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Showbiz Tonight
Katrina Has Changed News Business; Holly Robinson Peete Discusses New Book, Sit-Com
Aired September 21, 2005 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: I`m A.J. Hammer.
KARYN BRYANT, CO-HOST: And I`m Karyn Bryant. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYANT (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, getting ready for Rita. Tonight, another potentially deadly hurricane aiming for the Gulf Coast, but is the media ready for this one? And how have devastating storms like Katrina brought sweeping change to the news business? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates.
HAMMER (voice-over): Also tonight, A-list stars and four-letter words.
BETTE MIDLER, ENTERTAINER: Go (expletive deleted) yourself.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is right there for the performances and politics as music`s biggest get together for a big Katrina relief concert.
BRYANT: And Moss gets tossed. Tonight, more big-name fashion companies tell Kate Moss to take a hike. Will snorting coke cause her career to go up in smoke? And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the tough question: even if they are doing illegal things, do celebrities have a right to privacy?
TONY SHALHOUB, ACTOR: Hi, I`m Tony Shalhoub. If it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: Tonight, a Category 5 hurricane is headed straight for the Gulf Coast. She goes by the name of Rita, and this one could be even bigger than Katrina.
BRYANT: Well, we have all been watching TV today as the drama builds, watching scenes of mass evacuations. It is a story being covered by a news industry that has been dramatically changed by Katrina.
Our David Haffenreffer is live tonight in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s been another busy day in the Gulf Coast, Karyn. It`s the second hurricane in a month targeting that region, and it`s impacting not only the weary citizens of the gulf, but the news media as a whole.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Hurricane Rita, now a Category 5 and growing stronger.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Hurricane Rita, which was Category 4, is now Category 5.
HAFFENREFFER: And last month`s Hurricane Katrina, the worst hurricane to hit the U.S., making this the most active hurricane season on record.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want help! We want help!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want help! We want help!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want help! We want help!
HAFFENREFFER: Breaking records and breaking America`s heart, because Katrina`s aftermath provided images that will not soon be forgotten.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can`t take this. We`ve been out here for three days.
HAFFENREFFER: Katrina, the storm that changed America and the news media.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST, "LIVE FROM": This is the outside of our bureau.
HAFFENREFFER: After Katrina, CNN decided to open its own bureau in New Orleans.
PHILLIPS: This is how we keep track of all of the various areas in New Orleans and where we have crews and what we`re covering.
HAFFENREFFER: But not only CNN, NBC and "The New York Times" have also set up shop in the area, because this is a story that needs to be reported for a long time to come.
PHILLIPS: We`ve made a commitment to stay rooted in New Orleans and cover all the stories until the city is back on its feet.
HAFFENREFFER: News stations, national and local, are funneling their resources to the gulf.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That story is going to need coverage for a long time, and to bring all of the resources that you can to cover it is entirely appropriate.
HAFFENREFFER: And it`s a good thing, too, as another massive hurricane, Rita, aims straight for the Gulf Coast.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is a Cat 5 now with maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour.
HAFFENREFFER: It`s a commitment being made not only by national media organizations, but local stations, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And what`s your name?
HARVEY JACKSON, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: Harvey Jackson.
HAFFENREFFER: It was the local reporters who were hit the hardest. Their job was to tell others` stories, while many of their own homes were lost in the storm.
SANDY BRELAND, WWL NEWS DIRECTOR: We`ve covered so many stories, so many hurricanes and so many storms, but it was always someone else. This time it was us. It was our city. It was our homes. It was our families.
HAFFENREFFER: Reporters told it as they saw it even if it meant getting emotional or asking tough questions.
SOLEDAD O`BRIEN, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": How is it possible that you`re not -- we`re getting better intel than you`re getting?
HAFFENREFFER: Dan Rather told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s a golden period of journalism.
DAN RATHER, FORMER CBS EVENING NEWS ANCHOR: They sucked it up through it all (ph) and when necessary spoke the truth to power, which by my definitions, is American journalism at its best.
HAFFENREFFER: CNN`s Soledad O`Brien, who was on the ground covering the aftermath of Katrina, says it`s not just about the journalists.
O`BRIEN: I think that what we`ve seen is an audience that demands answers. It is impossible to have in one box elected officials holding a press conference saying one thing and then in the next box see exactly the opposite of what they`re saying unfold on TV.
HAFFENREFFER: And now, the entire Gulf Coast braces itself for a storm growing in ferocity before America`s eyes, the media getting ready, ordering what ifs and warning people.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That`s one the lessons that a number of people I spoke to said are the lessons that they learned from Katrina.
HAFFENREFFER: On our TVs, images of thousands fleeing the path of yet another massive storm.
JERAS: A Category 5 hurricane is continuing to build stronger.
HAFFENREFFER: And television news stations, large and small, are weary, but in place and ready to tell the story yet again. A story, hopefully, much different than Katrina`s.
AMANPOUR: I think what`s interesting is that it took a Katrina, you know, to bring us back to where we belong. In other words, real journalists, real journalism, and I think that`s a good thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: A good thing indeed, but journalist stations around the gulf will be once again put to the test when Hurricane Rita makes landfall, which forecasters say will happen by the end of the week -- Karyn.
BRYANT: All right. Thank you very much, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s David Haffenreffer.
HAMMER: Now more on Hurricane Rita and a look at how the media is preparing and bracing for the hurricane.
Joining us from Galveston, Texas, CNN correspondent Deborah Feyerick.
Now Deborah, we just heard Christiane Amanpour saying that it really took Hurricane Katrina to reinvigorate journalism. Are reporters who doing what you`re doing right now, or are you yourself feeling a sense of renewed purpose with the hurricane coverage?
FEYERICK: There`s definitely a sense of renewed purpose, especially when you`re dealing with the facts of this story and demanding accountability from officials.
For a long time there`s been a feeling that you can`t really always get a straight answer from politicians, but now the facts are on the table. What people saw in New Orleans demanded an answer, demanded accountability.
And so there was a sense that you could take it on, because you have the pictures and you have the proof to start asking those questions.
HAMMER: and obviously, not the first time you`re out there covering hurricanes, but are there lessons that you learned through the coverage of Katrina, through the coverage of Ophelia, that you yourself are now applying to your coverage of Hurricane Rita?
FEYERICK: Well, I think in New Orleans it was such an exceptional circumstance. Nobody knew just how hard it was going to come. Nobody knew exactly what to expect. We saw pictures on Sunday of everyone sort of smiling on a sandy beach and then all of a sudden it hit.
But yes, you do apply those kinds of lessons. Here you begin thinking about certain cautions. You`re looking ahead, figuring out exactly where it`s going to go, what you`re going to be doing and, of course, you want to be safe doing it. It kind of comes with the territory.
HAMMER: And precaution`s obviously going to be especially important this time around. Late this afternoon, of course, Rita upgraded to a Category 5. Now it`s bigger than Katrina. It`s taking up most of the Gulf of Mexico. This is so completely dangerous.
As you mentioned, a few days ago we just saw people hanging kind of around, like some reporters on Duval Street in Key West, as the hurricane was passing by, but once this hits where you are, you`re not going to be able to be outside.
So my question is how are you going to be able to convey to people who are watching exactly what`s taking place? And what kind of pictures do you think we can expect to be seeing at that time?
FEYERICK: That`s the wild card. As a matter of fact, we take it day by day.
Right now we are based in Galveston. This is where we`re going to be staying and kind of make the decision as to how safe it is and when or if to pull out.
We`re working now to perhaps even embed with the mayor. That`s something that we`re considering, perhaps, see how she rides out the storm and kind of be there with her.
But, yes, you want to get the picture, but you really do have to be careful. You know, I don`t stand out in front of trains and I try not to stand out in hurricanes, either. And I think the public is very aware that if you`re standing out in the middle of a Category 5 hurricane, if you get hurt, you really can`t blame too many people, but yourself.
HAMMER: Deborah, it is certainly a beautiful picture behind you right now, but truly the calm before the storm. So stay safe. Deborah Feyerick, CNN correspondent, we`ll be touching base with you a little later on in the show.
BRYANT: Even before Rita was declared a Category 5 storm today, some of the biggest names in music were already expressing their concern. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there as the stars talked about it in New York last night at benefit concerts for Hurricane Katrina victims.
"From the Big Apple to the Big Easy," two simultaneous shows at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, brought out the A-listers. But Hurricane Rita was definitely a big concern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s pray hard enough and hope it goes away. I mean, these people don`t deserve this.
PAUL SIMON, MUSICIAN: Well, of course, that`s the case, but I mean, why anybody would be shocked to find that we have another major hurricane coming in hurricane season. So to what degree, you know, the powerful forces of our -- of our government are prepared is a question that I simply don`t know the answer to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All you can do is pray because there`s nothing you can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: Some stars felt what they had to do was to speak out about Katrina. Cyril Neville of the Neville Brothers wore a shirt that read "Ethnic Cleansing in New Orleans." His brother Aaron wore a hat that said "Evacuee."
But it was Bette Midler who was most outspoken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIDLER: Today I got a letter from the Republican Party, thanking me - - thanking me -- thanking me for supporting this administration`s policies. I did what any self-respecting American of integrity and class would do. I wrote, "Go (expletive deleted) yourself" on it, and I sent it back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: We`ll have more on the concerts later, including other celebrities who are still outraged, and a former president`s surprise visit.
HAMMER: Bette Midler, never known to hold back.
BRYANT: Not at all.
HAMMER: Well, coming up, Kate Moss gets tossed again. Why the supermodel is going to be finding less money in her wallet. The latest developments in Kate`s drug dumping, coming up next.
BRYANT: Also, Kenny Chesney`s very first interview since his wife, Renee Zellweger, filed to end their marriage. How`s he doing? Find out next.
HAMMER: And a woman who`s married to an ex-football player, juggles four kids, a brand new TV show and even wrote a book that shows women how to love football. Where does she find the time to do this stuff? We`re going to ask her. Holly Robinson Peete coming up live.
BRYANT: Now, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." In 1965`s "The Sound of Music," just how many Von Trapp children were there? Five, six, seven or 10? We`ll be right back with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: So again, tonight`s "Entertainment Weekly Great American Pop Culture Quiz." In 1965`s "The Sound of Music," just how many Von Trapp children are there? Five, six, seven or 10? The answer: "C," seven.
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Karyn Bryant.
Tonight, new developments after supermodel Kate Moss`s confession she was snorting cocaine. It cost her another couple of jobs today, and now the police may even get involved.
Let`s go straight to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, who is in Hollywood, live, with the latest.
Hi, Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Karyn.
As we`ve been reporting, shocking news. Kate Moss confessed to using cocaine. That confession spurred on by tabloid pictures of her snorting the drug that were taken by a hidden camera phone at a west London recording studio.
It all set off a chain of events. Three major advertisers have just dropped her, and now there`s word that the London police might be getting involved.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS (voice-over): These are the pictures that are sending Kate Moss` career into a tailspin. Photos taken from a camera phone and printed in the British tabloid, "The Daily Mirror" and posted around the world across the Internet on sites like Gawker.com.
And just tonight, fashion house Chanel ended their three-year relationship with Moss, telling SHOWBIZ TONIGHT in a statement, quote, "Chanel currently has an advertising campaign with Kate Moss that is due to finish at the end of October. The company has no plans to work with Kate Moss on her new advertising campaigns in the near future."
Hours earlier, Burberry, another fashion house, said it was canceling a planned campaign involving Moss.
Now tonight police there say they`ll question Moss for her admitted cocaine use.
SIR IAN BLAIR, METROPOLITAN POLICE COMMISSIONER: If we have an allegation that is so visible to the public and the person is such a role model, then it seems to me only appropriate that we investigate that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m shocked.
VARGAS: It`s the talk of the fashion world gathered for London Fashion Week leaving many fashionistas flummoxed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It must be the worst thing that could possibly have happened to her in her whole life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s harsh that she gets so stoked from the press. She did something illegal.
VARGAS: This all started when she came clean to clothing store H&M and pledged to lead a, quote, "healthy lifestyle." But in the end they dropped her under pressure from bad press.
Moss is no stranger to the tabloids. The intimate details of her on again, of again relationship with musician Pete Doherty, who has a history of drug use, has been wildly reported in the tabloids.
Now it`s her career that`s taking the hit, and there`s a lot of money on the line. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT did the math.
She reportedly gets paid $1.8 million to be Rimmel Makeup`s head cover girl. Chanel, the world famous brand, apparently paid her almost $1.4 million to front various campaigns.
And there`s more. She made at least another $3.6 million this year with campaigns for Dior, Burberry, H. Stern and French "Vogue."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: Now it`s too soon to tell if Kate`s other contracts will crumble, too. She also has a current campaign with Gloria Vanderbilt and Christian Dior to name a few.
And some observers are quietly saying that even though those camera phones show illegal activity, the pictures were still a gross invasion of Kate Moss` privacy. So the saga continues.
BRYANT: It does, indeed. Thanks you very much. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, live in Hollywood.
Well, the shocking photos of Kate were taken by a camera phone and printed in the "Daily Mirror" has surprised the public and created a worldwide media frenzy.
This leads to our question of the day. Celebrities: do they have the right to privacy? You can vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. You can send e- mail us to at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll read some of your e-mails later in the show.
HAMMER: Tonight, Kenny Chesney says, quote, "I`ll be OK." The country star is speaking out in his very first interview since his wife, actress Renee Zellweger, filed for an annulment last week.
In an interview with "Country Weekly" magazine, Chesney says that he`ll be fine, but between a tour, a new record and his personal life, it, quote, "ended up being too much."
He also adds that by next year, quote, "It`ll be about the music again, not about the sideshow."
Zellweger listed "fraud" as the reason for the breakup after just four months of marriage.
BRYANT: Tonight, a "SHOWBIZ Sit-down" with someone who knows a thing or two about marriage, luckily, the successful kind. Actress Holly Robinson Peete tackles the demands of show business, motherhood. She got four young children. She`s got a retired NFL quarterback for a husband. His name is Rodney Peete.
Now Holly hit it big on TV with "21 Jump Street." Now she`s working on a new UPN show called "Love, Inc." She`s also -- I`m exhausted just saying all this -- she`s also written a book teaching women to love football. Holly Robinson Peete is here live now with us.
First, before we get to everything, you`ve got to tell me about this T-shirt, because it`s fantastic.
HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE, ACTRESS: This is the T-shirt that Terri Hatcher gave me. She`s selling these online. And basically, all of the money is going to the Red Cross for Katrina and maybe even Rita now. I mean, but she`s an amazing philanthropic person, and I like to think of myself as one, too. So they`re awesome T-shirts. You can buy one online and, you know, you`re giving to a good cause.
BRYANT: It`s nice and I`m feeling the pink.
PEETE: Yes.
BRYANT: So like I said, I`m exhausted just listing all the stuff that you do. How -- how do you find the strength, the time, the energy to pull all of this off?
PEETE: You know, Karyn, I think I have a really good support system. It`s all about the people you have around you who are supporting your goals and dreams.
I have a great mom who comes over and hangs out with my four kids, if I need to come to New York and hang out with you. My husband, newly retired. He`s a little jittery because it`s, like, the first couple of weeks not in the NFL, you know, after 16 years. But he`s the best Mr. Mom, super dad.
So, I mean, I think when you have people in your life that support your dreams and you`re on the same page, you can do anything.
BRYANT: and he played with the Philadelphia Eagles for a long time and then Carolina.
PEETE: Right. Right. Carolina, he played with a lot -- he played with six teams but those are probably the teams he played with the longest.
BRYANT: Right. OK. So you`ve written a book. Now it`s the greatest -- "Get Your Own Beer"?
PEETE: "Get Your Own" -- "Get Your Own Damn Beer." "Get Your Own Beep Beer, I`m Watching the Game: A Woman`s Guide to Loving Pro Football."
BRYANT: Now here`s the thing. I personally love football. I`ve loved it all my life, grew up watching it with my dad. But I know that it`s an uphill battle sometimes with women, trying to get them to watch a game. So tell me three reasons why women should love football.
PEETE: Well, I -- well, I should say, I wrote this book for several different reasons. And that would probably answer your question.
One is because my girlfriends were calling me during the game and wanted to know what was going to or wanted to go buy shoes or whatever. To me it`s like, I said, "Don`t call me during a game because my husband is playing." They weren`t grasping the concept that it was our livelihood.
The other is on the weekend they were bummed out because their boyfriends or husbands weren`t giving them any love.
And also, because I think it`s a good -- it`s a good relationship bonding thing to do on the weekend with your man. You know, send him to the kitchen to get you a beer while you`re watching the game.
BRYANT: Thank you, honey. I know he`s watching right now. In our house it`s interesting. He`s a Broncos fan, and I`m a Patriots girl.
PEETE: Right.
BRYANT: So there`s a little bit of that going on. But it`s fun. It`s a fun game.
PEETE: It is fun. It is fun. And you know, I mean, have in the book -- I cover the gamut from, you know, top 10 things you shouldn`t say to your man while he`s watching the game. You know, you shouldn`t talk about, "Oh, honey, why can`t you get our lawn to look like that?"
Or "We spent the first three quarters watching the game. Can`t we spend last quarter just talking about us?"
BRYANT: Especially with "Desperate Housewives" coming back. I know Sunday nights can be a little dicey, you know.
PEETE: Well, it`s funny, I have a chapter called "Desperate Housewives," where myself and Brett Favre`s wife and Kurt Warner`s wife, a couple of other wives are sitting around the table and talking about what it`s like to be married to the NFL.
So just from my experience of being an NFL wife, I found a lot of observations and wanted to share them with everybody.
BRYANT: Now you have a new sitcom called "Love, Inc." Your dad was a write or "The Cosby Show." There`s a lot of talk that the sitcom is dead; they aren`t any good. So tell me why it will be different from those bad sit-coms.
PEETE: Well, first of all, you can have the best sitcom in the world, but if you don`t have a good lead-in like we do with "Everybody Hates Chris," which hopefully will single-handedly bring back the sitcom.
BRYANT: That`s the Chris Rock show that everybody is talking about.
PEETE: It is the No. 1 most hyped up show, but if you talk to Chris, who`s a good friend, he`ll tell you, "I don`t want the hype. I just want, you know, people to watch it."
I`ll ride his coattails all of the way to the bank, really.
The reality is that I think people are sick of reality shows. It`s really gotten out of control, and there`s nothing like a good old-fashioned sitcom. "Love, Inc." is about a dating service in Manhattan, and you know, comedy ensues.
BRYANT: All right. Excellent. Good luck to you on that one.
PEETE: Thank you so much.
BRYANT: The show is called "Love, Inc." It premieres tomorrow night on UPN. Holly Robinson Peete, thanks for joining us.
PEETE: Thanks a lot for having me.
BRYANT: Well, her book, "Get Your Own Damn Beer, I`m Watching the Game," is in stores now, too. I almost forgot that. Thanks for coming.
HAMMER: I`ll get your beer, Karyn.
Well, tonight, part two of Martha Stewart`s comeback. First her daytime show, now her version of Donald Trump`s "The Apprentice." So what do some of the Martha wannabes really think about the domestic diva? Find out next.
BRYANT: Plus, what`s going to happen this year on Wisteria Lane? The new season of "Desperate Housewives" doesn`t premiere until Sunday, but SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has your first look tonight.
HAMMER: And more from "From the Big Easy to the Big Apple" Katrina benefit concert. We`re going to have the music highlights, a surprise visit from a former president and a celebrity very passionate comments about the response to the disaster.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And tonight, the wait will be over as millions tune in to find out exactly what domestic diva Martha Stewart`s "you`re fired" line will be.
"The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" hopes to live up to the hype when it makes its debut tonight. Sixteen contestants are fighting to get a job working for Martha.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with them today and asked what they thought of Martha after meeting and working with her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER, CONTESTANT, "THE APPRENTICE: MARTHA STEWART": Before I`d ever met Martha I thought she was a very serious, forward-thinking businesswoman, no nonsense. And I think Martha is still true to that description, but she also has a sense of humor. And I think that she`s -- she`s got a really light side that not many viewers are ever able to see.
JIM, CONTESTANT, "THE APPRENTICE: MARTHA STEWART": You know, I can tell everybody the same thing and I do. I tell all my friends and family that Martha is not the bitch that people think that she is, as far as I can see. She was -- as a boss, she seemed like a hostess at a party.
SARAH, CONTESTANT, "THE APPRENTICE: MARTHA STEWART": She has a steel trap of a mind. And she will call you out on something you did last week and you don`t even remember it. And so I think what I learned about her is that she watches, constantly watches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, when it came to choosing the contestants to appear on her program, Martha had to leave that up to the executive producer of the show, Mark Burnett. You see, Martha was in prison at the time those decisions were being made.
"The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" premieres tonight on NBC.
BRYANT: Another potentially devastating storm as strong as Hurricane Katrina is barreling towards the Gulf Coast. So how is the news media covering this one? That`s next.
HAMMER: Also outrage and inspiration. The stars speak out at a huge benefit in New York for Hurricane Katrina and a former president makes a surprise appearance. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there, coming up.
BRYANT: Plus shocking new allegations against R&B star R. Kelly. And Kate moss gets caught doing drugs. But even though she broke the law, should she still have a right to privacy? That`s coming up in the "Legal Lowdown," live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 31 minutes past the hour. I`m Karyn Bryant.
HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer. You`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.
BRYANT: Still to come this half hour, A.J., there is a cat. 5 hurricane headed right toward Texas. We have got Deborah Feyerick of CNN in Galveston, Texas. We`re going to get a report from her on how the reporters are preparing for this soon-to-be really huge storm. And we`re also going to get more from the benefit concerts from the Big Apple to the Big Easy that took place in New York last night.
HAMMER: Great shows last night.
Also still to come, Kate Moss in more trouble. Of course, she was busted on tape doing cocaine. She`s lost a couple more accounts that were making her money, but the question we`re asking tonight, does she have the right to privacy, like other celebrities? Do any of them?
That and more legal troubles for R. Kelly on the way, coming up. But first, let`s get to tonight`s hot headlines. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas joining us now live from Hollywood -- Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, A.J.
Tonight, a benefit concert that was going to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina is being postponed thanks to another vicious lady, Rita. Kenny Chesney and Vince Gill were just some of the big names in country music that were headlining the CMT One Country concert. It was originally scheduled for Saturday, October 1 at Houston`s Reliant Stadium, but because of category 5 Rita aiming for Texas, organizers decided to postpone it. No word yet on when they plan to reschedule.
But victims of Hurricane Katrina are getting help coming from Jersey`s Jon Bon Jovi. On today`s "Oprah" he surprised everyone with a check for $1 million made out to Oprah`s Angel Network. The group is helping Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild their lives.
Neither Katrina nor Rita are going to stop auditions for American Idol. The show has rescheduled auditions to replace the one in Memphis that had been cancelled because of Hurricane Katrina. Auditions will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 3 and in Las Vegas a week later. Those will be the last two auditions for the next season.
And those are the hot headlines. A.J., back to you.
HAMMER: All right, Sibila, of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Sibila Vargas, live in Hollywood, thanks.
BRYANT: Late this afternoon, Hurricane Rita was cranking winds up to 165 miles per hour. The storm is still days away from hitting land, but as Rita eyes the Gulf Coast, news outlets know millions will be watching their coverage of the storm. So, how are the news media holding up? And what are they doing to prepare this time around?
Joining us, in the path of Hurricane Rita, is CNN correspondent Deborah Feyerick. She is in Galveston, Texas.
Deborah, thanks for joining us.
Late this afternoon, Rita was upgraded to a category 5. We know there are going to be evacuations, and I`m assuming you have to go too. How will we know what is happening with the storm when it makes landfall? And then how long until we`ll get information on what happened when it hit?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that`s interesting. You`re going to be getting information right up to the minute, and that`s one of the things that we`re trying to do. Hopefully cell phones will work.
There is a way to work a story, even if you`re not able to stand out in the rain. That is calling people, touching base with contacts. Hopefully the communication system will at least be in place for much of that, so we can have a constant stream of communication. And it may be communication coming out of the governor`s office.
But again, we`re here. We`re hoping to be able to be in constant communication with some of the officials who are going to stay in the city. The big concern, of course, is that there does come a point when you cannot leave, because Galveston is an island. Once the winds pick up, there is going to be no way to cross the bridge into the mainland, and even if you do cross the bridge into the mainland, you`re going to be with a lot of other evacuees.
So it is minute by minute. Information will definitely be coming in. It`s a question of just how you`re going to be getting those pictures. Because, again, category 5, you have to take care. Nothing is worth -- a picture -- there is a way to tell the story sometimes without them.
BRYANT: Well, literally and figuratively, there is electricity in the air. What are the other reporters feeling with you? Are you all feeling a sense of impending doom by any chance?
FEYERICK: I don`t think it`s doom so much as a little bit of excitement, a little bit of adrenaline. Not in a kind of crazy sick way, but, you know, this is what we do. We cover stories. We cover news. Weather now is news. Hurricane is a huge story simply because of the number of people it affects, and the tragedy that obviously we`ve seen come out as a result of it.
So people are concerned. There is a question of being safe when the hurricane hits. You try to do the best job you can. But I don`t think it`s doom so much as a little bit of energy, actually.
BRYANT: OK. And is there a feeling about the officials there? There was so much criticism of how Katrina was responded to. Do you feel as though the officials have everything under control?
FEYERICK: There`s no question. Especially here in Galveston. The people in Galveston learned from the mistakes Katrina made, and every mayor that I have spoken to, every person in the Office of Emergency Management, they -- all they can think of is we do not want to be another New Orleans. So they are taking precautions.
That`s why the mayor here in Galveston issued an alert 72 hours before the winds, before the rains, were even supposed to hit. She did that because she wanted to make sure that she got out the most vulnerable, that she got out the old, got out the people without transportation. That was the mistake they made in New Orleans. She thought that by doing it now she would get those people out, and that`s why; the last thing she wants is another New Orleans. The last thing anybody wants is another New Orleans.
So a lot of lessons learned there and proactive steps being taken.
BRYANT: All right. Well, thanks for joining us. Stay safe down there. CNN`s Deborah Feyerick, in Galveston, Texas.
HAMMER: While everyone is nervously watching Hurricane Rita as it churns off the Gulf of Mexico, there is still a lot of work to be done to help the Gulf Coast recover from Katrina.
Some of the biggest music stars in the world came to New York City to do just that. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there along with them.
Our own David Haffenreffer joining us live again in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom -- David.
HAFFENREFFER: A.J., those musicians helped out last night by performing not at one but two pay-per-view benefit concerts. Both were held here in New York City last night at the same time. It was a neat trick and a nice gesture of solidarity from one iconic American city to another.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL SCHAFFER, MUSICIAN: New York, supporting New Orleans, the way they supported us when we needed them a couple years ago.
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): A big show of musical support from the Big Apple to the Big Easy. That happened to be the title of the simultaneous concerts held in New York last night to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was at both.
Sir Elton John was one of the performers. He told me his participation was a no-brainer.
(on camera): What was it that brought you here tonight?
SIR ELTON JOHN, MUSICIAN: Well, it wasn`t a hard decision. I mean, I was going to be in New York anyway. I`m playing here tomorrow night and the weekend. And I would have come at the drop of a hat, because, A, because I`ve never seen anything like this happen in my lifetime to a city in a civilized country.
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Only the Big Apple was big enough to hold such a start-studded pair of events. One was in Radio City Music Hall. New Orleans natives the Neville Brothers kept the funk going. So did John Mayer and Joss Stone, Tom Waits and Dave Matthews. Former President Bill Clinton left his saxophone at home, but he still played a part in this charitable jam session.
BILL CLINTON, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: We`re going to rebuild that city, rebuild the Gulf Coast, put those peoples` lives back together, with your help.
HAFFENREFFER: Meanwhile, a few subway stops downtown at Madison Square Garden, Mississippi native Jimmy Buffet made his way from Margaritaville to do his part. I caught up with him backstage.
JIMMY BUFFET, MUSICIAN: If you`re lucky enough to do what I get to do, you give something back.
HAFFENREFFER: But even as the flood waters from Katrina recede, the anger was still fresh in some of the celebrities I talked to.
HAFFENREFFER (on camera): After the delay in getting the immediate assistance down there initially.
CYNDI LAUPER, MUSICIAN: Outrageous. Outrageous. Everybody kept watching and going oh, my God, and the poor people, every time a helicopter would go over, they kept thinking they were saved, and it was just the news. You know, I don`t know, it`s a lot of -- I could say a lot of things, but I won`t. Like if it was Beverly Hills, they would have been out of there in five minutes.
ELVIS COSTELLO, MUSICIAN: We had a lot of people who were not in circumstances to get away very easily. Federal authorities have cloaked themselves in glory. Far from it. It`s shameful.
HAFFENREFFER (voice-over): Hard feelings aside, many of the stars told me it was New Orleans` rich musical history that is inspiring them to help out in the Big Easy`s time of need.
PAUL SIMON, MUSICIAN: The New Orleans music community is a group of players, singers, that I know very well personally, many of them, anyway, I`ve recorded with or performed with. So on a personal level, I certainly would do anything I could for that community.
LAUPER: It has great music. It`s one of the indigenous American sounds. You can go all over the world, you will never find that sound. And that`s why I cherish it. That`s why I am here. I mean, not just because of the music, but also the people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAFFENREFFER: And it appears musicians will continue to step up to the plate to help the hurricane victims. Over the next few days, more Katrina benefit shows will feature the likes of Wynton Marsalis, the Roofs, Jill Scott, George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Pearl Jam -- A.J.
HAMMER: Good music for a good cause. Thanks very much, David Haffenreffer.
And coming up, many wishes will need to be granted to those who were victimized by Katrina. Amy Grant`s new reality show will take care of three of those wishes.
BRYANT: Plus, as we have been telling you throughout the hour, supermodel Kate Moss`s career is taking a nose dive, yeah, as one company after another decides she no longer makes the cut. Are their decisions fair? We`ll take the issue up in our legal lowdown.
HAMMER: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, get this, we have a sneak peek of the season premier viewers are desperate to see. Yes, it`s right here. You won`t want to miss it, so hang on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRYANT: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Five-time Grammy Award winner Amy Grant is pledging to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Grant is the star of NBC`s brand new reality show "Three Wishes," where each week Grant and her team of producers setup shop in a different town and make real-life dreams come true.
Episodes were taped before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, and as Amy told me today, she and her staff are now trying to reach out to some of the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY GRANT, "THREE WISHES": Well, we`ve only filmed one show since Katrina hit the deep south, and actually one of the wishes that came through the wish tent was the mayor in Brookings, South Dakota, and he said our wish is to eventually relocate 30 families here to Brookings, which is a long way from the Deep South. But we used that as an opportunity to relocate an evacuated family.
So we sent a plane and picked up this family, and we fixed up a house for them, and, you know, stocked it, furniture, pantry. It was great. And I mean, that could be a lifetime of shows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: We`ll have more with Amy Grant, including the moving phone call she got from a little girl who was injured in a car accident and how Amy was able to help. That`s coming up on Friday.
HAMMER: It is time now for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT legal lowdown. On the docket tonight, model Kate Moss loses two more endorsement deals today following her confession that she used cocaine. Plus, R. Kelly in yet another legal battle, this time it`s against his ex-wife, who filed for a restraining order. We`ve got the actual court documents.
Joining us live tonight, from Hollywood, investigative journalist Pat Lalama.
All right, Pat, here we go. Kate Moss. Now she`s been cropped by Chanel and Burberry in addition to H&M. Police have gotten involved. They`re investigating. But all of this because photographs of her doing cocaine in a recording studio were published in a British newspaper.
She`s a celebrity. Doesn`t she have the right to privacy ever?
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, "ever" is a broad term. Let`s just talk about this particular case, which is what is important.
What is relevant is the fact that it was public domain. Her judgment was probably one of the worst I`ve ever seen. She is not invincible, as so many celebrities seem to think they are. This seems to me to be a pure case of her using bad judgment and it`s caught on film. End of story. It`s a public domain issue. She has no expectation of privacy.
HAMMER: Now when you say public domain, you mean because she was in technically a public place?
LALAMA: Absolutely. Absolutely. And to me, forget the allegedly illegal action. How about just the darned bad judgment exercised here? This woman has a child. So, you know, anything that happens is her own fault as far as I`m concerned.
HAMMER: But on the privacy issue, were she in her own home and somebody without her knowing, let`s say, used one of these camera phones with the video on it, to take those pictures and then released them and then they got printed, is that a whole `nother matter?
LALAMA: Yeah, you`re getting into a whole different territory there, but I think it`s important for all viewers to know that this is because it`s a public domain issue. They didn`t make it -- remember, she won a case against this very paper recently on libel issues. They reported something about here being drug-induced and in a coma, I believe, that was absolutely untrue, and they had to admit it was untrue. That`s a different issue.
We`re talking about that these pictures were legitimately publicized and legitimately taken and it`s her own fault.
HAMMER: So she won the libel case against the "Daily Mirror" --
LALAMA: She did. She did.
HAMMER: -- earlier, but will she have any legal recourse in this particular case?
LALAMA: Not that I can see, unless somebody changes the constitution.
HAMMER: All right, then, let`s move on to R. Kelly, shall we?
His ex-wife has filed a restraining order with dramatic claims of physical abuse, including claims that he slapped and hit her. We`ve actually got the court documents. She`s looking for, and you can see it right here, no contact by any means, with a big exclamation point, and that`s in her own handwriting.
R. Kelly`s other legal troubles, of course, include a child pornography case. Now, could the results of this petition for the retraining order have any bearing on the pornography case for R. Kelly? Or are they just two separate things entirely?
LALAMA: No, no. Two separate things. There is only one way you can make some sort of a simpatico connection there and that would be, if he were now on probation for some sort of crime, then a judge could say, you know, you violated your probation by doing yet another thing that is bad.
But I don`t know that to be true. So there are two separate things. One has nothing to do with the other.
HAMMER: Let`s talk about this particular petition for an order of protection. What happens next with this? There were some serious allegations in here.
LALAMA: Yes. Anyone can go to a judge, called ex parte, it means emergency, and say, oh, my God, the kids and I are in trouble, please grant us a TRO, a temporary restraining order, and, of course, a judge can do that right then and there.
But in a short order of time, that person, the one making the allegations, has to go to court. You have to show up. You can`t send your lawyer there to do it for you. You have to show up and say to the court why you feel threatened. That person has the right to respond. And then at that time the judge will or won`t order a permanent restraining order.
I think there is a hearing coming up soon.
HAMMER: So in fact, you know, just allegations by her -- as I said, it`s in her own handwriting. And it`s interesting, when you flip through, it`s a bunch of check boxes and it looks like a pretty standard form here. So there is a chance, we don`t know, none of this that she alleges may have actually happened. Because R. Kelly is a celebrity, he kind of gets a raw deal because this gets out in the press.
LALAMA: Yes, it is unfortunately. But the other thing is, that these days judges do have to err on the side of caution, even if it is made up allegations. What happens if that night someone comes back and beats her to death, God forbid, and then the judge will say I should have done it. So they have to almost, in every case, from the beginning, say all right, we`re going to take your word for it. I`m going to give the TRO and then we`re going to go duke it out in court and see what is real and what is not.
HAMMER: Well, Pat, thanks for filling us in on how all of this works. Pat Lalama, joining us from Hollywood.
And we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day, along the theme of that Kate Moss story. Celebrities: do they have the right to privacy? You may continue to vote at cnn.com/showbiztonight. You can also write to us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your emails in about four minutes.
BRYANT: Well, tonight, if you`ve been desperate for "Desperate Housewives," SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s got your cure. The new season of the hit ABC show hasn`t kicked off yet, but here is your first look at the long awaited premier. It`s tonight`s showbiz showcase.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIA CROSS, ACTRESS: This is Rex`s mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t believe it. It`s like some hideous nightmare. My life is over. My life is over.
EVA LONGORIA, ACTRESS: OK, yes, I had a little affair. It wasn`t the best thing to do and I`m not proud of it, but it`s not the worst thing that could have happened. Nobody died. Oh, don`t be such a martyr, Carlos. OK. It takes two people. How many times did you go off on your little business trips and leave me alone? So, technically, you cheated too, it`s just your mistress was your work. OK. That was a stretch, I`m sorry. Carlos, wait, come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT: The second season of "Desperate Housewives" premiers this Sunday on ABC.
HAMMER: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is set to reveal more secrets. We`re on the set of Tom Hanks` controversial upcoming movie "The Da Vinci Code." What happened with the Mona Lisa? You`ll find out, only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back.
Tonight, only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is giving you a behind the scenes secret from the set of the film "The Da Vinci Code." Now you might remember the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report on the controversy behind the movie. Catholic groups are fighting the movie, saying it`s blasphemous.
Well, shooting has already begun, with Tom Hanks playing Robert Langdon, the professor who finds a code inside the Mona Lisa.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT caught up with producer Brian Grazer, who told us he not only watched our special, but says there were actually some supernatural goings on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN GRAZER, PRODUCER: We shot at the Louvre, which was awesome. The power went out one night and I was alone in the dark and I wandered off the Grand Gallery into a room, and I was, you know, five or six feet from the face of the Mona Lisa, and I just, my knees buckled. It was so emotional, to be alone with the Mona Lisa. It was pretty awesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Not a lot of people get to do that. "The Da Vinci Code" will come out in May 2006.
BRYANT: Throughout the show we`ve been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Celebrities: do they have the right to privacy?
Well, it`s a very interesting on-sided vote so far: 84 percent of you say yes, they do; 16 percent say no, they don`t.
These are some of your emails. Brenda from South Carolina writes: "If celebrities put themselves out there they have to accept that their right to privacy does not exist."
But David, from California, writes: "Everyone has a right to his private life, but it is his duty to guard it."
Patti chimes in, from Texas, saying: "Whoever took the photos of Kate Moss should be arrested. Not only for violating her privacy, but for seriously damaging her career."
You can keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight.
HAMMER: I`m going to agree with our viewer David, who said you have to guard it. Yeah, they have a right to privacy, but everybody`s got a camera now. Everybody has one, the phones, they`re so small. So you`ve got to be careful.
BRYANT: Yeah, you do.
HAMMER: That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
BRYANT: And you probably should also not do cocaine. Just going out on a limb here.
HAMMER: That is also probably wise.
I`m A.J. Hammer.
BRYANT: I`m Karyn Bryant. Stay tuned for the latest from CNN HEADLINE NEWS.
END
