Singer Ashlee Simpson may need a new guitarist. The 21-year-old split recently from bandmate/boyfriend Braxton Olita, Life and Style magazine reports. Simpson’s not singing the blues, though, because she’s been making sweet music with Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, 27. The two were spotted together Sept. 2 at a NYC dance party at MisShapes, and four days before, the couple was spotted getting friendly in a corner at G-spa during an album-release after party for big sis Jessica Simpson. “There were definitely sparks between them,” said a witness at G-spa. “They were whispering into each other’s ears and kissing-in front of her family.” As far as Olita’s future being Simpson’s guitarist, one friend at least is not so sure. “He was part of the Simpson machine, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
Speaking of the Simpsons, Jessica’s ex Nick Lachey/b> calls his new flame, Vanessa Minnillo, “Nasty Nessa,” but he was the nasty one Aug 30 at club TenJune, Star magazine reports. “He gave her a lap dance,” an eyewitness told Star. “He was grinding up against her, and he was dancing for her, showing off his moves. And she was really enjoying it. She was laughing, and all of her friends were giggling.” Despite the snickers coming from Minnillo’s friends, the witness said they’re all jealous. “Vanessa’s friends are secretly jealous about how perfect her relationship seems with Nick.” “Seems” is the key word. “Perfect” once described his relationship with Jessica.
Say goodbye to Diddy. In Britain, at least. Sean “Diddy” Combs has agreed to drop the Diddy name in Britain as part of an out-of-court legal settlement with London-based music producer Richard “Diddy” Dearlove, cnn.com reports. The law firm representing Dearlove said Combs, 36, has agreed to “rebrand his commercial activities” in Britain and would “no longer be able to trade in the U.K. as ‘Diddy.’ Combs, once known as Puffy and Puff Daddy, changed his name to P. Diddy in 2001, but decided last year to go by only Diddy. Dearlove sued Combs for unfair competition, claiming the name change had caused confusion. “I started getting e-mails from Puerto Rican girls asking if they could be in my video and people were asking me to look at their clothing line,” Dearlove was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper. Dearlove, 40, best known for his ’90s dance remix of Blondie’s “Atomic,” told The Guardian “It doesn’t matter how big people become. This is my name. I’ve been successful too. I’m not a global megastar, but what I do is valid.”
Quote of the week:
“I wanted to bring my puppy, but I couldn’t find a tuxedo for him that says, ‘I can’t stand Simon Cowell.” –Paula Abdul tells Star about her dream date for the Emmys.