Rihanna Says She's "Doing Well"; TMZ Claims Police Photo Wasn't Stolen

• Rihanna issued a statement through her representative saying, "she wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time."

• It goes on to say, "At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown." [People]
• In this video, TMZ chief Harvey Levin insists that the photo of a beaten Rihanna that was published on his site last night wasn't stolen from the LAPD, according to whoever gave it to him. So now Levin thinks he's not guilty of possessing or distributing stolen property. [Jossip]
• TMZ paid $62,500 for the photo, according to the same source who revealed how much TMZ paid for Nadya Suleman's pregnancy photo and the O.J. Simpson hotel break-in tape. [The Media Buffet]
• Rihanna's dad, Ronald Fenty, said he's seen the leaked picture of his daughter's injuries and "it's disturbing." But, he says now people will "grasp the situation a lot better." Fenty adds: "It's good and it's bad to see the picture because there's other people who were thinking differently, that [Rihanna's injuries] may not be that bad, just a little spank or a little thing." [Us]
• In another interview Fenty said he's disappointed with how the LAPD is handling his daughter's domestic violence case, calling the leak, "sloppy work on their part". Also, today is Rihanna's 21st birthday, but Fenty says, "There's no party that I know of." [People]
• Is MTV is capitalizing on the assault? The network is running a "news special" called Chris Brown & Rihanna: Love In Trouble. Also, here is video of last night's episode of America's Best Dance Crew in which one dance team was asked to perform a routine based on Chris Brown's "Forever" and another was asked to perform a dance based on Rihanna's "Pon de Replay." [Jossip]
• Mel Gibson's publicist is denying reports that Chris Brown hired him to salvage his career. [The San Francisco Chronicle]
• Nadya Suleman told reporters that she wishes her dad wouldn't have gone on Oprah before she got a chance to, "since her audience is mainly female, I think it would have heightened things so much more [if Nadya was a guest]. You know, it would have been way more emotional," she says. When asked about her mother's house being foreclosed on Nadya said: "Yeah, [mom Angela] will probably lose it. I mean, that's up to my mom. She's dealing with that. I'm looking for my own place." [Us]
• If Leonardo DiCaprio wants to marry girlfriend, Bar Rafaeli, he's reportedly going to have to convert to Judaism. A family friend says Rafaeli's dad told him he won't consent to his daughter marrying outside the faith. [The Hindustan Times]
• The Travolta family is creating the Jett Travolta Foundation in memory of their son. The charity will "assist and provide relief to children with vision, hearing, mobility, communication, behavior learning impairments or other special medical, environmental, health or educational needs." [E!]
• An insider says Kanye West's new girlfriend, Amber Rose, is a good match for him, saying, "Amber is a model with a fly, out-there, in-your-face style and attitude, just like Kanye." The source adds, "Traveling with Kanye can be rough - press swarms him wherever he goes - but Amber is cool and collected about it all. She doesn't care about industry stuff, and she actually understands Kanye." Well, that makes one of us. [NY Magazine]
• In this video from Essence magazine's Black Women in Hollywood pre-Oscar luncheon, Halle Berry says she told Benjamin Button actress Taraji P. Henson, "She's already won... it sounds trite, but just to get nominated, to be plucked out of all the performances that happen in a year is already the win." [AP]
• When accepting her award at the luncheon, Halle Berry said she has more to offer her craft because her daughter makes her better every day. She said: "As a woman, I thought it was all about work and accomplishments. Then this little baby comes along and says that it's not about that." [People]
• John Legend has written an open letter to The New York Post about the cartoon they ran that showed Obama as a chimpanzee. Legend writes: "I'm personally boycotting your paper and won't do any interviews with any of your reporters, and I encourage all of my colleagues in the entertainment business to do so as well." [Daily Express]
• Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani are both going on tour this summer so Rossdale has decided to take their son Kingston with him. He says there are two important rules to bringing your child with you on tour. "Just get him bunks so he won't fall out – that's the main thing," he says, adding, "You gotta see where all the zoos are in the towns you're playing." [People]
• Oliver Ackland of Sydney is the first recipient of a $10,000 scholarship created in Heath Ledger's name. Five judges including Rachel Griffiths picked Auckland for the scholarship, which is intended to help an emerging Australian actor pursue a career in the United States. "He's got [a sort of] Jude Law look. May be he's an Aussie Jude Law, who knows?" says one judge, director Gregor Jordan. [People]
• It's official: Clay Aiken has been dropped by his label, RCA. Though Clay's debut album sold 2.78 million copies, his last album only sold 159,000. [Billboard]
• Reuben Studdard (who as you'll recall beat out Clay on American Idol) was dropped by his label last year, and now he owes $254,119 in state and federal taxes. [Det News]
• Miley Cyrus says that there's nothing creepy about her close relationship with her dad. "The media has said some stuff about my dad and me being too close and too cuddly for a father and a daughter," Miley writes in her new memoir, "For me and my dad it's not weird at all." Miley adds that she and Billy Ray "don't let other people tell us what expressions we're supposed to have on our faces when we take a picture together!" in a not so subtle reference to their Vanity Fair photos. [Yahoo]
• Pierre Berge, the former partner of Yves Saint Laurent is auctioning off the art they collected over the years. The Chinese government says two statues belong to China and shouldn't be auctioned. Berge says the country can have them, but only if they "declare they are going to apply human rights, give the Tibetans back their freedom and agree to accept the Dalai Lama on their territory." [Reuters]
• A bench warrant has been issued for Redmond O'Neal, the son of Ryan O'Neal, because he didn't show up for court this morning. He and his dad were arrested for methamphetamine possession in September. [People]
• In a poll that asked men to rank the top heroes from Oscar nominated films, men ranked Russell Crowe's Maximus from Gladiator as number one, Tom Hanks' Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 second, and Julia Roberts' Erin Brockovich was ranked third. [PR Newswire]
• Though some sources in Brazil say Madonna and Jesus Luz are just friends, she did take him to the Grey Goose party at a West Hollywood restaurant last night. [E!]
• A court appointed attorney has met with Peter Falk and issued a report saying that Falk is "well-dressed, clean and composed." In December his daughter claimed that she should be put in charge of the 81-year-old actor's estate because she says he has Alzheimer's disease. [Yahoo]
• Dana Delaney says Desperate Housewives will lose an "iconic figure" when Nicollette Sheridan leaves the show. "She's a classic - a classic femme fatale," she said. [People]
• Dorothy Bridges, actress and mother of actors Beau and Jeff Bridges, died on Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 93. [Variety]
• Here's the ad for Celine Dion's new fragrance, Chic, which you are surely dying to see. [People]
• When Project Runway taped its sixth season finale today the designers couldn't come out on stage because the cast hasn't been announced yet. Heidi Klum said she was "a little bit sad" for the finalists and added, "We're all in a bit of a limbo and we hope that everything gets sorted out very soon." [Variety]
• Mexican authorities have detained an Australian women accused of stalking David Caruso. She allegedly sent him more than 100 letters, asked for an autograph and then sent him death threats when he refused to give her one. [Yahoo]
• Rachel Ray says she wishes she could be as thin as Jessica Simpson. "I think she looks gorgeous!" Rachel said. "All of the hoopla about her weight was because of the fit of her jeans. In reality, she is a tiny, slip of a woman." While that may be true, we would have preferred the "who cares about weight" response, rather than reassurance that Jess is acceptably thin. [People]
• Rosie O'Donnell's new Lifetime movie about a boy who grows up in the foster care system was shot in Detroit, and O'Donnell says she is now sensitive to that city's plight. She was so moved that she bought a Buick Enclave and says "whatever movie we do next, we're going to do there." [AP]
• Helen Hunt directed a commercial that will air during the Oscars about Lisa Nigro, a former police officer who began helping the homeless by serving them coffee and sandwiches, and later founded the Inspiration Cafe. [Parade]
• Beyonce says she's very frugal: "I haven't bought a car since I was 16 or any diamonds since I was 17... I have a lot of property. I've invested my money and I don't have to make any more, thank God, because I'm set. I'm now able really to be free and just do things that make me happy." [The Mirror]

Send an email to Margaret Hartmann, the author of this post, at margaret@jezebel.com.

publish on Facebook

Upload an image | Add an image URL ×

Image URL: ×

Youtube URL: ×

Choose a file to upload:

×

Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

Loading comments ...

Earlier discussions | Other discussions | Show all discussions | Show featured discussions only | Expand all threads Collapse all threads
Start a new discussion