Newsmakers
Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 7, 2006
At least her nipples are covered this time. Janet Jackson, 40 and newly svelte after losing about 60 pounds, appears on the cover of Vibe magazine wearing a skimpy bikini bottom and a necklace made of large shells. Her right arm covers her breasts.
Will she ever stop posing for sexy photos? “Of course. When I’m 80,” she tells Vibe. “That’s when I’ll call it quits.”
Two years ago, Justin Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson’s bustier, briefly exposing one of her breasts, during the Super Bowl halftime show.
In an interview in the magazine’s September issue, on newsstands Aug. 15, Jackson says the incident – variously referred to as “Nipplegate” and the “bra-ha-ha” – is history.
“It’s just over and done with. It’s old. It’s the past. It’s history. I’m onto something new. Everybody got their licks in – those who wanted to – and it’s done,” she says.
Her new album, “20 Y.O.,” is slated for release Sept. 26. Dupri produced a few tracks, and longtime collaborators Jimmy “Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis pitched in on the disc as well.
A ‘hip’ replacement was needed a long time ago
Barry Manilow will take a break from his regular gig at the Las Vegas Hilton to undergo surgery to repair torn cartilage in both hips, his publicist said.
The 60-year-old singer, who has a four-year contract with the hotel, suffers from labrum tears in his hips – a painful condition exacerbated by his high-energy performances, publicist Carol Marshall said in a statement Sunday.
Manilow will continue performing through his appearance at the Emmy Awards on Aug. 27 and will then have outpatient arthroscopic surgery at a Southern California hospital, Marshall said.
Recovery and rehabilitation time is expected to be about eight weeks.
Can you defame those who have no fame?
The author of an “unauthorized tribute” to Clay Aiken is suing the “American Idol” singer, claiming he defamed her and conspired to stifle sales of her book.
Jeannie Holleman, 50, says she is a lifelong friend and neighbor of a Raleigh, N.C., family that were friends with Aiken’s mother, Faye Parker, and took her in when Parker and her young son left her abusive husband.
Holleman’s 2005 book, “Out of the Blue – ‘Clay’ it Forward,” incorporates interviews from the McGhee family and her own recollections with stories from Aiken’s fans.
In the lawsuit, filed Friday in Wake County Superior Court, Holleman claims Aiken, his mother and others conspired to defame her and depress sales of her book by denying they knew her, branding her stories as lies and demeaning the book on Aiken fans’ Web sites.
The lawsuit also claims a bodyguard for Aiken manhandled Holleman at a fundraiser in Hawaii.
The lawsuit seeks at least $260,000 in damages and asks the court to order Aiken to retract the critical comments or endorse the book on his official Web site, to write a positive introduction for the book and to sell the book at his concerts for at least five years.
Associated Press
