Celebrities who staged their own digital deaths last Wednesday are still "dead" on Twitter and Facebook, with a little less than $300,000 raised at 9:30 a.m. PST Monday toward their $1-million goal -- the magic number that will bring them back to social-media life.
A commenter noted the campaign that celebs such as Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Usher and more are participating in is not just about the money, but also about awareness of the issue that has them sworn off social media.
So -- the money part's not there yet, but is the awareness coming along? No Googling before voting in the poll! And if you vote "yes," please tell us in comments what you believe the issue to be. Check out previous posts linked below for more info on the effort.
Photos: Ryan Seacrest, left, did not tweet from KIIS-FM's Jingle Ball 2010 at Nokia Theatre in L.A. on Sunday. At right, the picture of his "digital death." Credits: Angela Weiss / Getty Images, left; BuyLife.org, right.
If there's anything cuter than Reese Witherspoon, it has to be Reese Witherspoon with kids and puppies -- a phenomenon demonstrated Wednesday in Hollywood as the actress got her star on the Walk of Fame, with her children and "Legally Blonde" costar Bruiser the Chihuahua on hand (even in hand, actually) for support.
James L. Brooks the writer-director of Oscar winner Witherspoon's next movie, "How Do You Know," costarring Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson, opening Dec. 17, did the honors of introducing the recipient of star No. 2,425.
Ava, 11, and Deacon, 7, the 34-year-old's children with ex Ryan Philippe, posed for star pics while boyfriend Jim Toth, an agent, hung out in the audience with Reese's parents, John and Betty Witherspoon.
Witherspoon has been pretty cute about the relationship with Toth too, telling Glamour recently, "I don't want to disparage any of the other relationships that I've had that were meaningful and wonderful. But what I'm finding out is that it's very comfortable to be with somebody who understands my career, but doesn't do what I do."
Note to Mr. Toth: Doesn't sound like she wants you to quit your day job any time soon. Adorable.
Top photo: Reese Witherspoon, who won a lead actress Oscar for "Walk the Line," gets her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Dec. 1, 2010. Credit: Fred Prouser / Reuters
Left photo: Ava, 11, and Deacon, 7, light up the boulevard with mom during the star ceremony. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA
Right photo: The actress with "Legally Blonde" animal actor costar Bruiser. Credit: Paul Buck / EPA
"Dancing With the Stars" has already rolled out on the East Coast, so if you are trying to avoid spoilers you should not click here for a live blog of the show — especially if you don't want to know the scores before watching the dances.
Until showtime here on the West Coast, we will catch up on some "DWTS" housekeeping.
First, Jennifer Grey has told People she will not do the lift that she and Patrick Swayze made famous in "Dirty Dancing."
"Everyone should not expect that," said the actress, 50, who had three neck surgeries a year ago. We doubt anyone would put Baby in a corner tonight for obeying doctor's orders.
Kyle Massey was going into the performance show with an endorsement from Brandy, who was voted off last week.
Meanwhile, on the home-grown terror front, Bristol Palin was indeed the implied target of a threatening letter containing white powder that was found Friday in the CBS Studios mailroom. Los Angeles police, firefighters, hazmat officers and the FBI responded to the call, according to L.A. Now, and a section of the lot was evacuated.
Taylor Swift and her hair put on a slick performance Sunday at the American Music Awards, as the country pop star broke with her wavy trademark, sporting bangs and straight locks and winning favorite country female artist over Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood.
Not that we're saying this was any Adam Lambert-style performance -- but still, relatively speaking, the hair was a bit shocking.
Oh yeah, she sang her new ballad "Back to December" as well.
Photos: Taylor Swift at the 2010 BMI Country Awards in Nashville on Nov. 9, left; at the 2010 American Music Awards in L.A. on Nov. 21, center; and at Madame Tussauds in New York on Oct. 27, 2010. Credits: Evan Agostini / Associated Press, left; Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images, center; Mike Segar, Reuters, right.
You might have heard: "Glee" did a tribute to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" for Tuesday's Halloween-esque episode. Sure, there are mixed opinions as to whether it was "family" appropriate. But there was one PG number in particular worth noting: hunky dentist John Stamos twirling female castmates around the rehearsal room as he sang "Hot Patootie -- Bless My Soul."
We would be content to leave Stamos alone. Then Jezebel unearthed footage of what appears to be a young Russell Crowe performing this number -- and later, showing off his gams as the wheelchair-bound Dr. Scott.
But we know that some still have a soft spot for Meat Loaf's version of "Hot Patootie" from the 1975 movie.
(Props to "Glee," for giving cameos to the Loaf as well as Barry Bostwick, the "Horror" movie's Brad, by the way).
We've got the three videos after the jump. Watch 'em and tell us in the comments who you think really, really does love that rock 'n' roll.
Every cloud has a silver lining, we suppose -- because really, how much attention would people be paying to Denise Richards' "Blue Mountain State" promotional tour if not for Charlie Sheen's antics Tuesday in the hotel room adjacent to his ex-wife's?
Richards has been impressive in her ability to keep it together on camera while being pelted repeatedly on chat shows with the questions "What really happened?" and "What happens next?"
"This is something that is unfortunate. I have been booked on all these shows to promote my show, and I want to fulfill that obligation," Richards said Wednesday on "Fox & Friends."
We give Richards the edge over Deanna Favre for throwing more words at interviewers in an awkward situation while revealing essentially nothing -- though she probably does have more experience than Favre with this sort of thing.
"This is a very personal, private matter. I'm trying to protect my girls. They don't know anything going on, and I prefer to keep it that way and leave out the details," Richards said.
The actress says she and daughters Lola, 5, and Sam, 6, are "good." And that's the end of that. And yeah, they went to the American Girl store in New York in addition to seeing "Mary Poppins" on Broadway.
In her recurring role on the Spike TV comedy "Blue Mountain State," it's Richards who gets to play the hot-headed ex -- opposite the "very humble" Ed Marinaro, and on a football field instead of at the Plaza. It's a "fun, juicy role," she said, and working with a script is easier than doing her reality show, "It's Complicated."
Sheen, meanwhile, told Radar Online via text message that he's fine, and that the story leading up to his hospitalization for a psych evaluation "is totally overblown and overplayed as far as the reality of the scenario." The actor arrived back in L.A. via private jet Tuesday night.
Said the sitcom star: "I know what went down and that's where it will stay ... under wraps."
So on balance, how does Charlie measure up in Denise's life?
Jon Stewart influences the life choices of more than a half-million people.
I know, I was shocked too. But apparently the host of "The Daily Show" and Saturday's Rally to Restore Sanity beats out Kanye West (No. 5), New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (No. 6), Facebook kingpin Mark Zuckerberg (No. 3) and even President Obama (No. 21 -- ouch) when it comes to influencing the decisions of individuals.
Or at least the decisions of those who submitted the half-million-plus votes to AskMen.com's fifth annual Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2010 poll.
Sure, we can debate the validity of this poll (um, last year's winner, Don Draper from "Mad Men," isn't even a real person -- no matter how much we wish otherwise). But why let AskMen.com be the only one with a nonscientific online poll? Vote here!
Which of the top 10 on AskMen.com's poll is the most overrated? Don't forget to explain your vote in the comments section.
-- Whitney Friedlander
Photo: Jon Stewart looks as of he isn't quite buying this award either. Credit: Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty Images
By now we all know that Katy Perry and Russell Brand got married Saturday in India. We know this in part because a bunch of journalists were in the neighborhood of the wedding and managed to file a report in between threats by security goons.
The most shocking aspect of their wedding? Not the price tag. Not the setting. It's the fact that, if reports are correct, Perry and Brand married without a prenuptial agreement.
We here at Preach It! have interviewed many a celebrity divorce lawyer over the years. You will be hard pressed to find a single one of them who thinks that the Perry-Brand decision is anything but certifiably insane.
In fact, when they aren't sitting around, eating kittens and filing their teeth into sharp points, celebrity attorneys will tell you that prenup-free star weddings are extremely rare. As in, nearly nonexistent.
After all, we're talking about a class of people that draws up contracts before they even move in with a significant other. They’re call co-habitation agreements. Would-be significant others are routinely asked to sign them before they’re offered the privilege of shacking up with a star.
So what, you may ask, does a typical celebrity prenup look like?
Barbara Walters once wrote a book. It was called "How to Talk With Practically Anybody About Practically Anything." That was back in the 1970s. She has not lost her touch.
"You became famous for impregnating a 17-year-old girl," Walters told Levi Johnston on Monday's "The View." "You're 20 years old, you don't have a high school diploma yet, you don't have a trade. Now you're running for mayor.
"Would it not be better for you, instead of just seeking publicity ... to learn a trade, to find a job, to get an education and to support your son?"
Couldn't have said it better ourselves. Get a job, you Palin impregnator, you.
But what kind of profession could our boy from Wasilla possibly undertake? Well, we're members of the media, which means we (a) are experts in positively everything and (b) have absolutely no choice but to get up in this child’s business. You know, to make the world a better place. It's what Murrow would have wanted.
And because we're also members of the entertainment media, we simply must turn this whole exercise into a poll. Otherwise, why exactly did we wake up this morning?
So, what sort of career might fit Johnston best? Be aware that he has a background in hockey, so any career involving bench-clearing brawls may prove quite a fit. Phillies baseball comes to mind. We'll also make a few calls and see if there are any spare rooms in the "Jersey Shore" house.
When it comes to celebrity gossip, stories never really die. Just ask Graydon Carter, who keeps putting old dead people on the covers of his magazine. (Now, with Never Before Seen Photos of That Time When Hepburn Stood Next to Swifty Lazar!)
Take the case of Rihanna, who more than a year ago suffered assault via dashboard, care of now ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. That attack has been settled -- Brown has offered at least half a dozen non-apologies, and Rihanna has changed her hair -- but somehow, the story lives on. Why? Not because of any legitimate need to know, but because there are, apparently, new photos.
Well, OK, they're old photos, but no one has seen them, and that makes them news.
How do we even know there are photos? Because, per Radar Online, someone is shopping them around, of course. The photos were taken while Rihanna was still in the hospital and reportedly show a rainbow of cuts and bruises.
So far, no news outlet has agreed to buy or display the photos, but we're sure taking bets on who will stoop that low.
-- Leslie Gornstein
Photo: Rihanna attends the Miu Miu ready-to-wear spring-summer 2011 show in Paris on Oct. 6. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
