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Showbiz Tonight

Cruise Fires Back Over Breakup Rumors; Will Cheney Interview Fix P.R. Woes?; Kennedy Hosts Reality Show Roundup

Aired February 15, 2006 - 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.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And I`m Brooke Anderson. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, don`t mess with Tom. The uproar over reports that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are splitting up. Tonight, angry responses. Lawsuits being threatened. Get out of the way, because Tom may be firing another Cruise missile.

Willie Nelson and the gay cowboys. Country music legend Willie Nelson`s startling new song that`s no "Home on the Range."

Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes you behind the music, to find out why Willie is singing about gay cowboys.

Addicted to plastic surgery. Tonight, the shocking story of a woman who`s only 29 and has already had her body changed 30 times.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a disconnect in your brain that prevents you from seeing what everybody else sees.

HAMMER: And wait till you see the story that`s hard to believe.

ANGELA BASSETT, ACTRESS: Hi, I`m Angela Bassett, and if it happens today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Hi, there, I`m Brooke Anderson live in Hollywood.

HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer live in New York.

Brooke, you well know that here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT we hear everything.

ANDERSON: Indeed we do.

HAMMER: Trust me, everything. For instance, yesterday, when we heard a tabloid was reporting that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were splitting up.

ANDERSON: That`s right, A.J. And today, the story exploded big-time. Here`s what happened: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT got on the phone with Cruise`s lawyer and spoke with a lot of other folks, and all I`ve got to say is if you`re going to take on Tom, you better be able to back it up, or get out of his way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Don`t miss with the bull; you`ll get the horns. Tom Cruise is fighting back against a report that he and much photographed fiance Katie Holmes are on the outs.

We at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT received this e-mail yesterday at 3 p.m. Eastern from the folks at "Life and Style" magazine, announcing a Tom and Katie split, on Valentine`s Day, no less. Their cover story is filled with juicy details like the claim that the wedding is off and the claim that a seven months pregnant Katie Holmes is sleeping in a separate bedroom from Cruise.

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Have you ever felt this way before?

ANDERSON: The couch jumping Cruise, who famously celebrated his love for Katie on "Oprah," is not jumping now.

SHOWBIZ TONIGHT immediately called Tom`s rep, Paul Bloch, and he fired back, telling us, "The rumors are 100 percent false. Tom and Katie are spending a wonderful Valentine`s Day together. I hope media outlets are not being irresponsible and reporting false information."

More damage control post Valentine`s Day, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT just spoke to Tom`s lawyer, Burt Fields, and he told us, "This story is 100 percent false" and that he will be sitting down with Tom to decide whether or not to sue. Tom`s lawyer says they have demanded a retraction and added that publishing the story is despicable.

HARRY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: If he feels he`s been wronged, he lashes out.

ANDERSON: Word of a Cruise lawsuit doesn`t come as much of a surprise to TMZ managing editor Harvey Levin, but he told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Cruise has no case.

LEVIN: It really doesn`t affect Tom Cruise. If they`re wrong, they`re wrong, if the magazine is wrong. So what did Tom Cruise suffer as a result of this? It`s not emotional distress. He`s been through a lot worse than that. So I just don`t see any basis for a lawsuit, even though this magazine may well be dead wrong.

ANDERSON (on camera): Walk by any magazine stand, and you`ll come across front page Cruise covers. Those magazines sell, true or false. But in the past Cruise hasn`t been amused.

Back in 2001 he filed a defamation lawsuit against a gay porn star who allegedly told tabloids that he and Cruise had an affair. Cruise walked away victorious, to the tune of millions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dad, Tom Cruise won`t come out of the closet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s been four hours now, and Tom Cruise still will not come out of the closet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please come out of the closet.

ANDERSON: It`s got to be frustrating for Tom, his sexuality questioned again here in this "South Park" episode. And sprayed with a squirt gun at this "War of the Worlds" premiere in London.

But he`s a lover and a fighter and is known for standing up and speaking his mind.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: You see, here`s the problem. You don`t know the history of psychiatry. I do.

ANDERSON: He wasn`t afraid to argue against psychiatry with Matt Lauer on "The Today Show" this fall and he`s not afraid to quash rumors that his storybook romance might not be so, well, storybook.

LEVIN: The relationship between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has been curious form the beginning. People have got questions about it, and I`m sure that has bugged Tom Cruise. And this is probably a hot button issue for him. And when this magazine came out and said they`d split up or they`re splitting up, I`m sure that really pushed his button. But the fact is, I don`t see how he`s damaged if it`s not true.

ANDERSON: As for "Life & Style," they aren`t backing down. They tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "We stand 100 percent behind our story."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Now, it is interesting to note here, A.J., that Cruise`s publicist, Paul Bloch, a longtime, big name Hollywood publicist, is fairly new to the Cruise camp. Cruise`s sister was doing the job during the much talked about "Today Show" and "Oprah" appearances. So it will be interesting to see how Cruise fares in the press and with the public with this new representation.

HAMMER: Yes, at that level, nothing more important than who is in charge of your spin control, Brooke.

And speaking of which, tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has a big question to ask. This is it: does the White House need an image makeover?

The way the White House has handled Vice President Dick Cheney`s shooting of a fellow hunter last weekend has a lot of people talking about what a big P.R. mess all of this has been: the delay in getting the story out there to the press, Cheney clamming out, the way the story got out to the press.

Well, today Cheney finally spoke out about what happened for the first time, taking full responsibility for the shooting of Harry Whittington but standing by the way the news was made public.

Joining us live from Los Angeles, Arianna Huffington, editor of HuffingtonPost.com, and live from Washington, D.C., nationally syndicated talk radio host Ben Ferguson.

All right, guys. First of all, thanks for being here with us.

BEN FERGUSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Thanks for having us.

HAMMER: Thanks for being here with us. I note the calendar says it`s Wednesday. All of this happened on Saturday. We`re hearing about this from Mr. Cheney for the first time today. Seems like an awful long time. So can we get real here? And can we at a minimum agree that from a P.R. standpoint the White House simply blew it here? Arianna?

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, EDITOR, HUFFINGTONPOST.COM: Absolutely. I mean, this story should have been over by today, but it isn`t. In fact, it keeps gaining steam.

And the vice president`s interview is not going to change that, because he really didn`t answer any of the questions. He kept saying that they delayed coming out with the story because they wanted to be completely accurate. But the facts are very simple, and the facts did not need 18 hours to be clarified.

So the cover up, as everybody in Washington knows, is always worse than what they are trying to cover up. And that was something that the spinmeisters at the White House forgot.

HAMMER: And they didn`t quite get a handle on it. Ben, you have to able to agree with that?

FERGUSON: Well, it`s not cover up. I mean, let`s be honest. No one has accused him of trying to cover anything up. I think they`ve been very honest about this.

Was it a bad move in P.R.? Yes. We`re not talking about a movie star here. We`re not talking about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. We`re talking about the vice president of the United States of America, and his job is to keep us safe and do his job. And if he wanted to wait 18 hours and do it, I think, you know, he has that ability.

And I think the real thing is here is most people are really just -- in the media, are not very happy the way this went down, because they were left out of the loop. And the real question is, is it the vice president`s job to tell us about his personal life, or is it the vice president`s job to do his real job?

HAMMER: But Ben...

HUFFINGTON: Come on.

HAMMER: ... by virtue of the fact we`re talking about the vice president of the United States here, that`s a story. And isn`t there a need to know? Come on.

FERGUSON: Well, no, there`s definitely a need to know here, but one thing you have to understand is look, the White House press corps, they`ve never liked this man. He`s been involved in high level politics for really longer than I`ve been alive. And he pretty much has written the press off and doesn`t deal with them, because he`s been burned enough.

And look, if I was advising him, would I have said come out immediately? Sure. Do I think in retrospect he would have done it? Yes. But is it an issue that really should be taking this much time up from the other major pressing issues in America? I don`t think the average American honestly really cares that much if it was five hours, 18 hours or 21 hours, as long as the truth came out. And there`s no one who`s said that he lied.

HAMMER: So you think...

HUFFINGTON: Here is what is going on, actually.

HAMMER: Go ahead, Arianna.

HUFFINGTON: What has happened, and the reason why the White House press corps is so angry -- I mean, the way that they are questioning Scott McClellan, the press secretary is amazing.

HAMMER: They`re not happy.

HUFFINGTON: It is because this is just the straw that`s breaking the camel`s back.

HAMMER: Right.

HUFFINGTON: I mean, they have been upset with the way the White House and this vice president in particular has been withholding news, has been deceiving them on so many major issues.

FERGUSON: Like what?

HUFFINGTON: And I agree with Ben, much more important issues: WMD, why we went to Iraq, what happening there now. And remember, the vice president...

FERGUSON: Attack him on that...

HUFFINGTON: Just one second.

HAMMER: Hold on.

HUFFINGTON: The vice president very recently said that the insurgency in Iraq is in its last throes. Again and again and again he has lied to the American people through the press.

And finally, now, it`s like in a love affair that goes wrong. You forgive them the -- screwing your sister. You forgive them going into debt.

HAMMER: OK, hold on...

HUFFINGTON: You forgive them everything and finally get upset.

HAMMER: Hold on a second, both of you guys. I want to hang on a second, because I want to make sure I get -- I get to one issue here, which is, you know, on top of all of this, you know, it`s been a bad enough week already. On top of all this, just pour something else on the pile.

A scathing report released today by the all-Republican special House committee that was investigating the government`s reaction to Hurricane Katrina. And I want to read you a quote from this report that came out today. It said that "If 9/11 was a failure of imagination, then Katrina was a failure of initiative."

So Ben, I`ve got to ask you. How do you see the administration digging itself out of this one, speaking of P.R. messes?

FERGUSON: Well, I don`t know there`s much you can do, because -- and I give kudos to the Republicans that came up with this report that were brutally honest, and put politics aside and put aside the fact they have a "R" by their name and speaking with the White House, they said, "Look, it wasn`t good. We don`t need it to happen again."

And I think that, you know, it shows that they`re willing to get -- you know, put politics aside and put the American people first and foremost when it deals with safety.

So I don`t know if you`re going to see much spin out of the White House, except to maybe try to fix what did go wrong and make sure during this hurricane season it doesn`t go wrong again.

HAMMER: All right. Arianna, I have less than 30 seconds, but you know, do you think the White House is going to try to spin its way out of this? And how could they possibly?

HUFFINGTON: They can`t really. But it is a major indictment. And the White House...

FERGUSON: It`s not an indictment.

HUFFINGTON: ... in a Republican administration that`s supposed to be competent. You know, this is really a proof that they`re also incompetent as well as being deceitful.

HAMMER: Well, it`s going to be interesting to see if they try to put a good spin on it and somehow make it look prettier than it was. Because it ain`t pretty.

Arianna Huffington, Ben Ferguson, thanks very much for joining us tonight.

HUFFINGTON: Thank you.

ANDERSON: OK. Now, we want to hear from you. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Dick Cheney: are the media treating him fairly? Vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Send us an e-mail: ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We will read some of your thoughts later in the show.

HAMMER: I believe I just used the word "ain`t" on television

Well, Britney Spears speaks out on the car seat controversy and the paparazzi that she says are to blame. That`s coming up next.

Also on the way...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a disconnect in your brain that prevents you from seeing what everybody else sees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Addicted to plastic surgery. Tonight, the shocking story of a woman who`s only 29 and has already had 30 cosmetic procedures. You have to see it to believe it. Coming up.

HAMMER: And you know her from MTV. Now Kennedy has a new show that`s a match made in reality TV heaven. Kennedy is going to join us live just ahead in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

ANDERSON: But first, tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz." The opening scene of Woody Allen`s "Broadway Danny Rose" takes place in what New York landmark? The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gershwin Theatre, Carnegie Deli or Lindy`s? We`ll be right back with your answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: So again, tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz." The opening scene of Woody Allen`s "Broadway Danny Rose" takes place in what New York City landmark? The answer is "C," Carnegie Deli.

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s only live entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer.

Tonight, Britney Spears says she`s going to make a comeback. In a revealing interview with "People" magazine, the pop star opens up about being a parent, dealing with the paparazzi, and the little car seat scandal you may have heard something about.

When she was recently slammed for driving with 5-month-old Sean Preston -- son Sean Preston in her lap, Britney says, quote, "I love my baby more than anything, and as unfortunate an experience as this has been for me and my family, if it brings more attention to child safety then I fully support that."

But she`s still frustrated by the paparazzi that trail her everywhere. She said, quote, "I`ve pulled over and asked the cops, `Could you please help me?` And they say, `Sorry, ma`am, I can`t help you`."

She goes on to say, "I mean, Princess Diana got killed by one of these people."

And among her reasons for wanting to return to the music scene, she says, quote, "I haven`t seen anybody out there who has had a performance where I`m like `that`s bleeping awesome.` It`s been boring."

For more of the Britney Spears interview, grab a copy of "People" magazine, which you`ll find on newsstands Friday.

ANDERSON: OK. Reality TV, it is a staple of so many of our viewing diets. In fact, on any given week, more than 50 million Americans tune into unscripted shows. A fad that many TV critics thought would fizzle out has done anything but that. Reality is still so popular that FOX dedicated an entire cable channel to it, the FOX Reality Network.

Former MTV VJ Kennedy hosts "Reality Remix" on that network. Her show recaps all of your favorite shows. And she is joining me live.

Hi, Kennedy. Welcome.

KENNEDY, HOST, FOX REALITY NETWORK`S "REALITY REMIX": Hey, Brooke, we`re in the same city but in different studios.

ANDERSON: Yes, we are.

KENNEDY: Am I quarantined because of my malaria?

ANDERSON: I might be the one who`s quarantined. I don`t know. Sorry about that.

But let me ask you, Kennedy. What is the deal here? I mean, many people said that reality TV was going to die, that it wasn`t going to last. Well, it obviously is here to stay. Last week, three of the top 10 shows were reality TV. Why is it so popular?

KENNEDY: It`s so popular because the story lines really pull us in. It`s so emotional. And these are real people with real lives and problems.

And take "Breaking Bonaduce." This has been one of my favorite shows over the past six months. It`s not on VH-1 anymore, because frankly, I don`t know if Danny Bonaduce is alive. But this is a guy that was fired from his job, tried to take his own life and went to rehab within, like, 10 weeks.

ANDERSON: Yes.

KENNEDY: It was really unbelievable. And shows like that and "Being Bobby Brown" have raised the bar on celebrity reality shows. So if you`re a celebrity and you have camera crews following you around, you better be either a crack addict or on your way to rehab.

ANDERSON: You must have some reason that people want to watch.

And Kennedy, let me ask you this. I know that you watch hours and hours and hours of reality TV every week.

KENNEDY: I do.

ANDERSON: So much so that I`m sure your eyes are about to just pop out of your head. But what is the worst show, reality show out there that you think, "Oh, my God, this is horrible"?

KENNEDY: What is the worst show? "My Super Sweet 16" on MTV. I think this is a harsh taupe (ph), because it teaches 16-year-old girls that you can be really bratty and spoiled and Daddy will buy you whatever you want.

ANDERSON: I agree. Terrible.

KENNEDY: What happened to these strong independent women who wanted to be doctors and athletes? Now they want to be Paris Hilton, and it`s heartbreaking.

ANDERSON: It is heartbreaking. And what`s the best one that you`ve seen out there, the one that you really, really like to follow?

KENNEDY: My favorite -- I have two favorite. My favorite right now is "Project Runway" on Bravo, which is on tonight. They`re down to the final four. The show is produced so well. They`ve got great designers. The challengers are always creative. And it really is must-see TV.

I have friends over every week. We make food and watch this show. And you know, we imagine ourselves as being designers, and we throw design lingo around, like, "I don`t like the construction of that garment."

ANDERSON: Right.

KENNEDY: It`s like what am I talking about? I don`t know anything about fashion.

And then the other one, of course, the perennial favorite, "Survivor," which is the highest network reality show.

ANDERSON: And it`s been out there for a long, long time, Kennedy.

And I want to ask you -- we all know you`re from VH-1`s "Best Week Ever."

KENNEDY: Yes.

ANDERSON: So you`re used to ripping on the news headlines that are out there. Dick Cheney, his recent hunting accident, what do you think? It`s a comedian`s dream, isn`t it?

KENNEDY: They were showing -- maybe it was on CNN. They were showing one of the -- the cartoons from "The Onion" with Dick Cheney saying that he just wanted to make cartoonists` week much easier.

And you know, this story has been such a gift that it really is a punch line, in and of itself. And if you try and improve upon the story by making it funny, you really just go, Dick Cheney shot his friend hunting.

ANDERSON: What else can you say?

KENNEDY: Well, apparently, you know, he tried to do a big mea culpa today. But...

ANDERSON: He did. All right. Kennedy, we thank you for being here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on all of this.

KENNEDY: Thank you.

ANDERSON: And "Reality Remix" airs weekdays on the FOX Reality Network.

HAMMER: Kennedy mentioned he tried to do a big mea culpa today, Brooke. I don`t think that exactly accomplished what they were after there.

ANDERSON: He did speak publicly for the first time since this incident, A.J. And I know that Dick Cheney, all of this talk is going to continue for a really long time, no matter what he does or says.

HAMMER: And the controversy really continues, the pressure truly on for this man, even though he doesn`t ever seem to give in to the fact that he`s under pressure. The media still wants answers about why it took so long for this information about the hunting accident to go public.

Now, as we all know, he accidentally shot this man, Harry Whittington, who`s a 78-year-old Texas lawyer, while the two were quail hunting. But also, as you just mentioned with Kennedy, this has really turned into a comedian`s dream, this whole thing.

ANDERSON: It has. And Cheney is taking full responsibility, of course. He does say it was an accident, that he is the one who pulled the trigger. And he`s been under fire not only from the media but from the late night comedians.

HAMMER: In a big way.

ANDERSON: And it`s a field day for these guys, despite the fact that Whittington suffered a minor heart attack from complications. Regardless of his health, A.J., it has been no holds barred for late night, especially Jay Leno. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, HOST, NBC`S "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Well, it was reported today that the guy he shot, Whittington, I think, had a mild heart attack, to which Cheney said, "Oh, you big baby. I get those all the time. Come on!"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And A.J., he did say that luckily, he did have a medical team with him. He has one with him at all times. And they responded immediately to Whittington.

HAMMER: And Leno trying to be a little more sensitive. Jon Stewart also dealing with the sensitivity issue. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL`S "THE DAILY SHOW": The bird shot that the vice president had used to shoot the man, actually lodged in the man`s body. The bird shot lodged in his body and actually went into his heart, and caused him to suffer a minor heart attack.

Mr. Whittington is doing fine, but based on this development, we`re going to downgrade the condition of the story from incredibly hilarious to still funny but a little sad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The tone has changed, right, A.J.?

HAMMER: Jon Stewart, rightly so, brought in the sensitivity meter, because you know, the guy has some serious health problems.

ANDERSON: That`s right. We do in the end, we hope that Whittington does indeed make a full recovery.

And through all of this, President Bush has also taken a jab or two. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, CBS`S "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": I`m telling you, this is all anybody is talking about. Dick Cheney of the weekend, him and a couple of buddies go down there and they`re hunting, they`re horseplay, they`re goofing around. And the next thing you know, he guns down a buddy of his. And I`m thinking to myself, if this story gets any bigger, pretty soon they`re going to have to tell the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: I bet the president does know by now. And next time, CNN, we will get that interview with Dick Cheney.

HAMMER: Well, let`s talk about somebody else who got pelted, Paris Hilton, with flour at a fashion show. I said flour, not flowers. The actual kind of flour you bake with. We`re going to tell you who did the throwing next.

ANDERSON: Plus country music legend Willie Nelson`s startling new song. We are going behind the music to find out why Willie is singing about gay cowboys. That`s coming up.

HAMMER: And addicted to plastic surgery. Tonight a woman only 29, already 30 cosmetic procedures. Why she started and why she can`t stop. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Paris Hilton has had a little run-in with a flour-toting PETA activist. People.com reports at London`s Fashion Week, Hilton got pelted with flour in protest of the fashion collection that she was modeling for, which includes fur. A spokeswoman for PETA Europe told reporters there`s nothing remotely fashionable about the torture of animals killed for fur. Hilton walked the catwalk to open and close a fashion show for designer Julien MacDonald.

HAMMER: Well, country music legend Willie Nelson was thinking about gay cowboys long before "Brokeback Mountain," and he has the song to prove it. That`s coming up.

Plus, addicted to surgery. A woman who`s only 29 and has 30 cosmetic procedures. An amazing story. That`s on the way.

And, supermodel Petra Nemcova, in the brand new "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue. Petra joins us live in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 31 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.

ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And you are watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.

A.J., tonight country singer Willie Nelson has a new song out, and it is a tribute to gay cowboys. Coming up, we are going to play part of that song and also tell you why Willie says he has a personal connection to it.

HAMMER: And Willie a bit ahead of the curve with this song. We`ll get into that, as well.

Also, Brooke, we have one of those "Oh, my god" stories, truly a wow factor here. Imagine being so displeased with your looks that you went to such great extremes over and over again to improve upon them. A woman who wanted to look more like Julia Roberts, only 29 years old, has had 30 cosmetic procedures. Her story is...

ANDERSON: It`s like an addiction.

HAMMER: Her story is amazing. It is an addiction, and that`s coming up in moments.

ANDERSON: OK.

But first, here are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."

Tonight, Tom Cruise`s camp is flat-out denying reports that he and a pregnant Katie Holmes have split up. "Life and Style" magazine has published a report saying that the pair are through. Cruise`s lawyer tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that`s he`s deciding whether or not to sue the tabloid.

"Life and Style," on the other hand, says it stands 100 percent behind the report.

Well, you won`t see Pam Anderson at this year`s Kentucky Derby in May. The actress is boycotting the famous horse race because she now thinks horse racing is cruel and she doesn`t like that Kentucky Fried Chicken is a sponsor. Anderson is an animal rights activist and has been campaigning against what she says is abuse of chickens.

And tonight, a little bit of network news anchor history. Just a short time ago, Diane Sawyer and Elizabeth Vargas co-anchored "World News Tonight."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH VARGAS, CO-ANCHOR, "WORLD NEWS TONIGHT": I`m Elizabeth Vargas.

DIANE SAWYER, CO-ANCHOR, "WORLD NEWS TONIGHT": And I`m Diane Sawyer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: ABC News says it`s the first time two women have co- anchored a network evening newscast. Sawyer was filling in for Bob Woodruff, who is recovering from injuries he sustained during a roadside bombing in Iraq.

And those are tonight`s "Hot Headlines."

HAMMER: Well, the vice president is still the subject of late-night jokes, with the press slamming him for delaying the release of the hunting accident story. So we`re asking you tonight: Dick Cheney: Are the media treating him fairly?

Still time to get in and vote at CNN.com/showbiztonight. You got more to say? Our e-mail address is showbiztonight@CNN.com. We`re going to read some of your e-mails at 55 past the hour.

ANDERSON: OK, Willie Nelson has always been a fan of cowboys. In fact, one of the country singer`s most famous songs is, "My Heroes have Always Been Cowboys."

Now he`s released a song paying tribute to gay ones. It`s called, "Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other," exclusively available on iTunes.

The song was penned back in 1981 by songwriter Ned Sublette during the urban cowboy craze. And he always thought Willie would be the right guy to sing it.

Nelson, whose song "He was a Friend of Mine," appeared on the "Brokeback Mountain" soundtrack, says it was time to release the gay cowboy song because he felt the timing was right. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIE NELSON, MUSICIAN (singing): Well, there`s many a-strange impulse out on the plains of West Texas. There`s many a young boy who feels things he can`t comprehend. And a small town don`t like it when somebody falls between sexes. No, a small town don`t like it when a cowboy has feelings for men.

And I believe to my soul that inside every man there`s the feminine and, inside every lady, there`s a deep, manly voice loud and clear. Well, the cowboy may brag about things that he`s done with his women, but the ones that brag loudest are the ones that are most likely queer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Willie Nelson told the "Dallas Morning News" that he had a personal connection to this song, when his long-time tour manager revealed he was gay two years ago. And, A.J., of course, he did perform a song for "Brokeback Mountain," and, of course, this release comes as "Brokeback Mountain" is leading all the Oscar nominees with eight nominations.

HAMMER: And I think what people should know is this song is not a parody. It is not a comedy song. This is a real song from Willie Nelson, which, you know, I think some people are losing sight of.

ANDERSON: Very serious song that was written years and years ago, and they just feel the timing is right now.

HAMMER: The timing is right.

And moving on, Brooke, tonight, supermodel Petra Nemcova making another courageous comeback. Just over a year ago, she was fighting for her life. The devastating Asian tsunami left her desperately clinging to a palm tree in Thailand.

She had a shattered pelvis and bruises all over her body, but she hung in there. It did take the life of her boyfriend. It left her broken physically and emotionally.

And the tragedy had come soon after a very happy moment in her modeling career. She landed this, the coveted 2003 "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue cover. Now Petra making another comeback. She`s in the same magazine that made her one of the most famous models in the world.

Petra, welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

PETRA NEMCOVA, SUPERMODEL: Hello.

HAMMER: It`s so nice to see you with a huge smile on your face...

NEMCOVA: Of course.

HAMMER: ... also partially because we were just doing the story on the Willie Nelson gay cowboy song. You enjoyed that, didn`t you?

NEMCOVA: Well, I saw people dancing behind the camera, so I had to smile.

HAMMER: Yes, that would be Mikey. He loves to come out here and dance.

Now, are you going to go download the song when you get home tonight now that you`re privy to it?

NEMCOVA: Yes, yes, I will. I will try.

(LAUGHTER)

HAMMER: Well, how are you feeling? Because, as I said, you look terrific. The pictures of you in "Sports Illustrated" are beautiful, and you got a glowing smile. But physically, I know this has been a long road.

NEMCOVA: Well, actually, I`ve been quite lucky. I recovered very quickly. But doing "Sports Illustrated" and shooting for this issue, it was definitely a little bit of a challenge.

It was only my second job after, you know, the recovery, and I was quite nervous. And it was -- but I`m going and shooting those photographs, Dan Smith (ph), the editor, and the photographers, George Shining (ph). They made it much easier.

Actually, Stuart (ph) was more nervous than I was. He didn`t eat almost for more than one day, because he was trying to make sure that I`m OK, that I feel comfortable with everything. So they made it easier. But it was definitely a very strange situation.

HAMMER: But nice to have that support. And as you said, it`s only the second job you`ve taken since your comeback, so effectively this is your big, major comeback, because I was just looking at some of the numbers around the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue. Sixty-four million people are going to pick this up, one in five adults in the United States.

And, Ellie, can we throw the cover up here? The picture that made -- now, they don`t choose the cover for a while. This was a photo that you were originally supposed to be a part of. Why don`t we see you there?

NEMCOVA: Well, what happened -- they were shooting this photograph in June. And they asked me if I would go and shoot it, but it was too early still. I was not ready to do any photographs. I started to shoot only in September. So then they asked me, "Will you do it in September?" And I said yes.

HAMMER: What made you not ready? Was it physically you didn`t...

NEMCOVA: Still physically, emotionally, I needed still some time to recover. But, you know, that`s a cover. I think it`s gorgeous. And this particular issue, I think it`s so strong and so beautiful, I think the best one ever I`ve seen.

HAMMER: Well, let`s take a look at some of the pictures. I`m not going to argue with you there. They`re stunning photographs. Is there any kind of a theme, a thread that`s running through the shots that you did for them?

NEMCOVA: Well, actually, it is -- I was joking about a triple-S. It`s about being sexy, sweet and strong. And strong because what I have been through, and, you know, I came from it stronger than ever.

So, you know, those photographs are very sexy, but all strong as well, at the same time. And we had lots of fun. Actually, this one was the peek-a-boo photograph, because we had so much rain. You know, we had two days to shoot it and we had two days of rain. And they say in Palm Springs there`s only two days a year of rain. So we were very lucky to have it.

HAMMER: That is very lucky.

NEMCOVA: So we had to -- there was, like, a sunshine for a few minutes there, but most of the photographs we have to shoot inside in a hotel lobby. So that`s we`re like, "OK, curtains. Let`s shoot behind the curtains." That was the peek-a-boo shot.

HAMMER: And now that the experience of doing this is behind you, you`re forging ahead with your modeling career and feeling pretty good about it.

NEMCOVA: Definitely. Yes, modeling career, but also doing still lots of charity work and trying to do my best with that.

HAMMER: A model with a mission.

NEMCOVA: Well, just, you know, something that feels right to do.

HAMMER: Petra, you will always have a home here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thank you very much for stopping by.

NEMCOVA: Thank you. Thank you so much.

HAMMER: And you can take a look at Petra Nemcova`s latest photos and read more about her in this year`s "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue that you`re looking at now. It`s on newsstands right now.

ANDERSON: All right. Coming up, the shocking story of a woman addicted to plastic surgery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNY LEE, HAS UNDERGONE 30 PLASTIC SURGERIES: There`s a disconnect in your brain that prevents you from seeing what everybody else sees.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Why she just can`t stop her dangerous obsession. It is a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. You`re watching TV`s only live entertainment news show.

It`s time now for a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report. Tonight, it`s a shocking story. It`s about a woman addicted to plastic surgery. And as you`re about to see, the real startling thing about this is she was attractive to begin with. But once she started with a nip here and a tuck there, it became a dangerous obsession.

Here is CNN`s Paula Zahn for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNY LEE, HAS UNDERGONE 30 PLASTIC SURGERIES: I wanted to look in the mirror and say, "Today, you look OK." Not great, not fantastic, not beautiful, not gorgeous, nothing like that. I just wanted to be OK. That`s all I wanted.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It`s hard to believe that this beautiful young woman ever could have felt that way. Jenny was so striking as a teenager that her family and friends told her she looked like Julia Roberts.

This is Jenny Lee today. She bears little resemblance to the girl in the picture. At 29, Jenny has had 30 cosmetic procedures.

(on-camera): So, Jenny, I have seen pictures of you before you ever had your first surgical procedure and you were stunning.

LEE: Thanks.

ZAHN: What do you think you looked like back then?

LEE: I thought I was a really pretty girl. I had more boys chasing at me than I could shake a stick at.

ZAHN (voice-over): Jenny began a relationship with a young man who she eventually married. She says he picked apart her physical features and caused her to question her self-worth. As the relationship progressed, Jenny lost more and more confidence in her appearance.

At the age of 19, instead of changing the relationship, Jenny decided to change herself. She went to a plastic surgeon.

ZAHN (on-screen): What was the first thing you had done?

LEE: The first thing that I did was my breasts. I went in and had a breast augmentation because I felt like, of all of the things that I had been criticized, that was the thing that I felt I could benefit the most from.

ZAHN: And then did you like what you saw in the mirror?

LEE: I liked my breasts. I did my nose at the same time. I did full body liposuction at the same time. I was fairly happy there for a little while.

ZAHN (voice-over): But after that first experience with the magic of plastic surgery, Jenny Lee felt she could look even better. She took her daughter and left her husband behind, but not the plastic surgeon.

There were cheek implants, two different kinds of lip implants, new teeth, Botox injections, and two more nose jobs to narrow and straighten her nose.

(on-camera): But in having these three nose jobs, you really did destroy your nose.

LEE: Yes. Well, I can`t blow my nose like a normal person. I can`t breathe very well out of it.

ZAHN (voice-over): Trying to make ends meet as a single mom and to support her growing dependence on surgery, Jenny took weekend jobs as a waitress. She lived on peanut butter sandwiches. Ironically, she met and married another man who felt she was perfect just the way she was, but that unconditional love wasn`t enough.

Jenny decided on her most serious procedure yet: a brow lift, an invasive surgery in which she would be cut literally from ear to ear. The muscles that cause furrows and lines in the brow are removed or altered to raise the eyebrows, erasing any lines.

(on-camera): But that`s a procedure that a lot of women put off until they`re in their 50s and 60s. You did that when you were 25 years old.

LEE: I call that preventive maintenance.

ZAHN: Very early preventive maintenance.

LEE: Yes.

ZAHN: And you`ve never had any sense of self-consciousness about what the heck am I doing, I`m in my 20s? I haven`t even aged yet, and I`m doing this.

LEE: You know, I did after I came out of surgery and I realized that I had just been sliced from ear to ear, because I was real casual about it. I said, "Well, it sounds great. Go ahead with it." I didn`t ask exactly what this entailed.

And when I woke up, my husband just went -- and it looked like I had been in a massive car wreck, because I had black eyes, and I had this splint on my nose, and my lips were like, you know, huge because, you know, they were swollen. My whole face was swollen. But, you know, I looked back at it now and think it was one of the greatest things that I did. And I`m glad I did it at 25 years old.

ZAHN (voice-over): Whatever pushed a beautiful young girl to such extremes, Jenny is certainly not alone. Our obsession with beauty and quick fixes has been steadily growing.

In 2004, Americans spent more than $12 billion on cosmetic procedures. And in the past nine years, there`s been a 465 percent increase in the number of cosmetic procedures. But Jenny finally discovered that her burning need to change her appearance was far more than just a preoccupation.

She says she was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD, a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patients like Jenny literally become obsessed with minor physical flaws.

ZAHN (on-camera): I think, as people listen to you tonight, they`re going to be surprised by what they see as a disconnect. They see this very attractive woman, who`s thoughtful, who`s intelligent, and then the flip side of this is, how can she be so self-indulgent and why doesn`t she see what we see?

LEE: There`s a disconnect in your brain that prevents you from seeing what everybody else sees. And, you know, trying to fix that is the mystery.

I can tell you that, when I look at pictures, it`s like I`m looking at someone else. Because I`ll go, "Wow, that`s a really pretty girl." You know, I find all of the positive things about it. The problem that I have is when I`m looking in the mirror and it`s just me in the mirror, and I don`t see the same things that the camera gives back to me.

ZAHN (voice-over): Jenny says that she`s learned some techniques from her psychiatrist to help change her thinking about her appearance. But performing plastic surgery on patients like Jenny is causing some doctors to be very concerned.

DR. ALAN GOLD, PLASTIC SURGEON: So for a 29-year-old who`s had so many of those procedures, unfortunately who may be looking over-operated- upon, I think it`s irresponsible on the part of the surgeon or surgeons not to have stopped her at some point and have looked to what the deeper problem might be in all of this.

ZAHN: Dr. Alan Gold is a plastic surgeon and associate professor of surgery at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

GOLD: If we would decide that a patient was suspect for having something like a body dysmorphic disorder, it would be absolutely unconscionable to operate on that patient. And that`s a patient that should be turned down.

ZAHN: The retail price of Jenny`s new face and body comes with a staggering price tag, so far about $100,000. And it`s no wonder; over the last 10 years, she`s had 30 procedures. Here`s the complete list.

She`s had cheek implants, two kinds of lip implants, veneers, Botox, three nose jobs, a brow lift, steroid injections, lip enhancements, two breast augmentations, three breast lifts, full body liposuction, including arms, stomach, abs, legs, and knees. And even though her husband insists that she stop, as incredible as it seems, Jenny still wants more.

(on-camera): Do you think there will ever be a time when you`re actually going to accept the way you look and like how you look?

LEE: There may be a time like that. But I don`t think it will be anytime in the next 20, 30 years.

ZAHN: Where does this need to continually change yourself come from?

LEE: It`s a battle with me and my reflection. I`m very secure in who I am. I know who I am as a person, what kind of person I am. But this battle with my reflection and my appearance is steady, and it won`t go away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: That was CNN`s Paula Zahn for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

Truly an amazing story, Brooke. And really what a contradiction. But at least I was happy to hear midway through that that she is seeking psychological counseling and getting advice.

ANDERSON: It is just truly sad that she feels she might not be happy with her appearance for 10, 20, 30 years to come. It`s truly a sad situation.

OK. Stay with us. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HAMMER: We have been asking you to vote online on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." We`ve been asking: Dick Cheney: Are the media treating him fairly?

Well, the vote so far says, yes: 63 percent of you agree; 37 percent of you say, no, they have not been treating him fairly.

Among the e-mails we`ve received, we here from Korea in Michigan who says, "No, they`re not. V.P. Cheney made a mistake and he regrets it immensely. Can we please move on?"

We also heard from Leo out in California who disagrees, saying, "I believe that the media has done an excellent job of showing respect to Mr. Cheney."

ANDERSON: And we thank you for your e-mails. It is time now to see what`s playing on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tomorrow. For that, we go to the Showbiz Marquee.

Marquee Guy, what do you have?

MARQUEE GUY: Tomorrow, are you feeling overwhelmed by the Oscars? Well, don`t sweat it, because SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will get you all caught up on the nominated films. We`ll show you which ones you can watch on DVD without evening leaving your own comfy couch. When? Tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special investigative report. Why "American Idol" is still idolized by millions, why it`s still crushing the competition. So what`s the show`s secret to success? Find out tomorrow when we take you inside "Idol."

This is the Marquee Guy, a guy who likes to be idolized.

HAMMER: And "Idol" still beating the Olympics, again last night beat the Olympics.

ANDERSON: Can you believe it? Juggernaut.

HAMMER: It does not stop. We`ll get into that tomorrow, but that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.

ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Thanks for watching, everyone. And stay tuned for the latest from CNN Headline News.

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