Kanye West says "gay" has become an antonym to hip-hop - and that it needs to be stopped. During an interview for an MTV special, the 27-year-old rapper launched into a discussion about hip-hop and homosexuality while talking about "Hey Mama," a song on his upcoming album, "Late Registration."

West says that when he was young, people would call him a "mama's boy." "And what happened was, it made me kind of homophobic, 'cause it's like I would go back and question myself," West says.

West says he changed his ways, though, when he learned one of his cousins was gay. "It was kind of like a turning point when I was like, `Yo, this is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays.'"

West says hip-hop was always about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He adds that in slang, gay is "the opposite, the exact opposite word of hip-hop."

Kanye's message: "Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, `Yo, stop it!"

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H&M is a company known for making a splash, whether through its shockingly affordable prices or its headline-grabbing events.

Capitalizing on the latter, the Swedish retail giant is launching H&Mdenim, a new line of high-premium denim that will feature 100 different styles for men and women, available in a slew of washes and shades, featuring special touches like grommets and rhinestones. The line, which will range in price from $39.90 to $69.90, hopes to catapult H&M into the denim market, an area that the company hasnÂ’t been known for in the past.

A special advertising campaign—which will, nationally, run exclusively in the September and October issues of Interview magazine as well as other regional publications throughout the country—has been created by controversial lensman David LaChapelle to accompany the denim launch, scheduled for the end of September. A pre-launch of select styles is currently in H&M stores now.

To celebrate the occasion, H&M will host a party along with LaChapelle and Interview magazine at Splashlight Studios on September 14 during Fashion Week. At the event, guests will view a six-minute short film developed by LaChapelle that features Mary J. Blige and former American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray wearing H&Mdenim. In addition, as part of the companyÂ’s media plan, the short film will play during previews in select movie theaters across the nation.

--If you haven't checked out H&M, you really should. To my Indy readers, we're getting one at Circle Center. I know this is a favorite "label" of many of my readers, so I wanted to make sure I posted this.

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Barry Manilow is getting into bling.

Manilow has introduced a line of jewelry he's simply calling the "M Jewelry Line." The first items are a silver bracelet, a silver ring, crystal earrings and a crystal necklace.

Manilow's name is not anywhere on the items. They are available through his official Web site.

--I say stick to writing the songs that make the whole world sing.

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Madonna's bone-breaking fall from a horse is causing the morbid editors at Blender to recalculate her life expectancy.

The magazine's Web site routinely predicts when today's celebrities will croak using factors like medical history, genes, education and lifestyle, and had estimated Madonna's expiration date at a formidable 86.

But now that Madonna (above), 47, had her equine accident — which could happen again — the editors are apparently busy trying to figure out whether to shave some years off that ambitious checkout time.

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You know Jessica Simpson will be buying this by the case.

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Avril Lavigne was left in floods of tears recently, when she was made to believe she'd blown up a car and a bike. The Canadian singer became the latest victim on Ashton Kutcher's hit prank show Punk'd after parking her car while out with a friend.

As soon as she stepped out of the garage, Kutcher's team got straight to work, posting a fake reserved sign and blocking Lavigne's car in with another vehicle before she returned. After complaining to the attendant about being stuck in her spot, Lavigne was asked by the staffer to help him move the car. But chaos soon ensued when the car rolled out of everybody's control and into a transformer, which caught on fire, engulfing a neighbouring motorbike in flames.

Shocked Lavigne fought back tears as both the owner of the bike and the car screamed at her in disgust. And she was so upset that even when Kutcher appeared from behind the scenes and informed her it was a prank, she burst into tears.

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Britain's Princes William and Harry are being lined up for cameos in 'The Simpsons'.

The royal siblings are both being considered for parts in the hit animated show and are set to be approached by bosses with an offer. Executive producer Al Jean has revealed the plans, and claims he is interested in featuring both William and Harry in a storyline where one of the princes becomes character Lisa's dream boyfriend.

He said: "We've thought about approaching Harry and William because I believe they are fans of the show. It would be funny to make one of them Lisa's boyfriend. I know they're image conscious but I don't know what harm it would do."

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Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have hired a judge so the details of their divorce remain private.

Jennifer filed for divorce in January citing "irreconcilable differences." The public will not hear details of their divorce in open court paper. Instead they will negotiate their split in front of temporary judge Jill Robbins in their lawyers' offices.

According to Contactmusic.com celebrity divorce lawyer Raoul Felder said: "This is a rent-a-judge situation. It's something that can only be done in the state of California." The completion date for the divorce is set at June 30, 2007.

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A single, surprising phone call and it was over. That's how Pierce Brosnan says he learned that his services as James Bond would no longer be required.

"One phone call, that's all it took!" the 52-year-old actor tells Entertainment Weekly magazine in its Aug. 19 issue. Brosnan starred in four Bond films. He says that before they stopped negotiations, the producers had invited him back for a fifth time. "You know, the movie career for me really started with Bond," says Brosnan, acknowledging that by the time "GoldenEye" premiered in 1995, he was already 42. He then starred as 007 in "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) and "Die Another Day" (2002).

His departure from the role was a "titanic jolt to the system," says Brosnan, followed by "a great sense of calm." "I thought. ... I can do anything I want to do now. I'm not beholden to them or anyone. I'm not shackled by some contracted image. So there was a sense of liberation."

Brosnan says he's grateful to have had the role, but adds: "It never felt real to me. I never felt I had complete ownership over Bond. Because you'd have these stupid one-liners — which I loathed — and I always felt phony doing them." He plays a foulmouthed, skirt-chasing hit man in the upcoming film "The Matador."

"(For this) to come on the heels of my departure from the world of Bond is sweet grace, to play this one as a farewell to that chapter in time — it certainly wasn't planned."

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Steven Cojocaru is looking for another kidney transplant after the first donated kidney had to be removed due to infection.

Cojocaru, a correspondent for syndicated TV shows "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider," received a kidney from a friend in January. That kidney was removed in June after it became infected with a virus that can afflict transplant recipients and lead to eventual loss of the organ.

The red carpet mainstay says the virus is now gone, leaving him in proper shape for a new transplant. He is seeking the right donor match. "Now I feel 100 percent," Cojocaru tells Us Weekly in an interview. "I'm alive and kicking and concentrating on buying my fall wardrobe!"

The 40-something fashion commentator suffers from polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary disorder that causes the growth of cysts on the kidney. After going though "drama detox," Cojocaru says he's now ready to return to work. He plans to be back on the red carpet for the MTV Video Music Awards in Miami on Aug. 28.

Cojocaru says he's "determined" to get another kidney and is trying to "help make donating kidneys the new, trendy, hot thing to do. Hotter than buying a house in Malibu."

"Kidneys are the new black!" he joked.

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Banana Republic takes center stage with its fall advertising campaign, using the opportunity to align itself with the work of Michel Gondry.

Several years ago, Gondry, the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, created a 1:39 music video to accompany Gary JulesÂ’ version of the song Mad World, originally performed by Tears for Fears. Banana Republic executives came across GondryÂ’s music video on his directorÂ’s reel and felt that it would be fitting for its fall ad campaign, reinforcing the notion of finding art in everyday moments.

With the launch of the companyÂ’s fall campaign comes www.FindtheArtintheEveryday.com, a website vehicle to showcase the Gondry short. As part of a promotion to tie into artful associations, thereÂ’s a page on the site where Banana Republic will be giving away free tickets to MoMA to the first 750 people who provide their address and contact information. Don Fisher, Gap Inc.Â’s founder, and his wife, Doris, are said to be among the nationÂ’s largest collectors of modern art.

The New Yorker Festival, which runs from September 23-25, will present the Gondry film adjacent to the different festival events.

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A fellow attorney, sorority sister, and friend asked me to help spread the word regarding a good cause. Please read:

Teb's Troops is a not-for-profit organization started after Tricia E. Black, or Teb as she is known by her friends and family, after she was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma. At the time of her diagnosis, Teb was 29 years old and living in Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband and 9-month-old son.

Wanting to rally her "troops" during her war with cancer and desiring to make something positive come from the negative, Teb asked her friends to help her design and sell a bracelet, the profits of which would go to organizations that support the treatment, prevention, and research of cancer, including melanoma.

Teb is now asking you to enlist as one of her troops by purchasing a Teb's Troops bracelet to show your support for teb and the fight against cancer.

Please click here to purchase a bracelet.

Click here to read Teb's personal blog.

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Toni Braxton shows where her loyalty lies as she exits Beverly Hills' Kitson boutique on Monday. The celeb-friendly shop has reported that "Team Aniston" shirts are outselling "Team Jolie" tops 25-1.

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Eminem, who last week finished the American swing of his "Anger Management" tour, has canceled his European tour, apparently on doctor's orders, his record label has announced.

"Eminem is currently being treated for exhaustion, complicated by other medical issues. The shows are not expected to be rescheduled," says a brief statement from Interscope Records.

The 32-year-old rapper was set to begin on Sept. 1 in Hamburg, Germany, and finish, 10 concerts later, on Sept. 17 in Dublin, Ireland.

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Madonna's 47th birthday celebration was marred Tuesday when she suffered several broken bones in a horse riding accident at her country home outside London, her publicist told The Associated Press.

The superstar was treated and released from a hospital after sustaining three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a broken hand, according to Liz Rosenberg, her spokeswoman based in New York.

Madonna's husband, director Guy Ritchie, took her to the hospital, Rosenberg said. The accident occurred Tuesday at Ashcombe house, the couple's 1,354-acre estate about 100 miles southwest of London.

Madonna and an assistant were riding when Madonna, on a horse she wasn't accustomed to riding, took a tumble. Her children, Rocco and Lourdes, were at the home but weren't with her at the time, Rosenberg said.

"The whole family was out in the country, celebrating her birthday," Rosenberg said. Rosenberg said she didn't know if Madonna was returning to her Ashcombe estate after her release from the hospital.

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According to the publicity for her new show, party girl Tara Reid is "improving world relations, one party at a time".

However, a visit to a nightclub in Berlin was too crazy for Reid. She was so shocked by the hard-core goings-on she locked herself in her hotel room - and took the first flight out the next day.

A spy says: "Tara was visiting the city as part of her reality TV travel show Wild On Tara. "She arrived on Friday and was supposed to spend the weekend touring the hot spots but she was so shocked at the first stop in the KitKatClub on Saturday that she fled." Tara, 26, flew to London on Sunday morning - three days early.

A KitKatClub spokesman confirmed that guests get to fulfil their fantasies and said the sight of black leather and a lot of naked flesh had been too much for the star. He continued: "Tara threw her complimentary glass of champagne across the club in disgust and fled back to her suite at the Palace Hotel before flying back to London."

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In an interview with Heat magazine, Katie Holmes reveals that Tom Cruise is in fact her "hero".

"I've been a fan of his for so long... When you find yourself in love with someone like that for real, it's almost like being in a dream. A very nice dream. "I have never met anyone who is so full of life, so secure in who he is and what he does. It's a beautiful thing to be able to fall in love with a man like him," she gushes.

"He's very generous and very supportive. He's the smartest man. Full of life. "He's incredibly interesting to be around: his enthusiasm is infectious. I love him. I feel like it's a privilege to have met him and become part of his world."

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Teen star Lindsay Lohan has slammed her father Michael's demands for a cut of her fortune - she insists all he has ever given her is pain.

Lohan, who will testify at her parents' divorce trial in New York City, is fuming at her father because she suffered a traumatic family life at his hands.

She says, "He doesn't even deserve my respect. (He would) go out and not come home at night and make me and my mom stay up and wonder where he was and then show up three days later. "So I don't think he deserves anything."

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Jude Law's reconciliation with fiancee Sienna Miller has stepped up a gear - the British heart-throb will accompany Miller to her sister's wedding next month.

The actress was left heartbroken by Law's admission last month that he had enjoyed a month-long fling with his children's nanny Daisy Wright while filming.

But their showdown talks about the future of their relationship left them determined to move on from the infidelity together - and next month's show of unity will be the first step, reports British newspaper The Sun. A friend says, "Jude is delighted and Sienna wants him there. He's keen to show her family he still loves her."

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Ashlee Simpson's new single includes the chorus "I didn't steal your boyfriend," but she claims it's not directed at Lindsay Lohan, as tabloid readers might assume.

(Simpson allegedly wooed actor Wilmer Valderrama away from Lohan.)

"It's not about one person in particular, it's just something every girl can relate to," Simpson said of "Boyfriend" at Sunday's 2005 Teen Choice Awards "It's a song about [how] every girl out there sometimes thinks you stole her boyfriend. It's just making fun of that."

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