March 2009 News Archive

Is it hot in here, or is it the video below of Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke dancing the Tango on last night's Dancing with the Stars?

The tandem scored a perfect 30 for the routine, a mark that took the French actor by surprise. He was asked about it by E! News:

You did amazing last night. You got three 10s!
We try our best. I was very insecure last night before we start dancing because I saw the dress rehearsals. Everyone was brilliant and I was like, "I'm done today."

How does it feel to hear Carrie Anne Inaba say she couldn't tell who was the celebrity and who was the professional dancer during your Argentine Tango?
You know, it doesn't make me do anything. When she says that it means Cheryl is an accomplished teacher. Every week I'm starting from zero. We have the paso doble next, and I don't know what a paso doble is yet. I never seen a paso doble my entire life. I didn't even know how to spell it.

This season, fans of reality TV were treated to the first backstabbing Bachelor.

Are they now ready for a plus-sized Bachelor?

Fox is developing More to Love, a dating series that will follow a similar format to The Bachelor. The only difference? It will feature a larger lead man, as he attempts to woo several overweight suitors.

"This is a dating show that sends the right message about embracing and loving yourself no matter your shape or size," said Mike Fleiss, creator of The Bachelor. "When you are comfortable with your own body, you can really allow yourself to be open to the possibility of finding the right person to love."

Jason Mesnick was a picture perfect Bachelor. The same won't be said for the lead on More to Love.

The network is currently casting "eligible plus-sized men and women ready to jump into the experience of a lifetime." The show is scheduled to premiere in the fall.

"This is the first dating competition show in television history that reflects what most real single men and women look like, which makes it instantly relatable to the vast majority of people in the dating pool," said Fox reality chief Mike Darnell.

Kelly Bensimon reported to a New York City courthouse today, as the Real Housewife starred in her very own personal drama.

She faces a misdemeanor assault charge after she allegedly attacked boyfriend Nick Stefanov (pictured).

"I'm really upset by the entire process," Bensimon told Extra after the hearing. "My beautiful girls and I are being exposed to a horrible situation. I just think it just unsettling... My girls don't need to be exposed to something like this. It's really inappropriate."

Bensimon's lawyer Ed Hayes, meanwhile, was definitely credited with the quote of the day.

Asked if he thinks the situation could be described as a lovers' quarrel, Hayes replied: "I don't even know if I qualify him as lover. How about a jilted moron?"

On last night's incredible installment of For the Love of Ray J...

... Ray J's sister, Moesha, showed up and implemented a lie detector test for all tha suitors;

... Danger admitted to homocidal thoughts about one or more contestants;

... Ray J wondered: "How can you distinguish love from family? From trust and lust? Like, what is it?"

Review more from the hour, thanks to VH1's official series blog. Then, click on the photos below to enlarge images from last night's episode...

Look, we aren't big fans of Vicki Gunvalson, either. But this is ridiculous.

According to TMZ, The Orange County Sheriff's Department is investigating a pair of death threats received by The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member. Police say the two threats came from "a fanatical female fan who takes the show way too seriously."

Gee, you think?!?

According to Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino, Gunvalson received one of the threats via a phone call; the the other arrived through an email sent to fellow star Jeana Keough. The email told Keough not to worry about Gunvalson because she "would take care of Vicki for her."

Yikes.

The season's first series of 10s were handed out this week, as Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani set the high of the season with a score of 29... only to see it wiped out a few moments later by another pairing.

Indeed, the favorites were all on fire last night; while Steve Wozniak, to put it bluntly, was not.

How low did his score go? And who earned the aforementioned perfect mark of 30? We have the answers in this week's Dancing with the Stars recap!

Steve Wozniak makes us laugh... and cringe.

Melissa Rycroft has already turned her nationally televised heartbreak into fame, thanks to Dancing with the Stars.

Will she soon turn it into fortune, thanks to Playboy?

According to a new report, the one-time Jason Mesnick finacee has been offered $500,000 to pose in the pages of Hugh Hefner's creation. Says a source:

"Hef really wants Melissa to do a pictorial because she's the ultimate girl next door. He thinks she has it all: beauty, brains and spunk. And it doesn't hurt that she has a terrific figure."

It's hidden here, but Melissa Rycroft does posssess a great body. Should she bare it all in Playboy?

It's been nearly a month since Jason Mesnick shocked the world by dumping Melissa Rycroft for Molly Malaney on The Bachelor "After the Final Rose" special.

Jason's Bachelor predecessor, Matt Grant, doesn't approve of the move.

Mesnick's unceremoniously dispatching Rycroft and romancing runner-up Molly while the cameras rolled was not smart, the London native told People.

“This guy kind of committed suicide,” said Grant. “He’s a nice man. I’ve met him quite a few times. But I think he should have gone about it differently.”

Jason Mesnick should have handled things differently, Matt Grant thinks - but he admits it took guts for The Bachelor star to do what was right.

Matt Grant, however, does give Mesnick credit for owning up to his mistake early on: “Ultimately, he had the [guts] to say, ‘I screwed up.’”

Grant proposed to Shayne Lamas on The Bachelor but their engagement ended in July of last year. He's now dating his publicist, Sarah Robarts.

Nowadays, Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney continue to date off camera as a jilted Rycroft has become a smash hit on Dancing with the Stars.

So far, so good for Chelsie Hightower on Dancing with the Stars.

She and partner TY Murray aren't atop the show's leaderboard, but the tandem has managed to survive and advance every week so far.

Asked about her first season on the ABC competition, the former So You Think You Can Dance contestant told TV Guide:

The scheduling is really overwhelming. We were just talking about this. You know, we wake up, do press, do practice, do more press. I feel like I don't stop for my friends. I don't talk to my mom even! But it's cool because you know it's going to pay off. It's not something where you wake up and go, "Oh crap! I've got to practice again." It feels good to work.

Remember Alex Murrel, the brunette from Season 2 of Laguna Beach?

No? You mean you can't actually recall the people from that show besides Jason Wahler, Kristin Cavallari and Lauren Conrad? Come on, people!

Well, here's a picture of Alex Murrel below. Ring any bells?

Still no? Well, forget about it. She's in the news this morning because her boyfriend Renzo Gamboa, a Peruvian illegal immigrant, was busted this week for selling cocaine out of her rented house. Classy guy, sounds like.

“The immigration people came down and asked us for assistance,” said an official with the Laguna Beach police department.

“They found him at the girlfriend’s house and we assisted them, but we had a new charge to add on because of the cocaine in the house which was his.”

Alex Murrel was questioned by the police and released, and is not expected to be charged with any crimes in the case. Phew, people.

If this doesn’t help her "music career" make it - her debut album is totally coming out this year! - we don't know what could. Then again, that DUI arrest didn't exactly boost Jason Wahler or Jessica Smith's career profiles.