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Showbiz Tonight
Birkhead Finally Speaks Out; Alcohol May Not be The Problem For Britney
Aired February 27, 2007 - 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: Is Britney Spears bi-polar? What about post-partum depression? Tonight, word that drinking may not be the problem. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And anchor Bob Woodruff says, after he was injured in Iraq, he couldn`t remember his young daughters. His emotional first interview. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Larry Birkhead`s tearful, emotional and gripping words. Tonight, for the very first time, Anna Nicole`s ex- boyfriend speaks about his personal pain, as the stunning drama takes yet another unexpected twist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY BIRKHEAD, EX-BOYFRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: The images are still so constant on the television and everywhere, and everybody is talking about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Plus, breaking Birkhead baby news. Has Birkhead finally seen Anna Nicole`s baby for the first time, the baby he insists is his daughter? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is all over the new dramatic turns in the Anna Nicole Smith saga.
Models and eating disorders, but not just women, and not just anorexia and bulimia. Tonight, the shocking story of the male model whose life turned into a living hell because of binge eating. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the revealing and personal struggle with a food obsession that you have to hear to believe.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood, with yet another startling story about Britney Spears, and what could really be wrong with her. That`s coming up.
HAMMER: But first tonight, something you haven`t seen or heard before in the Anna Nicole Smith drama. For the very first time, Larry Birkhead, who insists he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith`s baby, sat down for a revealing interview on his personal pain and the moment that he found out Anna Nicole was likely dead. While at the same time, the unreal, or perhaps I should be saying surreal battle over Anna Nicole`s unburied, refrigerated body drags on now more than two weeks after her death.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIRKHEAD: It was something she made me say every night before she went to sleep.
HAMMER (voice-over): On a clip aired on NBC`s "Today Show," an emotional Larry Birkhead shares with "Access Hollywood`s" Tony Pots, the final words he said to Anna Nicole Smith when he viewed her body in a Florida morgue.
BIRKHEAD: I said, good night, my sweet Anna baby. That`s what she wanted me to say to her every time before she went to sleep.
HAMMER: But still no rest for Anna Nicole Smith. Her body remains in that morgue while the courts decide where she will be buried. Meanwhile, her former boyfriend wages his own legal battle for the girl he says he fathered with Anna Nicole Smith.
BIRKHEAD: What kind of person, what kind of dad would I be if I didn`t fight for my daughter?
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT shows you the powerful words Birkhead said on "Access Hollywood" about the woman he once loved, and his fight with former Anna Nicole companion Howard Stern for the baby they both claim to have fathered.
And we`ll show you if Anna Nicole Smith is any closer to her final resting place.
BIRKHEAD: I was sitting in the dentist`s chair with half of my mouth numb. And at the dentist they have televisions in front of you. And the headline said, Anna Nicole collapses.
HAMMER: Birkhead broke down as he recalled for "Access Hollywood," the moment he found out that Anna Nicole had collapsed in a Florida hotel.
BIRKHEAD: My phone was in my pocket and just was going crazy. I knew something was going wrong. I got to a friend of mine, and he said, we don`t want you to hear about this -- we don`t want you to hear about this on television, but it doesn`t look good. I just kept said, no. I said, no. (INAUDIBLE)
And I just thought for a second. I went to my car, and I just said, I`ll go save her. If they can`t, I will.
HAMMER: Now Birkhead is continuing his fight for custody of Dannielynne. Stern has the baby in the Bahamas, where they lived with Anna Nicole. He has been resisting Birkhead`s efforts to settle the matter with a paternity test. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that may soon change.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: We are told that right now this dispute has very little, if anything, to do with custody of Dannielynne, that Howard K. Stern has all but conceded that Larry Birkhead is the father.
HAMMER: TMZ.com`s Harvey Levin tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Stern and Birkhead`s sides are talking. We know Birkhead wants the baby. So, what does Stern want?
LEVIN: They are negotiating basically money. And what Howard Stern wants to go away. And we`re told that two of the things on the table are the house that Anna Nicole bought before her death and the boat that she bought just before she died.
HAMMER: Meanwhile, a Florida appeals court is taking on the issue of where Anna Nicole should be buried. Her estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, is appealing the lower court ruling that allowed Anna Nicole to be buried in the Bahamas. Arthur wants to bury her daughter in their native Texas.
ROBERTA MANDEL, VIRGIE ARTHUR`S LAWYER: This mother is a mother who deserves the right to bury the remains of her child.
JUNE MERMAN, ATTORNEY FOR HOWARD K. STERN: The record is absolutely undisputed that Miss Smith`s intentions were that she would be buried with her son.
HAMMER: Anna Nicole`s son, Daniel, who mysteriously died while visiting his mother, lies here in this Bahamas cemetery. And get this, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is telling you, the cemetery has actually now become a popular tourist attraction for those obsessed with this sordid tale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Basically, we told Daniel his mom will be here soon, mommy will be here soon.
HAMMER: For now though, what`s unknown is when Daniel and his mother will be reunited, or when Birkhead and the girl he calls his daughter will be reunited as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Really was a fascinating interview "Access Hollywood`s" Tony Pots had with Larry Birkhead. Pots will be joining SHOWBIZ TONIGHT at 31 past the hour. He is going to tell us first hand all about his chat with Birkhead. Stick around for that.
ANDERSON: And yet one more development to tell you about tonight in the battle over the body. Late today, a Florida court set yet another hearing in the battle over Anna Nicole`s body. It will hear an appeal tomorrow morning from Anna Nicole`s mother, who wants to bury her daughter in Texas.
With me tonight from New York, Ashleigh Banfield, host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat," and from L.A., investigative journalist Jane Velez Mitchell, who is also the author of the soon to be released book, "Secrets Can Be Murder: What America`s Most Sensational Crimes Us About Ourselves." Hey Ashleigh. Hey Jane.
All right, we`ve been following this story. We`ve been covering every twist, every turn. And today I got to the point, guys, where I just said, this is ridiculous. I mean, come on. It`s been more than two weeks since Anna Nicole Smith died. Ashleigh, what can we expect tomorrow? More arguing or will there be some resolution?
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV ANCHOR: A little bit of both, I think. At 9:30 in the morning, oral arguments set to get underway in that appellate process of Judge Seidlin`s decision last week. And sometimes that appellate court actually moves pretty quickly. You might have a decision on that tomorrow. It could always be appealed to the Supreme Court, though. And then in another courtroom a whole other issue, and that is the paternity question.
Judge Lawrence Korda, in family court, is set to decide whether he even has jurisdiction over the paternity question and Anna`s DNA, who should get it, or if anyone should get it. So two things tomorrow.
ANDERSON: Yes, the jurisdiction issue, an entirely different matter. And look, Jane, the Florida medical examiner told the court that Anna Nicole Smith`s body is deteriorating, that she needs to be buried by this Saturday. Don`t you thing that Virgie Arthur, Anna Nicole`s mother, just needs to give up this fight, because Anna Nicole did purchase a plot next to her son. I mean, isn`t that clear that that was her wish, to be buried next to Daniel?
JANE VELEZ MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Yes, and even the witnesses that she called testified to that fact, and said, you know, Anna Nicole did say she wanted to be buried next to her son. I think she should focus not on the dead, frankly, but on the living. Her five and a half month old granddaughter and this battle over what`s going to happen with her, who the father is, and custody of the child. And the most promising thing that I have heard so far in many days is that there appear to be negotiations going on between Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern.
And whatever good will exists right now may not last very long. So, I hope that both sides take advantage of it and come up with some kind of a solution that allows this little girl to know who her daddy is, and to get a good home.
ANDERSON: Well, to that end, Jane, you know, TMZ is reporting that Howard K. Stern may concede that Larry Birkhead is the father, make some sort of agreement, where Howard would get a boat and a house and other assets. But isn`t that kind of sick, that it would be trading bucks for babies really?
MITCHELL: Yes, if it`s true, to me, it`s an implicit acknowledgement that Howard K. Stern is not the father. Who negotiates over paternity when you know you`re the daddy, or believe you`re the daddy? But, then again, who refuses to take a paternity test when the whole world is demanding it, unless you think, hey, I`m not the daddy after all. So, I think this tracks with everything he has ever done. And I think, you know, there`s this old magazine I used to read when I was a kid, "Goofus and Galant." I think Larry Birkhead is Galant and I think Howard K. Stern is coming off as Goofus.
ANDERSON: Well, Howard K. Stern did put his name on that birth certificate. And, Ashleigh, you know, moving to the Bohemian court, you know, both sides were back there in the battle over who is going to be determined to be the father of baby Dannielynne. It is really fascinating. You know, Debra Opri, lawyer for Larry Birkhead, is claiming that there is fraud on the birth certificate. So, what is she meaning by that?
BANFIELD: Well, here`s the unfortunate part: there is a gag order in the Bahamas situation. So we can`t find out exactly what she does mean by that, although there have been reports that apparently he didn`t sign it. Whether his name is on the birth certificate, Howard K. Stern didn`t sign it. Now, whether that matters or not going forward, some people weigh in saying, no, not at all.
And, by the way, it is very hard to prove fraud, because if you`re a mom, who`s lying in a hospital bed, just having given birth, maybe you don`t know who the daddy is, or maybe you make an honest guess at who the daddy is. But to prove fraud is tough, especially when you can`t question the person who is actually dead.
And then the other issue is that she was able to combine, not only the paternity question, but also the custody question and this fraud issue all into one big hearing that`s coming in two weeks. So at least it is going to railroad a little faster through the system, we hope.
ANDERSON: Jane, very quickly, what`s it going to take to get all of this resolved? When will we see this end?
MITCHELL: Well, I think that both Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern are starting to realize that the answer lies outside the courts. And let`s hope this settlement works, these talks between them. We`ve heard reports that Howard K. Stern allowed Larry Birkhead to visit with the little baby girl that he says is his. That is very promising. The walls are closing in around Howard K. Stern. He has got this mini hearing coming up about why Dannielynne died, and many, many other legal actions. It is time for him to cut a deal and walk away.
ANDERSON: That`s right. So far painstakingly slow, but baby steps forward. That is promising. Jane Velez Mitchell, Ashleigh Banfield, thank you both for your perspectives. We appreciate it.
Get a load of this, guys, what Dannielynne may look like when she is 18-years-old. Is this proof that she really is the daughter of Larry Birkhead? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with what may be compelling evidence Birkhead is the dad. That`s coming up at 35 minutes past the hour.
HAMMER: I`m sure you`ve been weighing in on both sides of this in your own mind. So we want to hear from you for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Here`s what we`re asking tonight: Anna Nicole Smith`s baby drama; do you think Larry Birkhead is the father?
Vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. E-mail us at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com. SHOWBIZTONIGHT is the only entertainment news show where you can express your opinion on video by sending us a video e-mail. If you want to do that, go to the website, CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT.
ANDERSON: It`s an eating disorder that`s even more common than anorexia or bulimia, binge eating. Coming up, a former male model tells us his very personal and painful struggle with out of control eating. It`s a dramatic story you don`t want to miss.
HAMMER: Plus, Britney Spears in rehab, but tonight there is word that drinking may not be the problem. Could she actually be suffering from post-partum depression, or possibly even bi-polar disorder? We`re going to look into that straight ahead.
ANDERSON: And an unbelievable hit and run caught on tape. Believe it or not, this guy lived through getting slammed into by a car. And it was all caught on a police car`s dash cam. That`s ahead in the video of the day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Britney Spears still in rehab tonight, but the question remains: why was Britney out of control for so long? We were the first to tell you that Britney Spears may be suffering from more than substance abuse issues. Her heavy partying and erratic, impulsive behavior seems to have more and more people thinking she may be suffering from bi-polar disorder or possibly even post partum depression.
The entertainment website TMZ.com is now chiming in, citing sources from inside Britney`s posh rehab facilities. Those sources are saying Britney is reading "Down Came the Rain." That`s Brooke Shields book about her battle with post-partum depression. If post partum is the problem, then famous mom Sharon Osbourne was right on the money when SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asked her what she thought was wrong with Britney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON OSBOURNE, "THE OSBOURNES": It`s heart breaking. She has had two babies, one after the other. Unfortunately her marriage broke down. She is obviously very, very depressed. She just needs to be with her family. She needs to be away from the limelight. She needs time, time to herself with her family. I think she has got post natal depression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So what`s really going on with Britney? Joining me tonight in New York, developmental psychologist and syndicated radio host, Cooper Lawrence, and clinical psychologist, Dr. Judy Kuriansky. Always good to have you here, ladies. So what do we think? Was Dr. Sharon Osbourne on the money there, Dr Judy? Post partum depression? Because it has been six months since she gave birth to her baby girl. That seems like a little longer.
DR. JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, it`s within the time, because most moms, up to 80 percent of new moms, have the baby blues. That`s because your hormones are dropping, your thyroid levels are dropping, and so most moms (INAUDIBLE). Post partum depression shows up a month afterwards and can actually start itself within a year. So her six- month time is right in the middle there. And she displays a lot of the kind of symptoms. You know, you don`t always see the depression. That`s the point here.
Brooke shields may have been honest about how she was feeling low and not having energy. You can also see out of control, impulsive behavior, irritability, and Britney has been under a lot of stress.
HAMMER: Oh, yes.
KURIANSKY: So it can fit that.
HAMMER: Manifestations in other ways, if you will. I`m no doctor, but that`s my take on it. Cooper Lawrence, over to you, post-partum, bi- polar. They both seem to have some points.
COOPER LAWRENCE, DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGIST: I love that she is so screwed up, you have two psychologists on to talk about it. That`s how bad it is. Well, you know, who knows really. It could be -- Bi-polar, you can see it at any time in anyone`s life. A lot of psychological disorders you do see at this age. They do manifest in the early 20s. Plus a lot of it has to do with the fact of how your brain develops. By the time you`re in the 20s, your frontal lobe and everything is fully developed, so them everything else sort of kicks in.
So, who knows, it could be either. But we`re seeing a lot of erratic behavior. We are seeing a lot impulsivity, and those are not good signs.
HAMMER: Well, that`s a good point, as far as these things showing up in her mid 20s, because it sounds like, even if somebody has been suffering from bi-polar disorder for some time, these are when you start to see these symptoms, perhaps why we haven`t seen this kind of behavior from Britney earlier. I mean, she had such a great ride and a very successful career without showing up in the papers for the kind of things we`ve been seeing over the past few months.
KURIANSKY: Well, I think the important thing about bi-polar is that it doesn`t always mean that you`re depressed for months and then you`re manic for a month. There can be people who show manic systems, which means over-activity, over-excitement. These are the kinds of things that cover the depression. So, in a way, that`s what we see with Britney, and many other people, is that, they are just high a lot. And so we don`t notice they have a problem, because they are great to be around, they are fun to be with, and they are so exuberant, and their mood is so high, that we don`t notice those kind of thins.
And it can show up. People know this from your viewers, that you can even be diagnosed with that when you`re in your 40s, 50s, 60s. It can show up at any time in life.
HAMMER: So you`re talking about being such a good person to be around all the time, and then all of a sudden they shave their head. Cooper, it seems that head-shaving incident was really the moment when maybe we stopped with the jokes a little bit, and we started really looking at this and saying, hey, something`s really wrong here.
LAWRENCE: I think there were moments before that, but I think collectively that was the moment that seemed the most shocking and people thought she was going for a new look. It was this Madonna sort of thing, where she was trying something new. No, I mean, erratic behavior is not -- the idea is that she doesn`t understand there is a consequence. And she is even quoted as saying, after the shaving of the head, my god, what did I do.
It wasn`t a cosmetic choice. It wasn`t a career choice. So clearly there is something wrong, and something that could have been organicly there for many, many years. So, we don`t know. Just because we`re seeing it now doesn`t mean it hasn`t already been there before.
HAMMER: If all of this is true -- you know, we`ve been talking about the fact that she is in this posh rehab center right now. Is that really the kind of a place she should be to deal with what she is dealing with? And 30 days, which is what we`re hearing is the amount of time she is scheduled to be in there, is that the right amount of time?
KURIANSKY: Not enough in my estimation, and shouldn`t be in a rehab center that`s in California, in my view. Because California is, after all, way too close to the source of where all this kind of excitement, you know, ends up really taking her out of her rehab. I think she needs to be in Massachusetts or someplace up in Vermont, totally away from everyone.
And 30 days is not enough. You see, she is in a rotating door anyway, and that`s not healthy, in and out. She needs to be in a place far away from Hollywood and all its temptations, and for a longer period of time, to work through the deeper issues.
HAMMER: And everybody is pulling for her right now. Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Cooper Lawrence, thanks so much to both of you.
ANDERSON: All right, L.A., can we put up that really amazing picture right now? It`s technology that shows what Anna Nicole Smith`s baby, Dannielynne, will look like when she is older. And there is an expert who says, based on this and other pictures, he knows who the father is. That`s coming up at 35 minutes past the hour.
HAMMER: Wow, that`s wild to see. Also, ABC anchor Bob Woodruff`s emotional interview. He says that after he was injured in Iraq, he couldn`t remember his young daughter. That`s coming up.
ANDERSON: And Jennifer Hudson speaks out about the outfit that has some people wondering, what was she think on Oscar night? In retrospect, does Jennifer think it was a fashion miss? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. Jennifer Hudson still reeling from her Oscar win for best supporting actress in "Dreamgirls," and she is talking about that dress as well. Hudson ended up on a lot of fashion miss lists after showing up on the red carpet wearing this, a dress with a metallic ballero (ph) thing over the top of it. This morning on "The Today Show" Jennifer showed that she`s got a sense of humor about the whole thing. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I were to give you a do-over, anything you could do over about the Oscar night experience. Is there something you wish you would have done a different way?
JENNIFER HUDSON, "DREAMGIRLS": I would have worn another outfit. You`re laughing. I`m serious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the matter? You didn`t like that dress?
HUDSON: No, the dress was gorgeous. The dress was gorgeous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But?
HUDSON: Did I say, the dress was gorgeous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you said, the dress was gorgeous?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: So I guess she thought the dress was gorgeous. The jacket maybe not so much. Live and learn, Jennifer.
HAMMER: Oh, boy. Well, yesterday we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Here`s what we wanted to know, the Oscar, did you think the show was boring? Most of you said, yes, 71 percent of you. Twenty nine percent of you say no.
Among the e-mails we received, one from Pam in Illinois. She was good with the show. She said, "Ellen made the Oscars the most entertaining I`ve ever watched." Well, I think Ellen was terrific too.
Also heard from Olivia in Georgia, who writes, "the whole show lacked luster, polish, wit, and was too long. The only highlight was the inspiring speech by Forest Whitaker."
ANDERSON: A.J., we always hear about models with eating disorders, but tonight a new twist on that. A former male model tells us his very personal, his very painful struggle, not with anorexia or bulimia, but with binge eating. His story coming up.
HAMMER: Yes, we`re used to hearing about women. This time it`s the guy. And the Anna Nicole Smith baby drama drags on. Larry Birkhead breaks his silence in an emotional interview. Plus, could a photo of what Dannielynne might look like when she is older prove who the father is? The amazing pictures coming up.
ANDERSON: And an unbelievable hit and run. This guy actually lived through getting slammed into by a car and it was all caught on tape. That`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Tuesday night is coming right back. Stay right where you are.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You are watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
HAMMER: Brooke, so often we`re talking about female models who go through such extremes to stay impossibly thin so they can maintain their modeling careers.
Coming up, we`re going to meet a male model whose 15 years of binge eating killed his modeling career. It`s a fascinating story. He`ll be with us shortly.
ANDERSON: Yes, widespread problem for males, too, eating disorders, A.J.
Also, we`ve got a digitally aged, enhanced photo of Anna Nicole Smith`s daughter, Dannielynn, A.J., and it`s really crazy to look at this thing of what she may look like when she`s 18 years old, and why an expert says that because of this photo, he knows who the father is.
HAMMER: But first tonight.
ANDERSON: That`s coming up.
HAMMER: I`m sorry.
But first tonight, Larry Birkhead - of course, he is the man who is at the center of the battle over Anna Nicole`s baby. And he`s one of the men that insists that he is the daddy.
Tonight, for the very first time, he`s speaking out. You are not going to want to turn away from this very tearful interview that he gave for an upcoming Bravo TV special. He gave that interview to "Access Hollywood"`s Tony Potts.
Tony Potts joining me now from Nassau, in the Bahamas.
Good to see you, Tony.
TONY POTTS, "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD": Hi, A.J. Good to be here.
HAMMER: Thanks for joining us.
You - you spent a couple of days with Larry Birkhead, a heartwrenching interview indeed. Now Larry told you how he found out about Anna Nicole`s death, while he was sitting in the dentist`s chair.
I want to take a look at that piece of tape.
POTTS: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY BIRKHEAD, PHOTOGRAPHER: He said, `We don`t want you to hear about this on television. It doesn`t look good. (INAUDIBLE)`
I said, `No.` (INAUDIBLE). And then I stopped for a second. I was in my car and I just said, `I`ll go save her. If they can`t, I will.`
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: On several occasions, we have seen Howard K. Stern crying on TV, a lot of people saying, `crocodile tears, can`t really believe him.`
You were right there with Larry; you heard what he had to say. Do you believe him?
POTTS: Yes, I do. He cried many times, and it was always about Anna, and - and even back when they were - were arguing in - in those days and what have you, when he started talking about even the times - excuse me, (INAUDIBLE) fell off - when - talking about times when they would argue and what have you, he even missed those kinds of times, because they always kind of made up. You know, when people will fight and what have you.
And I think one of things that really hit me, also, too, was she said to me, `You know, Tony, I used to have to go to the newsstand to see pictures of my daughter and see what she looked like.` And he admitted to me - he said, `It was humiliating, except for the fact that I - I love her so much, that I used to go down in my car and wait outside in Los Angeles, outside of the newsstand, wait for the delivery truck to arrive with the magazines on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, just so I could get a glimpse of my daughter.` And he was bawling when he said that to me as well.
And - yes, I - I believe him. I think he`s been through a lot. And I think he firmly believes he`s the father - A.J.
HAMMER: I - I want to take a look at one particularly chilling part of the interview.
L.A. (ph), let`s roll this tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POTTS: Anna`s name came up on your buddy list two days after she had passed?
BIRKHEAD: Yes. And I just got (INAUDIBLE). She got on and said - anything. She could have cussed me out, she could have said anything, I just wanted to hear something, you know? And I just wanted to - to (INAUDIBLE). And it just went off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Mmm. Can you imagine - can you imagine sitting there and she pops up on - on - on the buddy list?
Talk to me, Tony, about his demeanor. We were talking about the fact that - and - and a lot of people he has a great deal of believability about him.
POTTS: Yes.
HAMMER: But it - it doesn`t really seem like he`s fully absorbed everything that`s been going on.
POTTS: A.J., you are exactly right. And as a matter of fact, he and I have talked quite a bit over the last couple of days. And - and he told me that, in some ways, the tornado that`s around him, whether it be the court appearances or what have you, has kind of helped him take his focus off grieving for Anna Nicole Smith. Because it is in those dark times that he starts to really think about and realize that she`s gone.
He told me - you know, you played the bit about when he found out at the dentist`s office. Well, he ended up going home and turning on the television, standing there, and - and it became official on television at least. And he said, `No, no,` and he looked over, and there was a photo of - of he and Anna together. (INAUDIBLE), `No, she`s right there. She`s not gone.`
And he says often times, much like the - the instant message that popped up two days later, he - he realizes that she`s not gone. He says, `She`s not gone.`
But I can tell you, A.J., today, that today has come crashing down around Larry Birkhead. I was supposed to meet with him this morning, and everything of the last couple of days, he`s now getting mobbed here in the Bahamas. He went down this morning just to get some food off the counter, down - down at the hotel where he`s staying, he was mobbed. He`s actually staying in his hotel room because he is just overwhelmed by it.
And I think it`s finally sinking in that, you know, she`s gone, he`s going to get this little girl, and she`s never going to know her - her mother, at least physically. She`ll have to know it through what - what Larry tells her, and what movies and - and pictures and things of that nature will tell that kind of story - A.J.
HAMMER: Tony, you mentioned that he used to wait to see her picture on newsstands when Dannielynn would show up on the covers of - of magazines.
I have just about 20 seconds left, but tell me about Larry`s experience of meeting Dannielynn for the very first time.
POTTS: Well, I asked him point blank, and he - and he danced around, and kind of I - I - you know, he didn`t really deny it, but didn`t talk about it, wouldn`t talk about it.
But I did go through other sources, and I do know that he met her. He hugged her. You know, he got to feed her. He got to burp her. She threw up on him, which is a welcome -you know, it`s the trifecta of - of parenthood. And - and that she actually - I understand from that one witness - took both of her hands and grabbed his cheeks. And I understand it was a seminal moment.
I think they`re slowly, real quickly, A.J., getting her used to him. So I think they know what`s coming down the pike.
HAMMER: What an emotional time that must have been.
"Access Hollywood"`s Tony Potts in Nassau, in the Bahamas. I - I so appreciate you sharing this story with us tonight.
POTTS: Always a pleasure, A.J. Thank you.
ANDERSON: Now what may be startling new evidence that Larry Birkhead truly is the father of Anna Nicole Smith`s baby.
A facial-recognition company called PhoJoe has created a digital image of what Dannielynn might look like when she turns 18. And let me tell you, the resemblance between her and Larry Birkhead - startling.
With us tonight from Detroit, the director of PhoJoe, Emy Craciunescu; and the artist who created the composite, Jovay Hayes (ph).
Welcome to you both.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: All right, Emy, last count - I got to tell you, it`s been really hard to keep up - but there are at least five men whose names have been tossed around as the potential father of Dannielynn.
What convinced you that Larry Birkhead is the likely daddy of Dannielynn?
EMY CRACIUNESCU, DIRECTOR, PHOJOE: Well, based on about 60 photos that we analyzed and just put together - the artist, Jovay Hayes, sitting right here next to me, believes that - as well as I do - that Larry Birkhead is the father, mostly because of the eyes and the ears of Larry Birkhead.
ANDERSON: Yes, and we`re - we`re looking at a picture of the - the digitally aged photo on the left of what she may look like when she`s 18, and - and a more recent photo on the right.
And I want to take a look now at the eyes. I want to compare the eyes of Birkhead and Dannielynn, like you say.
Jovay, it`s said the eyes are the window to a person`s soul. What did you find by comparing the eyes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He shares a - or, yes, Dannielynn and him share the same eyes. His eyes are wide-set apart, and very similar eye shape.
ANDERSON: OK. Now from the eyes, let`s go to Howard K. Stern`s eyes to the baby. What did you conclude from this, Emy?
CRACIUNESCU: Well, the color is different. His - Howard K. Stern`s eyes are - a kind of a grayish blue, and Dannielynn as well as - as well as Larry Birkhead are like a - a sky blue color. And the shape of Howard K. Stern`s eyes are - are quite different.
And we have - we have two Chihuahuas at home, and his eyes can be compared to a - a Chihuahua`s eyes. They kind of bulge out, Howard K. Stern`s eyes.
ANDERSON: OK, comparing Stern`s eyes to a Chihuahua. Lot of differences here between their eyes. More similarities between Birkhead`s eyes and the baby`s eyes.
Now I want to take a look at the lips. Jovay, comparing the lips of Birkhead and Dannielynn, what did you find there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There share the same - similar lips. The tip of his lip is very much like Dannielynn, more so than Anna Nicole, I found, when I studied the faces.
ANDERSON: OK, Howard K. Stern`s lips and the baby`s lips, how do they compare, Emy?
CRACIUNESCU: Well, Howard`s lips are - are thinner. There`s not a huge difference between Howard`s lips and - and Larry`s lips, but they are different. Howard`s lips are - are thinner. Thinner (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: All right. As we mentioned, there are five potential fathers. You`ve got Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead, of course. You`ve also Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband, you`ve got her former bodyguard, even speculation that her late husband, J. Howard Marshall, may have contributed some sperm, and he could be the father.
Now, Emy, who did you find to be the least likely person to be the father?
CRACIUNESCU: Well, Von Anhalt.
ANDERSON: Zsa Zsa Gabor`s husband?
CRACIUNESCU: Yes.
ANDERSON: And why is that?
CRACIUNESCU: His - his face is - is circular. He`s got a - he`s got a round face, and his eyes are - are very small.
ANDERSON: Let`s take a look at Anna Nicole Smith and the baby.
Jovay, what are the similarities here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They share the same face shape. Anna has a heart-shaped face, a wide forehead, a narrow chin. And the same nose, I would say. Very closely.
ANDERSON: OK. Well, I find it absolutely fascinating that you`ve not only done all of these comparisons, but also that you digitally aged picture of Dannielynn to make it what she could look like at age 18.
How did you do this? It`s really crazy to look at this.
CRACIUNESCU: Well, it`s - it`s - it`s part art, part science, and a little bit of intuition, too. We can`t - we can`t only go too much into how we actually do it. It`s kind of a - I would say a revolutionary process that we use that nobody else uses, the way we combine features and - and how we do it.
ANDERSON: OK, Emy Craciunescu and Jovay Hayes, thanks for joining us and - and sharing all the similarities that you found between Larry Birkhead and between the baby, and then the differences you found between Stern and baby Dannielynn.
We appreciate it.
CRACIUNESCU: Thanks for having us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Of course.
And we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Anna Nicole Smith Baby Drama: Do you think Larry Birkhead is the father?"
Keep voting at cnn.com/showbiztonight. Write to us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your e-mails tomorrow.
And don`t forget, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that lets you express your opinion on video. To send us a video e-mail, just go to our Web site, cnn.com/showbiztonight.
HAMMER: So Brooke, when somebody mentions eating disorders, you probably think anorexia or bulimia, and - and more often than not, you think it`s a female thing.
ANDERSON: You know what? A lot of times it is females, but males suffer from it, too.
HAMMER: That`s right. And coming up, we have the shocking story of a male model who just kept eating and eating and eating. How it nearly destroyed his life. He`ll join us in a minute.
ANDERSON: Also, A.J., for the first time, ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff speaks out about his amazing but painful recovery from a roadside bomb in Iraq. That`s next.
HAMMER: And a guy gets run over by a car and lives to tell about it. Our unbelievable SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Video of the Day" is on the way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make your move, Don (ph). Stand by, A.J.`s mike in 3, 2 - his mike. Dissolve. Go, A.J.
HAMMER: Eli Lazara (ph) sitting in tonight. Thanks very much, Eli.
And 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 the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Video of the Day." This is unbelievable. Watch this video. A man walking across a highway in Michigan - wow, gets plowed into by a car. He was hit so hard he flipped over, as you saw. His shoes actually flew off.
Amazingly, he survived with only a broken leg and some head injuries. A police dash cash captured this whole amazing scene. The alleged driver has been charged with hit and run and DUI, and he has pleaded not guilty.
ANDERSON: Wow.
All right. Tonight, stunning and dramatic new details of what ABC news anchor Bob Woodruff went through after nearly being killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq a year ago. For the first time, Bob is speaking out about his long and painful road to recovery. He was in a coma for 36 days after part of his skull was blown off while traveling with a military convoy.
In an interview with his co-worker Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America," Woodruff talks about his emotional struggle to get his memory and his life back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB WOODRUFF, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: I would say that it`s a miracle. If you took me eight, nine, 10 months ago, I couldn`t remember the names of my brothers. I couldn`t remember the names of my children. I think I could remember Lee, my wife, and my parents. But I couldn`t name a state. I couldn`t name a country in this world. I couldn`t name a city in any state in this country. That`s the kind of difficult I had in the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Mmm. He has really come so far. An amazing comeback.
Another dramatic moment was when Bob`s wife, Lee, tearfully wondered if he would remember he still loved her.
HAMMER: Time now for the SHOWBIZ "Weight Watch." This is where we cover the obsession with body image like no other entertainment news show.
Tonight, the startling story of a male model who couldn`t stop eating. Ron Saxen went from modeling designer suits to dangerous binge eating and depression that nearly destroyed his life. He would pack away as much as 10,000 calories a day. That`s nearly 20 Big Macs.
Ron tells his shocking story of struggle and survival in his new book called, "The Good Eater."
Ron Saxen joining me in New York.
I so appreciate you coming in to share your story with us.
RON SAXEN, AUTHOR, "THE GOOD EATER": Thank you for having me on.
HAMMER: You know, it must be as wild for you as it is for other people to take a look at those before-and-after pictures.
I want to take a look at a shot of you in the prime of your modeling career. Eli, can we put up the shot?
This is you at what age?
SAXEN: 21.
HAMMER: And how much do you weigh in this picture?
SAXEN: About 178 pounds.
HAMMER: And - and this is before the binge eating began. Eli, let`s go to what came next.
And - and - and how much are you weighing in this shot here?
SAXEN: Just a shade under 300 pounds.
HAMMER: You don`t look like the same guy.
SAXEN: No, I don`t.
HAMMER: It`s - it`s pretty remarkable. For 15 years, you were binge eating, suffering from binge eating disorder. It killed your career at the time, and - and it could have killed you.
SAXEN: Exactly.
HAMMER: What - what - would you do? Give us - I mentioned the Big Macs. You know, it`s not unusual for somebody to sit down with a pint of ice cream when they`re not feeling so good.
But what kinds of things would you do in the course of a day that - that entailed binge eating?
SAXEN: Well, a binge is usually a one episode. And so what happens is, for me, it`s - it was a coping mechanism. So when I start to have an instant where I couldn`t cope, I would - instead of dealing with the situation, I would go to food. And the first thing I would do when I finally gave in to the binge, is I would go to usually a McDonald`s drive thru, get a couple of Big Macs, a large order of fries and a chocolate shake, get that. And as soon I left drive thru, I`d be thinking about, where am I going to go next? I`d be off to Taco Bell.
So I`d have the food sitting there. I would sometimes pull into the Taco Bell - I haven`t even finished my McDonald`s, and I`d pull my coat over because I didn`t want the guy in drive thru, `What the heck? You haven`t finished your last stop.`
HAMMER: You would have huge meal after huge meal.
SAXEN: I would go - for me, once you gave into the binge, so you could accept the binge, you`d tell yourself, OK, starting tomorrow, I`ll be perfect. So I`m going to party like a rock star tonight.
And so you would go until the absolute end, and you`d be upset that there was no more room left in your stomach for any more food, because you knew, as soon as the binge was over, then you`d have to face the reality, of, Oh my God, what have I done? I said a year ago, a day ago, I would quit this, and here I am, doing it again.
HAMMER: Not - not dissimilar to, say, an alcoholic, or somebody with any other kind of addiction.
SAXEN: A good - good similarity.
HAMMER: And - and this is the polar opposite from what you went through when you were modeling, and you would go through great extremes to maintain thinness, like we`re hearing so much about with the super-skinny models.
What type of extremes would you go to to stay - to stay thin back then?
SAXEN: The thing about the models is, everyone talks about how much pressure the fashion industry puts on them, they put it on themselves. Because I wanted to be a famous male model. I wanted to go into acting. So I would sit there - there was nothing I wouldn`t do.
Just like - I would eat - my goal was to eat less than 1,000 calories a day and work out for four hours. And if I started to feel kind of faint, like I was going to pass out, instead of being, `Oh my God, could I date?` Because, you know, you`re 21, you`re going to live forever - I - I would think, OK, well, that - you know, you can`t do any better than about ready to pass out. So I`m doing the max - I`m doing the maximum effort, because I almost - you know, I`m getting ready to go unconscious.
HAMMER: And you have it under control now?
SAXEN: I am the best I`ve ever been. I never thought this day would come.
HAMMER: And you won`t go back?
SAXEN: Never say never, but if I had to lay odds, I`d say I will not go back.
HAMMER: Well, it`s a fascinating story, and Ron, I appreciate you joining us. Ron Saxen.
The book is called, "The Good Eater: The True Story of One`s Man Struggle With Binge Eating Disorder." You`ll find it in book stores in March.
ANDERSON: Britney Spears out of control with this rehab stuff, the head-shaving, the partying. But tonight, she`s got some big stars kind of in her corner, telling people to just back off and leave Britney alone.
That`s next, as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Tuesday night returns. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Music. Ready A.J.`s mike. Here we come in 3 - A.J.`s mike - 2, 1. Dissolve Q. Go.
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
A lot of stars have been speaking out lately about Britney Spears` recent problems: the head-shaving, the tattooing, in and out of rehab.
Well recently, I spoke with two of my favorite actors: Virginia Madsen and Billy Bob Thornton, who are both starring in the new movie, "The Astronaut Farmer." They think she certainly is under a lot of media pressure. But Billy Bob doesn`t actually think that Britney Spears` head- shaving incident is really that big of a deal at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY BOB THORNTON, ACTOR: She didn`t really do anything that out of the ordinary. I mean, there are people who are plumbers or accountants or whatever, you know, who do the same things. It`s just that there aren`t photographers on the sidewalk, you know, seeing it.
But, you know, she shaved her head. A lot of people shaved their heads. I`ve shaved mine a few times. And she got a tattoo. And she went to rehab, which is a good thing, you know?
But she`s so famous. I think people like her, who are - like, that - that in a public eye, you know - there`s going to be a lot of pressure on somebody like that.
VIRGINIA MADSEN, ACTRESS: There`s a lot of shaming of them, and there`s a lot of bashing of - of, you know, young people having problems. Because they seem to think that, `Well, they got a lot of money and they`re really successful.`
And it`s like, but money has nothing to do with addiction. You`re watching a person fall to pieces on TV. So, you know, we need to take a step back and realize that this is someone who`s in danger. And, you know - and I don`t know, I - I - I pray for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, Virginia also told me that part of what keeps her grounded and part of what keeps actors in Hollywood grounded is the people that they surround themselves with.
And "Astronaut Farmer," with both of those stars, in theaters right now.
ANDERSON: It`s time to see what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. For that, we go to our trusty SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Marquee."
Tomorrow, talk about famous for nothing: Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Kevin Federline. Some of today`s Hollywood`s hottest stars were yesterday`s nobodies. How did they do it so quickly? I`ll tell you. Fame ain`t what it used to be, tomorrow.
And talk about hot: Victoria`s Secret model Karolina Kurkova. The guys on our staff already fighting with A.J. over this interview and getting to meet her. We`re going to chat with Karolina about all the controversy over skinny models on the runways and a whole lot more. That`s tomorrow.
HAMMER: I did the interview.
And that`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
"GLENN BECK" coming up next, right after the headlines from CNN Headline News. Take care.
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