Lady Gaga fans are fit to be Thai’d
There’s more drama on Lady Gaga’s "Places They Don’t Want Me" tour of Asia, but this time the problem isn’t religious extremists.
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There's more drama on Lady Gaga's "Places They Don't Want Me" tour of Asia, but this time the problem isn't religious extremists.
It's Gaga.
The singer told her 24 million Twitter followers that she was looking to buy a fake Rolex in Bangkok, sparking an online uproar Thursday in Thailand where some sensitive fans called her remarks offensive.
After angering Christian groups in South Korea and the Philippines and Islamists in Indonesia, Gaga is now stirring nationalist fervor in Thailand, where people tend to get upset when outsiders notice the country's faux Louis Vuittons (and sex tourism).
"We are more civilized than you think," tweeted DJ Surahit Siamwalla, who has a ticket to Friday's Bangkok show but plans to boycott.
Not all Thai fans, however, objected to Gaga's tweet. A screaming mob greeted Gaga at the airport and at her 5-star hotel, where she signed autographs and hugged one female fan who left in tears. People have camped outside Rajamangala National Stadium for days, hoping to be first inside and win the prize of meeting Gaga in person.
If Lady Gaga does have time to shop in Bangkok, she'll see that the city has more to offer than just fake watches, Thai fan Nont Armarttasn sarcastically noted on his Facebook page.
"Welcome to the land of counterfeit products, love," he said. "I'm sure there are plenty of fake Gaga CDs, too."
Sharon Stone is being sued by former nanny Erlinda T. Elemen, who claims the "Basic Instinct" actress insulted her Filipino heritage and fired her after discovering she had been paid overtime.
Elemen's suit says she worked for Stone for more than four years and was promoted to head nanny, but was fired after the actress demanded she return OT payments.
Elemen's complaint states that Stone's accountants made the payments because the nanny worked on vacations and holidays, but Stone did not approve.
Her publicist, Paul Bloch, wrote in a statement that Elemen was a disgruntled former employee and called her claims absurd and fabricated.
Goodbye, dolly
Candy Spelling, the widow of TV producer Aaron Spelling, is suing a Maryland auction house that sold part of her extensive collection of antique dolls, claiming it owes her money and failed to return unsold items.
Candy offered nearly 400 of her dolls for sale at a Theriault's auction in New York City in November. One doll, a plastic ballerina with a white lace and satin tutu, sold for $11,000, according to an online record of the sale. The published prices for the dolls total about $460,000.
"We are saddened at this dispute with an important customer, and are puzzled at this turn of events, especially since, until her lawyers got involved, Mrs. Spelling had voiced nothing but unqualified compliments regarding the services we were providing," Theriault president Stuart Holbrook said in a statement.
TATTBITS
Elton John is canceling this weekend's Las Vegas performances of "The Million Dollar Piano" after being hospitalized with a respiratory infection. Doctors have recommended he not perform for a week and take antibiotics.
Tim McGraw is giving away 25 mortgage-free houses — one for each stop on his upcoming "Brothers of the Sun" tour with Kenny Chesney — to wounded or needy service members. McGraw will kick off the campaign with a Memorial Day concert for military members at New York City's Beacon Theatre during Fleet Week.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend.