TVSquad

The other day we told you about one of the parents of a Kid Nation kid filing a complaint with New Mexico officials, alleging child abuse and unsafe conditions during filming. But just what kind of contract did these parents sign to get their kids on the show? The Smoking Gun has the answer.

As TSG summarizes: "parents of minors in Kid Nation, the controversial new CBS reality show, signed away their rights to sue the network and the show's producers if their child died, was severely injured, or contracted a sexually transmitted disease."

(Sexually transmitted disease?! I guess they were covering every possibility, eh?)

Al and Peg aren't going to be too happy about this.

David Faustino, aka Bud Bundy on the long-running FOX comedy Married...With Children, was arrested on Saturday night in Florida. Seems the actor was not only arguing with his ex-wife in the middle of an intersection - screaming obscenities, etc - but he was also "intoxicated." Not sure if that means booze or pot or both, but the police did find 20 grams of pot inside his pocket.

The Smoking Gun has the police report, and the mug shot (of course). Faustino looks rather stunned.

Court TV is not only changing its name, it's going to change the programming as well.

The network has announced that the network will have a new name starting on January 1, 2008. No decision has been reached yet on what the new name will be, but the network will introduce a ton of new reality shows. Oh, sorry, they're not "reality" shows, they're "real-life series" watched by "engagers."

Among the new shows: Tiger Team, about security experts; The Real Hustle, about con artists and scams, and The Room, which will focus on police interrogations. They are also developing a series of shows with The Smoking Gun web site. As for Nancy Grace (she's the one smiling on the right), she'll be part of the new daytime lineup, but her show will be shortened a bit to make room for the new show from Star Jones.

Wow, Nancy Grace and Star Jones on the same channel during the day. Enjoy!

The Smoking Gun has obtained a copy of Dustin Diamond's list of demands contract rider for public appearances and it appears he's very sensitive about being called 'Screech'. The contract says that promoters will be fined $100 for "every offending ad, flyer, or marquee"-- which includes refering to Diamond as his Saved by the Bell character, Screech.

What does Dustin Diamond do -- other than make hotel room porn and sell t-shirts? He apparently makes appearances as a stand-up comedian and as a speaker, which he does "the Screech voice, face, and walk." Wait. He will bore audiences with behind-the-scenes stories from Saved by the Bell and do impressions, but you can't call him Screech? I'm confused.

Funny sidenote: His rider warns that some of his jokes are dirty and says, "You are getting the mature Dustin Diamond not Screech." It also requires two pints of "chilled" chocolate milk in his dressing room. He's a walking contradiction.

[Via TV Tattle]

According to The Smoking Gun, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks filed a lawsuit against a former Nashville music producer who is selling Hicks' older songs on iTunes. The songs are from 2001, when Taylor tried and failed to get music labels to pick him up. The producer, William Smith, reportedly sent an e-mail to Hicks' lawyers letting them know that he was planning to market a few of his old songs on iTunes and that "anything in his past that would reflect negatively upon him will stay there". Smith also mentioned that he has turned down five-figure offers from tabloids to talk about Taylor's sexuality and (alleged) past drug use. Sounds like a threat, eh? Hicks and his lawyers thought so, too. A judge signed a temporary restraining order, barring Smith from selling the old songs on iTunes.

Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards' ugly divorce is turning into a game of He Said, She Said. Last week, Richards got a temporary restraining order against Sheen. In her filing (posted on The Smoking Gun), Richards said Sheen threatened and pushed her, surfed the internet for child pornography and sought out prostitutes. It was a pretty scathing document, actually. That's probably why Charlie Sheen went on Entertainment Tonight to explain his side of the story. He said that Richards is making up stuff about him as part of her reaction to a failed marriage. He said she is trying "to hurt, to punish, to discredit, to completely torpedo, to undermine my perception as a responsible father... a contributing father, a guy who would give his life for his children." Sheen and Richards have two daughters, Sam, 2, and Lola, 10 months.

By the way, check out who Denise Richards is dating now. It's the soon-to-be ex-husband of her soon-to-be ex-husband's former co-star. Everybody got that? Good.

According to The Smoking Gun, Tony Sirico, the actor who portrays Paulie Walnuts on The Sopranos, didn't have to stretch his acting muscles too much to portray his on-camera role. In the '60s and '70s, Sirico was apparently a mafia-connected thug who spent time in Sing Sing and other prisons of that caliber after he was convicted on felony weapons possession charges. I love it. There's nothing I like more than a little authenticity in my mafiosos. Sirico is also quoted as saying he would "carve his initials" in the forehead of a disco club owner that he had a beef with. Although hilarious and pretty cool, I'm a little frightened, and this is probably the one time I wouldn't want a celebrity reading my post about them. I mean, Paulie beat up an old lady!! Does that picture look like it's looking at me...?

After Oprah tore James Frey apart on her show last week, I was left to wonder what would be next for the author.

I should've known.

A Manhattan social worker was the first to file a lawsuit against Random House, the publisher of Frey's fictitious memoir about overcoming drug and alcohol addiction. The plaintiff, Jennifer Cohn, said she recommended Frey's book to a number of clients who were struggling with the same addiction. Another New York reader filed a class action lawsuit, asking for her $14.95 back. There are also lawsuits in state and federal courts in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

So...what's worse? Ripping apart the author on nationwide television or suing an author because his memoir is packed with lies?

Author James Frey isn't much of an alcoholic, a drug addict or a criminal. He's a pathological liar. And Oprah exposed him for what he is on her show today. Well, actually, The Smoking Gun exposed him for what he is back on January 8th. Oprah just forced him into admitting that he lied in his so-called memoir about addiction and crime, A Million Little Pieces. Oprah made that book number one on the best seller list when she included it in her book club. It sold 1.77 million copies.

Oprah opened her show by apologizing to viewers for trusting Frey so blindly that she called up Larry King when he was defending his lies book and voiced her support for him. To Frey's face, she said, "I really feel duped." Then, she proceeded to take him down. Inch by inch. God, I love this woman.

Just finished watching Larry King Live, who had the first interview with author James Frey since the controversy over the truthfulness (or "truthiness," as Colbert would say) of some of the facts in his memoir A Million Little Pieces. During the interview, Frey kept responding to Larry's queries over The Smoking Gun's exposé -- it revealed that some of the book's details about his criminal past were highly exaggerated --  by saying that it was a very small part of a huge book. People are not concentrating on the meat of the book, said Frey, which takes place in a rehab clinic. Frey went on to explain that memoirs generally have embellishments, composite characters, and time compressions, and that it's a subjective story about the author's life, so it's hard to judge it on the facts.

First Oprah had to apologize to birds. Now she might have to apologize to her many fans.

The Smoking Gun has just finished a six week invesigation into the background of James Frey, the author of A Million Little Pieces, which Oprah picked for her book club a few months ago. It's (supposedly) Frey's memoir, of how he had drug problems, went into rehab, went to jail several times, kicked the habit, etc, but TSG has found out that many of the events that Frey said happened either happened differently than he said, happened but he wasn't involved, or didn't happen at all. It's a long piece, much too long to summarize here, so take a look.