Ellen Leventry: December 2007 Archives

For the past few days bloggerati the world over have been consumed with covering Jamie Lynn Spears’ recently announced pregnancy; this blog included. And while many muse about the Nickelodeon star not learning valuable lessons from Britney’s missteps and potentially ruining a considerable career, other news outlets, such as the New York Times, are trumpeting that parents and children are engaging in a new round of frank, sex talk; something that both parents and children dread, but is phenomenally important.

But I say take this new more open environment even further and give Jamie Lynn her own reality show – show teens what it’s like to be an unwed, 16-year old mother. Nickelodeon says it is talking with “Nick News” host Linda Ellerbee about producing a special on the issue of teen pregnancy, but while I love Ellerbee and she's genius with the kids, a reality show may drive the message home better with its unique blend of edutainment.

Jamie Lynn Spears may be blushing with the glow of unexpected pregnancy, but her lawyers are blushing with embarrassment over the Victorian defense of her character that they set against earlier pregnancy rumors.

When the National Enquirer first reported on July 28, 2007, that Jamie Lynn Spears was pregnant, the tabloid was strongly rebuffed by the "Zoey 101" star’s lawyers and threatened with the ever-looming legal action.

Now someone at the publication has leaked the lawyers' letter to PerezHilton.com, and the faces at the law firm are sure to be as pink as Hilton’s website.

US Weekly magazine has a column called “Stars! They’re Just Like Us” – wherein they show celebs pumping their own gas, shopping for groceries and doing the types of daily activities average, everyday folks do. With Jamie Lynn Spears’ – Britney’s li’l sis -- recent announcement that she is pregnant at the tender age of 16 following a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noting a surprising rise in U.S. teen birthrates, that axiom is proven once again to be true. Ain’t that something; stars really are just like us!

So when TMZ.com reported this morning that Mama Spears’ book about “raising high-profile children while coming from a low-profile Louisiana community,” has been delayed indefinitely by publishing house Thomas Nelson, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. With Britney’s recent antics and this announcement, people are wondering if her children are high, rather than high-profile.

“Britney's Next Act -- Virgin Mary?”

No, you haven’t had too much eggnog. TMZ.com (via US weekly) is reporting that Britney Spears is being courted to play the mother of Jesus in a film satire of the Nativity story.

The film, called “Sweet Baby Jesus,” would star Spears as a “pregnant 19-year-old who doesn't know how she got knocked up, living in a place called Bethlehem, Maryland.”

I don’t know what is more disturbing: Spears, the poster-parent for bad mothering, being asked to play the most idealized mother of all time, or the producers of this film asking the former pop-tart to take the role in order to drum up publicity for the project.

This is not provocative casting like Alanis Morrissette -- outspoken songstress and child actor -- as God in Kevin Smith’s “Dogma.” This is pure publicity stunt. Have you seen “Crossroads?” Heck, I’ll call the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue myself to get this offer protested to death.

You know on “Law & Order” when the judge tells the jury to ignore the statement just made by the person testifying by saying, “Strike that from the record. Jury, please disregard his statement in your deliberations?” I always wondered how that worked exactly. The jury obviously heard the statement and as much as they try to disregard it, that statement will still be lingering in the back of their mind somewhere, influencing the outcome.

So when I heard a Religion News Service report this morning that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has pulled their positive review of “The Golden Compass” from the Catholic News Service website thanks to pressure from conservative Catholic groups who find the film anti-Catholic and anti-religious, my mind immediately went to Jack McCoy and his merry band of A.D.A.s.

Some may have been surprised that the oft-maligned Kevin Federline was named by Details magazine as one of the fifty most influential men under 45 in the current issue; number seven to be exact, an honor he shared with other...

Huffington Post’s Danny Shea took “The View’s” Sherri Shepherd to task yesterday for claiming that Christ predated the ancient Greeks during a discussion of philosopher Epicurus on the gab fest. “Naturally, talk soon migrated to the topic of religion, and...