Yeah, Wings left a bad taste in our mouth, too
Some of his stagehands have a big beef with Paul McCartney. Crew members for the former Beatle are up in arms because the staunch vegetarian has banned the eating of meat by anyone working on his concert tour, which is winding its way through Europe.
“It’s completely crazy,” one worker in Oslo, Norway, where McCartney performed Monday night, told the newspaper Aftenposten.
“We’re supposed to work from 8 till 8 each day, and aren’t served anything but salad and vegetarian food. I can’t live without meat doing this kind of work, and will defy the ban and bring my own lunch packet with meat.”
According to another local report, the crew is also forbidden from wearing leather belts or shoes.
“We can’t control what they do in their spare time,” a spokesman for the concert organizers told Aftenposten. “But as long as they’re inside the stadium area, it’s correct that they are banned from eating meat.”
McCartney became a devout vegetarian thanks to his late wife, Linda, who wrote cookbooks and created a line of ready-made meals before her death in 1998.
T-Boz has a bone to pick, too
T-Boz of the female R&B group TLC has filed for divorce from her husband of four years, rapper Mack 10, saying he committed adultery and threatened to kill her.
The singer — whose real name is Tionne Tenese Watkins Rolison — also has arranged for a temporary restraining order barring him from coming within 100 yards of her.
Mack 10 (aka Dedrick D-Mon Rolison) denied the allegations in court documents, saying his wife has made the claims “for the sole purpose of attempting to gain an advantage in these proceedings” and to prevent him from seeing their 3-year-old daughter, Chase Anela.
Guess Papa just decided to bag it
James Brown pleaded guilty Monday in a South Carolina court to a charge of criminal domestic violence for shoving his wife, Tomie Rae, during a January quarrel.
The 71-year-old Godfather of Soul had said he would fight the charge, but decided instead to forfeit his $1,087 bond, which will cover his fine. Under the plea agreement, Brown will serve no jail time; he had faced up to 30 days.
He’s in hot — er, cold — water again
“Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, who drew widespread criticism for holding his infant son in one arm while feeding a croc with the other in January, has sparked a new controversy.
Australian environmental authorities are investigating reports that Irwin broke regulations by getting too close to wildlife in the Antarctic, allegedly swimming with two whales in the ocean and getting face-to-face with penguins and seals. Irwin says his dry suit ripped during the swim — done for his show — and he climbed onto a nearby iceberg.
Moore restrain himself? That’s the real shocker
Michael Moore says he had footage of prisoner abuse in Iraq but decided to stay quiet until his new documentary, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” came out.
“I had it months before the story broke on ‘60 Minutes (II),’ and I really struggled with what to do with it,” Moore said. “I wanted to come out with it sooner, but I thought I’d be accused of just putting this out for publicity for my movie. That prevented me from making maybe the right decision.”
He added: “The stuff with the detainees in my movie is even more shocking than what we saw in that (Abu Ghraib) prison because it happens outdoors and is more commonplace.”
The birthday bunch
R&B singer Eddie Levert is 62. Actress Joan Van Ark is 61. Singer James Smith (The Stylistics) is 54. Actress Laurie Metcalf is 49. Actor Eddie Cibrian (“Third Watch”) is 31. Actress China Shavers (“Boston Public”) is 27.