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CNN Live Today

Stars in the Spotlight: Legal News

Aired December 26, 2002 - 10:46   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to look at celebrities who are in the legal spotlight this morning.
For that, we're joined by Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Good to see you, Harvey.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PROD., "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Fredricka.

KAGAN: Let's talk about Dr. Laura first. Earlier last week, her mother reported killed, found dead, but you know, the strange thing about that is initially the cops didn't want to associate this woman with being Dr. Laura's mother. While on the air, Dr. Laura was explaining a little bit more about her estranged relationship of 14 years.

LEVIN: I can tell you a little bit about what happened here. The cops have been extremely tight-lipped, and they have identified this as a homicide investigation. We know that from all reports it is Dr. Laura's mother, Yolanda. She was 77 years old. But they are not saying much else about it.

What I've been told is there are no suspects. It is still an active investigation.

Fredricka, what I find absolutely unbelievable about the case is that the way Dr. Laura first kind of went public about it is after a small Beverly Hills newspaper called "The Beverly Hills Courier" contacted her publicist, she came out with a statement that I find so amazingly stunning, where she said that it's tragic, but my mother chose to die the way she lived her life, in isolation and alone.

Remember, this woman had been dead for three months, and nobody had called. Dr. Laura was complete a estranged from her. I'm just going to say it out loud. She trashed her mother after her mother was murdered, which I just find unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Harvey, when I heard that, I thought, oh, wait a minute, will people start calling her and letting her know that they object to the choice of words, but I never heard anything further about whether, you know, folks articulated it that way.

LEVIN: I'm just -- it is just the nastiest statement, almost justifying why she didn't talk to her mother and, by the way, her mother by all accounts from the neighbors was a very outgoing pleasant woman. But I just found it, you know, I just found it incredibly offensive that she said this about a woman who had been murdered. It just amazing to me.

WHITFIELD: Well, sad, all the way around.

Let's talk now a little bit about Joan Rivers. Joan Rivers loves to make headlines with, you know, kind of hurling insults at other celebrities, who just are not looking quite good, and now, she's in the spotlight, isn't she?

LEVIN: Hurling is a good word, Fredricka, because apparently what happened last Friday is that at a dollar rent-a-car place in New York City, she had gone in apparently very upset that her car wasn't ready. And according to some reports screamed "Don't you know who I am" and got it into it with the clerk and apparently either flicked or threw a pen at the woman, and the woman's eye was reportedly damaged. We know the cops showed up, an ambulance showed up, and apparently the woman behind the counter went for treatment, and it looks like the police are investigating whether to file assault charges against her.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no. Joan!

LEVIN: It's just -- there's a great article in "The Los Angeles Times" a couple of days ago about people in entertainment who just behave badly, and it's accepted in our society, because it's just, they're artists and it's who they are, but I'll tell you, it never ceases to amaze me.

WHITFIELD: If this is true, not this time, huh? Let's talk about an unauthorized book about Clint Eastwood saying he is a wife beater, he's an atheist. And Clint Eastwood is coming out swinging. Is because it is not true, or because didn't authorize this writing. What's the deal?

LEVIN: That's an interesting question. No, he says it's absolutely untrue, and he's filed a $10 million lawsuit against the writer and the publisher.

What I find really interesting about this, Fredricka, is I don't think this book, you know, exactly was burning off the shelves, and it seems to me that when somebody files a lawsuit, they're putting a heck of a lot more attention on themselves than the issues than if they just let it go. He has got to go on the stand now, and it's like -- it is the classic legal case of proving that you didn't beat your wife. I mean, that's exactly what they're going to have to get into during this trial. And why does somebody of that stature want to subject himself to this in a lawsuit?

WHITFIELD: Oh, this is going to get embarrassing. All right.

LEVIN: It's amazing.

WHITFIELD: Harvey Levin, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

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 26, 2002 - 10:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to look at celebrities who are in the legal spotlight this morning.
For that, we're joined by Harvey Levin, executive producer of "Celebrity Justice."

Good to see you, Harvey.

HARVEY LEVIN, EXEC. PROD., "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Hi, Fredricka.

KAGAN: Let's talk about Dr. Laura first. Earlier last week, her mother reported killed, found dead, but you know, the strange thing about that is initially the cops didn't want to associate this woman with being Dr. Laura's mother. While on the air, Dr. Laura was explaining a little bit more about her estranged relationship of 14 years.

LEVIN: I can tell you a little bit about what happened here. The cops have been extremely tight-lipped, and they have identified this as a homicide investigation. We know that from all reports it is Dr. Laura's mother, Yolanda. She was 77 years old. But they are not saying much else about it.

What I've been told is there are no suspects. It is still an active investigation.

Fredricka, what I find absolutely unbelievable about the case is that the way Dr. Laura first kind of went public about it is after a small Beverly Hills newspaper called "The Beverly Hills Courier" contacted her publicist, she came out with a statement that I find so amazingly stunning, where she said that it's tragic, but my mother chose to die the way she lived her life, in isolation and alone.

Remember, this woman had been dead for three months, and nobody had called. Dr. Laura was complete a estranged from her. I'm just going to say it out loud. She trashed her mother after her mother was murdered, which I just find unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Harvey, when I heard that, I thought, oh, wait a minute, will people start calling her and letting her know that they object to the choice of words, but I never heard anything further about whether, you know, folks articulated it that way.

LEVIN: I'm just -- it is just the nastiest statement, almost justifying why she didn't talk to her mother and, by the way, her mother by all accounts from the neighbors was a very outgoing pleasant woman. But I just found it, you know, I just found it incredibly offensive that she said this about a woman who had been murdered. It just amazing to me.

WHITFIELD: Well, sad, all the way around.

Let's talk now a little bit about Joan Rivers. Joan Rivers loves to make headlines with, you know, kind of hurling insults at other celebrities, who just are not looking quite good, and now, she's in the spotlight, isn't she?

LEVIN: Hurling is a good word, Fredricka, because apparently what happened last Friday is that at a dollar rent-a-car place in New York City, she had gone in apparently very upset that her car wasn't ready. And according to some reports screamed "Don't you know who I am" and got it into it with the clerk and apparently either flicked or threw a pen at the woman, and the woman's eye was reportedly damaged. We know the cops showed up, an ambulance showed up, and apparently the woman behind the counter went for treatment, and it looks like the police are investigating whether to file assault charges against her.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no. Joan!

LEVIN: It's just -- there's a great article in "The Los Angeles Times" a couple of days ago about people in entertainment who just behave badly, and it's accepted in our society, because it's just, they're artists and it's who they are, but I'll tell you, it never ceases to amaze me.

WHITFIELD: If this is true, not this time, huh? Let's talk about an unauthorized book about Clint Eastwood saying he is a wife beater, he's an atheist. And Clint Eastwood is coming out swinging. Is because it is not true, or because didn't authorize this writing. What's the deal?

LEVIN: That's an interesting question. No, he says it's absolutely untrue, and he's filed a $10 million lawsuit against the writer and the publisher.

What I find really interesting about this, Fredricka, is I don't think this book, you know, exactly was burning off the shelves, and it seems to me that when somebody files a lawsuit, they're putting a heck of a lot more attention on themselves than the issues than if they just let it go. He has got to go on the stand now, and it's like -- it is the classic legal case of proving that you didn't beat your wife. I mean, that's exactly what they're going to have to get into during this trial. And why does somebody of that stature want to subject himself to this in a lawsuit?

WHITFIELD: Oh, this is going to get embarrassing. All right.

LEVIN: It's amazing.

WHITFIELD: Harvey Levin, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

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