Attorneys for Heath Ledger’s 3-year-old daughter are suing an insurance company for not paying out $10 million in benefits while it investigates whether the actor’s death was a suicide. The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain star was found dead in his New York apartment in January. Officials ruled it an accidental death from an overdose of painkillers and other medicines. Ledger, 28, took out a life insurance policy with ReliaStar insurance company in June 2007, six months before he died. The company said in court filings that it is entitled to investigate because Ledger died within two years of taking out the policy. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Suicide-Investigation-Blocks/800047644
Kevin Costner will fulfill a longtime dream in November when he releases his first album with his country-rock band, Modern West. The actor, who told People that his unlikely turn as a lead singer elicited double-takes when the band played a Nascar event in July, has been playing music with some of his band mates for nearly 20 years. An early incarnation of the band (once called Roving Boy) stalled when Costner’s movie career took off, but in the past few years he’s devoted more time to music. “I remember looking out into the crowd, thinking, ‘This just feels right,’ ” Costner, 53, said in a statement about an early performance with Modern West. 
Britney Spears’ ex-boyfriend has confirmed he owns a sex tape featuring himself and the singer. Adnan Ghalib, the British pap whom she dated during her breakdown, says he WILL sell the tape for the right price. He told Heat magazine: “There is such a tape, but I won’t discuss prices for hypothetical enquiries. “Unless there is a locked-in deal, I will go no further.” An unconfirmed source claims the two-hour X-rated footage features Britney naked wearing just a pink wig and was allegedly shot in Mexico. Adnan added: “I am not interested in selling out any other details about Britney. “ 
MediaTakeOut.com reported to you last year that rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson loaned actress Lindsay Lohan a substantial amount of money. And now it appears he may have to go to court to get it back. According to one of MediaTakeOut.com’s insiders, 50 may have lent Lindsay as much as $1 million - and he has yet to be paid back. And there’s more. The insider claims that 50 has begun consulting lawyers after repeated attempts to get Lindsay to pay him back. The insider explained, “[50 Cent] doesn’t play when it comes to money. Either you pay up - or he gets his lawyers involved.” 
Months after leaving a treatment facility, Heather Locklear was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving Saturday night in Montecito, police said. According to the L.A. Times, the Melrose Place star was arrested by the California Highway Patrol and booked around 8 p.m. No further details or charges have been released. Locklear, who was treated for anxiety and depression earlier this year, has yet to comment on the incident. 
Scarlett Johansson has wed fiance Ryan Reynolds in a small, private ceremony in Canada. The couple, who has been engaged for four months, exchanged vows in Reynolds’ native country on Saturday, according to People.com. Johansson, 23, and Reynolds, 31, began dating shortly after the actor’s split from singer Alanis Morrissette last year. 
“Jennifer [Aniston] reached out to John [Mayer] first. She had a few glasses of wine—then decided to throw caution to the wind and make the first move.” Apparently the two have been talking every day for the past week, and John is “really looking forward to seeing her again soon.” 
Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, could be a long one, according to reports from OK! magazine. According to a friend of Witherspoon’s, the actress reportedly feels Vaughn is “the biggest child I’ve ever met.” “Promoting a movie involves long hours, and she’ll have to spend a lot of time with someone who gets under her skin,” the pal tells OK! Reports of tension emerged from their film set late last year. The magazine recalls an interview in which Witherspoon reported “I said to (Vaughn) one day, ‘People can’t talk as fast as you think.’ You can’t keep up with him.” 
Naomi Watts reportedly lashed out at the paparazzi in Los Angeles after her repeated requests for peace were ignored. The star was roaming around Beverly Hills with close friend Rebecca Rigg - the wife of The Devil Wears Prada actor Simon Baker - when she was pursued by a group photographers. But the 39-year-old confronted the snappers when they refused to leave her alone. According to the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Watts yelled, “What do you think you’re doing to us? What the f**k do you think you are doing?” Watts then ran into a nearby building and tried to wrestle a camera from a photographer. It is not the first time Watts has confronted the paparazzi. Earlier this year, she was having lunch with partner Liev Schreiber and their son Alexander, when they argued with the surrounding press. Schreiber shoved one photographer, swore at others and chased another two down a busy road in California. 
Natalie Portman and Devendra Banhart have reportedly split up. “The Other Boleyn Girl” star - who first started dating the folk singer in March after starring in the music video for his single “Carmensita” - has decided to call time of their relationship, despite moving from New York to Los Angeles to be with Devendra. A source close to the musician told In Touch Weekly magazine: “Natalie and Devendra have broken up. They will remain friends but need some space and time away.” 
Clay Aiken is coming out of the closet, confirming speculation that has long swirled about the pop star’s sexuality. Aiken, the “American Idol” runnerup in 2003, said he did it for his son. “It was the first decision I made as a father,” said Aiken, 29, whose son Parker was born Aug. 8. “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn’t raised that way, and I’m not going to raise a child to do that.” The ‘Idol’ star told People magazine he hopes his Claymate crazies can handle the news. “Whether it be having a child out of wedlock, or whether it be simply being a homosexual, it’s going to be a lot,” Aiken said, adding that his fans “know that I never intended to lie to anybody at all.” 
Lindsay Lohan has finally confirmed her lesbian relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson, making the confession during a radio interview. Lohan has long been rumored to be dating her close pal Ronson, but has so far refused to comment on the claims. Gossips were sent into a spin earlier this year when Lohan was caught kissing and cuddling Ronson during a party at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The pair has been inseparable since, and Ronson recently fueled reports by allegedly telling partygoers at a gig: “By the end of the year, my love will be Mrs. Ronson.” … The radio DJ then asked Lohan: “Now, you guys, you and Samantha, have been going out for how long now? Like two years? One year? Five months? Two months?” Lohan paused briefly, before replying, “A long … a very long time.” 
New couple alert! Drew Barrymore and Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick were spotted “in a full-on make-out session” at a NYC concert for alt-rockers Kings of Leon Tuesday night. Westwick’s co-star Chace Crawford was also with them in the V.I.P. area at Webster Hall, but contrary to blog reports, he was not kissing Barrymore. After the concert, Barrymore, 33, and Westwick, 21, took their PDA to Bowery Electric, according to New York’s Daily Intel. It is the second time in a week that Barrymore and Westwick locked lips, another source tells Us. They were spotted chatting this past weekend at a Saturday Night Live after-party, which The Kings of Leon also played. “Chemistry was there!” a witness tells Us of the two. They then headed to NYC’s hip Fat Cat Billiards, where they stayed until 6 a.m., shooting pool with Gossip Girl cast members (including Crawford), actress Ellen Page and Emile Hirsch. “Drew was hanging all over Ed!” a witness tells Us, denying more reports that she had also smooched Crawford. “They were full-on making out!” 
Rapper DMX has been admitted to a Florida hospital for “fear of a stroke,” according to Internet reports. The hip-hop star — real name Earl Simmons — was reportedly taken to the emergency room at a hospital in Aventura, Fla., on Monday. It said he will remain in doctors’ care through his scheduled court appearance on Tuesday in Arizona, where he was set to appear on charges of theft. According to celebrity Web site TMZ.com, his attorney has drafted a letter to the judge on the case, detailing the rapper’s condition. DMX also faces several animal cruelty and drug possession counts in the state. 
“Entertainment Tonight” has obtained a court minute order confirming Sharon Stone has lost physical custody of her 8-year-old son Roan, despite her court pleas to change the arrangement. According to court documents detailing a September 12, 2008 custody hearing, Phil Bronstein “shall have permanent sole physical custody of child. Court finds that Respondent (Sharon Stone) failed to meet her burden of proof and denies Respondent’s (Sharon Stone’s) request for modification of custody. The judge also notes this order is permanent unless there is a change of circumstances. This information from a September 12th minute order is a dramatic change from a custody order obtained by ET in October of 2007 that states Stone’s ex, newspaper editor Phil Bronstein and the actress had “joint legal and physical custody” at that time. Stone and Bronstein divorced in early 2004. 
Britney Spears is furious that an unfinished version of her new single has been leaked on the internet. The “Gimme More” singer - who scooped three prizes at the recent MTV Video Music Awards - had been putting in “every hour under the sun” in preparation for her comeback in November with new track “Womaniser.” But “hundreds of thousands of fans” have had a preview of the song after it was posted on video sharing site YouTube, along with footage of her rehearsing in a Los Angeles studio. A source said: “Record company bosses have been frantically trying to pull the material from the internet.” “It’s not good for Britney’s comeback if people aren’t getting to listen to the polished version.” Meanwhile, friends of Britney fear the build up to the release of new album “Circus” is taking its toll on her. The 26-year-old singer - who suffered a public breakdown earlier this year - is said to have lost a “dangerous amount” of weight because of work-related stress. One pal is quoted by Britain’s Daily Star newspaper as saying: “Britney has been putting in every hour under the sun to get herself ready in time for the ‘Circus’ release.” “It’s too much too soon. This will set her back mentally and physically unless she takes the pressure off.” “She’s lost so much weight, some feel it’s a dangerous amount. Britney is not ready for this.” 
Keanu Reeves and girlfriend Parker Posey have sparked rumours they are expecting their first child together. The couple - who were first romantically linked in April - were spotted spending more than $1,000 on baby products in exclusive Los Angeles store Petit Tresor. An onlooker said: “They both looked really happy. They were holding hands and laughing as they walked around the shop. Keanu was picking out lots of different things and seemed really excited.” 
MediaTakeOut.com just got word from one of our most trusted snitches that Janet Jackson has been dropped from Def Jam. Or as our snitch put it, “She was let go!” And there’s more. Word is that her boyfriend Jermaine Dupri is set to follow her out the door. 
Kate Moss is “gutted” after reportedly splitting with rocker boyfriend Jamie Hince. The 34-year-old has endured a rocky relationship with the Kills frontman - and the model’s party loving lifestyle is apparently to blame for the split. A source tells Britain’s Daily Star newspaper, “Kate is gutted because she really loves Jamie. They had even talked about marriage and kids. “But she is not ready to change her lifestyle and probably never will. I doubt any man could tame her because that’s who she is. “Jamie told her he was fed up with her reluctance to stop partying and she just flipped. They just can’t agree on it and it had become too much. 
A representative for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has hit out at online rumours the Hollywood supercouple had split. Internet gossips were sent into a spin earlier this week, speculating that the superstar pair had decided to end their relationship. The couple has been together since Pitt’s divorce from former Friends star Jennifer Aniston was finalised in 2005. They have five children together - adopted kids Maddox, seven; Pax, four, and Zahara, three; as well as biological children, Shiloh, two, and newborn twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon. Since the birth of the twins, Jolie has been absent from public life, while Pitt has been seen by himself at several high-profile red carpet events, fuelling rumours of a rift between the pair. However, a spokesperson for the couple has vehemently denied they are having any troubles with their relationship. The representative tells Entertainment Tonight that the reports are “absolutely not true”. 
Paris Hilton hates it when she is accused of not working. The hotel heiress - who will soon be seen searching for a new pal on a new MTV reality show called “Paris Hilton’s My BFF” - doesn’t take any notice of criticism, but finds one misconception irritating. She said: “The one that really gets to me is ’she doesn’t work.’ I am literally running a huge corporation.” “I have my clothing lines, my champagne, my watches, shoes and purses and dog clothes - every sort of product you can imagine.” “I am doing movies. I am doing my record right now, producing, starring in a TV show.” “So it is a 24 hour, seven day-a-week job. I work all the time, so I laugh when I hear people say that.” 
Eminem has been branded a liar by his mother. Debbie Nelson claims the image her son - real name Marshall Mathers - painted of her being a bad parent addicted to medication, living off welfare and neglectful of her youngest child is wholly untrue. In her new memoir “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem,” Debbie says: “At first I went along with it for Marshall’s sake - if I made one mistake as a mother, it was giving in to my eldest son’s every whim.” Debbie added the pair were very close when he was a child, and claims he told her he negatively portrayed her because “the fouler he was, the more the audience loved him.” She explains: “He never knew his father and I did all I could to make up for it.” “I wasn’t happy when he made up a whole new life for himself - what mother wants to be known as a pill-popping alcoholic who lives on welfare?” “To tell the truth, I was heartbroken. The lies started coming thick and fast - and not just from Marshall.” “I think he’s forgotten the good times we had, and this book is my way of setting the record straight.” Eminem has attacked his mother in a number of songs, including his first hit single “My Name Is” which included the scathing line: “99 per cent of my life I was lied to/ I just found out my mom does more dope than I do.” 
Jessica Simpson is piling on the pounds while promoting her new country album, because the self-confessed “nervous eater” is terrified about her tour. When the sexy star appeared on U.S. morning TV show Good Morning America last week sporting a heaving bosom and wearing loose-fitting clothes, gossips started speculating she is pregnant with American footballer boyfriend Tony Romo’s child. But Simpson, 28, insists her fear of failure is responsible for her new healthier look. She tells the National Enquirer, “I’m a nervous eater and this tour has made me a nervous wreck.” 
Hilary Swank is “recovering” following a minor operation to remove a “small, benign growth”. The 34-year-old actress visited hospital and was forced to undergo the procedure after experiencing some “discomfort”, but is now back at home. Hilary’s manager Jason Weinberg said: “Hilary went to see her doctor, who prescribed an immediate course of action that included a brief hospitalisation to remove a small, benign growth. 
After a bitter fight with Joel Madden, Nicole Richie packed her bags — and their daughter! — and headed to her mom’s. But things only got worse when she caught Joel with… Mischa Barton. For months they’d been fighting over everything from marriage to moving, but Nicole and Joel’s strained relationship hit a new low when, during yet another battle, she screamed at him, “We’re through,” and fled to her mother’s home, taking their daughter, Harlow, with her, a friend tells Star. Although Nicole returned the next day, “This was her way of sending Joel a message,” says the pal. “Nicole loves him, but things need to change.” Days after their big blowup, things were no better, so Nicole once again walked out on Joel — jetting to New York City, with Harlow in tow, for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. She wasn’t alone for long. Joel followed her to the Big Apple, and the quarrelsome couple made a brief yet disastrous appearance at the Charlotte Ronson afterparty at Country Club on Sept. 6. “She was just in a miserable mood, and there was obvious tension,” an eyewitness tells Star. “I didn’t see her talk to Joel the entire night, and it seemed like he was avoiding her too. Nicole was just so angry!” The next day, it was Joel’s turn to walk out on Nicole! He headed back to L.A., where his band, Good Charlotte, performed that night at an MTV VMAs party at the Chateau Marmont hotel. And despite his relationship with Nicole hanging by a thread, Joel partied like he didn’t have a care in the world — with Nicole pal Mischa! Days earlier, Mischa had broken up with boyfriend, Taylor Locke and that night she was front-row center at the show, dancing seductively for Joel, says a source. “He kept checking out Mischa and smiling at her.” 
Mischa Barton appears to have put her failed romance with rocker Taylor Locke behind her - after she was spotted leaving a London nightclub with actor Josh Hartnett. The former The O.C. star hooked up with Hartnett and a male friend of his at the trendy Bungalow 8 club in the British capital during a party held in celebration of London Fashion Week. Barton was seen chatting to Hartnett at the nightspot, before she and a group of pals accompanied him to his hotel in nearby Soho, according to Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. However, the Pearl Harbor actor, who is in London preparing to star in a West End production of Rain Man, apparently seemed unimpressed with Barton and she left the hotel just an hour later. A source tells the publication, “Josh looked pretty bored and was totally ignoring Mischa. She persisted though, and kept getting closer and closer to their table while dancing provocatively. “Lots of girls were trying to get near their table, where the two guys were drinking champagne and vodka cocktails. Mischa had a lot to contend with, but didn’t give up.” 
Flavor Flav made a reported $5 million from his 3 seasons on VH1. That’s enough money for him to upgrade his wardrobe, buy new jewelry and have a new house built for his finace and child. But apparently that’s not enough to have him live up to his child support obligations, according to one of his baby’s mothers. According to a well placed MediaTakeOut.com snitch, Flav is set to go to family court in Albany, NY next week. 
Eva Mendes has had sex in all 50 American states. The Hitch star admits she took a raunchy road trip across the country when she was younger and managed to have a sexual encounter in nearly every one of the different states. She says, “I’ve had sex in all 50 states. A lot of it was on a road trip I took when I was younger.” And Mendes admits that her best experiences took place in Arizona and Colorado, adding: “Maybe it was the clean air.” 
The light-switch romance of Leo DiCaprio and Bar Refaeli is off again, we hear. The “Titanic” star and the Israeli supervixen have been partying apart over the past few weeks. Refaeli appears bereft, say spies, like she’s looking for a good time but not finding it. Leo? The good times find him. The other night, at a Chelsea club, an exquisite brunette glommed onto him. (Isn’t that disgusting, guys?) But we’re assured they did not exchange phone numbers. At least in public. In fact, Bar and Leo have ridden out other tempests since they met in December 2005 (shortly after his split with his last Amazon, Gisele Bundchen, after almost five years together). The couple were said to have hit their first bump in January 2007. But, by April, British tabs had them expecting a baby and talking marriage. In October of the same year, more reliable sources confirmed that the pair were taking a breather. But they reunited shortly after Bar’s fling with surfer Kelly Slater and have stuck together through most of this year. Even now, a reconciliation may be afoot. They’ve been spotted the last couple of nights at Marquee and 1Oak. Which means you might see her on his arm by the premiere of his “Body of Lies” next month and “Revolutionary Road” in December. Says one friend: “With these two, you never know, and they probably don’t either.” 
Kevin Federline might have been dubbed father of the year by Club Prive in Vegas, but his behavior in that city last weekend might get him stripped of such status. Federline attended the Sept. 12 preview party for Lavo, a new bathhouse-inspired restaurant and nightclub, and had such a good time he decided to extend his stay. Unfortunately, that meant skipping out on his sons’ birthday party back in L.A., according to a source who was on hand. “On Friday night he went to Lavo’s preview party, even danced to Britney’s ‘Gimme More’ and had so much fun that night he decided to stay for Saturday’s grand opening,” the source says. “Saturday he spent the day by the pool, then had dinner at TAO and hit the Lavo grand opening, red carpet and all, where he partied (un)til 4am.” Was a special woman behind the rescheduling? No, says the source. “It was more of a guys’ weekend, but a very good time was had by all.” One Federline source says that the behavior isn’t surprising. “He’s apt to kind of just do what he wants. He loves the boys (Preston, 3 and Jayden, 2) but if he’s having fun someplace else, he’ll stick with that.” Federline’s rep Marilyn Lopez defended her client’s honor with a clarifying “no comment.”