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Showbiz Tonight

ABC Airs `American Idol` Expose; Runaway Bride Apologizes

Aired May 05, 2005 - 19:00   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.


A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Fall-out from the "Idol" expose.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And the runaway bride speaks out. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: "Fallen Idol" fall-out. Corey sings like a canary. Now what? What the show has to say, and the big looming question: How will Paula be judged?

HAMMER: Odd "Idols" out. How Corey`s confession is playing with other finalists who had their eye on the prize. We`re live with three former "Idol" contestants.

BRYANT: Cold feet, hot story. The runaway bride speaks out for the first time since she hopped on the bus.

HAMMER: Heaven`s gatekeeper. The director of the epic "Kingdom of Heaven" is here, Sir Ridley Scott live in the "SHOWBIZ Sitdown."

BRYANT: Hooray for "La La Wood." Jiminy Glick on the red carpet, and we roll out the carpet for the real Jiminy, Martin Short live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN SHORT, "JIMINY GLICK": I`m Jiminy Glick. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer, and you are at the top of the show.

BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. We are live with you from Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.

HAMMER: Is "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul now a "Fallen Idol"? Former Idol contestant Corey Clark was back on TV today, just a few hours after making shocking charges on an ABC "Primetime" special that Abdul was not only his judge, but his lover, too.

BRYANT: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is all over this story, and in just a few moments, we`ll talk live coast to coast with three former "American Idol" contestants, two of whom competed against Corey Clark.

HAMMER: But first, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is here with all the fall-out.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Boy, the buzz continues, A.J. and Karyn. At this point, it doesn`t look like Corey Clark`s allegations have seriously hurt "American Idol," but they do have people wondering if Paula Abdul should keep her job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COREY CLARK, FORMER "AMERICAN IDOL" CONTESTANT: I don`t have any intention of helping "American Idol" out. You know, they made it very hard for me, as a matter of fact, to do what I`m doing.

HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Corey Clark came out swinging today on "Good Morning America." The former "American Idol" contestant is speaking out about his experience on the show and the secret relationship he claims he had with judge Paula Abdul.

CLARK: Well, they`re going to do what they usually do with it, and spin it and twist it up. And you know, that`s all -- that`s all I can really expect from them because that`s all they`ve ever done.

HAFFENREFFER: The "GMA" interview is the second time Clark is giving his side of the story. ABC`s "Primetime Live" dedicated an hour to him last night, and it paid off in the ratings. Nearly 14 million viewers watched, helping ABC win its time slot against "CSI New York" on CBS and "Law and Order" on NBC. Its impact may extend beyond just ratings.

ANDREW WALLENSTEIN, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": In the long term, I think "American Idol" owes it to its viewers to explain what, exactly, the judge`s responsibilities are towards the show. As for Paula Abdul, I wonder whether that spells the end of her involvement in the show.

HAFFENREFFER: As for the ABC special, Corey Clark described how Abdul coached him and even became sexually intimate with him as he made his way up the "American Idol" ladder.

CLARK: She`s letting me know all the ins and outs of the show, what to do and what not to do, who to talk to, who not to talk to you, you know?

JOHN QUINONES, "PRIMETIME LIVE": Did she offer to help you on "American Idol"?

CLARK: Oh, of course.

HAFFENREFFER: Things escalated, he said, when Abdul bought him a cell phone so they could have private conversations.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PAULA ABDUL, "AMERICAN IDOL" JUDGE": Hi. It`s Paula. Call me back. Listen, if the press is trying to talk to you, you say absolutely nothing.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HAFFENREFFER: Clark said it wasn`t long before he was spending nights at Abdul`s Hollywood hills home.

QUINONES: And how many times did you come up here?

CLARK: I can`t even count. It was multiple times.

HAFFENREFFER: Clark reached the "American Idol" finals in 2003 but was thrown off for failing to reveal a past arrest. In a statement today, "American Idol" say, quote, "We have concerns about the motives behind last night`s purported news special, as much of it was filled with rumor, speculation and assertions from a disqualified contestant who admitted during the special to telling lies."

(on camera): So there are two million-dollar questions today. Can Paula Abdul survive this, or will she be fired? And will the expose hurt the show? It certainly didn`t hurt "American Idol" last night.

(voice-over): More than 20 million people tuned in to see Scott Savol eliminated from the competition, but that`s not before the contestants sang a heartfelt rendition of Simon and Garfunkel`s "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." Paula also got flowers from the contestants but made no mention of last night`s special. While Paula got a show of support last night, the question is, How long will it last? And will she keep her job?

WALLENSTEIN: I would be surprised to see Paula Abdul on "American Idol" next season.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER: All right, now, calls to Paula Abdul`s attorney, Marty Singer, were not returned today. Corey Clark`s first single, "Wiggle and Shake," will be released on May 21 -- Karyn.

BRYANT: All right. Thanks very much, David Haffenreffer.

Let`s continue our fallow-up on the fall-out over the "American Idol" expose. It`s tonight`s "SHOWBIZ In Depth," live, something you`re going to see only here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ve gathered together a group of former "American Idol" contestants to get their view on all this. From Corey Clark`s season, which was season 2, Carmen Rasmusen, who joins us live in our studios here in New York, Trenyce, who is joining us from Hollywood, and Jasmine Trias. A contestant on the third season of "American Idol" joins us from Dallas.

Ladies, thanks for joining us here. Now, you`ve all seen the special, I know. First and foremost, what are your thoughts? Carmen, I want to start with you.

CARMEN RASMUSEN, FORMER "IDOL" CONTESTANT: Well, you know what? I think the story as a whole does not ring true. There are too many holes in this story. I was in the studio with Corey Clark today, and "The Globe" did an article on Corey and talked about how he said that Paula did drugs and used alcohol. And today on the show, he retracted that statement. He denied it. And you know, that has already caused so much harm, it`s already done so much damage, and I think that Corey is now telling half- truths and trying to dig his way out of some traps that he set for himself.

BRYANT: Trenyce, go ahead.

TRENYCE, FORMER "IDOL" CONTESTANT: Wow. I think that that really doesn`t have anything to go do with anything. I think that everyone should pretty much take a look at the evidence. It wouldn`t matter to me if it was Corey, Paula, Carmen, me, anybody. I think that the evidence kind of rings true to what happened, and I think that the truth will prevail. It always does. And I`m not on anyone`s side. I`m more of a facts and figures person.

BRYANT: Now, Jasmine, do you believe the facts that Corey, you know, gave on the program last night, on "Primetime Live," that, you know, Paula gave him money and preferential treatment and telephone calls and, you know, all of that? Do you believe it.

JASMINE TRIAS, FORMER "IDOL" CONTESTANT: I honestly don`t believe anything, all of the allegations, because, I mean, this happened two years ago, and it`s such a coincidence that he has an album coming out. So I mean, it could be a publicity stunt. And I mean, you know, guys talk, and liars hesitate, so it`s been two years, and I don`t see why it wasn`t brought up sooner.

So it`s just so happened that he has an album coming out and all of this craziness is happening. So I honestly don`t believe it. And you know, Paula has been so supportive. I -- you know, it`s such a shame to see all of this because, you know, Paula is such a supportive judge. She`s one of the most supportive judges, and she`s the sweetest. And you know, it`s a shame to see this happening to her and just to the show as a whole because "American Idol" is there to give us opportunities...

BRYANT: OK.

TRIAS: ... to give, you know...

BRYANT: Now, Carmen, yes, I want to pipe in on that. Do you feel that the judges are equally helpful to everybody? You were actually in the same season as Corey.

RASMUSEN: Yes. Yes, I was. I definitely think that the judges have been completely fair throughout this whole thing. They told me -- they gave me comments about what songs I should sing and clothes I should wear, as well.

BRYANT: So you don`t feel cheated if these allegations are true?

RASMUSEN: No, not at all. In fact, it didn`t even end up helping Corey in the long run.

BRYANT: Right.

RASMUSEN: He only made it to the top nine.

BRYANT: Trenyce, do you feel cheated, if this is all true?

TRENYCE: I feel like that people that could have been in his spot were more cheated, if the allegations are true. I think that -- I mean, at any given time, it`s just -- it`s just not fair for a judge and a contestant to be talking as long as they were talking. The fact that he was -- she was calling the parents and friends and had taken him out -- I mean, we didn`t get that special treatment. None of us were able to communicate with the judges in that manner, and it just seems really, really odd to me.

And on top of that, I would like to say that regardless of whether it`s been two years or ten years, it takes a long time to get a monkey off of your back. And after so long, it comes to a point where that energy needs to be channeled some way, somehow. So if he decided two years later to talk about it, then so what? I mean, there are things that I would like to talk about that happened on the show, as well, and I...

BRYANT: Go ahead!

(LAUGHTER)

TRENYCE: Well, I`m just saying, I may not be able to talk about it six months from now, a month from now. That has no merit. It`s whether it is the truth. And if it`s the truth, then it needs to be heard. If not, then he would owe her an apology. Period.

BRYANT: Well, Jasmine, here`s the thing. You say that Paula is a very supportive judge, but I mean, this is pretty damaging. Whether or not these allegations are true, she`s kind of hurt. What would you suggest that she does to come out from underneath this?

TRIAS: I think she should just come out and defend herself. I mean, all these allegations have been made against her, and it`s a shame because, you know, she`s not there to defend herself. She hasn`t come out to talk about it. So until then, I don`t think we`ll know if it`s true or not or decide, you know, on a -- you know, on the real truth.

BRYANT: Now, Carmen...

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: oh, go ahead, Trenyce.

TRENYCE: Well, doesn`t it seem very odd that she didn`t say, No, this isn`t true? She just said she wouldn`t dignify it with an answer. I mean, it`s your integrity, it`s your credibility, you know, that`s on the line.

TRIAS: Right. Well, maybe she just -- you know, she`s -- as you said, it takes a while to get a monkey off your back, so maybe it`s just taking her time.

TRENYCE: What monkey is on Paula`s back?

BRYANT: Carmen, you wanted...

TRIAS: This thing!

BRYANT: ... to add something?

TRIAS: This thing, right?

RASMUSEN: Well, I think that -- regardless of whether or not this is true, I think Paula Abdul does need to come out and say her side of the story...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.

RASMUSEN: ... and say exactly what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.

RASMUSEN: And I think that -- as Trenyce said, the truth will prevail, but I don`t think that this will end up hurting Paula Abdul in the future. I think that if she`s honest, that America will love her and accept her and she`ll continue to be a judge on "American Idol".

BRYANT: Now, you are three attractive young ladies. Did you ever feel any sort of advancements from the men on the show?

RASMUSEN: I definitely never did.

TRENYCE: The judges?

TRIAS: No.

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: Yes, from the male judges, you know?

RASMUSEN: No, not at all.

TRENYCE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We weren`t really around them.

BRYANT: OK, yes, behind the scenes, that`s one thing we wanted to know. If maybe you can tell me this, Jasmine, quickly...

TRIAS: Yes?

BRYANT: Do you have a lot of interaction with the judges when you`re not performing?

TRIAS: No, we honestly don`t. The only time we see the judges are on the Tuesday and Wednesday night show, for that hour or half-hour. That`s the only time. So I really don`t know how...

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: Go ahead, Trenyce.

TRENYCE: Oh, it just raises the question of how did -- how was he able to get to her house then? We weren`t invited to her house, ever, her house.

RASMUSEN: Exactly.

TRENYCE: I was Paula`s pick, and I`ve never been to her house.

(CROSSTALK)

RASMUSEN: We were under such tight security this entire time. We had security guards around us, at the mansion, all the time. So it was really shocking how he could have gotten away without one of us or a security guard knowing.

TRIAS: Exactly.

BRYANT: OK, well, ladies, we`re going to have to end it there, but I want to thank you all for joining us, Carmen, Trenyce and Jasmine.

And now we want to know your thoughts at home. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "Idol" expose: Should Paula be fired? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.

HAMMER: And now to a made-for-TV story. The star of the real-life runaway bride drama made her very first statement late today, claiming she didn`t have cold feet, but she didn`t really explain exactly why she bailed out of her wedding. The Georgia woman who hopped a bus for New Mexico a few days before she was supposed to get married is still a very hot topic on TV and even among the stars. It`s a story that still has everyone watching and wondering.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REV. TOM SMILEY, FAMILY MINISTER: "I was simply running away from myself and certain fears controlling my life."

HAMMER (voice-over): The runaway bride is finally telling her side of the story, sort of. At a Georgia press conference that dominated cable news coverage this afternoon...

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We are very curious whether we`re going to get a statement from Jennifer Wilbanks.

HAMMER: ... Jennifer Wilbanks apologized for her pre-wedding day disappearance in a statement read by her family`s minister.

SMILEY: "I am sorry for the troubles I caused, and I offer my deep and sincere apology."

HAMMER: The whole runaway bride story is providing the kind of irony you can only find in the 24-hour news universe. As you know, Jennifer Wilbanks didn`t show up at her wedding. But now her lawyer is showing up everywhere, sometimes at the same time.

DIANE SAWYER, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": We turn now to her attorney, Lydia Sartain.

HAMMER: This morning at roughly 7:15 AM Eastern time, Lydia Sartain was talking to Diane Sawyer on ABC`s "Good Morning America"...

LYDIA SARTAIN, JENNIFER WILBANKS`S ATTORNEY: It wasn`t the wedding that drove her away, but that was just one of many, many things that were going on with her.

HAMMER: ... Katie Couric on NBC`s "Today"...

SARTAIN: It was not the wedding itself that she was afraid of, but just a combination -- a combination of a lot of things.

HAMMER: ... Hannah Storm on CBS`s "Early Show"...

SARTAIN: I do not believe she`s committed a crime in Gwinnett County.

HAMMER: -- and Soledad O`Brien on CNN`s "American Morning"...

SARTAIN: I do not believe that she committed a crime in Georgia or in Gwinnett County.

HAMMER: ... all at the same time. How is that done? You see, only the "Today" show appearance was live. The rest were Memorexed -- taped interviews done earlier in the morning. With all that TV coverage and the front cover of "People" magazine, it`s no wonder the runaway bride is a runaway favorite topic of discussion among celebrities. At the Candie Foundation benefit to prevent teen pregnancy in New York City, the stars talked to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about the story.

JEWEL: It`s flaky. I`m not a big fan of the runaway bride. You`re going to ditch a guy, that`s sketchy, at best, but if you`re going to ditch a guy and then let him think that you`ve been murdered...

TONY DANZA, "THE TONY DANZA SHOW": I`m really worried about that girl because she didn`t have one person she could confide in. How about Mom? How about a friend, a cousin, somebody?

ASHLEE SIMPSON, SINGER: I heard about the runaway bride, but I haven`t been following it because I`ve been on tour and, like, you know, all over the place, but it`s a little crazy.

HAMMER: And when actress Camryn Manheim dropped by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, she couldn`t resist a runaway riff.

CAMRYN MANHEIM, ACTRESS: She`s going to make a zillion dollars on the movie of the week.

HAMMER: We`ll have to wait for the TV movie of the week. But for now, the runaway bride remains the TV story of the week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

A couple of days ago, we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT made some casting suggestions for the inevitable movie that will take place on this whole thing. Well, we suggested that Phoebe Cates should play the part of Jennifer Wilbanks and Jerry O`Connell should play John Mason. Our friends over at "Entertainment Weekly" magazine have their own ideas. In the new issue of "EW," they pick Jennifer Love Hewitt to play the part of the runaway bride, and for the jilted groom, they pick Steve Zahn. Inspired casting, indeed. The new issue of "EW" will hit stands tomorrow.

BRYANT: Well, he has directed at least one of your favorite movies, I guarantee you. Now Sir Ridley Scott has his sights set on the epic "Kingdom of Heaven." He joins us live in the "SHOWBIZ Sitdown." That is coming up.

HAMMER: Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." And the runaway bride may want to pay attention to this. How did Jack, played by actor Ron Livingston, break up with Carrie on "Sex and the City," by e-mail, fax, on a Post-It or in a birthday card? We`re coming right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back. My little prop is not staying here. It was kind of a hint. Once again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." How did Jack, played by actor Ron Livingston, break up with Carrie on "Sex and the City," by e-mail, fax, on a Post-It or in a birthday card? Guess what? The answer is C, on a Post-It. And it said, "I`m sorry, I can`t. Don`t hate me."

BRYANT: Now, in tonight`s first "SHOWBIZ Sitdown," Sir Ridley Scott. He has directed some of the biggest films in Hollywood history: "Alien," "Blade Runner," "Hannibal," "Gladiator," "Blackhawk Down," "Thelma and Louise." Those are just a few of them. The list does go on, believe me. Now, Sir Ridley Scott is here live with us to talk about his new epic film, "Kingdom of Heaven," which opens tomorrow.

Thank you for coming. I know you`ve been -- you`ve been busy working the circuit, but...

SIR RIDLEY SCOTT, DIRECTOR, "KINGDOM OF HEAVEN": Thank you for asking me.

BRYANT: Thank you. I want to first and foremost ask how do you orchestrate these gigantic scenes? You -- the amount of extras, the horses, the actors -- how do you even approach that?

SCOTT: A lot of experience and a great team. You know, any film like this requires a very carefully hand-picked team, and (INAUDIBLE) carry units but top busiest, about 800 personnel.

BRYANT: Wow!

SCOTT: Yes.

BRYANT: Wow! And I -- I mean, I thought at first that, you know, you should map everything out very specifically, but then I would think there would just be a certain amount of mayhem that would happen with horses and all of these things, no? Is it very meticulous?

SCOTT: You can`t have mayhem. That`s how you have terrible accidents. So every stunt in here is very carefully thought out. And consequently, throughout the whole (INAUDIBLE) of this kind of movie, we had no accidents at all.

BRYANT: Wow. Especially, too, when you see the horse scenes. That`s one of the things that...

SCOTT: Yes.

BRYANT: ... I worried the most for the actors` sake and for the sake of the animals.

SCOTT: Yes. You know, it`s part of the director`s job, too, if you`re watching the development of a big scene, that you keep -- I always keep my eye on the safety. And I think -- and you work with intuition. So sometimes, I intuitively say, I don`t like this. Let`s re-discuss this. Slow down. Back down. Let`s talk it through again before we do it, because you can have someone get really hurt very easily.

BRYANT: Are you nervous at all about the idea of doing a film about Muslims and Christians in this day and age, in this time?

SCOTT: Put it this way. I`ve made three big movies in Morocco in the last five years. I made a third of "Gladiator," all of "Blackhawk Down" in Rabat and about 60 percent of this movie there, where I would have 1,700 for breakfast and 1,000 in the movie, Muslims. So some of them are really great friends of mine.

BRYANT: Very nice.

SCOTT: No problem.

BRYANT: Not at all? Well, just because, you know, the political climate right now...

SCOTT: Yes, but -- you know, I never thought about it when I was there. And I don`t think -- this film wasn`t constructed or designed because of what was happening in the Middle East. I think it just was one of my passions to actually do this particular kind of subject, this particular subject. And therefore, I waited for the right writer, which was Bill Monahan, to come along. And out of that, we started. The genesis of this goes back, actually, shortly after "Blackhawk Down." So where we are today in terms of the screenplay, which is -- the film comes out tomorrow, is -- of course, there`s relevance. There`s bound to be. But also, I think you can just enjoy it on a great, historic epic, and at the end of it, you can come out with a little bit of or a lot of relevance to today.

BRYANT: OK. Well, we`re going to talk some more with Sir Ridley Scott in just a moment.

And a little later: As Jiminy Glick, he has the outside scoop on Hollywood. Martin Short joins us live in another "SHOWBIZ Sitdown," coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We are continuing our "Sitdown" with Sir Ridley Scott. And as I mentioned before, you have done so many terrific movies. I want to do a little word association on some of your classics. "Blade Runner." What comes to mind for you?

SCOTT: Spinner. That`s a car. That`s those cars that go down the streets.

BRYANT: OK.

SCOTT: That`s what came to my head.

BRYANT: OK. That`s fine. We`re working with anything here. "Thelma and Louise."

SCOTT: Two of them shaking hands. They said good-bye. They said, Let`s continue the journey.

BRYANT: Oh, right. OK. And I do want to -- for all the ladies, so thank you for the shirtless Brad Pitt scene.

SCOTT: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

BRYANT: That was terrific. "Hannibal."

SCOTT: An opera, a beautiful opera aria.

BRYANT: "Gladiator."

SCOTT: Russell Crowe reaching for a handle (ph) when he`s dying in the arena.

BRYANT: (INAUDIBLE) imagery. Well, Sir Ridley Scott, you are terrific, and I thank you for joining us here.

Of course, "Kingdom of Heaven" opens tomorrow. It is an epic. It is gigantic. And again, thank you for joining us here -- A.J.

HAMMER: Well, of course, Karyn, we here take entertainment news very seriously at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. But when it comes to getting the scoop, we got to give it up to Jiminy Glick. If you haven`t seen Martin Short`s alter ego, prepare yourself. He comes -- he`s coming up shortly.

Plus, we have a huge renewal deal to talk about with Dave Chappelle. It`s on the "Buzz Bench" tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Special showbiz short -- Martin Short live. We`re jumping jiminy for Jiminy Glick.

HAMMER: And a monster premier tonight for "Monster-in-Law." heading south with the stars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK EYED PEAS: What`s up, y`all? (INAUDIBLE) We`re the Blacked Eyed Peas. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m AJ Hammer.

BRYANT: And I`m Karyn Bryant. Here are tonight`s hot headlines. No cold feet. Shown by all the news networks live, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks in a statement read by her pastor says she didn`t get cold feet. She says she`s sorry for the trouble she caused and is getting professional treatment. Also today, her lawyer told CNN that Wilbanks will make amends for the money and time spent searching for her. She disappeared on April 26th, just days before her wedding.

HAMMER: Well, it`s the day after primetime live`s AMERICAN IDOL expose. This morning, former contestant Corey Clark spoke out again on GOOD MORNING AMERICA about the secretive relationship that he claims he had with IDOL judge Paula Abdul. In a statement released today, IDOL says, it has concerns about Clark`s motives. We called Paula Abdul`s attorney but he didn`t get back to us.

BRYANT: And AMERICAN IDOL is the focus of our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. IDOL expose, should Paula be fired? Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight and send us your e-mails at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.

HAMMER: It`s time now for another showbiz sit down. This time it`s with Martin Short, a man of many faces. "Saturday Night Live`s" lovable misfit Ed Grimly and Amigo in "Three Amigos" and currently clueless talk show host Jiminy Glick in Comedy`s Central "Primetime Glick." He is (INAUDIBLE) to the big screen this weekend and tonight, we are happy to have with us the biggest butt from Butte, Montana, check that, the guy who created the biggest butt from Butte, Montana, Martin Short. Welcome to the program. I don`t want to insult you so early in the interview here.

MARTIN SHORT, JIMINY GLICK IN LA LA WOOD: It seems wrong, what have I done?

HAMMER: It`s nice to see you. It`s been a while.

SHORT: Thank you very much, nice to see you, if I could see you.

HAMMER: I`ll just improvise with the voice. I want to talk about the voice of Jiminy Glick in just a moment. But, first, there may be a couple of people - just a few, who maybe haven`t seen Jiminy Glick. So could you kind of fill us in on what this guy`s all about, because entertainment is our world here, but he kind of digs in on all that.

SHORT: Well, Jiminy is -- he`s from Butte, Montana and he`s not -- I think of him just as a moron with power and he is someone who has his own show, an influence in Hollywood, not terribly informed.

HAMMER: Well, we`re going to check.

SHORT: He once asked Mel Brooks, what is your big beef with the Nazis? That`s where he goes.

HAMMER: OK. We`ll we`re going to see a little more of where he goes. In fact in this scene from the movie coming out this weekend, "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood," he`s involved in a very focused and intense interview with Kurt Russell. Let`s take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHORT: You work, you work -- you work.

KURT RUSSELL: I can`t help you.

SHORT: Elvis.

RUSSELL: Yes.

SHORT: Tell me about Elvis Presley. I love Elvis! Tell me about him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Now a lot of people who may have seen you actually as yourself on Larry David`s HBO program, saw him trying to understand how you did the voice, you start up high and then go down real low. Can you coach me a little bit on that because I wasn`t able to pick it up.

SHORT: You know, there was a guy when I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and there was a guy who used to say that all the kids if they stayed off his lawn for a whole year they could get to the movies. He would pay for them to go to the movies. And he`d say, please, stay off my lawn because I just seeded it. So, it`s, please stay off my lawn, because I just seeded it. Start up here and go down low.

HAMMER: I`m not even going to try that again, I`m sorry about that. And as we just say, you do have or Jiminy has a very specific interviewing style and the brand new "Entertainment Weekly," which is coming out tomorrow, features Jiminy`s 13 tips to super interviewing and I was wondering if I could over a couple of them with you right now.

SHORT: Sure.

HAMMER: Number two on the list is remember, bathing is for suckers. So personal hygiene not that important?

SHORT: I think that Jiminy feels that a sponge bath at the beginning of each month is plenty.

HAMMER: That`s sufficient, OK. Number six on your list, never trust a Baldwin. I don`t think we need to elaborate on that one, so we`ll move on to number nine. Force them to make a stand. When I asked Paris Hilton if Eskimo pies were exploitative, she seemed thrown. What happened with Paris Hilton?

SHORT: Paris Hilton is a wonderful spirit and I think that she`s here to stay or certainly until tomorrow.

HAMMER: Well, of course, the runaway bride is making all the headlines right now and I imagine everyone is going after the get right now. Katie Couric is trying to get her, Diane Sawyer,, but if Jiminy Glick was able to get Jennifer Wilbanks, how would that interview go? Can you give us sort of an idea of what you might ask?

SHORT: What are your eyes like so crazy. Everybody wants to know about the eyes. She is - listen, she got scared. She shouldn`t have involved other people. We know this.

HAMMER: OK. Well, we want to ask you about --

SHORT: Is she going to be indicted?

HAMMER: We`re still waiting to hear. But it will be in the TV movie of the week when that finally comes out.

SHORT: Well, I hope they get married and stay happily ever after.

HAMMER: Jiminy Glick is going to be doing some guest interviewing on the Larry King program tonight. In fact, among the people he`ll be talking to, apparently prime time (INAUDIBLE) own Nancy Grace. Do you have a sense of what he may ask Nancy tonight on the program?

SHORT: I don`t know. It`s hard to know where Jiminy will go. He`s going to talk to Bill Maher. He`s going to talk to --

HAMMER: To Larry.

SHORT: Larry and Shawn King. It`s jam-packed. Anderson Cooper is showing up to talk to jiminy. Who`s to say. As you know, he`s just one of the people that dwell within me that rent free.

HAMMER: Well, the (INAUDIBLE) is a lot of fun. The movie`s great fun as well. Do you see yourself retiring the character? I`ve read somewhere that that might be happening or do you it becoming perhaps our own franchise, like your own Austin Powers?

SHORT: No, no, I think that, I think these characters are fun to do. But I think Jiminy will end up in that wonderful retirement home in New Jersey for all these characters and the wild and crazy guys are there, Ed Grimley. They`re all there, having fun.

HAMMER: Martin, we will be looking for Jiminy Glick filling in for part of Larry King tonight. We appreciate you joining us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

SHORT: My pleasure.

HAMMER: All right. And of course, "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood" opens up on Friday.

BRYANT: They have been talking all day and we`ve been listening. Now, as we do every night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the best from today`s talk shows. On the Ellen Degeneres show, actor Brendan Fraser gets a little jiggy with it and is finally bowled over by Ellen`s mystery word of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN DEGENERES, COMEDIAN: All right, the mystery words today that I have to get him to say are shaving cream. All right. I`m dying asking what he`s listening to back there. Do you do electric shaver or no?

BRENDAN FRASER, ACTOR: Sometimes electric and sometimes I use Gillette. I put shaving cream --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Good stuff. Tomorrow on Ellen, it`s a mother`s day special with Paris Hilton, Mekhi Phifer, and their mothers.

HAMMER: To say our own Karyn Bryant is a "Star Wars" fan would be a bit of an understatement.

BRYANT: Yes, it would.

HAMMER: Is this how we`re going to do this? We have the time to do this now?

BRYANT: I hope so.

HAMMER: Right before the program tonight Karyn went to an advanced screening of "Star Wars" at the huge Ziegfield Theater here in New York City.

BRYANT: It was amazing. This movie is -- it`s beautiful to look at first and foremost. Just the actual physical print of this movie is gorgeous.

HAMMER: Was this the digital run?

BRYANT: Yes. It`s stunning. The graphics, I mean the animation, amazing. The story line is great. Hayden Christensen I think has really gotten quite good at the role of Anakin. When he turns to the dark side, AJ, you just, it`s like oh, he`s going. Oh, he`s going to the dark side, but he has his reasons that have to deal with his heart and you kind of get that. But the action is great. The amazing thing is whoever comes up with these ideas for the weapons and the machinery, the ships and stuff, genius. It`s just, it`s great.

HAMMER: Did you see all the hard-core fans hanging out outside?

BRYANT: Did I see it? Yes. I saw the people sitting there and waiting in line.

HAMMER: Was it goofy or was it cool?

BRYANT: It was cool. I`ve been to the midnight shows. I`ve waited online. It`s goofy, but to be down with it, it`s fine. It`s great. It`s going to be gigantic.

HAMMER: Don`t tell me any more.

There`s a serious subject we have to address. Will the force be with Paula Abdul? Jaw dropping, finger pointing. We point to our buzz bench to find out what`s next for the IDOL judge.

BRYANT: And two TV stars go country. A world premier "showbiz showcase."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Yes, we`re listening to Bon Jovi`s "Runaway" right now. That song came out more than 20 years ago.

BRYANT: That can`t be true.

HAMMER: I thought it was like `87. I could wrong. It sounds like it was written for today though however with everything that`s going on.

BRYANT: Sure. Napster has jumped on the runaway bride bandwagon. Starting tomorrow, the digital music service will offer up a cold feet compilation, 25 songs in all. Here`s a few of our favorite picks. Besides "Runaway," there`s Journey, who I love, their song "Separate Ways." It`s got Hall and Oates "She`s Gone," "Bye Bye Bye" by `N Sync and the (INAUDIBLE) "Suspicious Minds."

HAMMER: Well, we have a few of our own suspicious minds here on the buzz bench. It is time to get rolling. And tonight of course, we have to talk about Paula`s primetime counting, a runaway apology and a Chappelle no show.

BRYANT: Joining us on the "Buzz Bench," VH1 classic host Amy Scott, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contributor Amy Kean and comedian and radio personality Chuck Nice. Topic one, Chuck, during our "showbiz in-depth" earlier, we talked about "American Idol", the expose that was on last night, where contestant two, season two contestant Corey Clark said he had a relationship with Paula, got special treatment, cell phones, money, and that they had a sexual relationship. It`s a little nutty. It`s the downfall of Paula Abdul, possibly. Is she the fallen idol?

CHUCK NICE, COMEDIAN/RADIO PERSONALITY: It looks like Paula might be taking it on this one. It`s a shame, but it`s worth it. I can understand why she did it. He`s so handsome and so talented and so very, very articulate. I can understand her falling hard for a guy like this. But none of the accusations are actually confirmed, but if it is true, then both of them should take up residence in a bra because they`re the two biggest boobs in the country as far as I`m concerned.

AMY KEAN, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CONTRIBUTOR: You know what was convincing I was surprised that the actual tapes, they were definitely her voice, but at the same time, just like I said before. Who cares if she slept with many of them? It doesn`t matter because the public still chooses.

NICE: They`ve got her sleeping with the whole staff now, the whole cast.

AMY SCOTT, VH1: She`s got an influence. She`s obviously, coaching him and that`s not fair.

BRYANT: . the idea that, what a judge says people vote on what the judge says.

KEAN: At the same time, they pulled out. They were very kind of sleazy in a way. They pulled out a clip of her saying, how great he was. But she said that about so many of..

HAMMER: I thought that was a bit sensational, but the two -- his two friends, rather, now they were believable.

NICE: Well, the phone bills are credible.

SCOTT: I don`t understand why people didn`t see them. Weren`t they out shopping for CDs together?

HAMMER: Nobody has reported back. Apparently, they took the shot of the Sprint store where she allegedly got him a telephone hooked up. They didn`t go into the Sprint store and talk to anybody.

KEAN: You know what they should do? They should now let the public decide and vote if she should stay on "American Idol."

HAMMER: Exactly right. We`re going to take that idea and move on to topic number two, everybody, of course, also talking about the runaway bride. Today she spoke, kind of. Jennifer Wilbanks` pastor made a statement on her behalf and in her own words, not voiced by her, he said that she had quote, a host of compelling issues and that running away had nothing to do with cold feet. She`s asking for some understanding and now we want some understanding. Can you give us Amy?

KEAN: I`ll tell you. I thought this was so lame because if, first of all, if the groom had done this, we would be crucifying him. I think a woman can really use the fragile, I`m emotional, I`m having issues. I don`t care. If she lied to the authorities, she should have to either do some time or pay for the trouble she caused.

SCOTT: Don`t we have more dangerous criminals we should put in prison? T

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: We need the money to catch those dangerous people.

NICE: I don`t think she should go to prison. What I think is, she blamed two Spanish speaking people. For the next year, ever month some lucky Latinos get a wedding on her.

SCOTT: She`s got to do community service or something. (INAUDIBLE) something like that.

BRYANT: I want to move on to topic number three, very quickly. Dave Chappelle, the hero of Comedy Central, very funny man. His show is on hold indefinitely. He had a $50 million deal. Amy, what is going on? The show is on hold.

SCOTT: He`s missing in action. I think the last we heard he bought a bus ticket to Albuquerque. The big question is, where is this guy? Has he like imploded from too much comedy in his brain or something? I know he`s got a book deal and he`s also got a movie deal.

HAMMER: What do you think about the notion of writer`s block Chuck?

NICE: That could be, but I think he already worked on the show and then he looked at it and said, this is not nearly offensive enough so back to the drawing board.

HAMMER: Seriously, he holds himself to a very high standard, doesn`t he?

NICE: He does.

KEAN: It`s usually about money. When these issues come up and somebody has (INAUDIBLE) the flu for a few weeks and doesn`t show up, it`s usually about money.

NICE: How much more can they give him?

HAMMER: Fifty million bucks. Happy Cinco de Mayo, Amy, Amy and Chuck. Thanks for stopping by on the buzz bench tonight. But now, it is time to get your laugh on with laughter dark. As we do every night, bringing you the late night laughs you might have missed.

BRYANT: Well we know about the allegations against Paula Abdul, but didn`t realize the extent of the late show with David Letterman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW": I am feeling pretty good about tonight`s show. I think it is going to be a wonderful show because I have been getting special back-stage coaching from Paula Abdul. It turns out one of the judges on the show, Paula Abdul they say, was having like a sexual relationship with this contestant named Corey Clark. Corey Clark and he said that the relationship started out as a friendship and then it became sexual. And, you know, the same thing happened with me and Regis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: I didn`t know that. Tonight, Dave`s guest is actor Luke Wilson.

BRYANT: It is country time. We have the world premier of Alan Jackson`s new music video next.

HAMMER: And still some time for you to sound off in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. IDOL expose. Should Paula be fired? Vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight or e-mail us what`s on your mind, showbiztonight@cnn.com is the address. Some of your thoughts live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Tonight, Hollywood goes south Georgia style.

BRYANT: It`s a monstrous gathering of celebrities in Atlanta for the "Monster-in-Law" east coast premier. All the film stars were there. Even Jane Fonda`s ex-husband Ted Turner strolled in.

HAMMER: Now we couldn`t help but ask Wanda Sykes how working on the movie made her paranoid. And J. Lo get slapped around a little bit in this film, so we had to ask J. Lo about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER LOPEZ, PLAYS CHARLIE: Jane is a bit of a method actress and there was a chance that I could have got real hurt, but I begged her to not hurt me. I have like a bruise over here and Jane had a bruise up on her eye, remember?

WANDA SYKES, PLAYS RUBY: I thought I was being pumped. I was looking for Ashton Kutcher. (INAUDIBLE) to working with Jane Fonda. So I was looking for Ashton. I really thought I was being pumped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: I believe she called him Ashton Kutcher. Jane Fonda makes her comeback of course to the big screen for the first time in over a decade. She plays a recently fired news anchor who is set on ruining the relationship between her son and new fianc'e played by Jennifer Lopez. "Monster-in-Law" hits theaters on May 13th.

BRYANT: It is time for a world premier in tonight`s showbiz showcase. We`ve got your very first look at country star Alan Jackson`s brand new music video.

HAMMER: It is called "Talking Song Repair Blues" and it features Anthony Clark and Mike O`Malley from CBS` "Yes, Dear." Take a look.

BRYANT: "Talking Song Repair Blues" is on Alan Jackson`s "What Did I do?" album and it is in stores now.

HAMMER: Well, of course, we have been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. IDOL expose, should Paula be fired? Thousands of you voting tonight, 29 percent of you saying, yes, Paula should be fired, to 71 percent of you said, no, she should not be fired.

We`ve gotten some e-mails on the question too. One from Donna in Ashmore, Illinois which says, what Paula does with her personal life is nobody`s business. I`m a solid fan of AMERICAN IDOL and she should not be fired. We also heard from Jay who is in.

BRYANT: Escondido, California.

HAMMER: . who wrote, Paula should be fired because an innocent woman does not call her accuser and tell him to keep quiet. We also heard from Bernadine in Queens, New York who had something to say. This whole "American Idol" controversy with Paula is a big lie. Corey is using Paula for publicity for his new single. You can continue to vote if you got something to tell us, cnn.com/showbiztonight is where you go.

BRYANT: Well, it is time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. It`s going to be a good one AJ.

HAMMER: And to do that, we have to look at the "showbiz marquee" with our marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: Teen supreme. It`s teen people`s 25 hottest stars under 25. No teeny tiny stars here, only big, big names. Who will they be? Find out tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Well, (INAUDIBLE) not sure who`s going to be your girl. Truth be told, I`ve got my own jet. Jet Li and Morgan Freeman live and unleashed. It`s their new action-packed movie. Hey, when you`re a jet, you`re a jet all the way to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. This is the marquee guy with a question. If Jet flew the red eye, would that make him a jet eye (ph)?

HAMMER: I`m officially a doofus.

BRYANT: It looks good. It matches your shirt.

HAMMER: We only have a few more seconds.

BRYANT: Happy Cinco de Mayo.

HAMMER: . "Revenge of the Sith" ends.

BRYANT: I can`t tell you. It ends brilliantly.

HAMMER: That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT which also ends brilliantly. I`m AJ Hammer.

BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN headline news." Happy Cinco de Mayo.

END


Aired May 5, 2005 - 19:00:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Fall-out from the "Idol" expose.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And the runaway bride speaks out. I`m Karyn Bryant.

HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

BRYANT: "Fallen Idol" fall-out. Corey sings like a canary. Now what? What the show has to say, and the big looming question: How will Paula be judged?

HAMMER: Odd "Idols" out. How Corey`s confession is playing with other finalists who had their eye on the prize. We`re live with three former "Idol" contestants.

BRYANT: Cold feet, hot story. The runaway bride speaks out for the first time since she hopped on the bus.

HAMMER: Heaven`s gatekeeper. The director of the epic "Kingdom of Heaven" is here, Sir Ridley Scott live in the "SHOWBIZ Sitdown."

BRYANT: Hooray for "La La Wood." Jiminy Glick on the red carpet, and we roll out the carpet for the real Jiminy, Martin Short live on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN SHORT, "JIMINY GLICK": I`m Jiminy Glick. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer, and you are at the top of the show.

BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. We are live with you from Headline Prime studios in New York City for the next hour.

HAMMER: Is "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul now a "Fallen Idol"? Former Idol contestant Corey Clark was back on TV today, just a few hours after making shocking charges on an ABC "Primetime" special that Abdul was not only his judge, but his lover, too.

BRYANT: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is all over this story, and in just a few moments, we`ll talk live coast to coast with three former "American Idol" contestants, two of whom competed against Corey Clark.

HAMMER: But first, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer is here with all the fall-out.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Boy, the buzz continues, A.J. and Karyn. At this point, it doesn`t look like Corey Clark`s allegations have seriously hurt "American Idol," but they do have people wondering if Paula Abdul should keep her job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COREY CLARK, FORMER "AMERICAN IDOL" CONTESTANT: I don`t have any intention of helping "American Idol" out. You know, they made it very hard for me, as a matter of fact, to do what I`m doing.

HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Corey Clark came out swinging today on "Good Morning America." The former "American Idol" contestant is speaking out about his experience on the show and the secret relationship he claims he had with judge Paula Abdul.

CLARK: Well, they`re going to do what they usually do with it, and spin it and twist it up. And you know, that`s all -- that`s all I can really expect from them because that`s all they`ve ever done.

HAFFENREFFER: The "GMA" interview is the second time Clark is giving his side of the story. ABC`s "Primetime Live" dedicated an hour to him last night, and it paid off in the ratings. Nearly 14 million viewers watched, helping ABC win its time slot against "CSI New York" on CBS and "Law and Order" on NBC. Its impact may extend beyond just ratings.

ANDREW WALLENSTEIN, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": In the long term, I think "American Idol" owes it to its viewers to explain what, exactly, the judge`s responsibilities are towards the show. As for Paula Abdul, I wonder whether that spells the end of her involvement in the show.

HAFFENREFFER: As for the ABC special, Corey Clark described how Abdul coached him and even became sexually intimate with him as he made his way up the "American Idol" ladder.

CLARK: She`s letting me know all the ins and outs of the show, what to do and what not to do, who to talk to, who not to talk to you, you know?

JOHN QUINONES, "PRIMETIME LIVE": Did she offer to help you on "American Idol"?

CLARK: Oh, of course.

HAFFENREFFER: Things escalated, he said, when Abdul bought him a cell phone so they could have private conversations.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PAULA ABDUL, "AMERICAN IDOL" JUDGE": Hi. It`s Paula. Call me back. Listen, if the press is trying to talk to you, you say absolutely nothing.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HAFFENREFFER: Clark said it wasn`t long before he was spending nights at Abdul`s Hollywood hills home.

QUINONES: And how many times did you come up here?

CLARK: I can`t even count. It was multiple times.

HAFFENREFFER: Clark reached the "American Idol" finals in 2003 but was thrown off for failing to reveal a past arrest. In a statement today, "American Idol" say, quote, "We have concerns about the motives behind last night`s purported news special, as much of it was filled with rumor, speculation and assertions from a disqualified contestant who admitted during the special to telling lies."

(on camera): So there are two million-dollar questions today. Can Paula Abdul survive this, or will she be fired? And will the expose hurt the show? It certainly didn`t hurt "American Idol" last night.

(voice-over): More than 20 million people tuned in to see Scott Savol eliminated from the competition, but that`s not before the contestants sang a heartfelt rendition of Simon and Garfunkel`s "Bridge Over Troubled Waters." Paula also got flowers from the contestants but made no mention of last night`s special. While Paula got a show of support last night, the question is, How long will it last? And will she keep her job?

WALLENSTEIN: I would be surprised to see Paula Abdul on "American Idol" next season.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAFFENREFFER: All right, now, calls to Paula Abdul`s attorney, Marty Singer, were not returned today. Corey Clark`s first single, "Wiggle and Shake," will be released on May 21 -- Karyn.

BRYANT: All right. Thanks very much, David Haffenreffer.

Let`s continue our fallow-up on the fall-out over the "American Idol" expose. It`s tonight`s "SHOWBIZ In Depth," live, something you`re going to see only here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ve gathered together a group of former "American Idol" contestants to get their view on all this. From Corey Clark`s season, which was season 2, Carmen Rasmusen, who joins us live in our studios here in New York, Trenyce, who is joining us from Hollywood, and Jasmine Trias. A contestant on the third season of "American Idol" joins us from Dallas.

Ladies, thanks for joining us here. Now, you`ve all seen the special, I know. First and foremost, what are your thoughts? Carmen, I want to start with you.

CARMEN RASMUSEN, FORMER "IDOL" CONTESTANT: Well, you know what? I think the story as a whole does not ring true. There are too many holes in this story. I was in the studio with Corey Clark today, and "The Globe" did an article on Corey and talked about how he said that Paula did drugs and used alcohol. And today on the show, he retracted that statement. He denied it. And you know, that has already caused so much harm, it`s already done so much damage, and I think that Corey is now telling half- truths and trying to dig his way out of some traps that he set for himself.

BRYANT: Trenyce, go ahead.

TRENYCE, FORMER "IDOL" CONTESTANT: Wow. I think that that really doesn`t have anything to go do with anything. I think that everyone should pretty much take a look at the evidence. It wouldn`t matter to me if it was Corey, Paula, Carmen, me, anybody. I think that the evidence kind of rings true to what happened, and I think that the truth will prevail. It always does. And I`m not on anyone`s side. I`m more of a facts and figures person.

BRYANT: Now, Jasmine, do you believe the facts that Corey, you know, gave on the program last night, on "Primetime Live," that, you know, Paula gave him money and preferential treatment and telephone calls and, you know, all of that? Do you believe it.

JASMINE TRIAS, FORMER "IDOL" CONTESTANT: I honestly don`t believe anything, all of the allegations, because, I mean, this happened two years ago, and it`s such a coincidence that he has an album coming out. So I mean, it could be a publicity stunt. And I mean, you know, guys talk, and liars hesitate, so it`s been two years, and I don`t see why it wasn`t brought up sooner.

So it`s just so happened that he has an album coming out and all of this craziness is happening. So I honestly don`t believe it. And you know, Paula has been so supportive. I -- you know, it`s such a shame to see all of this because, you know, Paula is such a supportive judge. She`s one of the most supportive judges, and she`s the sweetest. And you know, it`s a shame to see this happening to her and just to the show as a whole because "American Idol" is there to give us opportunities...

BRYANT: OK.

TRIAS: ... to give, you know...

BRYANT: Now, Carmen, yes, I want to pipe in on that. Do you feel that the judges are equally helpful to everybody? You were actually in the same season as Corey.

RASMUSEN: Yes. Yes, I was. I definitely think that the judges have been completely fair throughout this whole thing. They told me -- they gave me comments about what songs I should sing and clothes I should wear, as well.

BRYANT: So you don`t feel cheated if these allegations are true?

RASMUSEN: No, not at all. In fact, it didn`t even end up helping Corey in the long run.

BRYANT: Right.

RASMUSEN: He only made it to the top nine.

BRYANT: Trenyce, do you feel cheated, if this is all true?

TRENYCE: I feel like that people that could have been in his spot were more cheated, if the allegations are true. I think that -- I mean, at any given time, it`s just -- it`s just not fair for a judge and a contestant to be talking as long as they were talking. The fact that he was -- she was calling the parents and friends and had taken him out -- I mean, we didn`t get that special treatment. None of us were able to communicate with the judges in that manner, and it just seems really, really odd to me.

And on top of that, I would like to say that regardless of whether it`s been two years or ten years, it takes a long time to get a monkey off of your back. And after so long, it comes to a point where that energy needs to be channeled some way, somehow. So if he decided two years later to talk about it, then so what? I mean, there are things that I would like to talk about that happened on the show, as well, and I...

BRYANT: Go ahead!

(LAUGHTER)

TRENYCE: Well, I`m just saying, I may not be able to talk about it six months from now, a month from now. That has no merit. It`s whether it is the truth. And if it`s the truth, then it needs to be heard. If not, then he would owe her an apology. Period.

BRYANT: Well, Jasmine, here`s the thing. You say that Paula is a very supportive judge, but I mean, this is pretty damaging. Whether or not these allegations are true, she`s kind of hurt. What would you suggest that she does to come out from underneath this?

TRIAS: I think she should just come out and defend herself. I mean, all these allegations have been made against her, and it`s a shame because, you know, she`s not there to defend herself. She hasn`t come out to talk about it. So until then, I don`t think we`ll know if it`s true or not or decide, you know, on a -- you know, on the real truth.

BRYANT: Now, Carmen...

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: oh, go ahead, Trenyce.

TRENYCE: Well, doesn`t it seem very odd that she didn`t say, No, this isn`t true? She just said she wouldn`t dignify it with an answer. I mean, it`s your integrity, it`s your credibility, you know, that`s on the line.

TRIAS: Right. Well, maybe she just -- you know, she`s -- as you said, it takes a while to get a monkey off your back, so maybe it`s just taking her time.

TRENYCE: What monkey is on Paula`s back?

BRYANT: Carmen, you wanted...

TRIAS: This thing!

BRYANT: ... to add something?

TRIAS: This thing, right?

RASMUSEN: Well, I think that -- regardless of whether or not this is true, I think Paula Abdul does need to come out and say her side of the story...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.

RASMUSEN: ... and say exactly what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agree.

RASMUSEN: And I think that -- as Trenyce said, the truth will prevail, but I don`t think that this will end up hurting Paula Abdul in the future. I think that if she`s honest, that America will love her and accept her and she`ll continue to be a judge on "American Idol".

BRYANT: Now, you are three attractive young ladies. Did you ever feel any sort of advancements from the men on the show?

RASMUSEN: I definitely never did.

TRENYCE: The judges?

TRIAS: No.

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: Yes, from the male judges, you know?

RASMUSEN: No, not at all.

TRENYCE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We weren`t really around them.

BRYANT: OK, yes, behind the scenes, that`s one thing we wanted to know. If maybe you can tell me this, Jasmine, quickly...

TRIAS: Yes?

BRYANT: Do you have a lot of interaction with the judges when you`re not performing?

TRIAS: No, we honestly don`t. The only time we see the judges are on the Tuesday and Wednesday night show, for that hour or half-hour. That`s the only time. So I really don`t know how...

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: Go ahead, Trenyce.

TRENYCE: Oh, it just raises the question of how did -- how was he able to get to her house then? We weren`t invited to her house, ever, her house.

RASMUSEN: Exactly.

TRENYCE: I was Paula`s pick, and I`ve never been to her house.

(CROSSTALK)

RASMUSEN: We were under such tight security this entire time. We had security guards around us, at the mansion, all the time. So it was really shocking how he could have gotten away without one of us or a security guard knowing.

TRIAS: Exactly.

BRYANT: OK, well, ladies, we`re going to have to end it there, but I want to thank you all for joining us, Carmen, Trenyce and Jasmine.

And now we want to know your thoughts at home. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. "Idol" expose: Should Paula be fired? You can vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or if you want to tell us more, e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say later in the show.

HAMMER: And now to a made-for-TV story. The star of the real-life runaway bride drama made her very first statement late today, claiming she didn`t have cold feet, but she didn`t really explain exactly why she bailed out of her wedding. The Georgia woman who hopped a bus for New Mexico a few days before she was supposed to get married is still a very hot topic on TV and even among the stars. It`s a story that still has everyone watching and wondering.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REV. TOM SMILEY, FAMILY MINISTER: "I was simply running away from myself and certain fears controlling my life."

HAMMER (voice-over): The runaway bride is finally telling her side of the story, sort of. At a Georgia press conference that dominated cable news coverage this afternoon...

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We are very curious whether we`re going to get a statement from Jennifer Wilbanks.

HAMMER: ... Jennifer Wilbanks apologized for her pre-wedding day disappearance in a statement read by her family`s minister.

SMILEY: "I am sorry for the troubles I caused, and I offer my deep and sincere apology."

HAMMER: The whole runaway bride story is providing the kind of irony you can only find in the 24-hour news universe. As you know, Jennifer Wilbanks didn`t show up at her wedding. But now her lawyer is showing up everywhere, sometimes at the same time.

DIANE SAWYER, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": We turn now to her attorney, Lydia Sartain.

HAMMER: This morning at roughly 7:15 AM Eastern time, Lydia Sartain was talking to Diane Sawyer on ABC`s "Good Morning America"...

LYDIA SARTAIN, JENNIFER WILBANKS`S ATTORNEY: It wasn`t the wedding that drove her away, but that was just one of many, many things that were going on with her.

HAMMER: ... Katie Couric on NBC`s "Today"...

SARTAIN: It was not the wedding itself that she was afraid of, but just a combination -- a combination of a lot of things.

HAMMER: ... Hannah Storm on CBS`s "Early Show"...

SARTAIN: I do not believe she`s committed a crime in Gwinnett County.

HAMMER: -- and Soledad O`Brien on CNN`s "American Morning"...

SARTAIN: I do not believe that she committed a crime in Georgia or in Gwinnett County.

HAMMER: ... all at the same time. How is that done? You see, only the "Today" show appearance was live. The rest were Memorexed -- taped interviews done earlier in the morning. With all that TV coverage and the front cover of "People" magazine, it`s no wonder the runaway bride is a runaway favorite topic of discussion among celebrities. At the Candie Foundation benefit to prevent teen pregnancy in New York City, the stars talked to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about the story.

JEWEL: It`s flaky. I`m not a big fan of the runaway bride. You`re going to ditch a guy, that`s sketchy, at best, but if you`re going to ditch a guy and then let him think that you`ve been murdered...

TONY DANZA, "THE TONY DANZA SHOW": I`m really worried about that girl because she didn`t have one person she could confide in. How about Mom? How about a friend, a cousin, somebody?

ASHLEE SIMPSON, SINGER: I heard about the runaway bride, but I haven`t been following it because I`ve been on tour and, like, you know, all over the place, but it`s a little crazy.

HAMMER: And when actress Camryn Manheim dropped by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, she couldn`t resist a runaway riff.

CAMRYN MANHEIM, ACTRESS: She`s going to make a zillion dollars on the movie of the week.

HAMMER: We`ll have to wait for the TV movie of the week. But for now, the runaway bride remains the TV story of the week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

A couple of days ago, we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT made some casting suggestions for the inevitable movie that will take place on this whole thing. Well, we suggested that Phoebe Cates should play the part of Jennifer Wilbanks and Jerry O`Connell should play John Mason. Our friends over at "Entertainment Weekly" magazine have their own ideas. In the new issue of "EW," they pick Jennifer Love Hewitt to play the part of the runaway bride, and for the jilted groom, they pick Steve Zahn. Inspired casting, indeed. The new issue of "EW" will hit stands tomorrow.

BRYANT: Well, he has directed at least one of your favorite movies, I guarantee you. Now Sir Ridley Scott has his sights set on the epic "Kingdom of Heaven." He joins us live in the "SHOWBIZ Sitdown." That is coming up.

HAMMER: Now tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." And the runaway bride may want to pay attention to this. How did Jack, played by actor Ron Livingston, break up with Carrie on "Sex and the City," by e-mail, fax, on a Post-It or in a birthday card? We`re coming right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back. My little prop is not staying here. It was kind of a hint. Once again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." How did Jack, played by actor Ron Livingston, break up with Carrie on "Sex and the City," by e-mail, fax, on a Post-It or in a birthday card? Guess what? The answer is C, on a Post-It. And it said, "I`m sorry, I can`t. Don`t hate me."

BRYANT: Now, in tonight`s first "SHOWBIZ Sitdown," Sir Ridley Scott. He has directed some of the biggest films in Hollywood history: "Alien," "Blade Runner," "Hannibal," "Gladiator," "Blackhawk Down," "Thelma and Louise." Those are just a few of them. The list does go on, believe me. Now, Sir Ridley Scott is here live with us to talk about his new epic film, "Kingdom of Heaven," which opens tomorrow.

Thank you for coming. I know you`ve been -- you`ve been busy working the circuit, but...

SIR RIDLEY SCOTT, DIRECTOR, "KINGDOM OF HEAVEN": Thank you for asking me.

BRYANT: Thank you. I want to first and foremost ask how do you orchestrate these gigantic scenes? You -- the amount of extras, the horses, the actors -- how do you even approach that?

SCOTT: A lot of experience and a great team. You know, any film like this requires a very carefully hand-picked team, and (INAUDIBLE) carry units but top busiest, about 800 personnel.

BRYANT: Wow!

SCOTT: Yes.

BRYANT: Wow! And I -- I mean, I thought at first that, you know, you should map everything out very specifically, but then I would think there would just be a certain amount of mayhem that would happen with horses and all of these things, no? Is it very meticulous?

SCOTT: You can`t have mayhem. That`s how you have terrible accidents. So every stunt in here is very carefully thought out. And consequently, throughout the whole (INAUDIBLE) of this kind of movie, we had no accidents at all.

BRYANT: Wow. Especially, too, when you see the horse scenes. That`s one of the things that...

SCOTT: Yes.

BRYANT: ... I worried the most for the actors` sake and for the sake of the animals.

SCOTT: Yes. You know, it`s part of the director`s job, too, if you`re watching the development of a big scene, that you keep -- I always keep my eye on the safety. And I think -- and you work with intuition. So sometimes, I intuitively say, I don`t like this. Let`s re-discuss this. Slow down. Back down. Let`s talk it through again before we do it, because you can have someone get really hurt very easily.

BRYANT: Are you nervous at all about the idea of doing a film about Muslims and Christians in this day and age, in this time?

SCOTT: Put it this way. I`ve made three big movies in Morocco in the last five years. I made a third of "Gladiator," all of "Blackhawk Down" in Rabat and about 60 percent of this movie there, where I would have 1,700 for breakfast and 1,000 in the movie, Muslims. So some of them are really great friends of mine.

BRYANT: Very nice.

SCOTT: No problem.

BRYANT: Not at all? Well, just because, you know, the political climate right now...

SCOTT: Yes, but -- you know, I never thought about it when I was there. And I don`t think -- this film wasn`t constructed or designed because of what was happening in the Middle East. I think it just was one of my passions to actually do this particular kind of subject, this particular subject. And therefore, I waited for the right writer, which was Bill Monahan, to come along. And out of that, we started. The genesis of this goes back, actually, shortly after "Blackhawk Down." So where we are today in terms of the screenplay, which is -- the film comes out tomorrow, is -- of course, there`s relevance. There`s bound to be. But also, I think you can just enjoy it on a great, historic epic, and at the end of it, you can come out with a little bit of or a lot of relevance to today.

BRYANT: OK. Well, we`re going to talk some more with Sir Ridley Scott in just a moment.

And a little later: As Jiminy Glick, he has the outside scoop on Hollywood. Martin Short joins us live in another "SHOWBIZ Sitdown," coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We are continuing our "Sitdown" with Sir Ridley Scott. And as I mentioned before, you have done so many terrific movies. I want to do a little word association on some of your classics. "Blade Runner." What comes to mind for you?

SCOTT: Spinner. That`s a car. That`s those cars that go down the streets.

BRYANT: OK.

SCOTT: That`s what came to my head.

BRYANT: OK. That`s fine. We`re working with anything here. "Thelma and Louise."

SCOTT: Two of them shaking hands. They said good-bye. They said, Let`s continue the journey.

BRYANT: Oh, right. OK. And I do want to -- for all the ladies, so thank you for the shirtless Brad Pitt scene.

SCOTT: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

BRYANT: That was terrific. "Hannibal."

SCOTT: An opera, a beautiful opera aria.

BRYANT: "Gladiator."

SCOTT: Russell Crowe reaching for a handle (ph) when he`s dying in the arena.

BRYANT: (INAUDIBLE) imagery. Well, Sir Ridley Scott, you are terrific, and I thank you for joining us here.

Of course, "Kingdom of Heaven" opens tomorrow. It is an epic. It is gigantic. And again, thank you for joining us here -- A.J.

HAMMER: Well, of course, Karyn, we here take entertainment news very seriously at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. But when it comes to getting the scoop, we got to give it up to Jiminy Glick. If you haven`t seen Martin Short`s alter ego, prepare yourself. He comes -- he`s coming up shortly.

Plus, we have a huge renewal deal to talk about with Dave Chappelle. It`s on the "Buzz Bench" tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRYANT: Special showbiz short -- Martin Short live. We`re jumping jiminy for Jiminy Glick.

HAMMER: And a monster premier tonight for "Monster-in-Law." heading south with the stars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK EYED PEAS: What`s up, y`all? (INAUDIBLE) We`re the Blacked Eyed Peas. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m AJ Hammer.

BRYANT: And I`m Karyn Bryant. Here are tonight`s hot headlines. No cold feet. Shown by all the news networks live, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks in a statement read by her pastor says she didn`t get cold feet. She says she`s sorry for the trouble she caused and is getting professional treatment. Also today, her lawyer told CNN that Wilbanks will make amends for the money and time spent searching for her. She disappeared on April 26th, just days before her wedding.

HAMMER: Well, it`s the day after primetime live`s AMERICAN IDOL expose. This morning, former contestant Corey Clark spoke out again on GOOD MORNING AMERICA about the secretive relationship that he claims he had with IDOL judge Paula Abdul. In a statement released today, IDOL says, it has concerns about Clark`s motives. We called Paula Abdul`s attorney but he didn`t get back to us.

BRYANT: And AMERICAN IDOL is the focus of our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. IDOL expose, should Paula be fired? Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight and send us your e-mails at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll share some of what you had to say at 55 past the hour.

HAMMER: It`s time now for another showbiz sit down. This time it`s with Martin Short, a man of many faces. "Saturday Night Live`s" lovable misfit Ed Grimly and Amigo in "Three Amigos" and currently clueless talk show host Jiminy Glick in Comedy`s Central "Primetime Glick." He is (INAUDIBLE) to the big screen this weekend and tonight, we are happy to have with us the biggest butt from Butte, Montana, check that, the guy who created the biggest butt from Butte, Montana, Martin Short. Welcome to the program. I don`t want to insult you so early in the interview here.

MARTIN SHORT, JIMINY GLICK IN LA LA WOOD: It seems wrong, what have I done?

HAMMER: It`s nice to see you. It`s been a while.

SHORT: Thank you very much, nice to see you, if I could see you.

HAMMER: I`ll just improvise with the voice. I want to talk about the voice of Jiminy Glick in just a moment. But, first, there may be a couple of people - just a few, who maybe haven`t seen Jiminy Glick. So could you kind of fill us in on what this guy`s all about, because entertainment is our world here, but he kind of digs in on all that.

SHORT: Well, Jiminy is -- he`s from Butte, Montana and he`s not -- I think of him just as a moron with power and he is someone who has his own show, an influence in Hollywood, not terribly informed.

HAMMER: Well, we`re going to check.

SHORT: He once asked Mel Brooks, what is your big beef with the Nazis? That`s where he goes.

HAMMER: OK. We`ll we`re going to see a little more of where he goes. In fact in this scene from the movie coming out this weekend, "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood," he`s involved in a very focused and intense interview with Kurt Russell. Let`s take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHORT: You work, you work -- you work.

KURT RUSSELL: I can`t help you.

SHORT: Elvis.

RUSSELL: Yes.

SHORT: Tell me about Elvis Presley. I love Elvis! Tell me about him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Now a lot of people who may have seen you actually as yourself on Larry David`s HBO program, saw him trying to understand how you did the voice, you start up high and then go down real low. Can you coach me a little bit on that because I wasn`t able to pick it up.

SHORT: You know, there was a guy when I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and there was a guy who used to say that all the kids if they stayed off his lawn for a whole year they could get to the movies. He would pay for them to go to the movies. And he`d say, please, stay off my lawn because I just seeded it. So, it`s, please stay off my lawn, because I just seeded it. Start up here and go down low.

HAMMER: I`m not even going to try that again, I`m sorry about that. And as we just say, you do have or Jiminy has a very specific interviewing style and the brand new "Entertainment Weekly," which is coming out tomorrow, features Jiminy`s 13 tips to super interviewing and I was wondering if I could over a couple of them with you right now.

SHORT: Sure.

HAMMER: Number two on the list is remember, bathing is for suckers. So personal hygiene not that important?

SHORT: I think that Jiminy feels that a sponge bath at the beginning of each month is plenty.

HAMMER: That`s sufficient, OK. Number six on your list, never trust a Baldwin. I don`t think we need to elaborate on that one, so we`ll move on to number nine. Force them to make a stand. When I asked Paris Hilton if Eskimo pies were exploitative, she seemed thrown. What happened with Paris Hilton?

SHORT: Paris Hilton is a wonderful spirit and I think that she`s here to stay or certainly until tomorrow.

HAMMER: Well, of course, the runaway bride is making all the headlines right now and I imagine everyone is going after the get right now. Katie Couric is trying to get her, Diane Sawyer,, but if Jiminy Glick was able to get Jennifer Wilbanks, how would that interview go? Can you give us sort of an idea of what you might ask?

SHORT: What are your eyes like so crazy. Everybody wants to know about the eyes. She is - listen, she got scared. She shouldn`t have involved other people. We know this.

HAMMER: OK. Well, we want to ask you about --

SHORT: Is she going to be indicted?

HAMMER: We`re still waiting to hear. But it will be in the TV movie of the week when that finally comes out.

SHORT: Well, I hope they get married and stay happily ever after.

HAMMER: Jiminy Glick is going to be doing some guest interviewing on the Larry King program tonight. In fact, among the people he`ll be talking to, apparently prime time (INAUDIBLE) own Nancy Grace. Do you have a sense of what he may ask Nancy tonight on the program?

SHORT: I don`t know. It`s hard to know where Jiminy will go. He`s going to talk to Bill Maher. He`s going to talk to --

HAMMER: To Larry.

SHORT: Larry and Shawn King. It`s jam-packed. Anderson Cooper is showing up to talk to jiminy. Who`s to say. As you know, he`s just one of the people that dwell within me that rent free.

HAMMER: Well, the (INAUDIBLE) is a lot of fun. The movie`s great fun as well. Do you see yourself retiring the character? I`ve read somewhere that that might be happening or do you it becoming perhaps our own franchise, like your own Austin Powers?

SHORT: No, no, I think that, I think these characters are fun to do. But I think Jiminy will end up in that wonderful retirement home in New Jersey for all these characters and the wild and crazy guys are there, Ed Grimley. They`re all there, having fun.

HAMMER: Martin, we will be looking for Jiminy Glick filling in for part of Larry King tonight. We appreciate you joining us on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

SHORT: My pleasure.

HAMMER: All right. And of course, "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood" opens up on Friday.

BRYANT: They have been talking all day and we`ve been listening. Now, as we do every night on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the best from today`s talk shows. On the Ellen Degeneres show, actor Brendan Fraser gets a little jiggy with it and is finally bowled over by Ellen`s mystery word of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN DEGENERES, COMEDIAN: All right, the mystery words today that I have to get him to say are shaving cream. All right. I`m dying asking what he`s listening to back there. Do you do electric shaver or no?

BRENDAN FRASER, ACTOR: Sometimes electric and sometimes I use Gillette. I put shaving cream --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Good stuff. Tomorrow on Ellen, it`s a mother`s day special with Paris Hilton, Mekhi Phifer, and their mothers.

HAMMER: To say our own Karyn Bryant is a "Star Wars" fan would be a bit of an understatement.

BRYANT: Yes, it would.

HAMMER: Is this how we`re going to do this? We have the time to do this now?

BRYANT: I hope so.

HAMMER: Right before the program tonight Karyn went to an advanced screening of "Star Wars" at the huge Ziegfield Theater here in New York City.

BRYANT: It was amazing. This movie is -- it`s beautiful to look at first and foremost. Just the actual physical print of this movie is gorgeous.

HAMMER: Was this the digital run?

BRYANT: Yes. It`s stunning. The graphics, I mean the animation, amazing. The story line is great. Hayden Christensen I think has really gotten quite good at the role of Anakin. When he turns to the dark side, AJ, you just, it`s like oh, he`s going. Oh, he`s going to the dark side, but he has his reasons that have to deal with his heart and you kind of get that. But the action is great. The amazing thing is whoever comes up with these ideas for the weapons and the machinery, the ships and stuff, genius. It`s just, it`s great.

HAMMER: Did you see all the hard-core fans hanging out outside?

BRYANT: Did I see it? Yes. I saw the people sitting there and waiting in line.

HAMMER: Was it goofy or was it cool?

BRYANT: It was cool. I`ve been to the midnight shows. I`ve waited online. It`s goofy, but to be down with it, it`s fine. It`s great. It`s going to be gigantic.

HAMMER: Don`t tell me any more.

There`s a serious subject we have to address. Will the force be with Paula Abdul? Jaw dropping, finger pointing. We point to our buzz bench to find out what`s next for the IDOL judge.

BRYANT: And two TV stars go country. A world premier "showbiz showcase."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Yes, we`re listening to Bon Jovi`s "Runaway" right now. That song came out more than 20 years ago.

BRYANT: That can`t be true.

HAMMER: I thought it was like `87. I could wrong. It sounds like it was written for today though however with everything that`s going on.

BRYANT: Sure. Napster has jumped on the runaway bride bandwagon. Starting tomorrow, the digital music service will offer up a cold feet compilation, 25 songs in all. Here`s a few of our favorite picks. Besides "Runaway," there`s Journey, who I love, their song "Separate Ways." It`s got Hall and Oates "She`s Gone," "Bye Bye Bye" by `N Sync and the (INAUDIBLE) "Suspicious Minds."

HAMMER: Well, we have a few of our own suspicious minds here on the buzz bench. It is time to get rolling. And tonight of course, we have to talk about Paula`s primetime counting, a runaway apology and a Chappelle no show.

BRYANT: Joining us on the "Buzz Bench," VH1 classic host Amy Scott, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT contributor Amy Kean and comedian and radio personality Chuck Nice. Topic one, Chuck, during our "showbiz in-depth" earlier, we talked about "American Idol", the expose that was on last night, where contestant two, season two contestant Corey Clark said he had a relationship with Paula, got special treatment, cell phones, money, and that they had a sexual relationship. It`s a little nutty. It`s the downfall of Paula Abdul, possibly. Is she the fallen idol?

CHUCK NICE, COMEDIAN/RADIO PERSONALITY: It looks like Paula might be taking it on this one. It`s a shame, but it`s worth it. I can understand why she did it. He`s so handsome and so talented and so very, very articulate. I can understand her falling hard for a guy like this. But none of the accusations are actually confirmed, but if it is true, then both of them should take up residence in a bra because they`re the two biggest boobs in the country as far as I`m concerned.

AMY KEAN, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CONTRIBUTOR: You know what was convincing I was surprised that the actual tapes, they were definitely her voice, but at the same time, just like I said before. Who cares if she slept with many of them? It doesn`t matter because the public still chooses.

NICE: They`ve got her sleeping with the whole staff now, the whole cast.

AMY SCOTT, VH1: She`s got an influence. She`s obviously, coaching him and that`s not fair.

BRYANT: . the idea that, what a judge says people vote on what the judge says.

KEAN: At the same time, they pulled out. They were very kind of sleazy in a way. They pulled out a clip of her saying, how great he was. But she said that about so many of..

HAMMER: I thought that was a bit sensational, but the two -- his two friends, rather, now they were believable.

NICE: Well, the phone bills are credible.

SCOTT: I don`t understand why people didn`t see them. Weren`t they out shopping for CDs together?

HAMMER: Nobody has reported back. Apparently, they took the shot of the Sprint store where she allegedly got him a telephone hooked up. They didn`t go into the Sprint store and talk to anybody.

KEAN: You know what they should do? They should now let the public decide and vote if she should stay on "American Idol."

HAMMER: Exactly right. We`re going to take that idea and move on to topic number two, everybody, of course, also talking about the runaway bride. Today she spoke, kind of. Jennifer Wilbanks` pastor made a statement on her behalf and in her own words, not voiced by her, he said that she had quote, a host of compelling issues and that running away had nothing to do with cold feet. She`s asking for some understanding and now we want some understanding. Can you give us Amy?

KEAN: I`ll tell you. I thought this was so lame because if, first of all, if the groom had done this, we would be crucifying him. I think a woman can really use the fragile, I`m emotional, I`m having issues. I don`t care. If she lied to the authorities, she should have to either do some time or pay for the trouble she caused.

SCOTT: Don`t we have more dangerous criminals we should put in prison? T

(CROSSTALK)

BRYANT: We need the money to catch those dangerous people.

NICE: I don`t think she should go to prison. What I think is, she blamed two Spanish speaking people. For the next year, ever month some lucky Latinos get a wedding on her.

SCOTT: She`s got to do community service or something. (INAUDIBLE) something like that.

BRYANT: I want to move on to topic number three, very quickly. Dave Chappelle, the hero of Comedy Central, very funny man. His show is on hold indefinitely. He had a $50 million deal. Amy, what is going on? The show is on hold.

SCOTT: He`s missing in action. I think the last we heard he bought a bus ticket to Albuquerque. The big question is, where is this guy? Has he like imploded from too much comedy in his brain or something? I know he`s got a book deal and he`s also got a movie deal.

HAMMER: What do you think about the notion of writer`s block Chuck?

NICE: That could be, but I think he already worked on the show and then he looked at it and said, this is not nearly offensive enough so back to the drawing board.

HAMMER: Seriously, he holds himself to a very high standard, doesn`t he?

NICE: He does.

KEAN: It`s usually about money. When these issues come up and somebody has (INAUDIBLE) the flu for a few weeks and doesn`t show up, it`s usually about money.

NICE: How much more can they give him?

HAMMER: Fifty million bucks. Happy Cinco de Mayo, Amy, Amy and Chuck. Thanks for stopping by on the buzz bench tonight. But now, it is time to get your laugh on with laughter dark. As we do every night, bringing you the late night laughs you might have missed.

BRYANT: Well we know about the allegations against Paula Abdul, but didn`t realize the extent of the late show with David Letterman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW": I am feeling pretty good about tonight`s show. I think it is going to be a wonderful show because I have been getting special back-stage coaching from Paula Abdul. It turns out one of the judges on the show, Paula Abdul they say, was having like a sexual relationship with this contestant named Corey Clark. Corey Clark and he said that the relationship started out as a friendship and then it became sexual. And, you know, the same thing happened with me and Regis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: I didn`t know that. Tonight, Dave`s guest is actor Luke Wilson.

BRYANT: It is country time. We have the world premier of Alan Jackson`s new music video next.

HAMMER: And still some time for you to sound off in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. IDOL expose. Should Paula be fired? Vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight or e-mail us what`s on your mind, showbiztonight@cnn.com is the address. Some of your thoughts live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Tonight, Hollywood goes south Georgia style.

BRYANT: It`s a monstrous gathering of celebrities in Atlanta for the "Monster-in-Law" east coast premier. All the film stars were there. Even Jane Fonda`s ex-husband Ted Turner strolled in.

HAMMER: Now we couldn`t help but ask Wanda Sykes how working on the movie made her paranoid. And J. Lo get slapped around a little bit in this film, so we had to ask J. Lo about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER LOPEZ, PLAYS CHARLIE: Jane is a bit of a method actress and there was a chance that I could have got real hurt, but I begged her to not hurt me. I have like a bruise over here and Jane had a bruise up on her eye, remember?

WANDA SYKES, PLAYS RUBY: I thought I was being pumped. I was looking for Ashton Kutcher. (INAUDIBLE) to working with Jane Fonda. So I was looking for Ashton. I really thought I was being pumped.

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HAMMER: I believe she called him Ashton Kutcher. Jane Fonda makes her comeback of course to the big screen for the first time in over a decade. She plays a recently fired news anchor who is set on ruining the relationship between her son and new fianc'e played by Jennifer Lopez. "Monster-in-Law" hits theaters on May 13th.

BRYANT: It is time for a world premier in tonight`s showbiz showcase. We`ve got your very first look at country star Alan Jackson`s brand new music video.

HAMMER: It is called "Talking Song Repair Blues" and it features Anthony Clark and Mike O`Malley from CBS` "Yes, Dear." Take a look.

BRYANT: "Talking Song Repair Blues" is on Alan Jackson`s "What Did I do?" album and it is in stores now.

HAMMER: Well, of course, we have been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. IDOL expose, should Paula be fired? Thousands of you voting tonight, 29 percent of you saying, yes, Paula should be fired, to 71 percent of you said, no, she should not be fired.

We`ve gotten some e-mails on the question too. One from Donna in Ashmore, Illinois which says, what Paula does with her personal life is nobody`s business. I`m a solid fan of AMERICAN IDOL and she should not be fired. We also heard from Jay who is in.

BRYANT: Escondido, California.

HAMMER: . who wrote, Paula should be fired because an innocent woman does not call her accuser and tell him to keep quiet. We also heard from Bernadine in Queens, New York who had something to say. This whole "American Idol" controversy with Paula is a big lie. Corey is using Paula for publicity for his new single. You can continue to vote if you got something to tell us, cnn.com/showbiztonight is where you go.

BRYANT: Well, it is time to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. It`s going to be a good one AJ.

HAMMER: And to do that, we have to look at the "showbiz marquee" with our marquee guy.

ANNOUNCER: Teen supreme. It`s teen people`s 25 hottest stars under 25. No teeny tiny stars here, only big, big names. Who will they be? Find out tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Well, (INAUDIBLE) not sure who`s going to be your girl. Truth be told, I`ve got my own jet. Jet Li and Morgan Freeman live and unleashed. It`s their new action-packed movie. Hey, when you`re a jet, you`re a jet all the way to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. This is the marquee guy with a question. If Jet flew the red eye, would that make him a jet eye (ph)?

HAMMER: I`m officially a doofus.

BRYANT: It looks good. It matches your shirt.

HAMMER: We only have a few more seconds.

BRYANT: Happy Cinco de Mayo.

HAMMER: . "Revenge of the Sith" ends.

BRYANT: I can`t tell you. It ends brilliantly.

HAMMER: That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT which also ends brilliantly. I`m AJ Hammer.

BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN headline news." Happy Cinco de Mayo.

END