Paris defends Britney's ‘partying ethics’

Paris Hilton is defending her new best friend Britney Spears on her MySpace site.

“Lately, you’ve been seeing pics of me and Britney partying (blah blah) [sic] and she knows that some of her fans are very upset about what they call her ‘behavior’ and sadly they’re blaming the issue on her being friends with me,” Hilton wrote. “For people to call out her parenting skills on behalf of her partying ethics is appalling. Britney loves her kids to death, and I know for a fact that it truly hurts her when she sees these cruel things being written about her. She goes home every night to her babies and partying has not come in the way of her parenting.

“Anyone who has called her out on this should really be ashamed,” Hilton admonishes. “There are thousands of mothers out there who like to go out and have a good time. But, you do not see people out there calling them ‘bad parents.’ She’s young, and if she wants to go out and have some fun, let her. Just because she does these things does not mean she doesn’t care about her children. For the sake of Britney and her kids, be kind. Love, Paris”

Gere and the gerbil
Did Sylvester Stallone start that bizarre urban myth about Richard Gere and a gerbil?

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The “Rocky” star says Gere thinks he does. As Stallone tells it, he and Gere had a falling-out on the set of the 1974 flick “The Lords of Flatbush.”

According to Stallone, Gere was supposed to have the role played by Perry King, but he and Gere “never hit it off” and Rocky got so mad at Gere that he elbowed him in the head over a greasy chicken.

“[Gere] would strut around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the baddest knight at the round table,” Stallone told AintItCoolNews.com.

Video: Stallone spreading gerbil rumors about Gere? He says that one time during a fight scene things got a little too real, and at another point, things got physical during a lunch when Stallone went into a Toyota to eat lunch.

“I was eating a hotdog and he climbs in with a half a chicken covered in mustard with grease nearly dripping out of the aluminum wrapper," said Stallone. “I said, ‘That thing is going to drip all over the place.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ I said, ‘If it gets on my pants you’re gonna know about it.’ He proceeds to bite into the chicken and a small, greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay.”

Gere’s spokesman wasn’t available for comment, but according to Stallone: “Richard was given his walking papers and to this day seriously dislikes me. He even thinks I’m the individual responsible for the gerbil rumor. Not true, but that’s the rumor.”

Notes from all over
Jessica Simpson is flubbing more than just song lyrics. Just days after the former reality show star caused a flap by messing up the lyrics in a Dolly Parton tribute, she’s reportedly having problems with her movie lines. A source on the Shreveport, Louisiana set of “Blonde Ambition” tells Star that Simpson is having trouble with her script lines. “After the seventh take on one shot, the director hid a microphone in her ear so a crew member could feed her lines,” a source told the tab. “Everyone was embarrassed for her, but she laughed it off, saying ‘I’m sorry, everyone. I’m sorry.” Co-star Luke Wilson was sympathetic, reports the source, and “patted [Simpson] on the back and told her it would be okay.”   . . . Elton John has lost another celeb friend. The Rocket Man — who has butted heads with a slew of his famous buddies — has reportedly had a falling out with Victoria Beckham. . . Keira Knightley has been flashing a big diamond ring, sparking speculations she’s engaged to boyfriend Rupert Friend.

Jeannette Walls Delivers the Scoop Mondays through Thursdays on MSNBC.com