Donald Trump - FishbowlLA

Bogus TMZ Drone Mention Takes Flight in Major Media Outlets

Richard Horgan — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:50:31 +0000

This morning’s allegations on E! News and other outlets that the New York Daily News made up a story about Donald Trump’s kids staging a pre-election Twitter “Obama-vention” with dad is pretty good. But media misdirect honors of the week (so far) still have to go to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The paper’s story by Washington reporter Gary Martin and Center for Responsive Politics editorial director Viveca Novak got the benefit late Tuesday afternoon of the following update:

Editor’s note: This story has been changed to remove a reference to the celebrity web site TMZ applying for a permit to operate a drone. On Tuesday, TMZ denied that it has asked to operate a drone and the FAA issued the following statement: “TMZ does not have FAA authorization to fly an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), and we have no record that TMZ ever requested or inquired about an authorization. The FAA does not currently allow commercial UAS operations in the nation’s airspace, although UAS manufacturers may apply for an experimental certificate for research and development, flight and sales demonstrations, and crew training.”

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Jon Lovitz Gooses Ora TV Election Night Coverage

Richard Horgan — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:45:53 +0000

There was probably no stranger election panelist intro on Tuesday than the one given by Ora TV’s Larry King for comedian Jon Lovitz. The rejuvenated talk show host explained that he had just watched, the night before, a crazy Kevin Costner-Elvis movie, 3000 Miles to Graceland, that features his guest getting killed.

Lovitz started out by revisiting, in very articulate fashion, the reasons for his recent (and now-infamous) “anti-Obama” rant about one-percenters supposedly not paying their fair share of taxes. The actor emphasized that in addition to a 35% federal tax rate, he is subject to a lowered but still-there capital gains tax on any stock-market reinvestment earnings.

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Richard Johnson: My Miss Universe Pageants Were Never Trumped Up

Richard Horgan — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:40:42 +0000

With controversy continuing to swirl around accusations by a pair of contestants that the 2012 Miss USA pageant might have been rigged, The Daily’s west coast bureau chief Richard Johnson has decided to chime in about his related Trump-tastic experiences.

Granted, Johnson’s stints as a judge were some time ago, and for a sister franchise. Nevertheless, he writes that he saw no signs of meddling at the Miss Universe pageants in Hawaii (1998), Puerto Rico (2001) and Panama (2003). NBC had a monitor present (as it did again at the 2012 Miss USA contest); judges were housed at a separate hotel; and though Trump was omnipresent during the broadcast, that was about the extent of it:

Just in case a judge was indecisive, Trump was sitting right behind us in the front row, close enough to chat with us during commercial breaks, letting us know his preferences. Was he just making small talk, or trying to influence our votes? Did his voice carry more weight than any other fan who was applauding and shouting for their favorite? Probably.

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New York Observer Publisher in Hunt for Dodgers

Richard Horgan — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:45:29 +0000

Here’s a tip for all you Dodger ownership bid watchers. If you have not already, set up a Google News alert for “Bill Shaikin.” The LA Times baseball beat reporter remains the go-to source for breaking developments about the Frank McCourt sweepstakes.

Shaikin’s latest scoop, posted online last night, reveals that 31-year-old New York real estate entrepreneur Jared Kushner is among nine groups in the current running to buy the Dodgers. Kushner is the son-in-law of Donald Trump, as well as the owner of a Manhattan newspaper re-invented by former mediabistro.com editorial employee Elizabeth Spiers:

Kushner, who became owner and publisher of the New York Observer in 2006, has played a key role in expanding the family business beyond real estate. At 31, he would be the youngest owner in Major League Baseball.

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Jon Stewart Talks Daily Show Sausage-Making with Rolling Stone

Matthew Fleischer — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:48:51 +0000

Jon Stewart recently sat down with Rolling Stone‘s Eric Bates to talk about his media consumption habits and how The Daily Show gets made four times a week.

Stewart’s take: “The best shows are made of the smallest moments. Donald Trump eating pizza with a fork, and making that into eight minutes of a completely overblown sanctimonious rant on the apostasy of eating pizza with a fork.”

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California Watch Questions Gavin Newsom’s $400 Pen

Richard Horgan — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:30:04 +0000

California Watch reporter Kyle Finck, with some help from colleague Lance Williams, asks a very good question in his item headline today. Namely, “Why Did a Russian Billionaire Give Newsom a $400 Pen?”

The deluxe Louis Vuitton writing instrument came to the former San Francisco mayor and current Lieutenant Governor via the 77th richest person in the world, 44-year-old “fertilizer king” Dmitry Rybolovlev. This particular Russian magnate lives in Geneva and made headlines when he bought a Palm Beach, Florida estate from Donald Trump. After a few phone calls, Finck discovered the following:

As Rybolovlev’s address, Newsom listed an office suite on Sansome Street in downtown San Francisco. It’s actually occupied by a local travel agency…

California Watch sought Rybolovlev’s account of why he gave Newsom a gift and how he was connected to the Sansome Street address, but his lawyers declined comment. Officials of Casto Travel, which occupies the business suite listed as Rybolovlev’s address, denied any involvement with the billionaire.

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‘Latina Media Dynamo’ Does It Up Loud in Venice

Richard Horgan — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:00:23 +0000

Nely Galán has forged a colorful career path, moving from the executive suite at Telemundo to the boardroom of Donald Trump‘s Celebrity Apprentice to a number of current Internet businesses. But all that pales when compared to her one-of-a-kind home on the Venice canals, which got a flattering write-up over the weekend in the LA Times.

The three-building compound sports an orange main house, a yellow Hawaiian-themed guest house, and a pink-fuscia studio workspace. Galán enlisted a number of Hollywood crew vets to help her with the project, which required at one point the three-month refinement of a computerized reference model:

“For me, this house is the most authentic I’ve ever been,” said Galán. “I felt successful enough to be this loud and congruent with my heritage.”

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Miss USA Contestants Answer: Should Evolution Be Taught In Schools?

Pandora Young — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:43:54 +0000

Someone had the bright idea to ask the contestants of the Miss USA pageant about their views on evolution. Alyssa Campanella, aka Miss California, who was the winner of Sunday’s competition, does us proud with her answer.

An unedited version of the video featuring answers from all 51 contestants can be viewed here. Disturbingly, Miss California was one of only two contestants who expressed a belief in evolution. It’s worth nothing that contestants knew they would be asked this question and had plenty of time to prepare their answers. Miss USA Pageant boss and conservative ignoramous Donald Trump should be pleased.

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Sinbad Sets Sail for Kinder, Gentler Reality Shores

Richard Horgan — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:00:15 +0000

Diane Clehane, “lunch” columnist for our sister site FishbowlNY, caught up recently at Michael’s restaurant with stand-up comedian Sinbad. Thanks to a new reality show debuting Tuesday April 12th on WEtv, he’s set for his biggest media splash since competing on the third season of Celebrity Apprentice.

“Brett Michaels was a baby and Sharon Osbourne has the filthiest mouth of any woman I’ve ever met,” he recalled about his experiences on the Donald Trump extravaganza. “She faked being sick just so she could miss being project manager for the first three weeks.”

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LA Publicist Throws Book at Heather Mills

Richard Horgan — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:30:45 +0000

The name of Michele Elyzabeth Blanchard‘s Sunset Blvd. PR firm, Parapluie Inc., is French for umbrella. Highly appropriate this week as she has rained down on former client Heather Mills with a stormy set of allegations.

After meeting Mills at a charity event in Beverly Hills, Blanchard worked for Paul McCartney‘s ex from the spring of 2005 through July 2008. Along with $186,000 in unpaid PR bills, Blanchard claims Mills lied about abusive treatment at the hands of McCartney and was otherwise generally erratic. Per the publicist’s Superior Court complaint:

Blanchard (pictured, with Mills) claims she brought an offer to appear on Donald Trump‘s show Celebrity Apprentice, which Mills blew by insisting she be “guaranteed to make the final cut.” When “Mills’ request to be guaranteed the winner was denied,” she offered to be a judge instead, Blanchard says, concluding, “As usual, Mills thwarted plaintiff’s attempts to close deals due to her unreasonable demands and erratic behavior.”

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Sympathy for Credit-Challenged Celebs Maxed Out

Richard Horgan — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:30:31 +0000

Sometimes, the unlikeliest Internet content can surface from the unlikeliest of online sources. Take today’s Op Ed from the Austin, TX newsroom of CreditCards.com, actually one of the more legitimate players in this field rather than a purveyor of search engine cluttering SEO content.

In pointing to upside-down SoCal big spenders such as Timothy Busfield, Heidi Montag (pictured) and Lenny Dykstra, contributor Ann Brenoff makes the very valid point that the public’s tolerance for such behavior in today’s decimated United States of Jobless Recovery America has waned. But what really caught our attention is the famous sidekick she tied the public opinion shift to.

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Miss California Gets Fired

Pandora Young — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:03:23 +0000

So Donald Trump finally noticed that Carrie Prejean was an irresponsible brat and stripped her of the Miss California crown. Prejean will be replaced by runner-up Tami Farrell. According to a statement by the Miss California pageant’s executive director Keith Lewis, Prejean was not fired for her homophobic remarks but her “contract violations, including Ms. Prejean’s unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization.”

Last month pageant officials had complained publicly about Prejean’s failure to appear at Miss California events while making unsanctioned media appearances, and her refusal to return the pageant official’s phone calls. When Trump undermined his employees by calling Prejean’s contract violations a “misunderstanding” and allowed her to keep her crown, pageant director Shanna Moakler resigned in protest.

Previously on FBLA:
Carrie Prejean Did Fill-In on Fox and Friends
Shanna Moakler Resigns From Miss California In Protest
“Opposite Marriage” is the New “And Such As”

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Shanna Moakler Resigns From Miss California In Protest

Pandora Young — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:56:05 +0000

At Donald Trump‘s press conference yesterday- where he defended Carrie Prejean‘s stance on gay marriage and announced that, despite the revealing photos that recently surfaced, she would keep her Miss California crown- Shanna Moakler sat by and smiled politely. Because it was her job. And listening to Trump blither like an idiot and make excuses for a vapid homophobe isn’t a job Moakler wants anymore. The statement she gave to Usmagazine.com:

I cannot with a clear conscious move forward supporting and promoting the Miss Universe Organization when I no longer believe in it, or the contracts I signed committing myself as a youth. I want to be a role model for young woman with high hopes of pageantry, but now feel it more important to be a role model for my children. I am sorry and hope I have not let any young supporters down but wish them the best of luck in fulfilling their dreams.

Previously on FBLA:
California’s Prettiest Bigot Defends Nudie Pics
Miss California Organization Bought Miss USA Contestant Big Fake Boobs

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LAT In 90 Seconds

Greg — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:46:07 +0000

Rabbi Rushfield Quotes Hardy: We are totally and completely in love with Rabbi Richard Rushfield and his ever-weirder recaps of American Idol. This week, he quotes Thomas Hardy’s poem Convergence of the Twain and generally makes us wonder whether he’s writing under the influence of God or scotch.

Kiss of Death: Richard Widmark, the dashing leading man of 40 films (and father-in-law of Sandy Koufax) died after a long illness. He was 93.

Clint Eastwood Canned: Clint Eastwood and Bobby Shriver have a laugh about the fact that their friend (and in Bobby’s case, brother-in-law) Arnold Schwarzenegger yanked them from the state parks commission.

“I talked to him the day we were not reappointed, or as Donald Trump would say, ‘You’re fired,’ ” Eastwood said in an interview, his gravelly impression of Schwarzenegger’s Austrian accent producing a kind of Dirty Harry-meets-the Terminator effect.

We live in a weird state.

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Watch the Box: Above and Below

Kate — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:20:41 +0000

CBS canceled Viva Laughlin after two episodes. Just because it’s on British TV doesn’t mean it good.

The BBC just bought Dragons’ Den a reality series with aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to various millionaires. See above.

Donald Trump is in talks with Reville and Fox for a daytime syndicated show. The tousle-haired millionaire will adjudicate money disputes. See above.

Bravo anoints Niki Taylor and Tyson Beckford as hosts for its new competition reality series Make Me A Supermodel. See below.

Lifetime Television has a doc.-style pilot called Club Gastronomique that focuses on

an invitation-only culinary club and its female participants who will get to meet interesting people in New York City while dining at fantastic places.

Yes, that’s right. You get to watch other people eat.

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