Archive for the ‘Celebrity Blog’ Category

Britney Spears’s Life Inside the Hospital

Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

Britney SpearsBritney Spears’s 72-hour psychiatric hold at the UCLA Medical Center has expired as of Sunday morning – but the singer is still hospitalized.

Legal analysts say either her psychiatrist requested an additional 14-day hold, or Spears is staying voluntarily on a day-to-day basis.

What is life like for Spears at the Stewart & Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA? According to the patient’s bill of rights at the hospital, she is allowed to wear her own clothes and keep her own personal possessions, including toiletries. She may also see visitors every day and make and receive phone calls – but not on her personal cell phone. There are pay phones on the floor.

There are two wings at the hospital, separated by a kitchen/dining room. Patients sometimes mix, especially for smoke breaks out on the deck, which is gated and surrounded by a metal fence.

The average patient sees his or her attending doctor every day. Since UCLA is a teaching hospital, the attending doctors are often accompanied by students. Staffers check on patients at least once an hour, even during the night.

‘It’s a Terrible Situation’
The Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital is known as one of the top facilities of its kind; still, “It is a terrible situation,” says a source close to the Spears family. “Britney is in a padded room. Her family is so worried about her.”

Terry K. Wasserman, a veteran L.A. attorney specializing in mental health cases (who’s not involved in the Spears matter), explains that if a patient becomes combative, he or she “could be placed in a ‘quiet room,’ some of which are padded.”

Wasserman adds: “Another possibility is being confined to a bed by leather restraints. In extreme, life-threatening situations – when the patient is a threat to oneself or medical staff – a psychiatrist can inject a person with psychiatric medication.”

In addition, Wasserman says, “a doctor can force a patient to take prescribed medication. If he or she resists taking the meds, the psychiatrist can obtain authorization to forcefully medicate the person – but only after a hearing on the matter takes place.”


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Katharine McPhee Marries Producer Boyfriend

Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

Katharine McPheeSinger-actress Katharine McPhee married producer Nick Cokas on Saturday in Beverly Hills, her rep Justin Gray Stone confirms.

The 23-year-old American Idol season five runner-up and Cokas, 42, exchanged vows in a late afternoon ceremony at Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church.

“(Nick) is the love of my life,” McPhee gushed. “This is a once in a lifetime occasion and everything is just perfect.”

McPhee wore a strapless ivory Manuel Mota gown and Neil Lane jewels (diamond and platinum chandelier earrings and diamond and platinum bracelets), while Cokas wore an Armani tuxedo. Fellow season five Idol contestants Kellie Pickler and Mandisa were among the 305 guests on hand for the nuptials.

McPhee and Cokas met in 2005 when they performed in a Los Angeles theater production of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Their union began as a friendship and blossomed when McPhee auditioned for American Idol later that year.

The two quietly got engaged last year when Cokas presented her with a custom-designed round brilliant cut platinum and diamond engagement ring.

McPhee recently wrapped filming the Anna Faris comedy I Know What Boys Like.


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Tori Spelling Pregnant with Second Child

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

Tori SpellingThere’s no more hiding it: Tori Spelling shows off her growing baby bump during a walk with husband Dean McDermott in Santa Barbara on Friday. No word yet on a due date for the happy couple, who are already parents to son, Liam, who turns 1 on March 13.


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David Letterman Apologizes to Paris Hilton

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

Paris HiltonParis Hilton’s Friday night guest appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman differed from her last, in September, when the CBS host couldn’t stop badgering her about her just-finished jail sentence.

“We have a lovely woman who’s been in prison,” Letterman said Friday, explaining why he previously behaved the way he did. “I put those two things together and my head starts spinning.”

Rehashing how he verbally accosted Hilton the last time, “I continued to press the point,” Letterman acknowledged – though Hilton had made it clear she was finished talking about her life behind bars.

“I thought I was hilarious,” Letterman recalled, until others the next day told him, “No, you were an ass—-.”

He also heard Hilton was hurt and vowed never to return to his show. So he called her, wrote a letter and sent flowers, which she called “sweet.” And he cajoled her into returning to his show, which she did Friday – one week before her new movie, The Hottie and the Nottie, opens.

“It’s like a first date,” said Letterman, admitting he was “on probation.” As Hilton, in a yellow dress, made her stage entrance, the Late Show band played “I Love Paris.”

“I offended you. I’m not here to make enemies, honestly,” Letterman, 60, told Hilton, 26. “I’m terribly sorry.”

“Yes,” said Hilton. “And you better not try it again. I hope you got the jail thing out of your system.”

Their bitter past behind them, Letterman said, “What else would you like to talk about? Let’s talk about something fun.”

That included her new movie (she plays the “hottie,” Letterman explained), her new shoe line, her five fragrances and her cellphone video game – something that seemed to stump her host.

“What is the game?” he asked. “How do you know you’ve won?”


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Lily Allen and Ed Simons Split Up

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

Lily Allen and Ed SimonsLily Allen has split from her boyfriend, Chemical Brothers musician Ed Simons.

Reports first surfaced in the British papers early Saturday – with some saying that Allen had been “dumped.” But a friend of the singer says the couple actually spent some time together Saturday, suggesting that the parting might not be as acrimonious as first thought.

The split comes after news that Allen miscarried the baby the couple had been expecting.

“She is feeling fine,” Allen’s friend says. “She is throwing herself into her work on her new album and TV show.”

Only two days ago, she excitedly joined her family to watch her thespian brother Alfie take the stage in the lead role of Equus in Chichester, southern England.

Her rep had no comment when contacted Saturday.


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Michelle Williams Breaks Silence on Heath’s Death

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Michelle WilliamsMichelle Williams has broken her silence following the death of Heath Ledger, saying in a statement, “My heart is broken.”

“Please respect our need to grieve privately,” Williams says in the statement released by her rep Friday. “My heart is broken.”

Adds Williams, mother of Ledger’s 2-year-old daughter Matilda: “I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day.

“His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up in the best memories of him.”


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Eva Mendes Enters Rehab

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Eva MendesEva Mendes checked into Utah’s Cirque Lodge and has been in the facility, which deals with substance-abuse problems, for several weeks.

“Eva has been working hard for the past year and made a positive decision to take some much-needed time off to proactively attend to some personal issues that, while not critical, she felt deserved some outside professional support. Out of respect for Eva’s privacy, we do not wish to discuss further details,” her rep said Friday.

Cirque Lodge became a familiar name last year, when Lindsay Lohan checked in for treatment. The substance for which Mendes is being treated has not been reported.

The news was first reported on TMZ.com.

At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Mendes told reporters that to feel comfortable doing a sex scene with Joaquin Phoenix in We Own the Night, which also starred Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall, she required a drink.

The Miami-born Mendes, 33, is of Cuban-American background and first made a name for herself when she starred with Denzel Washington in 2001’s Training Day. She played Will Smith’s love interest in the 2005 comedy Hitch, as well as in the screen version of the Marvel Comic Ghost Rider, with Nicolas Cage.

Come fall 2008, Mendes will be seen in an all-star remake of the stage and screen comedy The Women, costarring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Bette Midler. For 2009, she has already finished the thriller The Spirit, directed by Sin City and 300 creator Frank Miller.

The same day news broke about her being in rehab, CNN Money also reported that Mendes, a previous spokesperson for Revlon, is the new face of Calvin Klein Fragrances, in an ad campaign that is slated to launch this fall.

Previous actresses and models who have been affiliated with Calvin Klein fragrances, the company said in a press release, include Kate Moss, Scarlett Johansson, Christy Turlington and Natalia Vodianova.


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Britney’s Father Granted Legal Control Over Daughter’s Affairs

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Jamie and Lynn SpearsBritney Spears’s father is taking control.

Jamie Spears, accompanied by ex-wife Lynne, was granted temporary legal control over their daughter in an emergency court hearing Friday – a move that gives her dad new power over her hospital visitors and could keep her close pal Sam Lutfi at bay.

Commissioner Reva Goetz stated that she found Jamie’s petition for conservatorship to be in the singer’s “best interest,” and that Jamie was a “suitable and qualified person.”

The court also granted Jamie the authority to “prosecute any civil harassment restraining orders.” Court rep Allan Parachini confirmed “there was a civil harassment restraining order issued against (Britney’s pal) Sam Lutfi, but the specifics of that order are unknown.” The status of that restraining order will be heard in court on Feb. 22, he said.

The powers granted to Jamie Spears, which last until a Monday hearing, allow him to restrict and limit visitors to his daughter (who remains hospitalized at UCLA Medical Center), as well as to employ security guards to protect her.

Jamie Spears also gets access to Spears’s medical records, and he can communicate with her doctors, Commissioner Goetz said in court. (However, legal experts say her father will have no authority regarding her psychiatric treatment for now.)

Goetz also allowed temporary control over Spears’s finances, in addition to securing her residence, changing its locks, and vacating any people living there.

Jamie and Lynne Spears, who appeared solemn throughout the hearing, seemed relieved by the ruling. The former couple left the courtroom without commenting to reporters.

Earlier in the day, Lutfi, who had been locked in a battle with the singer’s parents, spoke out against Britney’s parents and their arrival in court. “I object to this. Britney is fully capable of handling her own finances. Her doctors are capable of handling her health care,” he said. “You’d think in a time like this, the family would be at the hospital taking care of their daughter, rather than fighting for her money. How sad.”


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Wesley Snipes Acquitted of Tax Fraud

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Wesley SnipesWesley Snipes was acquitted of tax fraud but was convicted of failure to file taxes, in a Florida courtroom Friday.

Snipes, 45, who was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a tax return, faces up to three years in federal prison. His income over the period of time in which he failed to file amounted to millions of dollars.

He was acquitted of two felonies, including conspiracy to commit tax fraud. He was also acquitted of three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file a tax return.

The actor, who is currently free on bond, said after the ruling: “I’m feeling great – a little confused, but great.” Asked if he is worried about going to prison, he said, “I don’t know. It’s nice to be out here with you right now. We live in the moment.”

A Florida jury of seven women and five men announced the verdict Friday afternoon, after beginning deliberations Wednesday.

During the course of the trial, attorneys for the actor admitted he was “dead wrong” not to have paid taxes and that he would make restitution. In so arguing, they also claimed that no fraud was perpetrated and that no trial was even necessary.

“Disagreement with the IRS is not fraud of the IRS, is not deception,” argued defense attorney Robert Barnes.

When the day’s session concluded on Tuesday, Snipes said outside the courthouse, “Of course you would be nervous,. You’re on trial. Anybody would have a certain amount of anxiety about that. But I have a great deal of faith in the Most High and the Good Lord and the truth shall set you free. So, I’m looking forward to being free, going back to what I do best.”

Snipes, who starred in the Blade vampire trilogy, as a cross-dresser in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar and as a fugitive in U.S. Marshals, is due to be seen later this year in Gallowwalker, which was shot in the African nation of Namibia.

Snipes was convicted along with his accountant and the founder of a tax-protest outfit called American Rights Litigators.

“The defendants know what the law is, they just don’t like the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Scotland Morris told the jury members before they went to verdict. “The defendants are tax protesters.”


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Britney Treated By A Caring and Concerned Therapist

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Britney SpearsThe psychiatrist who hospitalized Britney Spears is a highly respected therapist known for her compassion, a former colleague says.

“She’s an excellent clinician and an excellent psychiatrist,” says Harold Young, the clinical director at the Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills, where Spears’s psychiatrist Dr. Deborah Nadel worked for about five years.

Board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Nadel graduated from University of California Medical School in San Francisco 18 years ago, and she did her residency at UCLA, records show.

Nadel, who has recently started treating the troubled pop star, had instigated Spears’s second hospitalization in January, this time at UCLA Medical Center’s psychiatric ward, for a 72-hour evaluation, sources says.

Spears chose Nadel from a list of doctors recommended by her lawyers, a source says.

Young, who worked with Nadel about 12 years ago at the center – a non-profit agency that provides low-cost counseling to people in need – said Nadel is now on the staff at UCLA and is “well thought of in the therapeutic community.”

“I think [Britney] is in somebody’s hands who will be caring, concerned, compassionate and respectful,” says Young.


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