Ringo walks off 'Regis'

Ringo Starr walked off the set of "Live With Regis and Kelly" yesterday rather than cut short one of his songs. The former Beatle planned to perform a song from his new album with fellow rocker Dave Stewart. However, due to miscommunication between his publicist, Elizabeth Freund, and the musical director, Starr (inset) didn't realize the performance had to be 2 1/2 minutes or less, Freund said. When told that the performance had to be shortened, Freund said Starr tried to cut about a minute of the song's 4-minute, 15-second length, down to 3 minutes and 30 seconds. However, according to Freund, producer Michael Gelman said it had to be less than 3 minutes. "We offered to cut back our chat time and asked them to fade or go to commercial. They were not willing to do that and Ringo was not willing to cut it further," Freund said in a statement. A spokeswoman for "Regis and Kelly" disputed some of Freund's contentions. (AP)

A video of Amy Winehouse shows the Grammy-nominated singer smoking . . . something. In grainy footage obtained by British tabloid The Sun, Winehouse, 24, is seen inhaling fumes from some sort of pipe reportedly hours before showing up for husband Blake Fielder-Civil's court appearance in London on Friday. Winehouse, who dyed her hair blond and ditched her signature beehive hairdo, can be seen walking around. She sits down and, before lighting the pipe, can be heard saying that she's "had about six Valium." On the wall behind her is a photo of Winehouse and Fielder-Civil. Her publicist, Tracey Miller, declined to comment yesterday. (AP)

Paris Hilton is rooting for Britney Spears. "I wish the best for her, and I just wish everyone would leave her alone so she could live her life," the 26-year-old hotel heiress-actress tells E! News. "She's a great mother and a great girl and I really care about her." Hilton and Spears were nearly inseparable following the pop star's split from ex-husband Kevin Federline. The tabloid magnets were photographed partying, shopping, and driving in a car with Lindsay Lohan in the weeks after Spears filed for divorce from Federline in November 2006. But their whirlwind public friendship seemed to fizzle out after Spears's fans complained that Hilton was a negative influence. (AP)

"I'm pretty sure that I won't win, but it's thrilling to think there are five people, and you are in the top five." - Tom Wilkinson, who got a supporting actor Oscar nomination for "Michael Clayton".