Easy come, easy go

So much for the Basinger-Eminem rumor; Madonna shows off potty language! Plus: Hugh Grant gets catty; Hurley gets stalked and Gwyneth gets secretive.

Published December 11, 2001 5:39PM (EST)

Good news for Eminem's reputedly jealous ex-wife, Kim Mathers. It sounds like that vicious rumor about Eminem and Kim Basinger is a big figment of our collective imagination.

So insists Brian Grazer, who directed the rapper formerly known as Marshall Mathers and Basinger, who plays his mother, in the upcoming film "8 Mile."

Though Grazer admits that his film will likely benefit from the publicity, he tells TVGuide.com that Eminem and the ex-Mrs. Alec Baldwin are "not having an affair."

"They're so not, actually," he says. (Whatever that means.)

Why should we believe him? "If they were [romantically involved], I would go, 'I don't know,'" he says. "But they're actually not."

And if we didn't believe him, we'd say, "We don't know," but we actually do.

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Tears of a clown

"I think if we all acted the way we really felt, four out of eight people at a dinner table would be sitting there sobbing."

-- Jim Carrey on the human condition in the London Observer.

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Speaking of Eminem ...

The rapper may soon find himself back in court. What'd he do this time? He pissed off the school bully.

According to the Detroit Free Press, DeAngelo Bailey, the apparent subject of Eminem's "Brain Damage," about a kid who routinely shoved the rapper into lockers and into urinals in the high school boys' room, has filed a $1 million lawsuit, claiming that his character has been wrongly impugned.

"In his music lyrics, Eminem falsely portrayed himself as the victim of a pattern of outrageous and grotesque physical abuse from his childhood friend Bailey," reads the Macomb Circuit Court lawsuit. "Eminem publicized lyrics that were intended to damage Bailey in order to improve Eminem's reputation as a rap artist."

Bailey, who denies harassing Eminem, says that the damage to his reputation has prevented him from launching his own rap career. He is currently making ends meet as a sanitation worker.

"From all I can tell, this is a case of 'I'll file a lawsuit and see if I can get some money,'" Eminem's lawyer told the Free Press.

I'd say there's only a slim, shady chance of success there.

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Material mouth

"At a time when political correctness is valued over honesty, I would also like to say, 'Right on, motherf-----. Everyone is a winner!'"

-- Madonna, scandalizing the British art-loving public by swearing as she presented the Turner Prize on a live TV broadcast.

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Juicy bits

You wouldn't think Hugh Grant was the choosy type, but he is apparently dismissive of Helena Bonham Carter's charms. According to the U.K. Sun, after meeting up with the actress recently, Grant told friends that he found her too "hairy." 'Course, that drives some men ape.

And if Grant's pregnant ex, Liz Hurley, didn't have enough on her plate trying to think up mean things to say about the alleged father of her baby, Stephen Bing, she now has to contend with a new stalker. The 32-year-old fellow was arrested on Sunday by London police, after he was found lurking outside the actress's apartment, the BBC reports. He was released on Monday and given a "written warning." So much more effective than those verbal warnings ...

Will four be the charm for Liza Minnelli? The big-singing showbiz icon has announced an all-star lineup for her upcoming wedding to producer David Gest. Whitney Houston will sing "Here Comes the Bride," Elizabeth Taylor will be the maid of honor and Michael Jackson will give the bride away. Because lord knows he has no use for one.

The bigger they are ... the harder they fall, but Arnold Schwarzenegger swears he's just a little sore after wiping out on his motorcycle on Sunday and breaking a few ribs. "Don't worry," the actor assured the press. "This won't affect my skiing with my family at Sun Valley [Idaho] this Christmas." In other words, he'll be back.

Good news for Gwyneth Paltrow. It looks like she might have a date for New Year's Eve. According to USA Today, the actress is keeping company with her "Royal Tenenbaums" costar Luke Wilson, but she's not going to fill us in on any details. "I'm sorry, but I don't talk about my personal life," Paltrow told the paper at the film's premiere party last week. "You just learn the hard way not to get into it." Never mind that recent blabbage about being "a very sexual person."

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Miss something? Read yesterday's Nothing Personal.


By Amy Reiter

MORE FROM Amy Reiter


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Celebrity Elizabeth Taylor Michael Jackson