EVA LONGORIA - CROSS AND LONGORIA JOIN SPEARS TABLOID ATTACK

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES MARCIA CROSS and EVA LONGORIA have defended BRITNEY SPEARS' recent attack on "false tabloids" - and are considering uniting to ban gossip magazines.

Cross and Longoria appeared on US news show ACCESS HOLLYWOOD last week (ends01APR05) to publicly urge the press to stop publishing unsubstantiated gossip about them.

Cross was furious about recent articles outing her as a lesbian, and Longoria agreed that unless celebrities form a collective against false journalism, it will get worse.

Cross complains, "I've learned personally that they can write anything they want. It's hard, and the fact that she would say that doesn't surprise me - it's a hard thing to continually, in your private life, have to deal with.

"I don't know how you protect yourself, I really haven't got any ideas."

Longoria adds, "I think we should totally unite and just ban those tabloid magazines."