At a March 22 bash on the eve of his 30th birthday, Perez Hilton not only received the first double-platinum plaque for Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, an album which the blogger and tastemaker championed long before its U.S. release, but later was treated to a surprise performance by the Pussycat Dolls. The blond-haired scribe (given name: Mario Lavandeira Jr.) called the event at the Beverly Wilshire hotel his Quinceañera (an appropriate title considering the location had a strange Super Sweet Sixteen feel to it). Famous guests included Amanda Bynes, The Hills' Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, and a Kardashian or two. But it was Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger's saucy, R-rated dedication that really got tongues wagging. "I'm especially excited to be one of the very privileged, lucky, chosen ones to have graced the pages of perezhilton.com... with driplets coming out of my mouth," she told an already rowdy crowd, before asking, "How many of you wanna see P-Nasty get a birthday spanking?" After a single lashing, the Dolls proclaimed the birthday boy their sixth member and presented him with a bedazzled official PCD sweatshirt that read, "Don't you wish your boyfriend were hot like Perez?" The self-declared "Queen of all Media" then joined the girls to sing their hit song, "Don't Cha," proving that, when it comes to music, he feels just as comfortable on stage as he does behind the scenes. What's next? A Perez Hilton rap record?
Now here's something we didn't expect to see at South by Southwest: none other than Angelina Jolie strolling down Congress Ave. (Austin's main drag) just like any of the other 50,000 out-of-towners who have descended on the Texas capital. There she was on Wednesday, walking sans Brad Pitt, who is also in Austin filming the new Terrence Malick film, Tree of Life (co-starring Sean Penn). EW.com has learned that Pitt requested several tickets to see SXSW's hottest opening night show, R.E.M. at Stubb's Wednesday night, but was told that the band had maxed out their guest list, and while they'd happily take care of the super-star couple, they couldn't accommodate a larger entourage. As far as we could tell, Pitt and Jolie didn't show after that.
Rain and chilly temperatures didn't keep the stars from schlepping out to the new Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday (Dec. 8), where John Mayer hosted his First Annual Holiday Charity Revue. In fact, it was something of a date night. Among the celebs who attended the special evening, which benefited Toys for Tots, Inner City Arts, and the Los Angeles Mission: Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, Fergie with her longtime beau, Las Vegas star Josh Duhamel, and a seemingly stag Penelope Cruz. On the bill: a whole lotta Mayer, starting with an acoustic set, then the Blues-heavy John Mayer Trio (who whipped out a killer cover of Hendrix's "Bold As Love"), and finally John Mayer with his entire Continuum band.
The show went for well over two hours, with most staying 'til the bitter end, including punk rockers Paramore (recently nominated for two Grammys, including Best New Artist), who had come from an earlier revue of their own, the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, where they shared the Gibson Ampitheater stage with Serj Tankian, Rise Against!, Bad Religion, and headliners Linkin Park. The indie contingent took over for a second show on Monday, with a bill that boasted Feist, Spoon, Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, and the Shins.
In one corner of the VIP section: The odd pairing of Jessica Simpson and SNL-alum Cheri Oteri, who cackled among themselves while onlookers gawked and longtime besties Cacee Cobb and hairstylist to the stars Ken Paves stood watch. Directly behind the Simpson posse: record producer/rapper/executive/author Jermaine Dupri, with girlfriend Janet Jackson on his arm. At the opposite end of the Hollywood Palladium: equally press-shy (of late) newcomer couple Zac Efron and Vanessa Ann Hudgens. And somewhere in the middle: a random assortment of party regulars like Amanda Bynes and Kristen Bell.
But with a triple bill that included Eagles of Death Metal, Silversun Pickups and Foo Fighters, not to mention an endless march of lingerie-clad models, things were bound to get messy. The Foos kicked off a furious 45-minute set that included Foo favorites like "My Hero," "Times Like These," "Breakout" and new show staple (as least since the VMAs), Prince's "Darling Nikki," which Foos frontman Dave Grohl thought, "was appropriate." He also didn't let his work get in the way of having a good time. "I was pretty drunk out there," he admitted back in the band's dressing room, where a drummer summit had formed instantaneously (Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Travis Barker and Jet's Chris Cester). "But that [made it] a fun show!"
The ear-shredding volume was a bit much for some, like Ashley Olson and Grey's Sara Ramirez, who bolted early, but not Efron and Hudgens, who "were freaking out the whole time," said a nearby observer. Simpson also stayed well past the last note, grooving (and weirdly grinding) with Paves until she had to be helped out of the joint.
Jerry Seinfeld weighs in with what he thinks of the recent accusations of plagiarism aimed at his wife Jessica's new cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious." “Hil-arious! Hilarious. Hilarious,” the comedian tells EW. “I was saying to her this morning, I’m really regretting that I’m not doing the sitcom right now. 'The Puree Plagiarizer’ is a Seinfeld episode: ‘You stole my mushed-up carrots! I invented mushed-up carrots!' It’s just absolutely a riot to me."
Earlier this month, Jessica Seinfeld appeared on Oprah to discuss Deceptively Delicious, her book about—as the subtitle puts it—“Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.” After that, Delicious shot up the best-seller charts. But then online observers pointed out recipe similarities between Seinfeld’s book and Missy Chase Lapine’s April book The Sneaky Chef, which also advocates sneaking healthy ingredients into kids’ food.
In a statement, Jessica said she’d “never seen or read” The Sneaky Chef, and on the phone with EW, her husband further sprang to her defense.
“Unfortunately [when you] try to do things nowadays, there’s always someone that comes out of the walls," Seinfeld says. "My tendency is just to laugh at these people because I know what they’re doing. So I don’t feel threatened by it, but it's a little harder for [Jessica]. I think she’s not as comfortable as I am.”
After months of grueling toe-to-toe, spit-to-spit competition, actress-turned-tabloid mainstay Shar Jackson (Moesha) took home the prize of Celebrity Rap Superstar last night, beating out runner-up Kendra Wilkinson (The Girls Next Door), rocker Sebastian Bach, über-blogger Perez Hilton — with whom she had some momentary drama — and the far less rhyme-inclined Jason Wahler and Efren Remirez on the MTV show.
Who knew she had it in her? But one listen to Jackson's original rap, "Let It Blow," during which she takes a dig at Britney Spears, will silence all naysayers. Even Jackson ex Kevin Federline, who saw first hand that rapping is no cakewalk, was impressed. "He was texting good luck before the show," Jackson told us. "Then after, he called to say congratulations and how proud he was."
"I'm gonna give you hit after hit after hit," surprise performer
Kanye West declared from a stage set up in a remote corner of L.A.'s Griffith
Park as the launch party for the new T-Mobile Sidekick LX kicked into gear. And
he meant business, pounding out every smash in his arsenal, including
"Champion," "Stronger," "Good Life," and
"Can't Tell Me Nothing" off his latest album, Graduation,
while forgetting the words (twice) to older tunes like "All Falls
Down." Fulfilling his contractual obligations,
Kanye freestyled midway through the set, effortlessly rhyming "they made
me say T-Mobile" with "because I'm global." The pitch was made all the more appropriate when he came back around to the chorus, "Wait 'til I get my
money right," an opportunity he then seized to rant about the woes of the
music business. "They say hip hop's not selling, music's not selling, do
you know Graduation was the No. 1 most downloaded album before it came
out, and it still sold like crazy?" the ever-so-humble West asked
rhetorically. "Maybe, if you make really good music, you can still sell...
I showed 'em all. 50 Cent, Island Def Jam... I said, 'L.A. [Reid], we're gonna sell a million the
first week, and if I only do 800,000, then I apologize in advance.'"
So in one day the former pop sensation lost her kids and her manager. Fox News is reporting that temporary custody of her kids has been turned over to father-of-the-year Kevin Federline, and now, according to a source who used to work with Jeff Kwatinetz, the power broker at The Firm, the manager dropped Britney, one of his highest profile clients, because she was no longer listening to him and it was making him look bad. The only thing that trumps money in this biz is ego.
This is not the first time Kwatinetz has shocked the town by getting rid of a celeb client when the downward slide of their career had only just begun: Kwatinetz fired Michael Jackson in 2001 -- and look what a brilliant decision that was.
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