Gerard Butler Leaves Rehab; Fidel Castro May Meet the Pope
Welcome to the Smart Set. Every morning we bring you the gossip coverage, filtered. Today: Gerard Butler's stealthy rehab stint is ending today, the John Edwards sex tape is on borrowed time, and Fidel Castro may be getting ready to become a Catholic.
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Gerard Butler has apparently spent the last three weeks at the Betty Ford Center. Per TMZ, Butler has been "struggling with pain management" since filming 300 in 2006. Oh, and a source says he's also "developed issues with cocaine," but that seems to be secondary to the "pain management" problem. Remarkably, Butler was able to complete the bulk of his treatment without anyone in the press being tipped off, and is due to leave Betty Ford later today. [TMZ]
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All copies of that irksome John Edwards sex tape will be destroyed "within the next 30 days," following an out-of-court settlement between former Edwards aide Andrew Young and Rielle Hunter, Edwards' mistress and potential future live-in-girlfriend. Hunter sued Young and his wife Cheri two years ago, claiming they stole her "personal and private" videotape, plus photos of her and Edwards' daughter. Under the terms of the settlement, the Youngs admitted no wrongdoing, and Hunter gets her snapshots back. But the tape has to go to sex tape heaven. [ABC News via Daily Intel]
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Private equity baron Ted Fortsmann left behind a $1.8 billion estate when he died in November, and at least some of it is going to Krishna Lakshmi, the 2-year-old daughter of Top Chef host (and longtime Fortsman squeeze) Padma Lakshmi. A 2009 DNA test confirmed venture capitalist Adam Dell, not Fortsmann, was the child's father, but Fortsmann established a trust fund for Krishna in his will. It's unclear what it entails, since Fortsmann's lawyers filed a request for all trusts to be kept secret, but a source says that Fortsmann had been "carrying out the role of father since the moment Krishna was delivered into his arms.” [New York Daily News]
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Salman Rushdie -- who also used to be involved with Padma Lakshmi -- has been rebuffed by Michelle Barish, the lady he spectacularly and rashly proposed to two days after her breakup with Steve Tisch. Barish spent two months mulling over the offer, which came with a 7-karat emerald-cut engagement ring, but apparently she decided "wants to focus on her child." And yes, she did return the ring. Rushdie declined to comment, but we anticipate his response will be to do something like this. [Page Six]
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Chris Brown -- the man America loves to shout at -- is under investigation in Miami for allegedly stealing a lady's iPhone last weekend. She says she snapped a photo of Brown early Sunday morning outside a nightclub while he was sitting in a Bentley. According to the police report, Brown then "reached through his car window, snatched her phone from her hands, and said, ‘B--ch! You ain’t going to put that on no website!" Miami cops have confirmed there's an open investigation, but say no warrants have been issued. On a related note: Rihanna, please do not get back together with Chris Brown. [New York Daily News]
There'a rumor making the rounds in Rome that Fidel Castro is going to convert to Catholicism when Pope Benedict XVI visits Cuba next week. Castro's daughter Alina Fernández told Italy's La Repubblica newspaper last month that her father has "come closer to religion and to God" in recent years. Meanwhile, a "well-placed source in the Vatican" (!!) tells The Daily Beast that "a private encounter between Castro and Benedict XVI is indeed in the works in which Fidel could receive the Pope’s blessing." The well-placed Vatican source went on to note there's been "no guarantee of absolution or a confession." So we'll see. [La Stampa via The Daily Beast
