Audit: Celebrity records improperly checked

Boston — Call it a different kind of star search.

A new audit finds Massachusetts law enforcement officials have conducted hundreds of criminal record searches on local celebrities such as Tom Brady and Matt Damon.

The report doesn’t identify the celebrities by name. But a state official briefed on the findings says Brady was the celebrity whose information the report says was checked 968 times. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns, says others who were checked include singer James Taylor and Boston Celtics captain Paul Pierce.

State Criminal Systems History Board Director Curtis Wood says agencies know who ran the checks, and anyone who conducted an illegitimate check on a celebrity will be punished.

KFC coupon customers: Where’s the chicken?

Louisville, Ky. — Customers at a New York City KFC hoping to redeem coupons for a free meal were disgruntled when the fast-food restaurant ran out of its new grilled chicken, but Internet rumors of a riot were unfounded, a Kentucky Fried Chicken spokeswoman said Wednesday.

“Some customers were upset because they couldn’t get their chicken, but there was no riot,” said Laurie Schalow.

Schalow said the Manhattan restaurant on East 42nd Street plans to begin honoring the coupons again today after it resupplies the kitchen.

The coupons were available on Oprah.com for two days beginning Tuesday after Oprah announced the meal promotion on her show. Each downloadable coupon can be redeemed for two pieces of grilled chicken, two individual sides and a biscuit.

KFC, owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., introduced its new Kentucky Grilled Chicken about three weeks ago. The new menu item is being touted as lower in fat, calories and sodium than the traditional deep-fried chicken for which KFC is known the world over.

But Schalow said customers have until May 19th to redeem their coupons, Mother’s Day excluded, and she encouraged the public to return later.

Report: Abdul tells of struggle with painkillers

New York — Paula Abdul has told a magazine that she overcame a 12-year addiction to painkillers last year.

The “American Idol” judge tells Ladies Home Journal in its June issue that she checked into a resort and spa in Carlsbad, Calif., where she weaned herself off her medications last Thanksgiving.

Abdul says she didn’t like existing the way she had been.

The magazine says the 46-year-old singer-dancer had suffered for years from chronic pain caused by an unusual series of accidents.

Abdul’s spokesman, Jeff Ballard, says Abdul “has moved forward in her life.”

Reality TV’s Jon says he didn’t cheat on Kate

New York — Reality TV star Jon Gosselin has denied cheating on wife Kate. But he said he’s sorry for creating that impression.

“These allegations are false and just plain hurtful,” Gosselin said Wednesday, insisting: “I did not cheat on Kate.”

Gosselin was speaking out against tabloid reports that he’s had an affair with a Pennsylvania schoolteacher. Photos of Gosselin and the woman have surfaced in recent weeks.

The 32-year-old Gosselin did acknowledge spending time with friends of both sexes, including the woman with whom he’s rumored to be cheating.

“I need to be more careful and aware of who I am associating with and where I am spending my time,” said Gosselin, who apologized for putting his family “in this awkward position.”

The Pennsylvania couple, along with their eight children, star on the TLC reality show, “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” a project that has brought them fame but also put them under a microscope. Cameras follow the family as they face challenges that come with having a large family.

Fashion designer Pierre Cardin hospitalized

Paris — Fashion designer Pierre Cardin has been hospitalized after fainting and falling earlier this week.

A spokesman for the Cardin fashion house says the designer was taken Tuesday by helicopter to a hospital in Marseille, on the southern coast of France.

Spokesman Jean-Pascal Hesse says Cardin, 86, is expected to leave the hospital today.

The designer underwent medical tests after falling last week as well.

Cardin lives in the southern French village of Lacoste, where he has produced a theater festival for the past nine years. He is currently restoring the chateau of the infamous Marquis de Sade.

Designer claims actor head-butted him

New York — New York City police on Wednesday were investigating a fashion designer’s claim that actor Kiefer Sutherland head-butted him at a Manhattan nightclub.

Jack McCollough, of the Proenza Schouler fashion house, said the incident happened around 2 a.m. Tuesday, reportedly at the club SubMercer in SoHo, and claimed he was cut on his face.

McCollough claimed Sutherland, star of Fox television’s “24,” attacked him after an argument, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The official said detectives plan to question Sutherland before the end of this week and might question actress Brooke Shields as a witness.

Nobody has been arrested.