Taking Names

Walk riles Elton

Sir Elton John’s Concert for Diana appearance was marred on Sunday when he was stopped by traffic police as he attempted to re-enter London’s Wembley Stadium, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The singer, who both opened and closed the musical tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, exploded into a furious profanity-laced rant at police when they demanded that he ditch his car and walk back into the venue as part of tight security measures, according to London’s Evening Standard newspaper.

A spokesman for Mr. John, however, defended the 60-year-old pop star.

“He had been there for 10 hours, performed a brilliant set, and it’s a shame that people are concentrating on one petty moment,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.

“You can’t expect Elton to start walking towards Wembley as 60,000 people are leaving. That’s a security risk in itself.”

For security reasons, all vehicles were barred from within a 50-yard radius of the arena, the Evening Standard said.

A police spokeswoman says Mr. John was targeted because his car was driving down a route reserved for pedestrians.

“We can confirm a vehicle was stopped when it left Wembley Stadium following the Diana memorial concert,” she said.

Flak defends Diaz

Cameron Diaz may not be pulled into a divorce battle between one-time boyfriend Criss Angel and his estranged wife, Joanne Sarantakos, after all.

At least, not if Miss Diaz’s publicist can help it.

Miss Sarantakos’ claims that Miss Diaz had an adulterous relationship with her husband of five years are unfounded, Miss Diaz’s publicist said Monday, Newsday.com reports. Not only are the actress and Mr. Angel no longer dating, Miss Diaz’s representative Brad Cafarelli said, but Mr. Angel and his wife had been separated for more than a year when the two were first spotted smooching in Las Vegas.

Miss Sarantakos filed a petition to divorce her illusionist hubby in 2006, Mr. Cafarelli said.

“Cameron and Criss went on only four dates over a month ago and have no current relationship,” Mr. Cafarelli said.

Iran disses Stone

Iran rejected a proposal by Oscar-winning movie director Oliver Stone to make a film about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because Mr. Stone is part of the “Great Satan” cultural establishment, says FoxNews.com, citing a report from a semiofficial news agency in that country.

“I sent a negative answer by Ahmadinejad to Oliver Stone,” the Fars news agency quoted Mehdi Kalhor, media adviser to the president, as saying. “It is right that this person is considered part of the opposition in the U.S., but opposition in the U.S. is a part of the Great Satan.”

The term “Great Satan” dates back to Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, who first called the United States that after the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the country’s U.S.-supported shah.

Mr. Stone’s publicist in New York said the director had not been notified formally that his proposal to make a documentary about Mr. Ahmadinejad had been turned down.

Compiled by Robyn-Denise Yourse from Web and wire reports.