Bobby Brown's 25th Birthday in New YorkWhen I heard Whitney Houston was found dead last night, my first thought was that it was a rumor. We're constantly plagued with ridiculous celebrity death rumors started via Twitter and other social media, and I thought surely this was one. Sadly, it wasn't in her case.

Details of her death are still being pieced together, but according to TMZ, the singer was found apparently drowned in a bathtub in a room at a Beverly Hills hotel. The site reports that her stylist, hairdresser, and two bodyguards were in the room with her before the Clive Davis party. After she was in the bathroom for more than an hour, they got concerned that they hadn't heard from her and found her in the tub with her face underwater. 

Heartbreaking, and it's unfathomable that in the wake of such a tragedy, anyone would be low enough to start celebrity death rumors. But they have, with fury.

Pretty much the ONLY person on the Internet who didn't weigh in this week on M.I.A. throwing the bird during her performance with Madonna at the Super Bowl half-time show was Madonna herself. But that all changed Friday morning when the Material Girl herself candidly told Ryan Seacrest what she thought of the flip-off.

Guess what. Madonna wasn't happy. Here's what she said about it:

The reviews for The Vow are in, and it looks like Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum have mad chemistry. And it's a good thing, too. Because to hear the critics tell it, if it weren't for that chemistry, we might start wondering if Channing Tatum is actually just a computer-generated vision of manliness and not an actual human being.

Oh my, the consensus seems to be that Channing is not exactly what we could call an ACT-OR, as such. Poor Channing, what are you doing in this role as a bohemian type in the first place? It's like he's a Greco-Roman wrestler in a movie about Greco-Roman wrestling who suffered a tragic head injury and wanders away only to find himself in the wrong movie, wearing a pork pie hat. And he can't remember where he really belongs!

On a scale of NBD to OMFG, how freaked out would you be if your longtime psychotic stalker had just escaped from a mental hospital? I'm guessing Madonna is frantically beefing up her security right this minute, because it turns out that Robert Dewey Hoskins, who once spent 10 years in prison for threatening to kill her, has managed to slip away from his Los Angeles-area mental health facility.

Yeah, I think I'd be pretty worried if I were her—after all, this is the guy who once threatened to "slice her throat from ear to ear" if she didn't marry him. Unfortunately, other celebrities may have cause for concern as well, because Hoskins is reportedly obsessed with Halle Berry now.

The worst part? The guy is considered an extremely dangerous threat, and reportedly always travels with a knife and a gun. Um, holy shit.

Macaulay Culkin in healthier timesI'm not gonna lie; the pics of a severely gaunt Macaulay Culkin making waves on the interwebs right now are a bit disturbing. Like if your grandma saw Culkin walking down the street looking like this, she'd make that shocked Home Alone face with her hands on her cheeks ... then she'd tackle him, tie him to a chair, and force feed him until he put on a few pounds. You're nothin' but skin and bones! What, your mother never feeds you?

Of course Culkin's rep insists the 31-year-old actor is "perfectly fine." I hope that's true, for Culkin's sake -- poor guy's already been through enough (legal battles with his own parents, the whole Michael Jackson thing, divorce from his childhood sweetheart, the sudden death of his sister).

But I'm worried, personally. He sure doesn't look fine ...

Maybe it's his height, or his strapping jawline, or that irresistible accent, but I've always thought Russell Brand was a stand up kind of guy. Now there's "evidence" of that -- a source told TMZ that Russell's not going after any of soon-to-be ex-wife Katy Perry's money. She reportedly earned $44 million while the two were married and although Russell is legally entitled to half, he's not going for it. All he wants is the money he earned during their 14 month union, which is obviously more than fair.

Divorce is hard enough as it is, add in millions of dollars and a lack of pre-nup and things could get nasty. But not in Russell and Katy's case. Sounds like their split is going smoothly, which is certainly something to be proud of.

Oh you One Million Moms, don't you know your hate just makes Ellen stronger? I thought it was crazy when I first heard of the bigotry-fueled group trying to boycott JCPenney because Ellen DeGeneres is their new spokeswoman. And clearly I wasn't the only one. Even conservative Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly is "standing up" for Ellen. Wait until you read what he said in her defense.

And wait until you hear Ellen's own response. On her show she gave a shout-out to Prop 8 being ruled unconstitutional. And then she talked about what the One Million Moms campaign meant to her -- and what kinds of "traditional" values she stands for. It's classic Ellen, and it shows why this woman is just too gracious and charming for anyone to truly hate.

If you were deeply saddened by the news that Paula Abdul was let go from X Factor, a new interview with Simon Cowell might perk you up. In a rare moment of candid humility, Cowell actually admitted to Extra that he blames himself for having to let her go because he set unreasonable expectations for the show (remember him bragging about 20 million viewers?) and then had no choice but to fire her. Is your jaw on the floor, yet? Because wait ... there's more! He also said:

I would've liked to have kept [Paula]. She was very gracious, and I said that to her. She understands it's business; it's never personal.

Folks, I think it's pretty clear what's happening here, don't you?