Miley Cyrus, Colin Farrell step out for American Giving awards

Some well-dressed Hollywood do-gooders got together Friday in Los Angeles to, well, do some good for the first celebration of the American Giving Awards -- a ceremony that gives grants to participating charities through an online voting system.

Miley Cyrus sparkled in a nude Jenny Packham gown with jewel detail, while a handsome Colin Farrell came to claim an honor of his own -- the Leadership Award for his ongoing work fighting homophobia, promoting the Special Olympics and working with the Make-A-Wish foundation.

"I’d like to thank Chase for this. I’d like to thank them for the opportunity for all the charities that are going to get the chance to shine a light on their more-than-worthy and noble causes," Farrell said of Chase Bank, which awarded $2 million in grants.

PHOTO BOOTH: American Giving Awards

"Dancing With the Stars" champ J.R. Martinez came to pay tribute to the troops, Gabrielle Union and Terrence Howard made presentations and LeAnn Rimes rolled through for the Bob Costas-hosted fete.

The night's big winner, taking half of the $2 million, was To Write Love On Her Arms -- an organization that provides treatment and therapy for self-inflicted injury, like cutting.

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-- Matt Donnelly
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Photo: Colin Farrell arrives at the American Giving Awards in Los Angeles on Friday. Credit: Dan Steinberg / Associated Press

Miley Cyrus supports Occupy Wall Street with new video

Miley Cyrus appears intent on covering her controversy bases, adding support of Occupy Wall Street, a.k.a. #OWS, to her ever-expanding agenda.

She's had the sexually suggestive controversy (her pole dancing performance at the Teen Choice Awards in 2009), her drug controversy (smoking from a bong), her other drug controversy (comments at her 19th birthday party last week about being a stoner) and now, apparently, she's courting political controversy.

The pop singer has released a video for the remix of "Liberty Walk" off her album "Can't Be Tamed" composed entirely of footage from the various Occupy protests worldwide. Included are police beatings, things burning and lots of angry marching. It's strong stuff from the girl once known as Hannah Montana.

The video was posted Saturday to her official YouTube channel and bears the dedication, "This is dedicated to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in..."

The video has predictably made Cyrus persona non grata in a number of households and stirred the ire of conservative media. Comments on her YouTube page include one from a dad who wrote, "Miley Cyrus is now banned from my house along with 30 other entertainment political wannabes. My kids are not allowed to have anything related to you or what you stand for.......and you know what? they actually said it to me that they lost interest in you and your cruddy music and movies and tv show.... Bah-bye Miley,.... you get no more of my hard earned money you one percenter liar."

Conservative radio host Dana Loesch tweeted, "A movement is dead when Miley Cyrus writes disco music for it."

Between this and the Bob Marley birthday cake, it's going to be an interesting week for Miley.

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-- Patrick Kevin Day

 Photo: Miley Cyrus at the Grammy Awards in February. Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Miley Cyrus flashes new tattoo supporting gay rights

Miley Cyrus has added a seventh tattoo, this time choosing an equal sign to symbolize her support for gay rights.

"ALL LOVE is equal," Cyrus said Friday via Twitter, including a picture of the new ink, above right.

But not all who love Miley were treated equally by one another in the wake of Cyrus' reply to a follower who disagreed: "Where does it say in the bible to judge others? Oh right. It doesn't. GOD is the only judge honey," said the 18-year-old actress and singer, who has previously tweeted in favor of gay-marriage rights..

The follower, @MileyCyrusLuver, explained the objection by citing another Bible verse, then expressed surprise about another important matter: "1 Corinthians 6:9-11 explains why I don't support it. And omg I can't believe you replied to me!!"

But Cyrus' reply had the unfortunate side effect of sparking a fan-on-fan Twitter brawl. Cyrus tried to call off the hounds, saying: "Dude everyone lay off @MileyCyrusLuver Love u! Everyone is entitled 2 opinions! 'if u don't stand 4 something you'll fall for anything.' :)"

Still, on Sunday @MileyCyrusLuver was still fielding attack tweets, even after saying Saturday, "For the record!! @MileyCyrus DIDN'T make me cry. She was just replying back. Don't blame her. What made me cry was the death threats."

Gotta love it -- and by "love it," we mean "hate it" -- when an expression of tolerance gives birth to multiple expressions of intolerance toward those who disagree.

Getting back to the tattoo and the photo, don't be offended by Miley's choice of finger: Look again and you'll see that's the put-a-ring-on-it digit, not the put-a-sock-in-it one (albeit on her right hand, not the left).

The Ministry gives full permission, however, to be offended by the manicure.

Any thoughts on Miley's new tattoo? Share 'em in comments.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla
twitter.com/dzurillaville

Photos: Miley Cyrus in May, left; Cyrus newest tattoo. Credits: Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP/Getty Images; @MileyCyrus

Scarlett Johansson declines Marine Corps Ball invite, sends bubbly

Scarlett Johansson is the latest Hollywood type to be invited to the Marine Corps Ball, this time to the Nov. 10 event in Albany, Ga.

Perhaps rebounding from that whirlwind Sean Penn thing, or maybe even the Ryan Reynolds thing, Johansson declined. She cited a "prior commitment,"  but the Ministry suspects something else was to blame: a high-concept video.

Original inviter Sgt. Scott Moore, who asked Mila Kunis to his Nov. 18 event on a bet, stood in front of a camera in Afghanistan and simply asked.

Cpl. Kelsey de Santis, who's ball-bound with Justin Timberlake on Nov. 12, had a few burly fellow Marines as background, but essentially stood in front of a camera in Quantico, Va., and simply asked.

Then things went south -- quite literally, to video shoots in Texas and Georgia. Betty White declined the invitation of Sgt. Ray Lewis, whose video included various calisthenics and a costume change. Now "Avengers" actress Johansson says no to Sgt. Dustin L. Williams, whose video included various calisthenics and a picture of Johansson toasting with bubbly.

Coincidence? We blame the emphasis on editing and story line!

Of course, Kunis and Timberlake might have be influenced by the fact that their invites came in the course of their high-profile promotional campaign for "Friends With Benefits," but we don't want to go there. Miley Cyrus, meanwhile, got invites both simple and more sophisticated, but may have been overwhelmed by the multiple requests.

White and Johansson both declined graciously -- with the latter promising to send a case of Champagne to help Williams and his pals celebrate the Marine Corps' birthday, and "Terminator" actress Linda Hamilton posting her own video offering to step into White's party shoes.

Back in Georgia, Williams seemed prepped for whatever answer came, telling Zap2It via e-mail earlier this week, "With her current career I would imagine Scarlett Johansson is a busy woman.... Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

He said that a yes, however, would have boosted the morale of the Marines as a whole.

 

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-- Christie D'Zurilla
twitter.com/dzurillaville

Photo: Scarlett Johansson in 2010's "Iron Man 2." Credit: Francois Duhamel / Marvel Entertainment

Miley Cyrus covers Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' -- dare to take a whiff? [Video] [Poll]

 

We have spoken in the past about things that cannot be unseen. Miley Cyrus' recent choice in live concert material — "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana — may fall under this Lovecraftian category.

We cannot say for certain, however, because we haven't been brave enough to watch this entire clip, which features Cyrus covering the grunge classic for an audience in Ecuador.

Full disclosure: We fear that looking directly upon Miley Cyrus singing Nirvana might turn us to stone.

Until we can get our trembling hands on a camera obscura, infection-control glasses or some other protection, we shall refrain from speaking on this any further. But if you're braver than we are -- and there's a good chance you are -- clap your rock-hard eyeballs on this video.

Then let us know what you think.

 

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-- Leslie Gornstein

 

Royal wedding: Celebrities react to the ceremony on Twitter

The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton wasn't merely a sensation for the eyes (The dress! Those hats! Pippa!), it was also a Twitter affair.

When crude hash tags referring to doing the nasty with a prince or queen are trending worldwide, it's safe to say the monarchy has reached new heights. (Though if either of those "I'd like to" acronyms had been applied to Prince Charles or Queen Elizabeth II  -- well, that's just disturbing.)

Tweets poured in with people chiming in on just about every detail. And we lowly citizens weren't the only ones hammering out our thoughts on the lavish affair in 140 characters or less. Even the stars got up in the wee hours (for some) to indulge in the modern-day fairy tale. 

From Stephen Colbert and Miley Cyrus to Kelly Rippa and wedding guest Victoria Beckham, all had something to say about the nuptials .

Click on the pic at right to read their musings in a photo gallery.

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-- Yvonne Villarreal
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Photo: Prince William and Kate Middleton walk hand in hand in Westminster Abbey. Credit: Martin Meissner / Associated Press

Miley Cyrus rejoins Twitter for Charlie Sheen and Liam Hemsworth?

Miley Cyrus is back ... on Twitter, that is, crediting her return to none other than Charlie Sheen. Oh, and her fans too.

The teen star returned to the micro-blogging site on the heels of her favorite movie actress win at the Kids' Choice Awards in order to promote her upcoming Gypsy Heart World Tour.

"Yo guys! Its MC! Thank you so much for my KCA! =] PS I am taking over the Gypsy Heart twitter! Gotta keep ya posted on tour <3 come see me!" she wrote.

But soon after, Cyrus revealed the real reasons for her comeback.

"Do not fear...the Sheenius is here!" I'm not gonna lie. I came back to twitter for 2 reasons. My fans and to follow @charliesheen #winning," she tweeted Sunday. 

Perhaps she just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Hey, Miley, you're not missing much in terms of torpedoes of truth anyway.

The 18-year-old amassed thousands more followers via the Gypsy Tour account. She deleted her personal account in October 2009 for on-again-off-again boyfriend and "The Last Song" costar Liam Hemsworth.

Ironically, she tweeted props to Hemsworth for landing a role in the big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" with Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence.

"I can say the best news ever now! Dang word travels fast! Liam booked the role of Gale in Hunger Games! I gotta go read all the books now!" she wrote.

Cyrus was also quick to reply to fans and converse with other celebrities, including Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and Jaden Smith, who is teaming up with papa Will Smith in an M. Night Shyamalan-directed project.

It's a good thing salvia isn't as addictive as Twitter, we suppose.

Are you going to start following Miley now that she's back on Twitter? Let us know in comments.

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Photo: Miley Cyrus accepts the favorite movie actress award at the 24th annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles April 2, 2011. Credit: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Kids' Choice Awards: Miley Cyrus still embarrassed about crying at 2009 show [Video]

When Miley Cyrus started crying after being named the favorite female singer at the 2009 Kids' Choice Awards, critics lambasted her for taking such a light event so seriously.

Before heading into this year's ceremony, where the singer and actress was nominated for three prizes, Cyrus shuddered in embarrassment at the memory of the emotional moment.

"Let's not talk about the crying. I don't know why that happened," she said, laughing on the orange carpet on Saturday afternoon. "That was like bad teenage hormones kicked in where I was just like, so touched."

"And maybe it was partly The Rock in a dress matching me--that was kind of interesting," she added, referring to that year's host Dwayne Johnson's get-up as he presented her with the award. (You can watch the whole event unfold in this YouTube clip.)

"It's just from the fans," the 18-year-old said. "And that's what makes me the happiest."

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Miley Cyrus -- as Justin Bieber -- says salvia is LEGAL on SNL's 'The Miley Cyrus Show'

Miley Cyrus let herself be spoofed on "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend on the recurring "The Miley Cyrus Show" sketch -- but she posed as Justin Bieber while doing it.

Cyrus, who hosted the variety show Saturday by singing her monologue and pretending to be Lindsay Lohan, let the writers poke fun at her in stride as they took on her semi-nude Annie Leibovitz photos, Disney grooming roots and that bong-smoking scandal.

"She was up for anything," cast member Kristen Wiig told MTV News. "That's always, to me, what makes a host fun to have around. They'll make fun of themselves or how the media perceives them. She was up for anything, which was so great."

But Lohan didn't seem to think so. The embattled actress even wrote a letter to "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels because she was upset the show allowed Cyrus to tease her. (What a poor sport. Can't one child star make fun of another?)

The highlight, however, was Cyrus dressed up as an eye-shadow-wearing Bieber on "The Miley Cyrus Show" segment opposite Vanessa Bayer.

"It's a Mexican standoff if the Mexicans were tiny, talented geniuses," Jason Sudeikis said in character as always-doting daddy Billy Ray Cyrus.

Bayer, an "SNL" newbie, all-too-convincingly mimicked Cyrus' toothy smile and loud, nasal voice to blood-curdling annoyance levels. And Cyrus effectively parodied Bieber's hair flips, crotch grabs and ultra-laid-back interview style.

Here's some of what they did (CAPS added for blood-curdling emphasis):

Fake Miley: WAIT A MINUTE, JUSTIN BIEBER, DID YOU CUT YOUR HAIR?

Real Miley as the Biebs: Yeah, you know, it's an image change. I also do the middle finger now.

Fake Miley: SO YOU'RE GROWING UP. LIKE ME ... DOING SALVIA! DID YOU KNOW I SMOKED SALVIA?

Real Miley as the Biebs: You know, there's no reason why you wouldn't. Because it's TOTALLY LEGAL, YO!

Point made, Miley. Point made.

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Miley Cyrus reportedly 'furious' over Billy Ray Cyrus' GQ interview [Poll]

Miley Cyrus would reportedly prefer it if dad Billy Ray Cyrus would shut his pie hole, according to a friend of the teen star.

"To say Miley is angry is an understatement," the friend told PopEater. "She's furious that her own flesh and blood would make a private matter so public."

Billy Ray Cyrus aired a lot of family business in a recent GQ interview, blaming "Hannah Montana" for destroying his family, saying he "never made one commissioned dime" off his daughter and asserting that Team Miley didn't allow him to parent her through the rough spots.

"Every time something happened in Miley's career, every time the train went off the track, if you will -- Vanity Fair, pole-dancing, whatever scandal it was -- her people, or as they say in today's news, her handlers, every time they'd put me ... 'Somebody's shooting at Miley! Put the old man up there!' " he told the mag. "Well, I took it because I'm her daddy, and that's what daddies do."

One entity not shocked by Billy Ray's interview, or Miley's attempts to establish herself as an "adult"? Disney itself, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which has a Disney insider saying they saw it coming -- that since "Hannah Montana" wrapped in January, Miley and Billy Ray have been clear with the company about their desire to distance themselves from the series and the character.