People: Apr. 12, 1999

HE COULD ALWAYS GET A PET

Further proof that Penthouse is not a family publication: last week publisher BOB GUCCIONE took steps to evict his son and former employee Anthony from the apartment in which he’d been living since 1987. Anthony, who worked for Penthouse’s parent company until 1997, claims his Manhattan loft was a gift from his father for graduating from Harvard and joining the family business. But a judge backed Guccione the elder, saying the apartment’s stock certificate had never been transferred to Anthony and he had no legal claim to it. Looks as if Guccione pere, who is also estranged from his other son, Bob Jr., will be spending Father’s Day alone this year.

THE BARE FACTS OF CELEBRITY

How do you know you’ve made it as an actress? When you’re starring opposite Johnny Depp and the nude photos you took before you were famous start popping up in unexpected places. Right about now, CHARLIZE THERON, soon to be seen carrying Depp’s baby in The Astronaut’s Wife, should start considering herself a success. This month Playboy features the statuesque starlet in what she claims are unauthorized pictures taken prior to her big break. “The photos were taken expressly for the purpose of her portfolio and not for publication,” says Theron’s publicist. He says it was a “complete shock” when they came out in Playboy. Theron is considering legal action. But this would seem to be the perfect time to ask for a percentage of the magazine’s gross.

FEUD OF THE WEEK

NAME: Rosa (“Bus-ta”) Parks OCCUPATION: Civil rights elder stateswoman AGE: 85 BEST PUNCH: Claims OutKast exploited her by using her name without permission for a song titled Rosa Parks. Though her name was used only for the song’s title, not its lyrics, Parks is asking for it to be removed from all OutKast products

NAME: OutKast, the “OutKlassed” OCCUPATION: Upstart rappers AGES: 23 (Dre); 24 (Boi) BEST PUNCH: The duo, Dre and Big Boi, say the song (sample lyrics: “Ah ha, hush that fuss/ Everybody move to the back of the bus”) is an homage to Parks, and the group’s record company is standing by its “right to creative expression.”

WINNER PARKS. YO, BRO, YOU SHOULDN’T DISS RO/ EVERYBODY KNOW, THAT’S A NO GO

SADO-MASCOTISM

Having reached an agreement with team owners over that thorny lock-out issue, the NBA players association has turned to another matter plaguing professional basketball: impudent mascots. The association has filed a complaint against the Phoenix Suns, alleging that the team’s mascot, the GORILLA, insulted visiting Sacramento Kings center OLIVER MILLER. At a recent game the Gorilla donned a Kings jersey with Miller’s No. 8 on it and stuffed it with pillows, a rather unkind jab at Miller’s robust 6-ft. 9-in., 370-lb. physique. Miller called the skit racist and said it embarrassed him in front of his family. Furthermore, the humiliation caused him to gain still more weight. Suns’ management said there was no racist intent by the Gorilla, “the premier mascot in all of team sports,” and apologized for any distress. Now maybe the players association can finally tackle that stale-nachos problem.