Flaunted

David LaChapelle and Daniel Franzese on the same page in Flaunt.

Giving It to Barbara

Seems Barbara Walters' affair with Senator Edward Brooke is old news – or at least her lying about the rumors is. Not only was the coupling mentioned in Jerry Oppenheimer's unauthorized Walters bio in 1990, but it came up on live TV in 1975 when Walters was interviewing Pulitzer Prize-winning White House photographer David Kennerly. After she confronted him with the rumor that he'd dated Gerald Ford's daughter Susan, "I waited until she finished the anticipated question," Kennerly told New York magazine, "then said, 'Well, Barbara, I put those stories in the same category as those about you and Ed Brooke, they are rumors and gossip." That shut her up. (Page Six)

1 Rm No Vu

So-called "catastrophe tourists" outside the house in Amstetten, Austria, where Josef Fritzl imprisoned and sexually molested his daughter Elisabeth for 24 years. More grim details at Daily Mail. This is not what was meant by the cry of "Lock up your daughters!" (Photo: Getty Images via The Independent)

Bad Breath

In this full-page ad in USA Today, the liquor industry wants you to know that in-car breathalyzers are not meant to prevent drunk driving, they're meant to prevent that drunk driving. (TMZ)

Snap!

George Clooney tells why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are and should be two of the 2008 Time 100. (Photo: Sean Gallup / Getty)

Is Vanity Fair?

Video footage from Vanity Fair's Annie Leibovitz shoot with Miley Cyrus. How it went down.

The Genius of Gossip Girl

So it takes New York magazine to say out loud what we've all been thinking: that Gossip Girl is the "BEST. SHOW. EVER." Yep, you heard them. EVER! As in THE HISTORY OF TELEVISION. Forget Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore, Seinfeld and Lost (PLEASE can we forget Lost?). It's Gossip Girl, plain and simple. According to the article, GG is (quote, unquote) "the future of television," it is "changing the very model of successful TV," it "GETS New York" unlike any other show, and "because against all odds, it offers profound social commentary." It''s a hell of an article – read it in full HERE.

– James St James

CNN – Rx

Richard Quest, the "instantly recognizable" British correspondent for CNN International, known for feature reports and profiles, was apprehended with a quantity of methamphetamine in New York's Central Park early this morning. As police escorted him out of the park at 64th and West Drive at 3:40AM, Quest mentioned that, "I have meth in my pocket." Sure enough, a search of his person discovered the drug sealed in a Ziploc. (NY Times; photo: Pascal Lauener/Reuters)

Is Big Love Reality TV?

Fueled by a 15-year-old girl's claim that she'd had a baby by her 50-year-old husband, over 400 women and children were taken by Child Protection Services from the fundamentalist sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints yestereday in West Texas and placed in shelters. Suffering and heartbreak aside, the scandal will be just the ticket ratings-wise for the polygamist drama Big Love when it returns in the fall to HBO, which hasn't been feeling so hot lately. (Video at keyetv)

Time Magazine

Britney's new diet secret is to set the time machine to four years ago. (HuffPo via dlisted; t/y Lindsey)

Problem Solved

Democratic candidate goes trans for the cover of The New Republic.

What If

Don't you think Star magazine might have gotten away with its embarrassing gaffe about Brad and Angelina getting married if the editors had simply said they were trying to get a jump on the April Fools stories?

Quote Unquote

“I wasn’t a hippie or a stoner, so I ended up being the weirdo. I was interested in classical ballet and music, and the kids were quite mean if you were different. I was one of those people that people were mean to. I decided to emphasize my differences. I didn’t shave my legs. I had hair growing under my arms. I refused to wear makeup, or fit the ideal of what a conventionally pretty girl would look like. So of course I was tortured even more. [But it] further validated my superiority, and helped me to survive and say, 'I’m getting out of here, and everyone is a heathen in this school!' " – Madonna to Vanity Fair on her Detroit upbringing.

Diddy Was Punk'd

How did an imprisoned, overweight and disturbed white kid from Florida orchestrate the hoax that had the Los Angeles Times falsely claiming that Sean Combs was involved in the shooting of Tupac Shakur? (The Smoking Gun)

She's Running Now, but Not Then

Hillary Clinton says when she and Chels visited Bosnia in 1996, sniper fire forced them to duck and run for cover. But the videotape brought out of mothballs by CBS tells a different tale. On the positive side, we like Hill's '96 pageboy way better than her current dykey 'do.

Full Disclothesure

It looks like Playgirl isn't the only one who wants to see more of New York's ex-governor. The folks over at 23/6.com think Mr Spitzer should take the magazine up on its offer to pose nude. But since they doubt he will, they've put their own little centerfold up to give us an idea of what we're missing!

– AguynamedWayne

Show Us Your Spitzer

Playgirl magazine is offering New York's ex-governor big bucks to pose nude! I guess they think big ears and a big forehead translate into a big...ego? (Photo: Debbie Egan-Chin)

– AguynamedWayne

Fleshback

There was that funny story today about Joe Francis forgetting he'd already shot the Spitzer girl a few years ago. Here she is being "wild" in 2003.

Diddy Denies Puff Piece

Sean "Diddy" Combs denied a report in the LA Times today that his associates were responsible for the 1994 robbery and shooting of Tupac Shakur (above) at a New York recording studio and that he knew about the attack in advance. Says the former Puff Daddy, "The story is a lie. It is beyond ridiculous and completely false." (Seattle Times; photo: Getty Images)

Spitzer Take

Heidi Fleiss tells Radar that it was the devil in Eliot Spitzer's particular freak that was his undoing. "You pay people right, you treat them right, you don't have a problem," she says. "It's so easy to not get caught." The girls who are alleged to have serviced the New York governor described him as "difficult," with demands involving "things that, like, you might not think were safe.... I'm sure he wanted anal sex without condoms." Radar notes that she says that last bit "speculating but strangely confident." Says Heidi: "I think he's an arrogant prick and he thinks he's above the law; no one likes a hypocrite." (Radar Online; photo: Getty Images)

First!

Page Six is pissed off it didn't get to be the first to reveal Patrick Swayze's tragically shortened time on Earth, and was shamefully scooped by the National Enquirer. The gossip sheet says it had a tip a full four weeks ago that Swayze had terminal pancreatic cancer, but his "fork-tongued" publicist lied and said the actor was doing fine after a "gastrointestinal procedure." As punishment, the publicist has been banished to the column's "Liar's Corner," which one would think was already filled to capacity.

Foot Soldier

Here's what Prince Harry was doing in the Afghanistan front lines when the Drudge Report leaked his whereabouts and forced the British military to whisk him back to the safety of London. (Photos: WENN via A Socialite's Life)

Liar Liar

It looks as if Obama fans can rest easy. Larry Sinclair, whose lurid allegations via a much-viewed YouTube video (that in 1999 he had performed oral sex on Barack Obama in the back of limo and then later in a hotel room while smoking crack cocaine), have been proven false! The political blog WhiteHouse.com challenged Sinclair to take a polygraph test to back up his allegations. Sinclair agreed and the test was performed this weekend and both experts hired to analyze the results declared that deception was indicated.

– AguynamedWayne

Senator On The Down Low?

The now much viewed video in which Larry Sinclair claims to have performed oral sex on Barack Obama in the back of a limo, and later in a hotel room while smoking crack cocaine, is starting to cause quite a stir in the blogosphere. Mr Sinclair claims to have made the incendiary video because the Obama campaign and the mainstream media stifled his efforts to tell his story. He also offers to take a polygraph test to prove he is telling the truth, and asks that Obama do the same. Right or wrong, you can expect to hear more about this...

– AguynamedWayne

There Will Be Blog

"Please link, as I think this is hilarious," writes Fishbowl LA's Kate Coe, who's been accused by Alex Constantine on his blacklist blog of being an anti-Semite friend of Ann Coulter with ties to the CIA. "I've met Ann Coulter once (in the company of [Slate's] Mickey Kaus)," she says, "and I've written for the Jewish Journal, so they must be unaware of my Antisemitism. And while I've freelanced for FOX, so has most everyone in TV. I've worked for Larry David, who wasn't too upset about my alleged ties to Rupert Murdoch. Where did I go wrong?" Coe, who worked a spell at World of Wonder not long ago, is described in her Fishbowl bio as "enchantingly witty, delightfully acerbic, and never unintentionally rude." (Also)

The Naked and the Dead

Was it just me, or did anyone else notice that media reports announcing Heath Ledger's death seemed intent on reporting that his body was found NAKED? Why was that relevant and why did we need to know about it? It almost seemed as if they were more shocked to find him naked than dead. It reminded me of the lyrics to Elton John's "Goodbye Norma Jean," about the death of Marilyn Monroe.

...All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude.

Kind of sad and creepy at the same time.

– AguynamedWayne

Variety Meets the WOW Report

Yesterday on the WOW Report, in the caption to a photo of Lindsay Lohan at the premiere of Cloverfield, we said our colleague Jason Bryan had dubbed the film "The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla." Now it's just come to our attention that Variety starts its review of the movie with, "An old-fashioned monster movie dressed up in trendy new threads, 'Cloverfield' plays like 'The Blair Witch Project' meets 'Godzilla'...." Coincidence?

More o' Musto

Hi, friends and lovers. Here's a link to my kooky new blog, "La Daily Musto," which I'm doing in addition to the kooky old column, "La Dolce Musto." Can there ever be too much Musto? As one poster already commented, "Yes!" But still, just to humor me, please click on it, comment on it, or relieve yourself on it – but just get on it now! Thank you, kids! (Photo by S Saban)

– Michael Musto

Guest of Honor

Back in December, I wrote about the struggles of former US Ambassador Michael Guest who ended a 26-year career and resigned in protest of the discriminatory policies towards Gay employees of the State Department. His struggle is also the featured cover story for the current issue of The Advocate.

– AguynamedWayne

Long Day's Gurney Into Night

Here, verbatim from Access Hollywood, is relatively fresh info on the Britney Spears situation, info that hasn't been repeatedly reported ad infinitum, yet at least:

Britney is being held on an involuntary psychiatric hold, also known as a Section 5150, a source tells Access. According to Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, a 5150 is defined as, “a means by which someone who is in serious need of mental health treatment can be transported to a designated psychiatric inpatient facility for evaluation and treatment for up to 72 hours against their will. If the facility feels that further treatment is indicated, the person can be held involuntarily for additional lengths of time providing he or she meets the legal criteria and is unwilling or unable to remain voluntarily.”

Quote Unquote

“The other shoe’s going to drop any day. It’ll surprise a lot of people that he’s gay. And I’ll bet you he resigns the same day and rides off into the sunset. He won’t be as stupid as Craig.” – Hustler publisher Larry Flynt to Vanity Fair's Bruce Handy, about a closeted gay Republican senator.

Email Bonding

New York Observer columnist and Barneys New York display queen Simon Doonan loves Chris "Leave Britney Alone!" Crocker and very recently conducted a thoroughly enjoyable email interview with him – "Very To Catch a Predator! Very modern!" he says – for an Observer piece. Little sample:

Let’s talk about the U.S. economy, or rather, your economy: How much money will you make next year?

I don’t discuss my finances, however, if there are any wealthy Republican closet cases in need of an outing and a good hand job, I am available and ready for your coins. In 2008 my TV show will finally start airing, so I have a lot to look forward to. I personally think it is the answer to everyone’s prayers. [WOW Report ed note: That TV show of which he speaks is a World of Wonder production.]

Your latest thing is getting out of a car bottomless, à la Britney. Mazel tov! Can we expect more of this kind of thing from you next year?

I am very proud to say that I am the first guy ever to give the paparazzi a crotch shot … although the media chose to ignore it, it happened! You can’t hide something so legendary, and I plan on leaving my legacy, so yes, you can expect more high-profile crotch shots. I’ll do it somewhere a little more public next time. They can publicize me crying over Britney Spears but they can’t publicize my crotch shot? It’s an unjust world.

For some reason I can imagine you dating an older guy next year—a Mitt Romney type. Does it appeal to you to have some distinguished man helping you into a chinchilla stole?
I’ve always held an attraction for older guys. Older guys understand why ass-hair is hot because they were around in the 70’s, so I’m all about it as long as they don’t have a pedophile thing going on.

(Continue reading)

...And RuPaul

In its current issue, Vanity Fair highlights the contribution that MAC's Viva Glam AIDS Fund has had in the fight against HIV by inducting its spokespeople into a Hall of Fame. Over a decade of Viva Glam celebrities gathered in Los Angeles to be photographed by Mark Seliger, including such luminous stars as Debbie Harry, Missy Elliot, Dita Von Teese, Pamela Anderson, Christina Aguilera, and the very first face of MAC's Viva Glam – RuPaul.

– AguynamedWayne

Outside Edition

MK at Popbytes deconstructs the coverlines on the latest Star magazine.

Totally Rad

We knew for sure we were in New York when the car-service driver taking us from JFK to our hotel in Times Square was having a heated discussion under his breath – hand gestures included – with an imaginary passenger in the front seat. Alas, if only our hotel had been as imaginary. The front desk at Andre Balazs' minuscule (we walked right by it on three occasions) QT hotel on West 45th Street at first is easily mistaken for a deli counter, with its giant glass-doored refrigerator case behind the clerks, who seem more interested in selling bottles and snacks than assisting you with your luggage or listening to any pre-arranged details of your stay. The hotel has no lobby or room service, but does have a bizarre mini pool on the second floor with a swim-up bar, a bracing stench of chlorine on all floors, and claustrophobic rooms designed by someone who should be condemned to stay in one and who apparently struck a deal with the color beige – we had nightmares starring Faye Dunaway circa The Thomas Crown Affair. (For more reasons why not to stay at the QT, listen to Randy Barbato's nightmarish experience on the WOW podcast.)

Of Interest

Nicole Kidman's new wax figure at Madame Tussauds Museum in central London and the Nicole Kidman plastic doll on the cover of the latest Radar magazine. (Images via Perez Hilton; Radar)

She's Got It Covered

"It was going to be a good platform for her music to be taken seriously because it had been so long. But she refused to get screwed by Wenner," a source told Page Six concerning Britney Spears turning down the cover of Rolling Stone. Spears may be psycho, but at least one of her personalities has some business savvy: She was wise to the scamming ways of RS publisher Jann Wenner, who's been known to promise the cover of the music mag and then put the star instead on the cover of his other mag, gossip sheet Us Weekly – which is what he did not long ago to Nick Lachey. After negotiations got "nasty," Spears pulled out altogether and got in touch with Blender, where a real deal may be in the works. Meanwhile, if Spears wants a more literal cover, she could cover herself in one of the four white coats, um, given to her by designer Katja Berglund at the Scandinavian Style Mansion party in LA on Saturday, as Perez reveals today.

Pregnant Pause

Contrary to the statement JR Rotem released on November 28, In Touch has documented proof that on Monday, November 26, the music producer did indeed confirm in these text messages that Britney is pregnant and that he is the father. When asked about rumors about Britney's pregnancy and whether he is the father, JR texted "It's true." And when questioned about Britney's intentions regarding her unborn baby, he responded, "No clue on what she will do. She is unpredictable." (InTouch)

There's Good Nose and Bad Nose

Actually, there's just bad nose. Deborah Gibson's took a turn for the worse after a surgeon's botched attempt to make it less trunk, more button (via Jezebel). But our nose got bent out of shape (which, if you've ever seen us, you know we mean more bent) when we saw that Star is yet another magazine that's stolen the title Knifestyles of the Rich and Famous from the original Details magazine's mid-'80s cosmetic surgery column. On her website, Martha Frankel, author of the gambling memoir Hats & Eyeglasses, fondly remembers her days writing the column for that magazine.

I wrote the first Knifestyles of the Rich and Famous, a first-person, on-going column about plastic surgery for DETAILS. This was in the mid-80's, when plastic surgery was still in the closet. I had my breasts made smaller (one of the highlights of my life), and met women and men who had every single part of themselves transformed. These people told me their stories, both successes and failures. Knifestyles was both uplifting (no pun intended) and very frightening – when plastic surgery goes wrong, it goes horribly wrong.

The Oprama Show

Oprah has officially endorsed Barack Obama for president and will be hitting the campaign trail with him to help drum up votes in the Democratic primary races. And though conventional wisdom says that any of the presidential candidates would love to have Oprah on board, I have to wonder how much we should trust her judgment. Let's not forget that she promoted James Frey's memoir as being a great book by a great author – until it came out that it was a fabricated mess. Next up, Oprah started a school for girls in South Africa. Once again, she trusted her judgment and placed her faith in Tiny Makopo to run the school in her absence. Makopo now faces a range of charges including indecent assault, assault, and criminal injury, allegedly committed against six students and one adult at the school. Oops! A legendary TV talk show star she may be, but Oprah's history with endorsements is anything but stellar.

– AguynamedWayne

ASStounding!

And speaking of Rodman, video model Angel "Lola Luv" Fershgenet made the December cover of King, "the illest men's magazine ever!" Photog musta hadda use a wide Angel lens. More Angel here.

Man Alive!

So this means it's either Elliott Gould or Don Cheadle next year. (Story; and the rest)

Congrats to James

Well, of course we knew he was gay, but now the whole world is in on it, thanks to Out magazine. By being selected for a coveted place on its annual Out 100 list, James St James can no longer hide his predilection for pearls, blush, and pouf sleeves. The fag mag has outed him for all time. None of the lucky listed homos – among them are John Waters, Penny Arcade, Perez Hilton, Andy Cohen, Bryan Batt (from Mad Men), Alan Cumming, Graham Norton, Christine Vachon, (Miss) J Alexander, and Edmund White – were given numbers, but we've got James'. If you can't read the text above, here's what it says about him:

Don't try St. James's career trajectory at home: Become a drug-fueled clubster and "needy diva"; write a true-crime account of how your best friend murdered a drug dealer (see Party Monster; original title: Disco Bloodbath); then pen a young-adult book called Freak Show – the story of a teenage drag queen.

(Photo by Francois Rousseau)

This Just In

Although Nikki Finke is saying in the LA Weekly that the Hollywood writers strike is set to start on Friday, we hear from a reliable source that in fact it will begin late tomorrow night, early Thursday morning. We also hear that most of the unions will honor the strike, although "softly." What that means is that the unions can't officially honor the strike because they'd be sued by the studios – but they can encourage their members to honor it as individuals. Leo T Reed, secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters since 1988, said yesterday, "Teamsters don't cross picket lines." Most likely there will be revolving picket lines around the studio gates, 15 minutes per gate. At the end of the 15 minutes they will move on to the next gate. This means that if you show up at your usual gate and find picketers, you should drive to a non-picketed gate to enter the studio. If none of this happens, you didn't hear it here.

Obama and the Bigot

Like many Democrats, I've been torn between Clinton and Obama. I've been favoring Hillary, but there is something about the way Barack Obama speaks that I find very moving, almost inspirational. And that kept me on the fence, undecided between the two. But last week that ended when I heard that Obama, who is trying to court conservative black churches in South Carolina, hired Donnie McClurkin to sing gospel songs for a concert. Donnie McClurkin preaches that homosexuality is a curse, and that he himself was made gay by being raped as a child by adult gay relatives. He preaches that God cured him of his gay curse through prayer and redemption. When gay activists protested, the Obama camp decided they would add an openly gay minister to the concert, but would keep McClurkin as scheduled. You see, bigotry is still very big in the Bible Belt, and Obama is obviously desperate to get any votes he can. He can have their votes, but he has definitely lost mine.

– AguynamedWayne

Victorious

Look! It's a full page ad in Variety congratulating Victoria Principal on winning the Electronic Retailing Association's award for "Best Long Form Health & Beauty Show." Flawless.

– Randy Barbato

Nude Dude

Not much of a sacrifice. Steve-o would rather go naked than just about anything. Still, his ass was in a good place when he posed for this ad. (TMZ)

All the Nudes Are Fit to Print

The cover of November's Radar magazine. Look familiar? (t/y Trey)

Weather Vain

Harry Shearer presents a moment in anchorman history, when Dan Rather took 20 minutes to decide if he should wear his trench coat or not. Watch it here. (via TMZ)

In Touched Up

Rack this up to editorializing. When the photos of Angelina Jolie for the In Touch cover story asking IS SHE PREGNANT? didn't quite support that premise, they obscured Jolie's flat, taut, non fetus-baring belly with a bunch of BOLD GRAPHICS and switched the emphasis of her supposed sudden 10-pound gain to her boobs, and then bought up and hid all available paparazzi shots of Jolie looking svelt. Said a rep fro the mag, "The most striking area of Angelina's weight gain is in her chest, which is why we focused on that area." Sure, now it is. (Page Six)

Quote Unquote

"I have passed through every letter of our acronym GLBT. The B issued me two stunning children, but I stopped at T because I gotta admit, operations scare me. As for the L – as a Harley rider, I am still turned on by a tough chick on a hot bike." – former Men's Fitness editor, Neal Boulton, recently caught making out with Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner. (Page Six)

Kitchen Sync

Here's a maniacally baroque piece, published today in Toronto's National Post, concerning a certain Jake in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and a certain Reese waiting outside. Sample:

Deeply V-necked, pleasantly broad-shouldered, and with that paralyzing dopey smile, he turned up solo, like one of those bit-partridges who had mixed up the time he was supposed to appear in a junior high production of The 12 Days of Christmas. His deep, baby-blue V-neck, by the way, looked comfortable but meticulous, as did the black tee underneath the sweater, and his near-pristine dark jeans. All very back-to-school clean. All coming together quite nicely under the unforgiving, hard and harsh kitchen light.

NARTH Invader

Christopher Austin, an "ex-gay" counselor in Irving, Texas, has been convicted of "unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly" causing sexual penetration of a client. Austin, who started Renew Ministries, a counseling center operating out of a church in Irving, was affiliated with the National Association For Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and taught a seminar at NARTH's 2004 annual convention entitled, "Understanding and Treating Compulsive Sexual Behavior in Men with Value-Incongruent Homosexual Issues: A Multidimensional Approach." After a trial that included testimony from several victims of his abuse, Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, registered as a sex offender, and fined $2,500. "We are deeply gratified that this 'ex-gay' predator is no longer in the counseling business, where he exploited his position of authority to sexually abuse vulnerable clients," said the executive director of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit that exposes the ex-gay myth. "Ex-gay therapy is extremely dangerous and places confused clients in the hands of repressed therapists. It is a recipe for disaster. [...] As we have seen with Christopher Austin, Mark Foley, and Larry Craig, gay people who do not learn to accept themselves act out in unhealthy ways. I hope Austin can use this experience to come out and have healthy gay relationships, so he won't have to exploit other people." (Pegasus News)