MAMBA GOSSIP

Cheyenne Jackson’s cartoon foot fetish

You may not have heard of Cheyenne Jackson, but you should get acquainted. The openly gay – and drop dead gorgeous – actor and singer has been making waves in the Broadway musical Xanadu and will appear in an upcoming horror film, Hysteria. In an interview with The Advocate the hunk says that he first realised that he was gay at a very young age – and all thanks to Popeye: “I think I was, like, seven — I was watching this Valentine’s Day Popeye cartoon episode that would play every year. There was this scene where Popeye was captured by Brutus, tied up with no shoes or socks on, and Brutus starts tickling his feet. I remember getting a little boner.” Okidoki… A quick poll around Mamba Mansions confirms that we agree that this is kinda weird!

Bobby blames Whitney for his woes

Singer Bobby Brown has blamed many of his problems on his ex-wife, Whitney Houston, who is planning a come-back. The former jailbird and drug addict says in new tell-all autobiography that it was Whitney who introduced him to cocaine. In Bobby Brown: The Truth, the Whole Truth And Nothing But, he writes that, “I never used cocaine until after I met Whitney. Before then, I had experimented with other drugs, but marijuana was my drug of choice.” He also says that he believes that Whitney married him for all the wrong reasons: “Whitney was under a lot of pressure. The media was accusing her of having a bisexual relationship with her assistant, Robin Crawford. In Whitney’s situation, the only solution was to get married and have kids. That would kill all speculation, whether it was true or not.” In response to the claims, Whitney, who has a daughter with Bobby, issued a statement through her publicist: “Miss Houston is sad that Bobby feels he need to say such things but she chooses to take the high road and will not speak badly about the father of her child even if it’s to set the record straight.” We smell a lawsuit ahead…

John Mayer kisses (gasp) Perez Hilton

We must admit that we popped a bottle of Moët when we heard that sexy singer (and former boyfriend to Jessica Simpson) John Mayer is apparently bisexual. But the champers lost its fizz when we discovered that the news came from chunky and obnoxious celeb-blogger Perez Hilton who claims he personally made out with John. Kissing and telling on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show this week, Perez said that he smooched the singer last year in a New York nightclub. “He kissed me, and I kissed him back. It was on the mouth with tongue. I thought he was messing with me. Then he kept going and going,” adding, “He is definitely bi.” Perez also spilled the beans to a number of magazines on the subject, and declared on his website, “John’s a really good kisser!” Does kissing Perez Hilton make one Bi? Perhaps. Does it make one very drunk? Most definitely!

Ricky Martin bares all to fan

A Ricky Martin fan got more than he bargained for when he visited the health club at the Grand Oberoi hotel in Calcutta, India. He was astonished to find himself sharing the sauna with the Latino singer, who was completely in the buff. “I noticed that he had a huge tattoo on his left arm and another one in the lower pelvic region. He had henna on his feet and a beaded anklet on his right ankle,” said the unnamed – but very fortunate – man. He even helped Ricky find his locker keys after the star misplaced them. And while it seems nothing untoward between the two took place, the fan was rewarded with an autograph. Ricky was apparently visiting India on a private humanitarian trip. Appearing naked for all your fans around the world sounds like very worthy and commendable charity work to us Ricky!

The return of the Phantom

If you’re a fan of The Phantom of the Opera, you may be interested to know that composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced that he will work on a sequel to the hit musical. “I’ve made a decision today that I will do The Phantom of the Opera sequel. And I have met with a couple people today who have persuaded me to do it, who I will not reveal, but it’s a very exciting day for me… It’s going to be very exciting, and I can reveal that it will be set in New York.” Phantom reportedly still holds the record for the longest-running play ever on Broadway.

Madonna’s 4 Minutes video hits the web

The video for Madonna and Justin Timberlake’s new single 4 Minutes to Save the World has finally seen the light of day. While we still think the song is pretty weak, the video certainly gives the track some oomph, thanks to the brilliant director Jonas Ackerlund. We should also praise the skills of the special effects team – for making the almost 50 year old Madonna look 20; she is stunning but unnaturally young in the clip, with nary a wrinkle or blemish. Having seen her in the flesh a few years ago, we must admit that she looks younger in person that in photos. By the way, check out the phenomenal photo shoot of the legend by photographer Steven Klein in the upcoming US Vanity Fair. You can find the 4 Minutes video on YouTube.

Spotted

Grey’s Anatomy’s TR Knight, who just turned 35, and new boyfriend, 19 year old Mark Cornelsen, house hunting in Hollywood. The couple looked very much in love, with Mark wearing a “We all have AIDS” T-shirt. The limited edition shirts have been sold to show solidarity with the millions of people living with AIDS around the world.

Kylie Minogue all over US TV. The diminutive singer has been in the US promoting her new album X, which is only now being released there. Kylie performed on Dancing with the Stars and has been appearing on numerous television talks shows.