Stones cancel Aussie tour following Scott's death

THE Rolling Stones have called off their tour in Australia and New Zealand following the death of fashion designer L'Wren Scott, Mick Jagger's longtime girlfriend.

Scott was found dead Monday of an apparent suicide in a high-rise apartment building in NYC's upscale Chelsea neighborhood.

"The Rolling Stones are deeply sorry and disappointed to announce the postponement of the rest of their 14 ON FIRE tour of Australia and New Zealand following the death of L'Wren Scott," the group said in a statement.

The group's Australian publicist asked fans to hold on to their tickets until an update was made. The group had been due to kick off a seven-concert Australia and New Zealand leg of their world tour today in Perth in western Australia.

"I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way," Jagger said in a post on mickjagger.com. "She had great presence and her talent was much admired, not least by me."

Little is known yet about what might have prompted Scott, 49, to hang herself, but Reuters reported that her company had mounting debts.

Last month, she canceled her show at London Fashion Week, citing production problems.

Scott, born Luann Bambrough, was raised in Utah with two older siblings by adoptive parents.

A lawsuit by Kim Kardashian and Kanye West over leaked footage of their marriage proposal can proceed because it does not violate the free-speech rights of the co-founder of YouTube, a judge ruled yesterday.

The ruling came as Superior Court Judge Ruth Ann Kwan rejected a motion by tech entrepreneur Chad Hurley seeking dismissal of the case against him on constitutional grounds.

Hurley was sued days after posting a 2 1/2 minute video of West's lavish proposal to Kardashian in October on his new video-sharing website, MixBit.

Their court filings have stated that the video pre-empted the official release of footage by E! Entertainment Television.

Kim and Kanye claim that Hurley violated a confidentiality agreement and may have infringed the rights of the producers of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," who filmed the proposal at San Francisco's AT&T Park.

The suit states that Hurley wasn't invited to the event and accompanied another guest. Kim's mother, Kris Jenner, wrote in a sworn statement that Hurley would have been kicked out of the event if he hadn't signed the confidentiality agreement.

Hurley eventually removed the video from MixBit.

Hurley contends that he posted his footage only after seeing pictures and congratulatory messages from celebrities online.

The ruling was praised by Eric George, an attorney representing Kimye. Hurley's lawyer, Rodger Cole, said he was disappointed by the ruling and planned to appeal.

A trial on the case is scheduled for Nov. 17.

The next installment of the "Star Wars" franchise will be set 30 years after "Episode VI: Return of the Jedi," Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger said yesterday at the company's annual shareholders meeting.

Iger did not reveal any casting news, other than to confirm the return of R2D2.

"Episode VII" will be released on Dec. 18, 2015, and will be directed by J.J. Abrams, who helmed the recent "Star Trek" film franchise reboot.

Iger also mentioned that Disney/Pixar would produce a third "Cars" installment and a sequel to "The Incredibles."

And given the enormous success of Disney's "Frozen," Tattle wouldn't rule out "More Frozen: Even Colder."

* George Gruhn's Nashville guitar shop is a kind of mecca for vintage musical instruments, but even Gruhn is blown away by the latest addition to his inventory. He says it's the very first production model Fender Stratocaster ever made.

The sunburst-finish 1954 Strat bears the serial number 0100.

It's yours for $250,000.

* TheWrap.com reports that Macy Gray has joined Fox's hip-hop drama, "Empire," in a recurring role.

"Empire" is a 13-episode family drama set in the world of a hip-hop empire featuring original and current music. Philly's Lee Daniels is one of the producers and will direct the pilot.

Terrence Howard, Gabourey Sidibe, Taraji P. Henson and Jussie Smollet also star.

* Fred Schneider, one of the founders of the B-52s, is using the 35th anniversary of "Rock Lobster" to reiterate his opposition to eating them.

Schneider says he stopped eating crustaceans at age 4 after going crabbing with family in New Jersey and watching them boiled alive. The longtime vegetarian said in a video narrated for PETA that he views crabs and lobsters not as seafood but as "sea life."

* Where does more crazy killing take place? Florida or Texas?

The latest out of the Lone Star State comes from outside a movie theater, where two moviegoers argued with a third about the ending of a film.

The argument got loud, heated.

Then the two got into a pickup truck and . . . ran over the third guy.

"The driver of the truck put the vehicle in reverse, striking the victim and knocking him to the ground," the Harris County Sheriff's Office said. The truck then sped away.

The victim died at the hospital.

The sheriff's office would not name the film but witnesses told KHOU-TV that it was "300: Rise of an Empire."

Huh? Who gets into a death-match argument over the ending of a movie that makes no sense?

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

On Twitter: @DNTattle