Shaquille O'Neal and Justin Bieber: Unexpected

Take this, Westboro Baptist Church!

You can call Justin Bieber a sinner and an affront to God all you'd like, but you can't hold the young singer down!

Instead of wallowing in such absurd insults, Bieber is moving ahead with his career, looking to expand his audience by appearing on season two of Shaq Vs.

In that reality show, the NBA legend takes on a variety of celebrities in their fields of expertise, from athletics to dancing to cooking. In Justin's case, of course, this means singing, something O'Neal attempts to do below, joining in with Bieber for a duet during the latter's concert rehearsal in Phoenix.

American Idol Upheaval: Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi Out, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler In?

American Idol is apparently cleaning house.

Talk of who will fill Simon Cowell's vacant seat on the hit show's panel now shifts to who will replace the other two departing judges: Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi will not be returning next season either, according to reports.

DeGeneres, who joined the show in its ninth season earlier this year, confirmed in a statement that she told Fox it "didn’t feel like the right fit for me.”

“I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and would hold off until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next," she said. "It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.”

The class act added: “I loved the experience working on Idol, am very grateful for the year I had, am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”

In the same statement, American Idol creator and executive producer Simon Fuller says, “I loved Ellen’s passion for the artists and her nurturing skills. She brought honesty and optimism to our judging panel and I will miss her greatly."

Next year's American Idol roster will look a lot different.

But here's where it gets interesting: TMZ reports that Kara DioGuardi has been fired from the program, which will return to a three-judge format.

Fox has not acknowledged Kara's departure in a statement, but it appears it's all but official. That leaves Randy Jackson as the last man standing.

The show will reportedly be going back to a three-judge panel of Randy and a couple of high-profile newcomers: Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.

This so-called "nuclear option" of blowing up nearly the entire panel has been kicked around for months, but nevertheless comes as a surprise.

Stars ranging from Harry Connick, Jr., to Bret Michaels, Chris Isaak and even Jessica Simpson have been rumored to be negotiating for the job.

Looks like J. Lo and the Aerosmith frontman won out.

The only way Kara could be asked back would be if the Lopez deal fell apart, but TMZ's sources claim it is already a done deal. Crazy stuff!

Bethenny Taking Care of a Newborn Baby?

Last week on the show with the most unnecessary punctuation mark in history - Bethenny Getting Married? - the titular star gave birth to daughter Bryn.

This week, she actually had to take care of Bryn. The celebration of life continued, sure. But would the struggles of caring for a newborn overwhelm her?

Take it away, THG Real Housewives correspondent....

Ah, the sweet and precious introduction of a new reality television star. This time it’s a one-day-old baby who is about as big as an artichoke.

This is little Bryn Hoppy, Bethenny and Jason’s daughter. She was born five weeks early and is a cute little pipsqueak. Her parents are, of course, totally in love. This episode marked a change in Bethenny - away from non-stop snark and fast-paced sarcasm and towards sweet, goo-goo baby love bliss and sleep-deprived incoherence.

At the beginning, Jason’s parents came to visit their new grandchild at Lenox Hill Hospital, evidently the hospital where all the rich people go in New York City.

Bethenny announces the baby’s name is Bryn, after Jason’s late brother, Bryan.

Jason’s mom is very emotional and it’s a sweet moment. But then Bethenny makes us laugh again as she and Jason wrangle with the new breast pump.

She says, “I never thought that when I was in da club with Jason that he would be my breast pumping assistant.” I love Bethenny’s ability to keep us laughing, even when she was crying the moment before.

Little Bryn is so teeny-tiny and adorable.

She reminded me of my beloved ‘80s-vintage Cabbage Patch Preemie as Jason gently rubs her back and whispers to her about all they will do in the future—dance classes, yes, but basketball and golf too. “My little chickpea,” Jason calls Bryn.

He makes Bethenny laugh until we fear she’ll pop a stitch. This new family is definitely in a good place. No signs of postpartum nuttiness from Bethenny, at least not yet. She doesn’t seem the type to go all Brooke Shields on us.

Kroy Biermann: Dating Kim Zolciak for Some Reason

Kroy Biermann is a 24-year old defense end for the Atlanta Falcons with seven sacks over his first two seasons.

Not shabby, but not impressive enough to get the young NFL player noticed across the Internet.

That could at least explain why Biermann has taken the arm of 42-year old Kim Zolciak. According to Life & Style, The Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member has been dating the professional baller for about two months.

A source says the pair attended the wedding of Zolciak's co-star, Cynthia Bailey, on Saturday, and were spotted “laughing, kissing and have a great time together.”

Guess this means Kroy would answer this pressing question in the affirmative.

Over the past year or so, Zolciak has been linked with some dude known as Big Poppa and some female DJ named Tracy Young. Not exactly tough company for Kroy Biermann to live up to.

Believing that the shackles of justice are simply too tight for spoiled celebrities who drive drunk, then repeatedly violate their probation, some Lindsay Lohan fans who apparently lack hobbies and/or jobs staged a rally in NYC.

A Free Lindsay Rally.

Supporting the troubled star for reasons unknown, fans rallied at Beach Bum Tanning in New York, a salon once used by Lindsay, sister Ali and mom Dina.

Protesters railed against the "harsh treatment Lindsay is receiving," noting that Lohan was given twice the time Paris Hilton was for a similar violation.

They've got a point there, technically ... but it's not exactly a grave injustice, and even more ridiculously, Lindsay is getting out like this weekend.

Believing that the shackles of justice are simply too tight for spoiled celebrities who drive drunk, then repeatedly violate their probation, some Lindsay Lohan fans who apparently lack hobbies and/or jobs staged a rally in NYC.

A Free Lindsay Rally.

Supporting the troubled star for reasons unknown, fans rallied at Beach Bum Tanning in New York, a salon once used by Lindsay, sister Ali and mom Dina.

Protesters railed against the "harsh treatment Lindsay is receiving," noting that Lohan was given twice the time Paris Hilton was for a similar violation.

They've got a point there, technically ... but it's not exactly a grave injustice, and even more ridiculously, Lindsay is getting out like this weekend.

Kanye West Creates Twitter Account

Kanye West finally joined Twitter yesterday.

Upon hearing this, we had two thoughts:

1. How was Kanye not on Twitter already?
2. It's only a matter of time until Taylor Swift's account gets hijacked and Kanye's is proclaimed the greatest Twitter account of all time! OF ALL TIME!

Just kidding. Kanye's entry into the Twitter-verse began with this simple, boring declaration: "Up early in the morning taking meetings in Silicone Valley."

But then: "Lol I spelled Silicon wrong ( I guess I was still thinking about the other type of silicone ITS A PROCESS!! : )," Yup, he's definitely arrived.

The big surprise to those of us who follow West is that his Tweets are not in CAPS LOCK, the rapper's preferred method of communication on his blog.

Instead, he seems to prefer no capitalization or punctuation at all. Makes it a bit tough to read, but we'll take it over all caps. Much less threatening.

Kanye West may have joined Twitter later than many stars, but he can take comfort in the fact that his arrival was highly celebrated and anticipated:

He's already cracked 200,000 followers, and "predictedkanyetweets" - in which fans predicted future Kanye-isms - was a Trending Topic yesterday.

Jersey Shore's Deena Nicole: The Rundown

Jersey Shore's second season premieres tonight on MTV.

You will not be seeing Deena Nicole on it.

Still with Angelina Pivarnick out for Season 3 (she was apparently back for Season 2 after being out for Season 1), there’s room in the Seaside Heights enclave for a hot new guidette, and they've apparently found one in Snooki's friend.

Deena Nicole, real name Deena Nicole Cortese, is reportedly filming the reality show’s third season in N.J. Here's the brief rundown on her ...

Watch out, Jersey Shore. Deena Nicole has arrived.

Real Jersey girl. Unlike The Situation, Snooki, Ronnie, Vinny and Pauly D, Cortese is the real deal. She hails from New Egypt, N.J., in Ocean County. Wonder what New Jersey's Governor, who hates the show, thinks about that.

Snooki's pal. Cortese goes way back with Jersey Shore leading lady Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. The pickle-loving reality star even reportedly helped Cortese get cast on the show. Cute.

Single status. Before deleting her Myspace page, Cortese posted that she was a single lady. But - sorry guys - one that's currently "not looking for anything."

Kate Major Sues Michael Lohan Over Pics

Kate Major has lawyered up against her ex-fiance Michael Lohan, and we can't say we blame her, given that the dude leaked topless pics of her online.

In a cease and desist letter to Lohan, her attorney writes:

"We have become aware that you are illegally selling or offering for sale one or more nude photographs of Ms. Major to kikster LLC and other websites."

Yep, he's hawking pics of Kate Major nude. This is after he allegedly attacked her and they broke off their engagement. He's one classy guy, that M-Lo.

Michael Lohan and then-fiancee Kate Major.

The letter states that the photos were taken without the knowledge of Kate, Lindsay's former assistant, and she did not consent to them going public.

Kate and her attorney are demanding that Michael stop pitching the pics. A similar letter was sent to Kikster demanding that it take down the photos.

In his defense, Michael has denied selling the photos of Major and insists they were stolen. He has zero credibility, however, and is most likely lying.

Just going by the odds.

Guess we know where Lindsay Lohan gets her bad excuses from. She's responsible for her own mess, but having the worst dad on Earth can't help.

Angelina Jolie Takes North Korea to Task

Better watch your back, Kim Jong Il. Angelina Jolie will totally kick your ass. Oh, and your huge '80s sunglasses look effing ridiculous, BTW. Just saying.

Jolie was in Seoul, South Korea, today to promote her latest action thriller, Salt, which opens with a scene that takes place in a North Korean prison.

That's not her only connection with the Korean Peninsula, of course. The actress and humanitarian is deeply worried about the people of North Korea.

The persecution defectors face when repatriated to the rogue state appalled Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Seoul-based officials from the U.N. refugee agency brought the star up to date on the current state of affairs there, and she was naturally appalled.

“They spoke a lot about the concerns about people being persecuted when they are sent back,” she said. “I’m very concerned about the people.”

Tens of thousands of people from impoverished North Korea have migrated to neighboring China in recent years, activists say, but it's very risky.

Many are sent back due to an agreement between North Korea and China. Some 19,000 have made it to South Korea, where they are protected.

“I learned today about them gaining citizenship and crossing into South Korea,” Angelina Jolie, who was also promoting her movie, told reporters.

“The UNHCR practices quiet diplomacy in which they do more than they talk about.”

As always, kudos to Angelina for using her high-profile status to bring attention to issues and people who truly need it. She sets a great example.

Kendall Jenner on Controversial Bikini Shoot: It's All Good!

As much as it pains us, we must give Kendall Jenner some credit.

The 14-year old half-sister of Khloe, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian responded this week to the controversy surrounding her recent photo shoot. Instead of getting on some high horse and telling the world to focus on more important issues (we're looking at you, Miley Cyrus), Kendall came across as mature and understanding of the situation.

"I am excited to be working as a model, doing what I love to do," she told People. "My entire family was very supportive, though my dad was a bit concerned at first, he knows that I am responsible enough that I wouldn’t do anything I wasn’t ready to do, or didn’t want to do.”

Kendall continued:

“Going into this shoot, it was never my intention to be provocative or too racy. It was a beach shoot, and I was wearing beachwear. I am happy with my age, and am not trying to rush into anything too soon. I look forward to all the milestones my teens have to offer - Sweet 16, turning 18, and so on.”

We still believe Jenner should wait a few years before donning so few items of clothing in a nationally-published shoot.

But at least she recognizes the reasons behind the scandal and acknowledges that she's barely even a teenager. Gotta give her - or the publicist behind this statement, really - props for handling the situation in such a straightforward manner.

Report: Simon Monjack Drained Brittany Murphy's Bank Accounts

The late Brittany Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, was shrouded in mystery and suspicion from the moment they wed in 2007 until his own death this year.

Now new allegations are flying about her controversial spouse, whose business manager, Jeffrey Morgenroth, says he liquidated a majority of her accounts.

"There were huge amounts in pension and bank accounts, and all of that's gone," he says. "There was money being withdrawn by Simon, hundreds of thousands."

Six months after the 32-year-old star's death in December from pneumonia, anemia and drug intoxication, Monjack had withdrawn 80 percent of her wealth.

His own death from anemia and pneumonia in May ended this sad saga on a tragic note, likely relegating any ulterior motives he had to speculation alone.

Where is the money? What was he doing with it? One person it matters deeply to is Brittany's mom Sharon, 57, who faces financial uncertainty as a result.

Troubled follows Simon Monjack, even in death.

After Monjack died, Jeannette Bycott, an assistant to Morgenroth, says Monjack's mom Linda ordered Sharon Murphy to leave the couple's Hollywood Hills house.

Both Murphys and Monjack lived in the house, and Brittany's mother spoke fondly of Simon, at least in public, in the wake of Brittany's tragic passing.

"Linda basically started acting like everything belongs to her," says Bycott. "Before Sharon could say anything, Linda stated the house was now hers."

Linda Monjack, also grieving the loss of her child, denies any wrongdoing by Simon. "If there is money missing I have no idea where it is," she said.

"He didn't get much, maybe a few hundred dollars, and he paid off debts with it. He spent most of his time crying his eyes out most of the time."

"He was in a terrible state."

Ali Fedotowsky: Content With What She Did!

The Bachelorette season finale is just days away, and viewers are going nuts trying to figure out if Ali Fedotowsky picks Chris Lambton or Roberto Martinez.

Or, if you're the type to believe The Bachelorette spoilers we've teased for weeks, she rejects both, and is single to this day. What does she have to say?

“I was trying to be smart and fall in love with my heart, but use my head too,” she told People in its new cover story of starring on The Bachelorette.

“Sometimes the right thing is the hardest thing to do, and it’s definitely hard to hurt somebody. No matter what happens in the end, I hurt somebody.”

Hmm. There's that, and there's Us Weekly, which is really going out of its way to convince us she's engaged, despite offering absolutely no evidence.

Which is it - and if she is engaged, to whom? Is it true what other sources say, that Roberto proposes? If he does, are they still together now?

DIFFERENT STORIES: Ali's engaged? Some beg to differ.

It's worth noting that mere days before the final rose ceremony, no clips of her standing with either guy, or of the guy(s) walking toward her has been shown.

Was there no final rose ceremony? Was it filmed in secret to prevent the outcome from being leaked? Is ABC just bad at promoting its cash cow reality show?

Whatever the case, it's definitely odd, since Chris Lambton and Roberto Martinez are both so popular. Even fans who prefer one or the other really like both.

Host-pimp Chris Harrison says the finale is "surprising" and "unlike anything in the history of the show." "It's true from the last chance dates," he told E!

"And from those on into 'proposal day,' at the end. Everything is different than what our fans have seen in years past. People will be surprised. Whether it's good or not, Ali's happy with it and she's sticking by it. It'll be interesting."

Hmm. After seeing her recently, Chris adds:

"She looked healthier, she looked happy. She had a smile on her face and a bounce in her step again. The season took a lot out of her. It was a rough road, but she's good. She's very happy and content with what she did."

Will Jessica Simpson replace Simon Cowell on American Idol?

It's possible, according to Life & Style!

So is Mel Gibson winning Humanitarian of the Year honors, but hey. Anything's possible! Why not run with it for some quick hits if you're a third-rate magazine?

According to the celebrity gossip rag, Jessica is in negotiations to become the newest judge on American Idol! Sources say that she has already met with the producers and everyone really "likes" her. Now, it's just a matter of fitting her in.

Riiiiight.

BAG IT: Whatever "source" planted this story must be closely tied to Jessica, whose career loses relevancy by the month. [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

Had this news surfaced a year ago, with Jessica's name thrown around as a possible replacement Paula Abdul, that would at least make some sense.

Is Akshay Kumar avoiding Priyanka Chopra?

Bollywood celebs Priyanka Chopra and Akshay Kumar may avoid crossing each others path in party circle but as destiny had it, co-incidentally their television shows were slotted to air at the same time and weekday was reported.

However, the news of Akshay’s show Master cook India on Star Plus which is the Indian version of Top Chef that aired on AXN was expected to go on air in the same time period and on the same weekday that of Priyanka Chopra’s Khatron Ke Khiladi on Colors.

And now the buzz is that the show will now be aired on weekends. The time slot and the launch date has not yet been finalised. Akshay’s spokesperson says that the show was to never conflict with Priyanka’s show.

In fact, the actor has left it to the channel to choose on the time slot, date of launch etc.