L'Oreal Isn't Firing Aishwarya Rai 2011-01-12 11:13:59

by Miriam Lacey 5

After she was conspicuously absent from its latest commercials, rumors were swirling that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bollywood's long-reigning queen, was on the verge of being dropped from her extensive contract with L'Oreal in favor of the company's equally lovely brand ambassador Freida Pinto. Today, however, L'Oreal issued a strong denial calling the rumors "absolutely untrue" and stating that Aish was just "unfortunately unavailable for our New Year commercial shoot due to prior commitments." The company reiterated that Aishwarya will continue to be the face of many of the cosmetic giant's brands globally and in India.

The whole rumor sounds like it was designed to start trouble between Aishwarya and Freida — although it's really rather silly to suggest that there's not room for both of them at L'Oreal — but do you think there may be something else going on?