You may not know this, but George Clooney has been the face of Martini vermouth since 2004. His ads often pop up on European television, where he thinks American audiences won’t find him and realize, in addition to lending his name to charitable causes, he lends his name to corporate come ons.

Here’s his latest spot, which, like his previous ads, features Clooney with a moustache, and uttering the one word he knows in Italian.

But analyzing the ad under another context makes it more interesting. In 2005, Britain’s Code of Advertising changed the rules for liquor ads, requiring them not to link alcohol to “seduction, sexual activity or sexual success.” However, romance and flirtation are … Continued…

Every week, a bunch of “real” people say really stupid things on reality TV. These are their stories.

10. “Like, I really don’t feel bad for homeless people.” — Brittany, Queen Bees.

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These celebrity-Muppet comparisons are like every Muppet movie after Muppets Take Manhattan: Often they don’t work, but when they do, they’re hilarious
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Chris Ciccone wrapped up his two-part interview today on Good Morning America with a smile on his face and a new batch of insults for his sister Madonna.

For someone who claims to love his sibling, he sure has an interesting way of showing it. And as for hope that the two will reconcile, Chris says that depends on whether Guy Ritchie cleans up his act.

Because this rift between Chris and Madonna has nothing to do with this stupid tell-all book that he admits is all about the money.

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Ever since NBC Universal execs learned they would officially be losing Project Runway on Bravo, they’ve been working overtime to tear the brand apart. Why should they bother promoting a show that Harvey Weinstein ripped away from them to take to Lifetime, where he’s set to bag a bigger payday from production and product placement fees?

At first, the negativity was subtle. Bravo execs kept quiet as they stole Runway’s brilliant production team, Magical Elves, away from the show in an exclusive deal. And then the more obvious signs arrived.

Project Runway’s fifth season, and the last for Bravo, premieres on Wednesday. And by the time it arrives, and certainly by the time it wraps, its … Continued…

How do you let the execs behind your show know that you’re pissed about all the sweeping changes that they’re making?

If you’re Cindy McCain critic Tim Gunn and have the uncertainty of what lies ahead for Project Runway, you start sniping away at the brand any opportunity you get.

While Runway’s fifth season begins the march to its end on Bravo on Wednesday, Gunn, who has signed to remain with the show when it moves to Lifetime, can be seen planting seeds of negativity…

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The birth of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s new twins — son Knox Leon and daughter Vivienne Marcheline — is not just the second coming of Jesus, but also the culmination of nine months (longer, if you count the speculation period) of a gossip industry frenzy.

Everybody had an opinion. Everybody was a spectator. And everybody wanted in.

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There was a time when Carson Kressley was the golden boy of a little network called Bravo, an underdog in a sea of cable channels looking to cement their voices. He once led four other charges on a New York metro area witch hunt for heterosexual fashion mistakes on a show called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, later chopped down to just Queer Eye.

After a season or two, his show began tanking in the rankings, and its buzz factor wore off as other programs with similar formats entered the market. Kressley looked doomed to be ushered into the shadows of reality television has-beens. And then Lifetime came knocking.

They had a little … Continued…

When news broke that Jesse Jackson had whispered that he wanted to “cut [Barack Obama’s] nuts off” before a Fox & Friends interview Sunday, it was a reminder that hot mics can make it hard for public figures to keep their private conversations private.

It should be a simple life lesson: When you have a media outlet’s microphone attached to you should expect other people are listening to your conversation, and very likely recording it.

Herewith, some famous examples of people who should know better, but obviously didn’t.

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Want to know how serious Amy Winehouse is about her recovery?

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The new Men’s Journal photo spread of Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte inspired more embarrassing tales of the heart from our Lance Bass-loving colleague, Whitney Little: “During my sophomore year in college I had a teensy weensy crush Phelps that drove me to spend over $100 on all the MP paraphernalia I could find on eBay… I finally moved on, but I have a bad feeling my problem may creep back now that it’s Olympic season yet again and Men’s Journal is putting out pictures like these.”

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There’s a conspiracy theory floating around that the McCain aides fielding questions during conference calls with reporters are not subscribing to the usual operating procedure of these things — where any reporter can anonymously dial the toll-free number, dial *1, and wait to ask a question, no matter what media outlet they’re phoning in for — but instead are screening reporters ahead of time, leaving many liberals on the McCain trail without much access.

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There are way too many times when reality TV misses all the good moments in someone’s life, forcing the cast to reshoot the scene or just sit around discussing it in detail to catch up the audience.

Unfortunately for Corey Haim, this is not one of those times.

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It really should be Madonna’s year.

She’s got a new album out (although it’s been panned by critics and fans), she’s about to embark on an international tour this fall, and her adoption of David Banda, once mired in controversy, is finally being made official.

And then she had to come to New York.

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We have some good news and bad news with regard to A Shot at Love 2 with Tila Tequila.

The good news is that in a shocking season finale, The Chosen One, Kristy, rejected Tila’s offer of a shot at “love.” The acting was superb, and we expect an Emmy nomination in the very near future. “It’s not just a plastic key,” Kristy said. “It’s the key to her heart.” Wow. Heavy stuff right there.

So, on to the bad news: That means there will definitely be A Shot at Love 3 with Tila Tequila…

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