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Showbiz Tonight
O.J. Outrage; Why So Many Hollywood Couples Split Up
Aired November 16, 2006 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Get ready for a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event. TV`s biggest judges all in one place at the same time, talking about why so many Hollywood couples split up. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And did something truly terrible happen to Tom Hanks? The SHOWBIZ TONIGHT truth squad gets to the bottom of it. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, O.J. outrage. Tonight, the worldwide anger over O.J. Simpson`s shocking TV special, where he reveals how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend, if he had done it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing would surprise me that this sob would do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the controversial question. Will you watch and should this disgusting show even air?
Tonight, a model shocker. A beautiful famous model starves herself to death. Should the fashion industry share the blame? And is Hollywood sending the wrong message about staying skinny.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People, for god`s sake, look out for your children, open your eyes so that you don`t lose them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates this hard wrenching tragedy and how women everywhere could be in danger.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. The O.J. Simpson outrage train has left the station and is moving full steam ahead.
HAMMER: Yes Brooke, the anger over O.J.`s TV show and book, what`s being called, quote, his confession, is so off the charts we can hardly measure it. Well when the news first broke that O.J. would be telling how he might have killed his ex-wife and her friend, if he did it, the reaction was pure disbelief. In fact, we thought it was all a sick joke.
ANDERSON: Right A.J., but tonight we can tell you it is no joke and no one is laughing about it. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the latest outrage and anger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s a piece of crap.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the most repulsive, disgusting, hideous spectacles I have ever seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the most appalling, shameless, exploitative thing I have heard of in the history of television, maybe in the history of recorded civilization.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Repulsive, appalling, disgust, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is hearing all kinds of words, none of them good, to describe O.J.`s latest outrage. An upcoming book and Fox TV interview, where the acquitted murder defendant talks about how he would have, would have killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You wrote, I have never seen so much blood in my life.
O.J. SIMPSON, FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL STAR: I don`t think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood.
ANDERSON: But amid all the explosive reaction to O.J.`s disturbing new venture, no one is angrier than Fred Goldman, who still believes Simpson got away with killing his son, Ron.
FRED GOLDMAN, FATHER OF RON GOLDMAN: He butchered two people and walked out of a courtroom a free man, and now he is glorifying it in a book.
ANDERSON: Fred Goldman and his daughter, Kim, appeared on "LARRY KING LIVE." And his reaction when he first heard about the O.J. project?
GOLDMAN: Appalled. I don`t know other -- there were a lot of other words, but none of them we want to use on TV.
Nothing would surprise me that this SOB would do, but the fact that someone is willing to publish this garbage, that Fox is willing to put it on air, is just morally despicable to me.
ANDERSON: O.J.`s new book is being published by a division of publisher Harper Collins, which happens to be owned by News Corporation, the parent company of the Fox network and word is, O.J. is being paid handsomely.
DAVID PEREL, NATIONAL ENQUIRER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: The "National Enquirer" has learned that O.J. Simpson has been paid 3.5 million dollars for this project.
ANDERSON: David Perel is editor-in-chief of the "National Enquirer," which broke the O.J. story. He tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that O.J. himself shopped around this book deal.
PEREL: The "Enquirer" learned that he need cash, he wanted cash and what`s the number one commodity O.J. has to sell? His confession.
ANDERSON: But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, what about the 33.5 million dollar judgment the Goldman family won in their wrongful death suit against Simpson? The Goldmans have yet to see a dime, and in the past, Simpson has said they never will.
SIMPSON: If I have to work to pay them, I won`t work. It`s that simple.
ANDERSON: But whatever money Simpson may have received for his book, the Goldmans tell CNN`s Larry King they intend to go after it.
KIM GOLDMAN, SISTER OF RON GOLDMAN: My father and I have always said that we will do whatever it takes to make sure that we are an albatross around his neck and to make sure that he paid for the crimes in which he was, you know, held responsible for.
ANDERSON: If they do, TMZ.com`s Harvey Levin tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT they might be in for another fight with O.J.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: O.J. Simpson will make it as hard as possible for anyone to get a penny of his blood money.
ANDERSON: No matter what Simpson is being paid, Fred Goldman says he wants those who did business with O.J. to pay an even bigger price.
F. GOLDMAN: I would not only hope that no one watches it, I would hope that no one buys the book.
ANDERSON: On "The View" this morning the Goldmans got some support.
ROSIE O`DONNELL, "THE VIEW": The father and daughter both asked the people in the public do not watch the special, do not buy the book and I for one am agreeing with them.
ANDERSON: But the legal panel CNN`s Anderson Cooper assembled to talk about the book have different plans.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Lisa, would you watch?
LISA MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don`t have a Nealson (ph) set, so I will watch. Nobody will know if I watch
JEFF TOOBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I devoted two and a half years of my life to this case, how could I not watch?
ANDERSON: It`s a dilemma the nation is wrestling with in the days before the O.J. interview airs. Will our outrage be overshadowed by our curiosity.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Fox will air the two part interview with O.J. Simpson on November 27th and 29th.
HAMMER: Well, if there`s one guy who knows the O.J. case better than anyone else it`s Harvey Levin, the managing editor of TMZ.com. Harvey was a TV reporter covering the Simpson trial back in 1995. Harvey has an incredible story he is going to tell tonight about O.J. possibly returning to the scene of the crime. Harvey joining us tonight from the TMZ news room in Glendale, California.
And Harvey, I can only imagine how you felt when you first heard about this, because when we first heard about this, we weren`t exactly sure where to place our anger, with the publisher for putting this book out, with Fox for running the special or O.J. himself. There is outrage to go around. Where do we direct our anger?
LEVIN: I think you`ve hit the right places, A.J. I mean, they are all outrageous. In some ways O.J. Simpson less outrageous than the others, because he`s a piece of garbage and everybody knew this is what he was capable of and he was true to form. It`s just so shocking to me that Fox would play ball with him and Judith Regen would do anything to make a buck, but it is sickening. It is typical of O.J. Simpson and it just proves that this guy cares about no one other than himself. I mean, remember A.J., this is a guy who was going to allow his children to find their mother almost decapitated on the front porch, and that says it all.
HAMMER: And I wonder how his kids are feeling about this book and TV special, because obviously they are going to know about it. Let`s go back to 1994, Harvey. I mentioned you have a great story for us. This was a time when you were working as an investigative reporter in L.A. O.J. Simpson`s case was your life at the time. The trial, you were on top of it every single day. I think it was about two months after his acquittal, if I`m right, that you were at Nicole Brown Simpson`s house, the scene of the crime and something rather extraordinary happened.
LEVIN: It was a Saturday night and a friend of mine wanted to see the murder site, Bundy, and we drove over there after dinner, and we went to the back alley, because I always had a theory that the way this happened was, he went over there to slash her tires on her Ferrari, which he had done two weeks before the murder, and he looked in the window, saw the candle light, saw she was taking a bath, flipped out because she had done something to him earlier in the evening, and then basically almost cut her neck off.
So I took this person to the back of the alley to say this is where I think it all happened, and there was a black limousine there, an older black limousine. And I wouldn`t have thought anything of it because there were so many of these cars that came by to look, but this limo driver looked in his rear view, saw me, and then just gunned it, and I just knew. I just knew and I followed this limo. And that guy went faster and faster and I chased him. And we were weaving around Brentwood and he got to Sunset Boulevard, which is really busy, and he crossed Sunset in the direction of O.J.`s house, Rockingham, and I got stuck for about 15 or 20 seconds because of traffic. And I crossed the area.
I took a short cut, went to Rockingham. Just as I got to O.J. Simpson`s house, I saw this shadow go inside the gate. The gate had opened up. The shadow had gone inside the gate. I am convinced it was O.J. Simpson and he went back to the scene of the crime and it was his bad luck that I spotted him.
HAMMER: Harvey, you obviously had to spend some time getting into his mind when you covered the trial. What in the world do you think he was doing there?
LEVIN: Oh I think he was -- Well, first of all, remember, there was an upcoming civil case, so he still had to defend the civil case. But I think there is an utter fascination. I think O.J. Simpson wanted to go back and see his handy work. When people talk about this, A.J., going back to the scene of the crime, there`s a psychological pull that forces criminals to do something like that. They just want to relive it and I think that`s exactly what happened. This guy, who just hated me so much, and probably with good reason, because it didn`t take me a long time to figure out how guilty he was, this guy just must have freaked out that, of all people, I just kind of cruise up behind his limo on that Saturday night.
HAMMER: Wow Harvey, that`s an amazing story. You always wind up being in the right place at the right time, or at least your cameras do over there from TMZ. We appreciate you sharing that story with us tonight.
LEVIN: Sure A.J.
ANDERSON: And now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. O.J.`s TV show confession, will you watch? Vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Send us an e-mail. Here`s the address, SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com. And don`t forget, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that let`s you express your opinion on video. So just look into your video camera or your web cam. Send us a piece of your mind via video e-mail. It`s really easy. Head to our website CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT and you can learn how to do it. Keep the videos to 30 seconds or less. Then watch for your video e-mails right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: All right, get out your gavel, if you have one. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT holds court with three of the biggest TV judges out there. We`re going to ask them what is it about Hollywood that causes all of these celebrity divorces?
ANDERSON: Also, a beautiful model starves herself to death. Is Hollywood still sending the wrong message about staying skinny? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates. Plus we`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Interviews with her seemed very scripted. It seems like she has certain messages. It seems very controlled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Just how did Katie Holmes go from Dawson`s Creek darling to the controversial soon to be Mrs. Cruise? We`re going to be taking a startling look at how Katie Holmes has changed. It`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s special week long coverage of the Tomkat wedding countdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. It`s time now for a story that made us say, or rather squawk, that`s ridiculous. Here`s what I am talking about. We would like you to officially meet the parrots of the Caribbean. Yes, these birds are reportedly auditioning for a squawk on roll. Get it, squawk on role, in the Pirates of the Caribbean film, the next in the series. One lucky fine feathered friend will actually share the screen with Johnny Depp, Kiera Nightly (ph) and Orlando Bloom. Now Disney is saying Parrots with attitude won`t fly with them. No diva birds here. But if this is true, we think auditioning parrots for a part, well it`s a bird brained idea and that`s ridiculous.
ANDERSON: Well, we know Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are flying high. It`s the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Tomkat countdown. Just two days until the wedding of the year in Italy. And tonight we have got these very hard to find pictures of Tom, Katie and their beautiful baby daughter Suri in Rome. They have been almost impossible to spot, locked up in their hotel. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can also tell you the stars,they are a coming. There`s Jim Carey and Jennifer McCarthy arriving right there. Also Jennifer Lopez and her husband Mark Anthony have arrived. There you see them. Will Smith`s wife and Jada Pickett Smith (ph) are also in Roam. Here we have the video of them.
Even Brook Shields, who had a nasty fight with Tom Cruise over using - - her using anti-depressants to battle post-partum depression. There she is. Jenna Elfman too, a fellow Scientologist there. Looks like the people of Bracciano (ph) are greeting Tom and Katie with a big old friendly welcome, buenne venuto (ph). A medieval castle in their town in supposedly the place where the wedding will go down. They put up pictures and signs in the windows of stores, apartments. We have even heard the terraces overlooking the castle have been rented out to the paparazzi. Because, you know, the paparazzi are desperately trying to get pictures of that wedding.
HAMMER: More now of the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Tomkat countdown. In honor of the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes wedding, all this week SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is taking a special look at the best, the wackiest and the strangest stories of celebrities and marriages in Hollywood. Tonight we`re taking a revealing look at Tom Cruise`s bride to be, Katie Holmes. And for that, we turn now to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, who is live in Hollywood with us. Sibila, take us back to when this all started.
SIBILA VARGAS, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was just April of last year when the shocking news became a front page story everywhere. Katie Holmes was dating superstar Tom Cruise. But we still really don`t know who this small town Catholic girl from Ohio really is. Well SHOWBIZ TONIGHT --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS (voice-over): She scored her first movie in Ang Lee`s "The Ice Storm."
KATIE HOLMES, ACTRESS: To be a Christian is to choose, because you have to choose of your own choice.
VARGAS: And TV fans grew to adore her as Joey Potter in the hit series "Dawson`s Creek."
HOLMES: The one that doesn`t involve waking up and discovering it`s all been a dream involving a college scholarship.
VARGAS: Katie Holmes, just a family girl, starring in a family friendly TV show.
DEBORAH SCHOENEMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, "NEW YORK MAGAZINE": Katie Holmes has always seemed to be relatively traditional. She was raised Catholic. She was on this TV show. She had this very wholesome image.
VARGAS: And she made that image even more wholesome by dating "American Pie" star Chris Kline. They dated for five years before getting engaged. Katie`s personal life and her career seemed right on track.
NICKI GOSTIN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEWSWEEK": Katie Holmes had done some movies that had gotten really good reviews. And she certainly, I think, picked her material quite carefully. And then suddenly she was cast in "Batman Begins" as the girlfriend.
VARGAS: But just a few months before the release of Batman Begins" Katie and Chris called it quits and ended their engagement.
GOSTIN: After she broke up with Chris Kline she bought an apartment downtown in New York and she had a group of friends in New York.
VARGAS: Newly single and a new apartment for Katie. But this new chapter would end quickly and with a twist that would fascinate the world.
GOSTIN: She starts dating Tom Cruise. And it was just this eruption of media frenzy and speculation and couch jumping and just madness.
VARGAS: Madness indeed. And the transformation of Katie Holmes had begun. As she and Tom Cruise became the new it`s Hollywood couple and their quick courtship took even SHOWBIZ TONIGHT by surprise.
HAMMER: Tom and Katie, how did they hook up?
VARGAS: And Tom Cruise, not one to do anything under the radar, professed his love for Katie on "Oprah" in that now famous couch jumping incident. And all those PDAs, public displays of affection, didn`t seem to bother Katie either.
GOSTIN: It was interesting to see Katie and Tom at premieres because he was very affectionate and full of PDAs that would I think embarrass most people. And it was sort of weird to watch that. Because there was a lot of, you know, hugging and holding and being swept off one`s feet and kisses. And it was just very demonstrative and unusual.
VARGAS: Very unusual if you knew the old Katie, and with the new Katie came something even more unusual, a new friend, a minder from Tom`s Church of Scientology following her wherever she went.
SCHOENEMAN: I think the inner workings of Scientology are a mystery to everyone. And it certainly seems unusual that Katie Holmes is being schooled by Scientology, being trailed by a Scientology advisor.
VARGAS: And Scientology would play an even bigger role in Katie`s life, after Tom proposed to her in Paris at the Eiffel Tower. After a world win romance, Katie`s life would change again, as the couple that would become known as Tomkat announced they were going to have a baby.
(on camera): So tonight, the second shock wave from the big announcement that Tom Cruise and Katie Homes are having a child together.
(voice-over): But hold on, what about Katie Holmes the actress, where did she go?
GOSTIN: She hasn`t worked since she started going out with him, and the last movie that she did, "Thank You For Smoking," which was a critical hit.
VARGAS: A critical hit with some intriguing back story.
GOSTIN: The movie had some more graphic nude scenes that were quickly taken out after one screening. And so the question was whether Tom Cruise had actually forced the changes into the movie.
VARGAS: It was not only changes in her movie, but changes in Katie, as her demeanor changed. Once seen as a free spirit, now seemingly a controlled one.
GOSTIN: She certainly seems like she`s not making remarks off the cuff. Interviews with her seem very scripted. It seems like she has certain messages. It seems very controlled.
VARGAS: And it`s those controlled interviews that inspired some Internet websites calling to Free Katie Home. And there`s even a site called Tom Cruise is Nuts.
GOSTIN: I think there is tremendous public fascination about Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise for numerous reasons. And people are fascinated by their dynamic. I don`t think that fascination is going to go away. However, Tom Cruise is at the star power level that he can go away when he wants to. He can close up the gates of his mansion. He can only fly private. He cannot go to public appearances. He is in control of how much he wants to be out there.
VARGAS: And for Katie Holmes, being propelled into that controlled circle, that is Tom Cruise, may not be such a bad thing for her career either.
GOSTIN: It certainly remains to be seen, you know, what kind of career she`s going to want to have after this marriage. It doesn`t mean that it`s over or that she made a mistake or that she`s taken the limelight away from herself. If anything, she has a lot more attention now than ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: We will see just what Katie Holmes does after she becomes Mrs. Tom Cruise, but SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is betting that Katie won`t be making any movies anytime soon, because she`s probably a little bit busy with baby Suri.
HAMMER: And important full time job there. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas, thanks for joining us from Hollywood tonight.
Now all this week, of course, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been covering the Tomkat wedding like no other entertainment news show. Tomorrow we are going to wrap up our special series in Italy. That`s right, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is going to be right there, just outside of Rome, where Tom and Katie are getting married. Make sure you tune into the Tomkat wedding countdown. It continues tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Did something really terrible happen to Tom Hanks? The SHOWBIZ TONIGHT truth squad is demanding answers and is on the case.
HAMMER: Look at those guys. Three wise people. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT holding court with the biggest TV judges. We are going to be asking them the real reasons behind why so many stars get divorced.
We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): People, for god sakes, look out for your children. Open your eyes so that you don`t lose them, as I lost Anna.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: A mother`s devastating loss. Her daughter, a model, starved herself to death. Is Hollywood still sending the wrong message about staying skinny. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: OK, it`s time now for this week`s SHOWBIZ staff picks. It`s the stuff that we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT love on TV. We are definitely loving NBC`s "Friday Night Lights." And it`s been renewed for a full season. We`re also loving "Saturday Night Live`s" Kristen Wiig. She is the most dependably solid SNL player since the late Phil Hartman.
In music we are head over heals for Fergie and her new solo album "The Dutchess." Our producer Sandy Lee calls it spunky and funky. At the movies we love "Happy Feet," opening tomorrow. We`ve seen it. It`s a toe tapping good time. And finally, we are loving the holiday drinks at the major coffee chains. Our fabulous production assistant Brittany Kaplan is especially in love with the Decaf White Chocolate Peppermint Late from Coffee Bean. Got to try that.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT holding court with three of the biggest TV judges. It`s a special event you will only see right here.
ANDERSON: Also, Lindsay Lohan is tearing into the tabloids and we do mean that literally. Why she is all fired up.
HAMMER: And the startling story of a model who starved herself to death. Who is to blame? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates.
(NEWS BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Thursday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
A.J., tonight at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, we`re going to hold court. We`re going to have three of the biggest TV judges out there with us tonight. I`m going to ask why celebrities are getting divorces so often these days, if it has something to do with Hollywood. And also, why people just insist airing their dirty laundry on national TV. That`s coming up.
HAMMER: Looking forward to those rulings, Brooke.
But first tonight, the fashion industry has been absolutely rocked by a death so frightening it is bound to increase the pressure to stop using models who are scary skinny.
Ana Carolina Reston was an up-and-coming model who worked for some of the biggest modeling agencies in the world. But today came the shocking news that Reston died after basically starving herself to death - dying after a chilling battle with an eating disorder.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNDIENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): People, for God`s sake, look out for your children. Open your eyes, so that you don`t lose them as I lost Anna.
HAMMER (voice-over): Ana Carolina Reston`s mother, tearful and emotional, just days after the death of her 21-year-old daughter from anorexia. Reston weighed a frightening 88 pounds when she died - the average weight of a 12-year-old.
Reston`s dream of becoming a model began when she was just 13 years old. It ended eight years later, in this hospital in Brazil, where she was being treated for kidney failure - a complication of anorexia. Carolina`s grieving mother says it was a struggle to get her to eat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She would say, Mother, don`t be mad at me. I don`t want to eat. The food won`t go down. I should have quarreled with her, but I didn`t say anything.
HAMMER: Even though she was literally dying to be thin, Carolina didn`t keep her anorexia a secret. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT discovered an interview the model did seven months ago with a Brazilian newspaper, where she admitted she had lost control, saying, "There were times I felt fat. I had a distorted image of myself."
Carolina`s family says the 5-foot-7 model stuck to a terrifying diet of just apples and tomatoes. They say she would eat very small portions, then throw it up afterwards.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): She even said she had a fat belly despite being very slim.
HAMMER: Carolina`s tragic death comes as the outrage grows over the fashion world`s use of super-skinny models. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT told you all about the super-skinny model ban in Madrid this past fall. It wasn`t long after that when we showed you this: a bone-thin model walking the runway for Guy LaRoche in Paris.
Images like this touched off an international uproar, with many people worried that thin models were promoting anorexia in young women.
Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you the uproar hasn`t died down. A heated debate among fashion`s elite is going on right now.
Supermodel Iman tells us it`s time for a reality check.
IMAN, SUPERMODEL: (INAUDIBLE) body image but not to - to promote, especially for young girls who are already - have self-esteem issues. And that`s the last thing that they need.
And so, yes, I`m totally against it. And it doesn`t look good.
VALENTINO, DESIGNER: It`s very difficult for a designer to take model, and they are not skinny. I`m sorry - skinny, I don`t know what you mean about skinny.
HAMMER: Designers like Valentino may think skinny is glamorous. But we can tell you there`s absolutely nothing glamorous about the senseless death of young Ana Carolina Reston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: (INAUDIBLE) it`s only a matter of time.
Now, she wasn`t into forced into treatment. But unfortunately, it was too late for Ana Carolina. Reston`s death has become the biggest story in Brazil right now. People there are actually calling for an investigation into what went wrong. Some of the world`s biggest supermodels, like Gisele Bundchen, come from Brazil.
ANDERSON: Ana Carolina Reston`s death comes just months after Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos died of heart failure during a fashion show. It`s clear the already scrutinized modeling industry needs to do some soul searching before another one of their models literally drop - dies trying to be thin.
Joining me now in Hollywood is Roshumba Williams, model and author of "The Complete Idiot`s Guide To Being a Model."
Roshumba, welcome back to the show.
ROSHUMBA WILLIAMS, MODEL: Thank you so much, Brooke.
ANDERSON: OK, I have to tell you, when I heard about this, I just thought, Wow, this is really the most outrageous, tragic thing that has happened in all of the uproar over models being too skinny.
And, you know, Reston was actually booked. She was supposed to leave for a Paris photo shoot the day after she was hospitalized. So the modeling industry was still employing her.
Is she now going to become the poster child for what`s happening in the industry, for what`s really wrong with the industry?
WILLIAMS: Well, first, I`d like to send my condolences to Ana Carolina`s family. I`m so sorry that this actually happened to them. It`s a - really, a tragic thing.
But the truth is, modeling agencies and the clients don`t see the model every day. You can work with a client maybe once a month, once, you know, every six months or something like that. So that said, the clients may not have known that she was in such a state. And oftentimes, if a girl is a working model, the agencies don`t see them everyday. They talk to them oftentimes on the phone.
And when it comes to eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, it`s not exclusive to models. Women all over the world are having problems with eating disorders. And I think it`s a little bit unfair to only blame it on the modeling industry.
I mean, look at people like Nicole Richie and - it`s - it`s all over the place.
ANDERSON: But, you know, someone - someone needs to be held accountable. And you say the agency, you know, didn`t see every day most likely. Her agency in Brazil did express concern. Obviously, it was too late.
Who should be held responsible, though?
WILLIAMS: Well, I think it should be a three-part responsibility here. I think that it should - the agents should take responsibility, knowing that this demand for really skinny models is at such a height.
Also, the parent (AUDIO GAP) - this girl is starting modeling at 13 years old should not have happened. I - I talk about it -- that in my book.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Thirteen years old, still underdeveloped.
WILLIAMS: Right.
ANDERSON: When they start that young, are these girls - going forward from that age, going to feel the intense pressure to look super skinny, to look underdeveloped, really, even in their developmental years?
WILLIAMS: Yes.
Well, oftentimes, when they start at 13, 14, 15 years old, it`s really the parents` responsibility to step in and say, No, that should not happen. I don`t think a girl should hit the runway, a professional runway, before she`s 16 or 17 years old.
Actually, what I did, Brooke, when I knew that this story - when this story broke, is I called Cathy Gould, who`s the director of Elite Models in North America, and I asked her about it. I was like, Cathy, they`re dumping on the agencies. What do you have to say?
Basically, what Cathy said is, Agents - agencies devote - invest a lot of money, hundreds of thousands of dollars in developing models. They`re not going to encourage their models to, you know, starve themselves to the point they`re going to have eating disorders. Because that would, first of all, be counterproductive. They would maybe work a year, and then spend the rest of their times in the hospital trying to get healthy.
So I don`t think it`s quite fair to say it`s only the agents fault, it`s only the industries fault. Parents, the girl - girls themselves have to take responsibility as well.
ANDERSON: Surely there are a lot of factors in play here, Roshumba. I - I understand that.
But, you know, her death is just another sting, really, to an industry that`s been the center of a major controversy over the past few months.
WILLIAMS: That`s true.
ANDERSON: The ban of skinny models from the runway in Spain.
Do you think this could be the red flag, though? The straw that could break the camel`s back, that could lead to government intervention? Rules, regulations (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: I - I sure hope so.
I don`t know about government intervention, but I sure hope that this will be the red flag that makes agents step up and say, You know what? I see that you`re having a - a problem, maybe an eating disorder`s developing. I will not accept bookings for you if you don`t get some sort of help. And then to follow up on that.
Cathy Gould at Elite did say that they had model this year who started developing an eating disorder, and they did come together with the family, got her to - into a medical treatment, a nutritionist and a therapist. And the therapist found out that the eating disorder was not only - it wasn`t triggered by fashion; the girl had much deeper problems.
But I do think.
ANDERSON: Well, good for them.
WILLIAMS: .it`s a three-part thing.
ANDERSON: Yes, for taking initiative. It`s just heartbreaking; something does need to be done - need to be done on a larger scale.
Roshumba Williams, thanks for joining us.
WILLIAMS: Thank you so much, Brooke.
ANDERSON: The second edition of "The Complete Idiot`s Guide To Becoming a Model," Roshumba`s book, is due out in February.
HAMMER: Well, Lindsay Lohan is burning up the pages of a magazine - literally. In the December issue of "GQ," Lindsay is named the 2006 "Obsession of the Year."
And Lohan`s poking a little fun at the tabloids and the paparazzi in this photo shoot that has her ripping up magazines and setting fire to them. And in a tongue-and-cheek interview, Lindsay talks about how she wishes celebrity magazines would write more about her.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT sat down with Lindsay after she - as she was promoting her new movie, "Bobby." And she seemed to be putting it all in a very healthy place. She told us that she knows she wouldn`t be where she is today without some of that attention. And she deals with it the best way she can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSAY LOHAN, ENTERTAINER: Everyone that I care about, you know, directly in my life - (INAUDIBLE) immediate family or friends, I know what`s true and they know what`s true, and they know that 99 percent of what gets said is not true.
And I don`t want to be known for what club I`m at. Because I`m 20 years old - what am I supposed to do?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: For more with Lindsay Lohan, pick up a copy of a "GQ" magazine. You`ll find it on newsstands November 21.
So did Tom Hanks fall off a cliff in New Zealand? You may have seen this thing on the Internet. But is it true? Your SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Truth Squad is on the case, next.
ANDERSON: Plus, here come the judges. It`s a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special event: three of the biggest judges on television, all in one place, right here. So why are we so fascinated with court cases on TV? Judge for yourself, coming up.
HAMMER: And "The Simpsons" are coming to the big screen, finally. As Mr. Burns would say, "Excellent."
Your first look at "The Simpsons" movie just ahead in the "SHOWBIZ Showcase."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer.
And it`s time now to call in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Truth Squad. This is where our crack team of celebrity investigators sets the record straight on Hollywood mysteries.
Tonight, we are opening the case of a nasty little rumor that was started on (ph) on the Internet today; you may have run across this. It`s a rumor that Tom Hanks died after falling off a cliff in New Zealand.
Well, as they say, reports of Hanks` demise were greatly exaggerated. Tom Hanks` people assure the SHOWBIZ Truth Squad that he`s alive and well and in Los Angeles.
Turns out this rumor this actually got started on a prank Web site that lets people plug anyone`s name into fake news stories.
So there you have it: Tom Hanks, not dead.
ANDERSON: Good thing.
And every day on television, there are judges who try to get to the truth and figure out who is lying and who is not. We seem to be obsessed with TV court shows. And tonight, only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can bring you a very special event. Because tonight, this is the only place where you see three of TV`s biggest judges all in one place, at one time.
With me tonight here in Hollywood is Judge Alex Ferrer of TV`s "Judge Alex"; Judge Cristina Perez of "Cristina`s Court"; and Judge Lynn Toler from "Divorce Court."
Welcome to you all.
(CROSSTALK)
JUDGE ALEX FERRER, "JUDGE ALEX": It`s an appellate panel. The three judges here.
ANDERSON: Judge Alex, I want to start with you.
Why are we so fascinated with these Court TV shows? We love them.
FERRER: Well first of all, thank God we are.
But no, I think there are a variety of reasons. I think people have always been fascinated about law. I mean, you can look back and see shows about law and law enforcement before "L.A. Law," and how popular they are now. It - it does provide - it`s a format that provides a - a beginning, a middle an end in a nice little package in 30 minutes. People don`t have to wait for tomorrow to hear the conclusion.
And people love to watch somebody to get their comeuppance. You know, and - and - I mean, in today`s day and age, when people are getting away with things all the time, they love to see somebody get called out.
ANDERSON: Well - well, that`s one of the things that really amazes me, Judge Christina. When I watch these shows, to see people come on, air their dirty laundry on national TV.
Why the heck do they do it, and does it ever cease to amaze you?
JUDGE CRISTINA PEREZ, "CRISTINA`S COURT": Yes, well, you know, I think part of - just adding to what Alex said, I think - and this is also in a way to answer the question - I think court shows - you know, they tell great stories of human emotions. Stories just funded by revenge and betrayal, some of great courage and respect.
And I think court shows, in this age of reality TV, court shows provide the ultimate, unscripted drama that is told with passion by the people who are playing it. And I think that plays a lot to why people come on the show. I think it`s about vindication - public vindication. It`s not always about the money. It`s about being proven right once and for all against an opponent that had - where there was an ex-husband, whether it was a best friend of 22 years.
So I think it`s that public vindication.
(CROSSTALK)
PEREZ: It`s interesting, but I think it has a lot to do with that.
ANDERSON: Yes, and Judge Toler, your show, "Divorce Court," really highlights something that`s happening an awful lot in Hollywood these days. Most recently, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Philippe, Britney Spears, Kevin Federline.
What is it about Hollywood that - that all these couples are splitting up? Or is just reflecting what`s happening in America, all across the board, today?
JUDGE LYNN TOLER, "DIVORCE COURT": Well, I think there is a very high divorce rate these days in America because it`s very - it`s much easier to do; it`s much more socially acceptable. And I think we live in such a - an immediate-gratification society and - you know, where our parents were willing to tough it out for five or six years not liking one another, we decide we want to have fun right away.
It`s more difficult even in Hollywood, because they`re - they`re in a fantasy world that everything is wonderful, and people are running and getting you things and doing things for you. And then all of a sudden, you`re in a situation where you`ve got compromise and work and it`s hard. They get married young; they have a lot of opportunities to do the wrong thing, and all the world watches them while they do.
So it is - intensified what is already a very difficult judge.
ANDERSON: So you add the narcissism, too.
TOLER: Yes. Yes, I - I think so.
You`re used to getting everything you want, and you should be happy all of the time. And, you know, they first get married and describe their marriage as "awesome" and "unbelievable." You know, marriage is good on its best day. You know what I mean?
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Absolutely. And you all have had really crazy cases come through your courtroom.
Judge Alex, what`s the one that just takes the cake for you?
FERRER: Oh, I think probably my most outrageous case is one that I had this year, which is a - a taxi cab driver from New Orleans, who, as Katrina is barreling down on New Orleans, he had promised his father, mother, child, wife and niece that he would get them to safety as .
ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE)
FERRER: Yes. And then 30 minutes before he was supposed to take them out of town, some woman offered him $200 to get her out of town as a far. And he called his family up and said, Sorry, you know I - I`ve got a fare. I`m.
ANDERSON: No way.
FERRER: Left them stranded at the Superdome for five days. And then after that, if that wasn`t bad enough, the reason he got sued is, his father loaned him $400 because his taxi cab was broken. Called him up and said, Let me have your Social Security money - the only thing he had left. The father got wiped out, his home and everything. I need to fix my cab so I can work.
When the father gave him the $400 and the man got his FEMA money, he used to buy an aquarium and a dog instead of paying his father back.
ANDERSON: Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
(CROSSTALK)
FERRER: Son of the year.
ANDERSON: Yes.
Judge Cristina, you`ve said that these TV court shows take the burden off the legal system in some ways.
So just so everybody understands, these cases are real. Your judgments stick, right? People have to abide by your rules.
PEREZ: Yes. You know, while I think court shows have an entertainment value, they also have a public-service value. We take away our cases from superior courts or from courts around - state courts around the nation. And we hear them, and they are legally binding decisions. The litigants come, and we - they sign an arbitration agreement beforehand. So any decision that we have is legally binding.
ANDERSON: You`ve all done it in the courtroom without the cameras. You`ve done it now in the courtroom with the cameras, on TV.
Judge Toler, what gives you the most satisfaction?
TOLER: What gives me the most satisfaction?
I think what I do off the bench gives me the most satisfaction because I - I`m really able to effect change. But I think on the bench, on TV, what gives me the most satisfaction is that I get to be more expansive in my opinion. I can be a little less judicial, and a little more maternal, and tell you exactly what you need to know, when you need to know it, in the way you need to hear it. And that often gets communicated to the world.
ANDERSON: Right.
TOLER: And I do get lots of e-mails. You know, you made a lot of sense. You know, you made a lot of sense. And I think that is the - is the biggest kick that I get out of being a judge on TV, as opposed to in the real world.
ANDERSON: You guys send a message.
FERRER: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: Yes. So that`s very important, a lot of times.
All right. Judge Alex Ferrer, Judge Cristina Perez and Judge Lynn Toler, thank you all for being here. It was.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Very insightful.
PEREZ: Thank you so much.
ANDERSON: I appreciate it. And we`ll be checking our local listings for all of your shows.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: In tonight`s "SHOWBIZ Showcase" - I`m very excited about this - "The Simpsons" movie. If you`re a fan like me of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, we`ve got a lot to look forward to this summer, because our favorite cartoon family is finally coming to the big screen.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with your first look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
ANNOUNCER: In a time when computer animation brings us worlds of unsurpassed beauty, one film dares to be ugly.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: "The Simpsons" movie, in 2-D. Uh, the bunny`s not breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: Time to save my family!
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: This film is not yet rated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Oh, I could watch that all day.
"The Simpsons" movie, as you saw, will be in theaters on July 27.
ANDERSON: Last night, we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day" about "People" magazine`s Sexiest Man Alive. We asked you this: "George Clooney: Do you agree that he is the Sexiest Man Alive?"
Only 39 percent of you say yes; 61 percent of you say no.
Here`s some of the e-mails we received:
Theresa from Illinois writes, "George Clooney is not the sexiest man alive. He looks like a werewolf."
Lynn from Maryland says, "The world`s sexiest man alive describes no one but the one and only gorgeous Jake Gyllenhaal."
Thanks for your e-mails. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day." And it is this: "O.J.`s TV Show Confession: Will you watch?"
Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight. Send us an e-mail, showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your thoughts tomorrow.
And remember, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that lets you express your opinion on video. So just look into your video camera or your webcam, send us a piece of your mind via video e-mail. It`s really easy. Head to our Web site, cnn.com/showbiztonight and you can learn how to do it. All you have to do is click, attach and send.
Remember, keep them short and sweet - 30 seconds or less. And watch for your video e-mails right here, only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: So it`s time now to see what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Tomorrow, the march is on to the TomKat wedding. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is right there in Italy, where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are getting set to say "I do" in front of a who`s who of Hollywood. The TomKat from Italy, tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Also tomorrow, Alexa Ray Joel. She`s making a name for herself in music with a very famous last name to begin with. Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley`s daughter will be right here tomorrow. We`re going to talk to her about her songs and the trouble her mom`s been going through in a very public divorce. Alexa Ray Joel tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Have a great night, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
Glenn Beck is coming up next, right after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News.
END
