Jesus Is SufferingMadonna’s boyfriend is getting “straight-up dissed” by the other male models. And more, in your daily gossip roundup.
ByKatie Goldsmith
gossipmonger
Levi Johnston Lawyers UpPlus, Gwyneth Paltrow offers Mario Batali a free gym membership that may be either a kind gesture or a really catty move. In our gossip roundup!
ByChris Rovzar
gossipmonger
Eva Longoria Likes Being Tied Up, ApparentlyAlso, Hulk Hogan empathizes with O.J., Zac Efron talks about his keister, and more celebrity overshares in our daily gossip roundup.
The Fug Girls: Introducing the Good BoyFor the past year, the tabloids have been obsessed with Bad Girls and the rotating cabal of shaggy, greasy party boys who love them. But as public patience with self-destructive dim-bulbs like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears wanes, mags have cooked up a new dish for us to salivate over: the Good Boy. He’s sanitized, sexually harmless, and above all, as bland as an egg-and-egg omelette. In short, he is Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford. Nothing against Crawford: He’s coming into his own playing troubled, rich pothead Nate Archibald, and it’s possible he secretly digs astrophysics, dog shows, and racing unicycles across shaky rope bridges. But if he is that well rounded, we won’t read about it anytime soon. The boy’s appeal lies in his intense (but not intimidatingly intelligent) eyes, carefully mussed hair, and TV show aimed squarely at the squalling teens who buy multiple copies of magazines so as to tape the pictures to their bedroom ceilings. Even his maybe-girlfriend Carrie Underwood described Chace’s appeal thusly: “He’s got cool hair, he’s a nice height, and he just has beautiful eyes.” How profound. Will they register at Sephora?
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The Plaza Turns 100The Plaza Hotel turns 100 on October 1, and she’s having a birthday party. MTV nixed having the stars of The Hills go to the Gossip Girl premiere party at Tenjune. On NY1’s Wiseguys, Ed Koch and Al D’Amato berated lefty Mark Green over MoveOn.org’s “General Betray Us” ad. Alina Shriver, sister-in-law of Maria and wife of Anthony Kennedy, just debuted a clothing line. A Pontiac had to be removed from the stage of 50 Cent’s concert at Hammerstein Ballroom because it had gas in the tank. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Violet played in Sheep Meadow. Eartha Kitt, better known as Catwoman, says she’s 80 but still “burning.”
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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.
party lines
The ‘Hairspray’ Premiere: Mama, It’s a Big Movie Now
Last night’s big New York premiere for Hairspray — one of many being held around the country — brought out movie stars, Broadway stars, musicians, and even a big queen. By which we mean Miss Latifah, of course, who plays Motormouth Maybelle in the movie — although, yes, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the show’s composer-lyricist couple were there, plus Lance Bass, who takes over the Corny Collins role on Broadway next month. On the red carpet, Bass told us he arrived in New York two days ago and has four agents from competing brokerages working on his apartment hunt. (Ah, to be a boy-band alum!) Wittman and Shaiman joked about what a loose woman John Travolta became the moment he put on Edna’s drag.