Fan Fare

Perez Hilton — does he deserve a second chance?

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton turned from snarky observer of celebrities into a news topic in his own right on Wednesday when he appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres” show (and spoke with Reuters) to declare he was ending his bullying of celebrities — gay and straight — after being labeled a hypocrite  by the gay community.

Hilton, 32,  said his change of heart was motivated primarily by his conflicting efforts to speak out against the rash of gay teen bullying, while enjoying a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most vicious gossips, and the man who helped “out” celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris and singer Lance Bass.

Hilton may be outspoken, but he is far from stupid — he admitted that he expected a lot of skepticism, and the loss of many readers,  now that his web site is less nasty than it used to be.

Hilton started out by apologizing via Twitter to Demi Moore — whose daughter Rumer has come in for more than her fair share of jibes from “Hollywood’s  most hated web site”.

“There’s too many to tell this to, but I thought I’d start with you. I’m sorry” Hilton said in a Tweet to Moore.

Good Charlotte” singer Joel Madden, also the boyfriend of Nicole Richie, was among the first celebrity to congratulate Hilton on his new positive stance. “way to be positive! Takes courage in a world filled with negativity”, Madden Tweeted.

New York gossip girl Kelly Will also congratulated Hilton on his “bold honorable choice.”

Goodbye Ellen, Hello….who? to “American Idol”

Like it or not  “American Idol” will be getting a whole new talent line-up next season — and that’s just the judges.

But with Fox keeping their mouths firmly shut on who will replace Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres, it seems to be anyone’s guess as to what the new panel will look like, or even how many judges there will be.

Fox’s senior executives have refused to confirm or deny any of the rumors of recent weeks that have suggested that Jennifer Lopez, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, Jessica Simpson or even Justin Timberlake might be joining the show.

And they also refused to speculate on whether Kara DioGuardi or even Randy Jackson will return.

Even more tantalizing, Fox entertainment chairman Peter Rice said that some of the recent reports were accurate while other were “wildly inaccurate” — and he wasn’t saying which was which.

Meanwhile Brett Michaels is still publicly lobbying for the job, and Sean “Diddy” Combs repeated that he would be happy to do it — as long as he got the same salary as Simon.

So with a couple of the biggest jobs in popular TV still apparently wide open, who would you like to see dealing out the criticism when “American Idol” returns in January?

“American Idol” asks fans for a fix

As “American Idol”  plods its way to the 2010 finale  after a lackluster season and slipping ratings,  the TV show’s dwindling band of  fans are getting an unusual opportunity to weigh in on what’s wrong with the show, and how to fix it.

Official website www.americanidol.com has posted a detailed survey which asks fans why they are watching less often — and less enthusiastically — this year, and invites them to rate all the judges individually, as well as the entertainment value of “Idol” mentors and the show’s  celebrity guest judges.

And perhaps most surprisingly, there is even a chance for fans to say how much (if at all) they miss Paula Abdul.

The survey is being conducted by an independent agency. But it suggests that “Idol” producers, or Fox, or both are thinking seriously about what hasn’t worked this year  –  and how they can tweak it next year.

The biggest question on the minds of many fans — the replacement of Simon Cowell — is not addressed in the online survey and Fox has already said there will be no announcement on that before the two-part season finale on May 24 and 25.

“Idol” has seen an 8 percent drop in viewers this season, and audiences have slipped below 20 million recently at a time when anticipation and fan fervor has generally risen going into the finale.

You don’t have to look far in the blogosphere to hear the biggest gripes from fans.

Madonna, Ellen DeGeneres are related, say genealogists

What do Madonna and Ellen DeGeneres have in common? Relatives, if the genealogy researchers at Ancestry.com are right. The family history experts at Ancestry.com have found that Madonna and DeGeneres are related through a common 10th great-grandfather — a Frenchman called Martin Aucoin — so they are 11th cousins.

“In the early 1600s, Aucoin’s daughters Jeanne and Michele left their native country of France to settle in Nova Scotia, where  both Madonna and Ellen’s families remained for several generations,” according to a statement from Ancestry.com.

DeGeneres’ family left Canada in the late 1700s when her 5th great-grandfather Joseph Martin relocated to Louisiana and in the late 1870s Madonna’s 2nd great-grandmother Emilie Daniel left Quebec for Michigan, which the singer calls home.

“It’s not every day you discover two celebrity icons are related, but it’s their similarities that make the connection so extraordinary,” said Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com. “They were born the same year, have both written books and been on tour, are known for their impressive dance moves – and with Ellen’s latest gig on ‘American Idol’ – are both legendary figures on the music scene.”

The new-found family connection between DeGeneres and Madonna is one of many interesting discoveries uncovered by Ancestry.com. In 2009, the family history Web site connected financier Warren Buffett to President Obama and also revealed that Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the “Harry Potter” movie series, is related to a 16th-century woman accused of witchcraft.

Missing Paula, awaiting Ellen on “American Idol”

It’s been a long three weeks of  screechers,  also-rans and attention-seekers  as “American  Idol”  plows through auditions looking for a potential star.  And that’s just the celebrity judges.

With the audition rounds finally coming to a conclusion,  all eyes are now turning to the debut of Ellen DeGeneres in the first Hollywood rounds on Feb 9,  and whether she can fill the shoes of the missing Paula Abdul.

So far, most of the celebrity singers and actors called in at short notice last summer to replace the wacky and volatile  Abdul have demonstrated only how difficult it is to find the right blend of chemistry, entertainment and insight on the judging panel that has arguably been one of the show’s biggest attractions over the past eight years.

And the “performances” of  Avril Lavigne,  Posh Spice and Joe Jonas  don’t  bode well for the departure next season of Simon Cowell and his spot-on but oh so insulting quips ( Think “human orange” and “nails on a chalkboard”) .

DeGeneres has pledged that she won’t be a mean judge, but will give the average viewer’s  point-of-view, which on the face of  it seems a bit redundant since viewers have plenty of outlets for expressing what they think — most importantly by casting a vote.

She has also said that since she started working on the show she has found Cowell “even meaner” than she first thought, which could make for some interesting — and given Ellen’s comedic talents — fun dynamics when the show goes live for the first time in late February.

Ellen will doubtless bring a lot more curious viewers to “Idol” next week. The question is, can she keep them watching?

Taylor and Taylor to be the hookup of the year? Maybe

Some celebrity hookups are hardly worth the ink used to write them up in the tabloids, especially when they involve two stars who clearly shouldn’t be together, or they end quicker than a sumo wrestling match.

But then there’s Taylor and Taylor. Singer Taylor Swift, the top selling female artist of 2008, and actor Taylor Lautner, the “Twilight” teen idol, have been seen out together, first at a hockey game on Sunday and later this week in Beverly Hills, for what the media has described as a dinner date.

The two Taylors have small roles in the movie “Valentine’s Day,” which is due to come out on Feb. 12. So there’s always the possibility that the whole thing is a publicity stunt. Or not.

Taylor Swift herself spoke about the other Taylor to chat show host Ellen DeGeneres in an interview set to air on Thursday. She said that the two share scenes in “Valentine’s Day” and that they kiss in the movie.

“So is he a good kisser?” DeGeneres said.

“What?” Swift said.

“So coy,” DeGeneres responded.

Ryan Seacrest looks for “sexual tension” from new “American Idol” judge Ellen DeGeneres

 The stars of Fox’s “American Idol” expect great things from new judge Ellen DeGeneres , but they are all saying something different about her addition to the judging panel of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi, and her replacement of songstress Paula Abdul.

Host Ryan Seacrest told Fox News at the Primetime Emmy awards on Sunday that DeGeneres, a comedian with her own daytime chat show, is a “superstar.”

“She will change the sexual tension,” Seacrest said of DeGeneres, who is lesbian and last year married longtime girlfriend and actress Portia de Rossi in California, before voters in the state banned same-sex weddings during the November 2008 election.

“Simon and Paula had a specific kind of tension, but this will be quite different…” Seacrest told Fox.

DioGuardi, who only joined the show this past season, told People magazine at an Emmy after-party that “Idol” producers’ recruitment of DeGeneres was a “genius decision,” and that she wishes she had thought of it herself.

One of the most pointed comments about DeGeneres’ addition came from director Bruce Gowers, who won an Emmy for his role with “American Idol.”

“I think there will be a lot more fun on the show than there was before,” Gowers told reporters backstage.

Can Ellen fill Paula’s shoes on “American Idol”?

“American Idol” producers moved swiftly to replace Paula Abdul with comedian and TV chat show host Ellen DeGeneres  as the new judge on the show which starts again in January.

But is Ellen the right fit for the show?

Fans are split and even media watchers were stunned by the move, which serves the dual function of closing the door permanently on Paula, and making the show talked about all over again after a summer of shock announcements.

For a TV show that’s primarily about finding America’s next instant pop star — and one which is ultimately chosen by the public — there’s been a lot of hoo-hah this year about the judging panel, whether its Kara DioGuardi’s return, Simon Cowell’s future, Ryan Seacrest’s lucrative new contract or Abdul’s ultimately failed contract manoevres.

So what do you think is ultimately the most important and/or entertaining part of “Idol” — the contestants, or the chemistry on the judging panel?

And how will Ellen fit in, and will her presence on the “Idol” panel make you more or less likely to watch next year when the show has finished tossing out all the thousands of hopeless singers and gets down to the Top 20?

Lindsay Lohan opens up about Samantha Ronson

Now that actress Lindsay Lohan and celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson are broken up, the “Mean Girls” star seems to be talking more candidly about her relationship with Ronson than when the two women were going out.

In an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Thursday, the 22-year-old Lohan told the chat show host that she and Ronson are still friends, even though after their breakup early this month members of Ronson’s family inquired about obtaining a restraining order against the actress. Lohan told DeGeneres that she did not know the breakup was coming.

“I had no idea what was going on,” Lohan said. “I just hadn’t seen her in a week. She like disappeared.”

And Lohan, who as news of her break-up emerged would only admit that she and Ronson were “taking a break,”  told DeGeneres on Thursday that she was not dating anyone new.

“I don’t need to deal with that,” the actress said. “It gets too distracting from everything that I need to focus on. Leaving town, you miss someone too much and you don’t want to go sometimes. But I really care about Samantha and we’ll see what happens. Maybe when we’re fully in the right place … and I love her.”

It was a markedly different version of herself than Lohan presented in a comedy video this month for the Web site FunnyorDie.com, in which she jokingly pretended to look for love through a matchmaking company. Lohan’s relationship with Ronson, 31, has been the focus of constant media attention since they were photographed kissing at the Cannes International Film Festival in May 2008.

Eminem’s wish comes true as Lindsay Lohan, galpal split

Lindsay Lohan’s breakup with celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson is good news for Eminem, who eloquently expresses his passion for the actress in his new video.       The reclusive rapper took a swipe at the couple in “We Made You,” which was released on Tuesday, days after the women broke up.      In one scene, Eminem is driving a big rig while Lohan and Ronson lookalikes are making out next to him.      “He does not mean to lesbian offend, but Lindsay please come back to seeing men,” Eminem intones in his rapid clipped style. “Samantha’s a two, you’re practically a 10. I know you want me, girl. In fact I see you grin.”      Declaring that he’s “looking for more women to torture,” Eminem also claims he would be a better lover for actress Portia de Rossi than her wife Ellen DeGeneres. He also fantasizes about Sarah Palin, while a scantily clad lookalike of the former vice-presidential candidate poses seductively on her desk.       Other targets of Eminem’s rapier wit include tabloid starlet Kim Kardashian, and singers Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and Amy Winehouse.      “You think that’s bad. You should hear the rest of my album. Never has there been such finesse and nostalgia,” he promises in the video.      That album, “Relapse,” the follow-up to his 2004 release “Encore” is due in stores on May 19.