South African resident Guy Hobbs is suing Elton John and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin for allegedly stealing the lyrics for John's 1985 hit, "Nikita," the Chicago Sun-Times reported. A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Chicago claims Hobbs' 1982 song, "Natasha," is about "an impossible love affair between a Western man and a Russian woman during the Cold War." John's song is about a Western man who develops a crush on an East Germany border guard. Hobbs claims "Nikita" used "substantial, original portions" of his song.
Action Comics writer Grant Morrison told Playboy magazine that maybe those rumors about Batman and Robin aren't so crazy after all, according to the Huffington Post. "He's very plutonian in the sense that he's wealthy and also in the sense that he's sexually deviant," Morrison told the magazine. "Gayness is built into Batman. I'm not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. ... Obviously as a fictional character he's intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay."
Appearing on Today as part of that show's Professionals panel April 24 with Donnie Deutsch and Star Jones, Rosie O'Donnell said that Lindsay Lohan is "not capable" of portraying Elizabeth Taylor in a movie. When Deutsch called Lohan "our generation's Elizabeth Taylor," O'Donnell responded, "You're out of your mind. You're a crackhead! The last thing she did good she was 16." After controversy ensued, O'Donnell said a couple days later on Today that she thinks Lohan is talented and "worth saving."
The New York City brownstone at 64 Perry St. that served as character Carrie Bradshaw's original home on Sex and the City has sold for $9.8 million, People.com reported. ( Producers later switched to the place next door at 66 Perry. ) The 4,100-square-foot, four-story West Village home has four floors and six fireplaces. The house is featured as a stop on the popular Sex and the City tours around Manhattan. Also, Project Runway's Tim Gunn once lived in an upstairs apartment in the building.
Professional baseball player Brandon McCarthy took to Twitter after a Kiss Cam ( which has two spectators in the stadium-wide camera kiss ) focused on two men, according to AOL Sporting News. McCarthy tweeted, "They put two guys on the 'Kiss Cam' tonight. What hilarity!! ( by hilarity I mean offensive homophobia ) . Enough with this stupid trend." He also said that such gags are counterproductive to campaigns such as the "It Gets Better" program.
GLAAD issued a statement praising Hulu for the website's new LGBT category heading on the free, ad-supported Hulu and Hulu Plus, according to a press release. Implemented as a navigational tool to facilitate easier access to Hulu's LGBT-film offerings, this new category heading arose out of an initiative spearheaded by LGBT film distributor Wolfe Video. "Making such groundbreaking and popular LGBT films available and accessible to a wider audience can have a tremendous impact on LGBT people longing to see relatable stories onscreen," said new GLAAD President Herndon Graddick.
Thomas "Tommy" Marth, 33, the saxophonist for the rock band The Killers, committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to a Chicago Tribune item. The Killers, which includes lead singer Brandon Flowers, rose to fame eight years ago with the debut album Hot Fuss, which includes the song "Mr. Brightside."
British X Factor contestant Joe McElderry—who came out after his Twitter account was hacked—has been the victim of homophobia again, Pink News reported. Scottish Twitter user Bryden Morgan posted to the star, "ahahaha nice success you've had after x-factor you gay ****!!" Morgan initially seemed contrite but then blamed the post on gay-rights activists. McElderry won X Factor in 2009, and won the show Popstar to Operastar last year.
TV Land has ordered 12 more episodes of Happily Divorced, the sitcom starring Fran Drescher as a woman who re-enters the dating world after finding out her husband is gay, according to Deadline.com . The order brings the second season of the show to 24 episodes. Drescher and ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobsen ( about whom the show is based ) are writers/executive producers; they had previously co-created The Nanny.
Lindsay Lohan reportedly angered the cast and crew of the TV show Glee by showing up six hours late to shoot her scenes April 25, US Magazine noted. A source said of Lohan, "She came to set with a million demands and was not prepared to work." Dot Marie Jones, who plays Coach Beiste, tweeted ( and later deleted ) , "Gonna be a long day!! Some ppl show up late and just throw a wrench in things. Not cool!" Lohan is slated to appear in the May 15 episode alongside Perez Hilton and Rex Lee.
Singer Susan Boyle was left "terrified and shaken" after an obsessed fan tried to break into her hotel room in Liverpool, England, the Daily Mail reported. After a performance in her musical, I Dreamed A Dream, at the Empire Theatre fans had gathered at the hotel waiting for her. However, she opted to take the stairs—and that's when she realized a man was following her; however, she made it to her room safely, even as the man reportedly "made a dash for her door."
Justin Timberlake is apparently expanding from movies and music by launching a home-goods line, PhillyBurbs.com reported. Timberlake, 31, is launching HomeMint.com with longtime interior designer Estee Stanley, who he says is "like the sister that I never got to terrorize" in an interview with ELLE Decor. The line will be available to consumers beginning in May.
Fashion design house Betsey Johnson LLC has filed for bankruptcy, and most of its 63 boutiques will close over the next few weeks, the Daily Mail reported. The company is also expected to lay off 350 staffers. Johnson will remain creative director of the brand, however, and will continue to design for her more moderately priced Betsey Johnson sportswear and accessories labels, which Macy's sells. The designer, 69, will soon start shooting a reality show.
Designer Calvin Klein, 69, has sent former boyfriend Nick Gruber, 22, off to rehab after Gruber allegedly stashed cocaine in his own underwear and physically attacked another man, according to the Daily Mail. After the 20-year-old victim called police to the scene, authorities noticed Gruber shoving his hand down his pants; a strip search revealed the drug. Klein flew Gruber on his private jet to The Meadows clinic in Arizona; the facility costs $35,000 a month.
Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC ) sponsor Anheuser-Busch has threatened to pull its advertising if the UFC doesn't pursuade its fighters and commentators to tone down some of their homophobic and sexist language, Advocate.com reported. A statement from the company said Anheuser-Busch "embraces diversity and does not condone insensitive and derogatory comments rooted in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc." Among other things, fighter "Rampage" Jackson told a Japanese fan to say, "I'm a fag."
HBO plans to air "an intimate look at the life and career of [ 41st President ] George H.W. Bush" in the film 41, set to air in June, according to the Washington Post. In the documentary, Bush, 87, talks about his life's highs and lows. Bush pal Jerry Weintraub, who is executive-producing the film, said, "There's no political stuff in it."
Actor James Van Der Beek is among the latest celebrities to pose for the NOH8 campaign, according to GregInHollywood.com . The campaign is photographer Adam Bouska's gallery of silent protests from more than 13,000 people that began the weeks following California's passage of Prop 8. Van Der Beek, who initially achieved stardom in the '90s TV show Dawson's Creek, is earning raves by playing himself in the ABC series Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23.
Lifetime's critically acclaimed hit series Drop Dead Diva returns for a fourth season with 13 new episodes premiering Sunday, June 3. Joining the series' roster of top-name guest stars is Kim Kardashian, who makes her multiple-episode debut in the season opener. The one-hour comedic drama tells the story of a shallow wannabe model who dies in a sudden accident only to find her soul resurfacing in the body of a brilliant, plus-size and recently deceased attorney, Jane.
Bernadette Peters will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Award, and Hugh Jackman and the Actors' Equity Association will receive special awards at the Tony Awards June 10, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Stevenson Award is for an individual from the theater community who has made a substantial contribution to humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations. Jackman, a Broadway star himself, has raised record-breaking amounts for Broadway Cares; Actors' Equity will mark its 100th anniversary in June.
Kevin Spacey is among the names involved in E!'s first slate of scripted series, according to TheWrap.com . Those shows include Anne of Hollywood ( the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII set in present-day California ) and the Spacey-produced Silicon Valley drama Upstarts. Other shows include a reality show about singing brother Kevin Jonas and the scripted show The 400, about the rise of the Vanderbilt dynasty in 1890s New York.
Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth and Emmy winner Jim Parsons announced the nominees for the 66th Annual Tony Awards May 1 in New York City, according to Playbill.com . Once, the musical based on the movie of the same name, got 11 nominations while two Gershwin musicals, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and Nice Work If You Can Get It, earned 10 nominations apiece. Spider Man Turn Off the Dark earned only two nods: Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Costume Design of a Musical. The awards will air June 10; Neil Patrick Harris will host.
The daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful is incorporating a lesbian storyline, according to TV Guide. In mid-May, it will be revealed that Joanna Johnson's character Karen Spencer—known to viewers since 1991—has been quietly living as a lesbian for years, married to Danielle ( played by Daytime Emmy winner Crystal Chappell ) . Executive producer/head writer Bradley Bell said that, character-wise, the lesbian relationship "is a big issue for the Spencer men, and Karen just didn't want any negativity from her brother." Bell also promised same-sex lip-locks.
Robert Linhart, an ex-firefighter who has stalked Madonna, may be back in court on weapons charges, according to the New York Post. Linhart had been busted in September 2010 after he twice parked outside the singer's New York City apartment, opened cans of paint and started making professions of his love. After the case against Linhart was dismissed last month, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bonnie Wittner has agreed to revisit the case. He faces felony weapons charges associated with the 2010 arrest.
