Sideshow: Rallying to the Cos

Philly-born singing star Jill Scott stands by her friend Bill Cosby on Twitter - and some of her followers don't like it. As Layla A. Jones of Philly.com reports, Scott got a request on Nov. 24 to sign a petition asking Temple University to sever ties with the beleaguered comic. (On Monday, Cosby did in fact step down from Temple's board of trustees.) At the time, Scott tweeted: "oh ok. So they've proven the alleged allegations? I didn't know. Will they also be giving him back the millions he's donated?" One follower asked Scott "Just how many more women need to come forward for you to believe? A smooth 20?" Scott bristled at one disappointed follower: "u know Bill Cosby? I do child and this is insane. Proof. Period." On Monday, Scott explained that "I'm respecting a man who has done more for the image of Brown people tha[n] almost anyone EVER. From Fat Albert to the Huxtables." She advised women who are sexually attacked to get "EVIDENCE."

In a wide-ranging interview on Vulture.com, the great Frank Rich asks Chris Rock: "What do you make of what's happening to Cosby now?" Rock's reply: "I don't know what to say. What do you say? I hope it's not true. That's all you can say. I really do. I grew up on Cosby. I love Cosby, and I just hope it's not true. It's a weird year for comedy. We lost Robin [Williams], we lost Joan [Rivers], and we kind of lost Cosby."

As reported here, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi of Jersey Shore infamy married longtime squeeze and infecundator Jionni LaValle over the weekend. And on Monday, Jionni . . . went to court, where he pleaded guilty to DUI. (He was nabbed Aug. 7 on I-80 around Totowa, N.J.) His license is toast for three months, and hello, drug and alcohol education classes! Guess Snooki will be driving the family SUV for a while. . . . And there's more! Buddy Valastro of TLC's reality-bake series Cake Boss pleaded guilty to DWI in an NYC court, stemming from his Nov. 13 stoppage for mal-driving his yellow Vette while schnockered. His license is also three-month toast, and he'll cough up $300. He also fired off a series of penitent tweets: "I'll never get behind the wheel of a car again, even after one sip. My sincerest apologies to my family, friends and fans."

As thou knowest, the bones of famous English king and Shakespeare character Richard III were found two years ago beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England. Now they've done a DNA analysis, and yep!, it's him! AND he was blond and blue-eyed. But he still lost the Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485, where he was hacked down and his body desecrated. But the mini-bombshell is that, er, um, R3 may have been a backstairs baby, a kid who never knew his bio-dad. His maternal line is right, but what is that paternal line? That sorta mucks up the Tudors' claim to the throne (and thus everybody's after them, including the current royals!). It's only a technicality. Queen Elizabeth II ain't stepping down. The Tudors won the battle, and that's stronger than biology!

They're small but very fun

GQ has selected the ambiguous Tilda Swinton as its Woman of the Year. . . . Muhammad Ali just posted his first-ever selfie on Instagram. . . . Never to be outdone, the outstandingly pregnant Kourtney Kardashian did a nekkid photo spread for Dujour mag. Absolutely nothing, of course, to do with sister Kim Kardashian's recent here's-everything in Paper mag. And Kourtney looks great. . . . The search engine Bing says Kim K is the most-searched celeb of 2014, butting Miley Cyrus off 2013's summit. Miley was third behind the Behind and Beyoncé at number two. The rest of the top 10: (4) Katy Perry, (5) Justin Bieber, (6) Joan Rivers, (7) Jennifer Lopez, (8) Kendall Jenner, (9) Kaley Cuoco, and (10) Robin Williams.