Free Britney

She may be the worst actress of all time, and her singing career may have peaked last decade, but put her in a bathing suit under a showerhead and Jessica Simpson still has something going for her. Several things ... if you know what we mean!

We mean we are a little jealous of Tony Romo. A little.

Sure, he has to pretend he likes Ashlee Simpson's music and deal with Jessica's pimp / father Joe Simpson, but he gets to come home to this. It's enough to make you forget that you've never won an NFL playoff game quickly.

Follow the jump for one of the hottest Jessica Simpson photos in awhile ...

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Sure, she's smokin' hot and 18, but Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere has confessed that becoming a mega-star has turned her into a recluse.

"I don't ever go out," she tells the UK's Daily Mirror of her life in the spotlight, where she drives everywhere to avoid being recognized on the street. "I stay at home. I go from garage to garage, and try to keep myself out of sight."

Maybe she's just afraid of sexual harassment.

Hayden, who has catapulted to fame since taking on the role of cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes, thinks that fame can be a giant pain in the ass.

"I love where I live and that I have wonderful friends there and I love what I do, but it really has a major impact on your life," says our girl. "This business is very intrusive. People want to know what you're doing every day, and it becomes less about your craft and your art, and your love for acting, than it is about when you put food in your mouth, or when you're walking your dog."

The lovely Hayden Panettiere has been in the industry since she was 11 months old, when her mother got her cast in the first of more than 50 advertisements.

Hayden herself starred in the daytime soap operas One Life To Live and Guiding Light in her early years, and, now that Heroes has made her a Hollywood A-lister, her next move is to set the big screen alight in various films.

As for following the likes of Lindsay Lohan - being more famous for her legal problems and sexual endeavors than movies and TV - don't bank on it.

"The interesting thing to me is, the glamour of Hollywood has been dimmed down by people that don't necessarily love what they do or their craft," Panettiere says.

"I think people who are mainly in the public eye and deal with this [attention], a lot of them like it, enjoy it. I don't enjoy going out, it's a nightmare in my opinion."

You've got a keeper, Milo Ventimiglia. Be good to her.

A new chapter in Dr. Phil's publicity crisis was written over the weekend, and some sources close to the show wonder whether his show will survive.

NOTE: Cross your fingers that it won't!

Already having the year from hell, the shrink and daytime talk show host is under some intense scrutiny for posting $30,000 bail for Mercades Nichols, one of eight teens arrested for severely beating another teenager in Florida.

The Dr. Phil show has issued a statement saying that "certain staff members went beyond our guidelines (re: the bail being paid)," but a source close to the show's production fears that this incident could be the final straw.

"It's getting desperate behind the scenes. Dr. Phil is so demanding, and there's a feeling anyone will do anything for the get. But it creates chaos. I don't know how much longer everyone can take it," a source told MSNBC.

Dr. Phil just wants to help... by meddling and trying to cash in.

The talk-show shrink earlier this year came under fire for spreading word that he'd visited Britney Spears at Cedar-Sinai at the request of the family, and was going to be the one to save the troubled pop star.

Later on, however, with the recovering pop singer still in the hospital, a doubt began to emerge as to whether the self-serving hack sought the publicity from getting involved, rather than the Spears family really requesting his services.

Thus, credibility concerns are front and center right now.

"People don't trust him like they used to," a source revealed. "The Britney Spears incident was beyond embarrassing. How do you bounce back from this?"

Does that mean Dr. Phil's days with the show are numbered?

Rumors about Oprah Winfrey's Harpo productions cutting ties with Dr. Phil have been circulating for months, but even if Harpo did pull out, it's still CBS TV that handles the day-to-day production of the show. Stay tuned.

Britney Spears crashing cars? That's almost a given at this point. But in celebrity news we know you didn't see coming, apparently her beau Adnan Ghalib was attacked by a crazed, knife-wielding lunatic last night. Yes, really.

Adnan was stabbed in the arm and has a bruise on his eye and lacerations on his face. He received medical attention, though, and is doing alright.

He's been receiving death threats the past few weeks, he says. It is not known who would possibly wish harm upon poor Adnan Ghalib.

Fortunately, Adnan Ghalib is okay after being assaulted.

We have a few suspects in this ongoing investigation:

• Jamie Spears - Attacking with a knife is not is style, but Britney's dad and legal conservator ain't exactly a fan of all things Adnan.

• Sam Lutfi - There was only room for one shady Middle Eastern loser in the life of Britney Spears, and Osama lost out. Revenge is sweet.

• Perry from Make Me A Supermodel - The guy dating Amanda Pagel, the random girl Adnan allegedly cheated on Britney Spears with.

• The billionaire boyfriend of Kathy Griffin - No doubt jealous over the story and photo we ran Friday of Adnan and Kathy holding hands.

She wasn't drunk, but moments before Britney Spears caused a three-car crash on Saturday night, she was ... putting on her makeup behind the wheel!

Women.

How do we know? According to TMZ, the guy she hit was checking her out - admiring the white Mercedes and the gal putting on makeup while driving.

It wasn't until after she collided with his car at an estimated 10-15 mph that he realized the woman was none other than Britney Spears.

After the accident, Spears' bodyguard apologized, but Britney did not. She and the 21-year-old crash victim only exchanged a few words, however she did mention that she was on the way to dinner with her mom, Lynne Spears.

No word on whether they were planning on hitting up McDonald's.

A field sobriety test was then conducted by officers on Spears, and the crashee says that officers performed a "follow my finger test" on Britney.

This file photo of Britney Spears driving does not show her putting on makeup, but she does have Blackberry in hand, ready to do some furious texting. OMFG!

At first she was giggly during the test, but then she got real serious real quick. Good idea. Britney was the only person involved who was tested.

The CHP says it wasn't the Britney Spears factor that convinced them to perform the test after her accident - it was the timing of the wreck.

There was "no odor, nor any kind of erratic behavior" that suggested Britney Spears was under the influence, but after an accident, officers are inclined to "do a standard check on most drivers, especially during those hours."

While no injuries were reported on the scene of the accident, the man claims that he woke up with a sore back the next day. Hmm, lawsuit anyone?

A lawsuit filed Friday alleges that two celebrity news photographers set up Heath Ledger, who died of a lethal combination of drugs this winter, at a 2006 SAG after party, plying him with cocaine, then secretly videotaping him.

In the suit, the plaintiff, Jane Doe (a pseudonym), who was working as a freelance reporter for People magazine at the time, and recounts events that she says took place at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles.

She alleges that she and her boyfriend at the time, Darren Banks, one of the pair of photographers for celebrity photo agency Splash News named in the lawsuit, met Heath Ledger on the grounds of the hotel.

Her story is that Banks brought him, along with Splash photographer Eric Munn, to a room Doe booked for the evening assignment. Munn gave Ledger cocaine and the actor already had some of his own. Munn then left the room.

From the balcony, Munn secretly recorded everything. Doe claims she didn't know that she was starring in a celebrity video at the time. Once Ledger saw a camera, he demanded the tape be destroyed and the photographers agreed.

However, after his death, the tape somehow sold to Entertainment Tonight for $200,000. Entertainment Tonight and The Insider were hit with a storm of criticism after promoting their video exclusive about Heath's drug use.

The shows ultimately did not air the segment and issued an apology. This is one of several rumors that have followed Ledger's passing and cast a pall over the actor's legacy. He is also rumored to have fathered a second child out of wedlock.

Heath Ledger died January 22 alone in his New York apartment. He would have turned 29 this April 4, the same birthday as Jamie Lynn Spears.

The handsome, talented actor will be starring, posthumously, in his final movie role in The Dark Knight, scheduled for a July 2008 release.

Celebrity news readers are everywhere, from Hollywood to Boston's Fenway Park, where a Red Sox fan snapped these photos and sent them to us on Saturday.

Cheering on his beloved team as it hosted the rival New York Yankees, this fan (for some unknown reason) felt a strong need to make bold statements about certain celebrities we know and love. Hard to argue with him on this point ...

Yes, friends, Tom Cruise is indeed insane. Few things in the celebrity news world have been more evident in recent years. He married a hot robot in Katie Holmes and has a cute baby in Suri Cruise, but the Scientologist is certifiably nuts alright.

On the reverse side of the celeb gossip fan's sign was a separate proclamation, one which may elicit some strong reactions from devotees of Britney Spears ...

Britney Spears a terrible mother? Noooo way, you're joking. The little drawings of Sean Preston and Jayden James (top right) say it all. So cute, so innocent, so ... sad.

Maybe one day soon, once her mental issues subside and she stops crashing cars, Britney can regain some custody or visitation with Sean and Jayden.

For now, though, her mothering "skills" involve parading around in no panties during late night Starbucks runs, so maybe no custody is for the best.

Britney Spears was involved in a minor traffic accident Saturday night on a West Los Angeles freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The two-car accident occurred about 8:20 p.m. local time on the northbound side of I-405 at the 101 freeway, CHP Officer Patrick Kimball confirmed.

"Britney Spears was driving a white Mercedes on the 101 Freeway, when she struck the rear of a Nissan that was in front of her," he said. "Britney Spears' car collided into the rear of a Nissan, which in turn hit another car."

In related news, it doesn't appear that Adnan Ghalib has collided with Britney's rear in some time, and he may even be with Kathy Griffin (!?) now.

Britney Spears was involved in a car accident... again.

No one was hurt, no tickets were issued, and all that good stuff. You may now safely return to the roads of Southern California, residents.

Prior to her latest auto accident, Spears - who somehow is still licensed to operate cars - spent most of the day at her Studio City home.

In any case, we're grateful that Britney is okay after this. And that Kevin Federline has full custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James.

In breaking celebrity fashion news, Heidi Montag debuted her clothing line, entitled Heidiwood, at a Friday evening fashion show in Hollywood, Calif.

Breathe, people. Breathe.

Models hit the catwalk to model Heidi's fashion label as "music" from her upcoming, as-yet-untitled pop album blared over the sound system.

So sorry we had to miss this event.

Heidi Montag, 21, worked the runway in sky-high black stiletto platform pumps, short black shorts and a midriff-baring, zebra print halter top.

"I love zebra print!" she said. "I'm obsessed with it!"

Somehow we don't see Heidi-wood sales skyrocketing.

The real head-turning moment of the night came when Spencer Pratt popped on stage and gave Heidi Montag two dozen long-stemmed pink roses before kissing her on the lips. You may vomit at will, fans of The Hills.

"I mean, you know, we're up, we're down," Montag said of her relationship with Spencer after the show. "It's just the routine."

Though they are not living together, "the bottom line is that we love each other," the former best friend of Lauren Conrad added. "We always have and we're just trying to figure out our stuff, like every other couple."

Welcome, celebrity gossip and news readers, to The Hollywood Gossip Caption Contest, our fun weekly tradition. Let's take a look at this week's results!

This week's contest - using a shot from The Hills, featuring the lovely Whitney Port and a very excited Lauren Conrad - generated a lot of classic captions.

It's too bad we must choose only one winner, but that's the way it is, and Rebecca, you're it. Congrats! Scroll down below the photo for the winning entry!

The full list of submissions appears further down the page. They're quite funny. Thank you all for playing and best of luck in our next Caption Contest!

Lauren: OMG Brody broke up with his girlfriend and wants to go out with me for the 500th time!!!
Whitney: Oh, no. That means I have to hear all about Brody and Lauren's pathetic life 24/7 and act like I care. Why can't he just settle with me?