CELEBRITIES

Williams, Wilson Launch Effort To Battle Celeb Anger

WASHINGTON (CAP) - The quest for good PR can sometimes produce some unusual bedfellows, a point borne out this week with the announcement that tennis great Serena Williams and South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson would be launching an initiative to help angry famous people get counseling.

"The Icon Rage Management Alliance (IRMA) will help those in the spotlight with some of the unique anger issues that they, we, face," Wilson said at a press conference announcing the joint venture.

Wilson was recently formally admonished by the US House of Representatives for yelling "You lie!" at the president during a speech to Congress.

"Yeah, those in front of the cameras face dilemmas that y'all not in front of the cameras can't even begin to understand," Williams said. She is facing possible suspension for a US Open dustup with an official last weekend. "Dilemmas like: sometimes you just want to strangle a bitch, you know?"

"You... speak the truth!" Wilson vehemently agreed.

Both co-founders have pledged to speak on behalf of IRMA, and both have put up sizable seed money to get the organization off the ground. Still, it faces an uphill battle even before it opens its doors to a Michael Richards, Naomi Campbell or Courtney Love.

"There seems to be some issue with the charter, which is basically just a one-paragraph mission statement of what the goals of the thing will be," said a source close to one of the co-founders. "Serena wants it to start off with Despite the fact that you white people..., while Joe is leaning more towards Despite the fact that you black people...

"It's proving to be a bit of a sticking point," the source added.

Meanwhile though, they are raising money. Those wishing to help fund their favorite celeb's anger management training can do so by buying one of the organization's official t-shirts. The $39.99 shirts come in red, black and white and sport the logo: IRMA Not Gonna Kill Ya!