April 2007 News Archive (Page 2)

Next season, Survivor will take to the islands of coastal China. But for now, tensions are rising in Fiji as the field is winnowing and the tasks getting increasingly grueling.

With Edgardo voted out, there are only eight survivors left and individuals move into high gear to secure places within an alliance that will assure them of making it through to the finals on Survivor: Fiji Islands.

Concerned that he voted Mookie Lee (pictured) to go, Dreamz comes to a tough realization.

They changed their vote last minute because they thought Mookie might pull out the immunity idol, and that they didn't tell him. It dawns on him that his position is precarious.

Continue reading this recap of last night's Survivor: Fiji Islands ...

Tyra Banks dining and ditching was one thing.

Trying to run someone over with a car, though? That's taking today's Reality TV Scoop crime watch to another level.

Jesse James is car enthusiast, but the former Monster Garage star most likely doesn't relish the thought of being run over by one.

But that almost happened last weekend when the 38-year-old came close to being hit by a woman who was stalking his wife, actress Sandra Bullock, outside their Southern California home.

"At around 10:40 AM [Sunday] James found the suspect, Marcia Valentine, lying on their driveway," Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said in a statement.

"Jesse James told her to leave, but she got into her 2004 silver Mercedes and tried to run him over three to four times... Valentine tried to kill him."

The alleged attack by Valentine - who had been stalking Sandra Bullock in the past, according to Amormino - was witnessed by the 42-year-old actress as well as James' 10-year-old son, Jesse Jr.

"Both Jesse James and Sandra Bullock are fine and it is now in the hands of the authorities," Bullock's representative, Cheryl Maisel, told People.

While Valentine fled the scene following her attempt to run-over James, the police said an officer recognized her 2004 Mercedes the following morning and arrested her for assault with a deadly weapon.

She posted $25,000 bail and is due in court on May 22. Amormino was unable to confirm if Marcia Valentine had any previous arrests or whether any restraining orders had been filed against her.

Maybe they'll call James' next show Monster Stalker.

Let this be a lesson that if you're a somewhat obscure reality TV star and you marry a big-time actor or actress, this is the kind of thing you can expect. Hopefully Karina Smirnoff realizes the risks.

And the Reality TV Scoop staff thought we were the only ones who still pulled the dine-and-dash routine in New York City.

Wait, did we say that out loud? Disregard.

Anyway, Tyra Banks finally paid a brunch bill Thursday after "mistakenly" leaving a Manhattan eatery without settling the check last weekend.

On Saturday, the supermodel ate at the Brooklyn Diner with music mogul Russell Simmons and his children - but the party left without paying, according to Alexis Reyes, who runs the diner.

"Everybody waved goodbye and there was nothing in the billfold," Reyes saiid. "We kind of figured it was okay. It was so chaotic, she thought someone must have paid the bill."

As Banks explained on The View Thursday morning, she had offered to pick up the check, then Russell Simmons insisted he would, but ultimately neither did in a misunderstanding.

On Wednesday, the celebrity gossip fiends at the New York's Daily News reported that Banks "dined and dashed," which made her realize the mistake.

"I read the [newspaper] and they're saying I'm cheap and I didn't pay the bill," the America's Next Top Model host said on The View Thursday. "So I'm on my way after this with my $120 and I'm going to give it to them."

Indeed, Banks showed up to make good on the check, Reyes confirmed.

"She was really apologetic and also she was really embarrassed," he says. "She was great. She was very much a lady."

As for the gratuity, Reyes says of Banks:

"She left a wonderful tip. She was quite generous."

She usually is. Too bad there was no tip that could save Jael Strauss.

We're not surprised that Banks, one of our favorite reality TV stars, would make good on her promise and make up for her mistake.

She's no Jason Wahler.

On April 13, many in the Dancing with the Stars cast attended the 14th Annual Race to Erase MS.

Here are a few photos from the charity event, starting with this year's current favorites, Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough:

Next, take a look at a happy, romantic couple. Yes, that really is Matthew Lawrence with his arm around Cheryl Burke:

Finally - look out! - a giant close up of Joey Fatone is coming your way. We doubt the ladies will mind, however:

The reality TV ratings for network television don't come as any surprise: American Idol and Dancing with the Stars dominated last week's viewer numbers.

For the week that ended on April 13, however, there was an unexpected winner on cable: Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School provided VH-1 with its highest-rated series premiere ever. That may be a sign of the apocalypse.

At least people also tuned in to Deadliest Catch, one of the more exciting, underrated programs on TV.

Typically, Katie Price poses nude - or at least very close to it.

So, what happens when photographer try to get a shot of the pregnant co-star of Katie and Peter when she isn't made up and in the buff? Mrs. Peter Andre tries to hide behind big sunglasses and a grocery bag.

But we caught her! You might as well smile, Katie ...

Will Marcellas Reynolds be back on the Web for Big Brother 8?

Let's find out, courtesy of the former Big Brother contestant himself:

I've been really busy working and raising money for my fave charit,y Project Angel Food. You have to watch my episode of The Tyra Banks Show on April, 30th [to learn more about it].

I assume I'll be back for House Calls [the CBS.com show that analyzes the current season of Big Brother]. I never hear until end of May. Gretchen Massey and I both have contracts for two more seasons so we'll see what happens. I've got a real big gig coming (I hope) so I may not be able to do it! Keep your fingers crossed for that one!

Meanwhile, it was just announced that Marcellas will be hosting LA Pride 2007 on the Main Stage, June 9 and 10. Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Terri Nun of Berlin and Frenchie Davis of American Idol and Broadway's Rent will all be there.

A British judge dismissed claims by a Big Brother 4 housemate that two publications libeled her by portraying her as a man posing as a woman.

Lisa Jeynes, who was in the 2003 reality show series, sued Love It! magazine and News of the World last year, seeking up to $300,000 in damages. Her complaint was with the headline "BB's Lisa 'the geezer.' My fake boobs fell out on date with James Hewitt!"

Jeynes, 38, contended that headline, against a backdrop of rumors that there would be a transsexual contestant, damaged her, the London Press Gazette reported Wednesday. However, attorneys for the publications argued in London's High Court that the case should be tossed because Jeynes' claim was "far-fetched" when the words were read in proper context.

The judge agreed.

"That would be to read far too much into those words," he said.

The judge refused to grant her permission to appeal the case, saying it was unlikely to be successful but she could take that step independently. Jeynes, who had been a shop manager and model but currently is living on benefits, faces court costs of about $13,500, the Press Gazette said.

In our investigation into the strange, yet increasingly famous life of Spencer Pratt earlier this week, we learned that he has a cameo in a Kevin Federline video. We'll, we've found the video in question ("Lose Control") and found the moment in which you can see Spencer.

Not that this is anything great (you're probably better off reading our interview with new PCD member Asia Nitollano, in all honestly).

In fact, he's just standing around at a club, and you can barely make out that it's Spencer Pratt in this low-res clip. On the plus side, he's one ugly dude - so maybe that's a good thing. Look for him at the 49-second mark... and enjoy the fact that you're wathcing a Kevin Federline video at work.

That's funny in and of itself, no?

Wow. If we were Spencer Pratt, and our goal in life was to act as awesome as we possibly could while contributing nothing to society, we'd have all copies of this tape. destroyed ASAP. Although Heidi Montag knows about it and it hasn't stopped her from dating Pratt (or getting a boob job and nose job for him).

Special thanks to Heather, a reader of the Scoop and a fan of The Hills who emailed us and brought this to our attention.

While Kristine Lefebvre might be the beautiful reality TV show star of the moment (posing for Playboy will do that for you), let's not forget about the newest member of The Pussycat Dolls.

Asia Nitollano won The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll last week. And she recently sat down with Buddy TV to talk about it ...

For those that might not know, how did you end up being on the show and what exactly inspired you to try out to be the Next Doll?
Well I've wanted to be a performer since I was a little girl. I've been dancing and singing my whole life, so that's my dream. And then when I heard of the opportunity, that they were having auditions for another member, I went straight for it. You know, anything to complete my dream.

Throughout the competition you talked a lot about your daughter being your inspiration. Did you ever have second thoughts while you were actually in the midst of the competition?
I mean, of course you always have your doubts and everything, but you always have to keep going and never give up, you know, that's how you get anywhere.

You and Melissa R. were definitely at each other's throats [in the season finale]. Was there always tension between you two throughout the competition, and why do you think things seemed to escalate as much as it did when it came down to the wire?
I mean obviously the fight didn't happen until the end of the show. There was no real tension before that. I mean, it was a stressful situation. It was a competition. You know, we all had different emotions and you know it was in the heat of the moment. We got into an argument just like how any group of friends would, or your brothers and sisters would, and then you get over it afterwards.

So do you keep in touch with any of the girls from the show still?
Yes I do. The girls are great. They're all really great people. I really became close with Brittany and Melissa S. You know we speak all the time and I speak to Jamie and Mariela and you know, the other girls we text message each other. We still maintain a relationship.

So how much pressure were you feeling going into your final performances?
Oh, it was so scary. Especially being one of the final three you know, because you know that you're that close and it could be any one of you at this point. And you know, you just…you want to hit it, you want to nail it; you don't want to regret anything. So I was pretty happy with how things went.

After you did your solo performance, how confident did you feel about your chances of actually wining the competition?
I always had confidence throughout the whole competition but I also knew that the other girls were really great competitors and were talented as well. So I knew it could be any man's game, and you know, whoever won would have been deserving.

There's a lot of anticipation waiting for the judges to make their final decision. What was going through your mind during that time period?
I was just thinking of all the people that I love, you know, my daughter, my mom, my family. And I was just praying that it was me that won. You know, I didn't want to deal with any more rejection. I just wanted to win it, you know?

So how did it feel on stage performing for the first time officially as a Pussycat Doll?
It felt great. You know that's what I came there to do. I couldn't wait to get on the stage with those girls and I'm happy I had the opportunity just to be next to these talented, beautiful women. And it was an honor.

Can you tell us what's in store for you now? What happens now that you've become the newest member of The Pussycat Dolls? What can fans expect?
I really don't know what's going to happen next. I just won. I'm taking it all in and I'm excited so we'll be speaking with the label in a few and we'll see what happens from there.