IDOL CASTOFF WON’T GIVE UP! American Idol producers booted Chris Golightly because of a previous contract he’d signed, rendering him ineligible to continue in the competition. Golightly has forcefully denied that the contract was still in place when he tried out for the reality show, and now his former manager, Lawrence Franklin of Dream Projects Entertainment, has released a statement and given an interview to The Los Angeles Times in which he disputes Golightly’s account and says the singer re-upped his contract with boy band Dream 5 in the spring of 2009, only months before his Idol tryout. Golightly held a press conference on Tuesday outside a Hollywood club where he again stated that his contract with Dream Projects Entertainment had ended prior to Idol.

IDOL BEATS THE OLYMPICS! FOX’s two-hour American Idol beat NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics on Tuesday night. According to preliminary numbers from Nielsen, Idol averaged 24-million viewers overall, while the Olympics had 22.1-million viewers overall. ABC’s Lost scored just under ten-million viewers, up slightly from last week.

KIEFER OKAY’D FOR 24! After having an outpatient surgical procedure, Kiefer Sutherland has gotten the all-clear from his doctor to return to work. People reports that the actor had a ruptured cyst treated two weeks ago and he is expected back on the set March 1st.

LOST STAR CHEATS WITH STRIPPER? According to the National Enquirer, Lost star Matthew Fox is being accused of allegedly cheating on his wife with a stripper. Apparently, the actor hooked up with a 26-year-old woman named Stefani Talbott from Stars Cabaret club in Bend, Oregon. Further, a cab driver claims the pair were “kissing and hugging each other” in the back of his taxi just before dropping them off at Talbott’s place on December 29th. Fox has reportedly denied these claims.

MOVIE PIRATE GETS TWO YEARS! Robert Henderson, who pleaded guilty last October to recording The Dark Night at a movie theater and selling it on DVD, has been sentenced to two years in a federal prison. According to www.ContactMusic.com, the movie pirate will also have to pay a fine of nearly 25-thousand dollars. A spokesperson for the Motion Picture Association of America called the sentence “appropriate” and hopes it will “serve as a warning to would-be movie thieves.”

ESPN HOST SUSPENDED! Tony Kornheiser, co-host of the ESPN talk show Pardon The Interruption, has been suspended by the sports network due to comments deemed inappropriate about a female co-worker. According to the New York Post, Kornheiser insulted SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm, saying that an outfit she was wearing made her look she had “sausage casing wrapping around her upper body.” Kornheiser then apologized for his comments on his radio show, but ESPN still announced that he is being suspended for two weeks

OLE MISS’ STAR WARS MASCOT! Ole Miss are known as the Rebels but the school plans to drop their old mascot, “Colonel Reb,” for something a little more updated. The student body voted on their favorite replacement and it is “Admiral Ackbar,” the Supreme Commander of the Rebel Alliance fleet from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. A final vote will be held soon to decide if “Ackbar” will indeed be the school’s mascot. Check out a picture of the creature at www.TMZ.com.