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Showbiz Tonight
When Stars Lose Weight and Gain Fame; Young Stars and Plastic Surgery
Aired November 22, 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, HOST: When stars lose weight and gain fame. And the outrageous money stars are paid to party. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. A special edition of TV`s most provocative TV news show "Showbiz Investigates" starts right now.
On this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT - young stars and plastic surgery. Tonight an alarming trend in Hollywood. Women, barely out of their teens, going under the knife. Nose jobs, breast implants, collagen, even Botox. Why in the world are young and beautiful stars getting plastic surgery? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates nip and tuck nonsense.
Tonight, "The Dark Side of Comedy." Why is it that so much of the comedy that makes us laugh is rooted in pain, depression, unhappy childhood, even mental illness.
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DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: The funniest people in the world tend to be some of the most unhappy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight, a revealing and disturbing look at what happens when the laughter stops. It`s a showbiz special report "The Dark Side of Comedy."
(MUSIC)
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City. Tonight, a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates." Everything, from stars who lose weight to gain fame to the real reasons stars who seem to have it all are so terribly lonely.
But first, tonight, starlets under the knife. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can now reveal a disturbing trend. Young, beautiful stars running to plastic surgeons. I have to tell you, this is really troubling and is sending a very dangerous message. If you`re already young and beautiful, why should you get plastic surgery? And isn`t this setting a terrible image to young women everywhere who copy whatever these stars do?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Let`s face it. Plastic surgery is a friendly face in Hollywood. For decades, the ladies and gentlemen of La-la Land have been nipping and tucking their way to eternal youth.
But there`s an alarming new trend that has SHOWBIZ TONIGHT worried. Women stars, just barely out of their teens, are choosing to go under the knife. And it`s getting younger and younger by the day, as young as 21 years old.
DR. DAVID ALESSI, PLASTIC SURGEON: There is a definite trend in Hollywood of having - of people having plastic and cosmetic surgery done on an earlier and earlier stage. And the problem with it is that there are so many young women and men who actually follow what the stars do. It`s actually not a healthy trend.
HAMMER: One of the youngest of the pack to get plastic surgery MTV`s "The Hills" star Heidi Montag. The 21-year-old said she had a boob and nose job in April. She revealed to "Us Weekly" magazine she did it because of deep- seated body image insecurities. Can you believe it? She`s beautiful.
In an a dramatic confession, Montag admitted she was willing to risk a lot for the plastic surgery saying, quote, "My surgery was a very big deal. Right before I went in, I was like, what if I don`t wake up? Oh, this is scary. Then I thought, I don`t care if I don`t wake up, it`s worth it. I just wanted to do it so badly."
AMY BARNETT, AUTHOR, "GIRLFRIENDS` GUIDE TO HAVING EVERYTHING": I think it`s a real challenge for a lot of women who already have body image issues to have plastic surgery, because the thing is plastic surgery doesn`t fix your body image issues.
HAMMER: Montag says she`s happy with her surgery and proud of it, but not every young star flaunts it. Talk about young. Twenty-three-year-old pop star Ashley Simpson kept the rumor mill busy when she turned up on the head carpet with a decidedly smaller nose. Let`s face it. Her nose has before and after written all over it.
Turns out, it`s true. Her dad, Joe Simpson, spilled the beans recently, but said she had it done for health reasons. OK. We can understand that, Ashley. But what about this? Botox at 23? That`s what "In Touch Weekly" claims about her. They say Ashley gets injections once a month to give her that wide eyed look.
But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asked one of the leading plastic surgeons in Hollywood if he thinks the Botox rumors are true. He tells us, he doesn`t buy it.
ALESSI: Somebody who`s 23 or 24 years old is very, very unlikely that they would actually need Botox. It would be unlikely that she would have the type of wrinkles that you would see that would be indicative for Botox.
HAMMER: We`ll leave that one to the unsolved mystery files. But you`ve got to admit, there are some celebrities out there who have had work done. And yes, it is a no-brainer. Like, for example, Ashley`s big sis, 27-year- old Jessica Simpson.
Get a load of those lips. Yes, that`s Jessica Simpson with collagen injection. She admitted to having the lip job and said she hated it once she got it. She told "Glamour" magazine, quote, "It looked fake to me. I didn`t like that. But it went away in like four months. My lips are back to what they were. Thank god!"
Thank god is right. Actually, when you think about it, she got the lips done in a pretty traumatic time in her life, not long after the split with her hubby Nick Lachey. So did another starlet, 25-year-old Britney Spears.
ALESSI: It`s well-known that she had her lips augmented recently. And here, you have somebody who`s out of shape, whose career is failing. She has her - custody of her children is well-known. And she goes in to her lips augmented.
HAMMER: I know, right? So why`d she do it, Doc? Was she looking for a quick fix?
ALESSI: She needs to get other things and aspects in her life corrected before she starts having little things done like injections of the lips and things like that. Get in shape, get your career back, and get your kids back and things like that.
HAMMER: Sounds like a tall order if you ask me. But Dr. Alessi says he`s seeing more and more stars come through his office.
ALESSI: Somebody comes in and they say, "I looked in the magazine. I don`t think I`m pretty anymore. Can you just do something to make me more pretty?" Basically they need a psychiatrist instead of a plastic surgeon.
HAMMER: And the bottom line, plastic surgery doesn`t solve any body image problems, not for celebrities or common folk.
BARNETT: I`m worried at young women who look at these stars who are doing all these operations and having the plastic surgery, will think that they can buy confidence, too. But true confidence isn`t about looking good in front of the camera. True confidence is about self acceptance and being comfortable in your own skin.
HAMMER: It was a hard-learned lesson for young star Tara Reid. She had a humiliating experience on the red carpet when her dress fell down and the world saw the sad reality of the botched boob job.
REID: For two years, I was struggling with the bad plastic surgery.
HAMMER: She told me it took a long time to recover physically and mentally from that experience.
REID: Part of the reason why I stopped working so much is because I couldn`t show my stomach.
HAMMER: And what that has down to you is psychological.
REID: Yes. Mentally. Everyone, like, the dress fell down and everyone what they looked like. It was terrible to live with. So then, I kind of just - my life, got myself and I got my body fixed. And got my mind - mentally fixed. I really try to stay around positive people now.
HAMMER: Who thought the party girl Tara Reid could be such a role model? But without women like her to drive the point home that plastic surgery doesn`t fix your life`s problems, well, who knows how young the next generation of starlets will start going under the knife?
BARNETT: You can`t fix your self image. You can`t fix how good you feel about yourself by just physically slicing yourself up. You have to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin. That is true beauty. That`s true sexiness.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, Tara Reid also told me that it is not hard to give in to the ultrathin peer pressure of Hollywood. And being young and impressionable, well, that just makes it even harder to resist.
Well, we move now from stars with self-image problems to stars who are simply all by themselves. Believe it or not, some of the biggest stars in the world say Hollywood can be a very lonely place.
Think about it. When you`re a star, you`ve got money, you`ve got fame, and you`ve got the world practically at your feet. But when everyone wants a piece of you, who do you trust? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates, "Lonely in Hollywood." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson has the story.
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BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CO-HOST: The glitz, the glamour, the worldwide adoration. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, when the red carpet is rolled up and the lights go down, Hollywood can be the loneliest place in the world.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT, "CNN AMERICAN MORNING": They don`t say it`s lonely at the top for nothing. It`s true.
ANDERSON: "CNN AMERICAN MORNING" entertainment correspondent Lola Ogunnaike says success often comes with a price.
OGUNNAIKE: You spend all your life scaling this mountain to get to the height of your career. And you look around and there`s no one you can relate to.
ANDERSON: Take pop princess Britney Spears. She`s gone from "Mickey Mouse Club" darling to mega pop star, to cavorting with strangers and assistants on the covers of magazines.
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I think Britney is a nice girl who`s having a very strong reaction to her world.
ANDERSON: Dr. Robi Ludwig, psychotherapist and host of GSN`s "Without Prejudice," says one reason Britney could be lonely is because she became too famous too soon.
LUDWIG: If we were looking at any other adolescent and they were somehow rejecting their parent and getting crazy in college, we wouldn`t think anything of it.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH, ACTRESS: I want to say to Britney Spears, if you see this for some oddball reason, I would so much love to hang out with you.
ANDERSON: That`s Anna Nicole Smith in a 2006 web video, asking Britney Spears to be her friend. In life, Anna`s rise to fame from small town girl to buxom "Playboy Playmate of the Year" caught the attention of millions.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": You think there`s sort of like a cloud that hangs over you?
SMITH: A dark one.
KING: A dark one.
LUDWIG: Fame seems to be a panacea for loneliness. It seems to offer success and connection. And on the contrary, it`s an illusion.
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ANDERSON: That`s a lonely Michael Jackson in his music video, telling him everyone to just leave him alone. Jackson thrilled the world with "Thriller" and became the undisputed king of pop. But once his popularity fizzled in the `90s and his legal problems began, Michael was in his own world.
OGUNNAIKE: When you reach that pinnacle, it`s hard to have people around you that you can relate to.
It`s interesting because, you know, we hear, that the world loves them. The world loves them. At the end of the day, who are you calling when you`re depressed? Who`s the supportive person who`s helping you to feel better? It`s not the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, the world may not help these stars feel any better. But I can tell you, when magazines put stories about stars and their loneliness on their covers, sales spike.
And for stars like Lindsay, Paris and Britney, you know, going to clubs isn`t just part of their social lives. Oh, no, it is a way to rake in some big bucks. Man, I can`t believe what some stars are getting paid just to show up. "Paid to Party!" We`ll get into that at 30 minutes past the hour. We`ll also have this -
JESSICA WEINER, AUTHOR, "DO I LOOK FAT IN THIS?": I think that we`re seeing as a real formula for comeback in Hollywood -
HAMMER: These stars slimmed down and they saw their careers come back to life. But the question is, is this a formula for success, or perhaps a recipe for disaster? Coming up, stars who lose weight and gain fame.
And comedians from Jim Carey to Rosie O`Donnell. They`ve all been very open about their battles with depression. And you know, they`re just the beginning of a very, very long list. It turns out some of the funniest people are also some of the saddest, but why? "The Dark Side of Comedy" on the way as this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Showbiz Investigates" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Our special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates," continues now with a shocking message being sent in Hollywood. The price of fame may include a dramatic diet.
And now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, what kind of message does that actually send? Which stars are making it work for them? And are some people actually saying, there is a silver lining behind all this madness?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRSTIE ALLEY, ACTRESS: Listen, I`m not fat anymore but my friend Valerie Bertinelli is.
HAMMER (voice over): Whether it`s Kirstie Ally and Valerie for Jenny Craig -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight chubby celebrities fighting to get down to their perfect weight.
HAMMER: For an in your face reality show like "Celebrity Fit Club," the message is clear, lose weight and you can regain long lost fame.
WEINER: I think what we`re seeing is a real formula for a comeback in Hollywood.
HAMMER: Jessica, author of "Do I Look Fat in This?" tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, this is a trend washed up stars have been praying for.
WEINER: If you go ahead and repent for your sins of overeating and being larger than the average bear in Hollywood, then you get a chance at redemption and a new career.
HAMMER: Of course, dramatic weight loss in Hollywood isn`t new. From flip-flopping stars like Janet Jackson and Renee Zellweger, to Oprah Winfrey, who practically made dieting a national pastime.
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Oh, I`m so excited!
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you what is new is this unapologetic weight loss fast track to fame. Besides Kirstie Ally and Valerie Bertenelli, there is Maureen "Marsha Brady" McCormack, just to name a few. But Kirstie definitely set the standard riding the weight loss train back into her spotlight.
CORI MURRAY, "ESSENCE MAGAZINE": She had this great career before with "Cheers" and she was this really great actress. But now, you know, when she`s put on a lot of weight they totally trashed her in the tabloids.
HAMMER: "Essence" magazine`s Cori Murray tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Kirstie`s comeback had everything to do with weight loss. And she may not have much choice.
MURRAY: Sometimes you here about these off the record conversations where a casting director is like, "If you would lose 15 pounds you`ll get it," or whatever the case may be. It`s like, stop that, just embrace these stars who are fuller size, give them opportunities and put the work out there. We`ll come support it.
HAMMER: Kirstie is getting a lot of support now. She`s still curvy but also 75 pounds lighter.
ALLEY: I`m not trying to lose more weight. I`m in what`s called maintenance for Jenny Craig.
HAMMER: And thanks to Jenny, Kirstie has reached a whole new level of stardom.
VALERIE BERTINELLI, ACTRESS: I`ve got to call Kirstie, tell her I lost 26 pounds. Nice girl. Looked chatty, though.
HAMMER: "One Day at a Time" sitcom star Valerie Bertinelli went from "where are they now" to "right here, right now." She`s sharing the Jenny Craig stage with Kirstie, who tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she doesn`t mind.
ALLEY: I`m having a great time with Valerie. We realize that, you know, the fun thing about watching these commercials is watching the evolution of someone losing weight. We wanted to take somebody else on a journey so that we could watch them - them humiliate themselves.
HAMMER: But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has to ask - is there a downside to bargaining your waistline for a punch line? Best-selling author Jessica Weiner.
WEINER: What I wish we wouldn`t see is a woman feeling good about herself only because she`s losing weight. I applaud somebody like Kirstie or Valerie if they`re really taking back their life in the full and total sense of being in control and feeling empowered.
But weight loss and changing your body shape and size should only be a very small part of it, if that`s your choice. It shouldn`t be the predominant reason why women feel valued in this country.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, the battle with weight combined with fame can equal disaster. Take Anna Nicole Smith, for example.
MURRAY: In Anna Nicole`s case, thinner did not mean happier. Thinner, I think, brought her a lot more pain.
HAMMER: "Essence" magazine`s Cori Murray says despite Anna Nicole`s success with the TrimSpa diet plan, weight problems only added to the many demons that plagued the late starlet.
MURRAY: She was probably never meant to be a thin woman, so she had to deal with that. And she never found that balance.
HAMMER: And even though Anna Nicole briefly reclaimed the spotlight, critics say Hollywood big wigs don`t acknowledge the dangers caused by unrealistic industry standards.
MURRAY: I just think it just sends the wrong message that, "We don`t like you when you`re big." And that`s kind of painful.
HAMMER: "Brady Bunch" star, Maureen McCormack went through her own painful battle, but says weight gain was only part of the problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First step was Maureen "Marsha Brady" McCormack" -
MAUREEN MCCORMACK, ACTRESS: My mother died. I think I`ve just been eating out of depression.
HAMMER: The "Brady Bunch" star drifted far from the Hollywood spotlight and fell into addiction and depression. Fast forward more than 20 years and she`s back. This time she`s found fame by losing weight on VH1`s "Celebrity Fit Club." And fans were happy to see her come back.
WEINER: Well, everybody loves Marsha Brady. So I think watching her succeed, whether that was losing her weight or battling her addiction are some of the things she`s been public about. What breaks my heart when I see a lot of these celebrities go on shows like "Celebrity Fit Club" or kind of redeem themselves by losing weight publicly, is that they were stars a long time ago when they were younger and they had a different body shape and size.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Kirstie, Valerie and Maureen reflect the weight loss struggle that goes beyond Hollywood, and there`s a lesson in it for all of us.
WEINER: I think now is a time for them to change that dynamic and begin to love themselves from the inside-out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, the thing is, this trend may be a little tough to shake. Stars can certainly make a lot of money through those diet endorsements. One example, according to "Ad Week," Jenny Craig spent $40 million on its celebrity ad campaign in just one year.
Coming up - SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates even more stars going under the knife.
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DAVID CAPLAN, STAFF EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: It looks like he had a chemical peel, that he had cheek implants. His whole face looks completely restructured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And you know, Axle Rose is not the only star with a freaky new face. I`ve been wondering why are so many celebrities deciding to get all carved up, injected and Botoxed. That is coming up.
Also, for stars like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, you know, going to clubs is not just a part of their very active social lives but it`s actually a way to rake in some big bucks. I cannot believe what some stars get paid just to show up. Showbiz investigates stars who are paid to party. That is coming up.
And this has to be such a tough decision, especially when you`re in the public eye. When and how do you announce you`re gay? Former `N Sync star, Lance Bass, tells us about how and why he came out. That is coming up next.
And now, you can watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT any time you`d like by downloading our wonderful podcast. Best of all, it`s absolutely free, won`t cost you a cent. To find the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT podcast, just surf on over to our web site at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. You can also download it on iTunes by typing "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" into that search box. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Now, Lance Bass tells all. Bass, of course, was a heart throb in the late `90s with the group `N Sync. But he kept his secret from the group the fact that he was gay. It was just one of many struggles for Bass while they were at the height of fame. He writes all about it in his book "Out of Sync." And Lance told me how hard it was for him to hide his sexuality from the rest of the group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE BASS, `N SYNC MEMBER: The week where it all just kind of came out, it was very nerve-wracking. It was just a few hours where I had to decide, am I going to tell my story? Who am I going to tell it with? Because the story was getting around. People were really gossiping a lot. And to me, I didn`t think it was a big deal. I didn`t think people would care because I was very relaxed. I was in a relationship at that time. My friends knew, so I was out to myself.
HAMMER: That is why I`ve heard you say that before when you didn`t it would be a big deal and you didn`t think people would care. Really?
BASS: Well, you know, it`s true and it`s ignorance. It was scary because I didn`t know who would support it. I didn`t know if I was going to get, you know, people making fun of me. My biggest concern was for the gay community. I didn`t want another person to come out and people just bash and be like, "Oh, look at this queen," and, you know, just really get the stereotypical bashing. But it was completely the opposite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, Bass says that all of his friends and family, even the media, embraced his coming out.
Well, for stars like Lindsay, Paris and Britney, you know, going to clubs isn`t just part of their social lives. It`s a way for them to rake in some pretty big bucks. Man, I can`t believe what some stars get paid just to show up. Wow! SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates why stars are paid to party. That`s next.
Plus star plastic surgery dreams and nightmares. You know, more and more stars are going under the knife. But why? That is just ahead as we look into star plastic surgery, the good, the bad and the ugly. We`ll also have this -
PINSKY: The funniest people in the world tend to be some of the most unhappy.
HAMMER: Comedians from Jim Carrey to Rosie O`Donnell have been very open about their battles with depression. And they`re just the beginning of what really is a very long list. It turns out, some of the funniest people are also the saddest. But why? Showbiz investigates "The Dark Side of Comedy." That is coming up.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars Paid to Party."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ESTERMAN, CELEBRITY AGENT: We have an offer now with Justin Timberlake for Dubai, at over a million dollars if we can connect with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I think it is insane the kind of money stars are making just to show up at nightclubs. I mean, come on, do these people really need the cash? Tonight I`m investigating "Stars Paid to Party."
The biggest celebrities and their biggest plastic surgery secrets. Why did they go under the knife? And what happens when good plastic surgery goes terribly wrong? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the nitty gritty on Hollywood`s nips and tucks. A special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, showbiz investigates continues right now.
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Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates." I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
And tonight, we are blowing the lid off of some of Hollywood`s dirtiest, hardest to uncover secrets, like stars who are paid to party. Paris Hilton has made a career of it, certainly, but she`s not the only one who cashes in just for showing up at nightclubs. Even A-list stars like Beyonce and Justin Timberlake are making deals to party for a price. And it seems that price is getting higher and higher.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Paris Hilton -
ESTERMAN: She`ll look at offers at minimum of $100,000.
PARIS HILTON: That`s hot.
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: Beyonce -
ESTERMAN: We`re getting offers at $35,000 to $40,000 just for two hours.
HAMMER: Carmen Electra.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`ll look at offers for $50,000.
HAMMER: And even Kevin Federline.
ESTERMAN: They`re offering him, you know, $50,000.
HAMMER: Stars are cashing in big time, and it`s not for performing -
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HAMMER: But for partying. Matthew Miller of "Forbes" magazine tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that pay-to-party trend is only getting hotter.
MATTHEW MILLER: It very common for stars to get paid to party. In fact, in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, it`s very uncommon if they don`t get paid to appear.
ESTERMAN: The money obviously is ranging from a lot of factors.
Celebrity agent Mike Esterman is one of the people actually brokering deals, connecting stars to these party paydays. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, his business is becoming an international phenomenon.
ESTERMAN: This boutique operation I started has become a very big mainstream in catapulting celebrities around the world now. Not only am I doing a lot of U.S. stuff, but I`m now bridging the gap of a lot of countries that are reaching out and finding me and booking talent. We have an offer now with Justin Timberlake for Dubai at over a million dollars if we can connect with it.
HAMMER: The numbers are staggering. Gwen Cooper, author of "Diary of the South Beach Party Girl" tells us the fictional celebrity party scene she writes about in her book isn`t far from reality.
GWEN COOPER, AUTHOR, "DIARY OF THE SOUTH BEACH PARTY GIRL": When I first started going out in the club scene, part of what was shocking to me was just to see how much free stuff, you know, how comped(ph) everything was. Just the bucket going back and forth with, you know, $500, $600, $1,000, $5,000 bottles of liquor and champagne that are just being written off and they`re on the house.
HAMMER: But Cooper says clubs have good reason to go to extremes to make sure they have the hottest stars.
COOPER: When all is said and done, clubs live and die based on the clientele they get. There are certain names which are bankable names.
HAMMER: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, stars aren`t shy in making demands. Celebrity agents have revealed to us that Paris Hilton won`t even consider a party gig for less than $100,000.
ESTERMAN: You know, that minimum always comes from the artist themselves.
HAMMER: Some celebrities have managed to turn partying into their main gig.
ESTERMAN: You know, Kevin Federline was getting everything from $15,000 to $20,000 just for a two-hour appearance.
HAMMER: Despite Federline`s split from Britney Spears, his cachet on the party scene is only growing.
ESTERMAN: We have an offer right now for him in Faroe Islands. Incredible. I`ve never been there and I`d love to see it. It`s out near Norway. And Faroe Islands - I mean, they`re offering him, you know, $50,000. A great offer if we can connect with it.
HAMMER: Britney`s draw as a party headliner may seem like it`s fading with her music career, but SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that`s just not the case.
ESTERMAN: Controversy definitely gets the name out there and the people thinking about, hey, how can I get that person in my event? They`re still a big draw. People are fascinated with seeing them especially if they have a chance on see them up close and personal.
HAMMER: Not even three weeks in jail could break the person who made getting paid for partying a headline.
COOPER: Paris Hilton, I think, is like the Rasputin of the party scene. Like, every time you think they`ve killed her off, she comes back. From matured dollar for dollar perspective, I would say that she`s probably worth every penny for the club.
HAMMER: And promoters agree despite astronomical fees, clubs are still pulling in huge profits and they can thank fans for that.
COOPER: Everybody wants to feel like they`re in the place to be. It`s like - almost like a stamp of authenticity. If you`re at a party where Lindsay Lohan is partying, then there`s nothing wilder or hotter going on anyplace else. Or Paris Hilton, you know, especially those kind of celebrities who are not just famous, but who are famous for partying.
HAMMER: Even if you`re not an A-list star, you can still cash in. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has some advice - your best bet, try out for a reality show.
ESTERMAN: One of the best people we book all the time are MTV "Real World" cast members. They`re very obtainable. They`re workable. The kids love them. Their age demographics meet such a broad, wide audience.
COOPER: The reality stars like that, I think, go very quickly from completely unknown to household names, to vaguely familiar in about five minute.
HAMMER: And for the real big stars like Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Usher, getting paid to party doesn`t seem to shake their credibility with fans.
COOPER: It`s the way to have your name out there and having your name out there is better than not having it out there at all.
HAMMER: And since it doesn`t seem to be hurting the bottom line for anyone, maybe we should all celebrate.
ESTERMAN: Well, the club owners call me and of course the celebrities are most happy, of course, to hear my phone calls or e-mails when they know - if they hear from me, they know money is calling.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) hates that. Well, a lot of stars also like to keep their plastic surgery secrets hush-hush. That`s why they`re secrets. From the good, the bad and sometimes very ugly, I have to say it really seems like more and more stars these days are getting nipped, tucked and injected. And tonight, I`ve got the plastic surgery confessions of the rich and famous. Also this -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PINSKY: The funniest people in the world tend to be some of the most unhappy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I was shocked by this. Some of the funniest people on the outside, battling scary demons inside. Comedians like Jim Carrey, Rosie O`Donnell, opening up like never before about their battles with depression. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates "The Dark Side of Comedy." That is coming up.
Also ahead, stars who lose weight, gain it back, lose it - you get the idea. Flip-flopping stars. It`s never easy to shed the pounds but I want to know, are the ups and downs really harder for celebrities in the spotlight? A very special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates," back after this.
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Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Now, a revealing look at stars who go under the knife, from the good, the bad and the sometimes very ugly.
I have to say, it seems like more and more stars these days are getting nipped and tucked and injected. They don`t always like to advertise their body work, though. But tonight, I am uncovering plastic surgery secrets of the rich and famous.
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(voice over): From Jessica Simpson`s super sized lips to Axl Rose and Mickey Rourke`s freaky new faces, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Hollywood is full of plastic surgery success stories and nightmares.
CAPLAN: One of the worst Hollywood plastic surgery offenders is Axl Rose.
HAMMER: Axl Rose rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the widely popular rock group, Guns N` Roses.
(MUSIC)
Women loved him. Men wanted to be him. But by the late 1990s, Axl had become increasingly reclusive.
AXL ROSE, ROCK STAR: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
HAMMER: He decided to disappear from the spotlight. In 2006, he reemerged looking like this.
CAPLAN: It looked like he had had a chemical peel, that he had cheek implants. His whole face looked completely restructured.
CAPLAN: Axl Rose used to be this really studly, hunky guy. But when he reemerged, he looked so artificial, so plastic it was scary, almost, for people to look at him.
HAMMER: If you are hoping to get an admission out of Axl, it`s not going to happen. He`s never said a word about his transformation, but Jessica Simpson has. After much speculation about her noticeably fuller lips, Jessica is finally acknowledging she`s had injections in her lips, admitting to "Glamour" magazine, that, quote, "I had that Restylane stuff. It looked fake to me and I didn`t like that."
CAPLAN: When Jessica Simpson first landed on our radar, she was very au naturale girl next door. Then all of a sudden we saw Jessica with these bigger lips and even nicknamed trout pout.
HAMMER: Well, Jessica is saying so long to the trout pout. She says she`s stopped with the filler. But that admission got people asking, what else?
CAPLAN: When Jessica admitted she had Restylane, that opened the floodgates for people wondering, "OK. Is she going to admit some other plastic surgery she had. A lot of people were wondering had Jessica had breast implants.
HAMMER: Speculate all you want, but Jessica wants everyone to know, unlike her lips, those are real. But she tells "Harper`s Bazaar" magazine that she`s not ruling out plastic surgery in the future, because you never know what`s going to happen, saying, "Maybe after having kids, if my boobs dropped down to my belly button, I would get them lifted."
Patricia Heaton knows all about that. The "Everybody Loves Raymond" star says having four kids and four C-sections changed her body in ways she never imagined. So she went for a tummy tuck and a breast lift.
PATRICIA HEATON, ACTRESS: I nursed four very thirsty boys in such succession. I`m 44 and my body was looking about 64, so I wanted to sort of have them meet.
HAMMER: Star Jones waited four years before telling the world that she had something done to her body. She went from 307 pound to her new stick thin figure because of gastric bypass surgery. She says she waited so long because she didn`t know how people would react. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT found out her then-co-hosts on "The View" knew about it all along.
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": I`m very happy that Star has talked about her gastric bypass. We had all known about it when it happened. She asked us not to tell. She was our colleague and we didn`t.
HAMMER: Star may have hid her surgery, but SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you there are plenty of other celebrities who have come right out to say surgery helped them slim down. "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson and weather man Al Roker(ph) each lost more than 100 pounds, thanks to gastric bypass surgery. So did Roseanne Barr. For Blues Traveler front man John Popper, the weight loss was more extreme.
JOHN POPPER, FRONT MAN, BLUES TRAVELER: I used to step on the gas station. Those little hoses go ding! Ding! I can make them go ding just by stepping on them.
HAMMER: Popper used to weigh over 400 pounds. But in 2000, he went under the knife and reemerged half his size.
POPPER: It saved my life. It was absolutely that simple.
HAMMER: But not every surgery is a success. Enter actor Mickey Rourke. You remember him from his leading man days. Well, have a look at him now. Rourke`s surgery started when he decided to fix his nose after a boxing injury. The nose job, though, was just the tip of the iceberg.
CAPLAN: His face looks completely different. It looks like he`s had some sort of face lift, chemical peel, definitely some surgery around his eyes. He just went full on with all the surgery.
HAMMER: Whether it`s the good, the bad, or the just plain ugly, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is here to tell you, it looks like plastic surgery is one of the few things in Hollywood that will never go out of style.
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(on camera): Well now, we`ve got a revealing look at the dark side of comedy. While many comedians look happy on the outside, making us laugh, we discovered a shocking secret. They could be battling serious problems like mental illness and depression on the inside.
In fact, some of the most famous funny people, people like Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, are opening up now like never before about their troubled past. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson with a disturbing investigation into the dark side of comedy.
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ROBIN WILLIAMS, COMEDIAN: Oh, no! Say it ain`t so, Joe.
BROOKE ANDERSON: Robin Williams, Roseanne Barr, Jim Carrey - they are all talented comedians linked by much more than laughs. They have also battled depression.
PINSKY: The funniest people in the world tend to be some of the most unhappy.
ANDERSON: Dr. Drew Pinsky is an addiction specialist who conducted the first ever study of celebrities and mental illness.
PINSKY: We`re happy to be around them. We like what they do for us. We feed them to a certain extent but the reality is that pseudo-intimacy we establish with a comedian as an audience is really not enough to feed their emptiness and make them feel healthy.
JOHN HENSON, COMEDIAN: There is a dark side of comedy.
ANDERSON: John Henson, comedian and host of TV Guide Channel`s "Watch This," tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that comedy is often rooted in pain. His 20 years as a comic opened his eyes to a surprising reality.
HENSON: Stand-ups tend to bathe themselves in that attention. When you`re on the road, sometimes you`re alone 22, 23 hours a day, then you`re in front of 500, 1,000, 2,500 people that night, all laughing and the center of attention for an hour, and then back into sort of a world of isolation. It`s a strange lifestyle.
ANDERSON: The life of a comedian has its extreme highs and lows. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has to ask, do the laughs actually hide a more serious problem?
PINSKY: I think about comedy more as the treatment rather than a mask for these people. They`re trying to manage or regulate a deep sense of pain and this is how they go to the world and get fed. It actually is a solution to their problems.
JIM CARREY, COMEDIAN: Bingo, yahtzee! Is that your final answer? Our survey says God! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!
ANDERSON: "Bruce Almighty" is just one of dozens of films filled with Jim Carrey`s god-given gift for comedy.
HENSON: Jim Carrey is the kind of guy who could have been a silent film star. His physicality is second to none.
ANDERSON: Carrey`s secret to comedy success points directly to his dark childhood. He told "60 MINUTES," I had a sick mom, man. I wanted to make her feel better. I used to do impressions of preying mantises and weird things. I`d bounce off the walls and throw myself down the stairs to make her feel better.
HENSON: Jim has talked about his depression at length and I think that`s another case of somebody who uses comedy to both come it terms with his own feelings and possibly even keep the world at arm`s reach.
ANDERSON: Carrey is just one of many comedians opening up about mental illness. Comedian Howie Mandel is very open about his obsessive-compulsive disorder. He doesn`t shake hands and washes his hands compulsively. The host of the hit show "Deal or No Deal" is in therapy. And he says he`s talking about it because raising awareness helps others get help, too. Mandel spoke with CNN`s Larry King.
HOWIE MANDEL, COMEDIAN: I think that mental health is just coping skills. I think if we`re healthy mentally, we`re going to be healthy physically.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you the downside of comedy can be dangerous. Sitcom star David Strickland and stand up comic Richard Jeni are two comedians whose bouts with depression ended in suicide.
PINSKY: Somewhere around 1 out of 5 people with depression will commit suicide. It`s a serious medical problem with life-threatening consequences and to sort of brush off a comedian`s depression as sort of a melancholy is a grave mistake.
ANDERSON: Robin Williams said his mistake was drifting back into drinking. Williams went back into rehab and now he says he has a new view of life.
WILLIAMS: You kind of realize that when you get out of rehab that life is pretty incredible and to enjoy it. And there`s no place you have to rush to because death is nature`s way of saying, slow down.
ANDERSON: Slow down? Not so fast, Robin. We expect many more laughs from you and we`re not the only ones.
HANSEN: He`s a guy whose energy is so manic, you see Robin and it`s almost as if he`s possessed. That`s a guy who is sort of the quintessential "on" personality as far as comedians go.
ANDERSON: Rosie O`Donnell is someone else who went public about her depression, which she says was triggered by the despair over the Columbine shooting.
ROSIE O`DONNELL, COMEDIAN: I could not stop crying. I stayed in my room. The lights were off.
ANDERSON: Rosie`s treatment for depression - inversion therapy, hanging upside down.
O`DONNELL: Looks scary but it`s not. It really does help.
HANSEN: At its purest form, comedy is about opening up your head and letting people into it, and letting people see the sort of spooky places that most people hide away. And I think when people connect to that, you have something truly special.
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HAMMER: That was SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson reporting. So many stars, so many weight battles. You know, I know it`s not easy for anyone to keep the pounds off, but think about it, how much harder it is when camera are in your face all day.
Janet Jackson, Renee Zellweger, Oprah - they gain, they lose, they gain, they lose. Coming up next, the provocative look at flip-flopping stars in this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates."
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HAMMER: This special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates," continues now. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And tonight, I am taking a stand and daring Hollywood to dramatically change this obsession with body image.
So right now here`s a provocative look at flip-flopping stars, the battle they face with their weight going up and down, up and down and how that battle is even harder when you`re living under the spotlight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): They`re up and they`re down. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, when it comes to weight, the stars are just like us.
CAPLAN: What we`re seeing in Hollywood really mirrors what the rest of the country is battling right now, and that`s a weight problem.
TIA BROWN, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": I think celebrities in Hollywood have the same struggles as regular people with their weight. But the pressure is intensified because everyone is watching.
HAMMER: Talk show host Ricki Lake knows all about the ups and downs of dieting. She`s been struggling with her weight for nearly 20 years.
RICKI LAKE, TALK SHOW HOST: I went on a big diet. It wasn`t healthy at that time for me, because I starved myself and I didn`t know what to do. I had no money and it was when I reinvented myself that the talk show opportunity came up. And of it a great fit and I did it for a long time.
HAMMER: After dropping 100 pounds the wrong way for her TV show in the `90s, she decided to go about her weight loss in a healthy way. Telling SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, she`s now down to a size six by exercising and eating delivered meals.
BROWN: Celebrities use all types of diets to gain or lose weight. But specifically, when they`re gearing up for a project, they also often have trainers and very strict diets with no carbs, no starches, no meat. You know, they do all kinds of weird things to get into character. So sometimes it`s not just for personal appearance, it`s for work.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, not all stars pull the reins in when the weight comes on. Case in point, Kelly Clarkson. Kelly was fit and trim when she won "American Idol." Now, with a solo career in full swing, she`s a little more curvy.
CAPLAN: Kelly Clarkson is another person in Hollywood whose weight keeps fluctuating. It`s not as extreme. We`ve never seen Kelly being really skinny, really rail thin. The refreshing thing about Kelly Clarkson is that unlike so many of these other girls in Hollywood, she doesn`t seem to really care when she gains a little bit of weight. And in young Hollywood right now, that`s a huge change.
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HAMMER: And what a great example she sets. Well, that is it for this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Showbiz Investigates." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Thanks a lot for watching. The latest from "CNN HEADLINE NEWS" coming up next.
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