Britney's Pepsi stint has fizzled out

Britney's Pepsi stinthas fizzled out
The poor girl's barely had time to get over her breakup with Justin Timberlake, and now Britney Spears is getting the heave-ho from Pepsi.
After two years as the company's spokeswoman, 21-year-old Spears is being replaced by Destiny's Child R & amp;B diva Beyonc & eacute; Knowles.
The company didn't have much to say about Spears, except that it won't renew her contract -- estimated at $10 million -- when it expires at the end of the month.
Age can't be the issue -- Knowles is also 21. But according to the New York Post, the reasons may be pragmatic: Spears has suffered major public-relations setbacks with the flop of her first movie, "Crossroads," and the disastrous reviews that followed the opening of her Manhattan restaurant Nyla.
Worse, she's lost her good-girl image. First, she was caught ordering a Coke, then she was spotted smoking a cig. And by her own hinting she seems to have broken her vow to stay a virgin until marriage.
A Pepsi spokesman praised Knowles as "a multitalented entertainer who has achieved tremendous success and popularity in both music and movies." Knowles will star in two TV ads that continue the "Joy of Pepsi" campaign that Spears began in 2001.
Following suit? Winonais asked to model
Finally, Winona Ryder does something right: The beleaguered waif has been asked to model for Marc Jacobs after wearing a number of the designer's outfits to a recent shoplifting trial, reports Women's Wear Daily.
Despite being found guilty of theft and vandalism, she was commended by fashion critics for the clothes she wore to the Los Angeles trial.
Veteran rockers paya tribute to Mandela
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Veteran rock stars Bono, Dave Stewart and Joe Strummer have written a song in tribute to former South African President Nelson Mandela.
"48864" is the number Mandela wore as a prisoner of the apartheid regime. The song will be played by the three entertainers at a Feb. 2 AIDS benefit concert on Robben Island, where Mandela was held prisoner.
Mandela, 84, emerged from prison to become South Africa's first democratic president in 1994. He stepped down in 1999 and has since become a vocal activist in the fight against AIDS.
The song, which focuses on Mandela's courage in speaking out against apartheid, ends with the musicians defiantly chanting "48864," Stewart said Thursday.
Today's Birthdays
Talk-show host Phil Donahue is 67. Actress Jane Fonda is 65. Tennis star Chris Evert is 48. Actor-comedian Ray Romano is 45. Actor Kiefer Sutherland is 36.