Aretha Franklin is having a bad couple of weeks. Or a good couple of weeks, if you're of the "all publicity is good publicity" school of thought. Probably because of her high profile in the press recently, PETA decided to take notice of Aretha's fur collection.

"Music lovers may think of you as a 'queen,' but to animal lovers, you are a court jester . . . Why not shed the old-fashioned look that adds pounds to your frame and detracts from your beautiful voice? Please consider donating your furs to the homeless as 'queen of compassion,' Mariah Carey, did. You'll get a tax credit for the donation, and we at PETA will all sing your praises."

PETA has learned nothing about the Queen if they think that dropping Mariah Carey's name will help their cause.

Kimora Lee Simmons is the new face of PETA's campaign to get people to stop chaining their dogs in backyards. A noble cause, sure — it always kills me to see dogs on a chain outside all day — but isn't PETA sort of sleeping with the enemy here?

CONTINUED »

• I was really expecting Janet to come harder than this. [DM]

• America's Next Top Model Even Though She Was Already A Model Before The Show covers Seventeen. [NB]

• New Jersey officially says sorry to the slaves. Unfortunately, the slaves aren't really in a position to accept the apology. [CNN]

• Yes, Eminem still exists. We know this because he was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia. He's recovering and apparently weighs over 200 lbs. [MTV]

• New Hampshire's running out of ballots … on the Democrat side. Go figure. [UB]

• All that fur wearing rarely goes unnoticed these days. [Bossip]

Alicia Silverstone, who has largely spent her time since filming Clueless spouting veganisms to whoever will listen, does not want a Jessica Alba or a Rihanna to pose naked for the next PeTA campaign. As if! This is an actress-turned-animal-rights-activist that reaches for the stars.

“I would love to see Oprah naked — that’s a goal for me,” she said. “It would be great if she became a vegetarian; she is a very powerful woman and would really get the message across.”

It's doubtful that many people are with Silverstone on the whole "wanting to see Oprah naked" thing. But a lot of people would probably rather see Ms. Winfrey naked than wearing a Rachel Pally Swing Turtleneck and Sailor Pants outfit.*

*Sorry, guys. I still can't get over it.

Russell Simmons, Al Sharpton, and PETA have joined together to create an interesting anti-dog-fighting trio. They sent an open letter to Michael Vick's sponsors, the NFL commissioner, and the Atlanta Falcons CEO condemning dog-fighting but going kind of soft on Vick, in my opinion. I guess there's that whole innocent-until-proven-guilty roadblock.

Click here if you're interested in signing a petition, although I don't see what petitioning something that's already illegal will do. Read the full letter after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Sorry, Common. You put up a good fight, I'm sure. But take a look at that Christmas sweater and those tight-fitting jeans on Jay Leno's band leader Kevin Eubanks.

You didn't have a chance in hell of winning PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Contest as soon as this guy entered the race.

[AP]

Meat-and-potatoes men need not apply. PETA's looking for sexy and famous vegetarians. Apparently, the qualifications for getting on their list is that you have to be famous enough to have a Wikipedia page and you can't eat meat. The sexiness factor seems not to be an issue. Thus, Common has fairly good chances of coming out on top of PETA's poll, particularly with Ruben Studdard, KRS-One, and Murphy Lee among his competitors.

Persia White, Masta Killa, the GZA, KRS-One, Murphy Lee, Mos Def, Prodigy, RZA, Black Thought, Q-Tip, Forest Whitaker and Ruben Studdard are also vying for the title, who's previous winners include Prince and Andre 3000 of Outkast, who became the first rapper to win the title in 2004.

“When you look at the more than 200 gorgeous celebrities in this year’s poll, there are no bones about it—a vegetarian diet makes you beautiful inside and out,” added PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “After all, going vegetarian is the best thing that you can do for animals, the Earth, and yourself. Plus, everyone knows that there’s nothing sexier than someone who exudes both passion and compassion.”

After perusing PETA's list of 200 "sexy" vegetarians, I've decided that, although the vegetarian cause is noble, meat-eating celebrities are a whole lot cuter.

[AHH]

Quincy Jones feeds Michael Jackson the "I'm busy" line to avoid having to see him face to face. No judgment, Quincy. I would, too. [Starpulse]

PETA's offering free animal cruelty seminars to NFL players. Seriously. [DP]

Young Jeezy was arrested, and his bail was a paltry $284. Snowman, indeed. [SR]

Jay-Z fled his lawsuit drama stateside to visit Cannes and lay out with Beyonce in Monaco. [PR]

Lil' Wayne and Trina reenact the last scene of Love Jones on stage in Miami. [C&D]