First Rove, now Oprah! Say it ain't so. And only 20 months time to prepare...

This just in from goss blogger, Perez Hilton:

"Oprah will announce on Friday that she has decided to end her talk show. The Queen of Daytime will not be renewing her very lucrative contract and is set to change the landscape of television with her departure. The show will end on September 9, 2011, after 25 years on the air."

Widespread publication of this statement from Tim Bennett, President of Harpo Inc has also made its way around the internet:

"Over the past several weeks, my team and I have had conversations with many of you to help address your questions about the future of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Of course, the one question we couldn’t answer was the one that only Oprah could. And tomorrow, she will do just that.

Tomorrow, Oprah will announce live on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that she has decided to end what is arguably one of the most popular, influential and enduring programs in television history. The sun will set on the “Oprah” show as its 25th season draws to a close on September 9, 2011."

Speculation on Oprah's motivations and next moves continues, with the NY Times Media Decoder blog reporting:

"Ms. Winfrey will concentrate exclusively on her forthcoming cable channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. The channel is a joint venture between her production company and Discovery Communications."

Lady Gaga is coming to New Zealand – to perform her very own headline tour! It has been announced that the Gaga will be back March, 2010. We loved her at the Pussycat Dolls concert - but we bet she'll be even better doing her own thing!

Johnny Depp has nabbed the title of Sexiest Man Alive this year from People magazine. This is the second time Johnny has scored the title, making him only the third person to be a two-time winner, he now joins the ranks of George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Johnny’s win was a surprise – he’s kept a low profile for the past year, usually winners have spent a year in the public spotlight because of a major movie release. Just proves how irresistible he really is! 

 

New Moon madness is upon us! Although the film isn’t released until midnight, the world premiere was held yesterday in L.A. Kristen Stewart wore a beautiful Oscar de la Renta strapless gown, while Robert Pattinson looked super smooth in a slick suit. Other standouts for the night were Ashley Greene, who was stunning in red and Dakota Fanning in a gorgie LBD. According to Fandago.com New Moon has already smashed records – becoming the biggest advanced ticket seller, and looks set to become one of the highest grossing movies ever. Woo hoo – bring on midnight!

Janet Jackson says Dr. Conrad Murray is responsible for Michael Jackson’s death. Dr.Conrad Murray was MJ’s live-in doctor at the time of his death. In an interview with ABC News (to air on Wednesday in the US) Janet says, “He was the one who was administering… I think he should be responsible.” She added that Murray should no longer be allowed to practice medicine. Murray faces manslaughter charges for Michael's death on June 25. Dr.Murray maintains that he did not prescribe or administer anything to MJ that should have killed him.  

Ever wondered who else was in the running to play Edward Cullen – aside from Robert Pattinson? Twilight co-star Kellan Lutz (who plays Emmett Cullen) could have been cast for the role! He told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show yesterday, “I was doing Generation Kill and was sent the script in Africa. I put it off, then finally read it and by the time I got back to L.A., they said, ‘OK, are you ready to audition for Edward?’. I said, ‘I don’t want to play Edward. He’s too complex, too depressing for me.’”

Kellan was then asked if he’d be interested in playing the role of Emmett, and Kellan explains he thought it was “one of those fun-loving characters that I like to play”, and the rest is history. Considering how mega famous R.Patts now is, does Kellan have any regrets? “No… I’m so happy with Emmett. I don’t care to be famous.” Maybe he didn't get the memo - everyone in Twilight is pretty much famous now!

Britney Spears has been spotted out and about while in Sydney for her Circus tour. Pics of Brit looking super happy with her agent/boyf Jason Trawick and kiddies have been doing the rounds – from visiting the Sydney Botanical Gardens to cruising along Sydney Harbour - click on the links to check out the super cute pics!

A German man has been charged with trying to extort US$100,000 from Cindy Crawford and her husband. Edis Kayalar threatened to release a photo of Cindy’s daughter, gaged and bound to a chair. The photo was apparently taken by the then seven-year-old’s nanny as a private joke, while playing ‘cops and robbers.Edis Kayalar, a friend of the nanny, decided to use the photo to get money from Cindy and her husband.

Kayalar was arrested in September and deported to Germany for being the in the country illegally, but earlier this month he again phoned Cindy and demanded US$100,000, which lead to him being charged with extortion. If he returns to the US and is convicted, he faces two years in prison. In a statement, a publicist for Cindy and her hubby, announced that they “intend to pursue any and all available legal action against anyone who aids the perpetrator in the distribution or sale of the photograph of their daughter.”

Sad, sad news – the Rove show is no more! Last night on his Australian show, Rove McManus announced to the audience, “I realise this is very short notice. I didn’t want a lot of fuss… Also, I think tonight is the perfect night for it. All our cast is here to wrap this baby up.” It was officially announced that last night’s show the final for the season would be the last. While no official reason has been cited, Rove did say, "It was a difficult call to make but after 10 years it felt like time to step away from the show and take a break to properly reflect on what I want to do next as a performer.” Aww – we’ll definitely miss him!

Nicole Forrester, the stripper who claims to have slept with Josh Duhamel has ‘apologised’ to Fergie. Although Josh has always denied the claims, and Fergie has announced she is sticking by her man, Nicole still wants the world to know that she did indeed sleep with Josh. She told Extra, “I thought, ‘Nobody’s gonna find out. It’s not gonna hurt anybody'. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t think of it at the time like I think of it now.”

Nicole says she’s not a home wrecker – “She’s (as in Fergie) is standing by her man, so obviously I’m not wrecking the home, too bad, huh?” She has another dig by saying, “As far as the best sex? No, I don’t think that it was.” And to polish her ‘apology’ off, she claims that Josh is still sending her text messages – hmm… OK!