People in the news

• Tweet

The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...

MADONNA: U.S. pop star Madonna says she canceled planned tour dates in Australia early next year because she needs to spend time with her four children.

The concerts would have been her first in Australia in 20 years, E! News said.

"So, I just want to say to all of my Australian fans that I am really and truly sorry to have disappointed you, and that's something that I don't feel very good about," Madonna said in an audio message posted on her Web site Monday.

"I know the last time I was on tour, I missed Australia as well, and I can promise you in my heart of hearts that it was my intention to come again, but like the last time, my children are my first priority. I have two scales that I have to weigh in front of me -- my job as a singer and entertainer, and my job as a mother," she explained.

"Because my children are older, I can't take them on the road with me everywhere. I have to spend more time away from them and at the end of the year I really feel that I would be an irresponsible parent if I didn't stop my tour and spend time with them. ... I feel really bad because I don't take your love and support for me for granted ... that goes for my fans everywhere in the world. ... I know a lot of you are angry with me, upset with me, disappointed. So, please forgive me, and know that when I do come to Australia, I will have made the wait worth your while and I will put on the greatest show on Earth. I haven't forgotten about you and I hope that you can understand and forgive me and, also, I just want to say that I love you, all of you, everyone in Australia, and I hope to get there very soon."

The music icon began her "MDNA" concert tour in Israel May 31.

Perth Now said the Australian leg of her tour was to start in January, with stops scheduled in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The series will now wrap in Argentina Dec. 22.

SHAKIRA: Two of Shakira's former employees are shopping a video they claim shows the pop singer and her boyfriend having sex on a boat, Colombia Reports said.

An unidentified Colombian couple, who worked for Shakira for 11 years, are trying to sell a 15-minute clip -- purportedly of the recording artist and FC Barcelona football player Gerard Pique -- to the Spanish media for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The former employees allege they were unfairly dismissed after refusing to cook the singer a late-night meal, a claim Shakira's legal team has denied, Colombia Reports said.

"The video lasts about 15 minutes. I guess it's recorded with a mobile phone by an employee who was in the cockpit of the boat," a Barcelona agent to whom the video sellers showed the clip told the Spanish magazine Interviu. He said he can't tell for sure that it is Shakira. "I thought that it had been edited," he said.

Colombia Reports said Shakira's lawyers have not commented on the alleged sex tape.

STELLAN SKARSGARD: Stellan Skarsgard's publicist has confirmed the Swedish actor recently became a father for the eighth time.

The 61-year-old star of "The Avengers," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Mamma Mia!" now has seven sons and a daughter, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Skarsgard's representative told the entertainment industry trade newspaper the actor's wife, Megan Everett, gave birth to a healthy son in Stockholm Friday. The couple also are the parents of a 3-year-old son.

The star has six other children from a previous marriage.

SABRINA BRYAN: Fans have voted for singer-actress Sabrina Bryan to join the cast of the U.S. competition series "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars," ABC announced.

Bryan's participation was revealed on "Good Morning America" Monday.

Viewers had a choice of bringing Bryan, Carson Kressley or Kyle Massey back for the all-star edition of the show.

The former "Cheetah Girls" star received the most votes and will be paired with professional dancer Louis Van Amstel, who is returning to the show for his ninth season.

Former "DWTS" contenders Bristol Palin, Joey Fatone, Kirstie Alley, Apolo Ohno, Gilles Marini, Melissa Rycroft, Pamela Anderson, Kelly Monaco, Shawn Johnson, Helio Castroneves, Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith were announced as cast members of "All-Stars" last month.

"DWTS" veterans Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke-Charvet will return as co-hosts of the show.