The Access Entertainment Week In Review

It may have been a short week, but the celebrities were working overtime to provide a lot of entertainment news!

The week began with a bang — literally — as Lindsay Lohan crashed her car into a curb and clump of trees at around 5:30 Saturday morning in Beverly Hills. The crash followed a widely-reported night of partying, and Lindsay was cited for suspicion of DUI after being treated for minor injuries at the hospital, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department.

Lt. Mitch McCann said it appeared the actress was speeding, and that officers investigating the crash found a “usable amount” of a drug tentatively identified as cocaine. He declined to say where the drug was found but that “it was not on her person.” McCann declined to comment on Lohan’s blood-alcohol level. He said the case will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office where the actress could face more charges, including felonies. Her tentative arraignment date is Aug. 24.

On the heels of Lindsay’s arrest, Access Hollywood confirmed that the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has contacted the Beverly Hills Police Department to determine if there should be an investigation into whether Lindsay and other minors were illegally served alcohol on the night of the crash.

On Monday morning, Lohan was photographed slumped over in the passenger seat of a car driven by DJ Samantha Ronson, after celebrating Memorial Weekend at a poolside party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Later that day, Lindsay checked herself in to the Promises Rehabilitation Facility in Malibu.

Upon Lindsay’s entrance into rehab, the producers of the movie “Poor Things” (scheduled to start shooting this week) stated that they would work around Lindsay’s treatment, and that they did not intend to drop her from the cast.

As of Friday afternoon, Lindsay had left Promises three times — twice to work out at a gym, and once to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, accompanied by a counselor. When asked about the trips off-premises, a Promises spokesperson told Access, “We keep our policies private.”

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Paris Hilton, who has until 11:59 p.m. on June 5 to report to the Century Regional Detention Facility to start serving time for violating her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. A judge sentenced Hilton to 45 days behind bars, but it is expected that she will serve about 23 days as long as she exhibits good behavior. Sheriff Lee Baca said Friday that Paris will not be allowed to give television interviews while serving her jail sentence, and that aggressive steps were being taken to prevent cameras from being smuggled into the facility.

Paris’ good friend (and “Simple Life” co-star) Nicole Richie went on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS FM radio show on Wednesday, where she remarked that she believes Paris has been treated unfairly, and that she is now even more concerned about her own DUI case from December 2006. She also spoke of the controversy surrounding some off-color Memorial Day party invitations she had sent out which were leaked to the media (dubbing them a “joke”) and claimed that she was not present when Mischa Barton was taken to the hospital after suffering a bad reaction to a mix of alcohol and antibiotics at Richie’s party. And as for the rumors that Richie had entered rehab? False, she said, saying that she had actually been out of town accompanying her boyfriend (and Good Charlotte lead singer) Joel Madden on a tour.

Rosie O’Donnell continued to make news this week, as it was revealed that “The View’s” use of a split-screen during her argument with Elisabeth Hasselbeck was a primary factor in her decision to leave the show earlier than expected. Rosie blogged this week that she will likely never speak to Elisabeth again, but said that the two had exchanged emails over the weekend. “View” boss Barbara Walters remarked on Tuesday’s show that they were “very sad” to see Rosie go, but said that the use of a split-screen had been employed “for years” on the show. As for Hasselbeck, she said that she believed she and Rosie had begun the process of “forgiveness” with each other. Of course, Donald Trump had his own opinion on the whole situation.

In movie news, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” opened, and proceeded to break the record for the biggest box office on a Memorial Day weekend. While that was an impressive feat, the movie failed to meet the projected box office figures it was expected to, placing it behind the openings of “Spider-Man 3” and “Shrek the Third” when three-day box office figures were tallied.

Music news was abundant this week as Maroon 5 topped the Billboard chart, Justin Timberlake was named CEO of a new record label, and Britney Spears reached out to fans with a new message on her Web site. The music news didn’t stop there, however, as The Police kicked off their reunion tour, Jackson family memorabilia was auctioned off, and rapper Young Jeezy (real name Jay Jenkins) was hit with a disorderly conduct charge over an alleged verbal altercation in a club outside Atlanta. DeKalb County authorities couldn’t immediately provide the status of Jenkins’ charges. A spokesman for Young Jeezy’s distribution company, Corporate Thugz Entertainment, didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday asking for comment.

Even though “American Idol” is over, the hit show’s presence was still felt. Eight of the ten finalists visited Access Hollywood‘s studio, for which City of Hope teamed with Access to make a dream come true for two young cancer survivors who both got to meet their “Idols” on our stage. In other “Idol” news, champion Jordin Sparks confessed that she “looked up to” the oft-maligned finalist Sanjaya Malakar, and runner-up Blake Lewis confessed that he didn’t mind not winning the competition.

“Idol” judge Paula Abdul made headlines this week, as she remarked that she had found her “purpose in life” by being an “Idol” judge. Things got a bit heavy for Abdul, though, when a taped phone conversation she had was leaked online. Abdul made some emotional remarks on the tape, including some comments about her former publicist and his alleged poor treatment of her. Abdul made no apologies for the tape’s contents, but denounced the leaking of the conversation, calling it an invasion of privacy. Her former publicist tells Access, “I will stand by my reputation.”

And finally, it was all about the children for some celebrities this week. Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez lent their star power to the Children’s Health Fund benefit in NYC, while Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were officially granted the last name “Jolie-Pitt” for their adopted son Pax Thien. He now shares the same last name as his three siblings, Maddox, Zahara and Shiloh.

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