Diddy has responded to the age discrimination suit being filed against him by a Franchesca Spero -- a former Bad Boy exec who has claimed he fired her because she was "old and disabled." According to TMZ.com, a spokesperson for Diddy has released a statement saying, "This is a grab for money by someone who concedes in her complaint to having had a drug relapse while on the job and an employer who was not satisfied with her work. There are many reasons why Ms. Spero is no longer employed by Bad Boy, but age discrimination is not one of them."

Spero is suing Diddy for $12 million and has claimed that she had a falling with out with the music mogul after having hip surgery back in 2008 -- then later "suffered a relapse" to an addiction to prescription meds and alcohol.

According to her lawsuit, Spero claimed that Diddy told her that she could no longer "run around" and earned too much money for "someone who could no longer keep up with his fast-paced lifestyle."

Eminem has revealed that he is happy about the success of his album Recovery. The album has been number 1 on the Billboard charts for nine weeks and has sold 2.2 million copies. Em said, "I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to able to have a career as long as I've had . . . I feel truly blessed to be in the game as long as I've been in it. I'm obviously happy the way that people have received the album.

Em also explained how recording Recovery and 2009's Relapse-- along with his actually recovery from his addiction to painkillers has changed him. He said, "This whole recovery process has been a learning process for me and as I've gone through it, I've kinda changed as a person over time and I guess with that Relapse album you can kinda look at it as your watching the journey of me coming up out of my addictions and were I was at the point in time in my life and kinda learning how to rap again and getting back out there after not being out for so many years and kinda being in, basically seclusion."

He continued, "So, it's kinda like, me getting my feel wet again as far as performing, interviews, TV appearances all those things and relearning how to do them sober again." AUDIO: EMINEM ON THE LEARNING PROCESS OF HIS RECOVERY
AUDIO: EMINEM ON RECOVERY SUCCESS

JESSE McCARTNEY TO UNVEIL 'SHAKE' THIS MONTH: Jesse McCartney is putting the finishing touches on his upcoming album, but fans will get a little sneak peak when the lead single, "Shake," arrives September 2st. It will be available exclusively as a free download through the music app Tap Tap Revenge. McCartney says, "This album has a wider range/ The beats are hotter, the sound is more upbeat. It's got the hook-y R&B flavor of the last record, but everything's really amplified." No album release date or title have been announced. Get more info on the download here: http://bit.ly/c3kcYF

SARAH McLACHLAN TO MAKE 'ONE TREE HILL' APPEARANCE: Sarah McLachlan will perform her single, "Forgivenes," on the upcoming crossover episode of Life Unexpected and One Tree Hill. According to JustJared.com, in the crossover event, One Tree Hill characters Haley (Bethany Joy) and Mia (Kate Voegele) go to a music festival sponsored by a Portland radio station where they meet Cate (Shiri Appleby). The Life Unexpected/One Tree Hill episode airs October 12th at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

LADY GAGA GETTING ORDAINED? U.K. tabloid, Heat, claims that Lady Gaga has taken an online class to become an ordained minister. The tab says she wants to perform gay marriages onstage.

In other news, Lady Gaga channels the Statue of Liberty in the new "New York Issue" of fashion mag V. She's seen sporting long, blonde hair sculpted into the Statue of Liberty's crown and wearing some typical Gaga attire: a bra and panties. Check out the shots here: http://tinyurl.com/34emrwg

Demi Lovato doesn't seem to be crying any tears over her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas. The 18-year-old singer has been on tour with him and by the sound of it, she got over things pretty quickly, telling Celebuzz.com, "Well, you have to, 'cause you work with him. When you're hurt, it's easy to move on, so it was very easy for me to move on." As for advice to others trying to get along with ex's, Lovato says with a laught, "Suck it up."

Lovato, meanwhile, is working on a new album and has her eyes on some potential collaborators, including her pal Miley Cyrus. Lovato says, "We talked about doing a duo together, like an acoustic or something. That would be really fun to do with her. She's one of my best friends and she's super talented, so I'd love to have her on the album."

Jordin Sparks returns to the Broadway stage this week after missing a batch of In The Heights performances due to an injured hip. According to Playbill.com, she was under doctor's orders to rest. Sparks' understudy had to fill in, and as the American Idol alum tweeted earlier this week, "At the Dr 4 ths dang hip! Hopefully I'll be back asap! I miss the cast & the stage! I went crazy ystrday having 2 stay off of it!"

We caught up with Sparks while on tour this summer -- prior to her debut on Broadway last month. At the time she told us that she was worried about the rigors of performing: "Being on this tour is definitely helping me with the stanima part because being on Broadway is going to be totally different. I mean it's going to be a two-hour show every night for eight times a week. Ah. Which is going to be super insane. It's not like my regular tour where do my show, sing an hour and then I have a day off. It's every single night we're going to be having a show, and it's going to be pretty intense."

In The Heights follows three days in the Washington Heights area of New York City.

Sparks portrays Nina Rosario, the daughter of Kevin and Camila. She is the first to go to college -- Stanford University -- and nearly everyone in the neighborhood admires her. But she hits some trouble along the way.

Sparks' stint is expected to end on November 14th.

Katy Perry really knows how to stand by her man, comedian Russell Brand. According to the U.K.'s OK magazine, she dyed strands of her hair claret and blue -- the colors of her fiance's favorite soccer team, West Ham United. She confirmed the story, tweeting, "Yes it's true . . . I was born to be claret and blue . . . At least me hair dye is! :)"

Meanwhile, Perry must be feeling on top of the world this week. She arguably has the song of the summer with "California Gurls," has a Number One album on her hands with Teenage Dream and is about to tie the knot.

There is a rumor going around that Maxwell and Kanye West have serious beef over model Selita Eubanks. According to Mediatakeout.com, a source close to Maxwell has allegedly said that he and the model have been dating for about six months. The insider said, "They were trying to keep it out of the public because they wanted it to last . . . they really cared for each other."

The insider then reportedly revealed that Selita was seeing Kanye at the same time. The insider said, "Kanye and Selita were sneaking around behind Maxwell's back. This is crazy because they were all friends. For Ye to do that is beyond grimey."

The insider then insinuated that Maxwell and Ye may come to blows over this. The insider allegedly said, "He'll get his though, Maxwell is no punk."

There's still nothing definitive about Mariah Carey's rumored pregnancy, but we do have some more info on her upcoming holiday album, including an official title and release date. According to Rap-Up.com, the project will be called Merry Christmas II You, and it will arrive on November 2nd. The set, featuring both originals and classics, marks the follow-up to Carey's 1994's multi-platinum Merry Christmas album.

A DVD will come out on the same day as the collection, but no further details are available.

Carey is expected to team up with the Home Shopping Network (HSN) to promote the collection.

Nicki Minaj is set to give her first-ever televised solo performance at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show. According to MTV News, the rapper will perform her number 1 hit, "Your Love." Nicki said, "I am truly honored to be a part of this year's VMAs. Just yesterday I was an underground female rapper. See Barbz? Dreams do come true."

Nicki will also launch a contest on her Twitter page where 10 fans will be able to get tickets to watch her performance. The contest will begin on September 7th and the winners will be announced on September 10th.

The pre-show will air live from the red carpet outside of L.A.'s Nokia Theatre on Sunday September 12th at 8pm.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music awards will be hosted by Chelsea Handler and will feature performances by Emimem, Drake, Kanye West, Usher, Justin Bieber, and more.

Is Usher's rumored girlfriend hiding a baby bump? According to Theybf.com, Usher and former Def Jam exec Grace Miguel were spotted in downtown NYC yesterday (September 2nd) allegedly looking at real estate. Grace was rocking an oversized fluffy sleeveless blouse. As previously reported, rumors were going around the Usher and Grace were getting married and that she was having his third child.

Speaking of children, Usher recently gushed about his two boys, two year old Usher V and one-year old Naviyd Ely. According to People, Usher has said that he appreciates the bond that the two boys share. He said, "They play really well with each other. They have their differences, but they're definitely brothers. They're fun to watch together and both have a ton of energy. They can wear me out sometimes, without a doubt."

Usher added that his oldest son is "always in everything." He said, "He's the one who leads his brother astray -- he's the instigator. He'll be like, 'Hey, let's swing from the table,' and his brother will follow him. He's the one who's responsible when they get into trouble!"

Usher also revealed that Usher Jr. has a sweet side to him as well. He said,"He'll read books to Naviyd. Well, he can't read, but he's memorized the books and will recite them."