Lydia Hearst and Posse Turn Against Justin BarthaAll of today’s gossip, including dish about Chace Crawford, Ashley Olsen, Leighton Meester, Blake Lively, and Steve Wozniak. Because, you know, they all go together.
Jenna: A Bush Everyone Can Smile AboutEven though we were initially mad she didn’t get married at the White House, Jenna and Henry’s wedding pictures put a smile on our face.
loose threads
Ralph Rucci Takes Top Prize; Karl Lagerfeld Inspires HimselfRucci nabbed the fashion prize in the American Design Awards, Karl Lagerfeld was his own muse for his new handbag line, and Beyoncé proved people don’t really eat dinner at the Met gala.
in other news
David Lauren Not Invited to Jenna Bush’s WeddingLauren Bush’s family would like her to take boyfriend David Lauren back to the Boyfriend Store and exchange him for something a little less old and a little more Christian.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon Set a Bad ExampleJake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon texted on their BlackBerrys during the matinee show of August: Osage County before sneaking out at intermission. Criminal! Judith Regan is now suing the lawyers who are suing her for alleged unpaid fees. Anna Wintour sat courtside at the Knicks-Cavs game last night courtesy of LeBron James (she’s putting him on the cover of Vogue’s shape issue with Gisele in April). Jeremy Piven texted two separate models he met in New York to come meet him at the Mercer Hotel, though he didn’t know at the time that they knew each other. The Champagne Marilyn Monroe drank during her famous 1962 shoot was spiked with either drugs or vodka.
gossipmonger
Eric Nederlander Just Can’t WinBroadway scion Eric Nederlander is divorcing his second wife just seven weeks after having a daughter with her. Theodora Richards is now vice-president of creative direction at some jeans company. Maxim gave Nas’s new album two and a half stars despite the fact that it’s not even done yet. (They did the same thing to the new Black Crowes record.) Grey’s Anatomy star Sara Ramirez flipped out at a midtown bar after a female fan chatted up her boyfriend. Lorne Michaels is in talks with a major Vegas casino to create a live SNL revue starring former popular cast members.
gossipmonger
Jay-Z ‘Took Rihanna Aside’ to Talk About Rumors of Their AffairRihanna said she used to feel self-conscious about the rumors that she hooked up with Jay-Z, but now just ignores them. Observer prepmaster general David Foxley will now be the person to call to get reservations at the Waverly Inn. Billion-heiress Anna Anisimova slept at her mother’s place on Tuesday, which is a good thing because a 400-pound Venetian chandelier collapsed and fell fifteen feet onto the bed at her own place. Rapper 50 Cent has to pay an undisclosed sum to a Post photographer for knocking him down after he tried to take a photo of him. MSNBC accidentally flashed a graphic of Osama bin Laden as host Chris Matthews was discussing Barack Obama. Robert John Burck, a.k.a. the Naked Cowboy, says he has high-profile investments. DJ AM has invited ex-girlfriend Mandy Moore to hear him spin at Room Service on Friday.
company town
Hathaello Checks Out Miss Sixty
FASHION
•Lela Rose thinks she’s still in the running to design Jenna Bush’s wedding dress, despite a first family visit to Oscar de la Renta last week. [NYDN]
•Anne Hathaway totally lied when she said she wouldn’t be attending any fashion shows this week. She and Raffaello Follieri were at Miss Sixty. [The Cut]
• Sheryl Crow enters the fashion arena, with an affordable denim line by the same people who make Victoria Beckham’s dVb line. [WWD]
company town
Semel Out at Yahoo, Microsoft In?FINANCE
• Courtenay Semel’s dad, Terry, is out at Yahoo. And Microsoft’s $44.6 billion bid for the company might just be déjà vu. [NYT, Deal Journal/WSJ]
• Recession-has-already-started watch: The economy lost 17,000 jobs in January, the first time since the lovely tech-crash days of 2003 that total payrolls have shrunk. [Reuters via NYT]
• One of the few lucky bankers with a bonus burning a hole in your pocket? Try London restaurant Vivat Bacchus’ new “Bonus Tasting Menu” for a mere £1,000. [DealBook/NYT]
early and often
Bush Says State of the Union Will Mostly Address Economy; Guest List Begs to DifferAre you guys as excited for President George Bush’s State of the Union Address tonight as we are? Hoo-ah! Wait. You realized there still is a president, even though everybody’s busy trying to pick who the next one will be, right? We know, it’s hard to remember. And even though there are primaries tomorrow, tonight belongs to current president George Bush. Early reports say that his address will largely focus on the economy, which is probably what most ordinary citizens are hoping he will talk about. “Expect few surprises and no big initiatives,” says the Associated Press. Housing reform will come up, press secretary Dana Perino says, as well as health care and veteran’s care, alternative energy sources, climate change, faith-based initiatives, and conditional troop withdrawal in Iraq.
But today the list of Presidential guests has been released for the event. These are the people who sit up with Laura Bush in the balcony, who are generally alluded to in the text of the speech (to much unilateral applause). In addition the lovely Bush twins and that sexpot Lynn Cheney, we’ve summarized the guest list for you.
gossipmonger
Neal Boulton Wants, Doesn’t Want AttentionFormer Men’s Fitness editor and Jann Wenner paramour Neal Boulton calls up “Page Six” to tell them that he is getting harassed for being “too straight.” Harvey Weinstein said he uses Vogue and Anna Wintour to help style his films. The Box is about to implement a security system designed by Safir Rosetti, which is run by former police commissioner Howard Safir. 50 Cent may perform at Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Salman Rushdie dressed up as Darth Vader on Halloween and had to fend off chicks with his light saber. Fox News correspondent Chris Wallace complained that only 39 American soldiers died in Iraq in October 2007, the fewest deaths in a month since 2004.
gossipmonger
‘In Touch’ Buys Angelina’s PregnancyBrad Pitt and Angelina Jolie laughed at a Best Western sign on 49th and Lex. Jennifer Aniston bought a condo in the financial-district building that used to house the Chase Manhattan Bank office. Secret Service agents protecting Jenna Bush while she taped an appearance on The Early Show mistakenly locked themselves out of their car. Russian billionaire heiress Anna Anisimova debuted her new breasts at Russell Simmons’s surprise birthday party. In Touch wanted to run the story, “Is Angelina Jolie Pregnant,” so they bought up a bunch of pictures of her with a flat stomach so no one else could use them. Production on Sex and the City the movie had to be stopped a few times because Evan Handler, a.k.a. Charlotte’s bald husband, had the chronic hiccups.
gossipmonger
Scores Stripper Not So Sure About Drag De La HoyaThe Scores stripper who had the photos of Oscar De La Hoya in drag is now saying she cannot “personally verify the authenticity of the images,” likely because she was threatened by De La Hoya’s lawyer. Lever House owner and real-estate mogul Abe Rosen is forcing tenants (including art collector Robert Wilson) out of his nine-story building on 67 Vestry Street to turn it into a luxury condo building. Miss USA Rachel Smith says she wants to be taken seriously as a TV reporter and not “end up like Katie Couric.” Donald Trump denied having once punched his second-grade music teacher, despite having written about the story in a book. Bruce Willis and his eight-person entourage were denied entry to Socialista at 3 a.m. Ivanka Trump’s jewelry line predictably does not include diamond grills. Dates with some hot firefighters are being auctioned off for charity at Turtle Bay Lounge tonight.
gossipmonger
Is Marc Jacobs Engaged?Marc Jacobs may have given a Cartier engagement ring to his on-again, off-again boyfriend, Jason Preston. Tyra Banks dropped her manager, either because he was a prima donna or because her investment-banker boyfriend told her to. Britney Spears backed out of recording a Timbaland-produced duet with Justin Timberlake. It’s unclear why. No cameras or cars are allowed at the fund-raiser Oprah is throwing for Barack Obama at her California ranch, which is expected to draw George Clooney, Halle Berry, and Jamie Foxx. Harvey Weinstein is offering $100,000 to anyone who can identify the Upper East Side mom who inspired The Nanny Diaries. (Some speculate it’s Preppy Handbook author Lisa Birnbach.) Marc Ecko’s CEO threw $500 in cash around during a company-sponsored booze cruise. Norman Reedus, Helena Christensen’s baby daddy, is making a movie in which Richard Nixon sleeps with a hooker and then kills her. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon dined at Le Cirque with two tables’ worth of security guards.
Isn’t It Rich?A new book alleges that Bill Clinton had an affair with socialite Denise Rich and that Nancy Pelosi knew about it. Barack Obama asked for Beyoncé’s autograph at a fund-raiser at L.A. Reid’s house on the Upper East Side. Star Jones signed a deal to host a show on Court TV. Katie Homes may have chosen her new upcoming movie, a girl-buddy flick, because it had no sex scenes that might make hubby Tom Cruise jealous. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas dined next to Barack Obama at the Waverly Inn. Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal may be hooking up. An intern claims Lizzie Grubman owes her more than $6,000 in back wages. Stewardess diddler Ralph Fiennes frolicked naked in a pool with four women at a hotel in Belgium.
in other news
Jenna Bush Announces Book SurgePresumably still trying to shuck off that Regan stink, HarperCollins announced today that it has acquired world rights to Jenna Bush’s Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope. The “young-adult, narrative non-fiction project” will focus on a “seventeen-year-old single mother who was orphaned at a young age and is living with HIV.” Featuring the photographs of Mia Baxter, Jenna Bush’s book is based on photo diaries she assembled while interning for UNICEF in Panama. (Is “assembling” like “deciding”?)
Jenna is not the first First Daughter to hit Amazon, but the book deals usually involve dad (with the great exception of the prolific Margaret Truman). Take Jimmy and Amy Carter’s children’s books or Dorothy Bush Koch’s books about dear old H.W. Even vice-presidents’ daughters get some shelf space: Holla, Mary Cheney, author of Now It’s My Turn. Trend-watchers will recall that the Gore girls also got into the publishing game, Karenna with Lighting the Way, about nine women who shaped American politics, and Kristin with a roman à clef about life in D.C., Sammy’s Hill. Barbara, get on it!
Jenna Bush Embarks on Book ‘Journey’ [USAT]
Earlier: Candidate Books, Coming Soon to a Shelf, Remainder Bin Near You
