Lauryn Hill Gets 3 Months in Prison
(NEWSER) – Singer Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to three months in prison and three months in home confinement after pleading guilty to failing to pay taxes on almost $1 million in earnings. Hill told the judge that she had intended to pay the taxes ... eventually, but that she was "needed to be able to earn so I could pay my taxes, without compromising the health and welfare of my children, and I was being denied that," the AP reports.
Additionally, TMZ reports, she told the court her situation was akin to slavery: "I was put into a system I didn't know the nature of. ... I'm a child of former slaves. I got into an economic paradigm and had that imposed on me," Hill said. "I sold 50 million units ... now I'm up here paying a tax debt. If that's not likened to slavery, I don't know what is."
Additionally, TMZ reports, she told the court her situation was akin to slavery: "I was put into a system I didn't know the nature of. ... I'm a child of former slaves. I got into an economic paradigm and had that imposed on me," Hill said. "I sold 50 million units ... now I'm up here paying a tax debt. If that's not likened to slavery, I don't know what is."
Miley Cyrus Spoils Maxim Hot 100 List
(NEWSER) – For former Disney starlet Miley Cyrus, dreams really do come true—especially if those dreams include being ranked by your hotness in a lad mag. Maximstill hasn't released its annual Hot 100 list for 2013, but Cyrus just couldn't contain the news that she's taken the No. 1 spot this year, the NY Daily News reports. "Didn't know this was coming out yet! I'm so happy to be #1 on Maxims HOT 100! #myfanskickass #dreamsdocometrue" she wrote on Twitter. If she's telling the truth (Maxim has not commented), Cyrus has moved up 67 places on the list from her position last year, knocking Bar Refaeli from the top spot.
Nelson to Play Benefit for Blast Victims—His Neighbors
(AP) – Willie Nelson will turn an upcoming Texas concert into a benefit for victims of the explosion at a fertilizer plant not far from where he grew up. Nelson still has a home in Abbott, Texas, about five miles north of West, which was rocked by last night's explosion that left an unknown number of people dead and more than 160 hurt. He remembers riding his bike the short distance between the towns and still has many friends and family there.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of West," Nelson said in an interview before taping a CMT Crossroads special in Nashville. "There are a lot of our friends and loved ones and neighbors down there. We talked to some of them and some of the made it out OK, and some of them didn't. But they're strong and they'll be back. It's one of those things you don't get over. But you will get through it." The concert is scheduled for April 28 in Austin.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of West," Nelson said in an interview before taping a CMT Crossroads special in Nashville. "There are a lot of our friends and loved ones and neighbors down there. We talked to some of them and some of the made it out OK, and some of them didn't. But they're strong and they'll be back. It's one of those things you don't get over. But you will get through it." The concert is scheduled for April 28 in Austin.
Neutral Milk Hotel Is Back, 15 Years Later
(NEWSER) – The indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel has effectively been broken up since 1998—but the group is about to tour again. Right now, Jeff Mangum et al are planning to start in the South (Asheville and Athens, Georgia) in October before heading to Taipei and Tokyo; just five dates have been announced thus far, but the band's website promises more will come, reports theHuffington Post. Some of the profits will go to a charity for Mongolian children, the band says via its site, whichVulture notes also features "a strange multilingual reunion note" that begins: "and of water course womb rume is a wandering the welkin woman whose fune caul is all umbilical cord code..."
Kristen Wiig Returning to SNL —as Host
(NEWSER) – A familiar face returns to Saturday Night Live on May 11: Kristen Wiig will be back for her first stint as host, reports Deadline.com. Wiig left the show at the end of last season—with a sendoff from Mick Jagger—and her movie career has been strong since. Films on deck include an Anchorman sequel, Girl Most Likely,Despicable Me 2, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Vampire Weekend will be her musical guest, reportsRolling Stone, while Entertainment Weekly rounds up some favorite Wiig sketches from SNL.