Katie Holmes dropped out of attending a New York City fashion gala at the last minute on Monday night because she didn't want to be the focus of attention following the revelation she is dating Tom Cruise. The Wonder Boys beauty was due to sit at designer Carolina Herrera's table at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala, but wanted some time out of the limelight after being overwhelmed by the level of recent attention. Cruise's sister and publicist Lee Anne Devette confirmed the rumors of a romance were true after the couple were spotted together in Italy last week. Holmes' spokesperson tells the New York Daily News, "Katie loves Mrs. Herrera. But after returning from abroad, she was extremely overwhelmed with what is happening in her life right now." Organizers were relieved the 26-year-old stayed away because Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman was acting as co-chairwoman of the Chanel exhibit.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been caught enjoying a second romantic African getaway in as many weeks after checking into a Moroccan hotel last weekend. The couple were snapped together with the actress' adopted son Maddox on a beach in Kenya on 19 April, and now they've been spotted at Morocco's Amanjena Hotel, where they spent 24 hours alone in their room, according to US tabloid National Enquirer. Airport worker Muhammad Dhabi, who saw the couple arrive by private jet at an airfield near Marrakech, tells the tabloid, "They got off the plane separately as though they were ashamed. You could see they are a couple in love." The couple reportedly disembarked from the jet separately, just in case photographers were waiting for them at the military base, where they landed. Hours later, the couple had checked into the Amanjena Hotel in Ouarzazate, where Pitt is shooting new movie Babel with Cate Blanchett.

Furious American Idol judge Paula Abdul has hit back at claims she romanced a former contestant on the show by claiming the disgruntled wannabe singer illegally taped a phone interview with her and then doctored what she said. Corey Clark, who was dismissed from the second series of the show when details of his lawbreaking past was revealed, went public with claims of favoritism and his Abdul romance on US news show Primetime Live last night. And the 1980s pop icon is hitting back with claims Clark tricked her into saying certain buzz words and then editing a taped conversation that made it look as if Abdul was courting him. A source tells US news show Celebrity Justice, "The tape was edited out of context to make Paula look bad." Another insider tells the show that Clark allegedly told Abdul on the phone, "American Idol f**ked me," and "I have nothing to lose". The same source tells the show that a producer from an entertainment show overheard this conversation and that at one point a clicking sound could be heard. Paula then asked Corey, "Are you taping me?"

Jennifer Lopez faced another round of attacks over her penchant for wearing fur, when she made an appearance on comedian David Letterman's chat show on Tuesday night. Activists at People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) have relentlessly pressed on with a campaign against Lopez, targeting her at various locations across America for her use of fur in her new Sweetface clothing line. And a man and woman from Peta lunged past the barricades with their signs and shields towards J.Lo as she arrived at Letterman's New York City studio with her husband Marc Anthony. Policemen caught the protestors before they were able to get near Lopez, who smiled and walked straight into the venue. Ironically, rapper Snoop Dogg, who was the night's musical guest on the show, arrived and left before Lopez wearing a gigantic, fluffy fur coat - but his choice of fashion went unnoticed as he waved to fans.

Nicolette Sheridan is the latest Desperate Housewives star to vehemently deny reports of tension between the show's female leading ladies. The TV actresses - Sheridan, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman - have been plagued by claims their time on-set is being hindered by constant squabbling and walk-outs. And Sheridan is adamant if the female stars were men, they wouldn't be subjected to such harsh media treatment. She says, "It's so funny, all this talk about what goes on between the women in the cast. If we were five men, there wouldn't be this discussion. We all get along fine. Of course, I can only speak for myself, but as far as I'm concerned, I have great respect and admiration for my co-stars, I thoroughly enjoy working with them and the only complaint I have is that I wish I had more time on set."

Mary-Kate Olsen was so desperate for a cigarette, she broke New York City's smoking ban by lighting up in the ladies' toilet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala on Monday night. After enjoying dinner, the teen TV star preferred to spend her time chain smoking in the toilet rather than socializing with other guests including Nicole Kidman, Liam Neeson and Kevin Costner - much to the disgust of women needing to relieve themselves, according to the New York Daily News. A witness says, "Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen get up in the middle of dinner and walk in, and Mary-Kate is saying she wants a cigarette. She then proceeds to chain smoke in the bathroom of the Metropolitan Museum! Amanda Peet walked in while Mary-Kate was smoking and was clearly repulsed." A spokesperson for the museum was shocked to hear about guests smoking in the prestigious institution: "We don't allow smoking. It's unfortunate that we didn't spot it. There was no security in the bathrooms. I think that's something the museum will have to consider next year."

British actor Daniel Craig has added more questions to the James Bond mystery by confirming he has been approached to play 007 in an internet interview. Craig's name has been linked to the superspy for months, but the latest reports suggest Pierce Brosnan will return as Bond for upcoming movie Casino Royale. But Craig tells website Ignfilmforce.Com that the rumors of him being approached to play 007 are true. The Tomb Raider star says, "It was a surreal time to have the studio phoning you up saying you've got the job and then the Broccolis (Bond producers) saying nothing... I just let it go. I'm a big believer that if they want you, you don't want to fight; you want to all be on the same page from the very beginning. I think I would have probably been a bit too radical for it (the role). I don't know what the deal is. There's a lot of rumors floating around. It's not a bad position to be in. If even half of them or a third of them are true, it's not a bad position to be in. I got a text message on my phone saying, 'Congratulations...' That was news to me. (I gather) there's been a move in a lot of people's direction. Possibly it's a way of trying to raise debate. They throw out some names and then people start discussing it and then they can make a decision."

Flashdance star Jennifer Beals has announced she's pregnant with her first child. A representative for the actress has confirmed to People magazine that the 41-year-old actress is expecting her first child in November. The father is her husband of seven years, Canadian entrepreneur Ken Dixon, who has two children from a previous marriage. The pregnancy is something of a role reversal for Beals: On her TV show The L Word, the actress portrays a lesbian whose partner, played by Laurel Holloman, is pregnant.

Goldie Hawn stirred up a controversy on American TV this morning when she argued with sex expert Sue Johanson about unfaithful men. The actress told the hosts of TV magazine show The View that she understood why men cheated - because it was "biologically correct in the species." Hawn explained, "I think that a lot of people cheat, they don't tell that they're cheating. I think that there's a great promise to believe you can be with one person only for the rest of your life." Goldie revealed she never asks about her partner of 22 years, Kurt Russell's infidelities. She added, "It's just the way I try and keep myself feeling happy because otherwise we're going to be feeling miserable all the time because women's relationships with other men, and the way they get turned on, is quite different. It's much more personal, it's more sensitive. Frankly, how would you like it, as women, to have testosterone running through your body every day; walking out and having to deal with this every day when they don't have control." And, after the outraged hosts of the all-woman show lashed out at their guest for her comments, sex expert Johanson was called in to comment on the free-spirited star's notion that men can't help but cheat.

A $9 million palimony lawsuit filed against US comedian Bill Maher has been dismissed. Maher's ex-girlfriend Nancy 'Coco' Johnsen, a former model and flight attendant, claimed the comic reneged on a promise to marry her and support her for life. But a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles has thrown out the suit, which alleged Maher had assaulted her. Maher filed a request to dismiss the suit late last year, claiming he was a "confirmed bachelor" and never promised to marry or support Johnsen. California law does not acknowledge Johnsen's palimony allegations, his attorney argued.