Catherine, Michael Voted Most Annoying

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday April 07, 2003 01:00 AM EDT

Catherine Zeta-Jones appears to be on a winning streak.

First there was her Oscar win for "Chicago" -- and now she has topped a British poll in which 500 people were asked which celebrities most deserved their comeuppance.

"Who offended the public the most, and which celebrity's smugness and self-obsessive behavior really got on people's nerves?" the survey asked.

Zeta-Jones, 33, and husband Michael Douglas, 58, are still awaiting the verdict of a High Court privacy battle with Hello! magazine, which they are suing for $800,000 because the publication ran unauthorized photos of their wedding (after they had already sold all rights to another magazine for $1.6 million). The star couple jointly received nearly a quarter of the votes in the poll, which was conducted in conjunction with the release of a new revenge video game called "Vexx."

Zeta-Jones and Douglas reportedly received 22 percent of the votes.

Other "winners" included British TV personalities whose names don't mean much on American shores.

Prime Minister Tony Blair received only 4 percent, despite sending British troops to the war in Iraq, a move that has been widely condemned at home.

There's been no comment from the Douglas and Zeta-Jones or Blair's camp.