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This one’s ripped from Perez Hilton’s headlines, kittens. Funny lady Wanda Sykes spoke at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas yesterday and came out as a lesbian. Galvanized by the passing of Prop. 8 in California, Sykes said she felt motivated to declare herself. “I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation,” she told the cheering crowd. “Everybody that knows me personally, they know I’m gay, and that’s the way people should be able to live their lives, really… We shouldn’t have to be standing out here, demanding something that we automatically should have as citizens of this country.” (But then what would Perez have to write about? How he detests Jennifer Aniston, I guess.) Sykes went on to say she was married in California, and that her wife was in the audience. Check out her stirring speech below.

Access Hollywood is reporting that a 30-year-old woman was found dead in a parked car on Tuesday evening near Paula Abdul’s L.A. home. The woman’s parents had reported her missing and told police they believed her to be near Abdul’s house.  She was a big fan of Abdul’s, and news footage of the story shows stickers of the singer hanging from the rearview mirror.

The woman was pronounced dead on the scene. Police believe her death to have been a drug overdose/suicide but are still waiting for autopsy reports.

TMZ reports that the woman may have been more than a big fan. They say she could have been stalking the star for years. Her parents did admit to police that their daughter had “an unnatural obsession” with the American Idol judge.

Rocker Juliana Hatfield hasn’t been in the spotlight much since the ’90s, but some of us remember her for 1993 CD Become What You Are. (That was back when MTV played videos.) Hatfield toured with the first Lilith Fair. She also told the magazine Interview that she was still a virgin, though in her mid-20’s at the time. She later said of the interview, “I think there are a lot of people out there who don’t care about sex, but who you never hear from, so I thought I should say it. The magazine I did the interview for is full of beef-cake hunky guys and scantily-clad models, so I thought it would be really funny to say that I didn’t care about sex in a magazine that’s full of sex and beauty - but no one really got the joke.” These non-sex-having people sound kinky.

The now 41-year-old rocker recently entered treatment for anorexia, something she says she struggled with in the past. On her blog she writes that when life gets hectic, instead of turning to drugs or alcohol, she restricts her food consumption. She is now in a treatment facility and writing about her experience on her blog, http://julianahatfield.com/blog/. She says of the harrowing period before she entered treatment: ”I was dehydrated and anemic — anemia caused by malnutrition — and I didn’t even know it; I didn’t realize the seriousness of my problem until I had already entered dangerous territory. My anxiety was so great… that at some point I lost my appetite completely and it was no more about restricting food but became an almost inability to eat.”

We wish Hatfield strength in her recovery! Check out some old-school MTV below, with Juliana Hatfield Three’s “My Sister.”

Actress Anne Hathaway has long ago moved on to more adult fare since her Disney princess movies, but her management team is still scrambling to hide the fact that she smokes. (After wearing the above sheer outfit with her nips showing, it’s hard to believe the actress has that wholesome an image.) According to a source, the star “kept nipping out for secret cigarettes at the Hollywood Life House at the Toronto Film Festival. A spy says, ‘Her people don’t want anyone to know she smokes.’” I remember when stars smoked all the time in movies, but now it seems the number of off-screen smokers has dramatically decreased. Apart from an Olsen or two and Katherine Heigl, I can’t think of any female celeb smokers.

Unlike Heigl, Hathaway has managed to avoid being photographed while puffing away. After all the craziness with her ex-boyfriend, Raffaelo Follieri, I’d probably start smoking too.  

You may have heard that actor Matt Damon has been verbal in his dislike of Sarah Palin, but what exactly did he say? In an interview with the AP, Damon called McCain’s VP pick an “absurd” choice and a “disaster.” “It’s like a really bad Disney movie,” he said, and went on to imagine hockey mom Palin trying her “folksy” charm with Vladimir Putin. He also referred disparagingly to her creationist beliefs, and her fondness for banning books. A spokesperson for Palin was quick to link the comments with Obama, saying, ”It’s not surprising that Barack Obama and his celebrity supporters continue to tear down Gov. Palin with little more than blatant name-calling.”

Will other politically-minded celebs follow Damon’s example and share their thoughts on Palin? Pamela Anderson already has. Anderson was recently in Toronto to speak about animal rights, when she was asked about a photo of Palin’s home that showed a bear hide mounted on the wall. “I can’t stand her. She can suck it,” Anderson reportedly said.

The body of thirty-seven-year-old Evan Tanner was found on Monday near Palo Verde, CA. Tanner was a former Ultimate Fighting Championship wrestler who won the middleweight title in 2005. His management team says that Tanner had embarked on a solitary trip into the desert, something he did periodically as a “cleansing” retreat.

It is believed that after Tanner’s motorcycle ran out of gas, he started walking the remaining miles to his camp in the 115-degree-heat. Before departing on his trip, Tanner asked friends to contact officials if they didn’t hear from him in a few days. After he stopped responding to text messages, they notified the sheriff’s department, and his body was found shortly after.

Tanner was aware of the dangers involved in his journey. In his Spike TV blog, he wrote, “This isn’t a version of ‘Into the Wild.’ I’m not going out into the desert with a pair of shorts and a bowie knife, to try to live off the land. I’m going fully geared up, and I’m planning on having some fun.”  He continued, “I do plan on going back pretty far, so I did mention in one of my posts that I wanted to make sure to have good quality gear. Any failure of gear out in the desert could cause a problem.”

A year ago, Colin Farrell was in Toronto to promote his film, In Bruges. Somehow along the way, he met a homeless alcoholic who goes by the name Stress. The two started talking, and Stress ended up riding around with Farrell in his limo. The actor took him on a $3,000 shopping spree, and gave him cash to find a place to stay. He also gave him a pep talk about addiction, a subject the party boy Irishman knows something about.

Now The Toronto Sun has caught up with Stress a year later, and it seems Farrell’s kindness worked wonders. He says, “I was depressed. Colin picked up my spirits and gave me hope. He gave me an opportunity and I figured I’d better take it.” Today Stress is clean, sober, and off the streets. He took Farrell’s advice, joining a 12-step group and staying at a hostel that helped him find a place to live permanently. To Farrell, he says, “Thanks for taking an interest in me and seeing me as a human being. To reach out to a homeless person who really needs help? That takes extraordinary character.”

Usmagazine.com has done some detective work, and with the help of a baby name expert they’ve come up with some theories about Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s unusual baby name choice. The couple named their newborn son Zuma Nesta Rock, which has fans a little puzzled. Never fear though, Pamela Redmond Satran, co-author of The Baby Name Bible, lent her expertise. Satran (who has a name on her as well) believes the pair named their second son after Zuma Beach in Malibu, one of Gavin’s favorite places. The middle name, Nesta, was actually Bob Marley’s first name before it was changed by an immigration official. “This name obviously links to big brother Kingston’s and is another nod to Jamaica and reggae,” says Satran. (Kingston is named after the capitol of Jamaica.)

Another expert, Jennifer Moss, points out that Zuma is “a diminutive of the Aztec name Montezuma.” In her professional opinion, it would be least traumatic for Baby Zuma to grow up as Rock Rossdale. To my ears, Rock Rossdale sounds too much like a name from The Simpsons, like Kent Brockman. I suggest another diminutive of Montezuma: Monty. Kingston and Monty, how posh does that sound? I can see it in the tabloids 20 years from now: “Kingston and younger brother Monty were spotted in a Soho night club.” Sorry Gwen, you probably don’t want to think that far ahead.

As ya’ll probably know, Jessica Simpson is attempting to remake herself into a country music star. In keeping with her new country gal image, she’s become the spokesperson for Stampede Light Plus beer. Stampede Light is the only U.S. beer to contain vitamins, including vitamin B and folic acid. The perfect beverage for a cowgirl who wants to get a little buzz on and still be up for her morning workout routine the next day.

Says company CEO Lawrence D. Schwartz, “In addition to liking and drinking the beer, this fit in with Jessica’s entrepreneurial interests. And clearly, Jessica’s healthy lifestyle and image fit perfectly with our strategy.” In addition to appearing in the ads, Simpson has a 15% stake in the Dallas-based company. So if this whole country music thing doesn’t work out so well, at least she can get her drink on.

I’ve got a touch of the ADD today, so here’s a round-up of the day’s choicest gossip for your perusal.

Item 1: Samantha Ronson shows off a new ‘do.

I like the cut, but I don’t know about the two-tone business. I think she might look cute with just dark hair.

Item 2: Are Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams back together?

Fans of The Notebook rejoice as pics surface of the former couple leaving Gosling’s deejaying gig together. McAdams is enchanting in purple, while Gosling looks like he’s off to punch a wall.

Item 3: Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker step out in Manhattan to assure us all that, contrary to recent rumors, their marriage is not in the shitter.

Last week Star Magazine reported that Broderick was having an affair with a 25-year-old. The actor’s rep responded to the tabloid with a chilly “No comment.” What I want to know is, what’s up with Matthew’s necklace? Couldn’t SJP have stopped that? Maybe their marriage really is over.

Item 4: Despite her lack of acting roles, Mischa Barton continues to land magazine covers.

On the new Marie Clare cover, she rocks the chic I’m-gonna-barf-at-any-minute look that’s so popular with models these days. Maybe she was going for “world-weary” and got it confused with “nauseated.”

Item 5: Sharon Stone is being sued for $1 billion by a group of 1,000 victims of the recent earthquake in China. You may remember the actress suggested the quake was brought on by China’s bad karma due to its treatment of Tibet. Manhattan lawyer Ming Hai is representing the victims, who claim that they were caused extreme emotional distress by Stone’s comment. Viewers of the sequel to Basic Instinct might argue the same thing.