Beyonce May Be Bleaching Her Skin to Appear Whiter, Says Tab

If it’s not one thing, then it’s the other: days after rumors of a trial separation between Beyonce and Jay-Z emerged in the press, another report suggests she may be bleaching her skin regularly to appear whiter.
The report comes in the British tabloid the Daily Mail, bearing, as expected, a question mark in the headline. Some days ago, Beyonce stepped out for a bit of shopping, wearing a very short skirt (and some insanely amazing turquoise Louboutin heels) and rocking a new ‘do in a lighter shade of blonde.

“The 29-year-old singer’s skin also looked much lighter than usual as she showed off her long, bare legs in a pair of £635 jade suede Daffodile heels by Christian Louboutin,” says the tab.

“The most effective skin-lightening agents are hydroquinone and kojic acid, creams which patients apply to the skin,” Dr. Sunil Chopra, consultant dermatologist at the London Dermatology Centre, is cited as saying.

“The effects are temporary and work by inhibiting the enzyme... responsible for the skin’s pigment.

Lexus supercar birthday gift for Paris Hilton

Celebrity heiress and socialite Paris Hilton got an extra special 30th birthday surprise when she was gifted a Lexus LFA supercar by her entrepreneur boyfriend, Cy Waits.

The Lexus isn't an obvious choice for the heiress, even if its sizeable £330,000 price tag is fitting.

The LFA is considered to be an edgy, hardcore driver's car that'll be a whole lot more difficult to drive than her (bright pink) Bentley Continental.

With a high-revving 4.8-litre V10 engine and 552bhp output, a paddle-shifted gearbox and suspension set up for track driving, the LFA is more suited to the Nürburgring circuit than Beverly Hills.

Waits initially gave a yellow LFA to Hilton as a prank, though Hilton later revealed by Twitter that her own car would actually be pearl white.

Naturally, the presenting of the car was caught on camera as Paris is being filmed for her new reality show.

Miley Cyrus: Why Is Her Dad So Surprised?

You have to feel sorry for Billy Ray Cyrus, who just emptied the entire contents of his achy breaky heart into a long interview with GQ magazine.

Among other things, he said he regrets ever letting Miley star in Disney's "Hannah Montana" franchise. Related: Disney not surprised by Billy Ray Cyrus' negative 'GQ' comments

But you kind of have to wonder what took the guy so long.

Almost three years ago, MSN Movies ran a Mom and Pop Culture column I wrote that asked whether she was the next Britney Spears. At the time, her sexy image and public proclamations of virginity seemed at odds with each other -- or worse, a crass marketing ploy that made her seem safe to parents (she's a virgin!) while thrilling to kids (so shiny and pretty!).

Fast forward to today. Miley has turned 18. Her TV show is over. Her parents are splitting up. She's the subject of a running gag on "Saturday Night Live." She was caught on video smoking a legal hallucinogen, and now the people who love her most are starting to worry?

In Billy Ray's defense, he admits he made mistakes as a dad, especially in trying to be a friend to his kids. Hell, yeah."

This point matters -- a lot.

When you forget that most people have to work a lot harder and be a lot more careful about their choices because the margin between survival and ruin is only as thick as the next paycheck, you also forget that actions have consequences.

This is also the kind of thinking that lets you excuse your child's bad behavior and bad decisions as youthful indiscretions instead of as big, fat warning signs. If parents aren't there dishing out actual consequences, how's a kid supposed to learn anything but that the normal rules of life don't apply?

What does it really matter as long as they can keep working and making millions?

We live in this strange time where young talent is disproportionally revered.

If you're 15, great-looking, and can sing and dance, there's a chance you could become a megastar before you get your driver's license.

But if you wait too long to reach for the brass ring, you might miss your chance. Heck, look at "American Idol." Forget it.

What's unlikely to change things for Billy Ray Cyrus, though, is talking to magazines like GQ about all this business. Michael Lohan, who seems to send out weekly press releases about his daughter and her travails, hasn't managed to keep Lindsay Lohan from self-destructing. At various times, she even blamed her dad for her troubles.

There's a time and a place for parenting. The time is when your kids are kids. The place is at home -- not in the media. The media are not friends to celebrities, especially the young ones. The fawning press, the Barbara Walters "most fascinating" interviews, these are part of the problem. Same goes for the entertainment companies that create these publicity machines that shoot stars into orbit with little thought of keeping them in something resembling an atmosphere of sanity.