Aguilera suggests music industry is sexist

Of course, the music industry is a sexist place. We're not entirely sure Christina Aguilera's attempts to change that are starting the right place, as rather than explaining how the Dirty video was anything other than sexism-in-motion, she's instead decided to whine about being called a diva:

"If a man's assertive, he's head of the ship. "If a woman shows the same aggression, she's a diva."

Which would be shameful, were it true - we've heard quite a few blokes being called on their stupid demands, from Fifty Cent to Elton John - and, equally, many of the women called divas aren't being "aggressively assertive", they're, uh, being divas. Madonna having backstage areas cleared before she'll go to the toilet, for example, or, ooh, Christina Aguilera demanding police escorts because she's too grand to wait in a traffic line. That'd be divadom whether you've got a cock or not, lady.

Don't call me a madam - J Lo

Much as the Conservatives desperately tried to persuade people not to call them Tories, a name they felt linked them to swivel-eyed mine-closing coldhearts, we suspect that while Jennifer Lopez migh ask to not be called J-Lo any more, she'll find it difficult to shake off:

“That’s all gone with the ridiculous stories about me throwing tantrums and insisting on Egyptian sheets. That’s all firmly in my past.”

We think this means she's happy she's finally got the "egyptian sheet" message through without having to throw tantrums every time she turns up at a hotel.

Of course, turning up and demanding that people call you by a certain name, to avoid accusations of being a controlling, self-obsessed, shallow diva might, just, be a little self-defeating.

Kepp your hands off B-day

It turns out that winning a competition to meet Beyonce means precisely that. People who won the prize to meet her in Dublin had a great time:

Fans who had won a brief “meet and greet” in a local radio competition were warned twice that there were to be no bags, kissing, questions or touching.

Organisers of the sold-out gig also charged fans for a photograph with the star.

Because, of course, you'd want to have a permanent memorial of the time you were briefly quite near someone famous.

Oh, and "no bags" - at first, you might think that means you're not getting a small bag of memorabilia - no, it means you couldn't take your own bag with you. Presumably in case it contained a reporter from Watchdog keen to ask Beyonce about the rip-off prices she charges for photographs.

Divas on the comeback trail

With Mariah reduced to snuffling around Trevor Mc, the New York Times reports on the supposedly humiliating reduction of Whitney Houston from coasting star to the Norma Desmond of the Malls.

We're not psychologists, but we can't help but feel that even if the new record bombs - and it deserves to, it's rubbish - the healthy dose of reality and being made to work for what she gets may do Whitters the power of good.