‘The saddest holiday ever’

New York — Facing trial on a stock-trading scandal, Martha Stewart says her legal woes have curtailed her holiday plans.

“It’s the saddest holiday ever. It’s an unwelcome time for me, very unwelcome,” she told CNN’s “Larry King Live” in a taped interview scheduled to air today. “I generally have a Christmas party but this year I’m only having a small family party.”

Stewart’s criminal trial on securities fraud and conspiracy charges is scheduled to begin Jan. 12.

Despite the ordeal, Stewart, 62, says she hasn’t allowed herself to get angry.

“You can’t let that get to you because then, again, your functionality, your daily chores can’t get done,” she says. “And my legal team has inspired me to behave in an appropriate fashion.”

‘Bachelor’ breaks the rules

Los Angeles — Bob Guiney, one of the stars of the popular ABC-TV reality series “The Bachelor,” has been sued for breach of contract by the show’s producers.

In a lawsuit filed Friday, Guiney and his record company, Wind-up Records, were sued for promoting his new CD, “3 Sides,” and music video.

And Syndicated Productions Inc. — a division of Telepictures Productions — wants to stop Guiney from making any more public appearances in connection with the CD. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Stars of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” series sign contracts with exclusivity clauses prohibiting them from promoting any other products without permission, according to the lawsuit.

Eminem tracking a thief

Detroit — Eminem and his record label are conducting a “witch hunt” to find out who stole three of the rapper’s unfinished tracks and tried to sell them on eBay, music insiders have told The New York Post.

“Eminem is in the studio right now doing his new album,” a source who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Post. “About a week and a half ago, somebody copied three unfinished raps onto CDs and tried to sell them on eBay.”

Thankfully for Eminem, the eagle-eyed execs at Interscope, his record label, saw the tracks up for auction and contacted eBay, which took the auction site down.

A perk of superstardom

London — Pop superstar Michael Jackson, expected to fly to Britain this week for a Christmas visit, is unlikely to escape the furor surrounding his forthcoming court fight over a barrage of child sex charges back home, Reuters reports.

Some British politicians questioned the logic behind the visit.

“I must confess I was a little bit surprised that someone in America can be released from their bail condition of not traveling abroad in order to launch a CD,” British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told the BBC on Sunday.

A trip to Britain was made possible after his lawyers arranged with prosecutors the return of his passport, which was confiscated after his arrest.