Celebrity News & Gossip

The official Hope for Haiti Now telethon lineup has just been announced, and this show is going to be even bigger than we had imagined. Rarely, if ever, have so many of the world’s biggest musicians mobilized so quickly with Hollywood elite (plus President Clinton and Oprah) to lend a helping hand in a time of tragedy. If only George Clooney, the mastermind behind the telethon, had been responsible for the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina!

We already reported that the Hope for Haiti Now lineup will include Robert Pattinson, Bono, Jay-Z, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Shakira. Now we can provide the full, official lineup. Of particular interest will be headliners Jay-Z and Bono (a rock/rap collaboration for the ages) and Justin Timberlake.

Performing in Los Angeles:

• Alicia Keys
• Christina Aguilera
• Dave Matthews
• Emeline Michel
• John Legend
• Justin Timberlake
• Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Kid Rock (Group performance)
• Stevie Wonder
• Taylor Swift

Performing in New York:

• Bruce Springsteen
• Jennifer Hudson
• Madonna
• Mary J Blige
• Shakira
• Sting
• Wyclef Jean

Performing in London:

• Beyonce
• Coldplay
• Jay-Z, Bono and The Edge (collaboration)
• Rihanna

Presenters and speakers in Los Angeles (except where noted differently) include:

• Anderson Cooper (from Haiti)
• Ben Stiller
• Brad Pitt
• Chris Rock
• Clint Eastwood
• Denzel Washington
• Drew Barrymore
• George Clooney
• Halle Berry
• Jon Stewart (from New York)
• Julia Roberts
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Matt Damon
• Meryl Streep
• Morgan Freeman
• Nicole Kidman
• Oprah Winfrey
• President Clinton (from New York)
• Robert Pattinson (from London)
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Tom Hanks
• Will Smith with Muhammad Ali

Turn on your television at 8PM EST to witness history in the making. Hope for Haiti Now will be on just about every channel, including VH1 and MTV. Donations will go to Oxfam America, Partners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF and Wyclef’s Yele Haiti Foundation. Facebook and MySpace have signed on as official social-media partners to help drive donations.

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When news broke that George Clooney’s Hope for Haiti Now telethon would airing Friday at 8PM EST on VH1, MTV and just about every channel on your television set, scant details were available as to which celebs would be involved in the show. But that didn’t stop us from starting our Official Hope For Haiti Now Telethon Lineup guessing game. We’re happy to report that our initial list is shaping up to be remarkably accurate (Anderson Cooper’s involvement doesn’t count because he’s a newsman who sometimes acts like a celebrity, not an actual celebrity).

Performing at the Hope for Haiti Now telethon: Bono, Jay-Z, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Shakira and many others who have yet to be announced. There will also be no shortage of A-listers either speaking or manning the phones to take donations, according to E! Online. So if you’ve ever wanted to ring Jennifer Aniston or Jon Hamm late one lonely Friday night, this may be your one and only shot. Also participating are Jake Gyllenhaal, Brad Pitt, Colin Farrell, Zac Efron, Bradley Cooper, Renee Zellweger, Anna Kendrick, Sandra Bullock, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Gabby Sidibe, Chris Pine and Emily Blunt.

As for Robert Pattinson, he’ll be hosting the London segment of Hope for Haiti Now. Clooney and pals will be based at the show’s headquarters in Los Angeles while Anderson Cooper reports from Ground Zero in Haiti. Performances will take place in L.A., New York and London.

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Kim Kardashian wasn’t the only Kim turning heads at Diddy’s 40th birthday party at the Plaza last night. Lil’ Kim, putting aside her beef over Notorious, helped celebrate her old producer’s big day.  The shindig featured guests from all corners of the industry—from Baby and Cassie to Denzel Washington and Bono—and Al Green as the night’s entertainment. Check out the festivities in the gallery below.

[Photos: Getty Images/Splash News Online]

We had our suspicions: When you’re marrying a billionaire, would you really be satisfied with a quick service in City Hall? Nah. And Salma Hayek’s proved that her official wedding ceremony to super-super-super-rich Francois-Henri Pinault in February was only a taster for the real deal.

Celebrities like Bono, Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Stella McCartney and Ashley Judd all descended on Venice this past weekend for an elegantly glamorous celebration. The couple and guests donned masks for a ball on Friday night and renewed their vows at the river city’s La Fenice opera house the next day. She may have claimed she wasn’t going to spend the cash on a “ridiculous” wedding ceremony only a few days ago, but after looking at the photos from these super-exclusive nuptials, we think Mrs Pinault may have been feeding the media a bit of a line. Cheeky! But congratulations (again). [Photo: Splash News Online]

Achtung, baby! Bono (who must wear those sunglasses to keep from being mistaken for Robin Williams) was caught with his hand stuck in a moment while vacationing with his family in St. Bart’s (his Joshua Tree must have moved in mysterious ways). Hopefully he found what he was looking for during that unforgettable fiddle.

[Photo: Splash News Online]

And we’re not joking. UK paper The Mirror has led with a serious financial story today laying the blame for the worldwide recession at the door of the Jean Genie/the Thin White Duke/Ziggy Stardust/Jared The Goblin King From Labrynth (delete as to your favorite Bowie phase).  Apparently, David Bowie invented something called “securitisation” back in 1997, where he produced bonds so investors could earn his royalties over the years, in exchange for him having all the cash up front.

“And the banks were catching on to the idea. They thought, ‘We have billions out there in mortgages which are going to pay us back very slowly. Why don’t we sell those and get the money now?’ So the banks started doing what Bowie had done — in a big way,” writes the paper.

Fast forward a decade or so and we’re all in a big pile of economic crap now. Thanks, Dave. Next week we explain why Mick Jagger invented the Internet and why Bono is actually responsible for world poverty. Hey, it could happen… [Photo: Getty Images]

One of the most irritating things EVER is the tendency of some stars to talk about themselves in the third person, no? So how apt that one of Scandalist’s least favorite pious do-gooding self-satisfied celebrities should do that very thing! U2’s Bono has admitted that even he bores the crap out of himself, let alone the whole rest of the world.

“I’m bored of Bono and I am him - I’m sick of me. I felt it was a little limiting to be in the first person,” he told Metro.

We’re not entirely sure what he means by being “limited in the first person” and how he is going to try and remedy that (shape-shifting? Performing a body-swap miracle?). But it’s a start, Bono mate. Now just try and remove your tedious sunglasses first, then your ranting, and then finally your music. There, that’s better. [Photo: WireImage]

U2 frontman Bono didn’t do anything to dispel his tedious windbag image by his appearance presenting Sir Paul McCartney with his Ultimate Legend award. After winding his way through the crowd (and my goodness, he really is SHORT), and in an accent owing more to the US than Ireland, he proceeded to annoy the crowds at the beginning of a very, very long speech.

“It’s great to be here in the capital of east Ireland. We Irish claim the Beatles. Listen pals, if it wasn’t for the potato famine, John Paul George and Ringo would come from bubbling Dublin,” he crowed to boos from the Liverpool crowd. Duh!

“This is the man that invented my job,” he bragged. Listen we don’t want to blame Paul McCartney for U2 but you’re making it difficult for us, mate. And he went on so much McCartney was only on for approximately one-eighth of Bono’s stage time. Something’s not right with this picture. … — By Becky Howard (in London)