Jessica Simpson has recorded a rendition of a Patty Griffin song that helped her through her breakup with Nick Lachey on her upcoming CD, “A Public Affair.” Simpson played Griffin’s “Let Him Fly” for her sister Ashlee last Christmas, she told MTV.com. “We laid there listening to the song and just cried and cried like babies,” Jessica said. “The song is about how sometimes you just have to know when to let something go. And that was that moment. And I had to sing it.” “A Public Affair” will be released Aug. 29.
Lachey, on the other hand, is calling his new girlfriend, Vanessa Minnillo, the “anti-Jessica.” A pal of the “EntertainmentTonight” and MTV host told Us Weekly that Lachey “keeps telling Vanessa the difference between her and Jessica is that she is extremely intelligent.” Minnillo also loves sports and is a “guy’s girl,” the friend told the magazine.
Star Jones has her legal reps investigating a New York Post story (noted here on Friday) that her marriage to Al Reynolds was finished. The former “View” co-host is investigating “the source and motivation of these bold-faced lies … (and threatens) appropriate legal action will be taken,” according to a statement from her reps. Meanwhile, the Post spotted Reynolds and pals (no Star Jones) July 28 at Cain in Southampton, N.Y.
Film producer Brian Grazer and his novelist wife, Gigi, have ended their four-month legal separation. The New York Post reported the couple are living in their Los Angeles home.
Tori Spelling must be hurting for money. According to MSNBC.com, the “NoTORIous” star is selling some of her old clothes on eBay and has registered for nearly $40,000 of baby gifts to furnish her nursery. Spelling reportedly received less than $1 million from her father Aaron Spelling’s will. The noted TV producer died in June and was worth a reported $300 million.
A Los Angeles publicist told MSNBC.com’s Jeannette Walls he was prevented from buying a billboard on Sunset Boulevard to protest Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic tirade after his DUI arrest. The proposed sign was to show Gibson’s face with the international sign for “no” painted over it in red. Andy Behrman said he was part of a group that wanted to purchase the sign to say “that anti-Semitism is not OK in Hollywood – or anywhere else.” Behrman said he negotiated a $40,000 deal with a rep for sign company Regency Outdoor but the business’ boss nixed the billboard.
If it wasn’t for bad luck, Katharine McPhee might not have any luck at all. The latest “American Idol” runner-up tripped backstage during a tour stop in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, fracturing her left foot. It’s the third time in as many years an “Idol” runner-up has been injured on tour. In 2004, Diana DeGarmo slipped down a flight of stairs in Grand Rapids, Mich., tearing a ligament in her foot. Almost exactly one year later, Bo Bice broke his foot while attempting “jump-
ups” at a Manchester, N.H., stop. McPhee, who missed several weeks of the “American Idols” tour because of laryngitis and bronchitis, sang two songs after her fall. A spokesperson told MTV News McPhee plans to continue the tour while wearing a temporary cast.
Aaron Carter is recovering from a surfing accident, his spokesperson confirmed to contactmusic.com. The 18-year-old pop star was briefly hospitalized, though there was no explanation of the incident. Carter has a history of mishaps: More than a year ago his car exploded after a collision on a Florida highway.
