Table of contents for December 23, 2024 in Globe

OOPS-A-DAISY! It’s a good thing CATHERINE BACH retired her short shorts because the former Dukes of Hazzard hottie has flamed out! ON A ROLL Ant-Man’s PAUL RUDD has a ball at his charity bowling gala in NYC A JOLLY GOOD TIME Santa SEAN ASTIN pals around with stage buddy GREY HENSON at the opening night of their musical Elf FOWL PLAY Machete man DANNY TREJO goes ham on a turkey while prepping dinner for L.A.’s underprivileged THE PIE’S THE LIMIT SARAH JESSICA PARKER wrangles a pair of pastry towers in the Big Apple while shooting And Just Like That ROARING COMEBACK Cougar TIA CARRERE claws her way into the spotlight — but the Wayne’s World babe ain’t what she used to be!…

A SPOOKED Cher is finally singing about the time crazed killer Phil Spector pulled a gun on her — years before he murdered galpal Lana Clarkson in 2003! The If I Could Turn Back Time singer becomes the SIXTH petrified musician to reveal that the late record producer menaced them with a handgun. He was finally convicted of Clarkson’s homicide in 2009 and died behind bars of COVID-19 in 2021. In her new tell-all, Cher: The Memoir, the 78-year-old icon recounts a tense contractual dispute with the unhinged music genius in the early 1970s. When the Believe singer confronted Spector in his home, angry he had released a record without her permission, the wig-wearing weirdo shockingly tried to intimidate her with a gun! “He told me he could do whatever…

BAFFLED GWEN: BLAKE WHO? Clueless cutie GWEN STEFANI, 55, claims she’d never heard of her now-hubby BLAKE SHELTON before 2014 when she and the Nashville hitmaker were both hired as coaches on The Voice! The bananas pop princess blabs, “I never listened to country music, so while Blake was super successful, I never even knew he existed before I met him!” The No Doubt frontwoman’s friendship with Blake, 48, blossomed into romance after their respective marriages to GAVIN ROSSDALE and MIRANDA LAMBERT collapsed, and the lovebirds got hitched in July 2021. The Hollaback Girl gushes that God putting the Ol’ Red crooner in her life was a “miracle.” Glam Gwen says of her Happy Anywhere duet partner, “He’s very humble and doesn’t realize how good he is. There’s something so attractive…

NICOLE KIDMAN Oh, Babygirl — your bell-sleeved boho blunder looks like a giant doily gone wrong! LUCY LIU Charlie’s Angel hits the bull’s-eye in a heavenly draped gown with a plunging neckline ELIZABETH BANKS If this dress is any hint, muumuus may be on the menu for the Hunger Games gal! MICHELLE RANDOLPH The Landman starlet strikes gold but should have gassed up her style with a bit of bling RACHEL ZEGLER Snow White’s dress is a cautionary tale against weirdly whimsical embellishments…

FORMER Lothario-on-steroids Ben Affleck has lost his mojo after the trauma of his recent divorce from Jennifer Lopez, and sources tell GLOBE the reformed Romeo, 52, has gone months without having sex! “Ben’s friends expected him to have one or two hookups after J.Lo, and even if he wasn’t going on a tear, at least have some no-strings-attached fun,” dishes an insider. “But when the opportunity arises, he doesn’t seem to care. This is the longest he’s ever gone without nookie, surely.” According to our mole, “He’s still very affected by the number J.Lo did on him, to the point where he can’t cope with the idea of another relationship or even a fling.” That’s 180 degrees from Ben’s MO following his split from Jennifer Garner. He had an on-and-off relationship…

A TRAUMATIZED Keira Knightley suffered a mental breakdown as a young actress after she was publicly shamed for being anorexic — even though she wasn’t. “I knew I was eating,” says the Atonement star, who adds she’s since blocked out much of that period. “[Though] it’s obviously part of my psyche, given how young I was when it happened.” Now 39, she scored her breakthrough role in Bend in Like Beckham in 2002, which she filmed when she was 16.…

HEARTLESS Bravo execs are getting blasted again for doing ANYTHING to boost ratings — this time for callously cashing in on a hapless young soul’s crushing drug addiction! On the Nov. 27 episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, cameras rolled while Mary Cosby, 52, confronted her 21-year-old son Robert Jr. about his demons, and he tearfully confessed to abusing drugs, including Xanax and Oxycontin. The riveting reality footage may have captivated viewers, but an industry insider reveals it’s sparked serious backlash behind the scenes. “People are just disgusted that they’d go this far,” fumes the source. “Robert admitted to being on drugs while they were filming him. It really seems like there’s just no boundary they won’t cross!” Mary, who shares Robert Jr. with her husband, Robert Cosby…

BELOVED game show host Chuck Woolery left an enviable legacy when he passed away at age 83 on Nov. 23, but one regret haunted him until his final days — the loss of his hosting gig on Wheel of Fortune in a contract dispute, sources tell GLOBE. “Everyone felt he deserved more credit for Wheel’s popularity than he got,” spills an insider. The snitch says Chuck, who hosted the show from 1975 to 1981, was “resentful” of Pat Sajak’s success — and his enormous salary. Chuck earned only $65,000 a year, a fraction of what other game show hosts were making, so he asked for a raise to $500,000 a year. But game show honcho Merv Griffin grew angry during the contract negotiations in 1981, and when talks broke down,…

STUNNING evidence unearthed by a pair of siblings confirms that legendary skyjacker D.B. Cooper was a onetime Vietnam War hero named Richard McCoy Jr.! Chanté and Rick McCoy III claim they found the daring criminal’s parachute in a storage shed outside their family’s North Carolina home but waited until after their mom’s death in 2020 to report it because they feared she could have been implicated in their dad’s misdeeds. And aviation expert Dan Gryder says it is the real McCoy! He explains the parachute matches the modified chute exclusively prepared for Cooper by veteran skydiver Earl Cossey during the 1971 saga that captivated the world! “That rig is literally one in a billion,” declares Gryder. As GLOBE readers know, Cooper demanded $200,000 in cash and a specialized rig from…

COUNTRY star Wynonna Judd’s troubled daughter, Grace Kelley, claimed she’d sold her soul to the devil during her most recent arrest in Virginia, lawmen say. Now, friends fear the 28-year-old trainwreck is sadly saddled with the same mental illness that’s plagued the Judd family for more than a century! Kelley is facing felony charges for three counts of grand larceny for allegedly stealing a church’s van in Charlottesville — and still has misdemeanor charges pending in Georgia from August when she was accused of attempting to flee from an officer and using motorcycle equipment incorrectly. Now, a family friend worries that Wynonna’s daughter may be following a familiar sad pattern! As GLOBE readers know, Kelley’s famous grandmother Naomi — Wynonna’s mom and duet partner in musical duo The Judds —…

DESPERATE inmates at a notorious Virginia supermax prison have shockingly set themselves on fire to protest the institutional racism and abuse that they claim are running rampant at the facility — and now state lawmakers are demanding answers from the governor! As many as a dozen prisoners at Red Onion prison in unincorporated Wise County took the drastic step by using improvised devices fashioned from electrical outlets, according to an alarming report broadcast on Prison Radio. Prison officials claim the number of those injured is only six, but they were still blasted by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. The group of 32 lawmakers branded the acts of self-immolation as “desperate cries for help” in response to the “degrading and inhumane conditions” at Red Onion, an infamous facility with a disturbing…

CENTRAL Park in New York City is larger than the country of Monaco. The park occupies around 843 acres of land, which is the equivalent of 16 billion New York apartments. YOU would think lemons and limes — both with densities close to that of water — would float, but only lemons do. Limes are slightly denser and will sink when unpeeled. THERE’S a very long name for people who suffer feelings of shame or fear of ridicule for mispronouncing complicated words — hippopotomonstro-sesquippedaliophobia. That’s the fear of long words. AFRICA is the only continent that spans all four hemispheres. Portions of it are geolocated in the northern, southern, eastern and western hemispheres. ONLY about 10 percent of people are left-handed. The rest are right-handed—except for the lucky 1 percent…

POP prodigy Billie Eilish is feeling the white-hot spotlight of fame, and insiders fear the pressure may have the 23-year-old on the verge of a meltdown! The hitmaker, who’s already scored nine Grammys and two Oscars, is displaying symptoms of paranoia as she continues being harassed by freaks and fanatics, a mole says. In 2021, Billie was granted a restraining order against a man who showed up at her parents’ home seven times, and another who camped across the street from her house watching her comings and goings and once made a “throat-slitting gesture” at her, according to court documents. The What Was I Made For? singer obtained another restraining order against 53-year-old Shawn Christopher McIntyre, who’d been stalking her, sending her hundreds of messages on social media and threatening…

X-MEN star Patrick Stewart has his own tragic origin story — his father often beat his mother! The 84-year-old actor recalls he knew just when his dad’s shouting would escalate to physical violence, at which point he’d burst into the room and “scream at my father to stop when he hit my mother and hit her again and again.” He says he hopes sharing his experience will raise awareness of the lifelong repercussions of being raised in a violent home.…

WHEEL of Fortune’s social butterfly Maggie Sajak is kissing up to Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White, but people around them suspect the saccharine-sweet act is part of her sneaky scheme to replace the hit game show’s longtime letter turner. Sources snitch Maggie, 29, the daughter of booted Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, has been making her presence known as “the show’s social correspondent.” “Maggie’s constant presence and clinginess must be annoying to Vanna,” spills an insider. “She’s great at her job, but others get the feeling she’s angling to take over Vanna’s spot when and if she leaves. “It’s no secret Vanna’s showing signs she’s tired of the grind. “Sure, she smiles at the appropriate moments and says the right things, but her heart doesn’t seem in it anymore.” The…

WHAT does former Happy Days star Henry Winkler think about reality shows like The Bachelorette? They’re not for his precious daughter Zoe! The sitcom’s tough guy Fonzie put the kibosh on Zoe, now 44, starring in the matchmaking reality show when she was fresh out of college and offered the gig by producer Matt Hanna two decades ago. “I was living at home at the time,” she recalls. “He came to the house and you met him outside,” where Winkler, 79, told him: “It is so lovely that you’re here. I can suggest some really good restaurants — [but] my daughter is not doing your show!” Zoe is now a teacher and a mom of three with actor hubby Rob Reinis, 50. Winkler, who has two other kids with wife…

TITANIC movie lovers Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are still incredibly close, and now sources say the English rose is nagging him to give up his swinging-bachelor life and finally walk down the aisle — NOT with her but with his current squeeze, hottie model Vittoria Ceretti. Sources snitch the stars, who recently looked like lovebirds with arms linked at an L.A. screening for Kate’s new film, Lee, on Nov. 19, are really like brother and sister — and the 49-year-old beauty has taken it upon herself to nudge the notorious Romeo to the altar! “Kate adores Leo and thinks he’d make a great husband and father, and she thinks he’s just letting fear of the unknown hold him back,” spills an insider. “She’s heard him talk about getting serious with…

GRIDIRON great Tom Brady is wrecking his rugged good looks with cosmetic quick fixes, according to concerned fans who are crying foul and begging the 47-year-old football legend to kick the habit! The retired quarterback turned FOX Sports football announcer and game analyst is getting needled online for his suspiciously smooth face amid the first year of his decade-long $375 million deal with the media giant. Brady has boasted about his strict diet and fitness routine — but a source dishes plenty of people are convinced that he’s “doing what everyone else on TV is doing” to keep his youthful appearance going for as long as possible “by getting a few nip/tucks.” Chicago-based plastic surgeon Dr. Otto Placik, of bodysculptor.com, observes, “The forehead appears markedly smooth, consistent with Botox. I…

COUNTRY crooner Zach Bryan is ready to follow his hit song Heading South, say insiders, after fans have turned on him in fury for his accused shoddy treatment of ex-galpal Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. The backlash caught Zach by surprise when jilted 25-year-old Brianna started hurling ugly charges after the Pink Skies singer began canoodling with another gal behind her back. Zach, 28, turned into a human target while performing in Portland, Ore., Nov. 27, when a “fan” threw a can of nicotine pouches at him. The star stopped mid-song and demanded the dude show his face, saying, “Let’s not be d**ks, huh?” before tossing the can back into the crowd. Just days earlier, he was crooning in Tacoma, Wash., when an angry fan fired an object that struck his guitarist,…

HIBERNATING Renée Zellweger has been lured out of her cozy, far-from-the-limelight love nest to plug her new Bridget Jones flick for all it’s worth, say sources, with the promise of a massive payday bonus if the rom-com movie smashes the box office. The 55-year-old star of the new sequel, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, costarring Hugh Grant and set for a February release, has been happily snuggling with 45-year-old toyboy Ant Anstead, a British TV personality, since summer 2021 after meeting on the set of his Discovery+ show Celebrity IOU: Joyride. But the Bridget Jones cash was too good to pass up. “Over the decades, Renée has kept the flame alive on the Bridget Jones film franchise and with good reason — these are the films that made her…

Songbird LILY ALLEN, 39, says she was kind of a virgin when her Stranger Things hubby DAVID HARBOUR, 49, first bedded her. She claims it was the first time she’d ever done it “not drunk.” The on-again, off-again marriage of West Coast Choppers boss JESSE JAMES, 55, and porn star BONNIE ROTTEN, 31, is off — again! SANDRA BULLOCK’s ex has smacked Bonnie with divorce papers. They’ve each asked for temporary restraining orders charging physical abuse. BEN AFFLECK’s former squeeze, Latina bombshell ANA DE ARMAS, 36, was slammed for playing with toyboy MANUEL ANIDO CUESTA, 26, stepson of Cuba’s new tyrant, MIGUEL DÍAZ-CANEL BERMÚDEZ. Serial killer fans with $700G can snatch up the six-room home of Gilgo Beach’s accused monster REX HEUERMANN, charged with offing six hookers and burying them on…

STRESSED-OUT reality princess Kim Kardashian is not likely to find much joy in the holiday season as she grapples with problems that have brought her to the verge of a nervous breakdown, say sources. A bizarre series of social media posts, the pressures of single motherhood, family spats and an ongoing battle to stay relevant have all apparently combined to rattle the bubble-butted beauty. Kim, 44, didn’t earn any points with fans with recent photo shoots that she plastered on the internet. One picture shows the Skims founder squatting in a cropped black jacket, black lace stockings and heels next to a gold Tesla car and robot “friend.” Another set of pics feature her Pomeranian pooches Sake and Sushi, the dogs’ first appearance in months after Kim was roasted for…

HEARTBROKEN Queen Camilla is drowning her bottomless sorrow in booze, courtiers confide — sparking fears that King Charles’ unhinged wife is drinking herself to death! “Camilla has endured a year from hell,” a high-level palace insider tells GLOBE. “The king’s cancer diagnosis in January was devastating — but the tragic illness and death of her beloved rescue pup Beth was the last straw.” According to the tipster, the often-soused 77-year-old had secretly undergone yet another detox at her favorite wellness center in India mere weeks ago — but nonstop stress and emotional anguish have “plunged” her back into a “booze nightmare!” The insider dishes, “She’s canceled a ton of important public events — blaming an ongoing chest infection. But the truth is her binges got out of control and Charles…

SELFISH Susan Smith lashed out in her South Carolina prison cell after the monster mom learned her parole bid was denied after 30 years in the clink and she’d be forced to remain behind bars for drowning her two young sons! That’s the word of a spywitness at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, who says, “She was pissed. She was angry, crying, waving her hands, very agitated. It looked like she threw a tantrum!” Tearful Smith, 53, made her failed plea for freedom last month as she apologized for sending her kids — Michael, 3, and Alexander, 14 months — to a watery grave in 1994 by strapping them into car seats and allowing her vehicle to roll into a Union County lake. The liar initially claimed she was carjacked by…

FORMER President Bill Clinton is trying to put a pretty face on his horndog image in his new bio, Citizen: My Life After the White House — but it’s an uphill battle, as the mountain of evidence that he cheated on former First Lady Hillary Clinton makes O.J. Simpson’s bloody glove look like a Christmas mitten! Unfortunately, Slick Willie has two legacies — as the best president the Dems have brought to the table since Lyndon B. Johnson, and as the biggest Commander-in-Cheat since John F. Kennedy! Here are the cases for both sides of the split-personality prez: As a resident of the White House from 1993 to 2001, his achievements included the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, the creation of more than 22 million jobs, the lowest unemployment…

COMING this spring is an updated, live-action version of the Disney animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but before the orphaned beauty with the rose-red lips gets all modern and self-actualized, don’t forget the original, groundbreaking 1937 movie — which is still the highest-grossing animated film when adjusted for inflation! Some of the seven “little men” who house the royal outcast were originally going to be named Sneezy-Wheezy, Biggo-Ego and Awful. And although it’s a movie fit for the kiddies, the scene of the evil Queen transforming into a witch was modeled on the horrifying 1931 movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!…