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Discussion of Whitney Houston, Winona Ryder

Aired December 05, 2002 - 14:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: To entertainment news now. Two superstar bad girls, singer Whitney Houston and actress Winona Ryder. Everyone is still talking about Houston's network television interview last night. CNN Espanol's Ana Maria Montera joins us now live from Los Angeles with more on Houston and Ryder.
Hello there, how are you?

ANA MARIA MONTERA, CNN EN ESPANOL: Hey, I'm so good. I've been promoted to insider. I'm so excited.

PHILLIPS: That's right, you're the scoop. All right, Ana Maria?

MONTERA: I'm the Hollywood insider. Whoa.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's start with a clip from this interview last night and we'll take it from there. Sound good?

MONTERA: Perfect.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA SAWYER, ABC "PRIMETIME": Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills?

WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER: It has been at times.

SAWYER: All?

HOUSTON: At times.

SAWYER: If you had to name the devil, for you, the biggest devil among them?

HOUSTON: That would be me. It's my deciding. It's my heart. It's what I want and what I don't want. Nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do. It's my decision, so the biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy, and that's how I have to deal with it.

SAWYER: Do you think of yourself as an addict?

HOUSTON: I am addicted to a few things.

SAWYER: Like? HOUSTON: Making love.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hmm. Ana Maria.

MONTERA: Okay.

PHILLIPS: Well, that's straight and to the point. I guess you think of Whitney Houston, you think she's beautiful, she's talented. What's going on with this woman? What's wrong?

MONTERA: Great teeth. I don't know. I don't know. She's always had that sort of erratic, sort of unstable behavior. She attributes it, I think, Kyra, to the fact that she got really famous really young, and so she never was able to really have fun. And that sort of getting into drugs and all of that heavy partying was her way of rebelling and her way of sort of living her life as a young woman. I don't know. As a young woman that's not the path that I would have chosen. But, you know what, you know, who is to say? The truth is she is fessing up to it. She is sort of admitting that in the end it, you know, it has been her decision and the truth that, you know, the truth that it is.

PHILLIPS: Well, about -- there's rumors about her health, too. What's going on with that? She lost a lot of weight.

MONTERA: Yes. Yes. Well, if anything, it's been more speculations than, you know, rumors. Do you remember her appearance at Michael Jackson's 30th anniversary, she looked, you know, a little bit more -- a little less -- she looked emaciated. I mean, she did not look well, and that really sparked a lot of things. You know, she's already been detained in airports for possession of marijuana. Charges have been dropped. But, you know, so a lot of things -- there's always been indications in that direction. But she again says, forget about it, she's fine, she's just a thin girl, she's always been thin, she always will be thin. Whitney Houston will never be fat, ever.

PHILLIPS: That's true. She does have that tall, perfect body. Her husband, Bobby Brown, sort of bad boy Bobby Brown, breaking a sweat during that interview. Did you notice that?

MONTERA: Yes. He was great. Well, I would have broken a sweat, too. I mean, he was just -- he was just picked up recently also for possession of marijuana. But he just -- again, his explanation was he's bipolar, so he needs the pot to help him relax. I mean, I guess that's what it is about pot, right?

PHILLIPS: How about meditation?

MONTERA: I know, right, to help you relax and that's the only way that sort of helps him deal with that. Again, what are you going to say? But he was sweating a big bullet. It was kind of interesting to watch. They were in the hot seat, you know what I mean? PHILLIPS: Someone else was in the hot seat. Well, that's true. You know, you got Diane Sawyer. She was -- she probably didn't grill them as hard as you would, of course. You would have had a much more riveting interview.

But, all right, Winona Ryder, let's talk about Winona. Another one in the hot seat. What's going on with this gal?

MONTERA: Definitely in the hot seat. I think the worst is over for her, because tomorrow is actually her sentencing. And rumor has it that -- well, you remember, if you want to recap a minute, on November 6, she was convicted -- or she was found guilty of vandalism and burglary --

PHILLIPS: Saks Fifth Avenue, of course.

MONTERA: Yes, theft, grand theft actually, at Saks Fifth Avenue, for about $5,000. The point is tomorrow they're going to go through her sentencing in Beverly Hills about 8:30 in the morning, my time, that's about 11:30 Atlanta time, and we're actually going to find out what's going to happen to her.

Rumors were she would get about three years' jail time. The prosecution is not going to ask for that. They're going to ask for community service, they're going to ask for no jail time. They're going to ask for it's like 500 hours of community service, it's not a joke. But you know, she can't use aliases to get more prescription drugs, obviously. She's going to have to submit herself to counseling, to random searches. I mean, these are the kind of things they're asking for. No jail time, though. Which doesn't surprise a lot of people, because, you know, most celebrities sort of get off in the end, you know what I mean, they don't usually have to do the jail time.

PHILLIPS: We've always talked about that, you know, little special privileges. All right, Ana Maria Montera, thank you for the scoop. And we'll see you this weekend, when you're in Atlanta. Right?

MONTERA: Yes. We'll be there. We'll be doing a little rumba.

PHILLIPS: That's right. We're going to do a little salsa dancing, right?

MONTERA: Yes, definitely.

PHILLIPS: OK. Thanks again, Ana Maria.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 5, 2002 - 14:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: To entertainment news now. Two superstar bad girls, singer Whitney Houston and actress Winona Ryder. Everyone is still talking about Houston's network television interview last night. CNN Espanol's Ana Maria Montera joins us now live from Los Angeles with more on Houston and Ryder.
Hello there, how are you?

ANA MARIA MONTERA, CNN EN ESPANOL: Hey, I'm so good. I've been promoted to insider. I'm so excited.

PHILLIPS: That's right, you're the scoop. All right, Ana Maria?

MONTERA: I'm the Hollywood insider. Whoa.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's start with a clip from this interview last night and we'll take it from there. Sound good?

MONTERA: Perfect.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA SAWYER, ABC "PRIMETIME": Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills?

WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER: It has been at times.

SAWYER: All?

HOUSTON: At times.

SAWYER: If you had to name the devil, for you, the biggest devil among them?

HOUSTON: That would be me. It's my deciding. It's my heart. It's what I want and what I don't want. Nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do. It's my decision, so the biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy, and that's how I have to deal with it.

SAWYER: Do you think of yourself as an addict?

HOUSTON: I am addicted to a few things.

SAWYER: Like? HOUSTON: Making love.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hmm. Ana Maria.

MONTERA: Okay.

PHILLIPS: Well, that's straight and to the point. I guess you think of Whitney Houston, you think she's beautiful, she's talented. What's going on with this woman? What's wrong?

MONTERA: Great teeth. I don't know. I don't know. She's always had that sort of erratic, sort of unstable behavior. She attributes it, I think, Kyra, to the fact that she got really famous really young, and so she never was able to really have fun. And that sort of getting into drugs and all of that heavy partying was her way of rebelling and her way of sort of living her life as a young woman. I don't know. As a young woman that's not the path that I would have chosen. But, you know what, you know, who is to say? The truth is she is fessing up to it. She is sort of admitting that in the end it, you know, it has been her decision and the truth that, you know, the truth that it is.

PHILLIPS: Well, about -- there's rumors about her health, too. What's going on with that? She lost a lot of weight.

MONTERA: Yes. Yes. Well, if anything, it's been more speculations than, you know, rumors. Do you remember her appearance at Michael Jackson's 30th anniversary, she looked, you know, a little bit more -- a little less -- she looked emaciated. I mean, she did not look well, and that really sparked a lot of things. You know, she's already been detained in airports for possession of marijuana. Charges have been dropped. But, you know, so a lot of things -- there's always been indications in that direction. But she again says, forget about it, she's fine, she's just a thin girl, she's always been thin, she always will be thin. Whitney Houston will never be fat, ever.

PHILLIPS: That's true. She does have that tall, perfect body. Her husband, Bobby Brown, sort of bad boy Bobby Brown, breaking a sweat during that interview. Did you notice that?

MONTERA: Yes. He was great. Well, I would have broken a sweat, too. I mean, he was just -- he was just picked up recently also for possession of marijuana. But he just -- again, his explanation was he's bipolar, so he needs the pot to help him relax. I mean, I guess that's what it is about pot, right?

PHILLIPS: How about meditation?

MONTERA: I know, right, to help you relax and that's the only way that sort of helps him deal with that. Again, what are you going to say? But he was sweating a big bullet. It was kind of interesting to watch. They were in the hot seat, you know what I mean? PHILLIPS: Someone else was in the hot seat. Well, that's true. You know, you got Diane Sawyer. She was -- she probably didn't grill them as hard as you would, of course. You would have had a much more riveting interview.

But, all right, Winona Ryder, let's talk about Winona. Another one in the hot seat. What's going on with this gal?

MONTERA: Definitely in the hot seat. I think the worst is over for her, because tomorrow is actually her sentencing. And rumor has it that -- well, you remember, if you want to recap a minute, on November 6, she was convicted -- or she was found guilty of vandalism and burglary --

PHILLIPS: Saks Fifth Avenue, of course.

MONTERA: Yes, theft, grand theft actually, at Saks Fifth Avenue, for about $5,000. The point is tomorrow they're going to go through her sentencing in Beverly Hills about 8:30 in the morning, my time, that's about 11:30 Atlanta time, and we're actually going to find out what's going to happen to her.

Rumors were she would get about three years' jail time. The prosecution is not going to ask for that. They're going to ask for community service, they're going to ask for no jail time. They're going to ask for it's like 500 hours of community service, it's not a joke. But you know, she can't use aliases to get more prescription drugs, obviously. She's going to have to submit herself to counseling, to random searches. I mean, these are the kind of things they're asking for. No jail time, though. Which doesn't surprise a lot of people, because, you know, most celebrities sort of get off in the end, you know what I mean, they don't usually have to do the jail time.

PHILLIPS: We've always talked about that, you know, little special privileges. All right, Ana Maria Montera, thank you for the scoop. And we'll see you this weekend, when you're in Atlanta. Right?

MONTERA: Yes. We'll be there. We'll be doing a little rumba.

PHILLIPS: That's right. We're going to do a little salsa dancing, right?

MONTERA: Yes, definitely.

PHILLIPS: OK. Thanks again, Ana Maria.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com