The Artist Rules The Oscars - List of Academy Award Winners for 2012

Meryl Streep won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the biopic, "The Iron Lady." list of winners

Jennifer Lopez Wardrobe Malfunction At The Oscars?

(popmusiclife) The web is buzzing with reaction to a possible "wardrobe malfunction" by Jennifer Lopez at Sunday night's Academy Awards.

Lopez was on hand to present Best Costume Design and Best Makeup alongside Cameron Diaz.

The plunging neckline on J-Lo's dress may have caught viewers' attention, and it's being hotly debated whether or not there was a little more showing than should be. Watch video of what happened and judge for yourself.

Rapper Jim Jones Arrested After Casino Brawl

(TMZ) Jim Jones was involved in a CRAZY brawl last week in Connecticut which resulted in him getting arrested, but not before it took five cops and a little bit of mace to subdue him ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ has obtained insane video of the fight going down inside the casino after a party hosted by Diddy at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

Our sources say a guy, who seemed intoxicated, came up to Jones and started talking smack to him, which Jones tried to ignore.

According to our sources, the guy then hit Jones in the face and Jones fought back in self defense. Then the guy's friends jumped in ... then Jim's people jumped in ... and IT WAS ON!!!

We're told Jones had no idea who the guy was or what triggered his beef with Jones.

Sources close to Jones say he was arrested and it took the aforementioned cops and mace to bring him in. We're told he has since bonded out and is headed back home soon.

Jones had no comment. The hotel had no comment as well, and referred us to the Connecticut State Police. No word back from them so far. Watch the video here.

Avril Lavigne May Be New X Factor Judge

(TMZ) With two judging slots to fill, it seems the folks at "X Factor" might not have to look far to fill one of the spots ... because former L.A. Reid protege Avril Lavigne is interested in the gig ... TMZ has learned.

According to our sources, Avril had her people reach out to the folks at "X Factor" to let them know she'd like to be considered for the job. Our sources says Avril feels that since she came up in the biz at such a young age, she can mentor the kids on the show the right way.

We're told talks are already happening between the two sides. Besides her connection to Reid, Avril performed on the finale of season one of "X Factor" with finalist Chris Rene. more on this story

Celebrity Rehab Star Charged With Battery And Drug Possession

(TMZ) Former "Celebrity Rehab" star Shifty Shellshock has officially been charged with drug possession and battery after his cocaine arrest last week -- when an argument with his girlfriend allegedly turned violent.

TMZ broke the story -- the former Crazy Town singer was busted at a Ross Dress for Less in L.A. -- after a store employee allegedly witnessed Shifty grab his GF by the arm and rough her up.

The police rushed in -- and after cops searched him, they claim Shifty was carrying rock cocaine. He was arrested on the spot.

Shifty's currently free on $60,000 bail. more on this story

Whitney Houston's Family Disgusted By Casket Photo On Mag Cover

(TMZ) Whitney Houston's family had "their heart broken all over again" this week when they saw a photo of Whitney laying in her casket published on the cover of a magazine ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the family tell TMZ the family is disgusted the photo was printed and they have no idea how security surrounding the casket was breached. We're told the family could tell from the photo that it was taken from inside the funeral home, but they have no idea who would have snapped the pic.

Our sources say Whitney's mother, Cissy, has taken the publication of the photo the hardest. Despite their disgust and outrage, we're told the family will not investigate the matter further.

The owner of the funeral home has denied any wrongdoing on the part of her or her staff. more on this story

Juvenile's Response To Arrest Warrant

(TMZ) Rapper Juvenile is adamant ... he's a DAMN GOOD father who takes care of his children ... and that's why he was shocked to find out a warrant had been issued for his arrest over unpaid child support.

TMZ just spoke with the "Back That Azz Up" rapper ... who put it bluntly, "This is a bunch of bull..."

As we previously reported, Juvenile is a wanted man in Louisiana for allegedly stiffing his baby mama out of more than $160k in child support for their 13-year-old son.

But the rapper tells us, "I was never informed that there was a warrant out for my arrest."

He explains, "My son stays with me most of the time ... I take care of my son ... I love my son."

We asked how Juv plans to proceed now that he's aware of the legal situation ... to which he replied, "Now that I know, my lawyer is on it ... I'm going to handle it." more on this story

Sean Young Arrested For Oscar Party Fight

(TMZ) Sean Young was busted by police at the official Oscar after party for allegedly getting physical with a security guard ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us ... Young was attending the Governor's Ball -- the annual fancy schmancy Oscar party thrown by the Academy -- when she got into a dispute with a security guard and made contact.

We're told the "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" star was placed under citizens' arrest by security -- until LAPD arrived to take Young into custody, and booked her for misdemeanor battery. more on this story

Adele Back on Top in The UK

(popmusiclife) Following a successful night at last week's Brit Awards, where she snagged Best British Album and Best British Female honors, Adele returns to the top of the UK charts.

The Official Charts Company reports Adele's "21" hits #1 for its 21st non-consecutive week at the peak.

The album climbs two places while enjoying a week on week sales boost of 37%. "21" has now been on the UK charts for 57 weeks, having never left the Top 10 since its release. more on this story

Lil Wayne Denies Passing Out Before Concert

(TMZ) Lil Wayne claims he did NOT pass out drunk before a Bahama concert in 2009 ... resulting in a canceled show -- this according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

TMZ broke the story ... Weezy was sued back in 2009 by a promotion company called Red City Entertainment -- which claimed it fronted $432,000 for a concert in the Bahamas, but Weezy drunkenly slept through the whole thing.

When he failed to show, Red Light claims cops showed up to the rapper's hotel room and found him unconscious.

But Weezy insists it's all BS -- claiming, "At no point [that night] did I become so intoxicated that I passed out on a bed in my suit, or anywhere else."

Wayne says the real reason he didn't show up was because the concert was canceled -- he can't remember exactly why ... but believes it had something to do with technical difficulties, like lighting and sound problems.

Wayne is now asking the court for a judgment in his favor.
more on this story

Views Sherpherd, Melissa Gilbert, Maria Menounos Dancing With The Stars

(TMZ) TMZ has learned the identity of yet another of the contestants for the upcoming season of "Dancing With the Stars" ... Maria Menounos.

We revealed three cast members yesterday ... "View" host Sherri Sherpherd, "Little House of the Prairie" star Melissa Gilbert, and "Melrose Place" hunk Jack Wagner.

People who host "Extra" have a good track record on the show ... Mario Lopez finished second in season three of "DWTS." more on this story

Gerard Butler in Rehab

(TMZ) Gerard Butler is being treated for substance abuse at the Betty Ford Center ... TMZ has learned.

Butler's problems were triggered by the physical demands of shooting "300" in 2006. We're told the actor began struggling with pain management, and the problem became exacerbated while filming "Of Men and Mavericks," when Butler was badly hurt on December 18 during a surfing accident.

We're told Butler realized he was relying too much on prescription drugs and decided to head off a full-blown addiction by entering Betty Ford 3 weeks ago.

Sources tell TMZ ... Butler also developed issues with cocaine, but the root problem appears to be the injuries and pain management. more on this story

Lindsay Lohan To Poke Fun At Herself on Sat Night Live?

(TMZ) Lindsay Lohan has been the butt of jokes on "Saturday Night Live" for years, but TMZ has learned that this coming Saturday ... the LiLo jokes will be made by Lindsay herself.

As TMZ first reported, Lindsay has been dying to do "SNL" as a way to re-establish her career and reached out to Lorne Michaels personally to make it happen.

According to our sources, Lindsay plans on using all the unpleasantness from the last few years as fodder for the show. We're told Lindsay has already told "SNL" that she is game for anything and nothing is off limits.

Our sources says Lindsay wants to show that she is "in on the joke" -- so expect to see references to any number of DUIs, alleged necklace thievery, jail stints, mug shots ... and on and on. more on this story

Bill Nye the Science Guy Battling Ex-Girlfriend

(TMZ) Bill Nye the Science Guy is dragging his ex-girlfriend back to court -- claiming she forced him to rack up $57,000 in attorney's fees by acting like a crazy stalker ... and is now refusing to pay the bill.

According to the docs, it all started back in 2006 after the couple broke up -- Bill claims his ex Blair Tindall stole several expensive items from his house, including his laptop, which she then used to send defamatory emails impersonating him. Bill claims she also poured herbicide on his rose bushes.

TMZ broke the story back in 2007 ... Bill sought out a protective order as a result -- and obtained a 6-year injunction against her a few months later, requiring her to stay 100 yards away from him.

According to the new docs, Tindall violated that order in 2009 -- so he went back to court to enforce it ... and racked up a $57,000 legal bill in the process. The court then ordered Blair to cover the damage.

Bill claims she hasn't forked over a penny since -- so now, he's dragging her back to court to get his money.

Blair tells TMZ ... "Bill Nye was the love of my life. I'm surprised he has taken this action against me. I have no funds to pay him, and he is a very wealthy man, so I'm not sure where this is coming from." more on this story

Maksim Not Leaving Dancing with the Stars

(TMZ) Despite rumors he's quitting ... TMZ has learned, "Dancing with the Stars" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is COMING BACK TO THE SHOW -- and we got the video to prove it!!!

Maksim touched down in LAX yesterday for his first practice -- he didn't say much ... but as soon as he landed, guy made a beeline for an L.A. dance studio ... where he met with Melissa Gilbert -- one of the stars on the upcoming season.

TMZ broke the story ... Sherri Shepherd and Heather Locklear's ex Jack Wagner are also set to compete on the show.

Season 14 is scheduled to kick off next month. more on this story

Witness Too Wasted To Testify Against Brooke Mueller

(TMZ) Brooke Mueller may have broken the law at the best possible time ... late on a Friday night -- because one of the key witnesses in her drug case tells TMZ, he was WASTED when Brooke was arrested ... and won't be able to testify against her.

A man named Keith Reineke -- one of the people on the prosecutor's list of potential witnesses in Brooke's drug case -- tells TMZ, he was put on the list because he was at the Aspen nightclub where Mueller was partying before her arrest.

But his testimony might be totally useless -- because Keith tells us, he was "completely hammered" that night ... and has very little memory of what transpired.

Keith tells us, he didn't see Brooke with drugs nor did he see her beat anybody up -- but that certainly doesn't mean it didn't happen ... it just means the prosecution would be wasting their time putting him on the stand.

If only Brooke partied at a convent that night. more on this story

Warren Sapp Fires Back At Ex-Wife's Allegations

(TMZ) Warren Sapp denies half of the allegations levied against him by his ex-wife -- saying he's not behind on child support, but maybe a little on the alimony ... sources close to Sapp tell TMZ.

As TMZ first reported, Sapp's ex-wife filed documents in Florida saying the former NFL star owed her $728,100 in back child support and alimony.

But sources close to Sapp tell TMZ he's current on his child support and that to Warren, his kids "always come first."

However, like we've seen with so many retired sports stars, we're told Sapp feels his alimony is too high since his playing days are over and the paychecks he gets as an analyst just don't stack up.

Sapp has filed docs to have his alimony lowered, but a judge has yet to rule. more on this story

Basketball Wives Evelyn Lozada Didn't Know Antoine Walker Was Broke

(TMZ) Evelyn Lozada claims she did nothing wrong when she accepted over half a million dollars from her ex-fiancé, former NBA star Antoine Walker, because she had no idea he was in debt ... this according to court docs filed this week.

As TMZ first reported, the "Basketball Wives" star is being sued by the bankruptcy trustee in Walker's case who claims Walker funneled money to her while they were engaged as a way to hide if from his creditors.

Lozada has responded to the suit with an answer filed Friday in bankruptcy court in Miami. She claims she was not aware of Walker's financial problems and questionable business deals.

According to the docs, Lozada denies the allegation that Walker's money was used to open her shoe store, Dulce. She says any money she got from Walker was "used for the ordinary living expenses of the [Walker] and his household" and that she was simply an intermediary for Walker.

Lozada and Walker broke up a few years back. and she is now engaged to NFL star Chad Ochocinco Johnson. more on this story

Teen Mom Gets Home Detention After Rejection By Halfway House

(TMZ) Amber Portwood's home detention rules are so strict, not only is she barred from drinking alcohol ... but she can't even use mouthwash that contains alcohol or eat foods containing alcohol.

As TMZ first reported, the "Teen Mom" star was denied entry into a halfway house because they thought she'd be a bad influence on the other residents. So now Amber is on home detention with her grandparents until a new drug treatment program accepts her.

But this isn't your typical trip to grandma's house. According to the rules laid out by the Madison County courts ... Amber, since she is without a job, must remain inside the home at ALL TIMES unless she gets prior authorization (even then it has to be for things like AA meetings or attorney appointments).

The rules dictate she can't consume alcohol or illicit drugs, but the no-no list also includes non-alcoholic beer, any medications containing alcohol (R.I.P. NyQuil) and the aforementioned mouthwash or foods that contain alcohol.

Amber also has to have a working phone at all times and she has to be the one who answers, should the home detention people come calling.

If she violates any of the rules ... it's back to jail for her. more on this story

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Extortion Attempt?

(TMZ) "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Dr. Paul Nassif claims his disgruntled former nose job patient tried to shake him down for money ... threatening to trash him all over town unless the doc forked over a big, fat check.

TMZ has learned ... Nassif has obtained a restraining order against Roman Melikov ... claiming the Roman threatened him and and his family because he was unhappy with a recent schnoz job.

Now, sources close to Nassif tell us ... the doc believes Melikov tried to EXTORT him too ... AFTER the two sides had already worked out a settlement regarding the procedure.

Sources close to the situation tell us ... Nassif shelled out $3k to make Roman go away back in March 2011 ... and Roman accepted the deal.

But, we're told, Roman -- a self-proclaimed portfolio manager -- then changed his tune and told Nassif he would "have no choice but to do negative reviews" unless the doc either refunded the entire $26k bill or invested $400,000 with Roman's firm.

Nassif refused ... and instead threatened to sue Melikov for defamation.

Roman fired back at Nassif in an email ... telling him a lawsuit would be pointless because he has no assets and $82k in debts. more on this story

Robin Thicke and Wife Vs Uncle Sam

(TMZ) Robin Thicke and his wife made a BLOODY FORTUNE in 2009 and 2010 ... problem is, they forgot to share the love with the federal government ... and now Uncle Sam has issued a lien on their property.

According to official documents filed in L.A. ... Thicke and his actress wife Paula Patton owe the government $492,583.49 for failing to pay income taxes two years in a row.

Patton received critical acclaim for her role in 2009's "Precious" and co-starred with Tom Cruise in the 2011 flick "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol."

But a rep for the Thicke family tells TMZ ... the couple is aggressively trying to fix the problem ... telling us, "They've already paid more than half of this and they're working with the IRS to pay the rest." more on this story

Singled Out: The Dean's List's Dear Professor

Today The Dean's List tell us about their hit song "Dear Professor" as they are out on the road for their The Road To SXSW Tour. Here is the story:

"Dear Professor" was quite the process to get off the ground because the song took a while on the production end. Mik was going through YouTube looking for potential samples and even though he was already familiar with The Band Perry's "If I Die Young," this time something clicked.

We worked on this song for a long time. We kept coming back to it and it ended up being one of the last songs we did on "The Drive-In," but definitely one of the strongest. Sonny was the one who made us work on it, he noticed something there and started writing his lyrics to it, which he kept pretty simple since it was such a pop track. The whole thing probably took at least two months before we finalized the song. We were going to do a feature on it but eventually decided not to so that took some time to finalize. Long story short, we approached an artist about jumping on the song and they passed but then a little bit later once it had started to take off they hit us back begging to be involved. That was a really big wake up call for us on how this industry really works and we'll always remember that about "Dear Professor."

When we finished the track we knew it was going to be a big song but none of us had any idea how big it would actually be. It was kind of a perfect storm of timing because The Band Perry's original song was really starting to hit just as we were pushing our version so it drew a lot of extra attention.

Looking back it has definitely been our biggest song to date. We always close with it at our shows and people start going crazy for it. We're fans of The Band Perry and while we probably wouldn't sample them again we'd love to collaborate with them at some point.

Listen to the song here and let us know what you think, also make sure to check out our new single "YOUTH" ft. Sid Sriram here. The new song represents the direction we're headed in now which is definitely a step up from our past work. Our new album "Generation X," which is due out in April, showcases a lot of growth from "The Drive In" and we're excited to see what everyone thinks! www.itsthedeanslist.com