That's good enough for Page Six!

[HYB via Animal]

“We’ve turned down Shaq for wearing sneakers,” says a Las Vegas PR director. “Then Diddy shows up the other night with a guard who’s wearing shorts and sneakers. Diddy was hosting an event, and he wouldn’t enter without his guy. So we had to let him in, but it’s obnoxious.”

Especially when Karl Lagerfeld's guards all wear Dior.

“Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore—they’ll come with no one.” By contrast, in her latest malfunction, Janet Jackson drew glares when her guards accompanied her inside the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute gala in May. “Even the Beckhams leave their guys outside that event!”

[W]

As soon as Omarosa came out, she was offended (no idea why). Then Wendy Williams tried to take Omarosa's book to show the audience, and Omarosa snatched it back (no idea why). Then, despite the best efforts of Wendy to be reasonable, the sniping continued throughout the interview, like so:

W: And you are rich. That is what you said on the BET red carpet.

O: And I represent my community well. I give back more to my community than anyone that I know. So if that’s being ABW, you are reinforcing stereotypes. That’s important for you not to do. Cause you don’t know. You really don’t.

W: Listen, you’re not my type Omarosa, and let me tell you…

O: Trust me.

W: Twenty two years I’ve been doing what I’m doing…

O: But don’t be fake. Because what happens is you have guests on your show and then you go on your radio show and talk smack instead of doing it when they are sitting on the couch.

W: I’m doing it right here.

O: I don’t have to be your type, but let me be clear. Been there, done that.

Here's the video, which is fairly entertaining. If Williams can just get Dick Cheney and some sort of convicted killer to come on next, her reputation will be restored!

According to a tipster, Elle publisher Carol Smith signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Anne Klein to have Garcia—then an Elle staffer—do in-store appearance and promotions on behalf of the fashion brand. But Garcia refused to wear Anne Klein clothes at the appearances, because she believed it would be a "conflict of interest." This put the huge endorsement deal in jeopardy, we hear, and everyone from Elle's editor-in-chief to former Hachette boss Jack Kliger was putting pressure on Garcia to give in and wear the damn clothes to keep the customer happy.

But Garcia was stubborn! By the time her final mandatory appearance for Anne Klein rolled around, says the source, the publisher actually drove to Garcia's home and waited for her to make sure she wore an appropriately Klein-ish outfit. The entire ordeal was so outlandish that the whole staff was gossiping about it. Shortly after the endorsement deal wrapped up, Nina Garcia was fired—after Elle had made its money. Or so we hear.

In an odd way, we respect her crazily firm editorial commitment to picking her own clothes NO MATTER WHAT.

Nazarian is remaking The Sahara, a former Rat Pack hangout on the Vegas strip that's become a piece of crap: "Outside, life-size Arab figures pull a row of cheesy plaster camels. Inside, $34-a-night rooms pull in pack-a-day low rollers."

But Sam is changing all that! He's remaking the hotel, and the casino, and the restaurant, and the clubs! Soon the Sahara will be the awesomest Lindsay Lohan hangout ever. Although it may or may not cure what seems to be his confusion over whether he's a young superprodigy or a wizened old business genius:

After dropping out of college, Sam Nazarian invested family money in commercial real estate and began to amass his own fortune. He was 22 years old and was known as Samy Boy. Today, his public-relations team says pointedly, he is addressed as Sam...

Although he and his PR handlers cringe at the term "nightclub king," Mr. Nazarian became known through the Hollywood club scene, starting in 2003. He formed SBE Entertainment (for Samy Boy Entertainment).

First, change your company's name. Then, fire your PR team.

[WSJ]

[via Kanye's very own personal blog]

Who is he?

He's just a dude from England who makes street art. We once thought he might be the alter ego of fellow Brit stencil artist Nick Walker, but that's probably not the case—not exactly, at least. The Daily Mail says he's a guy from Bristol named Robin Gunningham, who has a Facebook page that may or may not be real. There may or may not be more than one photo of Banksy extant. Basically he's a big fucking mystery.

Why is he important?

Ha. "Important" is a subjective idea. But he's important artistically, because he is the single funniest and most incisive social critic working in street art today; and he's become a celebrity, making him important...to people who care about celebrities. Once his works started selling to Angelina Jolie and other assorted stars, his secret true identity became an item of even hotter speculation. But most Banksy fans loved the guy for his art long before they even knew he was a big secret.

Who cares about his identity?

If you're a Wu-Tang fan, you remember when Ghostface Killah first started rhyming, when he wore a stocking over his face in all photos. It was awesome. People who are self-proclaimed mysteries succeed immediately in making fans who would normally care little about their background start to obsessively wonder about them. But you have to give Banksy credit: any time in the past couple of years, he could have sold a big reveal of his identity to the highest bidder for a huge sum. The idea that he's staying secret out of fear of prosecution for vandalism is a little ridiculous; this is a guy who started as a vandal, but now has museums and town councils voting to keep his (illegal) works in place—sometimes even having city employees go back and touch up his pieces when they get painted over with more graffiti. He's probably just a guy who doesn't care to be treated like a superstar in public. The irony is that, by staying anonymous, he's pushed interest in himself up to mythical levels.

And?

Dig it:

Sacco: "Bungalow 8 London is more like the sophisticated European sister of New York."

Reviewer: "damn right! There are many worthwhile ways to spend your £350 in London - this isn't one of them. You've read the reviews - they are accurate. It is nothing like Bungalow 8 NYC which was so much fun a few years ago..."

Sacco: "And the downstairs opens at eleven o’clock, Tuesday through Saturday, and it’s much more of a clubby vibe than we have in New York."

Reviewer: "I'm a fair person....So I tried EVERY night in the week at Bungalow 8, and I'm talking weekend, early, midnight til late.... and it was a DISASTER....spent over £500 each night on champagne. Waste of money if you ask me."

Reviewer: "The place is very disappointing time after time. Specially compared to other clubs I have membership with. The music is cliche and dull. The members are like a bunch of estate agents, the place itself is like a corridor and the drinks are overpriced. A lot of hot air. I would rate the club lounge at Heathrow Airport higher than this place."

Etc.

[BlackBook, View London]

Jingles was supposed to debut this month, but CBS, like a kid who left her homework until the last minute, is pushing the debut back because they haven't "promoted" the show enough. The reason they have such crappy judges is also, reportedly, because they had a "time crunch" in assembling them. When they take care of these things, perhaps they can "rethink" the show's concept and then "cancel" it.

Rounding out the judging panel: the ad lady who came up with that song, "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid." Well, she's a fine choice.

[Ad Age]

[via Adfreak]

OK!

Pros: OK! publisher Richard Desmond is said to be determined to land the photos—his magazine is out to corner the baby picture market, remember. Desmond is leading negotiations for the rights himself, and he knows that he has a better shot at recouping his costs, because he controls 17 international editions that could all run the photos.

Cons: It's bad for any one magazine to corner any market, no matter how frivolous. Plus, landing these Brangelina pics would be considered a victory for objectionable soulless former flack and OK! editor Rob Shuter.

People

Pros: They landed the pics of Shiloh, Brangelina's earlier spawn. Plus, People is a more prestigious title than OK!. Their PR value is higher, at least domestically.

Cons: May not be able to bid as high as Desmond will. And they have less ability to distribute internationally. Is the solution a combo deal, perhaps—People with domestic rights and OK! with international rights? Well, whatever's best for the children.

But seriously, OK! will win, we think. All the money's going to charity, so Brangelina will go for Desmond's higher price for their baby's souls.

An added dose of credibility: this picture is from the archives of the Rex photo service, and is labeled as "Graffiti artist Banksy," shown in the Sony Playstation Skate Park in London in 1999. The subhead reads, "'Banksy' as himself, probable real name Robin Banks, or Robin Gunningham from Bristol." Here it is:

Compare to the well-known 2004 photo:

Our source tells us that the 1999 picture was confirmed as Banksy by the photo agency. Which would mean that—if this is actually him—pictures showing the face of the most wondered-about anonymous artist in the world have been sitting around, forgotten, for nearly a decade.

V Magazine got veteran fashion photographer Mario Testino to convince Gisele to pose for these pictures, which she said "only Mario could make me take." Boy, let's hope so. What makes you think everyone wants to see your body, you tart?

[via Fashion Week Daily]

Gunningham, at far left, in back:

Gunningham, second from left, middle row:

Gunningham, back row, second from left (?):

The self-description:

And perhaps even more incriminating than his friends list:

Jossip says that Rosenberg saw a promo spot for a Ciccone interview, became enraged, and promptly made some phone calls to ensure that neither Entertainment Tonight nor The Insider would give his book any coverage. Considering Rosenberg's reputation for pulling strings—and her control of Madonna, a much huger bargaining chip than anything Ciccone could offer on a long term basis—it's plausible.

Now a clip of Good Morning America's interview—they're too big for Rosenberg to cow, apparently:

[Jossip]

• According to the Daily Mail, Banksy is a 34-year-old Bristol native named Robin Gunningham. The paper started with the one known photo of Banksy, taken in Jamaica several years ago (pictured above), and worked its way back through his hometown and beyond in a year-long investigation.
• A neighbor in the Bristol neighborhood where Gunningham grew up ID'd the Banksy photo as him.
• Friends at Gunningham's private school in Bristol described him as a talented artist. The neighbor said he lived a "nomadic" existence that upset his parents.
• Gunningham's roommate in Bristol in 1998 was a man named Luke Egan, who went on to exhibit art with Banksy. When questioned, Egan mumbled a lot and denied knowing anything.
• The landlady of the house that Gunningham and Egan shared says Gunningham was Banksy—because when he moved out he left a bunch of graffiti work in the house, which she threw out. Earlier published accounts of Banksy's life confirm he shared a house in the neighborhood at the time.
• "Banksy moved to London around the turn of the millennium, once again at the same time as a certain Robin Gunningham. Robin lived in a flat in Kingsland Road, Hackney, East London, with Jamie Eastman, who worked for Bristol's Hombre record label. Banksy drew a number of the record company's album covers."
• Banksy's first major London show in 2003 was in a warehouse "just yards" away from where Gunningham lived.
• When the Daily Mail went to see Gunningham's parents, both denied everything, including recognizing the picture, having a son, and being themselves.

We hazarded a guess in May that Banksy could be the alter ego of Nick Walker, another already-famous street artist. In the months since, various bits of information have led me to believe that that's not true—although the possibility certainly still exists that Banksy is actually a collective of artists, or has other artists helping him with his pieces.

The evidence here is pretty strong. Strangely, the paper couldn't track down Gunningham himself. But it's only a matter of time now. The Daily Mail tries to make an issue of the fact that Banksy grew up as a suburban schoolboy, but I don't think that's surprising at all; his art is pretty obviously a reaction against middle class mores.

Banksy, you'll always be cool to me. Even if your name is "Robin."

[Daily Mail]

Stephen Witt, a reporter from the New York Post-owned Courier-Life chain, seized the microphone to try his hand at stand-up comedy during the delay.

“What do you know about Brooklyn 99-cent stores?” asked Witt, who last made headlines for hugging Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner at a 2006 rally. “Have you ever been so broke that you had to put something on lay-away at a 99-cent store?”

Witt’s quip was met with boos...

“It was just awkward, and I feel kind of embarrassed for him,” said one woman, who said she saw Witt consuming alcohol before his artistic contribution to the evening.

And look, there's a clip!

[Brooklyn Paper]

• Obaigbena's plan to clean up Nigeria has been to host annual parties celebrating officials who stand out as examples of good governance. Attendees at his parties include dangerous model Naomi Campbell, foreign presidents, jugheaded political hack Paul Begala, and Bill Clinton.
• "Mr. Obaigbena has also held a mammoth summer concert series promoting Nigeria’s economic and political progress, the ThisDay festival, luring the likes of Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Diddy and Shakira to perform in Lagos."
• "On Aug. 1, it travels to the Kennedy Center in Washington, headlined by Beyoncé and Seal."
• Critics of Obaigbena in his country say all this partying and celebrity shit does nothing for the poor rural Nigerians who need help the most. But he disagrees. “'We have the longest period of democracy in Nigeria, ever,' said the mogul in March, sitting in a suite at the St. Regis in New York."
• "An elegant man with a blunt, chiefly demeanor and a taste for bespoke Lanvin suits, he maintains a home in Lagos, a country estate in Nigeria’s Delta State and a penthouse at the Ritz Carlton in Washington...'I like to live modestly and discreetly,' said Mr. Obaigbena, with no trace of irony."

He also hangs out with Ice-T and Lil Kim. Starving Nigerians, you are now much more popular with celebrities!

[NYT]

We hear that OK! publisher Richard Desmond is so set on obtaining the exclusive rights to Brangelina's new baby pictures that he's personally handling negotiations for the photos—which reached $15 million more than a month ago. (Desmond is British and OK! is multinational, meaning that Desmond is helped by both the ability to market these photos worldwide, and the pitifully low dollar). OK!'s editor is ex-celebrity flack Rob Shuter, who is a glorified celebrity wrangler whose only value is his Rolodex and his willingness to do anything to ingratiate the magazine to its famous subjects. One small example: we hear part of OK!'s agreement with Jamie Lynn Spears was to not cover the angle that she is, ya know, a single teen mom. Just the pictures, please!

And OK! may be intent on cornering the market! Consider the recent trifecta: the magazine just landed the Jamie Lynn Spears baby photo exclusive:

And just today, OK! reportedly paid $3 million for the first pics of little Levi, the tot produced by Matthew McConaughey and his girlfriend:

Add that to what looks like a probable win for OK! in the Brangelina baby bidding war, and it's a clean sweep for the whole month.

US Weekly should be a strong competitor, but owner Jann Wenner won't let them spend what it takes to snag the A-level pictures. And what's the last big baby pic exclusive that People got? Nicole Richie in March, for a mere million bucks:

With a committed publisher, a fat checkbook, and an editor-in-chief who considers "journalism" to be a foreign word, it looks like OK! just may be the only place to turn for your baby pic fix this year. Scary! The only question now is whether the skyrocketing bidding will pay off financially—and if so, for how long. Since we're living in a time when J-Lo can make an amount on baby pictures that rivals her own box office receipts, it seems that OK! will, sadly, only become more dominant the more they win. B-list wedding pictures will never make up the slack.

A brief list of companies that are now buying your favorite (or not) artists and paying them a bunch of money to make "fun" songs: P&G, Red Bull, Nike, Converse, Bacardi, and Unilever. Plenty of good artistic raw material in there, at least. And the brands involved have exhibited a keen cultural sensitivity about their work:

"We don't just want to talk to people," said Anne Jensen, a brand-building director at Unilever who works with Caress. "We want to give them something that adds value to their lives." She said that Ms. Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls was perfect for the campaign because she embodied the spirit of Brazil. (Though, truth be told, she is Hawaiian, Russian and Filipino.)

[NYT]

[NYO]

[Pic via Gothamist]

According to a tipster, Castro has been accepting free tickets to Madonna shows since at least the early 90s. Those tickets, of course, sell for exorbitant amounts, and can be scalped for even more—in all they add up to "thousands" in value, the tipster says. The most recent case, they say, was the Madonna show in New York that Yankee superstar A-Rod attended, and which is now the subject of great interest because of the rumored fling between the two.

And who is bestowing all these tickets on Castro? Reportedly it's Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's lying flack! You may also have noticed People's recent sappy and credulous coverage of the supposed strength of Madonna's marriage to Guy Ritchie. Our source says that the friendly Castro deliberately chose to overlook the A-Rod affair rumors and "play nice" with Madonna and Rosenberg.

But we're sure it was a coincidence. Have other info? Email us.

1. Liz Rosenberg: Lied about a poor African child, of all things. If she turns out to have lied about the divorce as well, she will only solidify her top spot here.

2. Stephen Huvane: Kirsten Dunst's rep assured everyone that Dunst was "fine," shortly before the actress checked into rehab. Then assured everyone that Dunst "is not being treated for cocaine or any drug." Yea.

3. Rob Shuter: A serial manipulator who invented a relationship between client Jessica Simpson and crooner John Mayer, which then blew up in his face. Now edits OK! magazine, appropriately.

4. Rachna Shah: The Interview magazine flack scolded us for printing a scurrilous rumor that editor Ingrid Sischy would be leaving the magazine. A rumor that turned out to be true. A conscious lie, or just internal miscommunication? Either way, we were right.

5. Edelman: An anonymous media trainer at the mega-firm was outed by a tipster for telling clients, "Sometimes you just have to stand up there and lie." This brought an angry response from CEO Richard Edelman, who has himself lied on behalf of Wal-Mart.

6. Scott McClellan: Rotund former Bush lap doggie who wrote a book being sad about all the lying he did. Not that the PR industry cares or anything.

7. Danielle Perissi: Time Warner's fibbingest flack. Not a good person to call with questions about Time Warner, oddly enough. Now she's gone.

After being booted from American Media last month (after lying about it in a rather terrible way), Fuller is now in the midst of some vague web project, bankrolled by former Viacom exec Russ Pillar. The revolutionary idea:

Mr. Pillar says his company, the 5850 Group, is seeking to raise "tens of millions" to back Ms. Fuller as a brand: she has created a company called Bonnie Fuller Media, based in New York. He says the start-up will be heavily digital and offer a variety of femme-friendly products that will include, but not be limited to, gossip, fashion and romance.

Stop the motherfucking presses! If Bonnie Fuller even has a serious plan for what this new, derivative digital project will consist of, we will personally eat a shoe (send over the plan to collect on that, Bonnie). Further, the Times David Carr, while acknowledging that other people have serious problems with Fuller, is personally pleased as punch with her, and says as much both implicitly and explicitly:

Ms. Fuller has created a frothy world, and, like it or not, we all live in it...

That prurient need to know just a little more is pure Bonnie Fuller...

Yes, celebrities have always been with us, but not quite in the way they are now since Ms. Fuller rethought them as familiars, our fake friends whom we can slag or praise, depending on the moment...

AT the moment of her disenfranchisement last month, many publishing insiders could barely hide their glee, although they still sought the cloak of anonymity because Ms. Fuller is the queen of second acts. They hate not only the game — readers at all costs — but also the player...

Having covered Ms. Fuller on and off for the last eight years in her various jobs, I have never been a Bonnie Fuller hater. (Of course, I never worked for her.) For one thing, she has a lack of pretension, an ability to size herself, that's rare in publishing. And on technical magazine matters, she has few peers. She can dig into the relationship between a magazine and its readers with a rare kind of intuition.

Bonnie Fuller: A publishing world hero deserving of praise. Her opponents are straight up haters! And she can sell magazines, so she deserves our respect. And the blog hate—sympathy, please!

Of course, it's worth pointing out that she is sorely lacking in self-awareness, sorely lacking in self-awareness, and sorely lacking in self-awareness.

And Fuller's most passionate defender in the story? Former Star editor and Asshat Joe Dolce. Not interviewed: her ex-assistants. That pretty much says it all.

[NYT]

• A complete history of Raffaello Follieri.


• Raffaello is arrested by the feds.


• Highlights of the criminal case against Follieri.


• The Follieri Crime Family: Dad was a crook, too!


• The Follieri Foundation is still collecting donations.


• Poor Anne Hathaway almost bought a house with the guy.


• Hathaway's InStyle interview: They are so in love! Oops, poor timing.


• New York Mag: Why was Raffaello so weird in court yesterday, allegedly? A codeine prescription. Oh, sure.

I understand if people don't like me because I like me or if people think tight clothes look gay or people say I run my mouth to much, But this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I've ever had in my life. This is the most offended I've ever been... this is the maddest I ever will be. I'm typing so fucking hard I might break my fucking Mac book Air!!!!!!!!

This is worse than Hurricane Katrina! So what happened out there, Kanye?

THEY TRIED 2 GIVE ME A TIME SLOT WERE IT WAS STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE ... I HAVE A FUCKING LIGHT SHOW DUMB ASS, IT'S NOT CALLED GLOW IN THE DARK FOR NO REASON SQUID BRAINS!...

PEARL JAM ENDED ONE HOUR
LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT THAT POINT WE'RE RACING AGAINST THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those. Motherfuckers.

REMEMBER LAST SUMMER WHEN I CANCELED SOME TV APPEARANCES. IT WAS BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO PERFORM STRONGER IN THE DAYTIME. ANYONE WHO CAME TO THE GLOW TOUR CAN UNDERSTAND WHY I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE IT PROPERLY. IT BROKE MY HEART THAT I COULDN'T GIVE THESE FANS STRONGER IN IT'S GREATEST FORM... BY THE TIME I GOT TO STRONGER IT WAS DAYTIME AND IT BROKE MY HEART. I'M SORRY TO EVERYONE THAT I DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY 2 GIVE THE PERFORMANCE I WANTED TO. I'M SORRY... SOMETIMES I GO 2, 3 DAYS W/O SLEEP WORKING ON MY PERFORMANCE... I HAVE TO ICE MY KNEES AFTER EVERY SHOW AND THEY HURT WHEN I WALK THROUGH THE AIRPORT... HAVING AN EXPENSIVE STAGE CUTS MY PAYDAY IN HALF... CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT BUT NEVER SAY I DIDN'T GIVE MY ALL!!!

Never forget.

[Kanye's Blog via Idolator]

I wanted to contact you today and see if Gawker would be able to run a story about a hate crime that occurred early Wednesday morning at the trendy NYC nightclub 1 Oak which is owned by Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano (dated Ashley Olsen, and Jamie Lynn Siegler) -

Early Wednesday morning (June 18th, 2008) at approximately 2:30AM - two individuals were attacked by a man inside 1 OAK. and were called "faggots" - victim number 1 had to be rushed to the hospital due to massive blood loss. Victim number 2 had no visible wounds at the time.

Victim number 1's friend wanted to call 911, however the two owners of the nightclub, Sartiano and Akiva, told the friend NOT TO. 911 was called regardless. The club owners then wanted to rush the victim into a car when they knew the ambulance was coming. A minute goes by and the attacker was able to walk right out of the club, without security questioning or anyone's interference, even after the victim's friend screamed out "that's the guy!"

The attacker turns out to be someone that frequents the club often and knew the doorman and the staff, since he was able to walk right into the club and said hello to the doorman in the beginning of the night. When questioned, the owners claimed to not know who the attacker was, and provided no information.

Victim number 1 ended up with 5 stitches, a broken nose, busted upper and lower lips, and lacerations around the face. Victim number 2 suffered from acute migraines due to an attack to the back of the head. A police report was filed the next day. However the club owners did not seem concerned, and did not supply the name of the attacker and did not phone the victim to follow up on the progress or the status.

The owners of the club did not seem to care for what happened within their club, and only was concerned that the police was not informed and no press comes out of this, they wanted to retain their public image.

From 1 Oak's PR firm, Shadow PR:

Unfortunately, the situation that occurred at 1OAK was out of the establishment's control. 1OAK is cooperating fully with the necessary parties and hope the matter is resolved immediately. This inappropriate behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

[Interior pic via Men.Style.com]

After Follieri defrauded investors out of millions, what did he do with the money?

Private doctors! $30,000 housecalls! Vacations are nice, too.

How did he pull it off? Payoffs, and a little help from a crooked reporter.

[via TSG]

Half of the celebrities in the story, like Jay-Z and Puffy, demand that companies give them partial ownership and allow them to design products, and other requests that seem excessive. You can't blame them for asking, though. More nilla celebrities, however, seem way too nice to play this game well:

“It’s flattering that companies think of you and they want to work with you,” [Ellen DeGeneres] says, adding that she is working with American Express because she liked earlier ads the company did with Jerry Seinfeld.

Ha, sure! And what do you say, borderline Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey?

“I wear my cologne all of the time,” says Mr. Dempsey, whose fragrance will be introduced by Avon Products in November. “This is a whole different experience and a real education for me, and it has been something that I’ve been involved with every step of the way.”

Hopefully these celebrities are just lying, rather than actually being that naive. The story notes that people don't actually trust celebrities, but they buy their products anyhow. The reason? YOUR INSATIABLE APPETITE:

First has been the emergence of Web sites and magazines that chronicle the mundane, daily activities of stars on a 24/7 basis. A voracious public eager to peek at Hollywood celebrities shopping for shoes and buying coffee wanted, in turn, to buy those shoes and drink that coffee themselves.

There's also plenty of info on Rihanna's umbrella endorsements! But the most honest paragraph in the whole story is this one:

“The reality is people want a piece of something they can’t be,” says Eli Portnoy, a branding strategist. “They live vicariously through the products and services that those celebrities are tied to. Years from now, our descendants may look at us and say, ‘God, these were the most gullible people who ever lived.’ “

[NYT]