'Octomom' kids raise exponential havoc on 'Today' show [Video]

"Octomom" Nadya Suleman explained the financial perks of her new career in boxing and fitness training on the "Today" show Friday while on set a handful of her 14 kids raised hell, at one point sending host Ann Curry out of her chair and toward the studio windows, chasing after one child while saying, "Oh no no no no no no no .. sorry sorry no no sorry sorry sorry sorry ...  ... no no no no ... that's not going to happen ... there you go there you go ...."

Eventually, mom and 9-year-old daughter Amerah bolted after two runaways who'd made a break for backstage. Meanwhile, various and sundry cast and crew members worked almost off camera to corral the octo-tykes, seven of whom had made the scene with their older sextuplet sister.

Suleman (she said she's a mom, not an "Octomom," and notes she's almost finished writing a book "all by myself," perhaps to better meet the kids' $15,000-a-month needs) also vigorously denied a recent InTouch report that quoted her as saying, "I hate babies, they disgust me," and, "My older six are animals, getting more and more out of control, because I have no time to properly discipline them."

The fun starts just before the 3:30 mark, with a fully blood-pressure-elevating level of chaos achieved by 7:30 or so. For what we like to think are obvious reasons, we're not embedding the later clip in which the crying starts.

Incidentally, Suleman said her children never behave like that at home, only when they've had only two hours of sleep due to traveling to be on the "Today" show. No word on whether Mom's "freeze" command is more effective on the West Coast. 

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-- Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville

 

PREACH IT! Exclusive: PETA offers to sponsor Lindsay Lohan at rehab

When we last left Lindsay Lohan, she was languishing at the Betty Ford Center, devoid of all hope and, apparently, of all cash. She cannot, she has claimed, afford the $50,000 she must pay for a three-month court-ordered stay at the rehab facility. Lohan also, if reports are to be believed, is seeking sponsors for her stay.

Like, say, "Sobriety, brought to you by Advil."

Enter -- of course -- People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals. PETA loves publicity almost as much as it loves the minks and the cows and the rabbits, and it has approached Preach It! with an exclusive bit of dish: It wants to help pay Lohan's Betty Ford bills. Up to $20,000 of it, to be exact.

Here are the details: If Lohan goes vegan for the entirety of her remaining rehab stint, PETA will chip in $10,000. The animal rights organization will throw in an additional $10,000 if she remains a vegan for a year afterward.

PREACH IT! Lindsay Lohan: Lowballed at $1 million? [poll]

Lindsay Lohan may have one gig lined up for after she gets out of rehab, but her long-term job potential is looking distinctly limp. Producers aren’t exactly lining up to hire her; fashion houses don’t seem to have much interest in lucrative endorsement gigs either.

Hunh. Go figure.

Still, Lohan, being Lohan, will likely not face poverty. According to a bit posted Wednesday morning in the Hollywood Reporter, OK! magazine is offering the actress a cool $1 million for her first post-pokey interview.

Much sanctimonious outrage is likely to ensue. That outrage will likely go in the wrong direction.

History indicates that, if anything, Lohan may be getting underpaid. After all, when a teenage ...

PREACH IT! Julia Roberts says she avoids Botox

Julia Roberts has emerged on the cover of Elle to inform us that she likes to steer clear of Botox.

"I want to have some idea of what I'll look like before I start cleaning the slates,” the 42-year-old actress tells the glossy. “I want my kids to know when I'm pissed, when I'm happy, and when I'm confounded. Your face tells a story … and it shouldn't be a story about your drive to the doctor's office."

"Eat Pray Lie"? Not necessarily.

There are some stars older than 40 who have shunned the knife and the needle. But they are rare. Very, very rare. Hollywood plastic surgeons have estimated to Preach It! that, among actors 40 and older, nearly 100% have had some contact with Botox or some filler, if not the scalpel.

Wesley Snipes' 3-year prison sentence for tax evasion is upheld

Wesley Snipes' three-year prison sentence for failing to file tax returns -- resulting in an unpaid tax bill of around $17 million -- was "well within" the "considerable discretion" of a U.S. District Court, a federal appeals court has decided. Which means the sentence stands.

Though found not guilty on federal tax fraud and conspiracy charges, Snipes was convicted of three misdemeanor counts in 2008 in Ocala, Fla., for failing to file tax returns. Thirty-six months was the maximum sentence possible.

The actor, famous for "Blade" and "White Men Can't Jump" but seen most recently in "Brooklyn's Finest," has been out on bail pending the decision of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Wesley Snipes, photographed in Santa Monica in February. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Related dispatches presented by the Ministry of Gossip:

Wesley Snipes may be helped by former financial advisor's arrest

Lots of celebrities have their day in court, or close to it.

 

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Mel Gibson sells his Connecticut estate home, finally

The real estate market is tough all over, even if you're Mel Gibson, who just unloaded his Connecticut estate property after three years of trying.

(Conveniently, the deal closed before an unknown someone unloaded audio tapes of a profane, raging Mel unloading a racist rant on ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva -- tapes submitted under seal to the court and also the object of a restraining order.)

The 16,000-square-foot house on 75 acres went for nearly $24 million, according to GreenwichTime.com, down from the original 2007 asking price of $39.5 million and a bit off from most recent price tag, $29.7 million. An area Realtor who'd shown the Old Mill Farm property told the website the place is wonderful, historic and, well, needs a little work. (See a video listing from when the asking price was $35 million, after the break.)

At least he'd owned the place for a while, and isn't suffering the fate of those who bought, rather than attempted to sell, in 2007, when for a few months at least $39.5 million might've still seemed like a deal.

Gibson bought the property in 1994 for $9.3 million.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

PREACH IT! Lindsay Lohan still has star power -- on Twitter, at least

People who think Lindsay Lohan’s star power has waned need to check their Twitter accounts.

Per Gawker, Lilo recently scored $10,000 to hype, via Twitter, a discount fashion company called Beyond the Rack. Unlike Lohan’s movie career, which is looking a little bleak beyond her planned Linda Lovelace biopic, this news is actually very impressive. Why? Because, in the world of celebrity-fueled adver-tweets, LiLo is commanding top dollar.

That’s right. Top dollar.

Earlier this year I spoke to a company that does nothing but match tweeters (famous and otherwise) with ad partners. The company told me that the highest-paid celebrity tweeters o’ the moment were Kim Kardashian and Soulja Boy, both of whom commanded about -- yes -- $10,000 per tweet.

The average celebrity tweeter, meanwhile, may command closer to four figures per paid tweet. And in the future, celebrity tweeters may get paid more -- $20,000 per missive, even, if it were someone really big. (I asked the company how much someone like me might get paid to tweet. I won’t embarrass myself by giving away the figure, but suffice it to say: It wouldn’t cover a decent dinner for two in Los Angeles.)

So, although there is plenty to say about Lohan’s sad state -- look no further than that alcohol monitoring bracelet, for one -- she’s still famous enough to be queen of the tweeters.

-- Leslie Gornstein

Photo: Would you shop where she says she shops? Lindsay Lohan on the job at a sponsored women's fitness retreat June 11 in Beverly Hills. Credit: John Shearer / Getty Images for Muscle Milk

If you want to catch up on what it's like livin' la vida Lohan, first read our comprehensive timeline leading up to her May 24 court appearance, then click here for Lindsay Lohan stories since then.

Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs) or 'Like' us into your news feed when you visit our our Facebook page.

PREACH IT! Kate Gosselin's 'DWTS' trauma: She does it for the kids

Poor Kate Gosselin. She really wishes she didn’t have to be famous, but she must be. The mother of eight has no choice, she insists, but to endure "Dancing With the Stars," and her upcoming reality show, and the absolutely mandatory five-figure makeovers, and the book tours. But not because she craves the attention. No. Make no mistake. Every second she suffers in the spotlight -- in the makeup chair, in a lonely green room filled only with gourmet bottled water and freshly catered food -- is all for the love of the children.

“I don't see another option,” Gosselin told Meredith Vieira in what has become a familiar refrain. “I have eight kids to provide for.”

Sure, at first glance, Kate is dealing with a pretty pricey litter of rug rats. According to one analysis, it could cost her and her ex, Jon, about $300,000 to raise each of their eight children to college age -- roughly $2.4 million total. If each of the kids also attends college, that’s at least another mil. So, Jon and Kate are facing, if the pundits are to be believed, at least $3.4 million in total costs to raise their kids.

But keep on crunching the numbers, and Kate’s Mother Theresa motives start to crumble. These are ...