Tyler cites medication

Steven Tyler told the Associated Press yesterday that he sought the "safe environment" of rehab recently to recover from more than surgery - he had to fight a dependence on pain and sleep medication. "To have your feet done, to have your leg done, you have to be on narcotics," Tyler said. "You have to be on sleep aids at night. . . . I was off and running and I didn't like the me that was me." Tyler released a statement in late May saying he checked into a rehab facility to recover from several foot surgeries. "I just put the brakes on and checked into detox and just pulled the plug on all of it," he said. (AP)

The UK newspaper The Mirror reported yesterday that pop star Madonna wants a divorce from her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie. The Times of London also reported that Madonna has consulted with high-powered divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who represented ex-Beatle Paul McCartney in his very public split from Heather Mills. Madonna and Ritchie were married in 2000.

Britney Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline have started mediation sessions to hash out an agreement over custody of their two sons and avoid a trial set for August, according to Federline's lawyer. Federline wants to maintain sole legal and physical custody of the boys while allowing Spears to be involved in their lives "in a very substantial and meaningful way," Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan told the entertainment show E! News yesterday. Spears, 26, lost custody in January after two brief hospitalizations for psychiatric evaluation. (REUTERS)

A 25-second snippet of video showing actor Verne Troyer and a former girlfriend having sex that was available online over the past couple of days is off limits - for now. A federal judge yesterday granted a temporary restraining order requested by Troyer's attorneys that prevents porn distributors from taking orders for the full video, and prevents celebrity website TMZ from broadcasting clips. (AP)

Lindsay Lohan's father says he's looking into a claim by a woman who says she had a daughter by him. Michael Lohan said in a statement yesterday that he once had a relationship with a woman named Kristy, though he hadn't seen her in 12 years. He said the two were seeing each other while he was separated from Dina Lohan. OK! magazine, for which Michael Lohan has written a blog, first reported the story. It said the woman's daughter is now 13. (AP)

Former "American Idol" Ruben Studdard (inset) is getting ready for a weekend wedding in his home state of Alabama. Studdard will marry Surata Zuri McCants, his girlfriend of two years, today. He met her during a CD-signing at a Wal-Mart store in Atlanta in 2006. The 29-year-old singer says he was struck by McCants's beauty and later tracked her down in the toy department and asked for her telephone number. (AP)

Redmond O'Neal, the son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal, has pleaded guilty to possessing heroin and methamphetamine. O'Neal, 23, pleaded guilty in a Malibu court to the two felony counts and a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of drugs. As part of a plea deal, a second DUI charge was dismissed. He was placed on three years' probation on the misdemeanor charge and fined about $1,700. (AP)

Uma Thurman is engaged to marry Swiss millionaire Arpad "Arki" Busson, People.com reported yesterday. It would be the actress's third marriage. She has two children with actor Ethan Hawke and was also married to actor Gary Oldman. Busson was previously married to model Elle Macpherson, with whom he has two sons.

"I'm not really worried about the fans. I think that they've always been there."-- Pop singer Jesse McCartney, taking his fans for granted