Hilary Duff Keeps It Real! (And other preposterous news)

Item: In yet another pointless "feud," it seems that Kelly Clarkson and Hilary Duff are going head-to-head...sort of. Clarkson, not one to shy away from bad jokes, told Entertainment Weekly that she'd like to get in a ring with Duff, who is also a Texan. Not one to shy away from things that are totally none of his business, Benji Madden of Good Charlotte wrote a scathing message on his blog. Yes, even musicians like to blog. Trackback the drama here.

It doesn't matter that Benji Madden is the brother of bandmate Joe Madden -- you know, the guy who is actually dating Duff -- or that, in the same interview, Clarkson added that she would like to get into a ring with Beyonce Knowles, also a fellow Texan. What matters is that Hilary Duff's good name has been soiled, dammit! And that before all this, Benji Madden was heavily overshadowed by his brother's romance with the teen queen. Well, now we know his name.

On the infamous blog message, which has been removed, Madden said:

"My mom told me if I didn't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all, so I won't say 'Amercian Idol' sux, but it does make me laugh when someone like Kelly Clarkson disses someone like Hilary Duff...Let's not forget Kelly (BTW-Kanye West thinks u have a nice a--, I saw him look at it one time ... me, I prefer the more fit look), you were a 'contestant' on a TV show. Hilary made herself."

Now, I don't know what Kanye West has to do with this, but I do know that someone is obviously VERY overprotective of Duff's good name. Perhaps it's unrequited love? But before we get into any speculation, it's best to note that Madden said that Duff has "made herself."

I don't want to nitpick with semantics, but some might dispute what Duff has supposedly "made" (and I'm assuming this has nothing to do with the Mafia). Some might argue that Duff also seems very manufactured; that her image is her saving grace precisely because it's so unrealistically constructed as to seem genuine. Some might point out that Clarkson has enjoyed success outside of her first "American Idol" single, and has worked with the likes of Avril Lavigne and Chantal Kreviazuk. Some might assume that Duff will stop enjoying success once she passes the age of 25 and can no longer cater herself to her tween market, while Clarkson has already established herself as a cross-over artist. Some might even be petty enough to say that Clarkson can take on Duff anytime. But me? I'm staying mum.

Item: "The Surreal Life" is back on Much More Music. And while Americans have already enjoyed the fifth season of the show, Canadians are now privy to the inner workings of housemates such as Janice Dickinson ("America's Next Top Model"), Sandra Denton (Salt N' Pepa), Omarossa Manigault Stallworth ("The Apprentice") and Bronson Pinchot ("Perfect Strangers"). Trackback other cast bios here.

"The Surreal Life" is one of my guilty pleasures, so I was very happy to finally have something new to watch after a summer of Season 4 reruns (which, coincidentally, were very boring despite the "romance" between Adrienne and Peter Brady...whose real name escapes me at the moment). But the real draw of this season is pitting Omarossa and Janice Dickinson against one another. Usually, "Surreal Life" doesn't cast more than one unbalanced person in the house, so this should be good. My money's on Dickinson. She's high-maintenance and she knows it, and for that I can't fault her. (Although I'm a little put off by the fact that she looks like the type that would cut you in your sleep.) Omarossa, on the other hand, is purely delusional. For a great Janice interview at the height of her bitchiness, click here.

In the first night that the castmates spent together, Janice was rudely grabbed by Bronson and officially had the first freak-out of the season, citing an intolerance for perverts. I tried to find a picture of the alleged groping, but all I could find was the one above. And that was so not in the episode that I watched. Also of note is the fact that the women seem to be drooling over fellow castmate and ex-baseball player, Jose Canseco. Now, I don't know much about baseball, but I do know that Canseco looks a tiny bit gross after all his steroid-taking. Still, the man can work the hairy chest, which previews seem to show drive the women into a frenzy. You'd think they were stuck in that house for years, not the mere week or so that is actually filmed.

Item: Sometimes I blab on and on about nothing in particular. So, to show that a picture is worth a thousand words, and to shut up for once, here's this.

Off to veg out to primetime,
Christine