I wasn’t even going to cover this because the details are profoundly disturbing, but you guys seem to want to talk about it, so here we go. Let me just throw up this NSFW WARNING. There are details of hazing gone wrong in this post. What’s strange (to me) is that this information is only coming out now – Jon Hamm has been famous for years, and it’s only this week that Star Magazine/Radar got their hands on Hamm’s old criminal charge for hazing and assault. Apparently, Hamm was in a fraternity at the University of Texas in Austin in 1990 and he and his frat bros went WAY too far with a pledge.

According to explosive court documents obtained by Star magazine, Jon Hamm was involved in a fraternity pledging incident gone wrong on November 10, 1990, at the University of Texas at Austin. The court documents claim that Hamm and his fellow Sigma Nu frat brothers struck a prospective pledge with a wooden paddle more than 30 times on that night. They also allegedly picked him up by his underwear and “pulled it back and forth in a sawing motion,” causing “great pain.” Hamm even set the pledge’s pants on fire, the documents claim, “and would not let [the pledge] extinguish the flame with his hand but made [him] blow it out.

Next, the documents claim, Hamm “hooked the claw of a hammer underneath [the pledge’s] genitals and led him by the hammer around the room.” He rounded out the night by breaking into the apartment of another pledge, the documents claim, “in order to bring [him] to the fraternity house” to subject him to “similar hazing activity.”

The mother of the first pledge reported the incident and arrest warrants were issued for Hamm and seven other frat members. Three of them were sentenced to 30 days in jail for hazing. Hamm was charged with misdemeanor hazing and assault charges, but they were dismissed in 1995 after he reached a plea deal. A friend tells Star, “The hazing incident was an isolated incident in Jon’s life. Since then, he’s been strong enough to take steps to make himself a better person.”

[From Radar]

The Daily Mail has even more details about the assault and the aftermath of the hazing here. It was so bad that Sigma Nu was shut down at UT-Austin?

Is this evidence that sometimes men in their late teens make really awful life choices and they can still grow up to be functioning members of society? Or does this information alter your current view of the now-44-year-old Hamm? Does it put everything in perspective? Do you see him as a bully, still, to this day?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here are some photos of Freida Pinto at the NYC premiere of Desert Dancer, her latest film. Freida is so pretty, but this lilac Elie Saab is too… eh? I mean, the color works for me, but I’m disappointed that she chose such an ice-skater-looking dress.

To promote the film, Freida has a piece in Los Angeles Magazine, all about her first trip to LA. She first came to the city in 2009, while she was promoting Slumdog Millionaire. It’s a nice piece – you can read the full article here. She talks about the initial craziness of her schedule, but finding out that LA was so yoga-obsessed really helped her because yoga is “very Indian.” She also talks a lot about the food in LA, which let me tell you – that’s also “very Indian” to obsess on food. That was the first question my father would ask me: “Where did you go to eat? What did you eat? I could probably make a better version.” Freida also talks about the prevalence of skin-bleaching in India, a subject she’s discussed before. Some highlights:

LA is all for brown skin: “A lot of girls growing up in India do not realize the beauty of their beautiful tan skin tone. Skin-lightening products are a big seller in the Indian cosmetics industry. On one of my trips to Los Angeles, someone walked up to me and said, “You have the most beautiful caramel-chocolate skin.” In L.A. everyone is sunbathing or going to tanning shops; I wish the 1.2 billion people in India could have a little peek into this culture and appreciate what they have.”

Her first Oscar experience: “Slumdog Millionaire was like a first love. None of what happened was expected; the next thing I know, I’m walking down the red carpet at the Oscars in my John Galliano dress. The ceremony was so beautiful. To feel the energy in that room—it was like being touched by God. I still have a small suitcase full of memorabilia from the ceremonies. I stole my name card from the Directors Guild of America Awards, and I took one of the Slumdog Millionaire tags that were on the table at the Governors Ball. I was so dedicated to remembering all the people I met that when they gave me their card, I would write where I met them and in what context on the back. My agent turned to me and said, ‘Good luck keeping up with that.’”

[From LA Magazine]

That’s so cool that she still has all the memorabilia from that awards season! She should turn it into an art project or something. As for the skin color comments… as I’ve said before, I’m half-white and half-Indian, so I am the palest one in my Indian family (and the darkest one of my mother’s side). I’m so American though, and I do prefer to have “some color,” as I call it. I used to go to tanning beds so I could be darker. I loved the way my skin looked with a deep tan. Sigh… I wish I had some color right now.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

View image | gettyimages.com

Bethenny Frankel has an interview in People Magazine to promote her new book, I Suck at Relationships So You Don’t Have To: 10 Rules for Not Screwing Up Your Happily Ever After. Single Bethenny has defended the content of her book by saying she learned from her failures. Judging from some of the things Bethenny told People, she assumes that her mistakes make her an expert in the “do as I say” department, and that’s just not the case.

It’s true, I suck at relationships. It’s like I see the island. But I have a difficult time swimming there.

She wants love more than success
Everybody would think all I ever wanted was success. I think the success I created was probably like a false sense of love, being on television and connecting with an audience. But if anybody ever asked me what I wanted more, it’s love.

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes. As I say in the book, you think you have someone pegged and you feel blindsided and you are afraid that you’ll do it again so you don’t even want to get into anything because you’re scared.

Offering to pay is ‘emasculating’
Someone said to me recently, ‘We are pricing ourselves out of the market.’ I’m ok with a money gap, but men need to feel in control – there’s nothing more emasculating than a woman pulling out her credit card. I don’t care how women’s lib we are.

She won’t use online tools to meet someone
[Blind dates are] my idea of hell. I don’t like small talk; I like big talk.

I don’t have any [dating] apps. I’m averse to online dating, but then again I suck at relationships, so maybe I should try it.

She won’t marry again
I don’t legally marry again. I’m not saying I wouldn’t stand on a beach and commit to somebody, I just don’t want to be in a contract with someone I love. I want a partner. Someone who is not threatened and not emasculated and not with me for the wrong reasons.

I would not want to date anyone who would want to be on a reality TV show. You have to date someone who has their own identity. Someone’s identity can’t be you.

I self-deprecate, but I don’t actually think I’m a disaster at relationships. You just have to know how to handle me. I’m complicated.

[From People Magazine, print edition, April 20, 2015]

That’s bad advice not to offer to pay, especially once you’re in a committed relationship, and especially if you’re the higher earner like Bethenny. It’s just part of being in a give and take relationship, but I guess Bethenny doesn’t know much about that. She does know about dating drunken former frat boys, and she’ll tell you about it. Radar Online has some details from Bethenny’s book in which she reveals that her last boyfriend, Michael Cerussi, would show up late at her house wasted and looking for a booty call. Just FYI – she met him at a bar. They also have an anecdote about how Bethenny offered to split a $600 dinner bill with Mac. Maybe she partially blames that for their demise, but that was never going to last and I’m sure they had bigger problems. From what I remember of her show, she used to argue with her ex, Jason Hoppy, constantly. In this interview she says she’s looking for a guy who can “handle” her, but maybe she needs to just chill out and do her own thing for a while.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Aww!

Teen Mom 2 star, Jenelle Evans, decided to take her baby Kaiser Griffith to the beach for his very first time yesterday. To document the experience, Jenelle snapped a couple of pictures and shared them on her Instagram account. In one of the pictures, we get to see Kaiser munching down on a pineapple, which is just absolutely adorable. Jenelle captioned the photo:

“Pineapple in paradise”

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Johnny Depp’s fallen off the radar lately after breaking his wrist in Australia while on location for Pirates 5. He wasn’t even filming when the early March accident happened. He was go-carting during a weekend break. Then Johnny flew home for surgery. The last thing I heard was on 3/28 when The Independent said producers were worried. They tried to tiptoe around Jack Sparrow for weeks, but now filming has halted completely: “Everyone want to get back to work as soon as possible. The producers are hoping Johnny will get himself together, come back and get going again.”

Johnny’s life may be a mess on the personal front too. He and Amber Heard finally married in early February after a huge buildup and a chupacabra attack. The newlyweds briefly honeymooned at Johnny’s private island. A week later, Amber flew to London to start work on The Danish Girl, and Johnny escaped to franchiseland. They haven’t seen each other in over a month. It’s like they got married during a rare spot of free time and went their separate ways. I never expected the marriage to last forever, but I didn’t expect rumors of trouble to begin right away. This week’s issue of InTouch says things are really bad:

Just 62 days after they made it official at a small civil ceremony in LA — In Touch has exclusively learned Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are on the verge of a split.

“They’re barely talking,” a source close to the couple exclusively shares with In Touch, adding that Johnny’s love of drinking, and broken promises that he’s going to stop, has put their marriage in jeopardy.

“Amber is constantly worried about him,” says the source. “He’ll go days without calling or texting her.”

According to the source, Amber, who is currently in London gearing up to film The Danish Girl, has made several frantic calls to the set of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales looking for Johnny. “He parties and it’s caused huge fights with Amber. It’s been hard for them.”

[From InTouch Weekly]

This story sounds suspiciously like one of Lainey’s blind items. As a rule, taking blind items as absolute truth is dangerous. There’s a reason why they’re blind items in the first place. But this one sounded so dead-on about Johnny and Amber, and the puzzle pieces fit so perfectly with this IT story. You’ve got the actor devastated over his latest failure, the sketchy best friend who may have warned against marriage, and a history of turmoil. The ignored phone calls and texts are similar in both accounts as well.

I’m not surprised at this tabloid story, which sounds plausible. Johnny’s a complete mess, and Amber’s probably still on edge as a result. Johnny was so
happy and eager to get married, but the glow could already be over before it really began.

Here’s Amber putting on a huge smile at a London Temperly event on 2/20.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Francis Bean Cobain shall grace the cover of the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone. The cover hasn’t been revealed yet, but this gorgeous shot from David LaChapelle reminds us that Frances is a breathtaking young woman. She has Kurt’s blazingly blue eyes and has grown up to be so lovely. Frances is promoting the Montage of Heck documentary of Kurt’s life. The film will air on HBO next month. I can’t believe she’s 22 years old! It truly seems like yesterday when I heard first heard Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” (A hint: I was involved in the youthful pursuit of trouble at the time.)

This interview reveals Frances to be an intelligent, thoughtful person. I’m always amazed to see how well adjusted Frances is, especially when one considers her father’s death and her mother’s eternal crazy. Frances has seen some sh*t in her day. Although she and Courtney Love are on speaking terms, she holds her mother at arm’s length for several good reasons. Speaking with Rolling Stone, Frances demonstrates some perspective regarding her father. The best part is when she reveals that Nirvana really isn’t that cool:

Her father’s death: “Kurt got to the point where he eventually had to sacrifice every bit of who he was to his art, because the world demanded it of him. I think that was one of the main triggers as to why he felt he didn’t want to be here and everyone would be happier without him. In reality, if he had lived. I would have had a dad. And that would have been an incredible experience.”

She’s not into Nirvana: “I don’t really like Nirvana that much. Sorry, promotional people, Universal. I’m more into Mercury Rev, Oasis, Brian Jonestown Massacre. The grunge scene is not what I’m interested in. But ‘Territorial P***ings’ is a f***ing great song. And ‘Dumb’ — I cry every time I hear that song. It’s a stripped-down version of Kurt’s perception of himself — of himself on drugs, off drugs, feeling inadequate to be titled the voice of a generation.”

On Kurt’s everpresence: “I was around 15 when I realized he was inescapable. Even if I was in a car and had the radio on, there’s my dad. He’s larger than life. and our culture is obsessed with dead musicians. If Kurt had just been another guy who abandoned his family in the most awful way possible … But he wasn’t. He inspired people to put him on a pedestal, to become St. Kurt. He became even bigger after he died than he was when he was alive.”

Similarities between Frances & Kurt: “It’s very weird how genes are. Dave [Grohl], Krist [Novoselic] and Pat [Smear] came over to a house where I was living. And they had what I call the “K. C. Jeebies,” which is when they see me, they see Kurt. They look at me, and you can see they’re looking at a ghost. Dave said, ‘She is so much like Kurt.’ They were all talking amongst themselves, rehashing old stories I’d heard a million times. I was sitting in a chair, chain-smoking, looking down like this [affects total boredom]. And they went, ‘You are doing exactly what your father would have done.’”

[From Rolling Stone]

What I find most striking here is how Frances refers to her father as “Kurt.” That makes sense. Frances never knew her father, she only knew his legend. She knows other people’s memories and perceptions of him. She respects him, and she also refers to him as “my dad,” but she can’t quite call him “Dad.” Frances seems like a very strong young woman. A wealthy and privileged young woman, sure. But we don’t ever see her stumbling out of clubs or calling the paparazzi. She mostly hangs out at home and paints every day. She’s compelled to create, which is a nice change from the legions of 22-year-olds who simply selfie all day long.

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of David LaChapelle/Rolling Stone, Pacific Coast News, Fame/Flynet & Getty

This is so cute!

Friday can’t come soon enough if you’re Maci Bookout. Recently, she posted a picture of herself and Bentley on her Instagram stating that she and her son are geared up and ready to see The Longest Ride this Friday. In the picture, we see Bentley wearing a rodeo hat, which is just too-cute-for-words. Also, we can see that he’s starting to lose some of those baby teeth! It must be from all of that bull riding he’s been doing ;). Maci captioned the photo:

“We’re super excited to watch @LongestRideMovie on Friday. Tag who you’re taking to see it! #TheLongestRide #sp”

So, are you going to go see The Longest Ride this Friday? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Jon Hamm has been promoting the last episodes of Mad Men for several weeks now. Something strange happened though – his partner Jennifer Westfeldt hasn’t been to any of the Mad Men events. It’s strange in the sense that, historically, Jennifer was almost always at Hamm’s side for every major (and many minor) events. Page Six’s source said last week that Westfeldt was MIA because someone in her family was sick. I also theorized (to myself) that Westfeldt wanted to give Hamm some space following his stay in rehab, perhaps to let him figure out who he was now that he’s sober. But The Daily Mail/In Touch Weekly says something else was going on. Their sources say Jennifer dumped him. Whoa.

It’s the end of an era for Jon Hamm, whose AMC series Mad Men has come to a close after seven seasons. Now comes word that the 44-year-old actor’s 18-year-long relationship with actress Jennifer Westfeldt has also reached an end.

(DailyMail.com reached out to the actor’s representative on Wednesday, but did not receive an immediate response.)

Jon, who recently completed a 30-day stay for alcoholism at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, was reportedly given the boot before he entered the treatment facility. And according to In Touch Weekly, Jennifer, 45, broke up with Hamm due to a lack of commitment on his part.

‘She told it was over before he checked into rehab,’ a source told the publication. ‘She was tired of waiting for a commitment from Jon.’

The break-up was apparently amicable and the two remain on friendly terms, In Touch reported. Jon, who completed his rehab program sometime in late March, continues to hold a torch for the blonde Kissing Jessica Stein star and wishes to rekindle the relationship. Despite the belief that neither one wanted to get married, Jennifer did want the wedding ring, according to In Touch.

‘Jennifer wants a life that Jon can’t give her. Jennifer was tired of it,’ the source said. ‘People are happy for her and hoping she never takes him back.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Eh. IF they did break up and IF the breakup happened before Hamm went to rehab, why not go with the obvious explanation? That Jennifer dumped him as some kind of tough-love because he was drinking too much and she didn’t want to watch booze destroy his life? That she thought breaking up with him would be the wake-up call he needed to get his life in order? Doesn’t that explanation make more sense?

Alternate theory: Hamm cheated on her while he was a boozy mess and she finally had enough of that.

Oh, and late last night, Jon’s rep issued this statement: “The story that appeared in this week’s edition of In Touch magazine is not true. The only gentleman Jennifer visited regularly in Connecticut was Jon, while he was in rehab. They continue to ask for the public’s understanding and sensitivity during this challenging time.” Is ALL of it untrue? Like, let’s parse it – it’s untrue because In Touch gave the wrong reason for the split? Eh.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Tamera is accepting the fact early that she’s going to have a little slugger on her hands.

Tamera Mowry, 36, recently posted a picture on her Instagram of her son, Aden. In the picture, we see Aden sleeping in his bed in what appears to be a striped onesie and a little monkey blanket on top of him. However, it’s what’s in his hand that has Tamera concerned — a baseball! That’s right; her son, Aden, sleeps with his baseball in his hand. Tamera captioned the adorable photo:

“He sleeps with his baseball. Ok God I’ve accepted my calling as his momma. This boy loves baseball. I repeat. I will be a baseball momma.”

Get ready, Tamera, because we predict a lot of baseball games in your future!

Of all the old Sean Connery-James Bond films, Goldfinger is one of my favorites. The plot makes some kind of sense, the villain is properly evil (nothing “misunderstood” or “I see his point” about Mr. Goldfinger) and it features one of the coolest assassinations ever: death by skin suffocation, or death by gold paint (a plot point which has since been debunked). Goldfinger also features a kickass theme song (love Shirley Bassey) and one of the best-named villainess/heroines in Ian Fleming’s canon: Pussy Galore. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Sean Connery work out her name with his thick Scottish accent.

Anyway, Pussy Galore was played by English actress Honor Blackman. Blackman turns 90 years old this year, and she’s still working and she still has opinions about the Bond franchise and everything. And unlike Roger Moore, Blackman doesn’t have a problem with the way James Bond has changed over the years and how he will continue to change. Blackman gave a lengthy interview to The Daily Mirror about Bond and much more. Some highlights:

Her thoughts on Daniel Craig: “I’m sorry to say he’s a better actor – but I think Sean would acknowledge that. I think Dan is terrific. He’s capable of so much more. Sean was perfection as Bond only as Ian Fleming wrote it. He was a Mr Universe entrant, he was handsome and very, very sexy and had that ridiculous accent. Now it’s no longer like Ian Fleming, it’s more like The Bourne Identity. It’s a different kind of film. But that doesn’t make any difference to the fact they’re super films and Daniel is probably the best actor that ever played Bond.”

James Bond has evolved: “You’re talking to somebody who is terribly biased. Ian Fleming wrote a certain character and it was fun when we accepted he was a misogynist and a brutal fellow, but we loved him just the same. But nowadays, unfortunately, we find that totally unacceptable. Now he has to love somebody, he has to care about women, he has to do all the things Fleming never intended.”

She thinks a black James Bond would be awesome: “I think he can be anything he likes. Why can’t he be a black man? You have to be a good actor and you’ve got to be a very attractive man – that’s half the battle – otherwise you can’t play Bond.”

She’s against the monarchy & the Tories: In 2002 the republican turned down the offer of a CBE. Though she’s a traditional Lib Dem voter she says her sympathies could lie with Labour. “The Conservatives bend like mad to the money and they can’t help it – they’re all those kinds of people.”

[From The Mirror]

Damn, I hope I’m as cool as Honor Blackman when I’m her age. She feels very… spicy. And like she actually pays attention to pop culture and societal trends, enough to reference the Jason Bourne films and talk about Daniel Craig’s abilities as an actor. She’s very sharp. I agree with her that Daniel is a better actor than Sean Connery, but I’m not sure if Daniel is the best actor to every play Bond. Pierce Brosnan was and is a very good actor. Timothy Dalton is a good actor too. Lord, I hope Honor Blackman lives long enough to see Idris Elba playing James Bond!

Photos courtesy of WENN.