Madonna chooses Esther as her Hebrew name

Madonna chooses Estheras her Hebrew name
Call her Esther: That's the Hebrew name Madonna has chosen for herself as a follower of Kabbalah.
"I was named after my mother. My mother died when she was very young, of cancer, and ... I wanted to attach myself to another name," the singer says in an interview on ABC's 20/20, airing at 10 tonight. "This is in no way a negation of who my mother is. ... I wanted to attach myself to the energy of a different name."
During the interview, Madonna wears the red string around her wrist that's a symbol of the Jewish mysticism, but says she's sensitive when critics suggest her interest in Kabbalah is just a trend.
"I'm a little bit irritated that people think that it's like some celebrity bandwagon that I've jumped on, or that, say, somebody like Demi Moore has jumped on," the 45-year-old says. "We don't take it lightly.
"Paris Hilton did come to the Kabbalah Centre once, because her parents brought her," Madonna continues. "They wanted to help her and they were desperate and they brought her there and she had a meeting and she left and she never came back and suddenly, Paris Hilton studies Kabbalah. I mean that's what happens and people ... they don't know the whole story."
'Mean Girls' starLohan apologizesfor word use
Teen queen Lindsay Lohan has apologized to mental health watchdogs who slammed her for repeatedly using the word retarded in interviews, reports IMDB.com.
The "Mean Girls" actress, 17, has used the slang term several times in recent talks with journalists, using it to deflect questions about her reported breast implants, to describe the paparazzi and to deny reports of a feud with rival star Hilary Duff.
"There are few more deeply wounding words than these, which are painful reminders that people with disabilities are still not fully welcome in our society," says Lorriane Sheehan, president of the Maryland-based mental health organization The ARC of the United States.
But Lohan's spokeswoman Leslie Sloane Zelnik says her client had no intention of upsetting people suffering from mental or physical disabilities at all.
"It wasn't meant to offend anyone -- it was used as slang. She'll be more cautious and conscious in the future."
Author Bradbury blastsMoore over documentary
Ray Bradbury, author of the classic sci-fi book "Fahrenheit 451," is burning mad over Michael Moore's appropriation of his title for his Cannes-claiming, Bush-whacking documentary.
The celebrated fantasy writer, whose 1953 novel gave Moore the inspiration for his "Fahrenheit 9/11" title in the first place, told People magazine:
"No. 1, he didn't ask, and, No. 2, he took it -- period. ... What he has done is a crime."
The 83-year old author said he had a new film version of his book starting production in a half year, with Mel Gibson starring. The title of Bradbury's antitotalitarian work refers to the temperature at which books burn.
Moore, he said, contacted him only last Saturday. "He was embarrassed because he didn't want to call me," Bradbury said.
Bradbury said he told the 50-year-old filmmaker, "What I want is for you to give me my book and my title back."
Moore's reported response: "He said 'Well, it is an awful long way down the line for that."'
Today'sBirthdays
Actor Ian Carmichael is 84. Rock singer-composer-musician Sir Paul McCartney is 62. Movie critic Roger Ebert is 62. Actress Isabella Rossellini is 52. Actress Carol Kane is 52. Country singer-musician Tim Hunt is 37. Country singer Blake Shelton is 28.