Rob’s Nanny Suffers a Lowe Blow
Rob Lowe came out on top in court yesterday, winning his first small victory in his legal battle with a former nanny in Santa Barbara Superior Court.
A judge threw out two of the 12 damning allegations made against the actor and his wife by ex-staffer Jessica Gibson.
While the bulk of the suitincluding all the sexual-harassment allegationsremain, the two charges tossed related to labor code violations and were tossed after it was determined they had no legal basis.
“We’re very pleased with today’s outcome,” Lowe attorney Larry Stein said of Judge Denise de Bellefeuille’s decision. “The Lowes have consistently denied any wrongdoing and will be vindicated. The entire family is holding up the best they can.”
Neither the actor nor Gibson was in court for the ruling, though Gibson’s team is already spinning the decision as being far from a loss.
“We don’t consider this a setback at all,” the onetime nanny’s attorney, John West, said. “Jessica’s case is still intact as a whole…There has not been a single important claim that has been affected by this ruling.”
Gibson worked for the famous family for seven years before abruptly quitting in February. In legal papers filed in April, she alleged that the 44-year-old star both exposed himself to her and touched her inappropriately several times between September 2005 and January 2008. She also claimed she wasn’t properly paid for hours and overtime she worked.
The Lowes beat her to the court, filing a preemptive lawsuit claiming Gibson demanded $1.5 million for her silence.
The next hearing in the case is set for July 10.
Jamie Lynn Spears gives birth
You knew it was going to happen the minute you heard she was pregnant. Jamie Lynn Spears, the star of Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 and sister of pop star Britney Spears, has given birth to a baby girl.
A friend of the 17-year-old star requested anonymity for this information. The birth has not officially been announced yet, although it seems to be on all the major news outlets. Who do they think they’re fooling?
The article mentions that baby-daddy is Casey Aldridge, a pipe-layer from Liberty, Mississippi. Insert your own joke here. The couple is not yet married, but announced an engagement a few months ago.
Fortunately, the fourth and final season of Zoey 101 was completed before Jamie Lynn became pregnant. Had she not become pregnant, would it truly have been the final season?
Mind you, this now frees up some time for Jamie Lynn. Maybe she can follow in her sister’s footsteps and get a guest spot on How I Met Your Mother?
Charlotte Church Preggers
The Voice of an Angel singer is about to welcome another cherub.
Charlotte Church announced on her website that she is expecting her second child with partner of three-plus years, pro rugby player and fellow Welshman Gavin Henson.
“Here we go again!!! Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson are delighted to announce that they are expecting another baby,” the announcement says. “The couple are thrilled, as are their immediate families.”
The 22-year-old star also confirmed that despite her impending stork delivery (reportedly set for November), she will carry out her commitment to the U.K.’s Channel 4 to host a third season of her chatfest, The Charlotte Church Show, which will film in July and August.
The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Ruby, in September of last year.
Conflicting Reports on Paul Newman Cancer
Paul Newman is: (a) “doing nicely,” (b) battling “a form of cancer,” (c) both of the above or (d) just one of the above.
The health status of one of Hollywood’s greatest leading men was back in play today after a new series of conflicting reports.
Early today, Newman friend A.E. Hotchner was quoted as telling the Associated Press that Newman has a “form of cancer, and he’s dealing with it.”
Hotchner, who, with the Oscar-winning actor, launched the now ubiquitous Newman’s Own label of salad dressings, spaghetti sauces and other specialty foods, said Newman told him of the condition 18 months ago, the AP reported.
In a Reuters report, Hotchner was quoted as saying Newman made his cancer diagnosis “known to a lot of his friends.”
But within hours of the initial AP report, Hotchner said he was “misquoted” by the wire service, Access Hollywood reported.
“I saw him last week and he seemed fine,” Hotchner said of Newman, per the TV show. “I have no knowledge of any diagnosis or doctors…The AP misquoted me. I have no knowledge of Mr. Newman being treated for any illness.”
A phone message left at a number believed to be Hotchner’s was not immediately returned.
The AP is said to be standing by its story. The Reuters story was not referenced in the Access Hollywood report.
On Tuesday, as photos of Newman looking thinner than usual spread, along with reports that the 83-year-old star was terminally ill with lung cancer, Newman’s agent told News that the stories were “not true.” In a less-specific statement, Jeff Sanderson, a spokesman for Newman, said the star was “doing nicely.”
In the interview with the AP, Hotchner is not quoted as saying Newman’s cancer is either terminal or of the lung, although he is quoted as saying that the actor had an operation “certainly somewhere in the area of the lung” a few years ago.
The AP also quotes two other friends, the Tony Award-winning actor James Naughton and Michael Brockman, a partner in Newman’s race-car team, as saying the Hollywood icon is still engaged.
“As far as I can tell, he’s doing well,” Naughton told the wire service.
Brockman offered, “I think he looks great. I wish I looked that good.”
While Naughton talked of seeing Newman at a fundraiser this month, and Brockman spoke of Newman itching to get behind the wheel of one of their high-performance cars, other signs point to the star slowing down.
Last year, Newman said he was probably done with acting. He blamed not his health, per se, but his memory, saying he just couldn’t memorize lines like he used to.
Last month, he cited unspecified health issues in pulling out as director of a play in his Westport, Conn., hometown. That item, along with a photo of a bearded, thin Newman at the Indianapolis 500 over Memorial Day weekend, and one of him at a charity event that was posted on Martha Stewart’s blog last Friday, fueled speculation of a dire prognosis.
Newman, who last appeared on screen in the 2005 miniseries Empire Falls, for which he won an Emmy, has been deflecting, if not denying reports of his imminent demise for more than a year.
A 10-time Academy Award nominee, Newman claimed his Oscar for 1986’s The Color of Money.