Lady Gaga says West taking time off
NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. singer Lady Gaga says rapper Kanye West, her former co-star on the "Fame Kills" tour, is taking time to get out of the public spotlight.
The "Poker Face" singer said she and West reached a mutual decision to cancel their concert tour after negative publicity erupted in response to West's actions on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Billboard.com reported Friday.
West was the subject of scorn from the media and the general public after the rapper interrupted an award acceptance speech by country singer Taylor Switch at the September awards show.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, added she would be starting her own headlining tour in the wake of the "Fame" tour's demise.
"It was a mutual decision," Gaga said at the Billboard Women in Music Event Friday. "Kanye's going to take some time off. But the good news is that I'm going on tour in a few weeks."
Billboard said Live Nation will issue refunds for tickets sold for the canceled "Fame" tour.
Fiance's death stunned 'Housewives' star
ATLANTA, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" co-star Kandi Burruss is coping with the shock of her fiance's death outside an Atlanta strip club, her publicist says.
Publicist Lisa Nelson said Burruss, 33, was speechless after learning her fiance, Ashley "A.J." Jewell, had been killed during a brawl at The Body Tap Club Friday, WSB-TV, Atlanta, reported.
Atlanta Police Lt. Keith Meadows said Jewell, who made regular appearances on "Housewives," suffered a severe head injury during an altercation in the strip club's parking lot.
Meadows said an investigation into the deadly brawl was under way. No arrests or motives for the incident were reported.
"We have developed a person of interest and we've made contact with him to question him about the incident," Meadows told WSB.
Nelson said the family of her client, a former singer with the music group Xscape, is hoping for privacy as they deal with the personal tragedy.
Source: Letterman had another staff affair
NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Talk show host David Letterman had a sexual relationship with more than one female staffer on his U.S. TV show, a source tells People magazine.
People.com reported Friday that an unidentified former "Late Show with David Letterman" staffer claims Letterman, 62, had an affair with a different female staffer than the one the TV personality discussed on Thursday's broadcast.
Letterman used his late-night TV show Thursday night to reveal his past affairs with women that allegedly included "Late Show" employee Stephanie Birkitt, 34. Letterman said he made the public admission in response to an extortion attempt.
The unidentified source said the relationship with the second staffer occurred during the late 1990s, before Letterman was married.
"It wasn't a big deal because he wasn't married. And we heard he had a girlfriend (Regina Lasko, whom Letterman married in March), but she never came around, so it just wasn't a big deal," the source told People magazine.
"He wasn't considered a sex symbol or anything. In fact, off the air, he came across a lot older than he was."
Former sports stars Norman, Evert split
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- A representative for Chris Evert says the former U.S. tennis star has split from her husband, former Australian golf star Greg Norman.
Representative Tammy Starr, along with Norman's unidentified representative, confirmed the couple decided to split after 15 months of marriage, People.com reported Friday.
"Chris and Greg will remain friends and supportive of one another's family," Starr said.
The sports couple got engaged in December 2007 and wed in the Bahamas June 28, 2008. Both former sports stars are 54.
At the time of their marriage, Evert had three sons from a previous marriage, while Norman had two children from an earlier relationship.
"We do things separately and also together," Evert said in September 2008 of the couple's approach to their children. "We love to bring our kids together to do family things."
"We have a mutual respect for each other, and I love taking her a cup of coffee each morning ... . We are compatible and like many of the same things. It is easy to be happy," Norman once said about the couple's relationship.
