HOLLYWOOD UPDATES:
1. Confirmed!: Jon & Kate to Divorce – After months of speculation, the 10-year marriage of Jon & Kate Plus Eight’s stars Kate and Jon Gosselin appears to be coming to an end, a source close to the situation tells PEOPLE. Documents to initiate a legal split were filed in Pennsylvania Monday afternoon.
Fans who have watched the couple’s popular TLC show – or read the voluminous coverage of the Gosselin marriage in the press – will hardly be surprised: The duo had long maintained a tense relationship, with Jon recently telling PEOPLE he wanted a less high-profile life, while Kate appeared to remain committed to their TV career.
2. CHRIS BROWN AVOIDS SHOWDOWN: Brown scuttled the long-awaited court showdown between the former flames as he copped a plea today and managed to avoid jail time for their now infamous Feb. 8 altercation.
The 20-year-old singer pleaded guilty to felony assault and was put on five years’ probation and ordered to enroll in an anti-domestic violence program. He must perform 180 days of community service and must have all his travel vetted by a probation officer.
He is due to be formally sentenced Aug. 5, at which time a charge of making criminal threats is expected to be dismissed.
3. SAY GOODBYE TO HEIDI AND SPENCER PRATT: As far as E! is concerned, the conspicuous couple occasionally self-referred to as Speidi are gone!
An overwhelming 94 percent of voters elected for the Hills stars’ immediate expulsion. Consider them gone from our wheelhouse, voted off the island, fired, out and any other appropriate reality-show catchphrase.
4. PEREZ HILTON IN TROUBLE WITH HIS OWN: What to do if GLAAD can’t rely on Hollywood’s self-proclaimed gossip queen to avoid the F-word?
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is none too pleased with blogger Perez Hilton for mixing a few antigay slurs into his diatribe against Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.
“I don’t need to respect you, and you’re a f-g. You’re gay, and stop being such a f—-t,” the openly gay Hilton said in a videoblog response to reports of a fight between him and the hip-hop singer last night in Toronto.
“These are vulgar antigay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community,” said Rashad Robinson, senior director of Media Programs at GLAAD. “For someone in our own community to use it to attack another person by saying that it is ‘The worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear,’ is incredibly dangerous.
“It legitimizes use of a slur that is often linked to violence against our community. And it sends a message that it is OK to attempt to dehumanize people by exploiting antigay attitudes.”
