Pop Culture

Mariah Yeater, the woman who accused Justin Bieber — of all people — of fathering her three-month-old son, has dropped her lawsuit. TMZ has already published damaging text messages that indicate Yeater may have been trying to delete correspondence that points the paternity finger at another guy. But the Biebs hasn’t dropped his intentions of taking a DNA test.

From the beginning, Bieber and his people (which includes publicist Matthew Hiltzik) denied that there was any truth to Yeater’s allegations and they planned to back it up with a paternity test. Now with the case terminated, it would seem Bieber has been vindicated. Even still, E! is reporting that Bieber plans on going ahead with the test.

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Photo: AP

Dang!! About 40 minutes ago, Mediabistro retweeted news from the AP that Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are getting divorced and now it’s lighting up all of the Internet.

Ashton Kutcher has responded to this AP breaking news, also on Twitter, with a statement. Of course, we just finished writing a story about how Kutcher was turning over his Twitter handle to the folks at Katalyst, which immediately got us (and Glynnis MacNicol) wondering whether he or his ghost writers penned his affectionate divorce tweet.

So this is how it’s done now.

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As we mentioned in this morning’s Ticker, Ashton Kutcher has turned his Twitter account, and its more than eight million followers, over to Katalyst, the firm he co-founded with Jason Goldberg and Anthony Platt.

After getting blowback following a tweet in defense of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, Kutcher said on his blog that he’s going to hand “the management of the feed” over to the Katalyst team. According to Kutcher, he tried deleting the tweets after he learned about the school’s child abuse scandal, but it was too late. Tweeters had already launched their attack, as they are wont to do.

It’s interesting that Kutcher should fall victim to a Twitter catastrophe since he himself has used the social media platform to launch an assault against another party.

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Braxton Family Values is a bonafide smash, becoming WeTV’s highest rated original series, according to the network’s senior VP of production, John Miller. So, to kick off Season 2, the singing sisters hit New York’s Tribeca Grand Tuesday for an official press screening and Q&A.

Although the shindig successfully reignited buzz for the show, it raised a couple event planning do’s and don’ts that all publicists can learn from:

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AP Photo / Wally Santana

Lady Gaga has launched the Born This Way Foundation, which her mother, Cynthia Germanotta,will help to run. The foundation will focus on youth empowerment through support for organizations that address issues like self-confidence, bullying, well-being, mentoring, and career development.

The official launch is next year, but the foundation, named after the Lady Gaga song and album, already has partnerships with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the California Endowment. Digital efforts will be at the forefront of the foundation’s work.

Lady Gaga has taken up the cause of bullying, advocating for a law that would make it illegal in September following the suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer.

[via CNN, MTV.com]

Epic, epic scandal today involving Justin Bieber and, of all things, sex.

A 20-year-old woman (really?), Mariah Yeater, claims that her son is Bieber’s following a post-show encounter in Los Angeles last year. Bieber’s publicist Matthew Hiltzik has responded with a strongly-worded denial on behalf of his client: “While we haven’t yet seen the lawsuit, it’s sad that someone would fabricate malicious, defamatory, and demonstrably false claims.”

Much less strongly worded is the tweet above from the Bieb, who up to this point, managed to scandalize us only with the occasional shot of him and Selena Gomez sharing a smooch or something equally innocent.

Immediately, one thinks of his clean-cut reputation, which has made him the monster favorite to tweens around the world. The Washington Post doesn’t think this will tarnish his reputation, but that may all depend on what comes out as this situation wears on. Your thoughts? The comments section is open. “Mariah Yeater” is currently trending on Twitter and it looks like a lot of people don’t believe her story.

In our continuing coverage of the statements from people surrounding the Kim Kardashian/Kris Humphries divorce, we finally have something from Mr. Kardashian-Humphries.

I’m committed to this marriage and everything this covenant represents. I love my wife and am devastated to learn she filed for divorce… I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.

Well isn’t that dumb?

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Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are divorcing. I know, I know. You thought after the “fairytale wedding” these two kids would be together forever, happily ever after. The unexpected tragedy of today’s news only adds to the horror that is Halloween.

Soooo. What now? The statements! Here’s what Kim had to say “exclusively” to E!: ”After careful consideration, I have decided to end my marriage. I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision. I had hoped this marriage was forever, but sometimes things don’t work out as planned. We remain friends and wish each other the best.”

Oh Samuel L. Jackson. We just can’t quit you.

Mr. L. Jackson made an appearance last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and used the occasion (and his iPad) to announce that he was joining Twitter. He promptly went online and typed a tweet that had to be pixelated to cover up a couple of F bombs.

Only eight tweets in and half would also have to be censored to appear on TV. (Click on the weblink in his bio and it takes you to a Web page in progress.) But, as he says, he’s “feelin’ da love.” He’s already got nearly 80,000 followers.

[via Daily Beast]

The Root has released its list of the 100 most influential African-Americans under the age of 45. The Root 100 includes a wide range of personalities including politicians, entertainers, and business execs.

“To identify and rank The Root 100, we developed a formula that defines influence as the marriage of reach and substance,” said Omar Wasow, contributing editor for The Root who devised the ranking formula. More detail about that is here. This is the first year that the list was ranked, but the third year for the list.

The top three names on the list are Newark’s Mayor Cory Booker; director/writer/actor Tyler Perry; and singer/songwriter John Legend.  Others on the list include power couple Jay Z (#4) and Beyoncé (#13); comedian and writer Baratunde Thurston (#30); and author Edwidge Dandicat (#88).

For the complete list, click here.