Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003 | 10:45 a.m.
It is not every day that the names Kathie Lee Gifford and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs appear in the same sentence.
But because of charges that His Diddiness is pulling a Kathie Lee and using a Honduran sweatshop to manufacture his Sean John line of designer duds, there it is.
When we asked him about it before Monday night's "NBC Radio Music Awards" at the Aladdin, the newly mohawked mogul used a single, profane word in response to the charges.
National Labor Committee Director Charles Kernaghan and a former Honduran factory worker made the charges earlier Monday at the site of a flagship Sean John store set to open in New York in spring 2004.
Kernaghan claims that workers are paid 24 cents for each $50 Sean John shirt they sew and are given only contaminated water to drink during their regular 12-hour shifts.
In 1996, Kernaghan also exposed that Gifford's Wal-Mart clothing line was cranked out at substandard Honduran facilities under near-slave labor conditions.
Jeff Tweedy, a Sean John spokesman, said he had no knowledge of the situation.
"However, we take these matters very seriously and we will have our director of compliance look into the matter," he said.
The NLC is an independent, nonprofit organization that focuses on protecting human rights, particularly those of young workers producing exports to the United States from Central America, the Caribbean, China and other countries.
The former Puff Daddy hosted the grandest Radio Awards afterparty in his 13,000-square-foot, $21,000-per-night, antique-laden, Italian marble-floored Palazzo Suite at The Rio, complete with a private swimming pool.
Making the scene were rappers Murphy Lee and Nelly, with whom Combs performed "Shake Ya Tailfeather" on the telecast, Carson Daly, Mark McGrath, JC Chasez, Coolio, Monica, Nick Carter, Beyonce and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes.
Nelly was a no-show at the Official Nelly Afterparty at Prana (Aladdin).
The club had stocked its bar with his Pimp Juice energy drink in anticipation of the event, but at the last minute a rep for the rapper demanded a $20,000 appearance fee, according to one of the Prana promoters. They refused to pay.
Joe Jackson (Michael's dad), George Maloof and Tom Petty -- who was presented with a Legends Award -- came to the party anyway.
Juliette Lewis was the only face we recognized at a Curve afterparty.
After the telecast, VegasBeat walked into Elements, the Aladdin eatery, with Cris Judd (Jennifer Lopez' ex) and a mutual friend, local food and beverage trade magazine publisher Michael Politz.
All of a sudden, Judd yelled "Robin!" and made a beeline over to his pal Robin Leach. The two men apparently bonded something fierce on last year's ABC reality show "I'm a Celebrity -- Get Me Out of Here!"
Leach was eating dinner with Planet Hollywood mogul Robert Earl and former Station Casinos exec Mike Mecca, who will run the property for Earl after it becomes a Planet Hollywood entity next year.
The men are discussing a possible Leach involvement in the new hotel.
Bruce Willis, decked out in the very first of the new Planet Hollywood baseball caps (he is one of Earl's partners in the venture), had a front-and-center seat for the telecast. He sat in the audience with daughters Rumer, 15, and Scout, 12.
The kids posed for several photos with Jack Osbourne.
Willis' new girlfriend, Brooke Burns, was one of the show's co-hosts.
At one point, Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Michael Jackson showed what can happen if you take your eyes off your kids for even a moment.
Son Prince Michael, 6, and daughter Paris, 4, much of their faces wrapped in what appeared to be surgical gauze, were led back to their dad by Vegas club promoter and sometime actor Marklen Kennedy, who said he noticed the kids march one way and their dad the other.
Earlier, Jackson met with Larry Edwards, the talented Tina Turner impersonator who performs in "An Evening at La Cage" at the Riviera.
We hear that former NBA stars Dennis Rodman and John Salley and Nelly were not at Light (Bellagio) on Sunday night, as was reported elsewhere.
They were denied entrance because their casual (yet expensive) clothing and sneakers violated the upscale club's strict dress code.
Earlier this year Shaquille O'Neal was also shut out of Light because of dress code violations.
Huddling backstage after the show: "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest and Rick Garson. Garson produces the Fox network New Year's Eve show "Live From Las Vegas," which Seacrest will return to host this year.
Other recognizable faces milling about backstage (several of them presenters): Avril Lavigne, Casey Kasem, Stevie Nicks, Alan Thicke, Liz Phair, Bow Wow Wow, Justin Timberlake, Tommy Hearns, Nick Lachey, Coolio, Michelle Branch, Jewel, Boyz II Men, Howie Dorough, Uncle Kracker, Brande Roderick, Molly Sims, Eddie Griffin and Tim McGraw.
VegasBits
Sip: Drew Carey and a female friend shared a $1,095 bottle of 1995 Cristal Rose champs over dinner at Piero Sel- vaggio Valentino (Venetian) on Monday night ...
Partners: Andre Agassi joined Michael Mina and MGM Grand Prez Gamal Aziz at a private pre-opening party of Mina's new MGM eatery Sea Blue, which opened to the public this week ...
Good ink: The entire On the Road business travel column in Tuesday's New York Times was an absolutely glowing assessment of Vegas.com, the travel and information website and sister company to the Las Vegas Sun ...
Rock: Korn and Limp Bizkit with frontman Fred Durst play The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel Nov. 10. Puddle of Mudd now has a Nov. 16 Joint date. Tickets for both shows go on sale Saturday ...
New show? Camera crews were swarming around inside the AMP Salon at Palms over the weekend. Seems that Michael Boychuk's fabulous Vegas grooming facility may be the model for a new series called "The Salon," similar to the NBC summer smash series "The Restaurant."
From Sun wires
If you believe the celebrity media, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are preparing to secretly marry by the end of the year. Us Weekly says the couple will exchange rings at a beachside ceremony on Affleck's estate in Hampton Island, Ga. Star magazine says it will happen before New Year's Day.
Nude for sale: Casino developer Steve Wynn is selling one the "season's sexiest" paintings at a Christie's auction.
Wynn will sell "Nu Couche" by Amedeo Modigliani Nov. 4 in New York. Christie's estimates the 1917 masterpiece could fetch from $20 million to $25 million.
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