Table of contents for September 11, 2023 in Globe

GRAY TRIPPER It’s been a long and winding road for former Beatle PAUL McCARTNEY — who looks like he’s nearing the end of it! THE BEST CELEB PHOTOS EVERY WEEK! HOW FISHY! Singer JESSICA SIMPSON needs to kiss her trout pout goodbye because those plumped-up lips are the pits! ROOM WITH A WOO! Loudmouth wrestling legend RIC FLAIR is never shy about grappling for attention! GETTING A-ROUND Reality TV’s KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN waddles her way through the last days of her pregnancy in L.A. HERE’S THE SCOOP! After losing 40 pounds of flab, The Office’s MINDY KALING attacks an ice cream cone like she hasn’t eaten in ages! PAUNCH FAILURE ELTON JOHN is still standing — but these days the rotund Rocket Man is a doughy dud!…

SCREEN superhero Ioan Gruffudd won a key victory in his bitter battle with ex-wife Alice Evans as an L.A. judge agreed to have a shrink evaluate their fitness for custody over their two daughters. Gruffudd, 49, who played Mister Fantastic in two Fantastic Four flicks, claims Vampire Diaries actress Evans, 55, has been “abusing” Ella, 13, and Elsie, 9, causing them “serious emotional harm.” He claims Evans calls Ella a “f**king bitch” and says she “would be getting a new father soon.” Evans, his wife of 16 years, denies his charges and claims Gruffudd, who’s been dating 31-year-old actress Bianca Wallace, hasn’t even seen or spoken with the girls for three months. She claims a custody evaluator is not necessary. But the actor, who played Lancelot in 2004’s King Arthur, claims…

STICKY-FINGERED geezer Lawrence Gray weaseled his way into high society and snatched tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry from wealthy East Coast elites — right out from under their snooty noses, authorities charge. Gray, 79, swiped at least seven rare and valuable items — including a platinum Verdura brooch, sapphire, emerald and diamond earclips by Oscar Heyman & Brothers, a Van Cleef & Arpels ruby ring and a 19thcentury gold pocket watch — which he sold for $45,000 at a Big Apple auction house between 2016 and 2018, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Lawmen believe the retired political science professor, who taught at John Cabot University in Rome until 2011, lifted the loot from luxe homes in Washington, D.C., and Newport, R.I. Gray was the longtime romantic…

SOURPUSS Ellen DeGeneres has hit a major snag in her scheme to launch a stand-up comedy comeback, according to sources who claim the onetime laughmaker says she just ain’t funny anymore! Now, her plan to return to the top via stand-up — after being dethroned as a TV talk queen for presiding over a toxic work environment — is turning into a battle as she struggles to create a new act, insiders squeal. “Ellen is funny, but she’s not in a funny place right now,” spills a source. “Writing her own stand-up special, then putting it on its feet and performing it for a Netflix taping is no easy task. “Unlike her show, she doesn’t have a full writers’ room to generate jokes for her every day, or even the…

BARBIE bombshell Margot Robbie is the toast of Hollywood for her role as the iconic doll in the billion-dollar blockbuster flick — but she’s haunted by scandalous accusations she helped plunge Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage into a tailspin! The 33-year-old Aussie blonde was nearly half 54-year-old Smith’s age when the pair teamed to star in the action film Focus in 2013. While the film flopped, some insiders suspect a sizzling romance blossomed. Sources say Jada, 51, seethed with jealous fury when photos emerged of Margot and Will cuddling playfully in a photo booth, lifting their tops to show their upper assets, and spies snitched the pair sneaked away from the Focus cast wrap party to Will’s trailer! Although Will was silent and Margot vehemently denied any physical…

Wrecking Ball singer MILEY CYRUS was maid of honor when 56-year-old mom TISH wed her ball and chain, Prison Break star DOMINIC PURCELL, 53. Tish split with Miley’s pop, BILLY RAY CYRUS, in 2022. It’s a boy for ASHLEY OLSEN, who secretly gave birth months ago in New York with no one knowing she’d been pregnant! The former Full House child star, 37, and artist husband LOUIS EISNER, 35, who wed in December, reportedly named their firstborn OTTO. New Girl star ZOOEY DESCHANEL, 43, has a new fiancé! Boyfriend of four years, Property Brothers star JONATHAN SCOTT, 45, popped the question in Scotland. The Young and the Restless patriarch ERIC BRAEDEN, 82, shares good news amid his battle with cancer: “I had my last cystoscopy … that’s when they thread…

BRITNEY SPEARS’ bitter boytoy, Sam Asghari, wants the Toxic songbird to cough up major cash in their divorce to guarantee he’ll zip his lip about her bizarre behavior, according to tipsters who squeal he’s already leaking disturbing dish on their six-year romance. “Sam’s seen Britney at her worst and knows she would be devastated if he dished the dirt on her!” an insider spills. “He thinks she’ll pony up big bucks to buy his silence, which some people see as a form of extortion.” Spies snitch Asghari, who was a no-name backup dancer when he met the troubled pop princess in 2016, has threatened to expose the hitmaker’s darkest secrets as part of his bid to renegotiate a 2022 prenup safeguarding Britney’s $60 million fortune! Sources say the agreement would…

SCHEMING Family Feud killer Tim Bliefnick will rot behind bars for the rest of his life for the vicious murder of estranged wife Becky, but GLOBE readers were expecting the evil monster’s recent severe sentence! GLOBE previously reported Bliefnick, 40, was arrested after seeming to joke on a 2020 Family Feud episode the “biggest wedding mistake” was actually getting married! Judge Robert K. Adrian in Quincy, Ill., sentenced Bliefnick to life for the Feb. 23 murder of Becky, 41, after the couple separated and were divorcing. Bliefnick shot her 14 times while their three sons slept. The judge noted his scheming, saying: “You researched this murder, you planned this murder, you practiced this murder, you broke into her house, and you shot her. And you did all of that while your children…

HORRIFIED Succession actress Crystal Finn was rushed to a hospital with painful bites covering her legs and butt after a bevy of otters attacked her in a California river while she was taking a leisurely swim! “I felt something on my backside and on my leg,” says Crystal, who played Lauren Pawson in Season 4 of the hit TV series. “I started looking around and yelling out and [the otters] popped up right in front of me. Then they dove down and started going at me again!” The 44-year-old actress was enjoying the waters of Feather River near Plumas National Forest when the shocking incident occurred. “I could see the bites on my legs and knew I had been bitten on my butt — that one was the worst,” she…

YOU READ IT HERE 1ST GOLF icon Phil Mickelson lost more than $100 million on bad bets, according to a new book. But GLOBE readers learned all about his shocking habit way back in May 2016 when the swinger was busted for trying to clear a gambling debt by insider stock trading. Now Billy Walters, who claims to have had a “betting partnership” with the golfer, writes in his book, Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk, that Mickelson, 53, has wagered more than $1 billion on sports over 30 years. Walters claims Phil, the winner of six major tournaments, even wanted him to place a $400,000 wager on the 2012 Ryder Cup team he played on with Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson. Walters writes he refused to place the…

CHAT show co-host Joy Beharhid while the Jersey Shore cast appeared on The View because of a long-simmering feud with the reality gang’s star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, insiders snicker. According to It’s Happening podcaster Joey Camasta, the 80-year-old blowhard “chose not to be in the segment and was hiding the whole time.” That’s why only hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Sara Haines interviewed the cast. Snooki, 35, confessed to long feuding with Joy and slammed the talking head as the “rudest celebrity” she’s met, insisting, “She was so mean to me.” Snooki says Behar once cornered her in a restroom and admitted she grew up with Jersey Shore types, saying: “I was picked on by kids like that.” So in a mocking 2011 video, Snooki imitated Behar, saying:…

AY AY AY! Word is Prince Harry’s thinking about pulling up stakes in California and moving his family to Japan — and now critics are chattering his domineering wife, Meghan, is scheming, greedy spiderwoman who’s wrecked his life. You’ve gotta admit, it makes some sense. Since he and the former Suits actress tied the knot in May 2018, Harry and Meghan have worn out their welcome on TWO continents! The once dutiful prince turned on his family, trashed them in public, quit his royal duties and moved 6,000 miles from home. Sure, Harry had reasons to resent his family. What kid doesn’t? As the title of his memoir, Spare, indicates, he’s had to take a back seat to older brother William, who is heir to the throne. Also, he was…

HIGH-maintenance Jennifer Lopez doesn’t know it, but she just got dissed by former lover Sean “Diddy” Combs over her flashy timepiece! J.Lo, 54, was spotted in fashionable gym duds with a Dolce & Gabbana tote and a Richard Mille timepiece that goes for between $200,000 and $1.4 million — but that don’t impress Diddy. The music mogul slammed the watches on social media, comparing them to a Timex, saying they’re “not hot. I have two or three. They’re ugly.” He suggests “buying a house” instead!…

CHICAGO has more rats than any other city in America, which is no laughing matter even though the rodents actually giggle when tickled! ALBERT EINSTEIN was a nutty professor! The genius mathematician never went anywhere without a violin — and owned several of the instruments, which were all named Lina! REDHEADS produce more vitamin D than other people — and experience pain differently. Researchers insist gingers can stand up to higher levels of electrical voltage without suffering. TV mogul Simon Cowell once scraped by as a runner on movie sets and actually polished the ax Jack Nicholson used to smash through a door in the famous Shining scene. ROYAL Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship, measuring 1,188 feet long with 18 decks that can house…

FORMER Friends superstar Courteney Cox is so desperate to be a bride, she’s agreed to let rocker Johnny McDaid be a part-time husband who’ll spend most of his time on the road, sources squeal. “There has always been a tough dynamic in their romance since Johnny is often touring with his band, Snow Patrol, or off to Europe for songwriting sessions,” the insider whispers. The Cougar Town alum, 59, and the Irish-born musician, 47, have been an on-again, off-again couple for nearly a decade. In 2015, the lovebirds called off their 18-month engagement — but rekindled their romance the very next year. However, California-based Courteney was forced to endure a nine-month separation from her man in 2020 when the singer was stranded in London after international borders shut down due…

DAZZLING Demi Moore is looking fantastic at 60 and insists it’s all natural, but sources tattle she owes her youthful look to her surgeon and recently underwent a fifth nip/tuck to perfect her gorgeous mug. “Demi looks like she’s turned back the clock another ten years,” tattles a tipster. “Apparently this was her fifth time getting her face worked on.” The Striptease beauty—who turns 61 on Nov. 11 — was accused of extensive cosmetic procedures two years ago when she sported shockingly hollowed cheeks and bloated lips during a Fendi fashion show. “People were slamming her, which was very hard to take,” snitches the spy. “It sent her back to the surgeon to have that corrected.” Two decades ago, Demi reportedly plunked down nearly $250,000 on plastic surgery for her…

JUST four months after leading a boycott over Bud Light’s decision to partner with a transgender spokesperson, self-styled tough guy Kid Rock was seen guzzling the brew at a concert! The fickle redneck, whose protest helped cost the beer company a whopping $40 billion, was spotted swigging the suds with pals and setting his can on a balcony railing at Colt Ford’s Nashville concert Aug 17. As GLOBE reported in April, 52-year-old Kid Hypocrite was videoed blasting a bunch of cans to smithereens with an AR-15 rifle while bellowing: “F**k Bud Light! F**k Anheuser-Busch!”…

KELLY ROWLAND The busty songbird is one stylish chick in a glam gown with twisted bodice and crystal-strewn skirt LUANN DE LESSEPS The RHONY has-been has a fit figure, but she’s too long in the tooth for a belly-baring top LILY ALLEN The singer’s hood ed dress echoes Old Hollywood — but the tablecloth-like print is too old lady MIREILLE ENOS The rosy hue is on-trend, but the Lucky Hank star looks like she’s donned a hacked-off T-shirt ELIZABETH BANKS The Pitch Perfect gal hits a sour note in a campy gold gown with ’80s-inspired draping…

SPELLBINDING Rosa-mund Pike is once again working her magic as witchy Moiraine Damodred in The Wheel of Time as the Amazon series streams its second season — but the British beauty is no stranger to the realm of fantasy, having portrayed Queen Andromeda in 2012’s Wrath of the Titans. Rosamund, 44, got her big-screen break over two decades ago as traitorous MI6 agent Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan’s last turn as James Bond. But her acclaimed performance as the titular Gone Girl in director David Fincher’s 2014 thriller sent her star soaring. Here are ten things you don’t know about the London-born mother of two. 1 She’s the only child of opera singer Julian Pike and concert violinist Caroline Friend. 2 She learned to play the piano…

BABYFACED Zachry Bailey swindled an Oklahoma City car dealership out of $100,000 in his latest game of make-believe, according to lawmen who are comparing the 19-year-old fraudster to Leonardo DiCaprio’s con man character in Catch Me If You Can. Bailey recently sold two 2023 vehicles, which appeared to be nearly paid off, to Cooper Auto Group. But the Apache Police Department charges the greedy thief made bogus financial transfers on the outstanding balances for the car, showing loans were significantly less than owed. He scored a pair of hefty checks for selling them to the dealer, but when the car company reached out to pay the remaining balance and collect the cars’ titles, cops say they realized they’d been had! Officer Ben Lehew dug into Bailey’s past and discovered the lying…

AMERICA’S spy agencies and military operatives are bracing for a new terrorist attack to topple New York City’s Freedom Tower on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 strike that destroyed Manhattan’s World Trade Center and punctured the Pentagon, sources reveal. GLOBE has fielded explosive reports from intelligence sources who warn radical Muslim terrorists in the Taliban have used the two years since the U.S. left Afghanistan — where 2,402 American soldiers were killed — to plot the attack and turn our own weapons against us! The plot is said to be revenge for the CIA’s refusal to free 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad, who has been held for more than 20 years without trial — and the jihadists intend to take payment in blood! According to hush-hush warnings a Taliban…

KILLER yellow-legged hornets have been spotted in America for the first time — and experts warn the invasive Southeast Asian species threatens to decimate honey production, annihilate native insects, imperil crops and endanger human lives! A Savannah-based beekeeper recently found one of the winged menaces alive on his property and reported the disturbing discovery to game wardens. The aggressive insects, also known as Vespa velutina, are relatives of Asian giant hornets, which wreaked havoc in the U.S. in 2021 and earned the nickname murder hornets for their brutal attacks on bee colonies—and people! University of Georgia entomologist Brian T. Forschler explains the new invaders “seem to specialize in feeding on honeybees!” Georgia’s agriculture commissioner calls the bugs a threat to the state’s $75 billion annual agriculture industry, which relies on bees…

POP icon Michael Jackson’s been dead for 14 years, but two of his former buddies are refiling lawsuits claiming the Moon-walker was a twisted pedophile who molested them for years — starting when they were seven and ten years old! Wade Robson and James Safechuck will finally get their day in court against two companies owned by the late Bad singer, who died at 50 of a drug overdose in 2009, after a California appeals judge ruled a lower court was wrong to dismiss their case. In 2017, the lower court decided that MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., both owned solely by Jackson, had no duty to shelter the then youngsters from pervy attacks. But the higher court has now ruled the companies had a “duty to protect”…

THE 1920 silent romantic drama Way Down East still gives viewers shivers during the climactic scene where lovely LILLIAN GISH, playing a fallen country girl — hey, it wasn’t her fault! — floats away on an ice floe toward certain death on a raging waterfall. Those were the days when actors had to do their own stunts, and the grande dame of silent movies lay for hours on a sheet of ice, resulting in lifelong nerve damage in the hand she trails in the icy river.…