Katy Perry has denied threatening her Australian namesake with legal action over a clothing range - after the fashion designer accused the star’s management of bullying her into giving up her trademark.

Perry’s attorneys targeted Katie Perry, also known as Katie Howell, who runs a self-titled loungewear company in her native Australia after the singer’s team attempted to file a trademark protection order in the country.

The clothing-maker claimed she had received a letter form Perry’s lawyers ordering her to cease trading and withdraw her right to use the name Katie Perry on all her goods - and she vowed to contest the demands in court.

She said, “It really felt like I was being intimidated and bullied into signing everything away. (The letter) asked me to give up the trademark, withdraw sale of my clothes, withdraw any advertising and any websites, and sign that I will not in the future use a similar trademark to Katy Perry. I pretty much burst into tears. love my business. I’m not going to give it away without a fight either.”

She also issued an emotional plea to Perry in an Internet video - urging the star not to destroy her company.

The I Kissed A Girl hitmaker has now acknowledged the row in a post on her website - but insists she never planned to take legal action over the issue and accuses the press of blowing the issue out of proportion.

A statement on the star’s official website reads, “In the course of securing trademark protection for Katy Perry in Australia, it came to the attention of her representatives that Katie Howell, a clothing designer in Australia, had filed an application for trademark protection under a similar name in connection with her own clothing design business. A routine notice letter was sent to Ms. Howell, as is customary in trademark practice, alerting her of Ms. Perry’s intended application.”

Perry herself adds, “This is a routine trademark application, and I certainly haven’t sued anyone. As usual, some of the press seems to have delighted in creating a story where there is none.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Gwyneth Paltrow says Spain has “become a second home”.

The ‘Iron Man’ star spent a lot of time in the Mediterranean country filming cooking show ‘On the Road Again’ with chef Mario Batali and would happily leave New York and move there permanently.

The 36-year-old actress said: “It is so different from the United States. It seemed to have a history, and the buildings are years and years and years old. Here in the United States an old building is about 17 years old, and over there it’s from 500 B.C., it’s incredible.

“Also, the way people live over there. They seem to enjoy life a little bit more. They aren’t running around as much as in New York. They enjoy time with the family. They don’t always have their Blackberry on.”

Gwyneth has two children, Apple, five, and Moses, three, with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and loves to boast about their linguistic abilities.

She added: “Moses speaks a little bit of Spanish, but understands everything. Apple speaks a lot.”

It’s not the first time Gwyneth has criticized the American way of life.

In 2006, she sparked controversy when she told a Portuguese paper she liked “the English lifestyle” because it’s not as “capitalistic” as the US.

She was quoted as saying: “People don’t talk about work and money… they talk about interesting things at dinner.”

Gwyneth later claimed she was misquoted.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Tori Spelling has written a children’s book.

The actress - who has previously penned autobiographies ‘STORItelling’ and ‘Mommywood’ - has revealed her latest literary venture, but admits it won’t be in the shops any time soon.

She said: “I just wrote an illustrated children’s book. It’s going to be launching in about a year, but I just finished the text.”

Tori - who is estranged from her mother Candy Spelling - has two children with husband Dean McDermott, Liam, two, and 13-month-old Stella is sharing her favourite childhood books with them until she is able to read them her own work.

She added: “Liam’s favorite is ‘Goodnight Moon’ by Margaret Wise Brown. I introduced him to that because when I was little, my mom used to read that to me and I loved it!”

Tori’s most recent venture was also for children.

The 36-year-old star has designed a range of kids’ clothes, Little Maven, which she says is inspired by the garments worn by Liam and Stella.

It is due to hit shops later this year.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, has admitted having a crush on his co-star Emma Watson.

The multi-millionaire actor called the 19-year-old actress, who plays Hermione Granger, “a pretty girl” and said she was “popular with the cast”.

In an interview with FHM, he hinted that both he and Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter, had tried to win favor with Granger, but declined to comment on which of the two was more enamored with her.

Mr Grint said: “A lot of people think there’s something going on [between me and Emma Watson] because I have to kiss her on film soon.”

He added: “I’ll be honest with you: it’s not something I’d say I’m dreading. Emma’s a pretty girl. Have Daniel or I ever hit on Emma? Well, she’s quite popular with the cast. As for who has the worst crush on her – me or Radcliffe – I’d rather not say.”

But Grint recently told the Mail on Sunday that his on-screen kiss with Miss Watson in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince had ween a “weird” experience.

“We’ve known each other for 10 years so it was a bit like kissing my sister,” he said.

The 20-year-old, who suffers from severe arachnophobia, also spoke about the more “terrifying” aspects of fame.

“It’s taken me years to get used to being recognized in the street,” he said.

The most terrifying [thing] was when I saw a picture in a newspaper of a book-burning in America’s Bible Belt. And there was a picture of my face smoldering on top of the pyre because they thought the Harry Potter films were endorsing witchcraft. That was when it hit me how big this thing had become.”

But book burnings aside, international celebrity isn’t without its perks. Grint earns £4m a film and has already left his handprints alongside Al Pacino’s outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. “There was a moment where I remember thinking, ‘I have no idea what I’m going to do with all this money,’” he said.

Despite his growing riches, Grint hasn’t adopted the typical celebrity lifestyle. Instead of the usual fleet of fast cars, he drives a dilapidated pickup truck, a working ice-cream van and a 60mph hovercraft.

Speaking about how his personal life has been affected by his fame, he admitted: “I know I could use my fame to meet women and I definitely notice a lot more attention when I go out because of it. But I’m still a bit careful. I don’t want to meet a girl who’s specifically trying to take advantage of that. And I try not to Google myself because I’d find the results too uncomfortable.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

So finally we have something firm on Michael Jackson.

On Tuesday morninig a motorcade will go from Forest Lawn Mortuary in L.A. to the Staples Center complex in downtown Los Angeles where the public memorial will be held.

We’re told the family still hasn’t decided whether the memorial will be at the Staples Center or the smaller Nokia Theatre. A decision on that is expected shortly

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Rihanna picked up a tattoo needle last night at a parlor in NYC — which would be totally fun and cool, if it wasn’t also incredibly illegal.

We’re told RiRi tattooed three of East Side Ink’s artists with umbrellas and the letter R. None of her pet projects cared that she didn’t have a license — but the NYC Law Department does.

They say Rihanna could be slapped with three misdemeanors for the offense, each with its own hefty penalty — as much as $300 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for the third.

Sources say the tattoo shop could also face considerable fines of its own if the NYC Law Dept. decides to open an investigation.

UPDATE: The NYC Health Department just told TMZ: “Only licensed tattoo artists can administer tattoos in the city according to the City’s Health Code. We are sending someone down to follow up on this.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

You know, sometimes amid all this Robert Pattinson Mania, we forget just how darn hot his Twilight and New Moon co-star Kellan Lutz is. Shame on us!

But a photo shoot he just did with heiress and model Lydia Hearst for Social Life magazine has certainly reminded us.

What is your typical day like on the set of New Moon, the sequel to Twilight?

New Moon was a very relaxed film to work on and it all starts with how easy going director Chris Wietz is. That vibe rolls down to the crew and actors. It makes it so easy when we’ve all worked together before. Everything was so well organized, making it easy for the actors to do our job. We had more time to just laugh and make jokes and hang out; it’s important to have a cast that gels the way we do and you’ll see that more in the second film.

The entire cast of Twilight and New Moon has gone from Hollywood new faces to overnight international sensations – has that been a bonding experience for all of you?

It’s amazing what Twilight has done for the cast! It has opened up so many doors for us all. It is such a blessing to be a part of the phenomenon that is Twilight. It’s a dream come true! We are all very close and stay close on set as well as off. We play board games, go out to dinner and just hang out. It’s amazing to be able to work with such a talented group of actors.

How did you prepare to play Emmett in New Moon?

I prepared a lot by delving into the back-story for my character, Emmett, that I created while shooting the first movie so I just picked up that same notebook again for New Moon and added a little more to what I thought embodied this character. I find it easy to get in the role; Emmett is the perfect match for me. I do love creating a back-story for characters; it helps you transform into the role and it makes it yours.

Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?

I’d like to continue acting for as long as possible. I truly love it and I am lucky that not only is it my career but it’s something I really enjoy doing so it doesn’t feel like work. Hopefully in ten years, I’ll have an amazing family with a beautiful wife and little Kellan’s running around to play football with.

With your physique having garnered so much attention, can you give our readers some tips on keeping fit?

There’s a lot of advice that I could give but what works for one person might not work for another. I just exercise regularly and try to eat healthy. There’s no method to my madness. High protein meals are important and I love eggs and chicken so I try to eat that almost every day that I can. I love fruits so I always have fruit in my kitchen to snack on. I would suggest finding some sort of cardio that you enjoy. I hate running so for me it’s swimming. Stay as active as possible and don’t just sit in front of the television; do push ups or sit ups during the commercials. Even a little hard work goes a long way.

Kellan Lutz and Lydia Hearst will host Social Life’s glamorous Gatsby: American Royalty party, sponsored by Kwiat Diamonds, at the magazine’s Hamptons estate on July 4th.

Source, Bauer-Griffin