Pop hunk Nick Lachey used an appearance on live TV yesterday morning to lash out at ongoing reports he and Jessica Simpson are heading for divorce. The former 98 Degrees singer served as a guest host on popular chat show Live With Regis & Kelly, when he was asked by show regular Kelly Ripa about the media's relentless reports on the state of his marriage. He said, "There's the saying that when they stop talking about you that's when you have to worry. So that's kind of what you have to keep in your mind is that as long as people care, it's a good thing. But it does get old. There's so much negativity that is out there and a lot of it's based on absolutely nothing true. So you just have to let it roll off... We're shocked that people are still on this same rumor. We've been divorced for six months now, apparently. It's like it just keeps going on and on and on. I have aunts and uncles and even my mom calls (and asks), 'Is everything okay?' I say, 'Mom, don't you think I would tell you before you read it in In Touch Weekly that I'm getting divorced?' I would absolutely, positively, like to set the record straight. Everything is absolutely wonderful in marriage and life and love. We've been saying it for months now. We're okay... They insist on going back to the same old thing about I'm jealous of her career. I love my wife to death and I support the heck out of her, as any husband would." Jessica Simpson's father Joe recently revealed that he's hired "the most powerful lawyer" in Hollywood to tackle the publications claiming that the pair's marriage is on the rocks.

Superstar Michael Jackson has reportedly agreed to an exclusive post-trial interview with a weekly magazine for $2 million. The Thriller singer has not been seen in public since he was acquitted of child molestation charges in June. American gossip website PageSix.com reports Jackson has agreed to speak to the US edition of OK! magazine about his two years of torment since his arrest. A source says, "Michael Jackson was given full approval over the interview, and the questions are very softball. He got to tell his side of the story the way he wanted to." Jackson is currently believed to be residing in Bahrain, where he has reportedly bought a lavish home.

Joe Pesci's ex wife Claudia 'Marty' Haro has been arrested for attempted murder after a hitman failed to kill her stuntman husband. Haro is suspected of ordering the hit, which Garrett Warren miraculously survived, despite being shot four times outside his California home in May 2000. She was arrested on 13 July by police who released her two days later. She didn't have to post bail because of an "insufficient complaint". Authorities are now searching for more evidence against Haro - who was known to have been involved in a custody dispute with Warren over their daughter Kyla. While Haro was in jail, Warren obtained temporary custody of Kyla. A sheriff's department spokesperson says, "The charges have not been dropped against Ms. Haro but more information is needed to proceed in this case. Ms. Haro could be re-arrested at any time." Despite divorcing Haro in 1992, Pesci - who has a child with Haro - is reportedly devastated by the claims. A source tells the National Enquirer, "Joe is devastated. He knows Marty is not capable of hurting anyone and certainly wouldn't know how to arrange a hit. Joe says he'll do whatever he has to do to help her out of this mess, even testify in court."

Jennifer Aniston will never know if her estranged husband Brad Pitt cheated on her with Angelina Jolie. In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, Along Came Polly star Aniston says she believes Pitt's claims nothing happened between him and his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star before they ended their marriage in January. But she had suspicions about the nature of Pitt and Jolie's relationship after photographs emerged of the pair holidaying with Jolie's adopted son Maddox. Vanity Fair journalist Leslie Bennetts, who interviewed Aniston, says, "She said to me 'I'll never really know.'"

Hollywood film studio Sony-TriStar has reached a $1.5 million settlement over accusations it advertised movies using quotes from a fabricated film critic. In 2001 billboards and TV commercials featured sound bites praising the studio's movies from reviewer David Manning of The Ridgefield Press - but the journalist was invented by marketing staff at Sony-TriStar. Quotes attributed to Manning were used to promote Hollow Man, A Knight's Tale, The Patriot, The Animal and Vertical Limit - but film fans can now demand a refund for cinema tickets purchased for these movies. Sony-TriStar refused to admit liability but offered the settlement last year in a bid to avoid a lengthy and costly court case - the agreement was finalized yesterday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl. Manning supposedly called Heath Ledger "this year's hottest new star" for his lead role in A Knight's Tale, and described Hollow Man as "one hell of a scary ride". The Ridgefield Press, a local paper in Connecticut, says it has never employed someone called David Manning, and Sony-TriStar suspended two employees following an internal enquiry.

Former Friends star David Schwimmer has reportedly found love in London, with French actress Emmanuelle Perret. The actor, who is in the British capital starring in the West End production of Neil LaBute's play Some Girls, was spotted out with the brunette beauty in Primrose Hill on July 17. According to onlookers, the two were seen frolicking and sharing romantic moments as they strolled through the city park. Schwimmer was most recently linked to Hawaiian beauty Rochelle Sanchez Ovitt, whom he took to Brooke Shields' 40th birthday in London earlier this summer.

The Lord Of The Rings star Elijah Wood is such a fan of rock music he's decided to launch his own record label. Wood will open the as-yet-untitled label later this year and he's hoping to attract a wide range of acts. The 24-year-old says, "Since I was 13, I've been utterly obsessed with music. There's a wealth of amazing bands out there who have nowhere to go. I want to have the chance to release things that might not necessarily get released otherwise. My taste is pretty eclectic, so my label won't have a specific sound. Though if Radiohead are ever looking for a deal, I'd sign them any time." But, despite his willingness to help musicians secure a record deal, Wood has no plans to release his own album. He tells British magazine Q, "I don't have a great love for bands with actors in them. Me prancing around onstage? That's not going to happen."

Britney Spears celebrated the birthdays of her husband Kevin Federline's two children, when she and the dancer attended a party for the pair on Sunday. Actress Shar Jackson was initially horrified when the newlyweds failed to show up at the first birthday party of her and Federline's son Kaleb on July 20. But pregnant singer Spears and her beau made amends when they attended a joint ranch bash in Malibu, California, for Kaleb and Federline's daughter Kori, who turned three on the day of the second party. A source says, "It was a cowboys-and-Indians theme, but Britney and Kevin were the only ones not dressed up. Britney and Shar hugged when Britney arrived, but after that they had no interaction."

Legendary film producer Robert Evans is reportedly set to wed for the seventh time after a whirlwind courtship with socialite Lady Victoria White. The Chinatown producer, 75, and White, will tie the knot at the One & Only Palmilla hotel in the north Mexican resort of Cabo San Lucas on Saturday. A friend tells website PageSix.com, "He flew down to Mexico Tuesday morning with Victoria and his kids. His son, Josh, will give him away and her mother will give her away." Evans has previously been married to Sharon Hugueny, Camilla Sparv, Ali MacGraw, Phyllis George, Catherine Oxenberg and Leslie Ann Woodward.

Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter is expecting twins with actor boyfriend Gordon MacDonald. They will be the 47-year-old's first children, with MacDonald - her co-star in the London stage production of Irish play By The Bog Of Cats, which ran until February. The Piano star Hunter - who was married to Schindler's List cinematographer Janusz Kaminiski, also an Oscar winner, from 1995 to 2001 - has a large family to live up to - she herself is the youngest of seven children.