Sean Penn started his Haiti charity/foundation JPHRO shortly after the massive earthquake in 2010. Some say Penn was doing penance for all of his years of douchebaggery. Some say he was inspired to give back after his son survived a bad accident. Some say Sean always had a compassionate side and this was just the latest example. And some said he just absorbed himself in the cause of the moment, and he would forget about it soon enough. Sean lived for a time in Haiti, but he’s back to living full time in LA and wherever he has to go on location for film shoots. But his JPHRO is still raising money for Haitians, and Sean throws a now-annual fundraiser for his foundation. Last month’s star-studded fundraiser raised $6 million for JPHRO.

But I’ve always wondered how much of the JPHRO money actually makes it to Haiti. Penn started the foundation from scratch, and I always assumed the start-up costs and administrative costs must have been significant. That’s the thing about starting your own charity versus simply attaching your name to an already-established charity: it’s all on you to get a significant amount of the money raised to the actual people in need. Well, a Haitian filmmaker named Raoul Peck has made a documentary called Fatal Assistance, and Peck claims that “only a fraction” of the $9 billion pledged to Haiti has actually made it to Haiti or the Haitian people. It’s an indictment of many of the failed charity schemes and half-hearted attempts to help, especially since 350,000 Haitians are still homeless or living in makeshift camps all these years later.

So, obviously, Page Six contacted Sean Penn to see if he would comment on Peck’s film. Here’s what Sean had to say:

“Peck is confusing the funds committed by international donors (foreign governments) in 2010 with the tangible and provable monies raised by JPHRO and others spent to extraordinary effect. His simplification of criticism echoes strategies once used by tyrants and Nazis, and its only result can be that which is injurious to the extraordinary people of Haiti. Self-serving critics like Peck are Haiti’s greatest enemy.”

[From Page Six]

Here’s the thing: I think there probably is a worthy investigation to be done into how much money actually reached the Haitians. There’s also a worthy investigation to be done into which of these little Haitian-charity start-ups are actually working on any level. And if Penn had simply said that “there is confusion” about which funds are which and what is actually working, I would have believed him. But he went straight for the Nazi comparison, Godwin’s Law be damned. When your answer to legitimate criticism and questioning is “YOU ARE A NAZI FOR ASKING QUESTIONS,” then I’m sorry, we need to ask those questions.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Here are some photos of Brandi Glanville at last night’s “Bloodbath red carpet” for Celebrity Apprentice in NYC. Don’t ask me to care about Celebrity Apprentice, because the well is dry. I know Brandi was having some kind of blood feud with Kenya Moore, and that Kenya Moore is setting herself up to be the major villain of the season. As for these photos… I wish Brandi didn’t feel the need for the Botox and fillers. She’s a pretty woman naturally, and I kind of think the extras make her look older.

What else? Let’s see, there are a bunch of stories about and around Brandi this week, so let’s do some highlights:

*Star Magazine pointed out that LeAnn Rimes is still stalking Brandi on Twitter. Brandi posted some photos of herself in the kitchen and tagged them #Cookingforfamily. Just a few hours later, LeAnn used the exact same hashtag. Pathetic.

*Kyle Richards and Brandi had some kind of crazy blowout on RHOBH and Kyle tells Us Weekly: “I honestly have never met someone like Brandi in my life. She has no regard for your children, your family, your marriage, your businesses; when she decides to go after you she is vicious and relentless.” Their fight was mostly about Kim Richards and how Kim is a mess, and Kyle thinks Kim should not be spending any time with Kim at all – you can read more about it here.

*Brandi tells E! News that she decided to do Celebrity Apprentice for her kids: “I really wanted to impress my parents and I wanted to do a show that possibly my 11-year-old could watch. I don’t let him watch Housewives because I’m a giant a-hole on that show.” Brandi also says that she’s happy she gets to a different kind of reality show: “I’m excited to have this out and to have a balance between drunk-fun Brandi and now you get to see Brandi doing business deals, tasks and using my brain…instead of my wine glass.”

And finally, there’s still some long-standing conversation about whether Brandi is an alcoholic and whether she would benefit from rehab. As I’ve said, I don’t watch RHOBH so I don’t know how bad it gets. But most of the Real Housewives are constantly drunk, right? I’m pretty sure producers are always making sure liquor fuels the filming. But sure, it does sound like Brandi takes it too far. Dial it back, girl.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Sometimes we get Celebitchy newbies who are not familiar with my aversion to bad bangs. For the record, I believe nearly all bangs are bad. It’s my hangup and I’m working through it. I have three categories: the worst is “bangs trauma,” where a woman has gotten bangs and it was a really bad decision that she should regret. The second category is “middle ground bangs” – which does happen – where the lady doesn’t really look that different with or without bangs, or when the bangs are done well (which is a spectacular feat). Then there is the unicorn, the rare woman who looks amazing with bangs and should never be without them.

Which of those three options is Behati Prinsloo? I feel sort of sorry for Behati, I think this is the first time I’ve ever covered her without the story having something to do with her new-husband Adam Levine. She’s a successful model in her own right, although she became much more famous when she got with Levine. Can we blame Levine for these bangs? Because I think these are full-on BANGS TRAUMA. Behati debuted The Trauma at a Super Bowl party on Saturday. I guess it’s taken this long for most sites to ID her. Because she looks so different with those hideous bangs.

You know who Behati reminded me of with her new hair? Bradley Cooper’s young girlfriend, Suki Waterhouse. Suki’s been doing a similar fringe for a few years. I kind of think Suki pulls it off better than Behati.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I just realized that Jeremy Renner has been MIA this awards season. He did a back-to-back twofer in 2010 and 2011 with Oscar nominations, and if he wanted to, I would guess that he could totally end up a presenter at the Oscars. Some people do that, especially if they’re not promoting anything – they’ll avoid all of the awards season hoopla except for the Oscars and the Oscar parties. It would be good to see Renner out and about on Oscar night.

Anyway, as we know, Renner’s wife of ten months filed for divorce in December. It seemed very sudden to most of us out here in the cheap seats, and of course there were TONS of conspiracy theories, especially since Sonni Pacheco listed “fraud” as one of the reasons for the divorce. A month ago, Sonni issued her first direct statement to a media outlet, when she told The Daily Mail was she was “fine” and that she hopes everything will be resolved quickly. Renner’s camp insists that Renner was somewhat blindsided by the divorce filing, even though they were having big problems. Renner’s camp insists that he will fight Sonni on custody of their daughter Ava and his biggest worry is that Sonni will take Ava to Canada. Now TMZ has more information about what could be a major custodial/divorce fight:

Sonni is asking for primary custody of their 22-month-old daughter Ava. What’s curious … since they split in December, we’ve learned they have shared 50/50 custody. In California there’s a presumption that a divorcing couple should share joint custody, which is what they’ve had.

In addition, she’s claiming his house is unsafe for the child. Sonni says the pool needs to be properly fenced. She also claims he has a gun collection and one of the weapons [is] out in the open, behind a bar. But we’re told when she lived in that house with their child the pool was protected and the guns were all locked up.

Sonni claims Jeremy’s loaded and she’s not — so she wants lots of child support. She says he made around $3.5 million in 2014 and has $13 million in assets. In the legal docs obtained by TMZ … Sonni says when she told Jeremy he’d have to pay child support he responded, “Get a j.o.b.” But our sources say he’s been paying child support since they split. She also wants $75K in attorney’s fees and another $25K in other legal expenses.

Sources connected with Jeremy grouse he’s given Sonni everything she’s asked for and this is just a ploy to make what should be a simple divorce very expensive.

[From TMZ]

I think having loaded weapons out in the open is a really big deal. I’m actually pro-gun and pro-gun control – I believe sane people should have access to most guns, but I think reasonable limits should be imposed, like no guns in school zones and if you have children in your home, your guns should be under lock and key. The pool thing seems like a pretty simple fix – Renner could just hire someone to childproof his property and get the whole thing knocked out in a day. As for the money and custody fight… eh. I’m surprised Renner is worth so little (in Hollywood terms). And yes, I kind of think he should just pay her to go away. That’s what she wants.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

This is not surprising in the least. Any Cumberbitch worth her floral knew that Benedict Cumberbatch’s work schedule this year was going to go through some major flux. I don’t even think this one is his fault – Bendy has dropped out of The Lost City of Z, that long-gestating bio-pic/adventure film about Col. Percival Fawcett. Last year, Bendy had these mysterious lulls in his work schedule and I’m pretty sure that was because he truly believed The Lost City of Z would be filming months ago. But the production got pushed back until this year, I think in the Spring. And obviously, Bendy is going to have to find time somewhere to film Doctor Strange. So Z had to go. And now Charlie Hunnam is in.

Charlie Hunnam will star opposite Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller in The Lost City of Z, Plan B’s adaptation of the book by David Grann. MICA Entertainment has come on board to finance the drama, which James Gray is directing. Hunnam is replacing Benedict Cumberbatch, who was previously set to star but is now due to topline Marvel’s Doctor Strange movie, among other projects.

In the true-life drama, Hunnam will portray British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, who disappeared in 1925 while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon.

[From THR]

Brad Pitt and his Plan B team are executive producing. I think at one point, Brad even considered playing a role (the main role, maybe?). Anyway, as I said, this was an obvious call Bendy had to make. It probably makes his workaholic heart sick that he’s turning down projects like this, but it’s happening with more frequency. Last year, he dropped out of Crimson Peak and his role went to Tom Hiddleston, who starred opposite Charlie Hunnam. So it’s coming full circle! And now Charlie gets to use his normal British accent for a role, hurrah.

Meanwhile, Bendy’s former drama teacher at Harrow – from when Bendy was only 13 years old – has spoken out about Bendy’s early talent. The teacher says Benedict was “obviously an outstanding actor – a combination of intuition and intellect.” You can read more here.

Last thing – Bendy is confirmed to present at the BAFTAs, although he was confirmed for the SAGs and never showed up, so it doesn’t mean much. Still, I think Benedict and Sophie will manage to make it to the BAFTAs. Guess who else will present? Felicity Jones, Martin Freeman and… Tom Hiddleston!! God, Hiddles had been SO quiet lately. I genuinely miss him, you guys. I’m more excited about seeing Hiddles than Bendy.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

I never realized how little we see of Paris and Nikki Hilton’s brothers. These days, we rarely even see Nikki! These are photos of Paris and her brother Conrad from 2011. There are two younger brothers, Barron and Conrad. Barron was the one in Miami a few years ago, getting into cracked-out beefs with Lindsay Lohan and her sketchball crew. That should tell you a lot about Barron. As for Conrad, he’s only 20 years old and he’s already got a criminal record, how shocking. In 2012, he was charged with a DUI (for alcohol and marijuana), put on probation and then he violated his probation by getting high.

Well, guess what? Conrad might be attempting to be the most screwed up of the whole Hilton clan. And that’s saying something. Incidentally, I love it when people sound just the way you’d imagine. Like, Kim Kardashian sounds exactly like you’d expect: like a vapid p0rn star doing a baby voice. And Conrad Hilton sounds exactly like what you’d think of a spoiled trust fund d-bag whose daddy writes checks to make the problems go away. Long story short: Conrad went berserk on a plane and he was yelling to and about PEASANTS!!!!

Paris Hilton’s younger brother Conrad Hilton was just arrested in L.A. for allegedly going insane on an international flight back in July … and getting violent with flight attendants … TMZ has learned. According to officials, multiple witnesses on the plane say the 20-year-old went berserk on a flight from London to L.A. … and began screaming and threatening flight attendants.

According to witnesses, Conrad was heard yelling the following things during his meltdown:

– “If you wanna square up to me bro, then bring it and I will f–king fight you.”
– “I am going to f–king kill you.”
– “I will f–king rip through you.”
– “I will f–king own anyone on this flight; they are f–king peasants.”

Witnesses say … at one point during the flight, Conrad was ferociously punching the bulkhead of the plane … 10 centimeters from a flight attendant’s face. Witnesses also say they could smell weed seeping out of the bathroom … and believe Hilton was the culprit. Conrad was allegedly so out of control, children on the plane were crying. At one point, Conrad fell asleep … and the captain authorized crew members to restrain him to his seat for the descent. Conrad was ultimately handcuffed to his seat.

Witnesses told officials Conrad grabbed a flight attendant’s shirt and said, “I could get you all fired in 5 minutes. I know your boss! My father will pay this out. He has done it before. Dad paid $300k last time.”

According to documents obtained by TMZ, Hilton admitted to taking a sleeping pill before the flight and then bragged that he “buried” the flight attendants.

“I told all of them I could get all of their jobs taken away in less than 30 seconds.”

We just spoke with Hilton’s attorney Robert Shapiro — yes, that Robert Shapiro — who confirms Conrad took a sleeping pill before the flight and he wasn’t himself. Shapiro says there are numerous news reports and cases of people experiencing adverse effects, including aggressive outbursts … and he’s suggesting that’s what happened here.

[From TMZ]

What kind of amazing “sleeping pill” was that? Are they putting crystal meth into sleeping pills now? I mean, some people do some freaky stuff on Ambien, but I’ve never heard of someone taking an Ambien and going flat-out cray-cray on a plane and yelling at all of the peasants.

Here’s the thing though… even if his name wasn’t Conrad Hilton, he’s still being treated differently than an Arab-American man or basically any darker-skinned man or woman who tried to pull this kind of stunt. I mean, if this was Mohammed Hilton-al Jabari, they would have put down the plane immediately and he would have been either shot or arrested on terrorism charges. Not only is this a tale of a poor little cracked-out rich boy, it’s also a tale of white privilege.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Katy Perry covers the March issue of Elle in conjunction with her Super Bowl extravaganza and Billboard cover. The Grammys are coming up in a few days, so this must be the week of Katy. She’s nominated for both “Dark Horse” and Prism.

This Elle cover is muted but quite pretty. Katy’s wearing a Giambattista Valli top and skirt with Chanel and Graziela Germs jewelry. Elle notes how Katy chose to wear her own nose ring. The interview was rather extensive (for Elle) and lasted three days in Australia. The journo, Amanda FitzSimons, calls Katy “eloquent, intensely likeable, and smart.” I won’t call Katy dumb, but she seems much more savvy than smart. She’s a shrewd businesswoman, which is more valuable than simply being smart. Here’s some excerpts.

On total control: “In my show, I am boss daddy. I am boss mommy. They call me Boss. Everything goes through my eyes; I call all the shots, 100 percent of it. With the NFL, I have to be accountable to several levels of red tape. There are many committees I have to go through for my costumes, the budgets of my show, every interview—everything, I have to report to somebody. So I am no longer the boss; I have to relinquish that control. We love this opportunity, but once you decide you’re gonna do the Super Bowl, you’re gonna have no f***ing life for six months. It is the biggest thing. Anyone that’s ever done it has been scared sh*tless. You stay off the Internet for the five days afterward.”

On her contemporaries: “Oh my God. I’m such a big Beyonce fan. Beyonce just put out a video! You’ve got to see this video I was like, Finallllly. Finally I see you. I don’t see some propaganda version of you. I see you. I relate to who you are.”

On being a pop star: “It is a hundred times harder a dream than the dream that I dreamt when I was nine … You think you signed up for one thing, but you automatically sign up for a hundred others. And that is why you see people shaving their f***ing heads.”

If pop stars were in a soap opra: “You’ve got to name someone the villain, someone the princess, someone the mom-, the dad-type–you know there always have to be characters. As pop figures, we’re all characters. And the media uses that. Who is the sweetheart, who is the villain? You know. Taylor’s the sweetheart. Kanye’s the villain. That’s the narrative.”

[From Elle]

Now there’s a dig against Taylor. Katy’s calling her frenemy out for playing the role of the cutesey sweetheart, and that’s the best Katy can do. The silly feud is alive and well, but don’t tell Kanye he’s the villain. He’d be flattered. Did you catch the “propaganda” remark about Beyonce? Ouch.

Photos courtesy of Elle & WENN

Emily Ratajkowski has been in London this week. I’m including some photos of her outside of the BBC Radio Studios (black coat pics) and some of Emily at the InStyle pre-Bafta party on Monday evening (the yellow Cushnie et Ochs Spring 2015 dress). I guess she might be around for the BAFTAs on Sunday? Maybe as a presenter. I’m surprised she hasn’t been around more this awards season – her film debut in Gone Girl was reasonably well-received and the film scored some big nominations. Anyway, while in London, Emily gave an exclusive interview to The Daily Mail – you can read the full piece here. Emily has talked about feminism and her feminist views before. Her definition of feminism is “being sexy and sexual and owning her body.” Which, when you think about it, means Emily has a better grasp of feminism than Kaley Cuoco. Some highlights:

Defending the “Blurred Lines” video: “I think you can be a sexual woman, empowered and be a feminist. I think sexuality should be empowering to women, it’s not always misogynistic or exploitative.”

Why she agreed to the video: “I had initially turned it down. I was eventually convinced by the director, who I really liked, to do it. It was kind of a good opportunity for me in a way because I couldn’t really speak to the lyrics as I didn’t write them, but I could about the video. I had all kind of ideas to say so it ended up being a good platform, because on the other side I think people were like ‘well let’s hear what the girls think.’”

Scoring the part in Gone Girl: “It was really surreal. I had read the book when it came out and it was a total page turner and stuck in my mind. I think that because I had gone through the audition process I had a little bit more confidence because they picked me, so hopefully I was there for a reason.”

How she did her nude scene with Ben Affleck: “There was only a few camera guys and David [Fincher] and Ben which made it a lot easier. ‘[Ben] just made me feel comfortable as a friend and that made it all feel good. You don’t really have much time to be overly self-conscience.”

Will she continue to act? “I’m definitely being really selective, especially coming from a modelling background and having an opportunity like Gone Girl where people are taking me seriously. And I have David in my corner… I want to establish myself as someone who can act and doesn’t have to rely on my figure or modelling background.”

She’s not chasing after an Oscar: “I don’t know about winning Oscars, I don’t think you should have those goals. I like acting, it’s creatively fulfilling; it’s fun, it makes me feel good and it’s a hard job, but when you do a scene and you know you’ve nailed it there’s nothing better than that.”

[From The Daily Mail]

Is she a genius? Nope. But she’s not a complete idiot either. She’s a 23 year old model-turned-actress trying to find some footing in a new and exciting career. I wish her view of feminism was more nuanced, political and economic, but frankly, I’ll take what I can get. The freedom to be a sexual person is part of feminism too. As for how Ben Affleck made her feel comfortable… you guys know what I think. Ben hand-picked Emily for that role. He coached her privately too. And David Fincher likes to do a million takes. That’s like a whole day of Ben motorboating Emily on camera.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

This is the new video for Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney’s “FourFiveSeconds.” Full disclosure. I’m more of an Elvis girl than a Beatles girl. I like a few of Kanye’s songs, and I adore Rihanna’s music. A good chunk of yesterday was spent dancing to “Pon de Replay” on repeat, and I’ve been looking forward to some new material after Rih took a year off. This song is the debut single from her as-yet-unnamed 8th LP. Perhaps I’m uncultured, but this song disappoints. The video? It’s pretty stellar on mute. The cinematography is simple yet arresting, and ol’ Yeezus did the styling (per Rolling Stone): “Kanye came up with the idea of just doing some real street, denim, all-American-type look.” Some would call this video iconic. I’d still like some solo Rihanna magic.

What do you think of the song? It’s unlike anything we’ve heard from Rihanna. Kanye is rather experimental for a rapper, and his music is best considered when completely disregarding the Kardashian Klan. This single does the bare minimum to please casual listeners of any of these three artists. Tell me I’m wrong, please. My inner jury is still out. Kanye and his video flourishes are almost too much.

Rihanna is still a solid fashion girl, even when she wears the emperor’s Adam Selman. Balmain creative dicrector Olivier Rousteing has declared Rihanna to be his muse and the next Grace Kelly. This is hilarious because Rihanna is a fashionista who can wear almost anything (or nothing at all), but she’ll never have the class of Grace Kelly. You can see a photo of Olivier nuzzling Rihanna at the Mail. This pic is amusing because RiRi is wearing an uninspired Stella McCartney tuxedo jacket as a dress.

Here’s some photos of Rihanna wearing Balmain on previous occasions. Does she qualify as a muse?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, W magazine & WENN

Call me crazy, but I kind of like this Cosmo cover with Gwen Stefani. I like that it’s more of a body shot, I like the star-spangled dress thing, and I like that the cover isn’t all about cleavage or whatever. In the interior shot (I’m including it at the end of the post), Gwen does flash her abs. At what age should we stop expecting celebrities to flash their body parts? Jennifer Lopez still has amazing abs at the age of 45, and Gwen is the same age, plus Gwen has given birth three different times. It’s kind of crazy. My instinct is to say, “Eh, put it away when you’re in your 40s.” But maybe we should celebrate these #ForeverYoung celebrities. Anyway, here are some highlights from Gwen’s Cosmo interview:

On her marriage to Gavin Rossdale:
“We go through so much together—it’s a miracle that we could stay together this long. [Gavin’s] on a short tour right now, and he wrote me the sweetest note this morning. It’s good to have those days when we both do our own things. I think that’s what keeps relationships going, when both people can be themselves and have their own individuality. That’s especially important for women—it’s hard to find time for yourself.”

On marrying a “hot guy:”
“I never really saw myself landing a guy that hot. I don’t know if I was a nerd in high school, but I definitely wasn’t the super-cute cheerleader so I never saw myself getting somebody like that. But I do think he’s quite handsome. It’s not the most important thing about him, but it is nice…and he makes really cute babies!”

On her gratitude for her long and successful music career:
“My parents taught us, ‘[music] is your hobby. People don’t make it. It just doesn’t happen.’ It still shocks me that people care about me. I trip out about it all the time. It’s mind-blowing! For me, I’ve never gotten to a point where I felt, ‘Okay, I’ve made it, I’m number one!’ It’s an amazing feeling to hit number one, but it’s not that different a feeling from not being number one. It’s really about the journey—that’s where the joy comes. It’s not about the end result, because there isn’t really ever an end.”

[From Cosmo]

With Gavin and Gwen, I always thought that on paper, they were perfectly matched. They were equally hot, not too far apart in age, both were equally successful when they got together, etc. But I think Gwen really doesn’t have that much experience with men, which is strange to think about it. Like, she only really had two major relationships in adulthood and one of them was Gavin. But whatever, I think their marriage does work and I don’t see them calling it quits any time soon.

Photos courtesy of Matthias Vriens-McGrath for Cosmo.