- In an interview in Men’s Health, recent Golden Globe winner Mickey Rourke said that he ate seven meals a day and worked out with an Israeli cage fighter in order to prep for his role in The Wrestler.
- Lisa Bonet and her husband, actor Jason Momoa, named their baby son Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa. Jason’s mother explained the name’s origins in their Hawaiian spiritual tradition, noting "He was born on the stormest [sic], rainy night. Nakoa (warrior)…Mana (strength/spirit) Kaua (rain) po (dark)." Interesting side note: while Bonet still uses her name professionally, in 1992 she legally changed it to Lilakoi Moon.
- In other baby name news, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner named their newborn daughter Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. "Seraphim" are a class of Biblical angels.
- "I was brought up in a Catholic school and they told me gays were bad, adultery was bad and drugs were bad. At the same time, all my mum’s friends were gay, my dad was having various affairs and there were drugs in the house when I was a kid – so it was a bit cruel." – Lily Allen in Word Magazine
- After many allegations that Scientology’s beliefs about medical care may have played a role in the recent death of John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s 16-year-old son Jett, fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise went on The View to plug his new movie Valkyrie. He insisted that the Church allows people to get medical treatment and take medicine and referred to Jett’s death as "horrific" and "tragic." Another celebrity Scientologist, Lisa Marie Presley, chimed in on her MySpace blog. "Whatever medical and or physical condition Jett had, I can tell you first hand that his parents were on a tireless, never ending quest to get and provide him with the absolute best care anyone could ever ask for and need, Medically, physically, emotionally, medicinally and spiritually," she wrote.
- Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma: title of a memoir released this week by musician Brad Warner.
- Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film, Bruno, about a gay Austrian fashionista, plans to rival Cohen’s previous project, Borat, in terms of shock value. The movie features a black model named Jesus who parades around in a loincloth and crown of thorns. Personally, I found this much more provocative when it was in Madonna’s video for "Like a Prayer." Speaking of which, Madonna is currently linked to a Brazilian model named Jesus Luz.
The Week (ish) in Celebrity Spirituality
by Lilit Marcus
January 14, 2009