newsmakers

newsmakers

Bieber denies charge on ‘Today’ show

NEW YORK

Justin Bieber has denied allegations he fathered a child in a backstage bathroom and says he has never met the woman who filed the paternity suit against him.

“To set the record straight, none of it is true,” the teen heartthrob declared Friday during a brief appearance on NBC’s “Today” show.

As mobs of fans screamed adoringly in Rockefeller Plaza, Bieber called it “crazy” that anyone would make up such a story.

“I know I’m going to be a target, but I’m never going to be a victim,” Bieber told “Today” host Matt Lauer. “It’s crazy, because every night after the show I’ve gone right from the stage right to my car. So it’s crazy that some people want to make up such false allegations.”

The paternity suit was filed in San Diego Superior Court by Maria Yeater earlier this week. She had just turned 19 when she says she and Bieber, then 16, had a brief sexual encounter after one of the singer’s concerts last fall at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

She said she gave birth to a boy in July and believes Bieber is the father because there were no other possible men she had sex with at that time.

Asked if he knows Yeater, Bieber told Lauer, “Never met the woman.”

Yeater is asking a judge for child support and a paternity test. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 15.

GWAR guitarist Smoot found dead

MINNEAPOLIS

The lead guitarist for the heavy-metal band GWAR was found dead Thursday on its tour bus after a concert in Minneapolis, the band’s manager and record label said.

Manager Jack Flanagan and record label Metal Blade said Cory Smoot’s body was discovered Thursday before the bus crossed into Canada on the Richmond, Va.-based band’s tour.

It’s unclear what caused Smoot’s death or how old he was.

Smoot performed since 2002 under the name “Flattus Maximus” with the band known for its comically grotesque sci-fi/fantasy-based costumes, stage antics and vulgar lyrics. He produced GWAR’s last two albums.

Taylor Swift earns nomination for ‘Mean’

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Taylor Swift turned a negative into a positive, and it has netted her a special nomination at this year’s Country Music Association Awards.

Swift received her first CMA song of the year nomination for “Mean,” her spunky rebuttal to cynical criticism. That trophy goes to the writer, not the artist, and is among Wednesday night’s most coveted awards in a town where the songwriter is celebrated and revered.

“Respectfully, it’s about time,” said Scott Borchetta, head of Swift’s label, Big Machine Records. “I don’t think she gets near the props she deserves for her songwriting. I’ve been in the business with Taylor for almost seven years now, and her songs were great when I met her at 14.”

Associated Press