Forget malfunction, we’re talking wardrobe expansion
LONGTIME EXHIBITIONIST Janet Jackson is attracting attention of the unwanted kind after packing on more than 40 pounds. The weight gain was fueled by her “uninhibited” consumption of “fried chicken and soul food,” including macaroni and cheese, candied yams, pork ribs and buttered corn bread, a family source said.
“She has battled this problem since she was a kid. She’ll go months eating whatever she can get her hands on, and then she’ll go months eating just salads and fruits and drinking Evian water,” the source said, adding that Jackson “has gotten up to 200 pounds or more at times.”
In preparation for the planned release of her next album this spring, Jackson, 39, has resumed workouts with her longtime personal trainer, the source said, and has dropped 15 to 20 pounds from her latest peak weight of 160.
“By the time her record is released, she’ll be thin again,” the source said.
Her publicist did not return a call seeking comment.
Kanye walks the talk
Kanye West is courting more controversy, posing as Jesus Christ, with a crown of thorns atop his head, on the cover of the upcoming Rolling Stone.
The “Jesus Walks” rapper, who claimed “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” during a telethon for Hurricane Katrina victims, defends his brash attitude.
“If I was more complacent and I let things slide, my life would be easier, but you all wouldn’t be as entertained,” he says. “My misery is your pleasure.”
Leif saver?
A week after his arrest on drug charges, ‘70s teen idol Leif Garrett is describing himself as “an ex-heroin addict.”
The former Tiger Beat cover boy was arrested Jan. 14 in Los Angeles for trying to ride the subway without a ticket and later charged with possession of heroin. He was released last week after agreeing to enter rehab.
“I know I can beat it,” says Garrett, 44. “I have to.”
Opera’s new Carmen
An Austrian playboy who keeps the Viennese in suspense each winter over his date to the lavish Opera Ball says he’s taking former “Baywatch” star Carmen Electra this year.
Vienna businessman Richard Lugner confirmed Tuesday that Electra, who’s married to rock guitarist Dave Navarro, will be his guest to the Feb. 23 ball, the most prestigious event on Vienna’s society calendar.
Lugner’s past dates have included another ex-“Baywatch” star, Pamela Anderson, as well as actress Andie MacDowell, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.
Pam’s bust-bust is a bust
Speaking of Pamela Anderson, Kentucky’s governor says a bust of KFC founder Col. Harland Sanders will stay in the state capitol despite Anderson’s claim that Sanders is a symbol of cruelty to chickens.
“Colonel Sanders remains a Kentucky icon,” Gov. Ernie Fletcher wrote. “His success story has been an inspiration to many.”
Anderson has been involved in a public relations campaign with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to raise awareness of what she calls abuse of chickens in processing plants that supply poultry to KFC.
In response to Fletcher, she said Sanders’ chief legacy is a company “that mutilates God’s creatures.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Dean Jones is 75. Blues singer Etta James is 68. Actress Leigh Taylor-Young (“Peyton Place”) is 62. Actress Dinah Manoff (“Empty Nest”) is 48. Singer Kina (Brownstone) is 37. Singer Alicia Keys is 25.