NEW YORK (AP) – Kanye West says “gay” has become an antonym to hip-hop – and that it needs to be stopped.

During an interview for an MTV special, the 27-year-old rapper launched into a discussion about hip-hop and homosexuality while talking about “Hey Mama,” a song on his upcoming album, “Late Registration.”

West says that when he was young, people would call him a “mama’s boy.”

“And what happened was, it made me kind of homophobic, ‘cause it’s like I would go back and question myself,” West says on the show, “All Eyes on Kanye West,” that was to air Thursday night.

West says he changed his ways, though, when he learned one of his cousins was gay.

“It was kind of like a turning point when I was like, “Yo, this is my cousin. I love him and I’ve been discriminating against gays.”‘

West says hip-hop was always about “speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people.” He adds that in slang, gay is “the opposite, the exact opposite word of hip-hop.”

Kanye’s message: “Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I wanna just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, “Yo, stop it.”‘

West’s sophomore album hits stores Aug. 30.

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On the Net:

http://www.mtv.com

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NEW YORK (AP) – If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Jude Law has said a lot lately.

On Thursday, the New York Post published pictures of Law with his former fiancee, Sienna Miller, one day after full-frontal nude photos of Law – snapped by paparazzi as he changed into swim trunks at his mother’s home in France – made the rounds on the Internet.

The photos of Law and Miller, reportedly taken Wednesday, show the couple strolling a London street – prompting speculation about a possible reconciliation. Law appears unshaven, wearing a beige jacket, and Miller is seen in a long, dark dress.

It was the first time the couple had been seen together since the 32-year-old actor’s affair with his children’s nanny, Daisy Wright, was exposed last month.

Law has publicly apologized to Miller, saying he was “deeply ashamed and upset.” Miller, 23, hasn’t been seen wearing her engagement ring.

Miller was Law’s co-star in the remake of “Alfie.” They became engaged on Christmas Day 2004.

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PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria was injured during a taping of the hit ABC comedy and was taken to a hospital for treatment, a spokesperson for the show said.

Longoria, 30, was “bumped on the head by something” while shooting on location Wednesday, the spokesperson said. She was released from the hospital and is expected to return to work on schedule.

“Access Hollywood” reported that Longoria was injured when a pole fell on her.

Longoria plays former runway model Gabrielle Solis on “Desperate Housewives,” a dark satire about life in suburbia. The show recently received 15 Emmy nominations from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

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On the Net:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/desperate/

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NEW YORK (AP) – P. Diddy wants to get closer to you. And something was getting in the way.

Namely, the P. in front of the Diddy. So from now on, just call him Diddy, please.

“We had to move the P. We had to simplify it. Diddy is more personal. We are entering into the age of Diddy. It’s a new era,” the rap mogul said in a recent interview with “Access Hollywood” to promote his upcoming hosting duties on MTV’s Video Music Awards in Miami on Aug. 28.

Diddy – whose monikers have also included Puff, Puff Daddy and Puffy – says Diddy is “a little bit more personal. I’ve let down my guard. I’m fully exposed. We are going to have a lot of fun with it. It is the return of hip-hop, rock ‘n’ roll superstars and they call them Diddy. I’m going to start talking in the third person everything.”

Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, is working on a new album for the fall.

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On the Net:

http://www.mtv.com/

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SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) – A former personal assistant to Carlos Santana has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the veteran rocker, claiming he was fired after his consciousness was calibrated and determined to be too low.

Bruce Kuhlman, 59, charges that Santana’s wife, Deborah, brought in a man known as “Dr. Dan” so employees could grow closer to God and become better workers.

“In Deborah’s view, the higher a person calibrated with Dr. Dan, the better employee they were because they were more “spiritually evolved,”‘ the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, filed in Marin Superior Court, alleges that “spiritual calibration” allowed a person to develop a deeper level of consciousness.

Kuhlman is seeking monetary damages for lost wages, emotional distress and unpaid overtime, among other demands.

A spokesman for the 58-year-old guitarist, whose albums include “Supernatural,” and his wife said the couple wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit but will fight the case.

Kuhlman had signed an employee manual agreeing to arbitrate disputes, but Superior Court Judge John Sutro said the case could proceed regardless. An Oct. 12 court date has been set.

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NEW YORK (AP) – Martha Stewart’s new syndicated daytime television series, “Martha,” which premieres Sept. 12, promises to show the home-and-hearth marketing queen’s sense of humor.

“As soon as I spent time with Martha I knew that her witty and engaging humor would surprise and entertain viewers,” executive producer Mark Burnett said in a statement released Tuesday by NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution.

“Our new daytime show does just that,” he said. “It’s in front of a live studio audience. It’s energetic, it’s fun. It works.”

Cooking, crafts, collecting, gardening and home design will be featured components of the hour-long show, which will originate from Stewart’s new studio in the Chelsea Television Studios.

The set includes a kitchen and a glass-enclosed conservatory for gardening segments.

Stewart will hit the road in segments such as “What’s Really for Dinner,” in which she surprises a viewer by visiting her home and helping cook a meal.

“I am very excited about working with a live audience for the first time and relish the idea of hosting a series that is a one-stop destination for all things how-to,” Stewart said in a statement.

The 64-year-old lifestyle guru also will star in the reality show, “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart,” which premieres Sept. 21 on NBC.

Stewart’s release from home confinement in Bedford, N.Y., which followed a five-month prison term for lying about a stock sale, is set for Aug. 31.

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On the Net:

http://www.marthastewart.com

http://www.nbc.com/The-Apprentice/jump.shtml

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is suing his former business manager, alleging she siphoned $5 million from his personal savings and investments while he spent time in a Buddhist monastery.

Cohen, best known for introspective songs such as “Bird on a Wire” and “Suzanne,” filed the lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In it, he alleges that Kelley Lynch took millions from his accounts between 1994 and 1999 while Cohen was living at the Mount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles.

Lynch couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

The amount Cohen says was taken was far greater than the 15 percent management compensation to which Lynch was entitled, according to the lawsuit. Cohen, 70, had planned to live on his savings in retirement, according to the legal action, and he had stopped touring and making new songs while at the monastery.

Cohen discovered Lynch’s activities when an informant approached his daughter in October 2004, the lawsuit says. He investigated and fired Lynch a short time later. She had worked for him for 17 years.

The lawsuit also names Richard Westin, a tax professor and lawyer who allegedly was hired by Lynch to help her defraud Cohen.

Westin didn’t immediately return a message left Wednesday.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – “Grizzly Man,” a documentary of Timothy Treadwell, who gained notoriety for living – and dying – among Alaska’s grizzly bears, has critics worried that his lifestyle could encourage copycats.

Directed by Werner Herzog, the film relies on choice scenes from more than 100 hours of raw footage shot by the amateur naturalist while he lived among the bears at Katmai National Park and Preserve on the Alaska Peninsula.

Treadwell, 46, won national attention for his daring and devotion. He named some bears and videotaped many of his encounters.

Missy Epping, wilderness district ranger at Katmai, and others confirmed that since Treadwell’s death in October 2003 at least a few copycats hoping to gain the same celebrity status have been following bears somewhere on Katmai’s 5 million acres.

“These are wild animals and we have to remember that,” Epping said. “They are not teddy bears.”

Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, Calif., were mauled and eaten by a bear at their campsite, located at the confluence of several heavily used bear trails.

Many of the film’s scenes show Treadwell chatting amiably at the camera while sitting just feet from thousand-pound grizzlies, or gingerly touching their noses with his fingers.

“Everything Timothy was doing was wrong, as far as behaving responsibly around wildlife,” said Mike Lapinski, author of “Death in the Grizzly Maze,” one of several books written about Treadwell since his death.

Lapinski called the film “beautiful,” but said he wishes Herzog had put more emphasis on the dangers of approaching grizzlies.

Treadwell’s longtime friend Jewel Palovak, who co-founded the organization Grizzly People with Treadwell, believes he was a dynamic, inspirational person whose motives were to protect the animals.

“Tim never wanted anyone to do things the way he did,” Palovak said. “It’s very dangerous.”

Herzog was in Thailand and wasn’t immediately available for an interview, according to his publicist.

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