Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
These days, it seems the only sure-fire place to spot your favorite celebrities is in the courtroom. Case in point: Kevin Costner. The "Field of Dreams" star is filing suit today in Los Angeles against London-based Hello! magazine, claiming an interview with him it ran is "pure fiction" and never took place. He's especially perturbed that the article has him making unfavorable comments about his ex-wife, as well as the mother of his recently revealed love child and the 3-month-old boy. The suit charges that 42-year-old Costner is portrayed as being "callous, matter-of-fact and uncaring about the dissolution of his former marriage." "The chemistry we shared was finished," the article read. It also quoted Costner as saying that Brigette Rooney, mother of his son Liam, "... tricked me into thinking she was using contraception when she wasn't," and that the infant "... has been forced on me." So if the story is bogus, where did it come from? Costner's spokesperson said magazine reps reportedly bought the interview from its parent publisher, Hola! which got it from an unnamed source. Let's hope Costner has the same luck in court as Clint Eastwood did in '95, when he sued a tabloid for a faking an interview and won $150,000.
'Next!'
Also approaching the bench: Fran Drescher. "The Nanny" is being sued by a stuntwoman who claims she was injured on the set of Drescher's flick "Beautician and the Beast" last July, when she was sprayed with harmful fire retardant. Maria Doest sued the star, the film's producers and stunt coordinators and contends the dousing led to "the onset of chemically induced asthma, involuntary upper body muscle control, short-term memory loss and chronic exhaustion." Donald Etra, attorney for Drescher and her crew, says, "There is no factual or legal merit to Ms. Doest's claims. We are committed to vigorously defending this lawsuit."
Ellen Update
Hollywood types are still buzzing about an upcoming episode of "Ellen," when the title character finally comes out of the closet. At Sunday night's Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards, star Ellen DeGeneres was moved to tears by a three-minute standing ovation bestowed by the celebrity-heavy crowd. "I am overwhelmed with the support I feel here," she said, and later posed with same-sex couples for photo opps. Cher was there in support of her "lovely lesbian daughter," Chastity Bono, as were Valerie Bertinelli, Kato Kaelin and Gregory Peck. "It just seems silly to me that something so right and simple has to be fought for at all," he said.
Compiled by Lisa Ferguson
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