Rapper: Romney touched me first

Boston — A rapper with the Grammy-nominated club act LMFAO says former Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney first touched him — and not the other way around — during a confrontation aboard an Air Canada flight that was preparing to take off from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Sky Blu, whose given name is Skyler Gordy, says in a video posted Friday on TMZ.com that he was trying to go to sleep when he leaned his seat back in the coach section of a the Vancouver-to-Los Angeles flight Monday. He says Romney loudly told him several times to straighten it, as is required until takeoff under commercial flight regulations.

Then, he says, Romney reached forward and grabbed his shoulder.

“I just react — boom — get off me, you know,” Gordy says in the video, taking a swing through the air as he speaks. “And I didn’t take it any further than that. I just wanted the man not to touch me; that’s it.”

Sean Penn charged with battery

Los Angeles — Actor-director Sean Penn was charged Friday with battery and vandalism charges stemming from an altercation with a photographer in Brentwood last fall.

Penn will be arraigned March 22 on the two misdemeanor charges, said Los Angeles city attorney’s spokesman Frank Mateljan.

Penn will not be required to appear in court if he is represented by an attorney.

If convicted, Penn could face up to 18 months in jail.

Conan weighing live tour; next stop, Europe?

Los Angeles — Conan O’Brien may be taking his act on the road and even overseas.

O’Brien’s exit deal with NBC barred the former “Tonight” host from TV appearances for several months. He is weighing a tour that would take him directly to his fans, according to a person familiar with the proposal.

The person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the plans, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Details are unsettled, the person said, but O’Brien may perform live in U.S. venues, including college campuses, and head to Europe. An O’Brien spokesman declined comment.

The tour could be a prelude to a new talk show for the comedian, who left “Tonight” in January when NBC tried to bump him to a later slot.