THREE FRENCH HENS

WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY?
Rocker and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof has been awarded custody of the orphaned daughter of his former wife, Paula Yates, and INXS singer Michael Hutchence. Britain's High Court Monday (12/18) granted Geldof custody of 4-year-old Tiger Lily for a year so she could live with her three half-sisters from Yates' previous marriage to Geldof, who has been caring for Tiger Lily since September, when Yates was found dead in her London home. Hutchence committed suicide in an Australian hotel room three years ago. No word whether Tiger Lily is upset that Geldof plans to give her Christmas presents to the children of Ethiopia.

SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE
Aerosmith will join NSYNC as the half-time entertainment Jan. 28 at this year's Super Bowl in Tampa Bay. Interestingly, NSYNC will be featured on the CBS broadcast that already includes rivals the Backstreet Boys, who will sing the national anthem before kickoff. NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys slated performances at the big game were first reported here (rumor mill, 12/11). No confirmation that MTV and CBS are hoping the boy band members will take out their animosities on the field. "A mid-field scrimmage between the two bands would rock," an MTV messenger said. "I think the Backstreet Boys would kick ass—they definitely outweigh NSYNC." Meanwhile, Ray Charles, who will sing "America the Beautiful," will serve as an on-field referee.

HELLER SKELTER
Former N.W.A. and Eazy E manager Jerry Heller took a step towards victory in his libel action against Doubleday and Mark Flores, also known as author Ronin Ro, having been granted an appeal last week in Los Angeles' Second District Court Of Appeals. The court found that Ro's book, "Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise And Violent Fall Of Death Row Records," contained a false statement about Heller that was "libelous per se" because it exposed Heller to contempt and had the tendency to injure him in his occupation. The ruling clears the way for Heller to pursue his suit against Doubleday, which he filed in 1998. Heller is seeking an undisclosed sum of money from Ro, a champagne-bottle beatdown and a non-fatal shooting as recompense.