Jessica Simpson is threatening legal action against Star magazine after it
linked her to Tiger Woods on the cover of its latest issue, according to
media reports.
The magazine featured a cover photo of the two together and suggested she
had become the latest blonde bombshell in Woods’ harem.
Star magazine stated that Simpson and Woods became friendly at the AT&T
National Pro-Am golf tournament in Bethesda, Md., in July and had exchanged
e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
Simpson tweeted yesterday that it was a completely false.
“Can't believe that I'm on the cover of star magazine with Tiger Woods, what
a JOKE! 'The Shocking Inside Story' is (insert drumroll) A LIE!"
She is now consulting lawyers, according to celebrity gossip site,
amygrindhouse.com. Simpson has previously threatened legal action against OK
Magazine about false stories about her and boyfriend, Tony Romo – one of
Tiger’s party pals.
While Simpson is disassociating herself from Woods’, reports are that Woods
is close to a mental breakdown as he spends his days alone watching cartoons
and eating cereal.
Sources close to Woods say he may be cracking under the strain as his wife
contemplates divorce proceedings, his sponsorship deals disappear and his
reputation is in shreds.
According to the UK Sun, the billion-dollar golfer is simply not able to
cope with the impact of his sex life coming to light or how his world has
fallen apart in the past 20 days.
Living like a recluse in one of his Florida homes, Woods can’t even take his
mind off his mounting woes by watching sports channels because of the
inevitable reminders of his scandal.
"There is a real concern among his friends that he is dealing with the
situation in a very unhealthy way,” a friend is quoted as saying.
Adding to the problem is that friends have no way to reach Woods. He changed
his cell phone number after his infamous SUV crash so whatever remaining
friends he has left can’t give him support.
Yesterday, Charles Barkley expressed frustration that he couldn’t reach
Woods and said Woods should “reach out to his celebrity friends.”
While Woods’ wife Elin Nordegren appears to be moving to Sweden with their
two children and is working on a multi-million dollar divorce strategy,
Woods marketability is falling fast.
According to Bloomberg, only a few weeks ago Tiger was No. 10 on the
influential David Brown Index, which is used by advertising agencies to
gauge the ability of celebrities to influence consumers. He has now
plummeted to No. 78, similar to the decline that Mel Gibson suffered when an
anti-Semitic tirade came to light during a DUI arrest.
In the category of celebrities that consumers would most like to model
themselves on, Woods was once No. 9, along with Apple’s Steve Jobs and
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
Woods is now No. 2,325, keeping company with basketball’s Ron Artest, who
was suspended for 73 games for brawling with fans.
Evidence of this kind of this kind of swoon is evident at the corporate
offices of the financial consulting firm, Accenture. For six years Accenture
promoted Woods as the face of its corporate services with the tagline, “We
know what it takes to be a Tiger.”
On Sunday, the company ended its sponsorship deal with Woods and now the New
York Times reports that it is purging its campaigns of links to Woods.
Billboards, TV commercials, hats and T-shirts have immediately disappeared
from the company’s marketing offerings, as if Woods has never existed.
The Times said that the company spent $50 million on advertising in the U.S. last year and Woods appeared in 83% of it.
Details of Woods’ secret carousing lifestyle continue to surface and TMZ has
published photos of Woods at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Texas watching a
U2 concert with quarterback Romo in October. Accompanying Woods in the
private party box is, of course, an unidentified young blonde woman.
One tidbit of good news for Woods is that his golf course project in Dubai
will go ahead despite the scandal and Dubai Properties’ recent financial
problems. The company announced it remains committed to completing Tiger
Woods Dubai, a 55-million sq.-foot golf resort. The golf haven will feature
a 7,800-yard, 18-hole, par-72 course designed by Woods.
