Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



Naomi Campbell and Russian tycoon Vladimir Doronin exiting via the back door at Cipriani restaurant in Mayfair.(image via zimbio)

"This Naomi Campbell stuff about her Russian, Vladimir Doronin, and how she wants to be but so far isn't a mom. She's had some ovarian problems. But she says: 'I would be a very strict mother because I'm childlike myself.'" (Cindy Adams)

"Once upon a time, the World Economic Forum was the ultimate Wall Street jamboree. Now, in the riptide of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, WEF officials and delegates say many of the chief executive officers who gathered in Davos, Switzerland, over the last five years didn't listen to warnings from their peers. Davos organizers also say they failed to play tough with the financial-industry bosses, opting to accept their funding and let them turn Davos into a rave-up for Wall Street excesses. 'The partying crept in,' says Klaus Schwab, the 70-year- old WEF founder and executive chairman. 'We let it get out of control, and attention was taken away from the speed and complexity of how the world's challenges built up.'" (Bloomberg)

"(T)he Fashion Group International's 25th annual awards certainly have come a long way. Donatella Versace was the happy recipient of an anniversary award ... Jennifer Lopez and Prince stopped the show by presenting a glass Movado award to their Italian friend-though the latter only murmured one word on stage. That didn't phase Lopez; "Believe it or not, he actually does speak and eat,' she confirmed, after saying goodbyes to her co-presenter with husband Marc Anthony. 'He's a sweet, funny gentleman, though he made me do all the hard labor tonight!' Prince's presence was so obvious, even the other Star award-winner couldn't stop from being impressed. 'One year I went to seen Rent on Broadway for my birthday,' recalled Francisco Costa, who sat by his date, Ashley Olsen .." (Fashionweekdaily)

"So this is what life after Madonna does to a man. Guy Ritchie could barely contain his joy as he made his first public outing since the official announcement of his divorce from the pop star. Ritchie could be entitled to up to half of Madonna's estimated ($474 million) million wealth after eight years of marriage. Madonna, meanwhile, is said to be so angry she is seeking Kabbalah counselling to control her rage at her eventually-to-be ex. cLast night cap on head — rather than in hand — Ritchie attended the private view of artist Sam Taylor-Wood's new exhibition at the White Cube gallery in Piccadilly. Ritchie, 40, took with him the two stars of the new Sherlock Holmes film he is shooting — Robert Downey Jr, who plays Holmes, and Jude Law, as Watson." (Thisislondon)

"Much of Obama's rise this week has been due to his domination of the paid advertising ..And, starting on Monday of this week, McCain began running an attack ad specifically aimed at the issues first raised by Joe the Plumber. Showing footage of his chat with Obama, the McCain ad hammers home the tax issue, noting that Obama's so-called tax cut for 100 million Americans is really a welfare check for the half of them who pay no taxes. The ad is hard hitting and effective. More importantly, it is running in the clear without other McCain media to clutter up the message. So McCain has his best ad on his best issue with as close to financial parity with Obama as he is likely to get. If, in these circumstances, he cannot gain ground during the next few days, the race will be functionally over." (DickMorris)

"Tracy Morgan: When I was wilding? I got kicked out of Prince’s house. The last time he won a Grammy, we went to the pre-Grammy party. Free booze all night. Prince had his band in the living room. Everybody left the house except for me and my boy. It was 6 o’clock, 7 o’clock in the morning, the sun was coming up, and we were still drinking. And Prince and his wife were at the door in their pajamas and said, 'Come on, Tracy, you’ve got to go.' And I was gay for about five seconds because he’s a pretty motherfucker." (Defamer)

"It was a coming together of two big name cable channels for a good cause — aiding veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The partnership was a little odd at times, but the audience, mostly vets and their families, thoroughly enjoyed it. 50 Cent kicked off the festivities, and Sway introduced Anderson Cooper, who voiced several features on vets that aired during the program." (TVNewser)



"'Yo, this is some exclusive group of people!' exclaimed Tracy Morgan as he surveyed the not-so-humble but intimate scene at 1OAK. He was right on point--it's not every night that a club banquette is filled by Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Franca Sozanni, André Leon Talley, Zac Posen and Jay-Z. The mogul, celebrating his current cover of L'Uomo Vogue, fine-tuned the atmosphere with a DJ, an offering of signature drinks, and the presence of his trusted videographer. 'I love my cover,' the host enthused. 'Whenever you make it to the front of a magazine and you can't read the story because it's in different language--that's when you know you made it!'" (Fashionweekdaily)

"The impact of tax rates on productivity and development is something economists masterbate about, enterpreneurs don’t waste their time thinking about it. We have business to do. Entrepreneurs live to be entrepreneurs. I have never had a discussion with anyone about starting a business that included tax rates. Ever. If anyone that wanted an investment from me made a point of discussing tax rates as an impact on their business, I wouldnt invest in them. Ever. Entrepreneurs live for the juice of making their dreams come true. Of having a vision and fighting to see it come true. The joy of mission accomplished and the scoreboard of the financial rewards. We are in an economic mess right now. It doesn’t matter who caused it. It’s here. It doesn’t matter what our Presidential candidates and their economic advisors come up with. Its meaningless. The cure to our economic problems is the Entrepreneurial Spirit of All Americans. Instead of bitching at each other, could one Presidential candidate please show even the least bit of leadership and character and stand up for and encourage the entrepreneurs in this country?" (Marc Cuban)

"I left the Howard Greenberg Gallery, headed for Rockefeller Center and 51st Street and Fifth. There were no taxis vacant. I had to walk fast because I was getting close to the hour of seating for the Royal Academy Dinner .. One honoree was John Richardson, recipient of the John Singleton Copley Award." (NYSD)