OK, all together now: Hit me, BB, one more time
A sheriff’s detective was assigned Monday to investigate the BB gun shooting of a photographer who was staking out Britney Spears over the weekend.
Such incidents usually draw little attention from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but authorities say they were swamped with phone calls.
“Because of the media attention, we’ll probably put this on the front burner to settle the whole thing,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Knudson.
Though the shooting “doesn’t even rise to the level of assault with a deadly weapon,” Knudson said, sheriff’s dispatch operators received nearly two dozen phone calls from news organizations.
The photographer, Brad Diaz, was shot in the leg while standing in the street outside a Malibu home where the 23-year-old pop star was was believed to be attending a baby shower in her honor.
Diaz claimed the BB came from the direction of the home. Spears’ bodyguards told authorities they weren’t involved in the incident.
The fairy tale’s over for Donkey
Eddie Murphy‘s marriage, which survived the embarrassments of his encounter with a transvestite prostitute in 1997, appears to be over after 12 years.
Nicole Murphy has filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple have five children: daughters Bria, 15, Shayne, 10, Zola, 5, and Bella, 3, and son Miles, 12.
“The welfare of our children is our main concern, and their best interest is our first priority,” the “Shrek” star said in a press statement.
At least one of them sounds crazy
Pamela Anderson says they’re not getting back together, but ex-husband Tommy Lee sounds like he’s ready to give it another try.
“We’re crazy in love,” Lee says. “We’re going to take things slowly and see where they go.”
Lee served about four months in jail after he pleaded no contest to kicking Anderson while she held their baby son, Dylan, in February 1998. The couple, who were married in 1995, divorced that same year, but have been on and off again ever since.
Lee’s new reality show, “Tommy Lee Goes to College,” debuts Aug. 16 on NBC.
More Brown, for the time being
Two more episodes have been added to Bravo’s summer reality series “Being Bobby Brown,” which follows the lives of the substance-abuse-battling R&B singer and his similarly troubled wife, Whitney Houston.
The new episode on Aug. 18 will take an inside look into the couple’s homes in Georgia and New Jersey. The Aug. 25 finale will feature clips from the series and extra footage of Brown.
Let’s watch her dance around this one
“American Idol” judge and veteran choreographer Paula Abdul will not appear on Fox’s reality show “So You Think You Can Dance,” as previously announced.
The network cited scheduling conflicts, with Abdul’s publicist saying she was too busy working on an “Idol” DVD and preparing for that show’s next season.
Fox and the producers of “American Idol” recently announced they have hired an independent counsel to investigate a claim that Abdul had an affair with an “Idol” contestant during the show’s second season.
The birthday bunch
Comedian-director David Steinberg is 63. Actor Sam Elliott is 61. Actress Melanie Griffith is 48. Actress Amanda Bearse (“Married … With Children”) is 47. Rapper Kurtis Blow is 46. Singer Aimee Mann is 45. Singer Whitney Houston is 42. Actress Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”) is 37. Actor Eric Bana is 37. Rapper Mack 10 is 34.