♦ Is Lauren Bush supporting Barack Obama? Maybe. The niece of the president praised the Democratic nominee in a recent interview and she decided against using her family name for her new clothing line, Lauren Pierce, taking her grandmother's maiden name instead. [P6]
♦ Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are either engaged or splitting up, depending on what you read. [Daily Mail, MSN]
♦ Marc Jacobs is supposedly jealous that his ex, Jason Preston, is dating someone else, even though he has a new boyfriend of his own, too. [P6]
♦ He can't afford a plane, but Diddy did get to upgrade to a new Rolls-Royce last week. [P6]
♦ In a new memoir, Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady from The Brady Bunch) says she used to trade sex for coke. [NYDN]
Lauren Bush, the niece of the president and girlfriend of fashion scion David Lauren, is 24 today. Hope David got you something nice, hon! Warm birthday wishes to Desiree Gruber, uber-publicist, Project Runway exec producer, wife of Kyle MacLachlan, and dog fanatic. She's 41 today. Television chef Anthony Bourdain is 52. Director Sidney Lumet is 84. Gay activist Larry Kramer turns 73. And hedge fund manager Julian Robertson is 76.
And you thought Rachael Ray's greatest crime was inundating the airwaves with cheesy catchphrases and popularizing mediocre recipes. According to some conservative wackos, she might be a terrorist sympathizer, too: After the daytime star was spotted wearing a keffiyeh-style scarf in a recent Dunkin' Donuts ad, right-wing squawkers like Michelle Malkin immediately proposed a boycott of the chain, claiming the garb was "a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos." The coffee giant blamed the fashion faux pas on a stylist today and announced it was halting the campaign effective immediately. But Ray is hardly the first famous person to be seen wearing the trademark Arab garb. Keffiyehs have been worn by downtown hipsters and celebs for years now. And Malkin conveniently failed to point out that the trend seems to have caught on with some of George W. Bush's closest family members, too.
When we heard that George W. Bush's approval rating had hit a record Nixonian low of 28%, we became incredibly concerned about this finding's implications. Would there be immediate repercussions? Who would be most affected? We turned, of course, to Socialite Rank for the answer, which is, duh: socialite cousins Lauren and Ashley Bush. Apparently, these ladies' social rankings have borne the brunt of their infamous uncle's unpopularity. While Ashley is valiantly carrying on, debut-ballin' and cultivating the friendship of mini-Andre Leon Talley, Teen Vogue's Kimball Hastings, Lauren Bush is becoming downright obscure:
And here's the full-court-press Good experience at last. The philanthropically minded mag venture celebrated its birth last night at Chelsea's Emergency Arts, and Gawker was there, and there. But wherever there is an open bar and tragically vulnerable boldface names, you can surely find Intern in Perpetuity Neel Shah. After the jump, enjoy one of Neel's trademark productions of fearless investigatory reportage, coupled with the cheerfully impolitic photography of Jennifer Snow. You got more Al Gore, more Matthew Modine, and even a few cupsful of Amanda Congdon, plus a gaggle of other well-meaning New York media mandarins.
· Speculation about which antagonist will be invited to the White House Correspondent's Dinner on April 26th: Matt Drudge reports that several media outlets are considering documentarian Michael Moore, most recently famous for his anti-Bush tirade during the Oscars. [Page Six]
· President Bush's favorite painting of himself was done by a former gay porn star. [Page Six]
· FHM's 50 Most Eligible Bachelorettes include Lauren Bush (1), Pia Getty (6), the Hilton sisters (19), Charlotte Ronson (23), and J-Lo's sister (41). [Page Six]
· One of actress Melanie Griffith's most prized possessions is a bronze replica of husband Antonio Banderas's phallus that she keeps in their bedroom. [Page Six]
· Yoko Ono on John Lennon: "He would never say: 'Let's go dancing,' It's kind of a woman thing, I guess." [NY Daily News]
· Creepy: Billy Joel's new girlfriend bears a strong resemblance to his daughter. [Page Six]
· Leona Helmsley's grandson, who she reportedly ostracized for marrying someone who wasn't Jewish, is back in her good graces. [Page Six]
· First Niece, Lauren Bush, is being grounded in New York due to "security concerns." She's not allowed to study abroad in London or do European fashion shows. [Page Six]
· A portent of things to come: Teddy Roosevelt's pit bull Pete tore off the French ambassador's pants during a White House reception. [Cindy Adams]
· Robin Williams on what to do with Saddam: "Let [him] run a movie studio. He can make bombs there." Joe Millionaire got booed at the Knicks-Warriors game when he appeared on the GardenVision big screen. Ex-City Councilman Andrew Eristoff is selling memorabilia from his political life on eBay. [NY Daily News]
· "Full-Frontal Fashion" host Robert Verdi is throwing a brunch party at Bobby Flay's house this afternoon for "fashion heavy-hitters" Alex Wek, Iman and Fern Mallis. Barbecued celery sticks, valium, and martinis, anyone? [Page Six]
· The tempest in the Limoges teapot subsides: Vanity Fair issues an apology for Dame Edna's remarks about learning Spanish. [Page Six]
· Leona Helmsley waxes philosophical on "bows": "Yes, I think they're pretty. Very feminine. I like being feminine. You get away with murder." [Page Six]
· The Word reports that Annie Leibovitz is being sued by bond trader Robert Snider, who alleges she's been waging a terror campaign of unnecessary household repairs that inevitably result in collapsing walls, bursting water pipes, and the cutting of phone cords to run his family out of a building she wants to sell. In other news, Harper's Bazaar Editor Glenda Bailey is refusing to be photographed with ex-Editor, Kate Betts. Alsosomething something fashion week something bony carcasses something website something something. [The Word]
· An assistant in Daniel Libeskind's Berlin office started a letter writing campaign against NYT architecture critic Herbert Muschamp; Lauren Bush is doing her part to improve international relations by dating Palestinian-American Tammer Qaddumi; and Lizzie Grubman's getting reality TV show offers. [NY Daily News]
