feuds

Keith Olbermann Savors His Fleeting Moment Of Revenge Against Page Six

Hamilton Nolan · 07/17/08 12:57PM

Keith Olbermann and Rupert Murdoch's media empire keep adding to their illustrious history of mutual hatred. Last month, the Murdoch-owned Post's Page Six accused the broadcaster of valuing ketchup more than the memory of the newly dead Tim Russert. Earlier this week, Page Six ran a particularly provocative item accusing Olbermann of being, uh, too nice to the departed Tony Snow. And last night, Olbermann had his revenge for that; he was forced to call Page Six "sick, sick people" and big liars for all their lying lies. Click to watch his righteous thunder. We report and you decide, ha ha!

Olbermann Smeared By Post, Future "Worst Person In The World"

Ryan Tate · 07/15/08 06:43AM

As you are likely painfully aware, MSNBC Countdown host Keith Olbermann is in a big feud with the entire News Corporation, since he picked a fight with thin-skinned Bill O'Reilly on Fox News. This feud recently grew to include News Corp.'s Post. When Post reporter Paula Froelich researched an item for Page Six on Olbermann supposedly demanding Tim Russert's old job, Olbermann preemptively called the reporter "the worst person in the world" on his show. When the Post did a story on Olbermann supposedly demanding to fly first class, he called Page Six-er Corynne Steindler "the worst person in the world." And now someone else at the Post is about to be called the "worst person in the world," because Page Six just ran some more bullshit gossip, this time about how Olbermann was way too nice in eulogizing former Bush press secretary Tony Snow. Wait, what?

Fox News Flacks: O Hai, Sorry 'Bout Da Smears!

Ryan Tate · 07/14/08 10:12PM

How does Fox News' vicious PR department respond to charges it smeared a Times reporter as a drug addict, blamed a pregnant Wall Street Journal reporter's hormones for unfavorable coverage, and that chief Irena Briganti blackballed, bullied and threatened virtually all the reporters she came into contact with? By distributing to TV critics a button with pictures of kittens and hearts, reading "Hugs & Kittens from Fox News Media Relations." Ha ha, get it? It's funny because reporters who can't take Fox's hardball PR tactics are babies who expect to be coddled. Instead, they will be devoured by Fox News chief Roger Ailes, with kittens and human hearts as the appetizer. [TVNewser] (Image via TVNewser)

A Very Brady Bitchfight

Molly Friedman · 07/14/08 06:13PM

It’s always fun when a Shiny Happy People show like Full House, The Partridge Family or The Brady Bunch is unveiled as a breeding ground for future meth addicts, domestic abusers, and on-screen mother/son duos still bitchily feuding decades after their stars have burnt out. And the Brady cast is by far the most over-achieving bunch of fuck-ups to efficiently destroy any warm and fuzzy associations we may have had with that humorless bundle of 70s saccharine. Following Jan and Marsha’s fictional sibling rivalry leading to a non-fictional lesbian porn, little Cindy Brady showed up to a radio interview last week reeking of vintage wine and memories, excusing herself to vomit during commercial breaks. And now, reality trainwreck Christopher “Peter” Knight has taken down the last remaining beacon of Brady light, Florence Henderson, by involving the (until now) scandal-free actress in a messy online war of words:

"Nuclear" Smear Campaign Against Fashion Blogger

Ryan Tate · 07/10/08 09:31PM

Don't think for a second that Fox News has a monopoly on vicious, personal attacks against its media competitors. Daniel Saynt (pictured, left) of the blog Fashion Indie is in his own, particularly bitchy catfight with Sarah Conley and Julie Frederickson (pictured, right) of Coutorture. The battle started with a racial insult, then progressed to trash talking and now involves unflattering photos. And one gets the feeling that, when all is said and done, it's going to make the despicably nasty Fox-Times brawl look like a tea party. The whole thing started when Saynt wrote the following noxious critique of Vogue's Andre Leon Talley:

Fox News Finds Julia Allison 'Sad'

Ryan Tate · 07/10/08 06:34AM

Earlier this week, Fox News began sprinkling helpful exclusives on its erstwhile enemies at the Times in an ostensible bid to atone for past smears. But the favors may also be part of a divide-and-conquer strategy to prevent the formation of an anti-Fox "posse," to use columnist David Carr's memorable phrasing. And so, perhaps, it is with Julia Allison, the shamelessly self-advancing internet fameball who so many in the New York media bubble love to hate. Why has Fox stooped — famewise, mind you — to picking a fight with Allison, telling the Daily News today that her comments against the network's vicious flack Irena Briganti are "yet another sad, relentless attempt at relevancy?" Maybe because the "rep" quoted by the News is actually Briganti herself, unable to resist swiping at someone with far less power than the Times. Or maybe the network is deploying its divide-and-conquer strategy to a much larger group of detractors than reporters at one newspaper — people who hate Julia Allison.

Obama "Forgets" To Ask For Hillary Donations

Ryan Tate · 07/10/08 12:58AM

"After finishing his speech to a roomful of New York donors at the Grand Hyatt without any mention of helping Clinton with her debt, reporters ran over to Obama's spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who was already spinning hard that Obama's failure to make a pitch was no big deal. Then the music stopped and Obama, very awkwardly, started speaking again." [Observer]

Why CNBC's Kneale Should Go To Jail

Ryan Tate · 07/08/08 09:30PM

Dennis Kneale joined his CNBC colleagues today in effusive praise of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. After Power Lunch host Bill Griffeth said Dimon was "very entertaining" at an FDIC event and "had a career as an after-dinner speaker," Kneale added that Dimon was a "guy talking about what he knows." And when Kneale's longtime nemesis Charles Gasparino argued that Dimon's comments should be treated more skeptically — "discounted by 50 percent... because there's a degree of flackery here" — Kneale strongly disagreed (clip after the jump). It's odd that Kneale is offering kind words for Dimon rather than bashing the dealmaker, given that Dimon thinks the CNBC talking head should be thrown in jail.

Bill O'Reilly Falsely Accuses Times Of Caricature

Ryan Tate · 07/08/08 01:54AM

In response to a Times column about Fox News uglifying a picture of reporter Jacques Steinberg and viciously smearing Tim Arango and other journalists, the cable network's chief rageaholic, Bill O'Reilly, is pretending to be pissed at the Times for caricaturing him in the illustration for a 2007 book review. The caricature, he said during his Fox show last night, even included some kind of devil horn (clip after the jump). But O'Reilly's screaming on-air hatefest is the worst sort of act, because if you actually examine the illustration, reproduced after the jump, you notice two things.

Jeremy Piven and Stephen Dorff Invoke Fragile Peace at 'Public Enemies' Wrap Party

STV · 07/07/08 11:20AM

We're happy to see today that the winged gatekeeper budget-monkeys on the set of Michael Mann's Public Enemies — who so scandalously sought to exclude scores of part-timers from the film's recent wrap party in Chicago — ultimately came around to relaxing their admission standards to the point where even Stephen Dorff was welcome. That would have been a good enough concession for the justice crusaders over here at Defamer HQ — but for Dorff's infamous urinal-queue archnemesis Jeremy Piven to show up as well? Jesus Christ, will they just let anybody into this place?

Hillary Clinton, Butter-Grubbing Date From Hell

Ryan Tate · 07/07/08 04:35AM

Bill Clinton's labor secretary, Robert Reich, gave an interview for the Times magazine this weekend focused largely on economic and political issues. But he also recounted a college date he had with Hillary Clinton, apparently before she moved on from 4-foot-10 Reich to barbecue-fed, 6-foot-2 Bill. Reich, who publicly repudiated the Clintons starting in December, of course used his memory of the date as yet another chance to shiv the couple, by painting Hillary as a budget-busting glutton for grease:

Greta Van Susteren Bays For Blood Of Anderson Cooper

Ryan Tate · 07/07/08 01:14AM

As a member of two vindictive cults - Fox News and Scientology - cable news anchor Greta Van Susteren is an absolute pro at channeling rage. Witness the blog post she typed up on the 4th of July holiday. The executive producer of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 last week called Susteren's On The Record "not a news program. It's missing-person of the day." Hoo-boy. Susteren's 1000-word response swiftly pinned blame for the comments on Cooper, since he should be able to control his producer, then basically called the silver-haired anchor a coddled, commercialized, Katrina-exploiting, polygamy-obsessed pretty boy. Susteren, meanwhile, has a magical law degree that obviates the need for a teleprompter, ever. A breakdown (and partial refutation) of her rant, after the jump.

Is Anna Wintour Locked In A Feud With Interview?

Hamilton Nolan · 07/03/08 09:44AM

Is there a behind-the-scenes magazine war going on between Vogue and Interview for the services of the best photographers in the business? Sources say there just might be! It's a rather important issue, considering the publications. The spat, we hear, goes to the heart of icy Vogue editor Anna Wintour's sense of entitlement in the fashion magazine world. Do not make her jealous:

Opie's $10 Million Page Six Suit: The Source Denies All

Hamilton Nolan · 06/27/08 08:33AM

Chaunce Hayden (pictured: his back tat), the editor of marginal gossip rag Steppin' Out, was named in a $10 million lawsuit yesterday for being the source who provided Page Six with a false item about a sex tape featuring Bam Margera and the fiancee of radio shock jock Opie. The Post already tried to pin all the blame for the mistake on Hayden (which is rather ungallant, whether accurate or not). And Page Six editor Richard Johnson even told Hayden he would never use another item from him again. But Chaunce has his own story, which can be summed up as: I just said this was a rumored sex tape, jerks. And I didn't start the rumor. It was some dude named, uh... Ben!:

'Page Six' Accuses Olbermann Of Putting Condiments Before Mourning

Pareene · 06/25/08 09:17AM

So Page Six—the oft-vicious Murdoch-owned gossip sheet—occasionally goes after MSNBC pundit Keith Olbermann, partly because Olbermann's kind of an easy target but mostly because Olbermann wages nightly war on all of Murdoch's News Corp. But you knew that. Recently, when NBC's Tim Russert died, Olbermann tried to preempt a Page Six report unfavorable to him and his MSNBC coworker Chris Matthews by denying it before it even ran. Oddly, he declared Page Six second-in-command Paula Froelich his Worst Person In the World instead of the more evil Richard Johnson. So Paula responded in email to us. But we all knew what was coming! Today, Page Six itself strikes back against Olbermann. What terribly embarrassing story do they have for us?

Paparazzi To Rumble With Surfers In Malibu

Ryan Tate · 06/25/08 05:13AM

Remember the big paparazzi beat-down by surfers in Malibu this past weekend? Well, there's now supposed to be a big Saturday rumble between the two groups, who have been trading taunts in the comments of pap-run news site X17.com. The original clash pitted a mob of entitled white Malibu denizens against the rough-and-tumble paps, some of whom are ex-gang members and many of whom are immigrants, some illegal. The new fight promises even more fun ethnic tension under the sun:

Hillary Clinton Rage Continues At Vogue

Ryan Tate · 06/25/08 03:25AM

Last fall, before she realized she would soon need every last scrap of sympathetic coverage she could get, Hillary Clinton ditched a Vogue interview and photo shoot because it might maker her look too elitist or feminine or something. Anna Wintour in January penned a bitchy editor's note about the incident. And now the poor writer who had to go through the excruciating, months-long process of setting up the damned interview is letting off some steam. Julia Reed is now free to tell how she really feels about Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson, and that's what she does today in Women's Wear Daily:

Arianna Insists Her Dislike of Tim Russert Was Nothing Personal

Pareene · 06/24/08 10:37AM

Portfolio media reporter Jeff Bercovici cornered blogstress Arianna Huffington at a party and interviewed her. He asked, awkwardly, about Tim Russert. As you may recall, Arianna did not like the deceased newsman. She devoted a great deal of time and energy to criticizing his interview style, guests, questions, and status. To be fair, her points were often cogent and correct! But the other thing is that Tim's wife Maureen Orth wrote a terribly nasty story about Arianna back in the '90s and also called her then-husband gay (he was, and is). Then Arianna was accused of hiring a private investigator to tail Maureen and Tim. Which she denies. Still, she says, Russert Watch was nothing personal.