Celebrity Archives

DJ soon to be laughed out of court over his firing
Posted on September 19, 2006 11:47 AM
Turn it upTroi Torain, also known by the cutesy nickname DJ Star, lost his radio gig and now claims he was unjustly fired. He wants $10 million out of Clear Channel for this outrage.

Before you start emailing in support of this manly man, take a peek at the misbehavin' that got him an escort to the parking lot...
Torain, 42, was fired May 10 by Clear Channel Broadcasting Inc. from WWPR-FM, or Power 105.1, after he threatened to sexually abuse and urinate on the 4-year-old daughter of Raashaun Casey, who goes by DJ Envy on WQHT-FM, or Hot 97. Torain also was arrested, but a judge dismissed the charges on the condition he stay out of trouble for six months. In the lawsuit, Torain's lawyers said his statements about his rival's child, "given the entire context, were clearly not serious nor would any reasonable listener of his show deem them so."
His lawyers are also blaming Clear Channel for directing Troi to play a "rotation of songs with sexist, racist and degrading lyrics."

I can see where that would drive any reasonable person to jokingly threaten a four-year-old girl. NOT. Let's hope Troi's security escort helped him down a stairwell or two on the way out of the building, preferably with a hard shove to the back. Stay classy, DJ Star.

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Joan goes blogging, Lisa hits the carpet
Posted by Fired Fred on September 17, 2007 4:50 PM
That sound you didn't hear during the Emmys was the voice of Joan Rivers. E! decided to skew a lot younger, by like a thousand years, and gave Joan and Melissa the heave ho in favor of Lisa Rinna.

Really, E could have put Tutankhamen's mummy out there to chat up Eva Longoria, and it still would have brought the average age down after dismissing Joan to blogland.

All I can say about Lisa Rinna is wow, don't search for pictures of her on Google from work. If you need Emmy stuff, here's a link, you have my pity.

On to more important matters. The Chargers lost to the Patriot Acts and their spymaster, Bill Belichick, on Sunday. I won't bore you with the crushing depression and ennui that ensued after that.

Is it too soon to start the fire Norv Turner bandwagon? LT has been running uphill for two weeks, Rivers isn't reminding anyone of Dan Fouts, or Ryan Leaf thank the football gods. The D got toasted for 38 points. I did not enjoy the view from the Futon Of Love. There is anger in my heart.

College football doesn't interest me a whole lot. Fanhouse has a great video about coaches who lose to Mississippi State ending up on Retirement Lane. Someone call me when 1-A or the Bowl Championship Division, or whatever Myles Brand and the crooks in NCAA Central call it now, decide a playoff would be a good idea.

Image courtesy JoanRiversBlog.com
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Gosling goosed out of film by Jackson
Posted by Fired Fred on October 24, 2007 4:40 PM
Ryan Gosling is out of the production of the movie version of The Lovely Bones. Marky Mark Wahlberg took over his role a day before shooting.

Now Tinseltown is abuzz (not aflame, that would be bad) with chatter over why Ryan won't be working for Peter Jackson on the film. E! says sandwiches did Ryan in...
"He ate grilled cheese every day, " says the magazine's source.

Sure, there's also something in the story about attitude problems, but who cares? Getting fired for eating grilled cheese...That's gotta be the best pink-slip story ever!
Best pink slip story ever? I'll be the judge of that.

No.

Back to Ryan. The Post sez he and the Master of Hobbits just didn't see belly button to belly button...
Those old "creative differences" are to blame for director Peter Jackson's firing of Ryan Gosling from "Lovely Bones." "Peter couldn't stand Ryan," said one source. Though Variety reported that Gosling had "stepped down" and was replaced by Mark Wahlberg, our source said, "Ryan cut his own hair, and was fighting with wardrobe. He was so demanding . . . Peter booted him two days before filming started."
If there's a war of words, no one's going to side with Ryan over the maker of the Lord of the Rings epics. Peter Jackson could strangle Ryan on national TV with a global Internet feed showing the crime, while singing the New Zealand national anthem, and a jury of LotR fans would acquit him faster than you can say "Glamdring."

Image courtesy of the NY Post
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How profane was that profanity?
Posted by Fired Fred on October 31, 2007 5:30 PM
A country radio station in Austin cut loose Sammy Allred for dropping a little something on the airwaves. He'd been there 35 years. That sounds like purgatory to me.

If it was a classical music station, I'd think it was one of Dante's circles of Hell. With country you can at least fantasize about Carrie Underwood or Shania Twain. The second chair tuba player, not so much.

Country's supposed to be a rougher music genre anyway. Johnny Cash probably would have left the bodies of Dashboard Confessional in a ditch somewhere if they crossed paths. The Man In Black took one of Trent Reznor's songs, and now if you hear NIN doing "Hurt" it sounds like a bad Cash cover.

So what did Allred say to the audience in Austin, which was in Texas last time I saw something about South by Southwest. How do you offend Texans? Did he say 'gun control'? 'Vanilla latte'? 'Cowboys suck'?

I bounced through a bunch of blogs to see if I could find out what he said on the air. F-bomb? C-bomb, which would be more like a nuke, really. He's not talking, and no one seems to know. Weird.
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Travolta's JR shot off Dallas set
Posted by Fired Fred on December 18, 2007 4:38 PM
How much do you have to annoy everybody else to get paid to go home and not come back?

Since it's John Travolta, no one's saying. Mr. Battlefield Earth got the Dallas Boot as Page Six put it, and they think he got at least a cool million to ride into the sunset. Now. Please. Just get out...
"John was given a nice seven-figure 'gift' to go away quietly," our source added. "He also got five family members roles in the movie, and they aren't going to be in it now, either." A friend of Travolta confirmed, "He is not doing the movie. They've gone a different direction than was originally intended. I don't know about any 'gift,' and I don't think the family member thing is correct." A rep for Travolta declined to comment.
They've downsized the star power of the cast, downsized the budget, hey, I've got an idea, why not make it a movie for TV? It's only been off the air since 1991, everyone should be able to pick right up where they left off.

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Cop-punching anchor fired in Philly
Posted by Fired Fred on January 7, 2008 4:56 PM
Alycia Lane had an awesome run in 2007. The anchor for Philly's KYW-TV sent her friend, NFL Network's Rich Eisen, some rocking bikini shots over email. Pity that Rich's wife, Suzy Shuster, found them first; you might say she broke up that pass play.

Then, Alycia decked a female cop in Manhattan in December. Emmy Award winner or not, the station decided it was time for Alycia to hit the streets, sans camera crew or news van...
In a statement, CBS 3 President and GM Michael Colleran said, "We have concluded that it would be impossible for Alycia to continue to report the news as she, herself, has become the focus of so many news stories."
I think she should apply for a job at the NFL Network. Her old friend Rich should be able to put in a good word for her - the word being HAWT.
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Lauren Conrad totally not fired by Teen Vogue
Posted by Fired Fred on January 14, 2008 5:14 PM
"The Hills" star was the subject of rumors about her magazine job. Both Lauren and Whitney Port had places with Teen Vogue, oh by the way a sponsor of "The Hills" on MTV.

Lauren and Whitney disappeared from the magazine, while one of their entourage said they've moved on from Teen Vogue.

That was enough to get people talking about something other than the writer strike in Hollywood. Did Lauren get like fired from the magazine? She said no way brah...
“No, no, it was a decision I made because I was kind of done,� she told PEOPLE on Friday at the opening of the Jimmy Choo Flagship store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. “I’ve been doing it for about two years, so I’m kind of done.�
I get what she means, who wants to be stuck at the same job for two years? That must be as frightening as wearing the same do-me dress and pumps as another girl at the same party. "OHMIGAHD Whitney how could you?!?!?!?!"

In other firing news, the new CEO at Sprint wants to fire a few thousand more people from the company. In other 'other' news, there are still people using Sprint. Who knew?
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Would Annie Lennox lie to you?
Posted by Fired Fred on January 15, 2008 5:57 PM
Depends on who you ask. The old Eurythmics singer said she got sacked by Sony BMG...
Lennox, 53, said she was shocked at the way she was treated by the company which once hailed her as "one of the finest musical voices of the age". Advertisement

Soundgenerator.com quotes her as saying: "They totally ignored me. It was bizarre. It was a kick in the teeth. They didn't return my phone calls or emails for three weeks. I'm trying to find out what's behind it.
Sony BMG has about as good a reputation among music lovers as Bush has with liberal voters, but this time around they say it's not their doing that took Annie off the label...
"The quotes attributed to Annie's dissatisfaction with her label arose out of a trip in December to South Africa and have no relevance to the expiry of her contract," said a Sony BMG statement.
Sony BMG still wants to work with her, no doubt because her last CD hit number seven on the British charts. I have no idea why I'm bothering to keep looking into this, but Annie could be full of it since she was complaining that she didn't know whether or not she wanted to do another record deal about a week ago.

Can't trust anyone in the entertainment industry. I mean, think about it, K-Fed ended up being the sane one in the Britney relationship. Weird.

Oh look, EMI is going to fire a couple thousand people. They'll use the cost savings to find the next Coldplay. Great.
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Can you say "fired" Mr. Rogers?
Posted by Fired Fred on January 29, 2008 5:31 PM
Someone had it in for Gary Rogers (real name Roger Freden) in Wahpeton, North Dakota. Unfortunately for the old boy, he left himself open to the third rail of the workplace, also known as the sexual harassment accusation...
On Wednesday, Jan. 23, co-worker Therese Gast bumped her knee and came into the front office rubbing her knee. Rogers said he asked, "Are you alright?" then jokingly said, "Do you want me to rub it for you." Everyone laughed and took it as a joke, Rogers said.

However, someone anonymously reported the incident and that's what began an investigation. By Thursday afternoon, officials from Go Radio Broadcasting Inc., in Fargo were at KBMW interviewing everyone.
As Mr. Rogers put it, 40 years of work done in 20 seconds. But he said he'd felt like he had a target on his back for three years. The bosses claim there's more than one side to the story but won't talk about it.

This is the 21st Century. Making even the vaguest sexual comment will get you fired in a heartbeat. I don't care if a barely dressed Adriana Lima descends from the heavens to work next to you, you cannot make any reference to her appearance. A jealous co-worker will overhear it and you'll be searching for a job faster than you can say Simply Hired.
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Alycia Lane to court, maybe WWE too
Posted by Fired Fred on January 31, 2008 5:23 PM
Rich Eisen's wife may want to tune in to WWE to keep an eye on Alycia Lane, the fired Philly news anchor who sent her husband plenty of hot bikini shots last year.

Alycia popped a cop in New York in December. That cost her the anchor gig at KYW-TV. Alycia has apologized unreservedly and taken full responsibility for her actions.

Yeah, I'm kidding. She's probably suing the station over the firing...
"It is our position that KYW 3 terminated Alycia Lane based on inaccurate press reports, innuendo, rumor and gossip," Rosen said. "What has been filed [today] is to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the reasons why KYW 3 terminated Alycia, which appear to be contrary to the express terms of her contract. This procedure is to examine KYW 3's motives and actions for the conduct it expressed when it went public to terminate Alycia."
Wait, call off the lawyers, I can answer this one. Awesome Alycia got fired because she got in a fight with a cop and embarrassed the station. What do I win?

Image courtesy NY Daily News
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Public radio firing becomes public fight
Posted by Fired Fred on February 4, 2008 5:27 PM
It's not show friends, it's show business. Ex-Baltimore public radio talker Marc Steiner thinks his firing for low ratings is personal, and ripped WYPR president Anthony Brandon...
"Tony Brandon has been trying to diminish my power at the station and move me off the air for six years. It has been his agenda," Steiner said. "It has been one thing after another, and I've always tried to take the high road and never say anything about it publicly."

Steiner, while acknowledging that his ratings had fallen, questioned whether a public radio station should be primarily concerned about ratings.
If ratings mean listeners and more listeners means more people pledging money to support the station in exchange for t-shirts and tote bags, then yeah, they have to be concerned about ratings.

Show business.

The guy's 61 years old. I'm betting whenever the station launches its new Statewide program in Marc's slot, the host and/or hostess will be a lot younger. He was getting like 37,000 listeners. Dude, start blogging, you can get that much online, especially when the Volvo-driving, Sideways-watching, yoga-stretching, patchoulli-smelling, sandal-wearing, granola munching, public radio types who already have blogs let people know about you.

Image courtesy Baltimore Sun
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CNN producer axed for blogging
Posted on February 19, 2008 3:54 PM
The closer you are to the public eye, the more you have to keep some things quiet.

To readers of Chez Pazienza's Deus Ex Malcontent, their readership was the same as watching Icarus take the wax wings too far up into the skies, only to fall to earth as the symbol of Led Zeppelin's record label, Swan Song...
As far as CNN knew, I was a valued employee, albeit one with almost no say in the day-to-day editorial decisions on American Morning. This held true even as I began contributing columns to the Huffington Post, giving my writing more exposure than ever before.

Then, last Monday afternoon, I got a call from my boss, Ed Litvak.
It wasn't an invite to lunch. An obscure line in CNN's employee manual gave Evil Ed and an HR robot the means to chuck Chez out of his job as one of American Morning's producers.

Smart move, CNN. You just freed a guy who hates what you've become, a drug dealer pushing scary stuff on the public day after day, to devote even more time to blogging.

Care to guess what kind of vitriol Chez can unleash now that he has no reason to hold back? Here's a hint...
Awhile back I was watching a great documentary on the birth of the punk scene, it closed with former Black Flag frontman and current TV host Henry Rollins saying these words: "All it takes is one person to stand up and say 'fuck this.'"
Chez said there was no severance or anything other than his abrupt dismissal over the content, not the act, of his writing. He doesn't have to be nice or even circumspect now. His blog just became a must-read.
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Dinner Impossible and so is a fake CV
Posted on March 4, 2008 5:01 PM
Robert Irvine of the Food Network should have kept his spicing up limited to his dishes. His tasty claims of cooking for heads of state didn't stand up to scrutiny.

End result? Robert is off the menu at the Food Network, fired for his far too creative resume...
"I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences in the White House and the Royal Family," Irvine said in a written statement. "I am truly sorry for misleading people and misstating the facts."
He must have thought if he told a big enough lie people would accept it without question. Claims of cooking for Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and Presidents Clinton, Reagan, and Bush 41, in his autobiography fell flatter than a souffle in an earthquake.

Hey Robert, In-N-Out is hiring. Work in the right location, and you'll meet all the royalty you could ever hope to meet.
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CBS Eye sheds no tears over Shelley Ross
Posted on March 6, 2008 4:09 PM
Early Show producer Shelley Ross had one of those epic firings, it sounds like the liquor will be flowing in Manhattan once her former reports have a chance to really cut loose and celebrate.

Radar called Shelley the prototypical mean girl who burned every single bridge she could. Boss from Hell? I think you need to come up with someplace worse. Check out this stuff...
Ross went way over budget, seemingly at whim. Particularly telling: Ross allegedly spent a ton of money to make weatherman/feature reporter Dave Price miserable, sending him all over the country on terrible assignments.

Her staff was demoralized. Twenty-one people left during her tenure. In fact, we're told that so many people wanted to leave that they couldn't even quit, because they couldn't get in to tell Ross they wanted to go and she refused to answer her e-mails.
The best part? Sinister Shelley apparently didn't get along well with CBS president Les Moonves, who just happens to be the husband of Early Show anchor Julie Chen. That made the wife an unhappy camper.

When you're running the number three rated morning program, you don't get to be a tyrant. If Early Show was kicking the snot out of the competition, Les would have hired her a personal baby smoothie maker if she wanted one.
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Leave Britney alone you hospital people!
Posted on March 17, 2008 4:09 PM
Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back. It killed the jobs of people working in the hospital where one-time pop princess Britney Spears spent some time chilling out in the psych ward.

There wasn't one or two people taking a little peek at Britney's medical history. Try over a dozen...
The Medical Center is taking steps to fire at least 13 employees and is disciplining others, including doctors, for looking at the pop star's confidential files.

Hoping to head off such problems, UCLA officials sent a memo the morning Spears was hospitalized Jan. 31, reminding employees that they were not allowed to peruse records unless directly caring for a patient. Spears, 26, was not specifically mentioned.
Yeah, memos, they don't do much good when tabloids are waving thousands of dollars around for that kind of information.

Me, I've got two views on Britney. Ok, three. One, she deserves some privacy. Yes even if she's in public. Two, I feel sorry for her. Someone ought to smack her mom around for trying to live out a fantasy through her daughters.

Three, those shots of Britney in Esquire five years ago? Awesome.
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