Billy Ray Cyrus is breaking his silence on Miley Cyrus, their relationship and how he’s “scared for her”. In a long interview with GQ Magazine, Billy Ray opens up about how Hannah Montana ruined his family, and how he feels used by Miley’s “handlers”. It’s a very interesting and very sad article. I’ve got some snippets here, but the entire article is worth reading here.

“For the record,” he abruptly announces, “to set it straight, I want to tell you: I’ve never made a dime off of Miley. You got a lot of people have made percentages off of her. I’m proud to say to this day I’ve never made one commissioned dollar, or dime, off of my daughter.” He knows that people often assume he is Miley’s manager, perhaps because of the dual father-manager role he plays on Hannah Montana, but that is something he has never been. And now that he has raised the subject, it seems there are a few other things he’d like to mention. “See,” he begins, “I’ve not been able to have a voice.” He explains how, with each major or minor PR uproar in recent years, he has been expected to sail in and smooth everything over. He clearly has regrets.

“Every time something happened in Miley’s career, every time the train went off the track, if you will—Vanity Fair,2 pole-dancing,3 whatever scandal it was—her people, or as they say in today’s news, her handlers, every time they’d put me… ‘Somebody’s shooting at Miley! Put the old man up there!’ Well, I took it, because I’m her daddy, and that’s what daddies do. ‘Okay, nail me to the cross, I’ll take it….’ ”

When he heard about her upcoming eighteenth-birthday party, he decided he wasn’t going to play that role anymore.

“You know why I didn’t go? Because they were having it in a bar. It was wrong. It was for 21 years old and up. Once again all them people, they all wanted me to fly out so that then when all the bad press came they could say, ‘Daddy endorsed this stuff….’ I started realizing I’m being used. If I would have went out there I would have been right in the middle of all this stuff that’s going on right now with the bong. They’d be hanging it on my ass. I had the common sense… I said, ‘This whole thing’s falling apart up there and they just want to blame all of this stuff on you again.’ I’m staying out of it.”

Because you felt you were just expected always to say everything’s okay?

“That’s right. And it’s not okay.”

Continue Reading…there’s much more! (more…)

HBO has announced that on May 7th, Lady Gaga will headline her first solo concert on the cable network.

Lady Gaga aka Stefani Germanotta “is the single most exciting music talent on the scene today,” HBO Entertainment president Sue Naegle said in announcing the event. “We’re especially thrilled that she’ll be creating unique new elements for the special that will make the show an even more memorable experience for our viewers.”

Gaga’s concert special will tape February 21 and 22, when Madison Square Garden sets the stage for her “Monster Ball Tour.”

Lady Gaga’s next album, Born This Way, is set for release May 23.

Source

Even though MTV dropped Lauren Conrad’s new TV show after they deemed it too “high brow”, looks like it might not be the end after all! The 25-year-old tells US that she’s getting offers from other networks!

“The amount of offers I’ve gotten has been very flattering,” Conrad told Us while celebrating her birthday at Pure nightclub in Las Vegas Saturday. “We all worked really hard on it and I’m really proud of it. It turned out fantastic, so stay tuned.”

MTV wasn’t interested in the show, because it focused too much on her fashion line – and not so much on drama (which MTV shows thrive on).

In the meantime, Lauren is focusing on her line, Paper Crown.

“We just got our look book and we’re going to Coterie in about a week, so we’re very excited about that,” she said. “Things are going really great. I’m running it with my best friends. It’s a really fun project.”

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They pick quite a day to meet for lunch!

I’m not sure if this spells a reconciliation, but according to X17, Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson were photographed having lunch together with their son yesterday – Valentine’s Day.

Pete, 31 and Ashlee, 26, were seen relaxing at the Beverly Hills Hotel Polo Lounge.

No word yet on whether the couple are reconsidering their decision to split. After embarking on a relationship in late 2006, they married in May 2008 and welcomed their son that fall. In last Wednesday’s statement following their divorce announcement, they said that Bronx’s “happiness and well-being remains our number-one priority.”

The duo encountered major problems just 13 months into their union — battling it out in explosive, often public spats.

“Ashlee loves Bronx but jumped into marriage and having a baby too quickly,” one pal told Us Weekly in summer 2009. “They feel they got trapped in a situation they were too young for.”

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The cover girl isn’t suppsoed to be announced until tonight at midnight on David Letterman, but leave it to Twitter to break the news early.

This year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover girl is Russian beauty Irina Shayk, also known as soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend!

Here’s the photo Rana Wardlaw took of the billboard outside her office and then tweeted. “I saw it from my office window,” Wardlaw says. “I work at a media agency called Starcom Worldwide. They unveiled the billboard for a few minutes to tape it for the Letterman Show and then covered it back up. I guess they didn’t cover it fast enough!”

I’ve seen the five episodes that have aired so far – and out of the five – maybe 1 was funny, and I’m even from Portland, so I sort of have to like it. According to MSN, the show has already been picked up for another season!

Portland’s tolerance test continues – after sketch comedy series “Portlandia” was renewed for a second season.

Entertainment paper Variety reported Monday that work on a 10 new episodes should start this summer.

The show, created by Portland’s Carrie Brownstein and Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen, is in the midst of its six-episode debut.

It has featured a broad skewering of Portland and pop culture quirks, shot around town and featuring guest stars such as Kyle MacLachlan, Steve Buschemi, Aimee Mann and even Portland Mayor Sam Adams.

“This is the first time ever that we’ve picked up a show while it’s still running,” IFC senior VP of original programming Debbie DeMontreux told Variety.

The paper reported the show was averaging 235,000 viewers among adults 18-49, that’s almost four times the network’s IFC’s primetime average.

Episode 6 wraps up this season on February 25. The show airs at 10:30 p.m. Fridays on IFC.

Out of that 235,000, I wonder how many are not Oregonians. Do you watch it? What city do you live in?

Controversial ice skater Tonya Harding is about to become a mother, and according to The Portland Tribune (woohoo Portland!), she’s due to have a boy – any day!

Tonya Harding is going to be a mom. The former figure skater/pugilist and her husband, Joseph Price, are expecting “any time,” she says.

It’s a boy, and the first child for Tonya, 40, who says she is “super excited.”

This will be the first child for Tonya, 40, and husband Joseph Price. “Tonya is pregnant and very happily married,” Linda Lewis tells PEOPLE. “She wants her privacy, but she is very happy.”