Recently celebrities have been unjustly kicked off flights for being “too fat to fly” and kissing their same-sex partner. Now Alec Baldwin is being persecuted for having a Words With Friends addiction — or rather, blatantly disregarding airline safety rules. A flight attendant admonished Baldwin for failing to turn off his phone, even though the plane wasn’t moving, and Baldwin was ejected from the flight during the ensuing argument. He Tweeted this afternoon, “Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt” Sources disagree on what exactly got Baldwin kicked off the plane. Some say he got up and slammed the bathroom door so hard that the pilot asked what was going on. Others say Baldwin just stood up while the seatbelt sign was on because he wanted to get the flight attendant’s name to file a complaint. Other passengers had to wait while the plane went back to the gate to let Baldwin off, and he boarded another LAX-JFK flight on American Airlines. Later Baldwin Tweeted, “Last flight w American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950’s find jobs as flight attendants.” [TMZ, The Wrap]
A source says Real Housewives‘ Kim Richards is in rehab for alcohol abuse and “other issues,” adding, “Kim has been to rehab more than once before, but every time is a new time, and everyone just hopes this sticks and that she gets the help she needs. It’s serious.” [People]
Terrence Howard‘s estranged wife Michelle Howard was granted a restraining order against him today because she claims he beats her and threatened to kill her. He filed papers in which he denies that he ever hit her and accuses her of threatening to “release private materials to 3rd parties for her own personal financial gain.” This includes a video of Howard singing in the shower naked, which only a TMZ employee would find interesting. [TMZ]
Demi Moore‘s longtime friend Pattsy Rugg died and Radar has a photo of her “weeping as she leaves the funeral.” The site also notes she “appeared gaunt and thin, a look that has become the norm for her since her split from her husband.” Stay classy, Radar. [Radar]
- Lady Gaga met with White House officials today to talk about bullying, but she wasn’t able to catch up with the President, as he was in Kansas today. [AP]
- There will only be eight gifts under the Christmas tree at the Gosselin house this year. “Kate’s budget is tight,” says a source. “Kate has always tried to make sure her kids aren’t greedy, but this year especially she is trying to teach them that Christmas isn’t about gifts. She told them to start deciding what they want so she can tell Santa.” [ONTD]
- Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hal”s divorce has been finalized. [E!]
- ESPN reporter Erin Andrews has filed an invasion of privacy suit against a Marriott in Nashville where convicted creep Michael Barrett secretly filmed her undressing. [Radar]
- Robert Downey Jr. announced on the Tonight Show that he and wife Susan Levin are expecting a boy. [Us]
- On American Chopper: The Build-Off, Jesse James said he regrets that Sandra Bullock turned him into a fake Hollywood type: “I became a big shot and married some Hollywood actress and didn’t talk to anybody anymore, so I feel bad. . . I feel obligated to reconnect with all these people and show ’em that I’m still the same fabricator motorcycle guy. I’m not what I became.” [Dlisted]
- Glee‘s upcoming Christmas episode will guest star Chewbacca as some kind of reference to the Star Wars Holiday Special, which most kids have probably never heard of. Considering that Carrie Fisher actually sings while high in the special, this sounds like a missed opportunity. [The Wrap]
- Speaking of Glee, they’re doing a Michael Jackson tribute episode, natch. [N.Y. Mag]
- Kanye West shares his not at all grandiose funeral plans: “I wanna have world leaders [at my funeral] that were, like, affected, that said, you know, ‘Kanye gave me my shot here.’ Or ‘he pushed me,’ or ‘he told me to believe in myself,’ or ‘when I saw this, it made me feel like that.’ I wanna affect people like that when I, like, pass away.” [Celebs.com]