THOSE WEB REPORTS ABOUT BRANGELINA MARRYING? FORGET THEM

The Internet as an alternate source for news took a beating over the weekend when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie did not get married in France, as numerous celebrity and gossip websites had been predicting. Some actually included the names on the supposed guest list. “Even Angelina’s private jeweler is here,” reported Rupert Murdoch’s London tabloid, The Sun, whose unsourced reports were picked up internationally by gossip blogs. According to one report, the couple’s wedding bands cost $783,300 each. Paparazzi descended on the couple’s home, Chateau Miraval, in the south of France, anxious to record the arrival of the invitees, including, it was said, close relatives of Pitt and Jolie. But the photogs and their gossip cohorts turned out to be the only arrivals. And as the weekend ended, the “mainstream media” were noting that in France weddings may not be held in private residences. An official in the village of Correns told Reuters: “Under French law couples have to get married at the town hall.” But did the non-event quiet the gossip sites? Not for a minute. An Irish website remarked, “Makes you wonder if perhaps the couple pulled the wool over, well, the whole world’s eyes and got married somewhere else.” Another, CelebDirtyLaundry.com, commented, “OK, I’ve been wrong before. Believe it or not, we don’t try to mislead. Media vans were camped out. Villagers were talking. I actually thought something might go down. Yet it didn’t. But guess what? NEXT WEEK is the real date. I’m not crying wolf this time! Next week we’ll see a married Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Trust me!”