The new issue of Us Weekly features an interview with notorious Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Raj Kanodia â€" who has operated on the likes of Ashlee Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, etc. Yeah, yeah. We know. Everyone gets plastic surgery, even Heidi Montag and Ashley Tisdale. We get it - and are over it!

The real story in this issue, if you ask this celebrity news site, is teased on the top right corner of the cover! That's our boy Sam Lutfi, baby! Check it out ...

Meet Sam Lutfi, the "creep" controlling Britney Spears.

We've been following the "career" of Sam Lutfi (sometimes misspelled Lufti), who, like Alli Sims, many observers feel is a negative influence and enabler in the pop star train wreck's life, since he emerged on the gossip scene earlier this year.

Now Us alleges he has a "scary past." Is that code for "Al Qaeda terrorist?"

Regardless of his intentions and past, you can't escape Sam Lutfi nowadays, whether he's accompanying Spears shopping on Thanksgiving, clubbing with her or shooting down rumors of Britney being pregnant with the love child of one J.R. Rotem.

But who is this mystery man? The 33-year-old "film producer" organized her 26th birthday party and stays overnight at her homes â€" platonically, he claims.

But sources say Sam Lutfi has a shady past including two restraining orders against him for verbal and physical attacks, and - hope you are sitting down for this - has gone by the aliases Osama N. Lutti and Osamah N. Lutfi.

In 2005, Jumana Issa, a business acquaintance, claims Sam Lutfi "harassed me repeatedly with obscene e-mails, offensive faxes, voice mails, out-of-control behavior and outrageous telephone hang-ups (around 15 to 30 a day)."

In one fax, Sam Lutfi scolded: "Peel yourself away from all the candy ... and overhangin [sic] belly ... and answer my e-mails." Classy!

His former neighbor, Douglas Snoland, filed a complaint in 2004, alleging that Lutfi tried to kick down his door when he suspected Snoland of having his car towed. Snoland also accused Lutfi of wanting to kill his 73-year-old, disabled mother.

As for his past work history, Lutfi is listed as a producer of the 1998 B-movie Bug Buster. The movie's actual producer / director, Lorenzo Doumani, says Sam was his $350-a-week assistant and "a hustler type... a fast-talking kid."

Understandably, Britney Spears' family and friends worry he is in her life under false pretenses. "They are frightened," a source close to her parents, Jaime and Lynne Spears, reveals. "They know she is being taken advantage of. She's so desperate for friends at this point that it's easy once you get in there."

  Wow. The Hollywood Gossip looks forward to reviewing this and other stories and bringing you the latest on Sam Lutfi and Britney Spears.

Christina Silva enjoyed the title of Miss California for almost as long as Samantha Jade enjoyed her role as Britney Spears replace for a recent music video shoot.

Then, as a result of an "accounting error," Raquel Beezley stepped in and earned the crown.

Beauty pageant director, Keith Lewis, claims that several judges questioned the results after Silva was named the winner and attributed the mix up to "simple human error."

Raquel Beezley is Miss California 2008. Unless more accounting errors take place.

Christina Silva says she never received an explanation from pageant officials.

"They never could explain their accounting error, but told me that if I didn't give up my crown to Miss Barstow [Beezley], my personal integrity could be questioned, and my career could potentially suffer," she said.

In light of the past scandals involving Tara Conner and Katie Rees photos, along with the current issue focusing on Ingrid Marie Rivera, The Hollywood Gossip simply has to ask: What the heck is wrong with beauty pageants?!?

It really makes one think. Might judging women based on their appearances in an evening gown and bathing suit actually be a bad idea? Discuss!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Swt9cjlvQ&eurl=http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2007/12/people_wrong_miss_california_crowned.php[/youtube]

Today we added 23 new photos to our celebrity photo gallery:

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In news almost as shocking as Lindsay Lohan going to bed with Heath Ledger, Paula Abdul was a train wreck during her stint as Saturday Night Live host in 2005.

So reports Tina Fey in the latest issue of Playboy.

"I was pregnant [with daughter Alice] at the time and probably a little moody, but I remember thinking, 'She's a disaster! I gotta prop this lady up and get her on TV,'" Fey, who was head writer of the series at the time, shared.

Fey said Abdul was "disastrous ... in the way she generally appears to be. "It was an American Idol sketch; she wanted to change parts. So Amy Poehler had to play her."

A year later, the 30 Rock actress spotted Abdul on a flight.

"We both looked at each other like, 'Do I know that girl?'" she said. "And then we both had that moment of recognition, and she was like, 'uuuggh.' I saw it register on her face that she had had a terrible time with us."

This piece of celebrity gossip would fit right in on an episode of Gossip Girl. It appears that American Idol winner Carrie Underwood is single again - and the reason is the wandering eye of her most recent boyfriend, Chace Crawford.

Carrie Underwood and Chace Crawford have been spotted together on numerous occasions this fall, and have smiled and gushed about each other in interviews.

But, according to the New York Post, things unraveled because several weeks ago, Crawford was seen making out with some blonde - who wasn't Carrie Underwood.

Carrie Underwood may have to act out some of the scenes her "Before He Cheats" music video if these rumors of Chace Crawford's recent cheating are proven true.

Sources suggest this mystery blonde may have been Katrina Bowden.

Then, last Wednesday night at New York City's Beatrice Inn, Chace and his cute Gossip Girl co-star, Leighton Meester, were seen sucking face - and this didn't involve a scene for their CW series, on which they are boyfriend and girlfriend.

THE HOLLYWOOD GOSSIP NOTE: That would be the same Big Apple locale Heath Ledger allegedly bagged Lindsay Lohan at. That's all we've got.

We'll have more on this story as it develops. All we have to say for now is that we are here if you need us, Carrie. You just need a nice, normal guy who will commit to you... not these Chace Crawford / Tony Romo players. Jerks.

Tameka Foster isn't satisfied to sit back and raise her baby with Usher quietly.

Instead, everyone's least favorite wife of a celebrity is speaking up again in Essence magazine, responding to her negative public perception:

We [black women] don't like ourselves. If I were Hispanic, Usher would have the sexiest wife alive. If I were mixed, he'd have the sexiest wife alive. But he has a black girl, and it's like, ‘She's horrible and she's ugly!'

OK, maybe I don't fit the cookie-cutter standard - 25 and a size two - but this is who he loves. There are women getting raped in Darfur, young girls being turned out every single day right here in Atlanta. We have bigger issues to worry about than two people in love with each other.

This may be true, but at the end of the day, the United States doesn't care about Darfur because its economic and political interests aren't threatened.

Usher is a national treasure, however.

Move over, Zanessa.

And make room for Jyrus!

The celebrity gossip mill is churning with the news that Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas are dating. Rumors that the young singers are in love hit a fevered pitch after Cyrus gave Jonas a kiss on the cheek while they performed on stage during a concert in Memphis.

The event was part of the Best of Both Worlds Tour, during which Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana and Nick rocked out for fans as part of The Jonas Brothers.

As her boyfriend, is Nick Jonas really seeing Miley Cyrus nude?

So, if they really are an item, what would Miley's famous father think of the coupling?

"He trusts me, I'm responsible," Cyrus said of Billy Ray Cyrus, who costars on Hannah Montana and who apparently approves of the teen romance.

Meanwhile, you can see the chemistry between Miley and Nick for yourself: The Jonas Brothers will continue to serve as the opening act for Miley Cyrus in her ongoing Best of Worlds Tour, which is expected to end on January 9 in Albany.

Megan Fox showed up at the premiere for Juno this week looking as gorgeous as ever.

The so-hot-it-should-illegal actress was on hand to support her friend, Diablo Cody, who penned the script for this critically acclaimed independent movie.

Juno stars a favorite of The Hollywood Gossip staff, Michael Cera, along with Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman and Ellen Page.

Look closely and you'll see that Fox is sporting a Wonder Woman belt, as well. Does this mean she's supporting the choice of Megan Gale in that role?

Or campaigning for the part herself? Would anyone object to Fox as Wonder Woman?

Goodbye, Riley Giles.

Hello, Heath Ledger?

Forgive us by never being shocked by anything from Lindsay Lohan's love life anymore, but new gossip states that Lohan hooked up with Ledger in New York recently, leading to her ditching the aforementioned snowboarding loser.

Perhaps Lindsay Lohan was attracted to the new look Heath Ledger dons as The Joker in next summer's The Dark Knight. Or maybe the actor simply bought her a drink.

"Lindsay and Heath hit it off straight away," said a source, referring to a meeting between the pair at Beatrice Inn over the Thanksgiving. "When she left the club she started texting him straight away and they hooked up a few times while she was still in New York. They were meeting late at night for sex. It was purely physical."

That's a major divergence from Lohan's dalliances with Criss Angel, Jude Law, Harry Morton and any guy that buys her a drink.

As anyone at The Hollywood Gossip could have predicted, Britney Spears was just about to bail on her music video shoot - until her record label threatened to use the video dancers and location for a younger, rising Aussie starlet!

The New York Post reports that Britney Spears was supposed to show up at Social Hollywood to shoot the video for "Piece of Me," but was, of course, hours late.

When it looked like Spears was going to be a no-show, Jive decided to refit the set for another pop act, Samantha Jade, and her single "Eyes on Me."

"Jive hired Wayne Isham to direct, had the backup dancers there - hair, makeup and everything," a Post source said. "But [Spears] refused to show up. Jive was upset. They were paying everyone overtime. Finally, Britney showed up - 12 hours late - after they said they were going to give the video shoot to Samantha Jade."

Jade, a rising star on the label, was told to be on call to shoot a music video for her single "Eyes on Me." Rather than write off the shoot's expense, the record label was set to have Jade step in and use the team assembled for Spears' video.

"They were going to recalibrate it for Samantha Jade, because it was too expensive to just scrap," the source told the Post. "Britney finally showed up when she realized a new, younger, hotter girl was about to take her slot."

Samantha Jade, left, nearly replaced her fellow Jive artist, Britney Spears.

Saturday, Spears celebrated her 26th birthday, but had to deal with scene-stealing pal Paris Hilton, who showed up at the Scandinavian Mansion of Style in Bel-Air.

"Britney was inside with Sam Lutfi and Alli Sims," a partygoer said. "When Paris saw Britney leaving, she desperately raced out to walk her to her car."

Spears wanted to call her ex-husband, Kevin Federline - but had to borrow Paris Hilton's cellphone "because she could not find her own," a source said.

The desperate"Piece of Me" singer actually invited Kevin to join her at the club during the 1 a.m. call. Not surprisingly, FedEx had other things on his mind.

"Britney begged him to come out with her," a source said, "[but] Kevin reminded her that one of them needed to actually be a parent and take care of [Jayden James and Sean Preston] ... Then she hung up on him. Kevin said she was drinking."