Madonna on Mercy: ‘She needs to be with me’

After suffering a courtroom shock when a judge denied her petition to adopt 4-year-old Malawian orphan Mercy James, a devastated Madonna urged her legal team to find a way to reverse the decision. According to the Australian Herald Sun, the queen of pop believes the child needs her.

“I can't believe I'm leaving my beautiful baby behind,” Madonna was heard telling aides. “It's not right. I love that baby girl. … She’s my little girl — she needs to be with me.”

Last week Judge Esme Chombo ruled against the singer, stating, “By removing the very safeguard that is supposed to protect our children, the courts by their pronouncements could actually facilitate trafficking of children by some unscrupulous individuals who would take advantage of the weakness of the law of the land.”

Not willing to accept Chombo’s ruling as the last word on the matter, Madonna was said to tell her lawyers, “Do whatever you can to get me my Mercy; I can't imagine her going back to the orphanage.”

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Lindsay’s on the way to post-breakup breakdown
Though Lindsay Lohan’s only calling it “a brief break,” various sources report she and girlfriend Samantha Ronson are finally finished following a drama-packed weekend that left Lohan emotionally fragile.

Things first went downhill for the duo Friday night, when security guards restrained Lohan as she attempted to enter a party in honor of Ronson’s sister. According to OK! magazine, the bar block was the work of Ronson’s family, but LiLo took aim at the DJ for the slight.

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton posted a Twitter feed, allegedly from Lohan, wherein the actress reacted by lashing out at her former gal pal (“Look, im doing this publicly because u&ur friends call people mag..so-you win, you broke my heart. now go away. i loved you”), and by Saturday, Ronson was seen changing the locks to her front door.

An insider who spoke to OK! accused Lohan of bombarding Ronson with texts and e-mails since then.

“Her mental state is obviously collapsing,” the source said.

No more movies for Viggo Mortensen
Reluctant film star Viggo Mortensen might give up on movies altogether.

The “Lord of the Rings” actor has often bemoaned his celebrity status, and he recently told the Times of London he’s refusing all new roles.

“No more movies,” he said. “I haven’t said yes to one in over a year. I’ve been in all these well-received movies and it seems like I should be doing some more, but there’s other things I want to do. It’s not the right time.”

It’s not clear if Mortensen plans a sabbatical or retirement after he promotes the releases of projects he’s already completed. When asked how he’d know if the time was right for return to the big screen, he simply said, “I really don’t know.”

Dish on the fly
His new film, “Midgets vs. Mascots,” debuts later this month at the Tribeca Film Festival, but Gary Coleman isn’t encouraging anyone to go see it. “It was worse than any film-school project that I could ever bear to think I’d be involved with,” Coleman ranted in a video posted to YouTube. “I never should have been in this movie in the first place, but the mortgage keeps coming.” As for the agent who helped him land the job in the first place, the former child star promised, “I’m going to bash my fists right in my (his) face when I get back.” … “The Hills” central resident is due to pack her reality TV bags at the close of this season, but according to Lauren Conrad’s former BFF Heidi Montag, the show won’t suffer for it. “ ‘The Hills’ hasn’t even really begun, yet,” Montag told MTV News. “I think this is just the beginning. We don’t need (Lauren). We’ll miss her. I just don’t know if we need her.” … “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone put aside his usual irreverent take on all things to address his sense of patriotism in a interview with the Guardian UK. “I like America,” Stone explained. “When I go overseas I spend a lot of time defending my country. America shouldn’t work. There are 300 million people. Every day it hasn’t evolved into people eating each other and race war. It’s like, ‘OK! Let’s count that as a success.’ ”

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Tabloid Tidbits is compiled by Ree Hines.