Luda, Joc helping reward NYC volunteers; Kelly gets a new hearing date; Wilson 'doing really well,' according to Stiller.
Beyoncé's planned concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has been canned amid protests by local Muslim groups, Billboard reports. The groups are reportedly upset that the singer has refused to obey the country's strict dress code for performers, although the November 1 concert's promoter, Pineapple Concert, did not give a reason for the cancellation in a statement issued Friday (September 28). Female performers are not allowed to show skin from the tops of their chests to their knees. In August, Gwen Stefani's concert in the country was also preceded by protests for the same reason - but she reluctantly abided by the guidelines, saying in a press conference before the show that she had made a "major sacrifice." ...
Ludacris, Yung Joc, Angels & Airwaves, Fabolous, Keyshia Cole, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Busta Rhymes will hit the stage October 6 at Radio City Music Hall in New York for the Boost Mobile RockCorps volunteer show, to be hosted by Nick Cannon. The concert will act as a reward to 5,000 Big Apple volunteers who have carried out at least four hours of service in their community. Earlier in the day, Luda, along with pro skateboarder Terry Kennedy and snowboarder Keir Dillon, will join 100 NYC volunteers to revitalize Manhattan's DeWitt Clinton Park. ...
R. Kelly's child-pornography trial, which was to have started September 17 in Chicago, doesn't have a new start date in sight. In a status hearing on Friday, the only thing that was determined, according to the state's attorney's office, is the next status hearing date, for November 2. ... Owen Wilson is "doing really well," Ben Stiller told Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show on Friday. "I sort of like to protect his privacy, 'cause I feel like it's his own thing. But he's a really good friend of mine. He's an incredible guy, and I wish him as everybody does, all the best." The two actors were due to begin shooting "Tropic Thunder" this month, but Wilson dropped out of the flick following a suicide attempt in late August. His role has since been filled by Matthew McConaughey. ...
Nicole Richie has enrolled in an alcohol-education program that will last 18 months, according to People. The socialite, who was arrested for driving under the influence in December, reportedly signed up for the SB 38 Alcohol Program on Wednesday. The program involves 52 hours of group counseling; in-person, biweekly interviews; and 12 hours of alcohol education. ... Richie probably won't be too happy to hear about Think Skateboards' fall line of decks. The line's "Jailbaits" series feature her mug shot - and Lindsay's and Paris' - with a thought bubble hovering over each of their heads: Inside the bubble is the phrase, "If only I could Think." ... Joey Fatone, no stranger to Britney Spears, has some words of advice for the troubled singer. "Britney, call me, come over to my house, come to Orlando [Florida], get way from it all ... it's a good thing to get out of L.A.," he recently told "Extra," adding that Spears needs "some time to really heal." Fatone admitted he hasn't seen her in a while, but all the same, he said, "I'm here for you, sweetheart." ...
With Jamie Foxx's "The Kingdom," a flick about a series of terrorist bombings in the Mideast, hitting theaters this weekend, it seems it was only a matter of time before the outspoken actor piped up with his views about U.S. intervention abroad. While promoting the film, he told MSNBC that he doesn't see an end in sight to the Iraq war - and that President Bush's big problem is that he lacks "charisma." "It's not the way America has handled the war, it's the way George Bush has handled it," the actor said. "I think George Bush and the guys that are there just don't have the charisma to pull off the things that they're trying to do. I can understand if you want to go to war, but how do you go to war? They go to war in a high-risk, high-return or high-risk, no-return ... situation. You'll be in Iraq for another 30 years. You can't get out." Foxx added that he's supporting presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, but that he'll support whoever wins the Democratic nomination. ...
Uncle Kracker (real name: Matthew Shafer) was given a 60-day suspended sentence, 12 months of probation and a $1,500 fine after pleading guilty to an assault charge in a Wake County, North Carolina, court on Friday, local TV station NBC17 reports. He must also complete a substance-abuse assessment as part of the plea deal. Kracker was arrested in August on a second-degree forcible-sex-offense charge after an alleged incident at a downtown Raleigh nightclub called the Ess Lounge. He wound up facing a lesser charge in light of the plea deal. ... Kiefer Sutherland was formally charged with two misdemeanor drunk-driving counts on Friday in Los Angeles. The actor, who is on probation for a drunk-driving charge in 2004, could face up to a year and a half in jail. Sutherland was arrested Tuesday morning in Hollywood after police pulled him over for making an illegal U-turn. ...


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