Bar

HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW

Emma Roberts made headlines when she remarked that Hollywood women are far more often called out as “nepo babies” than Hollywood men, while appearing on the podcast Table for Two. She pointed out George Clooney as the ultimate nepo baby. Emma had a valid point: although George is talented, his aunt was the iconic Rosemary Clooney which opened doors for him in Hollywood. Although she sort of backtracked her comments, Emma’s aunt, who just happens to also be one of George’s best friends, Julia Roberts, was miffed over the incident. Our source told us that hours after the podcast became news, Julia got on the phone to Emma and gave her quite the earful. We can reveal that Emma, at Julia’s urging, reached out to George and apologized for bringing his name up. Even though Julia was upset, good-natured George just laughed it off.

Alec Baldwin made the news again for all the wrong reasons. This week his attorneys asked the New Mexico judge to dismiss the case against him over firearm evidence. The long shot move is unlikely to fly and here’s what we know. Behind very closed doors Alec’s legal eagles are trying to negotiate a plea deal which will allow him to serve any time in house arrest, pay a substantial fine, and work on legislation banning REAL guns on movie sets. Nothing has been agreed to as of yet, but secret negotiations continue.

Estranged lovebirds Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez created some buzz when they were spotted in the same Beverly Hills office building. Although they arrived and left separately we are hearing that the “meeting” was actually part of a therapy session. Ben arrived first and had an individual session, and then later in the day J.Lo arrived to join him for a joint couples session. Their future together seems to change by the moment, but they want to make sure they give their marriage every chance to survive.

Miranda Lambert’s handsome hubby, former NYC cop Brendan McLoughlin made news and she ain’t happy about it. Brendan was seen getting chummy with other females that weren’t his wife, and he did it at the Nashville bar, Casa Rosa, that Miranda’s OWNS! While Brendan claimed he was just being a good host (he occasionally works there) we are hearing that Miranda was nonetheless irked at his misstep, and put him on notice that he won’t be hanging out in her bar, or any other bar for that matter, unless she’s WITH him!

Finally to end the week on an uplifting note, Selma Blair was spotted all over Paris this week looking great during the countless fashion shows. We know this. Selma’s trip wasn’t all pleasure. The brave MS sufferer also spent a great deal of time meeting with designers to encourage them to include canes in their accessories. Selma relies on a cane to help her with stability issues caused by the MS and she’s made no secret that it’s hard to find anything stylish. As my source puts it, Selma wants to make canes more attractive and fashionable.

Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA

SEAN PENN DRINKS BUT HE DOESN’T DRIVE

Now that he’s 51, Sean Penn doesn’t take any chances on drinking and driving. Or maybe he just drinks more. He likes to hang out at Sunset Tower in West Hollywood, which also happens to be Jennifer Aniston’s favorite bar. When Sean is planning to have a few cocktails there, he calls ahead and reserves a room just in case. If he happens to get too liquored up to drive, he stays overnight. And if he has a hard time finding his room – the staff helps him out – they like him there.

COPS ARE INVESTIGATING SPOTLIGHT BAR PATRONS REGARDING “HEAD IN A BAG” MURDER

We heard a little info about the “head in a bag” found in the Hollywood Hills. Since the murder victim was identified as Hervey Medellin, 66, a retired airline employee, investigators are looking for people who used to frequent the Spotlight dive bar in Hollywood, which closed in September. This sleazy but popular and well-known bar was almost half a century old – Keifer Sutherland drank there and Brad Pitt tried to buy the place at one time. It was also a gay bar where older men often picked up young hustlers. Police are following a tip that the murdered man met someone there awhile back and he may be a suspect. Just passing on what we heard….

THE STORY OF LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND THE LUCKY BARTENDER

Leonardo DiCaprio left a Sunset Towers bartender a HUGE tip – a better job! Leo was sitting at the bar waiting for a friend and he struck up a conversation with the bartender while watching him work. Leo was impressed with the bar man’s work ethic and his obvious intelligence. The guy admitted he aspired to a job in the entertainment industry and was bartending to pay the bills. Leo had a good feeling about the guy and offered him a job working for his production company. The bartender was so happy he quit his job that same night.

ISAIAH MUSTAFA WAS A HIT AT THE ABBEY

Here’s a little known fact: A patron of The Abbey – possibly the biggest and most popular gay bar in West Hollywood – informed us that the Old Spice guy Isaiah Mustafa was a bartender there for YEARS before he hit it big. Apparently his charm and hunk factor garnered lots of big tips. But as soon as his commercial came out, he quit and never looked back, and the boys miss him. By the way, he and Kathy Griffin aren’t really dating….