Times Square Gossip

Socialite Paris Hilton was visibly upset during an appearance on David Letterman's US TV show last Friday night, when the host refused to stop asking her questions about her recent jail stint. Hilton, who spent 23 days behind bars in June for violating her probation on a 2006 drink-driving charge, became increasingly uncomfortable and annoyed by Letterman's questions on 'The Late Show'. After six minutes of jail-related questions, the 26-year-old - who was on the show to promote her fragrance Can Can and upcoming film 'Repo! The Genetic Opera' - said: "There's other stuff to talk about Dave. I didn't come here to talk about this. That was a long time ago.""I'm sad that I came here."

Troubled pop star Britney Spears was ordered Monday to relinquish custody of her two toddlers to former husband Kevin Federline. The order by Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon was issued after lawyers met with him in a private session requested by Federline's lawyer. No reason was given for the order, but Federline has repeatedly pressed the court to act to take Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, away from Spears because of her erratic behaviour and problems with drugs and alcohol. Gordon has previously found that Spears is a "habitual, frequent and continuous" user of alcohol and controlled substances, and ordered her to submit to random, twice-weekly testing. A Celebrity website said that Gordon acted after Spears failed to follow his instructions to meet with a drug counsellor, submit to drug testing or enroll in parenting classes. The website said that the final straw came when she violated his order not to drive the children around without a va...

Eva Longoria has snubbed Hollywood legend Dame Elizabeth Taylor.The 'Desperate Housewives' star failed to turn up to present Taylor with her award at the 25th annual Macy's Passport AIDS/HIV fundraiser in Los Angeles on September 27. A Macy's Passport insider told E! Online: "She cried off at the last possible minute with the excuse that she had 'something else' on."We could kill her."I don't know what it was, I just know she absolutely f**ked us."The 32-year-old Texan actress was set to present Taylor - a founder of the charity - with the Macy's Passport Humanitarian Award for HIV/AIDS Activism. However, a representative for Eva insists the actress never confirmed her appearance.They said: "It was never official. She was trying to see if she could, but then, she couldn't. I'm not sure why."Stars who attended the event included Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Sharon Stone and Liza Minnelli. Meanwhile, a sex video which ...

Beyoncé Knowles has cancelled her Malaysian concert after she reportedly refused to cover up.The 'Crazy In Love' singer is said to have told promoters she was not willing to tone down her Kuala Lumpur show on November 1 to appease Muslim critics. Pineapple Concerts issued a statement on Friday announcing the cancellation but refused to give a reason.The 26-year-old star had been asked by Pineapple Concerts to make her show more "family friendly" following Muslim protests. Razlan Ahmad Razali, chairman of Pineapple Concerts, said: "We've informed Beyoncé's management about this issue of clothes, but it takes some of the fun out of it."Beyoncé won't be able to do the kind of show here that she does elsewhere."Tickets for Beyoncé's show at Kuala Lumpur's 9,000-seat Putra Stadium had not yet gone on sale.The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage introduced rules in 2005 stating female performers must show no skin from the tops of their...

Madonna is set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.The 'Hung Up' singer has been nominated alongside John Mellencamp, the Beastie Boys, Donna Summer, Chic, Afrika Bambaataa, Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures. Over 500 musicians, industry professionals and journalists will vote for which of the nine nominees they would like to see in the hall of fame.The five acts who receive the most votes will be inducted in a ceremony at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel next March. Madonna's nomination has attracted criticism because some music industry insiders do not consider her a rock and roll star.Music journalist Roger Friedman said: "Madonna is a steamroller because of the cult of personality. She's not a rocker, she has a thin voice and she doesn't write her own material. But she's a force of nature - there's no stopping Madonna when she wants something."

The man who plotted to extort over $1 million from Tom Cruise has been found dead. Authorities said David Hans Schmidt - who threatened to release stolen photographs of Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes if he didn't receive between $1.2 and $1.3 million - was found dead at his Arizona townhouse on Friday. Initial reports indicate Schmidt, who was under house arrest and faced up to two years in federal prison after agreeing to plead guilty to extortion, appeared to have committed suicide. Lieutenant Anthony Lopez said police officers visited his home at around 3pm after noticing a tracker placed on him had not moved and he had not checked in with police.The 47-year-old man - who had been released on $100,000 bail - had not yet entered his guilty plea in court, but a plea agreement to that effect was filed in Los Angeles on August 24. Schmidt also faced a fine of $250,000. Dubbed the 'Sultan of Sleaze', Schmidt was known for brokering deals involving compromising photogra...

Lindsay Lohan with dad Michael and mom Dina Lindsay Lohan is set to leave rehab to spend time with her father.The 'Mean Girls' actress - who is currently being treated in Utah's Cirque Lodge for drink and drug addiction - will spend five days of "quality time"with dad Michael at a secret location. Michael - who has successfully battle drink and drug addiction - will take his daughter away as part of the clinic's out-patient therapy program. He told the New York Daily News newspaper: "I'm looking forward to spending the next week with her. We've been in constant phone contact. She's in a great, great place now. I've never heard her so honest, remorseful and focused."Lindsay is weeding out all the bad. She is taking a step back and re-evaluating her life. What she tells - her honesty and openness - has brought me to tears. It's beyond words how proud I am of her."Sources close to Lindsay - who was reunited with her father last...

Pamela Anderson Pamela Anderson is set to marry for the third time.The 'Baywatch' actress and her professional poker player fiancé Rick Solomon - who famously starred in and released the Paris Hilton sex tape 'One Night in Paris' - were granted a marriage license in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon. The certificate, granted by Clark County's Marriage License Bureau, allows the happy couple to tie the knot any time in the next year. Earlier this month, Pamela, 40, told US TV chat show host Ellen DeGeneres she had fallen in love and was "engaged", but refused to reveal the identity of her new lover only saying he was a poker player. She claimed they started dating after she offered him sexual favors to payoff her gambling debt. Pamela was previously married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, who she has two sons with, 11-year-old Brandon and nine-year-old Dylan.The couple - who famously made their own X-rated movie - divorced after three years in 1998. Last s...

Viggo Mortensen has been mistaken for a member of the mafia.The actor - who plays a Russian mobster in new film 'Eastern Promises' -sports fake tattoos for the role and kept them on after shooting when he went out for dinner in London. However, his etchings stunned fellow diners, who thought he belonged to a notorious gang.Viggo told the New York Daily News newspaper: "I went into a Russian restaurant in London. People saw the tattoos and stopped talking. They must have thought I was a real mafia man. It happened a couple of times. After awhile, I figured I better wash off the ink before I went out to eat."Although those tattoos were fake, Mortensen does have a real piece of bodyart.The 'Lord of the Rings' star has an 'H' on his wrist as a tribute to his son Henry. Mortensen - who is now divorced from Henry's mother Exene Cervenka - said:"When he was little and he first started to write, he wanted to write Hs everywhere, all over my arms. It...

Nicole Richie Nicole Richie has enrolled on an 18-month alcohol rehabilitation program.The 'Simple Life' star - who is six months pregnant with her first child with her rocker fiancé Joel Madden - signed up to the course, known as the SB 38 Alcohol Program, last Tuesday. Nicole, 26, will undertake 52 hours of group counselling, bi-weekly one-on-one interviews and 12 hours of alcohol education classes.The SB 38 course is only available to people who have been convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) more than once over a seven-year period. Nicole was booked for DUI in December last year after she was spotted driving her black Mercedes SUV the wrong way down a California highway.In July, the star was sentenced to four days in jail and fined $2,048. She subsequently served just 82 minutes of her sentence at California's Lynwood Correctional Facility. Nicole recently told US journalist Diane Sawyer she is determined to maintain her new clean lifestyle for her unborn baby...

Ben Stiller says close friend Owen Wilson is "doing really well". Ben revealed his 'Zoolander' co-star is recovering well since he was rushed to hospital after attempting to commit suicide on August 26. He told US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres: "He's doing really well. I sort of like to protect his privacy, because I feel like it's his own thing. But he's a really good friend of mine. He's an incredible guy and I wish him, as everybody does, all the best."The friends were due to be reunited on screen for new comedy 'Tropic Thunder', but Owen pulled out after issuing a statement saying he was recovering from the incident. His role has now been filled by Matthew McConaughey. Ben's dad Jerry - who is a close friend of the Wilson family - is adamant Owen, 38, will make a full recovery. Speaking at the premiere of Ben's new film 'The Heartbreak Kid', in which he also stars, he said: "I was surprised to hear about Owe...

Ozzy Osbourne says his "world stopped" when he found out that John Lennon had been shot.The 'Black Sabbath' rocker has revealed he "couldn't describe" how he felt when he was told the Beatles legend had been assassinated. He told Britain's BBC Radio 1 Legends show: "The world stopped for me when Sharon told me that John Lennon had been shot in New York City. I can't even describe how I felt."If he was a politician, a soldier, anything else, it would be, 'Oh yeah,well he is in that kind of business,' but the amount of joy and hope that he gave people was just remarkable."Ozzy, 59, also said he would have loved to see the Beatles perform, and thinks they would have reunited if all four members - John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Sir Paul McCartney and the late George Harrison - were still alive. He added: "I often daydream about whether they would ever have reformed. I never saw the Beatles, I saw Paul McCartney play but never ...