R.E.M. Splits After 31 Years

By Margaret Hartmann | September 22, 2011 | 12:02am

Celebrities Dirt Bag

Today the members of R.E.M. announced that the band is breaking up after more than three decades together. From “Everybody Hurts” to “Losing My Religion” to “It’s the End of the World As We Know It,” they’ve provided us with many hits … and cheesy ways for news outlets to express that the group is no more. Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and Peter Buck posted on their website: “To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and coconspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band … We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” [E!]

You’d better sit down for this: Doug Hutchinson and child bride Courtney Stodden are doing a reality show! It’s so unlike them to expose themselves to public scrutiny, but apparently they have a lot to teach us about love and acceptance. “It’s going to show people what they can teach each other from different generations,” says Courtney’s mom. “They’re going to touch on family issues. There was a lot of judgment about their marriage from Doug’s side of the family, so it will touch on bringing families back together and why it’s important to support family members even if you don’t agree.” [E!]

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In an interview that airs tomorrow on Today, Brad Pitt reiterates that he wasn’t trash talking Jennifer Aniston in a recent interview. He adds, “I think it’s a shame that I can’t say something nice about Angie without Jen being drug in. She doesn’t deserve it.” [People]
A source says Jen actually doesn’t care about what Brad said, “Jen is wise enough to know that tabloids and gossip need to make something out of nothing in order to sell magazines. It has no relationship to reality at all.” [E!]

Break out the champage: Lindsay Lohan has a job. She’s been hired as the face of Philipp Plein’s Spring 2012 collection and is flying to Milan this weekend. [Radar]

Glee‘s ratings were down 29% from last season, which is unfortunate because the episode was solid. [The Wrap]
Some dude who’s suing Mel Gibson over a business deal gone bad now claims that Mel tried to run him over outside a bakery. Several eyewitnesses say that Mel was enjoying a pastry and a cup of coffee when the guy came in a started yelling at him. Mel left, but aimed his vehicle away from the guy. [TMZ]
Lol at the headline “Emily Blunt‘s New Addiction: Opium?!” She’s new face of Opium perfume. [E!]
Shocker: Twilight: Breaking Hymen is rated PG-13, so you won’t be seeing any full frontal SparkleVamp nudity. [E!]
Sad stuff: Josh Rendon and Ebony Jackson of 16 and Pregnant (they were the kids who wanted to join the military) had their two-year-old daughter taken away by CPS. Their house was allegedly covered in trash and infested with maggots. Josh said, “It was fair for them to charge us with this. [Our house] wasn’t clean.” [TMZ]
Dan Castellaneta, who voices Homer on The Simpsons, sold his mansion to Hank Azaria, who voices Moe, for $5.5 million. [TMZ]
Sigourney Weaver says everyone’s ready to do Ghostbusters 3, but the plans will be scrapped if Bill Murray says no. “I don’t think any of us would do it if Bill said no. Why would we do that? I think the whole point is to get together and have fun,” she said. [Independent]