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Vanishing ‘SNL’ sketch stirs controversy

When a "Saturday Night Live" sketch disappeared from online outlets, some speculated that NBC had caved in to political pressure.
/ Source: msnbc.com

Wondering why the bailout sketch that was part of the Oct. 4 episode of “Saturday Night Live” disappeared from NBC.com and Hulu on Oct. 7?

When video of the skit vanished from the Internet, many speculated that NBC had caved to some brand of left-wing pressure that might not have approved of the poking of fun aimed at financier George Soros or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who were both featured in the sketch.

No such thing, say reps for the network. “Upon review, we caught certain elements in the sketch that didn’t meet our standards," says an official NBC statement. “We took it down and made some minor changes and it will be back online soon.”

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture between NBC Universal and Microsoft.)

The issue involved the onscreen text displayed along with two of the characters in the sketch, Herbert Sandler, who’s been affiliated with some of the lending practices that brought down Wachovia Bank, and his wife Marion. The text that showed on screen under their names in the original skit was “People who should be shot.” It’s been removed.

One person close to the situation feels that the attention might have been a little misplaced. “Look at what this country is going through right now," the source says. "This is where we focus our attention?”

Jamie Lynn done with HollywoodWhen "Zoey 101" star Jamie Lynn Spears announced she was pregnant, among the first questions was “What will happen with her career?”

Image: Jamie Lynn Spears and Casey Aldridge

In an exclusive sit-down with OK! magazine (which also dispels rumors that the mag is out of the exclusive game) Spears says, “You know, Hollywood is not really for me right now, not in the place that I’m at. Who’s to say I might (not return) one day? Right now, I’m in a good place and I want to stay here,” she said.

Spears was joined for the interview by her fiancé Casey Aldridge, who dispelled tabloid rumors that he’d gotten another girl pregnant.

“There was never another girl pregnant, ever," Aldridge told the magazine. “I’m 19. Jamie’s the only girl I’ve ever had pregnant. In a small town, rumors do get started. A lot of people throw up a lot of crap. Somebody’s happy, and they’re not, (so) they’re going to make up a lot of stuff.”

Don't hassle The HoffDavid Hasselhoff is taking his nickname, “The Hoff,” a little bit far, it seems.

Celebrity Sightings

Slideshow  26 photos

Celebrity Sightings

Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. on the "Let's Be Cops," red carpet, Selena Gomez is immortalized in wax and more.

“He insists on being called nothing but ‘The Hoff’ now, and he’s referring to himself as ‘The Hoff,’” reports Sasha Perl-Raver at Gossipsauce.com.

Perl-Raver says that Hasselhoff’s antics have started to wear thin on his fellow “America’s Got Talent”  judges, and that some judges might not return next season if Hasselhoff doesn’t keep himself in check.

Jane Fonda pitches in for Voto Latino
It’s a big switch from her past political proclivities — Jane Fonda showed her support for Rosario Dawson’s Voto Latino organization and appeared in a Web-only PSA that will go live the week of Oct. 13.

The “West Side Story”-themed telenovela-style PSA, which encourages young Latinos to vote, also stars Dawson and Wilmer Valderrama.

Katy Perry on God and ‘popping out babies’ In the November issue of Blender, breakthrough pop star Katy Perry reveals some details about her very religious upbringing.

“It was kind of an island," Perry told the magazine. "We spoke in tongues. We knew there was this one way, and all the other ways were wrong.”

The magazine reports that in Perry’s house, deviled eggs were called “angeled eggs.” “I didn’t know enough to ask my mom, ‘How come we call them that? Everybody else calls them something else,’” Perry said.

Despite any religious conflicts, she’s part of the family tree. “I’m still in the will,” Perry explains. “It’s just that I have more money than them now.”

Perry told the magazine that she when she got her first record deal, she wasn’t made to feel confident that she’d really made it big. "The first time I got signed, they brought me in a room with three other girls they signed at the same time," she said. "They sat us down and said, 'Maybe one of you will ever make a record. The other three can go back to Middle America and pop out babies.’"

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com.