Britney out for VMA show.

Networks might be crying, but audiences are raving, that Britney Spears will not be trainwrecking the MTV VMA’s this year. However, we do expect her at all the afterparties and sans panties. Which always makes for good fun.


“Contrary to media reports, Britney was never slated to perform on this year’s VMAs,” Larry Rudolph, Spears’ manager at Jive Records, said in a statement. “She’s in the middle of recording her next album, which is going amazingly well, and her focus remains on the studio.”

Tila Tequila Steps Out with a New Gal Pal

A brokenhearted and humiliated Tila Tequila may have been dumped by Kristy Morgan on national television last month, but Tequila looks to have another shot at love.

The MTV reality star stepped out with new gal pal Courtenay Semel, a socialite and former Lindsay Lohan friend, at Thursday’s EA Sports/Xbox 360 premiere of Madden NFL “09 in Los Angeles. A beaming Tequila said she “didn’t want to jinx anything” about their relationship, but said she was very happy.

Semel, however, happily shared her feelings for the MTV reality star. “I’d seen the show [A Shot at Love] and just needed to meet her…and it just happened,” Semel says of Tequila. Now the “best friends” are content to lay in bed watching movies, share clothes and makeup and steer clear of drama.

“There are no games,” says Tequila. “It’s true what they say about lesbians–you meet and then the next day you move in together, because I can’t get rid of her. She pretty much lives at my house.”

Tony Romo Speaks Out About Jessica’s Dad

Speaking for the first time about reports that Joe Simpson was interfering with his relationship with Jessica Simpson and his business affairs – and that his parents did not approve of or get along with the Simpson family – Tony Romo released a statement saying, “It’s all laughable.”

Romo, 28, and Simpson, 27, – who spent the past couple of days in Dallas (where they recently had a romantic dinner date), and boarded a plane for a weekend on the West Coast – have been dogged by rumors that her father has been meddling in their nearly seven-month-old courtship.

In his statement, Romo insisted that characterization is “so far from the truth.”

A source also confirmed that Romo’s father, Ramiro, went to the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., with Joe Simpson earlier this year and “had a great time.”

Ryan Phillippe and Abbie Cornish Step Out

Two months after admitting it was bizarre seeing ex-wife Reese Witherspoon with Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Phillippe is quietly moving things forward in his own love life.

After months of speculation about their relationship, he proudly accompanied his Stop-Loss costar Abbie Cornish to the 2008 Australian in Film Breakthrough Awards – their first major event as a couple.

“They were adorable,” says a guest. “He had his arm around her and they were cozy and comfortable.”

When Cornish – who was being honored with a Breakthrough Award – was introduced, Phillippe rubbed her back while she leaned against his shoulder. Throughout the evening, they held hands.

Phillippe, 33, also let Cornish enjoy her moment in the spotlight, waiting patiently as she worked the room and posed for photos. Once she was at his side once again, they continued to share laughs with pals.

The secret to Cornish’s appeal? “We needed a girl who could knock back and drink the guys under the table, change a blown tire, whatever she needs to do,” their Stop-Loss director, Kimberly Pierce, says. “And she has that. She’s that kind of girl.”

A second Breakthrough Award went to actress Mia Wasikowska for her work in the HBO series In Treatment.

Phillippe and Cornish left the party just before 10 p.m., heading to Hennessy’s weekly jazz night at Teddy’s.