In September, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had dropped its lawsuit against Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), based in Louisville, Kentucky. KFC Corp. and its parent company Yum! Brands Inc. said that it would change information provided about the treatment of chickens served in its restaurants.

 

In July, PETA filed a lawsuit in the California Superior Court in Los Angeles against KFC, accusing the company of making misleading statements on its website in regarding how the chickens it sells are treated. PETA said that the chickens KFC buys are abused through drugging, feeding and slaughter practices, in which the chickens drugged and fed to be so top-heavy that they are crippled under their own weight, crowded onto dirty sheds, suffer broken legs and beaks from rough handling and their throats are cut before being thrown sometimes alive into boiling water. They are the most abused of all animals raised for food.

 

The suit targeted KFC's website and consumer hotline which PETA said displayed misleading information. KFC agreed to remove certain claims from its website and from the script that customer service operators use when consumers called with concerns or questions. According to Yum! Brands documents provided to PETA, they have established animal welfare guidelines for vendors who supply their restaurants with chicken. Earlier, PETA said that the company told callers that PETA's claims were untrue and that chickens raised had suffered no pain or injuries.

 

The suit has attracted celebrities such as former Beatle member Paul McCartney, Baywatch beauty Pamela Anderson and civil rights organizations as the NAACP led by its president Kweisi Mfume. Paul McCartney appealed to the fast-food chain in July to ensure better treatment of its chickens in a PETA statement. Pamela joined the animal rights campaign, urging a consumer boycott of the franchise until it ensured better treatment of it chickens. She wrote an open letter circulated by PETA, "What KFC does to 750 million chickens each year is not civilized or acceptable. I am calling a boycott of all KFC restaurants until my friends at PETA tell me that you have agreed to be kinder in your practices." The letter was addressed to John Bitvove, chairman of the Toronto-based company Priszm Brandz, which is a Canadian franchise ot KFC, a division of Yum! Brands Inc. A spokesperson for Priszm Brandz, Alessandra Saccal, dismissed the claims that the chickens sold in its KFC food chain were mistreated. She said, "We purchase our chickens from the same place that grocery stores and other restaurants purchase their chickens from, and the chicken farmers of Canada are very responsible and take the welfare of animals seriously."

 

Pamela wanted to meet with the chief executive of KFC's parent company to discuss changes for KFC's chickens. She faxed a letter to David Novack of Yum! Brands Inc., asking to talk about animal-welfare guidelines that PETA  recommends. KFC spokesperson, Bonnie Warschauer said that executives with Yum! Brands Inc. hadn't seen the letter and she declined to comment on Pamela's request for a meeting. In the meantime, PETA continues to boycott the fast food franchise until it establishes welfare guidelines and ensures better treatment for the chickens it sells. 

 

With the legal name dispute settled with director Spike Lee, Spike TV and corporate parent Viacom, another legal problem surfaced. A 37 year-old former Florida stripper, Janet Clover was suing Spike TV, Pamela Anderson and Marvel Comics Stan Lee over the animated TV series Stripperella. She started her lawsuit in a Daytona Beach courtroom without the aid of an attorney. Her court papers claim that she is the "true creator" of the animated character Stripperella and was asking the judge to take the show off the air for good. Janet Clover, a former adult entertainer now unemployed, stated that she first suggested Stripperella to Stan Lee after a private meeting with him over a year ago at Tanga's Jazz, an adult nightclub in Tampa, Florida.

 

Her suit stated, "This office challenges Lee to produce proof of his creative work, as true authorship belongs to Tanga's Jazz. Evidence to support is available upon request." She claims to be the originator of the animated Secret Agent 69, a shapely stripper named Erotica Jones who fights bad guys as a masked superhero known as Stripperella.

 

She stated to Datona Beach News-Journal, "I'm just trying to get his off TV because it's not his idea," and went on to explain. "She was supposed to be a nurse, which is what I'm studying for. I can't remember much about Mr. Lee, little bits and peices come back. You know, I meet a lot of men."

 

Stan Lee has stated that he modeled his character after the chesty Pamela right down to her tattoos. The character, also voiced by Pamela uses a combination of sex appeal and gadgetry, which include stiletto heels that help her scale walls and a lipstick laser. She even has a leg maneuver dubbed the "sissor-ella," where she subdues her enemies by choking them with her high-powered legs. Her breasts perk up whenever they detect lies of men. The cartoon is PG-13 and there is no nudity. On her publicity rounds, Pamela made sure that the media knew that the show was harmless, was only a cartoon and its concept was really silly.

 

Ex-fiance Kid Rock wrote and performed the Stripperella theme song. He also voices a recurring character. Pamela's manager as well as reps for Stan Lee and Viacom declined to comment on the suit.

 

Pamela Anderson, who was diagnoised with Hepatitis C told US Weekly that she expects the virus to kill her. "I think I got a good 10 years left in me, which is sad too. Maybe 15, if I'm lucky."

 

Pamela blames the infection on ex-husband Tommy Lee, who she says passed the virus to her through shared tattoo needles. He has denied that he had the disease.

 

About 3.9 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C, and between 8,000-10,000 die each year of complication associated with the disease. It causes swelling of the liver, which keeps the organ from performing its basic function of cleansing the blood, and can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Most patients fight the disease by following a regimen of antiviral drugs, which successfully control the disease about half of the time.

 

Pamela first found out about the disease from her doctor. "First my doctor just told me I had a glitch in my blood work, then he told me about the diseas," She said. "He said that it was going to be what I would die from." In July 2002, Pamela announced on Larry King Live that she would be on hiatus from Hollywood while she began her treatment. But since then, she has shied away from taking interferon. The drug requires frequent injections for months at a time, and can cause flu-like side affects. She has been using homeopathic methods to treat the virus, although not ruling out using interferon eventually. She wants to try natural remedies first to fight the virus. She admitted that she was bad with needles and if she had no other choice, she'd use it, but was waiting to see how the natural methods work.

 

Pamela has also confirmed that she had called off her pending wedding with Robert "Kid Rock" Richie. She says that her young children, sons Brandon and Dylan are her first priority and has classified everything else in her life as "extracurricular activity." Despite her health problems, Pamela no longer has harsh words for ex-husband Tommy Lee. 

 

Pamela Anderson announced that she was suffering from hepatitis C. She said that she contracted the disease after sharing a tatoo needle with former husband, Motley Crue drummer, Tommy Lee. She went on to state that she didn't know about the infection until she was diagnosed by a doctor. "A mutual doctor confirmed this at the time. Tommy has the disease and never disclosed it to me during our marriage."

 

Pamela said that the announcement was prompted by her former husband who allegedly leaked the information to the Star supermarket tabloid. "In a pathetic attempt to discredit me in the custody fight, he had decided to go public with this very private information."

 

With so many questions that need answering,you would have to wonder how Tommy Lee knew about the information in the first place if Pamela herself didn't even know about the infection until a doctor told her.

 

A spokesperson for Tommy Lee on Entertainment Tonight said, "Tommy has never had Hepatitis C or any sexually transmitted diseases. Pam's ridiculous accusations are attempts to try to change the current joint custody arrangement for their children." But in the written statement released late Wednesday, the rocker's publicist, Beth Katz did not directly address the hepatitis allegations. Instead, the statement only accused Pamela of playing dirty to get their two sons. "Her actions today are a clear attack on Tommy and hopeful she will realize that she is only doing more harm to her children and herself by trying to use the media as a tool to hurt Tommy and their two boys."

 

Pamela was now dating Robert "Kid Rock" Richie. Kid Rock told Los Angeles' KTLA television station in an interview that he didn't know of Pamela's condition until she released her statement to the press. "I was with her last night and she didn't really release that statement to me of say anything about it. She's fine."