Pop Stand

Marie Osmond and her family were "devastated" and "in deep shock" as they mourned her son, Michael Brian Blosil, 18, who died after apparently leaping from his eighth-floor apartment in downtown Los Angeles Friday night. Blosil, one of Osmond's eight children, had entered rehab for substance abuse when he was 16 and had apparently battled depression for much of his life. Marie's spokesman released a statement from the star, which said, "My family and I are devastated and in deep shock by the tragic loss of our dear Michael and ask that everyone respect our privacy during this difficult time." Osmond and Michael's father, Brian Blosil, divorced in 2007 after nearly 21 years of marriage. Osmond and Blosil had two biological children and adopted five others, including Michael. Brian Blosil also adopted Osmond's child from her first marriage.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Michael Blosil sent a friend a text message just before 9 p.m. Friday saying he had left a note for her at his apartment. When the friend, who lived in the same building, arrived at the apartment, Blosil's roommates let her in, and the group found and read the note. Police sources said the note said, among other things, that Blosil was very unhappy and that the woman was his only good friend in L.A. Blosil's note also listed some things he would be doing for the very last time. The roommates and Blosil's friend became alarmed, but didn't know what had happened until they heard sirens outside the building. The apartment is near the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, where a fellow student said Blosil was majoring in apparel manufacturing. Friends and roommates say he was sober at the time of his death, although he had attempted suicide once before, had been depressed and struggling emotionally. EOnline reports that although Osmond has been in the spotlight for most of her life, she has also suffered many tragedies, including two broken marriages, an eating disorder, severe postpartum depression and other challenges.

Clay Aiken encouraged the crowd at a Human Rights Campaign dinner in North Carolina to work for equal rights for gay people. Aiken, the second season "American Idol" runner-up, announced he was gay in 2008 after the birth of his son Parker through an in-vitro procedure with a longtime friend. "We have a great deal more work to do," he said to the audience, which included former Family Ties star Meredith Baxter. "Our time is now, and it's about damn time." Aiken also said, "What the hell took me so long? I was waiting like so many folks are waiting … for change. I realized the time for waiting has passed. The power of truth and living honestly is very liberating."

The list of stars who are participating in the next "Dancing with the Stars" competition will not include Paula Abdul, TMZ is reporting, "despite the giant bag of money ABC practically threw at her." The web site is saying that ABC offered Abdul a development deal worth a cool million -- but she would have to agree to compete on "Dancing." Abdul reportedly met last week with Simon Cowell to talk about appearing on his next show, "The X Factor."

Fifth-season "American Idol" finalist Elliott Yamin was one of the first eyewitnesses to relay news out of Chile after the devastating earthquake struck. Yamin was in Chile to perform at a music festival in Vina del Mar, and had just tweeted about his unhappiness with the festival when the magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck. "I swear I thought this was the end of my life," Yamin tweeted. "Complete and utter chaos on the streets. No power. My heart is beating outta my chest!" News organizations picked up his Twitter reports because other communications were down, and Yamin told his story on CNN and MSNBC. The next day, he explained his negative tweets about Chile before the quake, "i was tweetin last nite just as the earthquake struck about my displeasure with how the contest was ran..and how i was treated as a contestant..i was in no way dissin the chilean peeps or anyone..i just had a bad nite, then it abruptly got worse. i feel blessed 2 have had the opp to experience your amazing culture!"

The D.A. in Aspen may be interviewing Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, Denise Richards, as he makes the case against Sheen in the Christmas Day attack on current wife Brooke Mueller. TMZ reports the Pitkin County D.A. has contacted Richard's agent and lawyer to learn more about the declaration Richards signed in 2005, when she got a restraining order against the "Two and a Half Men" star. In the declaration, Richards said that on Dec. 30, 2005, while she was holding the pair's daughter, Lola, Sheen "pushed me, shoving me with his two hands between my shoulders. I was forced backwards and tripped over one of the children's toys and fell on the floor with Lola." Richards says Sheen then shouted, "I hope you f--king die," and later said "he was going to have me killed. He said you are f--king with the wrong guy." Sheen denied the story, which Richards swore was true under penalty of perjury.

A couple hired to design the O Fitness Challenge program in 2008 sued her earlier this week, claiming they never got paid for the workout program they developed for Harpo employees. But Oprah's folks fired back, saying married couple Dina Castillo and Frank Nunez, operating as Unicus Performance Training, violated the terms of the strict confidentiality agreement by sending out an email to other clients saying they would be appearing on Oprah's XM radio show. The confidentiality agreement, which Nunez signed, prohibited Unicus Performance staffers from saying anything at any time about Oprah and Harpo without "express, written permission."

Speaking of Oprah, iconic film critic Roger Ebert, who lost his voice to thyroid cancer four years ago, will speak in an interview on her show Tuesday, demonstrating new speech software that was custom-made for Ebert from voice recordings done when he reviewed movies, says the Chicago Sun-Times. During the segment, which was taped Friday, Ebert sounded like he used to, the show's producer said. CereProc, a Scottish company, created the voice for him using his own DVD commentaries from several movies. The technology turns text typed by the user into sound. In posts on his blog, Eberst said he had tried text-to-voice programs, but wrote, "On those occasions I've appeared in public or on TV with a computer voice, I nevertheless sound like Robby the Robot. Eloquence and intonation are impossible. I dream of hearing a voice something like my own." Now, he writes, "Yes, 'Roger Jr.' needs to be smoother in tone and steadier in pacing, but the little rascal is good. To hear him coming from my own computer made me ridiculously happy."

-- Anne Neville