Bai Ling: Hot, But Dumb...

For someone who was supposedly all excited that she was going to be in a Star Wars movie, Bai Ling really strains credulity with her comments in this Page 6 Celebrity Gossip item in the New York Post.

The sexy Chinese-born Ling, who was supposed to play Senator Bana Breemu in the final installment of the "Star Wars" series, burst into tears at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of "The Beautiful Country" the other night while she was describing how her scene was snipped:

"I just found out that my part has been completely cut out of the upcoming 'Star Wars' movie. I do not know what happened," Ling said.

"I posed for Playboy and it may have been doing that which upset [director] George Lucas. I did not know when 'Star Wars' was going to be released when my manager came to me and said that Playboy wanted me to pose topless."

Ling, who appears in the June issue, continued, "I did not know that Playboy was going to come out the same time as 'Star Wars.' I saw them as separate projects. I see the human body as beautiful and not pornographic, but maybe the 'Star Wars' producers did not see what I did. I am in shock."

LucasFilm spokeswoman Lynn Hale told us that Ling's sole scene was cut more than a year ago. "It was just one scene," she said.

1. Oh, puh-leeze...who DIDN'T know when the release date was. Hasn't that been known since last summer?!?

B. She must not have seen last month's Playboy which had in it's "In Next Month's Playboy" section the mention of the Star Wars babe who's naked. It didn't say who it was and the face wasn't in the shot, but a quick trip to Google to type in "bai ling playboy" got the news that it was her.

3. Even though horny fanboys were excited to see she was going to be in it, it was evident early on that she was going to be just sitting around and talking and I've seen a photo that backed this up. Since Lucas clearly is going to make ROTS more action and less yackingm that the scene got whacked is a no-brainer. We'll see if it turns up on the DVD.

UPDATE: The Head Jedi responds.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GEORGE LUCAS RESPONDS TO ACTRESS BAI LING'S CLAIM THAT HER SCENE WAS CUT FROM THE LAST "STAR WARS" INSTALLMENT BECAUSE OF HER PLAYBOY PICTORIAL

Lucas: "My Daughter Was Cut As Well"

BURBANK, Calif. – May 4, 2005 – In an interview with "Access Hollywood's" Tony Potts, director George Lucas responds to actress Bai Ling's claim that her scene was cut from the final installment of his "Star Wars" tale, "Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" because of her spread in Playboy. The interview air[ed] on "Access Hollywood," Wednesday, May 4, 2005 (check local listings for time and station) and can be viewed at http://www.accesshollywood.com.

"My daughter is in that same scene," said Lucas. "My daughter was cut as well."

To further illustrate that cutting Ling's scene was purely an editorial decision, the famed director added, "My other daughter was in another scene and that was cut as well."

Memo to Bai - stop being dumb, it's unattractive.