Ricky Martin, who has dodged questions of his sexuality for years now, officially revealed that he is a gay man in a statement on his website earlier today.

The Puerto Rican singer,, who is planning to write a memoir about his life, says the birth of his twin sons (via surrogate) led to his decision to come out.

Ricky’s kids were born in August 2008, and similar to Clay Aiken, he says he did not want to live a lie while raising a child … in Ricky’s case two of them.

His coming out statement is well-written and at times poignant. You have to respect the honesty and emotion behind it, along with Martin’s reasoning …

“A few months ago I decided to write my memoirs, a project I knew was going to bring me closer to an amazing turning point in my life.

From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside.

Writing this account of my life, I got very close to my truth.

And this is something worth celebrating.

For many years, there has been only one place where I am in touch with my emotions fearlessly and that’s the stage. Being on stage fills my soul in many ways, almost completely. It’s my vice.  The music, the lights and the roar of the audience are elements that make me feel capable of anything. This rush of adrenaline is incredibly addictive. I don’t ever want to stop feeling these emotions. But it is serenity that brings me to where I’m at right now. An amazing emotional place of comprehension, reflection and enlightenment. At this moment I’m feeling the same freedom I usually feel only on stage, without a doubt, I need to share.

Many people told me: “Ricky it’s not important”, “it’s not worth it”, “all the years you’ve worked and everything you’ve built will collapse”, “many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature”. Because all this advice came from people who I love dearly, I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth. Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions.

If someone asked me today, “Ricky, what are you afraid of?” I would answer “the blood that runs through the streets of countries at war… child slavery, terrorism… the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith.” But fear of my truth? Not at all! On the contrary, It fills me with strength and courage. This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.

These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.

What will happen from now on? It doesn’t matter. I can only focus on what’s happening to me in this moment. The word “happiness” takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.

I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am. – RM

Filed under: Ricky Martin
by Free Britney
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Holy freaking hotness. That’s all we can say about the rumor that Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, partners on the new season of Dancing with the Stars, are partnering off the dance floor as well. Maks even said it might be on!

Chmerkovskiy says that he and the ESPN sportscaster are “maybe” dating. That’s a lot closer to dating than “no,” right? He also lavished praise upon his partner.

“She doesn’t hold back. She’s open, and what you see is what there is,” Chmerkovskiy told People magazine. “Everybody who meets her falls in love with her.”

Himself included? Sounds like it!

Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy work it.

Chmerkovskiy, who was engaged to fellow Dancing with the Stars cast member Karina Smirnoff for a time, credited himself for pushing Andrews during their first dance together last Monday, which ranked among the season premiere’s best.

“I made her do a cha-cha that I would make a professional dancer do,” he said, and it paid off, as Erin Andrews isn’t shy about gushing about him either.

“When Kentucky was upset, [Maks] texted me about it,” the ESPN reporter said of having to miss some of the NCAA tournament for DWTS rehearsal. “Maks was like, ‘You are the only person I know that cares about this.’ He’s been adorable.”

Who are you rooting for on Dancing with the Stars? Erin and Maks? We can understand that, but there are other good candidates too. Vote below …

Filed under: Dancing with the Stars - Erin Andrews - Maksim Chmerkovskiy
by Free Britney
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The long-awaited Mindy McCready sex tape (don’t act like you weren’t wondering about it) is on the verge of being released, and its premise is far from unfunny.

With Mindy McCready, Baseball Mistress, the troubled singer joins the ranks of sex tape purveyors like Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Shauna Sand, and so on.

The funny thing about calling it Baseball Mistress - besides that Mindy McCready has a sex tape at all – is that it’s a reference to her affair with Roger Clemens.

The steroid fiend and MLB legend is not featured on the tape, of course. Minor detail. Still, McCready donned baseball-themed garb for the cover, so … yeah:

The affair that rocked baseball? The testimony that shocked Congress? Okay, those things apply to Roger Clemens. The raw sex that started it all? Not sure how that does.

We have to guess that Vivid Entertainment, which has set an April 19 release date for the Mindy McCready sex tape, will be hearing from Rog’s lawyer Rusty Hardin.

Then again, he isn’t mentioned by name, and who knows, maybe he already gave his consent in exchange for a cut of the profits. Dude’s image kind of took a hit.

The video features McCready and a boyfriend named “Peter,” and in addition to the feverish body slapping, McCready offers commentary about previous conquests.

Her bedpost notches include Alan Jackson, Dean Cain and, of course, Clemens. No mention of Kari Ann Peniche, whose Eric Dane tape Mindy’s accused of stealing.

Filed under: Mindy McCready - Sex Tapes
by Free Britney
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It seems like a year ago that Carrie Prejean found herself in hot water for comments she made regarding her opposition to gay marriage at the Miss USA pageant.

That’s because it was a year ago, and what a year it’s been for the hypocrite since, getting engaged to Kyle Boller and stripped of clothes and a Miss California title.

As much as we’d like to forget Carrie Prejean even exists, not everyone is willing to. Particularly not the PR firm that would like to get paid for services rendered.

One of the tamer Carrie Prejean pictures out there.

Prejean hired A. Larry Ross Communications, which billed over $64,000, last year to help with image and public relations consulting after her gay marriage mess.

She has yet to pay the bill.

Consequently, the PR firm has filed suit against the painful Prejean looking for their money. We’d love to say there’s no way she could talk her way out of this, but this is Carrie Prejean. Consider who you’re dealing with for a moment:

She basically tried to argue that God loves fake boobs.

Filed under: Carrie Prejean
by Free Britney
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While Jesse James mistresses continue to come out of the woodwork, scorned Sandra Bullock has been living in her Hollywood Hills home – alone – for a week.

That’s just a few miles from the house she shared with her husband, and the newly-crowned Oscar winner has gone to great lengths to stay on the down low.

Wednesday, Sandra left the Hollywood Hills house she’s living in now (and lived in before marrying Jesse), taking precautions before heading to … the garage.

Two of her assistants held up a tarp to block any shot from cameras.

Somebody appears quite serious about her privacy right now, and given the things her jackass husband is accused of, it’s pretty much impossible to blame her.

Leave him, Sandra. Don’t pull an Elin.

Sandra has rarely left, although various people have come in and out. She has not been back to the Orange County house where Jesse lives since moving out.

According to sources, Sandra has no plans to return there unless he’s gone, either. Although he released a vague apology, that apparently hasn’t been enough.

There are rumors circulating that Bullock has met with divorce lawyers, though her rep has shot those down. You wonder if it’s only a matter of time, however.

While she has not commented at all publicly, it looks like she’s sending a very clear message to James. Similar to the one Michelle McGee sent to the haters.

Sandra Bullock should …

Filed under: Jesse James - Sandra Bullock
by Free Britney
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Her friends think Lindsay Lohan is going to die. Apparently some law enforcement officials have been similarly alarmed at her condition and share that sentiment.

Police officers who routinely come in contact with Lindsay – the fact that they do at all tells you something – say they have thought about forcing her to get help.

Cops, unsurprisingly, see Lindsay at her worst – late nights and early mornings when she is absolutely plastered needs assistance avoiding celebrity gossip media.

Some authorities quoted by TMZ cite Lindsay’s “erratic behavior” and “attitude,” both of which have grown progressively worse over the last several months.

According to reports, during one of Lindsay’s crazier nights out recently, the police became so concerned they discussed taking her in for a 5150 evaluation.

Also known as the Britney Spears psychiatric hold.

BORROWED TIME: Lindsay’s living on it. [Photo: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

Officers on the scene ultimately decided against it, as she didn’t meet all the criteria for a 5150. The train wreck could still take care of herself … technically.

Over the weekend, we reported that professionals and confidants close to Lindsay fear she’s going to die if she doesn’t get help for substance abuse … now.

Here’s hoping she heeds the warnings and ends up like Britney – alive, well, and with a career that’s as successful as ever, as opposed to the fatal alternative.

Filed under: Lindsay Lohan
by Free Britney
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While Russell Brand is surely hoping his relationship with Katy Perry will not end up with a Jesse James-style scandal, he can still sympathize. “I like him,” the former sex addict told In Touch at the Victoria’s Secret Celebrates 15th Anniversary of Swim Catalogue event at Trousdale in LA. That said, his tongue-in-cheek advice for Jesse (a distant relative of the famous outlaw of the same name) was to “watch out at the O.K. Corral.” And when it comes to his own plunge into marriage, the comedian plans to let Katy take the lead. “Women are in charge,” Russell says. “When you get married, you don’t let your husband decide. He’ll be an idiot!” The happy couple got engaged on January 6 after dating just a couple of months.

Filed under: InTouch - Latest News
by In Touch Weekly Magazine
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Selena Gomez may be an A-list teen, but she still gets butterflies around veteran Hollywood stars. Selena was so nervous to meet Nicole Kidman that the Oscar winner graciously scheduled a meeting for the two to get to know each other prior to working on the upcoming comedy Monte
Carlo. Luckily, a relieved Selena says Nicole was no diva. “Nicole is the coolest person ever, and very sweet. So I was very happy!” she told In Touch at the Nickelodeon 23rd Annual Kid’s Choice Awards in Westwood on March 27.
Selena is slated to star in the future flick, which also stars Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester and will be produced by Nicole.

Filed under: InTouch - Latest News
by In Touch Weekly Magazine
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Who the heck is Pixie Lott, THG asked after reading the story summarized here.

A pair of celebrity gossip photographers battled physically – one’s in jail for suspected battery and the other’s in the hospital – for a shot of … Pixie Lott.

That’s right, it was all-out bedlam at LAX airport and neither Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Lady Gaga or Lindsay Lohan were involved in any way.

Rather, it was Pixie Lott, a 19-year-old British singer and actress, who was the target of the photography madness … and is now on THG’s watch list.

Signed to Island Def Jam when she was just 15, Pixie (a.k.a. Victoria Louise Lott) released her debut album, Turn It Up, in September to general success.

In addition to having a track featured Private Practice, Pixie’s fourth single, “Gravity,” was released a few weeks ago and has been climbing the download sales chart.

She was also recently rumored to be dating Joe Jonas … who’s dating Demi Lovato. But still, being involved with a Jonas brother is pretty sweet as rumors go!

Looks like photographers aren’t the only ones interested in her, either. Pixie will be opening for Rihanna in the U.K. in May. Imagine what the paparazzi will do then.

Filed under: Pixie Lott
by Free Britney
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Jennifer Aniston looked absolutely ravishing at the Paris premiere of The Bounty Hunter …save for the heinous salmon-colored Christian Lacroix dress she wore to the Paris premiere of The Bounty Hunter. Man, Jen, what are you thinking?!

Fortunately, most peeps, THG interns included, were busy picking apart body language from Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler to see if they were holding hands or whatnot, but that dress … its fishy awfulness almost cannot be understated.

The bold color choice gets our respect … in theory. In practice, it just doesn’t work, right? You tell us. Vote in THG’s fashion survey below and see if you agree …

What do you think of the salmon-colored dress?

Filed under: Celebrity Fashion - gerard butler - Jennifer Aniston
by Free Britney
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