Rosie no longer has a crush on Tom Cruise

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

Rosie O’Donnell is heading back to daytime Friday, May 2, as a guest on the “Rachael Ray” show.

Ray is a longtime fan of O’Donnell’s and even brought back many of the creature comforts from the “Rosie O’Donnell Show” set, right down to O’Donnell’s former musical sidekick, John McDaniel. O’Donnell and McDaniel joined forces for a musical number, but the appearance wasn’t all song and dance.

O’Donnell told Ray that she no longer harbors a crush on Tom Cruise, and e-mailed to tell him as much. “Tom knows, I wrote him an e-mail: ‘Sorry it’s happened, I didn’t think it would.’ Send.”

She also talked about her latest fascination: “The guy from ‘Chimp Eden’ (Eugene Cussons). He’s South African or Australian. He goes, ‘I wanted to be a dot-com millionaire, but then I saw how badly chimps were being treated and I decided to save them.’”

There is more, though: Not only does Ray try her hand at some of O’Donnell’s recipes, but O’Donnell also dishes about her time on “The View,” about working with Barbara Walters and some of the worst guests she’s had on the show.

‘24’ to head to Africa

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When the “24” drought is over, look for Jack Bauer to save the world from Africa. The show’s producer, Manny Coto, said that Africa was the original plan for several episodes of “24: Day 7,” but the writers strike caused the show to change directions, and the network will now air a two-hour prequel set in Africa, with the storyline leading into the seventh season.

Moviehole.com via Tvtattle.com reports that Jack Bauer is “a soul in turmoil and has been moving from place to place trying to find somewhere he can be at peace,” according to Coto. “But he winds up in Africa in the middle of a military coup.”

Clay Aiken grows up, slims down
Clay Aiken has certainly changed his look since his “American Idol” days, a fact even more obvious now that he’s appearing on Broadway in “Spamalot.” But what exactly has changed, beyond lighter, longer hair?

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Us Weekly says Aiken has slimmed down considerably. Although he won’t say exactly how much weight he’s lost, he does say that it’s “a ton,” and no, personal trainers and diets were not involved, reported the magazine. Instead, Aiken stopped taking Paxil, the antidepressant he first talked about using in 2006.

“It was extremely helpful,” Aiken, 29, said of the drug. “But I gained weight! I saw a picture of myself and I thought, Wow! So I stopped taking it and I lost weight.”

Aiken isn’t counting pounds though. He says he gets extra exercise onstage in “Spamalot,” but beyond that, “I really haven’t paid attention.”

Did you hear?
Jack Johnson, the Foo Fighters, John Mayer, My Morning Jacket, Santana and The Decemberists have all partnered with voter registration group HeadCount, which has a goal of registering 100,000 voters at 1,000 concerts before the election this fall.

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