And We Wonder Why People Make Fun of LA
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Singer Britney Spears, councilwoman Jan Perry and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa light the tree on stage at the 'Light of the Angels' Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at LA Live on December 4, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
A year ago, Britney Spears was The Package Los Angeles wished it could exchange, and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was the talk of the town for a dalliance, a denial, a disclosure and a divorce — all in that order. (C'mon, you remember the affair with the Telemundo news anchor.)
Fast forward to Thursday night, Christmas LA style at the official opening of LA Live, where the Mayor joined Spears in throwing the candy-cane switch to start what's expected to be the first of many annual "Light of the Angels" shows to come at the sports, residential and entertainment complex.
Odd as the pairing might seem, perhaps not. After all, Spears and Villaraigosa share the common link of attorney Stacy D. Phillips, who represented Spears in her child-custody battle, and Villaraigosa's former wife in the divorce.
Stranger still is that they were flanked by radio jock Adam Carolla and USC football coach Pete Carroll. With a quartet like that, we couldn't help but imagine we were looking at some sort of bizarre recasting of the Wizard of Oz with Caroll as Scarecrow, Carroll as Tin Man, and Antonio ... oh, you know.
LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry was there too, along with AEG CEO Tim Leiweke.
