Sometimes it's much more firm to watch the Late Show host squirm and make half-hearted self-deprecating jokes than to watch him go on a hilarious tear against someone. (If you're impatient, skip about two minutes in.)
Heidi Klum and Seal crossing the street with their kids in Soho ... Gisele Bundchen walking in the West Village ... Drew Barrymore leaving ABC Studios after a taping of Regis and Kelly ... Elisabeth Hasselbeck carrying son Taylor on her hip ... Agyness Deyn walking with a mystery man in Soho ... Zac Efron talking on a cell phone outside his hotel ... Kelly Ripa leaving a press event in the meatpacking district ... Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts carrying their two kids in Soho ... and Beyonce and Jay-Z leaving the Waverly Inn after dinner.
Kelly Ripa jogging in Central Park ... Ed Westwick and Jessica Szohr walking their dog ... Danny DeVito filming scenes for his new movie, When In Rome ... Michelle Williams walking with Matilda in Brooklyn ... Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts pushing son Alexander in a stroller in the West Village ... Jay Mohr carrying his dog in Midtown ... Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian leaving Owl Lab on East 12th Street ... and Josh Duhamel getting out of a cab in front of his hotel.
• Paris Hilton hasn't given up on her dream of musical superstardom. At a Grammy after-party on Sunday, she accosted Paul McCartney and asked him if he'd be interested in doing a duet with her. Paul politely explained that he didn't think he'd have the time. [The Sun]
• Gwyneth Paltrow didn't join Chris Martin at any of the Grammy after-parties, so he found another chick to hang out with instead. [NYDN]
• The Chris Brown-Rihanna situation has taken a turn for the worse. Rihanna's injuries are reportedly "horrific," and include bite marks, facial contusions, and a bloody nose. Brown has hired attorney Mark Geragos to defend him. Both stars have cancelled upcoming appearances. And Brown's Doublemint gum ad has already been pulled. [People, TMZ, NYP]
Happy New Year, folks—or, as English-torturing songstress Courtney Love might blog it, "HAPPPPPY happy yr NEW happy." Love has posted a brand-new pair of wildly accusatory Myspace entries. Can we decipher them?
Julia Stiles walking in the snow ... Cameron Diaz and Paul Sculfor shopping in SoHo ... Naomi Campbell walking to lunch in Midtown ... Natalie Portman filming scenes for her new movie downtown ... Katie Holmes and Suri visiting a pre-school ... Dustin Hoffman crossing the street ... Liam Neeson walking in Central Park ... Jessica Szohr carrying presents in Midtown ... Richard Chamberlain leaving the Trump International hotel ... Renee Zellweger leaving a building with a coffee cup in a hand ... and John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston going to dinner at La Esquina, around the same time Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos turned up, too.
Last week, the cover of the esteemed National Enquirer reported that Kelly Ripa was splitting up with her husband Mark Consuelos. Was it true? Not so much! Ripa's reps denied the rumor, and her lawyers jumped into action, too, which probably explains why the Enquirer has since removed from the story from its website. In fact, the relationship appears to be going strong, at least judging by the couple's behavior at the "Marriage is a Beautiful Thing" event on Monday night, which was hosted by Jerry Seinfeld to benefit his wife's charity, Baby Buggy. "Not only didn't there seem to be any tension," a tipster tells us, "but they looked totally in love. At one point, Kelly leaned in and gave him a kiss. Could have been just for show, but it looked pretty real to me." Remember: Once you land the stripper of your dreams, you never let him go!
♦ It's not just creditors going after Donald Trump these days: An employee of Trump's golf course in LA says in a lawsuit that the club prohibited her from taking lunch and bathroom breaks. She's only asking for $15,000, though, so obviously she didn't learn much during her stint working for the real estate mogul. [TMZ]
♦ A lawyer for Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos says there's "not a shred of truth" to the rumors the couple is splitting up. [OK!]
♦ Britney Spears' birthday party didn't exactly go as planned. None of her close friends showed up and onlookers say she spent the whole time looking "vacant" and "empty." [R&M, P6]
♦ NBC is furious that news of David Gregory's Meet the Press promotion leaked earlier this week. The likely culprit? NBC political director Chuck Todd. [P6]
Nicole Kidman's cringe-inducing appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman last night is continuing to serve up some aftershocks, and during the star's appearance on Regis and Kelly today, Regis treated Kidman as though she were promoting her late-night trainwreck, not Australia.To be fair, Kidman (made up to look like an insane cross between a pilgrim and the Baroness from The Sound of Music) attempted to be diplomatic about the appearance, but Regis refused to have it, placing the blame for the encounter squarely on Letterman. Careful, Regis — a war with Dave is one that few walk away from as the victor. Just look what happened to John McCain! [Live with Regis and Kelly]
Amy Poehler pushing her new baby boy, Archie, in a stroller ... John Leguizamo riding his bike down the street ... Kirsten Johnston talking on her cell phone ... Nicole Kidman outside the premiere of Australia, just after Hugh Jackman made his arrival ... Kelly Ripa and husband Mark Consuelos unveiling Cartier's holiday windows ... James Taylor arriving at his hotel, followed by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw ... and Katie Holmes walking down the street with Suri.
Naomi Watts carrying coffee in the East Village ... Kelly Ripa walking with her kids Lola and Joaquin on the Upper West Side ... Natalie Portman on the set of her film in Central Park ... Katie Holmes kissing Suri outside their apartment ... Uma Thurman participating in Juror Appreciation Day at the New York Supreme Court ... Tyra Banks walking outside ... Stephen Colbert and Twilight actress Kristen Stewart standing outside the Letterman show ... Sarah Jessica Parker walking son James to school in the West Village ... Leighton Meester filming scenes for Gossip Girl outside the Palace Hotel ... Keri Russell walking by herself ... and Salma Hayek sitting on a suitcase on the set of 30 Rock.
Kelly Ripa jogging in Central Park ... John Mayer pulling up to the Bowery Hotel in his Porsche Cayenne ... Natalie Portman sitting down on the set of her new film ... Leighton Meester on the set of a new ad campaign for Reebok ... Philip Seymour Hoffman walking home after having brunch in SoHo ... Russell Brand leaving the Four Seasons hotel on East 57th Street ... Salma Hayek and daugher Valentina standing on the set of 30 Rock ... Debra Messing walking down Madison Avenue ... Katie Holmes leaving her apartment in the East Village ... Jessica Alba filming scenes for her new movie in the Bronx ... and Justin Timberlake arriving at Dos Caminos for the SNL afterparty, which Jennifer Aniston attended, too.
Karl Lagerfeld looking over a street vendor's wares on Prince Street this weekend ... Chace Crawford hailing a cab in SoHo ... Jennifer Garner and daughter Violet leaving Matt Damon's apartment building on Lafayette Street ... Kelly Ripa leaving ABC studios in Midtown ... Jessica Alba holding hands with husband Cash Warren while carrying baby Honor ... Heidi Klum and Seal walking on the street on Friday... Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber taking a stroll in NoHo ... Matthew Broderick walking son James to school in the West Village ... Kate Winslet standing on the sidewalk ... America Ferrera sipping coffee on the set of Ugly Betty ... Agyness Deyn walking with some friends ... Julianne Moore taking her daughter trick or treating on Friday afternoon in the West Village ... Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise going to lunch at Balthazar ... and Ryan Reynolds crossing the finish line yesterday in Central Park.
You can take the Whoopi out of the girlfight at The View, but you can't necessarily take the girlfight out of Whoopi. That seems to be the lesson learned this morning on Live with Regis and Kelly, where Ms. Goldberg — who was out sick for Wednesday's particularly violent drama — played dumb, then defensive, then philosophical about the onscreen battles (not to mention the fantastic backstage bloodbaths) plaguing her show's panel. "What is the problem with those women?" asks Regis, his furrowed brow projecting the sincere concern of a man who knows a thing or two about handling high-strung co-hosts. If there is peace to be found in this literal no-man's-land, surely Reeg will mediate it — assuming, that is, no one burns Elisabeth Hasselbeck down before then. [Live with Regis and Kelly]
Matthew Broderick riding his bike in Tribeca ... Keri Russell crossing the street ... Gavin Rossdale signing autographs outside ABC ... Kelly Ripa jogging outside for a TV segment ... Ugly Betty's Becki Newton and Michael Urie hugging on the sidewalk ... Alex Rodriguez leaving a parking garage in Midtown ... Kelly Cutrone in Soho, screaming on her cell phone ... Nastia Liukin on the set of Gossip Girl ... Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, and Vanessa Hudgens leaving lunch at Serendipity 3 on East 60th ... Katie Holmes getting out of an SUV outside the Schoenfeld Theatre ... and Tom Cruise and Suri boarding a helicopter.
Last Friday, Howard Stern finally made an honest woman of his lady love Beth Ostrosky. US Weekly has the official photos from the wedding, which took place at Le Cirque and was attended by Barbara Walters, Billy Joel and Katie Lee, Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman, and Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, who officiated. What Howard's perennial sidekick Robin Quivers says was a "clever, creative, fun party" appears to have been marred only by Ostrosky's dress: The Georgina Chapman-created number, unlike the designer's usual romantic, ethereal frocks, looks like it should have been accessorized with platform stripper shoes and a pole—which, come to think of it, would have been entirely appropriate.
Donna Karan is celebrating her 60th birthday today, although you'd probably never guess it thanks to all the juice diets, yoga, Reiki and Kabbalah classes, and "therapeutic screaming" sessions. Others celebrating today: Photographer Annie Leibovitz is 59. Kelly Ripa is 38. Lorraine Bracco is turning 54. Sting is 57. And '80s pop star Tiffany is celebrating her 37th birthday.
