Madonna Denies Divorce, Puts A-Rod in a Trance?
Deny, deny, deny!
Never one to shy away from controversy, Madonna issued the mother of all denials on Sunday, quashing rumors of an affair with Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez, refuting claims that she converted him to Kabbalah and denying plans to divorce her husband of seven years, Guy Ritchie.
“My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce. I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage or what spiritual path he may choose to study,” Madonna said in a statement to People.
Earlier in the week, her publicist also denied talks of a split.
On Saturday, the 49-year-old musician, her husband and their three children Lourdes, 11, Rocco, 7, and David, 2were seen attending prayer services at the Kabbalah Centre in New York City.
Meanwhile, the baseball star’s former trainer and friend told the New York Post on Sunday that A-Rod is “totally brainwashed” by Kabbalah, which the trainer says contributed to the demise of Rodriguez’s five-year marriage to wife Cynthia.
“Alex, God bless him, is lost,” says Dodd Romero, who is godfather to Rodriguez’s two daughters. “I think he got pulled in by the dark side, if you can say that nicely. He’s totally brainwashed.”
He also said the baseball star only listens to Madonna music in the car and goes “into a trance” when her music videos play at the gym.
Dodd spent time with Cynthia in Paris last week, where she reportedly fled after news of the split broke. Dodd says cutting ties with A-Rod shortly after Cynthia gave birth to their second daughter in late April was “one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, because he’s like a brother to me.”
Kravitz Joins Madonna in Ramming A-Rod Rumors
What a tangled web we weave when first we talk about Madonna’s men.
While the Queen of Pop, fresh off a happy and photo op-ready reunion with hubby Guy Ritchie, already took pains to disavow anything more than a platonic relationship between herself and Yankee star Alex Rodriguez, a blast from Madge’s past is joining in the denial act, this time concerning a rumored relationship with Rodriguez’s suddenly estranged wife.
“There is absolutely no affair between Cynthia Rodriguez and myself,” Lenny Kravitz said in a statement today. “This is unequivocally 100 percent not true.”
The denial comes in the wake of a story in the New York Post claiming the fairer Rodriguez had no problem going Kravitz’s way and that the duo had spent the past four days getting cozy in Paris.
Cynthia is a friend and is here with Alex’s trainer [her baby’s godfather], his wife and their baby girl. She came here to escape from everything happening in New York City,” said Kravitz.
“I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extrememly hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer.”
It was reported by the New York Daily News this week that the Rodriguezes separated after five and a half years of marriage, and just three months after the birth of their second daughter.
As is the way with the pop-culture universe, all roads still manage to lead back to Madonna: She and Kravitz were rumored to be an item in the early ’90s, when the rocker wrote and produced her single, “Justify My Love.”
D-Day Arrives for Christie Brinkley
Somehow, “messy” just doesn’t seem to cover it.
The divorce trial of Christie Brinkley and her soon-to-be-ex fourth husband is shaping up to be ugly as both parties appear in a Long Island courtroom this morning for the first day of proceedings, including a supporting turn by the other woman.
The 54-year-old former cover girl filed for divorce from 49-year-old architect Peter Cook in 2006, after 10 years of marriage, following reports he had carried on an affair with then-18-year-old staffer Diana Bianchiwhich he later confirmed in an open letter to the New York Post.
Wasting no time on courtroom pleasantries, or closed courtrooms, Bianchi is expected to be among the first witnesses to take the stand.
Instead of the de rigueur celeb practice of closing courtrooms and sealing even the most innocuous documents, this case will be open for public consumption.
Last month, Brinkley opposed a legal move (backed by Cook) that would have closed the proceedings. As a result, the Central Islip Supreme Court took the precaution of moving the case to a larger courtroom than planned in anticipation of a swarm of press.
Judging by this morning’s crowd, it was not an unwise move.
“So much has already been in the press about what happened,” Brinkley’s attorney, Robert Stephan Cohen, said. “We believe the only way to get at the truth is through an open courtroom. Mr. Cook shouldn’t be embarrassed. If he is, it’s his own fault.”
A second woman, Carri Lyn Ciamarra, is also set to take the stand in the early days of the trial. The 31-year-old fitness model, who was and still is married, will testify that she too carried on an affair with Cook last year.
While the finer details of the disintegration of their marriage have more or less already been dissected ad nauseum by the press, Cook’s infidelity, while sure to grab the most headlines, is not at the crux of the trial.
As the couple had the foresight to hammer out a prenuptial agreement in their relationship’s salad days, the trial will serve to determine custody, not financial, matters.
Brinkley’s 12-year-old son, Jack, with previous husband Richard Taubman, was adopted by Cook during the course of their marriage. They also have a biologicial, 9-year-old daughter, Sailor.
Both are seeking primary custody of the kids.
“He wants custody,” said Cook’s attorney, Norman Sheresky. “He thinks he’s the better parent.”
Brinkley’s team, as expected, heartily disagrees.
“All this publicity has been generated by Peter’s abysmal behavior. The notion that he’s a candidate for custody is beyond anything.”
In addition to the children, the trial will also serve to determine the division of some of the couple’s joint property, including three boats and real estate.
The proceedings are expected to last roughly four weeks.
Madonna’s Bro Has Designs on Reality TV
First, Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone writes a memoir about being her brother. And now, the New York Post reports he’s shopping around a reality show about the same exact thing.
At this point, anything is believable between these feuding siblings.
But, alas, only the book will be slinging the mud. The reality show is about something completely different, a source exclusively reveals.
Ciccone’s reality-show idea is centered around interior design, the source reports. He has already been shooting around Los Angeles at various stores, including a Home Depot and 99¢ Only and Anna’s Linens stores. “He’s clearly not there shopping for his typical clientele,” the source said.
I’m told Ciccone and his team are referring to the show concept as a “design intervention.”
Ciccone’s design projects have included Madonna’s apartment on New York’s Upper West Side, some high-end condominium complexes in Miami and numerous restaurants. He also appeared on an episode of Bravo’s Top Chef Miami to assist contestants in a restaurant-design challenge.
The memoir, Life With My Sister, will be released July 15.