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HENICAN: Celeb-crazed 'maybe news' rages on

By Ellis Henican | Special to amNewYork

4:54 PM EDT, July 2, 2008

Christie Brinkley, Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse, and Madonna

Lindsay has another sister. Or maybe she doesn't.

Christie's out for revenge. Unless she's not.

Alex is elbowing Guy out of Madonna's hot-blooded life, while Mrs. Alex leaves jets off to Paris with Lenny.

Perhaps.

It's all been reported somewhere. But even so. No one can really say for certain that any of it is true. Confirmation's elusive. Sourcing is vague. And the motives? Well, the motives of all concerned are questionable.

Welcome to the new era of "maybe-news."

Here's the maddening part: All these could-be-true reports of celebrity antics have brought a whole new calculus to field of breathless PR: The shakier the story, the better the play. This summer, this stuff is everywhere.

Amy Winehouse's crack-fueled race to the bottom. Lindsay Lohan's girl-girl friskiness. The take-no-prisoners Duff-Pearlman divorce. Britney Spears's endless pregnancy rumors.

Some media cynics say there is no loser here. The tabloids, the magazines and TV-entertainment shows and Web sites expand their audiences. And the celebs get fresh buzz.

So who's the loser? Oh, that right. The truth.

Like Will Smith's curmudgeonly "Hancock," we're hopelessly imperfect super-heroes here, promising always to do better and then not.

Every one of these maybe-scoops contains just enough fact to be almost believable. And some are actually true.

In court Wednesday, Christie Brinkley's lawyer, Robert S. Cohen, did use the phrase "out for revenge" about the supermodel's soon-to-be ex-husband, Peter Cook. But then again, this is a divorce lawyer talking.

Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie do seem to be on the skids. But the Alex Rodriquez reports are the whisperings of uncertain doormen. And Madonna could use some fresh publicity to spike her concert-ticket sales.

At least, there is some science in the Lohan case. Dad Michael has taken a DNA test to see if he's the father of a massage-therapist's 13-year-old.

If he is "Living Lohan" could get even spicier. If he's not, given this slippery new ethic of maybe-news, everyone will just shrug and move on.