Don’t blame Burstyn – she was just nominated

Washington – Ellen Burstyn was just as flabbergasted as everyone else when she heard she’d been nominated for an Emmy this year for her blink-and-you-miss-it role in the TV movie “Mrs. Harris.”

In an interview with AP Radio, the 73-year-old Academy Award winner spoke publicly for the first time about her Emmy nod, “When they told me I was nominated for that I went, ‘What, are you kidding?”‘

Burstyn’s cameo in “Mrs. Harris” lasted 14 seconds, with her speaking a total of 38 words.

“I thought it was fabulous,” she said. “My next ambition is to get nominated for seven seconds, and, ultimately, I want to be nominated for a picture in which I don’t even appear.”

Her nomination drew the ire of those who felt she hadn’t logged enough screen time to deserve it.

“The brouhaha around it, you know, they tried to reach me for a statement,” she recalled. “I said, ‘This doesn’t have anything to do with me. I don’t even want to know about this. You people work it out yourself.”‘

Simmons hopes cartoon gets children excited about voting

New York – Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons wants to get children and their parents animated about voting, so he’s appearing in a short cartoon to make his case.

The film, produced by the educational company BrainPOP, explains the basics of voting and encourages children to push their parents to the polls Tuesday.

The cartoon, which lasts about five minutes, will be shown in schools throughout the country.

Businessman wants to evict Smith from Bahamas home

Nassau, Bahamas – A businessman embroiled in a property dispute with Anna Nicole Smith says he wants to evict the reality TV star from the mansion where she has been secluded since her son’s death in September.

South Carolina developer G. Ben Thompson, who says he is a former boyfriend of Smith, told reporters Thursday he loaned her money to buy the waterfront mansion for nearly $1 million, but she has failed to make payments on the mortgage.

Smith, a former Playboy Playmate, has cited ownership of the home as the basis of her claim of residency in the Bahamas, where she came to give birth to a daughter. Her 20-year-old son, Daniel, died under mysterious circumstances at the hospital three days after she gave birth.

Thompson said at a news conference in Nassau that he met Smith about 18 months ago and they had a “short relationship.” He said they remained friendly until the dispute over the house in an exclusive neighborhood on the eastern end of New Providence island.

Cocaine allegations don’t stop Moss’ Model of the Year win

London – Kate Moss has been named Britain’s Model of the Year, despite cocaine allegations that lost her millions of dollars in modeling contracts.

Moss, 32, won out over two other finalists, Erin O’Connor and Alek Wek, at the British Fashion Awards on Thursday.

“Kate Moss is a fashion icon and without doubt one of the most prolific models in the industry,” the awards panel said in naming her the winner. “She has now been modeling for over 15 years and remains at the top of her game.”

The British Fashion Council refused to comment on the potential controversy of Moss’s nomination.

Moss lost valuable modeling contracts after the Daily Mirror newspaper published photos last year of her allegedly using cocaine at a music studio where her boyfriend, Pete Doherty, was recording.

Timberlake nabs top prizes at MTV Europe Music Awards

Copenhagen, Denmark – Host Justin Timberlake grabbed the best pop and best male awards while the Red Hot Chili Peppers won best album at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Christina Aguilera was named best female artist, and Kanye West took home the best hip-hop honor at the annual awards show, broadcast live in 17 countries Thursday from the Danish capital.

Actor Harris comes out, says he’s ‘a very content gay man’

Los Angeles – Neil Patrick Harris is gay and wants to quell any rumors to the contrary.

“(I) am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest,” Harris tells People magazine’s Web site.

The 33-year-old actor said he was motivated to disclose his sexuality because of recent “speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.”

Harris stars on the CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother.” He started on TV as a teen, playing the namesake doctor on the series “Doogie Howser, M.D.”