Martha Stewart sees a double standard at work here. The domestic diva is “steaming,” a source says, because the CBS miniseries on Ronald Reagan was yanked — allegedly because it wasn’t a balanced portrait of the former president — but a TV movie about her was broadcast, “and she feels that was hardly a balanced portrait,” says the insider.
“She feels that she’s being treated differently than other public figures,” says the source. “People had problems with the Reagan series because some of the scenes were called into question, but there was a whole dream sequence in (the TV movie) about her. She feels that part of it is because she’s a powerful woman. Why shouldn’t she get the same treatment and the same respect?”
“We’re going to decline comment,” Stewart’s spokeswoman told the Scoop. But John Small, editor of SaveMartha.com, agrees that there’s a bias. “Television has no problem making fun of one American icon and turning her into a cartoon character, but when it comes to Reagan, they won’t do it,” says Small. “It really does point towards the double standards. It’s okay to dish on the domestic diva, not to okay to wrangle with right-wing Ronnie.”
Getting cozy
This friendship between Britney Spears and Madonna seems to be getting beyond cozy.
Recently, Britney reportedly said that she doesn’t take advice from anyone other than Madonna. Now, the belly-baring singer is said to be looking to buy Madonna’s hubby’s former bachelor pad. The four-bedroom London townhouse has a $5 million price tag. “I’ve been looking for somewhere cozy to hang out and Guy’s old place sounds just perfect,” Spears is quoted as saying in the London Sunday Mirror.
Notes from all over
Speaking of Britney, here’s a tidbit from her interview with Graham Norton that you won’t see. The singer was mingling with the audience, when one of them vomited at her feet. . . . The Sultan of Brunei’s son, Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, gave Mariah Carey a pair of diamond earrings valued at $50,000, according to reports. . . . Paris Hilton had a wild fling with a reject from “Australian Idol” that reportedly caused thousands of dollars in damage to the hotel where they were staying. Later, partying at the Melbourne nightclub Boutique, the ladies’ room was closed down so she could powder her nose in private. After blotting her lipstick with a towel, Hilton reportedly gave the towel to a woman who had slipped passed the barricade. “Here, keep this,” Hilton said, according to the Sydney Sun Herald. “You might make a fortune with it one day.”
Jeannette Walls delivers the Scoop Monday through Thursday in MSNBC Entertainment.