Charlize Theron

Don’t get her wrong!! Charlize Theron is certainly not a lesbian. But that doesn’t mean she can’t place a smack on a woman for charity.

Charlize Theron kissed a lady for $140,000. That’s quite an expensive smooch lady!! This was the latest charitable effort by the Hollywood beauty. The charity auction for which Theron volunteered herself included a kiss. Before the actress began Theron did not have any intimation that her kiss would go on to mint $140,000 and that the winner would be a female!

According to reports by UsMagazine.com the amount raised by Theron’s kiss went to the organization named as OneXone on Thursday night in San Francisco, California. The initial prize was not the auction money though. Like an icing on the cake the South African actress had earlier offered a trip to South Africa, her native land in 2010. The trip would include a wild life safari, World Cup tickets and a meet-and-greet with Nelson Mandela. This sounds even better.

After the bidding began Theron changed her mind to see that the auction was slowed down at $37,000. The actress immediately included the kiss into the bag and that made a difference. The bidding wars started soaring high. The surprising part was that a female attendee outbid a man in the audience by $5,000 to win the smooch.

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman appeared upset while admitting the fact that she very strongly feels Hollywood plays an important role in contributing to violence against women. Kidman also added that in most films women are portrayed as weak sex objects.

The Oscar winning actress said she is dead againt such roles and shows no interest in playing any of them. Kidman also added that she finds such roles extremely demeaning but Hollywood has given extra effort to give a solution to and bring down violence on women.

Kidman took the stand before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that is regarding legislation to address violence against women. The committee is expected to take up this issue overseas through means of humanitarian relief. Grants will also be provided to those organization working towards eradicating such problem from the society.

When Kidman was asked by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., whether Hollywood has influenced the society or “played a bad role” in this issue, the actress replied with a diplomatic “probably”. Followed by this she quickly added that she herself doesn’t justifying her stand point.

“I can’t be responsible for all of Hollywood but I can certainly be responsible for my own career”, said Kidman.

Kidman represented a  the U.N. Development Fund for Women’s (known as UNIFEM) goodwill ambassador in front of the committee. She was promoting  the International Violence Against Women Act.

“In the real world, the laws go unenforced and impunity is the norm”, she added.

Bar Refaeli

Bar Refaeli, the Israeli model, showed off her shaped body in a new swim wear ad. The hot beauty, flashing in ‘Little Black Bikini‘ will surely set your pulses racing.

Bar Refaeli, who is presently in news for dating the Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio, posed in a body hugging two piece in a new campaign for U.S. Surf wear firm, Hurley. The catwalk beauty simply looked stunning as she walked and posed in front of the camera.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with finding the perfect little black bikini, [and] always searching for a timeless, sexy suit with the best fit”, said the 23 year old model from Israel.

The Hurley Little Black Bikini will be available for purchase in the Internet from May 1st. A limited stock will be made available for buying at a price of $120. A portion of the sale will be donated to Boarding for Breast Cancer. This organization is a youth-focused charity that aims to spread the halt of the disease thanks to early detection and an active lifestyle.

David Beckham

Superhot football champ David Beckham has refused to date his Italian female fans in order to raise funds for the victims of the Abruzzo earthquake. That is because he loves his wife Victoria Beckham very much and cannot indulge in infidelity, no matter what the reason is. Charity, therefore, can’t be a reason for the Beckham man to enjoy with other women.

David Beckham visited the earthquake site in Italy to meet the victims. But he left his female fans heartbroken after he denied to pu himself up as a date. The football idol was quoted saying “I’m ready to do everything I can to help – except betray Victoria.”

These days, Beckham is playing for the AC Milan. He secured a deal last month according to which he will be playing for the Italian team as well as for LA Galaxy. His wife, initially, wasn’t to keen about her husband’s full-time transfer to Milan as that meant shifting base to Italy with the couple’s kids, which wasn’t very agreeable to her. However, after a talk with Beckham, she gave her assent.

Madonna and Jesus Luz

Madonna, the pop diva, has been denied to adopt a child from Malawi following her split with her husband Guy Ritchie and two relationships and break-ups. But the 50 year old pop queen is making sure that the youngster she failed to adopt is well taken care of and looked after. Madonna has even left a nanny to take good care of Mercy James in Malawi.

Mercy is now living in Kondanai Children’s Home, where Madonna along with her other children and ex-boyfriend, Jesus Luz had visited recently. The singer wanted to mother the 3 year old child from Malawi but her petition has been denied for the time being by a court in the capital Lilongwe earlier this month. Failed to adopt Mercy, Madonna had to leave the country alone with a heavy heart.

Madonna will be appealing against the adoption denial and has made sure that every help and care is extended to the child who is currently in Kondanai Children’s Home. “As Mercy’s legal guardian, I authorize where she goes. She is staying with Madonna’s people as a visitor. There is nothing wrong with that“, said the orphanage director Anne Chikhwaza.

A reliable source reported to the Britain’s Daily Mirror, “During her farewell party at the lodge, Madonna instructed a nurse and a nanny to remain behind and care for Mercy while her lawyers appeal“. Madonna’s appeal to allow her to adopt the child will be heard in an African court on 4 May.

Madonna, who had a split with the 21 year old model, Jesus Luz, was spotted leaving in the same car after having dinner together at Morandi restaurant in Manhattan. Although Madonna was photographed climbing into the same car with Luz, yet she was spotted walking out of the restaurant hand in hand with a female friend.

Lynn Nottage

Brooklyn writer Lynn Nottage has won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for drama for her play ¨Ruined¨, a haunting tale of the unspeakable plight of African women caused by the brutal civil war in Congo.

Nottage was at home in Boerum Hill when she heard the news Monday afternoon that she had won the Pulitzer. She said “I’m orbiting the Earth,¨ and added ”I hope it will raise awareness about the issues that the play raises. The war ended in 2002, but the conflict and violence against women continues.”

The title of Nottage´s play, which is inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children,” refers to an African woman who is raped and genitally mutilated. The drama is set in a brothel in Congo, and is about a proprietor, Mama Nadi, and several young women who work for her, and who have been victim of the civil war.  Though the subject is grim, Nottage has infused her play with humor, music and hope. ”I wanted to depict the modern Africa in all its complexity, and to show the beauty and humor and what keeps people there going,” said the writer, who was considered one of the front-runners for the much coveted Pulitzer Prize.

´Ruined´

African-American women living in New York has served as a recurring theme in Lynn Nottage´s works that include ¨Intimate Apparel¨ (portraying a turn-of-the-century seamstress), and ¨Fabulation¨ (the story of a riches-to-rags public relation executive). ”I went further afield with ‘Ruined,’” Nottage said. “I went in search of my African sisters. When I wrote it, I felt a greater sense of urgency simply because I feel the conflict is still raging, but interest is fading.”

Nottage, at 44, is married to filmmaker Tony Gerber, and the couple have an 11-year-old daughter. The winner hopes that she will be able to inspire her daughter through this achievement.  She said ”My mom was incredibly politically and socially engaged. I hope I pass that legacy on to my daughter.” Nottage has declared that she wants to donate a portion of her $10,000 cash prize to Panzi Hospital in Congo.

Other finalists for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for drama were ¨Becky Shaw” by Gina Gionfriddo and “In the Heights” by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt with kids

Angelina Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt are reportedly planning to adopt another child. The new member of their family might be a child from India. The couple was in the country in 2006 for shooting of their film. The couple were said to have visited an orphanage in Pune where they had spent hours meeting the children and giving them presents. “Brad and Angelina were lovely and adore kids. Every move and every look of the couple was filled with love for our children and we were floored with their genuine affection“, said a senior staff at the center.

The Oscar nominated actress is said to have revealed her plans of adoption to one of the child stars of Oscar winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. The film has been shot in several slums of Mumbai, which is some of the poorest areas of the city. Jolie met Azharuddin Mohammed, the 10 year old kid star from Slumdog Millionaire, at last month’s Oscars. When the kid asked her if she would think of adopting a child from his home country of India, Angelina responded vibrantly by saying that she would. “Well, I’ll let you into a little secret, we will soon“, the actress said who is in a long term relationship with Brad Pitt.

Jolie met Azharuddin and Rubina Ali ( nine year old) at the last months Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. She is said to taken aback when she met the two kids. Azharuddin and Rubina were super excited as their film picked up 8 awards in mostly all the important categories. Both the kids were picked up from the poorest and the most deprived areas of Mumbai.

Jolie and Pitt already raise 6 kids – 3 adopted and the rest 3 are biological. Maddox, who is eight year old was adopted from Cambodia, Pax, five, from Vietnam and Zahara, four, from Ethiopia. Their three biological kids are two year old Shiloh and eight-month-old twins Vivienne and Knox. Pitt and Jolie have always shown their willingness to adopt more kids. In last January Pitt was quoted joking that the couple were already “overdue” another child. “We average about two a year, so I guess we’re overdue, aren’t we?“, the Curious Case of Benjamin Button’s actor said.

Madonna with Malawian son David

It will not be before Friday this week when Madonna will hear whether she can adopt her second child from Malawi. The 50-year old pop star was in the African country to know about the judge’s decision about her adoption application. She appeared in court Monday (March 30), in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. However, her adoption plans have to wait. A judge declared that the ruling on the matter will be held till Friday. The child Madonna wants to adopt is a 4-year old girl whose unmarried mother had died soon after her birth. Last year, she had adopted her 3-year-old son David from an orphanage in Malawi.

Criticisms have made the matter a sensitive issue. Children’s advocacy groups have held Madonna guilty of using her wealth to make the adoption possible and rush it. According to Malawian law, it is necessary for a foreign adopter to live in the country with the child for more than a year before adoption. The judge, however, has the discretion to let Madonna have the child immediately. UK charity group Save the Children have said Madonna is sending a wrong message through the second adoption, and that it encourages impoverished parents “to abandon children in the hope that they will have a better life.”

Some of the Malawians support the adoption. An onlooker outside the court on Monday stated “We are blessed for what Madonna is doing here,” adding “That baby is going to have the advantages of going to school and of becoming someone. Here it is very difficult.” One of the poorest nations in the world, Malawi has 14% of its adults  infected withthe virus that causes AIDS.

Madonna first visited Malawi in 2006 for charity work, and for her documentary “I Am Because We Are,” a film on poverty and AIDS in Malawi. She also helps run Raising Malawi, a non-profit group which helps the poor people of Malawi. If the adoption takes place, then Madonna will be a single mother of four.

T.I

It seems that helping kids didn’t really wash away rapper T.I’s crime of buying unregistered machine guns and silencers. On Friday (March 27), a judge sentenced T.I to one year and a day in prison on federal weapons charges. The 28-year-old rapper was arrested in March 2007 following a sting operation that revealed him attemping to buy illegal weapons (three machine guns and two silencers). The police arrested him near the place, in Atlanta, where he was to receive a BET Hip-Hop Award a few hours later. He had pleaded guilty.

T.I, whose real name is Christopher Harris, has completed 1000 hours of community service, and will need to complete 470 more hours. In addition, hip-hop star warned teenagers about the dangerous consequences of guns, drugs and violencehe on the eight episodes of reality TV Series “T.I’s Road to Redemption”. His mentorship has benefitted a group of kids who have expressed their gratitude. Cynthia from episode 8 said “I feel better now [as a person], ’cause a year ago I wasn’t even going to school…..I didn’t go all last year — I was getting locked up. But now I’m just focused. I’m staying in school, even though it’s boring. But I have to do it, because I want to be something in life.” Another participant, Trey, who was in the second eopisode, spoke about how he and his father helped each other stay on the right path after his father was released from prison. He stated “After the show, [people] told me to keep going. At the rate I am [going], I’ll be up there, successful [soon].“

Throughout the court hearing on Friday morning, many of T.I’s supporters voiced that the law should show mercy in sentencing T.I on the basis of his community work. His lawyer specifically mentioned that in the past one year, the rapper has made 262 public appearance at schools, churches and youth groups. T.I has been given a time of 30 to 60 days to appear in prison.