Denzel Washington announced today that Jennifer Lopez is joining him as national spokesperson for Boys & Girls Club of America. The new teammates held a press conference at the Nokia Plaza in L.A. this afternoon. Jennifer worked with the group this summer as well when she was part of their “Be Extraordinary” campaign with her very own billboard.

Jennifer is having an exciting year. She was named as one of Barbara Walters’ Most Fascinating People, she launched a new clothing line with Gucci , she starts her new American Idol gig soon, and now this.

It must have been a pretty hot one out there in California today – Jennifer looks like she’s roasting in that coat.

Leighton Meester chatted with Us Weekly about working alongside actress Gwyneth Paltrow on the film “Country Strong”. Leighton gushed about the celebrity mom:

“She is full of surprises. As an actress, she is so giving and talented. She’s super down-to-earth and she makes dirty jokes. She’s just a cool chick.”

Leighton also shared a bit of what Gwyneth looks like at 5 in the morning:

She’s gorgeous without any makeup on! She came to set at 5:00 a.m. looking really hot.”

The Gossip Girl star is also still working on her own music:

“I’m still writing and I’m working with a band. I’m going to start performing again soon,” Meester said. “It’s kind of a different sound, because I’ve been going through a lot this year and I’m in no rush. I want it to be perfect.”

I wondered what happened to her to wanting to pursue music. We heard about her music last year and saw pics of her performing, but I hadn’t heard anything beyond that. Good for her – can’t wait to listen to the new album!

Rihanna is lashing out at the “haters” again. Now it’s not just the blog readers who are unhappy, it’s the women who criticize her for being sexy. The pop singer says she’s proud of her body and feels that women who attack her online are hypocrites.

“People think I’m overly sexy. It bothers them for some reason. Girls don’t like to see other girls dressed sexy . It’s a little intimidating, I don’t mean that in a cocky way. There’s always going to be somebody not liking what you do. People have a lot of crazy opinions on things. Things I say, things I wear, places I go. It’s just stupid. It’s bulls**t. I’m a 22-year-old human being. It’s fine for me to go to a club. People are hypocrites. They can’t wait to say something horrible. Most of them are unhappy with themselves. It’s women who are mad at other women. They should take a look at their own lives. A lot of people don’t have the guts to confront themselves. They don’t have the b***s.”

She tells the UK edition of GQ magazine:

“Public figures can become annoying. They see me a lot and every time they see me my a** is out or my boobs are out, so it can get a little irritating. I get that. But I have to do what makes me happy, what I feel like doing.”

Mariah Carey shares that her pregnancy hasn’t changed her healthy eating habits, but it is changing her plans for the holidays. The mom-to-be shared with Extra that she and Nick won’t be ringing in the New Year in Aspen, as they have done in the past:

“I can’t go there this year because of the altitude,” she says. “We’re figuring it out. Looking at different options.”

Mariah shared that her eating habits have remained healthy so far:

My taste bud situation is unparalleled…” she says. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m just about fruit for some reason. It has to be really good for me to like it.”

Mariah reportedly slipped up and referred to her baby as “they”, which caused a flurry of rumors stating that she’s expecting twins. The singer didn’t do anything to confirm or deny it, simply saying:

“I’m not telling anyone!”

Good way to keep everyone guessing.

Lance Armstrong and girlfriend Anna Hansen arrived in Miami yesterday with their children Max, 1,and Olvia, 4 weeks. The happy family hit the beach together this morning to soak up some rays.

In a very different climate – Sarah Jessica Parker and James Wilkie stopped to take a gander at some Christmas trees on their way to school this morning in a very chilly NYC.

Right now I’m voting for Miami – I could use some sun and a day at the beach!

Speaking of Christmas trees, did you put up your tree this weekend? Do you go artificial or real?

Funny man Jim Carrey sat down with Parade.com to chat about his role in the upcoming flick “I Love You Phillip Morris“.

He took a big pay cut for the film because he felt so strongly about the quality of the script:

“There are very few scripts that I would come across that I would pay to do and this was one of them. I didn’t mind taking a big salary cut. I’m here to do extreme and interesting things. I liked the guy I played and I hated him. But the one thing that always stayed with me was the idea that he was relentless about love, and all of us understand that. I’m a desperate man myself.”

On kissing Ewan McGregor:

“A dream come true. I mean, look at the guy. I have to say, he is a great kisser. As Ewan said, ‘When you’re kissing another guy it can get a little prickly.’ Actually, you had to put out of your mind your own sexual preference and just try to understand that you were loving another person who just happens to be a guy. It wasn’t about male or female, love is love.”

Have you seen the trailer for the movie yet? Are you hoping to catch this one in theaters?