Going too far for the father?
Madonna‘s first televised interview about her adoption of an African child is scheduled to air Wednesday on Oprah Winfrey‘s show – even as the boy’s father is having second thoughts.
Yohane Banda says he would not have signed adoption papers had he realized he was giving up 13-month-old David “for good.”
“Our understanding was that they would educate and take care of our son just as they were doing at the orphanage” and later return him, says the illiterate Malawian farmer, whose wife died shortly after giving birth.
The boy was taken to London last week after Malawi’s High Court granted Madonna and director husband Guy Ritchie an interim adoption order.
Meanwhile, a hearing on a lawsuit by human rights groups challenging the adoption has been scheduled for Friday.
Critics complain Madonna and Ritchie were allowed to sidestep a Malawi adoption law requiring prospective parents to live in the country for 18 months while being evaluated.
Crossed off
Speaking of Madonna, in the wake of boycott threats, NBC has agreed to trim shots of a controversial mock crucifixion from a special based on her current concert tour.
The singer contends that her appearance on a mirrored cross, wearing a crown of thorns, was meant to illustrate a theme of confession, but Catholic leaders around the world have called it blasphemous.
The special is scheduled to air Nov. 22, the night before Thanksgiving.
No return?
Wesley Snipes will continue filming his new movie in Namibia, as planned, despite the U.S. warrant for his arrest on tax fraud charges.
“As far as we understand, Wesley is not going to be arrested in Namibia,” says Joanne Reay, producer of “Gallowwalker,” adding: “We are aware of the issue around the tax charges, but we are not discussing it.”
Snipes, accused of trying to cheat the government out of nearly $12 million in false refund claims and not filing returns for six years, could face up to 16 years in prison.
Tooth or consequences
Rapper Foxy Brown could be jailed if she misses her sentencing today on assault charges.
Brown failed to appear Monday for a hearing on a motion to withdraw her guilty plea, and her lawyer said she was recovering at home from a dental procedure.
The judge denied the motion and said that if Brown failed to show up today, a plea deal sparing her jail time would be voided and she would be sentenced to a year behind bars.
Urban decay
Country singer Keith Urban apparently will celebrate his 39th birthday on Thursday at an alcohol rehab center.
Less than four months after his marriage to Nicole Kidman, Urban checked himself in to the undisclosed center last week.
“One can never let one’s guard down on recovery, and I’m afraid that I have,” said Urban, who had acknowledged a previous cocaine addiction.
The birthday bunch
Actor-producer David Nelson (“The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”) is 70. Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman is 70. Actor F. Murray Abraham is 67. Actor Kevin Kline is 59. Singer Monica is 26.