Gordon Brown's IMF Chances; January Jones Paternity Speculation

Ray Gustini
Gordon Brown's IMF Chances; January Jones Paternity Speculation

Welcome to the Smart Set. Every morning we bring you the gossip coverage, filtered. Today: the stars show up for Oprah, the RIAA gets loud, and Hillary Clinton warms to Anthony Weiner.

  • Don't get too excited about the thought of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the IMF. Labour party sources say current Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne are increasingly "obdurate" in their opposition to Brown taking the post. At a press conference yesterday, Osborne said Brown hasn't asked for the job "directly or indirectly." [The Telegraph]

  • Why won't January Jones go ahead and identify the father of her unborn baby? Because he's married to someone else. That's the theory making the rounds today, according to "sources." For good measure, they also say the Mad Men actress "had an affair on the set of X-Men: First Class." [The Daily]

  • If Rep. Anthony Weiner jumps into the 2013 New York mayoral race, he'll have the backing of Hillary Clinton. The pair supposedly has grown close after he married her former aide Huma Abedine last year, and she'd be willing to endorse him over Bill de Blasio, who managed her 2008 senate campaign and is also weighing a bid. [Page Six]

  • The Recording Industry Association of America office in Washington was down one conference room yesterday after it was "commandeered" as rehearsal space by Gloria Estefan. RIAA staffers didn't mind though. "It's been a real pleasant distraction," said one tipster. "Though the folks at the other end of our conference calls haven't quite understood the loud congo drums." [The Reliable Source]

  • Madonna, Tom Hanks, and Tom Cruise were among the stars on hand for the live taping of Oprah Winfrey's final shows at the United Center in Chicago last night. Hanks MC'd the first hour of the show, during which Cruise and Madonna were "surprise guests." Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith hosted the second hour. Other guests included Diane Sawyer, Dakota Fanning, Beyonce (who wore a "tuxedo leotard" and performed All the Real Girls), Rosie O'Donnell, Rascal Flatts, Halle Berry, Katie Holmes, Queen LAtifah, Simon Cowell, Diane Sawyer, Stevie Wonder (he and Jamie Foxx did a duet), Jerry Seinfeld, Maya Angelou, Kristin Chenoweth, and, of course, Steadman and Gayle. [The Hollywood Reporter]