Michael Jackson agreed to an exclusive interview with the U.S. edition of the British tabloid OK! magazine, the New York Post reported.
The magazine reportedly will pay the singer $2 million to tell his story after his acquittal on child molestation charges in June. A source told the Post, “Michael Jackson was given full approval over the interview, and the questions are very softball. He got to tell his side of the story the way he wanted to.”
Don’t faint, but Jessica Simpson is taking some blame for the tabloid fascination with her and Nick Lachey’s alleged marital woes.
“We set ourselves up for it with the reality show,” Simpson was quoted by contactmusic.com. “You’ve seen me and Nick go at each other’s throats on TV. They’ve got all these people giving their opinions on our marriage and how we handle it when they are watching an edited TV show.”
Speaking of rumors: Renée Zellweger denies her marriage to Kenny Chesney is on the rocks. The couple wed in May after a short relationship.
The Daily Mail in Great Britain quotes a source saying, “The realities of married life are hitting them both awfully hard. Renée had no idea how involved in every aspect of her life Kenny would want to be.”
Zellweger’s publicist insisted the couple’s relationship was “great.”
Hugh Grant’s quirky sense of humor was put to good use in his book, “What Can I Do To Help? 75 Practical Ideas for Family and Friends From Cancer’s Frontline.” The book discusses how Grant dealt with his mother’s death.
“I got bored and went back to tormenting her – my personal favorite being secretly activating her hospital bed so that the head and legs both lifted to put her in an amusing jackknife position,” he wrote, according to London’s Sunday Mirror. “I blow-dried her hair on the day before she died, which was frankly not the success I had hoped for, and which may – I now concede – have finished her off.”
Speaking of knee-slappers: David Gest is shopping the story of his life to book publishers, MSNBC.com reported.
In the untitled memoir, Gest proposed to tell all about his marriage to Liza Minnelli, whom he claimed beat him.
Gest even proffers a story about how Michael Jackson recovered from plastic surgery at Gest’s house, a publishing source who has seen the proposal said.
The publishing insider added: “We’re going to take a pass on this.”
Naomi Campbell, 35, reportedly punched a longtime friend, actress Yvonne Scio, at a Rome hotel suite they were sharing. British news reports say Scio, 36, needed hospital treatment for cuts to her face and lip.
Police in Rome still are investigating. Campbell’s spokesman said the supermodel “had words with the ‘actress’ but nothing more than that.”
– Compiled by Greg Henry from wire and Internet reports
