Paris Likes ChineseParis Hilton’s first meal out of the clink was takeout from Mr. Chow. Former gossip columnist Charlotte Hays has written a book about attractive women and the rich men they marry. Rudy Giuliani wasn’t a fan of France until Nicolas Sarkoz — the “French Rudy” — was elected president. Brooke Astor may have cancer. Bill Clinton won’t be attending his personal trainer’s Chappaqua book signing. Laura Albert, better known as JT LeRoy, wants to pose for Playboy, though the magazine hasn’t made her an offer. Ashton, Demi, and their daughter went to the “Bodies” exhibit at South Street Seaport. A bunch of waiters are suing Sparks Steak House for allegedly using tip money to pay bartenders and others not entitled to it. Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman is throwing a party for Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy.
in other news
Laura Albert Testifies: JT ‘Wanted His Own Body’
At the Postmodern Trial of the Century yesterday, Laura Albert, better known as JT LeRoy, took the stand. Sued by a film company that wants to nullify its option of her book, Albert is facing an uphill task: selling a totally bonkers line of defense that the white-tressed, androgynous JT LeRoy was not a deliberate contrivance but a legit alter ego. Albert tearfully testified that she began branching off into other personalities at age 3, after weathering sexual abuse (of course) and playground taunts of “Hey, Fat Albert.” So what are we to make of the fact that she hired an actress to pose as JT? “He wanted his own body.” Fair enough! Sadly, this still doesn’t account for LeRoy’s more questionable stunts — like soliciting money from prominent figures for fictional HIV treatments. Perhaps he wanted his own car?
‘JT’: One Wail Of Hoax Tale [NYP]
Earlier: JT LeRoy Stars in the Pomo Trial of the Century
in other news
JT LeRoy Stars in the Pomo Trial of the Century
As blockbuster cases go, this is going to be like an NPR version of the Lorena Bobbitt trial: a dozen buzzwords united in one court-gasm. Antidote International Films, the company that optioned JT LeRoy’s novel Sarah in 2003 (before, ahem, a magazine outed novelist Laura Albert as the real JT) is suing Albert. Their logic is simple: The deal is null because the person they cut it with doesn’t exist. The other side is boldly countering that JT has become an organic part of “disturbed” Laura Albert’s personality; and the plaintiff seems prepared to respond by rolling out every media clip where someone else is impersonating JT LeRoy (they started with a Fresh Air interview). To add a touch of meta-meta to the proceedings, there’s a documentarian hanging around the trial who’s pondering a movie of the case itself.