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Joy Behar Page
Kirstie Alley vs. Conan O`Brien; Interview With Nia Vardalos
Aired November 20, 2009 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: Tonight on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW actress Kirstie Alley is in a huge fight with Conan O`Brien. Kirstie says she`s tired of being the butt of his fat jokes.
Plus, the war of words between Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston keeps on going. Sort of like the (INAUDIBLE).
And Nia Vardalos star of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" will be here talking about everything from her career break through to why adopting is easy.
And, oh, yes, some guy named -- what`s his name? Tom Hanks.
All that and more, starts right now.
Ok. The biggest story of the week, whether you like it or not, is Sarah Palin. And by the way, this is the last time I`m going to mention her until next time. Because it`s the gift that keeps on giving, I can`t take it. It seems Sarah`s new book is a little short on the facts.
Here now to discuss all things Palin and a lot more -- we`ve got many more topics -- are comedienne Judy Gold; Danny Bonaduce, actor and radio talk show host on 94.1 WYSP in Philadelphia and Michelle Collins, comedienne and managing editor of "Best Week Ever TV."
Ok. How are you, my dears?
JUDY GOLD, COMEDIAN: Oh, great. How are you, Joy?
BEHAR: Oh I`m just fine. Thank you.
GOLD: Good.
BEHAR: Now, she makes a lot of stories up I think. Like for instance, this is a boring one, but I will tell it to you anyway.
She says that the stylist that bought the $150,000 worth of clothes is the same stylist that worked for Katie Couric. Not true, it`s not true.
DANNY BONADUCE, 94.1 WYSP IN PHILADELPHIA: It`s not true.
GOLD: It`s not true.
BEHAR: Ok.
GOLD: Not true, you know that stylist is a - was a mom, my son Ben and her son were in the same class.
BEHAR: Stop it.
GOLD: I swear to God.
BEHAR: Ok.
GOLD: She made $2,200 an hour.
BEHAR: She made...
GOLD: And I`ll tell you what she made.
BONADUCE: Wait, she`s in the same class.
GOLD: Yes, in a public; the kid goes to public school.
BEHAR: Well, why not?
BEHAR: She made, I`ll tell you what she made. She made $54,900 for the job and she said it was because she got paid that much because it was a last-minute thing.
BODUCE: This is for a makeover, right?
BEHAR: This is for the clothes that they bought for Sarah for the campaign.
BONADUCE: Let me just tell you this. I bought my ex-wife a makeover, and this is just true and factual I bought her weave, I bought her nose, I bought her lips, and I bought her breasts, $12,000. What did she do with a -- I could have built another chest.
MICHELLE COLLINS, COMEDIAN: You could have bought a real doll for $10,000. And saved yourself $2,000.
BONADUCE: Yes absolutely.
BEHAR: All right, but this woman`s name is Lisa Kline...
GOLD: Yes.
BEHAR: And she defends her, she says it wasn`t that outrageous because truthfully, if you want to buy designer clothes, they cost a fortune.
GOLD: And if you`re 6`3", they cost a fortune too.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: I have been there.
GOLD: Yes, I have to wear men`s suits.
BONADUCE: I bought this stuff today at H & N, which was $23.
COLLINS: Ok and it looks it.
BEHAR: Well, that`s good. That`s fascinating, Danny.
BONADUC: Well, you can look any way you want to look for under $155,000.
COLLINS: Ok, obviously, you don`t have a stylist.
BEHAR: Ok, all right, let`s move on, and try to speak one at a time if you can. Or no will hear you.
GOLD: Ok.
BEHAR: Let`s keep it in the dysfunctional family, all right? Palin`s nemesis Levi Johnson, disappointed Palin haters and 98 percent of the gay community when it was learned that his much talked about "Playgirl" shoot does not include full frontal nudity. I know what do you think about that?
COLLINS: I think there`s no full disclosure in the Palin family.
BEHAR: Ok, all right, all right. But what do you think about that fact?
COLLINS: Here`s what I think, being in a "Playgirl" and not showing your penis is like being on the cover of "Maxim" and having a college education. It`s kind of like doesn`t go hand and hand really what are gay men going to masturbate to now. What`s left for gay men?
GOLD: Yes.
BEHAR: Glitz, glitz.
COLLINS: Lady Gaga and glitz, that`s it.
BONADUCE: I think it`s just in fact that any man that would pose naked just to get attention is obviously an attention-whore, if you pardon the expression.
BEHAR: Yes.
BONADUCE: But I just think it`s ridiculous that he did that just for the press.
BEHAR: Just for the press. Well, we`ve got a teaser photo. You want to see it?
GOLD: Oh yes.
BEHAR: Ok this is a daily news web site it`s one of Levi`s "Playgirl" poses. There he is.
COLLINS: He looks like one of the "New Kids on the Block" here.
BEHAR: He looks like he`s giving himself a breast exam.
COLLINS: I heard it.
GOLD: But he`s under 50, so he doesn`t really have to do that.
BEHAR: Yes he`s just under 50.
BONADUCE: I think he`s a coward. If you`re going to go naked, go naked for God`s sakes.
GOLD: I heard that if you time it right, you can see his penis from Sarah Palin`s house.
BEHAR: Ok, take a look at this picture that we got off the "Insider." It appears that one of our panelists has posed naked.
COLLINS: Oh my God.
GOLD: What? Oh God.
BEHAR: That is Danny Bonaduce.
BONADUCE: Oh my God it`s great.
GOLD: When I posed nude, I needed a huge cello in front of me.
BONADUCE: Well, that`s just to say, it for makes perfect sense too. Let me just say...
BEHAR: And you went full frontal I heard that?
BONADUCE: I did go full frontal and I unfortunate and not unfortunate but I`m grateful to be employed but CBS my employer actually went crazy and made me redo it and wear the guitar and in another one I`m holding an Emmy and things like that.
COLLINS: Better than aliens in front of there, right?
BONADUCE: The guitar is actually one of the ukulele...
COLLINS: That`s very masculine, I`m sorry.
BONADUCE: But the fact -- the fact of the matter is if you Google my name, there`s 1,500 shots of me naked, I did that by choice.
BEHAR: Where, at your house?
BONADUCE: No, I was a rather jovial drunk for quite a while and I thought the height of comedy -- I would order food in a fancy restaurant and right when I was being served I get up and go to the bathroom, take off all of my clothes comeback out and sit down like nothing had happened.
I just thought that was a...
COLLINS: What are doing after the show? You sound like a real party, I would love you to go out.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Well, for someone like Danny Bonaduce...
GOLD: Yes.
BEHAR: To show his body like that.
BONADUCE: I will tell you exactly what I did.
GOLD: Yes.
BONADUCE: I begged to do it, I was on the radio show, I was on my radio show screaming, please, somebody, let me pose naked. Because they really did have this candid shots of me naked.
BEHAR: I`ll say.
BONADUCE: Well, apparently it was freezing everywhere I was. I didn`t look good.
BEHAR: Oh, yes.
BONADUCE: So I said I need professional photos to reclaim my manhood...
BEHAR: Yes.
BONADUCE: And then I went and did "Penthouse." I`m the only man to ever have a six-page spread in "Penthouse" right now.
GOLD: Wow.
BEHAR: Wow.
BONADUCE: And dig this, I was on the radio...
GOLD: So apparently have you a vagina.
BONADUCE: I`ve had several thank you. And apparently you don`t.
GOLD: Well, that`s true. I`ve never denied it.
BEHAR: Yes, she`s an out lesbian.
GOLD: Yes.
BEHAR: She is not in the closet, Judy. Would you ever pose nude?
GOLD: No, I don`t want to -- you know.
BEHAR: I wouldn`t -- I mean, you know I always say for men to see me naked, I have to be in his will. That`s just me.
All right.
GOLD: I can`t even look at myself naked. I don`t want other people looking at me.
BEHAR: And the main beneficiary. Also I add that as a rider.
BONADUCE: For 50 grand I would pose naked with a goat.
COLLINS: Oh, I will do it for free with a goat; that changes everything.
BEHAR: You`re a class act, Danny we love you.
Levi isn`t the only one getting Sarah Palin`s goat or moose. Since starting her book tour the quitter from Twitter as I like to call her has been tossing everyone under the tour bus.
Earlier this week, she told Oprah all about her issue with Katie Couric. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": You say you in the book that you thought that Katie Couric had a partisan agenda. And did you think that she was, you know, had a partisan political agenda or some other agenda?
SARAH PALIN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think that her agenda was to not necessarily show me in the best light and not allow my mistakes, my gaffes, to go uncut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Ok.
BONADUCE: Wow.
BEHAR: All right, so does anyone think Katie Couric has a partisan agenda?
COLLINS: Katie Couric`s agenda, I think honestly her only agenda is to baby oil her legs and not get fired. This is literally how she was. Katie Couric does not care about Sarah Palin. I`m sorry to tell you.
BONADUCE: Sure she does.
BEHAR: Yes.
BONADUCE: Sarah Palin gets viewers, gets readers, no problem.
BEHAR: Right.
BONADUCE: But a woman as bright as Katie does not need an agenda. She just needs to say how are you? And let that woman open her mouth and she`ll bury herself.
COLLINS: Yes.
BONADUCE: You don`t need an agenda to make her look foolish.
BEHAR: Well, she`s saying that -- it was an unfair question to say to her you know what do you read?
BONADUCE: What?
GOLD: What is so not fair about that?
BONADUCE: Yes, I`ll tell you what`s not fair about it.
GOLD: What?
BONADUCE: Because what Sarah Palin is reading, you can actually pick up a copy of it Playdoh and then it will come off and you`ll get the picture of the ...
GOLD: I`m just surprised Sarah Palin even knows what the word rogue means.
BEHAR: Yes, well.
GOLD: I heard she thought it meant that she was going somewhere without her husband. I have to say it, all right I tried, I tried.
BEHAR: Barbara Walters interviewed Sarah and she said that Todd is very attractive -- a very attractive man.
GOLD: My friend said that she was on a plane with him, and he`s good looking and the camera doesn`t do him justice.
BEHAR: Really? Are you jealous Danny right now? Because we`re saying this?
BONADUCE: No.
BEHAR: Because we saw you naked...
BONADUCE: You know what I`m jealous?
BEHAR: What?
BONADUCE: Both of these women are well over six feet tall and I`m 5`6". Standing next to them I look like a child. I would like somebody to say watch out, don`t bump your head and not have this much space.
COLLINS: If you were a Hungarian Jew like us, you would also not only be tall but be extremely hairy. These are issues that we all deal with.
GOLD: I`m not that hairy.
BONADUCE: What are the odds.
COLLINS: Don`t throw me under the bus now, Judy when I`m defending us.
BEHAR: We`re going to take a break now because I have more with you; more topics.
And we`re going come back with a war of words -- this is a good one -- between Conan O`Brien and Kirstie Alley. Stick around.
I`m scared now. I`m scared of the next segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: We`re back with my very funny and opinionated panel: comedian Judy Gold; Danny Bonaduce, actor and radio talk show host on 94.1 WYSP in Philadelphia; and comedian Michelle Collins, who`s also the managing editor of bestweekever.tv.
Ok. There`s a big celebrity feud going on between Kirstie Alley and Conan O`Brien and it all started on "The Tonight Show" poking fun at Alley`s weight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O`BRIEN, NBC HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Early today in California, millions of people took part in a massive earthquake drill. Either that or Kirstie Alley is jazzercising again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Ok. They are groaning. Now, what about -- you guys are comics, ok?
GOLD: Right.
BEHAR: As am I. And I know that fat jokes, they still -- people still do them. And to be fair, there`s not a lot of fat people around anymore to make jokes. I have a list of people.
GOLD: Really?
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLD: Am I on it?
BEHAR: No. Brando -- people used to -- Pavarotti, all died. Dom de Louise was a butt of the joke. Limbaugh got thin, and Sharpton lost weight. Those were males by the way.
GOLD: Right.
BEHAR: Is it ok to make a joke about a fat guy and not a fat lady?
GOLD: I believe in complete freedom of speech, but really, the fat jokes are too easy. Don`t you think?
BEHAR: They are too easy.
GOLD: It`s too -- and a guy talking about a fat woman, really?
BONADUCE: She brought it upon herself, absolutely.
BEHAR: She did.
BONADUCE: She went on "Oprah" and said, "When I lose all this weight, I`m going to come out here in a bikini." She took millions of dollars, lost the weight. So she got in and got to say it`s a glandular problem and therefore you`re making fun of someone with some kind of physical handicap. She got thin. She is capable of getting thin, she took money to get thin and she blew up like the Hindenburg and you have a right to make shots are her.
COLLINS: So here`s the thing, ok. So she was on the show "Fat Actress" and clearly called that because she`s a bigger girl. She doesn`t like hide; she`s not embarrassed about it. And Conan has made fun of using Pavarotti. He made fun of Anna Nicole Smith. They all died.
How she is really going to get back at him is to not die. Like, she should just not die.
BEHAR: That would be good revenge. I agree with that.
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: He says your name, you die within a week. You have to be careful of that kid.
BEHAR: So she twittered now and this is what she said, Kirstie, against O`Brien. "I`ll tell you one bitch I`m going to knock out next time" -- what is she, Muhammad Ali? Wait a minute. "I`ll tell you, one bitch I`m going to knock out next time I see her is Conan O`Bitch O`Brien. That guy acts like I bit his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) off.
GOLD: Wow.
BONADUCE: First of all, there is an actual a rhythm to tough guy talk, and she doesn`t have it clearly.
COLLINS: She only has a 120 characters of (INAUDIBLE) like really to impress.
GOLD: Conan O`Bitch O`Brien. I like that.
BONADUCE: I like that but he came in with the other bitch first.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Well, he talked to tweet with an accent.
GOLD: And then he said something like that -- didn`t he say something like his penis isn`t on weight watchers?
BEHAR: Here`s Conan`s response from last night`s show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O`BRIEN: Kirstie Alley is apparently mad at me over some jokes I made about her weight, and yesterday on Twitter she said that I act like she bit my penis off, which is absurd because my penis is not on the weight watchers diet list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: But you know? It is on Jenny Craig`s.
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: I have to tell you if she did in fact bite his penis off, no matter how large it was, that woman still would not be full.
COLLINS: I was going to say if penis was on weight watchers, I would be bone thin. But we all go in there too.
BEHAR: Next up.
Nicolas Cage`s former business manager says it`s not his fault Cage is broke. Last month Cage filed a suit against Samuel Levin claiming he was an incompetent business manager. Levin has now filed a counter suit -- nothing makes me happier than rich people fight. Did Levin sent Cage on a path to his financial ruin or did Cage do it all by himself? What do you think?
GOLD: Well, he`s the business -- he`s managing the money. So whose fault is it?
COLLINS: You`re the one that has the money. I don`t know.
BONADUCE: I think it is a movie star`s job to spend all their money while sleeping with as many women as possible. That`s part -- it`s in the job description of celebrity. Spend all your money on booze and drugs and sleep with lots of chicks. It`s part of the gig.
BEHAR: I know. But let`s talk about the shopaholic part. He has 15 palatial homes -- this is Cage -- around the world. How many houses does...
GOLD: I know. You don`t have enough...
BONADUCE: One of his homes is on one side of my house, and Kirstie Alley is on the other, swear to God. Kirstie and I had a reality show at the same time. And neighbors would fight with all the trucks in their front yard. For idiots.
GOLD: You`re going to be an American sandwich tomorrow when you get home.
BEHAR: He owns an island in the Bahamas, a Gulf Stream jet, 4 yachts. His manager, Levin, he said that the actor squandered tens of millions of dollars he`d earned as a movie star. He is deeply in debt.
Who do you believe here? The other one`s saying he mismanaged his money?
BONADUCE: I`m going to go with personal experience because that`s all I have. I know Nic, and he`s actually kind of cheap to be honest with you.
BEHAR: You call him Nic?
COLLINS: Famous people do that.
GOLD: I know Nicky.
BONADUCE: Remember when Kobe Bryant went to say he was sorry to his wife and bought a $4 million diamond -- remember that.
BEHAR: Kobe, yes. Kobe.
BONADUCE: When Lisa Marie Presley threw her diamond overboard, $65,000 over board at (INAUDIBLE), he sent it divers to get it. $65,0000 compared to $4 million.
COLLINS: He`s a romantic, that`s beautiful.
I think that is really nice.
BONADUCE: He`s an idiot. They said we couldn`t find it. You don`t think one of those divers at $25 went I didn`t find it.
BEHAR: Put it in a bathing suit like it`s a Speedo.
Next up, "People" magazine announced their Sexiest Man Alive this year, and it`s Johnny Depp. Also for the 12th straight year, Karl Rove didn`t make the list.
COLLINS: I can`t believe it.
BEHAR: Johnny Depp is a gorgeous man. Look at him.
GOLD: He is gorgeous.
BEHAR: He is still cute, but he`s 46. The AARP number is 50. They start sending you the brochures at 50.
BONADUCE: I just turned 50.
COLLINS: Why stop with Johnny? Go with Omar Sharif. There are other handsome older guys out there who would love the publicity.
BONADUCE: Wait a minute. That`s actually what they did.
BEHAR: Cesar Romero.
COLLINS: He`s drop dead gorgeous Joy.
BONADUCE: Think about it. They`re actually ignoring an actual reality.
(CROSSTALK)
BONADUCE: Not very long ago Sean Connery was voted sexiest man of the year at 72 years of age. At 72 years of age, when your face starts to resemble your scrotum, you are probably not the sexiest man in the world.
GOLD: It`s not fair because a guy can be the sexiest man alive at 46 but is Angela Lansbury going to be the sexiest woman alive? I don`t think so.
BEHAR: I don`t know that she ever was.
COLLINS: She`s had her moments.
BEHAR: She was beautiful when she was 19; she looked good in "Gas Light."
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Maybe that was the trick. I`m sorry Michelle, go ahead.
COLLINS: I was saying like there are so many other gorgeous guys. Like Jon Hamm, Robert Pattinson.
BEHAR: Robert Pattinson from the Twilight movie.
COLLINS: Gorgeous.
BONADUCE: He`s hideous. He looks like Tori Spelling. His eyes are way over here like a blow fish. He`s like a gecko that can see all around him. He looks ridiculous.
COLLINS: Danny, you`re going to get killed. Don`t say things like that.
BONADUCE: Believe me. It would help my ratings. If you`d like to come by, Robert, and kick my ass, you have an open invitation.
And you`ll see me coming from any direction because of your crazy eyes.
BEHAR: You know who is going to get you, is Tori Spelling.
GOLD: Yes, right.
BONADUCE: I say, I`d be more afraid of her.
BEHAR: Her mother is afraid of her.
BONADUCE: Everybody is afraid of her.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Yes. Wouldn`t you be if you were her mother?
GOLD: Yes, I guess.
BEHAR: She`s got a reality show. She tortures the mother. The mother...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: That`s so unusual, a mother being tortured by a child.
BEHAR: You are all so funny and fabulous. I had a wonderful time.
Thanks to my panel. Back in a bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: It`s been five months since Michael Jackson died, yet the web of mystery surrounding his past is still growing. The latest? Evan Chandler, father of the boy who first accused Jackson of child molestation in 1993 killed himself in his Jersey City apartment.
Joining me to discuss this is Roger Friedman who writes the Showbiz 411 column for the "Hollywood Reporter". Welcome Roger.
ROGER FRIEDMAN, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Hi.
BEHAR: This guy, chandler, they got a $20 million settlement to not press charges against Michael Jackson, is that what happened?
FRIEDMAN: The kid got -- this is back in 1994. The son got $20 million, it was put in trust.
BEHAR: How old was the boy in 1993?
FRIEDMAN: He was 13.
BEHAR: Thirteen.
FRIEDMAN: And then the father, who just died, he got 1$1.5 million. His ex-wife got $1.5 million, and I believe that her -- at that time her husband -- she was married to someone else, he also got $1.5 million as part of the settlement.
BEHAR: Why did they get paid off?
FRIEDMAN: Everybody got paid off to keep quiet. It`s never been actually proven what happened. And part of it was that Michael panicked. His lawyers panicked. And there was some element of truth to what was going on.
BEHAR: Like what?
FRIEDMAN: That Michael was having a much too close relationship with -- Michael was then in his 30s and he was having this very close relationship with this young boy. He sleeping in his room.
BEHAR: Right, I remember.
FRIEDMAN: He was sleeping at the kid`s house. Then the kid was sleeping at his house; they were in each other`s beds.
BEHAR: But Michael insisted that it was all very innocent.
FRIEDMAN: Right. But how innocent could it be?
BEHAR: Well, didn`t look right.
FRIEDMAN: It doesn`t look right. And so there were some elements of something going on there.
Then you know what happened? After this was all over, there was a great article in "GQ" done by a journalist named Mary Fisher. And she went back and had proof that Evan Chandler, this man who committed suicide, and the current husband of his wife then, the step-father, had conspired to create this situation and that they actually drugged the kid in the dentist`s office and got him to say things that weren`t true about Michael.
BEHAR: Oh.
FRIEDMAN: So there was actually a defense for Michael Jackson at one point that has been used ever since by the Jackson fans, something as sort of a template for them that they used to defend Michael.
BEHAR: I see. So is it possible that this dentist just killed himself; he felt guilty about that?
FRIEDMAN: It`s very possible.
BEHAR: But he was also very ill.
FRIEDMAN: Well, he was ill but it`s not a coincidence that Michael Jackson died four months ago. That the movie is out and the movie has made $200 million. It`s everywhere.
And this point has probably been driven home, that what the Chandlers started in 1993, snow balled to the point that it killed Michael Jackson because Michael`s problems really began with that incident. That`s where everything really started -- went out of control.
BEHAR: Oh, I don`t know about that.
All his problems? His problems started in his childhood, according to what I`ve read.
FRIEDMAN: Those problems, but what I`m saying is his legal problems, his financial problems, the thing began like a -- it was just a snow ball that kept getting bigger and bigger and it started with the Chandlers. So it`s interesting that Michael has died, that all these things have happened and now very strangely that Evan Chandler has committed suicide.
BEHAR: Do you think we`ll find out the total truth about all that?
FRIEDMAN: Yes. I do think we will find out one day.
BEHAR: Who is going to tell it?
FRIEDMAN: One day that kid is going to fess up. I mean, he`s 29 now. And I think eventually it`s going to come out.
BEHAR: We`ll find out.
FRIEDMAN: What`s interesting is, he had a falling out with his father completely and he`s back with his mother, who was sort of a nice lady.
BEHAR: Well, he might have been depressed or whatever. Anyway, thanks, Roger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: That was the talented Olivia Newton-John in the role that made her a superstar. Her career has spanned decades. But in addition to singing and acting, she is a breast cancer survivor and activist who`s speaking out against new mammogram guidelines.
I sat down with Olivia this week and asked how she first detected her own illness.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: I found the lump myself.
BEHAR: You found it by breast exam.
NEWTON-JOHN: Self-breast exam. That`s why I`m so up in arms that we won`t advocate that we do regular self-breast exams. It`s common sense.
BEHAR: I`m sorry. Go ahead.
NEWTON-JOHN: If you find something that isn`t right, then you go get it checked out, which is what I did.
BEHAR: Yes, well, we`re going get to that with the doctor. But I want to just hear your story. Did you follow it up with the mammogram?
NEWTON-JOHN: Yes, I did. The mammogram actually was negative, which is unusual, and I don`t say that to scare people. But I instinctively felt there was something wrong.
BEHAR: Really?
NEWTON-JOHN: And so did the doctor. So he did a surgical biopsy. He did a needle biopsy first, which was also negative, which I know is not common either. But I still didn`t feel it was right. I had lumps and I wasn`t feeling my best. So he did a surgical biopsy and then found the cancer. So I was very fortunate.
BEHAR: I see.
Doctor, women in their 40s have always been told to have an annual mammogram. What changed this all of a sudden?
DR. MARIE SAVARD, MD, INTERNIST: Sadly, I don`t think anything major changed. There wasn`t a big, new study that made a difference. What I think happened was is this expert panel got together, a new panel, looked at all the numbers, crunched the numbers as we were talking about, and decided to weigh lives, women`s lives on one side, versus side effects, inconvenience, pain of biopsy, radiation, which the radiation dose is so much lower.
Not much new has happened. If anything, the mammogram has gotten better. Digital mammogram people aren`t really talking about, or ultrasound, which obviously probably helped you be diagnosed.
There`s lots of things for women out there. And to say to women between 40 and 50, the leading cause of cancer death of women in that age group, don`t do anything, it`s crazy.
NEWTON-JOHN: My information is mammograms catch one in 2,000 of breast cancer cases of women between 40 and 49. That`s pretty good, isn`t it?
SAVARD: They save one out of almost 2,000 women`s lives in that period of time. That`s a lot of lives if you multiply the thousands of women in this country.
NEWTON-JOHN: That`s a lot of people.
BEHAR: They also recommend stop teaching women under 50, which is what you would say, to self-examine their breasts. Why is that?
SAVARD: I am so insulted and outraged by the thought. Most women who have come to me in many years of practice come because, just as you did, they feel something is wrong.
That gets them -- you examine them. You get the mammogram. The mammogram is not perfect. But if it`s not, you keep being the squeaky wheel, you end up with the ultrasound and a biopsy.
BEHAR: Why do you think they are saying this, Olivia?
NEWTON-JOHN: I don`t know. It`s really alarming to me. But many of my friends found their cancers through self-exams. And the women who have lumps and have gone and found that it`s nothing, they`re just delighted that it`s nothing. They are not upset that they had to go through it.
BEHAR: What if they say don`t find anything?
SAVARD: That I can`t imagine.
NEWTON-JOHN: We`re scared to even go there.
BEHAR: Is it not cost effective? Is there some money involved here?
SAVARD: What money could be involved in a woman knowing her body?
BEHAR: They don`t want false positives.
SAVARD: And they sort of say the doctor`s breast exam, really there`s no evidence that that really works. I mean, it`s ludicrous to think a doctor is not going to lay on hands any longer. And what are we going to do?
BEHAR: The American Cancer Society is not going along with this, am I right?
SAVARD: A lot of big medical groups are quite alarmed of what could happen. Women could fall through the cracks. Women will hear this message and think I`m not going to get that mammogram, it doesn`t work, it`s kind of painful. Sure. Or they`re going to feel a lump and say what`s the point of going to the doctor because they`re not going to be able to detect anything.
BEHAR: What is going to happen -- go ahead.
NEWTON-JOHN: I think we have to keep pushing self-examination. If women can`t get breast examine, then we have to do this sort of examination. If you find something untoward, go to your doctor and ask for a mammogram.
What I`m worried about the poor women that can`t get this covered by insurance, because I have a feeling that`s where it`s leading.
BEHAR: What will happen to women over 50 who want an annual mammogram? They want women over 50 to have them every two years now. What if you want them every year, will insurance not pay for it?
SAVARD: Today Kathleen Sebelius, our secretary of health, she came out with a statement saying we`re not going to change anything. She understands the alarm. She understands the limitations of mammography, but right now we are not changing anything.
BEHAR: Private insurers are required by law in every state except Utah to pay for mammograms for women in their 40s at the moment. Why not Utah? Don`t Mormons get breast cancer?
NEWTON-JOHN: I`m sure they get it.
SAVARD: Good point. Of course they do.
All women are all at risk, and that`s the bottom line. Women die from breast cancer and early diagnosis and early treatment means...
NEWTON-JOHN: Early diagnosis is key, yes.
SAVARD: And they are talking about deaths. What about the earlier they diagnose it, the less radical the surgery or the treatment? So we`re not talking about that part of equation, as well.
BEHAR: We`re going backward, Joy. I was just in Germany and Vienna, and I was just introducing a self-breast examination tool to help find lumps more easily.
And the women in Germany are very upset because they are having problems getting mammograms and they not giving the information. And I heard the study is based on the European Union, which means we`re going backwards not forwards in our treatment recommendations.
BEHAR: I heard somebody say on TV the other day that in England they don`t start until after 50 with mammograms.
SAVARD: Right. But they have been a country that`s worried about cost containment for a long time. And there is no question, it`s hard. A lot of preventative services have not been given to the degree that we would go along with this in this country, including things like pap testing, much less.
So I say to women that understand the limitations of the mammogram. Ask for a digital mammogram. If you are a premenopausal woman and you have a really lumpy breast, ask if your center does the digital, which is more sensitive. If you have a lump, don`t just rely on that negative mammogram, as you did. Ask to get the ultrasound in the referral.
BEHAR: They say don`t check yourself in the shower.
NEWTON-JOHN: It doesn`t make sense.
BEHAR: So let`s say this all goes through. Let`s say you happen to be checking yourself, or maybe somebody else finds it, you should be so lucky.
(LAUGHTER)
SAVARD: Of course.
NEWTON-JOHN: Exactly.
SAVARD: Men do find them. That`s not that uncommon.
BEHAR: So now are you supposed to say I didn`t find it, because I`m not allowed to find it?
NEWTON-JOHN: Yes, are you supposed to ignore it?
SAVARD: In all fairness, they do say be aware. I`ve heard some experts say women should be aware of their bodies and report anything. But what kind of a message is that -- be aware, but we don`t want you trained in this process? We don`t want you to be very good at being aware?
BEHAR: I feel there`s some sort of war against women in health care. There`s this Stupak amendment which really will deny women insurance to get abortion if they need it. They have to have a rider. On their private insurance, if they want to get an abortion, as if you can plan that you`re going to get an abortion.
And now there`s this, which is going to curtail all of these tests for women.
SAVARD: And there was a lot of responses, because I looked on my Web site, one the ABC Web site. They all said things like, what about men`s health, what about prostate cancer?
BEHAR: What about Viagra?
SAVARD: We`re paying for Viagra.
BEHAR: Did you know that Viagra is covered by insurance? Doesn`t that annoy you?
NEWTON-JOHN: And men do get breast cancer. Maybe that`s what is going to take, because I know a man that was using breast examination, and he found it, and he was in his 30s.
BAIER: I know somebody who has breast cancer and is guy.
SAVARD: And they get mammograms. They need to be tested if they find a lump. As you say, we can`t go backward. Let`s have better technology, but women between the ages of 40 and 50 cannot just have nothing.
BEHAR: What is your final word to women watching, both of you, right now?
SAVARD: Trust your instincts, examine your breasts, be vigilant about every aspect of your body. Speak up, be that squeaky wheel.
BEHAR: And don`t let this legislation go through, whatever it is that...
NEWTON-JOHN: Be in control of your own health and your breast health. And if you feel a lump -- a lump is a lump is a lump. You don`t have to be terribly clever to find a lump that feels unusual.
BEHAR: They say most lumps that you find are benign.
NEWTON-JOHN: Most are. But if there is something that feels a little different and you know that and if you`re doing regular checkup, you should be aware of what normal for you and what isn`t.
SAVARD: Lumps that don`t go away. Women know when there is something different.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BEHAR: Let`s hope everyone watching that will take the advice and get regular screenings and mammograms.
Next, a big, fat interview with Nia Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: In 2002, she threw herself a big fat Greek wedding, and with that Nia Vardalos shot to fame. At the same time, though, she was struggling to become a mother. After years of trying Nia and her husband turned to plan b, adoption. With me now is actress and National Adoption Day spokesperson Nia Vardalos. Hi, Nia.
NIA VARDALOS, ACTRESS: Hi, Joy.
BEHAR: That is a funny scene.
VARDALOS: Thanks. I look at it with such fondness. John Corbin and I barely knew each other and now we`re such good friends.
BEHAR: It changed your life.
VARDALOS: Absolutely.
BEHAR: What were you doing before that?
VARDALOS: I did a lot of stage. I`m classically trained actually.
BEHAR: Really, Shakespeare?
VARDALOS: Yes. And I am an alum of Second City, five years there, learned to write there. And then got to Los Angeles, couldn`t get hired, wrote the movie.
BEHAR: It`s funny. People see something like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and they say I have a family like that, I could have made that. And then you find out the years before that when you were really preparing to do the big business thing.
VARDALOS: Yes. Actually when Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson came to the show and said this should be a movie, I had already written the screenplay.
BEHAR: Really?
VARDALOS: Yes.
BEHAR: So you had you it in the can, you were working with it?
VARDALOS: Yes. I actually only did it as a play because I didn`t have an uncle that ran a studio, I didn`t have anybody to give the screenplay too.
BEHAR: Yes, that makes sense.
VARDALOS: And this, for me, I`ve always worked hard. Coal mining is hard. I mean I was diligent. I was writing the screenplay, thinking maybe one day I could get an agent and play a bridesmaid. And then when Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson came to the show and said this should be a movie, the joke is that I handed them the screenplay so fast that their hair flew back.
BEHAR: Rita is Greek. So they just happened to come to the show because they liked the title probably. You didn`t invite them, they just showed up?
VARDALOS: No, they just showed up.
BEHAR: It was meant to be.
VARDALOS: Yes.
BEHAR: Now you are married at the time.
VARDALOS: To the real Ian.
BEHAR: To a lovely person, and you were trying to have children, but it wasn`t happening for you. How old were you?
VARDALOS: At that point I was in my 30s and absolutely keeping it a secret. It was just something that was almost embarrassing. And I know what it is now. It`s having to admit that I failed at something.
BEHAR: Oh.
VARDALOS: And, you know, I`m a person that I -- I`ve struggled with my weight in my lifetime. I`ve lost 50, 60, 70 pounds.
BEHAR: Well, you`re a skinny bitch right now.
VARDALOS: Well, thank you, Joy. Go on.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: You are a skinny little girl now.
VARDALOS: Thanks. That`s because I developed a blood sugar problem - - and I`m going to hang out with you the rest of the day. And I had to do something, and ultimately I lost weight.
But that`s the perfect example of when things don`t go my way, I just work harder. And when I couldn`t get acting work, I wrote the screenplay. Before that when I couldn`t get into Second City, I worked in the box office and someone got sick, and I went on.
BEHAR: Good for you. So what motivates you to be like that?
VARDALOS: My mom said she once watched me convince a bank to stay open. I never take no for an answer.
BEHAR: I`d like to convince them to close.
VARDALOS: Yes.
BEHAR: But you just don`t take no for an answer. You never felt like it`s horrible now, it won`t happen for me, that kind of despondency that some people get in the middle of their business?
VARDALOS: It was more like I don`t understand why it`s not happening.
BEHAR: I`m so good.
VARDALOS: More like I wanted it to happen and I never understood it was about talent. I`ve seen people -- really, it`s not really about talent. It`s about tenacity.
Plus in my time in Second City, those of us in the main companies were not exactly the cream of the crop. We were just the people with the highest tolerance for BS.
And I thought I`ve been here in Los Angeles, I cannot get a job. I don`t know what it is. I knew what it was. I was a visible minority but not exactly a minority. And so I thought if being Greek is the problem, I`ll make it the solution.
But then I had this infertility problem, and you can`t beat Mother Nature. It`s that simple. It was just ten years of trying this route, that route, and finally going this isn`t going to happen. And it was something that I kept a secret because I wasn`t good with admitting I couldn`t do it.
BEHAR: But last year you adopted a three-year-old kid, right?
VARDALOS: Yes.
BEHAR: What`s her name?
VARDALOS: We`re not telling her name. We`re trying to hard --
BEHAR: That`s right, I remember this conversation. I`m sorry.
VARDALOS: That`s OK. Please, don`t be sorry. You can ask me anything, and in choosing to talk about adoption, Ian are very private people.
BEHAR: You should be, and you`re public figures also.
But were you worried about adopting an older child?
VARDALOS: No, actually. I basically -- yes, I was worried at first. I had the typical prejudices, which is why I`m out here talking now, because since we adopted our daughter, we -- I got my celery in a dip in a party and somebody will say "Aren`t you worried she was damaged?"
And I can`t blame them for that question because, yes, I had those prejudices. So I am out here talking now scared, because I`m private and I don`t want to exploit my daughter, which is why no one has seen her face and no one knows her name.
BEHAR: But you want to put people`s fears to rest.
VARDALOS: I do. It`s called busting the myths.
BEHAR: So let`s do that, because we don`t have a lot of time.
VARDALOS: OK.
BEHAR: What are the fears people have aside from the fact that a three-year-old might be damaged, because from zero to three a lot of things can happen to a child.
VARDALOS: Yes. If anyone is worried about that, I`m here to tell you that our daughter is absolutely perfect in every way. The transition was quite easy.
OK, so she didn`t sleep. What did we do? We called the foster family clinic and they gave us a lot of care. And they said sleep in her room. All right, we did. And now one year later she`s sleeping through the night.
BEHAR: So you got some kind of help with that.
What about the fact that people think it`s very expensive to adopt a child.
VARDALOS: It`s absolutely free.
BEHAR: Where can we buy these?
(LAUGHTER)
VARDALOS: Exactly.
BEHAR: I want one. Give me three.
VARDALOS: It`s absolutely free, and nobody knows it. And sometimes there are subsidies that follow the child all the way until they are 18 years old, dental and medical.
BEHAR: That`s foster children. You can`t keep the child.
VARDALOS: If they are adopted it follows them if they start in foster care. These are all things that nobody knew. And I said to them why does nobody know this? And they said we don`t have the money for advertising and we don`t have a spokesperson. And that`s when I went, I think I got to...
BEHAR: What about gay couples? Some states allow it and some states do not.
VARDALOS: It depends on your state, but gay couples are not discriminated against with foster adoption.
BEHAR: OK.
VARDALOS: And single parents, and age, income level, everybody. It`s free.
BEHAR: OK, we can talk some more in a minute. We`ll be back with Nia Vardalos in just a minute. Don`t go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Back with Nia Vardalos, who is the National Adoption Day spokesperson, which is happening on Saturday, yes?
VARDALOS: It`s kind of amazing. Judges and lawyers work for free and they process 4,500 children`s applications n in one day.
BEHAR: And where is this?
VARDALOS: In every state in the country there is a courthouse that is designated for this.
BEHAR: How do people find it?
VARDALOS: They go to AdoptUSKids.org or I think the chyrons are running right now. And they can find all the information about it.
How they get started if they would like to adopt, and the people I`m speaking to are all the people who say I`m not as pretty as Angelina Jolie, I can`t afford to go to another country. All children need to be adopted, children in Ethiopia, Africa, China. Let`s face it, everyone deserves a home.
But if what`s stopping you is you don`t have the financial means to go to another country, there are waiting children here.
BEHAR: In this country.
VARDALOS: In this country that are legally free. Don`t be afraid they are going to be placed in your home and taken out. That does not happen -- 129,000 legally free, like our daughter was. If you`re interested, go to ChildWelfare.gov.
BEHAR: They are putting it. People will know where to go from the show.
VARDALOS: The important thing is don`t go to the state directly. You need an agency that will help you navigate the system. I don`t want anyone to be angry at me, and I know how to do it, and I want people to know, because I don`t want them to be scared off by mounds of paperwork.
If you get a foster family agency, they hold your hand, they talk you through it. I called our social workers the super pretty angels that just held my hand and said this is going to happen. You are going to be a mother.
BEHAR: You`re such a good mother. Would you like to adopt Bob?
VARDALOS: Yes. You know why? I like a baby that`s not potty trained.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: He`s such low maintenance and everything. Can you show Bob so that people might want to adopt him.
VARDALOS: Bob, come home with me.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Bob, don`t say I never did anything for you, all right?
(LAUGHTER)
Now, last thing. I hear that you`re writing a movie for Tom Hanks.
VARDALOS: Yes. Yes, I am.
BEHAR: You can call that my big fat American paycheck, baby.
(LAUGHTER)
What`s that about?
VARDALOS: I am not allowed to say because then all of you will have to be killed.
It`s a comedy, and it was an idea that he had and he asked me to write it. I know it`s crazy.
And I also got to sing on Broadway a couple of weeks ago, and Paul McCartney was in the show too. I posted a picture of it on Twitter. I don`t know why these things happen to me Joy, I don`t know.
BEHAR: Your life is just swimming along, isn`t it?
VARDALOS: Yes.
BEHAR: So you will you be in the movie with Tom Hanks?
VARDALOS: Actually, I don`t know. I guess I`ll have to audition.
BEHAR: I think it`s great. And you lost 40 pounds.
VARDALOS: Yes.
BEHAR: So you`re skinny, you`re successful, you have your baby, you`re writing a movie for Tom Hanks. Who is better than you?
VARDALOS: Oh, man, that`s so nice. Don`t make me list things that I can`t do. There`s lots.
BEHAR: All right, don`t go negative.
(LAUGHTER)
Keep it positive. And you look great.
VARDALOS: Thank you.
BEHAR: Last thing.
VARDALOS: Here`s what I want to say -- Joy, you are a really cool girl. I am so happy I`m on your show.
BEHAR: Thank you for joining me, darling. I really enjoyed having you here.
And thank you for watching everybody. Goodnight.
Here is Bob.
VARDALOS: Come home with me.
END
