Matthew McConaughey’s Mom Sexed His Dad to DeathIn today’s gossip rundown, the actor’s 78-year-old mother reveals a little TMI in a new memoir, plus, celebrities descend on Denver, though the Obama campaign would prefer they didn’t.
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Christiane Amanpour Is Kinkier Than We ThoughtDid Blair kick Kati off ‘Gossip Girl’? Does Gwyneth really eat? Is Diane Von Furstenberg really a dominatrix? (Christiane Amanpour says so!) The answers to these questions lie in today’s roundup of gossip.
it happened this week
Differences of OpinionWhile political watchers spent last week looking ahead to primaries in Ohio and Texas, the candidates engaged in a serious debate — over a photo of Barack Obama wearing Somali clothing. (An Obama staffer claimed Hillary Clinton had leaked the shot to make him look Islamic; Clinton’s campaign manager said no one had claimed the photo was “divisive” until Obama and his new friend at the Post played it up.) Latecomer Ralph Nader, unsafe at any speed as far as most liberals are concerned, moseyed into the presidential race. Connecticut senator Christopher Dodd backed Obama; Jersey governor Jon Corzine rushed to aid the Clintons in Cleveland.
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Celine Dion Is F—ing With the Cast of ‘Spring Awakening’The cast of Spring Awakening likes watching the parody video “Celine Dion Is Fucking Amazing” before taking the stage. Jamie Johnson’s The One Percent, the second movie he’s made about rich Upper East Siders, premieres tonight. Alice + Olive designer Stacey Bendet got engaged to Eric Eisner, son of former Disney chief Michael Eisner. Entertainment Weekly canceled its annual Oscar-night viewing party at Elaine’s. Mary-Kate Olsen hung out with pals at old standby the Bowery Hotel on Friday.
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PETA Causes a Ruckus in the House of Donna KaranA PETA protester accosted designer Donna Karan inside her Central Park West apartment after an assistant mistakenly let her in. Kyle MacLachlan and his wife are expecting a child. Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, Demi Moore, and a host of other stars all turned out for Madonna’s “Raising Malawi” (Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon did not, however, after learning that the event was sponsored by Gucci). Rachel Zoe came to Fashion Week with eight suitcases, two of which were for accessories. R.E.M. played a series of impromptu shows on the Lower East Side earlier this week.
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Cumming Sprays Everyone at Le RoyaleHeath Ledger allegedly did so much coke and heroin that Michelle Williams kicked him out of their Brooklyn home. (His publicist denies that he opted not to check into rehab.) Farrah Fawcett got $500,000 for allowing The Insider to videotape her chemotherapy. Alan Cumming ripped the disco ball off the roof at Le Royale, and then sprayed partygoers with Champagne.
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Philippe Starck Pans the New Royalton LobbyPhilippe Starck doesn’t like the $17.5 million redesign to the Royalton Hotel, which he once designed. Heatherette isn’t having a show this Fashion Week, and Richie Rich may be out for good! Russian model Natalia Vodianova had what may be her last catwalk during the final Valentino show in Paris and plans to take the designer to Moscow for a week and then to Brazil for Carnivale. Contrary to rumors, Puff “Diddy” Daddy says he is not considering changing his name back to Sean Combs. Paris Hilton and Stavros Niarchos hung out at the Beatrice Inn. Michael Richards and a blonde girl ate at a vegan restaurant at Columbus Circle. Cindy Adams claims that the writers’ strike will be over in two weeks and that Mayor Bloomberg is 50-50 about whether to run for president. Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner and boyfriend Matt Nye just had twins via surrogate parent. New York Times writer Alex Kuczynski will have a baby via surrogate mother in April.
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George Clooney Thinks Cindy Adams Is Awkwardly NosyGeorge Clooney’s response to a question asking whether he planned on marrying Sarah Lawson: “What kind of question is that to ask in front of her? Let’s just say I’m fine the way I am right now, thank you.” Four Seasons owner Julian Niccolini is selling his own Sauvignon Blanc, available at Dean & DeLuca. After falling ill in Israel (perhaps with dysentery), Maureen Dowd got medical attention from White House doc Richard Tubb and hitched a ride home on Air Force One. Some pro-life bloggers are angry that Vogue did a fashion shoot with a woman who got an abortion 22 weeks into her pregnancy. Diddy is hiring both a personal and an executive assistant. (One responsibility: acting as a “liaison” between the chairman and his family.) Diane Keaton ate at Michael Jordan’s The Steak House in Grand Central Terminal.
company town
Cravath’s Good Ol’ Boys Miss the Good Ol’ DaysLAW
• One old lawyer reminisces about his time at Cravath in the fifties and speculates on why big law used to be — used to be? — such a man’s world: “Obviously, male bigotry played a major role. But I think something else was involved — an attempt to protect certain values that mattered greatly to the practitioners of that time. They wanted a workplace free of the messiness of male-female relations. They liked to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘No, sir,’ and be done with it. Women might bring distractions: flirtations, gossip, dating. No more male bonding.” Aw ! [American Lawyer]
• Everyone’s talking about Robert Morgenthau stepping down after 33 years as Manhattan D.A.— except Robert Morgenthau. [NYT]
• NYU Law School listserv smackdown! First e-mail: “I decided to compile a list of the easiest professors at NYU Law for those of us who: 1. Want an easy A, and 2. Don’t care about the grade and just want a B without doing a thing.” Second e-mail: “Does your mom still teach here? Because I heard that she’s REALLY easy.” Third e-mail: “If you came to NYU Law school thinking to take shortcuts to get easy As as opposed to taking classes that you would find challenging and helpful to your understanding of law practices, here’s my nugget of advice: save the money and go to a state law school.” Fourth e-mail: “We come to NYU to take made-up classes like ‘Jesus & the Constitution,’ ‘Inter-Animal Contracts,’ and ‘International Law.’ Coming to NYU for anything other than intellectual masturbation or an easy job is a waste of money.” [Above the Law]