Rosie coming out, R. Kelly accused of underage sex

Rosie to make an announcement

In the May edition of her magazine, Rosie, Rosie O’Donnell is coming out of the closet as a lesbian, reports mediaweek.com.

In O’Donnell’s autobiography, “Find Me,” due out April 23, she discusses her sexual orientation, Warner Books confirms. She will publish an excerpt in the magazine, which goes on sale April 16 and mentions in a letter from the editor that she is homosexual.

“It’s a little heavier than people would expect,” O’Donnell said in an interview shortly before the news about the book’s contents broke.

O’Donnell, the mother of three adopted children, played a lesbian mother in the Jan. 30 episode of NBC’s gay-themed “Will & Grace.” Her appearance was such a hit that she’s in talks to appear on six more episodes.

Rosie magazine, which marks its first anniversary in April, has been a forum for O’Donnell’s discussions of her physical and mental battles.

“I love that it deals with real people and real issues and doesn’t gloss everything over,” O’Donnell said. “We’re more the gritty underbelly than the shiny veneer of a magazine.”

R. Kelly caught on tape

R. Kelly, the R&B singer who just performed at the Winter Olympics and the NBA All-Star bash, is being investigated in Chicago after a newspaper received a video purportedly showing him having sex with an underage girl.

Chicago police confirmed they were looking into whether the 33-year-old Grammy winner had sex with a 14-year-old and videotaped it. A 26-minute tape was anonymously sent to the Chicago Sun-Times last week.

Illinois state law prohibits adult men from having sex with girls under 17, and it’s a felony for anyone to videotape sex involving anyone under 18. Kelly’s attorney, John M. Touhy, insisted to the Sun-Times that the video was a phony.

The Sun-Times reported that the videotape was sent to the newspaper after it published a December 2000 story saying Kelly often seduced underage women. Kelly’s most notable relationship was in 1994, when the singer, then 25, secretly (and illegally) married then-15-year-old Aaliyah. Once her parents found out about the marriage, it was annulled.

Chicago-born Kelly has sold more than 20 million albums and picked up three Grammys for his 1999 smash single, “I Believe I Can Fly.” Recently, Kelly got attention for a single from the Ali soundtrack, “The World’s Greatest.” Last month, he and rapper Jay-Z announced plans for a tour and album, The Best of Both Worlds, which will be released in March.

Unruly Renfro gets rehab

A Florida judge has some advice for actor-cum-trouble-magnet Brad Renfro: Just say no. Or else. The 19-year-old thespian was sentenced to 90 days of rehab for violating the terms of his probation after getting caught drinking and driving. If Renfro fails to complete the substance-abuse treatment, he could go to jail for nine months.

The former child star of “The Client” could have gone straight into a county jail, but the judge gave Renfro – who has admitted to an alcohol problem and has been arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana – one last chance.

Renfro, who recently costarred in the indie films “Ghost World” and “Bully,” was arrested for driving without a license and public intoxication near his hometown of Knoxville on Jan. 14. The charges violated the terms of his probation for a previous arrest for allegedly trying to steal a yacht in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Altman: ‘I have plans’

Robert Altman says it may be a bit early for lifetime achievement awards such as the one he received at the Berlin Film Festival.

“It’s a great honor, but I hope it doesn’t mean – lifetime. I have plans,” the director said Sunday as he received a Silver Bear at the festival.

His latest film, “Gosford Park,” is set 60 years ago. Altman said it’s not a period piece. “At my age, the film is contemporary,” quipped Altman, 76, who won a Golden Globe for best director for the movie last month and is seen as a likely Oscar nominee for best director.

Model admits drug use

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, seeking damages from a British tabloid for invasion of privacy over a story it ran about her fight against drugs, admitted yesterday to using illegal drugs.

In a 16-page written statement to London’s High Court, she said she had attended therapy sessions at Narcotics Anonymous for a year before the story appeared in the Daily Mirror last February.

Campbell, 31, said, “Anonymity is a very important factor in the recovery process for me because I feel that I am able to … share my feelings and experiences with others.”