Barbara Walters hasn’t revealed all the names from the hotly-anticipated Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, but The Insider has a sneak peak at six of this year’s most talked about pop culture fixtures.
Earning nods on this year’s special, we have American Idol star Adam Lambert, pop sensation Lady Gaga, political pundit Glen Beck, writer/producer/director Tyler Perry, South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford, and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. What do you think of Babs’ selections so far?
Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year will be unveiled in a one-hour ABC News special, airing Wednesday, Dec. 9 @ 10PM on ABC.
Congress is calling on a pair of polo-playing socialites to explain how they successfully crashed The Obamas’ first White House State Dinner last Tuesday night at a hearing on Thursday.
House Homeland Security Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson is asking Tareq and Michaele Salahi, of Faquier County, Virginia, and the head of the Secret Service, Mark Sullivan, to testify about the breach in security that allowed the couple to meet President Barack Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and a number of other public figures without being on the party’s guest list.
“This is a time for answers, recognition of security deficiencies past and present, and remedies to ensure the strength of the Secret Service and the safety of those under its protection,” Thompson said in a statement to CNN Monday. “This is not the time for political games or scapegoating to distract our attention from the careful oversight we must apply to the Secret Service and its mission. My confidence in the management of the Secret Service hangs in the balance.”
The Salahis — who are reportedly bankrupt and living out of local hotels — are competing for a role on Bravo’s upcoming reality docudrama The Real Housewives of Washington, DC.
PR-wise this isn’t going to be a good holiday season for Tiger Woods…..As the fallout continues over the pro golfer’s late night car crash and rumored romance with a Manhattan party planner, at least two of the companies shelling out big endorsement bucks to Tiger are standing by their guy.
“Tiger and his family have Nike’s full support,” a spokesperson for Nike, which Tiger endorses, said in a statement on Monday. “We respect Tiger’s request for privacy and our thoughts are with Tiger and his family at this time.”
Sports drink giant Gatorade also spoke out lending their support to Tiger, who is pitchman for the brand’s “Woods of Wisdom” campaign.
“We wish Tiger well as he recovers and look forward to seeing him back on the course soon,” a statement from Gatorade said. “Our partnership with Tiger continues.”
Tiger’s endorsement deals brought in approximately $105 million last year, according to Sports Illustrated. In September, Forbes announced Tiger had become the first athlete to earn $1 billion over the course of his career, which began when the former chid prodigy turned pro in 1996 at the age of 21.
There’s a mayjah catfight brewing between two of the hottest socialites on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. These days, the drama on The CW’s cult favorite Gossip Girl hangs around long after the cameras have stopped rolling, TV industry tattles tell Hollywood Life.com. Word is 16-year-old beauty Taylor Momsen is green with envy that G.G. co-star Leighton Meester is getting lots of free promo for her forthcoming album, courtesy of show producers, while Momsen’s own tracks have yet to receive a single spin on the show.
Taylor’s grunge band, The Pretty Reckless, is signed to Interscope with an album expected to drop sometime next year. Leighton’s solo album — featuring collaborations with Cobra Starship, Lil Wayne, and Robin Thicke — is set to debut on Universal Republic in early 2010.
Gossip Girl has played Leighton’s songs “Good Girls Go Bad” and “Somebody to Love” on two episodes this season, but have never played any of Taylor’s songs. The CW even premiered Leighton’s debut music video for “Somebody to Love.”
“Taylor is not happy that Gossip Girl has been playing Leighton’s music on the show, and they have never asked to play any of her songs. It’s creating a lot of tension on set,” a spy divulged to Hollywood Life.
Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore has enlisted the help of investigators with Major League Baseball to halt further publication of a set of steamy snaps he says were stolen from his girlfriend’s e-mail account and posted online, The Associated Press said Monday.
In a series of humiliating pictures — which were sent to Playboy Playmate Brittany Binger before being peppered all over the Interwebs — Grady, 27, is photographed nude and smiling into a bathroom mirror as he holds a teacup in front of his — er — privates…..
“We fully support Grady as he deals with this personal matter,” The Indians said of its three-time All-Star in a statement Monday. “The posted photos were stolen from his girlfriend’s e-mail account and a legal investigation is under way.”
Tiger Woods has cancelled plans to attend his own golf tournament because of injuries he suffered in mysterious one-car crash outside his Florida home early Friday, the pro golfer said in a statement Monday.
Woods will not play or appear at this weekend’s Chevron World Challenge in California, his last scheduled competition of 2009.
“I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week,” Woods said in statement on his website Monday. “I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I’m very sorry that I can’t be there.”
Woods is a four-time winner of the tournament, which helps raise money for The Tiger Woods Foundation.
J. Lo isn’t the only stage star nursing a bruised bottom this month: Lady Gaga was left red-faced after slipping and falling on her backside during opening night of her The Monster Ball Tour in Montreal last Friday.
The pop star was performing her song Teeth at the Bell Centre when she lost her footing in her stiletto ankle boots and fell over on stage.
A pair of chiseled male dancers swiftly helped her back onto her feet.
British pop icon Annie Lennox shocked the crowd as she performed “Chain of Fools” with soul legend Aretha Franklin last night. Some fans who tuned into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert on HBO on Sunday became worried about Annie’s health after taking a glimpse at the singer’s t-shirt, which read “HIV POSITIVE” in blarring letters.
Don’t worry — Annie hasn’t been diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS. The t-shirt is a part of the musician’s on-going campaign to help raise awareness about the impact HIV/AIDS.
Somebody’s Going To The Big House: After being denied access to Tiger Woods at three times over the weekend, police in Central Florida say “charges” are pending in the suspicious one-car crash that left the golfer with severe cuts to his face.
PEOPLE.com reports that the golf pro has yet to speak with Florida Highway Patrol, who have issued a statement saying they’ve been repeatedly turned down for an interview.
“As of Nov. 30, 2009, the Florida Highway Patrol has been unable to speak to Mr. Woods about the crash he was involved in on the morning of Nov. 27, 2009, despite attempts to do so,” spokeswoman Kim Montes says. “Mr. Woods’ representatives have provided us with his driver license information, vehicle registration and current proof of insurance, as required by Florida Law.”
Montes added that charges are pending, but she did not offer any other specifics. Woods crashed into a tree outside his suburban Orlando, Florida home early Friday. On Sunday, the star accepted full responsibility for the accident but said he wanted to keep the details surrounding the incident private. The blogosphere has been ablaze for days with whispers that Woods’ injuries are the result of a violent fight with his wife, Elin, fueled by tabloid reports that the PGA champ has been secretly seeing NYC club hostess Rachel Uchitel.
Young Hollywood is showing support for Africa by participating in the latest PSA for Bono’s ONE Campaign. The grassroots campaign and advocacy organization, co-founded by the U2 rocker, urges people to become involved in the fight against poverty and disease on the continent.
The PSA features Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick, Heroes’ Hayden Panettiere, High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu, Twilight’s Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone, 90210’s Tristan Wilds, Star Trek’s John Cho, and Tropic Thunder’s Brandon T. Jackson…..
