kristian-laliberte

The Return of Paul Johnson-Calderon

cityfile · 05/14/09 10:11AM

A couple of months ago, social scenester Paul Johnson-Calderon got caught up in a messy little scandal when he was accused of stealing a woman's handbag at the Eldridge. Calderon retreated from the scene to lick his wounds and mourn over his empty mailbox. But he's back, apparently. The party-hopping "writer" made his "official reappearance" at a benefit last week for Operation Smile. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned, at least according to fellow 'mocialite Kristian Laliberte who says that while Calderon has promised to show up with Tinsley Mortimer on his arm, she was a no-show and he had to settle for conversation with "less prominent friends." More details on this tragic turn of events below.

The Monday Party Report

cityfile · 03/30/09 11:22AM

Tyra Banks, Suze Orman, Keith Olbermann, and Phil Donahue were among the honorees at the 20th annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Marriott Marquis on Saturday night. A few of the people on hand for the occasion: Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan (left), Chris Noth, Clay Aiken, T.R. Knight, Tim Gunn, Christian Siriano, Cherry Jones, Robert Verdi, Heather Matarazzo and Carolyn Murphy, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Ana Ortiz, Junior Vasquez, Jay Manuel, Hanna Storm, Brad Rowe, Jenny Shimizu, Stockard Channing, Judith Light, S. Epatha Merkerson, State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, and Hedda Lettuce. [PMc, Wireimage, Advocate, Access Hollywood]

Celebrity Theft: A Recession Tragedy

Ryan Tate · 03/06/09 02:26AM

Sure the economic collapse is hurting jobless poors or whatever but you know what's really tragic? That celebrities no longer get offered quality swag, so they have to steal it. Take Kristian Laliberte.

Devorah Rose, Fabulist Extraordinaire

cityfile · 12/31/08 12:46PM

This week marked the debut of The City, the New York-centric MTV reality show that follows Whitney Port flitting around town with her fellow DVF "co-worker" Olivia Palermo. New York honored the grand occasion with a feature by David Amsden, who observed that Palermo isn't the only fixture on the social scene who has been in search of reality TV stardom. There's also Deborah Trachtenberg—otherwise known as Devorah Rose—the "26-year-old editor of Social Life magazine, who recently sold an idea (currently called Social Heights) to ABC about the lives of her and her close friends, the publicist Kristian Laliberte and diamond heiress Annabel Vartanian." Props to Devorah for managing to squeeze two lies by New York's factcheckers in the same sentence. She's actually 29, not 26. And the sale of that reality TV concept? Well, that came as news to ABC, who said they'd never even heard of the show.

The Wednesday Party Report

cityfile · 11/26/08 01:38PM

At last night's opening night party for the New York City Ballet's David H. Koch Theater, guest of honor David Koch and wife Julia mingled with Candace Bushnell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alicia Keys, Al Roker, Debbie Bancroft, Lisa Falcone, Mary Alice Stephenson, Alexandra Lebenthal, Zani Gugelmann, Annie Churchill, Peter Martins, Veronica Webb, Mark Indelicato, Blythe Danner, Valentino, Rachel Roy, Derek Lam, Peter Som, and Vanessa Williams, who all ate, drank, and danced to inaugurate the new Lincoln Center venue. [Wireimage, PMc, Style.com]

Park Ave Peerage: A PR-Seeking Socialite's Best Friend

cityfile · 10/28/08 11:58AM

James Kurisunkal is the boy wonder behind Park Avenue Peerage, the blog that breathlessly catalogs life in the 10021 social bubble. If you keep up with the Upper East Side hierarchy and you've ever wondered how Kurisunkal (pictured here with the Tinz) interacts with the young ladies he showers with attention, a look at the lengthy email correspondence between James and embattled novelist/socialite Tatiana Boncompagni may enlighten you. The email was forwarded to us as evidence that Tatiana has been passing herself off as the daughter of an Italian princess. More interesting, though, is how Kurisunkal asks Tatiana to change a reference in her novel from "Park Avenue Peerage" to "Fashion Week Daily" (the passage in question is describing a website that gets fed items by publicists), how the PAP founder says he holds his "website to a higher standard [than] Vogue [and] W," and just how much leverage you can get from sending James big boxes of cookies on a regular basis. Also? He's no fan of Anisha Lakhani and Kristian Laliberte, in case you're keeping track at home. The full email below.

Partying Like It's Paris 1940

Sheila · 09/26/08 09:51AM

Socialgay and soon-to-be reality show victim Kristian Laliberte isn't too worried about the financial crisis, even though he works in PR. He told the Observer that the parties might be a little less lavish, but will basically be fine. (Isn't that what clueless Parisian socialites were saying on the eve of the German invasion?)

The Weekend That Was

cityfile · 07/21/08 02:37PM

(1) The 9th annual Art For Life Benefit took place on Saturday at Russell Simmons' East Hampton house. Despite tickets not selling out as fast as usual, the event played host to Aretha Franklin, Christy Turlington, Lorraine Bracco, Soledad O'Brien, David Paterson, Diddy, Padma Lakshmi, Brett Ratner, LA Reid, the cast of Real Housewives of New York, Al Roker, Kelly Bensimon, Alina Cho, Simon de Pury, and Porschla Coleman—whose break up with Simmons, judging by their behavior, is either incredibly amicable or no longer in effect. [PMc]

Someone Get Kristian Laliberte a Spin Doctor!

Sheila · 06/20/08 09:28AM

Socialgay PR flack Kristian Laliberte (rhymes with oh-kay) is surprisingly bad at managing his own public relations. His identity has already been stolen over the Internet and he thinks Page Six magazine's Joshua Stein is writing an article about him! (He isn't, though.) How to spin the situation in his favor? Write a long, rambling email, with allegations ranging from dubious to untrue. Among the most important rumors he'd like to debunk? "Suggestions of me air kissing those who hate me are so off base it's laughable. I'm a germophobic and notoriously shy." Also, "I know for a fact that the people behind this sinister prank will be revealed in as little as two weeks time."

Kristian Laliberte: Liar

Sheila · 05/28/08 01:35PM

Why lie? It makes things so much more complicated. And a PR flack—like absurd socialgay Kristian Laliberte—should know by now how to twist the truth instead of changing it outright. Laliberte's email and Facebook were recently hacked into. "My PR efforts are focused on getting positive press for my clients—-my friends are only mentioned (in a positive light) to news outlets if and when they are involved with events I am working on," he wrote us today, in response to allegations that he leaks information on his frenemies. But Laliberte does leak info—not all positive—about people he knows. And we can tell you that for a fact!