George Michael released after four weeks in prison

Singer George Michael was released from prison Monday after serving four weeks of an eight-week sentence for driving under the influence of drugs.

"I'm coming out here on my own so that you realize I just want to start again," Michael said Monday to members of the media gathered outside his home in North London, according to multiple reports. "I'm going to try and stop running away from you guys." He also thanked those who supported him, calling it "quite inspiring."

The old jailhouse clock may run a bit slower in other time zones than here in the Land of Lohan, but his release on parole halfway through the sentence was expected at the time the term was handed down.

Regarding his time behind bars, the former Wham! frontman said in a statement last week that he'd "been treated with kindness by fellow inmates and prison staff alike and, as far as I can tell, have received no special treatment of any kind whatsoever, unless, of course, some of the guys here are letting me win at the pool table."

Michael, who had to pay a fine of almost $2,000, cannot drive for five years. He was arrested in July after running his Range Rover into a storefront, and entered a guilty plea in late August.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Photo: Singer George Michael outside his house in North London after being released from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk on Monday. He'd gone behind bars on Sept. 14. Yui Mok / Associated Press

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

George Michael wafts off to jail for 2nd marijuana DUI [poll]

George Michael arrested on suspicion of unfit driving

 

George Michael wafts off to jail for 2nd marijuana DUI [poll]

George Michael has been sent to jail. And when he gets out, he can't drive for five years.

The singer, who in late August pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and possession of marijuana, was sentenced in London on Tuesday to eight weeks in jail and a fine of almost $2,000. He'll serve four weeks behind bars, then four on parole, the Associated Press reports. 

"It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis," the judge said. "That's a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk."

Michael, whose lawyer said he felt "profound shame and horror" over the incident, had been ...

Rapper T.I. and wife Tiny arrested on drug possession charges in West Hollywood

Rapper and "Takers" actor Clifford "T.I." Harris and his new wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle were arrested Wednesday night in West Hollywood on suspicion of felony drug possession, L.A. Now reports.

The two were pulled over on Sunset Boulevard after making an illegal U-turn in their Maybach, TMZ says. Deputies "smelled a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle," the Sheriff's Department said in a statement, and the car was searched for drugs.

T.I., 29, is still on probation for weapons possession -- he was arrested in 2007 after attempting to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers from a federal agent. He was released from an Arkansas prison to an Atlanta halfway house in December after serving seven months and in March had completed his 366-day sentence. His record includes a litany of other arrests and convictions since 1998.

Tiny and T.I. were married at the end of July in a weekend-long celebration that included three ceremonies and two parties.

The Sheriff's Department didn't name the specific drug or drugs allegedly involved, but TMZ had  speculated, based on ...

Wynn bans Paris Hilton from resorts, fires Cy Waits [poll]

Paris Hilton is no longer welcome at the Wynn or Encore resorts, a Wynn spokeswoman said Tuesday, and the socialite's nightclub-entrepreneur boyfriend Cy Waits has been ditched as a managing partner at the properties' Tryst and XS nightclubs. 

This comes in the wake of their arrests Friday on the Las Vegas Strip -- Waits on suspicion of DUI and Hilton on suspicion of cocaine possession, a low-grade felony. The two were en route to his home in Henderson, Nev., after partying at XS, and Hilton asked to use the restroom at the nearby Wynn after they were pulled over. It was near Wynn security that a police officer saw 0.8 gram of coke fall from her purse, according to the police report.

Hilton was released on her own recognizance and is due in court Oct. 27, facing the judge who ...

Paris Hilton arrested for cocaine possession in Las Vegas

Paris Hilton was arrested late Friday night on suspicion of possession of cocaine after police noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the SUV she was in on the Las Vegas Strip and pulled the vehicle over, L.A. Now reports.

Cy Waits, Hilton's nightclub-entrepreneur boyfriend, also was with Hilton and was arrested on suspicion of drug-related DUI. Waits is the one who on Tuesday held a knife-wielding man at gunpoint outside Hilton's Sherman Oaks home until police arrived.

A crowd began to form around the arrest in progress after Hilton was recognized, according to Luxe Life. A small amount cocaine was allegedly found in her purse, though TMZ reports she's insisting now that the purse wasn't hers. She was released on her own recognizance after about three hours.

Waits and Hilton took a private jet from L.A. to Vegas on Friday afternoon. They'd been at the XS nightclub at the Encore that night, Luxe Life reports, and were en route to his home in Henderson, Nev., when they were arrested. Waits is an XS managing partner.

The smell of marijuana got Hilton caught up with the law in South Africa recently -- but that ...

George Michael charged with pot possession, unfit driving

George Michael, arrested after a July car wreck in London, was charged Thursday with pot possession and impaired driving, according to London's Metropolitan Police.

The singer, 47, had waited for police to arrive after allegedly ramming his Range Rover into a storefront on July 6. At the time, the Daily Mail reported that Michael had not been drinking and was not given a breath test.

Michael, who'd been prohibited from operating a vehicle for two years after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of drugs, was released on bail pending an Aug. 24 court appearance. 

-- Christie D'Zurilla

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: George Michael reads a statement outside a London courthouse on June 8, 2007, after he was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and banned him from driving for two years for driving under the influence of drugs.

Credit:  Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press

All sorts of stars have haunted the halls of celebrity justice -- check it out.

Drake redefines the corporate party -- and Anna Kendrick aims for his entourage?

As far as fabulous parties go, corporations can hit or miss in letting their hair down. BlackBerry's solution? Drake.

"I know these corporate parties are a little stiff," the rapper confessed in L.A. on Wednesday to a crowd that included Lea Michele, Mark Salling and Venus and Serena Williams, "so I brought something up on stage. Who wants to do a shot with me before this next song?"

And shoot he did, sharing the contents of an upscale bottle with a few lucky folks before belting out hits including "Find Your Love."

At one point, Drake made an astute observation about the name of the new phone he'd been tapped to help launch: "Who has a light? This party is called Torch," he said. "Let's get the pot going."

Though we didn't spy anyone partaking in funny cigarettes, we did spot "The Twilight Saga" actress and Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick taking a departure from her cutesy cocktail attire. She sported a casual hoodie -- hood drawn up around her face. Was it a bid to be down with Drake, Anna? 

Other notables included "Extra" host Mario Lopez with his pregnant lady Courtney Mazza, model Amber Valetta, "Entourage" lead Adrian Grenier, Rashida Jones, Nikki Reed and designer Jeremy Scott.

Would you hire Drake to perform at your party? Tell us in the comments section below.

-- Matt Donnelly

Photo: Drake arrives at the BlackBerry Torch launch party on Aug. 11, 2010, in Los Angeles. Credit: Getty Images

Get more scoop on hot soirees from the MInistry's Division of Fabulous Parties.

---

Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.

---

Anti-Semitic death threat by Mel Gibson alleged, debunked almost simultaneously [Updated]

Oksana Grigorieva says she told authorities that Mel Gibson made a hate-filled death threat toward a Jewish Hollywood figure who allegedly "humiliated him," Radar Online reported Friday — and TMZ chimed in with word that the allegedly endangered Hollywood figure cited in the story was none other than that website's chief, Harvey Levin, and that it had determined the story to be false.

TMZ reports that Grigorieva rep Steve Jaffe "spoon-fed" them the same story earlier this week, saying Oksana said Gibson told her he wanted the "blood of Jews" on his hands and that she'd reported it to the Sheriff's Department. TMZ says it checked out details of the story and they didn't wash. On Friday, Radar reported the "exclusive" story as the actor wanting "Jew blood" on his hands.

Levin says nobody ever warned him of a death threat, and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department told his website they never received any information of the sort.

[Updated: 3:30 p.m.: Sources close to the investigation also said that if everyone in Hollywood who theorized about killing Levin were arrested, the jails would be full and the studios empty.]

Perhaps shockingly — perhaps not shocking at all? — this alleged threat appears not to have been captured ...

Drugs reportedly found on Bret Michaels' tour buses

Marijuana and unidentified controlled substances were found on two of Bret Michaels' tour buses by police Wednesday night in Indiana, the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel reports.

The buses were pulled over near Ashley, Ind., for a problem with lights on one of the buses, police said. A K-9 team got positive results on walk-throughs of both buses, and the drugs were found in subsequent searches. Michaels was not on the bus where police say they found controlled substances, TMZ reports.

No arrests were made, and the tour buses were allowed to proceed; charges have been forwarded to the DeKalb County Prosecutor's Office, Chief Deputy Jay Oberholtzer told the News-Sentinel.

Michaels has gigs scheduled in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., on Thursday night and in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Bret Michaels in concert in Indianapolis on June 27. Credit: Steve Mitchell / EPA

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Bret Michaels hospitalized -- again -- with 'warning stroke,' hole in heart

Out of the hospital, Bret Michaels says he feels 'lucky to be alive'

'I think he'll outlive us all,' Bret Michaels' sister says

'Minor setback' for Bret Michaels during treatment

Via video, Lil Wayne pleads guilty in Arizona on a drug possession charge

As part of a plea agreement, rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty in an Arizona count Monday on one count of possession of a dangerous drug, appearing via video from a New York jail, the Yuma Sun reports. 

He had been facing charges of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the Yuma Sun, in connection with a January 2008 incident in which the Border Patrol stopped his tour bus and searched it.

With the plea, he could receive 36 months' probation and avoid Arizona jail time. The probation would begin when he's done serving time in New York.

Assuming all parties can avoid the type of complications that arose around Weezy's recent court dealings in New York, he'll be sentenced in Yuma, Ariz., on June 30.

Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, is currently incarcerated at Rikers Island.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Lil Wayne performs on Dec. 28, 2009, in New Orleans. Credit: Patrick Semansky / Associated Press

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Lil Wayne popped for 'music contraband' at Rikers Island

Lil Wayne checks in from prison -- via his new blog

Lil Wayne does a cameo with Lil Jeezy during Jay-Z's show

Lil Wayne gets another prison reprieve -- this time it's a fire

Cracked tooth delays Lil' Wayne's prison sentence

Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Facebook and Twitter (we're @LATcelebs). Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/ministryofgossip.

Cracked tooth delays Lil' Wayne's prison sentence

Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Facebook and Twitter (we're @LATcelebs). Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/ministryofgossip.