Sideshow: Ex-pageant winner drops her suit

It's a scandal-heavy week.

So strap in and . . . squirm.

The infamously defrocked California pageant princess Carrie Prejean and Miss USA pageant organizer K2Productions have reached a settlement in their dueling lawsuits.

A triumph for the spirit of reconciliation and love? Not exactly, says TMZ. The celeb news outlet contends that Carrie, who claimed she was stripped of her Miss California title in June due to religious discrimination, dropped her suit seconds after K2 lawyers showed her a hard-core vid in which she performed solo sex acts.

TMZ says that, under the terms of the settlement, Carrie will be paid . . . $0, while her lawyers and publicist will get $100,000. K2 dropped its lawsuit, which accused Carrie of failing to repay $5,200 for her breast-augmentation surgery.

Miss California USA has said it dethroned Carrie for failing to attend contractually obligated appearances and making paid appearances without the org's approval. Carrie made headlines when she told Miss USA judge Perez Hilton she opposed gay marriage because of her deeply held convictions as a Christian.

Don't lose faith in Carrie's potential to grow (some morals). So says the fallen Miss California's spiritual guide, Pastor

Darren Carrington

of The Rock Church in San Diego.

"Everyone is a work in progress," the pastor tells TMZ. After all, he says, everyone has done "something we're not proud of."

The

Lohan Family

's bloody internecine conflicts were reignited this week when beloved patriarch

Michael Lohan

released recordings of phone conversations involving his daughter, one-time actress

Lindsay

, and his ex-wife,

Dina

. So typical of Michael to do such loving things!

The recordings, posted on RadarOnline, reveal details about the family's dysfunctions. In one tape from September '08, Dina tells ML of her angst about LiLo's addictions: "You don't even know what I'd go through trying to get her into, like, rehab. . . . She'd like, punch me in the face, kick me out of the car." In another, LiLo cries to her dad: "No one cares about me. . . . It's about how they feel, not how I feel."

ML tells RadarOnline he made the tapes public to save LiLo from herself. He says he needs to prove to the world that LiLo's addiction to prescription drugs is killing her.

LiLo is angry: "My father's such a loser & those recordings are from years ago," she says via Tweeter. "To release personal things is foul enough, but to edit them. . . . He needs the book for dummies on HOW TO BE A MAN." Her lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, tells RadarOnline that she is "exploring all options, both civilly and criminally" against ML.

Rihanna

's heavily promoted one-on-one with

Diane Sawyer

went off without a hitch yesterday on

Good Morning America

. There were no surprises: Most of the Barbadian-born hitmaker's chat, about her recovery from assault in February by ex-lover

Chris Brown

, was released earlier this week.

The 21-year-old said she should never have dated Chris. "That's embarrassing, that that's the type of person that I fell in love with," she said. " . . . It's humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It's a traumatizing experience." She said she has newfound faith and strength in her new role as a voice for victimized women: "When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part," she said. "Even if Chris never hit me again, who is to say that their boyfriend won't?" The second part of Rihanna's chat will air tonight on 20/20.

The singer last month released a single, "Russian Roulette," from her new LP, Rated R, due out Nov. 23. Her promo blitz includes a deal with cell-phone-maker Nokia, which will stream her tunes live Nov. 16 to its British customers.

Rihanna's ex, Chris Brown, is matching her TV appearances with his own: a 30-minute interview to air today at 6 p.m. on MTV. Asked to share his thoughts and feelings after the incident that resulted in his plea of guilty to felony assault, Brown came up with this: "My thoughts is like, 'Why did it happen?', like, 'What was I thinking?', 'What is wrong with you?' " There are more thoughts, he adds. "My thoughts basically now is just, 'OK, how do we get past it? How do you, Chris, go from Point A to Point B?' " Easy! With new product: Surprisingly enough, Brown's chat

also

coincides with a new album,

Graffiti

, to be released Dec. 8, weeks earlier than initially planned. (To capitalize on current events? Surely not!)

People mag says Rihanna will perform at the 37th annual American Music Awards, to air live Nov. 22 on ABC. Other performers include

Adam Lambert

,

Kelly Clarkson

,

Carrie Underwood

,

Daughtry

,

Jay-Z

,

Alicia Keys

,

Jennifer Lopez

, and

the Black Eyed Peas

.

Alicia Keys, who has been studying political resistance movements, including the Black Panthers, has her own political gesture: She will release a new line of baubles, called The Barber's Daughters, with a live event Nov. 23-24 at Collette Blanchard Gallery in New York. Info:

» READ MORE: www.thebarbersdaughters.com/collection.html

.