Filed under: Media

US Weekly’s West Coast bureau chief Ken Baker is the primary target of a $55 million lawsuit claiming he put his nanny on the magazine’s payroll as a reporter, and then tried to seduce her.

Naughty, naughty!

The magazine’s former West Coast new editor, Jill Ishkanian — who filed suit in L.A. yesterday against Ken, Editor-in-Chief Janice Min and publisher Jann Wenner for allegedly damaging her career by accusing her of stealing information from the magazine’s computers — also charges that Ken encouraged reporters to “date” paparazzi to glean info from them.

Take notes, Courteney Cox. This is better than any episode of Dirt to date.

According to Page Six, the suit alleges:

* When Ishkanian informed Ken that she was considering a move to another weekly, “Baker became enraged” and “threatened Ishkanian by stating, ‘If you leave. I will destroy you! Did you hear me? I will destroy you!’” (Ed. note: Nice drama. Very JR Ewing-like. Could have achieved even higher score for fist-pounding on desk.)

* Baker “held a meeting with his staff and forced everyone in attendance to vote about whether or not a freelance reporter had real breasts or surgically enhanced breasts.”

* Baker sent cellphone text messages to his doubly-employed nanny which read, “I want to have sex with you. I’m not attracted to my wife,” and “I want to see you pregnant with pigtails.”

* Baker allegedly broke down weeping at Ishkanian’s office and “used all her Kleenex to wipe his eyes and runny nose” after learning an online publication planned to state he “hired female employees based on the shortness of their skirts.”

A spokesperson for Us Weekly, not surprisingly, had no comment on the suit.

Okay, I feel like it’s time for me to come clean. I did call a meeting with my cats earlier this morning to see if they agree that Rihanna’s had a nose job. And I didn’t exactly put Clooney on the payroll for his journalistic talents, if you know what I’m sayin’. But who’s taking advantage of whom — the guy hasn’t showed up for work ONCE! He keeps giving me these lame excuses: “Oh, I have to go to the Venice Film Festival today.” And, “Oh yeah, I have to take my girlfriend out on a yacht tomorrow.” Then there was, “I DON’T WORK FOR YOU, YOU CRAZY LADY!” You’re really pushing it, Clooney. One of these days, I’m going to stop calling you nonstop and you’ll be out of a job. THEN you’ll be sorry.

And, yes, Marcy and I voted “yea” on the Rihanna Rhinoplasty Proposition. (Matty wouldn’t recognize a nose job if it sniffed him in the face.)