Celeb superlatives: Clarkson, Sia, Aldean
USA TODAY's Maria Puente digs through the latest celebrity news for highlights ... and lowlights. Think high school yearbook superlatives — if Kerry Washington and Monica Lewinsky were classmates.
Biggest celebrity blowhard of the week: Jeremy Clarkson
The BBC's popular Top Gear host went on a profanity-laden rant against his Beeb bosses during a celebrity auction. Then he claimed it was all meant in jest. Writing in London's Sunday Times, he said his "choice language" was aimed at boosting the price of his auction item, a ride around a lap of the Top Gear test track. "By being brief, controversial and a bit sweary, I woke the room up and the auction prize I was offering ... raised (more than $150,000)" he wrote. Didn't matter: The BBC declined to renew his contract.
Most unsurprising celebrity wedding: Jason Aldean and Brittany Kerr
Country star Aldean, 38, and fiancée Kerr, 27, proved they can have happily ever after even if they've sinned. Back in 2012, the then-married Aldean and the ex-American Idol contestant were spotted smooching in a bar. But Aldean got divorced in 2013, got engaged to Kerr in September, and on March 21 they married in Mexico. "Best day ever," Aldean said in a statement, amidst congratulatory tweets from fans.
Most absurd celebrity signature look: Sia
The Aussie singer/songwriter's lampshade look is more baffling by the day. Sia, 39, is as famous for the over-sized white-blonde wigs that shield her face in public as she is for hits such as Chandelier. It's her eccentric commentary on her fear of having a recognizable face, but there's no sign she's getting over it. She showed up for a Las Vegas party in her wig and an even bigger hat than usual. Why bother if you can't see where you're going on the red carpet?
Most inspiring speech of the week: Kerry Washington
The Scandal star accepted the GLAAD Vanguard media award with a speech that brought a star-studded audience in Beverly Hills to its feet. "I think some stuff needs to be said," she opened, calling for more diversity in Hollywood and likening bans on same-sex marriage to old bans on interracial marriage. "We need more employment of LGBT people in front of and behind the camera," Washington said, as the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Ellen DeGeneres, Channing Tatum and Zoe Saldana cheered.
Second-most inspiring speech of the week: Monica Lewinsky
Lewinsky is taking a stand against cyberbullying, risking humiliation again in hopes of ending "the culture of humiliation." In an emotional TED talk in Vancouver, the former White House intern, whose dalliance with President Clinton made her the target of worldwide abuse even before the rise of social media, talked about what it was like to walk in the headlines. "In 1998, I lost my reputation and my dignity. I lost almost everything," she said. "And I almost lost my life." She called for a boycott of tabloids and gossip websites. "Public shaming as a blood sport has to end."
