Chris Rock hired indicted private eye
LOS ANGELES, April 25 (UPI) -- Comic Chris Rock allegedly hired Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano to dig up dirt on a Hungarian model who filed a paternity claim against him.
Monika Zsibrita, 33, was listed in the February indictment as one of many targets of Pellicano's alleged wiretapping and racketeering conspiracy, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Rock spokesman Matt Labov told the Los Angeles Times reps for his client turned to Pellicano after Zsibrita claimed she was pregnant with Rock's child in 1999. Zsibrita took Rock to court, sources said DNA tests indicated the child was not Rock's and all court records in the case have been sealed.
Labov said Pellicano had an "excellent reputation" as an investigator when hired by Rock's camp and they were unaware of his alleged illegal activities.
"No one from our camp would have ever knowingly entered into an agreement with Pellicano to do anything illegal," Labov said. "Let me put it like this: When you hire somebody to fix your TV, you don't necessarily think he's going to hook you up for free cable."
Report: Britney Spears pregnant again
LAS VEGAS, Nev., April 25 (UPI) -- Pop star Britney Spears is pregnant with her second child by husband Kevin Federline, US Weekly reported Tuesday.
Spears, 24, was seen by the pool at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas last weekend, sporting a red bikini and "a serious bump," the magazine said on its Web site.
Sources confirmed the pregnancy, US Weekly said.
The couple married in September 2004 and have a son, Sean, who is 7-months-old.
Federline has a daughter, Kori, 3, and a 21-month-old son, Caleb, from a previous relationship.
'Da Vinci' poster to come off Rome church
ROME, April 25 (UPI) -- Italian authorities have reacted to Catholic outrage over a poster for "The Da Vinci Code" and agreed to take the film promo off the side of church in Rome.
The huge poster had been slapped on scaffolding surrounding the Church of St. Pantaleo, which is undergoing renovations, the BBC reported Tuesday.
Rev. Adolfo Garcia Duran, rector of St. Pantaleo, said the poster advertised "something that is against Christ and against the church."
The church is owned by Italy's Interior Ministry, which said the poster would be removed within a week, the BBC said.
"This movie is not reputed to be particularly appreciated by ecclesiastic circles," Rome Vicariate spokesman the Rev. Marco Fibbi said, adding the Vicariate had also asked the government to remove the poster.
Ron Howard's film of Dan Brown's bestseller will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and be released to theaters on May 19.
Jay-Z road manager guilty of Kelly attack
NEW YORK, April 25 (UPI) -- The road manager for hip-hop superstar Jay-Z has pleaded guilty in New York Criminal Court to pepper-spraying R&B star R. Kelly.
In exchange for admitting to disorderly conduct for attacking Kelly on stage at Madison Square Garden, Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith was sentenced Monday to perform community service and attend anger-management counseling.
If he complies with the order, the conviction will be erased from his record, the New York Post reported Tuesday.
Kelly still has a $91 million civil suit pending against Smith and Jay-Z for the pepper spraying and their 2004 tour that disintegrated amid the stars' feud.
Jay-Z has denied Kelly's claim the pepper spraying was a plot to abort their tour and charged Kelly's suit was merely filed to deflect attention from his teen-sex trial in Chicago.