The American Idol runner-up today confirmed rumors that he’d be seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat currently held by Rep. Renee Ellmers. His nearly five-minute long campaign ad is extremely emotional — he discusses fleeing from his abusive father as a child and his experiences working as a special ed teacher. It’s also heavy on the implications of “yes, I nearly won a singing competition with my elfin charm but I know a lot about politics, too.”
Aiken says that he considers Washington dysfunctional and that he wants to focus on bringing back jobs and improving education. [Variety]
Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers admitted that he
was not actually playing his bass during the Super Bowl, which the more eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed was unplugged. In fact, all of the instrumentals were pre-recorded. Which means that millions of Americans all joined together to watch several grown men pantomime enthusiastically in galactic tights — a new tradition I think we should honor in coming years. [NY Daily News]
Brandi Glanville has written another book, which is literally titled Drinking & Dating: P.S. Social Media Is Ruining Romance. In it, she seems to frequently discuss her ex-husband Eddie Cibrian, who cheated on her with Leann Rimes and a lot of cocktail waitresses — she says that he gave her HPV (“I have three permanent reminders of my marriage that I live with every day: [my sons] Mason, Jake, and HPV”).
Is it too optimistic of me to hope that she uses this platform to advocate safe sex and contraception use and to encourage women to get vaccinated? [Daily Mail]
- Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt say that they got huge bonuses every time they fabricated drama on The Hills. I hope they received a king’s fortune for coming up with Enzo’s birthday party. [Gossip Cop]
- Did Solange Instagram photos from her Cosmopolitan shoot? Imagine being so fashionable that people couldn’t tell if photographs were just of you hanging out and doing whatever or if they were for a fashion spread in Cosmo. [ONTD]
- A One Direction cafe is opening in Japan. Unfortunately, it’s not like a cat cafe with the cats swapped out for the band members; it’s just a room filled with coffee and merchandise. [ONTD]
- Stassi from Vanderpump Rules is quitting her job as waitress/reality show star/demented puppet master and moving to New York. This is the worst thing that ever happened to TV. [ONTD]
- Katy Perry and John Mayer went to a strip club after the Super Bowl, where they presumably filled up John Mayer’s wide brim hat with dollar bills and flung them all around the room. [Perez Hilton]
- Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are getting married in the Bahamas. [Hello]
- Justin Bieber tweeted at the cops. [Perez Hilton]
- Gird your loins, ladies: Fabio says that he is finally prepared to wed. [Fox]