Nobody could blame Oprah for one sex scandal at that save-the-youth school she opened in South Africa, but now that there's another sex scandal there, we must ask, "Does Oprah love sex, and scandals???"
A member of the "golden" Noel family is finally speaking out. Andrés Piedrahita, the party-loving Colombian-born son-in-law/employee of Walter Noel, tells the Wall Street Journal that since Fairfield Greenwich lost more than $7 billion to Bernie Madoff, "life has changed a lot." But that's not because he did anything wrong! He was just as shocked by the news as everyone else, which is why he remains blissfully free of any regret: "I and look at myself in the morning, and I'm very proud of what I've done, and so are my partners." Isn't that comforting to hear? [WSJ]
Whitney Port and (ex-boyfriend!) Jay Lyon walking together in the West Village ... Sarah Jessica Parker leaving her townhouse with her mail in hand ... Julianne Moore walking along Sixth Avenue with husband Bart Freundlich and their kids ... Liev Schreiber carrying his son and a stroller in the East Village ... Paul McCartney getting out of an SUV on the set of Have You Heard About the Morgans? ... Sean Connery walking on the Upper East Side ... Jennifer Aniston carrying a script on the set of The Baster ... Ozzy Osbourne heading into an interview on Howard Stern's radio show ... and Kiefer Sutherland arriving for dinner at the Waverly Inn.
It looks like you won't be seeing any less of Keith Olbermann on MSNBC anytime soon. Back in January, Phil Griffin, the network's president, told the Times that finding a new show to replace the rerun of Olbermann's Countdown at 10pm was a "top priority." But MSNBC's plans have changed, it seems. Griffin now says he's putting an "indefinite hold" on the search for someone new, which may have something to do with the fact a canned Olbermann still usually beats out CNN's Anderson Cooper:
Today we have a songstress with a hairy stomach, an actor with an eating disorder, a self-conscious starlet, and a socialite who's secretly broke and selling off her jewels to stay afloat.
In these dark times, we'll take good news from wherever we can, let alone spectacular news like this. Basically, any guilt you were harboring about not having been to the gym since the beginning of the new year you can replace with smugness, because scientists now say that exercise isn't going to make you thin. In fact, it might even make you fat! "Your appetite goes up when you start to exercise," according to one physiologist. "Your body is telling you it needs more calories, so you eat more."
Blogger ChiChi212 says that Tinsley Mortimer turned up at Pastis over the weekend with her on-again, off-again husband Topper in tow, but Tinz's credit card went missing—gasp!—and they had no way to get home, so "the bartender had to give them $20 from the bar so they could take a cab." This supposes Tinsley carries a single credit card in her oversized wallet and that Topper carries no money of his own, but before you go and dismiss it as a silly rumor, you're more than welcome to take a moment to savor the thought. [ChiChi212]
Sign of the apocalypse number 567: It's not only teenage girls who are joining adult women in spending vast sums on make-up, hair products, and beauty treatments. Nor is it only tweens. According to research by Experian, 43 percent of 6- to 9-year-olds use lipstick or lip gloss, 38 percent use hairstyling products, and of course there's the now-notorious Dimples Kids' Spa in Brooklyn Heights (run, natch, by a Russian woman), where girls from 0-12 can get expensive mani-pedis and facials. So who or what is to blame for turning the nation's girl children into monstrous little patsies of the beauty industry? It's the internet, like you even needed to ask!
• Christiane Celle, the founder of the Calypso boutiques scattered across Soho/Nolita, and her husband, fashion photographer Antoine Verglas, have lowered the price of their duplex penthouse at 129 Lafayette Street. The four-bedroom loft (left), which went on the market for $13.995 million in January, is now priced at $11.999 million. [Cityfile, CBHK]
• Disgraced investor Gerhard Andlinger was hoping to set a new record a few months ago when he put his 8,300-square-foot condo at the Time Warner Center on the market for $65 million. Now he just wants to get a deal done. Andlinger is now looking to unload it for $49 million. [NYO, BHS]
• Visa senior vice president Darren Parslow and art director Justin Durongsaeng have paid $1.9 million for an eighth-floor condo at 133 West 22nd Street. [Cityfile]
Christopher Walken turns 66 today. The former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, is 61. Rep. Barney Frank is 69. Ewan McGregor is turning 38. Nutty radio host Michael Savage is 67. Film director Gary Winick is turning 48. Bergdorf fashion director Linda Fargo is 52. Legendary theater impresario Jimmy Nederlander is 87. Rhea Perlman is 61. Actor Richard Chamberlain is turning 75. And Travel Channel host Samantha Brown is celebrating her 40th today.
Justice is served on Tuesdays, apparently: Madonna must convince a Malawi judge she's not an impulsive, Godless witch; clubs are finally willing to discipline bankers; and Rihanna will help prosecutors, they hope.
• Sad news for those of you who expected "Real Housewife" Luann de Lesseps to be with her count in shining armor forever. The couple is now splitting up, reportedly because the count is getting serious with an "Ethiopian woman in Geneva." On the plus side, Luann should be able to hold on to her title as "Countess," which is the only thing that matters anyway. [P6]
• Queen Latifah has been sued by her former "beauty and style consultants" for not paying $1 million in fees. [NYP]
• Jennifer Lopez brought 11 pieces of luggage with her on her weekend trip to Japan. Even worse: They were of the cheap, non-designer variety. [DM]
• Soho House is kicking out the finance-types and says it plans to get back to its "artsy roots." Good luck with that. [P6]
• The markets were down big yesterday—the Dow shed 254 points—but stocks should do better today as the first quarter of '09 comes to a close. [CNN, WSJ]
• ABC News reports that the FBI and federal prosecutors are "closing in" on AIG's most notorious exec, Joseph Cassano, who made as much as $300 million running the company's disastrous Financial Products Division. [ABC]
• Wondering what Andrew Cuomo has been up to? Here's your answer: He just forced JPMorgan to refund a group of customers $4.4 million. [DJ]
• Morgan Stanley is set to raise $6 billion for a new global property fund. [BN]
• France is now looking to limit executive compensation, too. [WSJ]
• The 15 largest global banks are expected to shrink their balance sheets by about $2 trillion in 2009. [Reuters]
• Google plans to commit $100 million to a new venture capital fund. [WSJ]
• One more victim of the recession: the sanctity of contracts. [NYT]
• Carl Icahn is taking a gamble: He's bidding on Atlantic City's Tropicana. [DB]
