Marc Malkin
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Melissa Etheridge to Adam Lambert: "Don't Believe Everything They Say"
F Micelotta/American Idol 2009/Getty Images; Lester Cohen / Getty Images
Melissa Etheridge predicted something like this might happen.
She spoke as if she were reading a crystal ball when we chatted at the American Music Awards before Adam Lambert's controversial sex-charged performance.
We asked Ms. Etheridge what advice she'd give to the out and proud 27-year-old glam rock Idol star. Little did we know that her well-seasoned words were a foreshadowing of things to come later that night...
Levi Johnston: I Don't Want to Be a Porn Star!
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Despite what Sarah Palin may think, Levi Johnston insists he's not an aspiring porn star.
And that's exactly why we're not going to be seeing all of Mr. Johnston's junk in Playgirl.
In fact, Johnston tells me he never had plans to go full frontal because…
Will Levi Bring Porn Award to Palin Thanksgiving?
Should we now call him the award-winning Levi Johnston?
The Alaskan teen formerly known as Sarah Palin's future son-in-law was in New York City last night to pick up porn website Fleshbot's Crossover Star award.
In other words, he got props for having the cojones to strip down for Playgirl…
Exclusive
Levi Johnston: Playgirl Spread Earns Him Sex Award
Jesse Grant/Getty Images
Not only is Levi Johnston getting mucho press for his upcoming Playgirl spread, but now he's going to receive an award for it, too.
We just got word that the Alaska teen will be, um, honored with a sex-themed award next week in New York City. And Johnston is expected to be on hand to accept the prize from viral video star Obama Girl.
What gives? Read on for the full monty story...
Exclusive
Kristen Bell: "My Inner Thighs Are So Sore!"
John Shearer/Getty Images
Kristen Bell is in a lot of pain these days.
"I've started dance rehearsals and my neck is sore and my inner thighs are so sore," Bell told me at last night's Vanity Fair-hosted launch of Guess?'s new T-shirt benefiting Invisible Children.
No, the actress is not training for a stint on Dancing With the Stars. She's getting ready to start shooting Burlesque, director Steve Antin's upcoming drama in which she and Christina Aguilera costar as rivals at a Hollywood burlesque club owned by a former dancer played by Cher.
Rounding out the cast is Twilight stud Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough and Stanley Tucci.
So just how much skin will Bell and the other young starlets be flashing in the film? Sounds like a lot, but...
Exclusive
Jared Leto Gets Fired Up Over Gay Marriage
What's got Jared Leto starting fires these days?
Gay marriage.
The actor-musician is helping raise money for gay rights group FAIR by taking part in an online auction of celebrity-signed prints of artist Shepard Fairey's "Defend Equality Love Unites," a poster in support of gay marriage.
But Leto did more than just doodle his autograph...
Top Chef's Ashley: Prop 8 and the Wedding Challenge
Trae Patton / Bravo
Top Chef contestant Ashley Merriman is not against cooking at straight weddings.
So what was her beef with this season's wedding challenge?
It was all about timing. "My objection was more about the decision to have this challenge at the height of Proposition 8," Merriman tells me.
"It was not about the bachelor and bachelorette. I don't have any problems with them. When somebody comes and wants to propose in my restaurant I'm the first person putting the ring in the chocolate cake."
Fortunately, it wasn't her politics that got her eliminated on last night's show. Read on for the first of my weekly Top Chef exit interviews with the season's 10 remaining cheftestants.
Kathy Griffin: What Happened to Levi Johnston?
It was just a little over a month ago that Kathy Griffin's date for the Teen Choice Awards was Sarah Palin's almost-son-in-law Levi Johnston.
But Bristol Palin's 19-year-old baby daddy was nowhere to be found at the Emmys.
"He's in his igloo in Wasilla crying and texting me," Griffin, 48, told me. "I'm at the stage in the relationship where I have to play hard to get, but I will say this, I've been throwing up for about two weeks and I do feel a little kicking."
On a more serious note, the Mariska Hargitay was her usual beautiful self on the red carpet in a Carolina Herrera gown...
Exclusive
Cheryl Burke Won't Bring "Sex to the Dance Floor"
ABC/KELSEY MCNEAL
Cheryl Burke wasn't too thrilled when she first found out she was partnered with Tom DeLay for the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars.
"I was a little scared that I was going to get a grumpy old man," she admits.
She was happy to learn otherwise.
"He's a really nice guy and he's such a family man," Burke says. "He's just like a normal guy who was in politics. But this show isn't about politics, so hopefully they give him a chance."
No surprise, but the 62-year-old former Republican congressman from Texas is nothing like Burke's most recent partner, hunky Gilles Marini...
Dancing's Tom DeLay: He's No Gilles Marini, But...
http://www.gillesmarini-calendar.com; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
It's not every day I get to talk to Tom DeLay about his waistline.
But I did just that when the former Republican Congressman called me from Sugar Land, Texas, where he and Cheryl Burke have been rehearsing for his upcoming spin on season nine of Dancing With the Stars.
The 62-year-old ultraconservative politico said he's ready for some of the show's signature costumes.
"I lost 20 pounds, so I can wear the tight pants," DeLay boasted. "I've known I was going to do Dancing With the Stars for three months now, so the moment I agreed to do it, I started working out really hard and heavy."
However, he knows he can't exactly compete with Burke's last partner, Gilles Marini…
Exclusive
Eva Longoria Parker: Jesse Metcalfe's Naked Truth
ABC/CRAIG SJODIN
Jesse Metcalfe may have made a name for himself by showing off his impressive pecs playing gardener John Rowland on Desperate Housewives, but that doesn't mean he'll be stripping down when he reprises his role in the upcoming season of the hit ABC series.
"I don't think we'll be seeing him shirtless," Eva Longoria Parker informed me yesterday. "You'll be seeing a very different John Rowland."
Perhaps Longoria Parker can get Mr. Metcalfe to take off his shirt for charity...
Derek Hough: Dancing Partner Needs to Loosen Up
ABC/CRAIG SJODIN
There's at least one person out there who thinks politico Tom DeLay has an actual chance of going far in Dancing With the Stars.
"Some people who you think are going to do great, you see them and you think, Wow, they're not as good as I thought," professional hoofer Derek Hough says. "Or some people, like Tom DeLay, might come out here and rock everyone's world."
Oh, really? Read on for Hough's explanation...
