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Rapper JAY-Z has defended swimming star MICHAEL PHELPS for his involvement in a drugs scandal - putting the incident down to the athlete’s young age.
The 23-year-old was pictured in a British newspaper earlier this year (Feb09) holding a glass pipe associated with marijuana use at a party in Columbia, South Carolina that took place in November (08).
He swiftly apologised for the shots, calling his behaviour "regrettable" and blaming his "bad judgment".
But hip-hop mogul Jay-Z insists the public should not judge Phelps over the scandal, insisting the young athlete will learn from his mistakes as he gets older.
He tells Cigar Aficionado magazine, �You look at all these people who graduated from Princeton and Harvard, who are supposed to be pillars of the community - every day (they�re) in the newspaper arrested for some kind of financial fraud.
"Then you look at someone like Michael Phelps. He�s 23. What�s he gonna do? He�s a kid. He�s going to experiment.�

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Rockers PINK FLOYD are suing their record company over royalty payments.
The Another Brick in the Wall hitmakers have filed a lawsuit against EMI, claiming bosses have miscalculated royalties owed to them from their back catalogue.
The band, who have been signed to the label since 1967, is seeking undisclosed damages.
No further information was available as WENN went to press.

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Rockers MY BLOODY VALENTINE plan to expand the band by adding another member to help work on their comeback album.
The group rose to fame in the 1990s but split in 1997. They reunited in 2007 and made their official return to the road in June (08).
They are now working on a new record, their first in 18 years, and frontman Kevin Shields believes they will be able to improve their sound by recruiting new musicians.
He says, "After the end of August, we’ll have a radical change. Line-up, we might expand a bit.
"In that respect, we’ll add another member to the group, just to do more stuff. And sound-wise, absolutely. You know, it’ll be… taking a different approach."

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THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY star KELLY KILLOREN BENSIMON is facing legal action over her jewellery line - with another accessories designer accusing her of stealing ideas.
Celeste Greenberg, who worked at America’s Elle magazine when Bensimon was editor-in-chief, claims the reality TV star made an oral agreement with her to produce a specific owl-shaped pendant together and split the profits.
But Greenberg has now filed suit against Bensimon accusing her of taking the idea and manufacturing it for her own jewellery collection - cutting Greenberg out of the deal.
Bensimon’s representative has slammed the allegation, telling New York Post gossip column PageSix, "This girl used to work at Elle Accessories with Kelly. Kelly went out of her way to book her for freelance gigs. They went their separate ways. Now she’s coming after her because she needs money and Kelly’s name is in the press. There’s no validity to this. They never had an agreement about anything."

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The father of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE child star RUBINA ALI has dismissed allegations he offered to sell the nine-year-old for $300,000 (£200,000) - insisting his daughter means more to him "than life itself".
Rafiq Qureshi, who lives in the slums of Mumbai, India is furious after U.K. tabloid the News of the World accused him of plotting to sell his daughter to an undercover journalist.
But Qureshi has vehemently denied the claims, and is adamant he would never put his daughter - who played the young Latika in the Oscar-winning movie - up for adoption.
He says, "Rubina is so precious to me - even more than life itself. I could not even think about doing anything like that - let alone actually doing it… Life is bad at the moment, of course I want us to get out of this slum. I would never agree to anything like that. Never." And Ali blames the language barrier for the confusion, adding: "We went to a hotel and met two people who did not speak Hindi. They said they wanted to adopt me, but my father said no." It also emerged Qureshi possibly thought he was discussing his daughter’s next movie role with the undercover reporter.
A source close to the family tells British newspaper The Sun, "Rafiq didn’t understand everything that was said to him but he was happy to discuss money for a well-paying job for his daughter. She loves being in movies and the family need the money."

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TWILIGHT sequel NEW MOON has been thrown into jeopardy - author STEPHENIE MEYER is facing a plagiarism lawsuit over the vampire franchise, according to reports.
The original 2008 movie - starring Robert Pattinson - was a major international hit and has spawned a follow-up which is currently being shot in Canada. The film franchise is based on the popular book series, written by Meyer.
But production on the second film has reportedly been halted following claims Meyer is facing legal action from her former college roommate, who is said to have accused the writer of basing the novels on her ideas.
According to I’mnotobsessed.com, Heidi Stanton - who studied alongside Meyer at Brigham Young University, Utah - claims the vampire books are similar to a short story she wrote when she was a student there.
Stanton filed her lawsuit against Meyer in Utah last Tuesday (14Apr09), alleging idea infringement.
She states in the papers, "Quite frankly, I was shocked when I began watching the movie with my husband last week. I immediately told him that she got that idea from me! I wrote a fictional short story with the same ideas when we were in college together." Meyer claims the premise for the popular series came to her in a dream in June 2003 and she completed the first novel three months later.
And the legal battle has reportedly cast doubt on the highly-anticipated New Moon, with production being "put on hold" until the case is resolved, according to the website.
New Moon is scheduled for release at the end of the year (09).

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Comic RUSSELL BRAND has made a controversial return to British radio - by leaving voicemails for new U.S. president BARACK OBAMA with his pal and co-host NOEL GALLAGHER.
Last year (08) Brand quit his BBC Radio 2 gig after he and fellow broadcaster Jonathan Ross were slammed for leaving "grossly offensive" messages on former Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs’ answer machine during a live broadcast.
The pair discussed Brand’s fling with the 78-year-old’s granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
And Brand couldn’t resist some more phone pranks as he braved the airwaves again on Sunday night (19Apr09) for a one-off show on the U.K.’s Talksport radio with his friend Gallagher - calling America’s leader and leaving a message asking which soccer team the politician supports.
And the star, who pre-recorded the show on Saturday (18Apr09), also called Ross and joked about the uproar their last radio appearance caused in the British press.
Ross asked Brand, "You’re not back on the radio, are you?" Earlier this month (Apr09) the BBC was fined $107,000 (£150,000) by media watchdog Ofcom for the pair’s "offensive, humiliating and demeaning" conduct.

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AMY WINEHOUSE’s representative has downplayed rumours the troubled singer is planning to adopt a tot from the Caribbean - insisting her words were taken out of context.
The Rehab singer has recently returned to the paradise isle of St. Lucia, where she has spent much of the last four months in a bid to escape her debauched London lifestyle.
And Winehouse has been inspired to help those less fortunate then herself - with reports suggesting she is putting plans in motion to become an orphan’s adoptive mother.
The claims come just days after the star was snapped sobbing and clutching her chest after hearing her estranged husband Blake Fielder-Civil is allegedly set to have a child with 31-year-old former heroin addict Gilleen Morris.
A source tells the London Paper, "Amy is seriously thinking about adopting. But she is aware it’s going to be incredibly difficult with her background. She has always wanted to be a mother. She loves St Lucia and would move there for good in order to adopt." However, the star’s spokesman insists Winehouse isn’t thinking of adopting in the literal sense - explaining that the singer is determined to offer a helping hand to childrens’ community projects in the resort.
He says, "Amy was talking about adopting in the context of looking after children on the island, perhaps through some kind of music and education-based project."

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The paparazzo blamed for MADONNA’s riding accident has hit back at accusations he startled the pop superstar’s horse by taking surprise snaps - insisting he wasn’t photographing the singer when the incident occurred.
Madonna was admitted to Southampton Hospital, New York with minor injuries and bruises after the fall at her friend Steven Klein’s Bridgehampton farm on Saturday (18Apr09).
The singer’s rep Liz Rosenberg accused a nearby snapper of causing the fall.
She released a statement which read, "The accident occurred when the horse Madonna was riding was startled by paparazzi who jumped out of the bushes to photograph the singer who was visiting friends on Eastern Long Island over the weekend. Madonna will be having further tests and continues to remain under observation by doctors." But photographer Thomas Hinton tells TMZ.com he was the only person taking the star’s picture - but insists he left before Madonna fell.
Hinton claims he then returned after receiving a tip-off stating an ambulance was en-route to a 50-year-old woman who had fallen from a horse and only got back to the scene once the medics had arrived.
Hinton’s photographs show Madonna in an enclosed paddock with the snapper taking shots behind a gate.
The paparazzo tells the website, "If I had startled the horse, I would have gotten pictures!" The singer was released from the hospital on Saturday night.
The star previously broke three ribs, a hand and her collar bone in an equestrian accident in 2005.

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GREY’S ANATOMY star ELLEN POMPEO will visiting hospital for real in nine months time - the actress is pregnant with her first child.
The star and husband Chris Ivey are starting a family, according to Pompeo’s representative.
Publicist Jennifer Allen tells People.com, "It’s great news. They’re ecstatic." The couple has been married since 2007. They began dating in 2003 after meeting in a supermarket.

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RUSSELL CROWE is amazed by the politeness of CATE BLANCHETT’s three kids after watching them behave at a recent function.
Dad of two Crowe admits he couldn’t imagine taking his own children to a two-hour event.
He says, "She (Blanchett) was at a public function (and) she had all three of her children there, it went for two hours. There were 1,000 people at this luncheon… and her children were well behaved through the whole thing; they never caused any problems.
"I was standing there going, ‘B**ch!’"

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Singer KELLY CLARKSON boosts her chart positions by buying all her own albums - twice.
The Because Of You hitmaker admits she gets a big thrill from paying for her own music - both online and in record stores.
She says, "Every time I have an album, I have to buy it the day it comes out. At midnight I buy it on iTunes and then I go buy it in the store. It’s exciting."

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RUSSELL CROWE has turned gladiator again in a bid to stop Australian officials from strip mining in late pal STEVE IRWIN’s wildlife reserve in Queensland.
Over 130,000 hectares of wilderness was handed over to conservationists by politicians after Crocodile Hunter Irwin’s death in 2006 as a tribute.
But the new Aussie government now plans to allow a local aluminium company to mine a portion of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve - and Crowe is doing everything he can to make officials think again.
He says, "That site actually operates as a water filter and there are some species of plants and animals that don’t really appear in other places, and the river the water runs into, the Wenlock River, has the largest bio-diversity range of any freshwater river in the country - it has things like saw-toothed sharks and estuarine crocodiles.
"He’s (Irwin) not here to stand up for himself and I just feel, as his friend, that we can’t do that… I made an offer to the environmental minister to have a talk about it but he hasn’t bothered to respond." So now Crowe is using his time on chat shows as he promotes new film State of Play to urge fans of his and Irwin’s to sign an online petition on the Australia Zoo’s website.
Appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman in America on Friday (17Apr09), Crowe rallied support, stating, "If any of you were ever touched by Steve’s attitude towards conservation… and making conservation an important subject for us to discuss… go to that website and sign up on that petition because that man deserves to be honoured and respected, whether he’s alive or not. He was a fantastic person." The Save Steve’s Place petition already boasts 118,000 signatures, according to Crowe.

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DOUBT stars MERYL STREEP and VIOLA DAVIS found a little light relief in between takes of their harrowing scenes in the film by talking about bad feet and food.
Streep’s stern nun character had to break it to Davis’ worried mum that she thought her son was being abused by a priest - and the scenes between them helped both actresses earn Oscar nominations.
And now Davis reveals the two stars were anything but serious in between the tears and the tension.
She tells WENN, "We talked about cooking! I really thought about it too. I was thinking, ‘Iâ��m with Meryl Streep, I could ask her about Sophieâ��s Choice and Out of Africa and A Cry in the Dark. I could tell her I love her! And weâ��re talking about cooking!’ "At one point, she said, ‘How are your feet, by the way? Do you have good feet?’ I said, ‘My feet are pretty good. How are your feet?’ And she said, ‘Oh, my feet are terrible. Do you want some chocolate?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I want some chocolate.’ That was our conversation.
"I think it�s because what happens when you�re shooting a scene is the natural rapport of what your characters are going through extends into real life. And, with our characters, it�s kind of tense and we were a little tense with each other, but I kind of like her.
"My character, Mrs. Miller, thinks Sister Aloysius is a bit of a bulldog, but we would have a casual relationship if it weren�t for this confrontation, so I think it naturally happened that we talked about feet and cooking!"

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Guys still try to pick up mother of two JENNIFER GARNER - even though she’s happily married to BEN AFFLECK.
The actress admits she was propositioned by one lusty fan while she was pregnant with three-month-old Seraphina - and she’s still chatted up in coffee shops and cafes.
She tells WENN, "People still will come up to me with pick-up lines. It’s really amazing. Even when you’re pregnant. I guess guys do love a pregnant girl.
"I just had something happen to me that was just like, wow! I mean, I had an eight-week-old baby, and, it was fascinating, the pick-up line was, ‘If he’s not good to you…’ I mean, come on!"

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Country star TIM MCGRAW is to give his acting resume a boost after signing up to play SANDRA BULLOCK’s husband in an inspiring new sports movie.
The singer, who won critical acclaim for his acting skills in films like Flicka and American football film Friday Night Lights, will play real-life college basketball great Sean Touhy who helped mentor a homeless African-American teenager, Michael Oher, to greatness on the University of Mississippi’s football team.
Bullock will play McGraw’s wife Leigh Anne in The Blind Side, which will start shooting in Georgia at the end of April (09).

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MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY’s bid to stay friends with his ex-sweethearts has stood the test of time - he’s still on good terms with the girl he fell in love with when he was four years old.
The actor has always made a point of making break-ups as amicable as possible - so he can maintain a relationship with his girlfriends.
And he insists he’s still close to his first love: "Julianne was a little faster than me; she was five. Julianne is good; I know her. My mother still talks with her mother and she’s back there in south Texas, happily married." The movie star, who has a child with Brazilian model Camila Alves, still has fond memories of his first kiss, which came a decade after his first childhood romance.
He recalls, "It was with Amy Mitchell on the nature trail and she had braces… It was not a great kiss. There was almost blood, but it was big night.
"I was high for, like, two months. I think I was 13 or 14."

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SIR MICHAEL CAINE faced a family backlash when he told them he wanted to be an actor - because his relatives presumed he was gay.
The Zulu legend was worried about telling his traditional family he had dreams of becoming a film star, but didn’t expect his sexuality to come into question.
He remembers, "That’s what we thought actors were - all poofs (gay). And sometimes we were right."

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