Spears, Hilton tie atop ‘Worst Dressed’ list

Los Angeles – Dubbed “style-free and fashion deprived,” Britney Spears and Paris Hilton tied for the No. 1 spot on Mr. Blackwell’s 47th annual “Worst Dressed” list.

“Two peas in an overexposed pod,” Blackwell said of the skimpy attire worn by the two celebutantes he called the “Screamgirls.”

Some of Blackwell’s nastiest words were reserved for Camilla Parker-Bowles, a member of the British royal family, who finished No. 2 on the list.

“The Duchess of Dowdy strikes again,” wrote Blackwell. “In feathered hats that were once the rage, she resembles a petrified parakeet from the Jurassic age. A royal wreck.”

Blackwell, no longer an active designer but still an acid-tongued critic of celebrity fashion, aimed his poison pen at Hollywood, with young entertainers dominating the list.

At No. 3 was actress Lindsay Lohan, scolded by Blackwell for turning “from adorable to deplorable.”

The rest of the top 10 were Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul, Sharon Stone, Tori Spelling, Sandra Oh and Meryl Streep.

Walters fires back at Donald Trump

New York – Donald Trump has called Barbara Walters a liar and Rosie O’Donnell a loser. On Wednesday, they both fired back.

“Well, he’s at it again,” said O’Donnell, referring to a letter written to her by Trump and reported Tuesday by the media. The letter said Walters had told him that working with O’Donnell on ABC’s “The View” is like “living in hell.”

“That poor, pathetic man,” said Walters, drawing whoops of approval from her TV audience.

O’Donnell high-fived Walters and co-hosts Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. “You know, he just can’t – he just can’t let go, but we’re moving on,” Walters said.

The co-hosts didn’t mention him by name, referring to Trump as “he” and “that guy.”

“The man is obsessed with me, and I’m happy to say his show tanked,” said O’Donnell, in an apparent reference to the ratings of the latest edition of Trump’s NBC reality show, “The Apprentice,” which fell short of those from last spring’s season premiere.

An e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment from Trump wasn’t immediately answered Wednesday. But TV show “The Insider” said a statement from Trump said, “They didn’t even have the courage to mention me by name. It was sad to see Barbara read her statement off a cue card.”

Less swag in the bags

Hollywood – Celebrity presenters at Monday night’s Golden Globe Awards on NBC won’t be getting much in the way of Hollywood swag, those gift-jammed goody bags that in past years were crammed with thousands of dollars worth of luxury items.

Last year, Golden Globe presenters got gift boxes worth more than $20,000. Each package included a $2,000 gym membership, a $1,200 diamond pendant, an $865 Chopard watch and a $475 camera phone, plus handbags, MP3 players and a slew of gift certificates.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which sponsors the Golden Globes, said Wednesday that it had settled outstanding tax obligations over the presenter boxes with the Internal Revenue Service for the years 2004 and 2005.

Association President Philip Berk noted that this year’s presenters would receive a tote bag worth less than $600, the threshold for reporting the items as taxable income.

‘Housewive’ star ordered on bed rest

New York – Marcia Cross, who is expecting twins in April with her stockbroker-husband, Tom Mahoney, has been put on bed rest, her spokeswoman said Wednesday.

“This is a precautionary measure only,” publicist Heidi Slan said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. She declined to give further details.

Producers of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” in which Cross, 44, stars as the persnickety Bree, have decided to move production at the end of this week to the actress’ Los Angeles home for two days, according to a story posted on TV Guide’s Web site.

Cross, whose character isn’t pregnant, had planned to film just two more shows following the Feb. 11 episode because it was becoming too difficult to hide her pregnancy, TV Guide reported Wednesday.

Cross and Mahoney married in June 2006. The couple dated for more than a year and became engaged in August 2005.