Gossip

Kate Middleton will defy royal tradition by having a baby shower, becoming the first member of Britain’s Royal Family to do so. The duchess’s sister, Pippa Middleton, will host the event, and her brother, James—owner of a baking company—is set to provide a cake shaped like a pacifier. In the past, the royals might have looked down on showers and themed presents as very middle class, but Kate—from a family of strivers—isn’t the typical duchess. “A baby shower wouldn’t normally happen if you’re in the Royal Family, but there is now a modern way of thinking,” said a palace source. The queen reportedly gave the baby shower her blessing, but it was unclear if she would attend. Middleton is due to give birth in July.

Michael Douglas claimed this week that he developed throat cancer from performing oral sex. The 68-year-old actor, who is married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, said his cancer—successfully treated in 2010—was caused not by smoking and drinking, but by a sexually transmitted disease. “This particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus,” he told The Guardian (U.K.). Douglas’s claim has medical evidence to back it up—today, about 70 percent of throat, tonsil, and tongue cancers are connected to HPV. That’s a big increase from 14 percent in the 1980s. But doctors cautioned that throat cancer can also be caused by smoking and drinking, and Douglas later conceded he’s not sure if oral sex “was the specific cause of [my] personal cancer.”

Philip Seymour Hoffman recently went into rehabilitation for a worsening drug problem that included snorting heroin. The actor, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his starring role in Capote, checked himself into a detox program after his use of prescription pills spiraled into addiction and heroin use. The 45-year-old had been sober for 23 years after struggling with substance abuse in the past. Hoffman just spent 10 days in a rehabilitation facility, and said that with the support of “a great group of friends and family,” he’s practicing sobriety again and has returned to work on a film.

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