"Men and women — women want all the rights of men, but they're not asking to be called men… do you think… is it the word [marriage] is more important than the rights?" Portia, who is married to Ellen DeGeneres, was measured, confident, calm and clear in her answer: "Of course it's not the word." (I would have added, "Dumbass.") Portia went on to say, "Without the word, we don't have equal rights." Then she explained that a "lesser" term would imply that gay couples are lesser. Applause.

Setoodeh argues that between Perez Hilton, Adam Lambert, Kurt on Glee, Marc on Ugly Betty and "the dozens of squealing contestants" on Projet Runway, it seems that one stereotype — "fey" — is the only kind of homosexuality represented. Back when Will & Grace, The L Word, and Queer Eye were on, there was a more multifaceted image of what it means to be gay. He adds:

Lesbians face a different problem. They are invariably played by gorgeous, curvy women straight out of a straight man's fantasy-Olivia Wilde on House, Sara Ramirez on Grey's Anatomy, Evan Rachel Wood on True Blood-and they're usually bisexual. How convenient.

Should we even be worried about fictional characters? Actually, yes: According to Setoodeh, "A survey by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found that of the people who say their feelings toward gays and lesbians had become more favorable in the past five years, about one third credited that in part to characters they saw on TV."

While it's true that there have been serious setbacks — Maine and California reversing existing laws legalizing gay marriage — is toning it down the answer? Setoodeh says"maybe": "It's not that gay men and women should pretend to be straight, or file down all their fabulously spiky edges," he writes. "The key is balance."

What I don't like about this argument is that it makes being intolerant of gay people a problem for gay people. When really, if you're intolerant of gays, you're the one with the problem — and it's everyone's problem.

Kings Of Queens [Newsweek]

Brüno, which opens tomorrow, is similar to Sacha Baron Cohen's first film Borat, but according to the reviews it's more mean-spirited and has even less of a plot. The fake working title: Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt pretty much says it all. Adapted from a character on The Ali G. Show, Brüno is a fixture in the European fashion world until he commits a major runway faux pas and is fired from his Austrian talk show. Along with his assistant Lutz (Gustaf Hammaresten), he sets out for America with the hope of becoming "the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler." This leads to a series of sketches in which he foists his absurdly flamboyant gayness on unsuspecting Americans, from Ron Paul, to a "gay deprogrammer," to a group of aggressively heterosexual deer hunters he compares to the ladies on Sex and the City.

A scene filmed with La Toya Jackson in which Brüno gets her to eat off the body of a Mexican laborer and tries to get Michael Jackson's phone number was cut by the studio on the day Michael died, but other than MJ nothing is too sacred for a good penis joke. Many critics were shocked that the film was only rated R, since Brüno is shown pantomiming oral sex in great detail and using a fire extinguisher and a Champagne bottle while having sex with another man. Almost every critic was unperturbed by the film's ridiculous depiction of gay men, which they reasoned was OK since the film is actually mocking homophobic people (though it's still getting a laugh out of gay stereotypes). Their biggest complaints were that it seemed some of the "real" Americans were actually actors, and the film wasn't quite as funny as Borat. Below, we check out the reviews for Brüno.

Rolling Stone

Baron Cohen takes justifiable relish in ambushing the gullible and the guilty - clueless stars eager to latch on to a fashionable charity (since George Clooney has Darfur, Brüno wants Darfive), mothers who'd starve their kids for a modeling gig, kinky swingers into all kinds of sex except same-sex, bogus efforts to bring peace to the Middle East (Brüno confuses Hamas with hummus), and the adoption of babies as accessories (Brüno swaps his iPod for little black OJ and loses custody until he throws in a MacBook Pro). And you haven't lived till you see Bono, Elton, Sting, Snoop Dogg and Chris Martin sing Brüno's "We Are the World" anthem. The lyrics urging North and South Korea to stop fighting since they both look Chinese haunt me still.

The NY Post

The humor is more mean-spirited [than in Borat] and sometimes forced, a few bits don't work at all, and there's an inescapable feeling that director Larry Charles, returning from Borat, has staged some scenes with scripted actors serving as Bruno's victims... Bruno mincingly walks a fine line in exposing homophobic behavior and perpetuating wince-inducing gay stereotypes. Not to get all PC on you, but the straight, outrageously dressed Baron Cohen camps it up in what has legitimately been criticized as swishy gay equivalent of blackface.

Reel Views

Some moments of discomfort within Brüno result from a sense that the filmmakers are not playing fair. The spontaneity of Boratis largely absent and, although some sequences are undoubtedly unrehearsed, there are indications that some were staged. The difficulty in telling one from the other speaks to the craft used to assemble the production, but it also robs Brünoof a key element - the belief that Baron Cohen is using "real" Americans to illustrate his points. The "reality" embraced by Brüno is no less artificial than the one embraced by many so-called "reality" television shows. When it comes to making viewers laugh, however, Brüno hits a home run - provided the viewer is not easily offended.

To say that Brüno pushes the proverbial envelope is to understate the situation. The only things separating this movie from a hard NC-17 are some well-placed black rectangles that hide potentially graphic content. Even with that consideration in place, it's hard to imagine why the normally prudish MPAA did not slap this film with its harshest rating. An extreme pantomime of oral sex would normally be enough to prohibit anyone under 18 from seeing this with or without an accompanying parent or guardian. And that's far from the most outrageous scene in the film. When it came to matters sexual, Borat was hardly restrained or in good taste, but Brünomakes it look like a morality play with puritanical values. Some of this content is hard-core (in more ways than one). It is also at times laugh-aloud hysterical - funnier and raunchier than anything presented in the summer's surprise hit, The Hangover.

The New Yorker

Could that be Baron Cohen's cunning plan? Might he actually be in the business of revealing our cauterized senses, and the wound where our finer judgments are meant to be? A nice idea, but I'm afraid that Brüno feels hopelessly complicit in the prejudices that it presumes to deride. You can't honestly defend your principled lampooning of homophobia when nine out of every ten images that you project onscreen comply with the most threadbare cartoons of gay behavior. A schoolboy who watches a pirated DVD of this film will look at the prancing Austrian and find more, not fewer, reasons to beat up the kid on the playground who doesn't like girls. There is, on the evidence of this movie, no such thing as gay love; there is only gay sex, a superheated substitute for love, with its own code of vulcanized calisthenics whose aim is not so much to sate the participants as to embarrass onlookers from the straight-and therefore straitlaced-society beyond.

Variety

The humor — and it keeps on coming — carries with it an almost immediate sour aftertaste, as Bruno's intentions, and necessarily Cohen's along with them, appear far from honorable. As in Borat, Bruno's pranks are designed to expose people's presumed latent prejudices. But while the previous film got away with this high-wire act for most people, Bruno is more erratic, partly since one is more aware of the game being rigged but also because Bruno himself comes off as someone the world scarcely needs another example of — a self-absorbed narcissist for whom fame is the only goal. Cohen is critiquing this attitude, of course, but the film comes to share too much of this anything-for-effect mindset.

NY Magazine

Underlying all these gags-the funny, the crude, the funny and crude-is a hard truth: Flagrant gay behavior drives a lot of heteros insane. To be honest, I'm uncomfortable watching two guys with tongues down each other's throats, too, but at least I know the problem is mine, not theirs. When the hushed, arty Brokeback Mountaincame out, its couplings set against purple mountains majesty, many right-wing commentators announced that they couldn't bear to watch such abominations. To them-and to those who'll see Brünobecause it's the latest gross-out comedy sensation-Baron Cohen is proclaiming, "Suck on this!"

The Hollywood Reporter

Bruno's adopted African baby paraded before a black audience is not funny. It's embarrassing, as is any joke that bombs, yet the comic keeps going back to it nevertheless. This is one of several instances where an audience might experience both exasperation and tedium with the comic's relentless act of running a joke into the ground... We sense, as we never did with Borat, the comic behind the character. Especially when his accent keeps changing — from an unconvincing Austrian to his own British and even to a whisper of Borat himself.

Entertainment Weekly

The more uncomfortable Brüno makes people, the more he draws attention to their petty churlishness and homophobia. When
 he ambushes the maverick politician Ron Paul with a go-go dance, you can forgive a visibly shaken Paul for thinking Brüno is nuts - though that's hardly an excuse for calling him ''queer.'' Yet is Brüno the scurrilous man-tramp himself a homophobic caricature? My honest answer is: yes and no. Baron Cohen's portrayal certainly feeds into a stereotype of haughty flamboyance. But if one condemns the movie on that basis, then shouldn't we toss Christopher Guest's sublime turn in Waiting for Guffman, Robin Williams' inspired camping in The Birdcage, and so many others onto the bonfire, too? The bottom line is that Baron Cohen, even at his most scathing, makes Brüno gleefully unapologetic about who he is.

The NY Times

The film demonstrates, at a fairly high level of conceptual sophistication, that lampooning homophobia has become an acceptable, almost unavoidable form of homophobic humor, or at least a way of licensing gags that would otherwise be out of bounds. An early sequence that graphically shows Brüno and his lover exerting themselves in various positions and with the assistance of, among other things, a Champagne bottle, a fire extinguisher and a specially modified exercise machine, derives its humor less from the extremity of their practices than from the assumption that sex between men is inherently weird, gross and comical. The same sequence with a man and a woman - or for that matter, two women - would play, most likely on the Internet rather than in the multiplex, as inventive, moderately kinky pornography rather than as icky, gasp-inducing farce.

In a paper in the latest issue of Gender & Society, University of Michigan sociologists Karin Martin and Emily Kazyak report that Disney films (emphasis ours):

"…depict a rich and pervasive heterosexual landscape," despite the assumption that children's media are free of sexual content. The movies repeatedly mark relationships between opposite sex lead characters as special and magical.

"Characters in love are surrounded by music, flowers, candles, magic, fire, balloons, fancy dresses, dim lights, dancing and elaborate dinners," the researchers observed. "Fireflies, butterflies, sunsets, wind and the beauty and power of nature often provide the setting for-and a link to the naturalness of-hetero-romantic love."

When you take into consideration that thirty percent of children under the age of three have a TV in their bedrooms — many with a VCR or DVD player (and that the number increases with a kid's age) — you have a potential problem. At a very young age, children are learning that heterosexuality is normal, and homosexuality is abnormal, unusual and unexpected. Something that requires explanation.

Obviously not every kid weaned on The Little Mermaid grows up to view homosexuality as an aberration; but it is interesting to ponder that these G-rated films (and the toys associated with them) — supposedly without sexual content — actually expose children to cues about sexuality, gender roles and feminine beauty. The researchers looked at how the movies depicted bodies, kissing, jokes, romance, weddings, dating, love, where babies come from, and pregnancy.

It's worth noting that in our opposite marriage, post Prop-8 world, DisneyWorld is one place gay people have made a point of making themselves visible: Gay Days are when thousands of gays and lesbians visit the theme park — a tradition started in 1991. Lately, there have been protests from organizations like the Florida Family Association, which argues that Gay Days (emphasis ours) "offend[s] tens of thousands of unsuspecting guests… regular patrons who expect a normal day at the Magic Kingdom."

"Normal," huh? Sounds like someone was raised on Sleeping Beauty.

Disney Elevates Heterosexuality To Powerful, Magical Heights [EurekAlert]
Disney World Gay Days Protest Letter [Orlando Sentinel]

Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation tells the Times: "Some people in our community may like this movie, but many are not going to be O.K. with it. Sacha Baron Cohen's well-meaning attempt at satire is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others."

Aaron Hicklin, the editor of Out magazine, is not as concerned: "The movie does something hugely important, which is showing that people's attitudes can turn on a dime when they realize you're gay. The multiplex crowd wouldn't normally sit down for a two-hour lecture on homophobia, but that's exactly what's going to happen. I'm excited about that."

Except Brüno is not a lecture. Sacha Baron Cohen lies in order to land interviews, disrupts events and infiltrates situations. Cohen is being sued by one California woman who claims she was injured at a bingo tournament he hijacked.

The Telegraph points out that from Zoolander to Absolutely Fabulous to Ugly Betty, the image of the silly, shallow fashion industry as freak show has been done. So Brüno is not breaking ground there. It's the depiction of an aggressively gay character that's the point.

From the Times:

The filmmakers wanted to play [an Elton John] song during a scene in which the title character, participating in a cage-fighting match, pulls down his opponent's pants and kisses him on the mouth, prompting a horrified crowd to throw garbage at him. The answer was no… But then Mr. John reversed himself - kind of. He didn't want to be associated with the provocative scene, but he ultimately agreed to perform part of another song that functions as a coda to the film.

If your movie makes an openly gay man pause, are you treading as carefully as you should? Does kissing a man in a cage-fighting match expose the audience's homophobia? Or tap into the stereotype that gay men are lascivious, libidinous, promiscuous and wild?

While Cohen prances in lederhosen, California and other states are banning gay marriage. In a world where civil rights are at stake, does Brüno — played as a "limp-wristed, sex-crazed queen" wearing hot pants, leopard bikini underwear and riding nude on a unicorn — shatter or reinforce stereotypes?

A Plea for Tolerance in Tight Shorts. Or Not. [NY Times]
Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno: Why fashionistas Are Beyond Parody [Telegraph]

Obviously, we care about gay marriage. It's just unfortunate that the latest installment in the pro/anti debate was spurred in the most ridiculous manner possible: a standoff between a celebrity blogger and a beauty queen. Now, even celebs who remained silent during discussions of state propositions that would have actually, like, changed something, are sharing their opinions on same-sex marriage. And of course, Carrie Prejean's inalienable right to give a prejudiced answer at a beauty pageant must be defended. Below, we break down the flurry of celebrity responses - whether for PR or for parity - to Miss California's answer. Even if this isn't the case for Hollywood C-listers, consider this the last we have to say on the subject.

Anti-Carrie Prejean, Pro-Gay Marriage

• E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic Twittered on Tuesday that "I know i'm a journalist, and i should be objective ... but she is an ignorant disgrace and she makes me sick to my stomach." [Fox News]
• Perez Hilton's fellow judge and former Miss Nevada, journalist Alicia Jacobs blogged: "I can tell you that it GREATLY affected me & the final score I gave Carrie Prejean. ...Personally, I was STUNNED on several levels. First, how could this young woman NOT know her audience and judges? Let's not forget that the person asking the question is an openly gay man, at least 2 people on the judges panel are openly gay. Another judge has a sister in a gay marriage. Her very own state pageant director, KEITH LEWIS is an openly gay man who has been a very generous benefactor of hers...in many ways. Did I mention I was STUNNED? I was also personally insulted & hurt. [Alicia Jacob's Stage 3 Blog]

Pro-Carrie Prejean, Pro-Gay Marriage

• Though California pageant co-chair Keith Lewis initially criticized Prejean, he now says, "I support Carrie's right to express her personal beliefs, even if they do not coincide with my own." [Fox News]
• Miss Kansas Emily Deaver was asked the same marriage equality question once in a pageant. She says beauty pageant questions are hard, but, "I answered that I believe people should have the choice on who they marry." [Kansas CW]
• Kristen Dalton, the newly crowned Miss USA says, "I'm proud of [Miss California] for speaking from her heart, and she's passionate and what she believes in, and she's proud of herself," but "I think that all couples should be able to be recognized legally, and they should be able to enter into a union. Whether or not it should be defined as marriage, I don't know, I'll leave that up to the politicians." [Perez Hilton]
• Former Miss USA Shanna Moakler wrote on her MySpace blog that she doesn't hate Miss California, but, "She lost the crown because she wasn't able to convey compassion for ALL the people that as MISS USA she would be representing. and if YOU like it or not, gays and lesbians make up this country as well. THIS is why we have judges so they can find the RIGHT woman who obtains these qualities." [Shanna Moakler's MySpace]

No Comment On Carrie Prejean, Pro-Gay Marriage

• Perez Hilton's fellow pageant judge Holly Madison twittered in reponse to Moakler "[Y]ou did a great job tonight mama! where is the party now, cause I am so upset." [Fox News]
• In response to Perez Hilton asking what she thought of gay marriage via Twitter, Britney Spears tweeted: "Love is love! People should be able to do whatever makes them happy!" [@BritneySpears]
• Heidi Montag responded to Perez Hilton, tweeting: "God says in the bible that we should love our neighbor and he created us all as equals. I know in my heart that gays and lesbians should have the same government rights that Spencer and I will when we get married. So, yes, this blonde Christian believes in gay marriage and I hope to one day go to YOUR wedding, Perez!!!" [Perez Hilton]
• Miley Cyrus reponded with the following tweets: "i second that!!! wow heidi is smart!!! shes amazing." Then, "Jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares! thats like a daddy not loving his lil boy cuz hes gay and that is WRONG and very sad! like i said everyone deserves to be happy." And finally: "i am a christian and i love you [Perez] - gay or not. BECAUSE you are no different that anyone else! we are all gods children! i am not saying this so would be nice on your site (though that would be nice jk;) but because the LORD has spoken 'love cuz god loves'." [Perez Hilton]
• Jewel, in response to Perez Hilton: "I believe in liberty and freedom for all I believe in gay marriage and the right to bare arms and tabacco! Each free to choose" [@jeweljk]
• Joel Madden tweets: "P! I believe everyone on this planet deserves Equal rights to their own pursuit of happiness." [@JoelMadden]
• DJ AM tweets: "I am 100% FOR gay marriage. It should just be called "marriage" I don't even understand why it has EVER been a question."[@DJ_AM]
• Miss Vermont Brooke Werner: "Everyone has the right to their own actions, but I totally disagree with Carrie. I have a very different perspective on gay marriage and I would never have said what she said." [Fox News]

Pro-Carrie Prejean, Anti-Gay Marriage

• Former Miss Delaware and president of The National Black Pro-Life Union, Day Gardner, says that "The judge should have applauded the fact that Carrie spoke her honest opinion rather than lie about her views." [Christian News Wire]
• Bill O'Reilly supports and agrees with Carrie Prejean. Shocking. [Perez]
• Alabama state representative Jay Love, plus every member of the Alabama House Republican Caucus and some Democrats: Drafted and/or signed a resolution priaising Carrie Prejean for standing by her beliefs. [Montgomery Advertiser]

Earlier: Miss California Doesn't "Believe" In Gay Marriage ("No Offense")
War Of Words: Miss California Vs. Perez Hilton

Lambert's dyed black hair, nail polish and eyeliner signify nothing in this Pete Wentz world, but what about the pictures of him dressed in drag, or cavorting with other boys at Burning Man, or the pictures in which he is french-kissing another man? These are speaking for him, while the Idol contestant says nothing.

The question is: Does it matter? To Fox, to the Americans who vote for an Idol, to the record label that will eventually market him? Writes Guy Trebay for the Times:

Leave aside for a moment the answer to such a question, or even whether Mr. Lambert is gay. He may be. He may not. Fox, which owns "Idol," is not saying; neither is the contestant himself.

What is notable is the intensity of the insinuations caroming around the Internet and in certain corners of the mainstream press - that and the fact that even asking whether a gay contestant can win a broadly popular reality show, whose survivors are selected by public acclaim, seems increasingly anachronistic in light of decisions in Iowa and Vermont to extend marriage rights to gay men and lesbians.

The point of the piece seems to be that politics aside, Idol is about entertainment, and there have always been gender benders in entertainment. But eyeliner and heels don't make a man gay; being sexually attracted to other men makes a man gay. And you've got to wonder: Isn't America ready? Four years after Brokeback Mountain, the Internet is chock-full of pictures of emo boys kissing. Why? One site explains, "girls think it's hot." There are Japanese comics devoted to girls who like boys who like boys; there's even a video game for girls which involves gently washing girlish-boys with Adam Lambert haircuts. The point here is: Everyone seems to be worried about what Americans might think if Lambert is gay; no one seems to want to admit that if he is, Americans might like it. They might love it! We're cool with Lindsay and Sam; we've fully embraced Ellen and Portia; no one has problems with Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris is more popular than ever. Though Clay Aiken kept his sexuality hidden — possibly even from himself — Adam Lambert's theatrical, hip-swiveling performances on Idol and purring, come-hither camera-work hint that he's more in touch with the pleasures of the flesh. Is it fine for him to play coy? Or should the man known as Glambert go ahead and sing out, loud and proud?

American Idol's Big Tease [NY Times]

Gay rights advocates note that gay hate crimes have been increasing recently. [MSNBC, NYPost]

• After nine days in a burn center, Travis Barker has been released from the hospital and is heading back to L.A. By bus. A friend says: "He will never fly again – ever." [People]
• Shanna Moakler is sticking by her ex-husband, because they still love each other. Also: "He's not in good shape," a source says. "It's very serious." He's headed to a hospital in the L.A. area. [People]
• Here's a picture of DJ AM, who left his home yesterday to attend a memorial service for Travis Barker's assistant. AM has clearly visible burns, but seems to be able to walk. [TMZ, People]
• Actress Joely Fisher and husband Chris Duddy have adopted a baby girl from South Central Los Angeles. The infant is an African-American girl they've named Olivia. A family friend says: "Joely and Chris were inspired by Angelina and Madonna's decisions to adopt a baby from Africa. But after looking into the adoption process, they realized there were so many children in the L.A. area who needed homes." Word. [Star]
• What's this? Brad and Angelina looking to adopt a kid from a Latin American country? Two months after having twins? Ay dios mio. [Daily Mail]

• Christina Applegate talked to Oprah about her double mastectomy. She says she didn't cry at first. "And then when I met with my doctor and I told him that was my decision and he brought the surgeon in and it was like the flood gates just opened up and I – I lost it." [People]
• Janet Jackson canceled her concert in Montreal on Monday after she "got suddenly ill." She was rushed to the hospital. Think it was a hangover from Jermaine Dupri's birthday party? As you'll recall, he vomited on her lap. [Yahoo News]
• Robert Redford on his late friend and co-star, Paul Newman: "This was a man who lived a life that really meant something and will for some time to come." ABC News]
• Here's a collection of quips by Paul Newman. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Miley Cyrus decided to take over Disneyland for her 16th birthday bash, but the date she wants happens to be the Gay Day celebration at the theme park. So: Miley in, gays out. [Perez Hilton]
• Britney may have won an MTV award for her "Piece Of Me" video, but she doesn't even think it's that great. "It's a cool video, but I think by far I've done videos that are way better," she says. "So I was really shocked that ... it got the award." As were we, dear. As were we. [AP]
• Despite what you might have heard, there is no Britney sex tape. Says a source close to Britney. [E!]
• Britney's in New York, btw. [The.Life Files]
• Plug your ears: Jessica Simpson is going to sing on Dancing With The Stars. [UPI]
• Naomi Watts turned 40 on Sunday, and she got a big present from her man, Liev Schreiber: A Mercedes-Benz Bluetec, the new, environmentally friendly luxury SUV. [E!]
• Two people involved in an accident that injured Shia LaBeouf were charged Monday with giving police false information about the wreck. There was a young couple in the other car; apparently the woman said she was driving, but the man was behind the wheel. [Yahoo News]
• Lauren Conrad: Seen making out with My Boys actor Kyle Howard. [E!]
• LC and Audrina are not "Top Friends" on MySpace. But trying to make news out of someone's MySpace mood is dumb. [Perez Hilton]
• All My Sons was the highest-grossing (non-musical) play on Broadway last week. Is Katie Holmes to thank? [AP]
• Ashlee Simpson sleeps with so many teddy bears there's hardly room for Pete Wentz in the bed. [Perez Hilton]
• Eva Longoria continues to wear flowy tops and drink water instead of cocktails; gossipers continue to speculate that she is pregnant. [E!]
• Three words: Katy Perry doll. [NY Mag]
• Madonna's concert at Wembley stadium ran over the time allotted, so she has to pay a £135,000 fine. Pocket change for Her Madgesty! [Guardian]
• David Beckham will be a character in a series of books that will bring children to reading through, um, soccer. [The Sun, Telegraph]
• The "poor" chick on Gossip Girl hangs with high society in real life. [Page Six]
• Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr bring an uplifting movie about a breast-cancer drug to Lifetime. [Village Voice]
• Does Sophia Bush read Jezebel? In Health magazine she says: "It's weird: In our business, I'm a size 2 and considered curvy. It's important to remind young women, 'Listen, even skinny girls have cellulite, even Halle Berry has cellulite, and what you see in photos isn't totally real.'" [People]
• Keira Knightley does not drink, do drugs or smoke (really?) but she does curse up a storm. "I've a foul mouth like my mum," she says. [Mirror]
• Shocker: Black people like singer Robin Thicke even though he is white. [Newser]
• Traci Bingham is bringing a new show to Fox. "It's like America's Next Top Model," she says, "only they'll act, and perform and be athletic, as well." The difference is that Traci won't make fun of the contestants like Tyra does: "Don't you hate that?" [E!]
• Elisabeth Hasselbeck is "really upset" about the election conversations on The View, and Barbara Walters has had to call a powwow with Hasselbeck, Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar. Can Babs make the ladies work it out? [Perez Hilton]
• Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers just enrolled as a freshman a the University of Southern California. He'll be studying music, of course. He should have gone to a Catholic school, since Catholic schoolgirls rule. [Perez Hilton]
• Demi Moore is suing a magazine that printed pictures of her and other celebrities at an Oscars party she hosted. [News.com.au]
• Country singer Mindy McCready will surrender to Tennessee authorities on today to start a 60-day jail sentence for violating probation on a previous drug-related charge. [Yahoo News]
• Kevin Costner will release his first album with his country-rock band, not that you give a shit. [People]
• More bad news for Ed McMahon: He's being sued by Merv Griffin's company. [USA Today]
• Ellen Burstyn has joined the cast of Showtime's Possible Side Effects, a drama set inside the world of the pharmaceutical industry. Tim Robbins is writing and directing. Diagnosis: Good! [Variety]
• Sadie Frost has swapped fashion for filmmaking. Her short film is about an evil nanny who terrorizes a single mother and daughter. [Mirror]
• "I've just written my first screenplay. It is pretty incredible to finish it — the first draft. I got somebody to teach me — there’s a programme called Final Draft. I had someone come round my house and teach me how to use it." — Geri Halliwell. [The Sun]
• "Listen, I’m a reasonable human being. If people pay me enough, I’ll stop playing my music." — James Blunt. [The Sun]
• "I convinced myself I was pregnant when I was 13 and I hadn’t even got my period. There are so many rumours and also so much wrong information being passed around, so it is a really important message the World Contraception Day is trying to give out. I am not the kind of person who talks about my sex life, but I am not afraid to talk about contraception. I go three, maybe four times a year to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and most of the time I don’t even need to. I just go for peace of mind." — Kelly Osbourne. [The Sun]
• "I’ve written some really, really deeply sexual things on some of the cards I’ve given him for opening night. But just to wind him up, you know. He’s great. He’s a truly remarkable man. You know, if I was gay or a female I’d, well, just want to marry him." — Daniel Radcliffe on his Equus co-star, Lorenzo Pisoni. [Daily Star]

• A cat has survived being walled in under a bathtub for 7 weeks in Berlin after the feline crept under a bathtub that was being installed. • More stories of survival: A tortoise narrowly escaped being buried under 50 tons of trash at a landfill after his owners accidentallly threw him in the garbage. • Lunatica Desuna has complied a gallery of the different depictions of the Mona Lisa by famous artists like Andy Warhol, Keith Herring, and Marcel Duchamp. • Jeremy Paxman, a TV-presenter on the BBC network, whines that "the worst thing you can be [in the television industry] is a middle-class white male". • A 21-year-old mother undergoing treatment for cervical cancer has been denied Ondansetron, an anti-sickness drug, because it is supposedly too expensive. • Women at the National Theater in London are getting a chance to shine behind the scenes as art directors, designers, and playwrights by giving over the largest stage to a living female playwright's play, a first for the theater • Child rape is rising in Afghanistan's northern provinces (as the government's control begins to be lost to insurgents). • A 47-year-old man in Scarborough, Ontario has claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary in his neighbor's tree. • More than 1/3rd of women between the ages of 18-44 have admitted to sharing prescription drugs in a recent study. • Wooser, Tibet's most famous female writer and blogger, has been arrested by police after being accused of photographing military installations. • Cheerleaders in Monroe, Ohio have been banned from wearing their cheerleading uniforms to school because the short skirts violate a new district-wide dress code on skirt length. •

[Image via Cafe Press]

• Women taking antidepressants and experiencing a hard time achieving orgasm as a side effect of the medication may benefit from taking Viagra.

• "Grammar Girl" is out to get rid of bad grammar. • A former Muslim sex slave who was targeted for her ethnicity when Serbs attacked tells her heartbreaking story to CNN. • Southern New Hampshire towns are reporting an increase in domestic abuse calls and arrests, which police says is linked to the poor economy. • A self-instructional program on reproductive health and sex-education for teen girls with diabetes will help them understand the risks of unplanned pregnancy while diabetic. • Inflation, high security at hotels and popular venues, and traffic jams have made weddings a real bummer in Sri Lanka. • A weak baby dolphin that was caught in Japanese fishermen's nets has regained its ability to swim after being outfitted with a special lifejacket. • Meet Rampa Rattanarithikul, a Thai mosquito scientist who has researched and collected mosquitoes for 50 years. • Two dogs that were allegedly trained to have sex with their female owner have been accepted into a no-kill animal sanctuary in Utah. • Cute puppy news! Look at this newborn french bulldog set to Chopin. (Image via She Cards.)