Outcry over Hilary Swank’s trip hasn’t cooled down

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Actress Hillary Swank arrives at the wor

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Updated: December 9, 2011 8:13AM

Hollywood folks are still shaking their heads about Hilary Swank taking that big-bucks gig to appear at the birthday celebration for Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov — a man widely reviled for his brutal regime known for its use of kidnapping, murder and torture against his enemies.

While the two-time Oscar winner continues to deny she had any knowledge of Kadyrov’s reputation, Hollywood insiders say she passed the buck by firing her management team after her trip to Chechnya snared a lot of unflattering headlines.

A source knowledgeable about the story said Monday, “Hilary knew fully well what Kadyrov was all about. She just never thought anybody [in the United States] would hear about [her trip]. . . . It’s not like Chechnya is on most people’s radar.”

BIEBER BABY UPDATE: There’s now a Chicago connection to the woman claiming Justin Bieber fathered her 3-month-old son.

Bieber, who has agreed to take a DNA test and threatened to sue Yeater, continues to deny Yeater’s claims and says he never remembers even meeting her.

MOVIE LOVERS ALERT!

In the wake of Roger Ebert’s blunt note on his blog, let’s hope some fans of the film critic — particularly those with healthy bank accounts — will step forward to prevent the cancellation of “Ebert Presents: At the Movies,” produced in Chicago by Roger and his wife, Chaz Ebert, for PBS stations across the country.

In his blog, Ebert revealed that after a contribution by Kanbar Charitable Trust, he and his wife personally have been supporting the program — literally paying all the bills.

“Unless we find an angel, our television program will go off the air at the end of its current season,” wrote Ebert. “There. I’ve said it. Usually in television, people use evasive language. Not me. We’ll be gone. I want to be honest about why this is. We can’t afford to finance it any longer.”

Despite the show’s financial woes, Ebert also wrote that he is very proud of the program, now available in more than 90 percent of the U.S. television markets and ranking among the top-rated shows on public TV.

STAR POWER: Kelly Osbourne — the spokeswoman for Material Girl, the fashion line of Madonna’s daughter Lourdes “Lola” Leon — is scheduled to be at the Macy’s State Street store at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. She plans to join the Chicago judges — Shani Silver and Billy Dec — as they decide on the local entries in a nationwide search for a model who ultimately will be tapped by Madonna and Lola to promote their spring 2012 collection.

In Miami for a similar event, Osbourne suffered a head injury and was treated at a local hospital. Mom Sharon Osbourne said on “The Talk” that Kelly hit her noggin on an amplifier while dancing in a club.

HOT DOG! The Bulls’ Joakim Noah was spied picking up a “Dallas Dog” at America’s Dog, where owner Manolis Alpogianis is still over the moon from having been on Rosie O’Donnell’s chatfest last week. Alpogianis created a special “hybrid” New York-Chicago hotdog (brown mustard, sauerkraut, tomatoes, relish, onions and celery salt) in honor of Big Apple native O’Donnell’s recent move to Our Town. “The Duchess of York was there too — all of us making dogs,” laughed Alpogianis.