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Nancy Grace
Russell Armstrong`s Cause of Death, Still Unknown; L.A. Coroner Demanding Taylor Armstrong`s Presence for Questioning; Coroner Wants to Question Taylor Armstrong in Husband`s Death
Aired August 24, 2011 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Reality TV doesn`t get any more real than this. Tonight, the LA coroner demands to meet with "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star when a co-star is found dead, the condescending and callous husband of "Housewife" Taylor Armstrong found dead in his own bedroom.
But just before the body`s found, Armstrong blasting Bravo, the network that made him a star. Bombshell tonight. Amidst claims he brutally beat his "Real Housewife" star just 24 hours before he`s found dead, the LA coroner demands his reality star wife, Taylor Armstrong, come in for questioning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How`s it going?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shocking news coming out of the reality TV world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can`t listen to the press.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The estranged husband of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member Taylor Armstrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Found dead in an apparent suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I better not see one frame. I better not hear one frame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This show led to his depression.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abuse allegations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perfect gift for a woman like me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) so vocal when it comes to speaking out about domestic violence, and you know, with the allegations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The show characterized him as someone that abused his spouse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, Mom, they`re just going to crucify me this season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We take it one day at a time and not think about the big picture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the key to a happy relationship?
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Reality TV doesn`t get much more real. Amidst claims he brutally beat his "Real Housewife" star wife just 24 hours before he`s found dead, the LA coroner tonight demands the reality star wife, Taylor Armstrong, come in for questioning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys look really happy tonight. You look like a happy couple.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, things are good, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are things going with you now and the divorce?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They had a very volatile relationship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A bitter divorce.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That story that you guys are on the verge of divorce.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is completely false.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Completely false. Nothing true about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The jury`s still out with me on that one so...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoping the show just deletes his character entirely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t want to see my son and (INAUDIBLE) him being seen in even one frame.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was made out to be the villain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bravo beware.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Capitalize off of this horrible tragedy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Money is the bottom line.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bravo should be held responsible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can`t blame just one entity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds like everything in his life was unfolding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve been in therapy, and you know, we`re doing what it takes to -- to smooth out the rough edges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just too overwhelming right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Amidst claims that Taylor Armstrong, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," is responsible, along with Bravo network, legal claims now set to be filed.
We are taking your calls live. I want to go straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter, Radaronline.com. Alexis, thanks for being with us. How was he found dead?
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, RADARONLINE.COM: Thanks for having me, Nancy. He was actually found hanged in the house that he was staying in. It wasn`t the home that he shared with Taylor. He was staying with a friend. He actually had an electrical cord tied around his neck and he was hanging from a beam in a bedroom. It was a really violent death for his body.
GRACE: Who found him, Alexis?
TERESZCUK: His friend found him. And actually, Taylor was on the property when he was found. She wasn`t the first one there, but she was there when he was found.
GRACE: Now, interesting. She`s on the property when someone else happens to walk in and find the body. How many children does he leave behind, Alexis?
TERESZCUK: He actually leaves three behind. He has two sons that are older, and then he has a little girl with Taylor. She just turned 5. Her name is Kennedy. And you know, her mom was very protective of her because she did not want her daughter to know about the violent abuse that she suffered at the hands of her father. Taylor did not want Kennedy to know what Russell had done to her.
GRACE: To Dorothy Cascerceri with "In Touch Weekly." He has been made out to be the villain in "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." I`m just wondering how much is he really the villain and how much did they, Bravo, the network and his wife, go along with doing it for good TV?
You know, we`ve all heard that phrase, That makes good TV. The guy`s dead. The guy`s dead. And you know this is going to be turned around and somehow worked into the plot line of the reality show. And how you can have a plot line in a reality show, I don`t know, but I`m sure they do.
So tonight, his family -- his camp, that is -- is calling for her, Taylor Armstrong, and Bravo, to be held responsible for his death.
DOROTHY CASCERCERI, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Yes. His family absolutely is calling for Taylor to be held responsible, as well as Bravo. On the show, Russell was portrayed as a villain in many of his actions. It`s hard to tell how much of it was the true life that they were living or how much of it was for the cameras.
But just for example, at Kennedy`s 4th birthday party, Russell had bought Kennedy a dog, and it made him look like the bad guy because Taylor made it extremely clear the entire episode that she had told him specifically not to buy this dog. And in the end, Kennedy was allergic to the dog and she suffered and had to go to the doctor.
So it really made it look like Russell was the bad guy. And his family is holding Taylor responsible because they think he -- that Taylor was spending an exorbitant amount of money and making Russell so stressed out that he had to keep up with all of the other "Housewives." And they`re also threatening to sue Bravo over this entire thing.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight out of San Francisco, famed defense attorney John Burris, out of the Orlando jurisdiction, PI lawyer, defense attorney Mark Nejame.
First of all, to you, Mark Nejame. If you were representing Taylor Armstrong, the so-called "Real Housewife" -- you know, I don`t know how much is real about it -- but if you`re representing her and your client gets called in for questioning by the coroner, that`s not good.
There was no suicide note. The beam overhead was easily reachable by standing up on a chair or on the bed, is my understanding. She happened to be on the scene when his body is found coincidentally, not by her, but she happens to be there. She claims that he beat her brutally, 24 hours before he`s found dead. What about it?
MARK NEJAME, PERSONAL INJURY AND DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, you never know what they`re up to. And I would have a "coming to church" conversation with my client behind closed doors and find out exactly what happened. It`s entirely possible that the ME saw some bruises, some contusions, some things on his hands, some cuts that might need some explanation -- there might be a totally innocent reason -- so they can go ahead and establish a cause of death. However, they may have somebody as a suspect. You want to find out what went on and then advise your client accordingly.
GRACE: Weigh in, John Burris.
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think that she probably will be in a position to talk with them. It`s pretty hard, it seems to me, to assist in hanging someone, a grown man like this, by a female herself. She would have to have some assistance. So I think she has nothing to worry about. Either (ph) there`s some coincidence -- but I think that she should talk to -- I would have her talk once I got the information from her. But I think it`s appropriate for her to talk to the coroner`s office.
GRACE: Everyone, we are taking your calls. I want to go to Dr. Michael Arnall, board-certified forensic pathologist. You know, they are claiming that this guy had been on antidepressants. Isn`t it true that antidepressants can actually give you suicidal ideation?
DR. MICHAEL ARNALL, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Yes. If a person is on medication and goes off that medication, then the person may be at risk for suicidal behavior, yes.
GRACE: Joining me now, a special guest out of LA, Ronald Richards, the attorney for the late Russell Armstrong. Ronald, your client has been made out to be the villain. When he agreed to go on "Real Housewives," did he realize that was going to be his role?
RONALD RICHARDS, ATTORNEY FOR RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: He didn`t think it was going to get to the point where other "Housewives" that weren`t a part of the marriage were going to start repeating sort of drunk, off-the-cuff comments by Taylor and defaming him in the second season. And it started to drive him crazy.
GRACE: And what do you make of the coroner wanting to question Taylor? And also, everyone is saying that she drove him to commit suicide. Is that even possible under our jurisprudence?
RICHARDS: I don`t think it`s possible that someone can drive someone to commit suicide. However, it is possible that they can be a contributing factor. And that just may be the fact that it`s a combination of the defamation on the show and the ending of their marriage that drove him to suicide.
GRACE: But when you`re saying "a contributing factor" -- unleash the rest of the lawyers, Mark Nejame, John Burris, Ronald Richards. Does anybody remember the Jenny Jones case? Liz, do you have the footage of Jenny Jones? Do you recall what happened there?
Refresh our memory, Alexis Tereszcuk, on the Jenny Jones case.
TERESZCUK: This was a case where one of the guests on "Jenny Jones" was accused of being gay, and it was so traumatic for this person that after the show, they ended up committing suicide. The family then sued Jenny Jones, and it became a nasty legal battle and there was a court case, and then they settled. Jenny Jones gave a large settlement to the family.
GRACE: You know, it`s my understanding that there was a jury verdict finding against Jenny Jones in that case, claiming that she was responsible for this guy`s suicide, that it went up on appeal and it was reversed. To you, John Burris. Why was it reversed?
BURRIS: Well, I don`t think there`s a connection. I mean, it`s one thing you can make these assumptions, but there`s no legal basis. When a person can voluntarily engage in this act, I think you have self-will, a person makes their own determination. And I think that in a situation like this, the TV people can`t be responsible for that. He voluntarily went on this particular show. He continued to do it. Whatever was said, he had the chance to react to it.
But at the end of the day, there`s no connection actual (ph) to a physical homicide or suicide that he engaged in. It doesn`t matter what was said before. This was a voluntary act on his part, as far as we know now, and therefore, no one else is responsible but him.
GRACE: Well, I got to tell you, I`d be very concerned if my client was being hauled in to the coroner`s office for questioning when I was on the scene when the body was found, when I was the one that claimed he beat me up 24 hours before he`s found dead.
And I want to go out to Dorothy Cascerceri of "In Touch Weekly." How do -- how are they placing his time of death 24 hours after she was brutally beaten by him? Where are they getting that timeline from?
CASCERCERI: Well, there have been reports claiming that Taylor called a friend 24 hours before Russell died, claiming he had beat her. And then she was supposed to meet him on Monday for lunch, and he never showed up. So that`s when she went to the house and that`s when she found him dead.
GRACE: We are taking your calls. A reality star now being called in to the coroner`s office for questioning after her husband found dead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look like a happy couple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before the new season started, before he took his life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to hurt my feelings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, Mom, they`re just going to crucify me this season.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russell`s not here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turned into a terrible tragedy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re wondering if there were warning signs that Russell Armstrong...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s in Phoenix, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The husband of one of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really disappointed. I wanted to spend time with him, and he wasn`t there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was depressed because he committed suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I`m breaking!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not another dinner party from hell!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taylor, don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me like that. I don`t like that, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can`t be my friend, please don`t be my enemy!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s not cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no idea what she`s done to me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop! Stop! Stop!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daughter and I love to swim and spend time in the sun, so we`re out here every day that we possibly can be. So my husband`s a Texan and he loves barbecue. So we`ll come out here as a family and barbecue ribs or steaks, have some friends over, maybe have a margarita, and just enjoy this gorgeous weather. One great thing about living up a little higher in Bel Air, as opposed to the flats of Beverly Hills, is we get amazing views. You can see from my home all the way downtown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Who was that lady screaming about one minute back? To Alexis Tereszcuk. Who was that lady screaming? Was that Taylor Armstrong?
TERESZCUK: I can`t see. I don`t know.
GRACE: I got to find out. Who was that, Alexis Weed?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Are you referring to the clips that were played in the open there?
GRACE: Yes, the thing we just played, Alexis. (INAUDIBLE) I said one minute ago, which would now be, like, one minute and 10 seconds ago.
WEED: Right. There`s some clips from what should be the upcoming season that`s been removed from the Web site and...
GRACE: That`s a yes/no thing. Was that Taylor Armstrong screaming?
WEED: Yes. She is accused...
GRACE: OK. Good.
WEED: ... of having a nervous breakdown.
GRACE: That was a yes/no kind of question. OK, this is what I don`t understand. To Christine Vienna, Russell Armstrong`s friend of 20 years. Liz, could you roll that video of her out by the pool, showing the barbecue, that giant -- what is that, like, a 60-inch barbecue out by the pool?
Christine...
CHRISTINE VIENNA, FRIEND OF RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: Yes?
GRACE: ... he told you -- you`re very good friends with him -- that his marriage was fine, his marriage was intact. We clearly -- if I could see the video again, I could see that they`re living the high life. I mean, check it out. That looks like it`s HGTV, and they`re showing me a brand-new mansion that just has been redone. What`s the problem?
VIENNA: Are you referring that question to me?
GRACE: Yes. Looks like they had it all.
VIENNA: Well, my concern is this. I am questioning the sincerity of Taylor Armstrong from the very beginning because when Russell met Taylor, she advised him she was from the Ford motor car company, and I certainly don`t know that to be true. I`m certain someone will do some research to find that out.
GRACE: What do you mean, she`s from the Ford Motor Company? What is that, she worked there?
VIENNA: Well, Russell told me that she was from the Ford motor car company, insinuating to me...
GRACE: You mean like the family?
VIENNA: Yes, exactly. So you know, because as a friend and as a sister...
GRACE: So she`s not working on the line, doing the rivets. That`s not what she meant.
VIENNA: Exactly. Exactly.
GRACE: OK.
VIENNA: And my concern was, Is she sincere? Is she really falling in love with him? As a sister-friend, I was very concerned because he had been through two situations prior, and the most important thing to Russell was to have a family, have children, and be married. I mean, that was the number one priority for him.
So my concern was, Is this girl sincere? What`s going on? Then he tells me that she`s lost all of this weight. This was, of course, years later, after the marriage -- telling me she`s lost all this weight on purpose so that she purposefully looks anorexic because she`s going to put out a diet supplement. So again, I question the sincerity.
GRACE: Well, that may all be true. But I`m wondering how that factors into, was it a suicide, was it a murder, and what was the motivation for either.
Out to the lines. Hillary in Oklahoma. Hi, Hillary. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just wondering why the coroner was demanding to meet with Taylor, I`m guessing...
GRACE: You know want to know why he wants to meet with her. To C.W. Jensen, retired police captain. Listen, C.W., when you`re on the scene when the body is found and your friend finds the body, and you claim that you`re attacked by the victim 24 hours before, I don`t think that looks good, C.W. Why would the coroner want to talk to her?
C.W. JENSEN, RETIRED PORTLAND POLICE CAPTAIN: Well, I think the coroner just wants to kind of clear up everything because this has been a sensational case. Obviously, the police have investigated. I`ve investigated hangings, suicides, and they`re happy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Los Angeles County coroner`s office says 47- year-old Russell Armstrong killed himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very devastated and shocked and surprised.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re almost extras (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) these people who go on reality shows have drama in their lives, that`s why they`re cast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when rubber hits the road, the reality sets in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that Bravo should be held responsible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he should be edited out with the other character, Taylor, and he should be "rest in peace."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I`m breaking!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are. You`re having a nervous breakdown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not another dinner party from hell!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taylor, don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me like that. I don`t like that, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can`t be my friend, please don`t be my enemy!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need (INAUDIBLE). That`s not cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no idea what she`s done to me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop, stop, stop!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good Lord in heaven! OK, I still can`t figure out who`s who. They all look alike, except for the one brunette. But I think that was Taylor Armstrong screaming her head off. And she`s the one that finds the dead body. She`s the one that`s being called in by the coroner for questioning.
We`re taking your calls. Out to Lynda in Texas. Hi, Lynda. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks a lot. Love your show. Been following you since Johnnie back in the day. The question is...
GRACE: Way back when, God rest his soul, Johnnie Cochran. Go ahead, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m growing up to be just like you. But anyway, dear, yes, where was Taylor? And that`s convenient that she`s the one that walked in and found him. And where were the kids at? She`s just crazy on that show.
GRACE: Hey, hold on! Hold on, Lynda! What about this? She says he beats the stew out of her 24 hours before, but then she`s going to sit down and have a fancy Hollywood lunch with him the -- I don`t know. If someone beat me to a pulp, I would not be sitting down and having a frisee salad with a little avocado on the side. That would not be happening. He would be in jail, Lynda in Texas. So what about that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, exactly. He would be. But I don`t know. She`s the one that seems to fly off the handle, as you`ve seen in part of your clips, flying off the handle to everybody else. So she has some rage going on.
GRACE: Weigh in, Patricia Saunders.
PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: ... reports are was that he was the one with the rage problem. That`s why he was taking antidepressants. But people who go on these kind of shows, Nancy, are people who are drawn to fantasy, excitement, melodrama and hyperreality, which doesn`t have too much to do with reality.
GRACE: What do you think of their lavish spending, Dr. Patricia?
SAUNDERS: I think it`s to support the fantasy that they`re living the high life and that they are the best, regardless of what their real situation is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every couple has troubles. But she talks about this on air.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was absolutely terrified about how he was going to be portrayed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would be bashed by some of the other cast members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: We are taking your calls.
The L.A. coroner is demanding "The Real Housewives of Beverly hills" star Taylor Armstrong come in for questioning. This amidst claims that just 24 hours before he is found dead, he brutally beats his wife. And now, members of his camp say it`s her fault he`s dead. Blaming not only her, but the entire Bravo network. Where is that going to lead to?
Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter, radaronline.com. It is never a good thing when the coroner demands you come in for questioning.
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, SENIOR REPORTER, RADARONLINE.COM: No, you`re absolutely right. The coroner wants to know what Taylor knew about Russell. We learned that he had been on prescription drugs but he stopped taking them two weeks before he committed suicide. The coroner didn`t find any pill bottles around him. They also want to know a lot of things about him. There are many questions they still have and they`re asking, in fact, demanding she come in and talk to them. It is very unusual.
GRACE: Joining us is Dorothy Casserceri with "In Touch Weekly." you know, according to him, the victim`s camp, the wife is to blame. And the first wife is quoted as saying "it is Taylor Armstrong`s fault." Weigh in.
DOROTHY CASSERCERI, REPORTER, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: Yes, everybody is pointing the finger at Taylor Armstrong. People are pointing the finger at Bravo. Naturally his family and even his ex-wife are coming to his defense. They don`t want him to be a villain in this entire thing. And they certainly blame all of Taylor Armstrong`s elaborate spending. They cite something like the fourth birthday party that Taylor had for the daughter that was $40,000.
GRACE: Dorothy, with all due respect, and, yes, I know they lived a lavish lifestyle, there was, I think, a $60,000 birthday party, another $40,000 birthday party they drove Mercedes. When you look in their closet, there is nothing but very expensive designer clothes, each piece worth thousands of dollars. I get it.
But when the coroner brings you in for questioning, it is not about how much you spent down at Neiman Marcus. That`s not what the - where a coroner is headed.
To CW Jensen, retired police captain. CW, when the coroner calls you, and tells you need to come in for questioning that is not a good thing. There was no suicide note, CW, do you see where this is headed?
CW JENSEN, RETIRED POLICE CAPTAIN, PORTLAND: Yes, I do. I do think it is interesting to me that it is the coroner that is doing the questioning and not police. I think police have come to the conclusion this was a suicide but what the coroner wants to do, especially with such a sensational case as this is get all the facts down and get the answers.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. I want to go out to Alexis Weed, our producer on the story. Alexis, what more can you tell me?
ALEXIS WEED, PRODUCER, NANCY GRACE SHOW: I can tell you the couple was in quite a bit of debt. Taylor and Armstrong, her husband, they were both facing a lawsuit by a business partner for a million and a half dollars saying they misappropriated funds that were used within that company.
GRACE: And what more can you tell me about him, the victim?
WEED: Nancy, he was, as I said, facing a lot of problems trying to keep up with the Jones, his other cast mates on the show. They were all living still in Bel-air and Beverly Hills. Meanwhile, this couple had relocated at the start of this new season, this upcoming season, to a rental home in a separate area that is regarded as being not quite as prestigious.
GRACE: I want to go to Doctor Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist. Doctor Saunders, we now understand his family is blaming the wife, blaming bravo. What do you make of it?
DOCTOR PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, they don`t want to accept the fact that their son might have been in a whole world of trouble and may have committed suicide. The fact is that he built a house of cards. Taylor didn`t make him do anything. He was an adult man, it was his choice. And they can`t accept the fact. So it is bravo`s fault. It is the wife`s fault. As if he had no personal responsibility.
GRACE: Joining me now is a special guest, Christine Vienna. This is Russell Armstrong`s friend of 20 years. Now, according to her, he says his marriage was fine just before the alleged suicide. Christine, what can you tell us?
CHRISTINE VIENNA, RUSSELL ARMSTRONG`S FRIEND: Yes, I had spoken to Russell and it was late April or early May and Russell did not give me any inclination that anything was wrong with the marriage. He said everything was fabulous, they were getting along quite well. Unfortunately he said that bravo had crucified him that particular season and he wasn`t looking forward to having that same thing happen in the future season. But he advised me that Taylor received $2 million for season two as well as was getting, you know, opportunities for appearances that were also bringing in quite a bit of income. So things were looking really great and he was very happy.
GRACE: Also with us tonight, Jeana Keough, former cast member of bravo`s real housewives of Orange County. Jeana, thank you for being with us.
Apparently, just before he`s found dead, he blasts a major network, bravo, for, excuse my French, calling them, quote, "bastards", really blasting the way they produce the show, his part in it, the way he`s been portrayed. What about it?
JEANA KEOUGH, FMR. CAST MEMBER, BRAVO`S REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY: I think it is his own choice. I mean, he didn`t have to do the show. He`s a big boy. Bravo didn`t portray you any differently than you are. If you`re fighting with your wife, they may show more fights than the happy birthday party times, but it is your reality they`re showing.
GRACE: Do you believe, Jeana, that the whole thing is fake? Do they tell you what to say? Is it all just a big fake?
KEOUGH: Not in my four or five years of filming. They said story lines were going to talk about going away to school, issues, but they didn`t say we want you to argue with your husband and be disrespectful, no. That was al natural.
GRACE: Back to Alexis Weed, our producer on the story who is the other cast members, Alexis?
WEED: Nancy, she shares the cast with six other women. Reports out saying they`re all being very supportive, but we really haven`t heard any comments from her direct cast members as of yet.
GRACE: We are live tonight and taking your calls. Reality TV doesn`t get any more real than this. Now, a housewife, real housewife of Beverly Hills called in for questioning by the L.A. coroner after a co-star, her husband, found dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of "the real housewives of Beverly Hills" star, Taylor Armstrong. Found dead in his home, his death believed to be a suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had no idea that Russell would ever do something like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAYLOR ARMSTRONG, STAR, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS: My husband is Texan. He`s very strong personality.
RUSSELL ARMSTRONG, STAR, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS: I`m starving. Yes, we`re starving.
TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: With Russell, I got the ultimate man`s man. When I first met Russell, I had to do the majority of the pursuing in order to make the relationship a reality.
Have some. I made a list of thing that I wanted in a partner and I said, likes to work. He loves, loves, loves to work, more than anything. Check. Got that one. And I want a man`s man.
RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: Not going to eat this?
TAYLOR ARMSTRONG Honey. I get a bull ride in Texas cowboy. Check. Got that one.
RUSSELL ARMSTRONG How is that spinach?
TAYLOR ARMSTRONG It is delicious. Wants a family.
RUSSELL ARMSTRONG Did we order anything else?
TAYLOR ARMSTRONG I mean a family with me, not necessarily two kids from two different women before me. So -
RUSSELL ARMSTRONG I think I`m full.
TAYLOR ARMSTRONG You did a great job. Make sure when you write that list, you put exactly, exactly what you want down to the letter.
To come down here with me and we`ll make some popcorn. Are you going to make the popcorn today? Me? My daughter`s name is Kennedy. And she`s 4 years old. Who is going to hold the puppy while I make the popcorn?
KENNEDY, TAYLOR ARMSTRONG`S DAUGHTER: Put it on the floor.
TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: Yes? Want to push the buttons? No.
My daughter has my husband`s temperament, she`s very strong willed, she definitely gets what she wants.
Let`s go to bed, read a story. Please.
She`s a beautiful little soul, but she knows how to control a situation, even at 4 years old.
What are we going to do, little bug? We can`t just sit here all night.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: We`re taking your calls. A real housewife of Beverly Hills is now being called into question, questioned by the L.A. coroner after her husband also a star on the reality show is found dead.
Straight out to special guest Megan Hauserman, she was a star of VH1`s "Megan Wants a Millionaire", show canceled after the murder of Jasmine Fiore, also on the show. Megan, Thank you for being with us.
MEGAN HAUSERMAN, STAR, VH1`S MEGAN WANTS A MILLIONAIRE: Thank you for having me.
GRACE: Listen, Megan, ever since my twins were born, three and a half years ago, I get very little chance to watch TV. So I`m just going to ask you to tell me the truth. Is this for real? Or did the reality shows tell you what to say? I mean, it seems like everything is all contrived. It is really hard for me to think of all these tall, skinny, blondes with the big chest sitting by the pool, having the caviar and the mansion, all of them having a nervous breakdown screaming at each other. And they`re complaining about what? Half of America is starving now. We`re in a depression. Or at least a recession. What do they have to fight about? What is the problem?
HAUSERMAN: Well, you know, these aren`t documentaries. They`re for entertainment. And, you know, producers can`t sit around and wait for something exciting to happen. If it is not happening, they have to create it. So you`re either working with them or you`re working against them and that`s when villains are created.
GRACE: Hold on, hold on. You say they created it, are you telling me they tell you the plot lines, the story lines?
HAUSERMAN: They kind of see where things go and then they pick-
GRACE: Wait. Young lady, young lady, you`re beautiful, granted. But I saw you looking away, trying to think up a nice way to say, yes, they tell you what to say and create the story lines. I saw that.
HAUSERMAN: I mean, scenes are set up, topics are decided upon. The only thing that you can`t set up is people`s reactions. So you know what you`re going to say to people, but you don`t know how they`re going to react to you.
GRACE: Well, tell me something, how is this whole suicide going to play into real housewives of Beverly Hills? What are they going to -
HAUSERMAN: Well, I`m sure they`re going to edit it out, just like they did, you know, or they`re going to cancel the show like they did with my show in order to not take any responsibility and have nobody point fingers at them.
GRACE: Well, hold on. Nejame, Burris, the reality of the law is that if, number one, if it is a suicide, if it is a suicide, Bravo cannot be held responsible. It is not their fault under the law. Now, you may get a jury to say, yes, Bravo`s fault, yes, Taylor Armstrong`s fault, she spent too much money. The jury might jump up and say that. But that`s going to be reversed on appeal because that is not the law, Nejame.
MARK NEJAME, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, not only that, but you can`t defame a dead person. So the reality of it is where are there any legal consequence here? It didn`t even air. So because there is speculation of what they might show and that is allegedly a cause of death, they never showed us, so how does anybody know what was going to be shown and secondly if something is aired, and it is truthful, and it is not edited in such a slanderous way, where it might impact the money that comes to the family or the estate, there is no claim for defamation. You can`t defame a dead person.
GRACE: But what about this, Ronald Richards? He`s the lawyer for the late Russell Armstrong who took upon, I don`t know if it was foisted upon him or took it upon himself to be the villain, to be the, you know, antagonist in the show. I don`t know if it was real, if it`s made up or what, but there is not going to be an action, that successful action against Bravo or Taylor Armstrong for his death. But what about another claim, for instance, by his children. If bravo goes forward with the season, what about intentional infliction of emotional distress by his children?
RONALD RICHARDS, RUSSELL ARMSTRONG`S ATTORNEY: Well, his children and Taylor are the only ones that have standing to make that claim, the parents, the stepbrothers, they can`t. You never know what a creative plaintiff`s lawyer can come up with and there could be an intentional infliction or negligent infliction or even a wrongful death. Anyone with $395 can file a lawsuit.
GRACE: It seems to me infliction of emotional distress has to be a willing and intentional infliction. That`s the whole name of it. Intentional infliction of emotional distress.
So, Burris, they`re going to have to claim it is intentional, but if Bravo puts this in the upcoming season, maybe that is intentional infliction of emotional distress on the family. The reality is, though, he signed it away, John Burris. He signed all the forms to be the star in the show, and, you know, that`s when his family stuck with.
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. I think also it is more than that. It is extreme and outrageous conduct as well. So it has to be more than intentional conduct. It has to be extreme and outrageous, but I don`t think they have a cause of action in any event. It seems to me this is a voluntary act on his part.
GRACE: This is a first. You and John Burris saying somebody can`t sue somebody else. OK. Let me get over that for a moment.
Alexis weed, we have been looking at clips of the show and you know, there is allegations it is all the wife`s fault, that she would throw lavish parties, $60,000 party for her, $40,000 party for the child`s four year birthday, something like that. Personal shoppers, reams of expensive designer wear, like $1,000 for a jacket or a shirt. What more can you tell me about the victim himself?
WEED: Yes, Nancy. This is not the first time that women have claimed that Russell Armstrong was abusive towards them. His ex-wife, who he married in 1997, she claimed in `98 that he battered her. He pled no contest to that charge. That charge since has been expunged from his record. Not only that, but the ex-wife later comes into court with a statement -
GRACE: Hold on, hold on, hold on. Coming into court with a statement, that`s one thing. Getting up under oath is another thing. And let me advise you, Alexis, that under our jurisprudence system, under our law, the reputation of a victim is inadmissible unless it goes to self-defense. So your attempt to smear the victim in this case, by bringing up an allegation, the dead victim is absolutely inadmissible in a court of law. The only thing it does to me is suggest to me, Dorothy Cascerceri that he may have beaten up Taylor Armstrong just before his death. What do we know about that, Dorothy?
CASCERCERI: Well, we know that there are several reports out there. There is one that occurred allegedly 24 hours before his death where they got into a large argument and he hit her. This is according to a friend of Taylor`s, unnamed friend of Taylor`s. But then, we also have reports back in June that actually he hit her so hard, that he sent her to Cedars-Sinai Hospital with a huge gash from her mouth up to her eye socket and she actually had to have some reconstructive surgery for that.
GRACE: You know, I know that you`re talking about reconstructive surgery. But unless this was reported, how do I know there was reconstructive surgery because of a beating? Is that what she told people? How do I know it wasn`t all drama like the rest of the show? How do I know it wasn`t a cover-up for her to get more plastic surgery? What is the truth behind it?
This is what I know tonight, I know that she has allegedly been beaten by her husband. That he, unwillingly or willingly, he was made out to be the villain in this show. And now he`s dead. Fur is going to fly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Welcome back. A real housewife now being dragged down to the la coroner to answer questions after her husband was found dead. Straight out to a special guest, Jeana Keough, former cast member of Bravo`s real housewives of Orange County
Jeana again, thank you for being with us. How much are the housewives in Bravo pressured to create scenarios? It`s very hard for me to believe that all of those beautiful people, sitting around a beautiful pool, can really be mad about what? Isn`t one of those Grammer? Kelsey Grammer`s wife? I mean, she just settled for what, $25 million. What`s she got to complain about?
KEOUGH: It`s beyond me. But you give women a little alcohol, and they go a little crazy. I found that it`s all alcohol induced.
GRACE: What do you have by that?
KEOUGH: I don`t blame the production company.
GRACE: They put you all together and they tell you to buy? They get you drunk and tell you to fight?
KEOUGH: No. They don`t tell you to fight. In one of my shows, there`s one girl saying, you said my lips are bigger than you. And they had this whole fight over who said whose lips were bigger. Who cares? When you give someone alcohol, you have no idea what`s going to come out of their mouths.
GRACE: Yes. With everything going on in the world, it`s hard for me to take in that grown ladies are fighting about that kind of thing. But what is your response to what`s going on right now with the death of this man?
KEOUGH: It`s a mental health issue. He was depressed. He was struggling, his business was failing, his marriage was ending. The TV show he thought would be an embarrassment to him. He was taking anti-depressants, and he stopped without medical help. It absolutely can cause you to take your life. It`s happened in my neighborhood twice. So it`s - you can`t - if are you you`re going to take anti-depressants, you don`t get them from a friend and you stop taking them correctly. But as far as the coroner calling, that`s totally normal. A coroner would totally want to talk to the wife.
GRACE: This is Jeana Keough, from Bravo`s real housewives of Orange County Let`s stop and remember Marine Corporal Kyle Powell, 21, Colorado Spring, killed Iraq Warrant to Army parents Jean and Melissa, enlisted for two of the Boy Scout. Awarded Bronze Start Purple Heart made me achievement. A combat engineer on a third tour, also served in Kuwait. Loved the beach and grilling steaks. Leaves behind parents Dave and Nancy, Sister Meaghan. Kyle Powell, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us, and a special good night from a Georgia friend Amare. Isn`t he handsome? He can`t decide. Does he want to be a football star, a barber, or a chef? I`m voting for chef. But that`s just me.
I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
