Sideshow: Kardashian fashion scandal?
Star magazine says an investigation by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights has found that clothing lines owned by the Kardashian family are made in factories in China that subject their workers to harsh conditions. The collections include the QVC brands K-Dash by Kardashian and the Kris Jenner Kollection.
Star magazine says an investigation by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights has found that clothing lines owned by the Kardashian family are made in factories in China that subject their workers to harsh conditions. The collections include the QVC brands K-Dash by Kardashian and the Kris Jenner Kollection.
The institute says workers labor 84 hours a week in 100-degree heat in squalid rooms with no air- conditioning, for $1 an hour. "Not only are celebrities like the Kardashians taking advantage of these workers," institute exec director Charles Kernaghan is quoted as saying, "they are holding hands with a government that spits on democracy and women's rights."
Kris Jenner tells TMZ that the factories the Kardashians use are "strictly policed" and that there are no child labor or human rights violations.
Is Star exaggerating? Kernaghan tells TMZ that Star twisted his words. He says none of the allegations against the Kardashians can be proved, adding that he was giving a general description of working conditions in that part of China.
More jail time for Cameron Douglas
Michael Douglas' imprisoned son Cameron, who was sentenced to jail last year for dealing meth, had his sentence nearly doubled on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle drugs into his prison.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman changed Cameron's sentence from five years to 9½ years for the repeat offense.
The judge said he had never seen a case in which a defendant "has so recklessly, wantonly, flagrantly, and criminally acted in such a destructive and manipulative fashion." Cameron, 33, who last year pleaded guilty to dealing meth from a Manhattan hotel, said he had struggled with addiction for decades. "I cannot seem to find comfort within my own skin," he told the judge. "I feel ashamed. I feel defeated."
J.Lo-Marc Anthony battle heats up
The heretofore civilized Jennifer Lopez-Marc Anthony divorce is about to turn nasty. Us Weekly says M.Ant wants out of his prior agreement that J.Lo would have primary custody of their 3-year-old twins, Max and Emme. But why? He's jealous!
Us claims Marc was totally skeeved out when he saw pics of J.Lo, 42, and her boytoy, 24-year-old backup dancer Casper Smart, getting cozy with the twins.
Anonymous Source says M.Ant plans to fight for joint custody. And he's not doing it for the kids! "He wants to make Jennifer suffer because she's having fun with someone new," the source tells Us, "and he knows this will hurt her on the deepest level." No comment from either party.
R. Kelly: More hip-hopera to come
Is the world ready for another installment of R. Kelly's epic hip-hopera Trapped in the Closet? R. says he has written 32 new chapters in the song 'n' video cycle but needs money for the film shoot. Go, friends, go break your piggy banks and help R. Kelly make art history!
A Canadian win on album charts
Michael Bublé is atop the Billboard album charts for a fourth week in a row with his holiday album Christmas, which this week sold 448,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard says the CD has sold 1.96 mil in America, which makes it 2011's third-best seller so far. Adele's smashing 21 is at No. 2 with 277,000. (With upward of 5 mil sold, 21 is the year's top-seller.) That other handsome Canadian, Justin Bieber, rounds out the top three with Under the Mistletoe, which sold 171,000 units.
Brooke Mueller: Keep TMZ out!
Brooke Mueller doesn't want the next court date in her cocaine possession case streamed live by TMZ, TMZ itself reports with some glee. Charlie Sheen's ex-wife was busted in Aspen, Colo., allegedly carrying four grams of coke. Her lawyer asks the court to bar TMZ's cameras because they would "unduly detract from the solemnity, decorum, and dignity of the court."
Tidbits 'n' pieces
In a shocking report, In Touch Weekly says Jacqueline Laurita of The Real Housewives of New Jersey isn't an angel: She once worked as a stripper in that seething sinkhole of depravity, Las Vegas. What's more, Chris Laurita's wife was arrested in '96 for allegedly slapping around her then-bf. . . . NBC says its New Year's Eve special will be hosted by Carson Daly and will feature Drake, Jessie J, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green, the Roots, Tony Bennett, and Jimmy Fallon. . . . Prince William made wife, the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate), giggle Wednesday during a visit to a London charity project. No casualties. . . . Prince Harry tells tabloid the Sun he wants to be reassigned to fight in Afghanistan. . . . The world's greatest pro eater, Takeru Kobayashi, will compete at the 20th annual Philly Wing Bowl Feb. 3 at the Wells Fargo Center.
A resolute bit of New Year's resolving
Speaking of sin, Kathy Griffin vows to continue being a bad girl in 2012 in a chat with Anderson Cooper set to be shown Monday on Coop's daytime gabfest. Asked to share her New Year's resolution, the stand-up comic says, "I'd like to be a little sluttier than I was last year, at least 20 percent sluttier, more junk food and more cursing. How about you?" Coop hesitates. He won't say his resolutions, he tells Kathy, "because you're going to make fun of them."
Eventually the goody-two-shoes TV journo relents. "Honestly I want to be healthier, I want to eat healthier," he says.
Says Kathy, "You're so annoying!"
Mara: Alterna-black leather chicks ugly
Rooney Mara, who is very pretty, says fans complain that her well-inked, piercings-rich Girl With the Dragon Tattoo character Lisbeth Salander is ugly. "I think people will go into the movie sort of repelled by the way that I look," says Mara, who is very, very pretty - in that conventional way. (Pastels, sundresses, smiley faces.)
Lisbeth is more alterna, you see. She wears black leather. Mara says there are some people - people "from that part of society" (goths? journalists? computer hackers?) - who would find Lisbeth pretty.
Resolution: Eat dinner naked!
Victoria's Secret model Marisa Miller is fit. Hot. Slim. But how does she keep it off?
By taking it off, Marisa tells Women's Health mag. "Eating smart is all about having an awareness of your body. The most obvious way to do that is by seeing it," she says. "So when you're trying to lose weight, spend more time wearing less. I don't think I could eat a plate of nachos naked - could you?"
It's not as if Marisa loves to flaunt her nude body. Au contraire! "I'm very shy," she says. "I know it's weird for a person who models lingerie and swimsuits."