Roll Call: ‘Grey’s’ Gals Hit Las Vegas

Your Daily Dispatch of Celebrity Shenanigans: August 6, 2007 by Tommy Vergason

WALSH’S BACHELORETTE BONANZA!: It was a “Grey’s” girl’s night out on Saturday, PEOPLE reports, as Kate Walsh, Sara Ramirez and some other friends let loose at Walsh’s bachelorette party in Las Vegas. Walsh, who has left ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” to star in the upcoming spin-off, “Private Practice,” reportedly started the weekend off with a little gambling with the girls at The Venetian casino Friday night. Walsh and her guests reportedly caught some rays on Saturday at a private cabana at Tao Beach, but left when it got busy there — opting instead to get a quick workout in, according to the report. Afterward, Walsh was reportedly surprised in her hotel room by two male strippers, a bachelorette party staple. Later that night, the party moved to the Tao Restaurant, where the ladies enjoyed a dinner of sushi rolls, lobster wontons and Kobe beef. “You could tell they were all really content. Kate looked really happy and couldn’t stop smiling,” an onlooker reportedly said. “Sara (Ramirez) even got on the table and started dancing,” the source added. “Everyone was laughing and clapping.” The party of 17 reportedly went to Tao Nightclub afterward, where Walsh joined Ramirez on the club’s catwalk, dancing until 1:30 AM.

Walsh got engaged to Alex Young, a production co-president at 20th Century Fox, in May. A wedding date has not yet been announced, But Walsh told Access last month that wedding plans are “trucking along,” and that it will be a “very small, sort of intimate affair.” “I got the show and I got a wedding to plan, so it’s fantastic,” she added.

STAMP OF THE STARS: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are about to be immortalized on an Australian postage stamp with their baby daughter, Shiloh, Australia’s NEWS.COM reports. The 50c stamp will be derived from a photo of the happy parents and baby that was featured on the cover of NEW IDEA magazine (and reportedly orginally featured in PEOPLE magazine). The stamp was announced at Australia’s 10th Annual Magazine of the Year Awards, and is reportedly being produced by the Australia Post, a major sponsor of the awards. “I dont know of any other country in the world that has ever had Brad and Angelina on a stamp,” a NEW IDEA spokesman reportedly said. “Whatever the case, these stamps are sure to become instantly collectable and be sought after by philatelists (stamp collectors) around the country.” Along with their biological child, Shiloh, Pitt and Jolie also have three adopted children: Maddox, Pax, and Zahara.

DENISE DEBUNKS RUMORS: Formerly married couple Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards are reportedly at odds again, THE NY POST’s PAGE SIX reports. According to Page Six, Sheen is trying to obtain “looser visitation rights” with his daughters, Lola and Sam, that “won’t require him to be supervised.” Richards, who is allegedly opposed to the idea, has reportedly been accused of various acts by reported “friends” of Sheen, including witholding the children from him, and arranging for paparazzi to take pictures of her as she presented flowers to Sheen’s new fiancee, Brooke Mueller. The sources also claim that Richards wants to have another child with Sheen. Richards vehemently denied these claims to Page Six, reportedly saying: “This is disgusting. [Charlie] is doing this now because he’s not happy with me and the custody arrangement.” She reportedly rebutted Sheen’s pals’ charges one by one: “My mom is going through chemotherapy and I asked Charlie if my mom could see the kids before she got really sick. That’s a valid request. He doesn’t stick to the schedule he has with the kids – that’s not my fault. “I did ask both Charlie and Brooke to lunch to see the kids – he hadn’t seen them in two weeks – but only Brooke took me up on it. The paparazzi were already following me, as they do every day, and took a picture – and I have the bill for the flowers I sent from Mark’s Garden. Brooke even showed my nanny the flowers.” Richards reportedly added, “I don’t want another child right now. I have my hands full and am focusing on my children, my mother and my career. I thought I was past all this stuff.” A rep for Sheen told Page Six, “I don’t comment on his personal life.”

AN ADOPTION SNAG FOR MADONNA?: Madonna may be facing a snag in the adoption process of Malawi-born David Banda, REUTERS reports. One of Malawi’s leading weekly newspapers reported on Sunday that Minister of Women and Child Development Kate Kainja had barred Penstone Kilembe, a court-appointed official, from making his planned trip to assess the suitability of Madonna and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, as the boy’s adoptive parents. Madonna was allowed to take Banda from the African nation to her home in the UK last October, with Kilembe appointed to supply testimony on whether the adoption should be formalized following two visits to the couple’s home. A hearing on the matter is reportedly planned for next year, but Kilembe has been reportedly accused by Kainja of obtaining an air ticket and money from Madonna without government approval. “We have already contacted Madonna that someone else — and not Kilembe — will come to asses her, because we feel Mr. Kilembe personalized the whole issue when other people can go,” the Minister told the newspaper. Kilembe dismissed suggestions that he personally asked Madonna for an air ticket. “What this means is that the whole adoption process may crumble and David sent back to his village,” he told Reuters. The Minister was not immediately available for comment. In an AP report on Saturday, Kilembe had cited a lack of financial resources as a reason he has not yet visited the household, and said that he hopes to be able to go to the UK by month’s end.

J. LO COMBATS CRITICS: Jennifer Lopez has reportedly lashed out at critics of her new film, “El Cantante,” in which she co-stars with husband Marc Anthony. THE LA TIMES reports that online posters have been “merciless” in their critiques of the film, which features Anthony as the late, legendary Salsa vocalist, Hector Lavoe. Lopez portrays Lavoe’s wife, Puchi Perez, in the film. The filmmakers have reportedly been accused by online critics of “usurping barrio culture and exploiting Lavoe’s memory,” says the Times. Willie Colón, who was Lavoe’s producer and partner for two decades (and also served as a consultant on the film), offered criticism of his own in a Yahoo posting on Wednesday: “The creators of El Cantante missed an opportunity to do something of relevance for our community,” Colón reportedly wrote. “The real story was about Hector fighting the obstacles of a nonsupportive industry that took advantage of entertainers with his charisma and talent. Instead they did another movie about two Puerto Rican junkies…It’s difficult to comprehend how two individuals who are in the music business like Marc and Jennifer are not aware of the damage and the consequences of promoting only the negative side of our Latin music culture.” Lopez responded to the criticisms at this week’s Hollywood premiere of the film, reportedly saying: “I don’t know what movie they want to see, because this is the truth.”

VANESSA GETS A FAMILIAR GUEST STAR: And finally: Vanessa Williams will be working with her ex-husband, Rick Fox, on ABC’s “Ugly Betty” this season, PEOPLE reports. Fox, a former NBA star-turned-actor, will guest star in “at least two episodes,” according to a source. He will reportedly be playing the bodyguard of William’s character, the villainous magazine editor Wilhelmina Slater. “Things get heated [between their characters],” the source teased. The Emmy-nominated Williams wed Fox in 1999, and the couple had two separate ceremonies: a quiet summer wedding on a Caribbean island, and again at a New York City church that fall. They divorced five years later, and have a seven year-old daughter, Sasha. In a case of art imitating life, Fox recently enjoyed a recurring role on FX’s “Dirt” as a well-known basketball star with marital problems.