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Dallas Austin’s “apology”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta radio stations and New York Post’s Page Six column have been agog over a lengthy piece of video initially posted on YouTube.com and then yanked from the Web site this week. It features Atlanta record and film producer Dallas Austin talking smack about sleeping with Christina Aguilera and the pop star’s seeming obsession with him. Austin also alleges that Aguilera and Brit soul siren Joss Stone sleep with producers in exchange for music.
On Tuesday, the Atlanta producer issued the following statement to the AJC: “Every action generates an equal and opposite reaction. My statement about Christina Aguilera and Joss Stone was a reaction to an incident I care not to discuss in any forum, and while I may have felt justified, I do owe an apology to Christina, Joss and their families. “The comments I made about Christina Aguilera and Joss Stone were purely an act of retaliation not of malice or cruel intent. As we all have our boiling points, I sincerely apologize as this is not my character nor should I have let anyone’s actions push me to this limit. I have let my family, friends, employees and business associates down with my actions. “All content and any malicious statements that were in my control have been removed from outlets that may have posted this. “Please accept this as my formal statement and apology to all parties involved.”
Aguilera’s rep Cindy Guagenti, meanwhile, told us:
“She’s not commenting on such ridiculous statements, and we are consulting a lawyer to explore her options.”
Representatives from Stone’s label did not respond by press time.
RUE WATCH! RE-ACTIVATED
Yes, “Golden Girls” actress Rue McClanahan (who became a fixture in this space while shooting “The Fighting Temptations” here in 2002) is on her way back to Blanche Devereaux’s hometown.
The reason: her brand-new dishy tell-all memoir, “My First Five Husbands … And the Ones Who Got Away” (Broadway Books, $24.95). And thankfully for you, we’ve already perused the advance galleys of the tome sent to Buzz. Some highlights:
“People always ask me if I’m like Blanche. And I say, ‘Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-killing, vain Southern Belle from Atlanta. And I’m not from Atlanta.”
Further into the memoir, which officially hits stores on April 10, McClanahan discloses: “This book is about the men I have known in both the platonic and biblical senses. Some I knew only slightly, some quite well. Some I’ll love always, some I no longer like very much, and there are a few I’d like to strip naked, tie to a Maypole, smear with sweet syrup near a beehive, then stand back and watch.”
After partaking of McClanahan’s sharp poisonous pen (and checking the index for any references to us), we vowed to never again write about McClanahan’s orange-flavored Metamucil purchases at the Publix on Ponce de Leon Avenue.
She’s set to sign books here April 23 at the Borders on Peachtree Road in Buckhead at 7:30 p.m. At press time, we were tentatively considering grabbing a lawn chair and getting in the autographing line …
OVERSCENE
Designer Donna Karan dining on bone-in ribeye steak and chopped salad with three business associates at Morton’s the Steakhouse in Buckhead.
‘GRINDHOUSE’ STARS MEET PERDUE
“Grindhouse” stars Kurt Russell, Tracie Thoms and Zoe Bell surprised race fans when they turned up at the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. We’re told that the celebrity sighting and photo op with Gov. Sonny Perdue was the original brainchild of Quentin Tarantino, who directed and wrote the upcoming horror double feature with Robert Rodriguez. Tarantino, you see, is a pal of NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, natch. However, the “Pulp Fiction” director ended up staying in Hollywood to do final edits on “Grindhouse,” which is being readied for a press junket in Los Angeles this weekend, prior to its bow in theaters April 6.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Eddie Money is 58. Actor Matthew Broderick is 45. Actress-comedian Rosie O’Donnell is 45.
UNCOUPLING
Actress Uma Thurman and hotelier Andre Balazs have split up. Her New York-based publicist, Robert Garlock, says the couple — who have been together on and off for three years — are no longer an item.
Thurman, 36, who received an Oscar nomination for 1994’s “Pulp Fiction,” filed for divorce from actor Ethan Hawke in 2004. They have two children.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“People perceive and misunderstand me completely. Just because I’m a famous person does not make me exempt from love.”— Increasingly incoherent “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul on “Extra” Tuesday
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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