McDonald’s is recalling 12 million glasses sold as a promotional item for the latest “Shrek” movie because they contain the toxic metal cadmium.  Will this recall tarnish McDonald’s family reputation?

The “Shrek Forever After 3D” collectable drinking glass are 16 ounce glasses that came in four designs, Shrek, Fiona, Puss n’ Boots, and Donkey.  They were sold at McDonald’s restaurants nationwide from May 2010 into June 2010 for about $2.

McDonald’s is asking consumers to immediately stop using the glass out of an abundance of caution, the CPSC reported. Visit www.mcdonalds.com for additional instructions on how to obtain a full refund.

No injuries have yet been reported.

The CPSC stated that it was made aware of issues with this product through the Office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier from California. 

There are some reports stating that this recall could tarnish McDonald’s reputation, such as this from The Wall Street Journal (click here for full report):

The voluntary recall is a rare lapse for McDonald’s, which is known for tough oversight of suppliers, and could hurt its standing with families that have driven the fast-food chain’s growth.

What do you think? Sound off below.

If you think Homer Simpson is the one of the greatest characters ever created, you are not alone.  If you think Homer Simpson is the greatest TV and film character of the past two decades, you aren’t alone in that regard either.  According to an Entertainment Weekly survey, Homer Simpson of the long-running Fox animated series, “The Simpsons,” beat out several characters that will no doubt continue to entertain and endure for centuries.

Homer Simpson first appeared in April 1987 on the “The Tracey Ullman Show.”  He and his dysfunctional family were just animated ‘shorts’ then.  But in 1989, Homer took the Simpson family to prime time and a half hour show of their own.  “The Simpsons” became Fox Television first bona fide hit, landing in the Top 30 top rated shows for the season (1989-90).

What is the appeal of a guy who swills beer, is intentionally and unintentionally cruel to his children, loves his wife unconditionally, pigs out on donuts, and says “D’oh!” when he realizes he’s done or said something sub-moronic?  According to Matt Groenig, creator of “The Simpsons,” told Us Magazine that people relate to Homer Simpson “because we’re all secretly propelled by desires we can’t admit to.”

So who was Homer’s closest competition?  Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe).  The reluctant world-saving wizard beat out the WB Network’s “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” (Sarah Michelle Gellar) for the second greatest TV and film character of the past 20 years.  Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) of the hit HBO television mafia drama “The Sopranos” was fourth.  The Joker, as played by Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” was fifth.

The bottom five of the Top 10 were Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) from the NBC sitcom “Friends,” Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp), Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) from HBO’s sitcom “Sex and the City,” and cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants.

After seeing the list, you know there are some “Twilight” fans that are steamed that Harry Potter made the Top 10 and Edward Cullen and Bella Swan didn’t, not to mention that a vampire slayer ended up side-by-side with the franchise’s rival.

Entertainment Weekly released the list of the Top 100 characters of the last 20 years on Monday to mark their 20th anniversary.

Tom Cruise is dead — or at least that seems to be what the internet rumor mill is cranking out today.  The famed actor, known for his roles in such movies as “Risky Business,” “Top Gun,” and the “Mission: Impossible” series and his avid belief in Scientology, seems to have become the latest in the dead celebrity hoax parade.  But Tom Cruise is very much not dead.

He’s a hologram.  That’s what he told MTV Friday in an interview.  MTV talked with Tom Cruise and Will.i.am on the phone.  The two were promoting the Black Eyed Peas’ singer’s song from the upcoming “Cruise” movie “Knight and Day.”

Cruise thought the rumor was amusing.  “I’m really alive,” he confirmed. “Did the internet get it wrong again?”

Again?  Yes, again.  Tom Cruise was the victim of a dead celebrity hoax/ rumor in 2009 as well.  And it seems to be the same rumor as the death hoax rumor that swept the internet in November.  That rumor had several forms, but the most persistent was the version where he fell from a cliff in New Zealand.

But haven’t we heard that dead celebrity rumor before?

Of course we have. Last June, on the same day that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died, a Twitter-generated hoax reported that actor Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) was killed when he fell from Kauri cliff while filming a movie in New Zealand.  Oddly enough, Tom Cruise fell from the same cliff as Jeff Goldblum.  Even odder still, Jeff Goldblum appeared on Comedy Central Network’s “The Colbert Report” that same night and read his own obituary.

Actor Gary Coleman was also the victim of a dead celebrity hoax/ rumor that dominated internet traffic Friday.  Unlike not dead Tom Cruise, who is in good health in London, Coleman was admitted to a Utah hospital Wednesday and has since slipped into a life-threatening coma.

Kristen Stewart, the love interest of Robert Pattinson on screen and (supposedly) off, has been taking a lot of pictures lately.  Of course, she’s promoting her latest “Twilight Saga” movie, “Eclipse,” but red carpet pictures and paparazzi pictures apparently aren’t enough.  Kristen Stewart also posed for Flaunt magazine and — let’s just say that the pictures seem to be a little trashy — trailer trashy…

Zap2It got hold of some of the pictures from the Flaunt photo shoot, including the cover shot.  Some of the shots are in black-and-white and some are in color.  Zap2It gives Kristen Stewart a generous nod, stating, “Leave it to K. Stew to make the inside of a dilapidated trailer look edgy and glamorous.”

They were far too generous…

Borrowing that ridiculous swept back pompadour look Miley Cyrus sported on the red carpet at the Academy Awards and in her godawful “Can’t Be Tamed” cage-liner video, Kristen Stewart’s pictures for Flaunt are probably meant to look pensive, brooding, sombre.  Instead, she has the same blank look on her face throughout, one she’s probably familiar with from the flatliner fans of “Twilight.”  And there’s nothing edgy about the photos at all, not even the black-and-white where she’s taking a hit off of a cigarette (when was the last time cigarettes were ‘edgy’? 1980?), which is probably what the photographer was shooting for.

The girl really needs Robert Pattinson lounging about to make a picture with her in it interesting…

And the photos of the ultra-pale (not a vampire yet?  Are we certain?) Stewart in the single-sleeved mini-dress?  Now that looks trailer trash chic.  All gussied-up to get out of the trailer, throw back a few tequila shots, and dance on tables for the cheering bubbas, show some life…

No, Kristen Stewart’s latest pictures leave one as devoid of emotion as the acting in a “Twilight” film.  Flaunt?  Flaunt what?  Just because one ‘acts’ in a bunch of movies about the undead does not mean that one has to acquire the vacuousness of the entire “Twilight” pastiche.

Hope the interview is more interesting than the pictures.  Nevermind; she won’t talk about Robert Pattinson, so who really cares?  And these pictures do not help solve the mystery of how Kristen Stewart made the Top 10 in Maxim‘s Hot 100…

The brother of “Clueless” and “Girl, Interrupted” actress Brittany Murphy, Tony Bertolotti, said that he was “not shocked” by news of the death of Simon Monjack, his sister’s husband. He said that although he was sad for his sister, he wasn’t for Monjack.  Bertolotti told Radar Online that he does not believe that the entire truth of how his sister died has been made public.

Bertolotti’s brother-in-law, Simon Monjack, was pronounced dead at the scene on Sunday night after efforts by firefighters to revive him proved unsuccessful.  Sharon Murphy, Brittany’s mother, had discovered Monjack in the master bedroom and called 911 at 9:46 p.m. PST.   Monjack and Murphy had been sharing the house since Brittany Murphy died in December.

Not only was Tony Bertolotti not shocked, he said, “I didn’t have a reaction to the news. The guy was insane he tried to keep my father’s name off (Brittany Murphy’s) the death certificate.”  He said that when he told his father (Brittany’s father as well), he felt the same way.

“That’s two out of three people that have died living in that house within six months,” Bertolotti said. “When are people going to open their eyes about what was going on there?”

Bertolotti also believes there’s a lot more to the story of the death of his sister, Brittany Murphy, than has come to light.  “Our family thinks that this thing will still blow-up,” he said, “and that the truth will eventually come-out about our sister.”  He didn’t elaborate on what he believed that truth to be.

Bertolotti believes that Simon Monjack simply lost control.  “Monjack,” he said, “had all his wagons circled and he couldn’t do it any longer.”

The Los Angeles Police Department determined that Monjack had died of natural causes, that there was no obvious foul play or criminal activity, and released the 39-year-old screenwriter’s body to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.  There were no illegal drugs or weapons found in the home.  Given the numerous prescription medicine bottles by the bed of the deceased, the Coroner’s Office was investigating the possibility of an accidental overdose.

It had been Sharon Murphy who had discovered Brittany Murphy’s unresponsive body on December 20.  But Tony Bertolotti doesn’t feel sorry of Brittany’s mother, even though she found both bodies.  “At this time we have no sympathy for her mother (Sharon Murphy) as she went along with what Simon Monjack wanted. Our thoughts and prayers are for Brittany Murphy.”

Could Brittany Murphy’s husband, screenwriter Simon Monjack, have died of a drug overdose?  It is one of the causes of death that the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office will investigate in trying to establish how the 39-year-old died.  Radar Online reported that, according to Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter, Simon Monjack “had a huge number of medicines by his bedside.”  The presence of the prescription medicines has led the Coroner’s Office to believe that Monjack either died of a heart, from a drug overdose, or a heart attack induced by the medicines he was taking.

The Los Angeles Police Department released Simon Monjack’s body to the Coroner’s Office after making a preliminary determination that he died of natural causes and that there was no foul play involved in his death.  Police found no weapons and no illegal drugs in the home.  However, the relative youth of Monjack and the presence of numerous prescription medicines were cause for investigating whether or not the screenwriter had ingested any of the medicines in order to ascertain whether or not they could have contributed to his death.

Simon Monjack’s body was discovered Sunday night by Brittany Murphy’s mother, Sharon Murphy.  She called 911 and the responding firefighters found Monjack dead upon arrival.  Sharon Murphy, who continued to live in the same house with Simon Monjack after Brittany Murphy’s death, also discovered her daughter the day she died.

Of course, the presence of prescription drugs does not necessarily mean they were used or in use.  Simon Monjack’s cause of death may have been the result of any number of contributing factors.  It usually takes between four-to-six weeks to receive all the various toxicology tests and drug screenings results, at which time the Coroner’s office will deliver a final autopsy report and make a cause of death determination, if possible.

The husband of late actress Brittany Murphy, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, was reportedly found dead on Sunday night.

Sharon Murphy, Brittany’s mother, reportedly found Monjack unresponsive in the family home they shared in Hollywood.

“Brittany’s mom made the 911 call. He was unresponsive when responders arrived and was pronounced dead at the house,” L.A. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told People magazine. “It’s being reported [by the responding fire department] as a possible heart attack. We’re not sure if it is natural causes or a possible accident maybe because of the prescription medication found there.”

Brittany Murphy, 32, died in December due to pneumonia, a low-blood count and multiple drug intoxication, according to reports.

Monjack and Murphy were married in 2007.  They had no children.

Simon Monjack, actress Brittany Murphy’s husband, died in his Los Angeles home Sunday night.  Preliminary reports indicate that the 39-year-old Simon Monjack died of natural causes.  Could someone have made a mistake?  Natural causes?  Nobody dies of natural causes in Hollywood.  Where’s the drama in that?

No, when people like Simon Monjack die, there has to be a reason, a connection, extenuating circumstances, a backstory.  It is Hollywood after all.  And what would the cradle of modern American creativity be without its ability to create something from nothing?

Take, for instance, Brittany Murphy’s cause of death.  Speculation ran rampant as soon as Brittany Murphy was found dead by her mother.  It had to have been a drug overdose or something to do with an eating disorder.  She was much too young to die of natural causes.  Fingers were pointed at her husband, Simon Monjack, as the likely suspect for getting her hooked on drugs and keeping her supplied.  Abuse of prescription medication was also suspected.

But the final autopsy report listed cause of death as pneumonia with contributing factors like acute anemia.  Although preventable, Brittany Murphy had indeed died of natural causes.

Stepping outside the Murphy-Monjack family, rumors ran rampant as soon as actress Dixie Carter died in April.  Her husband, Hal Holbrook, issued a short statement and the media immediately assumed he was hiding something about her death because of the paucity of information disclosed.  Cause of death?  Complications associated with endometrial cancer.  Hal Holbrook and family had simply wanted privacy.  Hollywood not only ignored the request, they took the scarcity of information to mean Carter’s family was attempting to hide something.

Since Brittany Murphy’s death was so sensationalized, the death of her husband will no doubt follow suit.  Although police have stated that no weapons or illegal drugs were found, there will probably be suggestions made that Monjack had help in his death.  So soon after his wife?  Had to have been an overdose or something.  Right?

And what about Sharon Murphy?  She found both bodies.  Surely Hollywood can find a connection there.

Simply dying of natural causes is too easy.  There’s no story in it, behind it, stemming from it.  And the timing of Simon Monjack’s death, just five month’s after Brittany Murphy’s, lends itself only too well to the romantically bent.

But dying of a broken heart would still be considered natural cause.  Unless Simon Monjack died haunted by his dead wife’s ghost.

Still, nobody dies of natural causes in Hollywood.  At least, not until the final autopsy report and the cause of death kills the story…

Former Playboy model and star of “The Girls Next Door” Kendra Wilkinson not only has a sex tape with a former boyfriend in the works from Vivid Entertainment, the self-proclaimed largest adult film company in the world, but said company claims to also has a second sex tape — this one with a lesbian bent.  According to the celebrity gossip website Radar Online, a second sex tape starring reality show star Kendra Wilkinson has surfaced.  After rumors of there being more than one sex tape video of the Wilkinson, Vivid seems to have lined up their sequel to the much touted “Kendra Exposed,” which is due to be released on May 28.

Radar Online also reported that they have identified the woman allegedly going girl-on-girl with Kendra Wilkinson.  A former boyfriend, Kavi Cermak, revealed to Radar Online that a woman by the name of Taryn, whom he once dated, was Kendra’s partner in the second sex tape.

The gossip site claimed that Cermak’s allegations had been “independently confirmed” by several “sources familiar with Kendra’s X-rated past.”

Of those who have seen the actual sex tap video, two told Radar Online that sex toys were employed.  The site itself claims to have seen more stills of Kendra Wilkinson as well, where she seen “straddling a second, scantily-clad woman who is wearing skimpy lingerie.”

The girl-on-girl sex tape is said to have been filmed before she moved into the Playboy mansion to be Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend and star in “The Girls Next Door.”

As for “Kendra Exposed,” her partner in that film, Justin Frye, reportedly taped their sex sessions on a regular basis, so not only might there be a Kendra Wilkinson lesbian sex tape video, but there could be a number of sequels to the first “Kendra Exposed.”  And if people get tired of seeing Kendra and Justin Frye having sex, it is being reported by various media outlets that Kendra had multiple sex partners.

The question now becomes:  Since there seems to be a number of these sex tape videos where Kendra has been exposed (not just those obtained by Vivid), did husband Hank Baskett know about them and, whether he did or did not, can he live with his former Playboy model wife also being the star of quite a few amateur sex tapes?