James Franco poses for a transvestite magazine. Kim Kardashian is "down for some hookups." Michael Lohan tries to visit Lindsay and gets rejected. Freak escalator accident nearly kills Bruce Willis. Wednesday gossip is full of surprises.

  • James Franco did a cover for Candy, "the first fashion magazine ever completely dedicated to celebrating transvestism, transexuality, cross dressing, and androgyny, in all its manifestations." With his hair slicked back and waxy red lips, our dear James (who is says he's not gay,

just gay-seeming and really into art) makes for a handsome woman, of the mid-career Liza Minnelli mould. Fun fact: Famed fashion pervert Terry Richardson photographed James in drag, according to this video Candy made to promote the issue. [HuffPost]

  • Kim Kardashian is "down for some hookups" now that she's single, but not with Kanye West, even though he dropped by the Kardashian sisters' new New York boutique yesterday. "We wanted to show him our new designs of the store," she said. "I was not checking out his ass." That's what he said to her, too. [E!]
  • Yesterday we saw pictures of Chelsea Handler and 50 Cent on what looked like a date and now Us reports they're actually dating: "It's been going on awhile. It's more of a hookup thing—whenever they are in the same town." Chelsea's mid-life phase is full of surprises. [Us]
  • Michael Lohan went to the Betty Ford Center to visit daughter Lindsay in rehab and was turned away by security. Already, rehab has cut toxic substances from LiLo's life! [TMZ, TMZ]
  • Jessica Alba is unhappy with her post-baby body: "My breasts are saggy, I've got cellulite, my hips are bigger... every actress out there is more beautiful than me." This quote will appear beside half-naked, greased-up "come hither" photos for British GQ. Here's a video from the photoshoot. [JJ]

  • New celebrities speaking out about the bullying of gay teens: Tim Gunn, who admitted to attempting suicide in his youth; Margaret Cho, who "was bullied a lot... and didn't want to live"; Lance Bass, who admits that during his closeted youth he bullied gay-seeming kids to help himself fit in. [Popwatch]
  • A freak escalator accident nearly killed Bruce Willis. At a MoMA movie screening, "the escalator taking guests down to the theater accelerated to near-carnival-ride speed. Women started screaming and one did a high-flying jump off, nearly landing on Bruce." [P6]
  • Meanwhile, daughter Rumer Willis and actor boyfriend Micah Alberti have broken up. Now Rumer must begin anew the awkward process of trying to find a mate younger than her mother's. [People]
  • Oprah Winfrey performed a "crazy check" on new employee Rosie O'Donnell: "I said, 'Basically, yes. I'm doing a crazy check. If you have an issue that's causing a problem, speak to me, woman to woman.'" Apparently "the last thing Oprah wants is another Barbara Walters situation on her hands," and now Ro is "a little scared" of her boss, now, which is probably a necessary dynamic for her. [Popeater]
  • Gary Coleman's death has officially been ruled an accident. Now he can rest in peace while his non-killer ex-wife Shannon Price supports herself with the money she made selling his death photos and continues her fight for a piece of his estate. [E!]