They just say what they mean
“American Idol” judges are dismissing critics who claim they’re meaner to misguided auditioners this season than in the past.
“I think they’re aware that they’re not very good and they’re going to have a bad time,” the outspoken Simon Cowell says.
The media has been abuzz with claims of unnecessary cruelty to contestants in last week’s debut episodes, including a pair of Seattle wannabes: Jonathan Jayne, a former Special Olympics participant, and his pal Kenneth Briggs, whose appearance Cowell compared to a “bush baby” monkey.
But the Special Olympics praised “Idol” for being inclusive, and Jayne called his experience “absolutely wonderful.”
Says Cowell, noting that the pair appeared on Friday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live”: “They’ve become celebrities. They wouldn’t have changed anything.”
The level of talent will pick up this week, producers say, starting with tonight’s broadcast of auditions from Memphis.
Paris when she tipples
Paris Hilton was placed on 36 months probation after pleading no contest Monday to alcohol-related reckless driving.
She also was ordered to pay $1,500 in fines, and was given the option of reducing her probation to 24 months by doing 40 hours of community service.
Hilton was arrested Sept. 7 after driving erratically on a Hollywood street in her Mercedes-Benz. She had a blood alcohol level of .08 percent, just above the legal limit.
Urban growth
In a video posted Monday on his Web site, country star Keith Urban praises his wife, Nicole Kidman, and thanks his fans for their support during his three-month stay at a rehab center for alcohol abuse treatment.
Urban entered the Betty Ford Center on Oct. 19 for what was a planned 30-day stint.
“Learning about abstinence was one thing,” he says, “but then there was all this other area of my life to start learning about, and so 30 days became 60, and 60 days became 90, and with each week that passed I found myself really learning how to surrender.”
Razzie-ma-tazz
At least someone was happy Sharon Stone reprised her notorious femme-fatale role with “Basic Instinct 2.”
The box-office bomb received seven nominations Monday for this year’s Razzie Awards – the anti-Oscars – including worst picture and actress.
Also receiving seven nominations was the Wayans brothers comedy “Little Man,” about a thief posing as a baby, including worst picture and director for Keenen Ivory Wayans.
The other worst-picture nominees were the fantasies “BloodRayne” and “Lady in the Water” and the thriller “The Wicker Man.”
Winners will be announced Feb. 24, the day before the Academy Awards.
The birthday bunch
Actress Chita Rivera is 74. Actor Rutger Hauer is 63. Actor Richard Dean Anderson (“MacGyver”) is 57. Singer-guitarist Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) is 54. Singer Anita Baker is 49. Actress Gail O’Grady (“American Dreams,” “NYPD Blue”) is 44. Actress Mariska Hargitay (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) is 43. Actress Tiffani Thiessen (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) is 33.