During her recent south-of-the-border jaunt with new husband Eddie Cibrian, the 28-year-old singer tweeted a picture of herself in a bikini, saying how much she "loved wearing" it. In response, Rimes received unexpected criticism from one of her Twitter followers. "Whoa, you're scary skinny!" the follower wrote. "Sorry don't mean to offend but that's a lot of bones showing through skin."
Rimes retorted, "Those are called abs not bones, love." She then added, "This is my body, and I can promise you I'm a healthy girl. I'm just lean."
Rimes' drastic weight loss has been the subject of intense media and fan scrutiny. In March, the singer used her Twitter feed to defend herself from comments that she was "super skinny." In early April, she expressed her growing frustration with continuing media obsession with her weight, tweeting, "Dear lord! I do not workout too much nor do I starve myself. I'm so over this and moving on."
Whatever the case may be, Rimes' body transformation has been drastic, fueling rumors that she is anorexic. To top it all off, so to speak, there's also been speculation that Rimes has gotten breast implants.
LeAnn has tried to be honest about her life, even about her affair with Eddie Cibrian, and has done her best to explain her choices -- and we certainly hope that she is healthy. That said, Rimes' weight loss is apparent, and her defensive attitude about her body hasn't helped. Why post a photo of yourself on your Twitter feed if you want to "move on" from the public outcry that you are too skinny?
In part two of our 'Seattle Sonics' series, the band takes us to their Sip & Ship 'nerve center' and American Music shop. By James Montgomery
Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla and Jason McGerr Photo: MTV News
SEATTLE — Chris Walla is a bit of a multitasker: That much is clear just by his rather prodigious output as a producer, solo musician and full-time member of Death Cab for Cutie. So it should probably come as no surprise that, for MTV News' second edition of "Seattle Sonics," Walla decided to take us to one of his favorite spots in Seatown: Sip & Ship, the kind of place that defines multitasking.
See, S&S is the sort of place that seemingly only exists in Seattle: A communal, cozy combination shipping depot/coffee bar that also happens to be a gift shop. Oh, and they make a mean grilled cheese, too.
Located in the city's Ballard neighborhood — right down the block from a nefarious FedEx Office outpost — Walla first visited the shop six years ago (after a rather terrible experience at said FedEx), and in the time since, Sip & Ship has become the de facto home office for all things Death Cab. Merch, master tapes of albums, musical instruments and the occasional eBay purchase all pass through S&S.
Walla has become close friends with the shop's owners (one of them, Diana Naramore, even made a cameo in his "Sing Again" video) and the coffee's really great, too.
"This place has become a communications and shipping and caffeine and calorie hub without which I don't think Death Cab for Cutie would actually be able to do any business at all. This is one of the Seattle nerve centers of the band," Walla explained. "We did a whole series of test-pressings for the new record, and we got four or five shipments of them here. We'd pick 'em up and then go home and listen to records."
Drummer Jason McGerr also chimed in: "It's a far safer bet than my doorstep — which I don't even step on all that often," he said, laughing.
And while Sip & Ship has been an important cog in the Death Cab machine for six years, there's another spot nearby that's been part of their lives for much longer: American Music, a Seattle institution since it first opened its doors in 1973 and the place where local bands (you know, like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains) went to get their gear. It's not surprising that both Walla — who grew up nearby — and McGerr — who worked there in 1994, when he was 19 years old — chose it as the next place they took our cameras.
"I traded all my paychecks for equipment, and I got to know a whole lot of local drummers," McGerr said from his old post behind the American counter. "And there were times, 10 minutes before close, Dave Grohl would come in and sit down and just start blowing on drums and the front door would shut and we'd sit there and watch him. ... There was always a scene happening within the store. If you played music and you got your supplies in Seattle, it was from American Music."
And American was also where you'd find Walla hanging out as a slightly awkward teenager, doing "double drummer stuff" with friend (and former Death Cab drummer) Nathan Good. And he did it mostly out of necessity, because back then, there weren't many places 15-year-old music obsessives could hang out, due mostly to Seattle's oppressive Teen Dance Ordinance, which made all-ages shows all but impossible to organize. And, really, to Walla, that's what makes the place much more than a music store. It's sort of his home away from home.
"I got a lot of stuff here that was cast-off junk, but I still use it," Walla said. "There are tons of music stores that are just enormous boxes, that are full of guitars and drums and cymbals and whatever, and they might have more stock than a place like American does, but American has the heart and soul of a music store that I want when I walk into a music store."
Death Cab for Cutie: Seattle Sonics continues all week on MTVNews.com. On Thursday, we'll head to a vaunted (and now defunct) all-ages venue where DCFC learned how to be a band — and still made it home in time for curfew.
Catherine Hardwicke says a tie would be 'safest solution' for Stewart's dual nominations in Best Kiss category. By Jocelyn Vena
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in "Eclipse" Photo: Summit
Earlier this month, we asked whether "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" would rule the 2011 MTV Movie Awards. Well, that question will finally be answered on Sunday night when the show goes live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles with "SNL" star Jason Sudeikis serving as host.
The third "Twilight" flick is up for eight Golden Popcorn statues this year, and given the series' past record, Twilighters probably don't have to worry too much about its chances. The director of the first "Twilight" flick, Catherine Hardwicke, says she is not surprised that people are still as frenzied about the movies as they were back in 2008.
"Well, I think it's great. I love it that people are so passionate about it and that people are really into it and following the characters," she told MTV News when we chatted with her about the June 14 DVD release of "Red Riding Hood," which she also directed. "I think it's a great tribute, obviously, to what [author] Stephenie Meyer created. ... Rob and Kristen and everybody's been able to just keep it going and keep people loving it all this time, and, of course, all the directors, everybody. I think it's awesome. It's great."
Stewart is nominated in the Best Kiss category for locking lips with both Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson. So which kiss does the director think she should win for? "Maybe it can be a tie? That would be perfect! I think [that's] the safest solution to this problem," she laughed.
Color us impressed: Last month, sometime between her court hearings and her house arrest, 24-year-old Lindsay Lohan found time to make a movie. Granted, it's only a 90-second art film, but given the lack of Lohan films in recent years, we'll take what we can get. Watch the whole thing below!
The short film, titled simply Lindsay Lohan, was created by painter Richard Phillips for the prestigious Venice Biennale, an art exhibition in Italy held every two years. If the movie reminds you of a commercial, that's not an accident: It's part of a program called "Commercial Break," which will explore the relationship between art and advertising. The question is, what is it a commercial for?
"What fascinates me about Lindsay are not her problems but the way she embodies an eminence on the level of a (Brigitte) Bardot or an (Liv) Ullmann," Phillips told The New York Times. "She's a combination of the fantastic and the real, which is what makes her so magnetic. She can also bring forward an existential presence that speaks to the isolated self."
In other words: She's hot. But lonely. Or something. Anyhow, Lohan looks beautiful in the movie, which presents her as the ethereal Hollywood glamour girl she might have been -- or still could be, if she gets her act together.
For now, her Hollywood career is on hold as Lohan completes her house arrest. According to People, Lohan is allowed unrestricted visitors, unlimited phone and internet use, and to leave the house for medical or court appointments cleared in advance. However, her ankle bracelet will go off if she even sets a foot outside her own house, and she gets no other excuses to leave -- even for work, or to serve her 480 court-ordered community service hours.
The judge is hoping that house arrest and community service will give Lohan some discipline. And, from what Richard Phillips says, the infamous party girl may already have a more mature outlook on her career. "I never met her before the shoot. We only texted," he says. "But she showed up on time and worked an entire day, and hit every take on the money."
Showed up on time? Worked an entire day? That may be the most promising Lindsay Lohan news we've heard in months.
Avril Lavigne is looking a bit shy as she was spotted leaving Nobu Berkeley in Mayfair London tonight. The singer got into a bit of trouble lately after she was taken to task for swearing after a performance at a … Continue reading →
