‘Dancing’ staff glad to be rid of Wendy Williams’ ego, wigs

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

While there’s been a lot of buzz about Kendra Wilkinson’s tearful drama on “Dancing With the Stars,” longtime show staffers say they have really not experienced diva issues with the former Playmate.

“Kendra’s really a lovely girl,” said one “DWTS” insider. “Now Wendy Williams? That’s another story!”

Apparently, there were no tears when the talk-show host was voted off a couple of weeks ago. “Wendy had one of the biggest egos we’ve seen on the show in a long time,” the source said. “Between her demands and those of her ‘people,’ it was always a hassle. “It was almost like having [much-despised previous contestant] Kate Gosselin back on the show!

“Just keeping up with all the maintenance she demanded for her wigs was a big deal all the time. Good riddance to her and all that hair,” laughed the staffer.

† Someone who started out acting like a big diva, “but has become one of our favorites,” is Kirstie Alley, said a second “DWTS” veteran. “Plus she loves how the dancing has made her really shed the pounds. … I understand she wants to figure out a way to tie a dance/exercise studio program to that new diet business she recently launched.

† A future “Dancing With the Stars” contestant could be “Teen Mom’s” Maci Bookout. According to Us Weekly, Bookout’s team is “pushing hard for it,” following a few ballroom visits — thanks to her friendship with former competitor Bristol Palin.

NOT SO MAGICAL: “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson has said she was taking an approved leave of absence from her studies at Brown University to finish up her promotional commitments to the final Potter film and to pursue other film projects, but it seems her time at the prestigious Ivy League campus was not all that pleasant for her.

Reportedly, Watson was somewhat ostracized by other students. Perhaps jealous of her star status, they made cutting remarks about her in classes and were critical of the strict security surrounding the actress while on campus.

Along with bodyguards for things like football games, Watson had confidentiality agreements for her roommates to sign — forbidding any contact with the media.

Watson, known to be an excellent student — not afraid to speak up in class — was frequently met with a biting “Three points for Gryffindor!” whenever she blurted out a correct answer to a professor’s question. The zinger was an obvious reference to the actress’ world-famous role of Hermione in the “Harry Potter” flicks.

† Word has it, Watson is considering transferring to New York University, if and when she resumes her studies.

BACK IN THE NEWS: Washington watchers of alleged White House gate crashers Micheale and Tareq Salahi say the couple’s recent 911 call — claiming death threats from a supposed stalker — is just another attempt to keep their names in the headlines. “These two just can’t stand to be out of the public eye — no matter what it takes,” said a longtime D.C. social fixture who is not a fan of the Salahis.

However, police authorities are taking the threats as genuine and are looking into multiple possibilities — including someone connected to the Salahis’ family squabbles over the ownership of a Virginia winery, and various threats made while Michaele starred on the now-canceled “Real Housewives of D.C.”

NEW LOVE? Kanye West has been keeping a very low profile — at least when it comes to Jamie Kreindler, whom the music superstar met when she worked as a wardrobe assistant for a magazine photo shoot last fall. Many have thought Kreindler merely part of West’s entourage, until recent sightings of them looking very cozy.

† On a different front, the New York Times reports the Kanye West Foundation has closed after a four-year run. The foundation, which raised funds to reduce school dropout rates, was created by the rapper’s late mother, Donda West, the Chicago educator who died in 2007.

MOVIE SCHMOOZE: West Side native Robert Townsend will be in town today to celebrate both the 20th anniversary of his “The Five Heartbeats” and the reopening of ICE Theater-Lawndale by Alisa and Donzell Starks — the first African Americans to own and operate a first-run movie theater chain.

†Actor Kevin Hart (“Little Fockers,” “Death at a Funeral”) has been tapped to play Steve Harvey in “Act Like a Man,” the movie based on the entertainer’s book Think Like a Lady, Act Like a Man.