TV veteran Barbara Walters feels "betrayed" by her The View co-host Star Jones Reynolds following her shock on-air announcement of her departure from the talk show. Walters, 74, was stunned when Jones Reynolds, 44, told viewers and her fellow presenters she would be leaving the ABC program after nine years yesterday morning, because the announcement was planned for Thursday. Speaking to camera, Jones Reynolds said, "Something's been on my heart for a little bit, and after much prayer and counsel I feel like this is the right time to tell you that the show is moving in another direction for its tenth season and I will not be returning as co-host next year." And in this week's issue of People magazine, Jones Reynolds says, "What you don't know is that my contract was not renewed for the tenth season. I feel like I was fired." Walters, who created and produces the show, says, "I love Star and I was trying to do everything I possibly could - up until this morning when I was betrayed - to protect her. I would have loved for Star to have left and not said 'I was fired, ' and not make it look like the program was somehow being cruel to her." Walters admits ABC network bosses declined to renew Jones Reynolds' contract after research showed audiences were turned off by the former lawyer's dramatic weight loss and her 2004 marriage to Al Reynolds, where she plugged companies on air in exchange for freebies for her wedding. Walters adds, "We tried to talk them out of it and we tried to give Star time to redeem herself in the eyes of the audience, and the research just kept getting worse."

Newlyweds Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban landed in Tahiti on Monday to begin their honeymoon, according to media reports in Australia. The couple's private Gulfstream jet touched down in French Polynesia and they were quickly whisked off in a chartered plane for a 45 minute journey to nearby Bora Bora. According to Sydney's Daily Telegraph, the newlyweds are staying in the luxury $15,000-a-night US Royal Estate at the new St. Regis resort. Urban was seen escorting his new bride down the steps of the jet in Papeete, Tahiti after waiting on the plane while local customs officials picked up and then re-delivered their passports. At the tiny Bora Bora air strip they were then met by a crew of staff from the resort, who helped them avoid a team of local press and then escorted the couple on a short boat ride to the resort. An airport official says, "Resort staff were all around them when they came through here." Kidman and Urban are among the first guests of the Royal Estate over-water bungalow in the resort, which just opened a few weeks ago. The massive over-water villa boasts a 24-hour butler service, an in-room Jacuzzi and a room with a private swimming pool. The newlyweds aren't completely alone on their honeymoon - Kidman also brought along her personal security guard Sonja Zollman.

Lindsay Lohan is fuming at reports she ditched her best friend for failing to keep up with her hectic party lifestyle. The 19-year-old actress reportedly flew her fashion stylist pal Nate Newell from Los Angeles to New York to accompany her on promotional events for new movie A Prairie Home Companion. However, the friendship allegedly turned sour when Newell returned home after just three days, citing fatigue. A source tells gossip site PageSix.com, "Nate couldn't take her constant partying. He didn't have the money to fly home, so concerned friends chipped in to buy him an immediate ticket out of there." An angry Lohan reportedly texted other pals proclaiming, "(Newell) is dead to me," and demanding accommodation expenses be paid back. But the star's publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnik insists the story is grossly exaggerated, explaining, "Nate came to accompany her to New York on her press tour. He had a great time. He had to get back to Los Angeles for work. He had a video shoot. But they are fine. There was no drama whatsoever."

New dad Brad Pitt has hit back at critics who insist the first photos of daughter Shiloh Nouvel were sold at extortionate prices, insisting the money will aid good causes. Pitt and Angelina Jolie welcomed their new baby in Namibia last month and sold exclusive pictures of the child to People magazine for a reported $4 million. But the Troy star insists the extravagant figure is more than justified by the joy it will bring to charity beneficiaries. He tells Newsweek magazine, "Knowing that someone was going to hound us for that first photo - and was going to profit immensely for doing it - I just couldn't live with it. We were able to turn that around and collect millions for people who are really going to need it. It's the first time I've actually felt like we have some degree of control over it (the media attention)."

Oscar winner Meryl Streep insists she didn't base her The Devil Wears Prada character Miranda Priestly on US Vogue editor Anna Wintour, because she hadn't heard of her until the movie was screened. The David Frankel-directed film is based on a novel by Wintour's former assistant Lauren Weisberger and is based on her experiences working for the fashion bible. But Sophie's Choice actress Streep based her performance on a number of 'uberbosses' rather than directly portraying Wintour in the fashion industry parody. She tells the New York Daily News, "I know the book was based on an assistant's view of Anna Wintour, but it didn't interest me to do a documentary on Anna Wintour, and I don't know anything about her. I only met her at the first benefit screening. She was a good sport, but I think she'd been told that I don't resemble her. It was much more fun for me to make the uberboss out of a (combination of people), so that's what I did." Wintour brought her boyfriend Shelby Bryant and daughter Bee Shaffer to watch the movie at New York City's Paris Theatre last month, but she declined to pose on the red carpet with Streep. Her spokesman tells website PageSix.com, "She thought the movie was very funny."

Troubled supermodel Naomi Campbell is facing a legal battle with another former maid, after Gaby Gibson filed a lawsuit in New York on Monday. Gibson, who worked for the British beauty until earlier this year, filed the suit in Manhattan Supreme Court, accusing Campbell of "personal injuries, employment discrimination, civil assault and civil battery." Gibson is seeking "actual, compensatory and punitive" damages relating to the alleged January 17 assault. In April, Gibson told British newspaper The Sun that Campbell had "assaulted me too - and for the same reason as the other girl - over a pair of jeans. She hit me with her hand on the back of the head when I couldn't find her Stella McCartney jeans." Meanwhile, Campbell appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday on assault charges relating to a separate incident in March, in which she allegedly hit servant Ana Scolavino with a phone, leaving the maid requiring stitches to the head. She denies the charges. Six years ago, the model pleaded guilty to hitting former assistant Georgina Galanis with a telephone and was ordered to take anger management classes.

The Sopranos star John Ventimiglia pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in a New York City court on Monday. The 42-year-old actor, who plays chef Artie Bucco in the mob drama, agreed a plea deal with prosecutors and was fined $500 and had his driving license suspended for 90 days in Brooklyn Criminal Court. Ventimiglia was stopped by police in Brooklyn on May 1 and a subsequent test showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent - above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Under the plea deal, charges that Ventimiglia was also in possession of cocaine were dropped. Judge John Burke has ordered the actor to undergo a detoxification program and attend a one-day course on the dangers of driving under the influence, as well as visit a Brooklyn high school to educate students about drink driving. Ventimiglia is due to return to court for a progress hearing on September 25.

Pop superstar Michael Jackson, who has been living in Bahrain since he was acquitted of child molestation charges, is moving to Europe. Jackson has fired his business managers and has hired a New York City-based firm to oversee his business affairs. Raymone K. Bain released a statement on Tuesday, announcing she has been named general manager of the new Michael Jackson Company, which will replace Jackson's MJJ Productions. She said Jackson is planning public appearances and will begin performing again. Bain said in the statement, "He is reviewing numerous offers to tour musically, which he plans to embark upon within the next several months. Mr. Jackson has previously announced plans to record an album, which he predicts will be released in 2007." Bain says Jackson has severed times with his Bahraini lawyers, longtime accountants and business managers and has hired a firm "known for restructurings and turnarounds." The revamping is "the first of a sweeping restructuring of his personal and business affairs" and Bain says "he is continuing to build his management team and other appointments will be forthcoming." Jackson is currently in Ireland on "personal business" and proceeding with plans to relocate.

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose was released from a Swedish jail on Tuesday, after being arrested for allegedly biting a security guard on the leg. Rose was held on suspicion of attacking and threatening the guard, as well as causing damage to the Berns Hotel in Stockholm where the alleged scuffle took place, according to police spokeswoman Towe Hagg. After agreeing to pay a fine of 40,000 kronor ($5,500), he was released from jail around 7pm. He was also ordered to pay 10,000 kronor ($1,360) in damages to the security guard. No criminal files were filed against Rose, who is set to perform in Oslo, Norway, tonight. According to Hagg, the singer was intoxicated at the time of the 8am confrontation and "was deemed too intoxicated to be questioned right away." It is not known what exactly started the altercation, but Swedish tabloid newspapers claim the security guard attempted to step in when the 44-year-old rocker began arguing with a woman in the hotel lobby. One of the officers who arrested Rose, Fredrik Nylen, was quoted on the Aftonbladet news website as saying that the rocker had behaved aggressively toward police and had to be "handcuffed and restrained" in the hotel. The band played a concert in Stockholm Globe Arena on Monday night, and Rose had been partying at a popular nightclub before the Tuesday morning incident, according to the Swedish news report.

Sharon Stone has reportedly adopted her third child - a brother to her two other adopted kids. The Basic Instinct star is already a proud mother to Roan and Laird but allegedly extended her family earlier this month to include newborn Quinn. A pal tells website PageSix.com, "He's absolutely adorable and the apple of his mommy's eye. Sharon is tickled blue." Stone's publicist, Cindi Berger, has yet to confirm the reports.