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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Toxic Secrets Emerge in Missing Woman`s Family; High Schoolers` Fantasy Sex League?; Honey Boo-Boo`s Candid Interview
Aired October 23, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, a sickening development in the search for missing Brittney Wood. One of her uncles is facing charges of raining a 13-year-old relative. It would appear that this beautiful young woman was surrounded by some very toxic family secrets that are just unbelievable. We`re going to bring them to you. Did it have anything to do with her disappearance? We`re investigating that and talking to a relative next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Incomprehensible developments in the case of Brittney Wood, the beautiful Alabama teen who mysteriously disappeared six months ago. Her uncle killed himself two days after Brittney vanished while on a visit to him.
Now, in a separate case, police accuse Brittney`s other uncle of raping a 13-year-old relative as the girl`s father watched. And Brittney`s brother and a cousin have also been arrested and accused of raping a 12- year-old girl. We are uncovering the terrible toxic secrets in this family. And we are taking your calls.
Then, outrage boils over as a California high school exposes a fantasy slut league, involving varsity athletes having sex with girls to rack up points. School officials say the league may have been operating for as many as six years without any adults knowing about it. But it`s now been disbanded. Does that make this degrading situation any more tolerable? Should these high-school jocks be punished?
Plus, has Honey Boo-Boo Child had enough? The beauty pageant contestant turned reality TV star with the larger-than-life personality seems to be acting out in recent interviews. Faking sleeping on the set. And playing with her iPad, ignoring questions. Is this just a young girl acting her age? Or is Honey Boo-Boo overexposed and sick of the spotlight? TV star Jay Thomas joins me on that hot topic tonight.
And in tonight`s "Rico`s Rescues," we`re helping Connor, the adorable Shih Tzu, find a good home. Connor was rescued from a neglectful breeder`s home. He`s looking for a loving place to call his own. Can you help?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want you, baby. We love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thursday Brittney Wood told family members that she was headed to this house near Styx River to see her Uncle Donny. Donny Wood returned home to Fair Hope on Friday and shot himself. Brittney hasn`t been heard from since.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her uncle has committed suicide. And supposedly he was the last one she was with. And so we`re worried about that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m hoping to God and I really don`t think he`d hurt my baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we haven`t talked to her in over a week. And we need some help finding her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know your children`s routine. She has not done nothing routine. She always calls me. She ain`t called me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, truly shocking family secrets revealed. Beautiful young mother Brittney Wood vanished back in May, and she`s been missing. She was last seen visiting her uncle`s house. But what would happen next would stun everyone. Just as Brittney is reported missing, that uncle, Donny Holland, committed suicide with Brittney`s own gun.
Now another uncle, Dustin Kent, is facing charges that he allegedly raped and sodomized a 13-year-old relative. What on earth, what the hell is going on here?
Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live.
Brittney Wood disappeared from Mobile, Alabama, leaving her 2-year-old daughter behind. She has not been seen since. Look at this beautiful young woman.
Her last cell phone transmission happened less than a mile from this rural Alabama area where her uncle reportedly had a home near the Styx River. She reportedly told her friend she was visiting her Uncle Donny there. When she didn`t return, her frantic mother called the cops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brittney, come home. We love you. Please come home to your family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Since Brittney disappeared, several members of her family have been caught up in lewd, really lewd, sex crime charges, including her own brother.
Derek Wood, 22, arrested just last week by a fugitive task force. Back in July he was charged with rape and sodomy charges.
As the search continues for Brittney, you`ve got to wonder what happened to this family that cops call sadistic. How did so many of them get caught up in alleged sex crimes? And does it have anything to do with Brittney`s disappearance?
I want to hear from you. Call me: 1-877-586-7297, 1-877-JVM-SAYS.
Straight out to our very special guest tonight, Brittney`s stepmother, Stephanie Hanke.
Stephanie, thank you for joining us. I know this is difficult for you. What do you make of the arrest?
STEPHANIE HANKE, STEPMOTHER OF BRITTNEY (via phone): Thank you for having me.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. What do you make of the arrest of Brittney`s Uncle Dustin?
HANKE: The whole thing has us all by shock. That is all on her mother`s side. So I don`t really know that family that well.
As far as she has two uncles that are arrested. Her own mother`s brother`s one of them. And you`ve got Dustin, which is married to Brittney`s aunt, which is the twin of Donny`s wife, who Donny`s wife is also charged in this with child endangerment for having knowledge of these crimes and not reporting them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m going to do a list of the family tree. And then I want to get your reaction, Stephanie, to did you notice anything? Because I mean, I`ve been a reporter for many years, and I`ve never seen anything quite like this. We`ll break it down and then get your insight.
I know this is not your side of the family. So we are making that very clear. But OK, let`s take a look. There`s Brittney who vanished five months ago. The uncle Brittney went to visit on May 30, Donald Holland Senior, shot himself to death two days after Brittney went missing. He was reportedly under investigation for molestation. His wife, Wendy, has been arrested on child endangerment charges.
Now that dead uncle`s son, who is Brittney`s cousin, Donald Holland Junior, has been arrested for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl.
More than a year before Brittney vanished, Brittney`s 22-year-old brother, Derek Wood, has also been charged for allegedly having sex with the same 12-year-old girl. And another of Brittney`s uncles, Randall Wood, the brother of the missing teen`s mom, was arrested on charges of incest, sodomy and sexual abuse.
And then there`s 36-year-old Dustin Kent, another uncle, who has been accused of raping a 13-year-old relative while that girl`s father watched.
OK, and cops say that assault occurred four years ago, long before Brittney vanished. So again, six of Brittney`s relatives, five men, one of whom killed himself, and a woman. I mean, what on earth? I`ve got to go back to the missing woman`s step mom. Stephanie, did you sense anything sick and toxic within that side of the family?
HANKE: No. I only had a couple of occasions as far as with around Dustin. I`m not going to lie, he did give me -- he did put off a weird vibe. Like I said, I only had one occasion with him. Now, he is facing seven charges. He`s facing charges for child molestation and also in Mobile all tied into the sex ring. He`s facing the most charges so far.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I mean, I am blown away by this. Can I ask you to stand by for one second, Stephanie? I want to bring in Vinny Parco, a famed private investigator out of New York City. You know him from a show he`s on.
Vinny, I honestly -- have never seen this. Is your understanding from all your years of investigating that -- sexual molestation, alleged, can run in families?
VINNY PARCO, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Yes. You have to take the fabric of the family. Look at the charges against all the people in the family. They`re all molestation of young women.
I`m sorry to say this, but I`m sure Brittney was molested for many years also. I know she`s 19 years old, and her uncle killed himself. I`m sure that he had something to do with it, had some remorse and killed himself.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I got to tell you, if you take a look at this story, just take a look at one of the cases, this recent one that just came out that we`re just learning about now, charged with first degree sodomy, second degree rape and incest. Reports are the victim is a 13-year-old relative. She`s now 17. came forward this year because Brittney`s missing, we`re in crisis, I`ve got to tell the truth. I`ve got to talk.
Now, published reports say detectives testify that the alleged rape took place in front of the girl`s father. Jon Lieberman, I have no words.
JON LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was at "America`s Most Wanted" for seven years. We helped hundreds of victims get justice. I have never ever in my life seen anything like this family.
Now, Jane, the only positive that we could pull out here is this. Police have a lot of ammunition to press the heat on all of these members of the family, hoping to get some answers as to where Brittney is, what happened to Brittney. There`s that very remote chance in our hearts, we want to keep hope open. There`s that remote chance she ran away. It`s unlikely. But somebody in this family knows where Brittney is, what happened to her, and the cops are going to use these charges to press them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s go to out the phone lines. Debbie, I missed what state you`re from. Debbie, Pennsylvania. Your question or thought, Debbie.
CALLER: Hi, Jane. We love you. We listen to you every night. I have two questions.
First, who is the father of the 2-year-old? And, second, are there any plans to remove that child from that family, since there is a history of pedophilia?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stephanie Hanke, again, you are the stepmother of Brittney Wood, the missing woman. This does involve your side of the family. But we`re seeing Brittney with a 2-year-old toddler. Who is the father?
HANKE: The father is Andrew Hamilton. He has custody of Peyton. Peyton is not in the Wood family. I get Peyton every weekend. Sandy and his grandmother, they are the caregivers of Peyton. She is not having anything to do -- we have kept her away from that entire side of the family. Andy has custody.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s excellent news. That is wonderful news. Now we have to find out what happened to her mom, the beautiful -- and I mean beautiful, look at her -- Brittney. Where is she? An innocent in the web of what would appear to be, according to cops a family that is steeped in molestation and sexual crimes.
More on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His name came up in our investigation and with our cooperation with Baldwin County. We were able to determine that we have a juvenile victim three years ago with his name surfacing in that investigation, it`s certainly brought interest into other people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That officer is talking about this guy, Dustin Kent, who allegedly raped a 13-year-old relative as her father watched. And he`s the uncle of missing Brittney Wood. Is there a connection?
When Brittney vanished five months ago she was visiting another uncle, Uncle Donny, who was also under investigation for molestation. And he later -- two days after she disappeared shot himself in the head and killed himself. But apparently, many in the family didn`t consider him a threat. We talked to Brittney`s stepmother back in June. And here`s what she said. This is a different step mom. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via phone): I do not believe they had a relationship. He is married to my sister. My sons even went to their house a lot. We don`t know if she even made it to Donny`s. She was not actually seen with Donny. The reason we`re searching that area is because her phone was pinged there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. And you just heard, actually, from the biological mother of Brittney Wood, saying she didn`t consider him a threat.
Now, I`ve got to go to Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney. This is one of the sickest cases I`ve seen. I mean, how can you say that somebody, given everything now that we now know and the fact that he was being investigated for molestation is not considered a threat?
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that he is a threat. And I think that everybody in this family knew what was going on. And I think that it was an accepted behavior.
I think that. along with Jon, I hope that she did run away. I just can`t understand why she would leave a 2-year-old behind. But the bottom line here is this girl disappeared on May 30. They didn`t even call and report her missing until the end of the day June 2. So were they really so crying and screaming where is their child?
You know, family`s supposed to protect children. And a 17-year-old or 18-year-old girl is a kid. And they didn`t protect her. They exploited her. Shame on them. They don`t deserve to have children like these beautiful girls.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s a very disturbing case. Just the sheer number of relatives that are involved allegedly in these heinous sex crimes.
Let`s go to the phone lines. Phyllis, Illinois, your question or thought, Phyllis?
CALLER: Miss Jane, I can`t believe it. Oh, I am just so thrilled to meet you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right back.
CALLER: I want to see you on "Dancing with the Stars."
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, OK. I`m there.
CALLER: Yes, ma`am. I just had a question. You know, there appears to be an increase in missing women and girls. Is it just because the times we`re living in? Or is it unprecedented? Or is it just because we learn more because we have access to the media? This is weird.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s so funny that you should say that. And I got to bring this back to Vinny Parco, private investigator. We were talking about this today, because there was another missing girl in Arizona. And thank God she was found. And we all in the newsroom went, yay, she was found. Because we were like what`s going on here with all these missing women and girls?
VINNY PARCO, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, a lot of these girls are on Facebook, on social media. And they tell their friends where they`re going to be. These degenerates, these pedophiles, they watch Facebook. They look at these things, and they know where these kids are going to be.
So what they do, they have a blueprint to do their perversion. They know where these kids are going to be by looking at Facebook, watching the kids in a neighborhood, stalking them. And then when they have the opportunity, they snatch them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side of the break we`re going to talk to an investigative journalist who has been tracking this case in the Alabama area for a long time. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the last place her phone was pinged. They found the signal bouncing off one of these towers. And we haven`t talked to her in over a week. And we need some help finding her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know your children`s routine. She has not done nothing routine. She always calls me. She ain`t called me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s Brittney`s devastated mother. Where is she?
This uncle just arrested, accused of raping a 13-year-old relative as her father watched. I want to go to Michael Dumont, investigative reporter who`s been on this case for a while.
So he`s accused of raping a 13-year-old relative while the father watched. The father`s not being identified to protect the identity of the accuser. But what happened to that father? Was he arrested? Is he another family member?
MICHAEL DUMONT, REPORTER: No. No. This is, I believe what they`re referring to in this case, is Donald Holland Sr., who committed suicide on June 2 and is suspected to be the last person that Brittney ever saw before she went missing.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Does any of this have a connection in terms of all of these family members being accused of something involving rape, or sodomy, incest and/or? Does it connect to her disappearance? How do we draw that link?
DUMONT: Well, when I spoke to investigators both in Mobile County and Baldwin County, you know, Brittney was a resident of Mobile County when she disappeared. But a lot of this family activity, and the extended family you`re speaking of, they live in Baldwin County, which is across Mobile Bay.
Investigators on both sides have not -- on the record have not, you know, tied these cases together. I`ve tried to speak with family members and other people to see if she had ever expressed any sort of, you know, concerns or shared anything about any sort of abuse that she herself was a victim of. And never heard where that had been identified.
But speaking with the investigators extensively, you know, there`s an underlying current where everybody wants to put one and one to equal two.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely.
DUMONT: In the case like one of your guests spoke about, but we -- we just don`t know.
All we know is that the person -- and just to talk about -- to address about the family not -- actually, reporting her missing for a couple of days. When I spoke to Brittney`s mother, she told me that it was not, you know, really unusual for Brittney to be gone for a couple or three days at a time.
And Ms. Hanke who you spoke with, she told me during an interview that, you know, at times Donald Holland, the deceased, would pick Brittney up from her father and stepmother`s residence, although he would not come into the home.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you have a depth of knowledge on this case that is extraordinary. Michael, thank you so very much. We`re going to stay on top of this. We`re not going anywhere. We want to find out what happened to Brittney.
Jayne Weintraub, very quick, is this learned behavior within the family?
WEINTRAUB: I hope not, but I would listen to the experts, and unfortunately, I think it is. And I think it`s beyond sick. I agree with you. And that`s as a mom.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Absolutely. Thank you, fantastic panel.
Listen, we`ve got more shockers for you. A shocking video of the day. It`s another beating caught on tape. This subway beating came to a quick end when a passenger pulled out a samurai sword. Yes, a samurai sword. You heard it right. Thankfully, that`s where it ended.
These two hit the road once that extremely sharp sword came out of nowhere. And it`s hard to see exactly what`s going on there. But there it is. There`s the samurai sword. And whoa, look at that.
The beating ends with the samurai sword -- something out of a movie, except it really happened on the New York City subway system.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officials at Piedmont High School have confirmed that male students on various varsity sports teams have been taking part in a fantasy league of sorts, where they`re awarded points for drafting female students they believe are having the most sexual activity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s really disrespectful and just bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just like why do you have to do this to women?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He describes a fantasy slut league in which our female students, unbeknownst to most of them, are drafted as part of the league. Male students earn points for documented engagement in sexual activities with female students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gives the football team a bad name, because they`re of a couple people (ph). It gives the girls a bad name.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do think that it`s gross and degrading.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, explosive secrets uncovered in a very wealthy San Francisco suburb. A group of high school students allegedly running a, quote, "fantasy slut league." Yes, let me say it again, a fantasy slut league, a game where varsity jocks are awarded points for sexual acts with female students. The game`s reportedly been going on for six years undetected.
And according to the school, quote, "Female students, unbeknownst to most of them, are drafted as part of the league. Male students earn points for documented engagement in sexual activities with female students. Male and female students felt pressure to participate. It included alcohol to impair judgment, control and social demands to be popular."
Some of the students reacted to the announcement. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s really disrespectful and just bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just like why do you have to do this to women?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do think that it`s gross and degrading.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Parents were alerted to the sick game when the principal sent home a letter -- I got it right here -- after a few students came forward, apparently inspired to spill their guts by an assembly on date rape awareness.
What do you think? Call me, 1-877-JVM-SAYS.
Delighted to have Emmy Award winning TV star and Sirius XM radio host Jay Thomas here; and I`m going to toss this hot potato to you. What the heck?
JAY THOMAS, SIRIUS XM RADIO HOST: Well, first of all, I think the principal`s a complete idiot for sending home however many hundreds of letters to parents. You know, there was a time when you`d call the team in and you`d complain and say, look, if you guys are doing this, you better stop it.
If it were me and I was so nonsexual in high school I would be in the minus yards column or fumble or safeties or whatever. But for six years they kept this secret. Had the girls retired or some gone pro? I mean, where are the participants in the fantasy slut league?
And also, they documented it. Does that mean that there`s going to be a little Suzie bed check rookie card at some point, I mean in the future?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, I can see you`re making jokes about it. And they`re good jokes. But I`m outraged.
THOMAS: Oh, baloney.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I am absolutely furious. The school says since all of this activity took place off-campus, they can`t punish the students for pushing this fantasy slut league.
THOMAS: Why?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Listen to the guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD KITCHENS, PRINCIPAL, PIEDMONT HIGH SCHOOL: It`s mostly off- campus behavior that in our view was reprehensible and put some of our kids at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. So the school`s letter says "Our focus is on education and understanding moving forward, not discipline for past activities."
I am sorry, Jay, I think that the ring leaders here need to be -- it needs to be investigated, find out who the ring leaders are because they were pushing it on the younger kids. And somebody or more than one person needs to be expelled. Because if not, they`re going to get new status by virtue of the fact that we`re talking about it. And they`re going to be even cooler on campus than before.
THOMAS: Well, first of all, they found out during an assembly on date rape. And then after they found out -- now, this is true, I read this in the note you guys sent me -- that this part-time teacher said, "Well, we`re going to have another assembly to talk about this."
I don`t know about most high school kids, but I think more than two assemblies is punishment enough in high school. I have to tell you, I don`t believe it`s a lot of kids. And I don`t know who these kids are whose parents haven`t said to them don`t take your clothes off and let little boys take pictures of you. I hope -- could it be a hundred kids? I think it`s a few. Listen, I haven`t seen any pictures.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t think it`s a few because a fantasy league -- you can`t have a few. It`s not like a chess game where two people can play. You need -- Jayne Weintraub, you`re a criminal defense attorney ---
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I`m out.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- and more importantly a woman, help me out on this. This to me is serious --
WEINTRAUB: I don`t even know where to start.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- it`s degrading, it`s dehumanizing. And in the end I think it degrades the boys as well as the girls --
WEINTRAUB: Absolutely.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- by taking what should be a beautiful experience and turning it into something that is really trashy and stupid.
WEINTRAUB: Jane, first of all, the kids need to be held accountable for their postings. That`s the first thing that we teach them with Internet safety. High schools, colleges, people who are -- kids who are applying to colleges, they have to know that the college will look at their Facebook posting. If their wait listed and it`s between two kids, it`s going to look -- the school will look at the Facebook, number one.
Number two, the school needs to be held accountable.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me say this, Jayne. How could the school remain clueless for up to six years? I mean --
WEINTRAUB: They can`t. It`s called a blind eye. It`s called a very wealthy community where they don`t want to be responsible. To say that it was off campus is ridiculous. That`s burying their head in the sand.
They have an obligation to educate these kids. This is a varsity team. The varsity team is a privilege to be on a varsity team.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Let me tell you something, Jay.
I believe and I have no proof of this, it`s just my opinion, that because varsity teams are very important -- I watch "Glee", I know about that.
THOMAS: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They`re afraid of doing anything to destroy the team.
THOMAS: You know look, every guy today -- you`re going to think this is a joke. The first thing every guy said was what`s the team`s record? And they looked up the record to see what the football team`s record is.
Men think differently than women on this. Little girls or whatever age they are should not take their clothes off and let boys take their pictures.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, wait a second, they used alcohol.
THOMAS: Oh, come on. Please.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s bring in a caller. Tina, Pennsylvania. Tina, weigh in here.
TINA, PENNSYLVANIA (via telephone): I just would like to say that I have an 11-year-old daughter myself. And she`s no -- not in high school right yet, but this just goes to show the fear the parents right now hold for their kids even taking that step into high school because it`s just -- I would probably send her cyber school or home school my child. And that`s a chain that I have to like maybe gear towards this step.
But to allow my child to get into a high school --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good point because here`s a parent who is terrified now because she has a daughter. When you bring alcohol into the mix --
THOMAS: Just tell your kid not to take their clothes off in front of a camera. It`s simple. Would you have taken your clothes off when you were 12 in front of a little boy?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, I`m happy that "Girls Gone Wild" wasn`t around --
WEINTRAUB: Nobody said there was a camera there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- when I was a teenager.
THOMAS: But you wouldn`t have done that, would you? You wouldn`t have done it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We didn`t have the technology back then. These cell phones are ubiquitous. And you can be goofing around. And, you know, kids have been skinny dipping since there were rivers.
THOMAS: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Who knows if somebody --
THOMAS: Now if you said you took a picture of a kid skinny dipping, the boy that takes the picture now is going to go to jail. That is ridiculous.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I don`t know that pictures are involved in here.
THOMAS: First of all there`s no pictures -- I don`t --
(CROSSTALK)
WEINTRAUB: Jane, this isn`t a case of boys will be boys.
THOMAS: Why not?
WEINTRAUB: To take the position of "boys will be boys", that`s feeding into the mentality and the culture.
THOMAS: I didn`t say boys will be boys.
WEINTRAUB: That these boys are bred in and it`s unhealthy.
THOMAS: The little girls shouldn`t take their clothes off in front of cameras.
WEINTRAUB: And little boys shouldn`t be raping them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And they`re drunk. They gave them alcohol. That`s part of it. They gave them alcohol. That was -- all right. Listen, I`ve got to take a break for some very important news.
THOMAS: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Because I`m the feature of the "Kooky Video of the Day". I`m back. Here`s some more fun shots of me dancing on the "Anderson Cooper" daytime show. Boy, did we have a lot of fun today. Anderson was sweet enough to have me back to co-host today. And they do some dances. And of course I can`t resist. And what can I say, I`m just so groovy. You got to admit it, Jay.
THOMAS: You might want to use this video as punishment for the kids.
You know I don`t mean to make light of it, but at some point the little boys that are being thrown out of school because they make this gun sign with the finger, it has really gone overboard. These kids should have been yelled at by their coaches and the principal, threatened with action. The sending of whatever 300 letters home to parents -- most of the kids have graduated.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`ll agree with you the letters, it`s not the way to go.
Honey Boo-Boo next.
THOMAS: Oh my God.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Our "Viral Vid of the Day". All aboard the puppy go round. And everybody`s having a good time here. You see how great it is. Get a rescue dog for your little kid. And, boy, they`ll love that child.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me tell you something. Honey Boo-Boo really did it this time. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREW PINSKY, HLN HOST: Honey Boo-Boo, you all right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s stretching.
PINSKY: Let me ask you some questions. I know. Everybody always wants to talk to you. Is it difficult to be on TV? Is she sleeping? Is there something exciting you`d like to talk about?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alana. Come on now Sweetie. Let`s get this done so we can go. Hon, get up.
PINSKY: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don`t hit him.
PINSKY: It`s all right. She`s not hitting me.
Do you like being on TV?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you like it on TV?
ALANA THOMPSON, REALITY TV STAR: No.
PINSKY: You don`t like it? Tell me. How come?
THOMPSON: Because -- they come up to me and I hate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Drew, that was fascinating. To me it sounds like the child really doesn`t like being on TV. And she`s tired of it. She wants to be a regular kid again.
PINSKY: At least in that moment. Across this interview you`ll see tonight at 9:00 she does talk about what her life is like in school. And allegedly she leads a normal life of a grad school age kid. The principal interestingly calls her HBBC, Honey Boo-Boo Child. But she apparently is able to go about her business, has best friends, isn`t treated any differently at school -- at least so says the mom.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But, Dr. Drew, when children act out, often when they`re doing all that kind of acting out, I mean, she`s a kid but she was rude and --
PINSKY: That`s right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- and bratty. Usually it`s sort of a cry for help. They can`t sit down and say, well, you know, I`m feeling pressured and I don`t get a chance to enjoy my childhood. She`s expressing something.
PINSKY: That`s right. That`s exactly right. I mean, they`re not going to be able to be objective about it. And usually if some child is engaging in behavior that`s inappropriate, they have consequence for that.
Now, in this child`s life she is getting a lot of secondary gains for all these behaviors. So it`s being encouraged. You know, her mom is actually a smart woman. And we talked about this stuff. I talked about whether she thought the child ought to be evaluated for ADD. And how she would see whether or not this child would be angry with what has happened to her maybe later in life. And Mom is thinking about these things and only time will tell.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, yes. Jay, Dr. Drew`s raised a good point. They`re making money for college, et cetera. But I think she`s getting to the age where she might be starting to realize people are not laughing with her, they`re laughing at her.
THOMAS: See, we watch this, to me and you know, I`m not an expert, but that`s child abuse to me. That`s circus stuff. That`s like bearded lady at the circus or, you know, some deformed person at the -- at a carnival. This kid looks completely messed up.
And if she has the same genes that her mother and father have, her beauty pageant days are numbered. And we`re going to hear terrible stuff about this kid in the years to come.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but let me just say it`s easy to attack --
THOMAS: I`m not attacking. This is -- I`m looking at what --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, no, but what I`m saying is --
THOMAS: -- that`s pretty bad stuff.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- you know, it`s a child acting out. I mean, frankly -- hey, do you have a picture of me when I was a kid and I did commercials and stuff, tried to anyway. I think we can pull that up. There I am.
THOMAS: Wow.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: When I was a kid I did -- my mom was an actress and dancer. And I would go up for things. The key was, Dr. Drew --
THOMAS: Your mother was a vaudeville act.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, she was the last of the vaudevilles. When I didn`t get anything, when I didn`t get the part, it wasn`t like I didn`t have a stage mom. We`d have a good time and we celebrate. I didn`t get a complex as a result of doing this as a child. Dr. Drew.
PINSKY: That`s right. Listen, I know a lot of adult actors and actresses that were child stars and they will all tell you the same thing. It wasn`t the child acting as a child that was a problem. It was the abuse they were suffering at home that resulted in the behavioral problems they developed later on in life.
And you know, I`ve seen this family -- there`s the entire family there alongside me. I`ve met the other kids. The dad`s a volunteer fireman. The mom is extremely community minded. She actually cuts coupons in order to save groceries to give to people in the community.
Yes, she has a weight problem. Yes, there`s some behavioral issues here. But is that tantamount to mental illness later? I can`t say that. No I can`t say that. Now whether or not it will have a negative effect on her? Only time will tell.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Dr. Drew, we`re looking forward to the complete interview tonight at 9:00. I`m going to be watching it. And I know Jay`s going to be watching it too.
THOMAS: Well, yes. I need material for tomorrow. Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Three teens. Check this out, right after we talk about Honey Boo-Boo, we`re going to tell you about this -- fascinating.
Three teens order a pricey restaurant meal, they dine and dash. The manager tries to blame the waitress. They`re all actors. Ok.
But get the reaction of the other diners in the restaurant. What would you do? Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN QUINONES, HLN HOST: We set up at the American dream diner in Orangeburg, New York. And hire three hungry teens to take a bite out of the restaurant`s profits.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dude, I don`t have any money.
QUINONES: These waitresses are actors, but the patrons in the dining room are real. And they`re about to witness the old dine and dash firsthand while we watch on a hidden camera.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t talk to me like I`m new to this, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
QUINONES: After the teens order and eat their meals, one by one they leave the restaurant without paying the bill. They receive a few raised eyebrows and some extended stares, but early on they make a clean get away leaving the waitress to deal with the aftermath.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where did -- where did they go? Did they go to the restroom?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. They left.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re kidding?
QUINONES: But it doesn`t end there. We bring in another actor playing the role of the unforgiving restaurant manager who has no sympathy for our stiffed waitress. That`s when things get interesting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like a $25 tab here. This is out of your pocket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think you can do that to her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean I don`t think I can do that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you check New York labor law, I think probably you can`t do that. I`m an attorney. I`m just telling you. It`s not a good idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you`re an attorney?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I wouldn`t do that to her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, I don`t know what the state labor law is but you`re going to be paying for this.
QUINONES: When our actors leave the scene, these two gentlemen and the folks at a neighboring table make an agreement to split the unpaid tab and save our waitress from further distress.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to pick up their tab. We`ll split it between the two of us. It`s not an issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all know what`s right and wrong. I mean, that`s wrong what they did. So you could say something about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: "WHAT WOULD YOU DO?" The show`s on HLN Thursday nights 9:00 p.m. Eastern. This hidden camera show hosted by ABC News` John Quinones, a series of ethical dilemmas that will entertain you and make you think. "WHAT WOULD YOU DO?" Thursday night 9:00 p.m. Eastern here on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Time now for "Rico`s Rescues". Right little Rico? Let`s save some lives. Huh, Rico? Rico, Rico, hey, Rico, Rico.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Hey Rico, Rico. tonight, on "Rico`s Rescues", we are trying to save a sweet little Shih Tzu. The shelter says he was neglected he spent most of his life breeding puppies for big bucks. Joining me now that adorable dog Connor and my dear friend Jane Garrison, animal welfare expert -- tell us about Connor.
JANE GARRISON, ANIMAL WELFARE EXPERT: Connor has to be the saddest dog we`ve had on the segment so far, Jane. This sweet boy spent 13 years in a cage breeding puppies -- 13 years. He didn`t even look like a dog when he was rescued; he just looked like a piece of carpet.
He lost his eyesight due to the filth and the neglect. They thought he was deaf when they rescued him. But it was because his ears were so badly infected. This is a side of buying puppies that people don`t see. It`s a mother and father that are left behind just as breeding machines.
And this little boy after being rescued is so forgiving, so sweet. He`s very mellow. He just wants to be loved.
I mean 13 years, never felt a sweet arm on him. He never knew what sunshine was, what grass was under his feet. We need to find him a home. He loves to be in someone`s lap, loves to cuddle. He would love to go in a stroller and be pushed around because he is blind. He does like to be outside. But he is the kind of dog that people have to remember.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ll tell you how to find this beautiful animal a home right on the other side. I love this, and this exposes the dark side of breeding.
Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You can help save Connor -- right Rico -- by going to my Jane Velez-Mitchell Facebook page or hlnTV.com/Jane. But you can save Connor. You can also go to Adopt a Pet and get any kind of dog you want around the country. And Jane Garrison, thank you for bringing us Connor`s story. The key, as you mentioned, is adopt don`t shop. When you go to breeders, that`s what`s behind the curtain. We rescued him. He is now clean and happy and all he needs is a home.
Nancy is next.
END
