November 19, 2010 - 12:26 AM
Amber Portwood, 20, one of the stars of the MTV reality "Teen Mom," has been charged with domestic violence and battery, including two felonies, for attacks on the father of her daughter that were filmed for the reality show. Police in Anderson, Ind., where she lives, charged her with two felonies and one misdemeanor for three separate filmed attacks in which she punched, slapped, kicked and choked Gary Shirley, 24, in the presence of their infant daughter, Leah. A still photo from one of the attacks is seen at left. In the affadavit explaining the charges, detective Jake Brooks wrote that the probe was launched after the first episode showing violence was aired, and that it was prompted by "numerous emails and phone calls to the police department and to the Department of Child Services." Brooks got a subpoena for all uncut film done of the couple, and documented three incidents, including one that was never televised, in the tapes. Both Portwood and Shirley told police that the attacks were real and not staged, and Portwood "claimed not to remember everything due to some medical issues." If convicted on all counts, Portwood could be jailed for three years and fined up to $10,000.
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In his first public statement since the announcement that he and Eva Longoria Parker are divorcing, Tony Parker says he was not surprised when she filed for divorce his week. "Eva and I have been discussing our situation privately," the NBA star says in a statement. "I was aware that she would be filing for divorce in Los Angeles." For some reason, Parker again denied a report published and then retracted by celebrity web site TMZ that he had filed for divorce in Texas. "I did not file for divorce in Texas and did not hire divorce attorneys in either Texas or California," he says. "We plan to continue to keep our discussions of this matter private."
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Meanwhile, the revelations that Parker carried on a "sexting" relationship with the wife of his former Spurs teammate Brent Barry has focused attention on the divorce of Erin and Brent Barry, and the rift between the once-close couples, seen together at left, People is reporting. Brent Barry filed for divorce last month. "The Barrys were among the closest friends of Parker and Longoria." People reports. "Brent was a teammate of Parker's on the San Antonio Spurs from 2004 to 2008, and the Barrys attended Parker's lavish wedding in France in 2007. 'We're like family,' Parker told ESPN The Magazine after the ceremony." A source close to Longoria told People that the two women quickly bonded as "Spurs wives" and the two couples frequently socialized, even after Barry left the team. "So it was more devastating," the source says of the hundreds of explicit texts exchanged by Erin Barry and Tony Parker. The Barrys had been married since 1998 and have two sons, ages 10 and 4.
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Fifty-one weeks after his post-Thanksgiving car crash that began to unravel the details of his secret life, Tiger Woods is talking, both in trivial remarks -- on Twitter -- and in a long, thoughtful piece in Newsweek. Woods joined Twitter this week, and has tweeted, "Yep, it’s me. I think I like this twitter thing. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the love" and "The best part about phone interviews is getting to wear shorts." In the Newsweek piece, titled, "Tiger Woods: How I've Redefined Victory," he writes, "Last November, everything I thought I knew about myself changed abruptly, and what others perceived about me shifted, too. I had been conducting my personal life in an artificial way — as if detached from the values my upbringing had taught, and that I should have embraced." A year later, he writes, "I’m learning that some victories can mean smiles, not trophies, and that life’s most ordinary events can bring joy. Giving my son, Charlie, a bath, for example, beats chipping another bucket of balls. Making mac and cheese for him and his sister, Sam, is better than dining in any restaurant. Sharing a laugh watching cartoons or reading a book beats channel-surfing alone. Some nights now, it’s just me and the kids, an experience that’s both trying and rewarding. Probably like the experience a lot of families have every evening around the world."
-- Anne Neville
