LOS ANGELES — “Octomom” Nadya Suleman has checked herself into a rehabilitation center, citing anxiety, exhaustion and stress, a spokeswoman for the mother of 14 said Tuesday.
Suleman had been taking the medication Xanax under a doctor’s care to deal with her problems, but she felt she needed a treatment program to help with her recovery, spokeswoman Gina Rodriguez said in a statement.
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Suleman checked herself into Chapman House Treatment Center on Oct. 23 and “will be in treatment for 28 days or more if needed,” Rodriguez said.
Meanwhile, three nannies and two of Suleman’s friends will care for her octuplets, who will be 4 years old in January, and her six older children.
A driver will take the kids to and from school, and their Palmdale home in the Mojave Desert has around-the-clock security, Rodriguez said.
Suleman has repeatedly been investigated by social services over allegations of neglect and child abuse.
Over the last four years, Suleman has tried to cash in on her notoriety by endorsing milk shakes, making a porn video and posing semi-nude.
Emeril’s ‘Boudin and Beer’ party kicking off food festival
NEW ORLEANS – Emeril Lagasse has a new cookbook and new season of TV’s “Top Chef” premiering in a week, but what really got the chef talking was boudin and beer.
Lagasse said Wednesday that chefs from across the country are heading to New Orleans this week to serve up some of their favorite dishes using or inspired by boudin — a pork and rice sausage common in Louisiana cuisine.
“It’s a staple in what we do in Louisiana, but lots of cultures have their own versions of boudin,” Lagasse told The Associated Press.
Chefs from San Francisco and elsewhere will join two dozen from New Orleans for Lagasse’s “Boudin and Beer” street party at The Foundry, where on Friday they’ll dish out their fare amid live music and Louisiana-brewed Abita beer.
The Foundry is the site of a former brewery dating back to the 1850s.
The event kicks off a two-day celebration of Louisiana food and culture benefitting the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, a charity the chef established in 2002 to support children’s education programs in culinary arts and nutrition.
The celebration continues Saturday with a gala, wine auction and five-course dinner prepared by chefs Mario Batali, Marc Forgione, Tyler Florence and others.
Lagasse said it wasn’t hard to lure the award-winning chefs to New Orleans.
“New Orleans is one of the greatest food cities in the country, if not the world,” said Lagasse, who has lived there 30 years. “I fell in love with the city, the food, the culture. It’s why I’m still here.”
Lagasse has three restaurants in New Orleans and nine in other U.S. cities. He’s returning as a celebrity judge for the 10th season of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” which premieres Nov. 7, and just released “Emeril’s Kicked-Up Sandwiches,” a cookbook with more than 100 sandwich recipes.
Swift album sets record
NEW YORK – Taylor Swift’s new album is called “Red,” but its true color is a brilliant platinum.
The 22-year-old sold 1.2 million copies of her latest album in its first week — the largest sales week for any album in a decade.
Nielsen SoundScan confirmed the blockbuster sales on Tuesday night.
“Red” marks Swift’s second straight album to sell more than 1 million copies in its first week; “Speak Now,” her third album, sold a little over 1 million copies when it was released in 2010.
She is the only woman to have two albums sell more than 1 million copies in its first week.
Chest pains afflict actor
SKOKIE, Ill. — Chest pains will keep actor George Wendt from performing as Oscar Madison in a Chicago-area production of “The Odd Couple.”
Northlight Theatre announced Tuesday that the actor famous for playing Norm Peterson on the TV show “Cheers” checked into a hospital Sunday and is receiving medical attention. Northlight Theatre executive director Timothy Evans said Wendt “will eventually make a full recovery.”
The 64-year-old Wendt was to perform in the show from Nov. 2 through Dec. 9 in the Chicago suburb of Skokie. He will be replaced by actor Marc Grapey, who previously performed in “The Odd Couple” on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.
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