(GettyImages.com)

Before Michael Jackson‘s scheduled “This Is It” concerts, the King of Pop had 22 custom-designed pieces of furniture made for the Kent, England home, where he intended to stay. Now the furniture is up for auction.

Among the regal pieces made for the King of Pop were a leopard-print chair with ostrich feather trim (approximately $18,500), two velvet armchairs embroidered with doubled-headed gold eagles (approximately $60,000), a gilded red velvet sofa that seats nine (approximately $150,000), and a gilded wood writing desk with mother of pearl inlay (approximately $120,000).

The Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas will have the furniture on display from June 14 – 25 before the pieces are sold on June 25.

Part of the proceeds from the auction will benefit MusiCares, which provides healthcare for struggling musicians, and Joshua’s Heart, which combats world hunger.

Follow @GossipCop on Twitter for accurate celebrity news!

Visit GossipCop.com for updates!

(GettyImages.com)

Dr. Conrad Murray, the late Michael Jackson‘s physician, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the pop icon’s death.

He’ll be arraigned at 1:30PM Pacific time.

He’s expected to plead “not guilty.”

A conviction carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

Jackson died of cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009, under the controversial Murray’s care.

A just-released copy of the L.A. County Coroner’s report concludes that Propofol killed the entertainer. The “manner of death” is “homicide.”

Sealed until today, the report will be part of Dr. Murray’s prosecution.

UPDATE – 6:00PM –

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s website, Dr. Conrad Murray has been booked (officially), with bail set at $75,000.

Reportedly, a bail bondsman will put up the sum so Murray can be released.

This afternoon he pled not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges.

The medical board has filed a motion to strip Murray of his medical license.

Sitting behind prosecutors in the courtroom were family members including Joe Jackson, Katherine Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, LaToya Jackson, and Randy Jackson.

Follow @GossipCop on Twitter for updates…

Creditors claim

TMZ is reporting that the total includes a $5 million claim from a memorabilia collector and a $1 million claim involving the music video for Jackson’s hit “Thriller.”

Close Jackson confidante and advisor Dr. Tohme Tohme is said to have placed a large claim, as have several law firms.

According to the site, some of the claims “are patently bogus” and will not be paid by the estate’s lawyers unless a judge orders otherwise. Even so, the late King of Pop’s finances may not be resolved for a very long time.

Follow @GossipCop on Twitter, and visit GossipCop.com for updates.

(GettyImages.com)

In an interview airing tonight on ABC, Janet Jackson says her late brother’s drug problems led the family to intervene, and that Michael Jackson was “possibly” in denial about his addiction.

Jackson tells Robin Roberts that she and her family were not naive about the King of Pop‘s drug use and unsuccessfully reached out to him in his final years. “You can’t make ‘em drink the water,” she says of attempts to break Michael’s habits. Asked whether her brother was in denial, she says, “I wish he could answer this question for you and not me. I felt that he was in denial.”

Jackson also discusses Dr. Conrad Murray (her brother’s controversial physician) and the hit documentary “This Is It” in the interview.

Follow @GossipCop on Twitter for the latest in accurate celebrity reporting.

(PerezHilton.com)

“Wowsa,” writes Perez Hilton today in a piece about the box office returns of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It,” and “wowsa” is exactly what we were thinking when we read his story.

Hilton, who is so afraid of Gossip Cop that he’s blocked us on Twitter, begins today’s post with “The world cannot get enough of Michael!” and notes that the “highest-grossing concert movie of all-time” has taken in $200 million.

Huh?

Isn’t this the same Perez Hilton who Gossip Cop called out two weeks ago for repeatedly claiming the movie was a flop? The first Perez post we corrected was a story he titled, “This Is It Is Falling Fast.” And we were equally fast to point out how wrong he was.

Then, two days later, Perez had a piece he called, “This Is It Was A Disappoint,” in which he boldly declared, “After being hyped to the extreme, the Michael Jackson documentary This I It is selling pretty short.” He further stepped in it and dragged it across the room when he nonsensically added, “Seems like Sony was way off the mark when calculating the public interest.”

No, only Perez “Cop Blocker” Hilton was “way off the mark.” (And we corrected him that time, too.)

Gossip Cop said right from the beginning that the movie was a hit, and urged everyone back then (and still today) to see the film because, regardless of what you think of Jackson as a person, as a performer you see “This Is It” – and so much more.

For the latest in accurate celebrity reporting, follow @GossipCop on Twitter, and check GossipCop.com for updates!

(PerezHilton.com)

The self-professed “Queen of All Media” thinks the King of Pop has lost his throne.

Perez Hilton‘s bizarre insistence that Michael Jackson‘s concert rehearsal film “This Is It” is a box office failure continues today, even as evidence mounts to the contrary.

Last week Perez reported in the same breath that the favorably reviewed doc’s $7.4 million domestic take on Wednesday, “while impressive for any other release,” was somehow “disappointing” given Sony’s high expectations.

Not satisfied, the next day Perez trumpeted a decline in sales on Thursday and said, “Looks like Paranormal Activity may just be #1 again this week!”

Well, not only was he wrong and “This Is It” is #1 at the box office, it also raked in more than $101 million worldwide in the first five days of its release. Sony is extending its run. An industry analyst said Sony “bet $60 million on this and got $101 million in just five days. It was a gamble and a bet that paid off.”

Perez’s prediction, meanwhile, fell flat. But rather than admit he was wrong or quietly leave the news alone, “Scoop” today branded “This Is It” a “disappointment” (again) and proclaims Sony “way off the mark when calculating the public interest.”

If it’s such a failure, then why is it #1 and its run being extended?

(GettyImages.com)

Michael Jackson‘s ex-wife Deborah Rowe is seeking $490,000 from a Florida woman named Rebecca White. Rowe sued White in July for allegedly defaming her in an interview with Extra, having claimed that the mother of Jackson’s two oldest children, Prince and Paris, didn’t want custody of the King of Pop’s kids, and instead was just interested in money from the Jackson family.

White never responded to the suit, and so Rowe is now seeking a default judgment.

But how did Rowe get to that nearly $500,000 figure? Rowe’s lawyers estimated that White was paid $100,000 for the interview; that Rowe spent $45,000 for medical and legal fees, and should be awarded $100,000 for emotional distress, and $245,000 in punitive damages.

A hearing for Rowe’s petition for a default judgment is slated for November.

Under an agreement Rowe made with the late singer’s mom, Katherine Jackson, Rowe has some visitation rights with the kids, and reportedly no money was exchanged as part of the deal.

Remember to follow us on Twitter – @GossipCop for the latest in accurate celebrity news reporting!

(GettyImages.com)

The new US Weekly‘s “Hot Stuff” column looks like it’s serving cold dish.

A supposed “source” told the mag a new A&E reality series featuring the Jackson family “will include Michael’s kids – Prince, 12, Paris, 11, and Blanket, 7.” The late King of Pop’s eldest sister Rebbie expressed disgust, saying “Michael would spin in his grave if he knew his kids would be on this show.”

Well, Michael won’t be spinning. Because it’s nothing more than a rumor.

After A&E issued a statement acknowledging that “it is entirely possible that [Michael's] brothers’ will intersect with other members of the Jackson family,” US Weekly stood by its report.

But a source involved in the production confirms to Gossip Cop that while the brothers may “intersect” with Michael’s children, there are no plans to include them in the series. It should also be noted that to be put on the air, participants need to sign a release. The children’s grandmother, Katherine Jackson, acts as their children’s legal guardian, and a source in the Jackson camp tells Gossip Cop there’s no chance she’d sign off on their participation.

(GettyImages.com)

(GettyImages.com)

You’d think a paper named The Sun would illuminate the truth more often.

The tab now claims Janet Jackson plans to wear black for a year to mourn the death of her brother, Michael Jackson. A “source” tells the paper that “as a mark of respect she has decided to only wear black clothes to express her grief, and she has had to go on a number of shopping trips to find suitable items to wear.” The custom will conclude on the anniversary of Michael’s death next June, when Janet’s “time of reflection will come to an end.” The Sun goes on to suggest that Jackson’s decision to perform in black earlier this month at MTV’s Video Music Awards was evidence of this “new wardrobe.”

Really? That’s strange. Because a little more than a week ago, Jackson was in white and beige at a Ralph Lauren event during Fashion Week in New York City. And just last night she wore a blue dress to amfAR’s Inaugural Milan Fashion Week event.

In fact, it’s difficult to find her in black at all recently when she’s not performing.

A source close to Janet told Gossip Cop that the Sun story was a big old yarn. Sure seems that way to us.

Case clothed.

(GettyImages.com)

(GettyImages.com)

The British OK! story, “Madonna to Duet With Janet,” attracted a lot of attention, and a slew of other media outlets picked up on it.

“Madonna will perform a duet with Janet Jackson as a tribute to Michael Jackson,” began the report, adding, “The two singers are working on a tribute to Janet’s late brother after bonding over dinner after Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards.” The mag even had a source who said, “Madonna was so impressed with Janet’s tribute to Michael that they started talking about how great it would be to honour him by doing something together.”

How about we honor Michael Jackson’s memory by no longer publishing phony stories about him? Madonna’s rep told Gossip Cop point blank: “They did not meet at or after [the] VMAs.”

Side note: “Scoop” Hilton, who “reported” the story as well, added, “Maybe they should give Janet’s brother Jermaine Jackson a call. We hear he needs killer acts for Vienna.”

Cute . . . except this somehow “celebrity expert” seems to have missed the hundreds of thousands of stories about how the tribute concert has been moved to London. Including the one on his own site.

Oops.

(GettyImages.com)

A Michael Jackson story in the Mirror reflects only half the truth.

Yes, a new Jackson single is going to be released. The song, recorded while the late King of Pop was rehearsing for his “This Is It” performances, was to debut during the concerts. And now a source, who worked with Jackson on the shows, tells Gossip Cop that the single is also titled, “This Is It” (as is the documentary that will be screened for a limited time).

What the Mirror went overboard with was a line about how producers in L.A. are so “worried about it getting out – they’ve hired huge bodyguards to stand by the studio door,” where it’s being put together. That’s not true.

Gossip Cop is told that regardless of the stories about the song, the single is truthfully a good tune.

(GettyImages.com)

In a move far less surprising than the ones Michael Jackson did onstage, now comes word that the Jackson tribute concert, slated to take place on September 26 in Vienna, is being pushed back to June – and to London.

The reason?

Simple. The event organizers couldn’t pull it together and their supposed lineup of stars, including Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole, and Chris Brown – who has some community service ahead of him – had scheduling issues.

Those who bought tickets will be refunded, and tickets for the London concert, which start at approximately $75, go on sale on December 1.

Before buying tickets and airfare, Gossip Cop is going to wait to see if the proposed new concert will be a thriller or whether this too will go bad.

(GettyImages.com)

An enormous tribute concert for the late Michael Jackson will happen in Vienna later this month, Jermaine Jackson and other organizers announced, and the lineup of performers includes Mary J. Blige, Sister Sledge, Natalie Cole, and troubled star Chris Brown.

So far thirteen artists are confirmed, but event promoter Georg Kindel said that up to 25 performers are expected to be part of the show, which will take place outside the 17th-century Schoenbrunn Palace because, according to Jermaine Jackson, Michael “loved castles.” Organizers refused to say whether other rumored performers – including Madonna, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder – would participate in the September 26th event.

One entertainer definitely on board according to organizers is Brown, whose style has been compared frequently to Jackson’s, but whose personal life has been in turmoil since his conviction for assaulting girlfriend Rihanna. Brown and his fellow artists are expected to perform Jackson’s hit songs and celebrate the King of Pop’s legacy as a humanitarian.

Gossip Cop expects there to be a lot of speculation about possible performers as the concert nears. We will monitor the process and do our best to separate fact from fiction.

(GettyImages.com)

On this long Labor Day Weekend, Gossip Cop looks back, in a two-part series, at the Week in Review:

Part 1

Two months after passing away, Michael Jackson was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Jackson’s three children – Prince Michael, Paris, and Blanket – placed a crown atop his casket, and his five brothers carried it to the marble mausoleum where he was buried. In addition to Gladys Knight performing the hymn “Our Father” (The Lord’s Prayer), a number of famous friends paid their respective to the King of Pop in a private service. Among those attending were longtime friend Elizabeth Taylor, Jackon’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, Chris Tucker, Barry Bonds, Quincy Jones, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Mila Kunis, and Macaulay Culkin.

On the subject of Culkin and Jackson, The Sun claimed Jackson’s legacy would live on, thanks to the “Home Alone” star who the tab fingered as the sperm donor for Blanket. Gossip Cop busted that rumor, and the other high-flying donor report that a Jackson sperm sample, given a year ago to an L.A. clinic, was being jetted to England for safety. The alleged fear was that “sinister” forces would get their hands on his semen and use it to create another heir. The story, of course, was full of hot heir.

There were plenty of “Twilight” tales this week as well. In addition to old quotes from Kristen Stewart being resurrected to appear as new, there was also the rumor that Argentinian actress Luisana Lopilato would star as the vampire Tanya in “Eclipse.” Not only did the filmmakers have no idea who Lopilato is when we contacted them, but the character of Tanya isn’t even in “Eclipse.” Similarly, there was casting confusion when it came to Robert Pattinson. Reports had him set to star in “Vauxhall Crossed,” a film being directed by a stuntman who worked with the handsome British star on two “Harry Potter” films. Gossip Cop was told by Pattinson’s rep that he’s not making that movie.

And the Web went wild when Splash News reported that it had a source who spotted Stewart with her ex-boyfriend Michael Angarano in Vancouver. No pictures, no proof, no truth to that ex-sighting story.

Another person whose picture will be hard to find is Pattinson. A reliable production source told Gossip Cop: “He’s a prisoner of the paparazzi.” “It’s a nightmare,” added the source, explaining that Pattinson almost never leaves the hotel except to go to the set. And when he does, the crew has to go great lengths to find ways to transport him from one location to another undetected.

At the end of the week, we experienced déjà vu when we read quotes in the British magazine Now that had Pattinson saying, “You always think you’re going to get more girls after you’ve made a movie and it never happens.” Sound familiar to you? In August The Mirror quoted Pattinson in an “exclusive” interview bemoaning, “You always think you’re going to get more girls after you’ve made a movie and it never happens.” The first time we saw those quotes, his rep told Gossip Cop exclusively, that The Mirror interview was wholly fabricated. Gossip Cop has asked Now to pull its (repeated) phony interview – now!

The latest in Lindsay Lohan rumors had the “Freaky Friday” star excited about posing for Playboy after being offered $900,000. But as Gossip Cop reported exclusively, she is not considering doing a Playboy spread anytime soon. This week also had the Star publishing a completely made-up story about Lohan and gal pal Samantha Ronson having all the men removed from a nightclub in Sardinia, Italy, where they reportedly partied with females only on August 18. Slight hitch: Gossip Cop spotted Lohan at a screening of “Inglourious Basterds” in New York on August 17, and ran into her at dinner on August 19. She was NOT in Italy, as was ridiculously reported. And by the end of the week, blogs were claiming, “Lindsay Lohan robbed her own house.” In Touch even ran side-by-side photos of the burglar and Lohan, striking a similar pose, and noted, “The identities of the thieves haven’t been determined, but one of them bears an eerie resemblance to Lindsay.” (As eery a resemblance as say, rumor cop?) Anyway, a rep told Gossip Cop that the person pictured in the surveillance video was NOT Lohan.

Jennifer Aniston was the subject of a couple of Gossip Cop corrections this week. A number of outlets reported that Aniston and John Mayer were getting back together based on such irrefutable evidence that Aniston was wearing a Rolex that the musician allegedly gave her when they were dating. Time out: So not true! And the boobs at Grazia magazine wrote that Aniston recently had her breasts done with a gel injection. While a titillating story, that too was fake.

Check out tomorrow’s Part 2 of the Week in Review . . .

(GettyImages.com)

More than two months after he died, Michael Jackson was laid to rest in the presence of family and friends last night at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

While the King of Pop’s public memorial at Staples Center in early July drew an international television audience and tens of thousands of mourning fans, Thursday’s private service was an intimate gathering attended by some of the people who knew him best.

Longtime friend Elizabeth Taylor was among those who waited in sweltering heat as the funeral began nearly ninety minutes late. Actors Macaulay Culkin and Chris Tucker were in attendance, as were Barry Bonds, Mila Kunis, Quincy Jones, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, and Jackson’s ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley.

Jackson’s three children – Prince Michael, 12; Paris, 11; and Blanket, 7 – placed a crown atop his casket, and his five brothers carried it to the marble mausoleum where he was interred. Gladys Knight performed the hymn “Our Father” (The Lord’s Prayer), and the Rev. Al Sharpton gave the eulogy.

Jackson’s father, Joseph, also addressed mourners, and his mother, Katherine, appeared overcome with emotion at several moments.

The pop icon was laid to rest near Hollywood stars such Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Red Skelton, and Carole Lombard.

(GettyImages.com)

Remember yesterday’s crazy rumor identifying “Home Alone” kid Macaulay Culkin as the biological father of Michael Jackson’s son, Blanket?

Well, consider this “Sperm Alone 2: Lost in Baggage Claim.”

The Mirror recently reported that the King of Pop’s family intends to fly to England a sperm sample Jackson supplied to a Los Angeles donor bank last year. The reasoning? There is so much money at stake with the late superstar’s estate, members of Jackson’s inner circle worry that scheming fortune seekers will do anything to get ahold of his DNA to create a new heir.

Jackson supposedly authorized a number of people to have access to the sample, but the family doesn’t know who or how many, and, according to a source, fear that “something sinister could easily happen.” The London clinic where Jackson’s sample would now reside has “extremely strict” security.

Gossip Cop reached out to several people close to the Jackson family, but none could validate the rumor.

Look:  We understand that a mammoth fortune hangs in the balance, that there have always been questions about Jackson’s paternity, and that stranger things have happened during the pop icon’s life and death. There is reason to protect his DNA.

But the man was just laid to rest and (already) has three children whose summer has been dominated by non-stop, completely speculative coverage of their family’s future. Just because “anything is possible,” as the anonymous source tells the Mirror, it doesn’t mean everything is. Gossip Cop will continue to do its best to separate the fact from the fiction.

(GettyImages.com)

The Sun believes it has cracked the case of Blanket Jackson’s unknown sperm donor. According to the British tab, “Macaulay Culkin is the mystery dad of Michael Jackson’s son Blanket.”

There ya go, everyone! It was Jacko play pal Macaulay Culkin! (Now we all know what he was doing “Home Alone.”)

The Sun even managed to find a source - conveniently without a first or last name -to say, ““Jackson idolised him – that’s why he asked Mack to donate sperm . . . Deep down, I think he always wished Mack was his son. Creating Blanket was the next best thing.”

Well, glad that’s solved! Oh, wait. This story is totally made up.

A rep for Culkin told Gossip Cop it was “too preposterous for us to even acknowledge.”

Frankly, Gossip Cop is feeling just a wee bit left out, since at this point we’re pretty much the only ones who have not been identified as Blanket’s possible biological father.

This past week started off with a smattering of poorly reported Perez Hilton pieces. We learned that Perez doesn’t just turn a blind eye to fact checking, apparently he has one, too. He actually compared handsome “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson to the blue creature from “Avatar.”

This week also marked the second anniversary of Perez’s “scoop” that Fidel Castro had died – he was, and continues to be, dead wrong. And we also pointed how Perez got it wrong both when he initially reported that Beyonce was being sued by a reality star, and how George Clooney broke his hand.

And while we’ve grown accustomed to Perez’s inaccuracies, we were a bit surprised by how legitimate news agencies like CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post dropped the ball this week.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman was asked about the possibility of Alec Baldwin running against him for his senate seat. The major media picked up on Lieberman’s “make my day” response, but it took Gossip Cop to alert the other news agencies that Baldwin’s non-serious challenge to Lieberman was, in fact, an old comment the “30 Rock” star made to Playboy, and one in which he also said he had no plans whatsoever to leave New York.

But it wasn’t just CNN. The venerable Chicago Tribune posted a video on its website of a man, bearing a resemblance to Michael Jackson, jumping out of an L.A. Coroner’s van, and posed the question whether the King of Pop was indeed possibly still alive.

And the New York Times, Washington Post and the BBC were among those who were completely misguided when reporting that Bob Dylan might voice GPS directions after the the “Jokerman” singer joked on his radio show that he was approached by auto manufacturers. Who’s laughing now? (Gossip Cop.)

In “Twilight Tales,” a story brewed that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart strolled through Vancouver to go out for coffee together. Gossip Cop filtered the fact out from the fiction. We also broke details about a second hard cover bookazine that Us Weekly is preparing about the Twilight Saga and its stars, slated to hit bookshelves around the time of the release of “New Moon” in November. And we’ve been all over the controversy of whether the Twilight Saga will be told in four or five films.

And once again stories surfaced that Pattinson and Stewart were moving in together. This time the yarn that was spun had Stewart buying a $3 million “love nest” in L.A. for them. Not true.

Miss Information: This week while it was true that Madonna was booed in Romania for speaking her mind about the treatment of that nation’s Gypsies, it was totally false that she’s training for a six-day, 151-mile marathon through the Sahara desert.

Katie Holmes was again the subject of several inaccurate stories. The tabs wrongly reported that she’s happier when she’s away from Tom Cruise, whom they also claimed controls her diet and career choices. There was also a tale that she’s designing “uniforms” for the Church of Scientology – it’s uniformly not true.

And with Lindsay Lohan’s burglarized home came a slew of stories claiming she had “incriminating videos” and more than $2 million in borrowed jewels stolen from her safe. Her rep told Gossip Cop than neither rumor was accurate. Another Lohan story, not based in reality, had her looking to star in a reality series about her own “trials and tribulations” finding work as an actress. Gossip Cop found no truth to that either.

Wrong Romance: The rumor linking Jennifer Aniston to Gerard Butler returned for another round – and it’s still false. Stories that “Phantom of the Opera” star Emmy Rossum is making beautiful music with Counting Crows lead Adam Duritz are also way off key. And the New York Post struck out in a piece about Yankees captain Derek Jeter being engaged to “Friday Night Lights “ star Minka Kelly.

Casting Corrections: Hundreds of outlets reported that Robin Williams, who starred in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” was asked to play “Britain’s Got Talent” standout Susan Boyle. (That’s like mistaking us for rumor cop.) Gossip Cop was the first to dispel that cross-dressing rumor. We also were ahead of the pack to report that Megan Fox is NOT signed to star as Catwoman.  And the story that Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg are doing a musical together also went up in smoke, thanks to Gossip Cop.

Miscellaneous Mistakes: Gossip Cop debunked the rumor that Gwyneth Paltrow told her husband Chris Martin that he should go solo from Coldplay; that Britney Spears is “pining” for paparazzo Adnan Ghalib, against whom there’s a restraining order; that Leonardo DiCaprio was told by the producers of his film “The Inception” to drop 30 pounds; that Hilary Duff refused to leave her trailer on the set of “Gossip Girl;” and that Miley Cyrus was offered more than $1 million to do a Guess jeans ad.

And – pat on our back – the British tabloid The Express had to eat crow after Gossip Cop corrected its fabricated story about Russell Crowe causing a fight in a pub outside of London. It never happened, and after Gossip Cop called them out, the paper issued Crowe a public apology.

(KTLA)

Some shocking video making the rounds purports to show Michael Jackson, alive and well, exiting an L.A. coroner’s van.

The clip was posted to Live Leak by a user named ‘LosAngeles Cot24’ and then picked up by “The Syndicate,” a division of media giant The Tribune Company. It was then sent out to Tribune properties including the highly respected Chicago Tribune and television station KTLA in Los Angeles, which prominently posted the video on their websites.

And while they’ve reported daily for two months on the King of Pop’s passing, these legitimate news organizations are sinking to sensationalism.

Shawn Wasson, who works for The Tribune, explained, “I scour for the best video of the day,” and has seen other “life after death” videos of Jackson, but thought that this one was worthy of posting because he felt “it’s a conversation starter.”

Let’s end this conversation. Michael Jackson is dead. The Tribune and KTLA both KNOW that, and it’s wrong for credible media outlets to stir the pot.

(GettyImages.com)

Will Janet Jackson be the first of the clan to dish about Michael Jackson?

According to In Touch, “Janet Jackson is penning an explosive tell-all about her life and her family, including her late brother, Michael.” The weekly has a source saying “She is going to talk about Michael’s death and how it’s affected her and his children and the rest of the family,” but added that a good deal of the book “will focus on her battle with self-esteem and weight.”

Jackson’s rep wouldn’t comment other than to say that In Touch “isn’t a reliable news source.”

Gossip Cop puts little weight into her explosively dishing about her brother and more into her past problems with the pounds.

(Summit)

It was a great week for Gossip Cop.

We were the first to confirm that Celine Dion was pregnant with her second child at the age of 41.

We then broke the world exclusive of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony hosting an intimate dinner for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at their New York home.

Next we were also the first to dispel the rumor that Paris Hilton and Doug Reinhardt were engaged after talking with Paris’ mom.

And that scoop was followed up with our exposing how the Mirror did not have an interview with Robert Pattinson, as the paper had claimed. Pattinson’s rep even gave Gossip Cop an exclusive comment about it.

On the subject of Pattinson, the “Twilight” star was the focus of a few stories. First, we had footage showing how the paparazzi staked out Pattinson and Kristen Stewart with long lenses when they returned to their Vancouver hotel after going to a Kings of Leon concert. There was also a false report that the two were moving in together. And there was a ridiculous rumor that Stewart fought with Pattinson because she thought Megan Fox was making the moves on him.

Perez Hilton kept us busy this week (as he always does). He reported that Michael Jackson had been buried. Of course, the King of Pop has yet to be buried. Oops. He also had Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz on the “brink of divorce” – again wrong. He even rehashed the incorrect rumor that Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler are hiding a secret on-set romance. And Perez’s fertile imagination took over when he speculated wrongly that Anna Paquin is pregnant, which she is not.

Also this week: Numerous outlets reported that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens were engaged until Gossip Cop corrected it. And in more Hudgens news, we set the record straight that she is NOT joining the cast of “Twilight.”

In “Idol” gossip, the New York Post claimed that Jessica Simpson was trying to take Paula Abdul’s spot – wrong — but we did report that Joe Jonas was tapped to be a guest judge.

Some stories from the sets of movies included a mysterious item that Brad Pitt was going to do some additional scenes for the “Sherlock Holmes” movie, which has already finished filming, because the studio thought the film was lacking. The only thing lacking were facts – Pitt is not doing “Sherlock Holmes.” In a related note, it was reported that “Sherlock Holmes” star Robert Downey, Jr. was going to take over the role of Lestat in the next “Interview With The Vampire” movie. We took a bite out of that rumor, too.  And there were tales of tension between Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson on the set of “Iron Man 2,” but Gossip Cop investigated, and found there was no truth to it.

Speaking of Johansson, there was also a story that Alanis Morissette was writing a tell-all memoir. In it allegedly is a chapter about her times with ex-boyfriend Ryan Reynolds, which the National Enquirer claimed was going to upset his wife Johansson. There is no such chapter, and instead the book will feature Morissette’s photos from the road and some recipes.

It was also a week for wildly crazy rumors. Among them was the story about Eminem dying in a car crash while talking on his cell phone.  And then there was that off key story about Mel Gibson doing a duet on his girlfriend’s new album.  Equally wrong were articles about Cameron Diaz dating Keanu Reeves and Hugh Grant asking a first-time director for a role – and getting turned down.

Like any good rumor cop, we showed you a fun video of Ashton Kutcher colliding with a paparazzo, and a couple of Hollywood stars gave Gossip Cop props this week! And after we ran into Lindsay Lohan she gave us a shout-out on Twitter. And Kristen Bell was nice enough to Tweet about Gossip Cop after we corrected an alarmingly wrong Star magazine story about her being awoken by her neighbors who heard her smoke detector after she allegedly fell asleep while cooking eggs. Total eggs-ageration!

Gossip Cop is looking forward to another week of busting bad dish!

(GettyImages.com)

According to the National Enquirer, Alanis Morissette is penning a “tell-all,” and Scarlett Johansson is spittin’ mad about it because the singer “is blowing the lid off her former relationship with Scarlett’s new hubby, actor Ryan Reynolds,” whom Morissette dated for a couple of years.

The supermarket tab has someone they’ve called an “insider” saying, “Ryan was an important part of Alanis’ life, and she plans to dedicate an entire chapter to her relationship with him, how devastated she was by their breakup, and how she felt when he married.”

So why has Morissette decided to do this now?

The so-called source explains, “Alanis was inspired to write her life story by the sudden death of Michael Jackson . . . She sees how much conflicting information there is about Michael, and she doesn’t want that to happen to her.”

[Laughter break]

“She wants to lay her life out for everyone to see – even if it angers Scarlett,” continues the source.

OK, Gossip Cop can tell you that there is a kernel of truth here. Morissette is writing a book.

However, Morissette discussed penning a book several months before Jackson’s death. And there will NOT be a chapter about Reynolds. Instead, her rep says the memoir-like book will be a “collection of photos, lessons learned on the road, recipes… “

Yeah, that should totally tick off Johansson.

(GettyImages.com)

There’s good reason if you were surprised by reports a couple of days ago, coming from family members, that “Michael Jackson has not been buried” – and that he remains frozen above ground at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Ice cold blogger Perez Hilton and others who don’t fact-check had widely reported (wrongly) that Jackson had already been buried.

In fact, Hilton somehow magically had a “cemetery source” who told him that “the Jackson family and Forest Lawn management are the only people who know the location of the grave. Even the staff of the mortuary do not know the whereabouts of his burial.” (Maybe because there was NO burial.)

As of now, no final resting place has been publicly disclosed.

(courtesy of WireImage.com)

Just before Michael Jackson passed away, famed photographer Kevin Mazur took the last shot of the King of Pop performing. But two months later, in addition to all the questions about how Jackson died, there’s still controversy over whether or not this last photo was doctored.

There has been speculation that this photograph was altered because a dark space appears between Jackson’s legs where part of the “s” from the word “is” should be. Some detractors have questioned whether Mazur simply dropped in a performance shot of Jackson in front of the show’s set.

So, is it photoshopped or not?

Gossip Cop has the answer. Mazur, who, for full disclosure, is involved with GossipCop.com, responds to critics by saying that the video screen behind Jackson, where “This Is It” was projected (see above), “had three panels that weren’t working.” Mazur says he tried his best not to capture the malfunctioning panels, and “moved so Michael was positioned in front of those [non-working] screens.”

We hope the photo controversy is now also laid to rest.

Mazur, who had photographed Jackson on several occasions, says, “At rehearsal he was amazing. I had look forward to photographing him at the O2 shows.”

(GettyImages.com)

David Copperfield once made the Statue of Liberty disappear, but the master illusionist can’t do anything to make a series of bogus reports go poof.

On April 1 – April Fool’s Day no less – a story in The Sun announced that Copperfield would work with Michael Jackson on magic to be incorporated into the King of Pop’s London shows. A month later, another article in the same paper delivered the news that Jackson had decided NOT to use Copperfield because he was reportedly too expensive.

It turns out that Copperfield, a long-time friend of the performer, actually hadn’t spoken to Jackson for more than two years before his passing. Nor had anyone from Jackson’s camp ever discussed with Copperfield the idea of collaborating. So these stories, picked up everywhere, were just like Copperfield’s levitating – pure illusion.

And even though Jackson is gone, these fabrications are alive and well on Wikipedia and elsewhere. Copperfield told Gossip Cop, “It’s amazing to me how stories that are totally false and have no basis in fact are reported and printed as truth, and then take on a life of their own.”

Gossip Cop hopes that these fake stories will finally disappear.

Huh?

On page 36 of In Touch, the tab writes that a new book, “Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson,” claims that “Michael was actually gay and used his relationships with Lisa Marie Presley and others to hide his true sexual orientation.”

The article even quotes the book’s allegation that Jackson picked up a male construction worker in Las Vegas, and that when they would rendezvous, “Michael would dress up as a woman.”

Incredibly, Jackson is no longer gay, however, by page 41. According to In Touch‘s source in a story about the custody of Jackson’s kids, “Grace Rwaramba, who raised the children since 1999, was actually Michael’s girlfriend.”

Poor In Touch – can’t even keep its own facts straight.

(Daily Mail)

Wasn’t it beyond heart wrenching to watch Michael Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter sob in front of the thousands assembled at the Staples Center (and millions more watching worldwide)? With her aunts and uncles surrounding her, Paris Jackson told fellow mourners that the King of Pop had been “the best father you could ever imagine, and I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

Apparently it was not tragic enough for the editors of The Daily Mail.

Staffers at the British tabloid doctored photos – one of Jackson’s daughter in tears on stage, and another of her father’s rose-covered coffin several feet below – so that it appeared that the little girl had broken down inches away from her deceased dad.

Gossip Cop finds this type of fake journalism nothing short of criminal.

Emotional Paris Jackson

Share yours thoughts below.

(File Photo)

How accurate can something be in a blog that has the word “rag” in its name? In a post on LARagMag.com titled, “Was Foul Play Involved in Michael Jackson’s Death?” the blog casually notes that “All of Michael’s 500 Million dollars of debt has been forgiven with the passing.” Really?! That’s news to Gossip Cop, and even more so to Jackson’s possible creditors.

Newsflash: Dying doesn’t erase debt. (Although it does get you out of jury duty.) Estates have to settle with those who are owed money. And in Michael Jackson’s case, though he died with approximately $400-500 million in debt, he still had a major asset — the Sony-ATV catalog, which is estimated to be worth $1 billion.

Nice try, though, LARagMag. Dying, however, does still get you out of jury duty.

(OK!)

Gossip Cop understands arresting photos, but shame on the British edition of OK! and numerous other outlets around the world for broadcasting, printing and posting a picture of a seemingly lifeless Michael Jackson being worked on by paramedics.

It’s true we all look for exclusives, but this is an exclusive no one should want, let alone put out there for the world to see. It’s morbid and wrong. We defy anyone to find a legitimate reason to show a photograph of a dead celebrity (or a dead anyone). And to try to justify it when it’s nothing more than a cheap attempt to sell magazines, boost ratings, or increase traffic is nothing more than — as we say here — a cop out.

This is an offense Gossip Cop cannot overlook. If you’re aggravated by this assault to decency, file your complaint here, and join us in asking other media outlets to pull down this picture!