Expect more ‘ugliness’ in Madonna-Ritchie split

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

Expect “ugliness of epic proportions” when it comes to Madonna’s divorce from Guy Ritchie. Why? “She’s got Kabbalah on her side,” says a friend of the Material Girl.

“Here’s how it works: she’s got a team of Kabbalah advisers who guide her through her spiritual decisions. If they say something is justified, then she feels comfortable going ahead and doing it,” says the friend. “That was the litmus test she applied to spending time with A-Rod, that’s how she justifies making references to Guy at concerts,” says the friend. “It’s only going to get worse (the public jabs) if Kabbalah greenlights it. Expect ugliness of epic proportions.”

In case you missed it, at a concert in Boston on Oct. 15, just before performing “Miles Away,” a song she has said was inspired by her ex, she announced, “This song is for the emotionally retarded. Maybe you know some people who fall into that category. I know I do.”

Her soon-to-be-ex, on the other hand, is most certainly not looking to Kabbalah to get through this rough time in his family.

“I don’t really understand Kabbalah as a religion,” Ritchie told Extra at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. A regular at the Kabbalah Centre in New York and L.A. adds that he has been less and less involved over the years. “Guy would come to the Centre in New York from time to time, but his involvement was nothing like what it was years ago. It definitely was something he was going along with for Madonna. He never seemed as interested in it as she was,” says the Kabbalah source.

Eva Longoria Parker and pals hit links
Eva Longoria Parker, who hosted her second annual Eva’s Heroes Charity Golf Tournament in San Antonio on Oct. 18. Among the celebs on hand: Longoria Parker’s “Desperate Housewives” co-star and avid golfer Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Page of “Mad Men,” Tony Plana of “Ugly Betty,” Kyle Howard of “Orange County” and San Antonio native and “Heroes” star Sendhil Ramamurthy.

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Eva’s Heroes was inspired by Longoria Parker’s sister Elizabeth, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. Eva’s Heroes supports the mentally challenged community in San Antonio area, and MacLachlan put it best when, during the lunch and fashion show post-golf, he said, “Eva is really so much a part of this community and this cause.”

Indeed — unlike some celebrities who just lend their presence to an event, it was obvious from Longoria Parker’s interactions with the kids and young adults who are part of Eva’s Heroes that she’s particularly active in details of the organization, not just the big events that surround it.

As an aside, one of the interesting topics of conversation on the course was the possibility of an actor’s strike, which has been looming since the summer months. The consensus: a strike is still totally within the realm of possibility and from what I gleaned from several conversations, an option that most actors, despite the economy, would totally support. Stay tuned.

Jenny McCarthy on Denis Leary: ‘Stupid’

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On the cover of the most recent issue of Us Weekly, Jenny McCarthy declares her son Evan essentially cured of autism. Denis Leary, the same week, came under fire for jokes he makes about autism in his new book, “Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid.” Leary has since said that any perceived jokes about autism were taken out of context, but McCarthy told Access Hollywood “It’s so hard to even get up enough juice in me or energy in me to even try to fight someone that is obviously stupid.”

A friend of McCarthy’s says while she’s trying to keep her emotions in check, she is livid. “Jenny has worked so hard to spread awareness about autism. She nearly lost the essence of her son to it, her marriage fell apart because of it. Now Denis says what he did — even if his remarks were taken out of context, Jenny feels like it just does a disservice to so much of her hard work.”

Weekend box office
“Max Payne” didn’t disappoint at the box office this weekend. The Mark Wahlberg flick came in No. 1 with an $18-million take, which is close to what the film was forcast to earn. I’m confounded by the fact that “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is still going strong: The talking dog made another $11.2 million over the weekend, which brings its cumulative earnings to nearly $70 million. The much-buzzed about “W.” came in fourth behind “The Secret Life of Bees,” which made $11 million. Fourth place might sound like a disappointment for the Oliver Stone picture, but the $10.5 million it earned is actually in line with the upper end of some of the industry estimates that came out before its opening.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com.

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