This morning on The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck was all bent out of shape about Phelps' bong hit, giving the tired spiel about how he's a role model and he's setting a bad example, blah blah blah. She went on to claim that since he's willing to use illegal drugs to have a good time, maybe he's open to using illegal drugs to advance his career, as though weed is a gateway drug to steroids or something. Whoopi shot her down pretty quickly, and admitted to enjoying pot.

Elisabeth's argument hinged on the fact that Phelps accepts money to endorse products. One of those is Rosetta Stone, the language-learning software, which is just about one of the most sedentary activities a stoner could enjoy, aside from watching The Wizard of Oz on mute while playing The Dark Side of the Moon. (I should know, since I've been using the program to learn Spanish.) His other sponsors, like Omega and Speedo, totally don't give a shit.

And they shouldn't, because it's silly — in my opinion, anyway — to pass judgment on those who take part in something as innocuous as pot smoking, which many believe is lot less harmful for one's body than alcohol. Besides, despite the fact that it's technically illegal, so many people smoke weed recreationally that it's not all that taboo. Here's a list of celebrities who have either been caught smoking marijuana, or admit willingly to doing so.

Woody Harrelson



Woody is an activist for the legalization of marijuana and hemp.

Willie Nelson



So is Willie Nelson.

Frances McDormand



Frances McDormand was on the cover of High Times in May 2003, in which she said, "I'm a recreational pot-smoker. There has never been enough of a distinction between marijuana and other drugs. It's a human rights issue, a censorship issue, and a choice issue."

Seth Rogen & James Franco



The pair stared in Pineapple Express together, and shared this maybe real/maybe fake joint on stage while presenting an award during the MTV Movie Awards last summer.

Cameron Diaz & Drew Barrymore



Also friends who share.

Justin Timberlake



Timberlake, who used to date Diaz, has been very open about how he smokes weed, sometimes even with is mother. He also admitted that he was stoned out of his mind when he was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher.

Kimora Lee Simmons



Kimora Lee Simmons took one of the stoniest mugshots after she was arrested in 2004 for possession.

Nicole Richie



Nicole admitted to having smoked pot, as well as taking a Vicodin, when she was arrested for a DUI charge in 2007.

Paris Hilton



Nicole's buddy Paris' reefer madness has been well documented.

Michelle Phillips



Former singer from The Mamas & The Papas said as recently as 2001 that, "Marijuana should definitely be legalized. I think we should let everyone smoke it without fear of being thrown in jail. It's the greatest drug in the world!"

Snoop Dogg



Duh.

Redman



We'll be here all day if we start listing rappers.

Lil Wayne



But we'll mention Wayne for good measure.

Mariah Carey



Mariah is such a goody-two-shoes that she'd never publicly admit to marijuana use, but on her most recent album, she made plenty of weed references.

Charlize Theron



Academy Award winners like their weed, too.

AARP



In the summer of 2005, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) hosted a smoke-in to promote the legalization of marijuana. Celebrities that participated: Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson (obvs), Bette Midler, Santana, Chicago, David Crosby and Graham Nash, Rod Stewart, The New Jefferson Starship, Tony Orlando, Ringo Starr, Tommy Chong, Snoop Dogg, and Robert Downey Jr.

Matthew McConaughey



When McConaughey gets loose, he does so with bongos.

Dionne Warwick



Her work with Burt Bacharach was way too mellow to not be under the influence.

Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown



They've got "Something in Common."

Sarah Silverman



Sarah speaks favorably about weed in her act, and smoked with Doug Benson in his movie Super High Me.

Doug Benson



Comedian Doug Benson has centered much of his career around pot.

Oliver Stone



He has the perfect name for someone who's been busted for pot on numerous occasions.

Dawn Wells



Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island was arrested last year for possession.

Dave Chappelle

The Pointer Sisters



Oliver Hudson tells a story about his first concert-going experience, during which the Pointer Sisters were getting blazed.

Paul Dinello



It's hard to watch this Strangers With Candy clip about smoking pot without thinking that writer/actor Paul Dinello believes what he is saying.

Barbra Streisand



In a 1972 Rolling Stone interview, Babs said, "I'd take out a joint and light it. First, just faking it. Then I started lighting live joints, passing them around to the band, you know. I was great, it relieved all my tensions. And I ended up with the greatest supply of grass ever. Other acts up and down the Strip heard about what I was doing - Little Anthony and the Imperials, people like that - and started sending me the best dope in the world. I never ran out."

Phelps Backed by Sponsors After Marijuana Photo [TCPalm]
Elisabeth Hasselbeck disses Michael Phelps; Whoopi Goldberg: 'I have smoked weed' [EW]

You don't have to be Jewish to be a friend of Steven Spielberg. You don't have to be a Muslim to be a friend of Muhammad Ali. And you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise," Smith tells us.

"I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions. And I respect all people and all paths."

Despite reports she distributed the Scientology book "The Way to Happiness" to N.Y. school kids, Simmons' reps also denied her involvement.

Statements on being a non-partisan student of world theology notwithstanding, there's no doubt that Smith, in becoming a close friend to Tom Cruise, has been exposed to at least some of the sacred teachings, imparted via countless spiraling-pupil mind-meld sessions with the OT-VIII. Smith's reconditioning is just Phase One of a much larger plot, however: Ultimately, his signal will kick in every time he sees a quartet of black Connect Four pieces in diagonal formation, triggering his directive to assassinate the headstrong Kanye West before he becomes President of the United States, toppling their evil regime forever.

• Will Smith and Jada: Don't know much Scientology [nydailynews.com]

"Will is definitely in the process of becoming a member, 'He's been getting more and more involved. And it isn't just him, it's definitely Jada, too. It's that as he becomes more involved, you'd think he'd sort of help fly the flag with Tom (Cruise), who seems to only get a bad rap for it, while Will does this and comes through just fine.'"

According to an upcoming cover story in Radar, designer and Style Channel star Kimora Lee Simmons has been involved with the Church for years, even lending her recognizable visage to promotional materials used in a children's school in 2006. Apparently Scientology leader David Miscavige "spoke glowingly of Kimora Lee Simmons' efforts to distribute a personalized edition of Hubbard's The Way to Happiness' featuring her image on the cover, to school kids in New Jersey." Interesting. Naturally, reps for Will and Kimora deny the fact that they're Scientologists. But, as we noted two months ago, Will disturbingly gave free coupons for personality tests at an E-Meter outlet to the entire cast and crew of Hancock as his wrap gift. We know Will's a funny guy, but this action doesn't pass the sniff test for being some sort of Kutcher-esque prank. And Kimora's career has been taking off a bit of late (working with E! on their red carpet, etc.). Now, if only Cruise and Miscavige can get Oprah on board, they'll really be onto something...

[Photo Credit: Wire Image]

• WILL SMITH, JADA THE NEW FACES OF SCIENTOLOGY? [The Scoop]

We use Getty Images database as a proxy for measuring the social behavior patterns of celebrities. Getty Images collected almost 1,600 pictures from the 2007 Vanity Fair event. 248 different people were identified in these photos. The means, even if we discount the fact that not everyone at the event actually was photographed, at least 30,628 connections are mathematically possible. More interestingly, it seems that a surprising number of these potential connections are made throughout the year at various other events. When we looked at the entire database of Getty Images photos associated with entertainment events, we find that some of the people in attendance at the Vanity Fair party ended up at other events with at least 50% of those also at the party.

Take for example Jennifer Lopez: Of the 248 people photographed at the party, between 2006-2007, she ended up at other events throughout the year with 134 them while expectedly, given her social butterfly status, Lopez’s husband, Marc Anthony was at other events with 121 of the 248 photographed attendees. Similarly, Penelope Cruz ended up at other events with 123 Vanity Fair party attendees.

Figure 1: The celebrities who attended the most events with other Vanity Fair partiers

1. Jennifer Lopez
2. Penelope Cruz
3. Marc Anthony
4. Beyonce
5. Helen Mirren
6. Jennifer Hudson
7. Sharon Stone
8. Will Smith
9. Forest Whitaker

Further, part of the appeal of the Vanity Fair party is that even if you don’t know everyone, there is an extraordinarily high chance that you will be able to meet that producer, director, actress etc. that you want to meet if you try just a little, and this meeting doesn’t have to occur at the party. Vanity Fair party goers are just more connected than the rest of us. As a whole, Americans have a maximum of six degrees of separation, which means that the worst case scenario is that you can reach anyone in America through at most six acquaintances. (No, this isn’t just a phrase, it’s been tested by social scientists ranging from Stanley Milgram to Duncan Watts, and Will Smith, ironically, even stars in a movie with the same title). Conversely, the people at the Vanity Fair party network have just 4 degrees of separation.

What this means is that those attending the Vanity Fair party not only have just 1 degree of separation from those also at the party (by virtue of being in the same place you only have to tap someone on the shoulder at the bar and say hello), they also can connect to anyone else in the entire database of people and events photographed by Getty through 3 mediators (or people). And there are some people who are even more connected – they need less than one person to get in touch with someone else. For example, Vanity Fair attendees, Oprah Winfrey and Kimora Lee Simmons are only 1.7 degrees of separation from anyone else photographed by Getty, while Suzanne Somers’ degrees of separation is 1.96 and Elton John’s is 1.78, which means that they need contact with, well, 0.7-0.96 of a another person to access anyone else.

Figure 2: Degrees of Separation for the Rich and Famous

1. Kimora Lee Simmons
2. Nancy Wilson
3. Oprah Winfrey
4. Gayle King
5. Zhang Ziyi
6. Elton John
7. Brandon Routh
8. Fran Lebowitz

With the cancellation of the Vanity Fair party putting the kibosh on all those potential interactions with other beautiful, interesting celebrities, a star might be inclined to stay at home, order Chinese food and watch the Oscars on TV. And that decision, as it turns out, would be okay.

Because so many of those attending the Vanity Fair party end up at so many other events together, there is a high probability that the run-ins and social networking that occur at the Vanity Fair party will occur in other places to, albeit not quite to the same level. Now that the most fabulous party (and as it seems greatest networking event) of the year has been likely permanently cancelled, it would be useful to have a plan B, to know where to even bother showing up, and we’ll tell you. Sure, going to the actual Academy Awards or the Golden Globes would be an option. But with the cancellation of the raison d’etre for the evening, why bother getting all dressed up to sit quietly in an uncomfortable seat for 3 hours? Instead, we suggest hitting up the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Ball, New York Fashion Week or the Instyle and Warner Brother’s Golden Globes party. According to our research, you’re guaranteed to find some of your former Vanity Fair party BFFs there (See chart).

Elizabeth Currid, assistant professor at the School of Policy, Planning and Development at University of Southern California, is the author of The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art and Music Drive New York City. Gilad Ravid is a lecturer and researcher at Industrial Engineering and Management department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.