MAMBA GOSSIP

Alex Pettyfer joins Channing Tatum’s male stripper flick

Now this is something to look forward to! You probably remember when it came to light that hunky actor Channing Tatum made a living as a male stripper before he hit the big time. Well, he’s made good use of the experience by successfully pitching a movie about that time in his life to Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. And it’s just been announced that 21-year-old, up-and-coming Brit Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) will star as Channing in the movie. And in a fabulous twist, Channing will also act in the film; playing a stripping mentor to Alex’s character (i.e. himself).

It’s all confusing and surreal, but we like it! And who are we to complain about seeing those two stripping off on-screen together. Despite the casting news, Alex hasn’t made a very good impression on Hollywood after he recently told VMAN magazine that LA is a “shithole”. He also angered some women by explaining that the reason that he has a tattoo above his crotch that reads ‘thank you’ is just “in case I forget to say it”. To be honest, that doesn’t sound unreasonable to us… rather polite in fact.

Details on Mariah Carey’s birthing drama

Everything that Mariah Carey does is over-the-top; even giving birth! Hubby Nick Cannon described the happy occasion – which he called “a production” – in an interview on the ‘Gayle King Show’. He revealed that Mariah insisted on giving birth with her own music as a soundtrack. “My wife wanted to make sure when the babies came out that they came out, not only to a Mariah Carey song, but a live performance from Mariah Carey.” He explained that the missus wasn’t able to make use of her five octaves while huffing and puffing (at least not for singing), so Nick played a recording of one of her concerts.

This past week, he also dismissed claims that Mariah was taking painkillers and drinking while breastfeeding her twins. Apparently rumours about their alleged shenanigans at the hospital even led to a visit from Child Protective Services. “It all started where a nurse suggested to my wife that if you drink Guinness or a small amount of Guinness, the dark beer, that the yeast improves breastfeeding,” he said on CNN’s ‘Piers Morgan Tonight’. “I don’t know if someone overheard that, but then they were saying that my wife was drinking beer and all that stuff. It’s like people would do anything to conjure up a story.” The victims in all this? The twins, whom the couple vindictively chose to name Moroccan and Monroe.

Jake Shears tries out his new underwear for us

Openly gay Scissor Sisters singer Jake Shears recently received freebies from Nasty Pig clothing – namely, underwear samples. “Just got a box of goodies from @nastypig! Just got a bit of A thrill opening that box. Ok, @nastypig I want my own jockstrap line,” he tweeted. Being the open and giving guy that he is, Jake chose to share his new pressies with the world. The super-sexy star put on a pair of jockstraps, took some snaps and posted them on Twitter. Here’s one from the front, and click here to see a photo of Jake’s posterior (to which he queried, “One size too small?”). He’s never been shy and these pics are just one of many you can find of Jake in various states of undress on the net. Sadly, one thing we’ve never come across is a full frontal. We are rather intrigued to see if Little Jake is as large as Big Jake’s ego.

Whitney and daughter check into rehab (followed by Matthew Perry)

Oh Whitney, whatever will we do with you. The once remarkable 47-year-old singer is reportedly back in rehab following a much-hyped return to the limelight with her 2009 album and troubled concert tour. According to her rep, “Whitney Houston is currently in an out-patient rehab program for drug and alcohol treatment,” adding that “Whitney voluntarily entered the program to support her long-standing recovery process”. The news came as Angela Bassett announced that she and Whitney will be working together on a sequel to their 1995 movie Waiting To Exhale.

Soon after, Celebitchy reported that Whitney’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina, was joining her. In March, photos of Bobbi apparently snorting cocaine were published by the National Enquirer. “If I go to rehab, you’re going, too!” Houston is said to have told her. They say that a family that plays together, stays together. In this case, it’s more like ‘a family that rehabs together, stays together’.

In related news, former Friends actor Matthew Perry, also announced that he’s off to rehab. “I’m making plans to go away for a month to focus on my sobriety and to continue my life in recovery,” he said, adding: “Please enjoy making fun of me on the World Wide Web.” We’ll do our best Matthew!

Zak Efron’s cute brother

Zak Efron and his 19 year old brother Dylan were photographed last month at a basketball game between the New Orleans Hornets and the L.A. Lakers in Los Angeles. The two bonded; affectionately hugging each other and cheering on the Lakers. So darn cute! We don’t know much about Dylan other than that he graduated from high school last year and loves sports, especially soccer, basketball and skateboarding. That led us to do a little image ‘googling’ and coming across some awesome photos of the two brothers at the beach in June last year. They do make a fabulous twink couple – a pity they’re related (Stop those inappropriate thoughts, right now!).

James Franco casts the lead in his gay film

James Franco, our favourite straight celebrity who is obsessed with all things gay, has cast the lead in the film that is set to be his directorial debut – a biography of iconic actor Sal Mineo. Unknown Val Lauren has been given the part and told the Hollywood Reporter that “Sal Mineo himself was an extraordinary and super complex guy… he was technically the first actor who came out of the closet. He was very brave”. The twice-Oscar-nominated Sal, who came to a sticky end in 1976 when he was murdered at the age of 37, is best known for starring alongside James Dean in the classic 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause. A super excited Val told the Advocate that he found out he got the part when he received an e-mail from James, which read “You are Sal. Cool?”, and that he “must have checked that e-mail 47 times before responding to make sure that the hot sun wasn’t cooking my brain”.