Bollywood was abuzz early Monday morning with reports of an alleged assault by Shah Rukh Khan on his close buddy, Farah Khan's director husband Shirish Kunder, at a party hosted by Sanjay Dutt.
SRK denied the reports and clarified it was merely a disagreement and no violence occurred. Farah Khan, however, confirmed the incident on Indian television programmes, saying that SRK slapped and punched her husband.
"Shah Rukh has always told me that physical abuse is the worst way to sort out a problem, and that it means the person who's hitting has either a personal or a professional crisis going on," she released in a statement. "It saddens me to see him doing the same."
The incident happened at Dutt's bash to mark the box-office success of the film Agneepath. SRK, who arrived at the party past 3am, was reportedly irked by Kunder's negative tweets about his recent film Ra.One.
Kunder told the Indian news daily Mid Day that SRK dragged him by the hair and pushed him on the couch. "Shah Rukh punched and jumped on me. I was numb with shock so I couldn't react. He kept screaming at me, 'What do you think of yourself? I'll see to it that you're out of this industry'."
SRK posted on Twitter on Monday night: "Another long night. Shooting for a public service film about education, peace and harmony. Feels ironic when I read and see what is being said."
Kunder later tweeted he will not lodge a police complaint against SRK.
Scherzinger and Jones not returning to X Factor
Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Jones are out of The X Factor.
A Fox spokeswoman said on Monday that the judge and host will not return for the show's second season, set later this year.
Jones called his departure "a shame" on Twitter and added that he couldn't complain, "as I've had a great time". He gave no reason why he wasn't returning.
Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and LA Reid served as the other judges on the show's first season.
* Associated Press
Julian Assange to star in The Simpsons
After talks last week that Julian Assange was getting his own talk show in March, the WikiLeaks founder is now confirmed to be a guest star on the forthcoming 500th episode of The Simpsons, broadcast on February 19.
"There was discussion internally whether or not to have him, but ultimately we went ahead and did it," said the show's producer Al Jean. "There's nothing we did that has anything to do with the legal situation he's in. We wanted to make sure it was satirical, and he was willing to do that."
Shirley MacLaine to join Downton Abbey
The Oscar-winning actress Shirley MacLaine is joining Britain's popular TV series Downton Abbey.
The 77-year-old will join the cast when they start filming later this month.
She will play the mother of Lady Grantham, portrayed by Elizabeth McGovern, in the third season of the hit period drama, which took Golden Globe and Emmy prizes for the best miniseries.
Seinfeld actor who played Mr Pitt dies at 77
The veteran British actor Ian Abercrombie, whose roles included Mr Pitt on Seinfeld, died on Friday from complications of kidney failure.
Abercrombie appeared in movies such as Army of Darkness and on TV shows such as Wizards of Waverly Place. He most recently provided the voice of the owl Ambrose in the animated film Rango.
Wolfgang Puck wins culinary Oscars
The so-called Oscars of the food world will give its ultimate nod to a man best known for feeding celebrities at the real Oscars.
The James Beard Foundation's Lifetime Achievement award this year will go to Wolfgang Puck, whose menu for the Academy Awards Governors Ball is almost as eagerly anticipated as the awards themselves.
Born in Austria, Puck was chosen for his talent as a chef and restaurateur, as well as for revolutionising how people think about food. In 1982, he opened Spago, the restaurant for which he remains best known.
The award will be presented at a gala on May 7 in New York.
* Associated Press
Jennifer Lopez not ready to talk marriage
Jennifer Lopez admitted during a Monday appearance on the Today show that she's not thinking about marriage anytime soon.
"Do you think you'll marry again?" asked host Matt Lauer.
The flustered Lopez replied: "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. We'll see. I mean, I don't know."
Pressed further on the matter, the American Idol judge said: "It's not time to think about that yet. It's still fresh," referring to her recent separation from her husband of seven years, Marc Anthony.
The 42-year-old is currently dating the 24-year-old choreographer Casper Smart.
