Bernie Sanders Dances on EllenThe presidential candidate also reveals that he has been in handcuffs — but he doesn’t “know exactly what you mean by that.”
Fat Joe Faces Off Against Daddy Yankee Over McCain SupportCould we have our first reggaeton political debate? And how early is too early for news about Michael Jackson’s dirty underwear? It’s all in your coffee-and-croissant gossip roundup!
ByTim Murphy
gossipmonger
Breaking: Tyra Banks Accused of Divalike Behavior-The talkshow hostess’ audience rebels against her; plus P. Diddy ices Cassie, and John Mayer lets Jennifer Aniston down not-so-easy in today’s gossip roundup.
Rudy Daughter Caroline Drops the ‘Giuliani’Plus, Joan Rivers and Barbara Corcoran bite at each other, Pat O’Brien only has one more chance at ‘The Insider,’ and Blake Lively is surprisingly normal — in our daily gossip roundup.
Oprah Will Eat Ellen DeGeneres for BreakfastMEDIA
• CNBC’s Dylan Ratigan proposes a toast at the anniversary of his show Fast Money: “Here’s to destroying … well, ‘destroying Fox’ is what I was going to say, to be totally honest about it. And I was going to say something even more profane than that except there’s press in the room.” [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
• Oprah Winfrey won’t stand for Ellen taking her place as America’s favorite TV personality. The Queen of Talk announced plans to start her own network. And what’s it called? OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. Which is only appropriate for a woman worth upwards of $2.5 billion. [HuffPo, NYP]
• Will the Academy Awards suffer the same fate as the Golden Globes? WGA president Patric Verrone confirmed the guild has no plans to give the Oscars a pass if the strike hasn’t been settled, and it’s still unclear whether the Screen Actors Guild will cross picket lines to attend the awards. [B&C]
company town
Ellen Dethrones Oprah, Finally Has a Real Reason to DanceMEDIA
• Ellen beat Oprah as the nation’s favorite TV personality, dethroning the Queen of Talk who held the top spot for five years. [HR]
• Will Schwalbe quit Hyperion after seven years as editor-in-chief. His decision seems to have come as something of a shock, and the publisher has no immediate successor planned. Schwalbe, co-author of Send, the recent guide to e-mail etiquette, won’t divulge his own plans. [NYO]
• Christopher Hitchens quits smoking! Really, we’re excited and interested! [Radar]
Howard Stern Thinks Imus Will Make You HurlMEDIA
• Carson Daly is going scab! Good thing he doesn’t have any viewers, and unlike Ellen isn’t actually a member of the Writers Guild. [NYT]
• Howard Stern gets all collegiate about Don Imus’s return: “At this point, I don’t think he’s very relevant. People will tune out within a week. I defy you to listen. See how long you can keep listening. Time it. You’ll throw up. You’ll get sick. You’ll die.” [AP via Mixed Media/Portfolio]
• Knicks reporters — even bigger whiners than regular reporters. Daily News vet Frank Isola: “It used to be fun here. Now, there are some nights when you’re trying to talk your boss out of sending you here and maybe lie and tell him you’re sick or something.” [NYO]
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Robert De Niro Pulls Out the Big Guns Against Art GalleryRobert De Niro sued an Upper East Side art gallery that gave twelve of his father’s paintings to a gallery in Rome as part of a debt-payment arrangement. Jason Binn had another kid. NBA commish David Stern, Derek Jeter, and Donald Trump showed up at the wedding of Ahmad Rashad and Sale Johnson, but estranged daughter Casey Johnson did not. Chris Noth and Steve Walter are thinking of moving their jazz club Cutting Room to Hell’s Kitchen. Ashlee Simpson begged photographers not to take her picture when she was smoking outside Angels and Kings. Theodore Sorensen, the lawyer who wrote JFK’s famous “Ask Not…” inaugural address, just bought at $10.75 million condo at 15 Central Park West.
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Mr. Big Almost Gets Beat UpChris Noth was accosted by an angry trucker in the Bronx who wanted to know when he was going to marry Carrie. People were afraid to talk to Javier Bardem at the New York premiere of No Country for Old Men because he was so crazy in the movie. Dr. Ruth gave a copy of Sex for Dummies to Ivana Trump and fiancé Rossano Rubicondi while eating lunch at Michael’s. Anna Wintour had a meeting yesterday with Mayor Bloomberg. Ethan Hawke wowed the crowd at Off Broadway play Jump by breaking out a Karate Kid kick during an audience-participation bit. Zac Posen’s mom claims that her son can remember every outfit he’s worn to every party over the past 27 years.
new york fugging city
The Fug Girls: It’s a Halloween Roundup!Hollywood is already practically one big costume party, so it’s unsurprising that celebrities go nuts dressing up on Halloween — the one night of the year they can let their inherent terrible taste run wild. But don’t let our festive holiday eye-patches fool you. We are watching and judging, because in the celebrity world there’s no such thing as a free pass. After the jump, a look at who scored, and who merely whored…
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Kristen Johnston Turns Forgetful Into FunnyFormer mayor Ed
Koch said his scariest moment in office was when a bunch of doctors threw eggs at his face during the Iran hostage crisis. Kristen
Johnston forgot her lines while performing at The 24 Hour Plays. Bill
Clinton said that he’d like to do a makeover of Grumpy Old Men with Bill Crystal if Hillary is elected president. An assortment of famous folks ate at both Le
Cirque and the Waverley Inn. Donald Trump’s brother, Robert,
and wife Blaine got a divorce. Ben
Affleck said he’d rather worship Satan than flip baseball-team loyalty à la Rudy Giuliani. Maybe fat Ryan Gosling hung out with a hot brunette at Rose Bar.
gossipmonger
Carrie Has to Remarry for ‘Sex and the City’Sex and the City producers have to reshoot the wedding sequence between Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big at the New York Public Library because they rushed through it the first time. (Also, Kim Cattrall shows up to work last every day.) ABC contacted Cosmo’s hottest New York Bachelor of 2007, Patrick Clark, about staring in The Bachelor. Bonnie Evans, widow of Charles Evans (brother of producer Bob Evans), is putting up her Park Avenue triplex for sale for $30 million. Josh Hartnett claimed that “half–95%” of what is written about him is not true but declined to say whether his hooking up with Rihanna was included in that figure. The Autumn, the play starring Meryl Streep’s daughter Mamie Gummer, is coming to Broadway. Law & Order: SVU star Richard Belzer spends a lot of time looking for UFOs. Cindy Adams discusses reruns on TV.
new york fugging city
The Fug Girls Like It When Ellen CriesUntil this week, we’ve known Ellen DeGeneres as unfailingly cheery, a boogie-happy sprite in khakis and Converse. Yet when Ellen opened her talk show Tuesday uncharacteristically red-eyed and weepy, we — after first double-checking that no one had died or anything — began to appreciate the bizarre display, because it represented something so rare in television: actual honesty. Fascinating!
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Richard Gere’s Sell-Buy ConundrumRichard Gere may buy the penthouse in Julian Schnabel’s West Village building, if he can sell his Sullivan Street townhouse for $12 million first. Henry Kissinger, Michael Eisner, and Barry Diller were among the power players who ate at Michael’s for lunch yesterday. Some designers are refusing to use the Earth Pledge’s ecofriendly “Sea Leather” because it’s actually made out of dead fish skin. Ivana Trump’s new engagement ring, from daughter Ivanka’s jewelry line, costs $250,000. Anderson Cooper told Conan that he has a “fatty deposit” under his eye that is visible in high definition. NBC refused to run a Larry Craig–inspired political commercial, though CNN picked it up. (Perhaps it had something to do with Matt Lauer’s interview with the disgraced senator?)