A law firm representing Ms. Jolie says that an impostor claiming to be the actress’s assistant misled some news organizations. According to Ms. Jolie’s camp, the birth report was false.

The law firm, Lavely & Singer, sent a letter of warning to roughly two dozen news media outlets on Monday.

“A random individual has engaged in a scheme to intentionally harm my client and deceive her fans, the public and the media through illegal and tortuous impersonation of Ms. Jolie’s longtime assistant, Holly,” the letter said.

The letter did not specifically mention “Entertainment Tonight,” but it seemed to be a response to its report.

For news organizations, many millions of dollars hinge on the pregnancy of Ms. Jolie, whose partner is the actor Brad Pitt. As most people know — or perhaps cannot avoid knowing — the couple has four children, three of them adopted, and is expecting twins this summer.

The first photographs of the twins will undoubtedly sell for seven figures, and online reports say that the bidding war is already well under way. News about the newborns will also drive viewers and readers to entertainment television shows, Web sites and magazines (as it apparently has already).

On Friday morning, after seeing a spike in Google search traffic about Ms. Jolie’s pregnancy, an “Entertainment Tonight” producer e-mailed a person she believed to be Ms. Jolie’s assistant. The person responded by BlackBerry, saying she had been in the room for the birth.

The ensuing “Entertainment Tonight” report, published online just before noon on Friday, was quickly picked up by The Associated Press and myriad other outlets, large and small. Publicists for the show circulated the story widely, complete with a requirement that other outlets must mention “tune in to ‘Entertainment Tonight.’ ”

Part of the surprise came from the fact that Ms. Jolie’s due date has widely been reported as Aug. 19, so the twins’ arrival, if true, would have meant that they were born very early.

The report prompted swift denials from Ms. Jolie’s representatives.

Despite everything, “Entertainment Tonight” is sticking to its story. “We are waiting to see how this story plays out,” Linda Bell Blue, the show’s veteran executive producer, said in a statement on Monday, which was repeated on Tuesday.

But sometime before Monday, the article was removed from the “Entertainment Tonight” Web site. The show’s spokeswoman would not comment on the decision to delete the record, and the show has not acknowledged the denials.

Although “Entertainment Tonight” pumps out light fare, it does have a respected place in the world of infotainment, so the apparent mistake left some analysts wondering about a risk to its reputation. Many tabloids have a history of rushing to press with flimsy stories that turn out to be fake, but “Entertainment Tonight” has historically acted with caution.

“Entertainment Tonight” is a moneymaker for the CBS Corporation, although the company does not release financial details. The show, which has been on the air for 27 years, draws an average of 6.5 million viewers every night, twice as many as its most popular rival, “Access Hollywood.” And much of its brand is built on credibility.

The producers know how damaging a blunder can be. The show “can never afford to be wrong,” Ms. Bell Blue told the trade publication TV Week in 2004. “If it means we’re not first on a story, then we won’t be first. We make sure it is right.”

But that was before the Internet became a major player in the gossip game. Since then, sites like Time Warner’s TMZ and Yahoo’s OMG have made the format of a half-hour evening show seem sluggish.

Is it possible that Ms. Jolie has indeed given birth and that the news is being withheld for some reason? Yes, but as a person close to her said, when Ms. Jolie’s baby Shiloh was born in 2006, the event was confirmed almost immediately.

Last night the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” princess and her New Orleans Saints prince were spotted at swanky West Hollywood eatery STK, where a private shindig for hip hop artist Nelly (his fifth album Brass Knuckles hits stores August 19th) was being held.

The “Hot in Herre” stud and his “Foolish” gal showed up at Los Angeles hot spot Vibiana looking top-notch.  He was sporting a dark suit with a white striped button-up shirt, while she rocked a strapless magenta embroidered floor-length gown

And the ex-couple was back in court this morning for yet another visitation hearing.  Apparently the “Gimme More” singer is saying ‘gimme more visitation,’ seeking an arrangement above and beyond her current three-a-week supervised visits.

According to reports, Follieri has been arrested for fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  And if he’s convicted, Raffaello could be going to the joint for a very long time.

In the scene being shot, the 22-year-old NYC native’s character of Sam Witwicky fumbled around with some school books while chatting on the phone.

Knowles’ sister Beyonce, as well as rapper Ludacris, Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, and singer JoJo all showed up to wish her a happy b-day.

Besides steaming up the catwalk at the Gran Canaria Moda Calida show in Las Palmas, Kerr was sure to make time for her “Pirates of the Caribbean” hunk of a boyfriend – as the two frolicked about by the pool with Orlando dropping his drawers and Miranda tossing off her top.

The “Summer Catch” babe looked like she meant business as she made her way through the terminal sporting a grey v-neck sweater and a pair of vintage-looking jeans

The Brazilian bombshell landed back in Los Angeles after an overseas gig earlier today.  And she looked a bit jet-lagged in a white shirt underneath a black leather jacket with dark grey jeans and a pair of black leather boots.