According to TMZ, someone sent police a teletype message, which is a type of communication the hearing impaired use.
The message claimed to be from a woman who was hiding in a closet from an armed man in the house. That prompted all kinds of emergency personnel rushing to the scene, including a helicopter flying overhead!
Neither a gunman nor a woman was found, and although they temporarily detained three people, it turned out to be workers who were supposed to be there. Cops soon figured out it was a prank similar to the one that was pulled on MILEY CYRUS over the summer.
They also believe whoever made the call may have been spying on Ashton’s home because they knew there were three workers inside, the same number of people they claimed were robbing the joint.
Ashton, by the way, was on the set of "Two and a Half Men" at the time, and Tweeted later that he was, quote, "safe and sound."
PRANK CALL IS CALLED 'SWATTING': The prank call that caused all the pandemonium is known as "swatting." Wikipedia defines swatting as "an attempt to trick an emergency service such as 9-1-1 into dispatching...a SWAT Team...to a particular location." And, yes kids, it is considered a highly criminal offense.
IS THAT AN ENGAGEMENT RING ON JLO'S FINGER???!!!: JENNIFER LOPEZ has people wondering if she's betrothed to beau Casper Smart after she was photographed Tuesday at a fashion show in Milan wearing a huge rock on her ring finger.
What do you think, sparkly accessory or did Casper go to Jarods?
'IDOL' AUDITIONS RESUME - MARIAH AND MINAJ CIVIL : One day after NICKI MINAJ'S freak out at MARIAH CAREY during an "American Idol" audition wormed it's way across the Internet, it was back to business in Charlotte yesterday.
Not so much yesterday, though. Sources close to Minaj say she went off on Mariah after Carey called her a b***h, quote, "multiple times."
The sources add, quote, "[Mariah] keeps bringing up how many records she's sold, name-dropping people she's worked with, how many tours she's done, and how many Grammys or awards she's won. Nicki is tired of it." All that supposedly went down before Nicki's blow up.
Meanwhile ... host RYAN SEACREST confirmed on his L.A. radio show that the confrontation did happen, calling it "heated" but "fantastic." Seacrest believes the tension is "fantastic" because it's good for the show. "We want that!,” he said.
“We want them to be on this panel together. This is a good team, a great team, to go out and look for the next American Idol...the feedback that they give is very good."
Mimi's man, on the other hand, doesn't share Ryan's enthusiasm for the drama. NICK CANNON tells 'Access Hollywood' the chaos -- real or manufactured -- isn't a good thing because it detracts from the purpose of the show.
"When you think about what the show is actually about and represents, I feel like it's taking away from the quality of what 'Idol' is all about."
"The show is solely about a singing competition...to make it about something it's not, [it] kind of shows that the producers and the network are losing their foot a little bit." He adds that he hopes 'Idol' doesn't become "about the cat fights."
SNAPSHOT: Some lucky tourists on a bus tour through Los Angeles got quite an eyeful when they came across DAVID BECKHAM shooting an underwear ad.
Becks, who was wearing only a pair of dark green boxers, seemed a bit embarrassed as the group of tourists snapped away, and wound up making a run for his car.(PHOTO 1), (PHOTO 2)
CELEBRITY DO-GOODERS - TYLER PERRY: TYLER PERRY donated a new van to a woman with cerebral palsy whose specially-equipped Chrysler Town and Country was stolen.
WSB-TV reports that Perry called the station and made the offer after hearing that the woman’s specially-equipped van was stolen from her Decatur driveway Sunday night. The handicapped-accessible vehicle would have cost Alicia Day $60,000 to replace. (PHOTO)
RED CARPET - LADY GAGA: LADY GAGA showed off some major cleavage at a Fashion Week red carpet event in Milan. (PHOTO 1), (PHOTO 2)
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS FOR OCTOBER 4 – SUSAN SARANDON AND MORE
COVER SHOT - CAMERON DIAZ: 40-year-old CAMERON DIAZ graces the cover of the new "Esquire," and daddy likes!
Diaz tells the mag she loves being 40. "Getting older is the best part of life. Like, I know more than I’ve known in years.” She adds, “And as far as the physicality of it, I feel better at 40 than I did at 25.”
COULD BE TRUE, COULD BE CRAP - WAS JESSICA SIMPSON'S FIANCEE TWO-TIMING HER?!: "Star" magazine claims that JESSICA SIMPSON is having second thoughts about marrying ERIC JOHNSON after recently finding out he was playing her when they started dating.
Jess supposedly found out Eric was still getting all smoove up in the ex-wife while dating her, and the tab’s source say her friends and family are telling her to dump the man-ho!
But the gossip site Gossip Cop has their own source and theirs says Star’s source is full of it. In fact, they claim Eric and his ex are considering legal action against the ‘Star’
