Have you seen those velvet slipper-loafers emblazoned with a regal emblem, the ones that have women everywhere trading in their heels for a Hugh Hefner vibe? Those luxe kicks are by Miami-based footwear brand Del Toro, which was founded by Matthew Chevallard (pictured) and two of his childhood friends. After realizing that the velvet shoes they wanted embroidered for their boarding-school graduation would cost them upwards $900, the boys identified a gap in the market for custom leisure footwear and took matters in to their own hands. By 2005, they rolled out their first pair of men's slip-ons, debuting a women's range a few years later, spawning a frenzy of new fans including the Man Repeller.

● 167,370,534 views later, Rebecca Black's "Friday" video is gone from YouTube, apparently as a result of a copyright claim filed by Rebecca Black herself. You don't always know what's good 'til it's gone... [TechCrunch] ● Retired talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she won't rest easy until she gets what she wants from O.J. "I have a dream of O.J. Simpson confession to me," she said. "I don't just want an interview, I want the interview on the condition that you are ready, Mr. Simpson." It would be a moment long in the making. [HR] ● Kelly Osbourne's pomeranian Noodle had to be put down after an incurable brain defect was discovered. "I DON'T PLAY GOD," she tweeted. "It was an unfortunate necessary!" RIP Noodles. [NYDN]

May 1: The Met Ball celebrates the launch of Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Watch your step, Paz! May 3: Scary Spice: Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, Beastie Boys’ first album in four years, is released today. May 4: Kylie Minogue plays Hammerstein Ballroom, which is probably the size of her dressing room in England.

● The Social Network's Armie Hammer is in talks to play just about every square-jawed role in Hollywood, including The Lone Ranger, opposite Johnny Depp as Tonto. [Deadline] ● Joey from Blossom endorses Donald Trump for president, and we're still writing about Joey from Blossom. Double Whoa! [HuffPo] ● Oprah's second and third last shows will be taped in Chicago's United Center to accommodate "the biggest names in movies, music and TV.” So not Joey from Blossom. [EW]

The ultimate in cookware, Le Creuset would make any cooking enthusiast a very happy customer. After all, even Julia Child was a fan! As it turns out, the magic touch of Oprah has inspired the company to create a special 10-piece collection called "Oprah's Ultimate Set" ($599) that includes their famous cast-iron pots and pans and a new line of stainless-steel cookware, in a variety of cheery colors.

On September 8, 1994, all unsuspecting viewers tuned in to the MTV VMAs experienced sudden acid reflux when Michael Jackson and then-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, locked lips in a grotesquely unnatural on-screen kiss. The palpable awkwardness of the moment was amplified only by Jackson’s confident declaration to the crowd, “And just think, nobody thought this would last.” Well, it didn’t. Two years later, the odd couple called it quits, and that was that.

● Landon Donovan, currently separated but not divorced, may have gotten a British woman pregnant, a fact he was informed of during the World Cup. Maury producers are scrambling to book a paternity test show. [People] ● The Lohan family, shockingly, is working on a reality show, which aims to disprove the idea that they have "crazy lives." It's so normal when compared to, like, The Bad Girls Club. [NYP] ● Katy Perry and Russel Brand may already be married, according to a slip of the tongue by the pop star, but they'll be divorced soon enough. [Celebuzz]

Now that President Obama's completed the first year of his presidency with far-from-flying colors, it's hardly a surprise that one of his biggest supporters from the fall of November 2008 may be defecting. Turns out that Oprah could be switching teams to back one of Obama's formidable opponents for a 2012 bid at the White House. As is par for the course with juicy stories about People We Love and Respect like Lady Clinton and Oprah, actual hard facts are in short supply. So we must make do with anecdotal evidence provided by sources inside the White House (Monica Lewinsky, is that you? Go back to designing handbags in your squalid studio on Gallery Place!)

When she announced last Friday her imminent retirement as the matriarch of daytime talk-shows, Oprah Winfrey got everyone gabbing about who might replace her. Tyra, Martha and Ellen were all bandied about as possible solutions. But who's going to consider literary suggestions from the host of America's Next Top Model? Who's going to address body image with M. Diddy, the woman who built an empire on binging? And who's going to sit through hard-hitting interviews from the woman who opens each show with a dance number? Exactly. This is why Gabourey Sidibe, the star of Precious, could be TV's next best thing.

So amid all the noise about the 2011 end-date for her iconic talk show comes this little news gem: Her involvement in an HBO pilot. This project will pair Oprah's Harpo Films with Secretary screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson. The premise of the allegedly sexually-charged serial is simple. A woman leaves her husband and kids in Santa Monica suddenly to pursue a lifestyle flush with hedonism and scandal in Los Angeles. This nestles it neatly in the pay-cable land of less-than-ideal mothers as popularized by Weeds and United States of Tara.