Sharon Stone has denied she is dating Antonio Banderas.Reports on Thursday linked the Basic Instinct actress to the 53-year-old.

But now Stone has come forward and slammed the claims, stating she is a close friend of Banderas and his estranged wife Melanie Griffith.

‘‘Antonio is a brother to me and Melanie has been with me for each and every birth of my three children,’’ the 56-year-old said in a statement.

‘‘They are my family. I find this salacious, unkind, unfounded reporting to be the typical pretence of what passes as ’journalism’ today.’’

Stone was responding to reports that ran in British magazine Grazia.The publication claimed the couple were making plans for a summer getaway together.

‘‘Antonio and Sharon have been great friends for years. They have always flirted outrageously, and now they’re closer than ever,’’ the magazine claimed.

‘‘It’s all very relaxed at the moment and they want to keep it quiet out of respect for Melanie, but there’s no denying the spark is there.’’

The Shrek star and his Working Girl spouse filed for divorce on June 6 after 18 years of marriage.The couple have one daughter, Stella, 18, and in divorce papers, Griffith has asked for spousal and child support.

‘‘We have thoughtfully and consensually decided to finalise our almost twenty years marriage in a loving and friendly manner honouring and respecting each other, our family and friends and the beautiful time we have spent together,’’ a spokesman for the couple announced in a statement.

This will be the second divorce for Banderas and the fourth for 56-year-old Melanie.

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Dannii Minogue tries to deter stalker on Twitter

Dannii Minogue has taken to Twitter in a bid to scare off an alleged stalker.

“Stalked again. Guy sitting outside my house, following family and my child Who would like his car registration?” The X Factor judge and fashion designer for Target tweeted to her 1.22 million followers earlier this week.

The performer lives in a palatial mansion in the Melbourne suburb of East Hawthorn with her three-year-old son Ethan.

“Time to call the cops #StopStalkers,” she then wrote, however Victorian Police confirmed to Fairfax Media on Thursday the performer made no official complaint.

Minogue is the latest celebrity to flag unwelcome attention on social media. In May, New Zealand singer Lorde posted photos of a man who was harassing her on Twitter.

“This man has been stalking me, photographing me and refusing me privacy. I am scared of him. He frequents central akl [Auckland],” the 17-year-old wrote to her 1.79 million followers.

“This should not be accepted standard for young women or anyone in this industry... I refuse to stay complicit and I refuse to stay passive about men systematically subjecting me to extreme fear.” 

Minogue was unavailable for comment on Thursday.

smh.com.au

Lindsay Lohan to make London stage debut

Lindsay Lohan is heading for the London stage - in a play about the hysteria of Hollywood.

Producers announced on Thursday that Lohan will make her professional stage debut in September in David Mamet’s satirical drama Speed-the-Plow.

The Mean Girls and Freaky Friday star, who has had well-documented troubles with alcohol, drugs and the law, will take the relatively small, but complex role of an ambitious secretary in Mamet’s drama about two Hollywood producers trying to close a major deal.In the original 1988 New York production, the role was played by Madonna.

The 27-year-old former child star has had six stints in rehab and several brief periods in jail, and recently appeared in her own reality TV show.Her most recent movie was the universally panned The Canyons.

AP 

DJ AVICII gig descends into choas

Dozens of concertgoers have been hospitalised following Swedish DJ AVICII’s gig in Boston.

The True Tour gig in the Massachusetts capital on Wednesday descended into chaos as audience members fell ill.

Thirty-six people were taken to hospital and up to 50 were treated at the scene. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, Boston Deputy Superintendent Mike Bosse said, blaming alcohol and drug use for the problems at the Wednesday night show at the TD Garden.

Those treated were aged between 16 and 25, he said.Some concert-goers blamed oppressive heat inside the arena.Bosse said he contacted the Boston Police Licensing Division, which cited the TD Garden for allowing intoxicated concertgoers to enter.

Jacqueline Peterson, a spokeswoman for concert promoter Live Nation, said early reports indicated most of those taken to the hospital ‘‘were people outside the venue who were too impaired to be allowed inside’’ for the concert.

They were taken for medical evaluation and assistance as a precaution, she said in a statement early Thursday.Avicii, whose real name is Tim Bergling, called the medical issues ‘‘awful news’’ on his Twitter account.

‘‘Its a terrible thing, I rly hope everyone is ok! My thoughts go to those affected & their families.’’

Two people died over the weekend at a Las Vegas music festival attended by Avicii, one of the biggest names in electronic dance music.

Authorities said Monday it will take several weeks to determine what caused the deaths of the Electric Daisy Carnival fans.Police said nearly 800 people were treated for medical conditions and 25 were hospitalised during the three-night electronic music festival, which organisers said drew about 400,000 people at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Festival organisers told police that 134,000 fans attended Friday, Saturday and Sunday night shows featuring pulsing lights, Ferris wheels, seven stages of music and DJs including Avicii, Diplo, Afrojack and Tiesto.

AP/WENN

Pippa Middleton bound for US TV?

Pippa Middleton is rumoured to be on the cusp of a new career in television.

The 30-year-old speaks about her ‘‘normal’’ relationship with her sister, the Duchess of Cambridge, in a sneak preview of an interview on the Today show with Matt Lauer which airs Monday and Tuesday in the US.

Following the Today excerpt, reports have started circulating that she is being considered for a possible job offer by NBC.‘‘NBC, along with all the major networks, have been trying to sign Pippa for some time.

‘‘NBC is set to make a fresh approach to her following the interview,’’ a source told Page Six.

‘‘Pippa could do reports based on her party planning book or her charity work.’’In the preview, Middleton says she has ‘‘a very normal, sisterly relationship’’ with older sister Kate.

She was bridesmaid at the British Royal wedding between Kate and Prince William in April 2011.

‘‘Obviously she has pressures that she’s taken on and things. But we spend a lot of time together. We still do a lot together as a family,’’ she revealed to Lauer.

‘‘We have a very normal, sisterly relationship. We’re very close. And, you know, we support each other and get each other’s opinions and things.’’

Middleton is now an aunty to the future King of England, Kate’s 11-month-old son Prince George.For the brunette, who also has a brother, James, 27, family is the number one priority for the Middleton clan.

‘‘I think that’s really the heart for all of us is having a really close family that we can sort of be normal with each other, treat each other normally,’’ she said.

‘‘And that’s sort of kept us all, you know, affixed to the ground.’’

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