Alli Sims obviously isn’t very busy pursuing her fake music career, because she has managed to find tons of time to give interviews about her “cousin,” Britney Spears. Alli used to be Britney’s assistant and since she isn’t interesting on her own, continues doing interviews about Britney years after working for her in a desperate bid to stay “relevant.” Here’s some ridiculousness from an interview with Extra:
Sims insists that the media made the “Womanizer” singer’s meltdown seem worse than it was. “It seemed a lot crazier than it really was because it made simple things just like going to Starbucks seem so out of hand. It was insane because of the paparrazi, but it really wasn’t that bad when you were sitting there going through it personally. I just thought it was interesting how people expected us to stay home and not go anywhere… It’s not her fault she has that many people following her around.”
Although Alli hasn’t spoken to Brit in awhile, she is hoping to reconnect with the pop mom. “We didn’t have a falling out at all or anything. I just kind of stepped back. She had a lot of stuff going on that she needed to focus on, so I took that time to put all my energy into my music…I definitely think I’ll talk to her soon. It’s not like we’re never going to talk again.” She adds, “I love her to death and I miss her and I hope she’s happy.”
Here’s a clip from back when Alli’s job was to wait outside of clubs and get Britney a cab so she wouldn’t have to deal with the paparazzi. It’s full of famewhorey goodness.
Normally, it’s good for an assistant to be thorough and to remember stuff their boss talked about/asked about months ago. But one of Rihanna’s assistants – either Jennifer Morales or Melissa Ford – was a little too thorough. She found gifts that Rihanna had purchased for ex-boyfriend Chris Brown when they were still together and sent them to Brown for his birthday. Ooops!
From MSNBC:
Chris Brown turned 20 on May 5, and Rihanna accidentally showered him in gifts.
“One of Rihanna’s assistants accidentally gave him an expensive pair of sneakers and a watch that Rihanna had bought before they broke up,” a source told Us Weekly. “She no longer wanted to send them.”
The assistant was probably well-intentioned, but this is why you have to think things through, people.
Thanks to several factors – such as the shitty economy, rising unemployment, and the popularity of the vanity internship – it’s now as competitive to get an unpaid job as it is to get a paid one. And, of course, some workplaces are more competitive than others. If you want to intern for The Huffington Post, though, it’s going to cost you. $13,000, to be specific.
The popular website – which Gawker once nicknamed “livejournal for celebrities” – is already known for not paying their writers, setting a free-content trend throughout web media that upset many journalists. Now, they’ve managed to go one step further by asking an employee to pay them for the privilege. Granted, the internship is for charity, but the whole things makes me kind of squeamish.
Did you lose your health insurance coverage along with your job? Well, have no fear – pharmaceutical giant Pfizer wants you to keep taking their meds. They’re offering their 70 most prescribed meds for free if you have been laid off. To qualify, you have to have been laid off since January 1 and have been on the medicine for at least three months before that. You can get the free meds for up to a year. That way they can help out customers and make sure people remain loyal to the brand. Those drugs include:
Viagra
Lyrica (fibromyalgia)
Lipitor (cholesterol)
Celebrex (pain)
For more info or to figure out if you’re eligible, check out Pfizer’s website.
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that director Garry Marshall is putting together a big-name cast for his new film Valentine’s Day. The movie, which kind of sounds like an American version of Love, Actually, features multiple interlocking love stories that take place in and around Los Angeles on, of course, V-Day. Already cast or close to being cast are Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Biel, Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, and Bradley Cooper. The cast also includes Anne Hathaway, whose character/storyline has been described thusly:
Hathaway is an assistant working at the biggest talent agency in town and dating a mailroom assistant.
Are you interning this summer? Are you going to be doing regular intern work plus the work of a recently laid off employee (i.e. assistant)? Here are some tips for turning your internship into a full time job:
Treat your internship like a three month long job interview. If the company is hiring, or will be around the time your internship is over, you should use your internship period as a time to show off your skills, make friends and contacts in the office, and otherwise impress the same people who might hire you someday.
Collect contact info from employees you want to use as references or contacts later on. Remember that when your internship is over, you won’t have your Outlook account anymore, so be sure to get contact info for anyone you’d like to keep in touch with personally or professionally. Plus, if anyone would make a good reference for you, be sure that you a) have phone and email contact info for them, and b) they are familiar enough with you and your work to have something positive to say.
Send thank-you notes. Are you one of 30 interns? Make sure everyone remembers who you are by having good workplace manners. If someone’s been super helpful showing you the ropes or training you on the phone system, write them notes when your internship is over. Make sure the notes include your contact info so that they can follow up.
For a long time, I was convinced that the office fridge at my former company was the grossest place on earth. There was, like, a permanent rotting sandwich wedged in the back that made the whole fridge smell like death, but no one could get over their squeamishness long enough to throw out said sandwich.
Well, I officially stand corrected, because the office fridge at AT&T in San Jose is officially the nastiest one ever. It was so disgusting that several workers fainted or vomited from the smell. Seven employees had to go to the hospital. It was so bad that a hazmat team had to be brought in.
Authorities said an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess. The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.
Authorities said the worker who cleaned the fridge didn’t need treatment – she can’t smell because of allergies.
Merely reading this article made me want to barf. I have to go lie down now. Maybe the fake mold sandwich wasn’t such a brilliant invention after all.
I always thought designer Betsey Johnson was awesome, but now I’m not so sure. Thanks to STA reader Amanda for sending me this story from Page Six:
Quirky designer Betsey Johnson certainly gives her underlings bizarre tasks. The other day at a showroom on East 58th Street, where Johnson was shopping for bathroom fixtures, the designer was making her assistant test out toilet seats for comfort. Johnson “was wearing a yellow beach dress and had messy braids in her hair,” said the spy.
Um, having your assistant test out toilet seats for you? Not cool, Betsey. Don’t be shocked when she installs one that’s covered in tacks.
Remember when Annie Liebowitz’s assistant left his iPhone in the back of a cab? Luckily, it was returned, but only after being hacked. The worst thing to come out of it was the theft of some celebrities’ personal phone numbers and email addresses. However, an aide of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (that was a lot of capital letters in a row) accidentally left some important papers in their backpack in the back of a cab in London. Among the info contained in said paperwork? Confidential information about the Prime Minister’s spending, a schedule for an upcoming trip… and his makeup shopping list. Ooops.
Among the beauty products Brown had on his list:
Clinique “super-balanced” makeup
A transparent foam brush
Guerlain blush in Terra Cotta
A government spokesperson would only confirm that the bag and its contents were returned to the assistant, but there’s no word on whether the poor soul was fired or just reprimanded.
How many times do I have to tell people not to bone their coworkers?
Sometimes it means you get fired and publicly embarrassed. Sometimes it means office politics are thrown out of whack and, when you stop boning, things at the office get mega-awkward. And sometimes, things like this happen: a pair of coworkers, Salvatore and Angelina, couldn’t contain their passion for each other at the clothing store where they worked in Bergamo, Italy. Consumed by lust, they got it on in the bathroom, only to get stuck when Angelina developed a leg cramp. They were eventually found and rescued – by Angelina’s husband, who (shockingly!) was pretty pissed about the whole situation.
Both Salvatore and Angelina were dumped by their respective spouses, and Salvatore got fired. Angie, however, got to keep her job after it was determined she’d finished her shift before they started doing the nasty. Got to love the Italians.
Anyway, the moral of this story? Don’t bone your coworkers. And if you really can’t resist, at least wait until you get home.
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that director Garry Marshall is putting together a big-name cast for 
For a long time, I was convinced that the office fridge at my former company was the grossest place on earth. There was, like, a permanent rotting sandwich wedged in the back that made the whole fridge smell like death, but no one could get over their squeamishness long enough to throw out said sandwich.
I always thought designer Betsey Johnson was awesome, but now I’m not so sure. Thanks to STA reader Amanda for sending me 
Remember when Annie Liebowitz’s assistant 
How many times do I have to tell people not to bone their coworkers?
