Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Barbara Walters Bares All; Gloria Allred`s Replies to The Lowes` Lawyer; Mariah`s Surprise Wedding; Tom Cruise Back on "Oprah"; Should Paula Abdul Be Fired?
Aired May 02, 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: Shocking new allegations in the Rob Lowe nanny-gate scandals. Tonight, we`ve got some tough new questions for both sides. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And we`ll reveal once and for all, will Paula Abdul be fired from "American Idol?" I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
HAMMER: TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Barbara Walters` shocking confessions. Tonight, Barbara`s steamy affair with a popular U.S. senator that could have destroyed her career, her explosive words for Star Jones, and what she really thinks about Rosie O`Donnell. Tonight why Barbara Walters is revealing to the world her biggest secrets.
Tom Cruise back to Oprah. Tonight, Tom returns to the scene of his ridiculous couch-jumping and reveals to Oprah jaw-dropping things about his fights with Matt Lauer and Brooke Shields, his controversial Scientology beliefs. But will Tom`s dramatic interview put all that weirdness behind him?
MARIAH CAREY, SINGER (sung): Touch my body
HAMMER: Plus, Mariah Carey did, what? Get secretly married to another big star?
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: 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 with the explosive new allegations from another nanny against Rob Lowe and his wife.
HAMMER: Tonight, the attorney by the nanny`s side as she broke down hysterically crying at an explosive news conference is right here. I`m going one-on-one with Atty. Gloria Allred in the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: But first, Barbara Walters` confessions. Barbara Walters is now opening up about her private life in a startling way, revealing for the very first time she had an affair with a very famous and prominent married U.S. senator. And there`s more from Barbara - Rosie, Star Jones. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on why Barbara is now telling all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice over): We used to think of Barbara Walters as the ground- breaking journalist, who is often the prim voice of reason on "The View."
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": You have to ask people to help you give up yoghurt, for heaven`s sake.
ANDERSON: Well, that old view of Barbara has now gone the way of Rosie O`Donnell.
ALICIA QUARLES, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Who knew Barbara was so scandalous. She usually covers the scandal but home girl had skeletons in her own closet.
ANDERSON: Barbara`s skeleton now making front page news. She reveals in her new book, "Audition," that she once had an affair with a U.S. senator, a married U.S. senator, back when her career in TV news was taking off in the 1970s.
AMY ARGETSINGER, "WASHINGTON POST": There is still something kind of shocking about a prominent journalist who was still in her news-gathering days. She wasn`t just a TV personality. The fact she was having an affair with a newsmaker.
ANDERSON: Barbara Walters, a torrid affair? Who knew she had it in her?
QUARLES: She had an affair with a married man back in the day. This is big news. Go, girl.
ANDERSON: The married man in question was then U.S. Sen. Edward Brooke.
ARGETSINGER: Sen. Brooke was the first African-American elected to senate since reconstruction. He was a moderate Republican from Massachusetts. Barbara Walters was then the host of the "Today" show. She met Sen. Brooke at a restaurant in New York City in 1973. They snuck around. They were very discreet.
ANDERSON: They managed to keep their relationship undercover even as it grew even more serious.
QUARLES: Barbara says she doesn`t know if she was in love but she was certainly infatuated with this man.
ANDERSON: Walters writes, quote, "I slowly began asking myself if we could ever be married. Would such a marriage destroy his career? Would it destroy mine?"
It was because of those worries, Barbara writes, that the two eventually ended their affair.
ARGETSINGER: This would have been sensational.
ANDERSON: "Washington Post" gossip columnist, Amy Argetsinger tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Walters was right to worry about the secret affair being discovered.
ARGETSINGER: It is very possible she would have lost her job, that he would have been booted out of the senate. She was not just the most famous woman in broadcasting at the time, she was one of the most famous women in the world at the time.
ANDERSON: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, Walters also spills the beans on two of her controversial former "View" co-hosts, Rosie O`Donnell and Star Jones.
About Rosie`s rocky tenure on the show, Walters writes, quote, "The premise of `The View` is that of a team working together, but for Rosie it was more like Diana Ross and the Supremes, as little by little she took over."
ARGETSINGER: Barbara Walters basically says that Rosie O`Donnell was a prima donna, that she kind of took over the set, that employees weren`t happy. They were threatening to boycott the Christmas party because of Rosie.
ANDERSON: As for Star Jones, Walters reveals star`s refusal to admit that her dramatic weight loss was partially due to surgery caused some tension with her co-hosts.
QUARLES: Star was always the big girl of "The View." She had a lot of weight, but suddenly, she started dropping this weight rapidly and there was speculation that she had gastric bypass. What`s going on with star? Well, Star would never admit to it.
ANDERSON: Walters writes, "Joy, in particular, resented having to go along with a lie that implied all one needed to do was sit-ups and ingest one cookie instead of two."
Still, even with all of the tidbits Walters reveals about her life as a TV groundbreaker, it`s her new revelation of a steamy old affair that will likely steam up interest in her new book.
ARGETSINGER: I had it in my hand last night. But I`ll be honest, I only really wanted to look at the chapter that was about her hot midlife love affairs with famous men.
QUARLES: It`s just interesting that a figure like her that used to be getting people to tell her secrets is now telling her own.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: From hidden affairs to backstage fights, Barbara Walters` new book is a juicy read. So you definitely want to catch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT next Tuesday because our own A.J. Hammer will be sitting down with the TV news legend to ask her about her explosive memoirs. Barbara Walters right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT next Tuesday. Don`t miss that.
HAMMER: Looking forward to that, Brooke. And tonight Rob Lowe and his wife are battling shocking new allegations of sexual harassment by a former nanny and only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is going one-on-one with the nanny`s attorney. Now, just last month, a former nanny accused Rob Lowe of sexual harassment claiming he exposed himself and touched her.
Now another former nanny who worked for the Lowes for just a few months has come forward with stunning allegations, not against Rob, but his wife, Sheryl. Laura Boyce claims Sheryl Lowe walked around in the nude and repeatedly made crude comments about Laura`s boyfriend`s genitals.
Joining me tonight from Los Angeles, the attorney for both nannies, Gloria Allred. Gloria, appreciate you being with us.
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR JESSICA GIBSON AND LAURA BOYCE: Thanks, A.J.
HAMMER: You held this news conference to announce the lawsuit against the Lowes by former nanny Laura Boyce. And we all know it got very, very dramatic and emotional. Let`s watch that again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BOYCE, FORMER NANNY OF THE LOWES: I left because I could no longer take Ms. Lowe`s conduct. I wasn`t me at all. When I left, they didn`t pay me my paycheck. Oh, my gosh, I was devastated to find out that the Lowes had sued me because she actually called me the week before offering me my job. I can`t believe that she`s doing this to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right. Gloria, there`s no denying that this woman is clearly distraught about the situation. I mean, she could barely speak as we`re watching her there. Are you at all concerned some people will take a look at that and think it was some big grandstanding act?
ALLRED: Well, you know, people who don`t know Laura and weren`t there at the news conference, you know, they could speculate all they want. But I think the people at the news conference could see how absolutely and sincerely and authentically devastated Laura was and is.
I mean, after all, she was a nanny for the Lowes for seven months. She traveled with them. She loved and cared for their children. She really dedicated herself to them. And she was devastated after she left. And she did resign, in quotes. Yes, we were alleging she was constructively terminated, that she resigned and then heard nothing from the Lowes for about five months.
Then she gets a voicemail from Sheryl Lowe inviting her to come back to work or, if she doesn`t want to do that, perhaps work for a friend of hers as a nanny. So she really couldn`t understand it when a week later, suddenly, she`s faced with a lawsuit. This little nanny is sued by the rich, the powerful, the famous, the Lowes. Why is she sued?
We think there`s a reason for that, A.J. We think its one purpose and one purpose only, and that was potentially to intimidate her, to deter her from perhaps providing testimony about what she knew about the Lowes` working conditions in Jessica Gibson`s lawsuit.
HAMMER: Gloria, you`ve always been a straight shooter. I`ve always appreciated that about you. So I need you to help me out with something, because this is something that a lot of people I think don`t understand. And you can count me among those people. Laura Boyce is accusing Sheryl Lowe of walking around nude and speaking in a sexually graphic way. This is in the privacy of her own home. How is that sexual harassment?
ALLRED: Well, that`s a great question and a lot of other specifics that alleged in our lawsuit that we probably couldn`t say on television, so I can understand why you`re not because they are so graphic. Well, because a home is also a workplace, A.J. And so the Lowes are her employers. And in California, as is true in many other states, we have laws which protect employees from sexual harassment in the workplace, from a workplace that is hostile because of sexual harassment.
So just because it is a home doesn`t mean that employers are relieved of their responsibilities under the law to act in an appropriate way and to treat their employees with respect and dignity and not engage in sexual actions or sexually graphic language.
HAMMER: All right. Well, among the claims is that Sheryl Lowe talked to your client, the nanny, about her children`s private parts. Now, these kids are 13 and 14 years old. We now know Sheryl Lowe is just beyond outraged. Let me read from her statement. She says, quote, "As a mother of two young boys, it is sickening and disgusting that Mrs. Allred and Ms. Boyce would stoop so low as to drag a child into this latest baseless, predatory lawsuit. To do this to our son reveals not only their lack of character, but how far they are willing to go to play the lawsuit lotto.
Gloria, she`s not alone. A lot of people are just saying it`s outrageous that the kids have been dragged into this. What do you say about that? Why drag the kids? And I`ve got about 25 seconds for you.
ALLRED: Well, actually, it`s the Lowes who have dragged the children in by suing not one, but two nannies for their children. They filed the lawsuits first, as a so-called preemptive strike, to try to intimidate perhaps these two nannies from coming forward with their allegations of sexual harassment, which they knew they were going to make. Because one of them was shown a lawsuit where one of the nannies had that sexual harassment allegation in it.
(CROSS TALK)
HAMMER: Gloria, I`m sorry. I have to jump in because I`ve got to wrap you there. I appreciate you giving their side of it. And we`re going to have you stick around because later on in the show, we want to take a closer look at this very shocking case. And we have questions for you from the attorney for the Lowes. Please hang on for that.
Brooke, Tom Cruise has certainly gotten caught up in plenty of controversy of his own, the Scientology stuff, fights with Matt Lauer, Brooke Shields.
ANDERSON: Yes, and that Oprah couch-jumping incident, proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes. Who can forget that?
HAMMER: Well, tonight, Brooke, what we`ve all been waiting for - Tom back on Oprah, revealing some jaw-dropping stuff about all these things. But I`ve got to ask, will this dramatic interview really help put all that weirdness behind him? That`s coming up.
And you know, Tom got into that fight with Brooke Shields over postpartum depression. He is not a fan of antidepressants. Well, tonight, Gwyneth Paltrow opening up like never before about her struggle with postpartum depression. Wait until you hear what she has to say. That is coming up in just a bit.
ANDERSON: Hey, what`s that Mariah Carey song, "Love Takes Time." Well, Mimi isn`t practicing what she sings. She reportedly just got married to a huge star just like that. Are you kidding me? The blockbuster details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
ANDERSON: Tonight, Mariah Carey finds her dream lover and shocks the world by reportedly getting married.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Tonight, Mariah Carey reportedly married; yes, I said married. It`s a story that has our heads spinning. Thirty-eight-year-old Mariah reportedly marrying 27-year-old actor nick cannon in the Bahamas on Wednesday after reportedly dating for just a couple of months.
With me tonight in Hollywood, CNN entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter and Ken Baker, executive news editor at E! Entertainment Television.
Kareen, Ken, this reportedly happened so fast that we are still trying to sort it out. Our heads are spinning, as I said. I want to take a look at where this reportedly went down. Let`s go to the handy-dandy SHOWBIZ TONIGHT map here. "People.com" reporting it took place at Mariah`s private estate near the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas and that Mariah and Nick did indeed pick up a marriage license there.
Ken, what do you think? Is this just a marriage waiting to fall apart? A lot of people are saying that.
KEN BAKER, EXECUTIVE NEWS DIRECTOR, E! ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION: It is very quick how this has all happened. In fact, they just met not even two months ago. They started dating and I`m told it didn`t even get serious until a few weeks ago. They didn`t even make it public until a couple of weeks ago. So I think that it all is very fast. In fact, we here at E! called a family member down in North Carolina, a family member of Nick`s.
And they said, "Yes, he called us and said, `we got married.` We were surprised but, hey, if he`s happy, we`re happy." So I think even his family members were caught off guard and of course the entire public is just completely shocked by it.
ANDERSON: Yes, and those guys you spoke to didn`t even get invited to the wedding, unfortunately. And you know, besides the fact this happened so quickly, something else everybody has been talking about, the age difference here. Mariah is 11 years older than Nick. And how convenient, Mariah has a new album out. She`s got a new movie out soon. Kareen, I`d hate to say this and be cynical here ...
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Come on, say it.
ANDERSON: ... but is this a publicity stunt? Is it?
WYNTER: Oh, absolutely. And they are really doing it for the simple point of just shocking people. Look, we`re talking about it. Everything Mariah does makes news, Brooke. We know that. But when she dated Derek Jeter, it didn`t get the same buzz as we`re hearing right now. And that`s because you think, "Nick Cannon? Like, really?" Nick Cannon - no offense, nick, but what`s his claim to fame? "Drumline." He had a show on MTV. Mariah is on a different planet. She had more number one singles than Elvis. How many people can you say this about? So I think this is probably helping Mr. Cannon a lot more than it`s helping Mariah.
ANDERSON: Kareen, you`re not buying it confidently saying it is a publicity stunt. And you know, the rumors of their engagement started with Mariah at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her new film "Tennessee." Take a look at this photo that we have. She is sporting a huge rock on her left hand. Look at that thing. Ken, can Nick Cannon even afford that? It is massive.
BAKER: Well, it`s been reported that that was the ring he gave his former fiancee, Victoria Secret model Selita Eubanks. But I can`t imagine that Mariah Carey would accept a ring that another woman had. Mariah Carey, the ultimate diva. No way. That has to be some new ring. Nick Cannon is successful. He has made a lot of money. He`s a very good actor. But you`re right - she`s worth a thousand times more than he is. And let`s just hope the reports that there is a pre-nup are true. Because I`d really feel badly for her if it`s not. If I`m a friend of his, I`d be very happy for him.
ANDERSON: Right. Let`s talk about that, because there are reports that she may not have gotten a pre-nup or that she did something quick like scribbled something on a napkin maybe like Steven Spielberg. We know that didn`t turn out well. Kareen, would Mariah have to be out of her mind not to have a legitimate pre-nup?
Absolutely. She`s a diva but a smart diva at that. Look at it. She`s been in the business for such a long time. Decades, OK. Longevity. You don`t get to where you are by being stupid. I`m sure that there were probably some legal negotiations going on in the backdrop that we`re probably not privy, too, but she has a lot to protect. And the lady may be in love, but at the end of the day, she remembers - she knows how many chips she has. And she has a lot to protect and I bet, she`s taken care of.
ANDERSON: Well, you know, so many quickie marriages in Hollywood have failed. Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney, Britney and K-Fed, J. Lo and Chris Judd, among them. Ken, very quickly, if this is the real thing, do you think it will last? Ten seconds.
BAKER: Well, I think that it will last, but, you know, maybe for a few weeks. I mean, this goes not going to be a marriage of any great length. I`m sorry. I wish them the best. I hope it is, but there`s just no history to prove that this kind of thing works out.
ANDERSON: We do. We wish them the best, though. Kareen Wynter, Ken Baker, thank you both.
HAMMER: All right, Brooke. When Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married, you know, a lot of people were shocked about that, too.
ANDERSON: Yes, that`s true. And of course I remember Tom`s Oprah couch- jumping as well.
HAMMER: Well, today, Brooke, the day everyone`s been waiting for, Tom back to Oprah. How did he do? What did he reveal in his dramatic interview? Did he talk about his controversial Scientology beliefs, his startling fights with Matt Lauer and Brooke Shields?
We`ll also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOYCE: When I left, they didn`t pay me my paycheck. Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That`s another ex-nanny who is suing Rob Lowe. I`m going to tell you, just when I thought this nanny-gate scandal couldn`t get any stranger, now this. She`s also claiming sexual harassment. Straight ahead, the lawyer for both nannies suing him, Gloria Allred, is back right here. And we`ve got some very tough questions for her from Rob Lowe`s lawyer.
HAMMER: And after Paula Abdul`s screw-up on "American Idol" this week, a lot of people have been wondering, will she be fired? Well, tonight, her boss` boss` boss is settling this whole thing once and for all. And that is coming up next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And here are some more stories that are new right now. Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there in Los Angeles as Cameron Diaz made her very first public appearance since her dad died. Now, this was at the premiere of her new movie "What Happens in Vegas." I`ve got to say, it was great to see Cameron looking really upbeat and smiling. Sadly, her 58-year-old dad Emilio died about three weeks ago from pneumonia.
Well, Miley Cyrus is skipping her red carpet appearance. I`m thinking that Disney may be keeping her under a bit of lockdown for a while until at least this "Vanity Fair" half-nude photo scandal comes down. Miley was supposed to walk the red carpet for the Disney Channel games in Orlando, but she`s not.
And the big boss over at "American Idol" says, "I`m not firing Paula Abdul." Yes, the CEO of Free Mantle, the company that co-owns the show, says all this talk about Judge Paula`s Tuesday night`s slip-up is no big deal. Of course, Abdul commented about one of the contestant`s songs even though he didn`t actually sing it.
ANDERSON: OK. So "Idol" isn`t axing Paula but what do you think? We`ve gotten so many fired-up responses to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. It is this - "Paula Abdul: Should `American Idol` fire her?" Keep voting at CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. E-mail us, the address - showbiztonight@cnn.com.
HAMMER: Remember, Brooke, after all that couch-jumping, the Matt Lauer and Brooke Shields fight, Tom Cruise got fired by his boss over Paramount Pictures.
ANDERSON: Yes. I don`t know if Sumner Redstone fired Tom because of all that questionable behavior. But tonight, A.J., it is the interview we`ve all been waiting for. Tom Cruise, back on Oprah. He`s opening up about his religion, Scientology, a lot of stuff. It`s very revealing.
Also, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOYCE: I can`t believe that she`s doing this to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Another ex-nanny suing Rob Lowe. She`s also claiming sexual harassment. Straight ahead, the lawyer for both nannies suing Rob, Gloria Allred is back right here. And we`ve got some very tough questions for her.
HAMMER: And Gwyneth Paltrow is opening up like never before about her struggle with post partum depression. You`ve got to hear this. It is coming up.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Tom Cruise is back in the hot seat, but did he keep his cool this time? Tom sits down with Oprah and tells her what was really behind the infamous couch-jumping. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the interview that everyone`s talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOYCE: When I left, they didn`t pay me my paycheck. Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Rob Lowe`s nanny scandal. Gloria Allred, the lawyer for both nannies who are making outrageous claims against Rob Lowe and his wife is right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. And there are a few things the Lowe`s lawyer wants to ask her.
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 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.
HAMMER: Well, Brooke, tonight Tom Cruise`s jaw-dropping interview with Oprah Winfrey. Yes, today we finally got to see what happened when Tom Cruise returned to the proverbial scene of the Oprah couch-jumping crime. Cruise finally setting the record straight about his verbal fist fight with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show, his controversial comments about postpartum depression and his attack on Brooke Shields.
And Cruise finally reveals why he attacked Oprah`s couch with the soles of his shoes. We have got a fired-up coast-to-coast panel ready to tear into this tonight. In Hollywood, it`s Howard Bragman the founder of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations. Also in Hollywood Terry Anzur, TV talent coach. And in New York tonight, Ashleigh Banfield, the host of Tru TV`s "Hollywood Heat."
Welcome, gang. I want to get right into the interview. Oprah asked Tom about, of course, his very controversial comments about Brooke Shields and about postpartum depression. We all remember, of course, on the "Today" with Matt Lauer, Tom the Scientologist attacked Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants so she was able to deal with postpartum depression. Well, listen to what Tom told Oprah about all that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: What I regret is that it just came out wrong. What I regret is that even discussing Brooke in any way.
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": You personally do not believe in antidepressant drugs or psych drugs to that -
CRUISE: I personally don`t. I personally feel that - but I think that people have - it`s their decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So the big question going into this today, how is Tom going to act? And instead of being defensive, Tom basically owned up to the fact that the whole thing didn`t come out right. What do you think, Howard? Do you buy it?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FOUNDER, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: You know, I do. I think he did it right. He defended himself without being defensive. At the same time, it was a little too studied of a performance for me and I would have liked a little humor, a little enthusiasm.
HAMMER: Did you think so? It came across as sort of planned and a little contrived? Maybe because I didn`t see that. That`s interesting.
BRAGMAN: You know, I felt the character was just a little more low-key. I would have liked a little more energy, a little more warmth. I would have liked him to have a little fun at his own expense. I mean I think it was a good interview. And as we say in PR, just like any other doctors or spin doctors, first do no harm and he did no harm to himself, and he wiped the slate clean. Next time he goes and does interviews for his movies, he`s not going to have to answer these questions.
HAMMER: Yes, that`s exactly right and that`s exactly what he said on Oprah today, "If I`m promoting a movie, I`m talking about the movie." Terry Anzur, over to you. Did he Tom Cruise convince you today?
TERRY ANZUR: I think he did a good job, A.J., of wiping the slate clean but I agree with Howard. He was maybe a little too studied, a little too low-key. In the latter part of the interview where he`s showing Oprah around his home in Telluride, you see more of the Tom Cruise that we`re used to seeing in the movies. And I would have liked to have seen a little more of that personality and energy when he was answering the tough questions.
Oprah here showed why she`s really in a class by herself when it comes to interviewing. She really listens. She really jumped in, "What went wrong, Tom," and she pressed him on it. But his responses just seemed like it was an exercise in wiping the slate clean so that right now, he doesn`t have a big movie to promote, but next year when he has several big movies coming out, including one where he plays a Nazi, he will be able to focus on those roles and not have people saying, "Tell me about that couch thing."
HAMMER: Yes, he was playing it pretty straight forward. And the point you make about Oprah is great. Oprah even owned up to being a little nervous going into this whole thing. She did press him on many points including the whole Brooke Shield issue, and his initial statements that really caused all that outrage when Tom Cruise was claiming there is no such thing as postpartum depression. I want you to listen to what he had to say as he referred to the Scientologist handbook, "Dianetics." Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUISE: It came out wrong. It`s just not true, you know, even if you read "Dianetics," you know it talks about postpartum depression - "Dianetics." But even outside of that, I know that. I was raised by four women who have children, who have babies. And for me to tell anyone, I don`t - I`m not trying or want to tell anyone how to live their life or what they should believe or shouldn`t believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right, Ashleigh Banfield, over to you. Coming out of that whole initial incident, everybody thought that he was being really preachy. Are you buying his argument this time around that he`s not a preachy guy?
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST, "HOLLYWOOD HEAT": I think he did a pretty good job of delivering the argument. I think, there`s nothing like a good mea culpa. It makes for good TV. And you know what? The word "regret" is very strong. So I think the fact that he has included all of those things and gone as far as to say, "I don`t want to tell anyone how to live their lives," I think it makes a lot of difference. I also think he might now have a publicist. I don`t know. But he`s doing the right thing, no matter what.
HAMMER: You wonder how much media training a guy like Tom Cruise is going to take. He`s been in - it`s coming up on 25 years since "Risky Business." Howard Bragman, what do you think? I actually found Tom pretty sympathetic and more likable than I certainly have in a long time.
BRAGMAN: Well, then he scored because that`s what he was trying to do. He was trying to be sympathetic. He was trying to be likable. The single most important thing he was doing - and he said it himself - is separating his personal life from his professional life. Because that`s where he got into trouble.
He was out promoting a movie and he was talking about all sorts of extraneous things - his religion, postpartum depression, antidepressants. These are not things you talk about when you`re promoting a movie. You talk about your movie. He said, "That`s the new Tom. I`m going to do my humanitarian work. I`m going to promote my films." And so for that, he succeeded. So, I mean, I give him a good grade for his interview.
And I don`t think he sat down with a coach and went through every answer. I think there was a posture he assumed and that`s the only reason I think he was a little low-key. But, again, it was successful and there were no water-cooler moments. He didn`t say anything that we`re going to talk about his one answer on Monday, like we did last time.
HAMMER: Yes.
BRAGMAN: And that`s a good thing for him, frankly, at this point.
HAMMER: Well, let`s move on to the biggie, because we cannot ignore the one single TV moment that really to this day, Tom has never lived down when Oprah was interviewing him three years ago and he jumped up on Oprah`s couch proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes. So let`s listen to what he told Oprah about that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINFREY: I was not.
CRUISE: You were egging me on.
WINFREY: No, I was not.
CRUISE: You were egging me on.
WINFREY: I was going to say, how much of the audience -
CRUISE: But you were egging me on, too.
WINFREY: No, but every time you did it, I`m like ...
CRUISE: I really thought about it.
WINFREY: Do it again. It was funny.
CRUISE: It`s funny, you have that whole other thing that really you start to realize the Internet and things getting re-edit and some of the things are very funny actually. But you - and it just took a whole other lot of thing.
WINFREY: A life of its own.
CRUISE: Yes, but I - you know, I`m a guy. I dance in my underwear, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes. So Tom went on to tell Oprah after that, that he thought in hindsight probably not his best moment. Terry Anzur, what do you think? Case closed on the infamous couch-jumping incident?
ANZUR: Well, I think there have been some changes behind the scenes in Tom Cruise`s public relations machine. For a while, his sister was handling it. And now, he has the representation from a professional public relations firm. I think there was clearly an agenda here to get this behind him.
I mean come on, Oprah Winfrey is one of the most popular television shows in the world and you`re going to say, "Oops, I`m sorry. I didn`t know it was going to be on the Internet"? Of course, it`s going to happen in fact.
So they know it has to wipe the slate clean. Perhaps, the bigger problem, though, is the Scientology issue. American people are very tolerant of folks expressing their religious beliefs. But there`s a feeling that maybe Tom Cruise had crossed the line in terms of preaching those views to others. And I think in this interview he went out of his way to say these are my beliefs and people should make up their own minds about such things that`s drugs and depression.
HAMMER: And that he`s not going to talk about them anymore. Absolutely. Terry Anzur, Howard Bragman, and Ashleigh Banfield. I`ve got to leave it there. I thank you all for being with us.
ANZUR: Thanks.
BANFIELD: Thanks.
HAMMER: All right, Brooke. So the second nanny in Rob Lowe`s scandal is now speaking out.
ANDERSON: Yes. And you know, I was really stunned when I saw how she was acting. She could not keep her composure, A.J.
HAMMER: I was, too, really lost it here.
ANDERSON: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOYCE: They didn`t pay me my pay-check. Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: You are not going to want to miss this, because the lawyer for both nannies, Gloria Allred, right here. And there are a few things that the Lowe`s lawyer wants to ask her. All of that is coming up.
ANDERSON: Also, Gwyneth Paltrow opening up like never before about her struggle with postpartum depression. I think it`s so brave for her to be talking about this. It`s something so many women can relate to. Plus, will she have more kids? Gwyneth in her own words, straight ahead.
HAMMER: And Paula Abdul`s "American Idol" mess-up, critiquing a performance that hadn`t even happened. Yes, we`ve been asking if it`s time for Paula to get fired from the show. And I`ve got to tell you, we are getting some truly passionate responses to this one. That`s on the way.
ANDERSON: Hey, remember you can watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video any time you want. We are always posting new stuff for you to watch. That`s at our website CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. Among the videos now playing, "The Miley Cyrus Photo Scandal."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOYCE: I can`t believe that she`s doing this to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Rob Lowe`s former nanny breaks down at a dramatic news conference as she tells her side in the new sexual harassment allegations against Lowe and his wife, Sheryl.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Tonight, another nanny, another set of explosive allegations against Rob Lowe and his wife, Sheryl. Last month, the former nanny accused Rob Lowe of sexual harassment, claiming he exposed himself and touched her.
Now, another former nanny has come forward accusing not Rob but his wife, Sheryl, of making sexual and racially explicit comments in front of her.
Laura Boyce claims Sheryl Lowe walked around in the nude and repeatedly made crude comments about Laura`s boyfriend`s genitals. Now the Lowe`s attorney is demanding the attorney for both nannies, Gloria Allred, answer very specific questions he has for her.
With us, once again in Los Angeles, Gloria Allred. Gloria, we appreciate you being here. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT - we invited Rob Lowe`s attorney, Larry Stein, to appear tonight but he says he`s already made his public statement about this case and here it is, quote, "Having struck out against Rob Lowe, Gloria Allred now seeks to drag his wife and children into the fray. Ms. Allred filed a cross-complaint on behalf Laura Boyce which contains false allegations, in an attempt to divert the negative publicity which Allred`s client, Jessica Gibson, has universally received."
Gloria, Lowe`s attorney is basically here saying that you struck out with your first case, so now you and Laura Boyce are making up more charges against the Lowes that simply aren`t true. What do you say?
ALLRED: Well, I`m sure that that`s not really what he`s saying. By the way, I just spoke to Larry yesterday. He didn`t demand that I answer any questions whatsoever. As a matter of fact, he sought to continue Rob Lowe`s deposition and Sheryl Lowe`s deposition, which we had noticed for this month. So all I can tell you is we feel very, very confident about our case.
We are continuing with our case. There is absolutely nothing that has happened to our case. We haven`t struck out. We are proceeding. We have had not one setback. We are moving ahead. We are moving ahead vigorously. We`re noticing their depositions, asking them to answer written interrogatories. We have requested documents which they`re going to have to provide to us. We are moving, and I can tell you we plan to win this case.
And Rob Lowe and Sheryl Lowe`s star power and all of their money and their high-priced legal talent and their so-called confidentiality clauses are not going to stop us. We are going to prevail and we`re proud to represent these nannies that have such courage to fight back and win.
ANDERSON: Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT did reach out to Lowe`s attorney again today. And while he did decline to appear on the show, Larry Stein did have specific questions for you through the show about these latest claims from the second nanny.
Gloria, he wants to know how Sheryl possibly walking around naked in the privacy of her home constitutes sexual harassment. Basically, he says you don`t have a case. But you feel confident that you do have a case here.
ALLRED: Yes. Perhaps the Lowes` attorneys don`t have as much experience with sexual harassment cases as we do. We`ve been doing these cases for 32 years and we`ve won hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of sexual harassment. Because an employee has a right not to be exposed to sexual actions or sexually graphic language in the workplace that is unwelcome.
And, I mean, do you think that you could work - walk around at work naked without other people who work for your show believing that it`s sexual harassment? No. It`s no different in somebody`s home than it is in, you know, "Showbiz Today`s" workplace. It just cannot be. And it`s interesting to me that apparently, Mr. Stein does not dispute that she walked around naked in the workplace. He just wants to know how is that sexual harassment. I guess we have to give him an education on this.
ANDERSON: He and Sheryl have said the allegations are false and your client has said that her allegations of misconduct interfered with her emotional well-being, her ability to work. And I do want to take another look at your news conference with Laura Boyce, the second former nanny to allege sexual harassment against the Lowes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOYCE: I cared for their children. I respected the Lowes and did everything I could, running their home and taking care of their children. Oh, my gosh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Gloria, as part of Laura`s lawsuit, she claims that Rob Lowe`s wife, Sheryl, talked about her children`s private parts. So here`s another question from the Lowes` attorney for you, "Why did you find it necessary to drag the kids into this in such a personal and private way." He says that`s outrageous.
ALLRED: Well, again, what`s outrageous is they`re filing a lawsuit against nannies, nannies who earn something like $18 an hour. I mean I know they`re rich and famous and they can afford, you know, to beat down or try to beat down the little - the working people who serve them every day.
But I think it`s outrageous that they did it and they did it why? For one purpose and one purpose only, to try to protect themselves, to try to shield themselves from the lawsuit that they were concerned would be filed against them and from the allegation contained in that lawsuit that was shown to them that Jessica Gibson`s prior lawyer planned to file or suggested that he might file, which mentioned Laura Boyce`s allegation about sexual acts in the workplace or sexual conduct.
ANDERSON: But to get back to the kids, Gloria, Laura is alleging some pretty specific things involving the kids here through her lawsuit. And that is the issue. Sheryl said, you know, "Say things about my husband, say things about me, but don`t drag the kids into the mess."
ALLRED: Well, the truth is the truth is the truth. And that`s what we plan to rely on in this case, as we do on every case.
ANDERSON: Right, OK.
ALLRED: And so whatever Sheryl said or did is going to come out in this lawsuit. And maybe she should have thought about all that when she filed against the nannies who cared for their children.
ANDERSON: All right, Gloria Allred. We will leave it there. Thank you so much.
ALLRED: Thank you.
ANDERSON: We appreciate it.
HAMMER: Moving on now, Gwyneth Paltrow opening up like never before about her struggle with post partum depression. After the birth of her second child, her son, Moses, Gwyneth says that for about three months, she felt almost outside of herself, that she lost her enthusiasm and felt kind of hopeless.
Well, on "The View" she said she didn`t realize until she came out of it that it was postpartum depression. Gwyneth didn`t experience that after the birth of her first child, Apple. And she said it took some time to put things in perspective.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GWYNETH PALTROW, ACTRESS: When I was going through it and I didn`t know what was wrong with me. I had never had experienced anything like that before and I couldn`t figure out why I just couldn`t get back to normal. And of course I never - it`s like - it`s almost how like every month when you have PMS, you`re like, "What`s wrong with me? And every month, you know -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Always plenty of them.
PALTROW: Oh, yes. That`s what I think. It`s like I just had a baby, these are the symptoms everyone talks about, why am I not putting this together?
ELIZABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": You don`t put it together, though, at the time.
PALTROW: And so, really, when I started to come out of it, that`s when I started to really realize what I had been through. And just looking back at the whole situation, I think that it was such a hard time for me, but I - The reason that I felt it was necessary is because it really made me kind of sharpen up and realign. It really reconnected me to my spirituality and made me kind of commit in a new way to that and to be very healthy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Gwyneth also said she loves being a mom more than anything, doesn`t really like being pregnant, though, because she throws up all the time but said she`d probably go through it again to have a third child.
Big mess-up on "American Idol" this week. Paula actually critiqued a song that had never been performed. So we`re asking is it time for her to get fired? People really worked up about this. We`ve received a ton of E- mails and that is next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Thank you, Charles. It is time now for "Making It Work," where we take a look at couples who built strong relationships in Hollywood.
And tonight it`s former `N Sync member and "Dancing With The Stars" alumnus, Joey Fatone. Now, Joey and his wife Kelly have been married for almost four years and they`ve together for more than a decade. They have a seven-year-old daughter together. When I sat down with Joey, I had to ask him how he balances work and family life.
JOEY FATONE, FORMER `N SYNC MEMBER: Just being up front and being, you know, really together, being a unit, basically. You know, being one. That`s the key. And you know, sometimes - nobody`s perfect. You know, my wife sometimes calls me "Joey`s Party of One" because sometimes I do think of myself other than my wife and my kid. And that`s the things that - I mean you`re on a roller coaster. I`ve been with her for now, dating like 13, 14 years and it`s gone up and down, up and down.
And you just really have to buckle down and kind of really evaluate each other and sit down and just like talk a lot. You know what? A lot of communication, obviously, is a must. That`s something that has to happen. You can`t just blow things up or you know, keep stuff inside, because then you will blow up or you know, get mad or whatever the case may be.
For me, I tend to get away from everything. Living in Orlando is really nice as far as not being in L.A., being in the scene, being, you know, in people`s eyes all the time. You know, there are times and places to do that. And like this, right now, I`m kind of doing a lot of press blitz and being out there. It`s fun to do.
And my wife is not the limelight kind of person, which is also, I guess, a plus. She`s, you know, a fantastic mother, fantastic wife. And it`s just fun. You know, it`s - we`re enjoying the ride. We do have things, though. You do argue. People argue. That`s going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: There`s a man with good perspective. Look for Joey Fatone and Melanie Brown hosting the upcoming reality show called "The Singing Office" where groups of employees actually compete against each other.
ANDERSON: All right. We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day about Paula Abdul. We told you how Paula`s mix-up when she critiqued a song that hadn`t been performed. We told you about that, gave you the details and we asked, "Paula Abdul: Should `American Idol` fire her?" Let`s take a look at the votes - 33 percent of you say yes; 67 on her side say no.
Here are some of the E-mails we received. Christi from Kansas writes, "If she continues to make these kinds of mistakes, someone else needs to take over, someone who thinks before she speaks."
Pam from Michigan says, "She makes good TV by her goofiness! You never know what she`s going to say or do!"
HAMMER: Brooke, I don`t know about you. I had lots of fun. And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I did, too. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Remember, you can always catch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on the 11:00s - 11:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 p.m. Pacific and in the morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. The latest from "CNN HEADLINE NEWS" is next.
END
