Jersey Shore castmates Ronnie "Fist Pump Brah" Magro and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino have come to blows in the Italian city of Florence, where the show has been taping its next season, according to Philly.com . Post-brawl images showed that Sorrentino seemingly got the worst of it, as his left eye was bloodshot and red-rimmed. Meanwhile, the knuckles on Magro's right hand were split and bleeding.
Speaking of Jersey Shore, Snooki was busted for crashing into a patrol car and putting two Italian police officers in the hospital, according to the New York Post. Snooki—who is in Florence, Italy, where the cast is filming the next season—was driving a Fiat Multipla with fellow cast member Deena Nicole Cortese. Alcohol and drugs were not believed to be involved.
The Mighty Macs, the movie about the Immaculata College basketball team that won the first women's national basketball championship in 1972, will premiere Oct. 21, according to Philly.com . The film stars Carla Gugino as coach Cathy Rush; David Boreanaz as her husband, former NBA ref Ed Rush; and Ellen Burstyn as a nun. The small Catholic school, now called Immaculata University, went on to win the national championship the next two years as well.
Openly gay actor Neil Patrick Harris will have a star-studded list of people helping out when he hosts the Tony Awards June 12 in the Beacon Theatre in New York. Among the presenters are Whoopi Goldberg, Joel Grey, Angela Lansbury, Viola Davis, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Daniel Radcliffe and many others.
Actress/writer Calpernia Addams—a former star of Logo's Transamerican Love Story and a one-time Nashville resident whose life was depicted in the Showtime film Soldier's Girl—has criticized Tennessee's new law that bans cities and counties from protecting the state's LGBT citizens, according to Advocate.com . As a proud daughter of Tennessee, I want people to know that not everyone there supports the recent breathtakingly harmful legislation against LGBT people," Addams said. "We are embarrassed by the actions of a few small-minded people in power, and eager to see the people of Tennessee push back against this on big and small levels, alongside everyone else who knows that this is wrong."
Speaking of that law, lesbian Grammy winner and Tennessee resident Janis Ian has also criticized the measure, according to Advocate.com . The "At Seventeen" singer said, "I am immensely proud of the continuing growth and diversity Nashville has experienced during my 23 years here. ... It's unfortunate that with a stroke of his pen, a politician can undermine Nashville's right to determine its own future, and allow businesses to continue discriminating against the very people who voted him into office."
Ian Beck, the artist who designed the iconic cover of Sir Elton John's album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, has asked the singer to return the original picture, according to the Post Chronicle. Beck was paid $688 for his artwork, which was used on the sleeve of the classic 1973 record. A spokesman for John said, "I have no idea whether Elton has it, but presumably if he does, he paid for it so it is his; [$688] was a hell of a lot of money back then. A bit weird, isn't it, to ask for something back 38 years later?"
Nakia, a gay contestant on the reality-competition show The Voice, has come out in defense of judge/mentor Blake Shelton, who has apologized for an anti-gay tweet, according to Advocate.com . In response to a question regarding Shelton's selection of singer Patrick Thomas over gay contestant Tyler Robinson, Nakia said, "Trust me: From the time I've spent with him, he's the furthest thing from a homophobe. He's so down to earth and he's so ready to party with anyone who has a bottle to drink."
Madonna barred photographers from taking pictures of her at a recent Museum of Modern Art party because she reportedly "didn't feel she looked her best," according to the New York Post. The "Like A Virgin" singer sported red lipstick, a black blazer and glasses with black, moderately thick frames. Madonna, James Franco and Yoko Ono were among those who took in performances by Martha Wainwright and violinist Hahn-Bin.
Montreal pop band Creature has recorded a track, "Prom Prom," that responds to the cultural struggles that the LGBT community is facing, according to a press release. With high-energy and a radio-ready chorus ("It's prom prom and you're a lesbian"), the lyrics spread LGBT awareness about same-sex couples attending prom and will be featured on Creature's upcoming sophomore album, Sick Imagination. Creature has shared the stage with Mika, Ting Tings & GZA, and music legend Debbie Harry has called the band "fantastic." See www.creatureband.com .
A Glee 3-D concert movie is in the works, according to MTV.com . It will reportedly be a concert movie based on the upcoming Glee Live! In Concert! North American tour. The studio 20th Century Fox plans to follow in the wake of movies such as Michael Jackson's This Is It and Justin Bieber's Never Say Never, and release the film for a two-week engagement starting Aug. 12. Kevin Tancharoen (of the recent Fame remake) will direct.
Figure skating/reality-TV star Johnny Weir has been named the grand marshal of this year's L.A. Gay Pride Parade, according to an Advocate.com item. Weir, who officially came out of the closet earlier this year, will lead the parade along West Hollywood's Santa Monica Boulevard June 12. Previous grand marshals have included Chelsea Handler, Kathy Griffin, Cyndi Lauper and former NBA player John Amaechi.
Numbers show that the May 25 finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show drew the most viewers it has had in 17 years, according to Newser.com . The final episode—which featured no guests, but Winfrey imparting her life lessons—garnered a 13.3 household rating. The last time an Oprah episode had a number that high was back in February 1994, with an episode entitled "People Shed Their Disguises."
Openly gay actor Sir Ian McKellen has criticized Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, calling the politician a coward for barring gay-pride events throughout the city, according to Advocate.com . McKellen told Pink News, "The mayor of Moscow is a coward. Rather than face the fact that Muscovite gays and lesbians should be valued on a par with their straight peers, he panders to the right wing. He throws them some red meat, some gays, to gnaw on."
Lindsay Lohan started her house arrest May 26 but will probably serve only about 35 days of her four-month term, according to Reuters. Lohan, 24, turned up at a Los Angeles jail, was deemed eligible for home confinement, fitted with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and released to her home. Lohan has been in and out of jail as well as drug and alcohol rehab since a 2007 arrest for drunken driving and cocaine possession.
Speaking of Lohan, rocker Courtney Love said that the Mean Girls actress contacted her for advice during Lohan's recent legal troubles, according to MonstersAndCritics.com . Love told TheFix.com, "Lindsay Lohan called me after she was arrested. The judge presiding over her case was the same judge who presided over mine. He was a very sweet man. I think he was an ex-alcoholic himself."
Jeff Conaway—star of the movie Grease and the TV show Taxi—has died at the age of 60, according to CNN.com . Conaway, who has long struggled with drug addiction, was found unconscious May 11; he lost consciousness because of pneumonia aggravated by substance abuse. Dr. Drew Pinsky, during a taping for the May 27 episode of Dr. Drew on HLN, said that Conaway "was a severe, severe opiate addict with chronic pain, one of the most serious and dangerous combination of problems you could possibly interact with." Conaway was on the TV show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008.
Gil Scott-Heron, the so-called "godfather of rap," died May 27 in New York at 62, according to CNN.com . Scott-Heron—who was best known for the 1970 song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"—was known for music and poetry that reflected his long struggles with drugs and alcohol. In a 2008 interview with New York magazine, Scott-Heron revealed he had contracted HIV from drug use.
Former The Brady Bunch co-star Christopher Knight (who played Peter), 53, and ex-America's Next Top Model contestant Adrianne Curry, 28, have split, MSNBC.com has reported. Their on-screen romance led to their spin-off series, My Fair Brady, which documented their engagement, wedding and first year of marriage.
Singer Kelly Rowland has joined the judges' panel of the reality-competition show The X Factor—in England, according to the Daily Mail. The former Destiny's Child member will join Tulisa Contostavlos, singer Gary Barlow and returning judge Louis Walsh after Cheryl Cole departed. In a statement, she said, "The music coming out of the UK right now is incredible with artists like Adele, Jessie J and James Blake, so I'm confident this season of The X Factor will give me opportunity to hear a few diamonds in the rough."
New York Times critic Ben Brantley has proposed several Broadway roles for different celebrities, including Lady Gaga. Brantley feels that Gaga would be perfect as Auntie Mame, writing that "the role of madcap spiritual godmother to little misfit monsters everywhere is one that Lady Gaga already has down cold." He also suggested, among others, Lindsay Lohan in Arthur Miller's Finishing the Picture and Charlie Sheen in Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio.
