Kelly Clarkson Endorses Ron Paul; Bon Jovi Death Hoaxer Speaks
Welcome to the Smart Set. Every morning we bring you the gossip coverage, filtered. Today: Kelly Clarkson endorses Ron Paul and outrages the Internet, Kanye West is still available for New Year's Eve, and Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper are "totally dating."
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Kelly Clarkson -- the first and last bearable winner of American Idol -- has endorsed Ron Paul for the presidency. Clarkson announced her support for the Texas congressman last night on Twitter, and elaborated on her reasons for supporting Paul on her blog. "I love Ron Paul," Clarkson explained. "I liked him a lot during the last republican nomination and no one gave him a chance. If he wins the nomination for the Republican party in 2012 he's got my vote. Too bad he probably won't." The endorsement prompted blowback on Twitter and in the comments section of her original post, prompting Clarkson to write a follow-up post several hours later to defend her support of Paul. "If you don't agree with me," Clarkson said, "simply unfollow me. It's really that easy. I hope you don't because I would love the chance to hear what you have to say but if you're so blinded by hate you can't seek peace and progress then that is your unfortunate prerogative." [Kelly_Clarkson]
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Jeffrey Goho, a 30-year-old member of a Pennsylvania band called Minutia, has revealed himself to be the Twitter jokester who started the rumor earlier this month that Jon Bon Jovi died. Goho apologized for his social media chicanery in an interview with the Asbury Park Press. "Long story short," explained Goho, "I was talking to my band members on their down time, and we got so worked up in the conversation, I just kind of took the liberty and started [the rumor], because I was so irritated." Goho hysterically added that he "never really thought it would get out of Pennsylvania" and was surprised that he started getting Twitter hate less than 24 hours after posting the phony death notice. [Asbury Park Press via Ministry of Gossip]
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Kanye West is back on Twitter, and he wants everyone to know, he won't DJ your New Year's party unless his invitation is made out to 'Yeezy World Peace.' Presumably, he'll still want his check made out to Kanye West. The lesson: going on Twitter three days before New Year's Eve and announcing a silly New Year's DJ name is a particularly complex way of telling everyone that you don't have a gig for the last night of the year, and would very much like one. [Vulture and KanyeWest]
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Producers for the Broadway musical Bonnie & Clyde apparently de-gifted three shows' worth of "front-of-house staff comp tickets" to the soon-to-be-closed flop after "an annoyed actor complained because the stars didn’t get the same offer." This might have had something to do with the fact that the actors were going to be, you know, on-stage, but management still rescinded the offer made to members of the production staff. [Page Six]
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A source says Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana are "totally dating," even though her rep said last month that the Avatar star was just friends with the ex-Sexiest Man Alive. That may not have been entirely true, since last week they were apparently "telling friends that they had plans to go skiing in the Rockies together over the holidays." Saldana and Cooper recently finished filming The Words together. [E! Online]
Dave McKenna, the Washington City Paper sports columnist whose fair and accurate takedown of Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder last November turned him into a sports blogosphere hero and also got him sued, is leaving the publication after nearly 26 years. Editor Michael Schaffer sent out an all-staff email informing them of the decision yesterday. In his farewell column, which hits newsstands in the District tomorrow, but is available online now, McKenna names Snyder his 'Unsportsman of the Year,' which likely has something to do with the fact the billionaire dragged McKenna and his paper through the mud over an article he never read, then quietly settled the suit the night before the Redskins played their first regular season game back in September. . [Poynter]
