Although she was “horrified” at the criticism Madonna received for taking 16-month-old David Banda from Malawi into her home, Angelina Jolie said that the pop diva should have known what to expect.

“Madonna knew the situation in Malawi, where he was born,” Jolie was quoted as telling the Paris-based magazine Gala. “It’s a country where there is no real legal framework for adoption.

“Personally, I prefer to stay on the right side of the law. I would never take a child away from a place where adoption is illegal.”

Even though Malawi will probably not be the place they choose, it seems Angelina and her partner Brad Pitt aren’t done with international adoption. Both of them have mentioned in the press their desire to adopt more children.

Britney and Paris share yet another headline, this one as co-Worst Dressed Stars of 2006, according to that maven of fashion, Mr. Blackwell.

In his 47th annual diss list, Blackwell called Spears and Hilton “two peas in an overexposed pod,” adding further insult to pentameter-induced injury by proclaiming them “style-free and fashion deprived…the ’screamgirls’ have arrived!”

“Two peas in an over-exposed pod” – how perfect is that description!?

The London Metro Police have decided that George Michael is no longer fit to operate a moving vehicle. Michael was found passed out in the driver’s seat of his car with a small amount of marijuana in his possession. Michael, of course, denies the fact that he is an unfit driver and is fighting the decision.

The 43-year-old pop star was not present at the Brent Magistrates Court; his attorney, Keima Payton, entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.

Payton based Michael’s claim of innocence for the unfit driving charge on the fact that blood samples taken the night of his arrest were done so illegally, thus voiding their results.

A pretrial hearing, which Michael again won’t be required to attend, has been set for Mar. 7 and will determine whether or not the results of the test will be admissible during the singer’s trial, itself scheduled to take place April 23.

No gift baskets for presenters at the Golden Globes this year. Seems the IRS is tired of getting short-changed when it comes to their cut of the booty.

The HFPA made its announcement Wednesday, shortly after the IRS stated that the two organizations had reached an agreement, in that the HFPA would take care of the back taxes for all gifts handed out until 2005 and provide celebrities who received goodies in 2006 with the appropriate income tax forms.

“We thought it only proper that we assume the tax burden for 2004 and 2005,” HFPA president Philip Berk said. “We felt it didn’t seem fair to ask those who had donated their services to pay additional tax after they have already filed tax returns for those years.”

There was no word on just how much the IRS collected from the Globe purveyors.

Good thing the HFPA is footing the back-taxes bill. No way could all those celebrities afford it!

McFarlane toys announced Thursday that it will be creating a line of action figures based on Fox’s hit show “24.” There will be two Jack Bauer action figures. Bauer is played by Kiefer Sutherland on the show, and the Bauer figures will be part of two different toy sets. The first is set to hit stores in August, with the second following in December. I wonder if there will be an optional “torture accessories” upgrade pack.

American Idol will be back to try to dominate TV ratings again. The hit show’s sixth season begins Tuesday night, and Idol producers are promising that it will be bigger than ever. There is a big mid-season show planned that producers claim will “blow America away.” The guest star roster is rumored to include the likes of Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey. Of course, before any of that happens, we will have to suffer through round after round of terrible, ear-shattering auditions and Simon’s insults.

A federal judge has officially frozen the money O.J. received for his book deal with ReganBooks. He is awaiting a ruling on whether or not the funds should be handed over to the family of Ron Goldman. The book was to be titled, “If I Did It” and would have told – “hypothetically” – how O.J. had committed the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and Goldman. “Hypothetically,” of course, because he was found not guilty. He did, however, lose the wrongful-death suit with the Goldman family, but has yet to pay much of the $33.5 million judgment.

Filming “Blood Diamond” in Mozambique had a profound impact on Leonardo DiCaprio. One little orphan girl in particular grabbed his heart, and he is now financially supporting her and the orphanage. It’s nice to see a celebrity who does more than just talk about the needy around the world.

“You can’t help but not be affected when you’re in a situation where there is a horrible AIDS rate and there is violence going on and there is poverty,” the actor told E! News. “You have to get involved.

“Certainly there was a girl on set that I sort of became attached to and I went to her orphanage and I’m supporting her and supporting the orphanage.”

Britney Spears has seen the error of her ways – or so she tells her fans in a 342-word “Dear Fans” letter posted on her official web site. She doesn’t specifically mention her recent public disasters (the missing underwear, the tête-à-têtes with Paris Hilton, falling asleep in the middle of hosting a Las Vegas New Years’ bash), but she says she understands why her fans are disappointed in her. She promises to make it up to them with a new album and a new tour.