Lionel Richie scoffs at celebs in rehab

Nicole Richie’s dad has taken a jab at celebs who go into rehab for inconsequential reasons.

“I think it’s a cliché to say, ‘I’m going into rehab. I bumped my foot today — rehab; I hit my head on something — rehab,’” Lionel Richie said, reports WENN.

Some found the comment ironic — given that Nicole Richie had to go into rehab for her addiction, but her father said that his daughter’s case was different: she needed it. Some celeb watchers feel that his comments were a thinly veiled reference to celebrities who went into rehab after making bigoted comments.

“It seems to me that he’s referring to Mel Gibson or Isaiah Washington,” said one PR rep. “If that’s the case, that’s really unfortunate.”

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Lavigne attacks Brit again
Avril Lavigne is blasting celebs who are tabloid targets.

The singer was quoted in a lengthy interview saying that celebrities who really want to avoid the press can do just that. And she says that Spears seems to be one of the few who isn’t able to pull that off.

Lavigne admits that she isn’t the focus of as much attention as her rival, but says that’s largely because she wants it that way.

“The press isn’t all over me like that,” Lavigne said in an interview published in the Scottish Daily Record. “She’s probably one of the people who can’t control it. But if you don’t want it, you could get away from it. I don’t want my picture taken all the time.” Lavigne recently denied making comments attributed to her that blamed the “Toxic” singer for her woes.

Lavigne added that she and her hubby, musician Deryck Whibley, aren’t tabloid targets because they avoid the press.

“If you want to be a tabloid couple, go around every red carpet in L.A., go to The Ivy for lunch,” she said. “We don’t do any of that. To us, it’s cheesy. It’s lame.”

Notes from all over
Some clothes from Anna Nicole Smith’s unreleased clothing line are being auctioned on eBay. In 2004, before the aborted release of the line, the design was described as “Tex Sex” — an homage to her Texas roots and sexy style. Opening bid for four items, including a hot pink tank top: $10,000 ... Paul McCartney is calling a new song, “Pizza and Fairy Tales” — apparently a reference to an insult from his former bandmate John Lennon, who once told him that his music lacked depth. McCartney’s music was, said the late Beatle, all pizza and fairy tales ... Hilary Duff says that she was so in love with Joel Madden that she could see right past his tattoos. “Joel was my boyfriend for two years and I loved him — he was a very important part of my life. All that stuff about the age difference between us being the reason we broke up is just not true; I never felt the age difference,” the 19-year-old Cosmo Girl said about her 28-year-old ex. “Breaking up was just something that I felt needed to happen between us. People thought we were an unlikely couple, but we really weren’t that different. After two months, I didn’t even see his tattoos anymore, because that’s not who he is.” She says the two still stay in touch and “are at a really good place.”

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