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Could Bon Jovi be leaving the road for a long stay in the desert?

A rumor everywhere today claims that the blockbuster act has been offered a highly lucrative deal to have a residency at a top Las Vegas hotel.

The story began with the Mirror, an outlet frequently “living on a prayer” with outlandish claims.

So are Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and the rest of the guys setting up shop in Sin City?

“It’s not true,” a rep for the band tells Gossip Cop.

Like a Vegas magic act, this latest Mirror rumor is bogus.

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In March, HollywoodLife reported that Tom Cruise had been injured in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles.

Fortunately, the site was completely wrong.

Now new rumors of a Cruise crash are making the rounds.

“The screen legend was treating teenage fans to a glimpse of his motorcycling skills when he lost control and crashed into a wall,” reports the Mirror. Cruise was supposedly riding a bike belonging to one of the teens, who declined Cruise’s supposed offer to pay for damages. Instead, the fan allegedly asked Cruise to sign the bike.

But while this “crash” is less ghastly than HollywoodLife’s imaginary incident last spring, it’s similarly fictional.

“Never happened,” a rep for Cruise tells Gossip Cop. “Nothing even close.”

Yet another motorcycle accident rumor has (fortunately) crashed and burned.

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Since rumors pinning Rihanna to a romance with Justin Timberlake have been busted, outlets are now trying to entangle her with another tabloid favorite — Kanye West.

The pair “flirted outrageously and dirty-danced during a wild night,” according to The Mirror. Their “champagne-fueled evening” of getting “cosy” at London spot Whisky Mist, claims the British paper’s so-called “mole,” began when Kanye and his entourage came into the exclusive club as Rihanna danced with female friends. Before long they were “chatting at length.”

When other club goers left at 3 in the morning, Rihanna “was still in a party mood,” so the large VIP group stayed until about 4:30am. Then they left.

Let’s recap. Two giant stars who have worked together professionally hung out at an ultra-exclusive club, each accompanied by many friends. They talked. There was music and dancing. Then the party ended, and they parted ways.

Sorry, but Gossip Cop isn’t sure how outlets like the Mirror can call this a “love lock-in” with a straight face. There was nothing untoward or “outrageous” about it, and Kanye is still boyfriend to model Amber Rose.

Seems like a London fog clouded the “reporting” at Whisky Mist.

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Since dozens of stories about Britney Spears getting engaged Down Under went belly up, outlets like The Mirror are moving rumors along by helpfully placing an engagement ring on her finger.

Spears “scrubbed up well in a plush mustard jacket after dinner with her beau and manager Jason Trawick,” the paper reports, “But it was the sparkler on her wedding finger that nearly blinded us.”

That’s not some of the information the Mirror provides.

It’s all of it.

In a journalistic triumph, the Mirror fails to give the “what,” the “when,” or the “where” of this supposed sighting, and illustrates the item with an unrelated photo of Spears that shows neither of her hands.

Oh, but they do include an obligatory and always informative  ”Oops!… I did it again” reference!

Gossip Cop salutes the Mirror for being as accurate as they are thorough (not really).

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Yesterday, the Mirror – and several other outlets – reported, “Ricky Gervais goes on the Hollywood Diet,” and lost 42 pounds. It just so happens that Gossip Cop was at lunch today with Gervais, and when asked to share the craziest rumor he’s heard about himself, the comedian replied, “that I’m on a Hollywood diet,” adding, “It’s just not true.”

In fact, the “Extras” star, now in the film, “The Invention of Lying,” enjoyed a nice carbo-rich plate of pasta. (Gossip Cop had the fish.)

Gervais told Gossip Cop that while he hasn’t “lost a pound,” he has shed a couple of inches from his waist from working out.

Gossip Cop bonded with Gervais, who keeps a blog “to keep the record straight,” because, while we both love how the Internet is such a great resource, we both regret that it’s also given rise to unsubstantiated claims and people being, as Gervais said, “unaccountable.”

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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.

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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.

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UPDATE: 1:30PM:

Gossip Cop thanks readers who alerted us to a video clip of Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart from Comic Con earlier this summer. In the context of the many “Twilight” fans attending the event, Stewart JOKINGLY talks about walking among them in disguise.

How some light comments from weeks ago became a wave of “Kristen Stewart Is Scared of Twilight Fans” headlines today is exactly why Gossip Cop exists. We want to start holding the media accountable for obvious sensationalism and exaggeration.

Stewart’s playful video response was printed as actual fear in new pieces published today, without attribution, and without any hint of her tone. The quotes may be real, but the “fear” they describe is not.

The quote in question was allegedly made by “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart, but oddly enough isn’t attributed to any particular source. According to Hollyscoop, I’m Not Obsessed, and a slew of other sites, Stewart is afraid of her devoted fans. She reportedly said: “I’m scared. I feel like I could go out in disguise but they would still recognise my feet or the shape of my leg. They’d say, ‘Hey, she looks about right.’ And they would just bag me. It’s scary.”

What’s more scary is that media outlets just reprinted Stewart’s Comic Con comments as genuinely fearful without giving their actual context.

Yesterday people could point to the Mirror for the made up Robert Pattinson “interview,” which Gossip Cop exclusively busted. Today’s rumor is based on real quotes blatantly twisted.

P.S. We know Stewart loves her fans.

(Mirror)

UPDATED at 2:40PM Eastern:

A rep for Robert Pattinson has given GossipCop.com an exclusive statement regarding the actor’s supposed interview with The Mirror:

“I will only comment on matters regarding Robert’s professional life, but in order to set the record straight, Robert did not speak to the Mirror, and their claim that they spoke to him a few days ago is manufactured along with any information that they claim to have as an exclusive directly from him.”

Gossip Cop thinks we can close the book on this one.

10:22 AM

The Daily Mirror, out of England, claims in a headline: “Twighlight exclusive – Robert Pattinson: I haven’t got a girlfriend.” Exclusive nonsense.

Let’s look at some of the facts, shall we?

First, these clowns can’t even spell “Twilight” correctly in the headline.

Next, after the “exclusive” begins, it notes that Pattinson and Kristen Stewart “were caught snuggling up together at a Kings of Leon concert in Vancouver where they’re filming the hotly-awaited movie sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” Doh! They’re filming “Eclipse.”

So maybe this “exclusive” is just an old exclusive. But in the next paragraph it reads, “In an exclusive interview with the vampire just days before the pictures [of him and Stewart] were taken, heart-throb Robert insists he’s still single and adds: “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

A few things come to mind: (1) the story sounds made up (2) why would the Mirror hold onto an “exclusive” interview with Pattinson for about a week before publishing it (3) the star was in Los Angeles at around the time of the alleged interview, and Gossip Cop knows for a fact that he was not sitting down to talk about his personal life (4) the story sounds made up. Oh, did we say that already? And (5) no one from the Mirror could answer Gossip Cop’s question about when or where the interview was conducted, but said they would get back to us (we’re still waiting).

Even though we’ve established that this “exclusive” seems fabricated, we’ll still share with you a couple of “quotes” – for laughs – that the Mirror claims the incredibly popular and private star said.

Among the nuggets are “You always think you’re going to get more girls after you’ve made a movie and it never happens,” and “You sit there and you’re like ‘I’m a big movie star and I want to go out with some models’ but I don’t know why that doesn’t happen.”

It’s pieces like this that make Gossip Cop want to “Moon” the Mirror.

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The British tabs have been atwitter with reports that Leonardo DiCaprio, currently filming “Inception” in London, is ready to drop a “Titanic”-sized amount of cash for a home in England.

The Mirror claims, “Since his split from girlfriend Bar Rafaeli (sic), he wants a clean break from their past and is ready to start afresh.” The paper then quotes DiCaprio as saying, “I love England. I’ve got so many friends here and I’m fed up of going between hotels all the time while I’m filming.”

Nice quote . . . but made up. A mutual friend of Gossip Cop and DiCaprio’s says, “Leo loves London . . . but isn’t looking for an apartment.”

(The Mirror)

Generally Gossip Cop enjoys when others pick up a tab, especially if it’s ours – and the meal was expensive. But this time the tabs, specifically the British tabs like The Mirror – and now a number of blogs – are buzzing about Lindsay Lohan owing the West Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont $37,500 for recent stays.

Interestingly, the tabs are divided. Some say she racked up the alleged bills after a split from gal pal Samantha Ronson, while others claim it was for stays with Ronson. Actually, it doesn’t matter because Chateau Marmont sources swear up and down that Lohan doesn’t owe the chic hotel a single cent. Lohan’s rep explained, “Some ex-friend is making up a lot of stories and giving them to the British tabloids.”

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Newspapers and blogs have been up in arms about the latest photos of Madonna’s muscles, criticizing her for being too toned. Some have suggested she’s taking her workouts too far, and that she looks so vein-y. The Mirror blared in a headline, for example, “Madonna’s muscly arms – a walking biology lesson.”

Her rep, however, tells Gossip Cop, “Madonna’s arms in the most recent photos have absolutely been altered by Photoshop or some other means. Her arms do not look like that in real life.”

Gossip Cop never received an answer from the photo agency that shot her guns as to whether or not they played with her pythons.

Go out on a limb: Tell Gossip Cop if you think her arms have been altered.

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Out of the UK comes a story that Madonna puts her kids on trial. The Mirror reports that, on a daily basis, Madonna questions her children about their behavior, weighs the evidence, and then metes out “judgments.”

It’s reportedly part of a Kabbalah Center program to teach tykes discipline. The Mirror quotes an unnamed source saying:

David Banda and Mercy, guided by Lourdes or Madonna, stand about a desk in her office, discussing what they did during the day, and whether they’ve been good or bad . . . Madonna, acting as judge, gives her feedback and if the youngsters lose their tempers, they have to pause, and suggest better ways they could have behaved.

Madonna’s rep offered a single word rebuttal – “ridiculous.” Gossip Cop’s verdict? The Mirror is guilty of fabrication.

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You can take Madonna out of the English countryside, but apparently you can’t take the English countryside out of Madonna. As part of the superstar’s divorce from Guy Ritchie, she gave him their sprawling estate, Ashcombe. But now stories claim that she loved the country manor so much that she wants to replicate it in a New York City townhouse she reportedly bought for $40 million, and which comes complete with 13 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, and 9 fireplaces. One account reports that she “has meticulously documented the estate room by room… [and] ordered flunkies to go out and troll the Upper East Side boutiques for candelabras, side tables, and period chaises” in order to recreate it exactly.

While Gossip Cop can fully understand wanting to decorate in a similar style, we think this story really lays an egg when it also states that the singer plans “to bring chickens in to make her kids feel more at home.”

“Very entertaining story,” says her rep, adding, “it’s not true.”