Gossip

Will Smith is studying Scientology with his friend Tom Cruise. The actor says he is not committed to any one religious path and still believes in the Christian Bible, “but in all of the experiences I’ve had with Tom and Scientology, like, 98 percent of the principles are identical to the principles of the Bible,” he tells Men’s Vogue. “The Bible says, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And you know, there’s a Scientology principle: Do not create experiences for others that they cannot comfortably perceive.” He adds, “I don’t think that because the word someone uses for spirit is thetan that the definition becomes any different.” Scientology teaches that some of the thetans, or spirits, inside every human being came to Earth from an alien civilization.

Paul McCartney is secretly dating actress Rosanna Arquette, said the London News of the World. The couple was photographed hugging and kissing goodbye on two back-to-back dates in London last week. “Paul looked very flirty,” a witness told the newspaper. “The sparks were there for everyone to see.” The romantic walks came shortly after McCartney was linked to American businesswoman Nancy Shevell, who spent the week at home recovering from an illness.

Goth rocker Marilyn Manson used his band’s earnings on “sick and disturbing purchases” for his personal collection, according to a lawsuit filed by his former keyboardist. Among the items Manson bought, said Stephen Bier in a court filing last week, were Nazi memorabilia; African masks made of human skin; a skeleton of a man in a wheelchair; and another skeleton, of a 4-year-old Chinese girl, that he turned into a chandelier.

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The 1969 song “Sweet Caroline” was inspired by a young Caroline Kennedy, singer Neil Diamond revealed last week. Diamond, 66, performed his first and biggest hit at Kennedy’s 50th birthday party, telling her he wrote it when he was a young, unknown songwriter and saw a magazine photo of President Kennedy’s daughter dressed in riding gear, standing next to her pony. “It was such an innocent, wonderful picture,” Diamond said. He wasn’t sure how she’d react to the revelation. “I thought she might be embarrassed, but she seems to be struck by it and really, really happy.”