WE HAVE TO ADMIT, we have a little
TattleCrush on Taylor Swift.
Not her music necessarily - an endless loop of songs about girls who dump boys hits a little too close to home.
And not necessarily her wide-eyed astonishment when she walks off with a hundred awards - for the hundredth time.
No, what Tattle loves about Taylor is that she's a media ninja. She understands the PR game the best, and she plays each move like a chess grandmaster.
Who else but Taylor could be linked to a new boy every few months and still be considered "America's sweetheart." Darn right she's America's sweetheart.
And who else but Taylor could confirm her break-up with her Kennedy boyfriend (18-year-old Conor Kennedy) the same week her new CD, "Red," drops, after dating him through the Cape Cod summer and dropping a few very big bills for a house near the Kennedy compound.
It's brilliant.
"They quietly parted ways a while ago," a Taylor friend told Us Weekly. "It was just a distance thing. No hard feelings. They're fine."
"It's been over a month since they've even seen each other," the friend went on to explain. "With her promotion for 'Red,' she has no time off until the end of the year."
Even though she doesn't get to enjoy being No. 1, Elizabeth Taylor has moved ahead of her dear friend Michael Jackson on Forbes magazine's highest-earning dead-celebrity list.
In large part due to the auction of her jewels and belongings, and in part due to her still-popular perfume, Taylor pulled in $210 million during the Forbes fiscal year ending this month.
Jackson's $145 million dropped him to second place.
Elvis Presley finished third with $55 million.
Cartoonist Charles Schulz isn't earning peanuts, even though he's no longer drawing "Peanuts." He finished fourth at $37 million. Bob Marley rounded out the top five with $17 million.
* TMZ.com reports that Steve
Honig, Lindsay Lohan's 24/7 publicist, has finally packed it in.
Can you blame him?
* Pippa Middleton - the sister
of Kate, the duchess of Cambridge and wearer of the bridesmaid dress to make every bride crazy - marked the release of her new book, Celebrate, with a launch party Thursday night, posing outside Daunt Books in west London.
Celebrate is Pippa's guide to home entertaining. It draws on her experiences working with her parents' business, Party Pieces, and a London-based events company. It has tips on entertaining for different celebrations throughout the year, as well as recipes, crafts and games.
Pippa said she hopes to give readers ideas without breaking the bank.
A U.S. edition hits stores on Tuesday.
* Carly Rae Jepsen ("Call Me
Maybe") has been named Rising Star of 2012 by Billboard magazine.
Jepsen will be honored at Billboard's annual Women in Music event, to be held in New York City on Nov. 30. She'll join Katy Perry, who has been named Woman of the Year.
* Kelly Clarkson will ride as celebrity grand marshal when the Krewe of Endymion parade rolls on in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2013, the Saturday before Mardi Gras.
Organizers say she'll perform at Endymion's ball at the Superdome after the parade.
Mardi Gras is Feb. 12.
* The Rolling Stones announced a surprise "warm-up gig" in Paris, and within an hour the Champs Elysees was swarming with fans hoping to get satisfaction with one of the 350 tickets for the Thursday-night show.
The $19.50 tickets, announced on the Rolling Stones' Twitter account, came with strings attached: No more than two per person, names printed on them and IDs required at the door at the show intended as a prep for the band's 50th-anniversary arena shows in London and Newark, N.J.
* Updating the story of
disgraced BBC kids' entertainer Jimmy Savile, police said Thursday that 300 potential victims had come forward so far with sex-abuse accusations against the late TV host.
That's three HUNDRED.
The once-popular children's entertainer is accused of using his fame to coerce vulnerable teenage girls - almost all the alleged victims are girls - into having sex with him in his car, in his camper van and even in dingy dressing rooms on BBC premises.
Previously feted for his charity work at hospitals and childrens' homes, Savile is alleged to have deliberately supported such causes to target troubled youths whose credibility would be questioned if they reported the alleged sexual abuse.
Gee, remind you of anyone?
- Daily News wire services
contributed to this report.
Email gensleh@phillynews.com.
