Brad Pitt comes to Angelina Jolie’s defense

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

Brad Pitt’s interview in Rolling Stone is getting lots of attention because he revealed that he and Angelina Jolie don’t fight (“I don’t want to waste time being angry at someone I love,” he says). But perhaps more interesting is his response to the recent New York Times piece that outlined an agreement he and Jolie allegedly struck with People magazine when they published their most recent family photos.

“It sounded to me like the story made Angie out to be manipulative in some way," Pitt said. "And (the writer is) totally missing the point. She is savvy. … It doesn’t sound like this guy understands that when it came to the birth of our children, a huge bounty was placed on their heads. And people were going to go to incredible lengths to get it. … in our mind, People magazine does more things about the positive spirit of people, so that’s how we came to our decision.”

It’s good to see Pitt defending his (and Jolie’s) decision publicly — most celebrities who sell photos of their kids stay mum about whatever agreement was struck.

The interview wasn’t all business, though. Also of note is Pitt’s answer to which Jolie film is his favorite. The answer was “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” but he’s never gotten around to seeing it.

“No, we’ve never seen it," said Pitt, who of course starred in the film along with Jolie. "I just mean because, you know ... six kids. Because I fell in love.”

Stevie Wonder to ‘Dancing With the Stars’?
Please, please, “Dancing With the Stars,” let the rumor that Stevie Wonder is in talks to join the show be true.

When contacted, the show would only say, “like all ‘Dancing With the Stars’ casting rumors, real or not, we never comment.” (That was the same answer given when the show was queried about Dan Quayle being approached months ago, and that turned out to be true. Just saying.)\

Wonder’s rep has yet to respond, but here at Scoop, our fingers are crossed.

Diddy de-blings in tribute to tough times

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Don’t ever accuse Diddy of being out of touch. The man responsible for getting Obama elected says that as a tribute to his fans who might be feeling the credit crunch, he’s going to tone down the bling.

“Out of respect, I’ve been trying to dress less flashy. It’s one thing to be stylish; it’s another to be over-the-top. You gotta know when to hold back and not rub it in,” Diddy told Page Six magazine.

Osbourne variety show looking for more Osbournes
Rosie O’Donnell’s less-than-successful stab at bringing back the variety show served as a reminder that the original first family of reality TV, the Osbournes, have a variety show in the works.

The show, which will air on Fox, is beginning to take shape, but if the latest casting call is any indication, there isn’t much hope to be had for the genre.

“Is your family’s name Osbourne, Osbourn, Osborne, or Osborn? We are looking for fun outgoing Osb(ourne) families to meet Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly Osbourne as part of a new primetime variety show,” reads the call posted on Realitywanted.com. Not sure how they’re going to spin that into ratings gold…

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

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