Ricky Gervais sings and dances in '80s pop duo Seona Dancing!

We knew about "The Office," "Extras" and his various other shows but, oh, Ricky Gervais... why did you never tell us about this?

The controversial Golden Globes host and sharp-tongued comic used to be in the '80s synth duo Seona Dancing.  And for the '80s and its unfortunate hairstyles, he looked real good.

Watch the music video for the band's chart topping single "Bitter Heart" above. A bounty that will live forever on YouTube. And yes, it's really Ricky!

Maybe he sees this as an unwanted blemish on his less-than-squeaky-clean career, but we see it as a goldmine. Are you as in love with this version of Ricky as we are? Tell us in comments.

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— Nardine Saad
Twitter.com / NardineSaad

Rafael Nadal in jeans, Rafael Nadal in underwear -- we dare you not to look [Video]

 

Rafael Nadal wants to make your Tuesday better — or at least that's what the voices from the Ministry's division of Gratuitous Beefcake and Cheesecake are telling us.

Good lawd, world-class tennis player Nadal is showing off his, um, skills in a new commercial for Emporio Armani underwear and Armani jeans — his continued endorsement alongside women's brand rep Megan Fox.

Check out the steamy clip above, and then peep some previous ads from the Fox herself.

You're welcome.

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— Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

 

'Friends' Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston back in a big way

This post has been corrected. Please see the note at the bottom.

The cast of "Friends" is back to making headlines, this time with Matthew Perry leading the way with ratings love for the debut of his new sitcom, "Mr. Sunshine."

Thanks to a lot of hype and a lead-in from "Modern Family" on Wednesday night, 10.57 million viewers tuned in to watch the premiere of the ABC show, according to overnight ratings from Nielson Co.

The show stars Perry as a San Diego stadium owner and Andrea Anders as his love interest, who is his "Friends" costar Matt LeBlanc's real-life girlfriend.

(The 9:30 p.m. Wednesday premiere bar had been set pretty high in 2009 by another "Friends" alum, Courteney Cox, whose "Cougar Town" on ABC drew 11.28 million viewers in September of that year.)

Flip the channel to NBC, where LeBlanc shattered many a heart -- including Jay Leno's -- when he visited "The Tonight Show" and revealed that he'd started dyeing his hair black while "Friends" was in full swing. The star of Showtime's "Episodes" said he started dyeing the sides of his now salt-and-pepper locks in his mid-20s.

"Dyeing it on the show would take like an hour and a half," he said — so he got some Just for Men and started coloring it himself. It "takes five minutes, but then about a half-hour of paint-thinner to get the black off your ears," he said, laughing.

"This is shattering for those of us that loved the show," Leno said.

Another "Friends" fun fact: LeBlanc said he shut down production on the Emmy-winning show during "The One Where No One's Ready." He blew out his shoulder while performing "the safest stunt," in which Joey had to jump over the coffee table and land in the down chair that he and Chandler were fighting over.

Watch a clip here.

And now, we haven't forgotten Rachel Green.

Jennifer Aniston will be battling Justin Bieber at the box office this weekend when her new comedy, "Just Go With It," with Adam Sandler, opens against the Biebs' documentary, "Never Say Never."

Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer, where you at?

For the record, 5:35 p.m.: This post originally said "Mr. Sunshine" had bested "Cougar Town's" premiere-night ratings, with numbers given only for the Matthew Perry show. "Cougar Town" in fact premiered with 11.28 million viewers to "Mr. Sunshine's" 10.57 million.

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— Nardine Saad
twitter.com/NardineSaad

Photos, from top: Matthew Perry portrays Ben Donovan in a scene from "Mr. Sunshine." Matt LeBlanc as himself in "Episodes." Jennifer Aniston attends the premiere of "Just Go With It" in New York. Credits, from top: Michael Desmond / ABC; Colin Hutton / Showtime; Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images.

PREACH It! 'Family Guy' may employ manatees, but 'South Park' risks eating crow

No Cheesy Poofs for the producers of "South Park" this week: The people behind the hit show are being accused — for the second time — of essentially stealing material.

An outfit called Brownmark Films has filed a suit in U.S. District Court, alleging that the animated series ripped off a viral video that Brownmark released in 2007. The video was based on a Samwell song called — wait for it — "What What (In the Butt)/"

Per the Hollywood Reporter, "What What (In the Butt)" is one of the most viewed music videos of all time.

You're welcome.

In 2008, South Park did its own version of "What What (In the Butt)" — we'll type that as often as we like, thank you very much — in a sendup featuring the popular character Butters as a stand-in for Samwell. (I guess you had to be there.)

Brownmark is calling the spoof an infringement of its copyright, describing the sequence as "willful, intentional, and purposeful, in disregard of and indifferent to the rights of Brownmark."

(Comedy Central, for its part, says the sequence falls under the protection of free speech: "Courts have consistently recognized that parody enjoys broad protections under the First Amendment and the Copyright Act," it said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. "We believe 'South Park's' parody of the 'What What [In the Butt]' viral music video that appeared in the 2008 episode of 'South Park' entitled 'Canada on Strike' is fully protected against any copyright infringement claims under the fair-use doctrine and the First Amendment and we plan to vigorously defend those rights."
)

But like we've said, this isn't the first time the "South Park" crew has faced these kinds of accusations. Less than a month ago, show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker found themselves apologizing to writers Dan Gurewitch and David Young shortly after a very loyal take on a Gurewitch-Young video appeared on "South Park." Get this: The scene in question was a spoof of a spoof — of the movie "Inception" to be specific.

It's all very meta.

Anyway, for longtime fans of "South Park," this news may hold more than a touch of irony. After all, Parker and Stone have not hesitated to skewer other shows over lazy writing — "Family Guy," for example. One "South Park" episode, a two-parter called "Cartoon Wars," imagined the "Family Guy" writing staff as a pod of trained manatees who put together their jokes by tapping on brightly colored toy balls with random words on them.

It was a funny sequence. The manatees wrote terrible, incomprehensible gags that were nearly as bad as the stuff that actually airs on "Family Guy."

But at least no one has accused Seth McFarlane's crack sea-mammal writing squad of stealing their material.

— Leslie Gornstein

Top photo: "South Park" creators Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker. Credit: Michael Yarish / Comedy Central.

Right photo: The "Family Guy" writing staff? Not exactly. Credit: Associated Press.

 

PREACH IT! Snooki gives back to the community by writing her name

Ever wonder how wayward celebrities pay their debts to society? You know, community service? Do they pick up trash, maybe serve soup in a homeless shelter?

New Yorkers know the answer already, of course. The procedure goes like this: Throw a phone a flunkie, get a plea deal, rock a Day-Glo vest during a stint at a trash truck garage, and then turn it all into a fabu photo shoot for W magazine. Right, Naomi Campbell? Fine. But what about for those stars born without killer legs?

Well, now we know. Poor Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, who recently got nailed for public drunkenness, must suffer through her community service by — and we are not making this up — signing autographs for three hours.

Per E! Online, Polizzi will do her penance at Seaside Heights Community Center this weekend to sign autographs, charging $10 per signature to benefit animal charity Donations of Love.

Asked how exactly this constitutes punishment, Polizzi’s attorney, Raymond Raya, told E!, "It can be quite painful to sign autographs for three hours."

Sure. Almost as painful as having to pay 10 bucks to get that autograph.

— Leslie Gornstein

Photo: Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi at the Hampton Chic launch party Sept. 27 in Marina del Rey. Credit: Toby Canham/Getty Images.

 

PREACH IT! Don't cry, Katy Perry — 'Sesame Street' would boot Miss Piggy too

So Katy Perry's clothes are too slutty for "Sesame Street," eh?

Behold, for we give you the stupendous chest action regularly sported by one Miss Piggy. Piggy was never on "Sesame Street," of course, but she was the female children's Muppet icon for several generations, and she also happens to like her necklines low and tight -- even tighter and lower than the stuff we can show you here. When she isn't squeezing her stuffing into a satin call-girl dress (often complete with cigarette holder) Piggy amuses herself with violence, karate-chopping anyone who happens to point out anything but how pretty she looks.

If you're under 18, do not look directly at these photos. Do not.

-- Leslie Gornstein

Photo credits, from left: Alan Greth / Associated Press; Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times; Todd Eberle / CBS; Sesame Workshop / ABC

Related dispatch from the Ministry of Gossip:

Katy Perry on 'Sesame Street' -- see her cleavage for yourself [video]

Forget sexy. Cameron Diaz is bringing sex back.

Finally! The coveted secret is out on how Cameron Diaz manages to maintain those gazelle-like legs and that red carpet-ready glow. 

Get out the pad and paper. Are you ready? It's one word, three letters: Sex!

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of people everywhere canceling their gym memberships!

The 37-year-old actress tells British Vogue in its July issue, "The fountain of youth [for me], let's see.... I guess it's exercise, healthy diet, lots of water, lots of laughter, lots of sex -- yes, sex, we need that as human beings. It's healthy, it's natural, it's what we are here to do!"

But that’s not to say she’s totally against plastic surgery if time doesn’t take kindly to her features: “I'm not doing anything right now," she tells the mag. "But we'll see. So far, so good. But I'll never say never to anything."

Though she’s not shy when it comes to sex, she’s less forthcoming when it comes to dishing on her love life. The “Knight and Day” star was tight-lipped when it came to mentioning rumored beau Yankees Alex Rodriguez. When asked if she’s in love, she coyly replied: "You know what? Yes I am. I'm in love with life." 

Oh, Cameron! You're such a tease!

--Yvonne Villarreal

Photo credit: British Vogue

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

Lunchtime snack: The adorable Emma Stone in 'Easy A'

Our cynical little hearts be still -- just in time for the weekend, we have the perfect lunchtime confection that literally made our day.

Emma Stone has been a heat-seeking Judd Apatow sweetheart, second string to Anna Faris and a zombie fighter with Woody Harrelson. Now, thankfully, she's got her own starring vehicle with "Easy A."

With Stone playing a high school version of Hester Prynne, the flick is an update of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." In the viral clip above, we're introduced to Stone's character, Olive Penderghast.

See her charm in the clip above, with some help from Natasha Bedingfield, (take me awaaaay), and look for "Easy A" in theaters Sept. 17. 

-- Matt Donnelly