A Hazy 4th

Mother Nature was decidedly uncooperative as 250 guests gathered on the Serena Rooftop of mega winemaker Bill Foley’s Hotel Californian for the third year to watch the much-anticipated July 4 pyrotechnics over the harbor.

But the evening soon resembled a scene from Wuthering Heights as a heavy marine layer rolled in totally obscuring the colorful display, with only the noise making any impact whatsoever.

You can’t win ‘em all….

Ranch in Danger

Michael Jackson’s former Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos is in the path of a major wildfire, which now exceeds 20,000 acres, according to TMZ.

The estate is dangerously close to the Lake Fire, where many people have been evacuated.

Earlier this year, the sprawling home and amusement park were extensively renovated for an upcoming biopic on the late singer’s life.

Jackson’s nephew Jaafar, an accomplished singer and dancer, is slated to play his uncle.

The property was purchased by Jackson in 1988 and has been reconstructed as filming continues ahead of the movie’s scheduled release in April.

The ranch is owned by billionaire Ron Burkle, who purchased the property in December 2020 for $22 million, nearly $80 million less than the asking price.

Court Time

Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry faces a fiery courtroom showdown with the family of a dying veteran forced to surrender his Montecito estate to her in a year-long property dispute.

Ailing Carl Westcott, 84, sold his eight-bedroom, two acre estate to Perry in 2020 for $15 million, but days later tried to cancel the deal claiming he was under the influence on painkillers when he signed.

A court ruled the contract was legal and late last year Katy was declared the owner of the 1930s property which boasts two guesthouses, a swimming pool, and tennis court.

The “Fireworks” singer still wants around $6 million, claiming the bedridden octogenarian, currently receiving hospice care for Huntington’s Disease, still owes the considerable sum for lost income and repairs.

But she’ll have to make her case in person after a judge ruled Perry must give evidence in an upcoming damages trial where she’ll come face to face with Westcott’s furious relatives who say the legal battle has “marred their beloved patriarch’s final days.”

According to the London Daily Mail, Westcott’s family all plan to attend Los Angeles Superior Court for the hearing.

The sprawling 9,285 square foot compound in the Santa Ynez foothills, has been registered under the owner DDove15, a nod to Katy’s three-year-old daughter Daisy Dove Bloom,
since May.

Perry has placed $9 million in escrow to pay Westcott, a former member of the U.S, Army 101st Airborne, who founded 1-800-Flowers.

Hidden Pain

Oscar winner Kevin Costner has recalled a not-so-pleasant time on set while making his 2016 film Hidden Figures.

The Carpinteria actor, who played a top NASA executive, was very sick at the end of the shoot about three African American women contributing to astronaut John Glenn’s trip into space.

“I’ve never walked drunk on set. I’ve never walked high on set, but I was on morphine for the last two weeks of Hidden Figures,” Costner, 69, tells People.

Kevin developed kidney stones and had to work ten days with an IV drip.

“I don’t even know how. About three days of it was normal and then something happened to me,” he explained. “I never missed a day of work. I sat in my trailer with a morphine drip in my arm.

“I had to roll my sleeves down because of the bruising from the IV. It was very painful. I wanted to cry, but everybody was watching, so I didn’t.”

That’s a Wrap

Meghan Markle has supposedly wrapped up filming for her new cooking and home show, according to The Daily Beast.

Royal fans are one step closer to the Riven Rock resident’s lifestyle series which is being produced by Sony Pictures Television’s The Interactive Property Company.

The show, which has yet to receive a name or air date, will “celebrate the joys of cooking, decorating, entertainment, and friendship” as part of Prince Harry and Meghan’s $100 million Netflix deal.

The show has been filmed at a number of locales, including the Montecito estate of Tom and Sherrie Cipolla, two miles from their Rockbridge Road estate.

Late Night Reflections

Oprah Winfrey has recalled the moment she was body shamed by my late TV colleague Joan Rivers when Rivers was hosting her first appearance on The Tonight Show.

Oprah, 70, remembered the interview and her reaction while appearing on Jamie Kern Lima’s show podcast.

“She said to me, ‘Tell me, why are you so fat?’ on national television. Well, I just love potato chips, Joan.

“No, seriously. ‘Shame on you, shame on you!’

“Then she said I could return to the Burbank set, but only if I lost weight. ‘You need to lose 15 pounds.

“Of course I didn’t lose 15 pounds and ate my way to another ten pounds!”

Sightings

Summerland racketeer Maria Sharapova in the Royal Box at Wimbledon… Oscar winner Kevin Costner noshing at the Coral Casino… The Weakest Link host Jane Lynch at Lilac Montecito on CVR.

Pip! Pip!