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Showbiz Tonight
Will Britney Spears Ever Regain Custody of Her Children?
Aired January 15, 2008 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Is Hillary Clinton going to be on "Dancing With The Stars?" I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And Katie Holmes opens up to me like never before about the wild rumors about her family. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, is enough enough with Britney Spears? The disturbing and unsettling questions after Britney bails on court in a wild chaotic mob scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRITNEY SPEARS, POP STAR: I don`t like to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight, what in the world is Britney thinking? And what in the world was she thinking, or does she not even realize how her jaw-dropping behavior looks to the rest of us. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT dares to ask, is it time to stop the Britney madness?
Tom Cruise`s war of the words. Tonight, for the very first time, an explosive unauthorized biography of Cruise is finally out. And for the very first time, the book`s author is speaking out about outrageous, ridiculous claims including that the dead founder of Scientology is baby Suri`s father. Tonight, the confrontational interview and the Church of Scientology`s angry counter attack. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with Tom Cruise`s war of the words.
(MUSIC)
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
ANDERSON: Hi there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson, coming to you from Hollywood. And why is Hillary Clinton talking about appearing on "Dancing With The Stars?" And why did Diane Keaton drop the F-bomb on Diane Sawyer? It`s the wild stuff that has us asking, did you see this? You will. Coming up.
HAMMER: But first, is it time for a judge to say enough is enough to Britney Spears? It`s going to be at least another month before a judge will even consider letting her see her kids following a wild day outside court and inside court that has people asking, how many chances should Britney get? Is there anything she can even remotely do to convince us that she`s doing all she can do to get her kids back? And dare we ask, is Britney playing everyone for a fool?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE DARYL, "TMZ TV": Britney - boy, put on another show for everyone.
SPEARS: I`m scared. I`m scared.
HAMMER (voice over): She certainly did. Britney Spears` latest court date in the custody fight for her two children, played out like a tale of two parents. This TMZ video shows Brit`s ex, Kevin Federline arriving to court with the minimum of drama.
DARYL: K-Fed arrived on time in a suit and he was ready to get down to business. He was ready to go to court. Britney, not so much.
SPEARS: I`m scared. Stop it.
HAMMER: Late and flustered is how Britney made her way to court.
SPEARS: I want to get in the car. I want to get in the car.
HAMMER: And when she decided she couldn`t stand the media mob scene a minute later, she got in the car and drove away without even stepping foot in the courtroom to fight for custody of her kids.
DARYL: She has done this before in the past. She`s shown up late and then quickly leaves.
HAMMER: The result of all of this madness? The judge ruled the kids stay with their dad while Brit goes without the visitation rights she lost after the police standoff at her house earlier this month.
DARYL: The judge, the commissioner definitely was concerned that Britney`s mental instability, I guess you would say, could pose a threat not only to herself but most importantly to the little boys.
HAMMER: Afterwards, Brit didn`t exactly stay at home moping over the custody decision. In this "Hollywood.tv" video, we see her looking a lot less scared of the paparazzi as she runs errands with her new boyfriend, Adnan Ghalib. By the way, he`s a paparazzo, too.
K-Fed`s custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James is still only temporary. So, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, how many more public freak-outs, police standoffs and skipped court hearings do we have to see before the court decides for good that Britney is not fit to be a mom?
DARYL: Britney seems to have really gotten away with a lot. The big question is, you know, when`s going to be the straw that breaks the camel`s back, you know? At what point is the commissioner going to say, enough is enough is enough?
LISA BLOOM, ANCHOR, "IN SESSION": What we have in this case is a really severe order. I mean, even parents who have mental illness issues, who have substance abuse issues will usually still have visitation with their children. It might be monitored visitation. Britney right now has no access, zero, nada, zilch.
HAMMER: Attorney and True TV personality, Lisa Bloom, tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT despite Britney`s problems, she does have something in her corner that is helping her in her custody case - her money.
BLOOM: I do think that Britney is getting special treatment. Britney is constantly getting emergency hearings on the calendar. And I think that`s because she`s a wealthy celebrity. Having said that, she also has the advantage of being able to hire lawyers who are going to be very aggressive, who are going to fight for her rights. She has the right to do that`s so I think we`re going to continue to see the hearings.
HAMMER: But Bloom tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT even with Brit`s money, child custody cases often remain in a constant state of flux.
BLOOM: We have not seen a permanent order because no child custody order is permanent. Until those kids are 18, a parent can always come in and reapply and re-petition and say, "I made mistakes in the past, but please give me access to my children right now."
I think the reason why the judge keeps hearing motions from her lawyers is because the judge is hoping that Britney is going to redeem herself and we can at least get her back to monitored visitation.
HAMMER: So it appears that for now, Britney will get unlimited chances to get her act together so that she can get her kids back.
SPEARS: I`m scared. I`m scared. Stop it.
HAMMER: But for now, it looks like that won`t happen any time soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Yes. Brit will indeed get another chance to have her visitation rights restored. That next court hearing`s going to take place on February 19th.
ANDERSON: So when will Britney stop receiving second chances from the court and finally be told that she needs to get her life together before she can ever see her children?
With us tonight in Hollywood, entertainment journalist, Ken Baker. Also in Hollywood tonight, psychologist Dr.Lillian Glass. Ken, I`ll begin with you. Is enough enough? Is it time for the judge to say, "Sorry, Britney. You`re out of chances"?
KEN BAKER, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Well, you know what? She`s also out of excuses. Sam Lutfi, her manager/friend/publicist told "E! News" yesterday that the reason why she couldn`t go into court was because a throng of paparazzi too intimidating and they couldn`t leave.
Let me tell you something, Brooke. Twenty-four hours before that, she was at a boutique in the valley here in Los Angeles and she had the same media throng in front of her. In fact, I`m told it was bigger. She went into the boutique, she bought a midriff baring shirt and walked out ten minutes later. She apparently didn`t have trouble going to the boutique with that many paparazzi around her.
I just think she`s run out of excuses and enough is enough. And I think this commissioner, Scott Gordon - he has really been hard on her.
I went down to the courthouse yesterday. I ran into a lawyer who deals with a lot of these cases in the family court. And he said, "You know what? If this wasn`t Britney, there is no way it would have even gotten to this point with her avoiding the depositions and her not taking the alcohol and drug tests as she was ordered at the beginning. So it has been a long string that that judge gave her and finally, she just hanged herself with it.
ANDERSON: You know, I do have to bring up again that it`s widely believed that Britney could be suffering from some sort of mental illness. Of course, that is not confirmed. But Dr. Glass, are we being too harsh to suggest that her kids be taken away from her from good if in fact she does have a real mental problem?
LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Not at all. But you know, granted she has a mental problem, she may have bipolar syndrome. She may have a narcissistic disorder. She may have multiple personality disorder, in fact, like we see whether she wears the pink wigs and we see her with the British accent. So granted she may have very well a psychological problem.
But we also see her manipulating us. Clearly, when we see her getting out of the car and she says, "I`m scared. I`m scared," that is really amazing to see how un-scared she is when you look at her body language. Her face doesn`t show she`s scared. Her body posture doesn`t show she`s scared. What she is scared about is that she`s going to have to face someone to be accountable for her bad behavior.
When she goes into the church, it`s clearly manipulative. As we see in the video, when she`s in the church, she doesn`t pray. She`s not somber. She`s not serious. She is laughing. It is a big joke to Britney, and the public is sick of it. We`re feeling as though we`ve been played by Britney and this is not OK.
ANDERSON: May be playing us all for fools. Who knows? Well, as we`ve seen when Britney arrived to the courthouse, she briefly just stepped out of her SUV, started yelling as we said, "I`m scared. Stop it, stop it. I`m scared," Then got back into that SUV and took off.
Ken, given how the paparazzi - well, how Britney thrives, actually, on the paparazzi day in and day out, do you buy that she`s scared? Lillian says, no, her body language doesn`t say that she`s frightened.
BAKER: Well, you know what? She`s scared, but she`s not scared of the paparazzi. What she`s scared of is having to give testimony under oath in court. Now, if you remember, let`s go back to January 3rd, the infamous day when she freaked out at her house, would not turn over the kids. The cops were called and she was tied down to a stretcher and taken to Cedars- Sinai.
Guess what? That came eight hours after she finally sat for her first deposition in the custody case. And it`s clear to me that she has just been trying to avoid that and when she was faced with that, it scared her.
But my message to Britney would be, what don`t we know already? What is there to be afraid of? Because we obviously know she has problems. We obviously know she has struggled with addiction and other issues. So, it is just obvious that she is scared but not by the paparazzi.
ANDERSON: Well, I want to ask very quickly, Dr. Glass, do you think that there is a double standard here? Do you think that say, if Kevin Federline were acting crazy, ignoring court hearings that he would have lost permanent custody a long time ago?
GLASS: Absolutely. We are embracing Britney because we have a special feeling about Britney. We saw her grow up. We saw her grow up from the little "Mickey Mouse Club" to be a little star and be on the Grammy`s. And we`ve seen her really become a woman, so to speak.
ANDERSON: Yes.
GLASS: And unfortunately, now we see her becoming a mentally disturbed woman -
ANDERSON: It is unfortunate.
GLASS: Who needs so much help.
ANDERSON: Yes. And hopefully, there is not a double standard happening here. I do have to leave it there for now. Dr. Lillian Glass, Ken Baker, thank you both so much for your insight.
And now we want to hear from you. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day, "Britney Bails on Court: Should she lose custody for good?" Vote at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. E-mail us at showbiztonight@CNN.com. Do it from your desktop, laptop, even your Blackberry or cellphone. Just tell us what`s on your mind.
HAMMER: I`ve got to tell you, Brooke, as I watch this latest bizarre chapter of Brit`s life play out, I just kept saying, what is she thinking? Every step of the way, she is definitely making some really, really bad decisions. Is Britney in such a bad way that she doesn`t even realize it anymore? Well, we have a fired up debate ready to go. It`s coming up at 30 minutes past the hour.
ANDERSON: Also, Tom Cruise`s war of the words. An explosive unauthorized biography is finally out and the author is speaking out about the outrageous claims he makes in the book, including one that the dead founder of Scientology is Suri`s father. I think it`s absolutely ridiculous. We`re going to have that and the Church of Scientology`s counter attack straight ahead.
HAMMER: And could this be true? Is Hillary Clinton really going to be on "Dancing With The Stars?" I mean I know this election is unpredictable. But are you kidding me? That is coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We will get to the bottom of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And tonight, for the very first time, we are finally getting see what everybody`s been buzzing about, an explosive new, unauthorized biography that makes absolutely outrageous claims about Tom Cruise, his wife Katie, their baby Suri and the Church of Scientology. This is the book. It came out today. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that its author, Andrew Morton, is under fire like never before.
Joining me tonight from Hollywood, CNN entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter. Also tonight, joining me from New York, Maggie Gallant, founder of Spotlight Communications.
Kareen, Maggie, we know there are a lot of outrageous claims in this book, among them that Tom is number two - he`s the number two in charge of the Church of Scientology, and also that his baby, with his wife Katie Holmes, wasn`t fathered by him. It was actually fathered by the late founder of the Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. Maggie Gallant, let me start with you. What do you think? Anybody buying this at all?
MAGGIE GALLANT, FOUNDER, SPOTLIGHT COMMUNICATIONS: Well, I was so surprised how offended they were at the idea that Tom Cruise would be a number two. In their statement today, they talked about that he is not a number two. He`s not even a one hundred. He`s just a Parishioner.
Frankly, they put him at the forefront. It`s not surprising that people would draw to the conclusions that he is absolutely a major heavy hitter within the church.
HAMMER: What about the baby claim, though? I mean, that`s - they`re saying that they held on to L. Ron Hubbard`s sperm, impregnated Katie Holmes, and it is L. Ron Hubbard`s baby and not Tom`s.
GALLANT: It`s wild. I mean that is really out there. But it`s not something that we haven`t heard before, to be - There`s always been the rumors that was the truth. But he`s really put it out there in the book, and the church is fuming. They are totally fired up.
HAMMER: Oh, yes. He`s saying that there are a lot people within the church among the sects in the church that actually believe this to be true. And today, now we know for the very first time Andrew Morton got on television to answer the critics. He was on the "Today" show on Meredith Vieira. Meredith asked him why he even put it out there that some in the church believe that baby Suri`s daddy is really L. Ron Hubbard? Watch what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEREDITH VIEIRA, CO-HOST, "TODAY" SHOW: Where did you get that information?
ANDREW MORTON, AUTHOR OF THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF TOM CRUISE: Well, the next sentence in the book says, obviously, that you would think it was absurd. But let me be clear -
VIEIRA: But why do you put it out there then, because it leaves the thought in everybody`s mind?
MORTON: Because, A, it was talked about in the mass media including your sister station MSNBC. But more than that, this is what they believe in. They believe in reincarnation. They believe that when L. Ron Hubbard died - they don`t say died. He dropped his body and went on an exploration around the universe and was due back in 20 years. Now, this isn`t - this isn`t me making it up. This is what they actually believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right. Kareen -
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Blah blah blah blah blah.
HAMMER: Yes. I mean, it is such an outrageous claim. Do you think anybody is believing it?
WYNTER: Are you kidding me? Absolutely not. Look, Morton is clearly playing with fire here. I mean, even in the interview, Meredith asked him so many questions and a lot of responses were, you know, "I knew there would be backlash. I knew there would be controversy. I wanted to tick Tom off." You know, all of the above.
Are you kidding me? This guy needs a reality check. You know, you listen to the interview. First of all, he doesn`t come across as credible. Tom Cruise is such a fanatic about his religion. These were fighting words, you know. "Top Gun" cannot be happy about this.
HAMMER: I`m guessing Andrew Morton probably needs to have a good lawyer hanging around just in case. Now, the Church of Scientology - yes, as you mentioned, they are PO`ed. They`re not taking it lying down.
We got an angry statement that they issued to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about the book. Listen to this and about this particular claim about the baby, "This is vicious sensationalism of the lowest order and Morton could not have possibly believed such a story to be true. The author`s inclusion of this falsehood proves only one thing. His religious bigotry and hatred for Scientology, so deep-rooted that he even spreads his false venom against a mother and father about their child, not to mention, a defenseless child known to millions."
Maggie, do you think that the church - is it all actually concerned here that people will buy this book, read these claims and believe the claims, and that`s why they feel a need to make sure he`s absolutely discredited?
GALLANT: Well, I think absolutely they were afraid. I mean, they have gone to a lot of trouble to scare him, to stop the printing over in the U.K. They`re absolutely fired up. But the only thing that I wonder is, this statement they issued today to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was 15 pages. And while they did a great job at making it very clear that everything in this book is false and not very well researched, it made me wonder, doth thou protest too much? Fifteen pages` worth of "No, this isn`t true"?
HAMMER: Yes. You know, that is an interesting point but I have to say - I`m going to make this observation. You know, Tom`s worked really hard over the past couple of years to get everything behind him, all the controversy. I have a feeling that the public will see right through it. That`s just my personal belief. Maggie Gallant, Kareen Wynter, I appreciate you being here tonight.
ANDERSON: So just how does Katie Holmes deal with the wild stories out there about her and Tom?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(on camera): Do stories anger you, Katie? Or do you just brush them off? Because you`ve had to deal just recently with some obviously untrue things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
I have to tell you, Katie really opened up to me about Tom, about being a mom and about going back to work right after Suri turned one. That`s ahead in the interview you`ll see only right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: And I`ve got to tell you, as I watched Britney`s latest mob scene play out, I just kept asking, what was she thinking? Going to court in skimpy dress. Making a scene with her paparazzi boyfriend and then deciding not to go into court after all. What could Britney possibly be thinking or doesn`t she realize how irrational all of this looks? We`ll get into that at 30 minutes past the hour.
ANDERSON: And did you see this? If you didn`t, we`re going to show you. I couldn`t believe it. Diane Keaton dropped the F-bomb on live television - morning television at that. I interviewed her recently and she didn`t curse at all. But wait until you hear what she said this morning. That`s next.
HAMMER: But don`t be sad if you can`t be near a TV. You can watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT any time at all. All you have to do is download our podcast. It won`t cost you one cent. Totally free.
The SHOWBIZ TONIGHT podcast can be found on our Web site which happens to be CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. We`re always putting new ones on there. You can also download it on iTunes if that`s what you use. Just type "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" right into the little search box and it will be yours. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Did you see this? Diane dropped the F-bomb live on "Good Morning America." No, it was not Diane Sawyer although that would have been hilarious. It was Diane Keaton. She was telling Diane Sawyer about her role in the new movie, "Mad Money." Keaton plays a woman who`s desperate for money and she said she`d be in the same predicament herself if she hadn`t worked on her personality and become an actor. And then she started complimenting Diane Sawyer on her beauty and listen to what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE KEATON, ACTRESS: I`d like to have lips like that. Then I wouldn`t have worked on my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) personality or my - excuse me. My personality. If I had lips like yours -
DIANE SAWYER, CO-HOST, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": Also a crime. Also a crime.
KEATON: I`d be better off. My life would be better. I`d be married. And I would be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with these thinning lips. What am I going to do?
SAWYER: My mother`s going to work on your personality with soap in your mouth. That`s what she`s going to do.
KEATON: Soap in your mouth. I know. Excuse me. I shouldn`t have said anything like that.
SAWYER: In the morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, "Good Morning, America," indeed. I`ve got to say that probably woke up the censors in any event.
Well, Britney Spears certainly is fast and furious with the F-bombs lately, especially talking to the paparazzi. We caught it on tape. And that`s besides the ones she`s dating, of course.
Then there`s the whole showing up to court debacle, the endless trips to gas stations. I just have to say, "What is she thinking?" Does she even realize what her behavior looks like to the rest of us? Well, we have a fired-up debate. It is ready to go. Coming up next. We will also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (on camera): Do stories anger you, Katie, or do you just brush them off? Because you`ve had to deal just recently with some obviously untrue things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
How does Katie Holmes deal with the wild stories out there about her and Tom Cruise? I have to tell you, Katie really opened up to me about Tom, about being a mother and going back to work right after Suri turned one. That`s ahead in the interview you`ll see only right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Well, I`ve got to tell you, I`ve been hearing about this. I`ve got it written down right on my little piece of paper. I can`t believe it. Is Hillary Clinton possibly going to be on "Dancing With The Stars"? Yes, we all know it`s very unpredictable, this election. But are you kidding me? Well, that is coming up next. We`ll get to the bottom of it on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. You definitely won`t want to miss it.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, what in the world is Britney Spears thinking?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEARS: I`m scared. I`m scared. Stop it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s do it this way.
SPEARS: I want to get in the car. I want to get in the car. Stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The absolutely bizarre scene as Britney tries go to court to fight for her kids. But then she leaves. Doesn`t she realize how bad this looks? What was Britney thinking? Is she mentally ill? It`s a showbiz special report.
Katie Holmes like you`ve never heard her before. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson gets Tom Cruise`s wife to open up about being a mom and how she deals with the wild stories about her and Tom. It is the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(MUSIC)
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson coming to you tonight from Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. Tonight, a showbiz special report, what was Britney thinking?
She was supposed to go to court Monday to fight for visitation rights with her two young sons. Instead, the day turned into a downright fiasco. Before heading to court, Britney made a scene hanging out in front of her house. As helicopters hovered overhead, Britney put on a show, smoking, chatting and kissing her paparazzo boyfriend.
But when she got to the court, it was a whole different deal. Britney freaked out over all the paparazzi yelling, "I`m scared. I`m scared." To make the spectacle even more bizarre, Britney ditched the hearing, tore out of the courthouse parking lot and stopped off at a church before stopping off for some lunch.
HAMMER: And that brings us to the showbiz special report, what was Britney thinking? Joining me tonight from Hollywood, entertainment journalist Ken Baker. Also tonight in Hollywood, "Extra" correspondent Carlos Diaz. And in New York tonight, clinical psychologist Dr. Judy.
All right, gang. Let`s start out from the beginning. These very first images that we are seeing of Britney on Monday, she seems to be, if you`re watching closely, kind of hanging out very casually. This is right outside of her home just at the end of her driveway. It looks like she was kind of posing and acting, probably knowing full well that the helicopters above were catching this all on tape. Ken Baker, what was she thinking?
BAKER: Well, you know, clearly, she is not thinking rationally. OK? So there is a thought process but it`s a very irrational one, and it`s one of someone who clearly is not that interested in having her kids back in her life and it`s very sad.
You know, Rosie O`Donnell went on her blog today, "Rosie.com," one of my favorite blogs I have to say. And she said that she likened Britney to Princess Diana and said, "Oh the paparazzi is going to ruin her life, and that`s going to be another tunnel in Paris just like Diana."
But you know what? It`s really not like that at all. I have to say that she loves the attention. She looked like she was in her driveway courting the attention and she made such a mob scene out of it that she clearly was just grandstanding. It was fairly obvious to anyone that she is not hiding from anything and is putting on a show every time she steps outside of her house.
HAMMER: Yes. Ken, you know, it`s funny because we`ve talked about the problems with the paparazzi and the problems they may cause and that it may lead to somebody getting really hurt. I don`t think that`s going to be the case with Britney so much.
Dr. Judy, let me ask your opinion. You are the psychologist on staff here tonight. It would seem that she wasn`t taking this whole court appearance on Monday at all seriously, and particularly, given what was at stake.
JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Absolutely not taking it seriously and putting a nail in the coffin of her case and proving that she has some kind of mental disability. She is really not thinking clearly, not acting appropriately, and very, very sadly.
I must say, also, that who she chooses to put in her environment now, this paparazzo boyfriend who`s married, was enabling her. She`s standing there smoking, wearing a short dress and he`s allowing that to happen? Whenever I`ve been a consultant in court cases, we tell women who are going to court for the kids, dress very demurely, behave very, very demurely. And Britney`s doing exactly the opposite and he`s letting her. So that`s even more awful in this case.
HAMMER: Well, we have been taking a look at some of the footage that was shot when she finally did say, "Yes. Maybe I should get off there to the courthouse."
Let`s run through what has reportedly - what took place here. TMZ.com reporting that Britney, when she got to the courthouse, went into this underground tunnel that they have. The lawyers met up with her there. And then "TMZ" reports that Britney told them she didn`t want to testify, apparently saying, "I`m just not into it." And then, she turned the car around and she made her grand appearance in front of the swarm of paparazzi and that`s when she really freaked out. Watch what happened here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEARS: I`m scared. I`m scared. Stop it. Stop it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE Let`s do it this way.
SPEARS: I want to get in the car. I want to get in the car. Stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Carlos Diaz, let me go to you, because I know you were right there amidst the chaos when all of this went down. Given she lives her life day in, day out in front of the paparazzi, do you really believe that that`s what freaked her out and that`s why she left?
CARLOS DIAZ, CORRESPONDENT, "EXTRA": Not at all. I`ve been in court with Britney Spears every time she`s been at court. And let`s just make one thing clear, people. Don`t blame the paparazzi here. Britney could have shown up at 9:00 that morning just like Kevin Federline did.
She could have gone in underground just like Kevin Federline did. No pictures of Kevin Federline. Are you seeing any pictures of Kevin Federline on the Internet or anywhere around? No. Because Kevin knows that you can go in underground. Britney made the decision to come in from below the courthouse, circle the courthouse several times, and then try to go in through the front door when she saw all morning long, the four and a half hours she was late on CNN and other places the mobs - the mobs of media, not just paparazzi, legitimate media that were outside waiting for her. I would estimate near 75, 80 members of the media are waiting for her. There`s no way she could have gotten in there and she knew that.
HAMMER: Ken Baker, are you on board with Carlos? Do you think she was actually scared of the paparazzi or you think she knew exactly what she was getting herself into here?
BAKER: OK. Let`s be very clear. I personally one time saw Britney Spears get out of a car, in front of about 35 paparazzi on a sidewalk in Beverly Hills and guess what? She was able to fight through it and walk into Barney`s and go shopping. OK? So, this is someone who knows how to get past a mass of media.
I don`t buy it at all. But guys, really, what it comes down to is that 15 days - it`s been 15 days into the month of January and she`s already the frontrunner to win whack job of the year. Now, I know it`s award season, but you know what? This is an award she does not need.
HAMMER: Yes. Well, I`m going to caution you. You might want to be a little sensitive with your language, Ken. No, no. In all seriousness, you know, I do feel the real need to implore - employ compassion in that we`re talking about somebody that we have said time and time again possibly dealing with a mental illness here. Dr. Judy, I`m guessing you want to jump in on that?
KURIANSKY: Yes. And exactly her saying I`m scared, I believe it. But it`s not a deep emotion like - the rest of us would say they`re really scared because part of what I would suspect is Britney`s mental illness is that her emotions are very what we call labile. She could be scared one second, excited the next. Delighted as Ken said to be in front of the paparazzi one second. Frightened the next.
They`re not real emotions like we know them to be. They are labile. They are fluctuating. They are over-dramatic. She`s a drama queen and a drama queen. And I feel sad for her as you said because they`re not real feelings. And she, I believe, is suffering from this, too. And we don`t get that.
HAMMER: Yes. Normally, Dr. Judy, Ken Baker`s the voice of reason. Tonight, I`m going to give you that title. So let me just follow what continued to happen. After Britney sped off the courthouse, the helicopters were chasing after her.
And then she retreated into a small church. The paparazzi, of course, still following her. Then she stops at a chain restaurant. You know, she had to grab a little lunch. Carlos Diaz, I`m thinking the better idea probably would have been at that point to just go home.
DIAZ: Further proof that she is not thinking clearly. Let`s spin this forward for a second if you don`t mind. Five weeks - five weeks until the next court date. That`s the earliest that Britney can see her kids. Now, Britney from one day to the next has fluctuating moods. I really do predict in all seriousness, sometime in the next five weeks something very bad is going to happen, when it comes to Britney Spears.
HAMMER: Thanks for your observations, guys. Ken Baker, Carlos Diaz, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, I appreciate you being here.
ANDERSON: And we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. It is this - "Britney bails on court: Should she lose custody for good?" Keep voting at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. E-mail us at showbiztonight@CNN.com from your desktop, your laptop, even your Blackberry or cellphone. Tell us what you`re thinking about.
HAMMER: All right. Brooke, I`m feeling the need to shake things up here. I`m going to tell you what I think should happen. I think that Britney`s kids should go to Paris Hilton. Do you believe me, guys? Do you hear what I`m saying? Now, Paris has been saying she wants to do a little charity work, right? Do a little good. Here`s her chance.
Actually, I`m totally kidding about this. But you`ve got to stick around because you will want to see this wild, amazing video of Paris Hilton. What she really thinks about Britney. Oh, it is precious. We`ll also have this -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (on camera): Do stories anger you, Katie, or do you just brush them off? Because you`ve had to deal just recently with some obviously untrue things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Tonight Katie Holmes opens up to me about being a mom and how she deals with all those wild stories about her and her husband, Tom Cruise. You would not want to miss this. It`s my interview you`ll see only right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Coming up.
And breaking news. Is presidential candidate Hillary Clinton giving up her stump speech for the samba? No way. Get Wolf Blitzer on the phone. Will Hillary be on "Dancing With The Stars?" Straight ahead.
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HAMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And it`s time now for a story that made us say -
CREW: That`s ridiculous!
HAMMER: Today`s brought to us by none other than the great Paris Hilton. "Celebtv.com" caught up with Paris on a yacht in California rocking out to Britney Spears.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(voice over): Slave to love indeed. And this was no charity event. You remember Paris had promised to do charity work after the time behind bars. This was actually a shoot for Fila clothes. She is apparently the new face of Fila; way to pick a great role model, guys. So what does Paris think about Britney?
PARIS HILTON, ACTRESS: I love Britney.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: She loves Britney. This is wrong in so many ways. But I`ll say, Paris rocking out and showing love to Britney. Now, that`s ridiculous.
ANDERSON: I can tell you that Katie Holmes could teach Paris and Britney a thing or two about keeping it altogether. And tonight, I`m going one-on- one with Katie in the interview you`ll see only right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Katie is starring in the new film, "Mad Money" alongside Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton. Now, Katie really opened up to me when I sat down with her and Diane including about how she deals with the crazy stories out there about her and hubby Tom Cruise. This is Katie`s first film since she and Tom got married and had baby Suri. And I asked her if it was good to finally get back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE HOLMES, ACTRESS: It was really great and Suri was there and she was - she just turned one so it was perfect. She was walking around and it was wonderful. And we got to talk about raising kids.
KEATON: We had a lot of time.
ANDERSON: Did you teach her some things?
KEATON: Well, you know, I have so much to teach. Not.
HOLMES: You did.
KEATON: Nothing.
ANDERSON: And Suri is beautiful. But you know what really surprised me - the paparazzi followed from L.A. to Shreveport, Louisiana. Was that a distraction and was that worrisome to you?
HOLMES: You know what? It wasn`t - I don`t think it was - I was worried that it would be. I was more sort of feeling protective of the set and, you know, the town because it isn`t Los Angeles and it`s a smaller town.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: But we -
KEATON: She can handle anything, this woman.
ANDERSON: Ken(ph) told me some got arrested. The Shreveport authorities cracked the whip.
KEATON: Is that right? I didn`t know that. I have no idea.
ANDERSON: Yes. Because they can be so aggressive and they were apparently trespassing so - Do you think it has gotten out of control?
KEATON: I think it`s something we have to live with. So what`s the point of even saying whether it`s out of control or not? It`s there, and especially for people like obviously Katie and Queen Latifah, as well.
My own incidents with the paparazzi are more typical that happens like in this regard. I`m walking on my way to get my - you know, going to the dentist and somebody nearly runs me over, and it`s paparazzi chasing someone else. And then they turn around and see me, you know, and take a couple snaps as they go on chasing the other person.
So there`s a dangerous aspect to it. There`s an underlying dangerous aspect to it, but what can you do? Really, there`s nothing really that you can do.
ANDERSON: Well, and it`s changed so much, the information.
KEATON: Unbelievable.
ANDERSON: On the Internet and the speed of everything.
KEATON: The speed -
ANDERSON: Do stories anger you, Katie? Or do you just brush them off? Because you`ve had to deal just recently with some obviously untrue things.
KEATON: I think she brushes them off. You know? It`s not - the question is not asked of me, but I think you have to. Otherwise if you`re going to actually take it on, it`s going to destroy your life.
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: How do you handle it?
HOLMES: You know what? You focus on creating and you focus on - you know, Tom and I both love making movies. We love our family. And we know each other and we know our - you know, we obviously know our children. And our friends. And that`s what`s important to us. And any time that is taken away from that is not OK. So, you know, I`m here to make movies and to make the best of life, right? Aren`t we all?
ANDERSON: It`s a great perspective.
KEATON: She`s brilliant.
ANDERSON: Such a positive, optimistic person. I love that. And congratulations on this film.
HOLMES: Do you think the film is compelling?
ANDERSON: I think it is. It`s fun and I recently learned it`s based on a true story which makes it that much more interesting.
KEATON: Yes, it is.
ANDERSON: Have either of you done a caper film before that`s got a comedic twist?
HOLMES: No.
KEATON: No, never.
ANDERSON: Yes? And why did you want to do it and how much fun was it?
KEATON: I love the background. I love the idea that you know, there are these forgotten women out there and they just - they`re not going to be forgotten. They`re going to do something extraordinary to save their lives from the problems that they encountered by being, you know, subdued to trouble with the system. The system lets them down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You can catch Katie Holmes and Diane Keaton in "Mad Money" in theaters this Friday.
HAMMER: All right. So we all know obviously about Britney Spears` big court battle. Tonight, though, I can tell you there`s another big star who`s caught up with a huge trial. Wesley Snipes, jury selection now under way in Florida. The U.S. Government claims that Snipes snipped millions off of his tax returns and could serve some serious time if he`s convicted. Here`s CNN`s Gary Tuchman for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN REPORTER: He`s been a vampire, fugitive.
WESLEY SNIPES, ACTOR: I got set up from the word go.
TUCHMAN: And street ball hustler.
SNIPES: Give me my money.
TUCHMAN: now Wesley Snipes finds himself playing the most challenging role of his life. Accused tax cheat.
SNIPES: I look forward to clearing my name and resolving this issue post haste.
TUCHMAN: The movie star`s standing trial in Florida for tax evasion and fraud. Federal prosecutors say the 45-year-old actor owes taxes on $38 million in income from 1999 to 2004. That could mean more than $15 million in unpaid taxes plus penalties. Government alleges Snipes never filed returns and when he did, he grossly inflated deductions. The big test for the government? Did he know it?
JAMI FLOYD, ANCHOR, TRU TV: Intent is an important part of this kind of a case. So, it has to be shown that Wesley Snipes knew he was breaking the law and deliberately intended to evade proper payment of his taxes and that`s a pretty tall burden for prosecutors.
TUCHMAN: Prosecutors con end Snipes never paid up because he felt he didn`t have to. The defense calls that very preposterous, and get this, puts the blame on his two codefendants.
ROBERT BERNHOFT, WESLEY SNIPES` ATTORNEY: The truth is going to come out. This jury is going to see the truth. Wesley Snipes is going to be vindicated.
TUCHMAN: Of the two men who handled Snipes` taxes, one`s a former accountant; the other a convicted tax protester. Both have long argued that federal law does not explicitly order citizens taxes. Like Snipes, both men pled not guilty.
This isn`t the first time a public figure has been tried for being a tax dodger. Remember Leona Helmsley? The so-called queen of mean was found guilty of tax evasion and served 21 months in prison. This time it`s Wesley Snipes` turn to face a jury.
SNIPES: I look forward to clearing my name.
TUCHMAN: If convicted he could serve a 16-year role behind bars.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That was CNN`s Gary Tuchman for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Well, the presidential candidates are talking taxes, the war in Iraq, the economy. But tonight, will social security take a backseat to the samba? That`s right. Is Hillary Clinton ditching debates for the dance floor? Is she really going to be on "Dancing With The Stars?" You`ve got to stick around to find out. That`s coming up next. Keep it here.
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ANDERSON: OK. So did you see this? So far, Hillary Clinton has faced a lot of tough questions on the presidential campaign trail about the war in Iraq, the economy, healthcare. But I definitely know she hasn`t been asked this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYRA BANKS, HOST, "TYRA BANKS SHOW": If you were a contestant on a reality show would you rather be on "Dancing With The Stars," "American Idol," or "America`s Next Top Model?"
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERS)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, in my dreams I`d be on "America`s Next Top Model."
BANKS: Nice.
CLINTON: But in reality, I would have to choose between my limited talents and of them, dancing is better than singing. You do not want me to sing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "America`s Next Top Model" and talk show host Tyra Banks putting Hillary on the spot. So I got to ask, with the writers` strike hurting the networks, will they create "Dancing With The Stars: The Presidential Polka Edition?" I hope not.
By the way, also during this Tyra interview, Clinton talked about her husband, former President Bill Clinton`s sex scandal with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. She revealed, "I never doubted Bill`s love for me ever, and I never doubted my faith and my commitment to our daughter and our extended family." You can catch the rest of the interview with Sen. Clinton this Friday on "Tyra."
HAMMER: Hey, Brooke, I know that Tyra Banks has certainly modelled her career on Oprah`s, getting into lots of different things. Well, tonight I can tell you that Oprah is extending her empire even more. It`s getting even bigger. She has signed this deal with Discover Communications to take over its Discovery Health Channel and make it into OWN, that`s O-W-N, the Oprah Winfrey Network. That will happen in 2009. Oprah also co-founded the Oxygen Cable Network about ten years ago.
Monday, we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day, asking, "Britney Spears: Should she still be allowed to see her kids? Thirty-six percent of you said yes; 64 percent no.
Among the E-mails, we got one from Angel in Kansas. Angel writes, "The boys did not do anything wrong. To deprive them of contact with her is a disservice to them."
But Savanna from Tennessee says, "No visits yet. She`s no different than the people who smoke crack in the bathroom and think they`re a good parent because they`re not doing it in front of their kids."
Good point. That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks a lot for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. The latest from "CNN HEADLINE NEWS" coming up next. Stay with us.
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