escorted back to prison, according to the Daily News.

Last March, celebrity phone hackings began to surface. One of the newest victims is movie star Scarlett Johansson, whose photographs were leaked to the Internet.

The pictures were hacked and stolen from one of ScarJo’s personal devices, and hit the web on Wednesday, MTV reports. Unfortunately for the star, Johansson’s photos show her in a very private light - and she doesn’t want others to see them.

One of the photos depicts Johansson topless. Another photo shows her standing with her backside exposed. These photos seem juicy enough for any celeb gossip rag - but post them at your own peril. ScarJo’s lawyers have threatened a lawsuit against anyone who posts the photos.

Real Housewives of DC star and part-time White House dinner party crasher Michaele Salahi was kidnapped this week.

Oh wait, she wasn't.

Turns out, Michaele actually decided to make an impromptu trip to Tennessee with Journey guitarist and former flame Neal Schon. But of course, she didn't tell her husband. Tareq Salahi ended up alerting the local police, frantically claiming that his wife had been kidnapped, Time reports.

Atlanta-based rapper Gucci Mane was sentenced to 6 months in jail in Georgia for shoving a woman out of his moving Hummer last January.

Gucci Mane, whose real name is Radric Delantic Davis, pled guilty to two counts of battery, two counts of reckless conduct and a count of disorderly conduct, the AP reports.

Mane was also ordered to complete 12 weeks of anger management classes, and his prison sentence will be followed with probation, according to the AP. He was also ordered to pay $5,091 in restitution to the injured woman and pay a $3,000 fine.

Texas rappers Paul Wall and Baby Bash were arrested in El Paso on Sunday. And, like most celebrities, Paul Wall took to Twitter to discuss his run-in with the law.

Wall tweeted that he had just spent some time "in the same tank they held Willie Nelson/Johnny Cash," and included a photo of him in the back of a police car in handcuffs, MTV reports.

The two rappers were busted for possession of 2 ounces of marijuana in a drug-free zone, reports Billboard.

"Teen Mom 2" star Jennelle Evans has been sentenced to probation and community service after she was found guilty of a misdemeanor for fighting in public.

North Carolina resident Evans was arrested and charged along with two other girls, Brittany Maggard and Brittany Truett, WWAY-TV reports.

Last April, the three girls took part in a fight that occurred outside a home. The altercation was caught on film, and eventually became a viral when it was posted onto the Internet, according to WWAY-TV.

Summit Entertainment has filed another Twilight lawsuit, this time over a website called Twilight.com. The movie studio alleges that the website misleads consumers into thinking it’s an authorized, official website.

This might seem a little farfetched for most consumers. If you visit Twilight.com, you’ll see that the site is mainly a collection of links to Amazon pages where people can purchase Twilight-related goods.

But, think about it this way. If you’re a prepubescent teen looking to get your fix of Edward and Bella, (the main characters of the Twilight movie and book series) what site would you direct your browser to?

Are Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel's Skinnygirl Margaritas all-natural? Not according to a recently-filed Skinnygirl Margarita lawsuit.

Reneta Bonar is the named plaintiff in the suit. She claims that Skinnygirl Margaritas are falsely advertised as being "all-natural."

Apparently the alcoholic beverage contains a small amount of sodium benzoate, a preservative, according to TMZ.

Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon was hit by a car while she went jogging in Santa Monica.

Police in Santa Monica confirmed that the actress was jogging around 11:00 a.m. Wednesday when she was struck, Reuters reports.

Witherspoon, 35, is recovering at home after receiving treatment for minor injuries.

Police say the driver, an 84-year-old woman from Santa Monica, was going about 20 mph when she hit Witherspoon.

Madonna is fighting a "Material Girl" lawsuit brought by clothing retailer LA Triumph.

Quick, what first comes to mind when you hear "Material Girl?"

Madonna? Madonna's "Material Girl" song? Or "Material Girl," a clothing line made by LA Triumph?

Most likely, you'd think of Madonna first. Or, her song. But, just because Madonna is associated with the phrase "Material Girl" does not mean she has trademark rights over the name for use in business or commerce.

Celine Dion's break-in reveals yet again that celebrities are just like us. They have intruders break into their homes and eat their food, just like us!

A Canadian man has made international headlines for his Celine Dion break in. Police say he raided Celine Dion's fridge, enjoyed a pastry, and even took the time to pour himself a bath.

When confronted by police as he descended the mansion's large staircase, he asked authorities, "Hey, guys what are you doing here?" the Toronto Sun reports.

Rapper T.I.'s back in prison after just being released from jail this past Wednesday. Why? Prison officials say that T.I.'s bus and entourage that escorted him from the Arkansas prison where he was released to a halfway house in Atlanta was not on the forms that the rapper filled out before his release.

It's required for prisoners who are in low or medium security prisons to clearly tell officials what method of transportation they will be taking after getting released, according to TMZ.

And, while T.I. filled out the forms and told officials that he would taking a "van," officials were not prepared for T.I.'s luxury bus and entourage that showed up to the Arkansas jail.

Rihanna's house is worth $6.9 million - or is it? A "moderate rainstorm" left Rihanna's home flooded as a result of undisclosed structural defects, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The pop-R&B singer is suing Prudential California Realty, LaRocca Inspection Associates, Landmark Design Group, and the former owners of the Beverly Hills mansion, alleging negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of implied warranty, and breach of contract.

Rihanna claims she would have never paid $6.9 million if she had known about the potential for flooding.