Sideshow: Simmons apologizes for Tubman video

Responding to outrage from fans and civil rights leaders, hip-hop mogul

Russell Simmons

has removed a satirical video called the

Harriet Tubman Sex Tape

from his All Def Digital YouTube channel. The vid starred an actress playing abolitionist hero

Harriet Tubman

having sex with a man she addresses as her "Massa" so he'd let her run the Underground Railroad.

Simmons has posted an apology on Globalgrind.com. "I'm a very liberal person with thick skin," he writes. "My first impression of the Harriet Tubman piece was that it was about what one of the actors said in the video, that 162 years later, there's still tremendous injustice."

Simmons says the vid has a positive message because it shows Tubman "outwitting the slave master. . . . I thought it was politically correct. Silly me." He adds, "for all of those I offended, I am sincerely sorry."

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom continue to be rocked by divorce rumors. Cruel tongues wag, claiming the marriage is cursed with infertility (she allegedly can't get pregnant) and infidelity (he allegedly can't resist Jennifer Richardson). Their four-year marriage is still solid as a rock, Khloe's mom, Kris Jenner, insists. "[They] are absolutely not getting divorced," she tells E! News.

TMZ photos are being disseminated world-wide showing Kim Kardashian and her prize-winning fashion accessories, Kanye West and baby North West, making their first joint public appearance since Kim was delivered of North on June 15. They were going for a doc appointment in L.A. says E!News. Hooray!

FoxNews.com says "Carmen Electra is still stunning at 41." We thank them for the update. . . . Pro wrestler Darren Young on Wednesday told TMZ that gay men could succeed in the WWE. "Look at me. I'm a WWE superstar and . . . I'm gay," he said "And I'm . . . very happy." . . . Jennifer Aniston, 44, has made headlines in all major gossip rags because she wore a floral dress at the London premiere of We're the Millers. It was a shocking if cheerful departure for Jen, who "usually sticks to a little black dress on the red carpet," says the New York Daily News. . . . Cher, 67, says in an epithet-rich tweet, that she's peeved someone has leaked her duet with Lady Gaga, "The Greatest Thing."

New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner's sexting buddy Sydney Leathers tells the New York Daily News "it was empowering" to pose nude for a soft-porn shoot for Vivid Entertainment. She didnt' say how much she was paid. She says she's considering a career in radio.

Arrested Development and Men in Black 3 actor Will Arnett, 43, who split up with Amy Poehler in September 2012, may be dating Billy Joel's ex-babe, chef Katie Lee, 31, E!News says. It's also possible they're not dating. No comment from either party.

Even though adorable Live Free or Die Hard star Justin Long, 35, "is super private about his relationships," an Unnamed Source tells Us Weekly the actor is (or may not be) dating alterna-chick goddess turned mass-media sex symbol Amanda Seyfried. The source says the duo have been "going on date-like activities."

Don't think for a second that meta-feminist neo-postmodern post-pre-Kantian philosopher of art (and accomplished esthetician) Lady Gaga has been gallivanting all over the media in the nude just for kicks.

"I thought about Pop Art and how the dominant subject matter was always the celebrity or the pop-culture icon on the canvas," Her Grand Gaganess tells V magazine, which has a topless pic of her on its cover. "I don't want to be an icon in just one form. I want to be an icon in many forms. So that's where it began." Right!

Blogger and author Meghan McCain's new series, docu-slash-issues-talk-show Raising McCain will premiere Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. on Pivot (Pivot.tv). The series will follow former prez candidate John McCain's 28-year-old daughter "on the road talking to unexpected experts, everyday people and members of her generation, exploring the most important and unusual questions of the day," says a statement.

Some reality show called Duck Dynasty has earned such high ratings for A&E that its stars, the very large Robertson family of West Monroe, La., have been given a salary bump after a long round of negotiations, says Deadline.com. The family of nine adults and 11 kids, who run a duck-hunting paraphernalia biz, will divvy up $200,000 an episode. This week's show had family matriarch Miss Kay wed Phil, her boyfriend of 50 years.

Sandra Oh, 42, will leave Grey's Anatomy and its star Ellen Pompeo after the 10th season, says the Hollywood Reporter.

Vocal stylist Justin Timberlake will bring his 20/20 Experience World Tour to the Wells Fargo Center in Philly on Nov. 10. Tix go on sale Aug. 23. Info: www.justintimberlake.com or www.livenation.com.

» READ MORE: back@work

Lindsay Lohan, 27, is shooting her first post-rehab job, a guest appearance opposite Kenny Powers on HBO's Eastbound & Down, says E!News. "#back@work! So grateful today! :)," LiLo says in the caption to a cheerful Instagram pic.