June 2012 Archives

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are seeking a divorce after almost six years of marriage.

It looks like there won't be a happy ending for TomKat and it looks like Holmes is the one who wants out. She filed for divorce on Thursday, June 28. The couple has quite a few assets to split, including a huge house in Beverly Hills, and they both have sizable incomes from their acting careers.

Not only that, they'll have to figure out how to share their 6-year-old daughter Suri Cruise.

Snoop Dogg, meet pot-sniffing drug dog.

The famous ganja-smoking gangsta rapper took a hit (a financial one, anyway) from Norwegian authorities upon arriving at Oslo's international airport Thursday morning, E! News reports.

The discovery was "accidental," customs agents told Norway's Verdens Gang newspaper, which American media are all citing in their reports. Here's how the paper tells the story, according to a rough English translation via Google:

Sexual harassment is not a new thing in professional kitchens and when employees fight back things can get ugly.

The long hours, the hot environment, and the demanding work can be a recipe for tension that gets played out in verbal combat. Without a clear harassment policy or a human resources office to deal with complaints, inter-office spats can quickly get out of hand.

Paula Deen is currently dealing with a suit from a former employee, alleging years of harassment while working in Deen's kitchen.

She's not the only chef to deal with these kinds of claims. Test your memory on some of the more memorable lawsuits for sexual harassment involving celebrity chefs.

Who would have imagined the fallout from the Drake-Chris Brown nightclub brawl.

First Tony Parker suffered a serious eye injury and is suing the company that runs the W.i.P. lounge.

Now, the company that runs the club, Greenhouse, is suing New York City for shutting it down. Strangely, the two that seem to have escaped unscathed in this mess are Chris Brown and Drake.

50 Cent was hurt in a car crash on New York's Long Island Expressway late last night. His SUV might be bullet-proof, but apparently it isn't Mack truck proof.

Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, was carted away from the accident scene on a stretcher with his head and neck immobilized in a brace. He was rushed to the nearest Queens hospital.

Soulja Boy seems to be changing his tune about his car crash Sunday night. The rapper originally said his bodyguard was driving the car, but now he's telling a different story.

Soulja Boy's red Bentley took a beating in the accident and he's now admitted that he was driving the car.

That doesn't mean it's clear who caused the crash. Both parties are claiming the other caused the damage and there is camera footage of the crash aftermath.

Flo Rida was caught in a lie and now he must pay, a court ordered.

The Flo Rida lawsuit involves "slave wages", as the rapper is accused of working his former assistant Mahogany Miller nearly to death on a measly $3.08 an hour and then firing her when she complained.

But from the very beginning, Flo Rida has been uncooperative. He told a court that he never received the lawsuit papers and that they were sent to some address and person that he had no knowledge of. Lies, as it turns out. 

And now he must pay court fines and attorney's fees, reports The Inquisitr.

A French national who plays for the San Antonio Spurs is probably the last person you'd expect to get hurt in a fight between a rapper and an R&B star over another pop star, but that's what happened last week. Now Tony Parker is suing the New York City club where the Chris Brown/Drake fight happened, blaming security for injuries he allegedly suffered.

It does not appear that either Chris Brown or Drake were named in the lawsuit, according to CBS New York.

Who really wants to watch a reality television show based on the comings and goings at the DMV?

Apparently, Ashton Kutcher believes a lot of people do as he sought to create a reality show centered on the Department of Motor Vehicles in California.

But with the state department backing out last minute, Ashton Kutcher sues DMV seeking damages and costs.

Imagine you're a grieving mother of a legally dead child, but you keep reading in the paper optimistic news that your child might be alive or the crime might be solved.

Then imagine finding out (over and over again) that these news stories have no basis in truth. Imagine the heartbreak.

That's the reality of Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway, who filed a Natalee Holloway lawsuit against the National Enquirer.

The "Octomom's" house is going into foreclosure, after Nadya Suleman's Southern California property failed to get any bids at auction.

Suleman, the single mother of 14 children, moved into the four-bedroom, three-bath house in the Los Angeles suburb of La Habra in 2009, shortly after she famously gave birth to octuplets, the Associated Press reports.

Suleman didn't qualify for a bank loan to pay for the house, so her father had to chip in. But even with her dad's help, she still failed to keep up with payments.

Yeah boyyyyeeee! Rapper Flavor Flav is no longer a public enemy, as the clock-wearing artist decided to pay up on child support just in time to avoid being hauled off to jail.

Flavor Flav, whose legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., owed more than $111,000 in back child support to Mary Parker of Albany, N.Y., the mother of three of his children, the New York Daily News reports. Drayton was facing the likelihood of spending 180 days behind bars.

Another photographer has fallen prey to Alec Baldwin's temper according to, well, the photographer himself.

Marcus Santos, who works for New York Daily News was photographing Baldwin outside the Marriage License Bureau in New York City early Tuesday morning. Baldwin and fiancée Hilaria Thomas had just picked their marriage license for their upcoming wedding.

Santos claims that Baldwin asked paparazzi to step back and then started swinging. Santos filed an assault complaint with the NYPD against the "30 Rock" star.

Baldwin's side of the story sounds very different.

Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am dresses like he's from the future and apparently has a ride from Back to the Future too.

Too bad for him that while the law allows you to express your fashion sense in your clothing (for the most part), there are laws that limit what you can do with your car.

will.i.am learned this the hard way when he was pulled over in Hollywood.

Dr. Conrad Murray is finding out that jail is no picnic and he's asked Judge Michael Pastor to transfer him out of Los Angeles County jail.

Murray was Michael Jackson's physician at the time of Jackson's death in 2009. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death and sentenced to four years behind bars. Murray has served less than a year since the sentencing in November 2011, but he says he can't handle the conditions in jail.

Murray isn't the only celebrity complaining about jail conditions. Floyd Mayweather Jr. complained earlier this month about the conditions in Clark County jail in Las Vegas.

Unlike Mayweather, Murray isn't asking to serve his sentence out under house arrest - he wants the judge to send him to prison.

In the case of Stephen Baldwin v. Kevin Costner, it only took the jury two hours to return with its verdict: Costner is not liable. The case revolved around a device sold to BP after the 2010 Gulf oil spill that would assist in the cleanup effort.

Both Costner and Baldwin owned shares in Ocean Therapy Solutions which created a device to separate oil from water. Baldwin and his friend, Spyridon Contogouris, sold their shares in the company shortly before it closed a $52 million dollar deal with BP.

At stake in the suit: $17 million dollars Baldwin claimed in lost profits.

Chris Brown took a bloody hit to the chin in a bar fight with Drake that reportedly revolved around the rappers' relationships with Rihanna. Fellow rapper Meek Mill may also have been involved.

At least five people were hurt in the brawl that involved punches and bottles being thrown in the basement of a trendy club in Manhattan early Thursday, the New York Post reports.

The brawl apparently began when Brown sent a bottle over to Drake's table, a gesture that was not well received, according to Russell Simmons' hip-hop blog Global Grind. 

Lindsay Lohan's car crash is a lesson on what not to do following a car accident.

The 25-year-old actress is accused of getting into a car accident last week when her rental Porsche collided with an 18-wheeler.

Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt in the accident. Unfortunately, reports have surfaced that Lindsay Lohan lied to police officers who responded to scene and now could face jail time, reports the New York Daily News.

The premiere of ABC's summer time reality show "The Glass House" is scheduled for June 18.

But that debut could be in jeopardy as "Big Brother" network CBS is seeking to prevent the ABC show from ever airing. That's because CBS says the ABC show essentially ripped off their idea.

In its Glass House lawsuit, CBS asked a judge to block the new show from airing because it allegedly copied key elements from CBS' Big Brother, The Associate Press report.

Oh, and there is also the fact that "The Glass House" employs dozens of former Big Brother staffers.

Surprise, surprise, a cast member of MTV's "Jersey Shore" was arrested.

This time, it's "Jersey Shore" star Deena Cortese, who was arrested in Seaside Heights, N.J., the town where the popular reality television show is filmed, reports The Associated Press.

To the surprise of no one who watches "Jersey Shore," Deena Cortese was arrested for disorderly conduct after an Ocean County police officer spotted the woman looking "a little intoxicated."

So what does "a little intoxicated" look like?

Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq.

Rapper Lil Phat was fatally shot in front of an Atlanta hospital Thursday night. Lil Phat may have been best known for appearing on Webbie's hit song "Independent."

The 19-year-old Trill Entertainment rapper Melvin Vernell III, who went by Lil Phat, was shot several times in the parking lot near Northside Hospital Women's Center. It was a tragic end to a promising rap career.

The incident occurred shortly after 6:30 p.m. A man was found shot multiple times in a car parked on the second level of a parking deck next to the hospital. The victim was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead later that night.

Grammy winning singer Lauryn Hill is facing major tax drama in New Jersey. It seems, the songstress hasn't filed her income tax returns for 2005, 2006 and 2007, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Lauryn Hill, you'll remember, rose to fame with The Fugees back in the 1990s, and then went on to work as a solo artist. She also appeared in several films, including Sister Act 2. Her solo career earned her high acclaim, when she won a Grammy for Album of the Year.

Hill is facing a maximum penalty of $100,000 for her failure to file income taxes, as well as the possibility of one year in jail.

"Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester has won a contentious lawsuit against her mother, who claimed the actress promised to give her $10,000 a month in support payments for the rest of her life.

But there was no valid or enforceable agreement between Leighton Meester and her mother Constance, a judge in Los Angeles ruled Wednesday, according to ABC News.

The ruling may have turned out differently, had Constance Meester followed through in responding to her daughter's lawsuit, E! News reports.

Amanda Bynes' DUI charge is now official, and the actress is turning to a higher power for help: President Barack Obama.

"Hey @BarackObama... I don't drink. Please fire the cop who arrested me. I also don't hit and run. The end," Bynes, 26, said in via Twitter on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

While we know President Obama is actively seeking political support (and donations) from Hollywood stars, he likely won't be taking sides in Bynes' DUI case.

"Teen Mom" reality star Amber Portwood is heading to prison for up to five years, after giving up on a drug rehab program, gossip website TMZ reports.

Portwood, 22, was sentenced in February to three years in an Indiana prison for possessing prescription drugs without a prescription, and another two years for a probation violation. A plea deal allowed her to avoid prison and instead pursue treatment at a rehab facility.

But after three months in the rehab program, Portwood called it quits and decided to opt for prison, E! News reports.

A February lawsuit challenging Utah’s bigamy law may soon be dismissed. Kody Brown and his four Sister Wives brought the suit after Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Buhman launched an investigation into the family’s unique ways.

But now Buhman has asked the court to dismiss the Sister Wives lawsuit, claiming that he has changed his mind. He has told the court that he will no longer pursue the Browns unless he finds out they are breaking other, non-bigamy laws.

Will his request be granted?

Kat Von D is being sued by State Farm Insurance to recover money it paid out for a fire that burned down the "LA Ink" star's home in 2010. The lawsuit seeks $909,199.

Von D (real name Katherine von Drachenberg) lost most of her belongings when her Hollywood Hills home went ablaze, E! Online reports. Her pet cat, Valentine, also died in the fire. She later tweeted regarding the incident, "In order to gain everything, you must lose everything...R.I.P. My little Valentine."

Fortunately, Von D was insured by State Farm at the time. They paid for her damages. So why are they flip-flopping now?