As a matter of policy we leave celebrity cellulite photos to sites such as the Daily Mail's, which specializes in premature wrinkles, embarrassing guts and other physical evidence that decrepitude is inevitable—even for stars. But Mischa Barton's idiotic publicist has decided to turn an embarrassing photograph of the actress' rumpled behind into a fully-fledged photoshop scandal—which gives every gossip site the excuse to run the otherwise stale photographs. And Team Barton can't even get its story straight.

The British-born star of The OC said her European background made her comfortable with her body, flaws and all—and made no suggestion that the photos were faked. "You are what you are as a woman." It might have been an idea to coordinate talking points with publicist Lisa Perkins, who contradicted her client with an attack on the photographer. "Those photos are doctored," said Perkins. "I'm not saying she's perfect, nobody is. But they've given a 22-year-old woman the legs and bottom of an 80-year-old. Look at the shots that were taken shortly before on a beach in L.A. Did she develop all that cellulite in a couple of weeks? There's a lot you can do with Photoshopping."

So, what are the possibilities?

  1. The photo was faked by money-grubbing paparazzi.
  2. Mischa Barton's legs suffer from progeria.
  3. Barton's publicist doesn't know when to let a story die.
  4. All of the above.