Kim Jong Il, Standing Taller
Rare footage! The South Korean daily Dong-a Ilbo yesterday published a recently obtained photo of North Korea's Kim Jong Il wearing platform shoes with four-to-five-inch heels. Kim's height is a closely guarded secret and the government seldom releases photos showing the leader's kicks. He is believed to be about 5 to 5 1/2 feet tall without shoes.
According to the paper, he wore the shoes to a 2002 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin .
"Platform shoes are an essential item for Kim Jong Il, who fears being ignored when he meets outside leaders and Westerners," said Sohn Kwang-joo, chief editor of the Daily Nk, a Web site that follows North Korean news. "What would North Koreans think if their leader was such a short man? That's why Kim feels he deserves to wear platform shoes, even if they kill his ankles."
Sean Combs, Sugar Diddy
Looks like the late Notorious B.I.G. had it right when he said, "Mo' money, mo' problems."
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs is appealing last month's court ruling that increased his monthly child support payments to ex-girlfriend Misa Hylton-Brim from $5,000 to $21,782, the highest in New York state history, and he claims that his appeal has nothing to do with money. The monthly payment increase will benefit his son Justin , for whom Diddy (or Daddy) already pays health insurance, tuition, vacations, clothes and other items that total about $120,000 a year (not to mention he named restaurants in Harlem and Atlanta after the kid).
Diddy reportedly also pays $12,000 a month in child support to his girlfriend, Kim Porter, mother of his second child, Christian.
Throwing a Flag on Burt
Ol' Burt Reynolds seems to be getting a little slap-happy. The 69-year-old actor either slapped or tapped a CBS assistant producer in the face at the Manhattan premiere of the remake of the Reynolds classic "The Longest Yard."
The producer asked Reynolds to tell him about his film.
"You don't know anything about the movie?" Reynolds replied. "Then what the [expletive] are you asking me for?"
The producer told him he hadn't seen the latest version, which stars Adam Sandler, or the original 1974 film, in which Reynolds starred. Reynolds also appears in the remake.
Reynolds then performed an open-hand maneuver against the jaw of the producer and asked, "What kind of guy are you?" All while the TV cameras rolled.
A spokesman for Reynolds said in a statement that Reynolds "playfully tapped [the producer] on the cheek, as if to say, 'Well, that is not very nice.' He was kidding."
Snoop Calls Off the Dogg
Snoop Dogg's bark is worse than his bite. The rapper apparently wants to bury the bone that he has had with Tha Row head honcho Suge Knight , according to MTV news. The two have had a beef ever since Snoop left Knight's record label (then called Death Row Records) to go out on his own in 1998. On Snoop's cut "Pimp Slapp'd," from the album "Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Boss," Snoop made it clear that he would smack Suge if he ever saw him. That almost happened at the 2002 BET Awards, where crews from both camps had to be separated.
But that was dog years ago. Snoop has told MTV: "We're just trying to move forward because he's trying to do business. . . . I got love for him and he gave me opportunity when nobody else would. I am a grown man now, so I've learned to forgive people for what they've done."
End Note
Bobby Brown told "Access Hollywood" on Tuesday that wife Whitney Houston is out of rehab again and doing fine. "She's my lady, and she's doing wonderful. Everything about her spirit right now is just great. . . . We're enjoying life again." Houston checked herself into rehab in March for the second time in a year.
-- Compiled by Stephen A. Crockett Jr. from wire reports
