Wednesday, October 25, 2006
The Transporter
Madonna is finally telling her side of the story concerning all the hubbub surrounding her desire to adopt a baby Malawian boy. Thus far, Madonna has not spoken publicly about the adoption fallout and yesterday afternoon took her case to the ultimate court of public opinion, ie. The Oprah Winfrey Show, to have her say. Here is a picture of Maddy as she leaves her London home on her way to the studio where she taped her interview live, via satellite:
Never one to shrink to the pressure of public opinion, Madonna appears to be ready to fight for the adoption of little David Banda, the Malawian boy who stole her heart in such a way that she wants to make him her own son. [Source]
As soon as Madonna's interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show was finished, ABC News conducted interviews with audience members who attended the taping. According to them, Madonna places the blame surrounding the adoption controversy on the media:
Pop star Madonna taped an interview for the "Oprah Winfrey Show" today via satellite from London to respond to the swirl of controversy surrounding her efforts to adopt a baby boy from Malawi. It was Madonna's first television interview since the dust-up began. The show doesn't air until Wednesday, but ABC News spoke with some of the studio audience members who revealed some of what Madonna said about her experiences in adopting the baby she calls David. Madonna told Oprah that she and her husband, Guy Ritchie, contemplated adoption for more than two years before going through with it, according to audience member Sheryl Lewis of Deerfield, Ill. Lewis added that Madonna said she had been surprised by the attention and controversy, especially surrounding the baby's father, Yohane Banda. Lewis said Madonna talked about meeting with the father. "She said she met with the father, she looked him in the eye," said Lewis. Madonna, according to Lewis, told Oprah that she and Ritchie had followed the country's customs and had secured both "oral and written approval … and just now the press have gotten to him" ... Another audience member, Amanda Bannon of Crawfordsville, Ind., said, "The biggest thing was that Madonna wants to get the point across that she doesn't want this to be a discouragement to other families to not adopt." Robyn Radecker, also of Crawfordsville, described Madonna's interview as focusing on motherhood, not celebrity. "It was about her loving her kids and wanting to be a mom," she said. The interview does not air in the US until this afternoon (depending on where in the US you live) but Oprah.com has posted excerpts and quotes from the interview HERE. Despite the fact that adoption is difficult in Malawai, Madonna was sure she wanted to adopt a Malawian baby: "I assure you it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, nothing goes fast in Africa," Madonna says. "There are no adoption laws in Malawi. And I was warned by my social worker that because there were no known laws in Malawi, they were more or less going to have to make them up as we went along. And she did say to me, 'Pick Ethiopia. Go to Kenya. Don't go to Malawi because you're just going to get a hard time.'" "I'm financing a documentary about orphans in Malawi, so I was allowed to view footage and photographs of a lot of the children. An 8-year-old girl who is living with HIV was holding this child. I became transfixed by him ... But I didn't yet know I was going to adopt him. I was just drawn to him." "When I met him, he was extremely ill," Madonna says. "He had severe pneumonia, and he could hardly breathe. I was in a state of panic, because I didn't want to leave him in the orphanage because I knew they didn't have medication to take care of him. We got permission to take him to a clinic to have a bronchial dilator put on him ... He had pneumonia and was given an injection of antibiotics. He's still a little bit ill, not completely free of his pneumonia, but he's much better than he was when we found him." "[Lola and Rocco] just embraced him, and that's the amazing thing about children," she says. "They don't ask questions. They've never once said, 'What is he doing here', or mentioned the difference in his skin color, or questioned his presence in our life. That is an amazing lesson that children do teach us." The interview goes on to discuss Madonna's meeting with David's father Yohane and then goes on to say that she is "disappointed" by the way the media is handling the story. From what I've read, this sounds like a fascinating interview. I know that her appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show will not quell the firestorm of negative attention her critics are leveling at her but at least she's gone on the record with her side of the story. I can see how it might seem easier for her to just give up on adopting little David but I can understand how it might be impossible to abandon a baby that you've already let into your heart. [Source, thanks Paige]
OY! I other news, a few celebs got together to party at the Moet & Chandon Fashion tribute party last night wearing their finest masquerade attire ... I know it's difficult to tell who's who behind these masks ... but here are the pictures anyways:
I can't be quite sure but it looks like Scarlett Johansson, "it couple" of the moment Kate Moss & Pete Doherty (collectively known as PeteMoss) and Gisele Bundchen were among the masked revelers at the ball last night. It also appears that all the costumes where home-made. It's surprising that Gisele couldn't scrounge better trash from her bins to make a nicer dress. [Source]
Speaking of Kate Moss, she and her new BFF (her new diamond engagement ring) were seen out together before the masked ball shopping up a storm in London:
It looks like she's gotten over her need to try and hide the ring. It's pretty much full-steam-ahead towards the altar for PeteMoss ... I don't think anything will get in the way of them finally tying the knot. [Source]
The other "it couple" of the moment, Lance Bass and Reichen Lemkuhl (collectively known as Leichen) were both on hand at a book release party in West Hollywood for Reichen's new book, the easy to remember tome Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force Academy earlier this week. Here is a cute picture of the happy couple at the event:
Hee hee, I wouldn't be surprised if Lance didn't take it upon himself to start selling these books out the trunk of his car. After all, the more books Reichen sells, the more boy band money Lance gets to keep in his piggy bank. [Source]
Keanu Reeves is such a strange bird ... whenever he's out in public he's usually doing something weird ... I'm not surprised that he's often mistaken for a crazy person or a homeless person ...
... actually, he's always reminded me of a crazy homeless person ... but with snappier shoes. [Source]
Ashley Olsen and her boyfriend Greg Chait tried to sneak their way past the paparazzi as they made their way thru the airport this week:
You know, they almost got away with it. [Source]
Nicole Richie and her former fiancee DJ AM Adam Goldstein were spotted having dinner together at one of their favorite restaurants, La Scala yesterday afternoon. Nicole is very good at staying friendly with her exes but could there be more going on between these two?
It's no secret that Nicole has been having a difficult time lately since the end of her last relationship, then the anniversary of her friend's passing and who knows what else ... it makes total sense that she and Adam could've just gotten together to hang out as friends. BUT ... I am a fan of these two as a couple ... they both always looked so happy when they were together. Maybe they might give it another another try? Here's hoping! [Source]
Drew Barrymore looks like she isn't having a very good day ...
I wonder who peed in her cornflakes. [Source]
You know, I can tell that Gwyneth Paltrow and her daughter Apple are going to be total BFF when that little girl grows up ... they already look more like sisters than mother and daughter:
LOL! Talkin' shizz about other celebs already ... I love it! [Source]
Um ... isn't Halloween still about a week away? Shouldn't someone tell Lil' Kim that she's a bit early to be dressing up as Foxy Brown?
I wouldn't want her to be embarrassed or anything. [Source]
Tori Spelling's baby bump is growing at an exponential rate ... it seems as if her stomach doubled in size pretty much overnight:
Unless she's carrying a basketball in there (much like Katie Holmes did earlier this year), I'm actually surprised that she's gotten so big, so fast. You don't suppose there's a scam going on here, do you? [Source]
And finally, Paris Hilton is on the cover of the new issue of Seventeen magazine ... not only can you learn the 405 Ways to Look Hot but you can also learn the 5 Signs that you're Addicted to Attention:
If you want to learn the 405 Ways to Look Hot then you're going to have to pick up the mag ... but I am going to tell you the 5 Signs that you're Addicted to Attention:
1. Your name is Paris Hilton.
2. Your name is Paris Hilton.
3. Your Name is Paris Hilton.
4. Your name is Paris Hilton.
5. Your name is Paris Hilton. [Source]
Les News:
Now, I do not want to ruin the secret at all so I'm going to talk about the movie in the generalist of terms. Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it. I've heard from a few people that it was an excellent movie ... I was entertained but I wouldn't call it an "excellent" movie. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman do a good enough job at playing rival magicians out for fame and fortune but for the most part, the movie kinda struck me as a 2-hour pissing contest. It reminded me a bit of those Spy vs. Spy cartoons. One of them hurts the other, then the other hurts him back, and on ... and on. To be honest, I expected more from the big surprise at the end but ... well, I'm not going to say anything else about that.
The thing I love most about Christian Bale movies (besides the fact that hes H-O-T) is his sexy accent ... you know, when he says "Thanks" and it sounds like "Fanks" ... Sarah and I really get a kick out of just hearing him talk. I also get a kick out of hearing Scarlett Johansson speak with an accent in movies ... but only because she sounds funny and I can't ever take her seriously when she does try to speak with an accent.
The Prestige is a good movie, it's worth seeing if you're at all interested in this sort of movie but I don't necessarily think it's a must-see. You'd be just as entertained if you watched it on HBO in a couple of months.
David and I had plans for this afternoon but I'm not sure if I'm really up for it. We were supposed to fly up to San Francisco for the rest of the week to hang out with his brother but I'm still not sure I want to go. I know, I suck ... I don't want to lose the time with him but the thought of packing and living out of a suitcase for the next 5 days is not an attractive one right now. I'm still going back and forth about it ... who knows, I may go after all ... I need to go figure it out. Lates!
UPDATE: I think I'm going after all.
[Permalink]
Never one to shrink to the pressure of public opinion, Madonna appears to be ready to fight for the adoption of little David Banda, the Malawian boy who stole her heart in such a way that she wants to make him her own son. [Source]
As soon as Madonna's interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show was finished, ABC News conducted interviews with audience members who attended the taping. According to them, Madonna places the blame surrounding the adoption controversy on the media:
Pop star Madonna taped an interview for the "Oprah Winfrey Show" today via satellite from London to respond to the swirl of controversy surrounding her efforts to adopt a baby boy from Malawi. It was Madonna's first television interview since the dust-up began. The show doesn't air until Wednesday, but ABC News spoke with some of the studio audience members who revealed some of what Madonna said about her experiences in adopting the baby she calls David. Madonna told Oprah that she and her husband, Guy Ritchie, contemplated adoption for more than two years before going through with it, according to audience member Sheryl Lewis of Deerfield, Ill. Lewis added that Madonna said she had been surprised by the attention and controversy, especially surrounding the baby's father, Yohane Banda. Lewis said Madonna talked about meeting with the father. "She said she met with the father, she looked him in the eye," said Lewis. Madonna, according to Lewis, told Oprah that she and Ritchie had followed the country's customs and had secured both "oral and written approval … and just now the press have gotten to him" ... Another audience member, Amanda Bannon of Crawfordsville, Ind., said, "The biggest thing was that Madonna wants to get the point across that she doesn't want this to be a discouragement to other families to not adopt." Robyn Radecker, also of Crawfordsville, described Madonna's interview as focusing on motherhood, not celebrity. "It was about her loving her kids and wanting to be a mom," she said. The interview does not air in the US until this afternoon (depending on where in the US you live) but Oprah.com has posted excerpts and quotes from the interview HERE. Despite the fact that adoption is difficult in Malawai, Madonna was sure she wanted to adopt a Malawian baby: "I assure you it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, nothing goes fast in Africa," Madonna says. "There are no adoption laws in Malawi. And I was warned by my social worker that because there were no known laws in Malawi, they were more or less going to have to make them up as we went along. And she did say to me, 'Pick Ethiopia. Go to Kenya. Don't go to Malawi because you're just going to get a hard time.'" "I'm financing a documentary about orphans in Malawi, so I was allowed to view footage and photographs of a lot of the children. An 8-year-old girl who is living with HIV was holding this child. I became transfixed by him ... But I didn't yet know I was going to adopt him. I was just drawn to him." "When I met him, he was extremely ill," Madonna says. "He had severe pneumonia, and he could hardly breathe. I was in a state of panic, because I didn't want to leave him in the orphanage because I knew they didn't have medication to take care of him. We got permission to take him to a clinic to have a bronchial dilator put on him ... He had pneumonia and was given an injection of antibiotics. He's still a little bit ill, not completely free of his pneumonia, but he's much better than he was when we found him." "[Lola and Rocco] just embraced him, and that's the amazing thing about children," she says. "They don't ask questions. They've never once said, 'What is he doing here', or mentioned the difference in his skin color, or questioned his presence in our life. That is an amazing lesson that children do teach us." The interview goes on to discuss Madonna's meeting with David's father Yohane and then goes on to say that she is "disappointed" by the way the media is handling the story. From what I've read, this sounds like a fascinating interview. I know that her appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show will not quell the firestorm of negative attention her critics are leveling at her but at least she's gone on the record with her side of the story. I can see how it might seem easier for her to just give up on adopting little David but I can understand how it might be impossible to abandon a baby that you've already let into your heart. [Source, thanks Paige]
OY! I other news, a few celebs got together to party at the Moet & Chandon Fashion tribute party last night wearing their finest masquerade attire ... I know it's difficult to tell who's who behind these masks ... but here are the pictures anyways:
I can't be quite sure but it looks like Scarlett Johansson, "it couple" of the moment Kate Moss & Pete Doherty (collectively known as PeteMoss) and Gisele Bundchen were among the masked revelers at the ball last night. It also appears that all the costumes where home-made. It's surprising that Gisele couldn't scrounge better trash from her bins to make a nicer dress. [Source]
Speaking of Kate Moss, she and her new BFF (her new diamond engagement ring) were seen out together before the masked ball shopping up a storm in London:
It looks like she's gotten over her need to try and hide the ring. It's pretty much full-steam-ahead towards the altar for PeteMoss ... I don't think anything will get in the way of them finally tying the knot. [Source]
The other "it couple" of the moment, Lance Bass and Reichen Lemkuhl (collectively known as Leichen) were both on hand at a book release party in West Hollywood for Reichen's new book, the easy to remember tome Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force Academy earlier this week. Here is a cute picture of the happy couple at the event:
Hee hee, I wouldn't be surprised if Lance didn't take it upon himself to start selling these books out the trunk of his car. After all, the more books Reichen sells, the more boy band money Lance gets to keep in his piggy bank. [Source]
Keanu Reeves is such a strange bird ... whenever he's out in public he's usually doing something weird ... I'm not surprised that he's often mistaken for a crazy person or a homeless person ...
... actually, he's always reminded me of a crazy homeless person ... but with snappier shoes. [Source]
Ashley Olsen and her boyfriend Greg Chait tried to sneak their way past the paparazzi as they made their way thru the airport this week:
You know, they almost got away with it. [Source]
Nicole Richie and her former fiancee DJ AM Adam Goldstein were spotted having dinner together at one of their favorite restaurants, La Scala yesterday afternoon. Nicole is very good at staying friendly with her exes but could there be more going on between these two?
It's no secret that Nicole has been having a difficult time lately since the end of her last relationship, then the anniversary of her friend's passing and who knows what else ... it makes total sense that she and Adam could've just gotten together to hang out as friends. BUT ... I am a fan of these two as a couple ... they both always looked so happy when they were together. Maybe they might give it another another try? Here's hoping! [Source]
Drew Barrymore looks like she isn't having a very good day ...
I wonder who peed in her cornflakes. [Source]
You know, I can tell that Gwyneth Paltrow and her daughter Apple are going to be total BFF when that little girl grows up ... they already look more like sisters than mother and daughter:
LOL! Talkin' shizz about other celebs already ... I love it! [Source]
Um ... isn't Halloween still about a week away? Shouldn't someone tell Lil' Kim that she's a bit early to be dressing up as Foxy Brown?
I wouldn't want her to be embarrassed or anything. [Source]
Tori Spelling's baby bump is growing at an exponential rate ... it seems as if her stomach doubled in size pretty much overnight:
Unless she's carrying a basketball in there (much like Katie Holmes did earlier this year), I'm actually surprised that she's gotten so big, so fast. You don't suppose there's a scam going on here, do you? [Source]
And finally, Paris Hilton is on the cover of the new issue of Seventeen magazine ... not only can you learn the 405 Ways to Look Hot but you can also learn the 5 Signs that you're Addicted to Attention:
If you want to learn the 405 Ways to Look Hot then you're going to have to pick up the mag ... but I am going to tell you the 5 Signs that you're Addicted to Attention:
1. Your name is Paris Hilton.
2. Your name is Paris Hilton.
3. Your Name is Paris Hilton.
4. Your name is Paris Hilton.
5. Your name is Paris Hilton. [Source]
Les News:
- Diddy debuts at the #1 spot atop the Billboard Album chart, with Press Play.
- Ashton Kutcher worries that step-daughter Rumer is partying too hardy.
- Paris Hilton is so sorry for driving under the influence of alcohol.
- Jason Priestly returns to TV.
- Tommy Lee likes giving away his Hepatitis.
- Rachel Bilson does In Style mag.
- Wait, didn't they already do Dumb and Dumber?
- Just how "sorry" is Isaiah Washington?
- Rush Limbaugh is a vile person.
- Ciara is 21, Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons) is 49 and Marion Ross (Happy Days) is 78 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
- Rufus Wainwright is taking his Judy Garland show to London next February.
- Wait ... what????
- Kurt Cobain is the top earning money maker who has Peaced the Spork Out.
Now, I do not want to ruin the secret at all so I'm going to talk about the movie in the generalist of terms. Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it. I've heard from a few people that it was an excellent movie ... I was entertained but I wouldn't call it an "excellent" movie. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman do a good enough job at playing rival magicians out for fame and fortune but for the most part, the movie kinda struck me as a 2-hour pissing contest. It reminded me a bit of those Spy vs. Spy cartoons. One of them hurts the other, then the other hurts him back, and on ... and on. To be honest, I expected more from the big surprise at the end but ... well, I'm not going to say anything else about that.
The thing I love most about Christian Bale movies (besides the fact that hes H-O-T) is his sexy accent ... you know, when he says "Thanks" and it sounds like "Fanks" ... Sarah and I really get a kick out of just hearing him talk. I also get a kick out of hearing Scarlett Johansson speak with an accent in movies ... but only because she sounds funny and I can't ever take her seriously when she does try to speak with an accent.
The Prestige is a good movie, it's worth seeing if you're at all interested in this sort of movie but I don't necessarily think it's a must-see. You'd be just as entertained if you watched it on HBO in a couple of months.
David and I had plans for this afternoon but I'm not sure if I'm really up for it. We were supposed to fly up to San Francisco for the rest of the week to hang out with his brother but I'm still not sure I want to go. I know, I suck ... I don't want to lose the time with him but the thought of packing and living out of a suitcase for the next 5 days is not an attractive one right now. I'm still going back and forth about it ... who knows, I may go after all ... I need to go figure it out. Lates!
UPDATE: I think I'm going after all.
[Permalink]
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