HOLLYWOOD DIRT OVERFLOW (7-21-09)

CHRIS BROWN HAS APOLOGIZED FOR ASSAULTING RIHANNA:

It's been almost six months since CHRIS BROWN assaulted his then-girlfriend RIHANNA after a pre-Grammy party. And yesterday, he finally, publicly apologized, in a video posted on YouTube.

He blamed his lawyers for keeping him quiet all this time . . . (--and I don't doubt that for a second) . And while he didn't go into details about what happened that night, he very clearly admitted that his actions were 100% wrong, and he apologized directly to both Rihanna, and everyone else.

(--Check out the video here . . .)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4SD6oBvbKY

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JO-BRO COPS A FEEL!!

Sometimes when they're out playing softball, KEVIN JONAS grabs his fiancee's backside and squeezes. When he does, this is what it looks like . . .

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***MICHAEL JACKSON MADNESS***

JOE JACKSON SAYS MICHAEL'S DEATH WAS THE RESULT OF FOUL PLAY:

LARRY KING continues to milk MICHAEL JACKSON'S death for all its worth. He had Michael's dad, JOE JACKSON, on his show last night. And Joe said he does indeed believe that FOUL PLAY led to the death of his son.

He said, quote, "There wasn't just only drugs; there was something else behind that . . . This doctor . . . (--Conrad Murray, the doctor who was with Michael when he died) . . . he ran away. They had to look for him three days to find him. To me that's foul play."

(--For the record, Dr. Murray was interviewed by police for several hours on the day of Michael's death. And again a few days later.) He added, quote, "You don't take a doctor and stick him in the room there and the doctor give (Michael) something to make him rest and then he don't wake up no more.

"Something is wrong there. Something went wrong because when they tried to bring Michael back, he was dead."

(--Here are some videos of Joe's appearance on "Larry King". In the first clip, Joe discusses being left out of Michael's will. In the second, he denies abusing Michael . . .)

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/07/joe-jackson-speaks-out-larry-king

http://perezhilton.com/2009-07-21-joe-jackson-denies-being-abusive-to-son-michael

DR. CONRAD MURRAY SAYS HE'S *NOT* DUCKING POLICE:

A lot of people are saying that DR. CONRAD MURRAY . . . the physician who was with MICHAEL JACKSON at the time of his death . . . is ducking the cops. There was even a report that he'd skipped out on an interview with the LAPD last week.

But his spokesperson says, quote, "[This is] absolutely untrue. Murray continues to cooperate fully with investigators and there have been no requests for additional interviews. Thanks for checking in."

THERE WILL BE NO BUTTER SCULPTURE OF MICHAEL JACKSON AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR:

The plan to build a magnificent butter sculpture of MICHAEL JACKSON for the Iowa State Fair has been REJECTED . . . by the people.

The fair is doing a butter display to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing.

And, in light of Michael Jackson's death . . . and the fact that his trademark dance is the MOON WALK . . . they thought they'd toss in a Michael Jackson sculpture.--But people started complaining about the plan . . . you know, because Michael isn't exactly the average Iowan's idea of "good people".

So fair organizers put it to a seven-day online vote. And Michael LOST . . . 65% to 35%.

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SHAQ WILL CHALLENGE OTHER ATHLETES ON THEIR OWN TURF ON A NEW REALITY SHOW:

NBA superstar SHAQUILLE O'NEAL has landed a new reality show called "Shaq Vs." . . . where he'll face off against other star athletes in their own sports.

Here's how it'll work: On each hour-long episode, Shaq will be shown training for that week's new sport. He'll then negotiate a handicap with that week's athlete . . . and then there will be much oh-so-amusing bantering and trash talking. After a few preliminary challenges, Shaq will go head-to-head with the other athlete in the main event. The winner won't take home a prize, because . . . as Shaq puts it . . . quote, "Bragging rights are always better than any monetary prize."

The show has already lined up some big name athletes. Shaq will challenge Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in football on the premiere, which will air August 18th on ABC. -

Future episodes will feature Olympic stud Michael Phelps, retired boxer Oscar De La Hoya, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, tennis pro Serena Williams and beach volleyball Olympians Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. (--It's unclear whether Shaq will get to school anyone in his OWN sport.)

Filming begins tomorrow, and will wrap before Shaq reports to training camp on September 15th. Last month, Shaq was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Cleveland Cavaliers . . . where he'll do a lot of damage with LEBRON JAMES.

By the way, Shaq has unleashed a MICHAEL JACKSON tribute video, in which he rather poorly reenacts the fight sequence from Michael's "Beat It" video. --It was actually shot a few years ago . . . when Shaq was playing for the Miami Heat . . . and it also stars his former teammate DAMON JONES.

(--Check it out . . .) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPpYDuU0Gps

(--At the end, it says the video was "produced" by Shaq. If he DID make the whole thing . . . I guess he's responsible for misspelling Michael's name at the beginning.)

(--And for comparison's sake, here's Michael's original "Beat It" video . . .)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPpYDuU0Gps

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BEASTIE BOY ADAM "MCA" YAUCH HAS CANCER:

ADAM "MCA" YAUCH . . . of the BEASTIE BOYS . . . has announced that he's been diagnosed with cancer. In a video posted on the band's website, MCA explains that a cancerous tumor has been discovered on his left salivary gland.

There is SOME good news, though. MCA says the tumor was discovered early . . . and doctors believe the cancer is confined to that one area. His vocal chords are not affected by the tumor . . . and he expects to make a full recovery.

In the video, MCA says, quote, "It's a little bit of a setback . . . it's a pain in the ass . . . but this is something that's very treatable, and in most cases . . . they're able to completely get rid of it, and people don't have continuing problems with it."

However, he has to undergo surgery right away . . . meaning that the Beastie Boys will have to shut down for a while to give MCA some time to deal with this. --So they're canceling their upcoming tour dates and postponing their album release.

Their next album, "Hot Sauce Committee, Part 1", was scheduled to hit stores on September 15th . . . and they had gigs lined up at several summer festivals, including Lollapalooza, All Points West, Outside Lands and Austin City Limits.

(--Naturally, there probably won't be any updates on when the album WILL be coming out . . . or when they'll be back on the road . . . until after the surgery, when they'll have a better idea how long MCA will be out of commission.)

MCA says, quote, "[It's] in the parotid gland, and it's also in the lymph node right in that area. I'm actually going to have to have surgery probably next week, coming up, and then after that have to have some radiation done." (--The parotid is the largest of the salivary glands. It's sort of wrapped around the jawbone and secretes saliva to help you chew and swallow.)

He adds, quote, "I apologize to everybody, for anyone who's made plans or was psyched to come to these shows that are coming up. We'll be back doing this soon." (--Yes, MCA did apologize for having cancer . . . and screwing up your summer plans so that he could take some time off in order to have it treated.)

(--Actually, the video is pretty amusing. All things considered. MCA and ADAM "AD-ROCK" HOROVITZ, who was also in the video, spend about half the time joking around. You can watch it, here . . .)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7CH3M7cECI

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CHIRS DOES GAGA

If you're a fan of DAUGHTRY and LADY GAGA . . . . . you might dig this: It's CHRIS

DAUGHTRY . . . performing an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga's TRAGICALLY underplayed single, "Poker Face". (--Here's the video . . .)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqT4VnnEU0M