Anyone who tunes into the 2008 Miss Universe pageant next month has got to wonder who was in charge of casting.
The beauty competition is set to air on NBC July 13th and when it does two of the most unlikely people in Hollywood will be presiding over it.
Pageant organizers just announced that Jerry Springer and Melanie Brown (a.k.a. Mel B of the Spice Girls) will co-host the annual pretty girl fest.
What?
Let me see if I’ve got this right… you have a show that is taking place in Nha Trang, Vietnam and being beamed around the world hosted by two “Dancing with the Stars” losers. One a 64-year-old former talk show host turned ringleader of a televised talent competition (which also airs on NBC) and a 33-year-old singer turned entertainment TV correspondent (when she can fit into her schedule of jetting off to Miami to get her tan on.)
Besides the “Dancing with the Stars” link and the fact that both “America’s Got Talent” (Springer’s show) and “Access Hollywood” (Brown’s show) are products of NBC Universal, I don’t see how in the world these two irreverent individuals were chosen to host an international beauty pageant.
Smoking hot Mario Lopez and not as stunning, yet still a head turner in her own right, Vanessa Minnillo (herself a former beauty pageant winner) hosted last year’s show when Riyo Mori, a dancer from Japan, won the contest in Mexico City.
So how do suppose Springer and Brown landed this year’s gig?
And speaking of landing primetime gigs, former “Simple Life” star and new mom Nicole Richie just confirmed that she will be returning to the small screen this fall.
The former reality TV star will reportedly appear in an episode of the NBC comedy “Chuck.” According to show producers, Richie will play a “snarky and spiteful girl who tortured” actress Yvonne Strahovski’s character in high school. In the episode, airing in November, Strahovski’s character, Special Agent Sarah Walker, “must face her fears when she is forced to attend her 10-year high school reunion,” for a mission with costar Zachary Levi (Chuck) as her date.
And contrary to some reports, show producers say Richie actually earned the part by going through a series of auditions where casting agents say she was “surprisingly funny.”