Stars Come Out for TV Guide Magazine's "Power List" Party

TV Guide Magazine threw a hot party last night at New York's trendy Gilt at the Palace Hotel to celebrate the publication of "The Power List," TV's 25 most influential people—and its 3000th issue.

There were Real Housewives dishing and dissing, White Collar's hunky Matt Bomer (one of TV Guide Magazine's new cover boys) wowing the crowd and Kathy Griffin proudly showing off her "date": Joan Rivers!

Here are a few tidbits we gathered from the attendees...

The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Dina Manzo
We caught up with Jersey's blond housewife for a quick exit interview a few hours before she quit the show on air. Yes, it was all about the reviled Danielle Staub. "I left because nothing is worth my sanity or my happiness," she says. "I'm giving up a lot of exposure for my foundation, which kills me. I just hope people will continue to support Project Ladybug because it's an amazing cause." Would she come back if asked next season if her enemy is gone? Maybe, she says. "I'll see who is back and then make my decision. Nobody wanted me to leave. I had to cut her out of my life. So I did what I had to do."  Dina, who's writing a book on décor, says she and her friends on the show cried when they watched her last episode: "It's very sad that something that was supposed to be fun for me and my family went in such a different direction."

Jacqueline Laurita
Could this season be the Danielle's swan song? "We're all having an issue with the show getting so dark. Danielle is a dangerous person and I wouldn't come back if she was going to be on. You only see some of what she does on the show. Off camera, she does more." The other NJ Housewives agree with her position, she insists. Whether the producers do is yet to be determined. In other news: "Things are pretty rocky with my daughter and me the rest of the season. And 20 of us go to Italy on vacation. I had a good time, but it was a pretty interesting situation."

Caroline Manzo
"I prefer never to think or talk about Danielle. She's someone I never thought about at all.  We don't have a choice to have her leave, "she adds. "That's up to the producers and Bravo. It's our choice to stay or leave." Next week an arc begins with Caroline's family: "What happens with one of my kids, to this day, breaks my heart. It's awful for a mommy. The whole core of who they thought they were gets shifted."

The Real Housewives of New York

Ramona Singer
"On Thursday's reunion show, I get upset with Jill [Zarin] and I confront her about St. John's," reports Ramona. "She didn't even realize she had hurt everyone's feelings! She was fighting with Bethenny and she had a huge fight with Alex and me the same night. I address it on the reunion show and I get upset and stick my foot in front of her to make my point! I'm a lot calmer this season, but I had just gotten back from South Africa where I was trying to raise money and help people. I felt like a zebra and all these people were piranhas. "She loves the new addition, Sonja Morgan, she says, but "the million dollar question is if the show comes back, which of us are they inviting back?"

Alex McCord
It might seem that she's coming down hard on Jill lately, but Alex says, "It's something that's been going on for three years. It's the first time you caught it all on camera. For the reunion finale, I can tell you they shot for nine hours and it won't be boring. There were a lot of screams, a lot of crocodile tears. I don't think Jill is the anti-Christ or an awful person. It's just that there is behavior that's just not ok.  We get frustrated and it just builds until it finally blows. It's not pretty."

Other Celebs

Kathy Griffiin
"Joan Rivers is my date.  I'm here because after we leave there will be no one better to dish this party with than Joan Rivers!" the comic told TV Guide Magazine. "I'm a fan of every Housewives show. I've been watch since episode one of O.C. And I'm looking forward to D.C. and Beverly Hills." She offered a preview of this season's My Life on the D List:  "This week we shoot with Liza Minnelli in her apartment. Then you have me going with Levi Johnston to Wasilla, Alaska. Levi and I go ice fishing, and we actually knock on Sarah Palin's front door. We don't get in. We also have my mom in a drinking contest with Cloris Leachman. We've made eight episodes and they're action-packed!"

Matt Bomer
"After the plane crash that killed Kate, the writers wisely fast forwarded three months, so you miss the initial part of his grieving process," reveals the White Collar star. "Now his main focus is on who did this, why and how to avenge her death." Still, he promises the USA show (debuting July 13) will be "lighthearted and fun. We have a new woman in the cast, Hilarie Burton from One Tree Hill. She's smoking, sexy, smart and fun. She plays an insurance investigator, sort of like a high-class repo woman. She has a beef with me from the past and wants to settle the score. But still there's a bit of an attraction. Neil still sees Kate as the love of his life, but he never passes up the opportunity to flirt!"

Bonnie Hammer
"It's always wonderful to be given an award from an organization you respect," says Hammer, president of NBC Universal's cable networks (including USA and Syfy) and a member of TV Guide Magazine's "Power List." "I'm in great company. I'm very proud and humbled to be part of the magazine. I love the USA "Boys of Summer" cover. Those guys are not only cute but they're good guys who work their butts off."