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Showbiz Tonight
Paris Hilton Gets Letter From Candy Spelling; Marie Osmond Opens up About Divorce
Aired May 14, 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: Donald Trump becomes a grandfather, but what does Rosie O`Donnell have to say about it? I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And Marie Osmond opens up about divorce after 20 years of marriage. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, it`s a Paris Hilton smack down. Tori Spelling`s mom rips into Paris. Tonight, the startling open letter from Candy to Paris. And wait, there`s more. Patty Hearst, yep, Patty Hearst takes on Paris. You have to hear this to believe it. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the war of words over Paris that just got a whole lot weirder.
Also, Lindsay`s wild weekend. Tonight as Lindsay Lohan`s new movie bombs big-time, there`s shocking news about where she was as the movie tanked. Tonight why Lindsay needs help big-time. Call in the cavalry. It`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT to the rescue.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there everybody. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And tonight Marie Osmond opening us to like never before on everything from depression to divorce. The interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming up.
HAMMER: First, it`s a Paris Hilton smack down from two of the most unlikely comrades in arms I could ever have imagined, Tori Spelling`s mother Candy and Patty Hearst. Yes, I did say Patty Hearst.
ANDERSON: As SHOWBIZ TONIGHT counts down the days to Hilton`s lockdown in jail, both Patty and Candy have written Dear Paris letters. And to say they are anything but loving letters would be an understatement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: She`s now the most famous future inmate in the world. Paris Hilton and her impending 45-day jail sentence for driving on a suspended license is the story that`s captured everybody`s imagination. It`s inspired t shirts, petitions, sparsely attended protests.
AMY ARGETSINGER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": We`ve never really had a chance to see anything quite like this before.
ANDERSON: "Washington Post" gossip columnist Amy Argetsinger tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT why people are so fascinated with the prospect of Paris in the pokey.
ARGETSINGER: It`s sort of like the poor man`s version of the Patty Hearst saga. What happens when a rich, pretty socialite is abducted by terrorists. These aren`t the `70s. We`ll deal with what we can. The best we`ve got is Paris Hilton. What happens when a young, pretty socialite goes to jail for 45 days.
ANDERSON: Now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, Patricia Hearst is getting dragged into Paris Hilton`s wild story, giving her fellow famous heiress a very public dissing. And not only that, Paris is also getting some high profile advice from the mother of another blond with a famous last name.
First, if you don`t quite remember Patty Hearst, here`s a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT history lesson. Patricia Hearst was the famous newspaper heiress kidnapped when in 1974 by a radical group which she eventually joined and helped rob a bank. She was captured. Her sentence was commuted.
JILL DOBSON, "STAR MAGAZINE": Patty Hearst was very famously pardoned for her actions following her very public kidnapping. And so a lot of people decided to line it with Paris Hilton.
ANDERSON: And link it they did. Reports and rumors recently started flying that Hearst was personally giving advice to Paris Hilton. One famous jail-bound heiress getting advice from another famous heiress who served time? Too good to be true? Yes.
DOBSON: Patty Hearst says, hey, don`t connect me to Paris. I haven`t given her advice, that`s just a rumor.
ANDERSON: In an open letter posted on TMZ.com, Hearst denied those rumors. Then Patty takes Paris down, adding quote, "However, since I`m thinking about it now, I must say that my heart goes out to the inmates of the Century Regional Detention Center. 45 days with Paris Hilton and the attendant publicity seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me. Perhaps they should be petitioning the governor for relief."
Ouch! She finishes up with quote, "OK, that wasn`t nice. But seriously, if Paris really wants my advice, it`s this, read Candy Spelling`s letter several times and take her advice to heart."
Yes, that Candy Spelling, the widow of TV super producer Aaron Spelling and the mother of actress and reality show star Tori Spelling. Candy is also sending a message to Paris Hilton.
DOBSON: Over Mother`s Day, she decided to focus all her motherly attention on another blond girl who`s famous for her who parents are, who she is and maybe not so much her talent.
ANDERSON: So Candy sent an open letter to Paris, also via TMZ.com. Like any good mom, Candy tells Paris she`s worried about her and then whacks her on the head with some tough love and advice. She says quote, "since you let this happen, use the next couple of weeks preparing by looking around, realizing that you are not as truly entitled as your money implies. You are a young woman who can add more to her community than establishing new definitions for infamy."
She signs off, best, Candy Spelling.
DOBSON: I`m a little confused as to why Candy Spelling, of all people, is giving advice to Paris Hilton right now.
ANDERSON: But even Jill can`t resist giving Paris some friendly advice.
DOBSON: I think Paris should listen to any advice that`s coming her way, learn a lesson from this, pay her dues and move on.
ANDERSON: Wow! If Paris were getting all this good advice in the past, maybe she wouldn`t be going to jail in the first place.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That`s great. Paris has all these celebrity advisers right now. But how will she respond to them? Is their advice too little too late, or could jail actually be a good influence on Paris Hilton? Joining me now from Stamford, Connecticut, Jerry Oppenheimer. Jerry`s the author of "House of Hilton." Live from Los Angeles, investigative journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell also the author of the soon to be released book "Secrets Can Be Murder."
Jerry, Jane, I appreciate you both being here tonight as the story just gets a little weirder and weirder. Candy Spelling chiming in, telling Paris, it`s time to get real. Jane, do you think that jail could actually motivate Paris Hilton to change her ways.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Yes, A.J., I think it could wake her up and shake her up. And I think Candy Spelling was right on target when she delivered this what I would call e-mail intervention via a celebrity website. She said, Paris, get real. Stop confusing this persona of heiress and reality star with a genuine identity. When I look at Paris, sometimes I think of that comic Richie Rich, poor little rich boy. That`s a cartoon.
She needs to distinguish, as Candy mentioned, between this cartoonist persona and having an authentic identity. Candy should know, because her daughter Tori grew up in very similar circumstances, rich, famous, beautiful and on television. And she`s managed to get a real life as opposed to "A Simple Life."
HAMMER: And a lot of people are saying that a little time behind bars could actually change her. But Jerry, you know the Hiltons better than a lot of people. You have covered them for years. You wrote about them in their book. How do you expect Paris` jail sentence is going to affect her?
JERRY OPPENHEIMER, AUTHOR, "HOUSE OF HILTON": I don`t think the jail sentence will have any impact on Paris` behavior. A few years ago her mother made a statement that kind of underscores the situation Paris is now in. She said, my daughter is a star and a star may do anything she pleases. And that`s exactly what Paris has done. She was brought up in a life a privilege, entitlement. She feels like she`s above the law.
And now she`s broken the law. She was brought up that way. And I really don`t think prison is going -- a five-day or 15-day sense in jail is going to change her. In fact, what I think it`s going to do is bring her Q-rating back up.
HAMMER: And by Q rating, for those who don`t know, that of course would just be how much people love her, I guess is the best and easiest way to put it. But here, in a true sign that perhaps the world is indeed coming to an end, Patty Hearst chiming in. When you see something like that, you just say, huh? But I want to reread what we just played for you that Patty Hearst said to Paris Hilton.
Listen to this, because it`s just so much fun. She said, "I must say that my heart goes out to the inmates of the Century Regional Detention Center. 45 days with Paris Hilton and the attendant publicity seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me. Perhaps they should be petitioning the governor for relief."
So what do you think, Jane? Should the inmates be more concerned about Paris` arrival or vice versa?
MITCHELL: Yes, I think they should be concerned. Although they`ll probably make a lot of money selling their story after they get out. But I think this was Patty Hearst`s humorous way of expressing her outrage that anyone would dare compare her trauma of being abducted, kidnapped, put in a closet, blindfolded, brainwashed, and then ultimately going out and doing this robbery and doing time and having her sentence commuted, this horrible ordeal, with what Paris Hilton has done to herself by a DUI bust and then driving repeatedly with a suspended license and then getting her probation revoked. The idea that they would compare the two is to trivial Patty Hearst`s ordeal and I think that upsets her.
HAMMER: I agree with you on that. Jerry, I need you to take us into the big cavernous space that is probably the mind of Paris Hilton. I want you to help us understand how it is that this young woman has lived in this fantasy world for so long where she actually thought she was above the law, based on all your covering of her over these years.
OPPENHEIMER: You have to remember that by the time she was a month old, her mother was calling her Star. That was her nickname. She was brought up in this privileged lifestyle. Her mother put her -- basically put her out as a young teenager, showing up in nightclubs, table dancing, looking as provocative as possible, all with the goal of making her a star. And I just think that Paris is going to learn nothing from any of this.
HAMMER: Perfect formula to wind up as she did. Jerry Oppenheimer, Jane Velez-Mitchell, got to end it there. Thank you both.
ANDERSON: And now we want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day: Paris Hilton, will she come out of jail a better person? Vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Send us an email, SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com
HAMMER: And Brooke, Paris certainly not the only star with, shall we say, issues right now. Coming up, we`re putting everyone from Paris to David Hasselhoff to Alec Baldwin on the shrink`s couch. So listen up, we`re getting some advice on what they have to do to get their lives together at 35 past the hour.
ANDERSON: Yes we are, A.J. And also, you could probably put Lindsay Lohan in that category as well. Lindsay`s new film bombed and I was shocked to hear the stories after how Lindsay spent the weekend. What she has to do to turn it all around. Also this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIE OSMOND, CELEBRITY WIFE: I don`t think anything like that is easy on children. But I don`t think it`s easy to stay in something unhealthy either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Marie Osmond really opened up to me about divorce after 20 years of marriage. And the impact on her eight, count them eight children. Marie Osmond coming up in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
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ANDERSON: And welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Time now for the SHOWBIZ Video of The Day. Tonight, it`s the nosiest cow you`ve ever seen. Check out Lucy, a brand new calf just chilling in Wisconsin. Well, life smells twice as sweet for Lucy, because, as you can see, she was born with two noses. Her second nose being chalked up to just one of those fluke things. A local breeder checked her out and says she seems comfortable, so no big deal. I actually think Lucy`s kind of cute.
HAMMER: Brooke Shields has been so open about her postpartum depression, even writing a very moving book on her struggle. And now, she says that she finally feels like she`s being heard. Brooke went to Capitol Hill last week to urge Congress to pass a bill that would help pay for education and treatment of people suffering from postpartum depression. When I caught up with Brooke today here in New York City, she told me that the experience in D.C. was very positive for her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE SHIELDS, ACTRESS: It was so great to stand up there with strength and with history of my own and speaking from experience and watching people kind of really listening. They`re getting it and it`s getting closer and closer and I felt that we were heard. It was huge for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: A very brave and classy woman. By the way, Brooke is going to be starring in a new series on NBC next season called "Lipstick Jungle" It`s by Candice Bushnell of "Sex in the City" fame. And Brooke Shields is not the only star speaking out about her battle with post partum depression. Marie Osmond has been very candid about her own struggle after giving birth to one of her children in 1999. And when I sat down with the legendary Osmond sister, we talked about her decision to divorce her husband after 20 years of marriage and about her own battle with postpartum depression.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: How bad did it get for you?
MARIE OSMOND, CO-FOUNDER CHILDREN`S MIRACLE NETWORK: It`s horrible. It can be very devastating. So, you know, I commend her. I commend her on what she`s doing. I guess she`s suffered quite a bit. I`m fine. I don`t have that. There`s lots of things I learned about it and that`s why I came out with the book seven years ago. But I think any time you can use your celebrity to help bring awareness -- what I don`t like is when people just believe the celebrity. I think it`s really important to do the research behind everything. I think it`s important to study out the issues.
It`s the one thing I think that this generation is, that we just believe what we hear. And I`m like, no, no, research it`s called, you have a brain.
HAMMER: And the truth is when celebrities talk about things, if people are dealing with those things in their own lives, perhaps it will trigger something or they can say, I can relate to it. Another example, you`ve been talking very openly about the fact that after 20 years of marriage, you`re going through a divorce. Obviously there are a lot of women who have been in marriages for a long time and are struggling with that same exact thing.
OSMOND: I`ve got a girlfriend -- several people.
HAMMER: And it`s rough. And I have to imagine -- you`ve got eight kids, Marie. It has to be so difficult for the kids to be feeling.
OSMOND: I don`t think anything like that is easy on children. But I don`t think it`s easy to stay in something unhealthy either. So I think that you have to make smart decisions throughout life. Isn`t life a process of waking up?
HAMMER: No question about it.
OSMOND: Isn`t it? I mean, it`s really fun. Here I am, you know, 29 and --
HAMMER: Come on, you`re 31.
OSMOND: But I am younger than Melanie. But I grew up -- I`m not naive. I`m somebody that has been around a world that has been very unique. I have seen everything. But my life was a series of choices. The stigma I think that women have today is unfair, that you have to be under 30 to be successful. I don`t believe that.
HAMMER: So what about for those young woman who are under 30 and successful, a lot of them not for any good reason, because maybe there`s no talent involved, or the young ones who perhaps have talent, but life is kind of spinning out of control for them. What do you make of that?
OSMOND: I don`t know, if we could fix the world -- I don`t know. I do think that in my life, and that`s what I can liken it to, I know that success. When I was a teenager, I had that kind of Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears -- our show was dubbed into 17 language. It was the number one show for like five years on television.
And all the things we`ve done since, but I think the difference was, first of all, I had a great mother, who wasn`t trying to compete with me. She was a mother. She knew when to be a friend, but she knew when to be my mother. The other thing is she instilled in me a hard work ethic, values, long-term and a faith in god.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Among those values, a lot of honesty. Marie also the co- founder of a terrific organization, the Children`s Miracle Network. That`s the non-profit organization raising money for children`s hospitals around the country. You know the little paper balloons that are hanging everywhere? Marie offered me a startling statistic, a whopping nine million children don`t have health insurance here in the United States. We got to talking about the state of health care here in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Michael Moore is about to release his new documentary called "Sicko," which is expected to blow the lid off the whole U.S. health care industry. How bad is it for kids in this country? You say nine million uninsured. It`s just not happening. It`s not getting any better.
OSMOND: Well, you know, I think With all the drama comes a positive, too. We have -- we`re so good at acute. We`re not very good at preventative yet in this country. But, being uninsured and everything else, that`s why -- OK, first of all Children`s miracle network, why us? Because 100 percent of the money stays where you donate it. It goes right to your local children`s hospital.
HAMMER: That`s how it should be.
OSMOND: It`s not all grabbed from all over the country and taken to another state for other kids. It`s for your kids. If there was ever something that you say, where is my dollar really going to make a difference -- you know, my time is donated. The people who are involved in this charity, we donate our time. They don`t pay me to do this. We make enough money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: For more information on Marie`s charity, or if you want to make a donation, you can just log on to ChildrensMiracleNetwork.org.
ANDERSON: A.J., I know you heard about this one; Donald Trump is now a grandfather. But the big question is, A.J., what did Rosie O`Donnell say about Donald`s big news? That`s next.
HAMMER: Also, not a great weekend for Lindsay Lohan, her new movie bombed. I was shocked to hear how she spent the weekend. Still ahead, we`re going to find out what Lindsay has to do to turn it around once and for. Also we`ll have this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMERON DIAZ, ACTRESS: They come up to you. Everybody knows you. So I don`t know who I really do know. It`s scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: It`s scary, but she`s got a sense of humor at least. And, you know, it may be scary sometimes for Cameron Diaz. But it`s in our nature that feeling that you really know your favorite stars and there`s actually some pretty interesting science behind that feeling. We`re going to have that straight ahead. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Monday night will return after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Donald Trump is a grandfather. Trump`s son, Donald Junior, and his wife Vanessa have welcomed a baby girl. Trump`s granddaughter is named Kai Madison and is just 14 months younger than her uncle Barren, Donald`s son with Malania (ph).
Of course, all eyes were on "The View" today to see if the Donald`s nemesis, Rosie O`Donnell, would mention Trump`s big news and low and bold, it did come up when Rosie talked about getting a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Mother`s Day and asked the co-host to guess who they were from? Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump.
ROSIE O`DONNELL, "THE VIEW": Wrong, not Donald Trump. But we should congratulate to him. He became a grandfather. His kid had a baby. And the press asked him for a comment and he said, Rosie`s still fat. So -- no, I just made that up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: By the way, it was Tom Cruise who actually sent Rosie the Mother`s Day flowers.
HAMMER: Well Brook, Lindsay Lohan had quite a weekend. Her new movie bombed, but did Lindsay get bombed? There are stories out there that she`s not exactly setting the standards for the 12 steps if you know what I mean. So what steps does she need to take to reel herself in? That is coming up.
ANDERSON: And also A.J., Lindsay not the only one. We`re going to put everybody from Paris Hilton to David Hasselhoff on the psychiatrist`s couch still ahead. Also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIAZ: They come up to you. Everybody knows you. So I don`t know who I really do know. It`s scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: It may be scary sometimes for Cameron Diaz. But it`s in our nature that feeling that you really do know your favorite stars and there`s actually some pretty interesting science behind that feeling. And that is coming up.
Something new and exciting is happening here at headline news. Imagine a TV show where do you just watch the news but help create it too. Well, this weekend we launch News to Me. It`s the web`s most compelling and outrageous video, pictures and stories, all on one show that you, the viewer, help to make. So make sure you catch News to Me. It starts this weekend at 12:30 eastern and you`ll find it right here on Headline News. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Monday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
HAMMER: I`ve got to tell you, I think Lindsay Lohan is in some serious trouble. Her new movie totally tanked over the weekend. While that was going on, I heard reports about her wild weekend. Remember she just got out of rehab not that long ago. She really seems to be in trouble. So, tonight we`re going to try and help her out with some career-saving advice. That is coming up.
ANDERSON: We`re certainly are and we`re in a really giving mood here today because besides Lindsey, other stars who are going through some very difficult stuff right now. You know, Paris Hilton about to head to jail. Alec Baldwin`s shocking voicemail rant to his daughter. Britney Spears seems to be trying to make a comeback.
But we want all of you to listen up, because we`re going to let you know what you need to do, right now, to get your lives back on track. We have that straight ahead.
HAMMER: But first, we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT have a lot of celebrity friends. We chat with them about their latest projects and read up on the juiciest and most intimate details of their lives. Sometimes we feel so close to them, closer than our real-life best friends. And of course, we`re not alone. Millions of people read the magazines and watch the TV shows, but is being so celebrity-obsessed such a bad thing? We don`t think so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, look he`s got Ross` haircut?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, let me see!
HAMMER (voice over): They were "Friends" for over a decade.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m just going to propose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sounds perfect!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to mess it up, let me do it.
HAMMER: It was as if Joey, Ross, Chandler, Monica, Rachel and Phoebe were just down the street, waiting for you to join them for a cup of Joe at Central Perk.
CARLIN FLORA, "PSYCHOLOGY TODAY": We`re built to view people we recognize as acquaintances. So, it`s almost, on an unconscious level, if you watch a lot of TV and you have all these characters in your head, on a deep level you think they`re also your friends. So you sort of feel more socially satisfied.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that dissatisfaction deepens as the trials and tribulations of real-life celebrities become more and more available to us, whether knowingly, like the former newlyweds of reality TV --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nick?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
Our dumplings are gooey, a little --
HAMMER: Or unknowingly, like the magazine photos that prove celebrities put their pants on one leg at a time just like us, right?
FLORA: The more details that you know about someone, the more absorbed you become and the more emotionally attached you become. So now, if you want to know everything about Jessica Simpson, you can go on the Internet. You can learn about her home, or what she wears. You can read magazines. You can look at cable. So the more details you amass, the more you want.
ZACH BRAFF, ACTOR: They sort of address you like you`re they`re a long lost buddy.
HAMMER: Zach Braff is just one of the celebrities who has seen how friendly the public can be. And for the celebrity involved, it can be overwhelming. Cameron Diaz tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT how she feels about fans playing the "I know you" role with her.
CAMERON DIAZ, ACTRESS: They do. They come up to you. Everybody knows you. So I don`t know who I really do know. It`s scary.
HAMMER: So, is there a right way and a wrong way for the public to deal with this attachment to their celebrity friends?
DIAZ: Everybody knows you.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT picks the brain of "Psychology Today`s" Carlin Flora to see where this sense of friendship comes from.
FLORA: Our brain actually plays a trick on us. We are sort of built to view anyone that we recognize as an acquaintance. So on sort of a deep level, we think these people are in our tribe, right? Because of that we want to gossip about them, the same way we want to gossip about our friends and our family.
HAMMER: It`s shocking but true. Our brain is to blame. But what about the media?
FLORA: The media feeds into these natural tendencies we have, again, to follow high status people, to copy them, to know what`s going on with people whom we think we know. So, you know, to blame it on the media is too simplistic. It`s really -- you know, it certainly feeds into those tendencies, but it`s not the whole story.
HAMMER: Carlin tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that teenagers who are well- versed in celebrity gossip are actually more popular with stronger social networking. Can it be? Does your friendship with celebrities actually bring us closer together as a society?
FLORA: No matter what social class you come from, no matter where you grew up, we can all talk about Britney Spears. We can all talk about what happened on "American Idol." And it sort of brings us together, helps us kind of talk about our own values and our own belief through those common stories, such as what happened with Britney`s marriage.
HAMMER: But before you go on boasting about your best friend Brit, remember, no one loves a bragger, or a stalker.
FLORA: Understand that you`re kind of built to do this, but at the same time, evaluate, am I spending too much time on this? Is my obsession with celebrities leading me to feel unsatisfied with the things that I have?
HAMMER: But as long as it doesn`t get to the point of obsession, have fun with your celebrity friends. And, hey, it could even help you make new friends.
FLORA: It is a way to get to know each other, at least it`s a jumping-off point.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Carlin also points out that looking up to a celebrity, somebody like Oprah Winfrey, for example, is a good thing. Because she motivates us to do good, unlike Paris Hilton, of course, who is famous for -- well, just being famous, and of course is about to spend some time behind bars.
ANDERSON: If you are celebrity obsessed then you probably know all about the stars who are having trouble in their private lives from Britney Spears in rehab, Alec Baldwin`s disturbing voicemail rant to his daughter to David Hasselhoff`s drunken video actually shot by his daughter -- it seems like some of our favorite stars are unraveling before our very eyes.
So what do they need to do to get their act together? Psychiatrist Doctor Keith Ablow is the author of the brand new book, "Living the Truth". He joins me now.
Hi, Doctor Ablow.
DR. KEITH ABLOW, PSYCHIASTRIST, AUTHOR, "LIVING THE TRUTH": Hey, good to see you, Brooke.
ANDERSON: Good to see you, too.
I want to start with David Hasselhoff. We`ve also seen the video obtained by "Extra." He`s drunk out of his mind. As a result, he`s temporarily lost visitation rights with his kids. If David were on your couch, what would you tell him to do?
ABLOW: Well, David`s not on my couch, but if he or a similar person were on my couch I would say, look, you can`t keep running from your truth, from your past. There has to be a reason you find yourself in a contentious marriage, and then a contentious divorce. And then losing visitation rights to your daughter, not to mention the alcohol.
So, I would take David Hasselhoff back in his own life story and find the things that he`s trying to distract himself from. That`s the lesson for the rest of us, too. You run to very bad places when you try to run away from your truth.
ANDERSON: So face it head on. I want to ask you this, this seems to be a typical alcoholic situation. We`ve seen this before, where the child becomes the parent, the parent becomes the child. How does he fix that?
ABLOW: You know what, there is such a great lesson in this for all young women across America. Which is this: Here`s a young woman, 16 years old, photographing her father who`s drunk. And at least in this case, we see that he`s the drinker. You know there are so many kids who believe that they`re somehow responsible, or that they should be able to heal their parents.
And believe me, a lot of those young kids, when they become adults, they land in my office because they engage in one relationship after another where they feel they have to give themselves up for another person in order to get them well.
ANDERSON: Now let`s talk about Alec Baldwin because his life is in total chaos right now. Terrible reaction from the public after that horrible voicemail message to his daughter was released. He`s got a very messy divorce, custody battle. What does he need to do to start living the truth and repairing his relationship, not only with his daughter, Doctor Ablow, but to get his temper under control?
ABLOW: Absolutely. You know, I wrote "Living the Truth" as like a crystallization of everything I`ve been able to offer patients over the last 15 years. And I would tell him, listen, your anger and these outbursts is not simply about the fact that there`s visitation snafus in your life right now. It`s about what you did or did not get as a younger person, growing up in your own household. I would ask him about his parents` marriage, about the relationships he had with his kids. We`re stories, as people. And very often --
ANDERSON: So, it seems you`re going, always to, there`s got to be a root to this problem, something in your past?
ABLOW: You know what, that`s it. You`ve got to go to the early chapters of your story, or earlier chapters in order to understand the present, and then plan for the future.
ANDERSON: Britney Spears still seems early in her life. You know, she recently went to rehab. She never confirmed why she went, but she did go for 28 days. Now trying to get her life, her career back on track. Made some appearances lip syncing those old songs. Between her divorce, her rehab, her whacky behavior, how does she need to start living the truth?
ABLOW: You know what, I think that because so many child stars had fame as a kind of anesthetic for so many years, I think you have to go back, again, to what she really experienced as a human being. And also these stars need to resist the temptation to use one or another substance, whether it`s more fame, more money, more work, the adulation of the crowd; and say, you know what, all these things can be like drugs for me.
They keep me from being a real person. And that`s what I need, I need some time away. I think some time away from the limelight is highly advisable for many of these individuals. It`s tough, though, to get them to do that.
ANDERSON: I`m sure it is. Get them to lay low for a little while.
Speaking of someone who never seems to do that, Paris Hilton; and she`s about to do jail time for violating probation. This is the first time she`s had to face some consequences. What does that say to you?
ABLOW: There are no surprises really in people`s stories. Here`s a young woman who was drinking and driving. She got probation for that offense. And she said, well, listen, even though I`ve lost my license, I`m going to drive again, because I want to.
And what I would say is that -- I`d try to reframe that for her. And say, permissiveness, and the fact that you may have been allowed to do just exactly what you wanted for a long, long time, doesn`t necessarily equal love. It doesn`t equal love for mothers, and it doesn`t equal self-love. Because self-control is a big part of that.
ANDERSON: Doctor Keith Ablow, thanks so much for joining us and for your insight. It felt like a great therapy session for us all. We appreciate it.
ABLOW: The doctor is in.
ANDERSON: Yeah. "Living The Truth" is the name of the book, it`s in stores now.
HAMMER: Brooke, another celebrity in a whole heap of trouble seems to be Lindsay Lohan.
ANDERSON: Yes, you know, I actually feel sorry for her. I think she`s got talent and a bright future, if she could just get her life together.
HAMMER: She`s got to turn it around.
Coming up next, I`ve got the details of her wild weekend. And for a young woman who just got out of rehab, I have to tell you, it really does not look good. Lindsay, we want you to listen up. Because we`ve got some advice on how you can save your career.
HAMMER: A.J., another big star, "King of Queens", Leah Remini; she has a lot to say about the message these young stars are sending their fans about their weight and body image. Plus, Leah opens up about her struggle with weight. And that`s coming up in tonight`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Weight Watch".
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HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Tonight, is Lindsay Lohan going from in-demand actress to tabloid magazine has-been? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was the first to say Lindsay might be in serious trouble. And tonight, even more evidence. Lindsay now has her fourth box office flop in a row. Her new movie, "Georgia Rule" tanked in it`s opening weekend. It took in an embarrassing just under $6 million. That is not good.
And as if that were not enough, "USA Today" published an explosive article reporting that the 20-year-old star was in the Bahamas, helping to open the new Atlantis Hotel, and partying until the wee hours with a, quote, "cigarette in one hand, and bottle of Jack Daniels in the other." That is no good for Lindsey.
From Hollywood tonight Ken Seeley, the interventionist for A&E`s his reality show, "Intervention". In New York Rachel Syme from "Radar" magazine.
Ken, Rachel, good to see you both.
I hope we can get her on the straight and narrow, because it really seems what we need to do with Lindsay right now. Her rep is denying that Lindsay was holding a bottle of Jack in one hand, as was reported in "USA Today."
But, Ken, this is not a tabloid report. I`m talking about "USA Today". This is not the first thing, it`s the latest in these nonstop reports about her nonstop underage partying. Ken, this is somebody who`s just gotten out of rehab?
KEN SEELEY, "INTERVENTION": It`s really sad, A.J. I love what Brooke just said. I really do feel bad for her because the people surrounding her are the ones that are contributing to her death.
These are the -- the PR people, the agent, the studios, the producers, everybody that`s standing by the sideline watching her spiral down, and we`ve watched it happen before in the past where they end up going down and losing everything. And then hitting a bottom, and let`s pray it`s not death for this young woman.
HAMMER: You use that word, Ken. That`s a pretty strong way of putting it. You`re saying that based on the path you see her on now?
SEELEY: Yes, that`s the path she`s on right now. It`s going to end up just like Anna Nicole. This path she`s on now, is the spiral down to death, or jail -- or whatever it`s going to be, it`s going to be devastating. And if she doesn`t take this seriously and go into a treatment center that she can`t bring her phone in, and she can bring -- you know, do text messages, and all those type of things. And get real treatment and take this seriously, she could strive and she could be the best that she can be. But until she does that, she`s going to continue spiraling down.
(CROSS TALK)
HAMMER: I was just going to say, it just sounds so scary to hear you put it in those terms and clearly something she needs to take very seriously. That`s just her personal health -- not just her personal health, I mean, that`s a pretty significant thing to be dealing with.
But, Rachel, we also have her professional career, which, for a lot of actors and actresses, how they`re doing in real life and how their career is going, and for many people it goes hand in hand.
RACHEL SYMNE, "RADAR": Yes.
HAMMER: You know, in Hollywood, you`re only as good as your last movie. And "Georgia Rule" is now her fourth big-time flop. How worried should she be, professionally, here?
SYME: I think it`s a little too early to be really professionally worried. I think Lindsay Lohan is a big, big star. And she shouldn`t necessarily be worried about her career. She needs to watch her step now, though, because she has had four movies that haven`t done so well.
However, when she got into the business she could carry a movie by herself. I don`t think that era is over. I just think she needs to pick projects that she`s real passionate about, and if she needs to take time off, do that. Because as some people who worked on her last movie has said, she`s kind of been calling it in. And you can tell she`s not passionate about it. I think she needs to reconnect with what she got into the industry to do.
HAMMER: Yes, because it`s a shame, you always hear from people that she really does have a great deal of talent and all of that is just getting sort of lost in the shuffle here.
Now, Ken, we`ve talked about Lindsay before, you said what needs to happen here is the studios need to stop hiring her. She needs a true Hollywood intervention. Why Hollywood and not her family?
SEELEY: Because her family is not prepared to do that at this point. And Hollywood has to be the one to step in and do it. I mean, I conduct professional interventions with executives all the time. The workplace steps in and does the intervention. That`s just as common as families stepping in and doing an intervention.
But since the family`s not capable, or unwilling to do the intervention, then the studios and Hollywood has to step in and do this intervention to save this young woman`s life.
HAMMER: It`s not just the "USA Today" article pointing out the kind of ride she`s been in, and what she needs to do to get over it. "USA Today", that was one, "The L.A. Times", now, also chiming in. They`re writing this open letter to Lindsay. The actually put a 12-step program in there, Rachel, trying to get her to get her act together.
One of the 12 steps, is she should just lay low, go away for a while, and things will get better. Do you think that`s good advice?
SYME: I think that`s great advice. In our web site, Radaronline.com, we often interview celebrity publicists and the number one thing they say, for any celebrity that`s having image issues, is to just go away, disappear. It really has two effects. It can help the celebrity if they have some time away from the spotlight to reflect and change.
But also it helps the public, because they`re allowed to get excited again about what the celebrity is going to do. And there`s a sense of mystery there. And it can change our perception of someone, really, if they just lay low for a little while.
HAMMER: Let`s hope she`s starting to heed some of that advice. We don`t want to be all doom and gloom, but it does seem like the path she is on is not a good one. "Intervention`s" Ken Seeley, "Radar" magazine`s Rachel Syme, thanks so much.
SYME: Thank you.
SEELEY: Thank you, A.J.
ANDERSON: We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Paris Hilton, will she come out of jail a better person? Keep voting. Cnn.com/showbiztonight. Write to us, Showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your e-mails tomorrow.
And you can now stay on top of the latest and most provocative entertainment news stories and find out what we`re working on by signing up for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter. Go to our website, CNN.com/showbiztonight, look on the left-hand side of the page where it says newsletter. Click to sign up and we`ll will e-mail you the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter every single day.
HAMMER: Coming up next, "King of Queens" star, Leah Remini. I`ve got her really fired up, all about this Hollywood and body image stuff. What she thinks of the message that young skinny stars are sending to their fans? Also she talks very candidly about her own weight battle. The SHOWBIZ "Weight Watch" is coming up next.
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HAMMER: Time now for the SHOWBIZ "Weight Watch." We cover Hollywood`s obsession with body image like no other entertainment news show.
Tonight, "King of Queens" star, Leah Remini; she is speaking out about how she dealt with her weight during, and after, her pregnancy. The tabloids were quick to point out how big she got. Leah is also very fired up about the message super skinny stars are sending to young girls.
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LEAH REMINI, "KING OF QUEENS": I blame the magazines for this. They keep plastering people with eating disorders on the cover and -- but also it`s the people who buy them. And I`m guilty of that as well. But I read these things on the toilet. So I know like where they belong.
And I just don`t think young girls are being sent the right message about their weight and what`s appropriate, what`s not appropriate. I`m a big eater. I like to eat like crap, so used that, you know, when I was a pregnant as an excuse to eat like crap, because I`ve been an actress -- you know, you should watch your weight -- especially if you -- the camera adds 10 pounds. And whoever invented high-definition should be shot and killed.
But it`s just -- you know, it`s hard, but there`s nothing on me from anybody that I should be a certain weight. But I know that it does affect -- it did affect me to be that big on television. But, you know, it was like, hey, my baby`s healthy and that`s what I need to focus on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Everybody here agrees Leah looks terrific. And Leah has a new really cool online web series about kids behaving badly. It`s called "In The Motherhood" and you can find it at Inthemotherhood.com.
ANDERSON: On Friday we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. It was this: On-screen smoking, should smoking be banned from movies. Only 35 percent of you say, yes. But 65 percent of you say, no, it shouldn`t be banned. Here are some of the e-mails we received.
Laura from Puerto Rico writes: "If smoking is controlled or banned from the screen, that is equal to censorship of the arts."
And Laurie from Wisconsin says: "If smoking should be banned from movies, then so should guns and alcohol."
HAMMER: Let`s find out what is coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, tomorrow, celebrity sex tapes. Paris and Pam, Kid Rock, even Screech, what effect do these X-rated videos have on stars` careers? The naked truth about celebrity sex tapes tomorrow.
Also, women stars behind bars. Paris, listen up. You can learn a lot from Martha Stewart, Lil Kim, and others who have done hard time. Besides the fashion tips, of course. Prison advice for Paris. That`s coming tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Have a great night, everybody. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. "Glenn Beck" coming up next. That`s right after the latest headlines from "CNN Headline News." Keep it right here.
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