Kim Kardashian dusts off red carpet powder bomb incident

Kim Kardashian has a signature cupcake at a chic Beverly Hills sweets shop, but the reality star got a lot closer to baking on Thursday night than she would have liked.

A random woman attended the launch of Karashian's new fragrance at a West Hollywood hotel and flour-bombed the famous divorcee.

"That probably is the craziest, unexpected, weird thing that's happened to me," Kardashian told E! Online of the incident.

Motive is unclear on behalf of the mystery woman, who was swiftly escorted from the premises of The London Hotel after spraying Kim with the white powder, but red carpet reporters allegedly heard some complaints about fur.

Lucky for the bold powder tosser that Kim's sister Khloe wasn't around, or she would've thrown down, according to her Twitter account.

"I wish I was with my sister tonight. I bet you that woman wouldn't have dared tried a thing...," she wrote.

Kardashian hopped right back on the carpet after a quick dust-off, chatting up her True Reflection scent, and has no plans to press charges.

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Photo: Kim Kardashian, left, and mom Kris Jenner in Dubai in October. Credit: WireImage.

Whitney Houston: Death an accidental drowning; cocaine found in system

For the saga of Whitney Houston's sudden death in February, a sad conclusion came on Thursday: An autopsy confirms accidental drowning as the official cause, and a screening revealed cocaine in the singer's system. 

L.A. County Chief Coroner Craig Harvey also confirmed marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril (a muscle relaxant) and Benadryl in Houston's system, though those drugs weren't connected to her death.

While the amount of cocaine Houston took is still being determined, the coroner's report said the drug "exacerbated her heart condition."

Just two days before this year's Grammy Awards telecast, Houston's body was discovered in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles. The music industry and fans worldwide mourned the singer for weeks, as did her famous peers.

Houston was survived by daughter Bobbi Kristina, who inherited her estate.  

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Photo: Whitney Houston onstage during the taping of "25 Strong: The BET Silver Anniversary Celebration" in 2005. Credit: Vince Bucci / Getty Images

Gwyneth Paltrow denies she used ghostwriter for cookbook

Gwyneth Patlrow is swatting off reports that she used  a ghostwriter for her popular (and very personal) cookbook "My Father's Daughter."

This weekend, Paltrow took to Twitter to call out the New York Times' dining section for suggesting that the book, inspired by and dedicated to the memory of her late father, Bruce, was largely written by Julia Turshen. 

"Love @nytimes dining section but this weeks facts need checking. No ghost writer on my cookbook, I wrote every word myself," she tweeted on Saturday. 

In a piece from March 13 headlined "I Was a Cookbook Ghostwriter," the paper names Turshen as a writer on "Daughter" and says she's currently assigned to a second book with the "Contagion" actress. (Paltrow has confirmed a second cookbook in various interviews but not Turshen's involvement).

Paltrow detractors are pointing to a dedication to Turshen in "Daughter" that says Paltrow could "not have written this book without the tireless, artful assistance of Julia Turshen, who stood over my shoulder at the stove and chopping block for the better part of a year, bringing a method to my freestyling madness."

If you ask the Ministry, this sounds like Turshen assisted heavily in the creation of dishes and their relatability to the reader. Many of the sections (side dishes, entrees, a guide to stocking a pantry) are accompanied with sweeping narratives from Paltrow's own life. Then there's the text on ingredients and how to execute the recipes. Quite frankly, all that gray area crowds our palate. 

Tell us your thoughts on the cooking kerfuffle in comments. Or just stop talking and just cook the food already, like this delicious Baja style family dinner.

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Photo: Gwyneth Paltrow attends the opening of Louis Vuitton - Marc Jacobs: The Exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris on March 7. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

 

Chris Brown tweets happy birthday to Rihanna — who accepts

A birthday wish in 140 characters or less would seem harmless enough, but not in the case of Chris Brown and Rihanna.

The former couple made some waves this weekend with an exchange on the social media service that's simple in sentiment but complicated given their back story.

"Happy Birthday Robyn!" Brown tweeted (warning: responses may contain profanity) on Sunday to the "We Found Love" singer, full name Robyn Rihanna Fenton. Rihanna responded with a "Thanks!" — but the fan reaction that prompted seconds after was a lot more, uh, animated.

From profane cries of disgust to emoticon-laden messages of hope, the mixed reactions are understandable. In 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in a now-famous Grammys eve altercation in Hancock Park — one that left the singer badly beaten, especially on her highly visible face.

The tweets, which marked Rihanna's 24th b-day, come on the heels of speculation that Brown will appear on an upcoming remix track from Ri's latest album, "Talk That Talk."

Is it appropriate for the former duo to tweet at each other? Or collaborate musically, for that matter? Tell us in comments.

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Left photo: Chris Brown on "Good Morning America." Credit: ABC

Right photo: Rihanna performs in London. Credit: Associated Press

Amanda Knox lands book deal with reported seven-figure advance

Amanda Knox has landed herself a book deal, after numerous publishing houses battled for the rights to the American student's memoir.

Knox was cleared of murder in October in an Italian appellate court, after years of turmoil surrounding the death of Meredith Kurcher, Knox's roommate at a study-abroad program in Perugia, Italy. 

A tabloid sensation (and inevitable Lifetime movie), Knox and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were both convicted of the crime. The conviction was later overturned and both were released. 

Knox was shipped back to her sleepy hometown outside Seattle, where requests for explosive first interviews and this very book deal have been pouring in. No word from publisher HarperCollins on when the book will hit shelves, but the advance is reported to be in the seven-figure range. 

In terms of content, expect musings on her life before Kurcher's tragedy, her police questioning and life in the clink. Would you read Knox's book? Tell us in comments.

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Photo: Amanda Knox speks at a news conference shortly after her arrival home at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle in October. Credit: Elaine Thompson / Associated Press

Mark Wahlberg's 9/11 gaffe: 'I was there to talk about the movie'

Mark Wahlberg has apologized and apologized again for ill-considered remarks about what he might do if he were on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

On Friday, the "Contraband" star put a little context around his remarks, and his apologies -- and described the role of the journalist who conducted the interview in question.

"Because of the fact that I had a reservation on one of those flights, it's always a topic of conversation," Walhberg noted in a chat with WPLJ-95.5 radio's morning team, coming off 13 hours of work.

This past week, with the release of promotional blurbs for the Men's Journal interview in which he made the comments, "I got blindsided by the fact that people thought I was being disrespectful to the victims of 9/11 and that was, to me, a horrific thing and i wanted to address it right away," Wahlberg said. Hence, the quick apologies.

The gaffe, for those who missed it? "If I was on that plane with my kids," Wahlberg told the magazine, "it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry.'"

So how did those ill-considered words make their way out of his mouth?

"I've got this journalist who's asking all the questions, and I'm trying to promote a movie and he's asking me, you know, about sex and this and that and I'm like, dude, I've got a wife and four kids and this is not appropriate. ... It wasn't a Q&A, it wasn't like all of a sudden I decided I was going to get on this soapbox and talk about my opinion about 9/11. I was there to talk about the movie," Wahlberg explained.

Before the radio interview aired, several families of 9/11 victims told the New York Post they thought an apology was great, but that Wahlberg should use the opportunity to publicly visit the 9/11 Memorial and possibly help with fundraising for the memorial and museum.

On Wednesday, Wahlberg told TMZ, "To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with," adding, "I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention."

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Photo: Mark Wahlberg at the 69th Golden Globe Awards show Sunday. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Sandra Bullock lured back to acting, felt 'permanently broken ... time-wise'

This post has been corrected, as indicated below.

Sandra Bullock is opening up about the time following the implosion of her marriage to Jesse James, a time, she said, when she thought she'd never return to acting. 

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" lured her back on set, but not without some persuasion from director Stephen Daldry.

Bullock had been at the center of the 2010 scandal that saw James' repeated infidelities revealed just days after her best actress Oscar win for "The Blind Side."

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"I was perfectly content to be permanently broken," she said. Recognizing how that might sound in print, she smiles at the unintended hint of her personal turmoil, and adds "time-wise" to clarify the break as one from moviemaking.

"I honestly didn't think I was in a place where I wanted to work or wanted to step out of where I was. ... I wasn't prepared. But the opportunity was louder than my head," Bullock told the Associated Press' Jake Coyle.

That loud opportunity was actually "Extremely Loud," a 9/11 drama costarring Tom Hanks. Daldry, director of "The Hours" and "The Reader," made a house call to Bullock to rope her into the job.

"I needed a partner in the project, somebody that would be a leading lady and look after me, look after herself, look after the character," he said.

Bullock, awesomely aware of the indulgent nature of movie-star struggles, said she now feels gratitude for being pulled from her personal storm.

 "So we had a great time. It's no longer 'selfish actress' in the moment," she said. "I wanted to have an amazing time with him and, fortunately, Mr. Daldry presented it. In every possible way, it was the best!"

[For the record, 11:35 a.m., Dec. 28: This post and its headline originally referenced the quote "permanently broken" from Bullock's interview with the Associated Press. During that interview, Bullock next added the word "time-wise." The full paragraph from that AP story has been included above for clarification, and the word "time-wise" has been added to the headline.]

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Photo: Sandra Bullock at the 2010 Academy Awards. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press

Hugh Grant says non-Murdoch tabloid also hacked his phone

This post has been corrected and updated, as indicated below.

Hugh Grant joined the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler in testifying before a British judge on Monday in the public inquiry into the journalism practices of the U.K.'s tabloids.

The actor claimed that a Mail on Sunday reporter hacked his cellphone in 2007. The revelation was notable in that it was the first time a paper not owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. was fingered for having reporters who would hack into notable personalities' phones in pursuit of exclusives.

Grant said that a 2007 story claiming his relationship with writer Jemima Khan was in trouble could have come only from phone hacking.

"I cannot for the life of me think of any conceivable source for this story in the Mail on Sunday except those voice messages on my mobile telephone," the actor said.

"If someone like me called the police for a burglary, a mugging, something in the street, something that happened to me or my girlfriend, the chances are that a photographer or reporter would turn up on your doorstep before a policeman," he continued.

The "Bridget Jones's Diary" actor also claimed that a detailed description of the interior of his London flat that appeared in the tabloids following a break-in and subsequent police visit could have come only from phone hacking.

Grant, who sued the paper owned by Associated Newspapers Ltd. for libel and won, did not have any hard evidence to prove that they had hacked his phone, but he said, "I'd love to hear the Daily Mail or the Sunday Mail's explanation of what that source was if it wasn't phone hacking."

[Updated, 5:10 p.m. Nov. 21: Associated Newspapers has denied wrongdoing in the stories referenced by Grant.]

The star of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "About a Boy" first generated public interest in the phone-hacking practices of British tabloids when he wrote an article in the New Statesman in April 2011, turning the tables on a former News of the World reporter and revealing the tab's shady practices.

Grant was joined by the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler -- hacking of her phone after she was abducted gave the family false hope that she was still alive -- whose case led to Rupert Murdoch shuttering News of the World permanently.

Grant isn't the only celeb expected to testify before senior judge Brian Leveson this week: "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling also will make an appearance.

[For the record, 5:10 p.m. Nov. 21: This post originally said the story about Hugh Grant's relationship with Jemima Khan, which he sued over in 2007, was published in the Daily Mail. It was published in the Mail on Sunday. The Daily Mail separately published a story recently about the birth of his child, featuring information Grant also alleged was acquired through phone hacking. Associated Newspapers has denied wrongdoing in the gathering of information for both stories.]

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Photo: Hugh Grant in 2009. Jens Kalaene / European Pressphoto Agency

Sasha Grey to critics: Porn past doesn't mean I'm bad for kids

Sasha Grey said she was just trying to help the children, but she's wound up waist deep in drama with a bunch of grown-ups.

Grey, a former adult-film star who more recently had a role on "Entourage," was participating in the Read Across America volunteer program, traveling to Emerson Elementary School in Compton this month to read to first and third graders.

But when parents learned of Grey's appearance, complaints started rolling in, nodding to her former work for a much more mature audience. Award-winning work, mind you, albeit hard-core. But instead of finessing the concerned parents, the school district made the bizarre move of denying she'd been on campus.

Officials first said Grey was never present, according to TMZ, the outlet that posted photos of Sasha. At Emerson Elementary. Reading to the kids.

"I committed to this program with the understanding that people would have their own opinions about what I have done, who I am and what I represent," Grey said in a statement, adding that her porn past does not define who she is.

One opinion from a parent, courtesy of KTLA-TV: "They could not find a fireman or a police officer? They had to get a porn star?"

Grey, however, has no plan to walk away from programs aimed at helping kids, saying she'll "remain an active supporter and participant in education-focused initiatives."

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Photo: Sasha Grey on Monday at a screening of the film "I Melt With You" during AFI Fest. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press

For Justin Bieber, loyal Beliebers may be the best birth control

Justin Bieber will soon take a paternity test in hopes of proving Mariah's Yeater's baby boy is not his — but before that happens, folks who've toured with him are backing up Bieber's assertion that there's no way he and Yeater could have hooked up privately for backstage sex.

Post show, Bieber is more focused on fleeing his sometimes-overzealous "Belieber" fan base.

"The security is so crazy there, you can't get backstage. And even if you got backstage, first of all, he leaves the show as soon as he's offstage, which is pretty cool," Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship, which opened for the 17-year-old on the My World tour, told MTV News. "He runs offstage, gets in a car and jets, because the whole city turns into chaos."

On the "Today" show last week, Bieber told Matt Lauer that he goes "from the stage right to the car" at the end of each show.

Max George of the Wanted, who toured with Bieber in South America, told a similar tale to the Mirror,

"Justin is like our adopted little brother; that's why I believe all this baby stuff is rubbish," George said. "Any spare time Justin had on tour, he'd joke around — crawling under seats and grabbing girls' ankles. It was hilarious."

This has been a really rough time for the young superstar, 23-year-old George added. "He's had the worst time of his life and handled it so well. Doing the paternity test shows how grown-up he's being about it."