(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

For months now, Lindsay Lohan has been out in public with gal pal DJ Samantha Ronson, and speculation has swirled around whether the pair are involved in a love affair. Along the way, Lohan has made vague statements about the nature of their relationship that many celebrity watchers have taken as confirmation the two are more than just friends.
    
The most recent entry into the Lohan/Ronson guessing game is an interview Lohan gave to Harper’s Bazaar magazine in which The “Mean Girls” star was still guarded about their relationship.  Below is an excerpt from the interview in which she discusses the topic:

“…’I think it’s pretty obvious who I’m seeing,” Lindsay admits after much, much prodding. “I think it’s no shock to anyone that it’s been going on for quite some time. … She’s a wonderful person and I love her very much.”

“Has she previously been with a girl?  She laughs and says, ‘I don’t know. Maybe.’ Has she ever been embarrassed about being attracted to a woman? ‘No.’ Would she classify herself as bisexual? ‘Maybe. Yeah.’ Lesbian? ‘No.’ She goes on, ‘I don’t want to classify myself. First of all, you never know what’s going to happen — tomorrow, in a month, a year from now, five years from now. I appreciate people, and it doesn’t matter who they are, and I feel blessed to be able to feel comfortable enough with myself that I can say that.’  She sees herself getting married ‘eventually,’ but whether to a man or a woman, ‘I don’t know.’…” 

Lohan has dated men in the past, including reality star Calum Best and actor/singer Aaron Carter.

Why the interest?  In the gay community, Lohan being “out” is a big deal, if in fact she is a lesbian. (Apparently, from reading above, she doesn’t consider herself one). Hollywood now has many gay and lesbian stars who live their lives out of the closet, but the gay community in entertainment is still waiting for major talent to come out. Comedian Ellen DeGeneres is, for now, perhaps the biggest name to do so.

As if anyone who reads celebrity gossip pages and magazines didn’t know already, Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are dating. … big duh.

We’ve been reading with a lot of amusement the headlines that “confirm” Lohan and gal pal Ronson are an item. Lohan was being interviewed on the syndicated radio program “Loveline” Monday night when the DJ asked the “Mean Girls” actress: “You guys, you and Samantha, have been going out for how long now?” Lindsay laughed, and Stryker continued: ”Like, two years, one year, five months, two months?

“A very long time,” Lindsay answered. 

Headlines popped around the globe exclaiming that finally, FINALLY, this little snippet confirms that Lohan and Ronson are the real deal — girlfriends who truly are BFFs. In West Hollywood, they call them “Celesbians.”

But did it really need to be confirmed? For months, the pair have been hanging out together and been photographed in public, and only two weeks ago Lindsay lashed out in her own blog against Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin asking, “Is it a sin to be gay? Should it be a sin to be straight…”

Well, so now we know what we already knew: Lohan and Ronson are dating. But questions do remain. Does this mean she is a lesbian? Or, as many men and women do, is the 22 year-old simply experimenting with her sexuality? Put another way, Is she like Clay Aiken, who finally came out of the closet only today and by his own admission is gay? No doubt. Or, is she like actress Anne Heche who was straight, then gay (living with Ellen DeGeneres), then straight again? When Lindsay truly comes out, if she ever does, now that will be a headline.

After pop star Pink’s rant last week against Sarah Palin, Lindsay Lohan declares she can no longer keep biting her tongue when it comes to the most talked-about woman in American politics.

“Is our country so divided that the Republicans best hope is a narrow minded, media obsessed homophobe? “, asks Lohan, 22, in her MySpace blog.

The “Mean Girls” star says she is beset by “Fear, Anxiety, Concern, Disappointment, and Stress” the more she learns about the Alaska Governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate.

And what upsets her most are Palin’s views on gay rights, abortion and sex before marriage. “Is it a sin to be gay? Should it be a sin to be straight? Or to use birth control? Or to have sex before marriage? Or even to have a child out of wedlock?” asks Lohan, whose own sexuality is currently the cause of much speculation given her close friendship with British DJ Samantha Ronson.

The blog is signed with an “xoxo” (love and hugs) from both Lindsay and Samantha, although Ronson reminds fans that as a non U.S, citizen she doesn’t have a vote on Nov. 4,  but she is a bit worried about her green card.

Lohan’s not the first celebrity to plunge into politics and she won’t be the last. But her concerns about gay issues seem to have increased the closer she gets to Ronson although Lohan’s forthright opinions haven’t yet extended to coming clean to curious fans about the exact nature of their friendship.

So is Lindsay a lesbian or isn’t she? And does it matter?

Lindsay Lohan has been getting up close and personal with DJ Samantha Ronson this year, but is marriage to her gal pal really in the cards?

Figuring that out is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle of picture clues, hearsay, and the occasional cryptic comment from the “Mean Girls” actress herself.

Lohan, 22, was pictured this week wearing a sparkly heart-shaped ring on her left hand, adding to speculation that she and her constant companion were engaged. One British newspaper reported that Ronson told clubbers during her disc jockey stint in Hollywood at the weekend that “By the end of the year, my love will be Mrs. Ronson.”

But Lohan’s spokeswoman was quoted as telling People magazine on Friday that the ring wasn’t a “diamonds are forever” symbol at all.  “She bought it herself. It’s an antique ring that she found at an antique store in New York city,” the rep told People.

The two girls are certainly close.  Lohan has preferred to keep the relationship ambiguous but she told Marie Claire magazine in an interview that she and Ronson had matching hearts and stars tattoos.  She also said that she was looking to buy a new home “with someone” — but without saying who.

Lohan said she was really happy, calling the British DJ ”a great person. And she’s a great infuence on people around her.”  As for clarifying their relationship,  she said “Um, people can think what they want. I’m really happy, and that’s all that matters.”

 As the Nov. 4 U.S. presidential election draws near, New York’s Fashion Week has launched its own campaign — for style.

The entrance to the tents at Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, where designers are showing their spring/summer 2009 collections, are painted with large campaign-like badges that read “Declare your Style,” “Fashion = Change,” “Vote Fashion, “Super Model Delegate,” and “Accessorize for Democracy.”

And this week Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign is holding a fundraiser, due to be attended by top designers who have created merchandise for sale on the Obama Web site. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker and Vogue Editor Anna Wintour are said to be special guests for the evening.

Some designers, too,  have declared more than just their style on the runway. Liz McClean sent her final model down the catwalk on Friday wearing a Barack Obama campaign badge. Charlotte Ronson took on a different cause with her show Saturday sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States, which beamed its logo onto walls either side of the runway.

Ronson’s collection attracted a lot of attention with her DJ brother Mark providing music for the show, and DJ sister Samantha sitting in the front row with gal pal Lindsay Lohan.

U.S. tennis player Andy Roddick checked out the Lacoste show on Saturday, while Friday night Australian actress Melissa George and “Prison Break” star Camille Guaty graced the front row at Nicole Miller.

But the fashion and celebrities aren’t always center of attention.

A model at Korean designers Andy and Debb’s show on Saturday earned applause from the crowd when she finished her catwalk without missing a beat – after her four-inch heel fell off her shoe.

Lindsay Lohan, 22, certainly spent her teenage years in the media spotlight, so when she has a few words about the media glare on the pregnant 17 year-old daughter of Sarah Palin, the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee, it gets our attention.

But when Lohan posted a blog about the subject on her MySpace page today, we were surprised that it was less about Bristol Palin and more about politics in general, teen pregnancy and keeping a family’s private life out of the public spotlight, which is another thing Lindsay knows a little about.

Here’s a few things she said. The rest of the blog posting can be read here.

“I think the real problem comes from the fact that we are taking the focus off of getting to know Sarah Palin and her political views, and what she can do to make our country a less destructive place. It’s distracting from the real issues, the real everyday problems that this country experiences,” Lindsay wrote.

And, she added:”… I would much prefer to hear more about what she can do for our country rather than how her daughter is going to have a child no matter what.”

Finally, Lindsay says: “I think that parents need to recognize how important it is to talk to their children about the things that can result from being sexually active if they aren’t protecting themselves (birth control, condoms, etc.)”

Lindsay Lohan’s paternal grandfather has died, which appears to have brought the actress and her father closer together after a public spat, according to reports on a few celebrity web sites on Friday.

Michael Lohan, the actress’ father, told the cable network E!that his father, Richard Lohan, died of cancer on Thursday.

“I was holding him, laying in bed with him, when he died,” Lohan told E!

“Lindsay did reach out to me. She sent me a message this morning. She said, ‘Now papa has found peace and maybe we can find peace in our lives, too.”

The message appears to show some warmth in the otherwise icy relationship between estranged father and daughter, and perhaps it portends a thaw. Time will tell.

Lindsay and Michael Lohan in recent days were caught up in a new war of words, this time centering on the 22-year-old Hollywood star’s relationship to gal pal Samantha Ronson.

“He’s out of control,” Lindsay Lohan told celebrity television show “Access Hollywood” on Wednesday. “I want him to stop hurting and talking to the media about the people I love,” she said.

Lohan also talked down her dad on her MySpace blog, as Ronson did on her page.

Lohan’s comments followed an interview Michael Lohan gave to E! earlier this week in which he criticized his daughter’s constant companion, Ronson, over rumors she was writing a book.

“She’s using my daughter,” Michael Lohan told E! “People never even knew who Samantha Ronson was until she met Lindsay. And now she’s writing a book? I am at wit’s end with this stuff.”

Meanwhile, if there is a thaw in the chilly relationship between Lindsay and Michael, the same cannot be said for Michael and his ex-wife, Dina, Lindsay’s mom. He told OK! magazine on Friday, “Let’s see if she has the decency and respect to bring my kids to the wake and funeral.”

So, we are still wondering, will the Lohans’ drama ever cease?

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

The heat has been cranking up for months around 15-year-old singer and actor Miley Cyrus, and it rose even higher this week as the star fended off a much-publicized advertising offer from a condom maker and confessed to feeling overworked on her hit Disney Channel show “Hannah Montana.”

From the media firestorm around Miley come conflicting reports about her life and career, and one wonders if the young woman is more pawn than princess in a red hot Hollywood chess game. It all brings to mind the recent, personal meltdowns of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, who also broke through to fame as teenagers.  
    
Dr. Kimberly Williams, a pediatric neuropsychiatrist at New York University’s Child Study Center, said the national media spotlight can be too much for young stars like Cyrus. “This is just a typical teenager who just has peer pressure, social issues at school to worry about, and so now we add the weight of the nation and that kind of scrutiny,” Williams said.
    
Even though Cyrus wears a purity ring signifying her chastity until marriage, media reports this week said she received a $1 million offer from LifeStyles condoms to appear in an advertising campaign for the company. 
    
Cyrus’ representative told E! News the star had not even received an offer and that she would not even consider it. A spokeswoman for Lifestyles declined to comment.
    
Separately, Cyrus told E! News in an interview that she think her Disney Channel show “Hannah Montana” may be nearing its end. Cyrus portrays Hannah, who at school is just an average teenager but has another, secret life as a pop singing sensation.

“We’re thinking this is our last season,” Cyrus told E! The star said that she has played Hannah Montana since she was 11, and she added that the heavy work load included shooting “two seasons in one last year.”
    
But her representative downplayed Cyrus comments, telling E! that “Hannah Montana” not only starts production on a third season August 4 but also has an option for a fourth beyond that. A “Hannah Montana” movie is scheduled for a spring 2009 release.
    
“You’ve got a stressed out, depressed teenager who still has to go and go and go, and no one has time to hear, ‘Oh Miley, you’re tired,’” Williams said.
    
In April this year, a photo of a Cyrus apparently topless and covered with a only sheet emerged from a Vanity Fair magazine photo shoot by famed photographer Annie Liebovitz. Many Cyrus watchers saw it as far too adult for a 15 year-old, and Cyrus had to apologize to her fans. Yet this month Cyrus released a new pop CD called “Breakout” that she described as “grown up.”

Spears, 26, is an alumnus of the Disney star factory as she appeared on the Disney Channel as part of the Mickey Mouse Club when she was a child. Like many child stars, she encountered personal problems later in life and was briefly hospitalized twice earlier this year for psychiactric evaluation.

Lohan, 22, was a child star in Disney movie “The Parent Trap” in 1998. In recent years she has had problems with substance abuse and was arrested for driving under the influence, as she became known as a regular on the party circuit.

Is Miley headed for the same? We can only wait and watch.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

In a relatively novel approach to movie marketing, cable TV premium film channel Starz has launched a promotion for its airing of Lindsay Lohan’s box office bomb, “I Know Who Killed Me,” by urging people to tune in not because it is good, but because the movie is so bad!

“We’re an equal opportunity channel,” said a Starz spokesman. “We will offer the best in movies, as well as the worst.” He noted the channel also has on its schedule “No Country For Old Men,” winner of the best film Oscar for 2007.

But before “No Country,” there is Starz’s June 14 airing of “I Know Who Killed Me,” which tells of twin girls stalked by a serial killer. Lohan plays both twins. The movie not only tanked at box offices ($7.5 million U.S.), it was killed by critics (only 8 pct had good things to say, according to review aggregator rottentomatoes.com).

With its promotional tongue firmly planted in its TV cheek, Starz trumpets the bad reviews in its ad promoting the movie. “A disaster that exerts a perverse fascination,” Variety wrote in its review last year, as it appears on the Starz ad.

While promoting bad movies is rare, it is not unheard of.  A few years back, Starz did the same thing for 2003’s ”Gigli,” another poorly reviewed film that tanked at box offices. It starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

“It did extraordinarily well” for Starz, said the spokesman, although he did not have exact viewer figures. “More people watched on Starz than probably went to the theaters to see it.”
 

For a week, celebrity and gossip magazines have been buzzing with talk that Lindsay Lohan’s “friendship” with DJ Samantha Ronson is more than just friendship. They are having an affair, according to the gossip mill. The current talk was fueled mostly by a picture published last week of the two kissing while attending a Cannes film festival party.

Pictures of Lohan sporting an engagement ring last week in Cannes set off speculation the 21-year-old starlet could be heading to the wedding chapel with Ronson. But beware, it’s not the first time Lohan has stoked public interest by wearing something shiny on her wedding finger. She also did it a couple years ago, back when her constant companions were mostly of the male variety. 

Amid the media firestorm — several reports had her being offered $1 million to admit she was a lesbian – Lohan’s parents have said a few things about Lohan’s close ties with Ronson. Mom Dina Lohan has said she just wants her daughter to be “happy.” For her part, Lohan isn’t talking, and her spokeswoman has pushed back at the gossip by describing speculation about Lohan’s sexual orientation as “gross.” The spokeswoman did not return Reuters call or an e-mail for comment on Tuesday.

Just this past Sunday at the MTV Movie Awards here in Los Angeles, reality show star and bisexual Tila Tequila – not one to be shy of publicity – reportedly called on Lohan to come out of the closet.

But is Lindsay, who turns 22 years-old in July, really a lesbian and does it really matter what her sexual orientation is? Does she risk the loss of an already troubled career in Hollywood if, in fact, she is? And is it anybody’s business who she is kissing? We’re curious to know what our readers think.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)