J.Lo and Marc Anthony’s Problems ContinueThe couple had trouble getting into one of the inaugural balls last night. Also, Sheryl Crow had an awkward interaction with an ex, and Russell Simmons got caught stealing!
ByTim Murphy
gossipmonger
Kate Hudson and A-Rod Went on a DateDoes it sound like that should have an exclamation point after it? Well, we’re not using any of those things today. Today’s gossip roundup shall stand on its own merits.
Chuck and Vanessa Go Bowling, Do Jäger BombsThe ‘Gossip Girl’ kids hit Bowlmor Lanes! André Leon Talley had a hissy fit! Lindsay and Sam played tongue tennis at Beatrice Inn! All in today’s gossip roundup!
The Babies of Jennifer Lopez Are Upon Us!Finally, People has released the first baby photos of J.Lo and Marc Anthony’s infant children, Max and Emme. Aren’t they cute? And don’t they look just like … dad?
in other news
The ‘GQ’ Whipped List Includes Some of New York’s MeekestWe were just tipped off to GQ’s list of “the twenty-five most emasculated, disempowered, henpecked husbands on the planet” by Portfolio’s Jeff Bercovici. He was fascinated by the fact that Wendi Deng, our best friend, pushed Rupert Murdoch around so much. Well, yeah. Doesn’t everyone know that it’s the powerful men who love to be dominated? But what other New York men did GQ out as submissives? Despite the obvious and frankly just-for-show sexism (because everyone knows that all dudes who work for GQ are either gay or Sensitive) we clicked over, and we were not disappointed.
gossipmonger
Cancer Has Not Impaired Patrick Swayze’s JudgementPatrick Swayze passed on playing a gay cheerleading coach in Fired Up for “creative reasons,” not because he’s sick. The script for Saturday’s Inner Circle show at the Hilton had to be overhauled in light of Spitzergate. Tom Brady made a rare post–Super Bowl public appearance with Gisele at the opening of the Zegna store on Fifth Avenue. Anne Hathaway bought five bottles of absinthe and borrowed an absinthe fountain from a restaurant for a party she was hosting with her boyfriend Raffaello Folllieri. ABC may cancel Rachael Ray’s show because of poor ratings. Padma Lakshmi and Salman Rushdie shared an “uncomfortable silence” after being seated six feet apart from one another at a Cinema Society screening.
in other news
J.Lo Jennifer Lopez Wants Only the Best for Her Baby PhotosJennifer Lopez, mother to the heaven-sent twins Max and Emme, got $6 million from People magazine in exchange for their first baby pictures, according to reports. But did you also know she demanded her husband, Marc Anthony, be the one to shoot them? That’s what TMZ.com says. (We would have really preferred Anne Geddes, but you can’t have everything.) They also hear that she insisted upon being called “Jennifer,” as opposed to the commonly accepted “J.Lo,” throughout the entire article. Oh, and also for the rest of time. A rep for People told the Website that their story was “absurd,” but we do know that Lopez’s reps prefer for her to be called “Jennifer,” so this doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch. Also, “Jennifer” is no fool. If Marc is behind the cameras, he can’t be in the photos!
J.Lo to ‘People’: Don’t Call Me Dat!! [TMZ.com]
photo op
World, Please Welcome Max and Emme Lo!We don’t know how we missed this, but apparently, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony named their babies! The twins are called Max and Emme. Max was born at six pounds even, and Emme was a petite 5.7 pounds. They might have been named after a PBS show called Dragon Tales, TMZ tells us, but then what do they know. Anyway, they are pictured above. Kidding! Those aren’t Max and Emme. We’re going to have to wait until they are un-red and un-crinkly and are photographed for People to see what they really look like, but in the meantime we figured, why wait? With modern technology, we can just imagine what they look like.
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.
in other news
J.Lo’s OB/GYN Says Everything Was Easy Squeezy With Her DeliveryAs we lie in wait, desperately refreshing gossip Websites in the hopes that some or any information will pop up about Jennifer Lopez’s heaven-sent babies, we’ve begun to get a little depressed. She’s going to give them ridiculous names, we worry to ourselves. Two absurdly pretentious names. Each. Sure, we wouldn’t want them to have normal names. We love quirky one-namers like Cruz Beckham, Suri Cruise, and Phinnaeus Cameraman. But you just know J.Lo’s going to come up with something more along the lines of Tallulah Belle or Emerson Rose, who are lovely people but whom we can’t imagine rocking out in a limo with mohawks and splits of Champagne on their way to their first Communions. We want fireworks, not sweetness! And Life & Style confirms our worries — apparently, even their births were gentle. “Jennifer was amazing,” Dr. Anita Sadaty, J. Lo’s OB/GYN, told the mag. “She has this motherhood glow about her, very serene. Her boy and girl are healthy — and for that she feels so thankful and blessed.” Apparently, the girl popped out ten minutes before the boy, and the whole thing went off “without a hitch. There were no complications whatsoever.” Aw, crap. Looks like we’re going to have to wait until after their Disney-show downfalls to have any fun.
J.Lo’s Doctor Speaks: “She’s Simply Overjoyed!” [Pagesix.com]
in other news
And on the Third Day, the Lopez Twins Rose From the WombFinally. America’s exhaustive wait is over. Jennifer Lopez, shortly after midnight, expelled her heaven-sent twins from her womb, bestowing their glory unto the world. According to the Associated Press, a 5-pound, 7-ounce girl popped out first, followed a few minutes later by a 6-pound brother. We know that you have a lot of questions: are they healthy? What are their names? Will People really pay $4-6 million for their first mug shots? Is her vagina totally broken now? Unfortunately, we won’t know these answers for a few weeks, until People runs an airbrushed picture of Jennifer’s glowing face inches away from the tots, with a coverline somehow involving the word “joy.” All we know for sure are these two things: One, that those two babies, by virtue of being fraternal boy-and-girl twins, are going to be the awesomest Hollywood hellraisers ever. And two, J.Lo is going to drop that baby weight faster than you can say “Natalia Vodianova is on back on the catwalk.” Even though she was totally a hot pregnant lady, her size was beginning to terrify us a little.
Lopez Gives Birth To Twins in NY [AP]
in other news
North Shore Medical Center Prepares for the Rapture Birth of J.Lo’s TwinsWhile you have been hiding out in your home and office this week, rousting yourself only to scurry through the terrible weather to get from one place to the other as quickly as possible, other people in the New York–metropolitan area have been doing something important. They’ve been on their toes, ready for action, preparing for the absolute worst. Yes, the staff of the North Shore Medical Center on Long Island have been preparing for the most dramatic of events that could ever take place within the starched walls of their esteemed hospital: They’re getting ready for Jennifer Lopez to go into labor. Not only will the birthing of these glorious (seemingly enormous), long-prophesied twins change the course of human history, but it also comes with a great risk. The threat of kidnapping! So hospital employees have been practicing “pink drills,” according to TMZ.com, in order to be able to lock down the medical center at a moment’s notice in case there is a threat to the magical mystery twins. Of course, this is a little bit silly on their part. What they should be doing is practicing drills for what to do when Balthasar, Gaspar, and Melchior show up.
J.Lo Hospital on Alert to Thwart Babynapping [TMZ.com]
gossipmonger
Jay-Z Had to Break Up to Make UpJay-Z stepped down as CEO of Def Jam because it didn’t pay enough. (Instead, he wants to open a boutique hotel called The Jay.) Amy Fischer is D.J.-ing tonight at Retox, and her sex tape will be on display. Justin Timberlake and Alpha Dog co-star Amanda Seyfried left the Pink Elephant after just fifteen minutes. VH-1 exec Michael Hirschorn, wife and St. Martin’s editor Elizabeth Beier, New York Times scribe Bob Morris, and agent Ira Silverberg spent New Year’s Eve at the Mexican villa once occupied by Pablo Escobar. There are a bunch of historical inaccuracies in Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters, namely the fact that Harvard was not involved in the real-life proceedings. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are supposedly expecting twins: one boy and one girl.
in other news
Georgina Chapman and Harvey Weinstein Take the Celebrity Wedding to Connecticut (Updated)Today People brings us all the details of the glamorous nuptials of Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman and producer Harvey Weinstein. They do a pretty decent job, as wedding announcements go. Guests at Harvey’s Westport estate included Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Cameron Diaz, Renée Zellweger, Naomi Watts, Anna Wintour, Rupert Murdoch, Ron Perelman, Quentin Tarantino, Graydon Carter, Karolina Kurkova, and Helena Christensen. Yeah, it was one of those. “The wedding was the most elegant, loving affair I’ve ever seen,” one guest (no doubt a socialite friend of contributing reporter Jeff Slonim) told People. “The room was full of incredible people who were there to toast the couple, who looked totally in love.” The party tents were decorated with fir trees, crystal chandeliers, mirrors, and pink flowers. A ten-minute fireworks show erupted after the couple exchanged their vows, lighting up Long Island Sound.
gossipmonger
Renée Zellweger, Not on FireRenée Zellweger’s neighbor called the FDNY on her because she had a fire going in her fireplace. Jennifer Lopez and her mom don’t talk anymore, perhaps because of Marc Anthony. Mary Louise Parker took her adopted (and Brat Pitt–approved) African baby to a doctor’s appointment in New York. Blackstone chairman Steven Schwarzman’s charitable foundation has only $63,424 in assets and is holding just $991 for charitable purposes. Kelly Klein is expected to make $3 million by selling jewels ex-hubby Calvin bought her for $200,000 in 1987. Kanye West went to Blue Ribbon with a leather-clad dominatrix and some models. George Clooney was jokingly slapped by “a really hot girl” at Bungalow 8’s New York branch. Kim Kardashian and Terrence Howard were caught making out at Butter and Tenjune.
gossipmonger
Michael Jackson Checks Out Other Masks and Wigs at ‘Lion King’Michael Jackson took his three kids to see the Lion King on Broadway, and they were all wearing wigs and baseball caps. An art dealer in Chelsea sued Christie’s for $7 million for allegedly selling him a fake Basquiat. Kanye West’s album is outselling 50 Cent’s, though 50 is still worth more money according to Forbes. Jennifer Lopez may be expecting twins, but that’d be news to Marc Anthony. The Dalai Lama likes eating at Masala Garden on West 79th Street. Vince Vaughn went into Marquee at 2:45 a.m. to hit on some girls. Hugh Grant cruised down a deserted strip of road in Southampton in a red convertible. Representative Charles Rangel subconsciously thinks Hillary Clinton is going to be president.
gossipmonger
Michael Jackson Is in New YorkDavid Chase is “heartbroken” that James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, et al didn’t win Emmy; Bill Maher isn’t sad he lost for the nineteenth time. Naomi Campbell told the Blacks in Fashion panel last week that she’s repeatedly been refused the cover of British Vogue, despite the fact that she’s posed eight times. Rosie O’Donnell declined to hawk her book on Oprah, instead opting for a Diane Sawyer interview. Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie drop off and pick up Maddox at the Upper East Side’s Lycée Français themselves. Marilyn Manson didn’t carry girlfriend Rachel Evan Woods’s luggage as the two strode through JFK. Judith Giuliani went shopping for Manolos at Bergdorf Goodman. Michael Jackson is allegedly holed up in a fancy midtown hotel and has left only once to take part in a photo shoot.
intel
Another New York Recording Studio ShuttersHell’s Kitchen’s legendary Sony Studios closed last week, and its remaining contents will be auctioned off on September 10. It’s the latest in a string of big private studio closings (smaller or home recording rooms are now preferred, as they are cheaper and easier for record companies), and some fear it’s the death of a creative tradition that fostered unique collaborations and chemistry. “Walking down the hallways, Mariah Carey would be in one room and Marc Anthony in another,” recalls producer Phil Ramone. “There’s a community side to making music, so it’s a huge loss.” Indeed, former Sony manager Tony Drootin recalls Jay-Z and Beyoncé recording in side-by-side rooms (resulting in his rap on “Crazy in Love”), Michael Jackson stuffing a spare studio room with video games and a Stairmaster, and rappers from Busta Rhymes to Lil’ Kim guesting on each other’s records. When Drootin would leave at 3 a.m., “You’d see all these Bentleys and Lamborghinis on the street outside.”
gossipmonger
It’s His PrerogativeBobby Brown beefed up security in Australia because he still thinks Osama bin Laden is after him. Former party girl Taylor Stein, who just had a baby with William Lauder, has dated a lot of very, very wealthy older men. A documentary producer claims Bobby Kennedy got into a shouting match with Marilyn Monroe the night she died, and not in the bedroom where her body was found. Mom of the Year Dina Lohan is being sued for allegedly failing to pay back a $400,000 loan she used to jump-start Lindsay’s music career. ABC misspelled Whoopi Goldberg’s name in a press release announcing her as the new host of The View. Rudy Giuliani made up for the fact that the Yankees lost Eric Gange to the Red Sox by raising $350,000 at a Greenwich fund-raiser. Chelsea Clinton tried, and failed, to quietly read Harry Potter on the 6 train. CBS News execs are not pleased with the performance of some of the company’s interns. Tyra Banks attended a party for her Air Force cadet brother, who is going to Iraq.
gossipmonger
Judi Giuliani, Puppy Killer?Vanity Fair’s forthcoming takedown of Judi Giuliani paints her as “opportunistic, puppy-killing homewrecker.” ABC News employees were reminded not to surf for porn on company time after it was discovered that an intern had nude photos online. Married cosmetics heir William Lauder may be the illegitimate father of a child with nightlife honcho Howard Stein’s daughter. Mets pitchers John Maine and Aaron Heilman partied at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane might not technically be married to the mother of his two children, journalist Allison Pearson. Penélope Cruz and Bono were spotted holding hands in St. Tropez. Star Jones claims women on TV get a raw financial deal. Rachael Ray and Ron Jeremy were in Saratoga for the opening of the racetrack.
gossipmonger
Gay Slur at the ‘Times’!The top photo editor at the New York Times allegedly called a co-worker a faggot during an office party, and now she may lose her job. Jane Pratt showed up for a Playboy Bunny audition; she was told her tan wasn’t good enough. Campbell Brown is leaving NBC for CNN. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony pride themselves on being “normal.” Hustler may publish the names of 30 politicians who frequented the D.C. madam. Natalie Portman wants you to know she does not get naked during Goya’s Ghost. Shakira wants her fiancé to sign a prenup. Calum Best played strip truth-or-dare with a “gorgeous, straight, black male” while Lindsay Lohan was in another room.
gossipmonger
Ann Bass Was RobbedSocialite Ann Bass, ex-wife of billionaire investor Sid Bass, and artist boyfriend Julian Lethbridge were robbed at their tony Connecticut estate. Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia couldn’t bring herself to attend Frost/Nixon. Rutgers women’s basketball coach Vivian Stringer signed a lucrative deal to write an autobiography. Alec and Stephen Baldwin split some macaroni and cheese while bowling. Madonna ex Carlos Leon hooked up with model Kat Forseca at the Bowery Hotel. Josh Lucas hooked up with a writer from Harper’s Bazaar at the Gramercy Park Hotel. Christine Ebersole once bribed a cop with $100. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony plan to file libel suits against the National Enquirer in Europe, where their odds of victory are higher. Chloë Sevigny writes about her wild youth in the introduction to a friend’s memoir.
gossipmonger
Not Super EnoughThe Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation wanted to donate the late Superman’s wheelchair to the Smithsonian, but the museum wanted more stuff. Katie Couric is dating a 33-year-old triathlete named Brooks Perlin. Scorned socialite Olivia Palermo gave an interview to New York about her relationship with Tinsley Mortimer and socialiterank.com without the consent of her publicist. Naomi Campbell was in talks with MTV to film a reality show but suddenly went MIA. CNN is prepared to pay Anderson Cooper $50 million over the next five years. Reports conflict on whether Marc Anthony and J.Lo have split. Stevie Wonder had to buy back a Grammy he won in 1974 because he never reported it stolen in the first place.
cultural capital
Jenny’s Party: No Celebs, But Four SongsWhen we arrived at the listening party for Jennifer Lopez’s much-touted new Spanish language album, Como Ama Una Mujer, at the new Times Square venue Spotlight last night, excitement was in the air: Will Smith had RSVP’d! And maybe some other celebs would make “cameos”! Two and a half hours and several mini “Iron Chef burgers” later, it turned out said cameos only included La Familia Lopez (sister Lynda and mom, plugging her ears while attempting to talk over the blasting eighties remixes), umbrella-less umbrella man Farnsworth Bentley, and hairstylist Ken Pavés. But all was not lost — at 10:40 on the dot, four pensive young women in blousey half-shirts and booty shorts knelt onstage. J.Lo was on her way! And she was wearing … a head-to-toe netted, sparkly black serape? (Is this really what she wears on the block?) While her leggings and equally sparkly bikini top may not have been what we expected from she of that Versace dress, at least her famous posterior was clearly visible (and shaking admirably) during the four songs she performed. “I wanna see clappin’ and actin’ a fool!” Jenny squealed. “I know y’all drunk!”
