American party girl Paris Hilton on Saturday said she still loved South Africa despite being arrested for drug possession although the charges were later withdrawn.
Hilton and her friend, former Playboy Playmate Jennifer Rovero, were taken into custody for carrying a joint at the Brazil-Netherlands quarterfinal match in the southern city of Port Elizabeth on Friday.
But the state dropped the charges against the heiress after Rovero pleaded guilty.
In a post on Twitter after the incident Hilton wrote: “Hey guys, there’s a lot of crazy rumors going around. Just want you all to know the truth. Everything is completely fine.
“I was not charged or arrested, cause I didn’t do anything. I was assisting the police with the investigation and answering their questions.
“Everyone was super nice and friendly to me. I love South Africa! Such an amazing place, especially during The World Cup! Hope that clears everything up. Love you guys, thanks for your concern. Xoxo P.”
Hilton and Rovero appeared in one of South Africa’s special World Cup courts for foreigners early Saturday morning.
Police approached the pair outside the stadium on Friday after smelling marijuana, a police spokeswoman said.
A joint was thrown to the ground and the women apparently were ushered inside by bodyguards, she said.
Meanwhile, protests flared in Tokyo on Saturday as Oscar-winning dolphin-hunting documentary The Cove was screened despite outrage among people who complain the film is anti-Japanese.
About 30 protesters, mostly right-wingers, briefly skirmished with supporters of the film ahead of its first commercial showing at a Tokyo theater where police were on guard.
“Don’t bully fishermen,” a protestor screamed through a loudspeaker and held a banner reading: “The anti-Japanese movie, The Cove, is a poison that discriminates Japanese.”
The movie shows graphic scenes of the bloody but legal dolphin slaughter filmed using hidden cameras, and nationalist groups say it should be banned because it is anti-Japanese.
Police were also deployed inside the cinema, where all tickets had been sold out to about 100 spectators for the first showing, according to an official from the distributor Unplugged.
An official from the Taiji fisheries union voiced concern that showing the film could spread misunderstanding about dolphin hunts, but added that the union hopes audiences will get an “exact understanding” of what actually takes place, Kyodo reported.
At the Oscars ceremony, director Louie Psihoyos denied he was guilty of “Japan-bashing” and said The Cove was intended to be a public health warning to Japanese who are sold dolphin meat contaminated by mercury.
Earlier this week, a South Korean actor and singer who rode the wave of Korean pop culture in Asia was found dead at his home in Seoul in an apparent suicide, police said.
Park Yong-ha, 33, was found in his room by his mother on Wednesday after he apparently hanged himself with an electrical cord, Yonhap news agency said.
Park spent his last moments on Tuesday night with his father, who is suffering from cancer.
He reportedly massaged his father for a long while before leaving with the words: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Park shot to fame through the 2002 hit television drama series Winter Sonata and won fans in Japan and other Asian countries. He also released albums as a singer.
He had been chosen for the leading role in a Korean TV drama, a remake of the popular 1996 Hong Kong film Comrades, Almost a Love Story. Shooting was set to begin in July.
Park was deeply anguished by his father’s illness and was also suffering financial difficulties as an entertainment agency he set up in February struggled to make money, Yonhap said.
Park’s Japanese site crashed temporarily due to overwhelming traffic, it said, adding he was scheduled to fly to Japan on Thursday as part of a concert tour with his new album Stars.
Park is the latest of a number of South Korean entertainers to kill themselves. They include top movie actress Lee Eun-joo who committed suicide in 2005 and Choi Jin-sil who died in 2008.
Suicide is the highest cause of death among those in their 20s and 30s in South Korea, which in 2007 had the highest suicide rate among developed countries.
Little-known British actor Andrew Garfield will be the star of the next film based on web-slinging superhero Spider-Man, it was announced on Thursday.
Garfield, 26, steps into the void vacated by Tobey Maguire, the star of the first three films in the franchise which have grossed nearly US$2.5 billion worldwide.
Garfield’s previous credits include Terry Gilliam’s quirky The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassius and the British indie film Boy A. He also has a starring role in this year’s film based on the rise of Facebook, The Social Network.
The new Spider-Man will be a reboot of the franchise, taking the character of Peter Parker back to his origins, studio bosses have said.
Maguire dropped out amid rumors of creative differences between director Sam Raimi, who had helmed the first three films, and Sony Pictures Entertainment concerning the script.
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