Rumor Control: Legalities
Getting to the bottom of today’s top celebrity rumors -- this time: the legal edition.
There’s been a major shake-up in the Michael Jackson camp: his high profile legal team is gone -- but did the former King of Pop really fire his lawyers?
Yes -- Benjamin Brafman is out, and so is Mark Geragos of Scott Peterson and Winona Ryder fame. Thomas Mesereau, who once represented Robert Blake, is in. Harvey Levin, Executive Producer of the TV show "Celebrity Justice," has the inside word on what went down: "We are told there was a personality conflict and Michael Jackson had a problem with Mark Geragos. The word I heard used was 'grandstanding.'"
"CJ" has also reported that Geragos had a problem getting access to Jackson, who is sheltered by his top advisors.
Did Billy Joel really plow his car through a house?
Well, not exactly, but Joel did lose control of his car on a rain-slicked Long Island road, which caused him to hit a house. Only "Extra" was allowed inside the home to see the damage, which included cracked walls and damage to the basement. Fortunately, 93-year-old owner Marie Donno wasn't home at the time. "He was probably racing," Donno told us. "He should take care of the damage."
Thomas Phillips, a neighbor, saw the accident happen, which was Joel’s third in the past two years. "He was kind of joking about it," Phillips recalled. "He was like, 'I can't believe I got into another accident.’ We were just like, 'It happens.'"
Are Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett dealing with a family crisis?
They are, and it involves their son, Redmond, who is addicted to heroin. A judge ordered the 19-year-old into rehab, and O’Neal’s lawyer, Kent Schaffer, told "Extra" that Farrah and Ryan are taking the news hard.
"It is very tough on them," Schaffer told us. "These are not absentee, landlord parents, they are very concerned and they are so worried about Redmond."
Redmond is expected to stay in rehab for about a year.
For more Rumor Control details, don’t miss Monday’s edition of "Extra."
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