Odds & Ends: Cher, Ashanti, Boy George

A House Fit For A Mermaid

If you’re in the market for a vacation home formally owned by a diva, mark your calendar for Jan. 18 because Cher’s six-bedroom Hawaii home is up for auction.

Cher herself custom-designed the residence, which is described as balancing “modern sophistication with traditional Balinese style” with “an elegant mix of formality, drama and simplicity.”

Concierge Auctions has pegged the home’s value at a pre-sale estimate of about $8 million to $12 million, according to a Web site set up for the auction.

The property is located on a three-quarter acre lot in the Four Seasons Hualalai community on the Kona-Kohala Coast in Kona, Hawaii. The home features views of the Pacific Ocean and Hualalai Golf Course.

In addition to the main residence, the 8,821-square foot property also includes five individual free-standing bungalows. The property is perfect for accommodating guests – four of the bungalows have bedroom suits and the fifth features a media room and bar. The bedroom bungalows each include a full bathroom and an outdoor seating area. There’s also a private lanai and a pool/spa.

Click here for the auction Web site.

Ashanti’s Foolish Fan

A man accused of stalking Ashanti and her mother through a series of phone calls, lewd text messages and obscene photos has been convicted on harassment charges.

Devar Hurd, 31, was accused of calling Ashanti’s mother, Tina Douglas, numerous times in February and then sending her 32 messages between May 29 and July 18, according to the New York Daily News. Most of the messages were directed at Ashanti but a few seemed to be intended for Douglas, who manages the singer’s career, and Ashanti’s sister. The crude messages described explicit sexual scenarios, crudely described Ashanti’s performances and were accompanied by pictures of Hurd’s genitals. One text included a photo of Ashanti’s mother’s house and asked about coming over for a visit.

After two days of deliberations, on Tuesday a jury found Hurd, a car saleman/ gym worker/ part-time model, guilty of stalking and aggravated harassment.

Hurd testified, along with occasional rap lines and finger-snapping, that the messages and photos were just meant as a joke. He claimed he was working on an unspecified business deal with Ashanti’s parents. The 31-year-old justified sending the picture of Douglas’ house by explaining that he found the photo online when he was 700 miles away in Indiana.

Hurd is being held without bail until his sentencing Jan. 11. He faces up to two years in prison.

Click here for the AP story.

Do You Really Want To Tell George No?

Former Culture Club frontman Boy George’s dream of starring on the British reality show “Celebrity Big Brother” won’t be coming true.

After initially being banned from the Channel 4 show by his probation officers, on Wednesday London’s High Court dismissed Boy George’s appeal.

Boy George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, is on probation with an electronic monitor after serving four months of a 15-month sentence. He was found guilty of assaulting a male model/escort and then holding the poor fellow hostage (and handcuffed to a wall) in his apartment in 2007.

“I consider that right-thinking members of the public would take the view that an offender serving the non-custodial part of a sentence of imprisonment should not be allowed to take part in a high profile, controversial production, promoting his status as a celebrity and with considerable financial gain,” London’s High Court judge David Bean said, according to BBC News.

The Probation Service noted that allowing Boy George to appear on “Celebrity Big Brother” would damage the service’s reputation and undermine the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system.

Click here for the BBC News story.