Did anyone else see the series finale of "Shaq Vs.?"  It began with Shaq's self-declared nickname, Shaq-mu. Incidentally, next, the nearly 300-pound NBA star stuffed himself into a Speedo, proportionally scanty yet possessing enough cloth to drape the altars of St. Peter's. The finale ended with a swimming sprint against superstar Michael Phelps, who, despite skewed distances, defeated the 7'1'' submarine. Michael beat Shaq.

It's only fitting that as Shaq wraps his first season of multi-sport competition TV, his original opposition continues to barely stay afloat. Aaron Carter, who originally challenged Shaq with his nauseating breakout single "How I Beat Shaq," has further scarred his career, birthed upon the ridiculous lie that Mr. O'Neil could ever be beat.

The singer/famous younger brother/Google image search that conjures the phrase "meth face" is being sued by Signature Networks for not putting out a new album as planned... More >> ..

Looks like Stephen Baldwin wasn't getting paid much for his stint on "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here"-the actor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York on Tuesday, citing more than $2.3 million in debt, while his New York property is only valued at $1.1 million.

The 43-year-old actor, brother of "30 Rock" star and Emmy winner Alec Baldwin, owes about $1.2 million for two mortgages on his property, $1 million in taxes, and thousands of dollars of credit card debt. Maybe it's time for Stephen to call in a favor with his wealthy siblings.

Stephen seems to be having a tough time these days-first he finds out that a homeless man he had allowed to live on his property was trafficking heroin there, then he learns that the lending bank is foreclosing on his house, then he pulls a Heidi/Spencer by abruptly leaving his spot on the reality TV show "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" (apparently due to "extreme bug bites"), and now he's filed for bankruptcy... More >> ..

If you had to live in Phoenix, you might be speeding, too-in the other direction. Come on! Other than chilling in his air-conditioned crib, what does the Sunbelt have to offer the Shaq Attack?

My personal theory is that Shaq's been Twittering from behind the wheel. As I'm typing this blog, the guy has 1,088,675 fans on Twitter, and he's updated his Twitter feed almost 1,500 times. Surely some of those updates were made while he was driving (but that's just a guess). Plus, Shaq personally replies to hundreds of comments from fans, which is commendable-as long as he's not accidentally running over little old ladies in the process.

My conclusion: let Shaq keep doing what he's doing, and let him get all the tickets he wants. For a guy who chooses fan loyalty over laws and money, why not?

Who was at the coronation of Dana Elaine Owens, aka Queen Latifah? A doo-wop trio to sing backup? Maybe Prince? Her Heinous, Duchess Fergie? A pack of closeted lesbians?  
No matter the witnesses, a Grammy and an Oscar nomination later, Queen Latifah has met the challenge of her audaciously regal nickname and become a member of the Hollywood elite. Composed of one part powerful black woman, three parts down-to-earth approachability, two shimmery lips, and one belting alto voice, Queen Latifah's lovable image has bitch-slapped its way into our hearts.

 

Well, not everyone's heart. After her "easy, breezy, beautiful" CoverGirl campaign, some difficult, piercing, ugly backlash surfaced. Cosmetologist Roxanna Floyd and stylist Susan Moses filed separate lawsuits against Queen Latifah in a Manhattan courthouse this past Monday. Floyd claims that Ms. Owens failed to compensate her for over $700,000 for developing the star's CoverGirl makeup collection, while Moses reports that the singer/actress underpaid her by more than $300,000 for advising on her plus-sized underwear line, Curvaceous... More >> ..

Amidst the media frenzy surrounding the Jacksons, a bit of luck has finally swung their way-well, Janet's way. The $120-million-dollar lawsuit filed by Leonard Salati against Janet Jackson has been dismissed.  

 

The suit began because of an incident that took place back in February 2004 at Marquee in NYC. Salati claimed to have been roughed up by the singer's bodyguards after he tried to say goodnight to Jackson in the nightclub. Due to the lack of evidence against Jackson and her bodyguards, the judge threw out Jackson's part of the lawsuit. Apparently Jackson and her bodyguards kept their composure during the incident; the employees of the security firm hired by Marquee are the ones at fault.  

 

According to reports, Salati is not satisfied with the judge's decision and will appeal his lawsuit against Jackson. Considering the horrible circumstances besetting the Jackson.. More >> ..

Britney Spears has been dealing with legal issues for a long time. This particular mess started back in 1999, when she began working with (now former) manager Johnny Wright. Now she has to pay the Florida-based Wright $193,000 to compensate him for his legal fees, along with an undisclosed settlement.

 

Wright, who worked with Spears from 1999 to 2003, sued the singer, claiming that she breached their contract by failing to pay him between 2006 and 2008-never mind that he wasn't even working with her by then! A big chunk of the $193K is going to the gaggle of lawyers who worked on Wright's case.

 

Britney's comeback shouldn't be grounds for people to chase after her money. Good luck, Brit-we're pulling for you!

When Sacha Baron Cohen, in character as his flaming Austrian persona "Bruno," fell into Eminem's lap, bare-assed and upside-down, and mooned the hotheaded rapper just inches from his white face, a single thought floated through my head: "This man must have good lawyers."  

 

Reports have since confirmed that the act was completely staged, but the uncomfortable fragility of Cohen's characters remains. A man who has slandered America in front of ultrapatriotic rodeo-going crowds, poked holes in the pride of dignitaries during beauty-pageant-style interviews, and fooled catty members of the fashion world in Milan must have something powerful sweeping away his footprints and securing his multimillion-dollar empire, built as it is at the cost of others' public images.  

 

Most recently, a woman victimized in Cohen's upcoming movie (rumored to be titled Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt) has targeted the Ali G creator... More >> ..

Alexis Barry, former nanny to Robert De Niro's son Elliot, now 11, has sued the actor for more than $40,000 in unpaid overtime. Barry claims that she was fired when she threatened to quit.

 

The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, claims that Barry never received the10 vacation days she was promised in addition to the 750 penniless hours she worked beyond the call of duty.

 

De Niro's people said they couldn't comment, because they haven't seen a copy of the suit. Let's see how this one affects the production of Little Fockers, the next part of the Meet the Parents' series, due out in 2011.

After attending a star-studded tribute to legendary music producer Clive Davis at the Beverly Hills Hilton on Saturday night, the evening prior to the Grammy Awards, Chris Brown and Rihanna departed the event in Brown's vehicle. The pair apparently began bickering, and Brown pulled his car over in Hancock Park.
    
The fight escalated and a physical assault took place; the female, who is presumed to have been Rihanna, was the victim. Before police arrived, the assailant (Brown) fled the scene. It's still unclear how badly Rihanna was injured or whether she was hospitalized. What is known is that Brown and Rihanna, both Grammy nominees, abruptly cancelled their scheduled performances just hours before last night's ceremonies.
    
At this rate, it looks like the only thing Brown will be performing in the near future is community service: he turned himself in to the LAPD at 7 PM, just as the Grammy's red-carpet hoopla was getting underway... More >> ..

Since we haven't heard enough about this story...

When Rihanna called the cops after she got hooked in the face by Chris Brown in the wee hours of the morning following Clive Davis's pre-Grammy bash, she had no idea that the evidence she handed over (earrings and three rings-all on loan from an unnamed and presumably very angry jewelry store owner) would be kept for so long by the LAPD.

Supposedly, Rihanna's attorney, Donald Etra, claims that he requested that the jewelry be returned earlier this month via written statements on April 7 and April 17. Etra also claims that Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, approves of the jewelry being released.

The deets on the confiscated goods: The earrings are yellow metal hoop earrings with white stones. The first ring is a yellow metal ring with white stones and green stones. The second and third rings are described as being yellow metal rings with white stones... More >> ..

The past year has been a tough legal year for actress Anne Hathaway's Italian boyfriend, businessman Raffaello Follieri. On April 30, Follieri agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit levied by supermarket tycoon, billionaire Ron Burkle. Follieri was sued by Burkle last year for allegedly using money that had been invested into a joint venture to buy and sell distressed Catholic properties to instead support Follieri's lavish lifestyle. The case was dismissed by a Baltimore judge after the pair reached an agreement.

 

But not all of Follieri's legal troubles are wrapped up so easily. He's still working to clear up his arrest for trying to pass a bad check for $250,000 in April, claiming the incident was a "misunderstanding."

First, it was Martha Stewart and then Wesley Snipes. Will the Reverend Al Sharpton be the latest celebrity to go to jail? Looks like its time for Baptist minister/political activist to hire a new accountant, and maybe a good lawyer, too. The Associated Press has just reported that Al Sharpton owes $1.5 million in unpaid back taxes. Sharpton supposedly owes $931,000 in federal income taxes and $366,000 to New York State, while his company, Rev. Al Communications, owes another $176,000 to the state. Perhaps he would have remembered to pay up on time if he wasn't so busy getting arrested while snarling New York City traffic. In the meantime, maybe The Rev and Wesley Snipes could be cell-mates!

Remember the days when Frappuccinos and disillusionment were the only evils attacking Britney Spears?  Not so anymore.

Former manager Sam Lutfi has filed a lawsuit against Britney and her parents for "slander, libel, and defamation aimed at discrediting, destroying, and physically and emotionally intimidating Lutfi in order to drive him out of Britney's life," according his reps.

The ill-fated love story started back in 2007, when Spears and Lutfi met at a Los Angeles nightclub.  At that point, she decided to call him her "manager."  The hangover never wore off; Lutfi continued to run Spear's career during her head-shaving, umbrella-thrusting, British-accent-using downfall.  

Mr. Lutfi claims he has not received sufficient payment relative to Spears's conservatively estimated 2007 income of $800,000 a month.  Furthermore, Lutfi feels that Lynn Spears's tell-all Through the Storm painted a malicious picture of his role as Britney's manager... More >> ..

Michael Douglas has been wildly successful at keeping a low profile since his marriage to English beauty, Catherine Zeta-Jones, in the '90s. However, the semi-retired actor finds himself once again in the tabloids over a business deal gone bad, circa "Romancing The Stone."

 

Douglas' former co-star and best friend, Zack Norman, claims that he and Douglas entered into a business venture together in which he was promised a $1 million bonus for putting together a big deal. To make a long story short: the deal never closed and Norman never got the money. According to court papers filed on April 24, Norman believes Douglas and his cronies are responsible for the project dying in the dirt (after all, Hollywood business-types are usually great at follow through). Almost thirty years later, Norman is suing Douglas over the alleged $1 million blunder, claiming that that he deserves the money, regardless of the deal's outcome... More >> ..

Oscar winner and Bridget Jones's Diary star Renée Zellweger has been asked by attorney Allen Michel to hand over her real-life diary. Michel represents an insurance company that paid nearly $6 million for a seven-week delay in shooting during the Toronto filming of 2005's Cinderella Man (the delay occurred when leading man Russell Crowe dislocated his shoulder). Zellweger's agent negotiated a $3 million payment for the star in the wake of the delay, which presumably affected filming schedules for her other projects.

Michel told a judge in Los Angeles on Friday that he wants Renée to hand over her diary, give a deposition, and provide other substantiating documents to clarify her actions during the delay. The insurer is denying liability for the money paid to Renée, who isn't named as a party to the lawsuit.

One can only hope that Renée's diary is as entertaining as that of her celluloid doppelganger, and that the entries include nods to overeating, unrequited love, and petty jealousies...

You'd think that for $20 million, most people could remember which watch to put on, but apparently Oscar winner Charlize Theron has a harder time than most. The endorsement extraordinaire was paid $250,000 by Chopard to wear its jewels to the Oscars and BAFTA awards in 2006 and also received over $50,000 worth of jewelry for wearing Cartier. But the jewelry model was apparently double-booked from October 2005 to December 2006, when she was required by contract to wear exclusively Raymond Weil watches.

It seems that during the time in question Theron was simultaneously the face of Dior's perfume campaign, and so chose to wear one of their watches instead of a Weil watch to a Texas press event in March of 2006. Cheating Charlize was also caught canoodling at an AIDS charity campaign in a necklace...how could she? But Theron's not the only one violating contracts here. According to The New York Observer, Raymond Weil ran an ad featuring model Thema Thormasdittor, which lawyers argue is also a breach of contract... More >> ..

A Los Angeles court commissioner approved a request by the lawyers of Britney Spears and her family to be paid more than $372,500 for their services through March 31st. The money will come from Spears's estimated $100 million fortune, which is currently under the conservatorship of lawyer Andrew Wallet, dad Jamie Spears, and brother Bryan Spears. In addition, the commissioner delayed action on a motion to put Spears's estate in her own trust until July 31st. This comes only a month after Britney was ordered to pay $375,000 to her ex, Kevin Federline, to cover his attorney's fees in their custody battle.

 

Sigh. It's too bad that America's sweetheart is spending her massive fortune on legal fees and not necessities like designer bags and mansions.