Latina superstar Jennifer Lopez has canceled her album promotional tour of Europe after the beauty was struck down with a mystery illness. Only days after she and third husband Marc Anthony performed a duet at the Grammys, J.Lo has released a statement saying she will not be able to spend this week in London, promoting her latest film Shall We Dance?. Lopez says, "I very much wanted to be in London today, but unfortunately I am not well. At the advice of my doctors I am unable to travel. Being sick has also forced me to cancel my European album tour. Please accept my sincerest apologies as I have to remain in Los Angeles." The "Love Don't Cost A Thing" hitmaker was expected to spend the next few weeks promoting her fourth original studio album Rebirth.

Robert Blake's lawyer attacked the credibility of stuntman Gary McLarty in a California court on Tuesday, after McLarty testified the actor had tried to hire him to kill Bonny Lee Bakley. Blake is currently on trial in Van Nuys, California, for the murder of his wife Bakley, who was fatally shot in the Baretta star's car in May 2001. McLarty's son Cole McLarty testified yesterday his father was paranoid, delusional and constantly under the influence of cocaine. Cole admitted his father had met with Blake, but the actor's request was very different from the one McLarty alleged. Cole says, "He just said that Mr. Blake had somebody stalking him and he wanted their eyes blackened and he offered money." Blake's attorney M Gerald Schwartzbach asked Cole, "Do you recall your father saying anything about Mr Blake wanting his wife killed?" Cole answered, "No". McLarty's estranged wife Karen McLarty says the stuntman used cocaine for the majority of their 30-year marriage, although they have been separated for 16 years. Also in court yesterday was Blake's former maid Lidia Benavides, who claims she saw a "suspicious" car parked near the actor's house twice in the weeks leading up to the murder. During Benavides' cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Shelli Samuels, she admitted she had been "a little" worried about the vehicle. The case continues.

Staunch Star Trek: Enterprise fans are lobbying to save the show after American network UPN announced earlier this month it plans to axe the program later this year. Trekkies are appealing to other TV networks to take over the rights to the prequel to The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager - they are organizing a petition and rally on February 25 to draw attention to the show's plight. Campaigners have also taken out a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times newspaper which pleads, "Captain Archer and the crew of the NX-01 need your help." Enterprise was first broadcast in September 2001 with Scott Bakula starring as the spaceship's captain Jonathan Archer.

Legendary singer George Michael is quitting the pop world for good in favor of taking a more "behind the scenes" role in the industry. The star believes pop music is "dead" and is now seeking a career composing songs for other musicians. Michael, 41, made his comments at the Berlin Film Festival in Germany yesterday. He was there to launch documentary film A Different Story, which follows struggles in both his personal and professional lives as he became a superstar in the 1980s. Michael said, "That genre (pop) is just dead as far as I am concerned. I just thought it was very important to explain myself before I disappear. I truly believe there's a life for me that is not this one. Perhaps it will mean writing for other people. I have an ambition to write a truly contemporary musical, not necessarily even for the stage, but for the screen. I have got to find ways to make music and enjoy it the way I used to."

Michael Jackson's ex-wife is determined to prevent the pop superstar from calling up their two children as defense witnesses in his upcoming child molestation trial. Debbie Rowe hopes to stop Prince Michael, eight, and daughter Paris, six, from testifying at the Thriller singer's trial in Santa Barbara, California, reports British newspaper The Sun. The two kids had their names read out in court on Monday - on a list of possible witnesses for Jackson's defense. However, Rowe is set to testify for the prosecution against Jackson. Jury selection in the trial has been postponed until next Tuesday as Jackson battles a bout of influenza. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of molesting a 13-year-old former cancer patient.

The L Word star Jennifer Beals finds the opposition against gay marriage in America "absolutely absurd" especially in the face of December's tsunami disaster. The 41-year-old actress, who plays Bette Porter in the lesbian TV drama, is "shocked" by the level of prejudice generated by same-sex weddings. She says, "I'm always shocked that gay marriage is such a big deal. You have to realize how precious human life is, when there are tsunamis and mudslides, when there are armies and terrorists - at any moment, you could be gone, and potentially in the most brutal fashion. And then you have to realize that love is truly one of the most extraordinary things you can experience in your life. To begrudge someone else their love of another person because of gender seems to be absolutely absurd. It's based in fear, fear of the other, fear of what is not like you. But when you are able to see lives on a day-to-day basis, rather than reducing it to politics, then it humanizes a whole community of people that were otherwise invisible." Yale-educated Beals credits popular culture, such as her TV show, with breaking down homosexual stereotypes as it enables "people see another side of life".

French actress Juliette Binoche has had her 1996 Best Supporting Actress Oscar touched up by the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences after the statuette lost its sheen. The English Patient star became sad when the award started peeling as her young son played with it, but was thrilled when she learned that a perk of winning is the ability to get the little man repaired for free. She says, "When I first brought it home I wanted to share my award, so I let my three-year-old son play with it. After a few days it started peeling until it was all naked and there was no gold left. The Oscar was all grey. It made me a little sad, but I couldn't stop smiling and thinking about how it is an illusion. Though it was kindly replaced by the Academy, it made me realize the real reward is what you keep inside you."

Pop beauty Jessica Simpson is facing a legal battle with fitness company Speedfit, after disagreements over the singer's workout style in an exercise video. The Newlyweds: Nick And Jessica reality TV star signed a multi-million dollar contract with SpeedFit last year to star in a fitness video. After seeking help from trainer Michael Alexander to get into shape for her hotpants-wearing role of Daisy Duke in the film adaptation of The Dukes Of Hazzard, Simpson reportedly wanted Alexander's work-out to be incorporated into the video, reports America's In Touch Weekly magazine. The magazine reports SpeedFit producers told Simpson that Alexander's style didn't fit their idea of fitness and are now considering a lawsuit. Simpson's business manager says, "We've been trying to make this work. We thought Mike would increase the marketability of the exercise program."

Christopher Reeve's widow Dana declined the offer of an autopsy on her husband after he died last October, because she was convinced doctors had done everything they could to keep him alive. The actress will never know the full details of how her paralyzed husband died because she didn't think to put his body through more tests after he passed away from a heart attack. She reveals, "I knew that there was no reason. He had the best nurses, our doctor had been with him since the beginning. He had the best care. They always got him through. If his body was failing, his body was failing."

Rap-rocker Kid Rock was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee yesterday morning on assault charges. The hitmaker, 34, was charged with simple assault - a misdemeanor - after allegedly punching DJ Jay Campos in Christie's Cabaret stripclub in the early hours of this morning. Nashville Night Court Commissioner Howard Taradash set bond at $3,000 for the star, who remains in custody until bail is posted. Local police Sergeant James Smith says, "Inside the establishment there was a squabble concerning, I guess, the selection of music. Again there are no major injuries but an assault did take place."