Morning Briefing:
Jackson a baby daddy after all? We thought there was something fishy about Wednesday's report that Debbie Rowe, mother of two of Michael Jackson's kids, was suddenly claiming to an Irish newspaper that Jackson had nothing to do with their DNA. Fox gossip columnist Roger Friedman's sources, friends of Rowe, raise a good point: If Rowe could have sold her story for big piles of money to any U.S. tabloid, "why would she give a free interview to a small paper in Ireland?" The only likely explanation: Some gossip newspapers in the U.K. make stuff up. Could that also explain the U.K. Sun's claim that traces of cocaine were found on Jackson's underwear during a police raid? (Fox 411, FemaleFirst)
Pete Doherty watch: Why was everyone so concerned about Kate Moss' drug use when clearly her maybe ex-boyfriend Pete Doherty is the one who needs and probably deserves the world's scorn? A few days out of rehab, and already he's reportedly been taken into police custody after cops pulled him over in his Jag in London and found "suspicious substances." How to follow that up? The London Mirror's 3 a.m. Girls write: "We hear the junkie singer -- who the Mirror revealed on Tuesday quit the Meadows rehab clinic in Arizona after only a week -- tried to roll what police believe to be a joint while waiting to be questioned. Very smart." (3 a.m. Girls)
What would Donna do? Tori Spelling, just recently separated from her husband, actor Charlie Shanian, is apparently pregnant (Perez Hilton puts it much less kindly) with Canadian actor Dean McDermott's baby. The couple were spotted in Toronto last week, where they met McDermott's family and delivered the news. Adding more juice to the story: McDermott recently left his wife and children to be with Spelling. (PR Newswire via Perez Hilton)
A scene from the eighth circle of hell, reserved for fabulist reporters: Jayson Blair recently ran into a gaggle of New York reporters, including one from the New York Post, at a hotel bar in Columbus, Ohio, and revealed he'd been hoping for more Times-destroying fireworks from Judith Miller. According to the Post, Blair "regaled" the reporters, in town to cover a story, with his take on Miller. "I kept rooting for Judy to [bleep] up the paper more than I did, but not even she managed that," Blair said. "It was like, 'C'mon, Judy, c'mon!'" He also admitted some feelings of guilt. "I shouldn't have done what I did," he said. Then: "Is this gonna be in Page Six?" (Page Six)
Also:
Life & Style Weekly has a story on Britney Spears visiting a psychic to help with her marriage troubles, wherein she happens to ask all the same questions that have been bugging Life & Style readers: "She wants to know if Kevin will cheat, if they'll have another child and if the marriage will last." (The Scoop) ... You can breathe easy again -- a new star honoring Gregory Peck has been installed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to replace the one that was recently stolen (and was gone for almost a week before anyone noticed). (Associated Press) ... Is Naomi Campbell hatin' on Nicole Richie? A source tells Lloyd Grove's Lowdown about a scene that erupted over nothing the other night at New York's Bungalow 8: "Naomi started screaming at her publicist, 'That f-ing b- Nicole Richie, I hate her!' ... Nicole was sitting 3 feet away, and Naomi was just screaming over her head. Nicole clearly heard, but was ignoring it." (N.Y. Daily News) ... Mariska Hargitay, who plays Det. Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: SVU" (and whose mother was Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield), has announced that she and her husband, Peter Hermann, are expecting their first baby. (People) ... Wendie Jo Sperber, the actress who played Marty McFly's sister in the "Back to the Future" series and Tom Hanks' pal in "Bosom Buddies," died on Tuesday after an eight-year battle with breast cancer. "The memory of Wendie Jo is that of a walking inspiration," Hanks said on Wednesday in a statement. "We are going to miss her as surely as we are all better for knowing her." (E! Online)
Money Quote:
Matt Damon on why he enjoys working with George Clooney: "George grabs my ass every day. At least once a day. That's why I've done three movies with him." (Idon'tLikeYouInThatWay)
Turn On:
So many choices tonight: First, at 8 p.m. EDT, decide between Richard Schickel's 2001 documentary "Woody Allen: A Life in Film" (TCM) and the papal biopic "Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II" (ABC). Later: "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT) presents its first-ever musical guests, the White Stripes, while "The Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT) brings on Oprah as a guest for the first time since 1989.
-- Scott Lamb
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