James Fisher/ Twentieth Century Fox, Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

David Beckham couldn't look bad no matter how hard he tried.

That said, we really haven't been digging that scraggly beard he's been sporting of late.

Thankfully, there's a good explanation. No, it's not some sort of strange soccer ritual—he's just trying to channel Hugh Jackman.

"Halloween's coming up and I was thinking of Wolverine from X-Men," he told the U.K.'s Daily Star. "It's not some playoff ritual. I'm just lazy and can't be bothered to shave. And everybody keeps telling me to cut it off and I'm stubborn."

With those eyes and abs, the image of Mr. Posh Spice trick-or-treating with sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz is still howlingly hot...but we're sure hoping he takes a razor to that scruff come Sunday.

________

Becks isn't the only star psyched for Halloween. Check out who else is getting pumped in our Pumpkin Pickin' gallery.

Michael Buckner/Getty Images, Emporio Armani

Megan Fox has stripped down for art. (Or whatever you want to call Jennifer's Body.) She's stripped down for men's magazines. Now she's stripping down for a little designer prestige. And, let's be honest, cold, hard cash.

That most underexposed of celebrities replaces Victoria Beckham as the face body pick your body part of the 2010 Emporio Armani Underwear campaign. It's the brand's second spokesceleb turnover in as many weeks—footballer Cristiano Ronaldo succeeded David Beckham on the men's side earlier this month.

Fox will also be taking center stage in a forthcoming Armani Jeans campaign, but we're guessing those shots will be met with a little less enthusiasm. And saliva.

The 23-year-old has already posed for the undoubtedly steamy shoot, with the black-and-white photos set to launch in both print ad and billboard form in January. According to Women's Wear Daily, unlike the Beckhams' campaign, the shots will all be solo endeavors—the David to her Victoria, Ronaldo, will not be posing alongside her in any of the ads.

As if Victoria needed another reason to not smile.

________

Missed David Beckham's hottie replacement? It's not too late to catch a glimpse.

Mike Marsland/Getty Images; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

In Lily Allen's case, almost $16,000.

The ever-reliable British Sun coughed up a check and a formal apology today after admitting that an item alleging Allen had let loose her acid tongue on David and Victoria Beckham wasn't true.

Plausible, yes. True, no.

In its defense, The Sun hadn't concocted the tale on its own, rather reprinted the alleged Allen quotes from the French magazine SoFoot (no, really).

Among the cheap shots the "Not Fair" singer allegedly lobbed at the Posh ones: "The Beckhams are sickening. Everyone knows Victoria is a monster. I'd rather shoot myself between the eyes than be a WAG."

Keep Reading

John Shearer/Getty Images

Tell you what we want, what we really, really want... Not this.

But apparently the Spice Girls don't care about our desires and are mulling another reunion tour, with the ringleader of this latest attempt being the one who originally broke up the girl-powered quintet, Geri Halliwell.

The ersthwile Ginger Spice told British television show This Morning that she, Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) and Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) met up for dinner in London last Wednesday and talked about getting back together. Texting in her two cents was Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), who was MIA because she was in the Big Apple launching her new Spring/Summer 2010 collection at New York Fashion Week.

"We always talk about creative plans," the 37-year-old Halliwell said. "Whatever happens afterwards is a bonus. Right now, I'll be honest: we are gathering information about a possibility...[but] when you are evolving a plan, you don't want to share it with the world."

Sounds like full steam ahead to us.

Keep Reading

AP Photo/Charles Pulliam

Paula Abdul fans needn't worry…much. Turns out Victoria Beckham isn't gunning for a full-time job on American Idol.

"She is not in talks to join the show permanently," the Posh One's rep, Cheryl Maisel, tells E! News.

Eyebrows raised in unison this week when word broke that Beckham would be joining Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson at a second audition city—today in Boston—despite earlier assurances from the Idol braintrust that her critical cameo last Friday would be a one-time thing.

But it appears Beckham is more interested in style over any kind of substantive TV career. Her rep said earlier today that instead of further Idol commitments, the dVb founder will be focusing her efforts on the forthcoming Fashion Week. A diva's work is never done.

As for Paula, rumors are swirling that she may be returning to the Idol table after all, albeit not the one people are hoping for…

Keep Reading

Venturelli/WireImage.com

Could Victoria Beckham's stint as a post-Paula Abdul judge on American Idol be more than the one-off gig asserted by producers?

Quite possibly.

E! News has learned that the erstwhile Posh Spice just joined staffers from the hit Fox reality competition aboard an American Airlines flight bound for Boston, site of this week's round of American Idol auditions.

Natalie Eshaya, a producer for Idol host Ryan Seacrest's syndicated KIIS-FM radio show, offered a play-by-play via Twitter.

"Hmmm victoria beckham on our flight to boston....hmmm!" Eshaya tweeted. "We are going for idol....she must be too! Interesting!!"

Last week, in the wake of Abdul's shocking departure, show producers said they wanted to stick to the four-judge format, with guest judges like Beckham and Katy Perry serving as one-time-only fill-ins. Beckham was first up, lending her Spice Girl insight to the Denver auditions on Friday.

Reps for the singer, Fox and FreemantleMedia, which produces Idol, declined to comment. But Eshaya seemed pretty psyched about the possibility.

"Posh has boarded our plane to Boston! Last one on..but hey, at least she flies commercial! LOVE it. Love her more now!!!"

Let's just see if viewers agree.

(Originally published Aug. 12, 2009, at 1:36 p.m. PT)

________

Need more backstory on Paula's saga? Get all of E! Online's American Idol news now.

INFphoto.com

American Idol auditions kick off today in Denver with Posh Spice filling in for Paula Abdul. Ryan Seacrest broadcasted his KIIS-FM morning show on location, which allowed him to talk to Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson and Victoria Beckham about how everyone is coping with this new Idol situation.

In short, it's hard but they're all surviving. As Randy put it: "But look, I mean, you know, hey, we gotta try and make it work, man."

Now, before we let the newbie Victoria gush about her Idol excitement, let us pay our respects to Paula...

Keep Reading

Michael Becker/ Fox, Stephen Lovekin/ Getty images, Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Less than 48 hours after the news broke that Paula Abdul is leaving television's biggest show, producers are already dancing on her grave filling her seat.

If you wanna be crowned American Idol, you'll have to zigazig ah. That, or don some cherry ChapStick.

Producers will be stacking the judges' deck with celebrities for the seven weeks of auditions, and Posh Spice herself, Victoria Beckham, will be grabbing a seat at the table for one city, her rep confirms to E! News. Ditto "I Kissed a Girl" gal Katy Perry.

However, unlike Kara DioGuardi, Becks and the other stars won't be stuck between Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson permanently. Their arrivals on the talent show will only be one-off appearances.

Think this is a good idea? Who else would you like to see square off with Simon?

(Originally published Aug. 6, 2009, at 7:22 a.m. PT)

________

How did the other Idol idols react to the news of Paula's departure? Find out here.