Nick Lachey and JCPenney Do Not Mix, Even If Paid to Do SoNick Lachey threw a hissy fit at a JCPenney party on Hudson Street, despite the fact that he was being paid to be there. Michael Strahan says he loves girlfriend Nicole Murphy, but isn’t sure about marriage. Execs at Sony are annoyed that Michael Jackson’s Thriller 25 is on the Billboard oldies’ chart instead of the Billboard Top 200 chart, despite the fact that it has six new songs. Nelly picked up the coat-check girl at Plumm. Outkast’s André 3000 is looking for an apartment in the city and just toured a multi-million-dollar penthouse on West 13th Street. Justin Timberlake gave menu recommendations to patrons at his Southern Hospitality.
in other news
Naomi Campbell Picks Up the Microphone, Doesn’t Throw ItBarbara Walters. Christiane Amanpour. Andrea Mitchell. Katie Couric. Lesley Stahl. And, now, Naomi Campbell? The supermodel is trying to join the ranks of modern journalism’s most influential women interviewers. Campbell already had a sit-down with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and now she’s set her sights on infirm and possibly-retiring Cuban leader Fidel Castro. She’s on assignment from GQ magazine, and she’s “not going to be political.” She doesn’t have anything with Castro set up yet, but she’s not coming back from Cuba empty-handed. “She’ll spend Christmas out there if she has to,” reports Daily Telegraph “Spy” columnist Celia Walden. “She also said she’ll land [French president Nicolas] Sarkozy in the New Year.” Fascinating! This is bound to turn into a great story, of some sort. Wherever she conducts these interviews, let us all hope that there are plenty of witnesses, and lots and lots of cell phones.
Campbell in Cuba [Daily Telegraph via Fashionista]
gossipmonger
Hilary Swank Put Her Boob on Someone’s HeadKelly Ripa said she’s going to check out occasional Live With Regis and Kelly co-host Damien Fahey’s band tonight at the Cutting Room. Hilary Swank accidentally put her boob on P.S. I Love You co-star Bob Balaban’s head when she hugged him as he was having lunch. Robin
Quivers’s boyfriend, comic Jim Florentine, joked at Caroline’s that he’s not sure why she’s dating him because he’s “a loser.” The Olsen twins, Bob Saget, and John Stamos had a Full House reunion at the Bowery Hotel bar on Wednesday. Michael Jordan, ex-Knick Charles Oakley, and Ahmad Rashad hung out at Buddakan and then Socialista. Black Crowe Chris Robinson got six figures to play a half-hour set for a Wall Street firm at Arena.
gossipmonger
Choose Your Own Gossip Adventure!Rush and Molloy let you write your own Lindsay Lohan item. Larry King used to gamble, owes a lot of people in Miami money, according to a new book. Art-mag publisher Louise MacBain has not yet made her annual $50,000 donation to the Watermill Foundation. Richie Rich’s new boyfriend is causing trouble for Heatherette staffers. Paris Hilton dropped her best friend Kim Kardashian because Kim was getting too popular. Lydia Hearst threw an award statue into the crowd at the Paper magazine Nightlife Awards, because Moby told her to. Jennifer Connelly gained some perspective shooting Blood Diamond in Africa. Before arriving at the Casino Royale premiere attended by Queen Elizabeth, VIPs had to memorize a pamphlet on royal protocol. The cover of Vanity Fair’s “Hollywood” issue feature Brits Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren but not Cate Blanchett. Newly single Kid Rock may be back with his ex-girlfriend. Drew Barrymore still wears Uggs. Cindy Adams loves Will Smith’s new movie, does not love Mel Gibson’s. A mausoleum for Fidel Castro is being built on a mountaintop in Cuba. Former Facts of Life star Kim Fields is preggers. Joan Collins loves to sign autographs for fans, despite a recent “Page Six” item to the contrary. A kosher steakhouse opened in L.A.; Mel Gibson and Michael Richards have yet to dine there.