Jul. 25, 2012 05:52 PM
USA Today
Britney Spears is "sweet as a lemon" while judging musical hopefuls on "The X Factor."
That's according to the caustic king himself, her fellow commentator Simon Cowell. The "American Idol" veteran told TV reporters via satellite that Spears is "quite mean, which I think you will discover," per the Chicago Tribune.
Spears is joined in her judging duties by Disney star Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid and Cowell. The two ladies, Cowell says, "are very happy giving people a 'no.' They definitely have their own opinions."
Brangelina phones hacked
Add Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to the list of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. phone-hacking victims.
The British phone-hacking scandal, already toxic, escalated again when authorities charged former top editors of Murdoch's British media empire of a campaign of illegal eavesdropping on hundreds of people, including Pitt and Jolie.
The Associated Press reported that British prosecutors are charging Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks with conspiring to intercept the communications of more than 600 people. Both are former editors of Murdoch's now-shuttered News of the World tabloid, and Coulson is an ex-aide to Prime Minister David Cameron. Also being charged are five other senior NOTW journalists.
Accusations include intercepting messages of actor Jude Law, associates of his ex-wife Sadie Frost and his former girlfriend actress Sienna Miller; spying on former Beatle Paul McCartney, his ex-wife, Heather Mills, and senior British politicians; and eavesdropping on associates of Jolie and Pitt.
Brooks and Coulson and the others have promised to fight the charges.
The charges follow months of testimony about illegal news-gathering tactics of Murdoch's journalists in particular and the British media in general, and the cozy, often corrupt relationship among press, police and politicians in the UK. Already, dozens of people have been arrested, and top editors and police officials have been forced to resign.
Cameron set up the Leveson Inquiry last year after the phone-hacking scandal first blew up. The latest developments are expected to embarrass him further, on the eve of the opening of the London Olympics and into the future as cases proceed to trial. Police have said this week they are investigating dozens of fresh allegations involving journalists at other newspapers, some of which are rivals to News Corp.
As for the celebs, many of them, Pitt and Jolie included, are not likely to be surprised; some of them have been complaining about being stalked and spied on by journalists for years. And some, such as Sienna Miller, have collected hefty settlements from News Corp.
Cybill Shepherd is engaged
Actress Cybill Shepherd is engaged to marry a jeweler turned psychologist named Andrei Nikolajevic. It will be the third marriage for the 62-year-old actress, who was previously married to David Ford and Bruce Oppenheim and has three children from those relationships.
News of the engagement was first reported by the New York Daily News.
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