After working with Ledger in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus just before his death, Troyer was moved to replicate part of the actor's signature—a heart—as a tattoo on his hand. Troyer recounted his memories in a sober, touching story that belied its setting: an episode of the UK's Celebrity Big Brother. Luckily, Troyer managed to keep the moment respectful; the only flicker of inappropriate reality show camp came just before he began, as the narrator noted, "4:48 pm. Coolio is in the kitchen." [ONTD]

Bannon tells Us, "the only abuse that ever occurred in their household was that of emotional abuse inflicted upon Ranae and her dog Lacy on the occasions when he hit Ranae and her dog with his 'reaching sticks' or kicked them when having one of his drunken rages.

"This alleged abuse certainly has not seemed to affect his recent round of interviews or his golf swing over the weekend. Is this not the same man who is renown as a professional stuntman in all his movies?"

Did Troyer take his own cries of, "Pick on someone your own size!" too literally, venting his romantic frustrations on the canine caught in the crossfire? Until forensic detectives comb over his walking stick for evidence, we may never know — though we'd advise that tattling bitch Lacy to avoid bathtubs until this whole matter gets settled.

• Verne Troyer's Ex: Abuse Claims "Riddled With Lie Upon Lie" [Us Magazine]

Verne's killer lawyer, Ed McPherson, tells TMZ, "When you pick up a 2'8" human being and throw him to the floor, it hurts."

In the lawsuit, Troyer basically says the chick terrorized him, once picked the lock to his bedroom door, pushing away a 100 pound scooter that was used to block the door, and then throwing him to the floor."

Troyer claims his damages from all that Shrider did to him exceed $20 million.

It's a shame that what began as a simple role-play from the Love Guru trailer could end in tears and recriminations, but we admire Troyer's willingness to think big when asking for damages. However, why stop there? We encourage Troyer to drag Myers into court for a hilarious trial in which Myers would play himself, his own lawyer, the judge, and several of the jury members, each ready with a vaguely Scottish accent and a wan, outdated catch phrase.

[Photo Credit: AP]

• Verne to Sex Tape Co-Star: You Beat Me, Bitch! [TMZ]

Which, apart from unanswered questions after the jump about Verne's junk, is the most important thing:

The state of California filed a $26,812 lien against Troyer on April 25 for unpaid taxes. Troyer owes taxes from 2004-05, according to the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds office.

The IRS filed a $256,551 lien against Troyer on March 26, 2007, for unpaid income taxes. He owes taxes from 2003-04, according to the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds office.

His side: Troyer could not be reached for comment. His former manager, Elena Fondacaro, said the tax issue is being addressed. "Some of that is false information," she said. "It's taken care of —it's being handled —I should say. It's not as bad as it looks."

But what about... you know. How does that look? Troyer's ex-girlfriend and scene partner Ranae Shrider wasn't having any part of it in an interview this morning with a DJ in Tampa; "They were together six months," her manager intervened, "So he must have made her happy." Thank God, we guess — we'd hoped to have not given our retinas for anything less.

• Tax man takes big bite out of 'Mini-Me' actor [Detroit News]
• Verne Troyer's Sex Tape Partner Speaks! [WFLZ]