People: So is he the silent film star?
R. Kelly told the judge in his child pornography trial Tuesday that he doesn’t plan to testify in his own defense.
After Judge Vincent Gaughan informed Kelly of his rights, the R&B singer leaned forward at the defense table with his hands folded and – speaking for the first time at the trial – responded: “I decided not to testify.”
Kelly, 41, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he videotaped himself having sex with an underage girl.
Both Kelly and the alleged victim, now 23, have denied being on the tape.
Also Tuesday, Gaughan ruled that jurors can review the tape once they begin deliberating.
Closing arguments are likely to be delivered Thursday.
Kelly’s attorneys surprised courtroom observers by resting their case Monday after calling 12 witnesses, including a forensics expert who testified there didn’t appear to be a mole on the back of the man in the tape.
His lawyers say Kelly has a mole on his back, so the man on the tape can’t be him. But a prosecution witness who’ll take the stand for a second time is expected to challenge that claim.
Smoke and mirrors?
A judge Tuesday told 50 Cent he can’t sell the Long Island property where his $2.4 million house was destroyed by fire last month.
The rapper also was ordered to put insurance proceeds in a trust account pending the outcome of his dispute with ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins.
Tompkins says 50 Cent promised her a house, but recently tried to evict her and their 10-year-old son, Marquise, from the home.
It was destroyed by a suspicious fire May 30. Tompkins, Marquise and four others were treated for smoke inhalation.
Mummy and daddy
Rapper Snoop Dogg, who has three children, is urging newlywed pals Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles to start a family.
“I told them to go home and make babies,” says Snoop, who believes he was the marriage counselor to Egyptian pharaohs in a past life.
New dose of reality
Tori Spelling is a mom again.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum and actor husband Dean McDermott welcomed their second child – 6-pound, 8-ounce Stella Doreen McDermott – on Monday.
Season three of their Oxygen reality series, “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood,” premieres next Tuesday.
Or their own money
Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones are offering Internet viewers the lurid details of encounters they claim they had with former President Clinton – for $1.99 a pop.
The women have created a Web site offering videos of their thoughts on Clinton, his wife Hillary and other topics. Each video segment is available for $1.99.
“It’s a way we can get our story out there in our own words, without someone making their own interpretations or corrections,” Jones said.
The birthday bunch
Actor Gene Wilder is 75. Actor Chad Everett is 71. Actress Adrienne Barbeau (“Maude”) is 63. Actor Hugh Laurie (“House”) is 49. Actor Joshua Jackson (“Dawson’s Creek”) is 30. Actor Shia LaBeouf is 22.