It’s alright, Ma is only pleading
Rapper Remy Ma hopes her fan base will count in the courtroom when she’s sentenced for shooting a woman outside a nightclub.
A statement posted prominently on Ma’s MySpace page asks visitors to write letters about how she and her music have “positively affected you, influenced you, inspired you, etc. … in hopes that the judge will be lenient.”
It provides a special e-mail address for anyone inclined to do so.
The 26-year-old, whose real name is Remy Smith, was convicted last week of assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion.
Ma faces up to 25 years in prison at her sentencing, set for April 23.
The defense acknowledged she fired a shot toward a friend she suspected of stealing $3,000, but said the gun went off accidentally.
Prosecutors claim Ma acted deliberately by getting out the gun, loading it and cocking it as she got into a car with the friend, who was shot in the abdomen.
Ma was nominated for a Grammy as part of the Terror Squad for the 2004 hit “Lean Back.”
She also has recorded with Busta Rhymes and Eminem.
Jingle bell rrock?
“Hot In Herre” Rapper Nelly is disappointed that he wasn’t able to collaborate with Bruce Springsteen on his new album.
“I was really trying to get The Boss, but The Boss is all over the world,” he says, adding: “I know he’s interested in doing it. And I’m interested in doing it. …
“We’re saving it. We might repackage it for the holidays.”
What a tool
A woman who was ordered to stay away from John Cusack has been arrested on suspicion of stalking the actor.
Emily Leatherman was apprehended after Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were called to Cusack’s neighborhood, where a cab driver reported that a passenger didn’t have enough money to pay her fare.
On their way, the officers were flagged down by Cusack, who said he recognized her.
Laid down, but not out
Adam Sandler may wish he stuck to being “The Waterboy.”
The 41-year-old actor broke his ankle over the weekend while playing basketball, according to his reps – but still won the game.
The injury isn’t expected to affect production of Sandler’s next film, Disney’s “Bedtime Stories,” in which he plays a hotel handyman whose bedtime tales magically come true.
One thumb up
Film critic Roger Ebert will resume writing reviews later this month, but will not rejoin his syndicated TV show because he still can’t speak following a long battle with throat cancer.
In a letter in Tuesday’s Chicago Sun-Times, the 65-year-old Ebert said restoring his speech would require another surgery, “but I still have all my other abilities, including the love of viewing movies and writing about them.”
The birthday bunch
Singer Leon Russell is 66. Actress Linda Hunt is 63. Singer Emmylou Harris is 61. Actor Chris Meloni (“Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”) is 47. Actor Adam Rodriguez (“CSI: Miami”) is 33. Actress Bethany Joy Galeotti (“One Tree Hill”) is 27.