Mike Nichols to Sub for Liz Taylor at AIDS Event

Director Mike Nichols has agreed to pinch-hit for the ailing Elizabeth Taylor at tonight’s Art Against AIDS fund-raiser in Chicago.

Taylor, who is hospitalized in St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica with pneumonia, issued a statement late Tuesday to quash the reports that she has AIDS.

“I would like to dispel the plethora of rumors that have been circulating that I have an AIDS-related condition,” she said. “I feel it is important that people should not be afraid to be tested for AIDS.”

Taylor, 58, said she has been tested for AIDS and that the results of those tests “are negative.” The two-time Oscar winner has raised millions of dollars for AIDS research.

The actress, who was admitted to Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Marina del Rey on April 9 for a severe sinus condition, was transferred to nearby St. John’s for tests, her physician, Dr. Patricia Murray, said.