Gossip / Rumors

Don't worry about Jamie Lynn Spears and her beau-- we're hearing they're still as close as two teens who have their whole lives ahead of them can be.

This week Star mag had the two in Splitsville (is that near Kentwood??), but our spies tell us the two are as close as "peanut butter and jelly," calling the story "absolute bulls**t."

Jeff, it's Lachey -- not "Latchee." And he was dating Vanessa Minnillo, not Alyssa Milano.

Don't go printing her a scarlet letter just yet. We're told the dude is her BFF ex-assistant who now works for Drew's production company, Flower Films.

Audrina Patridge and her sister Casey had a few drinks in West Hollywood the night before last -- and the evening played out like a lame-ass episode of "The Hills."

TMZ spies overheard Audrina say she's now totally exclusive with borefriend/slacker Justin Bobby -- and LC is giving her the same cold shoulder she gave Heidi after the whole Spencer debacle.

And get this: Audrina said she might move out of Lauren's pad and shack up with Justin Bobby! Lucky bastard.

We know this is going to sound ridiculous, but Scarlett Johansson's engagement ring is actually blingier and more ballin' than she's letting on.

The buzz on ScarJo's bling is that the ring -- designed by Sonia Boyajian -- is around three carats and cost about $30K. Not so, we're told -- the ring is actually "north" of four carats -- and set Ryan back a cool $120,000! Get a piece of that rock.

Will Smith has dropped a bunch of money into opening up a new school in Calabasas, according to a report in the National Enquirer.

But we did a little digging, and the New Village Academy's website indicates that one of their models of learning is something called "Study Technology" -- a method created by none other than L. Ron Hubbard. The school also emphasizes the teaching of ethics and survival -- again, big topics in Scientology.

While Smith is not mentioned per se on the school's site, his reps did not deny his involvement. Instead, they gave TMZ the generic, "no comment", when questioned about his involvement in both the school and the Church.

So is he, or isn't he - a Scientologist, that is. According to Big Willy, he's not.

Please do not run out and buy Ellen DeGeneres wedding gifts.

Yesterday, TMZ broke the story that Ellen had announced her impending nuptials to girlfriend Portia de Rossi. Right before, the talk show host issued a statement, lauding the court's decision to overturn California's ban on gay marriage, adding, "P.S. I'm registered at Crate & Barrel." Problem is, someone then thought it would be funny to actually register in the couple's name.

While Ellen and Portia are planning on tying the knot, they want to make sure that everyone knows that they are not registered -- anywhere.

We'd make a joke here, but we're afraid people will take it seriously.

Is the Food Network trying to win over a younger audience by slicing and dicing a contestant's age on "The Next Food Network Star"?

According to his online profile, season four contestant Jeffrey Vaden is 43-years-old. But on the show, he was credited as being a sprightly 39. Foodnetworkaddict.com was the first to have the keen eye. Is this a case of bad editing -- or bad numbers?

According to their profiles, the other contestants on the show, save for one woman, are all in their 20s and 30s. Are two 40-year-olds two too many?

UPDATE: The Food Network just released this statement to TMZ:
"The contestant (Jeffrey Vaden) mistakenly wrote his age as 39 on his initial application, but also provided his correct year of birth and later verified it with the network. The correct age of 43 was used in all network materials but due to a production mistake, the incorrect age was included in the show and the online video. We are correcting the mistake immediately."

Shanna says they're just friends, and this time we actually believe 'em -- sources close to the couple tell us the same exact thing.

Could LeBron James' whole $10 tip on an $800 meal incident be just a big misunderstanding?

The owner of the XO Prime Steaks, where the whole stingy scene went down, has issued the following statement:

For the record, XO would like to clear up a misunderstanding resulting from a story that appeared in the Cleveland Scene on May 7th...Upon completion of his meal, Mr. James paid his bill with a credit card. Our waiter mistakenly read the receipt, inferring that Mr. James had left him only a $10 tip. To clear up the misunderstanding, Mr. James arranged for an appropriate tip to be delivered to the restaurant for the waiter.

Star Jones unleashed a verbal ass-whooping on Barbara Walters today, telling Us Weekly, "It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters, in the sunset of her life, is reduced to publicly branding herself as an adulterer, humiliating an innocent family with accounts of her illicit affair and speaking negatively against me all for the sake of selling a book ... It speaks to her true character."

Star is referring to the revelation Walters made that she had an affair with then-married Senator Edward Brooke during the 1970s -- and the fact that Walters claims in her new book Jones forced her to lie on "The View" about Jones' gastric bypass surgery.

Does she own any regular clothes or just bikinis? Not that we're complaining ...

She's a family person, y'all!

A TMZ fan snapped this photo of Derek Hough and Shannon Elizabeth in the streets of New York today.