Hollywood star Will Smith slapped a male television reporter who he said tried to kiss him on the lips as he walked down the red carpet for the Moscow premiere of “Men in Black III.”
The reporter from the Ukrainian television channel 1+1, Vitalii Sediuk, made headlines at the Venice Film Festival in September when he presented a bouquet of clearly unappreciated purple hydrangeas to Madonna and called her “my princess.”
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Smith was even less charmed by the reporter, who approached him on the carpet outside the movie theater on Friday night and tried to kiss him.
“C’mon man, what the hell is your problem buddy?” Smith said as he pushed Serdiuk away and slapped him lightly across the cheek with the back of his left hand.
“He’s lucky I didn’t sucker punch him,” Smith said to the crowd of journalists and fans. “Oh, I said that on camera. It’s all good.”
He said Serdiuk kissed him on the mouth, but it was not clear whether the reporter intended to do so or was aiming for his cheek as Smith swiveled to avoid him.
Madonna rebuffed Sediuk rather ungraciously in Venice, saying: “I absolutely loathe hydrangeas.” She stashed the flowers under a table before beginning a press conference.
She later made a short silent video called “Madonna’s love letter to hydrangeas.”
Kravitz gives Toms shoes heart, soul
If it’s got his name on it, Lenny Kravitz said he has been involved in it 100 percent, so when you see his stamp on the new collection of Toms shoes, know the Bahamas beach-meets-modern architecture influence is genuine.
“If I’m in, I’m in it all the way,” Kravitz said.
The singer got involved in designing the shoes with Toms founder Blake Mycoskie at the urging of his daughter, Zoe. She was wearing Toms casual slip-ons all the time. She also explained the brand’s larger mission of donating a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair sold.
Kravitz said he and Mycoskie would like to do together one of the Toms’ “shoe drops,” possibly this summer, squeezing it in between the second leg of Kravitz’s world tour that will take him through Europe and Africa.
Protests greet Gaga in Philippines
Pop singer Lady Gaga arrived in the Philippines on Saturday to cheers from fans and protests from young Christians calling for the cancellation of her upcoming concerts.
About 200 Christian young people marched in Manila for a second straight day, holding placards urging the singer to “respect our faith, stop the blasphemy.”
The Biblemode Youth Philippines members planned to hold a vigil today near the concert venue. They said they are offended by Lady Gaga’s music, particularly her song “Judas,” which they said mocks Jesus Christ.
But throngs of shrieking, camera-toting fans mobbed her, seeking her autograph as she walked into her hotel surrounded by bodyguards. She arrived in Manila late Saturday on a private jet.
Authorities in the conservative, majority Roman Catholic country approved the concerts, set for Monday and Tuesday.
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