Sorry, Madonna – but no apologies for you, Ashlee
Elton John is ready to apologize to Madonna after recently accusing the pop star of lip-syncing. “I don’t want to escalate it because I like Madonna,” John tells Entertainment Weekly. “She’s been to my house for dinner. It was something that was said in the heat of the moment, and probably should not have been said.
“Would I apologize to her if I saw her?” he added. “Yeah, because I don’t want to hurt any artist’s feelings. It was my fault. I instigated the whole thing. But it applies to all those bloody teenage singers.” (Hello, Ashlee Simpson.)
Madonna’s spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, has said the singer doesn’t lip-sync and indicated that she hadn’t taken John’s remarks too seriously.
John made the Madonna comment when presenting the Best Live Act award during the Q awards in London earlier this month. In Entertainment Weekly, he described the event as “a very drunken lunch.”
“The reaction to it was so hysterical,” he said. “It was like I said, ‘I think all gays should be killed or I think Hitler was right.’ I just said someone was lip-syncing. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. I’m not going to mellow with age. I get more enraged about things as I get older because you see that these injustices go on.”
Twinkle, twinkle, little Wayne
Sin City stalwart Wayne Newton became the first person inducted into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars during a ceremony Tuesday.
The dedication took place at the New Frontier Hotel, where “Mr. Las Vegas” performed for about 15 years. Newton, 62, can now be seen singing “Danke Schoen” at the Stardust hotel-casino.
The Motion Picture Hall of Fame Foundation launched the project, similar to the one in Hollywood, where Newton also has a star. Other names mentioned for the Las Vegas honor include Elvis Presley and famed duo Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn.
Paris comes to Vegas
Speaking of Vegas, Paris Hilton has finally found a place there that she can call home.
Tthe hotel heiress is opening Club Paris on New Year’s Eve and designing her own personal suite at the Aladdin hotel-casino on the strip. The property was purchased recently by an investment group led by Robert Earl, Planet Hollywood’s founder and chairman.
“Las Vegas is hot, Planet Hollywood is hot, and I wanted to be part of the newest, hottest resort in Las Vegas,” exclaimed Hilton, 23, while clutching her pet Chihuahua, Tinkerbell.
He was a sucker for the part
Ving Rhames has signed with USA Network for a new nine-week series of “Kojak,” debuting in March.
Telly Savalas starred as the stylish, chrome-domed, lollipop-loving Lt. Theo Kojak in the original police drama, which aired from 1973-78.
Rhames, 43, is best known for his role as Marsellus Wallace in “Pulp Fiction.” He’ll appear on the big screen next year in “Mission: Impossible III” and as Sonny Liston in “Night Train.”
Quoteworthy
Author Stephen King, in his list of Pet Peeves of 2004 (in Entertainment Weekly): “For every pretty, talented Elisha Cuthbert there is a Paris Hilton (and her little dog, too).”
The birthday bunch
Singer-actress Melba Moore is 59. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 57. Actress Kate Jackson is 56. Singer Randy Jackson (The Jacksons) is 43. Actress Joely Fisher (“Ellen”) is 37. Rapper Paris is 37. Actress Winona Ryder is 33. Actor Trevor Lissauer (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) is 31. Actor Brendan Fehr (“Roswell”) is 27.