Finally, good news for Michael Jackson.
The Erstwhile King of Pop, who had been voted "Most Foolish American" four years running, lost his crown to singer and tabloid fodder Britney Spears.
Some 76 percent of Americans said that Spears — who has been in and out of rehab, shaved her head bald, and was photographed partying without her panties on — had "done something foolish in the past year," according to The Eighth Annual Most Foolish American Survey of 1,000 people in honour of April Fool's Day.
"Going commando, mutilating your own head, baby-bobbling — they've all been done before on an individual basis," said New York publicist Jeff Barge, who sponsors the survey. "But combining them, that's like a triple-axel of foolery."
Socialite Paris Hilton, who parlayed her online sex-tape infamacy into a series of advertising and recoding deals, took second place, with 67 per cent of Americans saying she had done something foolish in the past year.
Hilton's foolery included having her secret diaries exposed as the result of failing to pay fees for her storage locker, being arrested for drunk driving, and getting engaged to another person named Paris.
"She's really become the Lucille Ball for a new generation," Barge said.
Going commando, mutilating your own head, baby-bobbling — they've all been done before on an individual basis," notes Barge. "But combining them, that's like a triple-axel of foolery."
Ranked third this year was pop singer Michael Jackson. For the past four years running, the Gloved One had held the No. 1 spot in this survey, with Hilton running a frequent second.
Rounding out this year's top five were US President George W. Bush, whose Iraq war is increasinly viewed as an unmitigated diasaster, and former football great O.J. Simpson, who wrote a book on how he "might" have killed his wife.
They were followed by US Vice President Dick Cheney, who shot a friend in the face during a hunting trip, and Australian-American actor Mel Gibson, who launched into an anti-Semetic rant after his drunk driving arrest.
Speaking of foolish behavior, former child star Brian Bonsall, who played Andy Keaton in Family Ties, was arrested on charges of assaulting his girlfriend, police said.
Bonsall, 25, was being held in the Boulder County jail Friday on charges of second-degree assault and false imprisonment. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney, and a listing for an agent could not be found.
Bonsall was arrested Wednesday after his girlfriend told police he poured an alcoholic drink on her face while she slept, put her in a choke hold and threw her onto a bed when she tried to leave, authorities said.
Bonsall told investigators he pushed the woman down in self-defense after she cut his arm and face with a steak knife, but she denied that, police said.
The woman was initially taken into custody but then released, police said.
Bonsall, who lives in Boulder, appeared in three seasons of Family Ties, the NBC sitcom that helped launch Michael J. Fox's career. He later appeared in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the 1993 film Father Hood.
Also last week, Puerto Rico's all-time top-selling artist Ricky Martin defended the right of gay pop stars to come out of the closet as he toured Mexico and geared up for his Black and White tour across the US.
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