Late yesterday we learned the surprising news that both Ashlee Simpson (who plays Violet) and Colin Egglesfield (who plays Auggie) were fired from The CW’s new version of Melrose Place and at the time producers for the show, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, told Entertainment Weekly that it had been the plan “all along” to have these characters leave the show early once their storylines wrapped up in December. In a new interview with E!, Egglesfield reveals that that notion is NOT true, that he was not aware “all along” that his character would be written out of the show and, in fact, that when he signed on to the show it was with a multi-year contract as a core main character. Egglesfield has some idea why he was let go, tho … read on:

One day you’re happy as a clam, working as a castmember on a prime-time network drama, and the next day someone’s feeding you a line about changes in your show’s “tone” and shuffling you off to Buffalo. That’s what just happened to departing Melrose Place star Colin Egglesfield, who sums up his rollercoaster Thursday this way: “I’ve had better days, to be quite honest.” We just spoke to Colin exclusively to find out why he’s being pushed out of the show, not to mention where Auggie fits into the show’s big murder mystery, and despite what you may have theorized, Auggie’s not getting killed off, and despite what you may have been told, this exit was not planned from the beginning: “[They said it] was a network decision and obviously the ratings aren’t what they need or want them to be, so they’re going to try things to shake things up.” So what really happened today, and what’s going to happen next on Melrose Place? Here’s what we learned from Colin:

Do you have anything you want to say as a farewell to the fans and the people you’ve worked with?
Todd and Darren are great, I love those guys and they’ve always been straightforward and straight shooters and just great people to work with. I respect the decision that they had to make creatively to do what they need to do, I’m just frustrated that I’m not going to be a part of the show, because it was such a great job and a fun place to go to work every day. I’m disappointed to be leaving because I became really good friends with not only the cast of Melrose Place but many of the crew as well, so that’s sad, to not be able to go see them at work. But hey, I’m still friends with them, and I’d just like to say to everyone out there who’s been watching and supporting, thanks from the bottom of my heart, because this is something that I love to do.

OUCH!! Poor guy … it really sounds like this news came out of nowhere. I absolutely did not believe the bull the producers gave us that the plan all along had been to write these characters out of show from the beginning. As we hear from Colin himself, he just found out yesterday morning … AND, he still has another ep to film on Monday — poor, poor guy. As for Ashlee Simpson, she’s talking about her axing from the show as well. After the jump, check out what she has to say …

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Wow … here is some surprising casting news coming out of Melrose Place … with all the great news about which folks will be joining the cast, I don’t know that many of us (me included) considered who might be leaving the cast. Entertainment Weekly is reporting today that both Ashlee Simpson and Colin Egglesfield have been axed from the show! Their characters will be making their Melrose exit in January after the Who Killed Syndey Andrews? storyline wraps up in December. Um … wow!

Two months into its run, The CW’s ratings-challenged (but creatively-smokin’) Melrose Place reboot is about to undergo a major renovation. For starters, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield have been let go (they’ll last air in January), and the “Who Killed Sydney?” mystery is being wrapped up in December. Then, in addition to Heather Locklear’s Amanda, several new characters will be introduced and the show will take on a lighter, more fun vibe. Here, in an exclusive interview, exec producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer explain why they’re fixing a series that many (myself included) felt wasn’t broken and tease what’s ahead for Melrose 2.0 3.0.

Is it fair to say that if either of those characters clicked you would’ve found a way to keep them?
SLAVKIN: Well, you never know when you go along. But in the end, we felt like it was right [decision].
DARREN SWIMMER: The nature of soaps is that as things progress along, the story takes on a life of its own and the characters come and go in relation to that.

After the jump, find out how Ashlee and Colin took the news of their axing and read what Slavkin and Swimmer have to say about the possibility of other castmembers getting the axe from the show …

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More sad break-up news to impart today … after rumors began to swirl that Rosie O’Donnell and her wifey Kelli Carpenter were on the outs, Rosie herself confirmed that the couple have split. Tho she doesn’t go so far as to say they are finished for good, she does confess that the couple are no longer together even tho they continue to work on their problems:

Rosie O’Donnell has confirmed to Lifeline Live that she and partner Kelli Carpenter, 42, are on the rocks. In an interview at her Nyack, N.Y., compound Tuesday, USA TODAY’s Ann Oldenburg asked if the two had split — she has been hinting at it in her blog — and O’Donnell didn’t deny it, saying, “We’re a family. We will remain a family forever. And we are working on our issues.” O’Donnell, 47, wouldn’t go into detail about whether Carpenter had moved out of their Nyack home and into Manhattan, as the National Enquirer reported in August. (She was not around during the interview.) “We’re a family, we remain a family and we’re working on the issues,” O’Donnell reiterated, noting that there are four children whose well-being comes before anything. The couple married in San Francisco in 2004 and have three adopted children — Parker, 14, Chelsea, 12 and Blake, 9, as well as Vivienne (”Vivi”), 6, whom Carpenter carried. “They’re adorable and wonderful and they are by far a priority,” O’Donnell said. “Kelli and I love each other very much and we are working on our issues. Those are the only words I am ever going to say. Ever. And that is something that has been agreed upon by all parties,” she said, tears collecting in her eyes. “But everything’s fine and everybody’s good and we’re still both raising them together. We will both continue to parent them and we’re friendly and everything’s all right.”

While it’s commendable that Rosie and Kelli are keep their children’s interests at the forefront of their actions, it really does sound like it’s splitsville for the ladies. It’s always such a shame when a couple breaks up … because we have no idea what led to the split, I think it’s best to just wish them well in their endeavors to work on their issues and hope for the best. Still … this is really sad news ;(

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Sad news to pass along today … In Touch Weekly magazine is reporting that the once-happy, always adorable couple made up of actor T.R. Knight and his very cute (much younger) boyfriend Mark Cornelson has come to an end. Apparently, due to T.R.’s work commitments, the relationship suffered … and sadly had to end. The Mark-Knight is dunzo, y’all!

T.R. Knight is blaming his hectic schedule as the reason for his split with his boyfriend of almost two years, Mark Cornelsen. “It just came to a natural end, no hard feelings,” explains a close friend of the former Grey’s Anatomy star, whose focus has been on his role in the musical Parade at the Mark Taper Forum in LA. “They still care about each other very much.” And though T.R., 36, asked his ex, who is 16 years younger, to move out of the apartment they shared, he said it doesn’t mean he has given up hope for a family someday. “I want a baby,” he told Ellen DeGeneres around the time of his breakup. His wish to adopt a child is genuine. “When the time is right, it will happen,” says the pal, adding that for right now, “his focus is on the show.”

Awww … this is SUCH sad news. I loved T.R. and Mark together … they made a really cute couple. I suppose we should’ve realized something was up … we haven’t seen them together here on the blog since last May. They were deffo one of my fave Hollywood couples and I’m really bummed that they couldn’t figure out a way to make it work. Hopefully the guys will see the err of their ways and will be able to get back together somewhere down the line … but as for now … they are dunzo. Sad.

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Welp … I got some bad news for followers of Miley Cyrus on Twitter. It turns out that the mini-poplet has decided to delete her official Twitter account after receiving counsel from her rumored boyfriend Liam Hemsworth. Miley, who was a pretty heavy Twitter user up until last night, had been posting tweets all week along about how she wished she could fall in love with the Walt Disney cartoon princes while she watched Disney animated film after Disney animated film (tho, I sincerely doubt she was referring to THIS incarnation of the Disney princes) and then suddenly last night she quit Twitter altogether. Here are screencaps that show Miley’s last Twitter message before her account went Dunzo! and a cap of her Twitter page that shows it has been deleted:

Miley Cyrus goes mia from the Twitter world. The teen sensation is reported to have deleted her account after being asked by her rumored boyfriend Liam Hemsworth, who apparently doesn’t have his own account. At the time of writing, Miley’s Twitter can’t be opened. “Sorry, the page doesn’t exist,” read the announcement put on her account. Miley’s last tweet before her Twitter goes inactive read, “FYI Liam doesn’t have a twitter and he wants ME to delete mine with good reason.” Official statement is yet to be made by Miley herself or her people regarding the report. Liam also hasn’t addressed the matter.

For the record, I only know about Miley’s tweets this week because I followed her account for, uh, work purposes … yeah, that’s it … work purposes. LOL!! Well, if anything can be gleaned from the abrupt end of her Twitter communication with fans it’s that she really did seem to confirm that she and Liam Hemsworth are “going out” or at the very least are “very close friends”. In all honesty, Miley really didn’t provide much entertainment value to Twitter … so I won’t miss her … but I’m sure there are legions of Miley fans who are this morning crying tears of loss into their Jonas Brothers pillowcases.

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Hmmm … it looks like Kanye West’s big mouth has finally hurt him where it matters most … in the wallet. As you may recall, Kanye very douchily stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards last month as she tried to give her Best Female Video acceptance speech and set off a firestorm of controversy with pretty much everyone on the planet (even President Obama called Kanye a “jackass” over the matter). Normally, his asshole behavior (which tends to piss off people on a regular basis) is just excused away without his needing to face any consequences. Days after the VMA incident, it was announced that Kanye would be teaming up with Lady Gaga for a co-headlinging tour called Fame Kills. Late yesterday, Live Nation released a statement annoucning that the tour has been CANCELED without offering any explanation why. Today … we know why … according to TMZ, ticket sales for the Fame Kills Tour were so low that the concert promoter decided to cut their losses before the tour even got underway … and additionally Kanye and Gaga just couldn’t get along. I guess Kanye and his “colorful behavior” don’t sell like they used to:

If Kanye West doesn’t regret hijacking Taylor Swift, he will now — we’re told his concert tour with Lady Gaga was scrapped because ticket sales sucked. And “sucked” happens to be a nicer version of the word we were told. And not only that — our insiders say another factor in the cancellation was West and Gaga’s people were at each others throats like their last names were Gosselin. When it came down do it, we’re told Gaga decided she’d be better off playing smaller venues … and far from the headache caused by Kanye’s ever present drama.

LMAOO!! Finally … perhaps, just maybe, Kanye West will finally learn that being an asshole will actually make people dislike you. How else will he learn better behavior? I find it humorous that Gaga was just days ago defending Kanye’s douchey behavior and now we learn that she couldn’t stand him either … neither one of them sound very professional. I personally had ZERO interest in seeing this show so I have no personal stake in the matter … but I did want to pass along the info to highlight the fact that being an asshole DOES have its consequences. Do I think Kanye West will learn a lesson here? Not really … but there is always hope.

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Say it ain’t so!!! According to the headline on the cover of the new issue of Us Weekly magazine, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have ended their 3 year relationship … about a month ago … over the phone!! HMMM … I’m not sure that I entirely buy the dramatics of this report but I suppose I can believe that the couple have decided to call it quits. Here is a photo of the couple in happier times earlier this year at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala but according to this new report, Justica are now dunzo!

After a rocky three-year relationship, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have called it quits, Us Weekly reports in its latest issue (on newsstands now). A mutual pal of the pair tells Us Weekly that Timberlake, 28, has told friends, “it’s over,” and that he ended it for good — over the phone. “It was about a month ago,” the pal says. While he was in NYC in September to show his William Rast clothing line at Fashion Week, “Justin was clearly on the hunt,” the pal tells Us Weekly. At a club September 9, he dirty-danced with a tall blonde in a short black dress. At one point, she turned to her friend and mouthed, ‘Oh, my God!’ It was reminiscent of Timberlake’s guys’ night out in June when he was allegedly spotted kissing a girl at NYC hot spot Avenue. Fellow clubgoer Lindsay Lohan Twittered that night, “So dark — where’s jb cheater?” She later claimed her account had been “hacked,” though another source tells Us she panicked after Timberlake “told all his people” to ban Lindsay and make her life miserable.” Meanwhile, Biel, 27, is in “severe denial and won’t accept” the split, their mutual pal tells Us Weekly. Another source says, “There’s no way of knowing if it’s a firm breakup, because with them it’s so hot and cold.”

Yeah … I’d take this news with a huge grain of salt. I love that Us Weekly threw in a qualifier at the end that “there’s no way of knowing if it’s a firm breakup” which is their way of covering their asses should the couple A.) be seen together in the future or B.) issue a statement that they never broke up in the first place. But, again, 3 years is a long time and I can absolutely believe that this relationship has run its course. I believe it took about 3 years for JT to tire of Cameron Diaz before he took up with Jessica. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what Justica have to say (either as a couple or individually) on the matter but we should know very soon if this breakup report has any weight to it. What do y’all think … are they dunzo or not?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]