Visa Appeals Exhausted, Boy George Buries U.S. Tour
Yes, the U.S. government really did want to hurt him. And yes, the plan apparently worked.
Boy George announced today he has been forced to called off his planned U.S. summer tour, which was to include a song-filled pit stop for his former colleagues at the New York Department of Sanitation, after his appeal for a visa was denied.
“I was really hoping that the issue would be resolved and that some kind soul at the U.S. Visa Office would realize that if the police in the U.K. placed no restrictions on my movements, that should have been good enough for them,” George says in a statement.
“I am very sorry that I will not see all my American fans this year, but I wish them a happy and healthy Fourth of July. I include the Visa Office in those good wishes and realize they are doing a very difficult job and I just got unlucky.”
Well, unlucky and illegal.
The State Department has declined to issue an official statement on the ’80s icon’s public rebuff, but when pressed on the matter at a daily briefing last week, a spokesman said it was not unusual for those with criminal pasts to be denied entry to the States.
The 47-year-old singer, whose real name is George O’Dowd, is awaiting trial on false imprisonment and assault charges, allegations made by a male escort who claims he was chained to a radiator in the pop star’s London home.
George, meanwhile, will continue as planned with the South American leg of his tour, which kicks off in September, to be followed by a 25-date tour in the U.K. in October.
He’ll try his hand at returning to the U.S. after his November trial in winter 2009, when he will attempt to reschedule the scuttled North American shows.
McCready Not McReady to Stay Out of Jail
Another familiar refrain for Mindy McCready.
The arrest-prone country songbird was busted in Tennessee Monday night after turning herself in for probation violation.
A spokesman for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department told News the singer was held for just a few hours and released later that night.
The sheriff’s department issued a warrant for her arrest after it was discovered the singer was not making good on her order of community service.
McCready was released after posting bond and appeared in court to face the charge Tuesday morning, when her attorney filed a motion to reduce her number of public service hours.
She’s been down this road before.
McCready served five months in Williamson County Jail last year on a probation violation charge for falsifying a prescription. Upon her December release, she was sentenced to two more years of probation.
She’s due back in court July 8.
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony: Out In NYC
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony: Out In NYC
Looking the oh-so-swanky couple, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were spotted out in New York City over the Father’s Day weekend - leaving a private function arm-in-arm.
Lopez recently returned to the Big Apple following a short trip to the nation’s capital this past week, during which she met with senators about healthcare and education issues.
While there were reports that Lopez was actually there to meet Barack Obama’s staff, a representative the 38-year-old South Bronx native denied these claims.
“Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Lopez was on (Capitol) Hill with her sister to meet with staff members of several senators to discuss issues she is interested in, such as healthcare and education,” her rep told People. “She did visit Obama’s office, but the senator was not there. She did not meet him, but did discuss healthcare with members of his staff.
“She just came in for the meeting and departed,” Obama’s spokesman confirmed. “It was not campaign-related.”
John Cusack’s Presidential Quiz Show
John Cusack has a challenge for you.
The actor’s latest foray into the political arena is a 30-second video debuting on CNN and Bravo tomorrow for MoveOn.org in which he encourages people to take the Bush-McCain Challenge, a five-question online quiz that presents how similar the president and White House hopeful really are.
“MoveOn.org members, and millions of other Americans, including me, share a common belief that Americans just cannot take another four years of Bush policies,” Cusack says in a release. “I think the Bush-McCain Challenge gives people the opportunity to check the record for themselves.”
A McCain spokesman referred questions about the ad to the Republican National Committee.
“Here’s an honest pop quiz: Who opposed funding our troops in Iraq? And whose agenda is out-of-touch with average Americans?” RNC spokesman Alex Conant wrote in an email. “Answer: Both Barack Obama and MoveOn.org.”