Kutcher tweets resemblance of Jobs

Kutcher tweets resemblance of Jobs

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, January 31, 2013, 6:30 PM

In advance of the release of upcoming biopic "Jobs," Ashton Kutcher posted a photo of himself dressed up as the late Apple co-founder.

The resemblance between Jobs, shown late in his life with his signature beard and mock turtleneck, and Kutcher, 34, is uncanny.

RELATED: ASHTON KUTCHER HOSPITALIZED FOR STEVE JOBS' DIET

"Thank you Sundance for your support of ‘Jobs,’" Kutcher wrote on Twitter.

“Jobs” has so far earned mixed reviews from critics, who debate how capably Kutcher embodied Jobs’ spirit.

RELATED: KUTCHER PORTRAYS APPLE FOUNDER IN 'JOBS'

No question remains, however, about how well the actor can conjure up Jobs’ image.

Feds after disgraced dean's cash

Feds after disgraced dean's cash

James Monroe Adams IV for New York Daily News

Former St. John’s University dean Cecilia Chang hanged herself in November amid accusations she bribed students with scholarships and then forced them to work as her personal servants at her Jamaica Estates home. 

The Feds have fired their first salvo to grab ill-gotten assets from the late St. John’s University dean Cecilia Chang, who committed suicide while on trial.

Internal Revenue Service Special Agent Sheldon Tang filed an affidavit Thursday in Brooklyn Federal Court seeking a warrant to seize up to $ 300,000 from an account with Firstrade Securities that Chang opened in the name of a former student.

Chang, the former dean of the Center for Asian Studies at St. John’s, allegedly embezzled more than $ 1 million from the school and deposited the money in various accounts she controlled, according to court papers.

She hanged herself after testifying disastrously in her own defense against federal charges that she bribed students with scholarships and then forced them to work for her as personal servants at her Jamaica Estates home.

The Firstrade Securities account was opened in the name of a student who was recruited by Chang to receive a St. John’s scholarship, according to the affidavit. The student told investigators that “she believed opening the account was a requirement of the school,” Tang stated in the affidavit.

Federal prosecutors are preparing a formal forfeiture action against whatever assets of Chang’s can be tied to her various schemes.

St. John’s University could file a claim with the U.S. Justice Department to recover the funds she stole, sources said.

The Queens District Attorney’s office dropped its lien against Chang’s home, where she killed herself.

The former dean’s lawyer said he was unaware of the feds’ plans.

The verdict is in on Randy Travis’s drunk driving charges

The verdict is in on Randy Travis’s drunk driving charges

Uncredited/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Randy Travis was arrested on Aug. 7, 2012, for drunk driving when cops found him lying naked after crashing into a construction zone.

Randy Travis may not be singing “I’m Free” anytime soon.

The country singer has been sentenced to 180 days in jail after he pled guilty to an Aug. 7 drunk-driving incident in Texas in which he was found by authorities lying naked in the roadway after crashing his car in a construction zone.

RELATED: 'BUCK NAKED' RANDY TRAVIS ARRESTED FOR DWI

In true celeb fashion, he may not spend a single day locked up, reports TMZ.

The 53-year-old country crooner’s sentence was probated for two years, so if he plays it straight he can avoid ever seeing the inside of a jail cell, according to the Grayson County District Attorney.

RELATED: RANDY TRAVIS PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO SIMPLE ASSAULT CHARGES

But he isn’t getting off that easy. The sentence also includes 100 hours of community service, a mandatory check-in to an in-patient alcohol treatment facility for a minimum of 30 days and the installation of an ignition interlock device on any vehicle Travis intends to operate over the next two years.

“He’s given up drinking alcohol,” his lawyer Larry Friedman told People magazine. “He’s drinking eight glasses of water a day or more. He’s on a strict exercise regimen… He’s in the best shape he’s ever been in his life.”

zrivera@nydailynews.com

Final '30 Rock' leave us rollin' with laughter

Final '30 Rock' leave us rollin' with laughter

Art Streiber/Art Streiber/NBC

Two true 'Rock' stars of comedy: Tina Fey as Liz Lemon and Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy

NBC’s “30 Rock” wraps up a seven-year run Thursday night at 8 with a double episode that’s self-referential, self-deprecating, puzzling, appropriate, funny and wholly untroubled by the fact this show’s life story feels odder than many of its loopy plotlines.

Consider:

1. If you listen to critics and the TV industry, “30 Rock” is one of the best sitcoms ever. It won the Emmy for Best Comedy three years in a row. But if you look at its ratings, it never ranked higher than No. 69 in any of its seven seasons. Its finale last season drew 2.8 million viewers, less than a typical episode of “Ax Men.”

2. “30 Rock” was a glittering beacon of prestige for NBC during years when, as the late Daily News’ Bill Bell used to say, the network “couldn’t get viewers in a prison block if it were waving a fistful of pardons.” “30 Rock” and other modestly rated but critically adored sitcoms kept NBC on the map. Yet now NBC Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt is gently and diplomatically saying NBC needs shows with broader appeal.

3. With an inside-the-industry premise, which narrows any show’s appeal, “30 Rock” succeeded largely because its stars were so entertaining. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin won awards as routinely as pizza-delivery trucks double-park. But ask most TV viewers how they remember Fey in recent years and they’ll say, “Sarah Palin.” Ask about Baldwin and they’ll tell you how they love his Capital One commercials. Tracy Morgan? Loose cannon. Jane Krakowski? Love those lite OJ ads.

Thursday’s final episodes take a final round of digs at NBC. Jack McBrayer's Kenneth, now the network president, explains he only wants brainless sitcoms where people joke with their dogs.

Kenneth also sets up the nominal premise for the finale, that the network must make one more episode of “TGS” even though it was canceled.

This sets up the dysfunctional group’s version of goodbyes, whether that involves Lutz (John Lutz) plotting revenge for seven years of humiliation in the writers’ room or Liz (Fey) and Jack (Baldwin) trying to figure out how they really feel about each other.

It’s no spoiler to reveal that things never become mushy, or that only viewers truly obsessed with the show will get all of the inside lines and references.

Brian Williams and a mirror on the bathroom floor? Alec Baldwin’s character joking about the real-life Alec Baldwin?

But hey, the “30 Rock” folks were clearly having a good time. And really, in the end, what else is happiness all about?

Car dealer sues Hyundai to keep dealership

Car dealer sues Hyundai to keep dealership

Hyundai is giving the “death penalty” to a Brooklyn auto dealership that was forced to pay nearly $ 300,000 in restitution to victims scammed by unscrupulous employees.

But Giuffre Hyundai of Bay Ridge has fired back with a lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court seeking a stay of the automaker’s lethal order.

RELATED: LATE DECEMBER IS PRIME TIME FOR AUTO BARGAINS, SAY CONSUMER ADVOCATES

Franchise termination is a business "death penalty,” Giuffre’s lawyer, Eric Chase, states in court papers filed Wednesday.

Hyundai’s decision to force franchise owner John Giuffre to sell the business, which has been operating since 1998, is rooted in a suit filed in 2010 by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman accusing Giuffre’s Hyundai, Mazda, Kia and Mitsubishi dealerships of ripping off dozens of customers with fraudulent practices.

Giuffre claims in the suit to have cleaned up his act. He seeks unspecified damages against the automaker.

jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

Beyonce admits to lip synch, silences critics with song

Beyonce admits to lip synch, silences critics with song

Beyoncé faced the music and put her lip-syncing scandal to rest Thursday by belting out a rousing â€" and live â€" version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before an audience of skeptical reporters.

“Any questions?” the grinning superstar said when she was through with the demonstration.

PHOTOS: BEYONCE TOPS PEOPLE'S 2012 MOST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE LIST

Reporters at the pre-Super Bowl press conference had the answer â€" in the form of thunderous applause that put to rest a fortnight of controversy.

Jaws had dropped from sea to shining sea after Beyoncé belted out a soaring rendition of the National Anthem during President Obama’s inauguration â€" but fans began singing a different tune when a spokeswoman for the U.S. Marine Band suggested Beyoncé might have used a pre-taped version.

RELATED: MISS AMERICA TO SING LIVE

But Beyoncé refused to say whether she had or hadn’t faked it. So the singer, looking ravishing in a white mini dress, began the Thursday presser by asking everybody to stand.

Then, she knocked the patriotic song out of the park.

PHOTOS: INAUGURATION DAY 2013

Not only did Beyoncé leave no doubt about her ability to hit all the right notes, she insisted, “I absolutely will be singing live” at halftime of Super Bowl XLVII Sunday.

“This is what I was born to do,” she said.

RELATED: BEYONCE OPENS ABOUT MISCARRIAGE

She finally admitted she sang along with a “pre-recorded track” at the inauguration â€" but did it because she’s a “perfectionist” and didn’t feel ready to perform at her peak.

“I practice until my feet bleed (but) I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra,” she said.

RELATED: OUTRAGE OVER BEYONCÉ’S 'STAR SPANGLED BANNER' LIP SYNCH

“Due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk. It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud.”

After the controversy erupted, the Beyoncé camp hunkered down and refused to say whether she did or didn’t fake it.

RELATED: MICHELLE OBAMA, DAUGHTERS SET NATIONAL FASHION TRENDS

But supporters defended her, noting that even Pavarotti faked it when was too cold to perform live.

Beyoncé made a point of arriving in New Orleans early enough to make a recording of the songs she plans to sing â€" a set list that remains a closely guarded secret.

With millions of dollars riding on performances like the half time show, singers typically pre-record a song as insurance against a sore throat or some other calamity.

In 1991, Whitney Houston gave a now-famous performance at the Super Bowl that was aided by a prerecorded soundtrack.

Other stars like Jennifer Hudson and Faith Hill have done the same.

Hudson will be performing at this Super Bowl as well â€" along with a choir of 26 children from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20 first graders and six staffers were massacred last month by a monster armed with a Bushmaster assault rife.

csiemaszko@nydailynews.com

Lindsay Lohan sues clothing label partners for $1.1M

Lindsay Lohan sues clothing label partners for $1.1M

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

indsay Lohan attends the launch of her legging collection '6126' at Henri Bendel in 2008.

Lindsay Lohan was back in court again Thursday - but this time she was doing the dressing down.

The "Mean Girls" star filed a $ 1.1 million lawsuit in federal court accusing her clothing label partners of fraud, trademark infringement and breach of contract.

Lohan claims the southern California-based apparel company that licensed her 6126 Collection as part of a five-year celebrity clothing deal has defaulted on $ 900,000 in guaranteed minimum royalties plus 10% of net sales.

"They owe us a million dollars. We're suing to force them to pay," Lohan's civil lawyer Perry C. Wander told the Daily News.

"The agreement did not have a morals clause, and Lindsay Lohan had no responsibility to promote the line, so there's no defense for their actions," he said. "They're trying to insert those as a defense, but they weren't part of this deal."

Lohan struck the deal back in 2008, shortly before a conga line of Los Angeles County criminal judges slapped her with jail time for offenses related to her DUIs and a shoplifting conviction.

The 26-year-old starlet spent two weeks behind bars in mid 2010 before making a couple trips to rehab and later serving a month of house arrest in 2011.

She's now fighting misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, obstruction and lying to police that stem from a car crash on a Santa Monica highway last June.

The actress got a chilly reception from a judge Wednesday after she almost missed a mandatory pre-trial hearing because of an alleged upper respiratory "condition" that her lawyer referred to as the flu.

Lohan's new criminal lawyer Mark Heller submitted a doctor's note ahead of the hearing saying Lohan was too sick to fly from New York to Los Angeles. Paparazzi photos, meanwhile, showed the "Liz & Dick" star shopping and smoking cigarettes around the time she supposedly was diagnosed.

Judge Stephanie Sautner made it clear she didn't buy the flu excuse after Lohan took a last-minute flight and sheepishly appeared as ordered.

The former child star did not speak to reporters outside the courtroom, but Heller said she deserved "mercy" and another chance, not more jail.

Wander said her future plans include more work in the fashion industry.

"Lindsay is very passionate about her fashion design, and she's looking forward to re-launching the line with another partner," he said. "She wants to enter into negotiations to license a clothing line and accessories."

Lohan registered her 6126 trademark as an ode to her heroine Marilyn Monroe. It represents Monroe's birthday of June 1, 1926.

The "Freaky Friday" actress launched her original 6126 line of leggings and cashmere leg warmers with design partner Kristi Kaylor at high end stores such as Fred Segal.

It's no longer available at premium stores but continues to sell in overseas markets like China and Japan, Wander claimed.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles named D.N.A.M. Apparel Industries as the lead defendant.

Attempts to reach the company were not immediately successful.

ndillon@nydailynews.com

Texas prosecutor viciously gunned down outside courthouse was part of probe into Aryan Brotherhood

Texas prosecutor viciously gunned down outside courthouse was part of probe into Aryan Brotherhood

David Woo/The Dallas Morning News via AP

The scene of Thursday's shooting in Kaufman County, Texas.

A prosecutor who reportedly was investigating the Aryan Brotherhood was killed after getting shot five times near the courthouse in a small Texas town on Thursday morning, and two suspects remain on the loose.

The victim has been identified as Mark Hasse, 57, an assistant district attorney for Kaufman County. Hasse's name was being withheld until his family was notified.

Hasse was exiting his car on his way to court in Kaufman, a town of less fewer than 7,000, when he was approached by two suspects, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The shooting took place in a parking lot where many prosecutors and judges park. Hasse was taken away in ambulance, though it remains unclear whether he died at the hospital or en route. 

RELATED: MAN CONVICTED IN DECAPITATION SLAYING TO START A WHITE SUPREMACIST GROUP 

"My secretary heard the gunshots," Kaufman defense lawyer Eric Smenner told the newspaper.

With the suspects still on the loose, the courthouse was closed and police locked down the immediate area. The school district also locked down schools as a precaution.

Investigators believe the two suspects fled in an older model Ford Taurus in either a brown or silver color. 

State records show Hasse was certified as a peace officer 25 years ago, according to the Dallas Morning News. He almost always carried a gun, friends told the newspaper.

RELATED: KKK WHITE SUPREMACIST RUNNING FOR SHERIFF IN IDAHO

Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes said it appears that Hasse was targeted. 

"I would say from all appearances it is," Byrnes said, according to a local NBC affiliate. "But we have no concrete information on that. We're pursuing every avenue right now."

The assistant DA’s caseload included investigation of members of the Aryan Brotherhood, sources told the Morning News. 

"If this really was an assassination by the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, we are about to see a war begin," Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center told the Daily News on Thursday.

The Aryan Brotherhood in Texas has the reputation of being the most violent faction within the white supremacist group, Potok says.

The Brotherhood was originally formed by San Quentin State Prison inmates in 1964 when authorities began to desegregate prisons. There are now more than 15,000 members around the country.

It is the largest - and most violent - prison gang, according to Potok. While only a 0.1% of inmates are in the Aryan Brotherhood, 18% of all prison murders are committed by the white supremacist group.

To enter the gang, one usually is required to kill someone. And the only way to leave the gang is usually by death.

Authorities plan to investigate whether Hasse's probe of the hate group has anything to do with his death, according to the Morning News.

Hasse worked as a prosecutor for the Dallas County DA's office before moving to Kaufman. He was chief of the Dallas County DA's organized-crime unit from 1985 until 1988, according to the Morning News.

“He was revered and he did an outstanding job,” Kaufman County Judge Bruce Wood told the Morning News before Hasse was officially identified. “We see each other every day. … It’s a very small courthouse.”

“I’m just sad and concerned for the individual involved and the family members," Mayor Tony Rader told the paper.

Kaufman is 40 miles from Dallas, which took notice of the shooting.

"Please be aware of your surroundings when leaving the building for your safety," reads an email by the Dallas County DA to his staff, obtained by WFAA-TV. "This is probably a isolated incident but until further notice if you plan to work past dark today please be careful and ask security for assistance escorting you to your vehicles if needed. I will keep you informed as to the arrest of the suspects when i am notified. Don't panic but please be aware of your environment when leaving the building."

dboroff@nydailynews.com

Gin Blossoms headline B.B. King's

Gin Blossoms headline B.B. King's

JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/AP

Dave King of Flogging Molly, who will perform at Roseland

They’ve sold millions of records, scored fistfuls of hits and, along the way, crafted albums of rare form and substance.

Yet the perception persists of the Gin Blossoms as a singles-centric band from a long-gone era. The most clueless even mistake them for other alt-pop bands that broke through in the ’90s.

“It amuses me when people come to our shows and shout at us to play ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’” says singer Robin Wilson, referring to the sole hit by a forgotten band of the Clinton era, Deep Blue Sea.

Other times, Wilson says he is mistaken for Bob Dylan’s son, Jakob, who had hits with the Wallflowers back in the Gin Blossoms’ day. True, Wilson’s band did enjoy their greatest commercial success two decades ago, wracking up multiplatinum albums like “New Miserable Experience” and “Congratulations I’m Sorry.”

But those albums were not just commercial flukes tied to the trends of the day. Their songs contain such troubling emotion, and showed such sterling songcraft, they present the Gin Blossoms as perhaps the most underrated band of that era. Beyond that, the guys have put out two other strong CDs in recent years and they continue to tour. They play B.B. King’s tonight.

The band’s lack of a media profile has not helped their cause â€" though that absence also baffles. They’ve got a back-story of drama and tragedy, something that should make them media darlings.

Right before they completed their note-perfect masterpiece â€" 1992’s “New Miserable Experience” â€" they felt compelled to fire their main songwriter, Doug Hopkins, over his ruinous drinking habit and erratic behavior. Right as the songs he wrote, like “Hey Jealousy,” were riding the charts, the guitarist killed himself.

“Doug’s death was the most difficult thing any of us went through,” Wilson says. “There wasn’t a single thing about it that wasn’t ugly.”

Hopkins’ death left the other band members both bereft and furious. “I’m still angry at him,” Wilson says.

Much like Syd Barrett’s connection to Pink Floyd, Hopkins continued to have a role in the band’s music, decades after he left. They used more songs by him on their follow-up to the four-million-selling “Miserable,” and even employed a pet phrase of his for the title of their 2006 album “Major Lodge Victory.” At every show, they perform his old songs.

Right after Hopkins’ death, the other guys had the daunting task of having to concoct equally strong songs of their own. “The most pressure you can possibly be under as a band signed to a major label is when you lose your main songwriter,” Wilson says. “But Jesse (Valenzuela) and I knew we were good writers and we knew that we could continue.”

Soon they proved they had the chops to retain the balance of dark and light elements that became the Gin Blossoms’ calling card. The surface of their songs couldn’t be brighter, marked by Wilson’s boyish vocals and the kind of buff pop melodies that suggest a gleaming mix of R.E.M. and the Replacements. Yet the band’s lyrics often deal with drinking, co-dependence and despondency. The members’ own dark sides led to a break-up in 1997. “We could have used counseling,” Wilson says now.

TV review: ‘Space Shuttle: Mission of Hope’

TV review: ‘Space Shuttle: Mission of Hope’

We will never hear all the stories that could be told about the doomed space shuttle Columbia, which exploded on Feb. 1, 2003.

But “Mission of Hope” tells one, or two really, that find marvelous inspiration inside the tragedy.

“Mission,” whose executive producers include Tom Hanks, focuses on Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut who was killed with his six colleagues in the explosion.

Ramon's own story as an Israeli war hero is fascinating enough. But then the film turns to an item he carried on that final mission: a miniature Torah a rabbi managed to conceal when he was deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by the Nazis in World War II.

The rabbi used that Torah to hold a bar mitzvah for a young boy. He then told the boy to keep the Torah and survive the war, so its message would be kept alive.

The boy, Joachim Joseph, did survive, and so did the Torah. Joseph grew up to be a scientist who worked with Ramon on the Columbia mission, which is how the Torah came to be on board.

The Torah was never found after Columbia went down. The message of the rabbi, the boy and the astronaut could not be more enduring.

dhinckley@nydailynews.com

Yeshiva leader charged for sex with teen boy

Yeshiva leader charged for sex with teen boy

Getty Images

Brooklyn yeshiva leader 33-year-old Yoel Malik has been charged with a dozen sexual abuse charges involving 14- or 15-year-old boys.

A Brooklyn yeshiva leader was arrested late Wednesday night on a dozen sex abuse charges involving three teenage boys, cops said.

Yoel Malik, 33, of Brooklyn had sex with one of the teens and rubbed his hand on two others, a police source said.

The teens were 14 or 15 at the time of the alleged incidents. The sexual intercourse assault on the one boy took place in a hotel, a cop source said, adding another victim fled a different hotel after Malik started rubbing his back.

The third teen was in the suspect’s car, en route to school, when Malik allegedly rubbed the boy’s groin through his pants.

RELATED: YESHIVA TEACHER CHARGED WITH KIDDIE PORN POSSESSION, SEX WITH 14-YEAR-OLD BOY

“This is vicious gossip,” Malik’s visibly shaken wife, Rachel, said at the family’s home while her husband was being questioned at the 79th Precinct stationhouse, prior to being charged. “He’s a good man. I don’t know what to say. I hope it’s not true.” 

In addition to the 12 counts of sexual abuse, Malik is charged with 11 counts of endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of criminal sexual act and one count of forcible touching. 

He was arrested at 10:25 p.m. Wednesday. No timeframe was available for the alleged attacks on the teens.The unidentified yeshiva is currently not in operation because of a financial issue.

Police learned of the victims from an anonymous caller to a rape hotline.

rparascandola@nydailynews.com

Porn star Ron Jeremy unconscious after heart aneurysm: manager

Porn star Ron Jeremy unconscious after heart aneurysm: manager

Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Reality Rocks

Adult film actor Ron Jeremy underwent two emergency surgeries following a heart aneurysm. He remained unconscious Wednedsay night.

For once in his life, Ron Jeremy is not stiff yet.

The porn pioneer survived two emergency surgeries Wednesday to treat an aneurysm near his heart and was “resting with complete privacy and no visitors” after procedures that “went smoothly,” manager Mike Esterman told the Daily News.

But the beloved swinger next door was not ready to rise again just yet, and remained unconscious Wednesday night, Esterman said.

RELATED: MISS NEVADA CROWN AT RISK OVER RISQUE PIX

The self-styled “hardest” working man in show business and one of the adult film industry’s most unlikely stars, Jeremy, 59, drove himself to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center near Beverly Hills around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday after experiencing chest pain, the manager said.

He was wise to make a beeline for the hospital, after it turned out he had an aneurysm â€" a different kind of bulging artery for the chubby sex symbol.

“His instincts were correct to seek help at that moment,” Esterman said. “He is in the ICU and has not been conscious since surgery.”

PHOTOS: ADULT VIDEO NEWS AWARDS SHOW 2012

Born Ron Jeremy Hyatt, the Queens native and his prolific penis have starred in more than 1,700 porn flicks over three decades, according to his website.

His adult titles include “Alien Babes in Heat,” “Humpkin Pie” and “Generally Horny Hospital.”

The mustachioed mattress master â€" also known by his nom de porn, The Hedgehog â€" has also directed 250 adult films and appeared in 60 mainstream movies.

RELATED: RON JEREMY PLOTTED TRAP FOR CANADIAN CANNIBAL

He is the most celebrated porn actor of his generation, earning best supporting actor from the Adult Film Association of America twice (“Suzie Superstar” and “All the Way In”), best supporting actor from Adult Video News twice (“Candy Stripers II” and “Playin’ Dirty), and even a Free Speech Coalition “Positive Image Award” in 2009.

Jeremy fans flocked to Twitter on Wednesday to wish the Benjamin Cardozo High School graduate well and crack affectionate jokes.

“Please #PrayForRon as he goes into surgery. He has given hope to ugly fat guys around the world that we too can get laid,” one user typed.

ndillon@nydailynews.com

Te'o hoaxer confesses love for linebacker

Te'o hoaxer confesses love for linebacker

Dr. Phil Teaser

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo and Dr. Phil chat about the Manti Te'o hoax. He revealed he was "deeply, romantically in love” with Notre Dame’s biggest football star, and pretended to be a woman stricken with leukemia.

He was "deeply, romantically in love” with Notre Dame’s biggest football star â€" and he showed it by pretending to be a woman stricken with leukemia.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo revealed in an interview with TV shrink Dr. Phil that his years-long deception of Manti Te’o was the result of an unhealthy obsession with the Heisman Trophy finalist.

“Here we have a young man who fell deeply, romantically in love,” Phil McGraw told NBC News.

RELATED: TE'O HOAXER TUIASOSOPO: I MIGHT BE GAY

The TV personality pressed Tuiasosopo about his sexuality and the former high school football player admitted he was gay â€" sort of.

“I said, ‘Are you then therefore gay?’ And he said, ‘When you put it that way, yes,’” Dr. Phil recalled.

“Then he caught himself and said, ‘I am confused.’”

RELATED: HEAR PHONE MESSAGES FROM MANTI TE'O'S 'GIRLFRIEND'

Tuiasosopo, speaking publicly for the first time since the bizarre scandal broke, said pretending to be Te’o’s girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, became overwhelming.

“I wanted to end it because after everything I had gone through, I finally realized that I just had to move on with my life. . . . I had to start living and let this go,” he said.

But Tuiasosopo had trouble letting go.

RELATED: NFL TEAMS LOOKING FOR THE FULL MANTI STORY

After he killed off the Kekua character in September, he tried to resurrect her in December â€" concocting a bizarre story involving Kekua going underground to dodge drug dealers.

That desperate move finally raised red flags for the hopeless romantic Te’o, and soon Notre Dame started an investigation into what came to be known as the “No Such Dame” affair.

Tuiasosopo, 22, also said it was him, and only him, pretending to be Kekua â€" his online creation who graduated from Stanford and barely survived a car accident only to discover she had leukemia.

RELATED: FACE OF MANTI TE'O'S HOAX GALPAL SPEAKS

Dr. Phil said that Te’o “absolutely, unequivocally” was not involved in the fraudulent narrative that boosted his profile.

Yet Tuiasosopo â€" much like Te’o after he learned of the trickery â€" still referred to Kekua as if she were real.

“There were many times Manti and Lennay had broken up, but something would bring them back together,” Tuiasosopo said. “Whether it was something going on in his life or in Lennay’s life â€" in this case in my life.”

RELATED: MANTI TE'O'S 'GIRLFRIEND'S' TWITTER ACCOUNT SHOWS INTERACTION, FLIRTING WITH SEVERAL CELEBS

The talk show host also hinted that Tuiasosopo’s elaborate hoax was the result, in part, of severe mental problems.

“Ronaiah had a number of life experiences that damaged this young man in some very serious ways,” Dr. Phil said.

The Tuiasosopo family lawyer, Milton Grimes, also indicated that Tuiasosopo deserved pity.

RELATED: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? TE'O HOAX PERPETRATOR IMPERSONATED FEMALE VOICE ON PHONE

“This wasn’t a prank to make fun,” Grimes told the Daily News. “It was establishing a communication with someone. . . . It was a person with a troubled existence trying to reach out and communicate and have a relationship.”

The sit-down with Tuiasosopo â€" set to air Thursday and Friday â€" comes a week after Te’o opened up to Katie Couric.

In that heart-to-heart Te’o professed ignorance that he was being played for a fool. He also told her Tuiasosopo’s love will not be reciprocated by him.

The star player for the Irish famously scoffed at Couric when she asked if he was gay.

“Far from it. Faaaaaaaaar from it,” Te’o said.

sbrown@nydailynews.com

Theater review: ‘All the Rage’

Theater review: ‘All the Rage’

In his very fine new play, “All the Rage,” Martin Moran continues his exploration of how people are hurt and how they heal.

Moran is a New York actor and author in his early 50s with nice-guy good looks and a gentle demeanor.

He recalls, with a sheepish smile, paying the bills by making dopey clip-clop sounds with coconut shells on Broadway in “Spamalot.”

But his life isn’t just about funny business. Anything but.

In 2004, in his autobiographical show, “The Tricky Part,” he recalled being sexually abused as a boy by a camp counselor.

“All the Rage,” in a way, is a sequel to the earlier work. The new play affirms Moran’s stature as an endearing and entertaining writer and storyteller.

Dressed in preppy striped shirt and plain pants, he begins the show with a few niceties, and by saying, “I’m dying to share a dream.”

Before he does, he takes a detour. It’s one of several hops across time and space during the show’s 80 minutes.

His tale leaps to Las Vegas, where he’s at his father’s funeral. He’s about to let his stepmother, a woman he’s despised for decades (whom he describes in hilarious detail), really have it.

And then, in a blink, the narrative darts to Manhattan.

Dissatisfied, or maybe in what he calls a “midlife meltdown,” Moran is on a search for meaning. This leads him, after various dead ends, to becoming a translator for a young African man who is a torture victim now seeking asylum in America.

Getting on after being victimized. Forgiving something unforgivable. The threads of parallel lives start to emerge and eventually tie together.

As he relates the story, Moran relies on a globe, maps and an old-school opaque projector, like an eager-beaver teacher trying to keep everyone in the audience on the same page.

If the story seems all over the map, the carefully charted circuitous route is one of the strengths of the piece. All roads lead eventually to the destination of that dream Moran was aching to share. It has to do with survival and the significance of anger and forgiveness toward that end.

Under the direction of Seth Barrish, Moran moves his 80-minute odyssey seamlessly. It’s always entertaining and often affecting.

At various points he engages the audience. It’s as though we’re his close intimates and it really matters to him that we get him. We do.

Juror: No Weberman anti-Semitism

Juror: No Weberman anti-Semitism

Jesse Ward/for New York Daily News

Orthodox leader Nechemya Weberman was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl -- and a juror is now denying anti-Semitism played any role in the guilty verdict.

They convicted him because of the facts, not because of his religion.

A juror in the sexual abuse case pitting a teen accuser against Hasidic leader Nechemya Weberman said he broke the panel’s silence to refute the notion the jury returned a guity verdict out of anti-Semitic bias.

"It wasn't religion, it wasn't their background, it wasn't revenge," said the 42-year-old man, who asked not to be identified. "It was a young girl and an old man alone in a room."

The juror offered the first public account of the jury's thinking during deliberations in the high-profile trial, which ended Dec. 10 with a guilty verdict to all 59 counts.

Weberman, 54, was convicted of molesting the now 18-year-old for three years starting when she was 12, forcing her to perform oral sex and reenact porn scenes. She started to see the unlicensed therapist after running afoul of the insular sect's stringent modesty rules.

Weberman’s lawyer George Farkas had claimed after the conviction that Hasidic Jews do not have “the same shot with a jury as anyone else."

But the juror said he had no preconceptions about Weberman's community, adding the panel didn't view him as "a monster."

"We realized we couldn't make a flippant decision and ruin a man's life," the juror recalled. "It was, 'Oh boy, we have a serious job.'"

The juror said the panel accepted the victim's "emotional" testimony, which stretched over four days, but didn't want to rely solely on her words.

"We needed something else," he said.

“Something else” came in the form of social worker Sara Fried, who testified she diagnosed the girl with post traumatic stress disorder over the years of molestation.

"That's what clinched it," the juror said during an hour-long interview at a Brooklyn diner last week. "We took the vote and everyone was unanimous."

He also noted there were multiple locks in Weberman's home, that he admitted to driving the girl upstate alone and that he housed other runaway teens.

"It raises a lot of red flags," he said.

The panel of 12 jurors â€" a racially diverse group of different ages, including a college student and a retiree â€" weighed Weberman's fate for about five hours. After, jurors were ushered out of a side exit, escaping the media glare.

Weberman, who's facing a maximum of 117 years, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, though it will likely be later this month.

oyaniv@nydailynews.com

Juror: No Weberman anti-Semitism

Juror: No Weberman anti-Semitism

Jesse Ward/for New York Daily News

Orthodox leader Nechemya Weberman was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl -- and a juror is now denying anti-Semitism played any role in the guilty verdict.

They convicted him because of the facts, not because of his religion.

A juror in the sexual abuse case pitting a teen accuser against Hasidic leader Nechemya Weberman said he broke the panel’s silence to refute the notion the jury returned a guity verdict out of anti-Semitic bias.

"It wasn't religion, it wasn't their background, it wasn't revenge," said the 42-year-old man, who asked not to be identified. "It was a young girl and an old man alone in a room."

The juror offered the first public account of the jury's thinking during deliberations in the high-profile trial, which ended Dec. 10 with a guilty verdict to all 59 counts.

Weberman, 54, was convicted of molesting the now 18-year-old for three years starting when she was 12, forcing her to perform oral sex and reenact porn scenes. She started to see the unlicensed therapist after running afoul of the insular sect's stringent modesty rules.

Weberman’s lawyer George Farkas had claimed after the conviction that Hasidic Jews do not have “the same shot with a jury as anyone else."

But the juror said he had no preconceptions about Weberman's community, adding the panel didn't view him as "a monster."

"We realized we couldn't make a flippant decision and ruin a man's life," the juror recalled. "It was, 'Oh boy, we have a serious job.'"

The juror said the panel accepted the victim's "emotional" testimony, which stretched over four days, but didn't want to rely solely on her words.

"We needed something else," he said.

“Something else” came in the form of social worker Sara Fried, who testified she diagnosed the girl with post traumatic stress disorder over the years of molestation.

"That's what clinched it," the juror said during an hour-long interview at a Brooklyn diner last week. "We took the vote and everyone was unanimous."

He also noted there were multiple locks in Weberman's home, that he admitted to driving the girl upstate alone and that he housed other runaway teens.

"It raises a lot of red flags," he said.

The panel of 12 jurors â€" a racially diverse group of different ages, including a college student and a retiree â€" weighed Weberman's fate for about five hours. After, jurors were ushered out of a side exit, escaping the media glare.

Weberman, who's facing a maximum of 117 years, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, though it will likely be later this month.

oyaniv@nydailynews.com

Lindsay Lohan's flu excuse makes her judge sick and tired

Lindsay Lohan's flu excuse makes her judge sick and tired

David McNew/Getty Images

Lindsay Lohan appears in court for a pretrial hearing at the Airport Branch Courthouse of Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday.

A Los Angeles judge had a ready prescription for ailing Lindsay Lohan when the starlet waltzed into her courtroom Wednesday after claiming she had the flu: dueling doses of doubt and sarcasm.

Judge Stephanie Sautner first stared down the "Mean Girls" star -- who was clad in a sleeveless black dress and bare legs -- and shook her head dismissively.

Lohan's lawyer previously said she planned to skip the mandatory hearing due to illness, but the oft-arrested actress reconsidered at the last-minute and hopped a flight from New York that arrived in California with just hours to spare.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Sautner said.

"Thank you," the actress replied.

Lohan's new lawyer Mark Heller also didn't react to Sautner's cynicism, inflaming the judge by claiming Lohan had an upper respiratory infection diagnosed by her personal doctor.

"Is that a cold?" Sautner asked.

"Yes. In New York City, it's the flu," Heller replied.

"No it isn't," replied Sautner, who is a former NYPD detective. "I still have New Yorker in me. The flu is a whole different (thing)."

PHOTOS: LINDSAY LOHAN'S RISKIEST COURT FASHIONS

Heller then referred to the current flu "epidemic" in New York, saying Lohan's doctor recommended she avoid air travel "not only for her protection but that of the general public, which includes everybody in this courtroom."

"She shouldn't have come," Heller continued. "She wanted to show respect to the court, and she did feel better. And she's here."

Lohan, 26, was accompanied by mom Dina, who sat in the front row. The panicked duo took the last flight out of New York Tuesday night after learning Sautner could issue a warrant for Lindsay's arrest in the wake of photos showing Lohan shopping up a storm and puffing on a cigarette over the weekend, TMZ.com reported.

They drove from the airport to the posh seaside hotel Shutters early Wednesday but were turned away due to a history of bad behavior, TMZ said.

The judge set Lohan's next court hearing in her pending car crash case for March 1.

PHOTOS: LINDSAY LOHAN: FROM 'IT GIRL' TO 'WHAT HAPPENED?!'

Lohan's facing three misdemeanor charges: lying to a police officer, reckless driving and obstruction.

Cops say Lohan initially claimed she wasn't behind the wheel when her loaner Porsche collided with a dump truck last June, but investigators later determined she was indeed the driver. Lohan was on probation for misdemeanor shoplifting at the time of the alleged cover-up.

The three new charges carry maximum sentences ranging from 90 days to a year behind bars.

She also could get 245 days for violating her probation. Heller's former clients include "Son of Sam" serial killer David Berkowitz and reality star Jon Gosselin. He was suspended from practicing law for five years in the 1990s due to professional misconduct.

Sautner is the same judge who cautioned Lohan last year to behave in a more "mature" manner.

The warning came after Lohan finished the community service hours related to her combined shoplifting and double-DUI case.

"The only terms left ... are to obey all laws. It's not that hard. I know it's kind of hard when people are following you all over the place, but that's the life you chose," Sautner said. "You need to lead your life in a more mature way, stop the nightclubbing and focus on your work."

ndillon@nydailynews.com

Lindsay Lohan's flu excuse makes her judge sick and tired

Lindsay Lohan's flu excuse makes her judge sick and tired

David McNew/Getty Images

Lindsay Lohan appears in court for a pretrial hearing at the Airport Branch Courthouse of Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday.

A Los Angeles judge had a ready prescription for ailing Lindsay Lohan when the starlet waltzed into her courtroom Wednesday after claiming she had the flu: dueling doses of doubt and sarcasm.

Judge Stephanie Sautner first stared down the "Mean Girls" star -- who was clad in a sleeveless black dress and bare legs -- and shook her head dismissively.

Lohan's lawyer previously said she planned to skip the mandatory hearing due to illness, but the oft-arrested actress reconsidered at the last-minute and hopped a flight from New York that arrived in California with just hours to spare.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Sautner said.

"Thank you," the actress replied.

Lohan's new lawyer Mark Heller also didn't react to Sautner's cynicism, inflaming the judge by claiming Lohan had an upper respiratory infection diagnosed by her personal doctor.

"Is that a cold?" Sautner asked.

"Yes. In New York City, it's the flu," Heller replied.

"No it isn't," replied Sautner, who is a former NYPD detective. "I still have New Yorker in me. The flu is a whole different (thing)."

PHOTOS: LINDSAY LOHAN'S RISKIEST COURT FASHIONS

Heller then referred to the current flu "epidemic" in New York, saying Lohan's doctor recommended she avoid air travel "not only for her protection but that of the general public, which includes everybody in this courtroom."

"She shouldn't have come," Heller continued. "She wanted to show respect to the court, and she did feel better. And she's here."

Lohan, 26, was accompanied by mom Dina, who sat in the front row. The panicked duo took the last flight out of New York Tuesday night after learning Sautner could issue a warrant for Lindsay's arrest in the wake of photos showing Lohan shopping up a storm and puffing on a cigarette over the weekend, TMZ.com reported.

They drove from the airport to the posh seaside hotel Shutters early Wednesday but were turned away due to a history of bad behavior, TMZ said.

The judge set Lohan's next court hearing in her pending car crash case for March 1.

PHOTOS: LINDSAY LOHAN: FROM 'IT GIRL' TO 'WHAT HAPPENED?!'

Lohan's facing three misdemeanor charges: lying to a police officer, reckless driving and obstruction.

Cops say Lohan initially claimed she wasn't behind the wheel when her loaner Porsche collided with a dump truck last June, but investigators later determined she was indeed the driver. Lohan was on probation for misdemeanor shoplifting at the time of the alleged cover-up.

The three new charges carry maximum sentences ranging from 90 days to a year behind bars.

She also could get 245 days for violating her probation. Heller's former clients include "Son of Sam" serial killer David Berkowitz and reality star Jon Gosselin. He was suspended from practicing law for five years in the 1990s due to professional misconduct.

Sautner is the same judge who cautioned Lohan last year to behave in a more "mature" manner.

The warning came after Lohan finished the community service hours related to her combined shoplifting and double-DUI case.

"The only terms left ... are to obey all laws. It's not that hard. I know it's kind of hard when people are following you all over the place, but that's the life you chose," Sautner said. "You need to lead your life in a more mature way, stop the nightclubbing and focus on your work."

ndillon@nydailynews.com

NJ Transit train strikes tractor-trailer; driver charged and 10 injured

NJ Transit train strikes tractor-trailer; driver charged and 10 injured

LITTLE FALLS, N.J. â€" Charges have been filed against a truck driver whose vehicle was struck by a commuter train in northern New Jersey, injuring 10 people.

The New Jersey Transit train was heading eastbound through Little Falls on Wednesday morning when it collided with a tractor-trailer driven by 23-year-old Jaswinder Singh of Carteret.

NJ Transit officials say Singh crossed the tracks and tried to make a tight left turn, then backed up to try the turn again when the crossing gates lowered.

The train couldn't stop before smashing into the back of the trailer, which was carrying buckets of paint. Buckets went all over the tracks and street.

Two people suffered serious injuries, including a NJ Transit employee and school crossing guard who was hit by debris.

Singh was charged Wednesday with a crossing violation and careless driving.

On a mobile device? Click here to watch the video.

Justin Timberlake, Tom Ford to do fasion collection

Justin Timberlake, Tom Ford to do fasion collection

You can't say he didn't warn you.

On the heels of his new single "Suit & Tie" Justin Timberlake will design a collection with Tom Ford.

RELATED: SELENA GOMEZ COVERS 'CRY ME A RIVER'

And yes, there will be plenty of suits and ties.

Timberlake's selection, made to complement his upcoming album "The 20/20 Experience," will include a range of formal menswear, from leather loafers to black onyx cufflinks.

RELATED: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SHOWS OFF HIS ‘SUIT & TIE’

In fact, the stylish evening attire Timberlake wears in the video for 'Suit & Tie' is a preview of what fashion fans can look forward to.

Ford and Timberlake have long been stylish buddies. Most recently, Ford outfitted Timberlake in a snazzy gray checked suit for the SAG Awards.

RELATED: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SHOWS OFF HIS ‘SUIT & TIE’

"I adore Justin," Ford said in a statement.

"He has innate style and enormous talent."

Ford also created the artwork for "Suit & Tie," which features a close-up of a Ford tuxedo and bowtie.

Timberlake is gearing up for a return to the charts. He will also perform at the upcoming Grammy awards.

No prizes for guessing what he'll be wearing.

MEby@nydailynews.com

Rogue cow herd wreaks havoc in cemetery

Rogue cow herd wreaks havoc in cemetery

Walter Arnold Photography/Getty Images/Flickr RF

The bovine vandals are an “ongoing problem,” revealed a local police chief. In their latest escapade, the herd knocked over 40 American flags and a veteran’s bronze grave marker.

The vandals that damaged a Massachusetts cemetery this week have pleaded “moo.”

Police say a small herd of cows knocked over 40 American flags and veterans’ bronze grave markers, then snacked on a few flower arrangements, at the Center Cemetery in Southampton on Monday.

Motorists called to report that the cows were loose. Police contacted the owner, Henry Wykowski, who caught and removed the cows from the cemetery.

Chief David Silvernail says the cows are an “ongoing problem,” and his department has responded to complaints about the roaming bovines three or four times since last spring.

Cemetery Commission member Robert Floyd tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette he plans on asking the farmer to pay for the damage once he comes up with an estimate.

Jason London arrested in Arizona

Jason London arrested in Arizona

'Dazed and Confused' star Jason London's mug shot after Sunday night arrest in Arizona. 

Actor Jason London, best known for his role as a stoner in 1993's "Dazed and Confused," was arrested Sunday night after a Scottsdale, Ariz., a bar fight. 

But the 40-year-old actor's night then took an even worse turn - after police accused him of defecating in his pants in their squad car.

"The 40-year-old was taken into police custody after they were called to the Martini Ranch bar and found London there nursing a swollen eye, Reuters reported.

PHOTOS: CELEBRITY MUG SHOTS

According to the police report, the fight started after "an unidentified person complained London had sneezed on him and the person asked him to apologize."

"Instead of apologizing, London punched the person," the police report said. "He was escorted out by bouncers and during that time he hit them, leading the security guards to 'defend themselves' against London."

RELATED: JEREMY LONDON'S WIFE CLAIMS ACTOR WANTED VICODIN WHEN HE WAS 'KIDNAPPED'

A 26-year-old bouncer, whose name was not released, was one of the victims listed, London was charged with assault with intent to injure and disorderly conduct, according to the news agency.

PHOTOS: MOST HILARIOUS MUG SHOTS OF ALL TIME

RELATED: JEREMY LONDON SLAPS FAMILY WITH RESTRAINING ORDER

An eyewitness on the scene described the actor's behavior as "belligerent" and he started cursing at the paramedics when they tried to help him.

Once London was taken away in the police car an officer said they saw him "lean to the left and defecate in his pants." The police report also stated he "showed obvious signs and symptoms of extreme alcohol impairment."

London has since taken to Twitter to defend the allegations against him, which were also picked up by the gossip site TMZ.

"Guys, the TMZ report is a total f--king lie. I got jumped by three 250 pound bouncers," he wrote Tuesday. "They knocked me out and beat me for several minutes. I would never say or do the crap they are reporting. Have faith in me, the truth will come out and you will see."

"Some guy thought I was hitting on his girl and had me jumped. My wife was in the next room, had no idea what even happened," he continued to explain, "I hate Arizona."

Looks like he made it! Barry Manilow shines in Broadway concert

Looks like he made it! Barry Manilow shines in Broadway concert

Richard Corkery/New York Daily News

Barry Manilow rakes in the applause at his curtain call for 'Manilow On Broadway' at the St. James Theater Tuesday night.

It's a miracle. But it looks like he made it â€" back to health.

On Tuesday, Barry Manilow officially opened his greatest-hits concert with hardly a cough or sniffle or any sign of the flu that forced him to cancel five performances. The Brooklyn-raised Grammy winner was ready with eight boxes of tissues around the stage of the St. James Theatre. It’s home to the warm and winning “Manilow On Broadway” through March 2.

The Kleenex makes me laugh, but handy “just in case,” Manilow said, adding that “Jewish guilt” over missing shows was worse than the fever. Well-wishers, he said, got him “through a terrible week.”

It’s been nearly 25 years since his last Broadway show. 

A Manilow concert is like dining at Medieval Times: You know you’re going to wind up with a greasy face.

Yes, there will be cheese. 

Case in point: The sing-along version of “Can’t Smile Without You,” which came with a projection of a sunny, yellow ’70s-style smiley face.

But there was also lots of heart, hit songs and a heady blast of nostalgia that was surprisingly moving. 

If you lived through the ’70s and ’80s, you lived the Barry Manilow catalogue. The show began with “Could It Be Magic,” then moved in rapid succession across familiar tunes â€" from “Looks Like We Made It” to “Weekend in New England” to “Even Now.” 

At 69, Manilow still gives it his all, shaking and baking as much as he could muster. Yes, his moves and his patter are a little canned. But despite being sick for a week, he was in good voice.

Recollections of his Williamsburg childhood and of his grandfather, who recognized his musical gift at an early age, were funny and sweet. 

And some danced, including “Real Housewife” LuAnn de Lesseps and anchorwoman Rosanna Scotto, who rocked her disco moves in the aisle during “Copacabana (At the Copa).”

The show, which included nine musicians and two vocalists, ran a little shy of two hours. After a few costume changes â€" from black to pink to white jacket â€" and a couple dozen tunes ended, aptly, with “I Write the Songs.” 

The professional photographer shooting the curtain call next to me had tears in his eyes. He couldn’t help it. He wasn’t alone.

Did Draya forget to wear pants?

Did Draya forget to wear pants?

Twist/X17online.com

Are those pants? Draya Michele seems to think so as she stunned guests at her birthday celebration in West Hollywood.

Did “Basketball Wives: LA” star Draya Michele forget to put on pants?

Chris Brown’s former girlfriend has been celebrating her 28th birthday for a whole week and provided a present for onlookers when she made a stop at the West Hollywood hotspot Greystone Manor on Sunday night wearing a thong under a pair of barely-there pants that looked more like black sheer stockings. For modesty's sake, she added leg warmers.

PHOTOS: THE NAKED RUNWAY: THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS NON-CLOTHING FASHION DESIGNS

“Thanks to great folks at Greystone Manor for making my birthday very special!!” the birthday girl tweeted.

In true Draya Michele fashion, the showstopper set the party off with her entourage of sexy ladies wearing digs from her apparel line “Fine Ass Girls” at the party sponsored by Hennessy V.S.

PHOTOS: REALITY TV'S SEXIEST BEACH BODIES

Anything but a shy girl, Michele continues showing off her assets on the March cover of Urban Ink Magazine alongside tatted rapper The Game. Michele shot to fame on the VH1 reality series, "Basketball Wives: LA," after dating former LA Laker guard Javaris Crittenton.

Did Draya Michele forget to wear pants?

Did Draya Michele forget to wear pants?

Twist/X17online.com

Are those pants? Draya Michele seems to think so as she stunned guests at her birthday celebration in West Hollywood.

Did “Basketball Wives: LA” star Draya Michele forget to put on pants?

Chris Brown’s former girlfriend has been celebrating her 28th birthday for a whole week and provided a present for onlookers when she made a stop at the West Hollywood hotspot Greystone Manor on Sunday night wearing a thong under a pair of barely-there pants that looked more like black sheer stockings. For modesty's sake, she added leg warmers.

PHOTOS: THE NAKED RUNWAY: THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS NON-CLOTHING FASHION DESIGNS

“Thanks to great folks at Greystone Manor for making my birthday very special!!” the birthday girl tweeted.

In true Draya Michele fashion, the showstopper set the party off with her entourage of sexy ladies wearing digs from her apparel line “Fine Ass Girls” at the party sponsored by Hennessy V.S.

PHOTOS: REALITY TV'S SEXIEST BEACH BODIES

Anything but a shy girl, Michele continues showing off her assets on the March cover of Urban Ink Magazine alongside tatted rapper The Game. Michele shot to fame on the VH1 reality series, "Basketball Wives: LA," after dating former LA Laker guard Javaris Crittenton.

Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City

Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City

Christopher Beyer/ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Daniel Radcliffe stars in "Kill Your Darlings," playing gay Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg. Entertainment Weekly

PARK CITY, Utah â€" The 2013 Sundance Film Festival got off to a rowdy and wry start Friday with “Don Jon’s Addiction,” written, directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and co-starring Scarlett Johansson.

As a wanna-be womanizer hooked on porn, Gordon-Levitt (“Looper”) lends his charming smile to a role that highlights his offbeat sensibility. Johansson plays the woman who could reroute his libido to the real world.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE ON BIKINI PIC: 'IT'S NOT MY BUTT!'

Johansson â€" whose current Broadway role in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” kept her from attending the festival opener at the Eccles Theatre â€" adds mainstream marketability to “Don’s” indie spirit, still the hallmark of Sundance as it laps its 25th official year.

ScarJo may not have had to endure the frigid Park City temperatures, which struggled to hit the double digits, but Naomi Watts was looking great to promote “Two Mothers,” which also bowed Friday.

The film, about lifelong friends (Watts and Robin Wright) who fall in love with each other’s grown sons, marks the Australian star’s return to edgier material. Female audiences at the Eccles may have been distracted by Watts and Wright’s on-screen objects of affection, newcomers Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville.

REPORT: LANCE ARMSTRONG MOVIE IN DEVELOPMENT

Earlier, festival-goers got a look at “Kill Your Darlings,” part of “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe’s transition from boy wizard to grownup. Playing gay Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg, Radcliffe is unrecognizable in dyed black hair and horn-rimmed glasses (on the red carpet, he added some chin scruff).

The film, co-starring Elizabeth Olsen as the Beats’ guardian angel, Edie Parker, is one of two Beat flicks at the fest, sharing space with the Jack Kerouac flick “Big Sur.”

Keri Russell, TV’s former “Felicity,” gives a comic turn in the adaptation of the best-selling novel “Austenland,” as a woman so obsessed with Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” that she heads to a theme park devoted to the 19th-century author. And Shailene Woodley sparked the high school dramedy treat “The Spectacular Now,” which was met with thunderous applause.

DISNEY DARLINGS GO WILD IN ‘SPRING BREAKERS’

Kristen Bell goes from box-office sinker “When in Rome” to the thoughtful indie “The Lifeguard,” about a frazzled New York reporter going back to her Connecticut hometown to take a job at a local pool.

The serious-minded “Mud,” a chewy Southern tale from “Take Shelter” director Jeff Nichols stars Matthew McConaughey as a criminal hiding out in a swamp who is discovered by two Arkansas kids. A de-glammed Reese Witherspoon co-stars as his wild girlfriend.

Another buzz-maker was “Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes,” in which Jessica Biel plays a mysterious neighbor to a troubled girl (Kaya Scodelario).

WEITZMAN: SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL NO LONGER SMALL PLAYER

Finally, one of Saturday’s midnight slots was occupied by the hyperjumpy horror flick “S-V/H/S.” A sequel to a cult hit about videotapes that reveal ghastly happenings, it debuted in the spot that unleashed “The Blair Witch Project” from Sundance nearly 15 years ago. If that kind of success happens again, it’s an example of another thing Sundance does best â€" create heat even when the temperature is crazy cold.

jneumaier@nydailynews.com

Family screams threats at 4-year-old boy’s alleged killer

Family screams threats at 4-year-old boy’s alleged killer

Joel Cairo/for New York Daily News

Family of Adonis Reed leave courtroom after arraignment of Jonathan Thompson who is charged with Second Degree Murder of the 4 year old child is Criminal Court in Islip, New York on January 19, 2013.

Mourners of a 4-year-old boy murdered inside a Long Island home screamed violent threats at his suspected killer Saturday after the man pleaded not guilty.

Several young men yelled “killer,” “f---ing murderer” and “you going to f---ing die” as Jonathan Thompson was led out of a Suffolk County courtroom.

Thompson, 31, was charged with second-degree murder three days after Amityville police found little Adonis Reed lying unconscious on a couch in the apartment where he was living with his godmother, Latisha Pitt, and her companion, the accused.

A relative said Adonis’ mother placed him in Pitt’s care last year after falling on hard times.

“The family is just torn apart right now,” Adonis’ grandmother Linda Daniels said outside the Suffolk County Criminal Courthouse in Central Islip.

“This isn’t right,” added Daniels, breaking into tears.

More than 40 relatives and friends of the murdered boy packed the courtroom for Thompson’s arraignment Saturday. Many wept and moaned as the charges were read.

Judge Jeanine Barbera-Dalli ordered Thompson held without bail.

“We will defend the case â€" that is all,” Thompson’s lawyer, Joseph Hanshe, said afterward.

A neighbor told the Daily News on Thursday that a man named Jonathan fled the murder scene before the cops responded to an anonymous 911 call.

Adonis, who was wearing red pajamas when he was found Wednesday in the home on quiet Ketcham Ave., was pronounced dead at a hospital about two hours later, at 6 p.m.

Detectives said it appears the boy was assaulted.

Adonis’ 6-year-old sister was placed in protective custody.

dslattery@nydailynews.com

Kim Kardashian parents victim of SWAT prank

Kim Kardashian parents victim of SWAT prank

John Sciulli/Getty Images

Bruce Jenner, Kris Kardashian arrive for the City of Hope honoring Shelli And Irving Azoff with the 2011 Spirit of Life award at Universal Studios Hollywood on May 7, 2011 in Universal City, California.  

Reality hit a little too close to home for the Kardashians on Friday after SWAT teams stormed their Los Angeles home.

Heavily armed officers responded to calls of shots fired at the mansion of Bruce and Kris Jenner, but turns out the celebrity family was the latest victim of a prank known as “swatting.”

Panicked Kim Kardashian tweeted, “Just got a call from my mom telling me about this prank call that someone was shot in their home and 15 swat team & 3 helicopters showed up!”

“These prank calls are NOT funny,” mom-to-be Kim tweeted.” “People can get arrested for this! I hope they find out how is behind this. It’s dangerous & not a joke!”

Bruce Jenner did take the chance to pose for an Instagram photo with the responding officers.

Along with the Kardashian-Jenner clan, celebrities including Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise have been the victims of “swatting.”  The practice costs police considerable time and money, officials say.