HOLLYWOOD - Simpson used vocal aid on SNL?
Singer Ashlee Simpson appeared on Saturday Night Live last weekend, but unfortunately her performance got attention for all the wrong reasons. When it came to her second performance of what was meant to be a her new song "Autobiography," music from her first song, "Pieces of Me," started playing on the loudspeaker--without her lips moving. Simpson promptly broke into a hoedown, dancing a jig around the stage before walking off as the show cut to a commercial after what Simpson's record label, Geffen Records, called "a computer glitch," AP reports. "I feel so bad. My band started playing the wrong song. I didn't know what to do so I thought I'd do a hoedown, said Simpson.
As the TV and Internet buzzes about the gaffe, Simpson fans are outraged. Comments on www.AshleeSimpson.net indicate many of Simpson's fans think that she was using a vocal aid and lip-synching her performance. The singer will have another chance to redeem herself and gain the respect of her fans, though; she is scheduled to perform in Las Vegas for NBC's Radio Music Awards, scheduled to be televised tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Simpson has now joined the group of unexpected musical performances on SNL. Elvis Costello can be remembered for changing songs mid-performance, and Sinead O'Connor for tearing up a picture of the Pope.
Kravitz sued for toilet overflow
Singer and four-time Grammy Award winner Lenny Kravitz is being sued for over $300,000 due to a toilet overflow that allegedly resulted in water damage to a neighbor's apartment, Reuters reports. The suit was filed and made public in a New York City court Friday, stating that the toilet in the singer's apartment "became blocked, clogged and congested with various materials" on Aug. 1 due to "negligence and carelessness." The former insurance executive is suing Kravitz and is expecting the singer to pay for the damages resulting from the toilet overflow.
Catherine Zeta-Jones sues club for topless photo
Yet more celeb lawsuits, and yet another one involving Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is suing a topless club in Nevada over the use of her photo alongside partially nude women on various pages of its Web site without permission, according a lawsuit filed last week in U.S District Court in Los Angeles. Kent Wallace, marketing director for The Spice House in Reno, Nev., told AP the site's designer had downloaded the photo from a German site and did not know it was the actress, but that "she should have been flattered, as far as I'm concerned." He added that the photos were removed as soon as the club was contacted by her attorney and calls the suit, in which Jones seeks unspecified damages, "frivolous."
Ford against Elk hunting
Actor Harrison Ford is taking a stand against the act of elk hunting on his property in Jackson, Wyoming, AP reports. The Fall Creek herd of elk has grown tremendously in what the Wyoming Fish and Game Department deems a huge problem. There are about 5,100 elk in the Fall Creek herd, exceeding Wyoming's max of 4,400. "The problem is that a lot of landowners don't allow permission to hunt," said Fish and Game spokesman Mark Gocke. "That's why this particular herd segment has grown so much." Ford has posted signs around his property warning any hunters that they will be turned in if they are caught hunting elk. State officials are concerned that if the herd continues to grow in record numbers, that the cottonwood habitat of the Snake River will diminish, and the transmission of diseases will increase among cattle.
In more conservation news...Anderson wants to save England's bears
PETA spokeswoman and actress Pamela Anderson sent a petition to Queen Elizabeth II urging her to stop the use of bear pelts in the making of prison guard helmets, according to the AP. In her petition, the 37-year-old actress included 200 signatures from London and a plea of urgency to use synthetic materials rather than animal products. "We the undersigned urge the queen to call on the Ministry of Defense to cease the use of real fur on the uniforms for the regiment of foot guards," the petition said. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Dick-Peter said that no appropriate synthetic replacement has been found at this time, but offered assurances that the army is working closely with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to find that replacement. He added, "No bears are killed simply for the caps. The bears are killed to control the population. Where we can use an artificial alternative, we do so."
90210 star joins the cast of Quintuplets
Former teen idol Jason Priestley has joined the cast of Fox's Quintuplets as an uncle to four teenagers, Reuters reports. Quintuplets follows Bob (Andy Richter) and Carol (Rebecca Creskoff) Chase in their crazy lives of being parents to four teenagers. Priestley is well known for his role as Brandon on the hit teen drama series, Beverly Hills, 90210 and is back on Fox for this show, playing a much different role. Priestley will star on the Thanksgiving episode and should have a recurring part.
O' Reilly considering a possible settlement
Fox News Channel commentator and host Bill O'Reilly is considering settling out of court with his sexual harassment lawsuit accuser, a former O'Reilly Factor producer, without going to trial, Reuters reports. Andrea Mackris is suing political conservative O'Reilly for $60 million, alleging he engaged in sexually explicit conversations and "pleasing himself" while talking to her on the phone. No information has been given to determine how long the negotiations will take or how a settlement might be structured. Mackris and Fox News had been hashing out a settlement before filing dueling lawsuits, but the 33-year-old accuser reportedly rejected a $2 million offer. O'Reilly has filed his own $60 million suit against Mackris and her attorney, alleging extortion.
Blake murder case jury selection begins
The screening process of as many as a whopping 1,800 prospective jurors for the Robert Blake murder case started today. The AP reports Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp will try the case and was quoted saying that she wants a pool of 150 to 200 prescreened jurors ready for questioning by lawyers on Nov. 15. Through a process called "hardship screening," potential jurors will be asked questions about everything from their jobs to their TV viewing habits. The 71-year old actor has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder, two counts of solicitation of murder and a special circumstance of lying in wait. He was accused of killing his former wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley outside a restaurant on May 4, 2001.