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ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT ANNOUNCES THE ET HOT LIST FOR 2009

8th Annual List Ranks Stars of Film, Music, Television and Pop Culture

(Los Angeles, California - December 21, 2009) - ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, the #1 entertainment newsmagazine in the world, has named the top 20 celebrities of 2009 in its eighth annual "ET Hot List," which was announced today by Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT. The "ET Hot List" is comprised of those celebrities and public figures who received the most mentions on the show over the course of the past year.

"It has been an incredibly eventful and groundbreaking year in celebrity news," said Bell Blue. "From Michael Jackson's unexpected death to coverage of the President and First Lady, ‘Entertainment Tonight' has been at the forefront of every news story to document it all."

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT'S HOT LIST OF THE TOP CELEBRITIES OF 2009

1- Michael Jackson

2- Oprah Winfrey

3- Brad Pitt

4- President Barack Obama

5- First Lady Michelle Obama

6- Jon Gosselin

7- Angelina Jolie

8- Jennifer Aniston

9- (Tied) Marie Osmond & Kate Gosselin

10- (Tied) Tom Hanks & Donny Osmond

11- John Travolta

12- Cheryl Burke

13- Nadya Suleman

14- Farrah Fawcett

15- Megan Fox

16- Julianne Hough

17- Gilles Marini

18- Rihanna

19- (Tied) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Miley Cyrus, Paula Abdul, Rob Howard, and John Cusack

20- (Tied) Beyonce Knowles, Robert Downey, Jr., and Denzel Washington

Former # 1's include Britney Spears (2008), Anna Nicole Smith (2007), Tom Cruise (2006), Oprah Winfrey (2005 and 2004), Jennifer Lopez (2003), and Jennifer Aniston (2002). This year, Michael Jackson takes the top spot for the first time with coverage of his untimely death and ensuing death investigation. Making their first appearances on the list are controversial reality TV stars Jon & Kate Gosselin, as well as Nadya Suleman of "Octomom" fame, "Transformers" star Megan Fox, late TV icon Farrah Fawcett, "Dancing with the Stars" cast member Cheryl Burke, and music superstar Rihanna. Last year, the Presidential race catapulted several public figures to their first-time appearances on the list, including President-Elect Barack Obama, First Lady- Elect Michelle Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, and Senator John McCain. This year, President Barack Obama remains on the list at number four with wife Michelle at number five.

Here's last year's countdown: 1) Britney Spears, 2) Oprah Winfrey, 3) Brad Pitt, 4) Barack Obama, 5) Angelina Jolie, 6) George Clooney, 7) Tom Cruise, 8) Donny Osmond, 9) Jennifer Aniston, 10) Julianne Hough, 11) Hillary Clinton, 12) Marie Osmond, 13) Miley Cyrus, 14) Madonna, 15) Katie Holmes, 16) John McCain, 17) America Ferrera, 18) Michelle Obama, 19) Will Smith, 20) Valerie Bertinelli.

Currently in its 29th season, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT is produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution and is taped in Studio City, Calif. Linda Bell Blue is executive producer. Mary Hart is host; Mark Steines is co-host. Kevin Frazier is weekend anchor and correspondent. Leonard Maltin is film historian/correspondent. CBS Television Distribution is a unit of CBS Corp.

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