Leighton Meester and her mama drama: Trading lawsuits

Leighton Meester is embroiled in a family drama so out there it reads like a "Gossip Girl" script, full of money, lies, Botox and brain surgery.

The actress has filed a lawsuit alleging money mishandling and lies on the part of her mother Constance, who fired back almost immediately with a suit claiming a verbal agreement for a payday that would retire mommy dearest for life.

Leighton, 25, filed documents in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday detailing a $7,500-per-month allowance for Constance that's meant to sustain her and Leighton's brother Alexander -- who has lingering medical conditions requiring expensive care.

Constance has, according to the suit, allegedly been "using the money she receives from Leighton to pay for cosmetic procedures for herself, including plastic surgery on her face and stomach, Botox injections for her face, fillers for her hands and hair extensions."

The allowance is meant to aid Alexander in his recovery from a recent brain surgery -- not for getting your hair did and face injected, y'hear?

Constance countersued on Monday, saying the "Country Strong" star had promised an elevated allowance rate of $10,000 per month, claiming that rate is congruent to the "sacrifices" she's made for her daughter's career.

Furthermore, Mother Meester says that in December, her daughter viciously attacked her, throwing her to the ground and striking her repeatedly with a bottle (though that sounds less "Gossip Girl" and more "Dynasty").

Leighton responded to Constance's suit, natch, calling her accusations "absurd." Stay tuned for what can only be juicier developments. 

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Photo: Leighton Meester attends the 2011 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press

Ex-KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent arrested on suspicion of beating wife

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent, real name Vincent John Cusano, was arrested Saturday in Tennessee after allegedly beating his wife and keeping dead dogs in containers, according to authorities.

Deputies were called to his home after his wife, Diane Cusano, arrived at a Rutherford County Sheriff's station smelling of booze and "covered in blood," according to TMZ. Diane indicated the dispute with her husband was over another woman.

She claimed Vinnie, 58, told her to "get ... out of the house," a quote corroborated by a neighbor who overheard them yelling, E! News reported. She then said Vincent "smacked her in the face" and "grabbed her by the hair and threw her down to the ground," dragging her through a pile of broken glass on the floor. She escaped and drove herself to the station.

When deputies arrived at the home to investigate, they discovered four sealed containers with dead dogs inside, which she claimed had been "killed by one of their [other] aggressive dogs."

Rutherford Animal Welfare officers were called to investigate.

Diane was then taken to Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro to be treated for gashes on her body, a bloody nose and bruised forehead. She was released soon after.

Vincent was booked into jail at 11:33 p.m. and released 12 hours later after posting $10,000 bail. He has been charged with one count of aggravated assault.

The musician, who got the nickname "The Ankh Warrior" for painting the Egyptian symbol of life on his face, replaced guitarist Ace Frehley in 1982. Vincent eventually left after a royalties dispute and went on to form the group Vinnie Vincent Invasion.

For the Record, 2:35 p.m. May 25: An earlier version of this post said Vinnie Vincent was the last KISS member to join the band during its reunion era; he was not. The post has been updated to reflect that change. Thanks to commenter Daniel Siwek for the catch.

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Photo: Vinnie Vincent performing live onstage without makeup in 1983. Credit: Phil Dent / Redferns

Kris Humphries to join Kim Kardashian on 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians'

Kim Kardashian's basketball beau, Kris Humphries, will be joining her and her family on the sixth season of the reality-TV staple "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

Producers had teased the beginning of their relationship on spinoff show "Kourtney and Kim Take New York." Now her budding romance with the New Jersey Nets forward -- or, as Kim calls him, "the one" -- will be featured in the next 12 episodes of "Kardashians," E! announced.

Sounds serious. The two were recently rumored to be scoping out engagement rings by Neil Lane at a Kay Jewelers in New York. Kimmie, however, strikes us as a Harry Winston kind of girl ...

Sisters Khloé Kardashian (aka Mrs. Lamar Odom) and Kourtney Kardashian said they're hesitant to invest their emotions in their sister's new relationship. (Do the names Damon Thomas, Ray J and Reggie Bush ring a bell?) Humphries will join the reality dynasty, procreated by late and famed O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian, on a family vacation to the tropics to celebrate mom Kris and stepdad Bruce Jenner's 20th wedding anniversary.

The show will lead into the launch of the new reality series "Ice Loves Coco," which follows the love life of couple Ice-T and his wife, Coco. Watch the teaser for that gem.

The new season of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" kicks off June 12 with Kourtney at odds with mother and manager Kris for turning their family into a business rather than remaining emotionally connected. Perhaps rightfully so? Kim earned an estimated $6 million last year under her mother's reign. Kourtney and Khloé made $2.5 million each.

Kourtney, who moves into a new home with baby daddy Scott Disick, also battles with her boyfriend about giving her mother a key to their new abode, and Kris isn't happy about her daughter wanting to have a second child out of wedlock.

Meanwhile, Khloé, who will have just ended her newlywed spinoff "Khloe and Lamar" with her Lakers hubbie, is shown managing her household with her sisters in addition to their DASH boutiques in Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

The rest of the brood, which includes brother Rob Kardashian, probably just sits there and looks pretty, though E! promises that he'll be bridging the gap between him and Disick since their falling out at his sister's scandalous birthday party. Younger sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner work their way back into their sisters' spotlight. Kim takes Kendall, an aspiring model, back to New York with her to help jumpstart her career, but little K is overwhelmed by her older sister's vigilant work ethic.

Drama, drama, drama.

Will you be tuning in?

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Top photo: Bruce Jenner, left, Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Rob Kardashian. Credit: John Sciulli / Getty Images

Right photo: Kris Humphries. Credit: Jeff Hanisch / US Presswire

Kelly Preston cast as wife to John Travolta's 'Gotti'

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

Looks as if it's going to be bring your family to work day every day on the set of "Gotti: Three Generations," now that Kelly Preston has been cast to play the wife of John Travolta's character in the crime-family biopic. Hey, even daughter Ella Bleu is getting in on the action.

"The love and passion between John and Kelly ... will bring a huge benefit to John Sr. and his wife, and to tell you the truth, they have a lot in common. They both lost a child at a young age and they understand what the Gottis went through when the Gottis lost their child," producer Marc Fiore told People.

"She's a terrific actress, and she can really do the role justice," production company spokesman Steve Honig said.

(Plus, in keeping with the subject matter, she brings with her at least a little firearms experience. Preston is the woman Charlie Sheen now says he did not shoot in 1990. His onetime fiancee got herself shot, the unemployed sitcom star told a Vancouver audience Monday, when she picked up a pair of his pants off the bathroom scale and -- whoops! -- a revolver he'd left in the back pocket fell out and discharged. Hey, it happens.)

Travolta will play mob boss Gotti Sr. and Preston will play his wife, Victoria DiGiorgio. Lindsay Lohan was rumored to play Victoria Gotti, the daughter Gotti Sr. and DiGiorgio's (Yes, there are two Johns and two Victorias in the family). Lohan, who was temporarily dropped from the film, will instead play their daughter-in-law Kim Gotti, wife of Gotti Jr. Honig said it was "a larger role in the film" than the Victoria Gotti role. Joe Pesci is slated to play Gotti Sr.'s friend Angelo Ruggiero.

The real-life married couple's 11-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu, will also appear in the film as their characters' on-screen daughter, Angel Gotti. The biopic chronicles the relationship between the late mobster and his son John Gotti Jr., who eventually renounced the ways of the New York-based Gambino crime family.

Gotti Jr. sold the rights to his family's story in 2002, and he and Gotti family members appeared at the "Gotti: Three Generations" news conference in April posing for photos with potential cast members. Click the pics for photos from the presser.

The film is still without a director since Nick Cassavetes dropped out last month because of a scheduling conflict.

[For the record, 9:50 a.m. May 5: This post initially said Kelly Preston would play Victoria Gotti, a role Lindsay Lohan had been considered for. Preston will play Victoria DiGiorgio, the wife of John Gotti Sr. Lohan had been considered for the role of Victoria Gotti, the couple's daughter who shares the same name as her mother.]

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Photos: Top, John Travolta, left, John Gotti Jr., center, and Kelly Preston. Credit: Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images. Right photo: Victoria Gotti, John Travolta, John Gotti Jr. and Lindsay Lohan at the "Gotti: Three Generations" news conference April 12 in New York. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press.

Meet Patrick Schwarzenegger, Arnold and Maria's enterprising son

Hey, world, meet Patrick Schwarzenegger -- the genetic product of the Kennedy dynasty and the Terminator.

The eldest son of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the promising young man gets the profile treatment from Details this month. From shirtless yoga to under-18 entrepreneurial efforts, here are the essentials on Patrick:

Service first: The 17-year-old enjoys high school parties and tweeting at eligible females as much as the next guy, but he's well aware of the expectations placed on him. "My mom raised me with the idea of doing public service, and I definitely want to go in that direction. But I also want to follow in my dad's entrepreneurial footsteps," he said.

His after-school job pays handsomely: His clothing company Project360, which donates a percentage of proceeds to various charities, has a full menswear collection on the horizon and a mid-five-figures net from 2010, according to the magazine.

He's billboard-friendly: To raise Project360's profile and, admittedly, his own, the celeb spawn has signed with agency L.A. Models. He's allegedly being pushed for Ralph Lauren and Armani campaigns. Patrick aims to "get comfortable in front of the camera" but insists that modeling "isn't going to be my permanent job. There's a lot of other things I want to do." 

He's a flirt: While he confirms he's just reunited with an ex-girlfriend, Schwarzenegger wouldn't mind a famous partner down the line. His aforementioned tweeting includes winks at the likes of Kendall Jenner, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez -- he's even labeled them "girls for the future." 

Details.com has more on his political ambitions, epic Cape Cod vacations with the whole Kennedy clan and the controversy over his muscles.

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Photo: Patrick Schwarzenegger on his native sands of Malibu. Credit: Details 

Rihanna's secret family: two half-sisters, a half-brother — and two nieces

Barbados bombshell Rihanna has a secret family — two sisters and a brother from three mothers.

The "S&M" and "Umbrella" hitmaker is also an auntie to two adoring nieces, the Sun of London revealed.

Rihanna's long-lost sibs were each born during different relationships before their father, Ronald Fenty, married Rihanna's mother, Monica.

Rihanna, whose family calls her by her given name, Robyn, was 15 and not famous when she first met her eldest sibling, 32-year-old Kandy, who showed up at the Fentys' door and explained who she was.

"I guess you could say I was shocked," Ronald Fenty told the British tabloid. "But I was a bit on the wild side and something of a ladies' man back in my early days."

Ya think?

Rihanna has devoted fans in her nieces, 14-year-old Brandy and 11-year-old Crystal.

"My girls thought she was great fun and now, of course, they love the fact their auntie is one of the most famous singers in the world," Kandy said. "They love her music and are always singing her songs at the top of their voices."

The other secret siblings are Samantha, 30, a policy consultant for Caribbean regional governments, and brother Jamie, a 27-year-old graphic artist.

The R&B star maintains a warm relationship with them, the Sun said, dropping by for visits when she returns to Barbados for family events or official functions.

Rihanna is also close with her younger brothers, Rorrey, 21, and Rajad, 15. On her way to see Arcade Fire at Coachella, she tweeted birthday wishes to her baby brother: "Happy BIRTHDAY to my baby bro (I still think he's my son) RAJAD!!! Sis love you booj, even from a million miles away! Wish I cud squeeze u."

Sounds like one bigger, happier family.

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Photo: Rihanna at the Coachella festival in Indio on April 16. Credit: Christopher Polk / Getty Images.

Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom deal with his-and-hers family drama on 'Khloe and Lamar' premiere

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom's newlywed reality series, "Khloe and Lamar," is officially here.

Kardashian, known as the youngest Kardashian sister on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and "Kourtney and Khloe Take New York," and her Lakers forward hubby debuted their show Sunday on E! with the hope that it would attract more viewers bearing the Y-chromosome.

"This show is very different from 'Keeping Up' and the 'Take On' series because those shows are so female-driven," she told PopEater. "This show is very much male-driven. It's Lamar and my brother Rob who lives with us, it's very masculine in a lot of ways, there's a lot of NBA footage, locker room footage and also a lot of us. Lamar and I as newlyweds and learning about each other and experiencing a lot of firsts that happen on camera."

The couple, who recently launched a unisex fragrance called "Unbreakable," married in September 2009 after a whirlwind romance. Their inevitable E! show chronicles their newlywed life, brother Rob Kardashian moving in, friendship with pals Malika Haqq and Jamie Sangouthai and a bevy of baby-making problems.

The premiere episode highlighted Odom's daddy issues when his father, Joe Odom, surprised Kardashian at a book signing with her sister Kourtney Kardashian. Kourtney, who had been working on a campaign to get Lamar on the NBA All-Star team, grapples with how to get Joe back into her husband's life. Turns out the man is just trying to bum a few dollars off his wealthy son.

"My father is someone I'd do anything for," Lamar Odom said. "But he's someone I don't let get too close."

What'd you think of the premiere? Will you keep watching?

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Photo: Lamar Odom and wife Khloe Kardashian at the Lakers' 2010 championship parade in downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Ashley Judd shares stories of sexual abuse, drugs and neglect in 'All That Is Bitter and Sweet'

Ashley Judd's new memoir, "All That Is Bitter and Sweet," is the latest bombshell bio to hit bookstore shelves, with shocking details and accusations of drug use, sexual abuse, neglect and lies.

While her mother, Naomi, and sister Wynonna made up the famous country duo the Judds, the actress reveals she felt like an outcast.

"I loved my mother, but at the same time I dreaded the mayhem and uncertainty that followed her everywhere ... I often felt like an outsider observing my mom's life as she followed her own dreams," Ashley Judd writes.

Part of that mayhem came from her mother's love life. Judd explains in the tell-all that Naomi became pregnant with Wynonna, but the father, Charlie Jordan, didn't want anything to do with raising the baby. Instead, Naomi led Ashley's dad, Michael Ciminella, to believe the baby was his.

Unfortunately, Ciminella didn't fit the daddy profile either. According to the "Someone Like You" star, there was always "marijuana inside the house," and he was "prone to taking hallucinogenics." It got even worse when Naomi's next boyfriend turned out to be an "abusive full-blown heroin addict with a criminal record."

Judd also exposes stories of sexual abuse saying, "An old man everyone knew beckoned me into a dark, empty corner of the business and offered me a quarter for the pinball machine at the pizza place if I'd sit on his lap."

With such a rocky childhood, Judd confesses that when her mother and sister are quoted saying "our family put the 'fun' in dysfunction," she's left wondering, "Who, exactly, was having all the fun? What was I missing?"

Of course, Naomi and Wynonna aren't keeping quiet about the memoir either. Wynonna told "Entertainment Tonight," "The veil has been lifted. Secrets keep you sick, and families will heal once you get real."

Naomi put it this way, "I think it's key for us to spend time figuring our own reality. Every unhappiness is tied to a story, and we have to go back and figure out our stories. And then it's our stories that connect us."

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Photo: Ashley Judd at the Regency Hotel in Manhattan. Credit: Jennifer Altman / For The Times.

LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Cibrian will be shacking up

Oh look, stars are just like real people — Eddie Cibrian's lease is up, so he'll be moving in with his girlfriend, LeAnn Rimes, in the Valley. 

A People source says that actor Cibrian, whose divorce is still pending, and country singer Rimes, whose divorce was finalized in June, will make the transition over the next month. Her rep told the mag that, yes, the move is happening — and LeAnn herself weighed in happily on Twitter.

~~ We like to imagine a little yellow rental van making lots of trips back and forth during the course of the month, with friends helping haul the lovebirds' boxes in exchange for beer and barbecue. But hey, we're quite obviously just making that up. ~~

Cibrian shares custody of his two sons, who, according to the source, will get to decorate two guest rooms in their dad's new pad, which they're already familiar with. Plus, you know, there's a swimming pool, and it's in the same school district. 

We'd say a little bit more about how the couple met and how long they've been together, but, as Eddie told E! Online, "continuing to rehash things publicly only makes it more difficult for everyone to heal."

— Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes arrive at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April. Credit: Gabriel Bouys / AFP / Getty Images.

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PREACH IT! And here we thought the Gary Coleman story was over. We’re so naive

Just days after Gary Coleman’s death stemming from a head injury, the aftermath is shaping up to be the biggest celebrity postmortem circus since Michael Jackson.

In the main tent: ex-wife-slash-maybe-also-future-wife Shannon Price. Price was present at the hospital when Coleman died and apparently gave the OK to pull the plug. That seemed OK, at first, until some reports started surfacing that maybe she didn’t have the authority to pull the plug after all.

Since then, the Gary Coleman death story has taken on a decidedly carnival atmosphere.

First some hospital spokesman popped up to assure us that everything was on the up and up the day Coleman died. Then Price herself started talking -- and talking, making sure everybody knew just how sad she was, and even finding a way to compare the actor to Muhammad Ali.

Meanwhile, over in the Ten-in-One, Coleman’s family has been making news of its own. It canceled ...