Sylvester Stallone has been officially charged with trying to bring steroids into Australia on a recent trip to promote the latest Rocky installment. Stallone was detained at the Sydney Airport last month when a random baggage check uncovered several vials of human growth hormone in his luggage. After a search of the Rocky star's hotel room, limo and private jet, officials say they confiscated 48 vials of the steroid altogether. Stallone is due to enter a plea in the case on April 24, and faces a maximum fine of $22,000 if found guilty.
Courtney Love is being sued by a Newport Beach rehab facility over claims the rockstar failed to pay an outstanding $181,000 tab. In a suit filed in Superior Court, Beau Monde International claims that Love paid only $10,000 of a nearly $200,000 tab after entering the clinic in August 2005 for court-ordered treatment after violating probation.
A court official confirmed today that supermodel Naomi Campbell will be mopping floors at New York's Sanitation Department beginning March 19 in lieu of her sentence for throwing a cell phone at her housekeeper. Campbell is being allowed to serve her five-day sentence indoors after the paparazzi ruckus caused when Boy George swept streets for a court-ordered community service last summer.
Igby Goes Down actor Jeff Goldblum has filed for a restraining order against a 44-year-old female stalker. Goldblum filed documents in LA Superior Court Wednesday claiming the woman has "sent harassing and threatening letters, stalked me at various locations, physically attacked my employee and accosted me." The woman met Goldblum at an LA acting school where the actor is a teacher, started showing up at his gigs with his jazz band, and eventually showed up at Goldblum's house "unannounced and uninvited 20 times within the past month and over 50 times in the last three months," according to papers filed in court.
While his estranged wife Britney Spears was busy checking in and out of rehab, Kevin Federline has been taking steps to get custody of the couple's two children. KFed is due to appear in an LA court tomorrow for an emergency hearing, according to a Superior Court spokesperson, who said, "Our best information is he will be here, she won't. But anything is possible." The reason for the hearing has not been made public, but Federline's lawyer may convince the court that a custody hearing that would end the temporary joint custody granted at the beginning of February is urgently required. A rep for Federline says her client has no comment, but sources say the aspiring rapper called his mom last Wednesday and asked for help in looking after five-month-old Jayden James and 17-month-old Sean Preston. "He is beyond sad," says a friend of Federline. "This is the worst week of his entire life. He doesn't even want to pick up the phone. Things are beyond not well with Britney, and he still loves her." Spears's mom, Lynne is also helping to look after the kids. "Britney's family feels that Kevin has been a blessing and they are very impressed with Kevin taking so much responsibility," says a Spears family insider. "Britney's family found out from the news this morning that Britney had left rehab. Britney has not asked to see the kids because she knows she is not well and she does not want to scare [them]. She has no credit cards or cash. She is basically on the run at the moment." Calls to Spears's agent today were referred to her manager, who in turn referred them to the publicist at Spears's label, Jive Records, who left all inquiries unanswered.
An arraignment was held today in LA after Nicole Richie was officially charged with driving under the influence last week. Richie did not appear in court, but her lawyer pleaded not guilty to the charges on her behalf, despite his client telling police after her December 11 arrest that she had smoked pot and taken Vicodin. A pre-trial hearing has been set for April 2.
Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta was arrested for DUI after crashing into two parked cars in Pacific Palisades Saturday night. An LA police spokesperson confirmed Liotta was taken into custody at around 8:30 pm and booked on a misdemeanor DUI. The actor posted $15,000 bail before his release and is set to appear in court next month. No one was injured in the incident.
Nicole Richie has officially been charged with DUI. The Simple Life star was arrested on December 11 after being spotted driving the wrong way on a freeway in Burbank and admitted to police that she had taken Vicodin and had been smoking pot. She will be arraigned in LA County Superior Court on February 21.
Cameron Diaz has settled a lawsuit against the National Enquirer for a "substantial" amount of damages. In 2005, the tabloid alleged Diaz had had an affair with a married MTV producer while involved with then-beau Justin Timberlake. Photos of the actress in an alleged "smooching session" with Trippin' producer Shane Nickerson accompanied the story, which was posted on the Enquirer's website but removed after Diaz complained. "The National Enquirer now accepts that the photographs do not show Ms. Diaz and Mr. Nickerson kissing or in a passionate clinch, accepts that the relevant incident involved no more than Ms. Diaz giving a friend a goodbye hug and that any suggestion of a romantic involvement is entirely untrue and without substance," said the actress's lawyer. The Enquirer has "apologized unreservedly" for any distress caused to those involved.
A Florida judge has ordered Florida authorities to keep the body of Anna Nicole Smith until a DNA test has been performed. Smith's partner Howard K. Stern and mother Virgie Arthur are against the decision, arguing that the body will not be suitable for viewing purposes if it is not embalmed soon - a claim backed up by the Broward County medical examiner, who warned that Smith's corpse is decomposing rapidly. Lawyers for photographer Larry Birkhead assert that obtaining an accurate DNA test will not be possible if the body is released and moved out of Florida.
In other Anna Nicole news, her final film will be released on DVD in May. Illegal Aliens, a sci-fi comedy, stars Smith as one of three aliens who become "super-hot babes and arrive to protect the Earth from intergalactic forces of evil," according to press materials. The former Playmate reportedly invested in the film herself and was active in the scripting of her character. Her now-deceased son Daniel is listed as an associate producer. A spokesperson for the film's distributor says the timing of the DVD release is coincidental and that Smith had planned to be a part of its publicity campaign.
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Paris isn't the only Hilton with legal troubles...little sis Nicky Hilton is being sued by a Chicago development company for breach of contract over a hotel project. In a lawsuit filed yesterday, the company alleges Hilton has broken an April 2006 agreement to promote one of her Nicky Hilton Hotels, called Nicky O's Chicago. The suit also claims that Hilton contracted out interior design work she had agreed to do herself and proceeded to charge it back to the developer, and that the heiress misrepresented her own hotel design experience. Hilton's rep says neither he or his client had seen the lawsuit. "Things are not always as they appear," the PR pro said. "When the facts surrounding this matter are known to the public I think you will find out that the person who has been most impacted by this action will be Nicky Hilton... In the meantime, I don't think anybody should draw any conclusions based on the simple filing of a lawsuit."
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The investigation into Nicole Richie's DUI arrest has been turned over to the LA District Attorney to determine whether the Simple Life star should be charged in the case. California Highway Patrol officials would not disclose any details of the investigation, but the fact that the DA is reviewing the case may mean Richie could face a felony charge. Richie was arrested in early December for driving the wrong way on the Ventura Freeway and admitted to police that she had taken Vicodin and had been smoking pot. A tentative hearing has been scheduled for February 7, assuming charges are filed against Richie.
A $50 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Brandy by the parents of a woman killed in a car accident involving the talent show host. The suit alleges Brandy "was driving recklessly" when she rear-ended a car on an LA freeway which caused a chain reaction that ultimately killed the woman. Yesterday, investigators publicly recommended Brandy be charged with vehicular misdemeanor manslaughter without gross negligence. "The accident was a terrible tragedy and Brandy's heart goes out to [the victim]'s family," the singer's rep said in a statement. "But for legal reasons we cannot comment on this lawsuit." Brandy could face up to a year in jail if charged and convicted.
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An LA judge ordered yesterday that the dispute between Jennifer Lopez and her first husband Ojani Noa over Noa's proposed tell-all book be settled in private arbitration. Noa claims his book, The Unknown Truth: A Passionate Portrayal of a Serial Thriller, wouldn't be encompass intimate details of the couple's sex life but would be "my story...of meeting her, being in love...and the pain" of her alleged infidelity. "I am not the type of person to write something sexually like that," the ex-waiter said. "They say I am going to damage her name. I would never do that." When asked if his manuscript contained claims Lopez cheated on him, Noa told the New York Daily News, "Everyone in town knows about the cheating... I would tell about the pain I felt." Both parties are to return to court at the end of July to report the progress made in private arbitration.
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Former supermodel Niki Taylor has filed a slander suit against E! Entertainment, alleging fraud, breach of contract and invasion of privacy against the network. Taylor was allegedly told that as the subject of the premiere episode of the show Blvd. of Broken Dreams, her professional endeavors including a fragrance, clothing line, cosmetics line and charitable foundation would be featured. The model claims that instead, producers characterized her as someone "who risked everything...and lost," and focused on her personal tragedies and hardships. "My life is far from a 'boulevard of broken dreams,'" said Taylor in a statement. The episode of the series went to air despite repeated demands from Taylor's lawyers that it be pulled. "They neglected their journalistic obligations to report truthfully and accurately; they violated express promises they made to the plaintiff, supermodel Niki Taylor; and they demonstrated a reprehensible disregard for the substantial harm their actions would cause to Ms. Taylor," claims the suit.
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Paris Hilton was sentenced to 36 months probation, a $390 fine and an alcohol education program today in LA Superior Court on charges of DUI. The socialite was a no-show in court but entered a plea of no contest via her lawyers, who told the judge Hilton would rather fold than fight. The heiress was also given the option of completing probation in 24 months if she does 40 hours of community service.
Naomi Campbell pleaded guilty today in a Manhattan court to misdemeanor assault for hitting a maid, telling the judge, "I threw a cell phone in the apartment. The cell phone hit Ana. This was an accident because I did not intend to hit her." Campbell was sentenced to five days of community service, attendance at a two-day anger management program, and required to pay the plaintiff's $363 in medical expenses.
Kim Basinger may face sixty days in jail and a $12,000 fine when she makes an appearance in court tomorrow on twelve contempt of court charges. Basinger is accused of breaching a custody agreement she shares with ex-husband Alec Baldwin - who claims the LA Confidential actress failed to notify him when she was out of town and also failed to inform him when their daughter Ireland suffered an injury and required medical attention. Baldwin alleges the actress has a "pathological need" to keep Ireland away from her father, and that "her resentments are more precious to her than the emotional well-being of her child."
Paris Hilton pleaded not guilty in her arraignment on DUI charges earlier today. Hilton herself was not required to appear in court and her lawyer appeared on her behalf. The socialite was arrested in September for driving erratically and told the police she was hungry and had had only one drink on an empty stomach. Her next court date is January 23. "At this point, I expect the LA city attorney will eventually offer her a plea bargain to a lesser charge in which she'll do no jail time, no community service, and just pay a fine," her lawyer said.
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