Rob Lowe

Parks & Recreation star Rob Lowe will portray a lawyer in the upcoming TV movie about last summer's Casey Anthony trial, according to reports.

Lowe, who previously played Drew Peterson in the Lifetime original film Drew Peterson: Untouchable has been cast as prosecutor Jeff Ashton.

The movie, tentatively titled Prosecuting Casey Anthony, will be based on Ashton's book about the case, Improper Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony.

In a case that captivated the country, Anthony, 26, was charged with and later acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee in 2008.

The not guilty verdict set off a firestorm of criticism (and head-scratching, or just plain outrage) across the U.S. Anthony has been in hiding since.

She hasn't won over many since last summer. In fact, the family that hid her after the verdict recently left this scathing voicemail for Casey Anthony.

"We're thrilled to have Rob returning to our network, after his amazing star turn as Drew Peterson," Lifetime executive V.P. Rob Sharenow said.

"He's one of those rare stars who can do it all: comedy, drama, heroes, villains."

[Photos: WENN.com, CNN]

Parks and Recreation star Rob Lowe turned the football world upside down late yesterday with a series of tweets regarding Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

Lowe stated, matter-of-factly, his shock that Peyton Manning is retiring.

Quickly questioned about it, he then said his "people are saying" the injured, aging NFL legend is hanging up the cleats, but did not exactly change course.

Ludicrous on the surface, the fact that Lowe is friends Colts owner Jim Irsay gave the situation a little more credibility. A little. Barely more than none.

Manning’s father and agent quickly denied the rumor, and Irsay has fired a shot at Lowe via Twitter. In response to Lowe's "scoop," the owner wrote:

“My sources tell me Rob will star in an epic remake of Deep Throat with aging porn stars and 4 finger circus clowns!”

It's unclear if Irsay was taking a swipe at Lowe’s infamous sex tape, or just trying to come up with a BS Twitter report of his own that’s odder than Lowe’s to make a point.

Either way, this whole thing is hilariously weird.

Lowe later told Rich Eisen of NFL Network that the info came from a “pretty darn good source.” Lowe said the source wasn’t Irsay, however, or anyone close to him.

The fact that Manning didn’t retire doesn’t mean he won’t, but it's doubtful Rob Lowe broke the sports scoop of the year, though stranger things have happened.

We can't think of one, but we assume they have.

Regis Philbin's replacement on ABC could be Rob Lowe, reports say.

Lowe just finished a two-day stint guest hosting with Kelly Ripa and an ABC source says the top network brass "loved the chemistry between them."

Network executives have spoken with Lowe's reps about making it a permanent gig, but Lowe, who stars on Parks and Recreation, is non-committal.

There's a big surprise. One of the more itinerant actors around, Lowe has departed in the middle of numerous programs' runs in pursuit of other projects.

Rob was just asked by TMZ whether he's moving to New York.

He said: "We were just talking about that. I love New York. I love the energy. It would be a change of pace. I'm a California boy, but it could be fun."

Thoughts? Rob Lowe replacing Regis Philbin ...

Rob Lowe has settled a lawsuit brought on by his former nanny.

Jessica Gibson had sued the Brothers & Sisters star and his wife, accusing them of sexual harassment, among other offenses, in April 2008.

This course of action took place a week after the Lowes sued Gibson for allegedly breaching the confidentiality clause she signed when she went to work for the couple; they claimed she conspired to demand $1.5 million in exchange for keeping quiet about various pieces of dirty laundry.

In the end, neither party's attorneys revealed whether money was involved in the settlement, making the ending to this case as anticlimactic as Lowe's ending scene on The West Wing.

You though the Rob Lowe vs. Laura Boyce feud was over, didn't you?

Far from it.

In response to claims against Lowe and wife Sheryl that they sexuallu harassed their former nanny, the actor filed sworn statements in a Los Angeles Superior Court from people who knew and worked with Boyce. They said she didn't like black people.

"Laura would use the 'n-word' a lot when referring to her African-American friends and lovers," Boyce's former friend Noa Shaw said in her statement. "Laura was very open with her use of the 'n-word' in public."

Moreover, the president of Lowe's production company, Jennifer Dynof, said she had reprimanded Boyce "about her use of the ("n" word) around the children and the Lowe's friends."

Gloria Allred, the attorney for Laura Boyce, made it clear, this issue was far from over: "We will be filing our reply to (Lowe's allegations) within five days and it will contain our response."

Both Rob Lowe and Jessica Gibson had important parts of their cases thrown out in court - and if you ask their attorneys, they both won.

The judge threw out Jessica's retaliation claim, but the judge also tossed out four Lowe claims - one being an allegation of defamation.

Jessica Gibson's attorney, Gloria Allred, said in a statement:

"He lost the heart of his case, which is defamation, and we are permitted to proceed with the heart of our case, which was and still is our allegation that Rob Lowe sexually harassed Jessica Gibson."

Lowe's attorney, Larry Stein, told celebrity news site TMZ:

"We are delighted with the court's ruling today. It removed the retaliation claim, which Ms. Allred had been focusing on and left in six claims, which allows us to prosecute every claim we've made."

Well, that settles that. Only not at all. She still says he spanked it in front of her, he says she skanked it in front of everyone, etc.

Former nanny Jessica Gibson is suing Rob Lowe and his wife.

Today in the Rob Lowe nanny saga, we ask:

Why would Sheryl Lowe invite Laura Boyce on vacation - then sue her right after?

In court documents, Laura Boyce says she had no contact with Sheryl Lowe after she quit her gig last November - that is, until she received a saccharine voice mail at the end of March, inviting her on vacation with the Lowes.

One can magine Boyce's surprise as - a week later - Lowe did a 180 and sued her.

Also sued? Fellow nanny Jessica Gibson. The nerve of some people!

The troubled Sheryl Lowe with husband Rob.

Boyce says she quit the Lowe house after she says Sheryl snickered during a phone call that the nanny got "strep throat from sucking n***er d**k."

Laura was dating former NBA star Dale Davis at the time.

This concludes today's Rob Lowe nanny/lawsuit update. You may now return to your lives ... or at least less confusing celebrity gossip.

Forget Days of Our Lives.

Real soap opera excitement is taking place at Rob Lowe's house!

The back-and-forth accusations between the actor, his wife Sheryl and a pair of employees - Jessica Gibson and Laura Boyce - have reached a new, absurd, racist low.

Boyce, a former nanny for the family, has filed legal papers, reiterating the following claim: when she tried to call in sick to work one day, Sheryl Lowe yelled the reason for her illness was "she got strep throat from sucking n****r d**k. I mean black d**k."

Well, at least she corrected herself. That's more than Charlie Sheen can say.

Sheryl Lowe is accused of being more than just racist. She's making oral sex seem like a bad thing!

In new documents filed yesterday and published by TMZ, Boyce claims on November 16, 2007 she called in sick.

She states she "heard Sheryl Lowe in the background yelling and laughing into the phone." Then, she allegedly made the racist comments because; at the time, Boyce was dating an African-American man.

After hearing what Sheryl said, Boyce quit on the spot.

Round two of the Rob Lowe and Jessica Gibson battle is on - and juicy!

According to court documents released Friday, Gibson - the former nanny who is accusing the actor of sexual harassment - repotedly offered sex to the family's tennis instructor. Oh yes. We told you it was juicy.

In a sworn declaration, instructor Nigel Armstrong stated that Jessica Gibson "told me shortly after we first met [in mid-2005] that she was interested in me... She was very forward and did not seem concerned with being discreet."

As reported by People, Armstrong described an incident in the kitchen of the Lowe London house in which Gibson was nude from the waist down and "invited me to have sex even though [the Lowes' children] were in the general area. I was shocked by her audacity."

Heck, Lindsay Lohan would be shocked by that audacity.

According Rob Lowe, Jessica Gibson loves to solicit sex from fellow employees.

Armstrong added that Gibson was displeased he would not take their relationship further, allegedly begging him leave his girlfriend and "taking the relationship with me more seriously... She would tell me that she loved me on a number of occasions."

Another former employee, James Maclear, who was a private chef for Rob and Sheryl Lowe, described an incident in which Gibson "changed into hot pants and was laying on the kitchen floor with her legs open in a very suggestive manner."

Both men described Gibson as having unabashedly sung the Pussycat Dolls' lyric "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me."

Somewhere, Nicole Scherzinger must be ashamed their song to be used in such a manner.

Rob Lowe won a pair of small victories Thursday in the first courtroom showdown against former nanny Jessica Gibson.

Santa Barbara, Calif., Superior Court Judge Denise de Bellefeuille threw out two of the 12 allegations made by Gibson, 24.

Jessica Gibson's sexual harassment claims against Rob Lowe remain intact.

The two allegations thrown out - on the grounds that there was no legal basis - were related to labor-code violations.

"We're pleased with today's outcome," said Rob Lowe's attorney Larry Stein. "The Lowes have consistently denied any wrongdoing and will be vindicated."

Gibson's lawyer, John West, responded in kind: "We don't consider this a setback at all, Jessica's case is still intact as a whole."

Neither Rob Lowe nor Jessica Gibson was present at court.

"She's been lying low," West said of Jessica Gibson. "This has been a very traumatic situation for her, she's doing her best to heal."