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Snoop Dogg and his posse are banned in the UK. Well, at least the UK’s airline.
Rapper Snoop Dogg has been banned for life from British Airways flights. The infamous hip-hop star will never fly on the respected airline again after members of his 30-strong entourage sparked a mini riot at London’s Heathrow airport on Wednesday.
The trouble started when economy ticket holders in the group tried to force their way into British Airway’s exclusive first class lounge. An airline spokesman ranted: “This kind of behaviour is not tolerated. We are making sure none of this group will be allowed to travel with BA ever again. They are banned from now on.” Special riot police were called to the incident and had to use pepper spray to calm down the violent and rowdy crew – seven officers were left hurt and one suffered a broken wrist.
Impressive.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, who were both arrested for drunk driving separately on a single night, will see their “Lost” characters killed off in a single episode, reports the National Enquirer.
Troubled Lost beauties Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros will go from DUI to DOA as their TV characters are sensationally killed off in a bombshell episode just before the hit show’s season finale.
The futures of Rodriguez and Watros have been in doubt since the pair attracted a storm of publicity with their drunk-driving arrests in December. Now The ENQUIRER can exclusively reveal that ex-cop Ana Lucia (Rodriguez) and therapist Libby (Watros) will wind up goners on the series. A graveside scene in which the pair is laid to rest, with the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 gathered around to pay their respects, has already been filmed. “It’s a done deal — Michelle and Cynthia’s characters will die by the season’s end,” a set insider admitted.
I’m not sure whether to believe this, although it wouldn’t surprise me. Frankly, the only “Tailie” that’s the least bit interesting is the big black guy (Mr. Eko, portrayed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). And, of course, Watros is already cast in a pilot for another show.
Popularity: 25% [?]
CNN reported last evening that Rush Limbaugh turned himself in on prescription drug charges and was released on bail. A much different spin appears in the AP version this morning.
A three-year investigation into drug use by Rush Limbaugh ended abruptly when the conservative commentator was booked on a single charge of prescription fraud in a deal his attorney says spares him a trial. The charge will be dropped if Limbaugh continues treatment, attorney Roy Black said Friday. “He feels that a great burden has been lifted from his shoulders,” he said. “What he told me is that this is the first day of the rest of his life.”
Limbaugh surrendered at the Palm Beach County Jail and was booked on a warrant charging him with “doctor shopping,” when a patient illegally deceives multiple physicians to receive overlapping prescriptions. The 55-year-old commentator left an hour later, after he was photographed and fingerprinted and he posted $3,000 bail, said Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. Under the terms of the deal with prosecutors called a pretrial diversion, to be filed Monday, Limbaugh will be cleared of the charge if he stays clean for 18 months and doesn’t violate any laws, Black said. Limbaugh has publicly acknowledged being addicted to pain medication.
[...]
As a formality, Limbaugh entered a not guilty plea to the charge, spokesman Tony Knight said. The radio giant has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation. “He was in high spirits,” Knight said. “It was all a formality. It’s a concluded deal.”
I’m not sure I’d have used the phrase “high spirits” in this content. But, yes, I’m sure he’s quite relieved to have this behind him.
Under the deal, Limbaugh also agreed to pay the state $30,000 to defray the public cost of the investigation and must pay $30 per month for the cost of supervision, during which time he will continue regular drug tests.
This is an interesting provision and certainly not one available to most of us.
Black said Limbaugh has been drug free for 2 1/2 years. After 18 months, “he will not have any criminal record,” he said.
Interesting.
Prosecutors began investigating Limbaugh in 2003 after The National Enquirer reported his housekeeper’s allegations that he had abused OxyContin and other painkillers. He soon took a five-week leave from his radio show to enter a rehabilitation program and acknowledged he had become addicted to pain medication. He blamed it on severe back pain.
“The agreement that we entered into makes good common sense,” Black said. “The idea is to help the person overcome the addiction … There should be a recognition that people like Rush really should not be prosecuted.”
Agreed, although “people like Rush” is a rather vague concept. I would argue that we should not treat addiction, to any substance, as a criminal matter. Even if one opposes legalization of recreational drugs, the emphasis should be on those who distribute them.
Related posts below the fold.
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Belated crosspost from OTB, rewritten to deal with my enhanced understanding of the facts.
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Popularity: 14% [?]
“The View” managed to replace Meredith Vieira with someone with much higher name recognition: Rosie O’Donnell.
With Rosie O’Donnell as its newest co-host, “The View” brings a six-time Daytime Emmy winner onto a cast that has made a joke out of its inability to win an Emmy. “The View” creator Barbara Walters confirmed Friday that O’Donnell will join her show in September, replacing the “Today” show-bound Meredith Vieira. Walters made the announcement from the stage of the Daytime Emmy awards. “We were amazed when she said yes and we’re thrilled to have her,” Walters said.
It wasn’t quite the secret that Walters wanted, since word of O’Donnell’s selection leaked out on Thursday. O’Donnell made a joking reference to that, noting she had read about her and Walters on the Internet. About her new job, she joked, “it was either that or the celebrity fit club.”
The move marks a plunge back into daytime television for O’Donnell. With a large resume that includes stage, film and TV work, it’s the place where she found the greatest success. She won six Daytime Emmys in six years as best talk show host before shutting down her show because she wanted to spend more time raising a family.
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“The View” got a bigger star than it imagined to replace Vieira, who often serves as the emotional center of an ensemble that also includes Joy Behar, Star Jones Reynolds and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. “They went in a different way,” said Bill Carroll, an expert on the syndication market for Katz Television. “There was a lot of speculation focused on them finding someone who fit in the Meredith Vieira mold and they obviously didn’t go that way.” With two comics in Behar and O’Donnell, “The View” will likely turn into a funnier show, he said. The danger is, between Behar, O’Donnell and Reynolds, “the three of them will want to talk at the same time.”
Well, they needed another fat person now that Jones Reynolds has had her stomach stapled. I will nonetheless continue my streak of not watching the show.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Fox, known for its conservative news channel, continues to go incredibly lowbrow on the entertainment side.
A new television reality show invites porn stars to test their serious acting abilities in London’s theater district, raising the question: Debbie can do Dallas, but can she take on Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard�
“My Bare Lady†will cast four leading ladies from porn studios in a classic piece of drama to be performed in London’s West End. Their experiences undergoing a crash course in acting and appearing before a discerning British audience will air in three episodes on the Fox Reality cable and satellite channels this fall. “It’s a wonderful tale of redemption,†said David Lyle, general manager of Fox Reality. “Do they want lines that are a little more challenging than ‘Oh, here’s the pool guy…’?â€
Not only has Howard Stern already done this to death, one wonders if anyone actually cares whether porn stars can act. And, indeed, aside from a few who have made minor cross-overs into R-rated soft porn, how many folks even know who these people are?
Popularity: 20% [?]
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