HOLLYWOOD DIRT OVERFLOW (9-16-09)

KANYE WEST CALLED TAYLOR SWIFT TO APOLOGIZE . . . AFTER SHE SAID ON "THE VIEW" THAT HE HADN'T:

On Monday night, KANYE WEST told JAY LENO that he'd, quote, "like to be able to apologize to [TAYLOR SWIFT] in person." And yesterday, he DID call her.

We don't know exactly what he said . . . but yesterday afternoon Taylor told ABC News, quote, "Kanye did call me and he was very sincere in his apology and I accepted that apology."

She added, quote, "The support that I got from other artists and from the fans and so many people sticking up for me, that's what got me to the place that I could accept that apology. I'm just very thankful that everyone showed me so much love." --Kanye has taken a LOT of heat from the media, fans, and other celebrities since he RUDELY interrupted her acceptance speech at the "MTV Video Music Awards" . . . and has spent most of the past few days issuing various apologies.

But he didn't contact Taylor directly until AFTER her appearance on "The View" yesterday morning, where she revealed that she had not heard from him directly. --In that interview, the yentas asked her what was going through her mind when she won . . . and then found herself in the middle of Kanye's latest award show meltdown.

She responded, quote, "I think my overall thought process went something like: 'Wow, I can't believe I won . . . this is awesome . . . don't trip and fall . . . I'm gonna get to thank the fans, this is so cool . . . oh, Kanye West is here . . .--". . . cool hair cut . . . what are you doin' there?' And then, 'Ouch.' And then, 'I guess I'm not gonna get to thank the fans.'"


When SHERRI SHEPHERD asked if she'd be willing to meet with Kanye to hear his "face-to-face" apology, Taylor said, quote, "Sure. I mean, he has not personally reached out or anything, but if he wanted to say hi . . ."

Then, BARBARA WALTERS interrupted her . . . something that Taylor is getting used to these days . . . to ask her a question that she'd just answered: Quote, "He hasn't called or sent a message or an email or anything?" Taylor, obviously, answered in the negative.

Then she added, quote, "I'm not gonna say I wasn't rattled by it. I had to perform live five minutes later, and I had to get myself back to the place where I was gonna perform." (--Here's the video . . .) http://www.eonline.com/videos/v40275384001_Swift_Shares_Her_View_on_Kanye.html


KANYE WEST HAS ANNOUNCED THE DATES FOR HIS NEXT TOUR:

One of the more interesting things to come out of KANYE WEST'S public apology on "The Jay Leno Show", was his declaration that he needed some time off. He was alluding to the death of his mother, Donda West, who passed away in 2007.

He had said, quote, "You know, obviously, I deal with hurt and, you know . . . I've never taken the time off . . . just music and music and tour after tour. --"After this, I need to just take some time off and analyze how I'm going to make it through the rest of this life . . . how I'm going to improve, because I am a celebrity and that's just something I'm going to have to deal with."

But that break isn't happening any time soon . . . because the dates for Kanye's upcoming tour with LADY GAGA just hit the Internet. (--Gaga also spent the "VMAs" begging for attention by wearing a ton of silly masks and costumes.) --Their "Fame Kills" tour . . . (???) . . . will run from November 10th in Phoenix through January 24th in Dallas.

(--You can check out the full itinerary, here . . .)http://www.pollstar.com/resultsArtist.aspx?ID=43533&SortBy=Date&SearchBy=kanye%20west

PRESIDENT OBAMA *DID* CALL KANYE WEST A "JACKASS":

PRESIDENT OBAMA DID call KANYE WEST a JACKASS for the chaos he caused at the "MTV Video Music Awards". And now there's audio to prove it. --As you've probably heard by now, Obama was asked about the situation OFF THE RECORD, during an interview Monday with CNBC. But virtuous ABC News journalist Terry Moran decided to put it ON THE RECORD, by talking about it on Twitter.

Here's what Obama said: Quote, "I thought that was really inappropriate. I thought it was like, she's getting an award . . . what are you butting in [for]? --"The young lady seems like a perfectly nice person . . . she's getting her award . . . what's he doing up there?" Then he added, quote, "He's a jackass."

The reporters laughed, and that's when Obama realized that he'd probably said too much. So he said, quote, "Come on, guys . . . cut the President some slack. I got a lot of other stuff on my plate." (--You can listen to the audio, here . . .) http://www.tmz.com/2009/09/15/obama-calls-kanye-a-jackass/

(--Even though it was all supposed to be off the record, this interview is pretty fun. The president comes off as a pretty cool guy, and not nearly as stuffy as he usually does. He also discusses his infamous "fly-swatting" incident from earlier this year.)


WHOOPI GOLDBERG PAID TRIBUTE TO PATRICK SWAYZE ON "THE VIEW" YESTERDAY:

As you would expect, WHOOPI GOLDBERG paid tribute to PATRICK SWAYZE on "The View" yesterday.

She said, quote, "This was a well-fought battle. Patrick fought like the dickens to survive it, or to get through it. He never thought of himself as someone who was dying. --"He said, 'You know, we're all dying.' And so his attitude was, 'Until it kills me, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing . . .' --". . . He worked, he did his show, he just was a cat that never gave up. I would like to be able to be that. I would like to have that bravery."

Whoopi also gave Swayze props for getting her into "Ghost" . . . for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. --She said, quote, "I've said it before and I'll say it again: Because of Patrick Swayze, I got that movie, 'Ghost'. Because of Patrick Swayze, I have an Oscar."

(--Check out video here . . . and take special note of KATE GOSSELIN'S new hairstyle . . .) http://theview.abc.go.com/video/hot-topics-patrick-swayze-0


DIDDY WENT OFF ON A COP OUTSIDE A "VMA" AFTERPARTY . . . BUT HE SAYS IT WAS JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING:

DIDDY was involved in some kind of an altercation with a law enforcement officer outside a "VMA" after-party on Sunday night . . . and it got pretty heated. --The guy . . . who was either NYPD or a hired security guard . . . (--There are conflicting reports on this) . . . was trying to keep things moving on a sidewalk, which was packed with people and paparazzi.

Apparently, Diddy didn't like the way the dude was talking to him, because he said, quote, "Lower your (effing) voice when you're talking to me . . . I'm a man just like you." The guy then said, quote, "I don't give a (eff) who you are."

And Diddy shot back, quote, "I don't give a (eff) who you are either, mother(effer)!" They got up in each other's faces . . . and then Diddy's entourage pulled him away. (--You can check out video at the link below. Don't worry . . . it's censored . . .)http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=0c34e1c4-cfb6-45d0-a0a4-f3b95a03cff6

Anyway, in a radio interview yesterday, Diddy downplayed the incident, saying that the whole thing has been blown out of proportion. --He said, quote, "Looks are deceiving. It was just a little misunderstanding . . . miscommunication.

"Me and the officer, we worked it out . . . things were a little aggressive for me, which I'm not really used to." --Just to be clear: Diddy apparently thinks this guy was a plain-clothes city cop, but TMZ says the NYPD told them he wasn't one of their men.

(--You can listen to that portion of the interview, here . . .) http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_audio/091509_diddy.mp3