Buzz Briefs: Meredith Vieira, Britney
Meredith Vieira Defends Katie
Meredith Vieira doesn't think Katie Couric is getting a fair shake. The current "Today Show" host defended her predecessor in an exclusive interview in the November "Good Houskeeping" issue.
"I think it's unfair to be put under the microscope the way she has, and I feel bad for her," Vieira told "Good Housekeeping". "Things don't turn around overnight. There's a learning curve, and an acceptance curve, with everything. They hype and hype, and then at the first sign of slippage, people start to write stories."
Photo Essay: Vieira's New View
Vieira talked about her own transition to the "Today Show". "The most difficult thing is to stay in the moment and be able to switch gears. One minute you're with Hillary Clinton or covering a mine disaster, the next minute you're baking a pie or talking to Kool & the Gang. It's like a roller coaster. It takes a lot out of you."
The November "Good Housekeeping" issue is at newsstands everywhere.
According to X17online.com, Britney Spears never had a diary, even though Life & Style is reporting that pal Sam Lutfi tried to sell said journal to a U.K. tabloid.
Life & Style reports that Lutfi had details about lesbian affairs, the VMAs and drugs. The magazine also said that the unnamed U.K. publication was offered the diaries in exchange for $2 million for Spears and her family. But Lutfi says that is not the case.
"I'm not sure what interest people have in putting out lies like this, but if I wanted money for stories about Britney, I could have done it a long time ago," he told X17online.com. "I've given interviews to People Magazine, to Us Weekly, and to X17online and have never received a dime for it. My interest is in getting out the truth about Britney in light of the many false reports that get printed, not in getting paid to betray a friend."
For her own part, Spears told an X17 photographer: "I don't even have a diary!"
Meanwhile, today TMZ.com reported that Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline attended their first co-parenting class. It would be the third time that the former couple has been in the same room since they split, TMZ said. The children, Sean Preston and Jayden James were not present.
Just five years ago, Sean "Diddy" Combs asked Busta Rhymes to "pass the Courvoisier." These days, it's all about the vodka.
The 37-year-old hip-hop mogul has inked a multiyear deal to develop the Ciroc vodka brand -- one of Diageo PLC's super-premium lines -- for a 50-50 share in the profits.
It's the latest agreement in which a celebrity is going beyond the typical endorser role to share in a brand's rise and fall, such as Jay-Z with Budweiser and 50 Cent with Vitamin Water.
Diageo said the agreement could be worth more than $100 million for Combs over the course of the deal, depending on how well the brand performs.
"It is not an endorsement deal," Combs told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "This is something that will have my daily attention."
Combs said he wanted to work with Diageo because the company understood that "I'm not just a celebrity endorser, I'm a brand builder. I'm a luxury brand builder."
Bizarre Anna Nicole Smith Home Video Released
In the episode, Geraldo interviewed Ford Shelley, who dropped his 9-year-old daughter off for a play-date with Smith on the day in question. Shelley planned to give the video to investigators along with photographs of a grief-stricken Anna Nicole Smith lying next to lifeless late son Daniel.
The home video shows an allegedly impaired Anna Nicole Smith covered in clown-like face-paint. In the video, Anna Nicole Smith insists that a battery-operated doll is her real baby. She later claims her 8-month pregnancy is "just a little gas." Stern provides filming directions throughout the video and at one point says, "This footage is worth money."Photo Essay: Rest In Peace, Anna Nicole
On "Larry King Live" last week, Howard K. Stern told King the video was stolen and taken out of context. Stern alleges Anna Nicole Smith was simply pretending to be a little girl.
Robert Goulet Needs Lung Transplant
"He can hear me but he can't respond," Vera Goulet said of the 73-year-old crooner.
Vera Goulet said doctors told her the lung transplants are the most successful operation of any transplant, with a success rate of 88 percent. A suitable donor has yet to be found, she said.
The singer fell ill when flying home to Las Vegas after performing at a Sept. 20 concert in Syracuse, N.Y., his wife said. Doctors initially assumed it was some kind of bug, but he got weaker until he had to be rushed to the hospital 10 days later, she said.
Goulet was diagnosed with a form of pulmonary fibrosis that his official Web site described as a "rapidly progressive and fatal condition." He was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles as a transplant patient Oct. 13.
Spanish Superstar Reschedules Venezuela Concert After Chavez Tiff
Grammy-winning Spanish musician Alejandro Sanz postponed a November concert until next year after Venezuela's government blocked him from using a state-controlled stadium because of his past criticism of President Hugo Chavez.
English-speaking audiences know Sanz best as the hottie making out with Shakira in her "La Tortura" video.
Responding to questions about Chavez prior to a 2004 referendum on the president's rule, the Spanish singer said: "I don't like your president. I don't like those from other places either."
Sanz, who is immensely popular in Venezuela, will now perform Feb. 14. Concert promoter Envenpro said Tuesday it was searching for a new venue for the already sold-out show.
Photos: MTV's Video Music Awards Latin America
Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, warned in July that foreigners who publicly criticize him or his government while visiting Venezuela would be expelled from the country.
Foxy Brown In Punitive Segregation At Rikers
Video: Alejandro Sanz On Latin Grammy Red CarpetRapper Foxy Brown was given 76 days in punitive segregation at Rikers Island jail after she scuffled with another inmate, authorities said Tuesday.
Brown, who is serving a year at Rikers for violating her probation in a case stemming from a fight she had with some manicurists, was separated from other inmates on Oct. 16, said Stephen Morello, deputy commissioner for public information for the city's correction department.
Brown and another inmate got into a shoving match earlier this month, said Morello, adding he didn't know why the two were fighting. Neither inmate was injured.
Following that incident, Morello said Brown was abusive toward correction guards and then refused to take a random drug test.
The combined violations, Morello said, earned Brown more than two months in punitive segregation, where an inmate can spend up to 23 hours a day in isolation.
Authorities said Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, skipped her required anger management classes and traveled out of the city without permission. She also refused to attend court in Brooklyn on Oct. 12 after she was accused of throwing a cell phone at a neighbor who complained about the volume of her car radio in August.
Four days later, she appeared in court and was arraigned on charges of assault, attempted assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon -- the cell phone.
She has pleaded not guilty.
Photos: Celebrity Mug Shots
Oct. 23, 2007
Elisabeth Hasselbeck Goes On Maternity Leave
The spotlight was supposed to be on Elisabeth Hasselbeck as she spent her last day on "The View" before taking maternity leave.
But the attention was drawn to one of the several pregnant women in the audience when her water broke just before the show started.
Hasselbeck says she and Barbara Walters were mopping it up, but not Whoopi Goldberg. She says she doesn't "mop any floors."
Hasselbeck will be gone until January to have her second baby. She's flying to Arizona to be with her husband, Tim, who's a quarterback for the Cardinals.
They also have a 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Grace.
Two O.J. Co-Defendants Plead Guilty
Photos: Baby Bumps
Two co-defendants pleaded guilty to reduced charges Tuesday in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery case, agreeing to testify against Simpson and three others in the alleged hotel room theft of sports collectibles from two memorabilia dealers.
"Guilty, sir," said Walter Alexander, who entered the plea to felony conspiracy to commit robbery. Charles Cashmore pleaded guilty to felony accessory to robbery during a separate arraignment minutes later.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger agreed to drop charges including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy against both men. Both men remained free pending sentencing.