Boxed News #005 - June 23, 2009

* BECKHAM WINS DAMAGES OVER MODEL CLAIMS Soccer superstar DAVID BECKHAM has won substantial libel damages and an apology over false reports he tried to woo a topless model. The Los Angeles Galaxy heart-throb launched legal action when U.K. tabloid the Daily Star alleged he had "made a play" for Hungarian beauty Mariann Fogarasy. The newspaper claimed Beckham "got close" to the blonde when he was playing on loan for Italian side AC Milan. A front-page report, headlined "Becks And The Blonde Beauty", alleged he met the model earlier this year (09) and had been emailing her with "private party" invitations. The story also appeared on the newspaper's website. In a hearing at London's High Court on Tuesday (23Jun09), Beckham's lawyer Gerrard Tyrrell told the judge Mr Justice Eady the allegations were serious, defamatory, and completely untrue. Mr Tyrrell said the newspaper now accepts the story was untrue and has retracted the allegations. Kate Wilson, lawyer for Express Group Newspapers - which owns the Daily Star - said bosses have agreed to pay Beckham substantial undisclosed damages and his legal costs. They have also apologized to the star and his family for the distress, embarrassment and injury the article caused. Beckham was not in court for the hearing. * Celebrity Quote "I was shocked at what a good kisser he was; he just didn't seem like the sexy type." MEGAN FOX on smooching with SHIA LaBEOUF in the TRANSFORMERS movies. * HIGH INTEREST IN $1 MILLION MEESTER SEX TAPE A sex tape starring GOSSIP GIRL pin-up LEIGHTON MEESTER has sparked a bidding war between online porn sites. Reports suggest Kevin Blatt, the broker behind Paris Hilton and Verne Troyer's sex tapes, admits he's surprised by the level of interest in the footage. He tells RadarOnline.com that bids for the video have exceeded $1 million. Blatt reveals the racy footage features a younger Meester performing a striptease for a boyfriend and then performing a number of sensual and erotic acts. He says, "It's very playful actually. It's not shot in high definition and looks like it has been shot using a video camera while they are both fooling around." wenn.com * Celebrity Quote: "Talking about how all women age, we all see ourselves one way, we all want to stay where we were when we felt our best, but, of course, we do change. If you try and hold on to something that's passed, you get into trouble. It's very sad when people are unhappy because they are not grateful for what they have." CAMERON DIAZ is intent on enjoying her life - whatever age she is. * BROWN NOT GIVEN PREFERENTIAL JAIL TREATMENT, SAYS PRISON REP New York prison officials have dismissed reports rapper FOXY BROWN was treated better than other inmates during her stint behind bars in 2007. The star was jailed for 12 months in September 2007 for violating her probation, stemming from a fight with two manicurists in a New York nail salon. She was released in April last year (08). A recent New York Post feature claimed Brown had received preferential treatment while she was serving time, allegedly befriending the prison guards at Rikers Island jail who served her meals in her cell, gave her make-up and allowed her unlimited TV and phone calls. Brown also made it clear she had enjoyed a close relationship with many of the prison's officers, thanking them for supporting her through her jail time a year after she was freed (Apr09). But despite the claims by the New York Post, and Brown herself, a representative for the New York Corrections Department insists the rapper was treated the same as any other convict. Spokesman Stephen Morello explains Brown wore expensive clothes and completed an interview with XXL magazine while behind bars - but these 'freedoms' are within prison guidelines. He tells AllHipHop.com, "Inmates were entitled to wear their own clothing. That's her choice. The interviews were approved by the Department of Media Services. We do it as a matter of routine." * ROWLAND EYEING BODY LIKE BROWN'S KELLY ROWLAND is looking to spice up her exercise routine - so she can get a six-pack like MELANIE BROWN. The former Destiny's Child singer is desperate to achieve a chiselled body like the former Spice Girl star, after spotting her showing off her impressively toned abs at a pool party. Brown became famous for her fit appearance after a stint in U.S. talent show Dancing With The Stars, and has recently been showing off her curves in risque revue Peep Show at the Planet Hollywood Casino Resort in Las Vegas. And Rowland is eager to follow Brown's exercise plan - but admits she will find it difficult to cut out her favourite foods. She says, "I think Mel B looks so good, I really do. I'm trying to do more crunches so I can almost get a tummy like hers but I like rice and pasta and that's the problem right there." (MJ/WNTMI/LR) * TRANSFORMER HERO LABEOUF IMPALED HIS FACE ON A SPIKE SHIA LABEOUF has opened up about the eye injury on the set of the TRANSFORMERS sequel, which almost cost him his sight. Initial reports suggested the actor was injured during a controlled explosion on the set last summer (09), but the truth is far more grisly than the idea of the actor getting hit by shrapnel. He explains, "We were in the middle of some chaos and I mistimed something and impaled my face on a spike. I came up and I had a spike in my eye and I had blood coming down my face and it was the dark, dark purplish kind, which is actually a great thing. "If it had been red-ish and clear, it would mean my eye (had) popped." And LaBeouf's co-stars feared the worst. Megan Fox says, "His face was destroyed... He (LaBeouf) has the highest tolerance for pain that I've ever seen in a human being." And castmate Josh Duhamel adds, "We thought he'd lost his eye." LaBeouf even impressed members of the military, who were drafted in as extras during a battle scene shoot at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, when he refused to take time off after the injury. A soldier who was among the extras witnessed the injury and told WENN last year (08), "We were all pretty impressed. To get up from a movie explosion, which leaves you injured, and get back in there is cool. He's got broken fingers from his car crash and now his eyelid has been slashed open. He's lucky he still has his sight. "He was treated at the clinic at the airforce base and then a local ophthalmologist came by to check on his eye. He was in the clinic for about four hours and then he returned to the set once the swelling had gone down." * Celebrity Quote: "She's a little, punk-rock Lolita. Beautiful face, beautiful shoulders. I look at her and think, 'Ooh, I'm so turned on. What's happening.'" I KISSED A GIRL singer KATY PERRY is eyeing supermodel AGYNESS DEYN for a same-sex smooch. (WENN/ZN/PA/CL/KL/WN&WNVACC/MJ/WNSTI/LR/WNWCAH/WNWCSY/WNVEX)