Talk about media pros!

After 23 years together, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins — the original Ashton and Demi — broke up this summer. Their rep issued the following statement today:

“Actress Susan Sarandon and her partner of 23 years, actor Tim Robbins have announced that they separated over the summer. No further comments will be made.”

I wonder if they discussed this during their summer break-up. Like, “This sucks, but let’s wait until it’s basically Christmas Eve to announce it so it’s not a media firestorm.” That’s how you do it when you’ve been around the block a few times, I guess.

The couple have two sons together, Jack, 20, and Miles, 17.

I’m genuinely sorry to hear of their split, but, to be fair, they made it way longer than most married couples. That was an impressive run, you two! You should be proud of yourselves. The pic above is of the twosome at the 1989 Golden Globes.

Hi guys. BIG DEAL TODAY! The first Sex and the City 2 trailer. And it’s … it’s … well, it’s “Empire State of Mind” playing over some quick shots of semi-fantastic outfits. I can’t believe they actually used “Empire State of Mind” for this. Way too easy. I’m not impressed or interested. What is this movie actually about?

I’m pretty dedicated to Jessica Simpson. I defend her. I feel for her. “She’s a nice girl! Leave her be!” That’s the kind of thing I say about her. But then last night she posted this video on her Twitter that’s making the rounds today and oh my goodness, is she being annoying. Old school, Newlyweds annoying.

You see, I guess her BFF/hairstylist Ken Paves have her a candle for Christmas that’s supposed to such your ears clean of all their earwax. I’m not quite sure on how that science works either, but I’ve done some Googling for you and you can check out this if you want. During the entire video (which is only about a minute or so long but seems to last a lifetime), Jessica whines loudly as if she is in pain while Ken sings Christmas carols. One thing I do have to give the girl: She looks good. She always does. She’s without make-up, her hair is in a bun and she’s holding a candle in her ear with a Papa John’s pizza box stuck on it to catch wax. Not many people could look as pretty as she does doing that… but do you think she could SHUT UP?

After over 10 years of performance injuries, Steven Tyler feels that he needs to seek professional treatment for his reliance on pain medication. If you’ll remember, just this summer he had an accident that likely triggered his relapse. In a statement to People Magazine, Tyler said:

“With the help of my family and team of medical professionals, I am taking responsibility for the management of my pain and am eager to be back on the stage and in the recording studio with my bandmates Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford.”

The singer, who has a history of drug abuse, has been isolating himself from his bandmates as of late and that was a sure sign that his recovery had turned in to a relapse. His daughter, actress Liv Tyler said the following about her father receiving treatment, “My family and I are in complete support of my dad’s decision to seek treatment. He is a courageous man. We love him and are so proud that he is getting help to balance his pain management, not just for himself but for his family, friends and fans.”

Tyler is 61 years old and has been at it (performing and using drugs) for decades in different capacities. If he doesn’t come out of this clean, he at least seems to have the support of his family and the ability to keep doing what he loves with a band that’s behind him.

Christina Aguilera looked quite pissed while getting her holiday shopping done with husband Jordan Bratman. While she was most likely disturbed by the men trying to take her photos while she picked up last minute gifts, I think her face kind of shows what we’re all feeling as we run out to grab our last haul of presents. Personally, I beat this feeling by making mix CDs for my family and crying poor to my friends, but I suppose that if you’re Christina Aguilera, you’re expected to show up with gifts. Poor baby.

The death of Brittany Murphy has raised all sorts of questions about her life, but one I keep hearing over and over is “Who the hell was that Simon Monjack dude she was married to?” What can I say? I hang out with eloquent people. According to several stories over the past couple days, many suspected that Simon was broke and partially in to Brittany because she brought some money to the family. However, today it was revealed that he was not written in to her will. Instead, Brittany’s beloved mother Sharon Murphy will be the beneficiary of her estate.

Brittany was only 32 years old when she passed, so it’s quite possible that her will was drawn up before her marriage to Simon and not redone after their marriage because well, she wasn’t expecting to die. While wills can be revised after death, it doesn’t seem likely that Simon will be able to make claims on any of her money or her home.

Hopefully Brittany’s mother has a firm grasp on the nature of their relationship and will be able to decide what happens with her daughter’s money in a way that will pay respect to what Brittany would have wanted. While I’m sure we’re not talking major money, it would be a whole ‘nother Anna Nicole situation if Simon attempted to get his hands on his late wife’s assets. Something tells me that between lawyers, accountants, advisers and family, if Brittany wanted to make sure Simon got her money, she would have been on top of that.