Adele Cancer Speculation; Hillary Swank Cleans House
Welcome to the Smart Set. Every morning we bring you the gossip coverage, filtered. Today: further cancellations by singer Adele spark throat cancer fears, Hillary Swank is changing her management team after her appearance at the Chechen president's birthday, and somes CNN's new morning lineup.
Adele has cancelled an additional six tour dates in the United Kingdom because of a throat ailment "prompting suspicions around the Internet that the unspecified illness may actually be throat cancer." Speculation was feverish enough yesterday that #PRAYFORADELE emerged as a trending topic on Twitter. The singer previously cancelled the remaining ten shows on her U.S. tour earlier this month after suffering what her rep described as "a hemorrhage into her vocal cord." She also cancelled nine tour dates back in June after a bout of laryngitis. [New York Daily News]
CNN is apparently set to retool its struggling morning lineup, with an announcement coming "as early as this week" that former anchor Soledad O'Brien will begin anchoring the network's coverage 7 to 9 a.m. weekday programming block, with former ABC correspondent Ashleigh Banfield taking the 5 to 7 a.m. slot. The moves, once announced, "will effectively dismantle" CNN's American Morning telecast, which has "had about 10 co-anchors in its 10 years on CNN." Banfield will reportedly have a co-anchor, possibly Zoraida Sambolin, recently of NBC's Chicago affiliate. O'Brien, meanwhile, "may be joined by an ensemble of contributors." [The New York Times]
Taylor Swift is threatening to sue a Web site called Celebrity Jihad for posting photos of "a topless woman who bears a resemblance to Swift" under the headline "Taylor Swift Topless Pornographic Pic Leaked?" Swift's lawyers have apparently already sent the site a letter saying they'd be suing for trademark infringement if the images aren't taken down. [TMZ]
Hillary Swank is still facing blowback for appearing at a birthday party for Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov earlier this month. Apparently she blames her management team for the snafu. Last week, she reportedly fired Jason Weinber, her "friend and manager of eight years." Meanwhile, the two CAA agents also "face being moved off her team" over the appearance. Swank's also reportedly "upset that a fourth employee, Lauren Hale, who works for CAA and travelled to Grozny, failed to prevent the 5 October PR debacle." [The Independent]
Lindsay Lohan's yellow, gnarled teeth are no more. The actress uploaded a picture to her Who Say page on Saturday "revealing a whiter, even-looking smile," reportedly courtesy of Dr. Bill Dorfman, " a high-profile, L.A-based dentist who's worked with such stars as Eva Longoria, Jessica Simpson, Anne Hathaway, Usher and Ozzy Osbourne." [Us Weekly]
Second daughter Ashley Biden is engaged to Philadelphia physician Howard Krein. The two have been dating for "more than a year," and have actually been engaged since September In a statement, the vice president said he was thrilled. No word yet on a date for the ceremony, or if it might be held at the Naval Observatory. [People and The Reliable Source]
