Janice Dickinson & Tyra Banks Fued Heats Up!

An original panel member on the CW’s America’s Next Top Model, the self-professed first supermodel, Janice Dickinson, made a mysterious early exit from Top Model during the early years of Banks’ mega-franchise. Allegedly, Tyra Banks fired the outspoken former supermodel after just four seasons with America’s Next Top Model, and neither party explained exactly what went down… until now.

When Janice Dickinson gave a round of exit interviews after “leaving” Top Model, including one light-hearted appearance on Live! with Regis and Kelly, Dickinson made nice, explaining that she simply felt she was not the right fit for the America’s Next Top Model format and decided to move on with her career. At the time, perhaps for public relations reasons, Janice Dickinson made nice with Tyra Banks in the media, praising Banks’ innovation in creating and helming America’s Next Top Model.

Well, as the years went on, Janice Dickinson has not been quite so diplomatic, and it’s no secret that there is, indeed, plenty of bad blood between Banks and Dickinson.

In a recent interview Janice Dickinson blasted, “CoverGirl are the ones who choose the model, not any of the judges. People don’t know that!”

Janice Dickinson didn’t hold back her sour feelings for Tyra Banks, continuing, “The fact of the matter is [Tyra Banks] makes like $90 million. She makes a lot of money per year still hawking that franchise worldwide, they’re doing it in every country, and it’s CoverGirl who chooses the winner… F*** you Tyra! Eat a bag of royal skank!”

Tell us what you really think Janice. So much for PR diplomacy.

Frank Sinatra "Best of the Best"

Frank Sinatra’s only son. Frank Sinatra Jr. recently sat down with Spinner to discuss the holiday release of Frank Sinatra’s latest music compilation, Best of the Best. Sinatra Jr. also shared why he feels his legendary father lived to be 82, while most iconic legends meet their tragic ends prematurely.

Frank Sinatra, Jr. told Spinner, “[Frank] Sinatra always had both feet on the ground. He never believed, or allowed himself to believe, any of the fame that surrounded him. He never took the adulation seriously.”

Frank Sinatra’s son and namesake, Frank Sinatra Jr. went on to explain that it was his father’s down to earth outlook on fame and his close ties to his family that helped him to avoid the kind of early tragic end that had befallen other icons like Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.

Frank Sinatra Jr. explained to Spinner, “They were tragic figures in the sense that they didn’t have their feet on the ground and they died that way. Isn’t that interesting, that all three of those people died alone?”

Praising his legendary father, for whom he composed music and musically directed until Sinatra’s death in 1998, Frank Sinatra Jr. says one thing he wants Frank Sinatra fans to know about his father is that “he never lost the concept of the reality of life. That is something I believe that people should know. And I believe that is the reason why he lived to be 82-and-a-half-years old.”

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to interview Frank Sinatra Jr’s older sister, Nancy Sinatra, for PR.com and Nancy and I discussed Frank Sinatra’s legacy from the point of view of his first born (Nancy).

Here are some clips from the Nancy Sinatra interview on PR.com:

PR.com: Your father was around to see the first inklings of the power of the Internet back in the late 90s, shortly before he passed. What did he think of it?

Nancy Sinatra: He was thrilled. He would read the questions that people would write in, and then he would tell me what to say in response to their questions, and he said, “This is great. Please keep in touch with my supporters.” And I said, “I promise.” I have ever since.

PR.com: For your Sirius XM radio show, Nancy for Frank, how do you go about scripting each show, and how do you determine what Frank Sinatra stories should remain private and what stories about your father you care to share with the public?

Nancy Sinatra: It’s all up to the music. We’re recording a show tomorrow and the album we’re playing is the Strangers In The Night album. I haven’t seen a script yet. I send the songs to my producer and he takes the songs and puts them into a script that includes the composer, lyricist, and if possible, when it was recorded originally. Whatever nerdy kind of technical information we can get, we put it into the script. If there are any stories, they come about as a result of a song.

PR.com: Your sister Tina does a great deal as far as managing, I guess what you would call the Sinatra brand. Is that an equal three-way partnership between you, Tina and Frank, Jr., or does Tina take the lead with business matters pertaining to your father’s work?

Nancy Sinatra: Tina’s a producer, so we rely on her for that sort of thing. We are all absolutely involved, of course. We all meet once a month, or once every two months if we’re traveling. We discuss the projects that are coming up and what we are going to do about them, and who’s going to do promotion. I liken it to a family farm. The products are usually recordings, sometimes films, and you take them to market and market them as best as you can. It’s not easy anymore. The music business is pretty much history. It’s generally via downloading, and mostly the younger people don’t want to pay anything for music. There are also so many expenses involved in putting out CDs, and you have to be very sure that everything you put out is of quality. If there is a mistake at the printers or there is someone along the way who misspells a composer’s name or puts in a wrong date, we get clobbered by the Frank Sinatra fans who know every detail. When that happens it’s embarrassing for us, but we can’t be there every second of every day with this stuff as it goes through. We can license and hope (laughs)… that they do a good job and not let us down.

CLICK TO READ MY ENTIRE NANCY SINATRA INTERVIEW ON PR.COM

This story is brought to you by Allison Dawn PR

DJ Pauly D Opens Up About Jersey Shore Fame & Fortune: "You Find Out Who Your Real Friends Are..."

My recently published DJ Pauly D interview for PR.com revealed a lot about the Jersey Shore star’s perspective on his newfound fame and fortune, how Pauly’s friends from Rhode Island have reacted to his success, what type of women the famous deejay looks for, how he really feels about Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, and what was going through his mind during that Britney Spears lap dance in front of a crowd of twenty-thousand screaming fans.

This is DJ Pauly D’s most candid interview to date, and here are some excerpts from my conversation with him:

PR.com (Allison Kugel): What has sudden fame taught you about human nature?

DJ Pauly D (Paul DelVecchio): Everybody thinks that it completely changes you. I don’t think it does. I think it changes everybody around you. Before, nobody knew me. Now everybody knows me, but I’m still the same person I was when I was just deejaying around [locally]. Now I’m deejaying all over the world. So I think it changes the people around you more than it changes you.

PR.com: You see changes in your friends and family, and people you work with?

DJ Pauly D (Paul DelVecchio): I find it with everybody, basically. You find out who your real friends are, who’s going to stick by you, because you don’t see them as much anymore. The ones that are genuinely happy for you, those are your real friends. The ones who hate or are mad at you because you didn’t take them along… that’s how you know who your real friends are.

PR.com: This is a really important question: A few years ago, say back in 2008, did you ever think you would have Britney Spears’s thighs wrapped around your head?

DJ Pauly D (Paul DelVecchio): (Laughs). Never in a million, million, million years! I never thought Britney Spears would even know I existed, let alone to give me a lap dance on stage in front of twenty-thousand people (laughs).

PR.com: How’d Britney wind up giving you a lap dance?

DJ Pauly D (Paul DelVecchio): I’ve been on the Britney tour. When I DJ with her on her tour, I do my act, then Nicki Minaj would go on, and then Britney would go on. I always stay for the second two acts because I’m a fan of both of them. So Britney called me on stage and the dancers brought me up, and she sat me down and gave me that lap dance (laughs). I did not expect that at all.

PR.com: Are all of you on the outs with Mike (The Situation) [Sorrentino] right now or is that all resolved?

DJ Pauly D (Paul DelVecchio): We’re not really on the outs with him. He’s a… he’s an interesting dude. He likes to start trouble and we’re just really not into that. When I went to Italy I was into Italy and I wanted to have a good time, and that’s all I wanted to do. I just want to have fun and I don’t want to deal with drama. It’s how I’ve been my whole life, and on the show. I stay away from the drama, so I stay away from him a little bit.

READ MY ENTIRE DJ PAULY D INTERVIEW AT PR.COM

This news story was brought to you by Allison Dawn PR

We'll say anything for press

This Johnston family just doesn’t know when to call it a day with their media rants at the Palin family’s expense. Now, in their latest effort to rile things up for the Palins, Levi Johnston’s sister, Mercede Johnston, has told Playboy Magazine that her brother Levi and Bristol Palin “planned their ‘unplanned’ pregnancy.” Mercede Johnston goes so far as to make this claim to Playboy Magazine about Bristol Palin and her brother, Levi:

“Bristol’s pregnancy wasn’t unexpected. She and Levi planned it. They were trying to conceive for months.” WTF? Bristol Palin was trying for months to become pregnant by a high school drop out so she could run and tell her uberreligious, politically prominent parents that she was going to be an unwed teen mom? Um, ya sure about that Mercede? Sounds kind of sketchy to me.

I call bullsh*t on this interview. Mercede Johnston goes on to slam the entire Palin clan and even calls Bristol Palin (uh, her nephew’s mother) a “sociopath!” Mercede, even if you don’t like Bristol, which you have made painfully clear that you don’t, what does it say about you, that you are willing to say such dispicable things about your innocent nephew’s mom?

Mercede’s less than honorable Q&A will appear in September’s issue of Playboy Magazine, along with a nude four page pictorial. It seems the Johnston family has mastered two things: taking off their clothes, and making less than truthful allegations against the Palins, and that is the extent of their collective resumes. Ok, yes, I have also posed for Playboy (circa 1998), however, one thing I’ve never done is try to further my own agenda by hurting and defaming others. Enough said.

One thing Levi Johnston’s sister Mercede does say that rings somewhat accurate is that Sarah Palin included a then-pregant Bristol’s then fiance Levi in all of her 2008 Vice Presidential hoopla to put a decent face on her daughter Bristol’s teen pregnancy. Ok, I’ll give her that one.

But, beyond that one statement, as someone who read Bristol Palin’s memoir, Not Afraid of Life, I believe that Bristol Palin went through hell and back with this kid, Levi Johnston, and has had to slug it out as a single working mom ever since to care for her toddler son, Tripp. Sure, Bristol has benefited greatly from her stint on Dancing With The Stars, and her recent bestselling memoir, and more power to her! Her son’s father certainly hasn’t stepped up to the plate.

Here is the corker on this whole ridiculous interview; Mercede Johnston alleges that Bristol Palin and her brother Levi’s whole engagement that was in the press last year (remember that US Weekly cover?) was a PR stunt hatched by Sarah Palin to prevent Levi from bashing her any further in the press.

Utterly absurd. According to Bristol Palin’s excruciatingly candid memoir, Not Afraid of Life, she recounts walking on eggshells as she told her parents she had taken Levi back only to have both her parents temporarily dis-own her in a fit of anger over their eldest daughter’s foolish decision, as they knew Bristol would, once again get hurt.

Next stop, the PGA Tour?

Is it just me, or is Peter Parker’s replacement in Marvel Comics’ new Spider-Man comic, Miles Morales, a dead ringer for disgraced Golf-Pro, Tiger Woods?

Peter Parker’s replacement is a half-African-American, half-Latino teenager named Miles Morales. The new Spider-Man is a fitting reflection of a new 21st Century America and actually makes me quite proud of this new racially-modern era we are living in. Pop culture is taking a cue from how we are all living our lives now.

As CNN reports, “Wednesday, a new book, Ultimate Comics Fallout #4, debuts, and the world will get to see the new web-slinging super hero. The book will be a glimpse into the Ultimate Comics universe after Peter Parker, when a new, multi-racial Spider-Man arrives on the scene.” Pretty Cool!

Indeed, Axel Alonso, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics told CNN, “When the opportunity arose to create a new Spider-Man, we knew it had to be a character that represents the diversity, in background and experience, of the 21st century.”

The original Spider-Man that was conceived created by Stan Lee and portrayed by Tobey Maguire in the movie franchise, Peter Parker, was a white orphan from Queens, New York who died in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160 fighting his arch-enemy, Green Goblin.

As told to CNN by marvel Comics’ honcho, Axel Alonso :

“He died a hero, he died fulfilled. He’s really dead too, not come-back-to-life dead.”

But on a comicical note, I can’t help but wonder if the comic’s sketch artist was watching the Golf Channel or thumbing through an issue of Golf Digest for inspiration for the physical characteristics of new Spider-Man, Miles Morales. Maybe young Miles’ cover gig could be as a player on the PGA Tour. Golfer by day, masked crime fighting spider by night??

What do you think?

Nudity During Sex is Waaay Overrated!

During my chat with Pamela Anderson for an interview to be published this week on PR.com, the international bombshell gave me the scoop on her new sultry stocking collection, The Pamela Couture Stocking Collection by Secrets in Lace.

When I questions Anderson about her general dislike for pantyhose, she set me straight by exclaiming that her couture stocking collection is not for every day use. Pam’s stockings are for sex!

Here are some yummy quotes that Pammy relayed to me:

“I’ve never worn pantyhose, but my aunt and mom swear by them. My stockings are for making love in. They’re real nylon stockings. It’s a fantasy. They feel incredibly sexy, and guaranteed not to run. They aren’t for every day, but they are so gorgeous and they’re historically pleasing. If stockings could talk…”

Pamela Anderson also expressed her funny side during our interview when she insisted that her mom still wears lingerie for her dad, but not in the way you might think:

“I know my mom still wears lingerie and jumps out of closets to scare my dad. She’s always joked that she tries to give him a heart attack so she can get [his] coin collection. But now she’s actually worried that she might give him a heart attack. And the coin collection may not exist, so she’s being gentler on him. They watch a lot of CNN and she also Twitters all her complaints about politics, but does it looking fabulous.”

On a more serious note, Anderson’s mom has passed along some words of wisdom to her famous daughter when it comes to seducing the opposite sex:

“She taught me how to walk, one foot directly in front of the other, so you lure men with your hips.”

At the end of our interview Pamela was kind enough to brief me on what she meant when she told me “if stockings could talk…” She said, “You know, like if walls could talk.” Thanks Pam, I got that one. My real questions for you is, “if your stockings could talk…” We would all love to hear what those naughty nylons would have to say!

READ MY FULL PAMELA ANDERSON INTERVIEW HERE

OMG! I haven’t seen a music video this funny, raunchy and crazy since, well, probably the 80s which Katy Perry’s video for her single “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” pays brilliant homage to.

Check out hilarious celeb cameos by Corey Feldman, Kenny G and Debbie Gibson, and laugh your a*s off at Katy Perry’s impression of a totally nerdy (and horny) 1980s teenager who falls victim to an overly rowdy house party that, she apparantely threw, at her parent’s house. Sooooooo 80s and soooooooo rock star!

A couple years back I interviewed 1980s Lost Boy-turned addict- turned reality star and zen master, Corey Feldman (he actually named his son “Zen”). I actually really enjoyed our conversation. We covered a lot of Corey’s crazy life. After you’ve laughed yourself sick at Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” music video have a read below at some excerpts from my Corey Feldman interview:

PR.com (Allison Kugel): You’ve effectively changed your image from the time you were a teenager…

Corey Feldman: (Laughs) I’m glad you think so.

PR.com: (Laughs) Well, you’ve managed to overcome some of the bad press from your adolescence. There’s been a lot of press about you being spiritual, about you being an animal rights activist, an environmental activist… being on a better path and having a family, and so on. Are you hoping that will lead to you being back to where you were in the heyday of your career… at some point?

Corey Feldman: That’s a many wielded sword that you just threw at me because there’s so many different answers and outlets to the question you pose. I don’t think that I’m purposely doing anything to change an image, or to reconfigure the way people think of me. I think that I’m simply living my life as I always have, which is hopefully in a positive direction. If you really look at my history, before I had my drug problems I was out campaigning for Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” [campaign]. I was also at the forefront of working with animals rights and I was a vegetarian since I was 12 or 13 years old. I’ve always been a spiritualist. I’ve always prayed and believed in God. Unfortunately, I hit a speed bump in my own personal path and went down a very dark road for a few years. Even though it really was a few years, people chose to kind of hang that on me as my door sign, saying “This is who he is. This is his box, and keep him in it.” It’s been a fight of good versus evil in my own personal life that one day I will rise above this soot that’s being thrown on top of me, and rise up from the ashes with my positive message, and show people this is who I’ve been all along.

PR.com: I think because a child star gone wrong makes a juicier story.

Corey Feldman: Exactly. But unfortunately that’s the temperature of our society. Everybody’s always looking for the gossip, but they’re not looking for the real answer or the real solution. To me it’s so much more appealing, because there’s so much negativity out there and there’s so much degradation out there. It’s so much more appealing to hear a positive story, or somebody that’s got something to share with us that we can use as an inspiration. All I’ve tried to do since the time that I got sober is leave a positive message and try and help people through their own struggles, where I needed help getting through mine.

PR.com: How did the Lost Boys sequel (Lost Boys: The Tribe) come about after twenty years? Is it the original team that did the first movie?

Corey Feldman: Not at all. It was something that had been talked about for years and years. Originally it was going to be done by Richard Donner and Joel Schumacher who did the original. As things progressed, it never got made the way that it was supposed to. Then it came back around as a direct to DVD movie that they were going to do for a very low budget. I declined to be a part of it because I wasn’t happy with the script or the way things were going. I didn’t want to be a part of a trashy remake of a great movie. Then they came back to me from Warner Bros. and said, “We have a new script. We’ve listened to your thoughts, and we’ve written in a part for Corey Haim. We’re increasing the budget and we’re going to give it a shot at theatrical [release]. We’re going to try and actually make it a real movie.” At that point I said, “Ok let’s give it a shot.” I also was quite impressed by the director, P.J. Pesce’s, dedication to connecting the two films and preserving the feel and the vibe of the first film. I know that’s what’s most important to fans.

Winning!

Perhaps Charlie Sheen was right and knew something we didn’t. Despite the iconic sitcom actor’s relationship struggles and his addiction issues, Sheen is definitely “winning” in the career department, not to mention financially. Charlie Sheen just inked a deal to star in a sitcom version of the 2003 hit comedy film, Anger Management, by the same title, complete with a lucrative back-end deal. Lionsgate Television made the announcement this afternoon, stating, “Sheen will retain significant ownership stake in the series inspired by the film.”

Commenting on his choice of television projects, Charlie Sheen stated, “I chose Anger Management because, while it might be a big stretch for me to play a guy with serious anger management issues, I think it is a great concept.”

Sheen’s brilliant straight man routine continues to reign supreme with audiences, and it’s that smug dry humor that drew millions to watch Two and a Half Men week after week for years, and still does in syndication.

Anger Management producer and long time Charlie Sheen colleague, Joe Roth tells PR Newswire, “Who better than Charlie Sheen to tackle Anger Management. With Charlie’s incredible talent and comedic gifts, he remains the leading man of TV sitcoms.”

It’s Charlie Sheen’s combination of off-the-wall real-life antics combined with his on-screen dry observant wit that will likely make Anger Management television sitcom gold, leaving Two and a Half Men starring Ashton Kutcher on potentially shaky ground.

Will Snooki Be Next?

As it turns out, sudden fame comes with a heavy price tag: an avalanche of lawsuits from business associates, rivals and other assorted parties who are looking to reach their hands into your pocket to grab a piece of that celebrity money coming your way.

Wealth, particularly well-publicized wealth, does indeed make someone a target for lawsuits, both frivolous and merited. I am not one to speculate on which category this recent onslaught of Jersey Shore lawsuits falls under. Some in the civil legal community would argue that if a case is pursued by the courts and is not dismissed or thrown out of court, then it does, in fact, have some merit. All of these three Jersey Shore related lawsuits have yet to be fully processed by the court system, so we’ll see what the eventual outcomes will be.

Jersey Shore stars, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio and Jenni “JWoWW” Farley have all been targets of lawsuits brought against them by parties from their past, or parties who feel infringed upon by the three stars’ sudden Reality TV fame.

In the case of Jenni JWoWW Farley, ex-boyfriend and ex-manager, Tom Lippolis is reportedly suing the sexy Jersey Shore starlet for more than $700,000 in damages from lost profits that Lippolis feels he is entitled to as her former manager. I personally dealt with Lippolis last year when he coordinated an interview for me with his, now ex, JWoWW, for the website I write for, PR.com. I hate to say it, but at the time of my interview with JWoWW I could feel a palpable tension between Jenni and Tom during the entire back and forth communication between myself and them, both in setting up the interview and in conducting and then editing the piece for PR.com. Throughout my conversation with Jenni she seemed on-edge, closed mouthed and nervous as she answered each of my questions. As it turned out, Tom Lippolis was hovering over Jenni the entire time I was speaking with her, undoubtedly creating a tense and nervewracking atmosphere for her. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Though I don’t know the intimate details of their former relationship. Jenni seemed so careful and concerned about every syllable she uttered to me. I am not surprised that the relationship ended, and a costly breakup it will be when Farley has to pay to defend Lippolis’ lawsuit against her for his complaint of $700,000 in alleged lost earnings that she allegedly “owes” him.

Moving on to Pauly D. Apparantly, there is a well established DJ in the Connecticut area who goes by the name “DJ Pauly” who is suing the Jersey Shore star of the same name for infringement on his longrunning DJ name, and creating consumer confusion since DelVecchio shot to fame in 2009 on MTV’s Jersey Shore. The more obsure DJ Pauly claims that ever since Pauly D Delvecchio hit the Jersey Shore and became one of the most famous DJs on the planet (even landing an exclusive deal as resident DJ with The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas) the lesser known CT based DJ Pauly is nowhere to be found in Google search results and his career has gone into the dumper. The suffering lesser known deejay is suing Jersey Shore‘s Pauly D for a whopping $4 million dollars in damages to his deejaynig career.

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is facing his own legal drama with his former management, Gotham NYC Entertainment. According to PopEater, “Sorrentino’s former mangers are suing the reality star for $1 million.” The PopEater article goes on to elaborate that, “Sorrentino breached their contract when he fired them in May for ‘lack of performance.’

“The management company says the Jersey Shore star failed to give them the required 30-day notice to fix any problems before he terminated their services.” Ok, fair enough. That 30 day clause is a standard contractual clause in the entertainment industry. However, would Gotham NYC Entertainment really have lost potential earnings of $1 million in those thirty days. That remains to be seen, legally speaking.

Ah, the woes of fame!