On Thursday night, Lance Armstrong admitted to performance-enhancing drug use during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. But Betsy Andreu wishes the disgraced cyclist has come even more clean during the much-hyped sit-down. Betsy Andreu Blasts Lance Armstrong Andreu was mentioned in the Q&A because she has been on record as saying she overheard Armstrong admit to doping in 1996 while he was in the hospital recovering from cancer treatments. Armstrong told Winfrey that he recently called Andreu to apologize for slamming her as a crazy liar over the years – but he dodged the question of whether that hospital incident actually took place. “I thought maybe there is a chance for him to change,” Andreu told Anderson Cooper last night. “It was such a big step. Maybe I’m stupid. I was willing to give him a second chance.” Every reference to her in the chat with Winfrey left Andreu “furious” she said because “he could have come clean. He owed it to me.” “He’s cherry picking the truth,” she said. “If he’s willing to go out on a limb and speak so publicly and say he cheated and lied and defrauded the U.S. government, then why not tell the truth about the hospital room. I wonder why he did the interview at all.” Did you tune in for it? What do you think now of Lance Armstrong? Do you forgive him? Yes, he came clean No, why would I? View Poll »
When dot-com Don Juan goes wrong… Manti Te’o’s Lennay Kekua Hoax Perpetrators Have Confessed And Apologized According to TMZ reports : Manti Te’o has broken his silence … admitting he knew having a relationship with a “girlfriend” solely online was “crazy,” insisting he was a victim, and revealing that the culprit has now apologized. Manti gave an audio interview to ESPN — the photo was taken in the middle of the chat — in which he acknowledges Ronaiah Tuiasosopo tweeted him a full confession two days ago. You gotta love … even the confession was online. ESPN says it was followed up by a phone call. Manti says, “I wasn’t faking it. I wasn’t part of this.” Manti says he now knows — presumably from Tuiasosopo — “Two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing.” He says he doesn’t know the identity of the second guy or the girl. He adds he didn’t know for sure until Wednesday that it was all a hoax, when Tuiasosopo admitted it to him. Manti explained why he lied to his dad and others, when he said or intimated he had seen the fictitious Lennay Kekua in the flesh. “I knew that — I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn’t meet, and that alone people find out that this gir who died I was so invested in, and I didn’t meet her as well … So I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, he met her before she passed away so people wouldn’t think I was some crazy dude.” So why the hell didn’t Manti ever try to Skype or get any visual confirmation of his “girlfriend” BEFORE he went public with these shenanigans??? As for one of the big questions — why didn’t he at least Skype — he says he tried to speak with Lennay through Skype or FaceTime several times, but the person on the other end was in a “black box” and couldn’t be seen. He says he also tried meeting her a few time in L.A. and Hawaii, but she kept canceling. And this is a little weird … Manti says Lennay once asked him for his checking account number so she could send him money. He did not provide it. Still, no suspicion. This kid is a complete and utter moron, that said, we still feel kinda bad for him. Furthermore, this Tuiasosopo character is about as shady as they come. You can see the official ESPN report of their interview with Manti below. Image via AP/Twitter
Days after LeAnn Rimes’ interview about her feud with Brandi Glanville, the latter Tweeted a backhanded thank you to a “certain someone” for boosting book sales. Friday, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star wrote: “Every time a certain someone does another interview my book pre-sales sky rocket! Thank you! #Career.” Glanville’s Drinking and Tweeting: And Other Brandi Blunders does not come out for another few weeks, but pre-orders have indeed risen over the past few days. Her sarcastic comment comes after Rimes slammed Glanville to ET for their ” ridiculous, one-sided feud ,” which she posited was a means of boosting Brandi’s career. The latest round in their years-long war of words erupted after Rimes referred to her stepsons as “my boys” and Glanville fired back with a vengeance . On her infamous Twitter page, Glanville accused the country crooner of getting “under my skin by calling MY children ‘her boys’. Sooo transparent.” But Rimes insists Brandi was blatantly attempt to boost her career: “The transparency is what’s being used to actually continue her career with that tweet.” Ouch. Brandi Glanville also proceeded to call out Scheana Marie , another Eddie Cibrian mistress, on dueling episodes of RHOBH and Vanderpump Rules . So it goes. Team LeAnn Team Brandi View Poll »
Steve Martin, Charlamagne Tha God, Olly Murs post witty, cutting comments about bike racer’s admission to Oprah. By Gil Kaufman Lance Armstrong in his interview with Oprah Winfrey Photo: OWN
The Kim Kardashian Pregnant and Special and In Need of Extra Attention Tour continued last night, with the reality star and her sister stopping by The Late Show with David Letterman . And Kim actually showed a bit of sass during the interview, telling the host he can no longer make jokes about her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries … because it’s actually been a year-and-a-half now! Considering the two aren’t actually divorced, that is. Watch Kim talk about the baller now, while Kourtney Kardashian gets in the best dig of all: If Kim were going to marry for publicity, wouldn’t “she pick someone that people knew?” Kim Kardashian on The Late Show – Kris Humphries Update And that Kanye West fella? What’s his deal? Kardashian talks about her baby daddy in the following exchange: Kim Kardashian on The Late Show – What’s Kanye Like?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stripped Lance Armstrong of the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the wake of his doping scandal. A letter sent to the disgraced cyclist Wednesday, just 24 hours before the interview in which Lance Armstrong admits doping airs on OWN, asks for it back. The IOC did so after the 41-year-old legend failed to appeal a decision by the International Cycling Union stripping him of his seven Tour de France titles. Cycling’s governing body, citing a wide-ranging report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Administration, disqualified all of Armstrong’s results dating back to 1998. Armstrong was given 21 days to appeal; he did not, but did not offer an admission of guilt – until this week’s sit-down with O – saying he simply wouldn’t appeal. “We were waiting for confirmation from the UCI that he hadn’t appealed against his disqualification,” an IOC spokesman said of its decision to reclaim the medal. The first installment of an extensive interview Armstrong gave Oprah Winfrey earlier this week is set to air tonight only on OWN. You don’t want to miss it.
This Katherine Webb is ready to straight “Roll Tide” right over Kimmy Cakes! Known as Miss Alabama and University of Alabama QB A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend, Webb was recently asked to pose for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, out next month. Check out her interview with SI below: SI.com: How surprised were you to get the call from Sports Illustrated? Webb: I was completely dumbfounded. It was so shocking to me because literally overnight I go from being AJ’s girlfriend and going to support him in the championship game to being on every major media news outlet. It’s just so surprising to me. I don’t know what God has planned, but obviously he’s working on something. When Sports Illustrated called it just became even more real that this is happening. Every single model wants to be in Sports Illustrated, and I feel extremely blessed to have that opportunity. SI.com: So it’s safe to assume you said yes right away when you got the call? Webb: Oh, my gosh. Absolutely. I’ve been approached by different publications, but I think a lot of America appreciated how classy I was, and I got a lot of responses saying I was America’s sweetheart and all that kind of stuff. I’m from Alabama and I have morals and I have class. That’s my personality. A lot of people have said I’m the anti-Kim Kardashian and I’m all right with that. SI.com: Well, Kim Kardashian has done all right for herself. Webb: She made herself into who she is and that’s fine and all that. But I guess the way I want to go about all this is, I just want to have a positive image for myself. I want girls to be able to look up to me and to say, “I want to be just like her one day.” That’s what I did as Miss Alabama and I loved that. SI.com: How long have you done modeling? Webb: I’ve done modeling since I was 18, but it didn’t take off until I moved to Los Angeles. Modeling has always been something I’ve been really good at, and has been something that’s helped pay bills. And it’s something I enjoy doing, as well. Every model wants to be successful in her career, so for Sports Illustrated to reach out to me is just amazing. I couldn’t be anymore blessed. SI.com: Take me through Monday night. You’re at the game, it got boring quickly, although maybe not for you, but for most people, and then a wave of buzz happens from Brent Musburger’s comments to your Twitter blowing up. What was that night like? Webb: I don’t think it became real to me until after I left the stadium and a reporter walked up to me and asked if I realized what was happening, because my phone was dead, so I had no idea what was going on. He was like, “Do you realize you are the star of the game?” I was like, “No, what are you talking about?” So he told me the cameras focused on me and AJ’s mom and I had over 100,000 Twitter followers, and I was like “Wait a minute, are you serious?” SI.com: Did you get a chance to at least celebrate Alabama’s win? Webb: Yeah. Afterward, all the football players went back to the hotel where they were staying. I left immediately and went straight to the hotel. By then, I had charged my phone, so I kinda knew what was happening. Immediately after I stepped out of the car and walked into the hotel, I had people come up to me asking me for autographs and asking me to sign memorabilia, and that stuff is now being sold on eBay. But we did end up celebrating all night. I didn’t get any sleep. I didn’t close my eyes for 24 hours. SI.com: With newfound fame comes a downside. What’s been the best and worst part of this week? Webb: I’ve realized you’re not going to please everyone and you’re not going to appeal to everyone and show who you are to everyone. That’s one of the downsides. But the upside is that one thing I want to do is be a good role model. Hollywood has such few good role models and I partially feel like this is why this has happened for me, and I really want to promote that and do good for others. SI.com: What has it been like to be an Auburn grad dating an Alabama student? Can you even walk around the Auburn campus anymore? Webb: Luckily, I graduated in May 2011, so I haven’t had a reason to go back on campus unless it’s been for a football game. I’ve had a little bit of backlash from Auburn, and I understand. Auburn and Alabama have one of the biggest rivalries in all of college football. But I lived in Los Angeles and there aren’t a lot of great guys in L.A., so for me to find someone who has a good, humble heart and who is amazing and treats me so well, that’s a really special find for me. At the end of the day, football is just a game. I don’t care if he’s from Alabama or wherever, I don’t pay attention to the rivalry when it comes to my personal relationship. SI.com: So what else is next for you? Webb: I’ve had opportunities to do hosting and some television shows. But right now I’m just going along for the ride and seeing what happens. But at the end of the day, my relationship with AJ is what’s important and if this stuff is going to hinder the relationship, then I don’t have a problem saying no to certain things, especially if they’d embarrass me or his family. Are you happy for Katherine Webb’s newfound success? Does it seem like she’s hating on Kimmy Cakes and Hollyweird to you? What do you think of her interview with SI — Pure Comedy or Ho Sit Down?
Quentin Tarantino probably had a vastly different idea of how the months leading up to the 85th Academy Awards would transpire for him. As he began to promote Django Unchained , he no doubt expected to spend the majority of Awards Season talking about America’s legacy of slavery, about his decision to portray it as unambiguously horrific, and how the peculiar institution has historically been treated in film. That’s how this awards season started, of course. At the beginning of December, Tarantino was explaining that his goal was to make audiences feel, viscerally, the brutality of slavery. Later in the month, he was making the very excellent point that the legacy of slavery continues to this day , in the form of America’s massive prison complex and the war on drugs. ‘Django Unchained’ & The Sandy Hook Shooting Unfortunately, just 10 days before Django Unchained premiered, the massacre in Newtown, CT happened. Making matters worse, in the weeks since Sandy Hook there have been a succession of other mass shootings. (In fact, there was another school shooting Thursday, near Bakersfield, CA). As a result, all anyone is talking about is the influence of violent media on actual, real world violence, and unluckily for Tarantino, the conversation about slavery has been terminated and replaced with nearly constant demands to address the dubious notion that his violent films may contribute to that problem. Perhaps that’s why he’s beginning to lose his shit about the issue. Now generally, Tarantino’s responses to these questions have been measured; he’s made the excellent case again and again that, no, his movies are not responsible for societal violence. That’s changed somewhat since the beginning of the new year. Speaking to NPR on January 3, Tarantino got rather testy with Terry Gross , but that was nothing, compared to his low-temperature freak-out aimed at the U.K.’s Channel 4 news host, Krishnan Guru-Murthy. The Question About Violence In Movies That Shut The Interview Down “Why are you so sure there is no link between people enjoying movie violence and people enjoying real violence?,” Guru-Murthy asked, during an interview that aired last night. Tarantino’s response revealed, like nothing else, that he’s getting goddamned tired of talking about this. “I’m going to tell you why I’m so sure? You’re not asking me a question like that. I’m not biting. I refuse your question. I refuse your question,” he said. “I’m not your slave and you are not my master,” he continued. “You can’t make me dance to your tune. I’m not a monkey. I am saying I refuse.” Tarantino then added, “The reason I don’t want to talk about is because I’ve said everything I have to say about it. If anyone cares what I have to say about it, they can Google me and see 20 years of what I have to say about it.” It’s hard to blame Tarantino for being extremely annoyed with the whole thing. Hell, I’m annoyed with the whole thing. Django Unchained has been unfairly singled out for scorn despite hardly being unique in how violent it is, and one can’t help but feel that the conversation about it has changed less because of a sudden rediscovered concern about how violent his films are, but because people would so much rather talk about something that feels nebulous, like societal violence, rather than talk about something that remains, almost 150 years after being abolished, a very taboo subject. So it’s absolutely appropriate that Tarantino rejects the premise. However, this conversation is happening whether he likes it or not, especially after Django Unchained’ s five Oscar nominations. And outbursts like this are going to make him an easy target for stupid people who think Americans are so impressionable that we can’t watch a fictional depiction of violence without immediately running out to kill our neighbors. (Not to mention rather dishonest people who enjoy stirring up tabloid-levels of moral outrage just for fun.) Falling back on the dodge that he’s already said everything that must be said on the issue is just going to make media-concern trolls even more determined to play gotcha with him — especially when his angry outbursts contain terminology that, considering what Django Unchained is actually about, are rather… unfortunate. So if nothing is going to make the question go away, maybe the time has come for him to figure out a way to change the subject back to what it should be. I keep waiting for someone to ask him what I think is a far more interesting question about violence in America. America has a long history of pretending half the country didn’t start a war that killed nearly a million people just to keep their slaves, The manufacturers of our popular culture also have a history of minimizing just how bad slavery actually was for the enslaved, and of course,there’s also the country’s unwillingness to discuss the continued disenfranchisement and oppression of the descendants of those slaves. Doesn’t that, more than any film ever could, contribute to a national culture that seems terrifyingly comfortable with acts of massive public violence? Maybe, maybe not, but since no one else is asking, maybe it’s time Tarantino said it for them. It might not make the idiotic conversation stop, but it makes for a better quote than the word ‘monkey.’ Ross Lincoln is a LA-based freelance writer from Oklahoma with an unhealthy obsession with comics, movies, video games, ancient history, Gore Vidal, and wine. Follow Ross Lincoln on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Appearing alongside husband Mark Kelly, Gabrielle Giffords was a guest today on Good Morning America , touching on a subject she sadly knows all too well: Gun violence. The ex-Congresswoman – who survived a shooting in Arizona two years ago – visited Newtown, Connecticut last week and had one word for Diane Sawyer when the topic turned to these bloody massacres: Enough . “After the shooting in Tucson, there was talk about addressing some of these issues, [and] again after Aurora,” Kelly said. “I’m hopeful that this time is different, and I think it is. Twenty first-graders’ being murdered in their classrooms is a very personal thing for everybody.” To that end, Giffords and Kelly have started Americans for Responsible Solutions. It’s an initiative described on its official site as being meant to “encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership by communicating directly with the constituents that elect them.” On their visit to Newtown, Giffords and Kelly met with relatives directly connected to the tragedy. “[The] first couple that we spoke to, the dad took out his cell phone and showed us a picture of his daughter and I just about lost it, just by looking at the picture,” Kelly said. “It was just very tough and it brought back a lot of memories about what that was like for us some two years ago.” Giffords and Kelly both own guns and support the Second Amendment, but they denounce the NRA’s hopes to arm schools with security guards and are instead pushing for “common sense” legal changes. For starters, how about comprehensive background checks all around? “Why can’t we… make it more difficult for criminals and the mentally ill to get guns?” asks Kelly, adding that “extended magazines” should be outlawed because they are “only used to kill lots of people.” Giffords still struggles everyday with regular tasks and could only offer a word here and there during the interview, but each spoke volumes: Enough. Strength. Sad. What do you think? Does the country need major gun reform? YES. Fewer guns, fewer tragedies! NO. It’s unconstitutional and won’t stop anything! View Poll »
The Washington Redskins’ season went from dream to nightmare in the course of one half last night, as the team blew a 14-0 lead in the first quarter… and then quarterback Robert Griffin III blew out his knee in the fourth quarter. As a result, talk in the nation’s capital today isn’t of the team’s 24-14 loss to the Seahawks, but of how serious an injury Griffin suffered. And whether Coach Mike Shanahan should have taken him out as soon as his limp became noticeable. “I think I did put myself at more risk by being out there,” said Griffin, who missed a game earlier this season with a sprained MCL. “But every time you get on the field, you’re putting yourself on the line.” Griffin, though, said he believes himself to be Washington’s “best option” under center and Shanahan said he talked to his star throughout the game. “He said, ‘Hey, trust me. I want to be in there, and I deserve to be in there,’ ” Shanahan told reporters. “I couldn’t disagree with him.” But for the long-term health of his franchise, considering Griffin may have torn a ligament, should he have? Should Shanahan have removed Griffin early in the game? Yes, he was clearly hobbled No, he gave the team the best chance to win View Poll »
