In the latest episode of Sara Evans’ divorce drama, the couple went a courtin’, and it looks like Sara got exactly what she wanted from the trip.

Despite her soon-to-be ex’s allegations regarding her parenting style, she has custody of their three children. Evans claimed he took money out their bank accounts and transferred it into his name, and now he has to give half of it back. Though it applies to both of them, it’s quite obvious from the original allegations that he has to undergo psychological testing and cut out the boozing.

The final proof of which one of them is truly the wronged party is in the final graf of the story:

Outside the courtroom Thursday, Schelske responded, “I do,” when asked by reporters if he still loved his wife. Evans, on the other hand, maintained a stony silence.

Yeah, of course you do, Craig: now that the gravy train is leaving town without you. But shouldn’t you have thought of that before you went looking for a hookup on Craig’s List?

Evidently somebody bought Nicole Richie a mirror, and she has realized that somehow she has gotten herself skeleton skinny. Or maybe she just picked up a paper and read one of the million stories that have been written over the last year about her unhealthy weight. Either way, she has checked herself in for treatment.

Yes I know that eating disorders are serious business, but does this girl have no friends who were willing to slap some sense into her months ago? The fact that this has gone on for so long is proof that being a celebrity doesn’t mean you’re living a truly healthy and happy life: money may buy you a lot of things, but evidently it can’t buy you a true friend who will tell you the truth even if you might get mad at them for doing it.

Living a life like Nicole Richie’s, hanging out with social hangers-on and wanna-be celebrities, leads to problems like this: everyone is so busy trying to kiss your butt to get invited to the next swaree that no one is willing to risk you getting mad at them for intervening even when the problem with your lifestyle is obvious to even the most casual observer.

I truly hope she gets the help she needs to get back to a healthy weight and addresses whatever deficiencies led her to such extremes.

After months of speculation, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have finally set a wedding date. According to Arnold Robinson, their representative, they will marry in Italy on November 18th.

Giorgio Armani will be handling the wardrobe arrangements, so I’m sure the photos which eventually be published (probably in People or Us Weekly depending on who wins the inevitable bidding war) will be stunning.

Previous rumors had them marrying at George Clooney’s villa which also just happens to be in Italy. Could it be that, as is often the case, the rumors were accurate but premature?

As with so many things where she and hubby Kevin Federline are concerned, it turns out that: a) they had a baby girl and b) that it was a boy named Sutton Pierce, were both wrong. They had a baby boy all right, but his name is Jayden James.

The little one, born September 12 at Cedars Sinai hospital, just officially got his name after an official birth certificate was filed with Los Angeles this week. It kind of makes you wonder: what were they calling him for the last month? Did it take Britney and Kevin this long to decide on a name or were they just playing games with the media?

Given their history, I wouldn’t bet money one way or the other…

A year ago, Mariah Carey was riding high on the tails of her release of “The Emancipation of Mimi” and could do no wrong. Now her upcoming Hong Kong concert has been cancelled due to lack of demand and diva behavior.

To tell the whole truth, there is always a kind of push and pull between artists and promoters. The bottom line is that concerts are huge moneymakers, and both sides want to maximize their profits. So there is a natural tension between promoters wanting to minimize expenses and artists wanting maximum perks and profits. But what makes concerts workable is when the two sides find the happy medium that lets both sides share the pie.

When an artist is in huge demand, they pretty much get to dictate terms. Barring some outrageous compensation demands, almost every promoter is virtually prostrating themselves at their feet begging them to come to their venue. Why? Because without the draw of a big name artist, promoters are out of a living. They need the artists, and the artists need the promoters to set up the local venue. Generally, it’s a symbiotic relationship that works to everyone’s benefit - including the fans.

But something has gone wrong in Hong Kong. The promoter called “no joy” with only two days to go despite Mariah Carey’s star power. They claim to have sold only 4,000 tickets, and her “specific last-minute demands” - read, over-the-top diva behavior - were the straw that broke the camel’s back. So they called the whole thing off.

Did promoters set ticket prices so high so that not enough people were willing to pony up that kind of money to see her? Was there a problem with the venue? Was it simply a money dispute? Who knows. But this kind of thing is never good for an artist’s reputation, and her reputation was only recently repaired. It remains to be seen if it can survive another significant hit this soon…

For the good of her career, she and her people should have found a way to work this out. Even if it meant ponying up some money out of their own pocket to do so.

Madonna’s taped appearance on Oprah aired yesterday and quite frankly, there was so much smoke in the air that I was looking for the fire.

The reason, of course, that she was on the show was to discuss her recent adoption of a 13-month old boy from Malawi and the controversy that has surrounded it.

A couple of the most priceless moments:

- “What really surprises me is how great my children are with him and how he’s transitioned so easily from living in Africa in an orphanage to living in our house.” First, he’s 13-months old, what sort of problems did you expect in his “transition?” At that age, no child is cognizant of pretty much anything other than does he have enough food, a place to sleep, and someone to change his diapers. Second, he’s been there for what 24-48 hours? To her children, the new baby is still a “new toy.” She has no idea how her children will respond once the concept sinks in that he’s not going away. They may handle it well, they may not. But there’s no way to make that judgment call literally within hours of his arrival. 

- “If only my wealth and my position could have made things go faster,” Faster? Are you kidding me? She tosses a few million dollars around, they line up some kids for her, she points one out and hops back on a plane to London while her entourage sticks around to actually pick him up and bring him to her. Meanwhile, everybody else who wants to adopt in Malawi has to live in the country for 18 months.

This is the absolute height of celebrity hubris. The reason that so many are angry about this situation is that only a Madonna sycophant would claim that she did anything but simply buy herself a baby. When laws are bent to breaking and millions of dollars are exchanged, it’s plainly obvious to even the mildly retarded that - but for her wealth and position - this would never have happened at all. Whether or not what she did is morally reprehensible is not even what I’m talking about. The whopper to me is that she is lying about it with a straight face and flabbergasted that people won’t believe her over their own lying eyes. I’d have more respect for her if she just came out and said, “Yeah, I threw some cash around and got what I wanted. If you don’t like it, too bad because it’s none of your business.”

Let’s say you’re married to a very attractive superstar singer, middle-aged, unemployed, with three children. What would you do? If you’re Sara Evans’ husband, the obvious answer is to sit home all day drinking alcohol and watching porn while soliciting sex partners on Craig’s List.

That’s the picture that’s emerging from Sara Evans’ surprise decision to quit ‘Dancing With the Stars’ to spend time with her children while seeking a divorce from Craig Schelske, her husband since 1993. According to her, the oldest of their children walked in on her husband while he was watching porn, and she subsequently found multiple pictures on their computer of him in flagrante with multiple partners - none of which were her. Whoops, Craig!

The usual allegations of emotional and verbal abuse follow which means that things haven’t exactly been rosy between them for some time and there have been more than a couple of nasty arguments between the two. But…

When you’re riding the gravy train of not having to work while your wife is supporting you in a lifestyle to which you could never have aspired if not for her obvious talent and good looks, maybe you should be cutting her a little slack and, at the least, be a whole lot smarter and more discreet about any extra-marital activities in which you partake in her absence.

On top of everything else, Sara Evans is seeking child support from the philandering soon-to-be ex which just makes me laugh. She’s a multi-millionaire, and he’s an unemployed drunk who doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it. And now he’s probably going to be saddled with moving into a crappy little apartment, getting a job and having to pay child support on top of everything else.

Schelske has to be just about the dumbest man on the planet to give up the life he was living for some cheap thrills, and whatever misery may follow from his stupidity is nothing more than what he fairly deserves…

Adrienne Sands, Jessica Simpson’s assistant, is supposedly running around town telling everyone she is “too smart” for her job. Not from where I’m sitting…

When she interviewed for the job what exactly did she think her responsibilities were going to be? Fielding questions about Einstein’s theory of general relativity? The job of being any celebrity’s assistant is basically catering to the personal whims of their employer and keeping track of their calendar for them. It surely has its challenges, but it ain’t exactly rocket science that’s for sure.

Now that she has the job though, she’s suddenly “too smart” for it. Sure doesn’t sound like it to me.

With an overbearing (borderline creepy) Joe Simpson hovering and Jessica’s well-publicized “blonde moments” and tumultuous personal life, I’m sure the job isn’t easy. But I’m equally sure that any “smart” person would have had some idea what it was like before they accepted the position. I’m also equally sure that someone who wants a career working with celebrities would be “smarter” than to be publicly complaining about the one employing them. If there’s anything that celebrities value it’s loyalty and discretion, neither of which Ms. Sands is apparently capable of showing. Don’t you think her next potential employer is going to keep that in mind when they’re deciding whether or not she’s “smart enough” to work for them?

For such a “smart” person, she sure is acting stupid…